Class Mayhem! Let's Hack Fire Emblem + Sword of Seals!

Damn that's ugly. Well, I don't see her as a Cavalier so I'll switch to either Wyvern Rider or Nomad. We already have one nomad but she would come off as so deranged as an archer-fearing-archer it might be worth it.

I suppose it's just because I haven't played much of these games before, or maybe because I'm not big into sprite art, but I have to look at least twice at all these examples of "bad" character palettes to see anything wrong with them.

Mostly they've just come off as dull. At least the ones we've seen so far. Florina's face looks a little funky, I think. Here's the original Florina sprites for reference.

This is a messed up sprite. Notice how the outline of the hand is messed up, and how the face, leg, and the lines on the robe are just blotches of color.



For comparison, this is how a female Swordmaster is supposed to look like.

So what all do you have to change for each character? Class, items carried, and weapon skills? I was trying to mess with it myself and it was a little maddening. I suspect I stumbled across a couple classes that aren't fully usable but I don't remember the game from the last LP to recall for sure.

There's a FAQ on GameFAQs that tells you everything you need to know. It's pretty simple though.

First, check what slot the character you want to change is in. You do this by pressing R on the main character to go into the status screen and pressing down until you get to the character you want. Alternatively, if you've made it far enough to get a unit select screen, just deselect everyone but the unit you want to mod then exit the screen and come back to find that character in slot 2.

Then, find the appropriate codes for the slot you want. The only thing you really need to change is the Character Class since the game has a workaround for units attacking with weapons they normally can't equip, but if you want to get the full effect you need to modify their Weapon Proficiency (not hard) and their equipment (slightly harder, but that's only because you need to input two codes: Item Type and Item Quantity).

Evey class and item in the game has their own set value. You do not want to guess, so just use the table at the bottom of the FAQ.

I'd looked at the Codebreaker Codes guide but didn't see anything that spelled it out very clearly.

Okay, I got it to work for the most part. Just a ton of cross-referencing lists to try tons of different things. Florina looks the least screwy as a Wyvern Rider, from the mounted classes I tried. Wil turned out well in the non-mounted classes I tried, but mounting up made ugly as I expected.

This is pretty neat to play with. :3

Wil: Uuuuugh.
Mark: You okay?
Wil: An Elimine damned Pegasus just hit me into a wall. What do you think?
Mark: Can you fight?
Wil: My leg is broken and my bow is in pieces. For example, that piece impaled in my arm right there.
Mark: Here’s a sword, get to work.
Wil: what
Mark: Alright Sain, how’d it go?
Sain: Well… I have good news and bad news.
Mark: Tell me the good news first.
Sain: Florina’s ready to go into battle.
Mark: Now the bad news.
Sain: Her pegasus mutated into a wyvern.
Mark: …How the hell did that happen?
Sain: During the healing process the stupid thing kicked my staff. The resulting magical discharge twisted the pegasus into an entirely different being.
Mark: How’s Florina taking it?
Kent: We have no idea.
Mark: What do you mean?



Florina: …
Kent: She’s lost the ability to speak. Hopefully she’ll regain it with time, but either way she seems content to fight.
Mark: I don’t hear much of a difference. Anyways, Sain, I need you to go heal our new swordsman.
Sain: Aye aye.
Mark: As for you, go help Lyn out. Even she’s got to be getting tired by now.



Nomad Kent is amazing. Seriously, he’s doing at least 20 damage a battle.



Lyn is still getting some crazy level ups.



Oh, and Sain leveled up for the first time!



Wil: OH GOD OW.
Mark: What are you doing? Dodge the axe!
Wil: Oh I’m sorry, it’s just that one of my legs is broken.
Mark: Sain, didn’t I tell you to heal that?
Sain: Oh, well, there was this girl and-
Wil: JUST HEAL ME.



Wil: Yeah, that feels better.
Migal: Would you clowns just shut up and come over here? I don’t have all da- urk!
Lyn: And that makes sixty-seven.

At this point, I gave up entirely on trying to summarize Fire Emblem’s plot. So if you want that, go read Tanto’s LP. Coincidentally, this is the part of the game where I can say more about what I did than just “I marched everyone forward and killed everyone in my way”.




There are two ways to beat Chapter 4. Either survive for seven turns or kill the boss of the level. It should be obvious what I plan to do.



But first, I have to recruit Dorcas and get his class switched.



(HP: 80%, Str: 60%, Skl: 40%, Spd: 20%, Lck: 25%, Def: 25%, Res: 15%)

Remember when I said that most of Lyndis’ legion are quality units? Dorcas is the reason I said “most“. His HP and Strength are amazing, but that Speed growth is ridiculously terrible, and he doesn’t even have a good Defense growth to make up for it. Worse, being a Fighter means Dorcas and class changing do not mix. I’d actually recommend turning him into a pre-promote, but that would severely lower his use.

I'd like to see Dorcas as an enlisted man. Give up the bandit's life and put on some heavy armor! Soldier, perhaps? Knight or General is also acceptable. Not sure what else has that armored look but he looks sturdy even if he isn't actually.

Hmm... If we have to class-change him, I'm going to have to say Knight. He has the speed growth for it, and the low movement will only reinforce his uselessness.

Yeah, make Dorcas a Knight. Those Str, Spd and Con stats are practically begging for beefy armor and he even gets a Heavy Lance in Lyn's Tale to wreck stuff with!

Also: Florina the WyvernRider is the bestest thing.

Dorcas as a Knight was the clear favorite, so I’ll close the poll now.



Alright, this map has three points of interest. First off is the 50 HP wall to the left. An enemy Mercenary and Archer will be attacking throughout the battle, and if left to their own devices they’ll be done by Turn 4. Second is the exit to the right, where Dorcas starts. If you want to safely recruit him, you’ll have to wait until at least Turn 2. Also, from Turn 3 onwards, a Mercenary will spawn at the upper right corner of the screen. Finally, there’s the two space wide bottom exit. The majority of the enemies start there, and if left alone they’ll march in.

This map was designed so that a victory was almost assured if you just plugged up all the exits. Kent and Sain can guard the bottom exit, Wil can attack through the walls to weaken the units on the left side, and Lyn can defend the right side with Dorcas supporting with his Hand Axe. As for Florina, um… she can give Lyn moral support I guess. Even with everyone in a new class, I can still do that.

But just trying to survive is the coward’s way out. The second way to beat this map is to kill the boss, Carjiga. But how can I do that if the only unit I have free is Florina?



The answer is simple. I don’t really need to guard the other three exits, I just need to protect Natalie.



And because Wil’s Speed is low right now, unless he gets a critical hit he can’t kill his opponent. Since there’s only enough space for one enemy to attack him, I can essentially stall out the battle for as long as I like.



This strategy also allows me to safely give Wil and Sain some experience. As for Florina, she’s just going to stand there and do nothing. Well, I'll probably move her out of that enemy Archer's range once that wall on the left breaks down.



Meanwhile, Dorcas can use his new lance to safely neutralize the Mercenary spawn point.



Since everyone else is fine, I’m free to send my two best units to Carjiga.



Despite Wil’s best efforts, he still doesn’t have enough speed to double attack.



Kent, on the other hand...

(Kent’s Weapon Level increased after that attack, so he’s going to get even better).

The boss turned out to be surprisingly easy to kill, so I left him at critical HP and spent my remaining turns soaking up experience.



I’d say it was a good idea. Anyways, on the last turn I had Kent go kill Carjiga.






Two new units this time. Because I want to fit this in one post, I’ve stitched the images together. Anyways, I’ll start with Erk.

(HP: 65%, Str: 40%, Skl: 40%, Spd: 50%, Lck: 30%, Def: 20%, Res: 40%)

With average growths across the board, Erk’s not bad. He’ll probably never have to worry about his Speed, but his Strength and Skill can fluctuate.

(HP: 50%, Str: 50%, Skl: 30%, Spd: 40%, Lck: 60%, Def: 15%, Res: 55%)

Serra’s Strength and Resistance are nothing to laugh at, but that Skill… I’d recommend turning her into a class that can use Swords.

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With that said, it’s time for me to explain how level ups work! As you probably know, Fire Emblem bases most of its calculations off of a Random Number Generator. Taking attacking as an example, every time a battle starts two numbers are generated then averaged. If the result is lower than your stated hit percentage, you’ll hit. If it’s higher, you’ll miss. Because of this, the hit rate is actually skewed in the player’s favor, as hit rates above fifty are more likely to occur than hit rates below fifty.

Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work, but I swear the computer has some way of manipulating this.

Anyways, level ups. Every time a character levels up, seven random numbers are generated, each corresponding to a different stat. If the number is lower than the growth rate, you get a level up. If it’s higher, you don’t.

Erk - Monk. No particular reason.

Serra - Archer or Thief. Archer lets her keep the pigtails moreorless. I think Thief suits her personality and is a class that uses swords... though I know you weren't keen on thieves.

Thieves are fine, it's just Assassins that bug me.

Serra certainly has the Strength growth to be a good one though.

Serra as a Thief, definitely. It's a shame you can't get Rogues in FE7 though, because they're like a hundred times better.

As for Erk, hmm... let's make him a Fighter.

Stunningly enough, the programmers kept all of Cath's animations from FE6, so Female Thief is actually usable. HOWEVER, it can not promote.

Though I guess I could just change Serra to a male Thief when I want to promote her.

For shits and giggles, here's Erk as a cleric:

Not sure I want to inflict those pigtails on anyone except maybe Rebecca. Or Lucius. Good luck with the healing duties, Sain!

let's get Erk:Pirate, and other Thief as everyone wills even if it's too late for amusing faked dialogue...

Erk’s poll was stuck in a three-way tie, so I decided to just stick him in the class he won‘t look completely stupid in: Monk.



This map, like the rest of Lyn’s Tale, is a tutorial. It shows the player how terrain can affect movement, as that circled area and the lake are basically completely impassable by anyone but Florina (you can do it, but it'll take forever). Because of this, your characters are essentially railroaded into following that arrow.



But there’s a way around that. Remember how I said Florina was the sole exception to the effects of the terrain? That doesn’t change while she’s holding someone, so I can use her to move Lyn straight to the boss.



But before I do that, I need to give her a better weapon. Dorcas was already pretty useless in this map as a Fighter, but with a Knight’s low movement he’s even worse.



Serra is way too weak to even think about killing anything by herself, so I had Erk give her an assist.



God damn it Kent, how am I supposed to train my other units if you keep killing everything in one battle?



Another great level up.



Lyn got two critical hits in a row.



Oh come on!



Anyways, this map also has an Armory. The one where I recruited Wil and Florina did too, but this one sells extremely useful Javelins.



This chapter closes with another great level up. At this rate, Lyn’s going to outmuscle Hector.




(HP: 80%, Str: 50%, Skl: 40%, Spd: 50%, Lck: 30%, Def: 10%, Res: 25%)

When you first get Rath, he’s pretty overleveled compared to the rest of your troops, forcing you to avoid using him in order to raise everyone up to a good level. And when you finally get him back after the time skip he’s underleveled and you already have a solid group of characters. Rath has excellent growths though, so he’s worth using. Just don’t let him get hit.

I would also like to note that after the time skip Rath’s Constitution drops by 1 for some reason.



(HP: 75%, Str: 30%, Skl: 40%, Spd: 70%, Lck: 50%, Def: 25%, Res: 20%)

Matthew’s a Thief, and his growths reflect that. He’s never going to be able to kill anything without the aid of critical hits or an assist, but he’s probably never going to get hit either. Anyways, I’d like you all to note that Hector’s Story begins with him and Matthew only, so please don’t put him in a crappy class.

Rath: Pegasus Knight. Because every team needs a pretty pony pegasus.

Matthew: Shaman. Incredible Spd and Luck + Luna = holy shit broken.

Lyn always walks through the circled area on my game. It's a few more chapters before I remember the whole "rescue" thing.

Rath: Cavalier. Not like his boss would let him keep wearing nomad duds everywhere.

Matthew: Shaman. They never have speed and speed is Matt's main thing so let's see how it turns out.

And if you want a better reason...



Cavalier Rath looks great though. It seems Cavaliers and Nomads can seamlessly class change.

I forget how many cavaliers this game has (Sacred Stones has like twenty) but you might end up with a lot of nomads! I do kinda hope Pris will not look hideous as a pegasus knight though or we won't have any magic horsies at all!

Btw, when the time comes to class change Serra, don't feel bound to changing into an assassin. I'm sure she'd make for a lovely lady swordmaster. I don't know how necessary lockpicking is late in the game and I don't think I ever got Matthew high enough level to class change anyway.

Lockpicking is vital if you want to get the chests, and the ability to Steal is even more helpful.

I will need a Thief, but Hard Mode provides the player with an exceptional one. As long as you guys don't change his class, Serra can become whatever she wants.

Well, be sure to warn us when the time comes.

Ew, yeah. I see what you mean. Cavalier seems like the best bet, in this case.

That’s two votes in favor of Cavalier Rath and Shaman Matthew. Barring a sudden influx of new voters, that’s probably where things are going to end.



This map pretty much exists to teach the player about doors. All of the areas with the exclamation marks hold the triggers that need to be pressed to beat this chapter, and the room with the double exclamation mark also has the boss inside. The houses are mostly unimportant; the only notable ones are circled, with the upper house being where Lyn can recruit Matthew and the lower house giving out a free Door Key.



Anyways, I dicked around with the options to show off the Detailed Combat Window and Battle Backgrounds. Pretty nifty, huh?

If you’re wondering, Detailed removes the damage estimate and the handy double attack notification but adds Attack, Defense, and A(ttack) S(peed). Subtract the enemy Defense from your Attack to get the damage estimate and compare your AS to the enemy’s to see if you can double.

I’m going to be sticking with the default Strategy Combat Window for now, but if you want to see Detailed just tell me.



More levels. Sain’s Speed is really not looking good.



Rath looks great as a Cavalier, though his horse seems to have dipped its tail in green paint.



If I played my cards right, I could have gotten to the first trigger on the second turn. However, I had to move around some items and show off Rath in battle, so I had to make some bad moves with my more mobile characters.



Because everybody on this map has absolute crap for resistance (some have none at all), Matthew is kind of sort of totally broken.



Whatever you say man, whatever you say.



Serra's growing into her role as a Thief, 50% Strength growth be damned.



For the hell of it, I let Dorcas kill the boss.



Off to the next chapter.


For some odd reason, you can’t change the classes of this chapter’s new characters until the next chapter. But since I intend to do both Chapter 7 and 7x next update, I think I’ll open the poll now.



(HP: 85%, Str: 5%, Skl: 5%, Spd: 70%, Lck: 80%, Def: 30%, Res: 70%)

Nils is a pure Support character so naturally his Strength and Skill are almost nonexistent. His HP, Speed, Luck, and Resistance are amazing though, and if it weren’t for the set rate he gained experience at he could be a decent magical tank.

I’m not sure if I actually want to change Nils’ class, but it’s up to you guys I guess. If you do decide to change him, I’ll probably have to hack his stats into something usable.



(HP: 55%, Mag: 60%, Skl: 50%, Spd: 40%, Lck: 20%, Def: 10%, Res: 60%)

Lucius is pretty much what you’d expect a magical class to be: good Magic, Skill, and Resistance, average Speed, and horrendous Defense.

Lucius has a major problem: like his life partner, he has a custom sprite. Because of this, any magical class he enters will simply bring up his Monk/Bishop sprite on the battle screen. And if he tries attacking physically, the game will assume a Monk/Bishop is trying to use a physical weapon. And since there are no animations for that, the game simply skips the animation screen entirely.

What I’m trying to say here is that while you can switch Lucius’ class, you won’t see any sprite recolors. Also, in case you forgot, because Lucius is Lucius I’m allowing him to become female classes as well (that would include Swordmasters, Pegasus/Wyvern Knights, Thieves, Troubadours, Clerics, Mages, and Archers)

Turn Lucius into a Mercenary. That way, Raven can turn into a Monk no, a Cleric when he joins later on to complete the pair.

Because I'm ridiculous, I say turn Nils into a Fire Dragon if it's possible.

Also: Broken Dark Magic User Matthew is the best thing ever.

It's possible, but it looks as glitchy as hell.