Fire Emblem Engage offers fans of the franchise a fresh take on a familiar formula. Nevertheless, it still relies on many of the same core concepts.
For example, the weapon triangle is very important. Flying units are extremely vulnerable to archers.
Gold and EXP are in short supply throughout the game, so it’s essential to prioritize Skirmish battles. Players can also donate to different nations to increase the rate of Silver and Gold skirmishes that occur in those areas.
1. Level Up Your Units
In Fire Emblem Engage, units level up after fighting enemies and completing missions. This increases their stats and makes them stronger.
However, players often get a little too trigger-happy when it comes to their strong units, pushing them out front to take the hits only to see them cut down, depriving weaker units of that experience boost. To avoid this, players should consider using promoted units to help out in battle.
Having Micaiah on the team is a great way to do this, since her Great Sacrifice skill is a guaranteed XP source between story battles and Skirmishes. The same goes for a unit like Vander, who is cheap to use and can tank attacks and dish out the damage without reaping minimal EXP.
2. Keep a Mini-Bow in Your Hand
Fire Emblem fans are used to a certain level of granularity when it comes to choosing their units. However, this time around you can’t pick which hero goes where on the battlefield, so it’s important to pay attention to your positioning.
This is especially true when it comes to the weapon triangle. You don’t want to place a flying hero in range of an enemy archer, as they will decimate you in a single turn. Instead, equip your units with the Mini Bow to prevent them from getting one-shotted.
3. Don’t Overspend on Gold
Fire Emblem fans have always been spoiled by a deep library of characters to choose from, but this game also brings new faces and some old favorites back in ways that feel fresh. These additions, such as the spirits of previous heroes that power up your units, show a clear respect for past Fire Emblem titles while adding their own distinctive twist to the gameplay.
One big change from Three Houses is the more linear story and less RPG-like experience. You won’t have the opportunity to respond to questions like Byleth or decide which houses to recruit, but fortunately you’ll still be able to grind money and experience with Skirmishes.
4. Don’t Swap Units Too Soon
There is a lot to consider after each battle or skirmish in Fire Emblem: Engage. From deciding which class to promote your unit into to managing the game’s new Bond Fragments, it can be easy to get overwhelmed.
Healers are far more powerful than in previous Fire Emblem games thanks to their martial arts abilities that can break bows, knives, and tomes. Sending them in first can stagger enemies and open up your other units to mowing them down.
Luckily, for Classic Mode players, permadeath has been removed from training events at The Somniel, so you can continue to level up those low-level units into some of your best warriors by checking back in every couple hours.
5. Don’t Forget About Bond Fragments
In Fire Emblem Engage, you can equip units with Bond Rings that give them a small buff for combat. These can be used on units that are leveling up or trailing behind your main team.
After every battle, skirmish, and major story encounter you will be able to socialize with your teammates and earn some bond fragments. However, players often rush through this process and don’t take the time to explore the battlefield.
Be sure to check out the environment around you after every battle and look for the gold beacons that are scattered about the map. These will reward you with ingredients that can be used to make more powerful weapons. You can also donate to countries at the bulletin board to boost your resource gains from Skirmish battles in their territory, and adopt different animals that provide extra bond fragments.
6. Focus on Skirmishes
Fire Emblem Engage has some of the series’ best mechanics at its disposal. It borrows the turn rewind mechanic from Three Houses and adds more depth to its rock-paper-scissors weapon triangle.
Almost all the game’s ancillary mechanics feel geared towards serving or supplementing this robust combat system. That includes the Somniel, a floating castle where you can retrain units and improve their relationships with one another.
These skirmish battles can be a real challenge, even on Casual Mode. Unless you’re very careful, you can find yourself with a dead unit or two in the blink of an eye.
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Engage
Fire Emblem: Engage is an excellent entry in the long-running franchise that manages to please both new and old fans. It combines many of the things players liked about Three Houses with the series’ classic systems and difficulty.
This time around, you play as Alear, a Divine Dragon that awakens from a 1,000-year sleep to find corrupt enemy forces spread across Elyos. His mission isn’t made any easier by the fact that he has amnesia.
Fortunately, despite its sometimes uneven narrative, Engage excels in its main strength – the tactical combat. The game retains the series’ rock-paper-scissors weapons triangle but adds enough quality-of-life boosts to keep it feeling fresh.