Still Edelgard stuff here? Let me tell you this one thing and then maybe the whole discussion can end:
If you think Edelgard is the bad guy in Three Houses, you only played one route and/or completely missed the whole point of the game.
All factions are evil, the only time when they're not evil is when Byleth decides to stay at their side. Dimitri is a maniacal mass-murderer without Byleth, Claude is a backstabbing traitor and coward without Byleth, Rhea is just as crazy as the Slitherers without Byleth.
Also, with or without Edelgard, there would have been war no matter what. The Slitherers didn't just force the Empire to do stuff, they also had their agents in the other factions.
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On topic, good to see that gauntlets are back and not genderlocked this time. It made no sense in Three Houses, heck, Rhea even has an talent affinity for gauntlet weapons!