Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesis the second installment of theFire Emblem Warriorsspinoff games and combines the hack-and-slash combat withFire Emblem’s strategic gameplay. Returning fans of the series will recognize the class changes and weapon triangle as they assist theThree Housesleaders in this action-packed spinoff.
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Compared to its predecessor,Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesis a spinoff ofFire Emblem: Three Housesand does not feature anyFire Emblemcharacters from separate games. However, like the originalFire Emblem Warriors,Three Hopeshas several gameplay mechanics that are staples of theFire Emblemfranchise. There are also several features that were exclusive toThree Housesthat now make a return forThree Hopes.
10Casual or Classic Mode
Like most games,Fire Emblemallows players to choose the difficulty of the game upon creating a new file. However, it’s the Casual/Classic Mode that can make it or break it for most.Casual mode is for those who want a less-stressful playthrough. Units that are “killed” during a battle will be ready to fight come the next one. Classic mode is the opposite and makes every move count in battle. Units that die are killed off permanently for the rest of the game.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesincorporates Casual/Classic mode much as the firstFire Emblem Warriorsdid. Fortunately, Classic Mode’s permadeath won’t kick in until chapter 4. Given the hectic gameplay ofThree Hopes, newcomers to musou-style games may find itbetter to play Casual modeon their first run. By contrast, those looking for a challenge are more likely to gravitate towards Classic.
9Different Abilities
Units will each have their own Unique Abilities and characters that are of nobility (such as Dimitri) will have a Crest. These Abilities can improve damage output or they may have requirements to work, such as Leonie’s Rivalry. There are also Class Abilities, which change depending on the Class that a unit has equipped. Finally, there are Combat Abilities, which players can obtain by reaching a Class milestone. For example, the Desperation Ability is unlocked inThree Hopeswhen certain units reach 1-star/rank of the Cavalier class.
However, likeThree Houses, most characters learn different Abilities upon leveling. InThree Hopes’case, Claude will learn Battalion Desperation at 1-star Cavalier,while Shez will learn the regular Desperationfor their 1-star Cavalier. There are also certain Classes that are gender-specific like the Pegasus/Falcon Knight/Dark Flier Class, meaning Abilities gained from those Classes can’t be learned by any of the male units.
8Tea Party/Expeditions
Similar toFire Emblem Fates' My Room feature,Fire Emblem Three Housesincluded a Tea Party minigame. Players could invite characters out for tea and have the chance to gain Support Points. A “Perfect Tea Time” is achieved by responding accordingly within the time limit.
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Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesdoesn’t have Tea Time, but it has Expeditions, which function in much the same way, just with one or two differences. Now, players can choose between “Talk” and “Ask a Question,” giving them more options for a successful Expedition. Sometimes, a character will want to go on an Expedition with Shez. If Shez accepts, the potential Support Points gained from the Expedition are doubled, so players should take advantage of this when they can.
7Adjutant/Pair-Up Feature
Oddly enough, the pair-up feature that was a part of fan-favoritesFire Emblem AwakeningandFire Emblem Fateswas not present inThree Houses. Instead, units would gain Support Points if they were fighting around other Units that shared a Support Chain. This was similar toFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. In the 2017Fire Emblem Warriors, the pair-up feature was added to make it easier for players to level up Supports during battle.Units that were pairedup could also unleash a dual attack once the Warrior Gauge was filled.
The pair-up feature, dubbed Adjutant, makes a return forThree Hopes. Like the previous game, some units have special dialogue depending on who they’re fighting with. If a battle isn’t too chaotic, then it helps to assign an adjutant to a Unit that needs some Supports unlocked. Players can assign/unassign an Adjutant by going into the battle map with (+) and selecting a Unit with A-button. Drag the arrow to another Unit and press ZR to open up the menu and select Assign/Unassign as Adjutant.
6FE3H’s Class Tiers
Players could “promote” their Units by giving them a Master Seal in previousFire Emblemgames. For example, a standard Monk could become a Bishop inBlazing Blade. Some Classes had branching promotions, forcing players to choose whichever better suited that Unit.Fire Emblem: Three Housesexpanded this by adding Standard/Immediate/Advanced Seals. Classes that were once Base Classes in previousFire Emblemgames (like Cavalier) are an Intermediate Class,with Paladin as an Advanced Class. To become a Bow Knight, Units needed to have their Bow and Riding Skills at a certain Rank to promote them with a Master Seal.
Three HopestakesThree Houses' Class System. To make it a bit more challenging, players need to expand the Training Grounds facility if they want to unlock Advanced and Master Classes. This means that Units may be locked into Intermediate Classes until they’re able to use Advanced Seals.
5Paralogues
Paralogues are optional stories that players can take to earn special rewards. These are a staple of theFire Emblemseries, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them inThree Houses. The previousFire Emblem Warriorsdidn’t have paralogues, butThree Hopesdoes.
Like in the mainline games, completing a paralogue may not be necessary to proceed with the main story. However, if players want a chance to gain more experience and reap some good weapons or armor, they might want toput aside some time for the paralogues.
4Recruiting Other Characters
Fire Emblemgave players the option to recruit certain characters onto their side. Usually, this would be initiated by having a certain Unit approach an enemy and select Talk instead of Attack. After some dialogue, the recruited character would change sides and become playable.Three Houseshas it whereByleth could recruit students to their classif their Skills/Stats appealed to the student they were trying to recruit. Some units could join during the War Phase, too.
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Three Hopesbrings back recruitment, but players will need Strategy Points if they want to persuade someone to their side. UnlikeThree Houses, not every playable character will be quick to abandon their house for the Protagonist. Recruiting a character from another House will change their flag to match their new House, and may unlock some paralogues too.
3Weapon Skill Levels
Weapons are labeled from E class to S class inFire Emblem. If a Unit’s Skill level for a weapon is too low, they won’t be able to use that weapon in battle.Three HopesandThree Housesalso have the Heroes' Relics: special weapons that should only be used by someone bearing the same Crest as that particular Relic.
Anyone can use a Heroes' Relic, but those that don’t have the right Crest will take damage during battle, so it’s really not recommended. In order to promote Units, players need to havea high enough Rank/Proficiencywith the required weapon for that Class.
2Gift-Giving
Shez can give gifts to their allies just like Byleth could inThree Houses. Each character has their own Likes and Dislikes, and each Gift has its own description.Owl Feathers are universally likedby everyone in-game, but it’s not the same for other gifts.
Some gifts will givetwo support pointswhile others will giveoneorzerodepending on whether the giftee was impressed or not. Thus, it’s important for Shez to know their allies before handing over a gift.
1Support System
Supports are a huge appeal to fans of theFire Emblemseries, and they are thankfully included inThree Hopes. Ranking up Supports is the same as it was inThree Housesand just about any otherFire Emblemgame, too. This time, players can even unlock Supports betweencharacters that weren’t in the originalThree Houses.
What is different aboutThree Hopes' support is that some Units' have a C-rank, but no actual Support is shown, while others have a shared cutscene that counts as a C/B-Support instead. The House Leaders and their Retainers (Hubert, Dedue, and Hilda) won’t be able to join another House (except Hilda for Azure Gleam), so it’s best to unlock all their Supports in one playthrough.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesis available now on Nintendo Switch.
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