Fire Emblem Engage Difficulty Settings Explained

Much like previous entries in the series, Fire Emblem Engage has three difficulty settings to choose from, making battles easier or harder based on your preference and experience with turn-based combat. This guide explains what each setting means and tells you how to change the difficulty once you set it. 

What Difficulty Should I Play Fire Emblem Engage On?

Screenshot by GameSkinny

The answer to that question is that it’s up to you which difficulty you play Fire Emblem Engage on. Sure, that’s a bit of an evasive answer, but it’s true. Ultimately, playing any game is meant to be fun, and if you’re not having fun, what’s the point? 

With that said, it may be better to start the game on Hard instead of Normal, regardless of your experience with the series, genre, or the general combat mechanics here. I’ll get to why in just a second, but first, let’s look at how each difficulty is described.

Note that each difficulty level has more enemies that take less damage but deal more pain. Foes also move more quickly, overwhelming your characters in a heartbeat; whereas the Chapter 3 battle on Normal sees the flying enemies move slightly only after several turns, they converged on me and pincered my characters after the first turn on Maddening.

What’s more, battles will typically take longer to complete and require more strategy and the use of bonds and special attacks. It’s likely you will need to be very patient to survive some of these encounters. 

• Normal: This is for new and intermediate players.
• Hard: This is for experienced players. 
• Maddening: This is for those who seek a true challenge. It automatically highlights Classic Mode for selection, though doesn’t require it to be chosen. 

Once you choose one of the above, you’ll also be asked to choose one of two further options that can make the FE: Engage “easier” or “harder”: 

• Casual Mode: Fallen units return in the next battle.
• Classic Mode: Fallen units are lost forever; this is akin to XCOM perma-death model, where characters are no longer in the game if they die.

Can You Change the Difficulty in Fire Emblem Engage?

So can you change the difficulty in Fire Emblem Engage? Yes, you can change the difficulty in Fire Emblem Engage. Once you return to the Somniel in Chapter 4, you’ll have access to your bed, where you can rest to pass time, watch previous cinematics, see various bond and support levels, and change the difficulty. To do so: 

• Open the map for the Somniel (X).
• Select My Room, then Travel.
• Interact with the bed at the back of the room.
• Choose Difficulty Setting.

Remember when I said you might want to play the game on a higher difficulty setting than you think? That’s because you can only lower the difficulty setting by interacting with the bed in your room. You can’t raise it. If you begin Fire Emblem Engage on Normal, for example, and find that the combat is too easy, you’ll be forced to start a new game to raise it. There is no way to change the mode from Casual to Classic or the other way around, either. 

So now that you know more about the difficulty options in Fire Emblem Engage, you can better home in on the settings right for your playstyle. For more on FE: Engage, consider taking a peek at our guides hub for the game.

Featured image by GameSkinny.