Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave offers players distinct choices that significantly impact the game's challenge and how they engage with its tactical combat. The game presents two primary decision points for players: the choice between Normal and Hard difficulty, and the option to enable or disable character permadeath through Casual or Classic modes.
Difficulty Modes: Normal vs. Hard
The first major decision involves selecting between Normal and Hard difficulty. The game suggests Normal mode for newcomers and intermediate players, while Hard mode is intended for experienced players. Hard mode introduces several key differences:
Enemies in Hard mode are typically at least three levels above the recommended cap, presenting a greater tactical challenge. Additionally, certain in-game blessings, like Fortuna's Blessing, have altered costs. In Normal mode, Fortuna's Blessing is free, while other blessings cost a small amount of Divine Sand. Conversely, Hard mode requires Divine Sand for Fortuna's Blessing and increases the cost of other blessings.
Gameplay Modes: Casual vs. Classic
The second critical choice concerns character permadeath, selectable at the beginning of the campaign. Casual Mode offers a more forgiving experience. When units fall in battle, they are removed from the current fight but return after its conclusion, removing the stress of permanent loss. This mode is recommended for players new to Fire Emblem or similar tactical RPGs.
Classic Mode, often referred to as 'Ironman Mode,' introduces permanent character death. If a unit is defeated in combat, they are lost for good. While the game provides mechanisms to mitigate this, such as restarting chapters from the pause menu or using Time Dust, the core consequence of permanent loss remains. However, Fortune's Weave introduces a nuance to Classic Mode: guest characters in Heroic Games matches, if not designated as group leaders, will retreat rather than die permanently. These retreating guests can still be encountered, gifted items, invited to meals, and eventually recruited into the player's ranks.
Adjusting Settings Mid-Campaign
Players have the ability to change these settings, although it requires replaying the prologue. By selecting 'Descend Again' from the title screen after saving the game at the Obelisk, players can access the prologue and alter difficulty, swap between Casual and Classic modes, and adjust protagonist settings. This process involves replaying the prologue's battles, though many elements can be skipped. After completing the prologue again, progression can resume from where it was left off. It is also possible to reduce the difficulty from Hard to Normal at the Shrine of Causality. However, increasing the difficulty from Normal to Hard is not permitted after the initial selection.