I wish I joined this forum when it still had the original book 2 demo up. I understand the gist of it but would’ve been neat to read it myself.
That being said, Tahlia is a baddie and I need to re-read book 1 to remember why we aren’t really supposed to gel with her lmao. I miss Ilya and eagerly anticipate the angst of the reunion which will hopefully be in this book.
Peak.
Well then either the Mage does nothing and leaves them alone (which is still a win because that means Param doesn’t get the Mage back on their side either), or the Mage joins Param again, which they would’ve tried to do anyways so it’s no great loss.
Simply put, some players will be upset with Arcadia for what happened, some players won’t. I didn’t hold it against them, but if you do, then that’s what your character would.
Well I think you’re completely forgetting the concept of ‘self-defense’, but that aside, it’s extremely likely that if the Mage was openly hostile or tried to kill her, Thalia would have plans to stop them just in case.
There’s no way they’ve trusted the Mage with all of Arcadia’s secrets already since they just got there relatively recently; again, there’s definitely room for them to reasonably doubt the Mage, and a full year of observing them is more than enough time to determine if they’re an ally or not.
That one I’ll agree with you on, it’s more grounded (pun) to have a regular city, but a flying island is cooler.
That’s boldly assuming that Thalia doesn’t have other plans to aid Arcadia and that the Mage is her only option, which…no, they’re not, the Mage would just be a massive boon, but she’s likely preparing for the possibility that the mage isn’t on their side (whether the Mage joins Param or stays neutral). For all we know, the resurrection spell had a secret brainwashing spell attached to it, and the Mage will be a sleeper agent if they join Arcadia. You’re making assumptions on Thalia’s plan being bad based on very limited information as to the full extent of that plan.
This is where I heavily disagree; if you think the new version doesn’t give the Mage or the player incentive to side with Arcadia, then the old version definitely doesn’t since the Mage was explicitly forced in that version. Which likely ticks off a lot of players even if they weren’t initially going to side with Param. I think a lot of players were going to turn on Arcadia strictly because they were enslaved, even if they hated Param.
Gonna be a real awkward conversation, especially if you romance someone else in the meantime. I cannot wait for the drama 
The drama will be amazingly peak for certain and I’m mentally chuckling in anticipation since my second MC romanced Ilya and is now romancing Yusuha.
Literally all the current version needs is to give the PC more chances to not like the situation they’re in and maybe tweak the softness a bit because it does feel excessive, but that’s small stuff that can be tinkered around the edges, the fundamental structure of the thing as it is is much, much better than what we had before.
I can already see the fighting between Eli and Leon over the MC. Even if you don’t romance Eli after Leon in book 1 I doubt they’ll let blondie get anywhere near the mage again.
I disagree on that. The prologue in the new version is so long and boring and try way to hard to force me to side with Arcadia. There’s no more tension since they all accept you in open arms, the festival is such a bore and the first battle is underwhelming. They even neutered Falco in the asshole department. I miss when we could exchange insults and snark at each others. Now he’s way too meek. Add that to the fact that you can never say anything negatively about Arcadia in their face nor think negatively and I was like «can we get to rescuing Eli already. I don’t care about how great and amazing Arcadia is.» I prefered learning about Arcadia gradually as I spent time among them instead of having all that exposition dumped on me in the very first chapter. It didn’t endeared them to me. It make me dislike them more because I was force to like them unlike the previous version when we learn gradually trough the story and are allowed to forge our own opinions with a narration that actually reflected the player choice. I try to like the new version but so far, I am disappointed.
The old version, conversely, does not make them come off as particularly sympathetic. They very much act like a terrorist cartel, forced you to work for them or else, show little that allow you to sympathize with them, an additionally, the plot just moves too fast and the pacing is off. And I will keep pointing out that your opinion relies entirely on Arcadia actually being as soft and yielding as they publicly seemed to be, but if the characterizations are the same as the last version, that’s not gonna happen. You have nowhere to go and you’re healing and you need someone to bunk down and rest for a while anyway, so all you get our carrots, but the sticks will come out eventually when you begin taking chances to resist
That’s still no reason our character have to be passive. And I personally found them more interesting before even without sympathizing with them. I saw them as revolutionaries whose cause was noble but were ready to commit horrible acts in its name. Which is a more realistic take to armed Revolutions in history. Revolution are not as romantic as Hollywood made it seem. Many Revolution end with war crimes and bloodshed. It personally made much more sense that Talia used Mireil to strike a blow against Param which would have killed two bird whit one stone (the church and the royal family) than the new version where she just carelessly left her do what she wanted. The previous one was a genius move where Mireil would be the only one to take the fall if it fail while the new one make Talia look like a fool. The previous one felt like a dangerous woman to make enemy with. And like I said, our character should be allowed to reject her apology or side with those criticizing Arcadian like the guy at the tavern or the skeptic in the hall of memory. The story treat them both as in the wrong while I personally thought they raise valid point but the game only allow the players to either defend Arcadia or staying silent and not getting involved in the discussion. And unlike the previous version, the choices stay the same regardless the player stance on Arcadia and the church of Isha. Why can’t we question the veracity of the hall of memory? Why can we stand up for a man who is gang up simply for stating his opinion about the church activities? Why can I actually stand up for fair trial instead of meekly bowing down? That’s what frustrates me to no end. It’s like the personality stat no longer matter anymore.
Why do you think she wasn’t used Mireil that way? Because she told you that, and obviously she wouldn’t lie to someone whose cooperation she wants?
She wants you to see her and her cause in the best possible light. It’s much more advantageous for her to have you working for her voluntarily than to have to drag you around on a leash and make sure you don’t get out of it.
And while you’re flapping your ears, and nobly working off your debt for your resurrection by helping the poor downtrodden Arcadians, who are in no way to blame for anything happened with you, you’ll either get really involved or get thoroughly smeared in their affairs.
Besides, just because you’re being shown exclusively the carrot under your nose, and from the most advantageous angle, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a second carrot behind you. Technically, if, as you asked, MC were to spit in her face and walk home with all the information they’re gathered, all she’d have to do is cancel MC’s magical life support and start the ritual again to restore Mireil.
So no, this version of Tahlia is no more kind, and perhaps even smarter than the last one.
As for the lack of opportunity to be suspicious of this situation and/or to dislike the Arcadians, I completely agree. I also miss this opportunity. Unfortunately, it seems that adding this opportunity at this stage would greatly complicate the story.
The latter actually happened in the old demo and I have no doubt it will happen again. Most likely in the exact same way too.
Would not put it past even this version of Tahlia from sending people out to implicate the MC in some awful deeds without said MC’s knowledge.
Just played through the first game and the demo for the second, and dear gods I need more of this series. The first game is so heartwrenching, especially the ending! And what we have of the second is shaping up to be just as amazingly written and immersive, I love all the characters and I can’t wait to finally encounter those from the original game!
That said, I really, really hope we get a chance to call out Ante over their role in our death. I mean, even basically begging them to step aside and offering for them to oversee us undoing the magic on the saintess wasn’t enough and their interference cost any chance of saving her, plus it led to our execution. So yeah, hoping for a confrontation with them in the future!
I definitely want Ante dead. I’d be very, very disappointed if we don’t get the chance to kill that so-called spymaster in revenge.
More than killing Ante, I want her to suffer. 
Death is too peaceful an end for her.
Funny thing? My mage would’ve forgiven Ante since the situation was somewhat suspect when you look at it with limited information. Unfortunately, that mage died due to smoke inhalation and third degree burns. Yep, not much left of that bleeding heart at all; instead what’s left is the cold and ruthless person he was before meeting his friends. Needless to say Ante will be the first person to find out why that was a very bad outcome.
Maybe we roast Ante alive in front of Leon to highlight the cost of loyalty and demonstrate the consequences of betrayal? Anyone else up for an Ante BBQ?
Same, I’m a very forgiving person and tend to see the good in people, but in that moment I really hated them. I get it’s a weird thing you were trying to do, but if they just cut you a little slack on that moment everything would have been different, I feel you earned that by pretty much winning the kingdom back for them.
This is pretty much what My second mage is, though he wasn’t cold or ruthless before he met the old crew. He’s gonna be an interesting playthrough.
My main mage is trying to suppress her old nature though it does still resurface from time to time.
But why wouldn’t she resurrect Mireil in the first place instead for risking all on a mage who’s loyalty isn’t guaranteed. In the previous version, she initially try to resurrect Mirel in the previous version but ended up reviving the mage by mistake and had to alter their plan (according to Falco). If the spell had such a cost to Talia to the point she won’t be able to join her army on the field, why in the new version would she deliberately summon a mage she know nothing about whose loyalty isn’t guaranteed instead of an already loyal underling she personally trained? Why not bring a already loyal mage who already prove herself by turning Arcadia enemies against each other and by successfully taking out king Jullian instead of a mage that could potentially turn against her when she has so much to lose. We already see that she lack the manpower to properly defend her city from a small raid without civilian casualties during the festival. If the city was attacked by an actual army, it would have been flatten. In the previous version, her floating fortress protected her and her force from her foes but she doesn’t have that luxury in this version. I just find no justification in deliberately resurrecting the mage over her loyal student Mireil from Talia perspective.
My mage hold no resentment because he knew that with no way to explain thank to the curse. By murdering the saintess, he knew he would be seen as the vilain. In order to protect Param and those he love and prevent another potential war, he gladly took the fall and only blamed Mireille for putting him in this situation where there was way out.