Fire Emblem Engage is finally here, and needless to say, it’s a pretty solid entry in the long-running franchise. You take on the role of Alear, the Divine Dragon, and it is up to you to find some mates and take on the dastardly Fell Dragon. It’s all very light-hearted, although the game doesn’t shy away from tear-jerkers from time to time.
All of that aside, Fire Emblem Engage is a Fire Emblem game through and through. However, if you are expecting Three Houses, 2, you are going to be a little bit disappointed. Engage takes more than a few nods from classic entries in the series, elevating combat to the primary focus. Let’s dig in with some beginner tips to get you accustomed.
More Fire Emblem Engage content:
Game Balance | Launch Trailer | Expansion Pass
Explore The Somniel
Your base of operations in Fire Emblem Engage is the Somniel. This place has functionally been your bed for the last 1000 years, but it also functions as a great place to visit to gather resources, unwind, and tart up your gear. The Somniel is THE place to be, and the game wants you to go back here after every battle.
This might sound tedious, and trust us, it is. However, there is a lot to be gained from exploring. The more you play, the more areas open up, and the more you can do. Getting into the routine of going into the Arena to level up, polishing your Emblem Rings, and eating a well-cooked meal will all help you on your journey.
Plenty Of Side Activities
Outside of the Somniel, there’s plenty of extra content for you to engage (pun intended) with. The most interesting are Paralogues. These are, in short, side stories that you can take on that will reward Alear with new party members, powerful items, and funds. Every character in Engage is unique, so having access to more of them is always a good thing.
Besides that, you also have Skirmishes, which are simply battles. These battles are more difficult than your standard encounter, but they do provide some very nice rewards – namely EXP. I often found my party being a couple of levels below the challenge level of any given Skirmish, but they were always doable, and the resulting powerup was much appreciated.
Visit Sommie Often
Once you have completed a couple of missions, you can find Sommie at the Somniel. Sommie is a strange-looking cat that doubles as a Guardian Spirit for the Somniel. What does this mean in practice? Well, it means you can dress the little weirdo up, give it food, and even give it a good petting.
Most of these things will increase your relationship with Sommie, and this leads to a few interesting things – none of which we are going to spoil. We will say, however, that Sommie is a very reliable source of Bond Fragments as this thing quite literally poops them out whenever you interact with it.
Develop Relationships
Relationships have been a big deal in Fire Emblem for a long time now. This is one of the better additions to the series and helps flesh out your characters between battles. It also has the added benefit of increasing their efficacy in combat too.
Relationships can be built up and developed in a myriad of ways, but the easiest is to just spend time with them. Whilst at the Somniel, train with them in the Arena or have dinner with them. Heck, in battle, fight alongside them. Not only that, but characters will gain relationships with other characters – not just Alear. With enough investment, you can have a tightly knit team who are going to take on the world.
Battle Animations
The animations in Engage are gorgeous. Taking clear inspiration from the snappy and impactful animations of the GBA era, Fire Emblem Engage looks stunning when in motion. The price of this beauty? Time investment. Watching the same animations play out over, and over again can add hours to your playtime.
Thankfully, as is often the case in this genre of game, you can turn them off. Simply go do the following:
System > Settings > Combat Animations
You have three options, On, Off, or Allied Units. These are pretty self-explanatory and are even given a tooltip to guide you. In this menu, you can tweak Engage Animations, Movement Speed, and more. Spend some time here and get the game running exactly how you want it to run.
Death Can Be Permanent
A big part of Fire Emblem’s history is the concept of permanence. Death is a reality, and every character can die at any time. This punishes mistakes harshly, and this can lead to some pretty heartbreaking scenes when your favourite companion bites the dust.
This is not an enticing feature for everyone, and thankfully, a modern addition to Fire Emblem is the ability to make Perma Death optional. You can select this when you first boot the game up, or, you can go to your bed in the Somniel and change your difficulty preferences there.
Emblem Rings & Bond Rings
The biggest addition to Fire Emblem Engage is the 12 Emblem Rings. These are powerful rings that are inhabited by the souls of popular Fire Emblem characters. Thematically, this is cool. Fan favourites like Marth and Ike make a return, although some characters crop up from entries that have never made it to the west. It’s a real love letter to the series.
In terms of mechanics, however, Emblem Rings make a big difference in battle. These powerful rings not only enhance a character’s abilities, but you also gain access to Engage. This is a super form that grants access to powerful weapons, attacks, and abilities. Throw in a hefty chunk of character customisation with Bonds and Inherited Skills, and you have a lot to work with here.
You can also make lesser rings called Bond Rings, which apply slight buffs to characters who don’t have access to an Emblem Ring.
Class Swapping
There are buckets of classes in Fire Emblem Engage, but a lot of these classes are locked away. This is because classes are tiered. You may have noticed that Vander is far more powerful than Alfred, despite both being horse-mounted. Well, that’s because Vander is a Paladin, an Advanced Class.
Once you have gotten far enough in the game, you will start to gather Master Seals. These powerful items allow you to not only promote characters to more powerful variants of their current class but also change class entirely in the right circumstances. The further in the game you get, the more opportunities to fiddle with the system will crop up.
Points Of Interest
Finally, points of interest. In battle terms, these could be chests or houses. Anything that is glowing is worth investigating. Opening chests could unlock powerful new weapons, or grant you a vital item for your progression. Knocking on doors not only saves lives but also will reward you with additional funds and consumables.
Outside of battle, your map will be littered with things to interact with. Orange dots are animals you can adopt, blue dots are people you can talk to, and yellow glowing bits are items you can gather. No matter the situation, hitting up points of interest is always a worthwhile time sink.
That’s all we have for Fire Emblem Engage for now. Be sure to check out our other guides for more tips and tricks.
