Fire Emblem Fates has a new map today, and it’s one that brings back a familiar face. People who purchase Anna on the Run can add Anna to their character roster. For those who are unaware, Anna is in every main Fire Emblem game except Fire Emblem Gaiden. The first time people play through the map, she’s added as a playable character.
Anna on the Run should look familiar. It’s inspired by Anna the Merchant, Fire Emblem: Awakening’s fourth Paralogue. As in that map, Anna is a merchant being pursued by bandits. It’s up to the player and party to rescue her before bandits get her. In fact, the map is nearly identical. The only difference is, this time there are no treasure chests to raid. Staircases are in their place, and Anna will flee through one any time she’s attacked.
Your primary goal in this map is to offer support for Anna. There are 14 units there, and they’re all Berserkers wielding axes and clubs. I’d recommend having one or two dragon riders or pegasus knights, mainly because they’ll be able to reach Anna faster and back her up. A Falcon Knight especially would be helpful, since those units can use healing staves and rods.
As for the other units, this is a good map for characters who use swords, magic, and bows. A few of the enemies do have Throwing Clubs and Hand Axes, and one near the back has a Bolt Axe, so be aware of increased ranges. Overall, it isn’t too difficult a map. All of the enemies have 109 hit stat, but sword-users and characters with high avoidance stats should be fine.
Anna’s starting class and base classes are a bit different in Fire Emblem Fates than they were in Fire Emblem: Awakening. (Perhaps because this is a different sister?) In the previous game, she arrived as a Trickster with Locktouch and Movement +1. While her initial skills remain the same, she joins your army this time as an Outlaw. Her other base class options allow her to switch to a Troubadour or Apothecary, meaning her promotion options are Adventurer, Bow Knight, Maid, Mechanist, Merchant, and Strategist. Her only possible supports are Corrin and, if she marries a male Corrin, Kana.
In terms of stats and options, Anna is a lot like Midori. She has extraordinarily high luck. She also has very good magic, skill, and resistance stats, so someone might want to consider using her as a Strategist to take advantage of that. However, setting her as an Adventurer or Merchant, so she can learn Lucky Seven, which increases accuracy and avoidance by 20 for the first seven turns, or Spendthrift, so she can use a gold bar to increase damage dealt or reduce damage taken by 10.
Though personally, I’m going to put off using her until the A Gift from Anna DLC is distributed on April 14, 2016. This is free DLC that gives players either one Sighting Lens or one Witch’s Mark. The Witch’s Mark will allow one female character to change to the Witch class. Given Anna’s magic potential, reclassing her as a Witch so she gets Shadowgift, so she can use Dark Magic regardless of class, and gets Toxic Brew, which reduces enemy’s movement to zero and avoidance by 20.
The Fire Emblem Fates Anna on the Run map is $1.99. People who have purchased the $17.99 Map Pack 1 can get it by heading to the Dragon Gate, picking Purchase Content, and updating the game. Fire Emblem Fates is now available in North America and Japan on the Nintendo 3DS. It will come to Europe on May 20, 2016.
