The Fire Emblem series is known for being difficult for gamers of all types, and while more recent games in the series have been fairer in regards to balancing that challenge, that doesn’t mean they’re not hard. If a game is too challenging, it can lead to frustration rather than enjoyment, so this guide will explain the difficulty level and mode options in Fire Emblem Engage, including how the game handles permadeath.
How Difficulty Level and Mode Options Work in Fire Emblem Engage
There are two settings that you select at the beginning of the game that determine the challenge of Fire Emblem Engage: “difficulty” and “mode.” “Difficulty” is your standard difficulty selection. There are three tiers of difficulty to choose from. There’s Normal, which is recommended for newcomers; Hard, which is described as being for more advanced players who understand series mechanics; and Maddening, which is for the true masochists who want to suffer.
On higher difficulties, enemies will hit harder and employ better strategies, but you’ll also be limited in how many times you can reverse time via combat. On Normal, you can reverse time as much as you’d like in a battle, but on Hard and Maddening you’ll only be able to rewind turns up to 10 times per battle.
However, there is a way to adjust the difficulty as you progress through Fire Emblem Engage. If you’re playing on Hard or Maddening, by going to your bed in the Somniel hub town, you can lower the difficulty. Be warned though: Once you lower the difficulty, there is no way to increase it. Once the change is made, the rest of the game will be at the easier difficulty option you selected. Likewise, if you decide to play the game on Normal, then there’s no way to increase the difficulty later.
The second challenge setting is “mode.” It pertains mostly to how the series’s infamous permadeath mechanic is implemented in Fire Emblem Engage. You’ll be prompted to choose whether to play the game in “Classic” or “Casual” mode. If you select Casual mode, permadeath is turned off. That means, if one of your party members falls in battle, they’ll be able to fight in the next battle once they’ve healed up at the Somniel. As for Classic mode, permadeath is turned on, so when a party member dies in battle, they’re gone forever and can no longer be used. Unlike with changing difficulty in bed in the Somniel, once you select the mode you prefer, there is no changing it. It will be the default mode for the rest of the game.
That’s everything you need to know about difficulty level, mode options, and permadeath in Fire Emblem Engage explained. Make your choices carefully at the beginning of the game, because you won’t be able to change a lot of it midgame.
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