Topic: Fire Emblem Engage for Nintendo Switch

You almost need to use the story to level up your worst Units and then take your best Units in to beat the Skirmishes, pure nonsense lol.

As someone who really started feeling the fatigue once I started doing missions back to back, I feel you definitely need something to break missions up, but the answer is not the Somniel or those pointless post battle walk around arena things or even the act of gutting all the customisation and control Three Houses offered you.

I guess one good thing Engage has done is given me so much extra appreciation for Midnight Suns. Midnight Suns has such a tightly structured loop, the game just flows so healthily. Three Houses had more coherent structure than Engage too, but I didn't like how every choice was at the expanse of another, maybe that is fun for some but it isn't for me. Engage at least made a change in that regard, that you can now do as much post battle stuff as you want. However, whereas there was tangible benefit of visiting the monastery, clear purpose for things like skirmishes and classes, everything outside of battle in Engage is unnecessary to a fault.

Part of that problem is Engage doesn't really have a clear loop, at least not to me. Each story mission doesn't unlock new things at the Somniel, or give you new equipment or injection of resources or whatever, this stuff is staggered with multiple chapter gaps between them. When this became obvious, I stopped going to the Somniel entirely basically as you really had no reason to go there until you say had a new Bond level or got to one of those story missions which unlocked a new injection of resources.

And even with those Bond convos, I only go to the Somniel because the game forces me to go there for some reason. Even though they are instanced cutscenes which don’t always take place at the Somniel anyway, so really should be accessible from anywhere. It was there I would take the time to polish some rings, top up on equipment etc. But honestly, I am kinda half glad you aren't expected to do this after every mission because this loop is so utterly boring.

I felt absolutely no loss in going long stretches without a visit, given the Support conversations are generally complete rubbish with these flat, one note, characters sharing single sentences of dialogue between themselves which add absolutely nothing to my experience, do nothing to enrich the characters or increase my attachment to them. If anything, I feel like a lot of time the Support convos alienate me from the characters, as almost all of them have a single hyper fixation which is either weird, creepy as all hell or just doesn't really fit with the general design and energy of the character. Like why is Panette obsessed with projecting prim and proper aesthetics while dressed as some sort of zombie doll? I have no idea.

Things like meals or the exercises or whatever offer such measly stat boosts, they can be skipped quite easily. Like I dunno. It feels like they thought they didn't have enough game, so on the last weekend they just bloated it with a load of artificial "content".

With like how half arsed the RPG elements are and everything else, I can't help but feel had Engage just been a linear, 20 hour or so, series of story missions with nothing else layered onto it, it would have been a way better game. Rather than giving me all these half cooked, half finished, mechanics spread far too thinly over a game that is far too long.

I'd been reading on GameFAQs about something called "Training", but I don't remember explicitly being told about it in game. I tried it out in game, and it works like this:

On the world map, a unit can appear over Firene, Brodia or Solm's capitals (I'm not sure about Elusia's), and when you engage, you start a training battle against the friendly kingdom. When a unit falls, they aren't lost for good, you gain experience and reduced SP, and can gather the spirits on the ground for free items, experience and bond fragments, as usual, and any surviving units get a flat 30 EXP at the end of the battle.
The battles are still fairly tricky (maybe it was because I was being more reckless, knowing my units were safe, even if they fell), but nothing too extreme.

Even better, after finishing a training session at Firene Castle, I was awarded 3000 gold, and was able to explore the map afterwards and gather a few bond fragments and metals. The metals would likely stack with your donation level in the region, although, to be honest, it'll take a long time to recoup my losses after the money I've poured in to Firene.

I understand the battles respawn after 24 hours, although if you're inclined to, you can manipulate your switch clock to respawn them yourself. When I tested it out, a training battled spawned over both Firene and Solm, so I'm not sure how many of these training battles appear each day.

Once again I agree with pretty much all of your post, but this really hits the nail on the head for me. It's quite jarring coming from Three Houses wherein it felt every action you made complemented another aspect of the game. And if something felt like a waste of time it was very easy to ignore it due to limited activity points.

@edhe I've only done a handful of the "training" missions but do find them somewhat useful for the reasons you describe. They're still pretty tough on my file, but made a lot easier by virtue of allowing your units to survive, and they seemingly have more forgiving enemy placement from my experience.

@Ralizah
I know you weren't. I was just sharing my thoughts on the matter since you brought the topic up.

And ya, that'll change. Just keep playing. . Yes they travel around the world, but that's only by happenstance of the Emblems. It gets good. If you're assessing based on first few chapters, you'll have the wrong idea. Get up to midgame. Not saying it suddenly becomes something it's not, but it gets good.

On the topic of skirmishes and paralogues. I went through the game without having played a single skirmish meanwhile for paralogues I generally played them when the recommended level matched or was lower than the current story chapter. Did leave Sigurd's one and a few others for the very end of the game but Genealogy maps look like they were created by Mario Maker players (cram as many enemies as possible into an area).

I'm really loving Timera. She's already one of my favorite characters. Also the wolf knight you get. She's so cool. Hate Pannette though. Her design isn't landing for me, and she's hard to keep alive.

Speaking of which, Chapter 13 was brutal trying to keep everyone alive while also visiting the houses. I had to reset twice, and on the 3rd try just used a rescue staff that was barely able to reach.

Chapter 13 Hard Classic separates the men from the boys, of that there is no doubt.

Rolled another S-rank ring, Nina S, with a skill that causes Excalibur to do an extra 20% damage on top of the stats. Also already rolled Seliph S which has stacking crit. I love those stacking skills. Ivy has speedtaker which stacks speed with each kill. So good.

@Grumblevolcano
😆 Ya some of those paralogs are a swift kick in the nads, or at least so I hear

Suddenly I'm drowning in support convos. They're all so weird, though. Last one was two minutes of one of my mages talking about pickles.

Mission accepted. I'm not far off from this anyway.

Lol I forgot who mentioned chapter 11 being tough and then having an epiphany. I made a mental note about it, and then completely forgot about it myself 🤣. Just Escape! I ended having 37 turns and we both took out every unit from my squad and their squad. It was down to alear and the big bad. Once I realized I couldn't actually damage this foe, my brain finally clicked and I scurried away haha.

@NintendoByNature
You must be playing on Casual. But if you lost nearly all your units, sounds like it's a perfect fit (granted, had you just tried to escape it would have been much easier).

@Ralizah
This game has some really good supports, but most of them are locked behind B and A tier. The C-tier kind of sets the stage. Though I did enjoy almost all of Framme's C-tier supports. She's a gem. Especially with Vander and Clanne.

A lot of them are silly and remind me of Awakening when Lucina's daughter was using Falchion to cut fruit 😀

You're gonna get tested in Chapters 10 and 11. Chapter 12 was... not too hard imo. But then Chapter 13 hit even harder than 10-11. I suppose it might have been easier had I just retreated and left the village visit alone, but I can't help myself. I needed that sweet Seraph Robe. Also got Elwind from one of the mages in that Chapter, which can be upgraded to Excalibur, which I need for my new S-rank Nina ring to do 20% extra damage. Otherwise you don't get Excalibur until Chapters 20-21. So that was a clutch drop.

What Chapter are you on, anyways?

@NintendoByNature Wow, that's extreme! Personally I tried to at least fight off the bad guy's minions while escaping but on Classic even that was setting me up for a loss. Next time I see the word "escape" I need to forget about defending and, ya'know, escape...

@Buizel even just moving beyond the main story chapters, I've noticed that it's best to immediately go for the objective rather than kill all the enemies. Some of the paralogues I've played are that way. I think having so many "Route the Enemy" maps in previous games is something that's really conditioned us to think a certain way.

It is how I play as well. I dunno if there is a limit, I have never tested it, but the game loves to absolutely flood you with Units. Like ants with hydrogen bomb punches just flooding every turn. Seems to be absolutely no value in methodically working my way up a map and claiming it, as you can't really control or lock down arears, so you are best to absolutely grab the seat of your pants and rush the objective for the best outcome. That is why I couldn't imagine playing this on Classic, it just seems like it would make so many tough objectives needlessly frustrating if you want to keep everyone alive.

@Pizzamorg I can't imagine it either. Maybe if you played it by rushing through the game, but not by seeing and doing everything.

Ok I am starting to get the hang of this. Since I am playing on Normal I'm just farming skirmishes now that I know they are based on real time (or changing your clock on the switch ) but since I only have bite sized time to play it works out. I knock out the skirmishes in the morning before work, take out a few more during lunch and then get another set in after work. Michiah is perfect for XP/SP farming with great sacrifice, Just stick that unit in the corner of the map and have at it. And Tiki helps stat growth so I toss her on my crap units and let them fight a bit. (Vander is starting to not suck/be outclassed). I still prefer 3H's gameplay loop and story but now that I have a good grind loop then I'm good to go. Throwing my luck boosters at Anna to farm money kills now that she is decently strong. My hope is to eventually get her so OP that I can send her on a one child army gold harvest. (I'd likely bench her for other maps at that point/use her for tempest trials to farm orbs). It does mean its going to take me way longer than planned to beat it but the game is fun for me now. Plus by the time I'm ready to move on I will have the rest of the DLC unlocked (or at least half of it) by Nintendo. Didn't realize S rings have skills as well. Ok yeah I was not playing this correctly when I first started...the systems are starting to mesh for me and I'm starting to see where IS is going with this.

Does anybody know on the escape chapter (chapter 11?) if you can actually beat everything on the map? I know you aren't supposed to but I'm wondering if I can get some drops from the four generals.

@Ryu_Niiyama
Maybe on Casual? Certainly not on Classic. But even then you're not gonna take out the 4 Hounds or Veil. I killed the enemies with loot drops and that was it.

Btw, only certain S rank rings have skills. Like 2 rings out of all the ones for each emblem get skills. So before you buy, save, then if you roll S-tier, Reload save and pick a new Emblem category. You'll still get S-tier on same roll, but it will be different. Can use that to your advantage to get one with a skill attached. Though I just got lucky with mine (except Nina- I rolled S-tier for Lucina's rings, then Reloaded and chose Lyn, got Nina with 20% extra damage with Excalibur skill).

@JaxonH @Buizel lol, it was definitely an oversight on my part. If anything, it all worked out since i leveled up a bunch of my units.

@NintendoByNature
You're a MadmanByNature and I love it 😀

I am so absorbed into the strategic combat of Engage. I've been a FE fan for a decade because it's always so fun, but it's never felt like peak strategy... until now. Well, I think Fates Conquest and Revelation offered some seriously good strategy with the multitude of options the pair-up and adjacent assist mechanics brought. But Engage takes it to another level with the chain guard, chain attacks, sub-classes and Engage mechanic.

Like, I just watched a video where they had 4 Backup units with a skill that allows them to chain attack from anywhere as long as the enemy is within their movement range, and it was nuts. I also saw a late game Maddening map where the enemy did the very same to the player! Extremely dangerous stuff. Not to be underestimated.

My mind is churning like a hamster on a wheel thinking of all the possible stratagems I could employ utilizing chain attacks with specific skills. Suddenly Canter is no longer the goal, at least for Backup units.

Also, some of those Bond Ring skills are sick. Claude = if HP is 100% grants range+1 with bows. Yo... with an upgraded longbow? Sniping fliers from 4 tiles away? Or Deirdre = Unit recovers 5HP each turn. That may not seem like a lot but that adds up, and paired with a Qi Adept that Chain Guards, that could ensure they stay topped up after a chain guard, since it only takes 20% HP. So as long as Framme has HP <= 27 (which my Framme does- she's only at 24 HP) that would top her up immediately. Even after she surpasses that HP though, top ups each round can be clutch.

There's also 2 skills that boost damage with any fire tome by 20%, and another for any thunder tome by 20%. Mine only boosts Excalibur by 20% rather than all wind tomes, but that's probably because it strikes a weakness for fliers. Then again, Thunder can strike from 3 tiles away so that would be incredibly useful.

Ahhhh, I'm never gonna get those S-rank rings. Too hard. Even with the exploit, you'd have to roll a character that's in the 1st or 6th line of the reference bond ring list as most S-rank rings with skills fall there.

Point Uno: This game looks phenomenal on an OLED 4KTV. That hasn't generally been my experience with Switch games, but it is here. This might just be the most attractive game on the Switch. It's not just the cartoony character designs and primary colors, but also the incredibly clean UI. Everything looks so good in this game.

Point Dos: Between the Somniel and post-battle maps, I think I'm spending at least as much time out of battles in this game as I was in Three Houses.

@JaxonH I'm on Ch. 10 now. The game warned me some big fight was coming up, so I decided to call it a day.

It's not too hard to get S-rank rings. Just get into a system when you're watching TV or something, and you'll be able to generate several rolls per minute. It's tedious, but that's only a problem if you're primarily paying attention to the game.

Oh snap if the emblems know each other they increase each other's power during their emblem attack/skill. Ok, that's cool. I can't WAIT till I get Byleth. Also I finally figured out how to zoom (I could have sworn I'd tried the sticks but ok.). Enjoying my playthrough now (still prefer the monastery gameplay loop though.).

@Ralizah
I think Somniel was a good choice. Those who like all the extra activities from TH have plenty to do in between chapter battles, while those who didn't can safely ignore most of it (only essentials being picking up ore from farm and hitting the arena/ring chamber for skills). I, however, always liked the side activities as a good downtime balance. It never bothered me in TH like it did some ppl (except post-timeskip, I think it could have been streamlined a bit more, but that's small potatoes), and I like making my rounds in Somniel. I've got it down to a routine- fishing and wyvern riding, 3 arena rounds and picking up items, then making a meal before heading out (occasionally doing some shopping/forging as needed).

I tried a few save reloads going into new chapters and backing out... after 6 times in a row with nothing, I gave up in utter boredom. Now I'm just buying 10 after each battle, saving immediately before, and if I get nothing I reset and move on to next battle.

On the bright side, I upgraded my Elwind to Excalibur and have been using Clanne to absolutely wreck fools with that 20% extra damage. He also learned a skill from Tiki where selecting "Wait" heals 20 HP and cures all statuses. It can upgrade later to heal 30 and eventually even 40 HP.

Also grabbed Dual Attack skills for Kagetsu and Timmera, so they have a chance of Chain Attacking as long as enemy is in their movement attack range, not just attack range. It thoroughly impressed me in the Gold Corrupted skirmish I just did. Absolutely crucial skill for Backup units. That chip damage helps so much.

Just started Chapter 14 and... let's just say the objective is the most intimidating I've seen yet. I won't spoil it but, good night, it almost feels like the devs were trolling when coming up with this one, poking each other and laughing "ahahahaha lets see the player pull this off" 😃 Not complaining- I like the challenge.... But wow. It's a doozy.

BTW the game does look good, but depending on the games you play, may or may not seem outside the norm. There have been soooo many top-shelf games on Switch this past year I kinda feel like this is the norm now, barring cheap ports and games too heavy that were never intended to run. Be it Kirby Forgotten Land, 13 Sentinels, Mario Strikers, Switch Sports, Portal 1/2, Xenoblade 3, Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, Tony Hawk PS1/2, Splatoon 3, Persona 5 Royal, Nier Automata, Crisis Core FFVII, Mario Rabbids, now Fire Emblem Engage with Zelda TotK and Kirby Return to Dreamland and Pikmin 4 on the way... when those are the games you're playing, it just feels normal. Though I do think Engage is in the upper echelon of all those games. They should be proud of their work here. They did good.