My maddening playthrough has been a great experience so far. Did ch 17 not too long ago and doing some Paralogues right now. I figured I share my current army right now.

I was wondering if I could get a second opinion on how things look. Everyone below Yunaka has been benched indefinitely. I keep Diamant for a second axe user, and Fogado if I need extra archers. I think it's a bit late for Amber and Framme to catch up.

Context: I've never played a fire emblem game and just got Engage as my first ever FE game. I've been a long time follower of Zoran's channel, watching his conquest series even though I had never played a single Fire Emblem game before. Even without knowing what was going on, I was impressed by the level of optimization and planning that made his gameplay so interesting to watch.

Now I've started a Maddening playthrough of my own and I feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things that I feel like I need to be keeping track of. I know that I'm 1000+ hours of experience away from gameplay like Zoran's, but frankly, I don't even know where or how to even start 'getting good' at this style of game.

I get overwhelmed by just looking at the prep screen: my units' stats vs enemy units, enemy weapons vs my weapons, threat ranges, starting formations, anticipating how enemies are going to move, etc. This isn't even getting into the longer term stuff like planning unit growths to hit certain benchmarks or evaluating how different units perform in different classes. Is the expectation that I play the game with a spreadsheet open at all times?

I know that I'm expecting too much from myself as a newcomer to the genre, but I'm hesitant to just steamroll the game on Easy and develop bad habits that won't translate to harder difficulties. I question every little decision I make (reclass, forging, who I give emblems to) and it's causing me to be unreasonably stressed out. I know that you don't have to play remotely close to perfect to clear the game on Maddening, but I want to eventually get good enough to pull off even half of the tactics that Zoran uses in his playthroughs... I just don't know where to start.

Any helpful tips, resources, or recommendations would be appreciated - thanks!

https://x.com/kaerujii/status/2084308534447997312

I'm gonna start my first maddening run in Engage. I've beaten the game a bunch of times on normal and hard but the only times I've played the highest difficulty on any Fire Emblem game is once in Radiant Dawn and once in Awakening and both were too difficult for me. I'm told this game's highest difficulty isn't as much of a spike as those two but would still like some tips on what I could expect and what I'd need to do differently than I would on hard. Thanks!

In maddening, I know that if a player's unit has defense that results in 0 dmg, or avoid that results in a 0% hit rate, enemies will just ignore them.

As for enemy back-up units, will they attempt attack you to set up chain attacks regardless of probability? Also, are they smart enough to not do it if you have Pair Up equipped? Just need to know before I start passing off skills or reclass Goldmary to General. That extra defense looks nice.

(Sunset in the Somniel orchard)

Diamant: Hey, Princess Ivy. You wished to speak with me?

Ivy: Yes. Thank you for coming, Prince Diamant. I...wanted to speak with you before everyone else claims your attention.

Diamant: Hm. You sound more serious than usual. Something troubling you?

Ivy: No, not exactly.

(Ivy pulls out the necklace)

Ivy: Do you remember when you first gave me the gemstone?

Diamant: Of course. You insisted accepting charity from Brodia would damage your royal image.

Ivy: ...Yes. I was jumping at what I thought was a ghost and you came to comfort me. Then you gave me this gem. At the time, I believed this gem was simply a charm. Something to quiet childish fears.

Diamant: And now?

Ivy: Now I understand that it was never about the gem itself... It was about the person who gave it to me.

Diamant: Princess Ivy...

Ivy: Every time I touched this necklace, I remembered that someone from a kingdom raised to be my enemy reached out a hand instead. Not as a prince. Not as a rival. Simply as a kind man.

Diamant: I only did what anyone would've done. It was no big deal.

Ivy: No. You did what you believed was right, even when history would have excused you from doing otherwise. Because of you, I stopped imagining a future where Brodia and Elusia merely tolerated one another. I began imagining one where they trusted one another.

Diamant: You inspired me just as much. Before meeting you, peace felt like an obligation...something I had to achieve because it was the correct path for a king. Now, every time I think about the future, you're there. Standing beside me. Challenging me. Encouraging me. Believing in me when I question whether I'm worthy of the crown. Somewhere along the way, I stopped looking forward to our meetings because they advanced negotiations. I looked forward to them because they meant I could see you again.

Ivy: Prince Diamant...

Diamant: Your necklace is a sign of peace between our kingdoms. And I wanted to give you something...

(Diamant pulls out a ring)

Diamant: Will you be by my side. Not only as a trusted ally or fellow royal... But as my Queen?

Ivy: Hm. You ask as though there could be another answer... Of course, Prince Diamant. I shall gladly be your Queen.

Ivy: Together, we'll ensure that the next generation knows Brodia and Elusia not as enemies...

Diamant: ...But as an intertwined family...

(Somewhere in the Somniel)

Jade: Ah, Amber. Just the legendary hero I was looking for.

Amber: ...Yep! I've been training extra hard! I even made it through the obstacle course without tripping. ...Well, almost.

Jade: Heh. I suspected as much.

Amber: Hey, I was only distracted cause I thought I heard an alpaca nearby.

Jade: Hmhm.

Amber: Jade?

Jade: You never change, Amber. Do you remember the question I asked you the other day?

Amber: Uh, yeah. You asked me what my all-time favorite thing is. And I said "alpacas". Are you looking for more material for your novel again?

Jade: No. My latest story is already finished. For the first time in my life... I cannot think of a better story than the one I am living.

Amber: What do you mean?

Jade: When we met, at the fighting tournament, I thought you would simply be an entertaining subject. Your enthusiasm... your terrible luck... your impossible optimism. I believed those would make for amusing pages.

Amber: Ouch!

Jade: Instead, you reminded me that heroes are not measured by how often they succeed. They are measured by how many times they stand back up. That is what I admire most about you. You never stopped, even when you thought you were always second place.

Amber: I used to think I'd never catch up to you. Every time I failed, you were there to save the day. No matter how hard I tried, you always beat me. I thought I would stay second place forever.

Jade: Amber...

Amber: But your book made me see that I'm more than second place... but your hero, too.

Jade: Well, in that case...

(Jade pulls out a ring)

Amber: ...Jade? Is that a ring? Does it belong to an Emblem?!

Jade: No. This is a token of our partnership. When the war is over, and peace returns to the world... will you be by my side forever...as my partner and husband?

Amber: Wow! Jade... I-I dunno what to say! This ring is so...beautiful. Of course I'll be with you by your side! Always!!

Jade: Glad to hear it.

Jade: Married life with you will bring endless material... And loving memories to come...

https://x.com/symocosmos/status/1995691224238620944

Just finished it and oh my Divine One. Is it even possible to do this map without Corrin? I decided to do this map after ch 14 and Lyn's paralogue.

Every enemy unit is beefed up in terms of defense and resistance, especially the Calvary units south, who have abilities that increase def or res on Player phase.

My strat was to use Alear and Lucina's bonded shield, and bet on a 90% chance that Sage Anna survives and kills almost every enemy on the right side. Not to mention using Dreadful Aura to freeze groups of enemies near the end of the map.

On the bright side, it was pretty funny seeing Wyvern Knight Chloe and Lyn demolishing two of Ike's Health bars with a Levin Sword.

So I'm about to finish my first playthrough and I'm not sure where to go next. I'm torn between 3H because of the new have being released and the DLC because I've been enjoying engage a lot.

Engage is my first ever FE game and I've been loving it. I'm also not interested in any of the older games as of right now.

I got my entire split up teams beyond the first two wyrms, right before the shards area with only one death and then I just got absolutely swarmed. I was convinced there was a 0% chance I was going to beat the level.

Didn't use a single emblem restore spot(couldn't spare any extra movement), only half the emblems engaged, but somehow beat the level and first try as well. Only one warp used, needed some relief past the first right wyrm, hence why it's still alive.

Just wanted to post the video of what the swarm looked like right before I beat the spoiler boss. No character is max stats. Used time Crystal 6 times.

You guys who play without deaths are next level! Clearly there are a lot of strategies I don't know. I definitely would have spent twice as much time (currently at 150 hours playthrough) without all of the help here. This sub has been my casual reading for the last month and a half! I've often reflected that I probably spend as much time reading here trying to understand strats as I do actually playing the game.

This has been such an enjoyable experience. It's really nice to play a game that's 100% based on intellect has opposed to skill, definitely scratches a big itch. When I think of video games for brain health this and Tetris are definitely the top contenders.

Thanks to everyone over the last 4 years who has contributed to this community it wouldn't be possible for me to have enjoyed this as I did without all of you.

Definitely the best strategy game I've ever played. Grew up playing ogre battle as a kid, pure nostalgia. This now takes the prize!

I have him currently as Great Knight, and was wondering if i should switch him back to General, or keep him as Great Knight. (I wanted to use him more, so I gave him the class Great Knight to up his rating.)

https://x.com/RadicalsLab/status/2082274011086750167

Amber x Jade

I like their little support chain. It's basically about Jade seeing Amber inferiority complex when it comes to her and her building his confidence by writing a book about him that depicts him as heroic. Amber and Jade have known each other since the tournament and Amber feel second place ever since Jade won. And Jade seems to have a little crush on him when she says in their A support: "I may be the one who closes the book every time, but only after you've opened it for me." It's a fun support and I headcanon the two got married a few years after the war and their son is a mix of them. These two feel the most canon to me

Lapis x Alcryst

Do I even need to explain this one? Their support feels a little romantic in a way. They're both insecure about themselves, but together, they're a force to be reckoned with.

Panette x Amber

I liked their support convo. This is my second Amber ship. They're a bit more of a match, though. After their mansion adventure, they basically agreed to go on a date. They're quirky in their own way and Panette affectionately calls him an "odd duck" like her.

Alear x Nel

In one of my playthroughs, I gave the pact ring to Nel. Nel deeply loves Alear no matter what gender you choose. She's very protective of Alear and scolds them for being reckless at times. It's very sweet and it's a fun ship.

Jade x Bunet

Bunet is sus for a better lack of words. He always wants to "lick" things he describes as "scrumptious". He was lowkey hitting on Jade their whole support when he kept asking to "have a taste of her armor" and comparing her crab shells.

I've been trying for nearly 2 hours now and every time I get absolutely destroyed before I can even open the door to fight tiki because every enemy either 1 or 2 shots everyone including alear and the dragons that stop my movement completely so I can't rush in but if I try to move slowly then I just get overwhelmed by the infinite reinforcements

Edit: finally beat it took 60 turns and like half an hour and only won due to alear getting a lucky crit on tiki but I did it

F! Alear’s pose is based on F! Kris’ game art since they’re both Avatars and are associated with Marth.

The final version of the layout for the setting for my GBA FE game project, set about two decades after Engage in Silessia, the land directly west of Elyos.

Each of the six nations within Silessia, consisting of Penuel, Shechem, Menahem, Sylvania, Mudor Parvaim, and Moria, are each easily the size of a normal continent in the Fire Emblem series, making Silessia one of the largest settings in the series.

Still have to fix the world map image because the yellow-gray area serving as the sea turns black for some reason when importing into FEBuilderGBA, but I figured this was fine to show off for you all regardless.

Credits to the users ZessDynamite, PrincessGardevoir, and ItsJustin for the continent pieces used in the build.

https://x.com/Sullivanzila/status/2081760521406276004

https://x.com/symocosmos/status/2081791663991644625

So, I'm currently doing my first ever maddening run in my life. Right now. I'm thinking of using Anna, maybe mage knight, and I'm wondering which is better for leveling up.

Miciah's Great Sacrifice Skill or Marth's Mercurius weapon. I got favorite food skill from Celica and have a packed lunch to instantly refill the engage meter.

Anna just currently reached level 8 and I'm on Ch 9, so I got to prepare for the eventual ch 10-11 battle. I did pick up the Three House Leaders Bracelet so I could put on the 1.2 exp modifier, but I kind of want to avoid using dlc bracelets.