Fire Emblem: Awakening on 3DS: Five tips for strategic success

For turn-based strategy game fans, today is a Monday that does not suck. Fire Emblem: Awakening hits the 3DS today both digitally and on shelves (well, most shelves), giving players countless hours of nail-biting decision making, grandiose fantasy combat and resets ... a lot of them.

That is, of course, only if you're playing through Awakening on Classic Mode. (You are playing on Classic Mode, right?) To ensure that you feel inspired to restart 10 turns into a battle just a little bit less, we've pulled together five tips that might help keep your precious warriors--and clerics ... and pegasus knights--alive and well.

1. Don't Stand in the Purple Stuff

Before you start any turn, or any battle for that matter, it's wise to press the X button. This will cover much of the squares on the map in a purple hue. This is essentially the danger zone--any of your characters standing in a purple region of the map are in danger of being attacked. Unless you're prepared for your character to take a bit of damage, do not leave a character in the purple without a plan.

2. Two's a Couple

Pairing has long been a staple of the Fire Emblem series, but Awakening blows this system out. Generally speaking, it's wise to pair characters together not only to protect weaker ones but essentially create super units. Whether you keep characters in adjacent squares or pair them up directly, fighting in duos will save your fighters' hides in later missions.

3. Take Cover

From forests to fortresses and the insides of ornate buildings, it's imperative to use the terrain to your advantage. Each square on a given map has a profile detailing what type of terrain it is and what bonuses it provides. For instance, Woods squares offer extra evasion and defense, while Fort squares offer lots of evasion, defense and heal characters once a turn. If hanging out in a purple zone is unavoidable, always keep an eye out for beneficial terrain.

4. Have a Game Plan

And by that we mean the whole game. This is a general rule to live by in Awakening. From which weapon proficiencies to level up to which characters to use (and alongside whom), it's helpful to have a long term plan for your individual units and your squad. Spreading your time across too many characters could leave you with an evenly-leveled, skilled and befriended squad of satisfactory warriors when what you need are spectacular and specialized troops.

5. Save Early and Often

Face it: No amount of tips and pointers will save your characters from certain death. The sooner you accept the fact that at least one of your beloved characters will die along the way, the better. So, remember to save before each and every battle after all of your equipment and placement preparations have been made. Also, to restart: Hit the Home button, press Close, and load the game again--much faster. (Or, as we're told, you could just press the L, R and Start buttons at once for a "soft reset.")

Have some tips of your own for Fire Emblem: Awakening? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment.