Fire Emblem: Three Houses marked the series’ return to Nintendo consoles for the first time in over a decade. Along with this came a new look to the game that also included a fresh take on the game’s battles. But as with any game in the tactical RPG series, there is a lot more involved than just sending units to one place or the other.
Regardless of how you spend your days in the game, there are a few good nuances to be aware of in order to be an effective tactician in the game. These tips and tactics should help you in fighting your battles more efficiently.
Focus On More Than One Type Of Weapon
They say variety is the spice of life, and that includes having a second weapon for some units. This can lead to some rather unconventional builds, but could still wreck shop for characters you may not normally associate a certain weapon with.
A good example is having Dimitri as a bow knight. Bows may seem like an odd choice given that he is a more physical character. But he also has high dexterity, enabling him to pull off critical hits pretty regularly.
Pay Attention To Stats
There is a lot to do in the game, so forgetting to check on character stats is understandable. Check the roster screen in the menu to view the stats of your characters.
This can indicate what a unit is typically good at and the stats they favor over others. Dorothea, for instance, has better magical prowess. This makes her a good choice for one of the mage classes. Each character’s crest also provides a bonus for that character, so make sure you check that as well.
Strengths And Weaknesses
Also in the character stat sheets are the character’s strengths and weaknesses. What this means is that some classes do better or worse against a certain weapon depending on the character and class.
A good example of this is that bows can deal serious damage to Pegasus knights and wyvern riders, so be sure to keep them away from archers.
Mark Enemies To Reveal Their Potential Routes
Returning from older Fire Emblem games is the ability to highlight where an enemy can move to on the battlefield. This is ideal to keep certain units away from what they are weak to.
Friendly archers should be kept away from opposing melee fighters since most archers can only fight from a range. This means that putting that archer in a spot that exposes them to a melee enemy can instantly spell trouble. Highlighting where a potential threat could go can prevent a situation like this from happening.
All you have to do is hover over the given enemy and press A to see where that enemy could go.
Pay Attention To Weapon Conditions
Returning from Awakening is the weapon durability feature. This means that weapons will eventually degrade and become unusable after using them a certain number of times. Again, there is a lot going so it can be easy to miss at the worst of times.
It is important to buy a new weapon for a unit when one is close to degrading. Be sure to take a trip to the blacksmith to repair your best and most treasured weapons. Standing over certain purple areas will also sometimes improve a weapon’s durability and ensure it can be used more often.
Stand Over Highlighted Spaces Whenever Possible
On certain spots on the map, there are certain highlighted spaces marked by a purple or yellow swirling orb-like light. It is important to go over this since they can help you with a variety of things.
Purple areas will give the player an item of some kind, be that a recovery item or a weapon. Even obtaining a rusted weapon is valuable since it could be made into something greater at the blacksmith. The character that goes over this space will receive this item unless their inventory is full, meaning that it will automatically go to them if that character has space. Otherwise, you will have to send an item to the convoy.
Yellow areas will give the character that lands on it more EXP to level up. It would be good to move a unit that is not used as often over this space to get EXP they are missing out on.
Take Advantage Of The Terrain
Over the course of the game, players will find themselves fighting in a variety of locales with varying terrains, such as a forest or mountain range. This terrain can provide bonuses that can be used to improve things for your party.
An example will be using trees to your advantage, since going into an area with trees will improve that character’s evasion rate of dodging enemy attacks. Another will be a temple area that could potentially recover HP.
It is important to note that enemies can take advantage of this as well so remember that it is not a one-way thing that benefits only you.
Remember Battalions
Battalions are hirable groups that can be assigned to characters. They can fit into a variety of roles (like healing or attacking) in battle. These can be found at the battalion station in the monastery and can also be assigned through the game menu.
Much like with weapons, use of these battalions is limited — so use them only when you feel it is best. They have to be replenished after a battle, so be sure to give them a break after each battle by either removing them from a character or going to the monastery station.
Using this near friendly units will trigger a gambit boost, making the battalions all the more effective.
