Should All Students Do Leadership in Fire Emblem: Three Houses? A Comprehensive Guide

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a sprawling game filled with branching paths and intricate systems. As a professor within the game, your primary responsibility is to guide your students toward success, both on the battlefield and in their personal development, especially as the shadow of war looms. A key element of this guidance involves developing their leadership skills. This article explores the multifaceted aspects of leadership within Fire Emblem: Three Houses and considers whether all students should focus on it.

The Importance of House Selection

The foundation of your experience in Fire Emblem: Three Houses lies in the house you choose to lead. You will spend a significant amount of time with the members of your selected house, particularly its leader. This choice is not about right or wrong, but about aligning yourself with a group whose ideals resonate with you. While recruiting students from other houses is possible, it requires considerable effort to impress them with your professorial skills.

Each house leader embodies a distinct leadership style and political philosophy:

Edelgard (Black Eagles): Determined, progressive, and focused on challenging the existing power structures. She gains monster breaker combat art at C+ ax proficiency and allows her to use raging storm. Not a recommended starting house for beginners due to limited capability for defense and consist of strong offensive characters both on physical and magic attacks.
Dimitri (Blue Lions): Adheres to traditional values and a strong sense of justice, sometimes to the point of being power-hungry and rigidly adhering to the rules. Allows him to use atrocity and is effective against all types of enemies.
Claude (Golden Deer): A neutral, laid-back strategist who seeks to ease tensions and find common ground. The most sought after house when it comes to character recruitment. Spread of proficiencies (swords, bows, authority, riding, flying) make him very versatile and his budding talent is axes. Allows him to use fallen star.

The leader you choose will significantly impact the narrative and the challenges you face. As tensions rise, you'll be forced to make difficult choices that reflect your chosen house's values.

Weekly Routines and Skill Development

The game's calendar system provides a structured framework for developing your students' abilities. Each week involves instructing students through lessons, answering their questions, and choosing a free-day activity:

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Explore: Building relationships within the monastery grounds.
Battle: Engaging in auxiliary battles to level up students.
Seminar: Attending lectures to improve specific skills.
Rest: Allowing students to recover and reduce fatigue.

Balancing these activities is crucial. Exploring after major story missions unlocks new dialogue and side quests, which can boost relationships and provide valuable rewards. Extra battles are essential for leveling up students and acquiring new skills. Seminars can be beneficial, but it's important to assess whether the chosen students will truly benefit from the instruction.

Customizing Character Progression

Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers considerable flexibility in shaping your students' development. You have control over their classes and weapon proficiencies. Encouraging proficiency in multiple weapon types is advantageous, providing a wider range of tactical options on the battlefield.

You can track the required skill ranks for specific classes and plan your students' advancement accordingly. After each certification, you can decide on the next class type for each character.

Monastery Exploration and Socialization

Exploring the monastery is crucial for uncovering hidden items, such as books that increase your professor level and lost items that can be returned to their owners to boost relationships. Regularly giving students gifts also strengthens your bonds with them.

Side Quests and Additional Shops

Side quests, often unlocked after main missions, offer valuable rewards, including new battalion options and access to new shops. These shops can sell essential materials for weapon upgrades and repairs, as well as gifts that provide significant relationship boosts. Furthermore, side quests provide opportunities to level up lower-leveled characters, ensuring they are prepared for deployment when needed.

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Weapon Durability and the Smithy

Weapon durability is a key factor to consider. Regularly visit the smithy to craft better weapons and repair existing ones. The material composition of weapons can affect their effectiveness against different enemy types. It's wise to carry a variety of weapons to exploit enemy weaknesses. Always monitor the number of uses remaining on each weapon before engaging in battle.

Saint Statues and Renown

After the introductory segment, you unlock saint statues. Completing quests and battles earns you renown, which can be used to restore these statues. Restoring statues grants various bonuses to your units, such as increased skill growth or bonus experience in battle. This is a valuable investment that can significantly enhance your students' development. The statues are located in the cathedral.

Battalions: A Tactical Advantage

Battalions are a significant addition to the Fire Emblem formula. These groups of soldiers can be hired and leveled up to provide various benefits, from offensive support to healing and status effects. Battalions can often turn the tide in challenging battles by allowing you to attack without risking a counterattack.

Branching Paths and New Game Plus

Fire Emblem: Three Houses features branching paths that extend beyond your initial house selection. The game alerts you when you are making a decision that will drastically alter the story's course. Keeping multiple save files at these junctures allows you to explore different outcomes.

Upon completing one playthrough, you gain access to New Game Plus, where you retain your renown and hired battalions. You can also unlock support levels and combat skills from your previous game.

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Permadeath and the Divine Pulse

Fire Emblem: Three Houses intensifies the impact of permadeath. Losing a student on the battlefield carries significant weight. The Divine Pulse feature allows you to rewind time and alter your actions, providing a safety net against miscalculations or unfortunate events. However, the number of uses per battle is limited.

The Case for Leadership Skills

Given the game's emphasis on house leadership and the importance of guiding students through a period of conflict, the development of leadership skills is paramount. While not every student needs to become a house leader, certain leadership qualities are beneficial for all:

Strategic thinking: Understanding battlefield dynamics and making informed decisions.
Teamwork: Coordinating with allies to achieve common goals.
Responsibility: Taking ownership of actions and their consequences.
Motivation: Inspiring others to perform at their best.
Adaptability: Adjusting to changing circumstances and unexpected challenges.

How to Cultivate Leadership Skills

Several in-game mechanics can be used to cultivate leadership skills:

Authority Skill: Increase authority skill to equip stronger battalions.
Seminars: Attend seminars focused on strategy and tactics.
Group Tasks: Assign students to group tasks that require collaboration and problem-solving.
Mentorship: Pair students with more experienced characters who can serve as mentors.
Decision-Making Opportunities: Provide students with opportunities to make decisions that impact the outcome of battles or events.
Exposure to Different Perspectives: Encourage students to interact with characters from other houses to broaden their understanding of the world.

Counterarguments and Considerations

While leadership skills are generally valuable, there are some counterarguments to consider:

Specialization: Some students may excel in other areas, such as combat or magic, and focusing solely on leadership could hinder their development in those areas.
Individual Preferences: Not all students may be interested in leadership roles, and forcing them to pursue this path could be counterproductive.
Resource Allocation: Devoting too much time and resources to leadership development could detract from other important areas, such as combat training or academic studies.

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