Fire Emblem Engage is the latest iteration in the popular tactical RPG franchise and, like its predecessors, places a heavy emphasis on character relationships and building bonds. With a roster of diverse and memorable characters able to stand up to any of the older titles, players must lead their army to victory while nurturing relationships with their units.

However, for those new to the series, the pressure of maxing out relationships with everyone can be hard to stomach. Players struggling with raising social bonds can follow the methods below to increase social friendship the easy way in Fire Emblem Engage.

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Spend Time Together

One of the most straightforward methods of increasing social bonds with characters in Fire Emblem: Engage is by having characters spend time together on the battlefield. Assigning two characters to the same unit and having them participate in battles together will naturally lead to a stronger bond over time as they defeat enemies and perform actions close to each other. Alear is naturally no exception to this, so characters fighting alongside the player character will quickly grow their bond. That said, it also helps build bonds between characters other than Alear, which can be fairly challenging to do otherwise. By grinding easy Paralogues and setting up the right unit for the fight, players can quickly increase their army members' bond with each other while also functioning as an excellent opportunity to give less utilized characters a chance to grow and develop relationships with other units.

Utilize The Support System

The support system is crucial for building social bonds between characters and remains largely unchanged in Fire Emblem Engage. Once a strong bond has been established, the two characters can engage in a special support conversation that will deepen their relationship and make them more effective on the battlefield. Support levels increase along with characters' bonds with each other, so it will come naturally to players following the other tips in this guide. This results in a support conversation between characters that boost the bond even further, often containing dialogue choices that can result in support gain. The higher the support level, the greater the benefits the characters will receive, so it's important to take the time to build these relationships.

Take Advantage Of Downtime

Players can participate in various activities between battles that can help raise social bonds between characters. Utilizing these activities in Fire Emblem Engage is essential as they allow characters to open up to each other and build deeper relationships. The most straightforward way to do this is through cooking at Cafe Terrace, which will enable players to cook and eat with members of their army. This feature is unlocked from Chapter 6 onwards and will allow Alear to prepare a meal with two members of their party. As a result, these characters will increase their bond with Alear, as well as with each other, making it a great way to efficiently increase bond levels between the most important characters to the player.

Give Gifts To Units

Gift-giving is perhaps the most time-efficient way to increase bonds with Alear. Players can find various items to gift to their units in Fire Emblem Engage, with each character having different preferences for what they might like to receive, which will affect how much the bond level increases between Alear and the recipient of the gift. For example, some characters may prefer weapons or other combat-related items, while others may like more personal gifts like flowers or food. Pay attention to each character's preferences and give them gifts they want to boost the bond. Their character profile almost always gives fairly straightforward hints as to what kind of gift they like to receive, so players should make sure to get to know their army well. While this method makes it easy for Alear to quickly increase their bond with the army, it leaves out support building between the other characters since only Alear can give gifts.

Related: How To Promote Units In Fire Emblem Engage

Complete Paralogues

Like all of its predecessors, FE Engage also features various side quests in the form of Paralogues that can help raise social bonds between characters. These quests often require units to work together to complete a task or solve a problem, revolving around a few characters in the player's army and their own personal stories, making them an excellent option for expanding bonds while also experiencing more of the story of the characters. Not only do these side quests provide a deeper relationship with the characters, but they can also sometimes unlock new abilities that can be used in battles.

Take Part In The Emblem Arena

The last method for raising bond levels is participating in the Emblem Arena at Somniel. Players will have access to the Arena quite soon into Fire Emblem Engage's main story, after which they’ll be able to take part in either the Standard Mode or the Emblem Mode. Naturally, the Emblem mode is what players will want to focus on, as it pitches a character and their equipped emblem against each other in battle. Naturally, this raises the bond level between the two battling characters immensely, making it the most effective method in the game. The only downside is that entering the Emblem Arena requires a resource called Bond Fragments found throughout the game, which are both relatively rare and finite while having other uses that players will have to choose between. Still, this is an excellent option for increasing support levels extremely quickly between emblems in Fire Emblem: Engage.

More: How to Unlock (& Recruit) Every Character In Fire Emblem: Engage

Source: Youtube/Nintendo Of America

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  Fire Emblem Engage

  Summary:

  Intelligent System's strategy RPG franchise returns with Fire Emblem Engage for the Nintendo Switch. Fire Emblem Engage takes place in a unique timeline that intersects several heroes across the Fire Emblem universe. In this title, four kingdoms fought side by side to seal the Fell Dragon - but after a thousand years, the seal on the great dragon has weakened, threatening to upend the world again. Players will take on the role of a male or female protagonist that they choose to defend the continent of Elyos. Players will also collect Emblem Rings to summon legendary heroes from other time periods, such as Marth, Roy, and Celica, to perform unique special attacks and merge themselves to enhance their own strength. Returning to a more classic style of Fire Emblem, Engage focuses more on 1v1 grid-based strategy combat similar to games like Fire Emblem Awakening.

  Franchise:

  Fire Emblem

  Platform:

  Nintendo Switch

  Released:

  2023-01-20

  Developer:

  Intelligent Systems

  Publisher:

  Nintendo

  Genre:

  Strategy, RPG

  ESRB:

  T

  How Long To Beat:

  39 Hours