"MISS!"
Miyazaki saw the bandit's axe barely graz his cavalryman Lance before Lance nimbly dodged it, and couldn't help but clench his fist and swing it.
"Well done, Lance! Defeat them!"
After one round, Miyazaki had a pretty good grasp of the performance differences between the different unit types.
Although the heavy armored soldier Bors can only move a very short distance each turn, he only loses 1 HP after taking a hit from his opponent's axe.
It's too meaty!
"Walter the Wolt's attack range is two squares, but he can't counterattack within four squares around him. I should use Bors or Lance to protect him."
In those fantasy stories, archers always symbolize powerful offensive capabilities.
Miyazaki was well-versed in various classic texts, so he naturally understood this perfectly.
He moved Wolt directly behind Lance, where a narrow pass, about one block wide, was carved out by the cliff.
As long as Wolt stays in this position, his opponents will have no way to harm him in close combat.
Wolt could also turn the tables and Support Lance in front, directly bypassing Lance to attack the bandits.
This feeling of being in complete control made Miyazaki tremble with exhilaration.
The only problem might be that the protagonist, Roy, appears somewhat weaker among all the units.
Although his weapon is a unique Western sword, his combat performance is nothing like the fearless, indomitable spirit expected of a protagonist.
On the contrary, during the enemy's turn, he was attacked by two bandits and left with only 4 HP, in a precarious situation.
Honestly, it's a bit of a letdown.
"I don't know if it's just my perception, but it seems like the more senior someone is, the more combat-effective they are?"
Miyazaki looked at the only paladin in the group, " Marcus ".
His character design clearly shows him to be an older man, a stark contrast to the other younger characters.
However, Marcus's attributes are the most outrageous of all the units present.
With a whopping 32 HP, it's worth noting that even the heavily armored soldier, Bors, only has 20 HP.
Not to mention its exaggerated maneuverability.
"It feels like Marcus is more like a protagonist template; he's practically a one-man army."
Miyazaki maneuvered Marcus directly through the enemy ranks, circling behind a bandit archer.
"I told you he's the main character, what's with the silver spear?"
Marcus's weapon configuration is quite different from the others.
Although the silver spear only has 20 uses listed, half as many as other weapons, its power of 20 and the flashing 2 symbol gave Miyazaki no reason not to use it.
How could an archer with only 18 HP possibly withstand this shot? He was pierced right through and instantly died, becoming an experience pack.
"Gaining experience allows him to level up—this seems like it would allow Marcus to kill as many enemies as possible and develop the strongest unit."
m
"Hey Lin, why did you design the character 'Marcus '? He's way too overmodel-worthy."
Sam watched the television screen as the bandits charged straight at Marcus, iron axes in hand.
It's important to know that there are effective countermeasures between using an axe and a gun.
But even under these circumstances, Marcus completely missed this fierce attack and retaliated with his gun.
With just a single counterattack thrust, he reduced the fully healed bandit to a mere 1 point of health.
Sam's lips twitched slightly.
Whose turn is this anyway?
"Aren't we playing a strategy game? Marcus's strength is too high; wouldn't that reduce the importance of strategy?"
In the current situation, there's not much to consider. Just make sure the protagonist doesn't die and let Marcus kill all the enemies.
"Oh~"
Sam suddenly let out a drawn-out "Oh," and a knowing look appeared on his face. "I get it. This is newbie protection, so that even players who aren't skilled enough can enjoy the game, right?"
What are you mumbling about?
Lin Lixin stopped writing the program.
Ever since Sam started the game, he hasn't stopped talking.
He finally found a quiet day and decided to do something; his mind was racing.
" Marcus? Oh, that's a trap. I advise you not to rely on him too much."
"What's a trap? Will he betray us?"
"No, that's not it."
Lin Lixin shook his head, reached into the pile of documents and pulled out a table of personnel, "Because of growth rate."
Character development is a separate main gameplay element from combat, but its design is not as simple and easy to understand as combat.
Many attributes are not displayed on the interface but are hidden, and can only be noticed through careful observation and calculation.
He glanced at the bandit on the screen, who had been reduced to a single drop of health by Marcus.
This is a little tip that he specifically adjusted.
"Silly kid, this 1 point of blood is saved for other characters to finish off and gain experience."
He showed the form to Sam.
[Character]: [ Marcus ]
[Growth Rate]
[HP]: 60%
[Strength]: 25%
[Technology]: 20%
[Speed]: 25%
[Lucky]: 20%
[Defense]: 15%
[Magic Defense]:20%
"Well, although he was much stronger than the others when he first appeared, his potential for growth has basically reached its limit."
Sam glanced at the table, then at Marcus, whose upgrade had only increased his maximum health by 1 point, and his expression suddenly fell.
"You're so mean----"
"Give young people more opportunities," Lin Lixin chuckled. "That's called delayed gratification. Investing in the future versus serving the present—don't you think that's a very interesting part of the strategy?"
The starting escort paladins are definitely a classic symbol of the Fire Emblem IP.
This kind of design already existed in the very first Fire Emblem: Diablo and the Blade of Light.
Even in Fire Emblem: Union on the Switch, the starting Paladin Vander, was still retained.
Similarly, they always have extremely high initial attributes, but their growth rate is the lowest.
They are nannies, training wheels, and tutorials, but they are also a seemingly sweet trap.
In the early days when storage space was extremely valuable, there was not a single superfluous detail in a great work.
His existence serves as a buffer to lower the barrier to entry for newcomers, and is also part of a beginner's tutorial that teaches players how to allocate experience and resources.
Given a level cap, a character's potential for growth directly determines their maximum potential.
Judging from this table, Marcus's growth rate is definitely among the lowest of all the characters.
Sam pulled Marcus aside and replaced him with two young knights, Lance and Alan, to charge forward.
Not pointing out something so important is just asking for trouble!
If someone actually falls for this trick and trains this old guy with extremely low growth potential into a main character, they'll probably suffer in the increasingly difficult levels that follow.