For the first time in a mainline Fire Emblem game, a character from the mobile-exclusive Fire Emblem Heroes appears as a playable character for players to try out. The Emblem of Heroes Veronica, an antagonist-turned-protagonist in many of the Books in Heroes, can be found as a new Emblem bracelet in part three of the new DLC for Fire Emblem Engage, also known as The Lonely Heir Divine Paralogue. Before players can get their hands on her bracelet, though, first they'll have to defeat her in battle on a Zenith-inspired floating island map and prove themselves worthy of having her on their side.
Fire Emblem Engage DLC: The Lonely Heir
The Lonely Heir Paralogue in Fire Emblem Engage is thankfully relatively straightforward, especially compared to some of the other Paralogues available in-game. Players will begin the battle with the option to deploy eight units on their side; the number and type of units players face will depend on their level and chosen difficulty, though Veronica will always summon more enemy units four times through each playthrough. These units are summoned:
- Once when the battle begins.
- Once when the island on the far left is cleared of enemy units.
- Once when the island on the far right is cleared of enemy units.
- Once when the two floating islands join together and create a path to Veronica.
The player's party will also be split into two groups, each consisting of four Fire Emblem units. In terms of which types of units and Emblems are best suited to this Paralogue, tanks, ranged units like archers and mages, and at least one unit or Emblem that can help buff and heal their fellow fighters. Players are likely to find themselves at least slightly overwhelmed with the number of enemies they'll have to fight, so these sorts of units and Emblems will make the fight much easier.
On the other hand, fliers are definitely not recommended - Veronica has Mage Cannoneers close by, which will be effective against flyers, and there are Bow Knights on the left side of the map that can easily take flying units out.
The best technique to get through this Fire Emblem Engage map is to bait enemies into a location where the player's units can fully engage with them. This can be done by using a tank unit to move them wherever works best for the player, then offering support to the main damage-dealing tanks with ranged units and healers if necessary. Through this, players can take control of the battle by working at their own pace to clear out enemies instead of being entirely overwhelmed by them.
When it comes to battling Veronica alone at the end of the map, she also has several battle mechanics to watch out for, such as her Sync Skill Reprisal (taken from her Special skill of the same name from Fire Emblem Heroes).
Reprisal triggers whenever Veronica's HP isn't full and adds 30% of her lost HP to her Atk stat. Anchor is also one to watch out for, which means she cannot be moved by anything like staves, skills, or smash weapons. She also uses a weapon modeled from the weapon she uses in her Heroes Brave alt, Hliðskjálf. When Veronica uses this weapon, it means that if she initiates combat, the units on the player's team will not be able to counterattack.
Though Veronica is relatively tanky and will likely not be one-shot even by the strongest unit on a player's team, physical units will be very effective against Veronica. Any units that use Longbows - or an Emblem like Claude with his Failnaught - will work great, thanks to her inability to attack units any further than three spots away. Once she's defeated, the Prologue will end - any enemies remaining will not count.
Players also need not worry about any special dialogue situations with Veronica, making it easier to focus on the battle as it plays out.
The Treasure in Veronica's Battle
There are a handful of treasures to be found in Veronica's Divine Paralogue map, with each of them being able to be obtained from an enemy unit somewhere on the map.
- The first of two Elixirs can be found after defeating a Thief Fabrication in the west of the Prologue map.
- The second Elixir can also be found close by, carried by a General Fabrication who is also in the western section of the Prologue map.
- Finally, 2,000 Gold will be dropped by a Mage Cannoneer Fabrication found close to Veronica. These enemies should be easy enough to defeat.
There are also obtainable Fire Emblem Engage items to be found during the exploration phase after the battle; these include Steel Ingots, Iron Ingots, and Tomatoes. Some animals can also be located, including the Mere Donkey, Firenese Cat, Iris Owl, and the Tartu Flamingo.
Fire Emblem Engage is available for Nintendo Switch.
