In our review for Fire Emblem Engage, we discussed that while it’s important to know how and when to Engage when undertaking many of Fire Emblem Engage’s difficult skirmishes, it’s just as crucial to have Emblem’s paired with units that compliment the skill sets of units they’re tied to. With a total of 12 Emblem Rings, and over 30 units to pick and choose from, there’s a number of effective combinations that can turn the tides of battle when things aren’t in your favor. Here’s a few of the best Emblem Ring Pairings we used in our playthrough of Engage.
Alear and Lucina
While you might be quick to assume it’s best to keep Marth and Alear paired where possible, Lucina allows for more support options coupled with some of the offensive capabilities of Marth. Her Engage Skill, Bonded Shield, gives a high chance of preventing attacks against adjacent allies, making her an ideal option for frontline units. Alear’s Dragon type bonus gives this another 10% chance of activating, meaning you’ll be seeing fellow units make it through enemy turns relatively unscathed.
This, coupled with a slew of passive skills that benefit adjacent units make Lucina an ideal pairing for Alear who’ll spend most their time on the frontlines of battle anyway. It’s all tied together by Lucina’s Engage Attack, All for One, where all allies within 2 spaces will participate in a chain attack. Lucina also compliments Alear’s core kit, by giving them a ranged option in the form of the Parthia bow Engage Weapon, and two swords that are effective against a variety of units.
Timerra and Ike
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that Emblem Rings should be equipped on units other than the ones they inherently come with, but that isn’t always true. Timerra and Ike is one such example of a powerhouse pairing that can do a lot of heavy lifting all the way through to the credits. Great Aether, Ike’s Engage Attack, trades bonus defense and resistance for the ability to counter for a single turn. This pays out in spades when an attack is unleashed the next turn, dealing damage in a 2-space area that heals for 30% of the total damage dealt.
This synergizes well with Timerra’s relatively high defense and physical attack stats, which means that she’ll often recover all lost health when unleashing Great Aether, even when put right in the middle of a large group of adversaries. The icing on the cake is that Ike’s Engage Weapons give Timerra options that she otherwise lacks in a sword, an axe, and a hammer that can Smash opponents.
Timerra’s passive skills also do some heavy lifting in regards to the damage she can output. Sandstorm, for example, provides a chance to calculate damage dealt with a physical attack by using 150% of her defense as opposed to strength. This also works with Great Aether, meaning you can one-shot almost every unit in the game if Sandstorm triggers when the attack portion of Great Aether goes off. This makes Timerra and offensive and defensive powerhouse that’s incredibly versatile and effective in a myriad of ways.
Ivy and Lyn
Every Fire Emblem has that one unit that makes mincemeat of enemy forces regardless of the difficulty you’re playing on. Ivy is that unit for Fire Emblem Engage, and keeping her paired with Lyn allows her to really excel in outputting damage, and clearing a path for frontline units. The reason they work so well together is because of Lyn’s passive skills, Alacrity, and Speedtaker. Alacrity allows your unit to follow-up before a foe can counterattack when you initiate an engagement with a speed advantage of five or more, and Speedtaker grants a stacking speed buff each time a unit initiates combat and defeats a foe, up to a total of +10.
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This means that after a few dispatched enemies, Ivy can far surpass any opponent in terms of speed thanks to her high base stats. Throw a high-power magic spell like Bolganone on her for good measure, and she’ll be clearing out waves of enemies all by herself. If and when you get yourself into a sticky situation, Lyn’s Engage Skill comes in handy, allowing a unit to create illusory doubles that can participate in chain attacks.
The icing on the cake is that all of these passive skills can be inherited from Lyn, meaning Ivy can be paired with an entirely different Emblem Ring to become even more powerful. If you opt to stick with the paring, though, Lyn affords Ivy some more options in combat with her Engage Weapons and an Engage Attack that can pick off potentially dangerous foes at a distance with a volley of arrows. It’s obvious that Lyn is suitable for any hard-hitting unit, but all of these aspects turn Ivy into a force to be reckoned with.
Framme and Micaiah
Framme makes for a great combat medic who can exploit particular weaknesses while supporting allied units through healing and positioning abilities. These strengths are only bolstered when paired with Emblem Micaiah, who’s passives increase healing capabilities while also keeping the healer relatively healthy. Because Framme’s advanced class is Martial Master, she can inflict Break on units outside of the traditional Weapon Triangle. This can often put her in unfavorable positions, though, meaning she’s quite susceptible to damage, especially with a low defense stat.
Micaiah’s Healing Light passive comes in handy here, where healing an ally also heals the caster for 50% of the total health recovered. This means you can keep Framme in the fight for longer, while also keeping your other units topped up. Her Qi Adept type bonus increases this healing by 20% when using a stave, meaning she gets even more health back for every heal. Micaiah’s Engage Attack, Great Sacrifice, trades all but one point of the users health to fully heal all allies, and also cures status effectives with the Qi Adept type bonus.
This makes Framme a frontline healing machine, and great for getting out of tight spots if a few mistakes have lead to some of your units running low. Micaiah’s Engage Weapons also afford Framme some much needed range in the form of magic, including Nosferatu which offers some very handy life steal, and Shine which can illuminate dark areas. It turns Framme into a jack of all trades who can really output some healing when needed, as well as keeping her alive in the close quarters encounters she excels at.
Fogado and Celica
When it comes to Emblem Ring pairings, it’s easy to default to setups that bolster prior strengths instead of supporting a unit’s weaknesses. Celica might seem like a weird choice for Fogado’s skillset, but there’s a lot more to this pairing than meets the eye. The biggest draw is Celica’s Engage Attack, Warp Ragnarok, which allows the user to warp upto 10 spaces and unleash a powerful magic attack. Because Fogado is a cavalry unit, the warp distance is increased by two spaces, allowing him to use it offensively or defensively depending on the situation.
Fogado’s Advanced Class, Cupido, also has sword proficiency, meaning the bump in magic stats he gets from being paired with Celica makes the Levin Sword a great equipment choice for Fogado, not only giving him access to the conventional Weapon Triangle, but also a method to get past armored foes. Celica’s Engage Weapons also help greatly by providing Fogado with a way to heal, and deal some extra damage types that help him dispatch corrupted enemies. It makes Fogado a sort of magic archer with incredible mobility and survivability, allowing him to pick off foes at a distance while also being adaptable to unique situations.
These are just a scant few of Emblem Ring pairings that can turn units from capable warriors to absolute powerhouses when they’re needed most. Even on the Normal difficulty, later chapters and optional Paralogues can turn up the heat quite a bit, so mix and match based on your best units and see what works for you!
Fire Emblem Engage is out now for Nintendo Switch, you can check out our bargain guide for the cheapest copies right here.
