Fire Emblem Fates’ Heirs of Fate has run its course. Lost in the Waves, the final map in the series, is immediately available. While I consider Endless Dawn to be the best map in terms of execution, with its shifting landscapes and waves of enemies and allies approaching the field, Lost in the Waves is equally intricate and the most challenging map in this storyline and ties up every loose end. It’s a more than competent close that helps players appreciate Fire Emblem Fates’ child characters, as well as understand a bit more about this installment’s history.
If you didn’t play Endless Dawn, Lost in the Waves will leave you lost at the outset. The crew of children are desperate to find the castle where their parents might be held, and no longer have a guide to help them reach it. After coming up with a plan inspired by advice a familiar, ghostly woman gave Hoshido and Nohr’s children in the first two chapters, the group comes up with a way to move forward.
Given that everything to do with Lost in the Waves’ map and its story are huge spoilers, I won’t be naming names for the units you’ll face. Only their levels and type. Players have a massive force to use in the battle. If Shigure or the Kanas die, you’ll lose the battle. The boss must be defeated to win. You have 22 units to use.
These are the units you have available.
- Hoshido Noble Kana, level 15 with Omega Yato, Kodachi, Dragonstone, and a concoction
- Falcon Knight Shigure, level 15 with Silver Naginata, Guard Naginata, Sun Festal, Moon Festal, and elixir
- Nohr Noble Kana, level 15 with Omega Yato, Levin Sword, Dragonstone, and a concoction
- Swordmaster Shiro, level 14 with Raijinto
- Sniper Kiragi, level 14 with Fujin Yumi, Sidelong Yumi, and a concoction
- Swordmaster Hisame, level 14 with Silver Katana, Dual Katana, Sunrise Katana, and Wakizashi
- Nine-Tails Selkie, level 14, with Beaststone, Beastrune, Beaststone+, and a concoction
- Wolfssegner Velouria, level 14, with Beaststone, Beastrune, Beaststone+, and a concoction
- Wyvern Lord Percy, level 14 with Arthur’s Axe, Hand Axe, Pike-Ruin Club, and Silver Axe
- Onmyoji Rhajat, level 14 with Tiger Spirit, Horse Spirit, Rabbit Spirit, Sun Festal, and Rescue
- Master Ninja Asugi, level 14 with Silver Shuriken, Steel Shuriken, and Flame Shuriken
- Priestess Mitama, level 14 with Iron Yumi, Sun Festal, Wane Festal, and Rescue
- Hero Soliel, level 14 with Silver Sword, Killing Edge, Armorslayer, and a vulnerary
- Butler Dwyer, level 14 with Iron Dagger, Mend, Physic, and Entrap
- Adventurer Nina, level 14 with Steel Bow, Shining Bow, Mend, and a concoction
- Paladin Sophie, level 14 with Silver Lance, Steel Sword, and a Javelin
- Falcon Knight Caeldori, level 14 with a Silver Naginata, Sword Catcher, Sun Festal, and a concoction
- Merchant Midori, level 14 with Silver Yumi, Harp Yumi, a concoction, and an elixir
- General Ignatius, level 14 with a Silver Lance, Spear, Killer Lance, and a concoction
- Sorcerer Ophelia, level 14 with Ragnarok, Lightning, Missiletainn, and a vulnerary
- Strategist Forrest, level 14 with Byrnhildr, Fire, Mend, and Rescue
- Paladin Siegbert, level 14 with Siegfried and a concoction
On the enemy’s side, there is an oversized enemy with one hand on either side of the map. The hands are the only part that can be attacked. There are 23 other enemies on the field when the battle begins. 13 of them are special opponents. 10 are standard Vallite opponents. On turns 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 more reinforcement units will appear at the south end of the map. Also, once the boss’ two arms are defeated, six special reinforcement units will appear.
My best advice here is to divide your army in half. Leave the two Kanas and Shigure where they are, and do an even split down the middle of the forces behind them. Each side of your group has a relatively even distribution of mages and healers. The goal is to take out the boss as quickly and efficiently as possible, and that’s a good means of accomplishing it. Though, it may be smart to organize the troops so the Hoshidan children are on the left and Nohrian kids on the right. There’ll be before-battle dialogue snippets when your units face specific enemies. (You’ll know them when you see them.) While this isn’t an especially difficult battle for the most part, it can take a while due to the volume of units available.
The real danger in this fight is the final boss. He’s exceptionally strong. Since your characters this time start out with C-level support ratings with other allies, you want to keep the Nohr and Hoshido kids with their retainers and friends. The attack and defense boosts will help them survive the boss’ counterattacks and attacks. Even with that support, though, his attacks can be one hit kills. Trying to use archers or mages won’t help, as the boss’ range is 1-2. Once the arms of the boss are destroyed, his head drops and Dragon Veins appear on the left and right sides of the map near Shigure and the Kanas. Using both creates a healing tile in front of the boss, for your allies, and removes the barriers keeping your forces from joining up with Shigure and the Kanas. Once the Dragon Veins are activated, send your strongest units to attack the boss. The head is stronger than the arms, but keeping friendly units paired up and alongside one another should help. Once it is defeated, the boss will move on to its final, most powerful form. This one has an increased range, as I saw it hitting allies within 1-3 spaces of it. Shiro is one of the best units, alongside Siegbert, to use. He’ll often dodge the boss’ attacks. Kiragi with Forrest works well too.
The reward for completing Lost in the Waves is a skill that can only be acquired from this add-on. Point Blank is an ability for archers. When equipped, any archer can attack enemies at 1 range, instead of only at 2 range. Previously, you needed a weapon like a Mini Bow, Sidelong Yumi, or Shining Bow to have that kind of range with an archer. Since this is such a helpful skill, I recommend playing through Lost in the Waves at least two, maybe three times. It’s fantastic for Takumi and Kiragi, as well as characters like Niles and Nina.
All told, it’s a satisfying map more for the way the Heirs of Fate story ends, rather than the execution of this final battle. This was an interesting storyline that played with the idea of parallel dimensions and Deep Realms seen in the primary Fire Emblem Fates story, while also allowing a little more insight into the boss and his history. I think it also made the child characters feel a little more valuable, since you could see how they interacted and were forced to use them for every fight. Lost in the Waves is an interesting adventure, as was the whole Heirs of Fate tale.
Fire Emblem Fates is immediately available for the Nintendo 3DS. The entire Heirs of Fate DLC storyline is available for $7.99. Lost in Waves on its own is $1.99.
