Information about Support Ranks and Support Points in Fire Emblem Three Hopes, including how to earn Support Points between characters and what benefits you get for improving Support Ranks.
You can check the Support Ranks between characters via the “Support Info” menu.
What Are Support Ranks in Fire Emblem Three Hopes?¶
The bond between characters is represented by their Support Rank, which runs on a scale from no Support Rank, to C, B, and A, going from lowest to highest. As characters interact with and fight alongside each other, they’ll gain Support Points, and once enough Support Points are accumulated their Support Rank will increase.
Keep in mind that Support Ranks, like most things in this game, are not equal. Most characters can earn at least a C-Rank with each other, but aside from characters like Shez and Byleth, most characters can only achieve an A-Rank with a select handful of other characters. This is mostly due to plot contrivance and previously established relationships (and probably a good bit of laziness), but whatever the cause, it just turns out that Petra and Hapi don’t have much friendship potential, while Shamir and Catherine do.
Whether this potential is realized is, of course, up to you. Well… mostly. You can check the Support Ranks between characters via the “Support Info” menu. You’ll also be notified when a character’s Support Points increase by an arrow that’ll appear near their portrait, or if a heart icon pops up - these are used in different circumstances, but the meaning is more or less the same.
How to Earn Support Points and Increase Support Rank in Fire Emblem Three Hopes¶
To increase the Support Rank between characters you must have them earn Support Points, which is done pretty much every time characters interact with each other. Only a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s generally pretty easy to increase Support Ranks between Shez and other characters, which is a good thing, because Shez can A-Rank just about every other character in the game. Boosting Support Ranks between other characters takes a bit more planning, but fortunately they tend to have fewer Support Ranks to earn.
(1 of 6) You can increase your Support Points with characters by picking dialog options they approve of,
Below you’ll find listed all the activities that earn Support Points:
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Dialog Choices: Picking certain dialog options will earn Support Points between the character spoken to and Shez. Sometimes you’ll end up with multiple characters in a conversation and your response will appease one character but not the other. You’ll typically earn these points at the start of each Chapter, the first time you talk to characters.
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Cooking Meals: Sharing Meals with other characters will boost Support Points between all three participants, although Shez will gain more Support Points with the other two characters than the other two characters will gain with each other. If you cook a character’s favorite meal you’ll gain more Support Points.
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Volunteering: Characters who assist you in some chore or another will gain Support Points with each other (including Shez).
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Training: Characters who train together at the Trianing Grounds will earn Support Points.
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Gifts: Giving a character a Gift will boost their Support Points with Shez. They gain more Support Points if given a gift they particularly fancy.
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Expeditions: If you invite a character on an Expedition, Shez and that character will gain Support Points. The amount of Support Points gained will vary depending on whether you pick the correct responses while on an Expedition. You must have attained Support Rank C before you can go on an Expedition with a character.
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Battle Suggestions: If you pick the Battle Suggestion put forward by a character (or characters), they’ll gain Support Points with Shez.
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Surveying Spots: Some Surveying Spots can boost Support Points when explored. You typically have to pick a participant or participants to receive this Support Point boost.
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Participating in Battles: All characters who participate in a victorious battle together will earn Support Points. It doesn’t matter if the battle is a Main Quest battle, Side Quest battles, Extra Quest battle, or any battle replayed via the Record Keeper. As long as you win, everybody gets points.
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Heal Another Character: If you use healing magic on another unit in battle, those two will gain Support Points. You can only gain Support Points between characters this way once per battle.
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Assigned as an Adjutant: You’ll earn Support Points with a character assigned as your Adjutant when you defeat an enemy officer or perform a Partner Special. You can only gain Support Points between characters this way once per battle.
What Does Increasing Support Rank Do?¶
The what and how of Support Ranks have been explained, now it’s time for the why. Raising Support Ranks yields a variety of positive effects, some more practical than others, and of the practical applications, most of these involve benefits when the two characters work together as Adjutants:
(1 of 2) Having an Adjutant assigned will boost a character’s stats. The stats boosted and the magnitude of the boost varies by the class of the Adjutant and their Support Rank.
Having an Adjutant assigned will boost a character’s stats. The stats boosted and the magnitude of the boost varies by the class of the Adjutant and their Support Rank. (left), You can check each class’s info (bottom right) to see roughly what stats they’ll boost when assigned as an Adjutant. (right)
Support Rank Adjutant Bonuses¶
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Adjutant Stat Boosts: An Adjutant will boost the stats of the character they’re assigned to. The stats boosted and the magnitude of the boost is affected by the Adjutant’s current class and Support Rank.
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Adjutant Attack Gauge: A higher Support Rank boosts the fill rate at which the Adjutant Attack Gauge fills, making the Adjutant more likely to intervene in combat to attack.
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Adjutant Guard Gauge: A higher Support Rank boosts the fill rate at which the Adjutant Guard Gauge fills, making the Adjutant more likely to step in and deflect attacks for you.
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Partner Specials: Increases the damage of Partner Special performed.
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Adjutant Support and Tactical Abilities: An Adjutant will also share their Support Abilities and Tactical Abilities with the character they’re assigned to as long as they’re at least Rank C. At Rank C the Adjutant will only bestow the Lv 1 effect of these Abilities, at Rank B they’ll share the Lv 2 effect and at Rank A the Adjutant will grant their partner the Lv 3 effect… assuming these have been unlocked via the Tactics Academy, of course.
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Learn Combat Arts and Magic: Finally, an Adjutant has a chance to learn Combat Arts and Magic from the character they’re assigned to - the higher the Support Rank, the higher the chance of learning. Check out the linked page for more details.
Support Conversations¶
In addition to these useful combat bonuses, increasing Support Rank between characters also can unlock Support Conversations. These are mostly lore, fluff, and character development with no associated gameplay benefit, but they’re still often amusing and do a great deal to flesh out the relationships between characters.
(1 of 2) Shez can give her Merc Whistle to a character she’s achieved Support Rank A with.
Shez can give her Merc Whistle to a character she’s achieved Support Rank A with. (left), In return, you’ll get that character’s Special Accessory, which will grant access to their Unique Action Ability. (right)
Support Rank and the Merc Whistle¶
Finally, Shez can give her [Merc Whistle] to a single character she’s achieved Support Rank A with. In return she’ll gain a Special Accessory which will grant Shez that character’s Unique Action Ability, overwriting Shez’s own while said accessory is equipped.
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