Perforating, chopping and bludgeoning enemies with bits of steel might suffice for some characters, but others prefer more sophisticated means of enhanced diplomacy, using various spells to damage, buff, debuff and heal. Magic has seen some changes since Fire Emblem Three Houses, and this page will discuss how spells work in Fire Emblem Engage as compared to in Fire Emblem Three Houses.
(1 of 2) The Tomes a character has in their inventory determines what spells they can cast.
The Tomes a character has in their inventory determines what spells they can cast. (left), There are no charges or innate spell knowledge - if you have a Tome of !Fire, you can cast !Fire as much as you wish. If not, not. (right)
Using Magic in Fire Emblem Engage¶
In Fire Emblem Three Houses, spells were innate to each character. Some characters naturally focused on fire elemental magic, ice elemental magic, or lightning elemental magic, and a rare few had access to dark magic. Some spells were more common than others, but only a select few characters gained access to some of the more useful, higher-tier spells, like 
Thoron, Bolting and 
Meteor. This made a character’s spell arsenal an important consideration when determining their aptitude as a caster - perhaps even moreso than their MAG score.
Fire Emblem Engage turns back the clock and switches spells back to their more traditional form in Fire Emblem. Instead of having an innate arsenal of spells that could be cast a set number of times per battle, in Fire Emblem Engage, spells are treated like weapons. You can only cast a specific spell if you have the corresponding tome or staff equipped. For example, 
Clanne can only cast Fire as long as he has the Fire tome equipped, and 
Framme can use 
Heal so long as she has a Heal staff in her inventory (and it possesses charges).
Casters can keep multiple different tomes and/or staves in their inventory to swap between spells, as needed, and this is a wise strategy, as spells vary in potency, range, and effect. Sometimes it’s better to go with a longer-range spell to avoid counterattacks, other times you may find it preferable to equip a tome with less WT (weight) to sneak in a second attack, whereas a more powerful but “heavier” tome would only get one attack.
Who Can Use Spells in Fire Emblem Engage?¶
There were two types of magic in Fire Emblem Three Houses, white magic and black magic, the former influenced by the Faith proficiency and the latter by the Reason proficiency. If a character’s class allowed access to black magic (or dark magic) or white magic, they could use the innate spells they possessed. If not, not. Fire Emblem Engage dispenses with Reason and Faith and instead reverts back to Tomes and Staves as the proficiencies that grant access to… well, tomes and staves, respectively. If a character’s class allows them access to tomes, they can equip tomes, and cast the corresponding spells, likewise with staves. If not, not. Clanne is a 
Mage, and hence has access to Tomes, allowing him to equip and use all Tomes up to B-rank proficiency, while Framme, as a 
Martial Monk, can use both Staves and Arts, the former up to a B-rank proficiency.
To equip higher level Tomes and Staves, you’ll need to improve your proficiencies with these weapon types, which can be done by promoting to higher-tier classes. This, in turn, may require you to increase your Bond with Emblems that possess the desired skill. For example, the 
Celica Emblem will grant the Magic Prof. skill at Bond Lvl 6, potentially allow you to upgrade to a casting class with a superior Tome proficiency rank.
(1 of 3) Staves count as items, not weapons, and have a set number of charges before they are depleted.
Tomes and Staves in Fire Emblem Engage¶
One important innovation in Fire Emblem Engage is that tomes no longer have charges, like they did in older games. This means you casters can pelt enemies with their magics perpetually, without having to worry about running out of charges (either on their tomes or by using up their refilling per-battle spell slots like in Fire Emblem Three Houses).
Unfortunately, this rewind on spells hasn’t benefited staves like it did tomes, as they once again possess charges. This typically affects non-offensive magic, like healing and buffs, and once your charges on a staff are depleted, you won’t be able to use that staff - or its magic - until you replace it. You can buy new staves from the Item Shop in the Somniel or on the world map.
Sign up
No Comments