The second to last Fire Emblem Fates Heirs of Fate DLC map is here, and this is the one we’ve been waiting for. Light’s Sacrifice did a good job of pulling things together, and Endless Dawn sets us on the path to the finale. There’s great character interaction, an interesting map, and two handy skills at the end.
This is the map that Shigure fans have been waiting for. He finally joins the crew and with him comes a number of important secrets. We get to know why everyone’s fighting, have a better chance of rescuing the parent characters, and see the children character interact more with each other. Which is lovely, since we didn’t that, outside of Supports, in the main campaign.
Since going further into the story would involve spoilers, let’s jump ahead look at what we’re dealing with for the Endless Dawn map. Your units this time are all divided up. You start the map with Shigure and the male and female versions of Kana. Shigure is a level 1 Falcon Knight with a Silver Naginata, Guard Naginata, Sun Festal, and Concoction. The Kanas have leveled up for this chapter. The male Kana is a level 1 Nohr Noble with a Shadow Yato, Levin Sword, Dragonstone, and vulnerary, while the female Kana is a level 1 Hoshido Noble with a Blazing Yato, Kodachi, Dragonstone, and vulnerary. Two Diviners, one Onmyoji, two Samurai, one Master of Arms, and one Sorcerer are directly ahead of the trio when the battle begins.
Endless Dawn’s goal is to defeat the three bosses. There are stairways leading to the left and right paths of the map at the end of a center route. A level 10 Swordmaster Sumeragi with a Hagakure Blade, Ganlari, and Master Seal is on the left side. He’s accompanied by a Dark Knight and a Hero. A level 10 Strategist Arete with Ragnarok, Fortify, and a Master Seal is on the right, with two Great Knights and a Great Master. The final boss is hidden in something of a fortress. She’s a level 12 Priestess Mikoto with a Silver Hankyu and Enfeeble wand, paired with a General. She’s also joined by two Bow Knights, a Wyvern Lord, and a Malig Knight. You have to beat Sumeragi and Arete to reach her.
This isn’t an especially challenging battle. The bosses are the only real threat. Still, to start, you want to keep Shigure and the Kanas together. Shigure’s Camaraderie will heal up to 10% of his health each turn if he’s near them, and his Voice of Peace will cause enemy physical attacks to inflict –2 damage. While I tend to recommend equipping Kanas with swords, it might be wise to switch to Dragonstones if their health is in danger, as Draconic Heir will restore up to 15% of their health each turn if one is equipped. The two Kanas are the characters you’re going to want to send against Mikoto, while you’ll want to keep Shigure back and have him act as a roaming healer and extra offensive support throughout the fight.
At the start of the second turn, a landmass will appear on the left. It’ll have Shigure and Siegbert on it. Three more enemies, a Berserker, Mechanist, and Sniper, will also be on that route. The level 4 Swordmaster Shiro with Raijinto and level 2 Paladin Siegbert with Siegfried and a concoction will make quick work of these enemies, but make sure Shigure stays out of range of that Sniper. In fact, when I played the map, I moved Siegbert and Shiro up and, on the enemies’ turn, they wiped the three out with counterattacks.
I think you can see where this is going. At the beginning of the third turn, Kiragi and Forrest appear. Kiragi is a level 1 Sniper with Fujin Yumi and a Sidelong Yumi, as well as a vulnerary. Forrest is a level 3 Strategist with Brynhildr, Fire, Mend, and a concoction. Once they show up, a General and two Basaras also appear on that path. Leave Forrest to go for the General, and send Kiragi after the Basaras.
More units will continue to appear each turn. Asugi, a level 20 Ninja, and Soliel, a level 29 Mercenary, will show up on the right side at the start of the fourth turn, while Ophelia, a level 18 Dark Mage, Hisame, a level 19 Samurai, and Nina, a level 18 Outlaw, appear on the left. Sumeragi and Arete both drop Master Seals when defeated, so you’ll want to use those on your favorites of these characters. Alongside the new retainers, one Kinshi Knight and two Falcon Knights appear on the right side of the map, three Wyvern Lords and a Malig Knight join on the left side, and two Oni Chieftains, three Cavaliers, and one Paladin show up in the center. Now’s when things start to get difficult. If you take your time, everything will work out. Start by having the Kanas handle the Oni Chieftains, letting Shigure take one of the Paladins. Siegbert and Shiro should take care of Sumeragi and his units first, since they pose the greatest threat. Have Kiragi handle the flying units while Forrest acts as a healer, and pace yourself.
On the fifth turn, a level 18 Shrine Maiden Mitama shows up with a level 20 Troubadour Dwyer. Since Dwyer moves more swiftly and has Physic, have him take care of Shiro and Siegbert’s group on the left. Mitama should join up with the Kanas for when they head out to face Mikoto. At the start of the sixth turn, Faceless will spawn at the lower forts at the bottom of the map. More Faceless will appear from the fortresses at turn eight as well.
Once the bosses are done, everything is resolved for this installment of Fire Emblem Fates’ Heirs of Fate. I think the previous map was stronger, in terms of story, but Endless Dawn was very effective. If Shigure is close enough, you may want to have him face Arete for some interesting dialogue. Sending one of the Kanas against Mikoto is enlightening as well.
The skill scrolls you get from Fire Emblem Fates’ Endless Dawn benefit nearly any character. Speedtaker is fantastic for someone who’s been having trouble getting in two hits or evading attacks. It adds +2 to the speed stat, up to +10, for a battle every time you defeat an enemy. You might want to give the skill to a character who’s a Knight, General, or Great Knight, since they can be pretty slow otherwise. Meanwhile, anyone who isn’t a Cleric, Mage, or Pegasus Knight would benefit from Resistancetaker, which gives +2 to the resistance stat, up to +10, for a battle each time you defeat an enemy. Magic hits hard in Fire Emblem Fates, if you’re unprepared. Both are very helpful in any situation, and you may want to beat this map more than once to get extras.
Fire Emblem Fates is immediately available for the Nintendo 3DS. Endless Dawn is $1.99 on its own and is also part of the $7.99 Map Pack 2. Next week will be the final entry in this storyline.
