In Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, battles are ranked from D to S. As expected, getting an S rank reaps in more gold and sometimes a bonus reward. Unfortunately, as more progress is made in Three Hopes' stories, the harder it is to achieve S rank.
Any quests Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes' players fail to get an S rank on can be replayed at the Record Keeper. All Story Quests have an S rank, first-win bonus reward, so it won't hurt to pay a visit to the Record Keeper to try again. As long as players are consistent with their units, achieving S ranks should be easier.
6 Check S-Rank Evaluation
Each Main and Side Quest have what is called an "S Rank Evaluation" on the right side of the menu screen. This will list the requirements for getting an S Rank, based on:
- Completion Time
- Enemies Defeated
- Damage Taken
Most quests will have a consistent 30% damage Taken, but the Completion Time and the Enemies Defeated will vary by the mission objective. There are some Side Quests that require players to defeat a certain number of enemies within the time limit.
Not listed in the above image are Side Missions. As their name implies, these are optional objectives that may pop up once a Main Mission is met during battle. Completing all Side Missions isn't required for an S rank, but it will help boost the Battle Score and reward more gold.
Since Side Missions usually involve taking out a Commander, they might be worth doing simply for mowing down twice the amount of enemies listed in the Main/Side Quest.
5 Review the Battle Map
Unless they're confident, players should always observe the Battle Map before starting. Hovering over a unit will display which enemies they will have an Advantage (blue arrow) or Disadvantage (red arrow) against.
For example, it wouldn't do to have a Lance-user go after an Axe-user because of Lances weaknesses to Axes. On the Battle Map, the Axe-wielding enemies will be indicated by a red arrow.
Understand weapons weaknesses and strengths before directing units to strongholds or enemies. If a unit has multiple disadvantages, it might not be a bad idea to swap them with ZR before starting the battle.
During battle, players can issue commands by pausing with (+) and pressing A over a unit. This will generate an arrow that can be dragged to available areas on the map.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes insists in the early chapters that it's wise to spread out units instead of having them fight together in one spot. If a pathway branches, have units split up. Remember that these commands can't be made until after the battle has started.
4 Equip Useful Skills
A great unit is built from mastering different Classes and equipping Abilities that will aid them in battle. While a character like Mercedes may work better in the Monk Class-line, it's not a bad idea to change her Class to an Archer or Thief to get different abilities.
Abilities are learned by reaching milestones in a Class. At one rank/star, units will receive one or two Equipped Abilities, and so forth. Unlike Class Abilities, Equipped Abilities can be used regardless of the unit's Class, so, for example a Bishop (magic) can have the Ability Provoke (swords).
It should also be noted that Provoke, while good for attracting enemies, may not be worth putting on units that are slow-attackers, such as the Monk-line.
Some Abilities are special in that they'll calculate damage based on number of hits or a units' stats. One Ability worth getting is the Provoke Ability, which is learned at 2 stars/Rank 2 of the Swordmaster Class.
This will double the amount of enemies attacking a unit with this Ability. With this, the Enemies Defeated requirement will be filled in no time. However, just because all units can learn the Swordmaster Class, doesn't mean they all learn Provoke.
On the "Change Class" menu or at the "Training Grounds", players can hover over Classes and press the Y button twice to see which Abilities that unit will learn.
3 Swift Combos and High Movement
The Thief, Assassin, and Trickster Classes are fast-hitting Classes that are great to have. By holding down the X-button, a unit can dash through and sweep up enemies as they move.
Pay attention to the yellow bar beneath the Warrior Gauge. Once this is depleted, players will need to wait for it to refill before they can use this Strong Attack again.
Other Classes worth learning are the Cavalier, Wyvern, and Pegasus Classes. Flying units can ignore harmful Terrain such as lava, while Cavalier units can run into enemies and damage them.
A Wyvern/Pegasus Knight can fly over gaps marked with the Feather symbol on the map. This will allow players to cover parts of the battlefield that won't be accessible to non-flying units.
Take advantage of this to chase down any fleeing units or defeat hordes of enemies. Be warned that a Pegasus/Wyvern is extremely weak to arrows. Equip them with attachments that will "negate flying damage" ("negate cavalry" for Mounted Units) before starting the battle.
The main character of Three Hopes, Shez, is also recommended for their useful Shadowflash ability. This allows them to warp to any captured Stronghold by examining the battle map and using X-button to trigger Shadowflash. This is extremely useful when having to chase down a Courier/Messenger that's on the other side of the map.
2 Take Good Care of Weapons
Forging weapons can take quite some time in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes if players need to farm smithing stones or other rare minerals.
Once players unlock the Blacksmith at the Camp, they can start forging and repairing weapons at the cost of blacksmith materials and gold. Occasionally, players will pick up a Rusted Weapon from a successful battle. This can be repaired to restore them to form as long as players are updating the Blacksmith Facility.
By the end of Part 1 on each route, units should be able to use C-B Rank weapons such as the "Silver" weapons. These do far more damage than their Iron counterpart. Having a high Might and Durability will make defeating enemies much easier. Durability itself is important because it allows players to use Class Actions, such as Windsweep. Since a weapon loses durability each time a Class Action, it's important to have sturdy gear before starting a mission.
Finally, there are the Heroes' Relics. These are special weapons usually equipped by the House Leaders and certain Crest-bearing units at the start of Chapter 4. Unfortunately, to unleash a Heroes' Relic's full potential, players will need to upgrade the Blacksmith Facility.
This will raise an average 70-80 Might/Durability to 100+ Might/Durability depending on the Relic. Note that not all Heroes' Relics are weapons. Furthermore, a person without the right Crest will receive damage each time they use the Heroes' Relic in battle.
Having a powerful weapon will make defeating mobs much quicker and easier. Carrying an E Rank weapon (such as an Iron Lance) into battle is ill-advised.
Be sure to Upgrade the Blacksmith and Armory to obtain stronger equipment. Having a unit learn the Ability Appraisal will increase the number of rare drops and weapons in battle. To get additional ore, players can purchase some from Anna (given she's at the camp) or interact with the Surveying Spots in a liberated area.
1 Use the Tactics Facility
Once the Tactics Facility is unlocked, players will be able to increase the amount of times healing-items (ex: Elixers) can be used in battle as well as gain an additional Warrior Gauge. Other Abilities include strengthening a units' Unique Ability.
Like with all Facilities, the Tactics Facility will have better upgrades once it's been expanded on at camp. Some increase the damage of an Adjutant's Warrior Skill while others can increase the likability of a Crest triggering during combat.
Unfortunately, unlocking at the Tactics Facility can get extremely pricy. Players may want to start saving up on money so they can buy all the tactics they need for their preferred units.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is available now on Nintendo Switch.