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[Fire Emblem: Heroes] Happy 1st Anniversary!
Smoogy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Welcome to Fire Emblem Heroes!
Fire Emblem Heroes, or FE:H for short, is a free-to-play (F2P) mobile version of Fire Emblem for your Android or Apple devices. It pulls characters from every single FE game, along with some new characters exclusive to this game.
The game is basically a small, bite-sized Fire Emblem game on your mobile device. Player teams consist of only 4 units and battles take place on 8x6 grids. Battles are very fast paced, yet still require careful planning and strategy. If you enjoyed games liek Fire Emblem Awakening or Fire Emblem Fates, you'll be right at home here. And if you're just discovering Fire Emblem for the first time, you'll have a great time! Check out all the helpful info below to get started.
NOTE: Since various Fire Emblem Wikis are far-better maintained than this OP can be, I will be linking to many sites that have current information. The below is a basic guide, but the links throughout are much more comprehensive if you really want to dive deep into the mechanics of FE:H. Credit to the Fire Emblem Heroes wiki on Gamepedia!!
Disclaimer: You may or may not regret spending real money on this game. It is possible to have a great time as a F2P player, but the urge to spend money is strong. Fair warning!
Fire Emblem Heroes: Beginners Guide - Great place to start!
Previous Forum Threads
First FE:H Thread
Second FE:H Thread
FAQs
How much does this game cost?
It's free to download and play! You can use real money to purchase orbs, which are the main currency of Fire Emblem: Heroes. Orbs are used to summon heroes, expand your maximum hero space, and restore stamina (but don't use it for that). you absolutely do not have to spend money on this game, but doing so definitely speeds up how quickly you can get the best heroes. Again, you don't need to...but you might have the urge for certain banners. Spend wisely, or not at all!
What do you do in Fire Emblem: Heroes?
Win battles and build up your army! Essentially, your goal is to beat the story maps, quests, special maps, and compete in the Arena/Arena Assault against other players (controlled by AI). There's a lot to do and enjoyment can be gained simply from winning battles. Also, some people like to collect their favorite heroes or maximize their weekly Arena score. Figure out what makes sense to you. If you're here, you probably enjoy something about the game :biggrin:
What do the different colors of heroes mean?
Each color corresponds to the weapon type of the hero. FE:H employs the "Weapon Triangle" to decide advantages in battle. It's essentially like rock-paper-scissors. Red > Green > Blue > Red. And Colorless (Gray) is neutral to all colors. Each color gets a 20% bonus when attacking/defending the corresponding color they have an advantage against, and receives a 20% penalty when attacking/defending the color they are disadvantaged against. There are also certain skills and weapons that impact advantages, beyond the weapon triangle. Simply speaking...best to attack or be attacked by colors you have the advantage against, or at least no penalty!
Red: Sword, Red Tome, Red Dragon
Green: Axe, Green Tome, Green Dragon
Blue: Lance, Blue Tome, Blue Dragon
Colorless: Staff, Dagger, Bow
Guide to FE:H Combat
What about movement type?
Each character has a specific movement type. Infantry can move 2 spaces, Armor can move 1, Cavalry can move 3, and Flying don't give a crap about forests or mountains, and can move 2 spaces like infantry. Certain weapons and skills give you advantages over certain movement types (e.g. Armorslayer grants effective damage against armor...shocker).
Guide to Movement Mechanics
When should I summon new heroes?
There are always Summoning Banners active. When you summon, you choose which banner you'd like to summon from. Each banner has specific heroes that are "Focus" units, meaning they are more likely to appear at 5* rarity. The more you summon from a banner, the higher likelihood you'll summon a 5* rarity hero. Your focus and 5* appearance rate will increase by 0.25 and each time you attempt to summon 5 heroes and will reset once you summon a 5* hero. Essentially, this means the more you summon from a specific banner, the higher likelihood of you summoning a 5* hero. So choose the banner with Focus heroes you like and summon away!
When you summon, you are presented with 5 Summoning Stones of varying colors. Your first summon on any banner is free. After that, the first Hero you summon from a group of Summoning Stones costs 5 Orbs. After this first stone, however, consecutive Summoning Stones will cost less orbs. Summoning 5 Heroes at the same time will cost 20 Orbs, meaning that you get one more Hero than you would have if you summoned each one individually.
Summoning Basics and Mechanics
Current Summoning Focus Banners
How do I know if my heroes are any good?
There are some tier lists out there that can help with this: Tier List and Tier List - factoring in Skill Inheritance (i.e. the best one). Also, ask here! Players here have great knowledge about the game and are happy to help you out. Generally, the best units are 5-star rarity (referred to as 5* in the future). The more stars, the more stats the hero has. But each
So, sometimes the same hero is better or worse than the same hero? Sounds complicated!
Yes! And...yeah...it can be complicated. This feature can be a blessing and a curse. Each hero has a specific set of IVs (like Pokemon if you are familiar). Every character has 5 stats: HP, Attack, Speed, Defense, and Resistance. Among those stats, units can have a boosted stat (their boon) and a stat that is less than normal their bane). So, certain heroes want certain combinations of boons and banes. A hero can also have neutral IVs, meaning they have no bane or boon. Generally, attacking heroes want Speed or Attack boons, with defensive heroes preferring Defense or Resistance. It is not always so simple though! And just because you get a -Spd Ryoma, for example, they are still usable. Getting a hero with perfect IVs is great...but not required.
Stat Variation (IVs) Guide
Handy Dandy IV Calculator
What is this "Skill Inheritance" I keep hearing about?
Each hero has skills that are specific to them. They can learn these skills based on their rarity (3*, 4*, 5*). If you don't want to use a hero for your team, or you get duplicates, you can give their skill to another hero you will use. You can use Inherit Skill to learn up to three skills at once from a hero. There are certain restrictions that apply - e.g. only certain weapon/movement types can learn certain skills. Also, some skills are exclusive to units (e.g. any "named" weapon like Falchion, Eckesachs, Urvan, cannot be inherited to another unit).
Skill Inheritance Guide
Who should I send home for feathers and who should I keep for skill inheritance?
Eventually, you'll have too many heroes and need to figure out what to do with them. You can't use them all! Some heroes are very good for skill inheritance (e.g. Lon'qu for Vantage 3, Roy for Triangle Adept 3, Shanna for Desperation 3). Some heroes aren't very useful for skill inheritance at all (e.g. Oboro, Raigh, Seliph). If you need help knowing which heroes to send home and which to keep for eventual skill inheritance, check out this helpful video: Phoenixmaster's Skill Fodder Tier List
How do I earn feathers, orbs, sacred coins, and badges/crystals to upgrade my heroes and summon more heroes?
Complete quests! There are daily, monthly, and special quests to complete, so pay attention to those. Also, completing maps for the first time typically yield rewards like orbs. You also should try to get the highest point totals you can each week in Arena and Arena Assault, for more rewards. Additionally, participating in special game modes like Tempest Trials and Voting Gauntlets will net you a lot of feathers, orbs, etc. Essentially...do stuff in game and get rewarded! Some things, like Tempest Trials, are pretty grindy to maximize rewards.
More about Player Resources
These Grand Hero Battles and Special Maps are hard! Are there strategies to help me win?
Yes! Check out http://yaycupcake.com/feh/ for winning strategies, complete with videos. Thanks @Dr. Flamingo
Are there any good YouTube channels out there to help me?
Of course! See below:
Pheonixmaster1 - unit discussions, tier lists, guides, GHB help, and more
I want to learn more!!!
Good! There's a lot of complexity to FE:H. Check out this Guide to Advanced Mechanics to really dive into some complex topics.
Also, the Fire Emblem: Heroes subreddit is a great resource. Be warned...lots of fan art!
Settings and Tips (NEEDS UPDATING)
Here are a list of things you might want to know about while playing:
- If a character has hearts around them in the castle area, tap on them to acquire an item.
- Speed is huge!
- Let lower level characters get the killing hit. Killing blows grant more XP. Soften enemies up with higher levels characters and finish them off with the weaklings.
- If you kill an enemy 4 levels lower than you, you gain no XP.
- If a hero dies in battle, they lose all XP they earned that map.
- Healers can gain XP by healing. Always heal when possible (even if it's only 1 XP). They won't gain XP if they've healed too much on a map though. Healers can also learn attack skills once they've earned enough SP, and this lets them earn normal XP.
- Characters that are 4* or higher automatically become "Favorited". You can disable this option in the Settings.
- Sometimes it's good not to attack. What?! There are some cases where if you attack, then the enemy can attack and kill you on their turn. If you don't attack, you'll deal counter attack damage and then finish them off on your turn. Great for choke point scenarios.
- If you want things to go faster, disable attack animations.
Friend's List
Here's our PA friend list. Add yourself today! Make sure to send out a greeting. Occasionally a hero might show up with a gift!
Helpful Links
- https://fireemblem.gamepress.gg/ - Best website for advanced learning (a lot of these guides below are linked from here)
- Tier List
- Tier List - factoring in Skill Inheritance (i.e. the best one)
- Best Hero List - https://fireemblem.gamepress.gg/heroes - use to check stats, IVs, build suggestions
- IV Calculator
- Buff Stacking Guide for New Players
- Fire Emblem Heroes Subreddit - lots of good info here
- Fire Emblem Heroes Damage Calculator - plug and play your characters/skills to see matchup win/losses
- Skill Inheritance Tool - plan your SI with the best tool out there
- Summon Simulator - if you want to pull, try here first...you'll be too depressed to pull for real
- Introduction to Team Building
- Orb Purchasing Guide
- Skill Inheritance - Do's and Dont's
- Level 3 skills inherited from 4*s
- Fire Emblem Wiki - to check character backstory, etc.
- Fodder/Send Home Tier List - check this to figure out who to send home or keep for skill inheritance
Credit for original OPs to @MNC Dover and @ecco the dolphin
Smoogy on
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Posts
3DS Friend Code: 1821-8991-4141
PAD ID: 376,540,262
I believe he's considered the worst red mage in the game. That said, he has green tomebreaker at 4* which is actually one of the better skills to inherit onto green mages especially.
I don't think there's any good SI fodder in there either.
Shanna is actually great - Desperation 3 and Iceburg at 4* - both pretty useful. Threaten Speed 2 as well if you want to go a bit budget there.
Matthew has Hone Speed at 4*, Reciprocal Aid, and Poison Strike 2 (which is situational but can be good on archers and thieves).
Other two are not great. Oboro has Threaten Res 2 I guess?
True, I always forget that Shanna has desperation. Yeah, thats Gunter, but I already have Hone Cavalry on the two guys that probably want it the most (Xander and Camus), and the rest of my Horses have Goad. Also true about Reciprocal Aid on Matthew (I pull so infrequently these days on grey orbs that I forget what they have). Poison strike I think is situational at best.
It's about the next Voting Gauntlet. The Tweet mentioned people connected to dragon's blood, which could mean a lot of things. The Fates royal siblings seem like the most likely candidates though.
I basically took all the highest rated (sort by rating) characters I had and only changed out anyone worth 185 (lots of red sword heroes in that group, for example) to see if it made any difference. My group usually ended up being Lucina, Brave Lucina, Amelia and Sharena and I think once, I was able to get somewhere around 4860 points, which means averaging around 694 per fight.
On the plus side, I pulled a couple reds (mostly a few pulls that had no blues) and got a Roy finally! So female Robin got her TA3. Yay! Now I need another for Inigo :P
Good lord I hope not. Most underwhelming announcement ever, and certainly not worthy of a pre-announcement. Those things are awful.
From the closed thread - should work for any green
@Delzhand
chain challenges suck
That was way funnier than it had any right to be
Edit: Whoah that's a big picture when you're not on your phone.
3DS Friend Code: 1821-8991-4141
PAD ID: 376,540,262
Hm, I think the only other Fire Emblem character I care about besides Hector is Morgan? Not sure what my incentive is to pull now that I've built all my teams.
EDIT: Oh hey, a 5-star Nowi. That's pretty useful since I've been trying to build up several dragon characters lately. I was already making plans to upgrade a Tiki for Lightning Breath+
I hate voting gauntlets and the time nature of the bonuses. Takes too much effort and not enough reward.
3DS Friend Code: 1821-8991-4141
PAD ID: 376,540,262
1 red, 1 colorless, 3 green
Okay, 4* Merric it is.
I only got green and colorless on that banner. No focus chance at all! Yay 3* Arthur!
3DS Friend Code: 1821-8991-4141
PAD ID: 376,540,262
Thank you for reminding me that continuous auto was a thing! I forgot it and was wondering how I was going to get the 100k points because grinding TT is such a drag.
I...did not know this was a thing. Thanks!
--Mark Twain
Also nothing from the 2 dragon banners other than a 3 star Hinata, which would be ok except I already have a bunch :P Oh well. I guess I will use Ninian for the gauntlet? I dunno.
I'm at 135K or so and in the 2800 range.
Great for hero merit tho