The Triangle has some new tricks this time
TheFire Emblemseries has many tactical hallmarks, but few as pervasive as its weapon triangle.Fire Emblem Engagesees the return of the weapon triangle, with a few twists of its own that make it well-worth mastering if you want your units to thrive in battle.
Introduced inGenealogy of the Holy War, the basic weapon triangle encompasses three types of weapons:Swords,Axes, andLances. It operates in a simple clockwork fashion where swords best axes, axes best lances, and lances best swords.
Other games have introduced their own additions to the triangle, or shift the triangle to broader sets of weapons. TheFatesgames, for example, classify weapons under Red, Blue, and Green, allowing certain arms like tomes, daggers, and bows to fall within the triangle. Magic has also had a triangle system as well, whereFire,Wind, andThundermagic all have strengths and weaknesses, alongsideLightandDarkspells, and even anima magic. The weapon triangle varies from game-to-game, and the same is true forFire Emblem Engage.
In manyFire Emblemgames, these advantages often give a damage bonus, and sometimes hit or avoid bonuses too. It makes understanding the different types crucial, and inFire Emblem Engage, the rewards for mastering the weapon triangle system are arguably some of the most beneficial in the series.
HowFire Emblem Engage‘s Weapon Triangle works
If you’re familiar with classicFire Emblem, thenEngage‘s triangle will feel familiar. Swords still beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords. Some additional side-advantages have been added, too; notably that hand-to-hand combatants, like Qi adepts, can “break” Bow, Tome, and Knife users.
The Break status is what can make-or-break your battles inFire Emblem Engage. When you correctly strike a unit with an advantageous weapon, you Break them, preventing them from launching any counterattacks until their next turn. This effectively means you’re able to avoid issues with type match-ups altogether if you carefully plan your offense.
A few other type advantages still exist inFire Emblem Engage. Fliers can still get blasted out of the sky by bows, and armor is still quite susceptible to magic. But Breaks allow you to navigate around these disadvantages. An Arts user, for example, can Break a Bow user, letting a Pegasus Knight safely toss a Javelin without fear of reprisal. It also helps you navigate around anti-unit weaponry, likes Ridersbanes or Armorslayers, by disabling reprisal strikes. Be cautious, though, as enemies can also Break your units.
By mastering how to use these, and by extension how to tackle different groups who can also Break you in return, you may emerge victorious from war inEngage. Or at least not have to use the time-rewind mechanic quite so often.
Related:All Fire Emblem Engage difficulty settings (and how to change them)onDot Esports
