Gotta say Holy Sword sucks now

[Locklave]

That start sucked enough when it was a edge 3, now it's edge 1-2.

I get the desire for a criminal start but it seems all downsides now with no upside, Katana type weapons getting nerfed also makes this now lower tier Nodachi suck even more.

Is this meant to be a hard start like Rock bottom? Because Rock bottom is now an easier start with far less long lasting problems then losing an arm.

At war with the Nobles and HN with a 20k bounty for the trade off of a cheesy edge 1-2 Nodachi. That's bad math if it's designed to be a balanced start like son of a Captain. Or is it a hardmode?

edit:
I get it's listed as Hard but it's harder then Rock Bottom which is listed as Very Hard.

[Shidan]

I don't believe its grade has changed, it's not possible to specify a specific quality level for the manufacturer on the character, so it will pick randomly from the ones available, in this case Edge 1-3.

Personally I've thought it was pretty mediocre anyway. Sicne Meitou was added it was always kind of lackluster. Feel like it should have been at least buffed to that point. And maybe lose the huge negative with both factions, but have the big bounty with both. And start in say Bast, which would both put you in the heart of both empires (making it harder to find safety and recruits), and make sense given the description of the start.

[Locklave]

Didn't know the rank was random, I must have had some crazy luck with that in the past.

What you are describing sounds like a hell of alot of fun in a start condition, trying to avoid 2 fighting armies, get someplace neutral and maybe think of clearing your bounty, while dealing with normal survival like food and not getting eaten by dogs lol.

A better sword as the payoff would also make such a challenge worth the work.