The wait is over everyone, Fire Emblem Heroes has launched in North America! You may have had to wait just a little longer, but it’s here and fans of these games will find that the wait was worth it. Even though the gameplay is simplistic when compared to a mainline Fire Emblem title, there’s still some nuance to the gameplay and to the app itself. I wrote up a starter guide covering some of the more apparent elements based on my first couple of hours with the game, and now I’m back with a followup strike to explain more of what I’ve learned.
Check in daily
First and foremost, even if you’re only somewhat interested in the game, it pays to at least load it up once a day. There are new challenges and presents that switch over when a new day begins, giving players more to do and more to do it with. During the launch window, free orbs are being delivered, as well as one time only presents, like a set of ten stamina potions. You can grab these presents with the delivery owl in your barracks screen.
Your comrades
Rest easy summoners: unlike the Fire Emblem games that brought us all here, there isn’t permadeath in this one. You’ll still be at a tactical disadvantage without the unit for that map though, and you should feel bad at letting a comrade fall. That said, there’s nothing to fear in the long term if you lead your allies to peril. And if you have a hero you really want to show off, make sure they’re in your left-most slot. They’ll be who your friends and arena-foes will see representing you as a summoner.
As I reported before about mages, thieves and ninjas being unable to attack up close, there’s another class that behaves a bit differently. Staff wielding units, traditionally defenseless healers until they change classes, can actually attack by default in Heroes. From what I’ve seen, they’re ultimately weaker when compared to others, but it beats being completely vulnerable. Flying units also retain their greater movement options, though they generally can only go as far as standard mounted units. That said, they’re unhindered by terrain such as trees and water, making them smart choices on maps with a lot of clutter.
Powering up heroes
Heroes are not all the same even when they’re the same character and rank. I was fortunate enough to get two five-star Robins and they had differing stats when initially summoned. Likewise, they have leveled up differently, with one now being stronger but the other being more resilient. Nothing I did seemed to influence this, meaning the series’ random stat increases are intact for better or worse with the mobile game. If you do get a double, you can use it to improve its twin, increasing its stats and SP. Virion is acquired during the game’s tutorial and I tested the feature once I gathered a second copy of him. With a different star, ranking the enhancement will only apply to SP, but since both were two star versions of the character, he also gained a level.
When it comes to skills things can vary considerably from character to character. Take Cain and Peri, both four star mounted units. Their skills are completely different, with Cain focused more on protecting allies and Peri’s having skills to help her kill bad guys. Skill management is one wrinkle of strategy that’s unique to Fire Emblem Heroes compared to the usual Fire Emblem setup. Rather than triggering off of a character’s skill or luck stat, in Heroes certain skills have cooldowns. Every time a character attacks or is attacked, the cooldown on these skills goes down by one. Managing when they activate and keeping an eye on double attacks can lead to them being strategic life savers instead of occasional happenings.
Check your Quests
You should also check out the Quests available during the month, especially those involving team compositions or ones based on defeating foes with certain colored units. For those and other occasions it helps to have a few teams arranged for easy access when the time comes or you just feel like grinding. And don’t worry if the initial list seems almost too easy, as clearing them all with unlock Hard quests for higher rewards during the given time period.
Until next time
That does it for this second round of quick tips based off of my early time with Fire Emblem Heroes. Knowing that there’s actually enough depth going on to warrant this much discussion and explanation is surprising me when it comes to the mobile title. While I went in mostly excited to get as many of my favorite characters as I could while enjoying a tiny version of Fire Emblem, I’m instead getting a familiar yet new set of strategies to develop and tactics to apply.
Let us know if you’re enjoying it as well — good luck on the fields of battle and with your summoning!
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Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
