Combat Arts were first added inFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. These were attacks and spells equipped with a weapon instead of a Class. InFire Emblem: Three Houses, Combat Arts were learned from improving weapon proficiency and would cost more of a weapon’s durability when using them in battle. The Combat Arts mechanic inFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesis a bit stricter thanThree Housesin order to fit its hack-and-slash gameplay.
There are advantages and disadvantages to using Combat Arts inFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Knowing which ones to bring into battle will give players the advantage against their enemies. However, while Combat Arts can be powerful, using them too much per level can break a unit’s weapon. Thus, it’s best to know what to look for when equipping Combat Arts to a character.
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How Do Combat Arts Work in Three Hopes?
UnlikeThree Houses, units can only equiptwo Combat ArtsinThree Hopes. Additionally, Reason and Faith spells (such as Wind and Heal) no longer count as a “weapon” as they do inThree Houses. Instead, spells are separate from Equipment and serve as Combat Arts instead of a unit’s basic form of attacking.
Equipping a spell such as Dark Spikes T will drain a weapon’s durability each time it is used. Also, unlike the Combat Arts in the previous game,Three Hopesgives all Combat Arts a cooldown. Combat Arts learned from Intermediate-tier Classes will take longer to charge.
Like inThree Houses, some Combat Arts are Class-exclusive. A Sword-based Combat Art such as Grounder can’t be used if the unit is equipped with a lance or, inThree Hopes' case, if the unit is assigned a Lance-wielding Class (ex: Cavalier, Pegasus Knight).
To use a Combat Art in battle, press either theY-buttonorX-buttonwhile holding down theR-button. The Combat Art will display how much Durability it will drain from the Equipped Weapon. Combat Arts marked with higher Might will obviously use more Durability.
To increase the number of times Combat Arts can be used per battle, players will need to Forge stronger weapons at the Blacksmith Facility. Some weapons come with “attributes” that can increase the Might of a Combat Art.
However, other weapons may have an attachment called “Reckless Power,” which trades weapon Durability for higher Might. If players intend on using Combat Arts in battle, it’s best to avoid the weapons with this attribute since most of them will have a Durability of around 53.
Heroes' Relics have their own unique Combat Artor Abilities that can be used when wielded by someone with a matching Crest. Freikugel is a Heroes' Relic with the Goneril Crest and will unlock the Apocalyptic Flame Combat Art when equipped by someone who has the Crest of Goneril.
As such, a non-Crest bearing unit such as Shez cannot use Freikugel’s full potential and will receive damage while using it. However, Hilda Valentine Goneril, whodoeshave the Crest of Goneril (as indicated by her name), can use Freikugel without taking damage and can use Apocalyptic Flame as one of her Combat Arts.
WithThree Hopes' status ailments mechanic, some Combat Arts will inflict a Burn status or slow down enemies' movement (Dark). Some Combat Arts will even pass through an enemy’s Guard or deal additional damage to Mounted or Armored Units.
Read the description of Combat Arts carefully since some will factor in a unit’s Strength when attacking, and others will factor in their Magic.
Players should remember that Weapon Durability is restored at the end of each level. They can also recover Weapon Durability in battle by collecting the purple ore that can be found in purple jars. Ore might also be dropped by Enemy Commanders upon defeat.
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Unlocking and Leveling Combat Arts
Shez isn’t teaching the other charactersany time soon, so the only way to learn Combat Arts is by Ranking Up multiple Classes. The quickest way to do this is by using the Training Grounds at the camp.
Each time a character gains a star/ranks up in their Class, they’ll learn an Ability or a Combat Art. Players can tell the difference by icon alone. A Combat Art will feature a weapon icon (i.e: tome, sword, etc) in ared circle. Once units have unlocked the Combat Art, they’ll be able to equip them for battle.
Classes specialize in one weapon inThree Hopes, but Unique Classes such as Asura and Enlightened One allow the use of physical and magical Combat Arts. Master Classes like the Holy Knight and Dark Knight are Mounted Units, making the lance a unit’s main weapon.
However, they can also use Reason and Faith Combat Arts. Thus, it’s always important to rank up more than one Class Branch.Characters like Shez and Bylethshould unlock the Combat Arts in the Monk Class Branch, so they have more Combat Arts to choose from when assigned to the Asura and Enlightened One Class.
Like Classes and a character’s level, Combat Arts can be leveled up too. All Combat Arts can reach a maximum level of 3. Unfortunately, the only way to strengthen Combat Arts is to use them in battle. The Training Grounds will not level up Combat Arts.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesis available now on Nintendo Switch.
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