Talk:Arena

GBA RNG and the arena

I've been doing some research on the RNG of "Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade," and I think I've figured out a few things about how the RNG is used to generate enemies in the arena. I assume that the other two GBA games' RNGs operate similarly enough that this information is applicable to them too, hence the title. I post this in the discussion because I believe it's worth looking more deeply into before posting anything about it on the main page.

I have found that when an unpromoted unit uses the arena, 14 random numbers are spent to generate the opponent, and when a promoted unit does, 26 RNs are spent. (My findings indicate that in the latter case, it's a bit more complicated than that: A level 1 promoted unit seems to burn 14 RNs to generate a level 1 enemy, or 26 to generate an enemy of higher level.)

To the best of my knowledge, the first RN generates the enemy's class (although I lack the necessary information to determine which RNs generate which enemy classes for which player classes), and the second RN generates the enemy's level relative to that of your unit. It appears that the game divides the second RN by 11, truncates the remainder, and subtracts 4 to get a random integer between -4 and 4 inclusive; then the game applies this modifier to your unit's level to generate the enemy unit's level.

Presumably, the remaining 12 or 24 random numbers are spent to generate modifiers to the enemy's stats. However, I have not been able to confirm this. Pavielpetrovich (talk) 15:11, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

In the GBA games, if difficulty is not a factor, a generic unpromoted enemy takes 14 RNs to generate its stats, and a promoted one takes 28; The Blazing Blade may skip generating luck, so such enemies would instead use 12 or 24, respectively. This would account for the remaining RNs, but does not seem to account for the enemy's weapon, which I believe can also vary randomly.

It also seems, based on level 1 promoted enemies only using 14 RNs, that the generator knows the stats granted by an enemy's personal level will not vary if they are level 1. Do you know how many RNs are used to generate a level 1 unpromoted enemy? — Thecornerman (talk) 16:56, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

I don't usually deploy units of low enough level to spawn a level 1 unpromoted enemy in the arena, so no, I couldn't say how many RNs that burns. My guess is 2 based on everything else I know. But that's a good thing to check in the earliest possible arena chapters of each game. For example, Trec, Raven, and Joshua are all recruited during or just before an arena chapter, and all are initially low enough level to spawn level 1 unpromoted enemies, if only just.

As for weapons, it looks like the might of the weapon the enemy uses is dependent on your unit's Defense (if the enemy is a physical unit) or Resistance (if the enemy is a caster), not on any RNs. I have noticed that the enemy seems to use heavier weapons and spells when my unit had higher Defense and Resistance. I generally don't send Knights like Oswin into the arena, but I wouldn't be surprised if an enemy Mercenary who would use an Iron Sword against a guy like Guy would instead use a Steel or even a Silver Sword against Oswin. If so, there are probably certain testable thresholds for your unit's Defense and Resistance that cause enemies to start wielding mightier weapons and spells.

Weapon type seems to be locked to class in The Blazing Blade among classes that have multiple weapon skills: I have only ever seen Cavaliers, Paladins, and Heroes wielding swords; Generals, Falcoknights, and Wyvern Lords wielding lances; Warriors wielding axes; and Nomad Troopers wielding bows, despite those classes' ability to wield other weapons. Pavielpetrovich (talk) 20:30, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

Can confirm my prior hypothesis, at least in FE7: It takes 2 RNs to spawn a level 1 unpromoted arena opponent. I tested this in chapter 16xE using a table of random numbers and a table of corresponding arena opponents that I had previously created, so that I knew how to force the arena to spawn a level 1 Myrmidon against a level 5 physical unit; if two additional RNs were burned, a level 1 Fighter would spawn, and if 14 additional RNs were burned, a level 2 Pegasus Knight would spawn. Then I sent a level 5 physical unit into the arena and declined the fight (which burns the same number of RNs as accepting the fight); then I sent him into the arena again and accepted the fight, which was against a level 1 Fighter, confirming that going into the arena the first time burned 2 RNs rather than 14. Pavielpetrovich (talk) 15:10, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

From what I have read above, it seems that arena enemies do not take into account difficulty-induced extra levels (the extra levels on FE6 Hard Mode, FE7 HHM, FE8 Hard), since it takes 2 RN's per stat to generate the value of that stat. For 7 stats (HP, STR/MAG, SKL, SPD, LCK, DEF, RES) a single wave of stat generation would take 14 RNS (12 if no LCK), and we know that the promoted bonus of +9/+19 is generated separately, for an additional 14 RNS and a total of 28 (24 if no LCK). Can someone test the number of RNs burned on FE6/FE8 to confirm this? RNGSOMEONE (talk) 16:52, 12 October 2023 (UTC)