Management?

[⚔TonkRogerio⚔]

I've owned this game and it's dlc for some time now and I'm thinking about starting my first playthrough but I'm curious about a few things. Does this game have any sort of management like in x-com or in ff tactics advanced where you obtain a large amount of characters and then decide which ones to use based on the quest you get or is it just a smaller cast of characters that you usually always take on every mission?
In the DLC you get to collect monsters if I'm not mistaking but does that mean you can now also use those monsters in your missions or does it mean you get new different unique "monster" missions to use the monsters? because if the base game is less ffta and more traditional one team focus then why would I want to miss out on xp for my tam to use monsters?

[Conan The Librarian]

To answer as succinctly as I can:

1. I highly recommend playing with the DLC, as it enhances the game on the whole.

2. How many characters you use is up to you, and highly dependent on how many characters you feel like rotating their use of in battles. To be clear, monsters are a normal part of your roster, just like humans are.

3. The DLC adds send-away missions of a similar nature to FFT-A.

4. I'm not entirely understanding what you're asking about monsters -- basically, they're a new unit type, with their own mix-n-match class system like humanoids. Very cool, flexible, and quite worth using.

For resources, I'd recommend these:

1. The wiki's description of the DLC: https://fellseal.fandom.com/wiki/Missions_and_Monsters

2. The pinned DLC FAQ post:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/699170/discussions/0/2524779067040346209/

[⚔TonkRogerio⚔]

My question was primarily about how the game gets you to use different characters if there even is a huge roster of characters to use. For example:-

Shining force/fire Emblem-----------------------
Large but limited selection of heroes. They're always the same, missions are structured into a narrative and each mission is always a step in that narrative.

FFTA1/FFTA2-------------------------------------
Large selection of characters. Some characters are randomly generated, some are unique. Missions follow a narrative although many missions are not related to the narrative. No randomly generated missions if I remember correctly.

X-Com + Long war mod/our adventure guild----
Lareg selection of heroes. almost all heroes are randomly generated. Missions are randomly generated with minor story driven missions doted for plot progression.

So if the game is like Shining force, I don't really see the reason to have a lot of monsters to use in missions instead of gaining xp for your main cast. Do you get what I'm asking?

[Conan The Librarian]

Gotcha then.

Base game content has an average battle size of 6 (plus or minus depending), with one of the DLC's main features being extra content with "large battles" in which you can deploy more than before.

To be as light on spoilers as possible, I won't give full detail, but ask if you indeed want more info, regardless of spoilers.

Fell Seal has a handful of named story heroes, which are sometimes automatically deployed on certain missions.

All non-story heroes are generic heroes who you customize how you like, and are not directly involved in narrative.

The game's format is a linear adventure, with opportunity for various side-things and repeatable encounters (with various secrets to find).

Reasons to have a "larger" crew would be:

1. Flexibility for send-away missions

2. Flexibility for who to use in battle

3. Backups for characters who get injuries

For myself, I tend to hover "around 12" characters so I have a nice core of heroes, but not too many to easily manage. Granted, I've heard from plenty of other players that they like a LARGE roster -- so, it's all to individual taste there.

To summarize on types of units:

Story heroes who spoiler have a singular unique class each

Generic humans who spoiler have access to a small extra pool of unique classes which story heroes cannot use

Monster units who have access to their completely own class system, differing from the humans.

One specific story hero who spoiler akin to a blue mage, so he utilizes base monster classes, but does NOT have access to the DLC monster variant-class system

With this being the case, I like to utilize a mixture of all the categories, to have a wider variety of options on "what kinds of units and powers I'm bringing to the battlefield".

[⚔TonkRogerio⚔]

Right I just tried the first battle and saw a few reviews. This game is basically an indie dev's attempt at ffta. that's really cool. The graphics are really nice.
Does the game use the same skill learning mechanic from items as ffta games? that's like one of my favourite systems ever.

thanks for helping me with my questions.

[Conan The Librarian]

The game's main inspirations are FFT (classic) and Tactics Ogre. Indeed, it is true that the DLC's send-away-missions are akin to FFT-A, but those were added in later, mainly due to playerbase feedback that they enjoyed that aspect of FFT-A, so 6 Eyes went "sure that sounds fun".

For the game's systems, I would recommend my guide below, as it explains how things works (with minimal spoilers as possible):

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1488578363

Skill learning is more akin to FFT classic, where you get AP (Ability Points, basically like JP) in classes and learn abilities on that class' individual skilltree. It does not utilize FFT-A's system of "equipment grants the ability to learn skills.

[⚔TonkRogerio⚔]

That's ok I guess. skill trees are fun too.

[chris.ferrantegerard]

Originally posted by ⚔TonkRogerio⚔:

Does this game have any sort of management like in x-com or in ff tactics advanced where you obtain a large amount of characters and then decide which ones to use based on the quest you get or is it just a smaller cast of characters that you usually always take on every mission?

Each level you can bring a small pool from your roster (think it's about ~5-6 on average or so). Your roster can contain up to 75 characters, consisting of a number of story NPCs, generic allies bought in towns and tamed monsters. Some levels will have some spots reserved for story chars, otherwise it's up to you how you want to use them. Generally you can roll with a small core group throughout the game (played on Veteran) but some missions may be easier with particular combos.

In the DLC you get to collect monsters if I'm not mistaking but does that mean you can now also use those monsters in your missions or does it mean you get new different unique "monster" missions to use the monsters?

Monsters take up spots on your normal roster and can be used in regular battles alongside your normal NPCs. Each monster has it's own unique class tree and can access other variants to combo with. Some of them are fun through I mainly stuck to the regular NPCs.

The DLC is quite a good pickup, I'd suggest getting it. It also has some activities you can send your spare NPCs off on to get extra exp, gold, rewards, etc. Good way to manage a larger roster.

[⚔TonkRogerio⚔]

I got the dlc when it came out or shortly after. The game has just been in my library for a while. that dreaded never-ending backlog, you know.