Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Part 2

Last time we played Fire Emblem: Three Houses, we finished the Prologue and Chapter 1 by starting teaching the Golden Deer House at Garegg Mach Monastery. In this part, we learned more about the mechanics of running the class and participate in our first true battle by cleaning up the bandits that chased the heirs in the Prologue.

We begin by exploring the grounds to talk with each of the students and other professors. Our father, Jeralt, a former captain in the Knights of Seiros, the church's defense force, gives us a side quest to go to his office and get a book to learn about the Battalion mechanic. The Battalion mechanic is a battle mechanic in which you unlock different groups, such as the Kights of Seiros or Jeralt's mercenary corps, that that support individual units that have enough Authority to sway them. These supporters then provide bonuses to the unit like boosting stats. One other ability that Battalions grant is an extra command called Gambits. When activated, it causes a special attack using the Battalion that damages the enemy and often causes an effect like preventing them from taking action or healing allies.

Another area that opened up is the Cathedral. Inside, we can talk with the choir director who asks us to find a sign up sheet of students to want to be part of the church's choir. This activity raises the Authority and Faith of the player and the two students he invites.

Finally, the head chef asks you to retrieve some recipe books from the library. After delivering them, you gain access to cook meals with some of the students to increase your support level.

The following day, the player starts teaching the students. During the lesson you can help specific students with any of the different focuses up to their motivation level. This raises their aptitude in that field so that they can get to the next level quicker without having to grind in battles. Randomly during the lessons, the student can perform perfectly which doubles the attribute experience and motivates them for an additional lesson. You can also assign two students to a group activity outside of class to give them experience in one of three different areas.

Once you get back to the weekend, you are given the option to be part of a mock battle with the church knights. This gives the player a good way to figure out the best way to arrange and protect their regiment while not raising the stakes too high.

The final activity that is introduced for the weekends is seminars. In the seminars, a teacher presents a special lecture that increases the stats of two specified attributes and increases their motivation for the upcoming week.

The last activity of the month is a routing of the bandits that were chasing the heirs of the three countries back in the Prologue. The Knights have backed the bandits into the the sacred Red Canyon and the player's students are called to finish them off. This acts as the first real battle for the Golden Deer Students and does introduce one new battlefield mechanic, the chest. In this battle an enemy drops a chest key which opens a nearby chest. The player can instruct the person who picked up the key to open the chest which contains a treasure to use after the battle.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments.