Fire Emblem Engage offers three difficulty levels for players when they start the game. Normal, Hard, and Maddening. Fire Emblem Engage Maddening is the highest level of Difficulty you can play the game on and is only intended for seasoned players. Add Classic mode on top of Maddening difficulty in FE Engage and you have a truly hardcore experience.
We have prepared this guide to cover all the details about the maddening difficulty and give you some tips to play at the maddening difficulty in FE Engage.
How maddening difficulty works in Fire Emblem Engage
Maddening Difficulty is recommended for experienced players, so many of the game’s features are changed to adjust to the difficulty. Here are some differences in maddening as compared to other difficulties:
First of all, some of the starting tutorials are now skippable. This makes sense, as anyone going for Maddening Difficulty is expected to know all the features already. However, the tutorials can be experienced; if anyone wants to go through them again, they can.
Next, the option to save your game mid-battle is disabled. If you start a battle, you need to fully commit to the fight. You cannot just save at a favorable point and then reload the save if things don’t go your way. This also forces players to complete any fight they start.
Lastly, the most basic part, more enemies are thrown your way, and enemies have increased stats overall. All the enemies are stronger now, and some also get special skills that cannot be found in their Normal and Hard difficulty counterparts.
These new skills turn a lot of fights in an unexpected direction. If you are going through Maddening Difficulty after completing the game, don’t be shocked to see enemies use superb skills to fight you.
Enemy AI is also enhanced. Enemies will respond to your strategies better. They will protect themselves better and only attack when they can land rather than swinging and missing mindlessly.
Player limitations in Maddening difficulty
Maddening Difficulty also imposes several restrictions on the player to further ramp up the difficulty in FE Engage.
Character stats in FE Engage are supposed to be randomized. The stats are rolled and upgraded randomly when you level up any of your units. If unsatisfied with your new stats, you can reload a previous save and reroll to try and get better stats.
Stats in Maddening Difficulty for all units are predetermined. It means all your units will have fixed growth rates for all classes and characters on leveling up, no matter how many times you try rerolling. This keeps players from getting lucky and more robust than the game wants them to be.
Next, your use of Draconic Time Crystal is limited. You only get to use it ten times on Maddening Difficulty. Although the Draconic Time Crystal is already a limited resource for both Normal and Hard Difficulty, the total number of uses is further reduced in Maddening Difficulty. Players must ensure that every use of their Draconic Time Crystal is worth it.
FE Engage Maddening mode tips
If you still want to play through Maddening Difficulty in Fire Emblem Engage, you need some pointers for making it through since the game almost abandons you. Here are a few helpful tips to help you survive in Maddening Difficulty.
First of all, you want to get stronger. When you get stronger, you will have fixed stats. It means you get stronger as you level up, and as all your stats will be fixed, the best you can do is level up faster. In the starting chapters of the game, you need to earn as much XP as possible.
If you want to know how you can farm XP on maddening difficulty, then the best way is to use Micaiah and her special Great Sacrifice attack to heal units. This will earn you tremendous amounts of XP.
You might think of skipping optional fights, but we recommend that you go through all of these. These fights are easier early on and can help you level up much faster.
Some veteran players also choose maddening difficulty to grind and earn a lot of XP. But, unfortunately, you can only grind each chapter up to 2-3 times. Because once you do, you will be stuck on the same level.
Play defensively
You cannot risk making a lot of mistakes in Maddening Difficulty. Playing aggressively will always leave you open since the enemies in Maddening Difficulty are not as dumb as you expect them to be.
You need to play defensively to study the battle and act appropriately. A defensive playstyle will also help you ensure more victories in fights in Fire Emblem Engage.
Level up all your units
Mostly, players tend to level up offensive units to increase their damage output, but support units play a significant role in Maddening Difficulty. Mages lacking offensive capabilities make up by providing healing and status boosts.
Characters such as Clanne and Framme can provide high survivability and constant healing to your main frontline, so they can keep fighting longer. You need it in Maddening Difficulty, even if it doesn’t matter in Normal and Hard Difficulty.
With this, it is also important to carefully consider the placement of your units on the battlefield in Fire Emblem Engage. You want your support units to be close enough to help but stay out of the primary fight.
You want your main fighters to remain in the front and protect the units behind them. Careless placements will result in your party falling apart and you losing the fight.
Terrain matters a lot in Fire Emblem Engage
Some units receive special bonus boosts in specific terrains. This can be extremely useful to you in FE Engage. Your damage or defense can vary depending on your position in the terrain.
Get familiar with your units
One of the most crucial things in maddening difficulty is learning about your units, and you should know to pick the best team. Their abilities, strengths, weaknesses, attacks, and how they fight. You need to use the units that are the most adapted for the fight.
Some units wielding specific weapons will always deal additional damage, and some resist certain attack types.
This knowledge will help you shape your party for upcoming fights, and you can always maintain an upper hand if you choose your units properly in Fire Emblem Engage.
In the end, we recommend keeping all your units in top condition. You want to make sure that all your characters have the best gear equipped at all times, including your non-combat units. All your party members should be well-fed at Café Terrace on Somniel before you head out for a fight.
You want to level them up before you go into a brutal battle and have the best possible emblem equipped. It would help if you also used their Skill Inheritance to ensure they stay more potent than the competition. Weak units won’t stand a chance in Maddening Difficulty.
Maddening difficulty unit tier list
For those wondering which characters to add to their party to have a fun experience on maddening difficulty in FE Engage, we have crafted this tier list of the best characters.
Adding these units to your party compositions will allow you to survive with ease on maddening difficulty while also keeping things challenging enough to make you feel the difficulty spike without making things unfair.
S-Tier units
- Anna
- Alear
- Chloe
- Hortensia
- Jean
- Kagetsu
A-Tier units
- Alcyrst
- Celine
- Yunaka
B-Tier units
- Alfred
- Amber
- Panette
