ATTENTION: This project’s name has changed from “FE8 Expanded” to “FE8 Alternative”.
Fire Emblem: FE8 Alternative
Hi there, I’m Kurayamiblack and this is my ambitious “solo” mod, “FE8: Alternative” which I have been working on for over a year. I say “solo” in quotes because I’ve been developing it almost entirely alone but alot of what I did wouldn’t exist without the efforts of others before me. Thank you all. This project is technically complete but open to further modification or additions if needed.
Firstly, for those of you who just want to skip straight into a download, BAM:
DOWNLOAD:
SCREENSHOTS:
The patches are for Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (U) version.
The download also includes screenshots, a Changelog, Original Script Changes Log, and Game Guides
Credits
Character Portraits:
- Thanks to DATonDemand for Laurel’s portrait base.
- Thanks to Cygnus for posting Elias’s portrait base.
- Thanks to GenericPretsel for the portrait used for the Rausten Knights Commander.
- Rausten Generic Armor Knight portrait spliced together by me (Kurayamiblack) using Generic Green Soldier and Breguet as the two bases.
Class Map Animations:
- Thanks to Nuramon and Jay, Ryn for the “Baron” sprites (used for Monarch class).
- The “Patriarch” walking and standing sprites were made by an unknown user. Thanks whoever you are.
- Thanks to “EA” for the map sprites for the Male Manakete classes
Item Icons:
- Thanks to Erishkigal for the “Proficient Sword/LanceAxe/Bow” icons (used for Royal Sword/Lance/Axe/Bow weapons)
- Thanks to XVI for the “Longinus” icon (used for the Cursed Lance)
- Thanks to Batima for the “Steel Poleaxe” icon (used for the “Hartzgarza” axe)
Battle Animations:
- Thanks to “The Blind Archer” at Serenesforest.net for the Axe Wyvern Lord animation.
- Thanks to Aruka, Kepulo, Seal, and marlon0024 at for the Mage Knight Eirika animation adapted for the Mage Knight sword animations.
- Thanks Aruka and Kenpuhu for the Mage Knight (Male) sword animations.
- Thanks to Brober, Teraspark, Plant Academy, and Seergiioo at for the Valkyrie sword animation.
- Thanks to knabepicer and Nuramon at for the Falco Knight Bow animation. (Later modified by Kurayamiblack)
- Thanks to IS, Pikmin1211, Pushwall, and St jack for the Female Hero animations.
- Thanks to Swain, Pikmin1211, and ltranc for the Male Hero battle animations.
- Thanks to MrNight48 for the “Patriarch” battle animations (Used for the “Holy Savant” class).
- Thanks to Leo_link, Nuramon, Iscaneus, and The_Big_Dededester for the “Baron” class animation (used for “Monarch” class).
- Thanks to Cypher Lee for the Morva Manakete battle animations (palettes edited by Kurayamiblack)
- Thanks to Sirknite31 for the generic male Manakete battle animations (palettes edited by Kurayamiblack)
- Thanks to JeyTheCount for the Helmetless “Oswin Repal”. (repaletted again by Kurayamiblack)
- Thanks to Alice for the female Knight “Ponytail Repal”. (spliced with JeyTheCount’s Oswin Repal via Kurayamiblack)
- Thanks to Alice (again) for the Male Helmetless General animations. (Spliced with vanilla animations by Kurayamiblack to create the missing Sword animations).
- Thanks to RiriK for the Female General and the Ponytail Great Knight battle animations.
- Thanks to Skitty and Datondemand for the Helmetless Great Knight animations.
- Female Great Knight animation is a splice between the RiriK Ponytail animation and the Skitty and Datondemand helmetless GK color repal. Combination by Kurayamiblack.
- Thanks to eCut and Flasuban for the Male and Female Helmetless Wyvern Rider animations.
- Thanks to St Jack for the Helmetless Unisex Wyvern Knight animations. (Repaletted by Kurayamiblack)
- Thanks to Flasuban and TBA for Helmetless Male Wyvern Lord animations.
- Thanks to Flasuban, TBA, Marlon, and RiriK for the Helmetless Female Wyvern Lord animations.
Class Cards:
- Thanks MeatOfJustice for the “Fancy Bard” class card.
- Thanks Blademaster for the Monk class card.
- Thanks Orihara_Saki for the Dancer class card.
- Thanks Leif, Scraiza, and Sword of HaE for the Assassin class card.
- I found the Summoner class card in a repository which had it listed as “uncredited”, but thanks whoever you are
- Thanks to SamirPlayz for the “Baron” class card (used for the “Monarch” class).
- Thanks to Sax Marine for the Hand axe animations on the “Baron” class (used for the “Monarch” class).
- Defiled One class card made by me (Kurayamiblack)
Other Credits:
- Thanks to everyone who participated in establishing the FE8 Skill System patch and all of its other features.
- Thanks to the various number of people who worked creating the many patches for installing features or making changes to FE8 through FEBuilder.
- Thanks to “ActualLizard” (on Youtube). His videos about how certain features of the game function were the inspiration to begin testing those features for fun which eventually grew in complexity until it became this whole big project.
- Thanks to GigaExcalibur, Fringus, Freelia, Nsyion, and Luigiofthegods for providing feedback that assisted me post-release in fixing dialogue, glitches, and suggested new features to be added. The game and my understanding of things have improved thanks to their willingness to both play the game and speak up on their opinion.
- Thanks to GigaExcalibur for the Variable Palette Tiles by UI color hack.
- Thanks to Contro for the Number Palette mod used for white numbers in the Minimug Boxes.
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Mod Credits:
- Created By: Kurayamiblack
- Originally Tested By: Kurayamiblack, Obnavion, and Sune
- Created Using: FEBuilder (Thanks to everyone who made this tool and its patches happen!)
- Created Over: Fire Emblem 8: The Sacred Stones (Thanks to everyone who contributed to creating the original game. Please support the official release!)
- Created For: All of you who play the mod! It wouldn’t mean anything without your will to play it. Thanks everyone!
For everyone else who wants to know what they’re getting, I hope you enjoy the read. Click on the headers below to read about each subject.
Purpose of this Project:
This projects purpose is a bit complex as different parts of it were done for different reasons. These are the primary categories of that vision.
Gameplay:
In terms of gameplay, the purpose of this mod is to experiment with a new angle on the foundational norms of Fire Emblem and see if even ideas thought to be “bad” or strange could function well and be likeable in an environment that seriously tries to design around them. Things like 2-3 range bows for example or designing around FEH style positioning skills. The purpose is to try to make a variety of concepts function well with each other to create a game that allows you to enjoy having them. I also wanted to offer purpose to as many items and classes as possible and make some character builds that challenge you to use that unit differently while still maintaining options to ensure useability. A risky move on my part when personal preferences and prefabricated expectations of what a unit should be are so strong. But this game is for the open minded and curious.
Story Integration:
The purpose of the story changes and additions was to add more personality to the game, draw direct attention to things that deserve to be noticed, correct errors from the vanilla game, address oversights, and expand on the ideas and concepts provided by the original game in a way that feels natural enough to feel like it belongs there. Excluding the obvious new characters and their interactions with the cast, I wanted my story changes to be so subtly effective that it gives players a type of “Mandela Effect” where the changes fit and flow so well that (unless you’re very familiar) you remember them as having always officially been there despite them being edits.
Battle Animations:
Battle animation changes were made (mostly) with repaletted vanilla assets to maintain that OG Sacred Stones GBA FE feel. No hyper realistic, character specific animations (except Morva I guess). I wanted battle animation colors to take directly from the color palettes of the character portraits to help make sprites resemble their character more accurately. Also, to help characters look like their portraits, helmets were removed from Knights, Generals, Great Knights, Wyvern Riders, Wyvern Lords, Wyvern Knights, and (after weeks of custom work) even Paladins. I wanted to make characters look as close to portraits as possible without deviating from the original sprite art style too much.
Personal Reasons:
On a personal level, I wanted to make FE8 Alternative as a hypothetical alternative to FE8. I said to myself “How might Fire Emblem have evolved if this WAS the vanilla game we got?”. I also admittedly wanted to make a game people would replay, experiment with, explore, and analyze as if it was official content being combed for easter eggs and missed story implications. An unrealistic expectation, but one that drove me to mind the details constantly.
How It Plays:
FE8 Alternative is it’s own new system of base stats, growth rates, item stats, class balance, and more. It is not attempting to be Sacred Stones in terms of gameplay, but very much so still is Sacred Stones in story and setting which has been expanded on through 6 new characters, their relationships, and a bit of extra dialogue sprinkled in here and there to help the world feel a bit more alive even if the dialogue itself may be unneeded in some places.
Fire Emblem is a tactics game, so this mod focuses on that aspect by increasing the difficulty and challenging the players to use their assets creatively. It is not about delivering the same Fire Emblem archetypes or character roles. It’s about the player themselves figuring out how best to use the assets they are given.
In terms of gameplay, it introduces FEH style positional skills (Swap, Pivot, Reposition, Shove) and offers them to all non-magic classes. They are archetype locked so your mounted units get Reposition, light and speedy units get Pivot, heavy defenders get Swap, and your muscle men get Shove. Mages don’t get these skills (except Reposition on Mage Knights and Valkyries) because their focus is on Tome and Staff abilities. Non healing staves have good range now to help make them worth carrying. Anima focuses on effective damage, Light focuses on Monster slaying and high crit rates, and Dark focuses on power and some jank abilities. Bows are focused on uncontested range and anti-mount duty. Later, the game slowly introduces “Held Items” which grant abilities to the unit holding them similar to Hoplon Guard but much more varied in scope. Old class-specific promotion items, Dancer Rings, and even the Sacred Twin weapons have Held effects now. Shops and armories have been tuned for progression to the point where in-chapter armories offer things from the next armory’s world map inventory to give you earlier access to stuff if you go out of your way to shop mid-mission. Even the Battle Prep shop has expanded essentials for sale with no markup prices. The game has been meticulously tailored for itself in alot of small possibly not-so-obvious ways that consider each other and hopefully add up to a fun experience.
In terms of progression, the game has 3 primary phases. Phase 1 is everything before the Eirika/Ephraim story split. During this time, the game is at its most restrained as players learn the new mechanics available to them (such as the positioning skills, or the changes to basic weapons, class stats etc.) in a setting most familiar to standard GBA Fire Emblem. Phase 2 is during the split story, where the difficulty rises as class promotions and skill system relevance begin to open the game up and things become more free flow. Phase 3 comes when Eirika and Ephraim reunite. At this part of the game, the difficulty increases one more time as enemies are greater in number and equipped with much better weapons. The player should by now have learned how to take advantage of almost everything available to them including the Held Items that are increasingly given to you, and the game encourages you to get creative with your options.
The foundation for the gameplay is very different from standard Fire Emblem in alot of ways, but very much the same as well. This mod focuses on the feel of managing your units and assets over delivering expected character/class/archetype roles. It is an experiment in how Fire Emblem could be if wasn’t restrained by traditions, but still tried to respect them.
Highlights:
Some of the mods biggest highlights revolve around additions to the general gameplay systems. This mod does use the FE8 Skill System mod and all the quality of life changes that come with that (too many to list). Beyond that, this mod’s highligts are as follows:
- Base stats for all classes and weapons completely redone from scratch
- Emphasis on class identity
- Higher growth rates and stat caps for all characters/classes
- Increased difficulty with larger differences between selectable difficulty modes
- I waged a personal war against 1-space-wide corridors on maps
- New basic items besides Iron, Steel, and Silver so that all non-S rank levels have a standard weapon available
- Bows and Axes reworked as weapon types (more info on this later)
- Positional skills (Pivot, Swap, Reposition, Shove, Smite) given to all non-magic classes and distributed by type to add to depth of map gameplay (enemy AI does not utilize these skills)
- Weapon effectiveness plays a bigger role (more info on this later).
- 6 new playable characters (Gerardo, Devin, Odion, Laurel, Elias, and Sara) with support convos, cutscene dialogue etc. with care to make them fit into the narrative and feel as naturally as I could.
- Skills are class locked and chosen carefully to provide varied experiences and try to make all options feel valid, impactful, and enjoyable.
- ALL of the maps in the game received some type of change. Some minor, some major. From actual map design, to new events, to dialogue, and more.
- Every single playable promoted class has a minimum of 2 playable characters who can become or already are that class.
- Lots of unused content utilized where reasonable. As much unused content as possible was given purpose and availability. (Mines are post-game only. If you know, you know).
- Slayer ability was removed from Bishops and now all Light Magic were given effectiveness against monsters regardless of the user.
- Two new classes added to the game. Holy Savant (replaces Sage as a promotion option for Priest and Monk) and Monarch (special class for Fado and Vigarde).
- Changes and expansions to the game’s story and lore to dive deeper into the original worldbuilding and even correct flaws, errors, and oversights from the original.
- New and/or altered dialogue for characters and scenarios across the game.
- Non-reward houses now have some fun new conversations and teach the player about the mod itself, it’s features, some expectations, and advice.
Quality of Life Changes:
There have also been alot of intentional smaller changes to help the game feel more open and accessible during gameplay. Here are some of the major ones:
- Many item descriptions updated for clarity (or to add personality in a few cases)
- Class descriptions changed to display movement type, usable weapon, and learnable skills so that when choosing a promotion class, you have an idea of what it’s gameplay characteristics are.
- Shamshir and other locked weapons that are not character specific have been unlocked so that everyone can use them.
- All promoted classes have a minimum weapon rank of C for all of that class’s usable weapons including staves.
- The Con stat differences between genders of the same class has been removed.
- No characters have a negative Con stat
- Rain no longer affects movement and is a purely aesthetic feature now.
- The Restore, Barrier, and Hammerne staves now have a range of M/2 just like Physic, Sleep etc.
- Hold items now exist which grant abilities or stat buff just for having it in a character’s inventory.
- Sacred Twin Weapons now have Held item effects that grant the user abilities or stats even when not equipped.
- Sacred Twin weapons fixed to have x3 effectiveness like normal weapons instead of x2.
- Gleipnir is effective against monsters.
- Magic swords/lance/axes now deal x2 effective damage instead of x3, but their base damage is much higher to let them be viable for low Mag stat physical units.
- “Less Annoying Fog” patch installed so you can still act after running into a foe in Fog maps.
- Limitless Trade and Limitless Give/Take for the Rescue mechanic have been added.
- Added a Fast Forward button directly into the game during battle animations for anyone running the game on software or hardware that doesn’t already have a fast forward feature.
- New custom Minimug window added.
Potentially Controversial Changes:
As with all mods, there are some things people might see and immediately think “that’s gonna ruin things” before they even try it. There are also things that people have a natural bias against and will dislike on principal alone even if you made it completely fair, functional, or even straight up fun. The following are changes I worry might rub some people the wrong way just for existing, but I encourage people to give them a chance and see how it is implemented and how it works within the new system provided. Here are those changes:
- Archer range changed from “2” to “2-3” to give archers the range advantage their class should have and keeps them from competing with mages for distance value. Mages previously had the same 2 range access but with 1 range option that bows lacked. Mages also had access to flier effective damage with wind magic and hit Res instead of Def, making them hit harder too. They could even carry siege tomes with them while archers only have access to ballistas via specific map hardpoints. Bows needed something unique to them and I decided it should be uncontested range, especially since the flagship promoted Bow class is literally called “Sniper”. Bow’s weight have been increased however.
- Bows are effective against all mounted units (except the armored Great Knight) instead of just fliers. They were already effective against high mobility fliers so I changed them to include other high mobility classes such as horses. This gives archers the role of area control against high movement units, encourages players to swap frontline classes to strategize around more obstacles, gives armors a decent role approaching archers safely, gives early game player archers kills they can use to perform a job and keep up in levels, and even makes sense IRL since archery was primarily used to counter cavalry mobility.
- Elemental magic now has effectiveness against different types of enemies. Fire beats armor, thunder beats horses, wind beats fliers, and ice beats dragons.
- Axes received a noticable damage increase and accuracy increases, but also suffer weight increases. This changes their weakness from missing alot to lack of double attacking often but gives them the damage to make those single hits count.
- Some classes gained new weapons, but Mage Knights had staves removed and replaced with swords to promote a more combat oriented option when choosing between it and Sages. They were given the Arcane Blade skill to make swords usable and make 1-range combat beneficial. They were also indirectly buffed by the changes to magic swords which Mage Knights and Valkyries greatly take advantage of compared to all other sword classes.
- Due to Mage Knights not having staves, Troubadours can only be promoted into Valkyries since no other promoted Horse Staff class exists.
- Sages no longer have Light Magic.
- Disabled a common modded feature that displays damage dealt over a unit’s head during battle animations.
- You are now forced to deploy both Eirika and Ephraim in all story chapters after “Ch15: Scorched Sand”.
Other Noteworthy Changes:
- All class specific promotion items awarded in-game have been replaced with Master Seals instead.
- Class specific promotion items were converted into Hold Items that grant benefits or skills to the unit carrying them.
- Weapons grant more Wep Exp per hit the higher their weapon level is. E and D rank weapons grant 1, C and B rank weapons grant 2, and A rank weapons grant 3. This makes getting an S rank easier, makes training multiple weapon levels on the same unit easier, and encourages the use of higher rank weapons which the game is also balanced around.
- Support levels increase faster and support levels can be gained a 2 range instead of just 1.
- All new weapons ranks added to old classes have battle animations courtesy of publicly released Fire Emblem community resources (creators credited in a txt document included with the mod).
- Post game content (primarily Lagdou Ruins) received difficulty increases and new rewards at the higher floors.
- Battle animation color pallets changed for several characters to more closely represent their character portrait looks.
Here are some guides I made for anyone trying to plan out their next playthrough, or want to learn more about a character. (Class Guide removed due to post size limit, but is included with the game download)
Playable Character Unit Guide
The following are descriptions of each playable character in the game. There is information about how they work as units and some info on who they are as characters. This info will contain SPOILERS for the original game’s story in some areas (specifically Orson and Laurel) so if this is your first time playing Sacred Stones, firstly thanks for making my mod your first time, and secondly you may want to read with caution.
Characters in command roles (as well as some other special case characters) have Personal Skills which are skills unique to that character. Even high ranking bosses like Valter, Caellach, Riev etc have personal skills, though I will not currently cover them here since this guide is primarily to make a case for why you should consider using each of the playable characters.
The units recorded here are listed in order of recruitment, except Ephraim who is at the top with Eirika because “Lord Privilege” 
Also, for the story split chapters, the units are organized by the earliest chapter you get them between both stories. For example Duessel and Cormag are recruited earlier in Ephraim’s Story than Eirika’s which is why they appear before L’Arachel. And if units are recruited on the same chapter in both stories, Eirika’s story units are listed before Ephraim’s.
Character Guide
Eirika:
Main Lord of the game until the story split occurs. Eirika is a fast type character akin to Myrmidons and comes with the Pivot skill to help her extend her own movement range if allies are positioned well for it. She has interestingly high Mag and Res for a primarily physical unit but this makes her excellent with Magic Swords later in the game and lets her somewhat tank mages a bit early on. She has a Personal Skill called “Voice of Peace” which reduces any damage dealt by enemies within two spaces of her by 2. This includes damage to allies as long as the enemy itself is within 2 spaces of Eirika. Her only major flaw is a low base HP, but that’s nothing a single Angelic Robe can’t fix, right?
Ephraim:
The 2nd Lord of the game but not truly available until the story split. He prioritizes Str, Skl, and Def stats and does NOT handle magic damage very well. His Swap skill lets him assist in unit positioning and putting himself into favorable enemy phase situations, especially to substitute for another unit who finds themselves in a tight spot that Ephraim could handle. His Personal Skill is called “Inspiration” which makes allies within 2 spaces of him deal +2 damage and take -2 damage in combat. Unlike Eirika’s personal skill, Inspiration doesn’t do anything for Ephraim himself and only helps his nearby allies fight. Not that Ephraim needs any help fighting of course.
Seth:
The Jeigan of the game, but in a different way than usual. Seth’s stats are pretty close to base which makes him generally weak as a Paladin although still noticeably stronger than any one other unit you own in the early chapters of the game. However his growth rates are absolutely phenomenal and allow him not only to keep up but stay relevant throughout the game. Almost all of his growths exceed 100, allowing Seth to sometimes get +2 to some stats on a level up. His HP in particular has over 200 growth, giving him a guaranteed +2 on every level up and a chance at +3! His downside is that he requires special attention. Being a Lv1 promoted unit, he doesn’t gain EXP very fast and this remains the case for most of the game. Raising Seth is a commitment but with his growth rates it can be quite worth it, nearly capping almost all of his stats without booster items by the time he hits lv20. The best way to keep his levels up early is to feed him boss kills starting at Chapter 2. The Chapter 1 boss only gives him half of a level (take it or leave it) and the prologue boss barely gives him anything at all. But Set does fairly well if you really want him around. He has a Personal Skill called Chivalry, which gives him +2 Atk/Def/Res during combat if his opponent is at full HP. This makes him excellent as an opener to cripple foes immediately which is also great for setting up other units to gain easier kills for exp. Regardless of how you use Seth, he always finds a way to be useful for something.
Franz:
This guy is a strange one with an unstable but sometimes interesting growth style. Franz has high HP, Skl, Spd, and Res but middling Str/Def rates. This makes him pretty good against mages but his Str and Def can end up either good or bad at random. This character is usually pretty different from playthrough to playthrough. He can be trash in one run and gold in another without warning. A real gamble, but sometimes that’s the fun part. However the additional Class Skills from promotion almost always tend to make him useable. Both Paladin and Great Knight somehow just work for Franz regardless of his stat spread (after leveling up into their skills of course).
Gilliam:
This man has exactly 3 stats. HP, Str, and Def. Gilliam is a physical wall who benefits equally well from both of his promotion options. He absolutely will deliver you from physical pressure on demand but dies to magic (especially fire) in record time. Some people will prefer the extra mobility and extra ranged protection of Great Knight while others will love the Provoke ability and Pavise option on the General class. Nothing says “No U” like triggering Pavise and taking zero damage from an enemy Hammer lol.
Vanessa:
Available very early in the game, but she is not built like a typical pegasus knight. Vanessa sacrifices some of her Spd and Res for Str and Def, making her more of a balanced unit in terms of growth. But because she’s a Pegasus Knight, her base speed is still high enough to double attack where it counts. She’s a very reliable unit who has just enough of everything to get you through most problems but she can fall off rather quickly if not used for a few chapters. She does well with both of her promotion options, although Falcoknight having Bow access is a very strong advantage that most Pegasus Knights will prefer.
Moulder:
This is your early game healer, however he is no slouch. He has impressive growths in everything except Str, and Luk. His Spd growth is lower than everything else but is still high compared to the previously mentioned stats. The Moulder actually has a minimum 80% growth in all remaining stats with HP and Skl particularly being exactly 100. The only limit this unit has is stat caps and/or your patience to level up a non-combat unit beyond Lv10 before promotion. If you promote at Lv10 exactly, he’s a solid unit. If you go past Lv10 before promoting, you’re cultivating a monster but at the cost of continuing to field a Staff-only unit in your limited character slots deeper into the game’s difficulty increases. Will you choose to Moulder the burden?
Ross:
Unlike most axe specialist units, Ross doesn’t have a high Str growth, but he makes up for it by having the highest Spd growth among that group. He is very evasive and quickly levels up into being a double attacker. Additionally, his personal weapon “Ross’s Axe” is a 2 range axe that has 100 hit rate and higher than usual Wep Exp growth on it. Combine this with the extreme Exp gains this character gets and you have a unit that honestly becomes kind of a monster by mid-game because of how many level ups he gets in a short time. He starts off noticeably weaker than everyone else, but when he catches up in promotion tier and level, he usually exceeds expectations. His low Str stat may be a turn off at first, but with the buff to axe damage in this game plus Ross’s speed, you’ll find that if you invest in him from the start he turns into a shockingly efficient killing machine. Functions well in all of his final promotion options but my personal favorite is “Fast Berserker”.
Garcia:
This character comes with a Prf weapon called “Hartzgarza” which functions as the axe equivalent of the Rapier and Reginleif, like the Wolf Beil from FE7. The name is a combination of “Hartz” and “Garza” which are both names for “Garcia” in two other languages, so really the weapon translates to “Garciagarcia” lol. Anyhow, Garcia (the character) is a high Str/Skl character with decent enough Def. He’s all about accurately applying big damage. The Hartzgarza axe provides him with a unique armor/horse slaying proficiency that helps tremendously in early and mid game chapters where Garcia slaughters what otherwise may have been a problem. Built more for his Hero promotion route, he should still make a fantastic Warrior especially with the bow wielding advantage. This game gives you alot of solid unit options, but don’t sleep on this guy too much.
Neimi:
This is your early game archer, but don’t think about benching her right away because bows are alot better than they used to be. Neimi has high Spd and Res growths making her excellent against magic units from the get-go, but that advantage goes even harder due to bows having 2-3 range now. This allows her to initiate combat one time from outside a mage’s counterattack range. This makes her very good at chip damage and setting up kills for other units you are trying to grind, or for safely finishing off weakened foes. You may think she has trouble killing though if that’s the case, and you’re partly right. Except bows are now effective against all mounted units including cavalry which are commonly seen in the early game of most FE games including this one. For this reason, Neimi is easier to grow, letting her keep up in levels and reach a point of self sufficiency. Both of her promotion options work great for her as she is the fastest character in the game for both of those classes and her Str tends to stay respectable.
Colm:
One of the most indirectly usable characters in the game. Not only does he have access to lockpicks, theft commands, and Fog of War extended sight range, but it’s easy to overlook the Shade skill which allows him to take to the front lines without worrying about getting jumped on enemy phase as long as someone else is nearby to take the hit. Also, the Pass skill gives him great player phase target selection when enemies are grouped up, especially at choke points. Beyond that, Colm has high Skl and Spd which makes him excellent as either an Assassin or Rogue later, though his Str stat can be hit or miss from playthrough to playthrough. This game also includes at least 1 decent quality stealable item on almost every chapter starting with the chapter you get Colm. So there’s tons of neat little benefits to having this guy around. If you actually use his speed to your advantage and give him higher ranked weapons, you’ll be surprised at how much combat work this man can put in as well. He feels weak, until he doesn’t lol.
(NEW!) Gerardo:
Giving purpose to an originally unused face sprite, Gerardo is the first brand new character you encounter in the game. He is a Mercenary with an Iron Blade who works for Bazba’s Bandits. He is recruited by talking to him with Garcia and has battle dialogue with Bazba himself. Gerardo’s backstory is deeply involved with Garcia, Joshua, and Caellach and you can learn about it through his supports with Garcia and Joshua. You can even recruit Joshua with Gerardo as well in Chapter 5. He also supports with Moulder where they share the experience of being older men and making sense of life. As a unit, Gerardo’s stat line focuses on Skl and Def with a decent Res growth for a physical unit which makes him a bit different from Gerik (your only other Mercenary). Though his promotion options are very different from one another, Gerardo lends himself better to the Hero class in terms of stats but he’s a capable Ranger even if Neimi and Gerik play that class a bit better. Give him a shot if you’re looking for a combat unit that can actually take some hits and fight some crowds.
Artur:
Your first official offensive magic unit in the game. Artur wields Light Magic which is the weakest of the 3 types of magic in terms of weapon damage, but it also has the highest accuracy and the crit rates ramp up hard the higher the weapon level of the Light tome. Also, all Light Magic in the game is naturally effective against monsters. This makes Artur’s damage output against monsters quite deadly coupled with his tendency to double attack. Where this guy really shines is his Spd and Res stats which allow him to double attack often, evade hits well, and take magic hits like a champ. His growths are great for Mag, Skl, Spd, and Res meaning he’s just generally awesome over time, but do beware that he struggles a bit early on when monster foes are not around and be wary of physical damage especially from Bows and Axes. His two promotion options (Bishop and Holy Savant) are both incredible in different ways. Bishop’s Power Staff ability is downright frightening and Holy Savant’s ability to apply and stack buffs by being near allies is a great tool to power through rough spots.
Lute:
This is your first Anima Mage, and you’ll find out how useful that can be. Each element of Anima Magic deals effective damage against different things. Fire beats Armored units, Thunder beats cavalry, Wind beats flying units, and Ice beats Dragons (Wyverns included). You get her in the same chapter as Artur which makes him seem better because he gets easier exp from all the monsters in that chapter and leaves her behind in level. But if you’ll notice, there are now Spiders on that map which are also treated as armored units. That means Lute can burn them down with fire to get some much appreciated immediate level ups. Her best stat growths are Mag and Skl. She still has good Spd growth but she’s not keeping up with Artur on that one. Her promotion to Mage Knight offers big Str/Def bonuses and access to swords (but not staves). Give her a magic sword and watch the carnage. Meanwhile Sages are less flashy but have access to Staves (but not Light magic like in the vanilla game) which gives her amazing extra utility with the types of staves available and the situations the game dumps you into. Lute is a worthwhile unit if you use her advantages well. No surprises there; she is “superior” after all.
Natasha:
Like Moulder before her, Natasha follows the trend of “non-combat pre-promote unit has crazy growths”. However, her primary focuses are on HP, Mag, and Spd. She can promote into either a Valkyrie or a Bishop. She’s the only Valkyrie you can access besides L’Arachel but the Bishop class has Power Staff which is just insane… More insane than a Valkyrie with a Light Brand though? That’s for you to decide.
(NEW!) Devin:
The 2nd new recruitable character you encounter is Devin. Devin McCartney. He is recruited by his old buddy Ross and can support with each of the 3 trainee units (Ross, Amelia, and Ewan). His support line with Amelia may reveal some troubling details about her hometown of Silva… But anyways, Devin is a Brigand of all things and the only one you get in the game. He has colossal HP and Str growths with good Spd growth too, but his Skl/Def are decent at best and Res is basically a lost cause. His promotions into either Warrior or Berserker will be rewarding depending on your needs. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either option.
Joshua:
This Myrmidon comes with a Samshir (which along with the Killing Edge is no longer locked to Myrmidon/Swordmaster classes). He favors the Skl stat over Spd but still gets plenty of both along with some Str, and even a bit of Luk too (exactly 50% as a matter of fact). Joshua isn’t so hot on Def/Res though so he’ll probably be glued to forests and pillars. But fortunately he’s fast enough that he should just dodge plenty of hits. Keep a healer on standby though, just in case. He plays well into both of his promotions but maybe a bit better into Assassin with his solid Str stat (unlike Colm) and emphasis on Skl which leads to alot of Luna triggers. He has a Personal Skill called “Gamble” (heh, fitting) which is an alternate attack command that halves his total Hit stat but doubles his Crit stat (both before calculating the opponent’s avoid and crit avoid). This skill is purely optional, so you can choose when to use it and when not to. Joshua may be a bit difficult to justify fielding at first, but once you stick to leveling him up he’ll start feeling like he belonged on your team all along.
Forde:
Counterpart to Kyle, these two units may look similar at first but their growth rates turn them into completely different units over time. Forde is a certified “glass cannon” character who gets huge amounts of Str, Skl, and Spd but gets less HP than other cavalry units and terrible Def/Res stats. He’s gonna hit you accurately, hit you hard, and hit you twice while dodging alot. But when he takes a hit, he’s going to really feel it. Makes excellent use of the class skilled offered by the Paladin promotion. Although, having a blitz style Great Knight could be pretty funny.
Kyle:
Counterpart to Forde, these two units may look similar at first but their growth rates turn them into completely different units over time. Kyle leans into a heavily defensive wall style build. He has incredibly high HP and fantastic Str/Def stats with Res higher than most non-magic units in the game. His Skl and Spd leave much to be desired but still end up higher than characters like Duessel. Kyle was made for the Great Knight class which offers additional defensive skills for Enemy Phase survivability.
Orson:
Run this man’s pockets. Run 'em dry. Don’t end Chapter 5x with anything valuable on him. Take his Silver Weapons and dip.
(NEW!) Odion:
The 3rd new character you encounter in this game. Odion is a kind hearted and righteous man from a secluded location in Carcino where he and his younger brother Novala (yes, that one sorta forgettable boss) both learned the dark arts at a young age. His backstory and personality is expressed through his supports with Natasha, Saleh, and Knoll. He also has battle dialogue against Novala as well as Riev in both chapters where Riev is a boss. Odion is an early-ish game Shaman which is something official FE games typically never give you. His growths focus on HP, Skl, and Spd with solid Mag as well. This makes him very powerful as he levels up, especially since he is quite useful as both Druid or Summoner. This also means that alongside Knoll, you can actually have 2 Summoners! I don’t know anyone who has regretted using Odion, so give him a spin and see how you like him.
(NEW!) Laurel:
The 4th new character you encounter and the final one before the story split. Laurel is an Armor Knight of Renais who joined Grado alongside Orson with absolutely no clue why Orson even defected to begin with. She let her assumptions lead her to believe Orson was infiltrating Grado but now regrets her ignorance and wishes to make up for that blind loyalty to her former commander. She struggles to forgive herself but ultimately gets over it in her supports with Seth, Forde, and Kyle. Laurel is an Armored Knight who unlike Gilliam, sacrifices a bit of HP and Str for better Skl and Spd. This makes her unusually versatile for an armor unit. A bit weaker on the damage dealt but the Spd really helps her avoid getting doubled while granting her consistent double attacks against other slower units including her fellow armors in later chapters. A fine addition to one’s collection.
Tana:
Here she is, the traditional “weak but fast” Pegasus of the game. Tana has low Str and Def stats but goes HARD on Spd, Res, and Luk, making her very good against mages and offering solid evasion against most other foes. Her emphasis on Spd allows her to thrive as both a Falcoknight and a Wyvern Knight, though you’ll probably prefer Falcoknight for the Bow access since her low Str makes her too reliant on the Impale skill as a Wyvern Knight, even though the Wyvern promotion will double attack absolutely everything on initiation that doesn’t have the Wary Fighter ability. What she lacks in a Personal Skill, she makes up for with a PRF weapon called the Tana Spear. It’s basically a Wing Spear from Marth’s FE games, meaning it’s effective against armors and cavalry. However, the Tana Spear sacrifices a bit of damage in exchange for a high crit rate and 1-2 range. That’s right, a weaker but throwable high crit Wing Spear! But she’s still a flying unit so as usual, keep her away from bows and wind magic for optimal results and you should be golden.
Amelia:
The 2nd trainee unit you can acquire. Amelia is recruited at a much higher level than the original game, greatly reducing the number of level ups required to promote out of the Recruit class. Her PRF weapon “Amelia’s Pike” is very strong to offset her weaknesses in unit stats. It’s basically a lightweight, throwable, Killer Lance that has greatly increased Wep Exp gains to get Amelia’s Lance level up to snuff. By the time this baby breaks, Amelia should be more than ready to tackle your current foes with normal weapons reliably. Her Armor Knight promotion has been changed to “Soldier” which then may promote into either General or Wyvern Lord. This means that between Cormag, Elias, and Amelia, you now have access to up to 3 Wyvern Lords in this game, without loosing her General, Paladin, or Great Knight options! For stats, Amelia has rather iffy Hp and Str, but has above average Skl, Spd, Def, Res, AND Luk. She even has a decent Mag stat! She’s a Jack of most trades but with her promotion flexibility and the existence of a Skill System, this leads to some fascinating unit outcomes that are hard to write off as “bad”. She tries her very best to be worth your effort and it shows.
Innes:
Similar to Seth, most pre-promoted units have extremely high growth rates and Innes is no exception. His build consists mostly of solid Str and a high Skl stat with about average amounts of everything else. Though locked to the Sniper class, he makes good use of the Sure Shot and Vital Blow skills. He has a Personal Skill called “Charm” which allows allies within 2 spaces of him to deal +2 damage during combat. He’s good at what he does but isn’t doing anything particularly special. However if you turned Neimi into a Ranger (or benched her), then Innes is the only character you have that can use Longbows or Ballistae. Snipers are so good in general that Innes is honestly a fine addition to your team and will S rank Bows for Nidhogg usage long before you even get the weapon. I once benched him until near the end of the game on Hard mode and he still pulled fair weight, got kills, and caught up in level rapidly. He simply gets the dang job done.
Tethys:
A unique character among the roster. She is the only Dancer type unit available in the game, but what she offers is quite potent. Aside from the traditional role of dancing to let an ally move again, the Dancer Rings from FE7 make a return as well but with adjustments. Each ring has 20 uses instead of 10 now and both Thor’s Ire and Set’s Litany have been buffed by increasing the number of turns they remain active. Thor’s Ire now grants Crit+15 while Set’s Litany grants both Hit and Avo+20, and both of these now last for 3 turns instead of 1. Tethys comes with Ninis’ Grace (Def+10) upon recruitment which can be REALLY useful in Ephraim’s story by helping characters like Gerik properly enemy phase opponents and gain levels. Furthermore, the Dancer class gets new passive buff skills like Drive Str, Drive Mag, and Drive Spd as well as Inspiring Tune to grant slight stat buffs to units she dances to! As if that wasn’t enough, she’s also no longer just a support character either! She can wield swords and tomes, and not just 1 type of tome, but all of them! I have not yet implemented lore to explain this, but that may come in a future update. For now, pick your weapon of choice and have yourself some fun!
Gerik:
This Mercenary is pretty offensively focused. He comes with +2 Con and a proficiency for HP, Str Skl, and Spd growth. His Def and Res are honestly a weak point of his, so do be careful. Gerik suffers in Ephraims story a bit from a late recruitment for his stat line, but he comes with Tethy’s who’s Ninis’ Grace ring gives him the durability to fight promoted units reasonably safely (just don’t get jumped). His power and high Skl stat lends him very well to the Hero promotion where he tends to trigger the Sol skill often and gets alot of HP from it due to his high dmg output. Sometimes the guy can feel immortal lol. The Ranger promotion has less survivability, but you can’t disrespect a mounted 2-3 range bow unit with high Str/Skl/Spd. That’s just good. Either way, Gerik brings something to the table even if he doesn’t look overly impressive at the start.
Marisa:
Living up to her name as the Crimson Flash, Marisa gets Spd for days on her level ups. Her Str is a tad on the low side but her Skl, Res, and Luck are all solid and her insane Spd stat makes her an impressively evasive unit. She makes fantastic use of the Swordmaster class skill “Kestrel Stance” to cut down enemies on their turn while dodging attacks like crazy, especially from terrain like forests or pillars. She also joins Ephraim 2 chapters later than she does Eirika, but if you want a FAST swordmaster, she’s your girl.
Duessel:
Some call him “The Real Jeigan” because he comes ready to bulldoze chapters. Duessel is like a 2nd Gilliam but locked to Great Knight class. His Str and Def stats are noticeably higher than most units you’ll have when you get him in Ephraim’s story and good enough to work in Eirika’s story. He has the Personal Skill called “Armor March” which grants him and adjacent armored allies +2 Mov until the end of turn if they were adjacent at the beginning of that turn. This gives him and other armored units extra mobility when together which can make Duessel an interesting u it to keep track of. His growth rates are high just like other pre-promoted units which allows him to avoid being too powerful upon recruitment but still end up impressive by the end of the game. Kyle does end up being the better Great Knight at higher levels but if you’re playing Ephraim’s story, Duessel just shows up superior in the short term. He won’t let you down though if you decide to take him all the way to the endgame. Just be careful around those mages.
Cormag:
An absolute unit imo, Cormag comes built for the role of Wyvern Lord. He may be a bit tricky to level up at first, but once he promotes he becomes pretty independent quickly. His growths favor HP, Str, and Def but his Skl and Spd are actually pretty solid. His growths lean more into Wyvern Lord because that class has higher stat caps which Cormag gets the most of and it offers access to Axes which leans even harder into damage dealing. His Str/Def would cap out too soon as a Wyvern Knight and his Spd wouldn’t reach its potential. That being said, a Wyvern Knight that can take hard hits isn’t a bad thing, especially with Darting Blow patching up the Attack Speed on initiation. Take your pick.
(NEW!) Elias:
Another new character to this game. Elias was trained under Cormag’s brother the Sunstone, a.k.a. General Glen of Grado and looks up to him as a role model. News of Glen’s fall leads Elias to follow Cormag on a quest for revenge. His personal struggles with decisiveness are covered in his supports with Cormag and Duessel while his support with Lute shows that sometimes you can’t get along with everybody. His growths are all about Skl and Spd. As such, he is highly geared towards the Wyvern Knight promotion which triggers Impale often and will double attack almost every round of combat he initiates (and even alot that he doesn’t). His Str is solid but not fantastic and his defenses are just okay. Elias wants to strike first, dodge alot, and ask questions later. Did I mention he rides a cool black wyvern?
L’Arachel:
The beautiful Jewel of Rausten, L’Arachel, is a healer you recruit in Chapter 11. She is the only Troubadour you have access to in the game and comes with solid base stats to keep her alive. In Eirika’s story, she appears as a green unit with a Rescue staff that she isn’t afraid to use. She may randomly decide to pull one of your units out of formation if the mood strikes her. Now you know how it feels to be Rennac and why he almost never escapes her side. In Ephraim’s story however, she and Dozla appear as blue units that you control because as green units, they get themselves killed ALOT. She has the Personal Skill “Rally Luck” which allows you to consume her action for that turn to grant all allies within 2 spaces of her Luck+10 until the end of turn. For those unfamiliar with the math behind Luck, this roughly translates to +5 Hit, +10 Avoid, +10 Crit Evade, and -10% Chance of Devil Weapon backfire. L’Arachel’s only promotion option is Valkyrie, but she is very well suited for the role. She has an insanely high Mag growth for smiting the evils of this world along with great HP and Res growths. L’Arachel’s Spd growth is low despite her base speed being so impressive, but all of her other growths (even physical Def) are either average or better so she tends to be quite usable regardless.
Dozla:
This guy comes in as a Berserker but with his own flavor of the class. As pre-promoted character, Dozla’s HP and Str growths are both over 100, with 90 Luk and 80 Skl and Def. His Spd is meh and is Res is bad but Dozla is a tank of a Berserker with incredible damage output. This plays incredibly well with the Vantage skill Berserkers have and the buff to Axe damage that this mod offers. He has +3 Con which also greatly helps him avoid getting double attacked and lets him wield heavier axes more easily which pairs well with the Heavy Strikes skill which grants the class a crit bonus equal to the weight of your weapon (replaces the original +15 crit bonus) and allows him to get higher than 15 crit with big damage while losing minimum to no attack speed. Dozla is quite the unit.
(NEW!) Sara:
The final new character of the game is the Pegasus Messenger from the cutscenes in the original Sacred Stones game. After failing to exit the area before the fighting began, Sara gets swept up in the fight until Princess Tana or Prince Innes confront her and “persuade” her to join their ranks directly. Her past in her homeland of Valtala, her enlistment in the Frelian Army, and her rivalry with Captain Syrene are all covered in her supports with Tana, Innes, and Syrene respectively. As a unit, Sara comes in at a high unpromoted level and has impressive base stats. Her growths focus on HP, Spd, and Def, with okay Str/Skl, and low Res/Mag. This makes her fairly unique as a Pegasus Knight since she focuses on physical bulk. She also comes with a Master Seal! Her excellent base stats and solid growths make her perfect for both of her promotion options, so just pick whatever you fancy and watch her perform. She’ll deliver the condolence letters to the enemy’s families later.
Saleh:
This is one of those characters people tend to overlook because of when he is recruited, but Saleh in this mod is a very dependable alternative to Lute as a Sage. He has an A rank in Anima and a C rank in staves and even comes with a Fimbulvetr and a Recover staff. As with other pre-promoted units, his growths are massive. He has a huge HP, Skl, and Def growth, making him an excellent survivor of enemy attacks while wielding magic. His Mag doesn’t quite compete with Lute, nor does his Spd come close to Ewan, but they’re more than enough to get the job done. Learn to use Anima Magic effectively (literally) and Saleh will serve you well.
Ewan:
The final trainee unit of the game and he comes in at Lv8, meaning that if you’re serious about him you can have him ready for first promotion by the end of the chapter you recruit him. He comes with two PRF weapons, an Anima tome called “Ewan’s Flame” and a Light tome called “Ewan’s Burst”. Both are decently strong for their weapon type, have 100 accuracy, and grant 5 Wep Exp per attack! Ewan cannot use the Light tome when recruited but that’s because his promotion options have changed. His Shaman promotion has been replaced with the Monk class instead which loses Anima and gains Light magic. Dark magic classes were always awkward looking on Ewan, plus Odion is now here to take that role anyways. Also, Artur isn’t the only Monk you can get anymore and Ewan even had an unused Bishop palette in the vanilla game which can now see the light of day! This change also gives you a 3rd Holy Savant option if Moulder or Artur didn’t take it. Moving on from the Monk change, Ewan is a character who is all about Skl, Spd, and Res but also comes with a high Str growth for his potential Mage Knight class option. His Luk stat is also something of note. His only shortcomings are in Mag and Def. Wouldn’t worry about it too much with all that Speed though. He dodges like you wouldn’t believe after his 2nd promotion and double attacks almost everything into oblivion! Give the kid a chance, he might grow on you (pun intended).
Rennac:
The king of thieves himself has arrived and still trying to get away from L’Arachel. Not only does Rennac come with those sweet pre-promotion growths that this mod is infamous for, but his base stats are also pretty awesome. Rennac’s Spd stat is out of this world, allowing him to steal from some of the fastest enemies in the game which is fantastic since Rennac has a Personal Skill called “Steal+” which allows him to actually steal non-equipped weapons and staves if his Con is greater than the weapon’s weight. All of Rennac’s growths are funneled into mostly Skl and Spd with decent Str. With all the same advantages as Colm in terms of Skills and their usage, Rogues also come with Adept and Rennac has the Skl stat to trigger it fairly often resulting in him being better at killing than one might think. But remember to always bring L’Arachel to Chapter 14 if you plan on recruiting Rennac, otherwise that payment fee he charges will either break your wallet or make you miss out on this excellent thieving unit.
Knoll:
The 2nd Shaman you get in the game, but because of his late recruitment, he comes in at a VERY high unpromoted level with excellent equipment. His growths are focused on HP, Mag, Skl, and Res, making him more of a traditional mage type than Odion. To keep the meme alive, Knoll is recruited with zero Luk and has a low growth, but he’s built to work without it. Knoll generally does great no matter what you turn him into but the stat caps on the Summoner class seem to fit his growth rates the best. Though he enters somewhat late in the game’s story, he makes a good first impression and he has some of the best lore dumping support conversations in the game. There’s not much to say beyond that… Or maybe I’m just tired of writing this guide and Knoll has to pay for it… Dude just can’t catch a break.
Myrrh:
This little unit packs a punch. She’s a Manakete which are dragon people who turn into giant dragons during combat with the help of Dragonstones. Myrrh’s stats are pretty low but the Dragonstone offers huge boosts to most of those stats while equipped. Also, the Dragonstone now has 1-2 range, hits for magic damage, and counts as Fire Magic which makes it effective against armored units. This already makes Myrrh better than she was in the original game but it gets better with Reposition and Swap skills offering her ally movement assist and Fiery Blood granting +4 damage in combat if her HP is not at full. Her biggest flaw is her Spd stat which the Dragonstone does not amplify. This would make her extremely vulnerable to double attacks but fortunately she comes with a Wary Guard item which stops both her and enemies from double attacking. I recommend leaving this on her until her defenses get high enough to not care about double attacks. Her other weakness is low HP but her high growth gets that stat pretty high pretty fast. Speaking of growth rates, Myrrh has over 100 HP and Def growth with high Str/Mag/Skl as well. However, don’t forget that dragons are weak to ice in this game, so be careful around Fimbulvetr tomes and the Glacier Axe. Unlike the original game where Myrrh just appears in your team at the bottom of the list where nobody even notices she showed up, she is now a forced deployment in the chapter you get her. This makes sense because she asks to join the fight in the previous cutscene, forces the player to try her out at least once, and makes it impossible to not know you just recruited her (yes, that actually happened to someone during testing). Finally, because Myrrh joins so late in the game, she is one of the few characters to receive accelerated Support Growth. Meaning that her support conversations happen sooner than most other units to give you a chance to see them before the end of the game. Knoll has this too but to a much more minor, almost unnoticeable degree.
Syrene:
The final recruitable unit in the game (during the story at least). Syrene is your 4th and final Pegasus rider but is already a pre-promoted Falco Knight. Because she was so easy to overlook in the original game, steps were taken to make sure she was at least considered. Being a Falcoknight already makes her good since she has Bow access as a flier, but where Syrene starts to show herself off is with her use of the Light Brand that she comes with. She also has a Personal Skill called “Swordfaire” which gives her +Atk when equipped with a sword, further emphasizing that she specializes in that weapon. Syrene actually has an okay base Mag stat with solid growths in that stat, making her effective at wielding magic swords just like Eirika which is a rare trait for physical units. Furthermore, her pre-promoted growths give her over 100 percent rates in Str, Skl, and Spd with respectably high Def and Res growths too. Her HP growth is the only low growth she has so you already know this unit is going to be holding her own in every other way. Syrene comes with a A rank in swords, B rank in lances, and a C rank in Bows, so she can quickly S rank either swords or lances and can wield every magic sword you have from the start. In addition to her Light Brand, she carries a Brave Lance, a Talisman, and an Elixir, so even if you wanted to bench her you’ll probably still want to recruit her for that gear at the very least. She can be recruited by either Innes or any of the other Pegasus riders including the new character Sara. Chances are that by now you have all the flier support you could want or need, but Syrene is ready to challenge those positions or fill in any extra slots you’ve got. By the might of Frelia!
New Character Quick Guide:
This is a quick list of the 6 new characters added to the game and basic information about them.
Each new character supports with 3 different original cast characters. The new characters do not support with each other and do not share support partners with one another. This means 18 original characters have 1 new Support convo with a new character. With 3 conversations each, that makes a tital of 54 brand new conversations which explore both the new characters backgrounds and expand on the game’s original lore!
Gerardo
Recruited On: Ch.3 - Bandits of Borgo
Unit Info: Mercenary, Lv3, Red Unit
Recruited By: Talk to with Garcia
Support Convos: Garcia, Moulder, Joshua
Battle Quotes: Ch.3 - Bazba / Ch.15 - Caellach
Devin
Recruited On: Ch.5 - The Empire’s Reach
Unit Info: Brigand, Lv4, Red Unit
Recruited By: Talk to with Ross
Support Convos: Ross, Amelia, Ewan
Battle Quotes: None
Odion
Recruited On: Ch.6 - Victims of War
Unit Info: Shaman, Lv5, Green Unit
Recruited By: Talk to with Vanessa or Unit Survives Chapter
Support Convos: Natasha, Saleh, Knoll
Battle Quotes: Ch.5 - Novala / Ch.19 - Riev / Ch.20 - Riev
Laurel
Recruited On: Ch.8 - It’s a Trap!
Unit Info: Knight, Lv6, Green Unit
Recruited By: Talk to with Eirika or Unit Survives Chapter
Support Convos: Seth, Forde, Kyle
Battle Quotes: Ch.8 - Tirado / Ch.16 - Orson
Elias
Recruited On: Ch.13A - Hamill Canyon / Ch.10B - Turning Traitor
Unit Info: Wyvern Rider, Lv10, Red Unit
Recruited By: Talk to with Cormag
Support Convos: Cormag, Duessel, Lute
Battle Quotes: Ch.15 - Valter
Sara
Recruited On: Ch.13A - Hamill Canyon / Ch.11B - Phantom Ship
Unit Info: Pegasus Knight, Lv15, Green Unit
Recruited By: Talk to with Tana or Innes
Support Convos: Tana, Innes, Syrene
Battle Quotes: None
Known Issues:
- Typos. I did my best to proofread them all out but I’m still only human. I’m sure something slipped by somewhere.
- Sometimes one unit within a support pairing will reach the threshold for initiating a Support Conversation before the other, resulting in moments where for example Cormag can initiate a support with Artur but Artur cannot initiate that same conversation until he spends another turn or two near Cormag. Annoying, but not a serious issue.
- Ballistas can sometimes put targets and 7nits around the target to sleep. Solution not yet found. Ballistas not removed. You can handle it, right?
- Sometimes, leaving a chapter and resuming it mid-combat may change the outcome of the RNG rolls. Also, I once had Ephraim die to poison damage and Game Over, then I resumed chapter instead of restarting. Ephraim still died again but the Game Over screen didn’t trigger a 2nd time and I was able to resume gameplay without my main lord unit.
- When a status condition is cured at the start of a turn, the animation for it does not trigger.
- Lagdou Ruins apparently freezes on a black screen upon completion of the final floor. Problem could not be duplicated (worked fine for me). Just be aware.
- The side effects this mod has on the Arena is completely untested. Good luck with that.
I spent a year polishing this game as best I could. I hope you give this project a chance and I greatly hope you find it fun and enjoyable. Thanks for your attention and I greatly welcome any feedback, positive, negative, questions, and suggestions 
