Fire Emblem: Three Houses details crests, battalions, growth, more

Following its first big feature in April, Famitsu has published another big story on Fire Emblem: Three Houses detailing crests, battalions, character growth, and more.

Get the details below.

■ The Goddess’ Protection and Each Power

Rhea (voiced by Kikuko Inoue)

The supreme leader of the Church of Seiros, which invited the protagonist to the Officer’s Academy. She has the loving heart of a mother and a gentle personality, but also ruthless in that she shows no mercy to those who go against the church.

■ The “Crests” within the Characters

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, some characters bear “crests” handed down from their ancestors. The existence of crests are an important element to the game, sometimes influencing the course of family succession. For example, the throne of the Adrestian Empire has been handed down for generations to the one that bears the crest of Seiros. Crests also seem to manifest as talents, such as superior magic arts or physical ability.

The Mysterious Crest Possessed by the Protagonist

The protagonist also bears a crest, but its identity is a mystery.

■ Crests and Skills

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, “skills” appear as an important element affected by a unit’s personality and training. There are three categories of skills, listed below, that can be set and used during battle.

Skill Categories and Effects

• Personal Skills: Inherent skills available to each unit from the start. These cannot be replaced and possess unique abilities.
• Class Skills: Inherent skills available for each class. These are skills only available as a specific class, and are not available when changing a different class.
• Professor Skills: Skills that are learned based on Professor Level. Unlike Class Skills, these can be set at any time once learned.

The Personal Skills and Crests of the Protagonist and the Three Class Representatives

• Protagonist: The wandering mercenary. Recognized for their abilities, they became a teacher at the academy.
  • Personal Skill: Teacher’s Guidance – Increases the EXP gained by user and adjacent allies by 1.2.
  • Crest: Crest of ??? – An unidentifiable crest shrouded in mystery.
• Edelgard: The Black Eagles student representative. The next in line to become emperor of the Adrestian Empire.
  • Personal Skill: Emperor’s Lineage – Increases EXP by 1.2.
  • Crest: Small Crest of Seiros – A small crest said to have been carried by the holy Seiros.
• Dimitri: The Blue Lions student representative. The next in line to become king of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.
  • Personal Skill: King’s Lineage – Increases EXP by 1.2.
  • Crest: Small Crest of Bladud – A small crest handed down by Bladud of the Ten Greats of Fodlan.
• Claude: The Golden Deer student representative. The son of the leader of the Lecester Alliance.
  • Personal Skill: Leader’s Lineage – Increases EXP by 1.2.
  • Crest: Small Crest of Regan – A small crest handed down by Regan of the Ten Greats of Fodlan.

Customize Your Abilities as You Like

You can freely set up to five of the Proficiency Skills you have learned. Be sure to set skills that go well with your role and current class, rather than just set them at random.

Comrades Who Learn Together

Immediately following the beginning of the game, the protagonist will choose from one of the three classes, and teach the students of that class the art of war. Each class has various students with unique personalities, and their abilities are also extremely wide-ranging and varied. Analyzing the individual traits of each student and training them to improve their talents more than anything else is what shows the skills of a true teacher.

—Hubert (voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi)

• Personal Skill: Staff Officer – Gambit Might +5

Hubert has worked for Edelgard since he was a child. He will take ruthless measures if it means protecting her life.

—Dorothea (voiced by Juri Nagatsuma)

• Personal Skill: Songstress – Recovers up to 10 percent of HP for adjacent allies at the start of the turn.

Before becoming a student, Dorothea was an opera troupe songstress. While the Black Eagles has many students who come from distinguishes families, she is the sole commoner.

—Dedue (voiced by Hidenori Takahashi)

• Personal Skill: Lord’s Shield – Defense +4 for one turn if user stands by without acting.

A servant of the Blue Lions’ class representative Dmitri. He has a scary face, but actually has a gentle personality.

—Felix (voiced by Yuichi Hose)

• Personal Skill: Lone Wolf – Damage dealt +5 when a battalion is not deployed or when battalion HP becomes zero.
• Crest: Crest of Fraldalius – A crest handed down by Fraldalius of the Ten Greats of Fodlan.

A sarcastic young man who calls his childhood friend Dmitri “Inoshishi,” which means “boar.” He is always polishing his skills to improve his swordsmanship.

—Lorenz (voiced by Hiroshi Watanabe)

• Personal Skill: Great Nobility – Damage dealt +2 when a battalion is deployed.
• Crest: Small Crest of Gloucester – A small crest handed down by Gloucester of the Ten Greats of Fodlan.

A man of great nobility. He approaches multiple women within the academy, but his results are poor.

—Hilda (voiced by Yuuki Kuwahara)

• Personal Skill: Persuasion – When adjacent to male ally in battle, damage dealt to enemies by ally +3.
• Crest: Small Crest of Goneril – A small crest handed down by Goneril of the Ten Greats of Fodlan.

The sole daughter of the duke, she is a spoiled noble. She loves stylish and flashy things.

The Protagonist’s Colleagues

—Manuela (voiced by Sachiko Kojima)

A school teacher and doctor. In the past, she had stood at the top of an opera troupe.

—Hanneman (voiced by Kenji Hamada)

A teacher and scholar researching the power of crests. He tends to get excited whenever it comes to crests.

■ Control a Battalion and Rule the Battlefield

The battles of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, unlike existing titles in the series, are large-scale wars of many-versus-many. By hiring a battalion to deploy to units, you can lead them to in battle and see them in battle scenes.

“Authority” – Proficiency to Lead the Knights

• [Main Professor Skill] Authority Lv. 1 – Might +2 when using a gambit.

Your “Authority” Professor Level will increase through training, and in addition to allowing you to deploy stronger battalions, you will also learn skills useful to your gambits.

A Series First – Gauntlet

The gauntlet is a new weapon appearing for the first time in the series. The gauntlet can deal two hits in a single attack. If the user’s attack speed is four or greater than the opponent’s, pursuit is activated, which lets you deal four hits in a single attack. However, mounted classes such as those who fight while riding horses or Pegasi cannot equip the gauntlet.

—The Professor Level for wielding a gauntlet is called “Fighting.” By leveling this up, you will be able to learn Fighting-related skills, as well as equip high-power gauntlets.

Hire Soldiers at the Knights Guild

As you progress through the story, you will be able to hire battalions at the Knights Guild. If the unit leading the battalion takes damage in battle, the battalion’s HP will decrease. Once HP reaches zero, the additional effects bestowed by the battalion will disappear and gambits will not be available. Reduced HP can be replenished at the guild. Just like units, battalions level up and develop their abilities through repeated battle.

—By visiting the guild, you can hire battalions with various skills. You can how they increase your stats when deployed and gambits.

—By deploying a battalion, the stats displayed on the screen will change. Stats will decrease as well as increase, so be sure to have a good look.

—Hiring a battalion costs a good amount of money, but replenishment only costs a small sum. Be sure to replenish often as not to let your power become zero.

Find a Way Out with Gambits that Turn the Tides of Battle

Gambits can be used by units that hire battalions. There are a variety of gambits, including those that attack the enemy, support allies, and more. Enemy-attacking gambits cannot be counterattacked by the enemy, and also attack multiple enemies at once. While their number of uses on the battlefield is limited, using gambits does not consume items, so they are OK to use without holding back.

—Simultaneous Spear Attack

Attacks the target enemy and the enemy one tile to the left and right of the target. This attack gambit also has the effect of inflicting the enemy with the “Distress” status ailment (which reduces all abilities by 10 percent, and prevents movement, battalion ability boost effects, and gambits).

—Godspeed Stance

Ally movement +5, only for that turn. If a group of allies are gathered together, the effect applies to all of them. Infantry with low movement can use this gambit to move a greater distance.

—Lure Plan

A gambit that can be used on an adjacent enemy. It comes with the effect of forcing the enemy to move to the tile behind the user.

This gambit is good for luring out enemies that may be standing by on tiles with terrain effects.

■ Class Introductions

After a character reaches level 10, they will be able to take the certification exam for an intermediate level class, such as those introduced below.

Mercenary

A class that excels in both power and speed, and can easily develop its sword and axe Professor Levels.

Cavalier

A balanced class that utilizes hit-and-away style tactics.

• Class Skill: Canto – If there is remaining movement after performing an action, you can use up the rest of your movement.

Brigand

A class with high HP and power parameters. In addition to axes, it also specializes in gauntlets.

Fist Fighter

A male-exclusive class. It uses gauntlets to attack enemies swiftly.

• Class Skill: Weaponless Fighting – User can fight when a weapon is not equipped.

Mage

A class able to use magic that makes it easy to attack even enemies with high defense.

• Class Skill: Fire – Enables the use of Fire. Once learned, it can be used twice.

Dark Mage

A male-exclusive dark magic class.

• Class Skill: Miasma Δ – Enables the use of Miasma Δ. Once learned, it can be used twice.
• Class Skill: Curse – Evade -20 to adjacent enemies.

■ Learn Arts to Live through Tomorrow

The gameplay of Fire Emblem: Three Houses consists of battle parts and Officer’s Academy parts. During Officer’s Academy parts, you will interact with and train students to develop their abilities. The days will pass systematically, and there is even a calendar you can check.

Fodlan Calendar

The land of Fodlan uses a 12-season (month) calendar similar to the one used in the real world. One season is equal to one chapter of the game’s story, and as the weekdays and weekends cycle, and you complete the challenges at the end of each season, the story will progress.

Training to Increase Professor Levels

The students’ Professor Levels represent their knowledge, and training will increase them. You can train automatically, but through carefully responding to the student’s characteristics and motivation, you can train them to be the type of student you want them to be. In fighting the stronger enemies that come along with each chapter, the bonds between teacher and student are vital.

—Training Power (the gauge and number displayed at the top center of the screen) shows how many students can be trained within one week. As your Instructor Level rises, you will be able to train more students. And the higher a student’s motivation (the face icon and gauge displayed at the top right of the screen), the more tutoring and greater growth the student may receive.

Instructor Level and Action Power

In addition to Training Power, there is also Strolling Power and Sortie Power. As the protagonist’s Instructor Level increases, the action count for each will increase, allowing you to do more within the week.

—Instructor Level increases through training, interaction, strolling, and more. If you want higher growth for your students, growing as a professor is vital.

Boost the Students’ Motivation

In raising the students’ talents, it is necessary to keep their motivation high. In addition to boosting motivation through interaction with the protagonist, it will also increase by participating in battle. Motivating the students is essential to being a good teacher.

—When interacting with the students, they may ask questions. Give them smart, optimal advice to ease their concerns, and show them the experience of an adult.

■ Increase Individual Traits through Tutoring

Through tutoring, you can teach raise specific Professor Levels for a single student. In addition to learning new Professor Skills, increasing their Professor Levels also enables to use of higher quality weapons. Even if you change classes, the types of weapons you can equip do not change, so decide on a main weapon and concentrate on training its corresponding Professor Level.

—There are four types of training results (Perfect, Great, Good, Bad), which determine the amount of experience acquired. Depending on the results, you can give the student a pep talk to up their motivation.

—The protagonists and students have both strengths and weaknesses. Determining which to develop is pivotal.

Set Goals for Independent Training

In addition to tutoring, up to two Professor Levels set in “Set Goals” can be improved each week through self-study. You can set goals for each student. By increasing Professor Levels and passing certification exams, you will be able to change to various classes. Change your goals depending on the classes you want to become.

—Students can propose their own goals. The protagonist decides whether to approve them.

—Aim to become an expert by developing specific Professor Levels together with tutoring, or become a jack of all trades by developing different Professor Levels.

Deepen Friendships with Group Tasks

Each week, you can give two students a group tasks. If successful, their Professor Levels will develop based on the task, and the support level between them will also increase. You may also earn rewards depending on the task’s level of success. By deepening friendships, you may even see greater participation from those students.

—For group tasks, you can choose from stable management, weeding, and aerial defense. Their success depends on the students’ compatibility with each other, as well as how their strengths and weaknesses play into the challenge.

—Increasing their mutual support level only benefits them both on the battlefield. Further details will be announced in a future report.

Talent Blooming

Professor Levels that students do not specialize in are marked by a set of three stars. After a certain amount of tutoring in these skills, a talent for that Professor Level will bloom. By becoming efficient in that Professor Level, you can learn new skills and techniques. Challenge the subjects students are no good at to achieve further growth.

—The three stars are blank at first, but through tutoring, they will gradually light up. By achieving three stars, their talent will bloom.

—Only by overcoming a student’s weakness will you be a good teacher. Even if you lack growth at first, by blooming your talents, you can become an even better unit.

■ World Terminology

Church of Seiros

The Church of Seiros, which is rooted in Fodlan, was founded by the Divine Seiros. Long ago, in a battle known as the War of Heroes, Seiros defeated the “Liberated King” Nemesis and brought peace to Fodlan. It is even said that Seiros played a role in the founding of the Adrestian Empire.

As time passed, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus became independent from the Adrestian Empire, and eventually the Lester Alliance followed suit. This brought rise to a long war over supremacy. Today, there is balance among the three nations, but it is said that this is largely due to the contributions of the Church of Seiros.

Crests

Many of the nobles that appear are descendants of the “Ten Greats of Fodlan” from the age of the War of Heroes, and have inherited their crests as part of their family lineage. Crests are inherited by blood lineage, but that does not necessarily mean all descendants bear the crest, as only limited persons are able to draw out its abilities.

Crests with strong power are called “Great Crests,” while crests with inferior power are called “Small Crests.” Typically, it is said that the deeper a hero’s blood runs, the more powerful the crest they bear, but children can unexpectedly be born with Great Crests, so the explanation behind this is still to be discovered.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is due out for Switch on July 26.