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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Tons of details and pictures (Story, Villains, Relationships, Anna, Combat Arts, Advanced Classes, more)

This week, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is once more featured in Famitsu magazine with a massive article (the largest to date!) sharing tons of new details and pictures for the game.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Story

As seen in the E3 2019 trailer, Fire Emblem: Three Houses takes place in two different “eras”. The game is seemingly divided in two parts: the one at the Officer’s Academy, and the one 5 years in the future where former friends are now enemies on the battlefield.

In the future:

  • Edelgard did become Empress of the Adrestian Empire. Is she leading her country as a good ruler?
  • Dimitri is the one that changed the most. His whole appearance and aura have changed completely, and the darkness within him is now clearly visible;
  • Claude hasn’t changed too much, though he has become even more handsome and bold than before. What is he thinking about, while leading the Alliance in battle?

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The first half of the game takes place at the Officer’s Academy. The second one takes place 5 years in the future, and all your students have become adults. The continent is now at war, and of course, you will take part in battles that will decide the fate of the whole continent. The war opposes the leaders of the three countries which used to be the house leaders at the Officer’s Academy, with former friends now enemies on the battlefield.

As mentioned in previous reports, in the first half of the game, you get to choose a house to teach. This does not have much of an impact on the story in the first half, but it’s a completely different story for the second half. Indeed, depending on the house you picked, you will get to experience a completely different side of the story. It seems that the class leaders you did not side with, as well as the students of their respective houses, will appear as enemies.

Quite interestingly, the overall gameflow is the same in the two parts of the game. During the week, you spend your time training, and during the weekend, you can enjoy various activities thanks to some free time. You basically spend your time preparing for large-scale battles which takes places at the end of each month/chapter, and allows you to move to the next one. You have to choose carefully how you’re going to spend your time, because you only have a limited amount of it.

The calendar system from the first half is back in the second one, with teaching replaced by training.

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Villains

In the previous report, Famitsu shared details about two mysterious, totally-not-evil-I-swear characters. This time, we get a look at 3 more, which are as shrouded in mystery as the previous two. Once again, we don’t know what their true purpose is, but it’s pretty clear they are up to no good, especially as they are seemingly involved in the war between the three countries that happens in the second half of the game.

  • Thales: the leader, that Soron and Cronje obey the orders of. He’s the central figure of this group of villains, and in order to carry out his plan, he plans out various secret maneuveurs behind the scenes.
  • Solon: he looks like an old mage, an extremely dangerous individual.
  • Kronya: at first glance, she looks like a cheerful young woman, but she’s actually pretty childish, and with a cruel side.

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Relationships with students

As mentioned in the previous report, you can take part in various activities at the Garreg Mach Monastery during the weekend. You can go fishing, cultivate plants and vegetables, go shopping, cook, and more. And of course, you can also spend some quality time with the other characters, in order to deepend your relationship with them, which will grant various bonuses and effects in battle. The deeper the bond, the better!

Even though you get to teach students from the house you selected at the beginning, you can actually scout students from the other houses, providing the conditions are met. Those include having a high enough proficiency level and stats (higher than the student you’re trying to win over). However, there’s a catch: some characters cannot be scouted, which includes… yes, you guessed it: the house leaders (but also some other characters).

And in case you’re wondering: the students successfully scouted from other classes will show up as allies during the second half! And don’t worry if you fail to scout a student: you get to see which skills you are lacking, and you can try again later.

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One way to deepen your bonds with other characters is to give them gifts. If the recipient likes what you’re giving them, then the support value will increase, and the student will be more motivated for self-studying. It’s important to keep in mind the preferences of each student; don’t go and give the wrong gift to the wrong person!

Here’s some of the items you can use as gifts:

  • items bought at the market
  • flowers you grown
  • items found while taking a stroll

One of the gifts is called “The Messenger Owl’s Feather”, and all characters will be delighted to receive one. It’s the right item to use for that character you really want to have a deep relationship with. It looks like this item is somewhat related to Feh, the mascot of Fire Emblem Heroes…

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During your strolls in the Monastery, you will sometime come across lost items. If you go and bring it to its owner, than the support value will increase as if you had given them a gift. The game doesn’t tell you which character a lost item belongs to, but you can take a guess based on details about the item and what you know of the various characters. Therefore, it’s petty important to learn more about each one, in case they happen to lose something.

Some of the screenshots below show the protaganist finding a book about art, and then bringing it to Ignaz. Lost items appear as light “clouds” in the world.

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A good way to deepen your relationship with a character is to have a nice cup of tea with them. During the weekend, or on the birthday of the character, you can take part in a tea ceremony. You have to choose a topic to discuss while sipping some nice, hot tea, and of course, you have to go with something you think the character will enjoy discussing. It looks like you even get to choose the tea to drink!

Picking up the right topic is key, because the longer the conversation goes on, the bigger the boost to the support value, and the deeper your bond will grow. But don’t worry if you mess up: this will not have a negative impact on the support value. And if you do happen to fail a tea ceremony, you can always brute-force your way through with some nice gifts.

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Characters

Next, some new characters are introduced (allof them were previously showcased on Twitter already), along with their Personal Skills and Crests:

  • Caspar (voiced by Satoru Murakami)
    • Personal Skill: Bellicose. Grants Avoid–10 if there are enemies nearby in battle;
    • Crest: none.
  • Linhardt (voiced by Shun Horie)
    • Personal Skill: Dozing off. Recovers up to 10% of HP when not taking any action during a turn;
    • Crest: Cesleen’s Small Crest. A crest said to have been handed down by Saint Cesleen.
  • Petra (voiced by Shizuka Ishigami)
    • Personal Skill: Laws of the Hunt. When enemy’s HP are below 50%, grants Critical +20;
    • Crest: none.
  • Annette (voiced by Takako Tanaka)
    • Personal Skill: Hard Worker. Grants Strength +10 when using the support command;
    • Crest: Dominique’s Small Crest. A small crest said to have been passed down by Dominique, one of the 10 Heroes of Fodlan.
  • Sylvan (voiced by Makoto Furukawa)
    • Personal Skill: Womanizer. If female units are in adjacent spaces in battle, increases damage dealt to enemies by 2, and lowers enemy attacks damage by 2;
    • Crest: Gautier’s Small Crest. A small crest said to have been passed down by Gautier, one of the 10 Heroes of Fodlan.
  • Ingrid (voiced by Manaka Iwami)
    • Personal Skill: Female Knight. Grants Strategem Power +3, Strategem Hit Rate +5;
    • Crest: Daphnel’s Small Crest. A small crest said to have been passed down by Daphel, one of the 10 Heroes of Fodlan.
  • Ignatz (voiced by Shougo Yasunoshi)
    • Personal Skill: Observant Eye. Grants Hit Rate +20;
    • Crest: none.
  • Marianne (voiced by Sawako Hata)
    • Personal Skill: Animal Lover. When flying or horse riding allies are in adjacent spaces, recover 20% of max. HP at the beginning of a turn;
    • ??? Crest. She seems to have a crest, but we don’t know anything about it.
  • Leonnie (voiced by Sakura Nogawa)
    • Personal Skill: Sore Loser. When male allies are in adjacent spaces, increases damage dealt to enemies by 2, and lowers damage received from enemies by 2;
    • Crest: none.

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Convenient places

The next part of the article details convenient places you can check out during your free time, starting with those at the Garreg Mach Monastery.

The Monastery is a place where many devouts from all over the Fodlan continent gather, and you can find the following facilities there:

Statues of the 4 Saints of Fodlan

If you pray at one of the 4 statues, you can get a bonus that will further help with the growth of your units. However, it’s not “free”: you need spend Fame Points earned by completing quests and taking part in battles. The more fame you gather, the stronger your units will become! The kind of bonus you get depends on the Saints you decide to dedicate your prayers to.

Praying at a statue increases the amount of Skill EXP gained during personal teaching. The more bonuses you use, the more fame you need. Also, you can get one of the following bonus:

  • increase of EXP earned in battle
  • increase of the number of times you can use Divine Pulse (that allows you to wind back time in battle)
  • increase of the max stats of a unit

By the way, some of the students have crests related to the 4 Saints, so you should definitely have them pray at their respective statue.

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Choral

Choral practice is an activity that can only be used once a day. You can invite two characters to sing along with the protagonist. Not only does this increase the support value of all 3 characters, but they also get Skill EXP for the Faith Skill. Some characters are particularly gifted when it comes to singing, and having them take part in choral practice will result in an increase of Skill EXP received.

You can also learn white magic and various other related skills as your Faith skill level goes up. It’s highly recommended for units that play a support role in.

Finally, thanks to Choral practice, you can get Skill EXP that you can normally get only during weeekday classes.

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Life advice

The Monastery receives various letters from characters, looking for some life advice. They have problems that needs to be solved, and you can help them by selecting one of three possible answers. If you select the right one, and you manage to convince the sender of the letter, than the support value with that character will increase.

By the way, it’s impossible to find out who the sender of the letter is before you give your answer, so you have to think carefully about which one to give. Make sure to think hard about the person who sent you the letter!

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Next: the market. You can find plenty of products from all over the Fodlan continent, including weapons, recovery items, but also Guilds to hire Knights from, and blacksmiths. Make sure you don’t go and spend too much money there!

Traveling merchants

You can buy various items from traveling merchants, that were collected during their many travels. By the way, you can get all the necessary items for the activities in the Monastery from them, so make sure to check them out regularly because those items cannot be found in regular shops. It’s especially important for items that you want to give as gifts!

And as you can imagine, each traveling merchant have their own set of items, so make sure to check them all out. For example, the one in the south sells fish baits and tea leaves!

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Anna

Unless this is going to be your very first Fire Emblem game (congratulations!), you’re definitely familiar with Anna: a mysterious character that appear in many different entries in the series, including Fire Emblem: Three Houses. In this game, she will open a secret shop at the market once you have cleared a specific quest. She sells some pretty rare items, so make sure to drop by from time to time.

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Blacksmith

The infamous weapon durability system is back in Fire Emblem: Three Houses! Using a weapon in battle damages it little by little, and you need to head over to the blacksmith regularly to repair it. If you don’t, and the durability value reaches zero, the weapon breaks and you cannot repair it. Of course, a broken weapon will have a significant negative impact on your fighting power, so make sure to pay a visit to the blacksmith after every battle to avoid any nasty surprises in battle.

Of course, you can also have the blacksmith craft you some weapons, though only if your teaching level is high enough (the required level is different for each weapon).

As you can imagine, the blacksmiths wont do all thise for free: you need to pay, but also bring the required materials (that you can get from the traveling merchants).

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Combat art

Another key element makes its comeback: the Combat arts. It’s basically the special move of a given unit, which is extremely powerful and can deal lots of damage. Of course, there’s a catch: there’s no follow-up attack, and using a Combat art puts a serious dent in the durability of a weapon.

Combat arts are learned by raising your skill levels (also works for magic). And if the weapon is the same, a combat art can be used regardless of the equipment currently equipped.

Here’s some examples of Combat art you can learn:

  • Attack (Swordsmanship skills)
    • Might = 5
    • Hit Rate = 100
  • Helmet Split (Art of the Axe skills)
    • Endurance= -5
    • Might= 7
    • Death Probability= +5
  • Back Blow (Martial Arts skills). When used, the unit goes back on space after attacking, allowing you to have other units move there (to keep attacking, protect the unit, etc.)
    • Might = 6
    • Hit Rate = 10
    • Avoid Rate = +30
  • High-Angle Shot (Archery skills)
    • Durability = -3
    • Hit Rate = +30

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Finally, we get details about the “Legacy of the Heroes”. Here’s what we wrote about it when it was introduced via Twitter, last week:

The latest Twitter updates introduce Catherine (voiced by Chie Matsuura), who belongs to the Knights of Seiros, and a graduate of the Officer’s Academy at the Garreg Mach Monastery. She’s a skilled swordswoman who uses one of the sacred weapons known as “Legacy of the Heroes”: the Raitei (NB: Japanese name. It means “Heavy Thunder”). She has pledged allegiance to Rhea, the archbishop of the Church of Seiros.

Legend has it that a long time ago, Heroes known as “The Ten Heroes of Fodlan” received power from the Goddess herself in the form of sacred weapons: the “Legacy of the Heroes”, along with the mysterious crests mentioned in previous reports. Only someone with a crest that corresponds to the sacred weapon can make full use of the Goddess’ powers hidden within.


As some of you may have guessed already, the sword used by the protagonist does happen to be one of the sacred weapons known as “Legacy of the Heroes”. Its name is the Heavenly Blade (NB: not official English name). What kind of power is hidden within that sacred weapon, linked to the mysterious emblem carried by the protagonist?

Famitsu’s article has some additional details about the Heavenly Blade. Unlike other weapons, its durability can be restored simply by resting during the weekend (restores 5 units). Choosing to rest during the weekend also increases the motivation of the students, so if you have nothing special to do, why not simply take it easy?

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Advanced Classes

This time, several Advanced Classes are introduced. To use them, a unit needs to reach Level 20 and then pass the appropriate exam.

  • Hero: a male-only class. Highly skilled with the swords. Their speed and power are without pair
    • Class Skill: Sword Master. When equipped with a sword, grants Attack +5
    • Class Skill: Ambush. When attacked by a unit with less than 50% HP left, unit gets the first strike
  • Fortress: they trade speed for even more defensive power. Need a tank to take enemy attacks heads on? This is the class for you!
    • Class Skill: Axe Master. When equipped with an axe, grants Attack +5
    • Class Skill: Weight -5. Lowers total weight of equipment by 5
  • Paladin: a well-balanced class that boasts high defense (physical and magic attacks) but also great attack.
    • Class Skill: Repositioning. If unit has “movement power” left after taking an action, then unit can use it to keep moving after taking it
    • Class Skill: Spear Master. When equipped with a spear, grants Attack +5
    • Class Skill: Terrain Resistance. Nullifies damage received from terrain
  • Grappler: a male-only class that excels at close combat. They can deal quick, continuous attacks
    • Class Skill: Fighting Master. When using fighting equipment, grants Attack +5
    • Class Skill: Barehanded Fighting. Allows unit to attack even when no weapon is equipped.
  • Warlock: excels at Black Magic, and particular strong against enemies boasting high defense
    • Class Skill: Black Magic Master: when Black Magic equipment is equiped, grants Attack +5
    • Class skills: Black Magic Uses x2: doubles the amount of times you can use Black Magic
  • Bishop:
    • Class Skill: Black Magic Uses x2: doubles the amount of times you can use White Magic
    • Class Skill: White Magic Recovery +10: self-explanatory!
    • Class Skill: Terrain Resistance. Nullifies damage received from terrain

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch) comes out July 26th worldwide.

Source: Famitsu

Lite_Agent

Founder and main writer for Perfectly Nintendo. Tried really hard to find something funny and witty to put here, but had to admit defeat.

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