{"id":97844,"date":"2019-08-03T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/08\/guide_fire_emblem_three_houses_-_get_started_with_these_heroic_tips"},"modified":"2019-08-03T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T19:00:00","slug":"guide-fire-emblem-three-houses-get-started-with-these-heroic-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/08\/03\/guide-fire-emblem-three-houses-get-started-with-these-heroic-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide: Fire Emblem: Three Houses &#8211; Get Started With These Heroic Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f59cf01e1a531\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f59cf01e1a531\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"Large\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/aa9faf099c9c4\/large.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/aa9faf099c9c4\/large.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Large\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>It could certainly be argued that <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/fire_emblem_three_houses\">Fire Emblem: Three Houses<\/a><\/strong> is the most complex release yet in the long-running strategy series, which is no mean feat considering the intimidating barrier to entry many previous games have had. It\u2019s extremely rewarding, of course, but juggling time in the Monastery, building relationships with the various students and staff, and making the hard decisions over how you want to shape the growth of each unit in your squad can appear to be overwhelming to many newcomers.<\/p>\n<p>Bearing this in mind, we\u2019ve put together a guide with some pointers and suggestions that should help to ensure your first dozen hours or so are best spent.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"Thumb 1920 1032037\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/0d165c3818683\/thumb-1920-1032037.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/0d165c3818683\/thumb-1920-1032037.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Thumb 1920 1032037\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3>Make the Most of Your Monastery Visits<\/h3>\n<p>One of the biggest new features in Three Houses is the free-roaming locale of Garreg Mach Monastery, which lets you pick up various sidequests and activities to bolster your character and team. You only get four visits max before the next big battle in any given month, so making your trips here count will be hugely important. Starting out, you\u2019ll only have a couple of Professor Points to work with, but if you use your time here wisely, that cap can be raised reasonably quickly.<\/p>\n<p>The first thing we\u2019d suggest is that you <em>always<\/em> pay a visit to the Greenhouse (found on the south end of the map). You\u2019ll naturally find yourself with a mountain of seeds between enemy drops, shop availability, and just finding them around the monastery, and using those seeds as much as possible will make your life a lot easier. The greenhouse can net you food for cooking, flowers for gifting, and stat-boosting items, along with granting you a nice bonus to your professor level after every harvest. Considering that this activity costs you no professor points and next to no money, there\u2019s really no good reason <em>not<\/em> to visit each time you come to the monastery, and the rewards only increase further as you raise your professor level and unlock access to better yields.<\/p>\n<p>After this, we\u2019d suggest you invest your professor points into social activities that can raise the most possible stats at once. For example, if you choose to eat a meal with students, try to eat with students who both need the motivation bump and stand to gain a boost in their support levels with each other. Or, if you\u2019re going to do an activity like singing with the choir, try to ask students who will benefit from the extra \u2018Faith\u2019 stat points and area compatible with each other in support conversations. It may not seem like much at first, but as the months roll by and you fall into a routine with these activities, the little extra bumps in stats will add up to some pretty substantial differences than if you just blew all your points on your favorite character whether they need the attention or not.<\/p>\n<p>Also, remember to hand out gifts whenever possible. Not only does this raise your support level with the student, but it\u2019ll also bump up their motivation for your next class. Even if it\u2019s not something they\u2019re overly fond of, you\u2019ll still at least get a fixed uptick in motivation and support each time and, considering that there\u2019s no limit on gift-giving, this is a reliable way to max out motivation. If you\u2019ve been keeping up on your gardening, for example, you can have a stockpile of flowers to hand out to everyone and top off their motivation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"2019080203532100 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6aa45497d88b4\/2019080203532100-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6aa45497d88b4\/2019080203532100-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.900x.jpg\" alt=\"2019080203532100 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3>Don\u2019t Forget to Update Character Arts and Abilities<\/h3>\n<p>Three Houses features a wonderfully flexible class system that allows any character to be any class (with a few exceptions) and master any weapon, but the real strength of this feature comes in how you\u2019re able to carry over the benefits from your mastery regardless of how you might change the course of that character\u2019s growth later on.<\/p>\n<p>The caveat to this, however, is that you can only have three Combat Arts and five Abilities equipped at any given point. The game never explains this to you, but any new Arts or Abilities will simply go into storage if the character that learned them is already full, so make a habit of checking up on those via the inventory screen when they come in. Later Weapon Arts are often better than the ones learned earlier, and some Abilities (such as the \u2018Faith\u2019 skill) are literally useless to some classes. You can always re-equip anything you take off of a character, too, so don\u2019t be afraid to experiment with new builds and see what works best for how you\u2019re using that character.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"Original 0a879c74f45ab2d16ca4aa60002dc229\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/04e9267b42ab2\/original-0a879c74f45ab2d16ca4aa60002dc229.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/04e9267b42ab2\/original-0a879c74f45ab2d16ca4aa60002dc229.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Original 0a879c74f45ab2d16ca4aa60002dc229\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3>The Basics of Monster Takedown<\/h3>\n<p>Relatively early in the story, you\u2019ll be faced with a new \u2018Monster\u2019 enemy type that takes up four grid spaces at a time and has multiple health bars. These enemies are among some of the toughest foes you\u2019ll do battle with and they require some slightly different tactics to take down. First, bear in mind that each monster has a \u2018shield\u2019 which needs to be broken before you can do full damage to it. The gold colour of each tile the monster is standing on will denote the shield status for that tile; if it\u2019s streaked with white, that means the shield on that tile is almost broken, and if it\u2019s gone, that means the monster takes full damage on that tile.<\/p>\n<p>The monster will be stunned once the shield is broken, which will keep it from counterattacking against the next unit to fight it. In addition to this, bear in mind that Gambit attacks will not only target multiple tiles, but will also stun the monster so you can get in a free hit. Also, if you can manage to shatter <em>every<\/em> shield tile in one phase, the monster will be stunned for a full phase and you\u2019ll be given a rare material for forging weapons with.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"2019080203515600 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/d1770fafd7822\/2019080203515600-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/d1770fafd7822\/2019080203515600-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.900x.jpg\" alt=\"2019080203515600 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3>Keep Your Rusted Weapons<\/h3>\n<p>If you have the online features turned on, you\u2019ll no doubt find yourself soon amassing a huge amount of seemingly useless rusted weapons out on the battlefield. While it\u2019s easy to see these as little more than money fodder, make sure you check the descriptions for weapons before throwing them away. Though many of the weapons actually are garbage, some of them can be repaired into substantially powerful or rare equipment that you otherwise wouldn\u2019t have had access to or would\u2019ve had to pay mountains of cash for.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"2019080203562100 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/a3205f1f08735\/2019080203562100-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/a3205f1f08735\/2019080203562100-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.900x.jpg\" alt=\"2019080203562100 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3>Be Decisive in Establishing Each Character\u2019s Role<\/h3>\n<p>Three Houses features the most flexible class system in the series yet, but it\u2019s still one that requires some time and investment to get the most out of. While we won\u2019t say that you have to use each character as they\u2019re clearly intended to be used from the start, we would advise that you have an endgame for each of them in mind, as later classes often have two or three minimum requirements for passing the certification exam.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you\u2019re training up a female character in their sword skill, make sure you train up their flying skill along the way so you can eventually have them be a Falcon Knight or Wyvern Lord. You can, of course, change directions with a character at any time, but it\u2019ll require some substantial extra investment to get their \u2018E\u2019 skills up to snuff, and you don\u2019t want to have a character eligible for a Mastery class upgrade only to realize you hadn\u2019t trained up one of the weapon skills necessary for a promotion.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"2019080203564600 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/ec60f9ba49d9f\/2019080203564600-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/static.nintendolife.com\/blank.gif\" data-original=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/ec60f9ba49d9f\/2019080203564600-0dc6ece91cf3f6f02bafc002e3ffbaad.900x.jpg\" alt=\"2019080203564600 0DC6ECE91CF3F6F02BAFC002E3FFBAAD\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<h3>Don\u2019t Forget the Motion Controls<\/h3>\n<p>You may have already found this one, but it certainly bears mentioning. On the loading screens, a sprite of your character runs back and forth seemingly at random, but this is actually a little mini-game that the developers included to pass the time while the game loads. You can make the sprite run left and right depending on how far you tilt the controller to that side and if you tap \u2018B\u2019, the character will jump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It could certainly be argued that Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the most complex release yet in the long-running strategy series, which is no mean feat considering the intimidating barrier to entry many previous games have had. It\u2019s extremely rewarding, of course, but juggling time in the Monastery, building relationships with the various students and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97844\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}