Nintendo released their latest Feh Channel video earlier today, outlining the immediate future of their hit social RPG, Fire Emblem Heroes (Free). The game has been a big success for the company, and it has even been nominated for Best Mobile Game at the upcoming Game Awards. One of the likely reasons for that success is in how much effort the development team has put into listening to the players and delivering solid updates every month. The next update is a particularly big one, and it’s coming alongside a number of interesting events.
The biggest new feature seems to be the Weapon Refinery, which will allow you to power up certain weapons to give them increased stats and even some new properties. You’ll need to collect some new bits and bobs to make use of this refinery, and the best weapons will require a currency you can only get from refining basic weapons. One nice point about this is that you can choose exactly which form you want to refine the weapon into, giving you some options for customization.
Other changes aim to make the game more player-friendly than it already is. First of all, many players have complained that staff users aren’t worth their keep, so every character who wields a staff now has access to some great new skills. This change is retroactive, so even staff users you’ve already pulled will be able to pick up these new moves. And hey, you’ll have more room to keep extra heroes around since the developers will be increasing every player’s hero storage by 100 spaces, no purchase necessary. Makes sense, as I think this game is making its money from people trying to collect all their favorite heroes. Finally, stamina costs on Main Story and Paralogue missions will be capped at a maximum of 10 points, allowing you to play longer before running out.
Speaking of the story, it seems like Fire Emblem Heroes will soon be starting on the next chapter. Book 2 sees the heroes befriend a new character named Fjorm, the ruler of an ice kingdom that has been targeted by the wicked King Surtr, who hails from a fire kingdom. The first couple of chapters of Book 2 will go up with this update, and every player who beats the first chapter will receive a five-star version of Fjorm for free. Can’t argue with that! It seems like this will be something of a fresh start, so even beginning players should be able to tackle this story when it hits.
Fjorm will be headlining a new summoning event that sees a number of limited heroes make a comeback. If you missed the Spring Festival or the Brides event, this is your chance to get some of those special versions of Fire Emblem‘s best-known characters. Other popular rarities will also be part of this event, and the rate for pulling all of them will be set to 8%, much higher than the usual. On top of that, a Choose Your Legends event kicked off today, bringing four more characters from the popularity poll to the game. From Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, Dorcas joins the game. From Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones comes Lute, and from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Mia. In addition, Joshua from The Sacred Stones will be made available in the next Tempest Trials event.
Phew, that’s quite a bit for one update. It looks like Nintendo and Intelligent Systems still have a lot of enthusiasm for Fire Emblem Heroes, to say the least. I’m impressed that they’re making the game even more player-friendly, too. Most players already feel this is a fairly generous game, so seeing the monetization relax a bit is a pleasant surprise. If this game’s first several months are any indication, this game should have a long, healthy life ahead of it. This update should be coming quite soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
