Weltall

Found it:

You did do the necessary thing to render him beatable period, right? Because there is a trick to it. Falcom actually did slip a little animation in the new engine into Hajimari, in a single short scene intended as a tease for what's coming next and while it's short it did look really good in motion. Hence we know it works on the PS4 and that (per Kondo's comments) is probably what Kuro will be developed for, with the option to run it on the PS5 coming later. Just as Falcom's graphics tend to be, like, a tertiary concern for them, they tend to not jump consoles for a year or two. My guess is that if the Calvard arc stays to two games as planned, we won't see a Trails game developed specifically for the PS5 until afterwards. We'll see though, my rule on consoles is to either wait for several must-have games or the first exclusive Falcom release. My guess is the former will happen before the latter, though in the PS3 era it actually went the other way around. xD And yeah, these games have an average turnaround time of two years and Hajimari should be no exception since it's a big game. It's an 'in-between' title that wraps up some plot threads from Crossbell and Erebonia (especially the former), has some further plot threads trailing from the Sky games and also sets up a bunch of stuff for Calvard. Kondo has indicated that they may do additional single games between other arcs in the future. By the same token, Kuro no Kiseki (the first Calvard game) will probably see an English release somewhere in late 2023 since it's coming out later this year. There's no particular reason to think it's going to be notably different in script size than prior games so there's no reason to assume that turnaround time will change. Obviously we'll have a better idea once it's out but two years is a safe bet.

Continuing the fun little factoids from prior games that relate to this character: And yes, that scene with the cutscene battle was rocking in general and served as a really nice indication of how much better Falcom has gotten with doing animations in the CS engine. Contrast with the Laura/Fie fight in Heimdallr in CS1 to see just how far they've come. Then there's some scenes in the next two games that are even better...

Yeah, SC has a very long Finale, probably the second-longest in the series after Trails to Azure. You'll note that I didn't say that, I said that a lot of the development from the earlier games is glossed over.

I assume you meant The 3rd? <gets popcorn> Just as a heads-up, since CS3 is, well, the third game in the arc, you're going to hit the ground running because the narrative assumes you're familiar with a lot of details from the first two games and will merrily give away plot points from them that were originally big reveals. Since one of the major characters (Juna) is not a native Erebonian she kind of helps because she's the one to ask questions or need stuff explained to her (and does the same for everyone else when the plot involves her homeland of Crossbell) but there's still gonna be a lot that gets glossed over. So if you're confused on any point, that's probably going to be why. Feel free to ask questions if you want clarification on stuff.

Yeah, I'm in favor of Brandon retconning it out (like he's stated he wants to) should he release a rewritten version of the novel in the future. I mean, he's already kind of retconned it once... The way it's implied to work in the prose version (where it does briefly appear) is that it offers a net gain in hydration, so either it doesn't deplete the water in the user's body at all or the net gain from the sand-transformed water outweighs the depletion. That's what's broken about it, since the Invested sand can be found everywhere meaning that even the depletion of the sand itself isn't really a huge limiting factor.

In addition to using qualifies like &/+ to narrow down results (for example, 'Shard Intent' gives 1277 results while 'Shard+Intent gives 83) you can also use the Tags to try and focus things even further. Those won't always help since not every WoB is tagged with every relevant option but they can really cut down on the results if you're got something very specific you're trying to find, and if you still don't find what you want you can drop the tag(s) and try again.

Hogs and minks are identical to the species we have on Earth:

As mentioned, Shardblade can be used as a generic term for any heavily-Invested sword in the Cosmere. Despite being made using a completely different magic system, Nightblood is considered a Shardblade. To add to what was already said, we know that in the past the Heralds had direct access to Honor's Investiture, which means that despite the shallower bond (and reduced healing ability most of the Heralds had to live with as a result) they had access to raw power that no Radiant can match. They also don't have the limitation of Nahel-granted surgebinding imposed on them by the ideals, which could be situationally advantageous. Lastly there's just the whole mystique of 'These are holy swords made from the very body of our God' that Kalak might have had in mind.

Second games in an arc generally have much faster pacing, since the bulk of the setting and character-establishing gets done in the first game so the next can hit the ground running. Or at least jogging somewhat briskly. And yeah, seconding the whole 'Read Brandon!' thing. Not for nothing do I like to tell people who I know enjoy Trails to check out the Cosmere and vice-versa, since they have some distinct similarities in worldbuilding and the deeper you get into both, the more fun they are to discuss and do crazy theorycrafting with. And hey, a few of Brandon's books have Japanese translations and Falcom clearly has fans of western fantasy literature on the staff so who knows, one day maybe we'll see a nod to the Cosmere somewhere in Zemuria like we've already got many nods to Tolkien and some to Le Guin, Eddings and Zelazny, xD

You don't have to worry about permanently missing any fish because everything will show up at one or another of the endgame fishing locations. And yes, I prefer the CS3/4 fishing minigame myself (and next the Sky/Crossbell one) to the CS1/2 system, but I think the most fun fishing minigame Falcom has done so far is the one in Ys VIII.

Don't give him ideas, Kelsier does so like the idea of punching gods in the face...

That was a fun analysis and some good food for thought! Marsh: I did die once, but the God Beyond works in mysterious ways. Which would also explain you.

The only real advantage an Honorblade gives is that the lack of oaths might be an asset under certain circumstances. However, the general advantages that even a lower-Ideal Radiant has makes it pretty lopsided in their favor. As mentioned, we see Kaladin heal Shardblade wounds at the Second Ideal and the flexibility of a living Shardblade makes them much more effective weapons than the Honorblades that are locked into a single (generally oversized) form. Also, a Fifth Ideal Radiant (except the Bondsmiths) is going to have access to Shardplate and the ability to use their surgebinding while wearing it, meaning they're much better protected than an Honorblade-user, for whom Shardplate and surgebinding are mutually exclusive.

Welcome to the Shard! One little problem here: The Investiture that makes up Devotion and Dominion isn't located in the Spiritual Realm, it's been stuffed into the location-dependant Cognitive Realm. This is the reason Selish magic is region-locked and why the planet is so dangerous to travel to. Opening up a Perpendicularity affects all three realms but the Physical and Cognitive components of it are limited to the area right around Dalinar, meaning there's no way for him to be accessing any D&D Investiture. Brandon has said that we shouldn't take that sort of thing too literally and that people can exhibit traits associated with a Shard's intent without having any connection to that Shard: The WoB that people have used to argue that Autonomy was involved with the killing of D&D is so vaguely worded that it doesn't actually tell us anything significant. Bavadin could have told Odium 'Hey, I hear Aona and Skai have set up shop on Sel' but had no direct role in what followed and it would fit the bill. She could have been taking the Shardic equivalent of a stroll, bumped into Odium and by sheer chance that led to him turning left at Albuquerque the Nexus of Transition instead of right and so he found his way to Sel slightly earlier than he would have otherwise and that would fit the bill too.

I think that was the point. On the main topic, we know that different Orders have different numbers of members and the spren and Radiant pair have to reach a certain depth of their bond before breaking the oaths results in a dead Shardblade. It's possible some number of spren 'killed' by the broken oaths were like Syl in Words of Radiance and didn't leave a corpse behind in the Physical Realm. Between the total number of Radiants possibly being comfortably under ten thousand (remember that Windrunners also have more squires than other Radiants) and the total number of Shards lying around out there probably isn't quite so large. That said, I am on board with the idea that one or more groups on Roshar has a hidden stockpile of dead Shardblades, as well as some number of them simply being lost over the years.

Yeah, I know that. It's going to be a couple of years though, hence 'killer wait'.

Brandon wrote a really interesting essay on his writing history up to getting published, with some thoughts on the merits and demerits of the various phases of his early career if that's something you're interested in. It includes some thoughts on Mistborn/Final Empire Prime and where they fall in his estimation of his unpublished works. A big reason that he's able to get the older works out now is that he's got a sizeable fanbase that's willing to read them despite being unpublishable as-is. I'm glad he does it because it's really fascinating to see his growth as a writer and to follow the thread of an idea that might have worked its way through two or three books before finally being published. Kaladin for example grew out of a WoK Prime character, but with input from the protagonist of the unfinished Mythwalker and Dragonsteel Prime. I've tried my hand at some short fiction and being able to look at Brandon's development over time has really helped me think about how to approach characters, for example. Oh, the fact that we're also getting to the point where enough has either been revealed or has sufficiently changed that the material no longer spoils anything important that Brandon still plans to write is also a pretty big factor in why we're getting the 'Sanderson Curiosities' now. Though the wait for Dragonsteel Prime is gonna be killer and who knows where Final Empire Prime is going to fall on the release list... I was at a signing once when he was asked a question and mentioned having a personal wiki where he and his assistants keep track of all his ideas. I'd give serious consideration to sacrificing a kidney for a look at that. xD

Yes, and if you've ever gotten a RAFO card out of him (or just seen a picture of one) it says right on there that he sometimes does it just to mess with us and that he's enjoying it. xD

@Briar King @aneonfoxtribute Yeah, Kuro no Kiseki has been confirmed to take place after all the existing games. We don't know exactly when Kuro begins but we know it takes place in S.1208 which means that at minimum it begins nine months after the ending of Hajimari, which is currently the farthest game in the timeline. It's called obfuscation, people do this all the time when they don't want to give real information away and they derive as much enjoyment from making us jump to conclusions as anything else. You're on a fansite for an author who takes a downright perverse glee in sometimes giving us a RAFO answer for the sole purpose of keeping us guessing. See 'the man calling himself Taln' but for one prominent example.

First off, welcome to the Shard! Soulcasting requires knowing about what you're trying to create and Rosharan metallurgical knowledge isn't actually that advanced, which is why it's rare. You're making a pretty huge leap from 'aluminum can be soulcast' to 'It's not the metal Hoid provided and he somehow managed to find enough lerasium to make sheets of it'. Consider for a moment that the sum total of lerasium known to have ever existed is (maybe) sixteen small beads, most of which were used over a thousand years ago... and godmetals do not have the Investiture-sink properties that aluminum does. Investiture may behave oddly around them but the properties of the metal sheets are exactly what we know aluminum can do and unlike the Investiture-resistance we see around godmetals. Also, Kaladin knows what tanavastium looks like because he's held an Honorblade and living Shardblades are an alloy of it and Cultivation's godmetal. He doesn't recognize what's on the walls, ergo it's neither of those. First, that is not how godmetals work. The intent of a Shard influences how you get access to magic but it doesn't really affect what you can do with the magic and it doesn't have any obvious impact on what the godmetals do outside the specific system(s) of Investiture they normally interact with. A dead Shardblade doesn't really have any necessary connection to acting with honor, you can shank someone with a piece of lerasium and you can engage in compounding hacks to preserve yourself with atium. Second, while it is hypothetically possible to get lerasium and atium out of harmonium it's not a simple process and accepting your idea as correct for purposes of argument it would be an equally fantastic waste of harmonium when, again, aluminum is already known to do exactly what we see those metal sheets accomplish.

Lots, actually. xD (minor musical spoilers, I guess?)

In relation to said spoiler, that's the first time the Super Arrange Version of the song actually plays in-game (before that it only appeared on one of the drama cds) and they picked a very good moment for its big game debut. So yeah, watch out when looking for videos now because ZOMG spoilers, and you might want to be careful about anything on the Sen no Kiseki/Cold Steel I SAV album as well, because a lot of those songs get used in the back half of the arc in important scenes. Falcom Music Channel is definitely the place to go for music, as they use the album covers for their selection. Just avoid any playlists marked as being BGM/Game-rips to be safe. Oh yeah, I'm now splitting my time between loving the localization of Ys IX and playing around with the Sorcerian Switch port.

Just for reference, I got to ask Brandon about this at a signing once and while I didn't record the audio and thus don't have the exact words he used, he was quite specific that there's a point at which Breaths stop degrading in a measurable way. It sounds similar to (but less extreme than) the principle of hemalurgic decay, where there's a minimum level of charge that will always exist in a spike or a fragment thereof. There's a very old WoB from the Timewaster's Guide that suggests otherwise, but it was framed as something Brandon might do in response to a comment and he doesn't seem to have actually canonized it. It's also possible there's a difference between 'Breath in a living being' and 'Breath in an Awakened object' that we simply haven't gotten details on yet, though Brandon didn't contradict a question implying that perpetual motion via Awakening might be possible so... that one's up in the air.

Ummm, not really? Both are just Investiture being used in different ways and you're forgetting that allomancy and feruchemy work differently. We know that a Nalthian has more Investiture naturally than a baseline human thanks to their inborn Breath but they're not especially more resistant to Investiture than baseline, while a full metalmind could be used to block a Shardblade.