Site News
Warning: This wiki contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

Social media: If you would like, please join our Discord server, and/or follow us on Twitter (X) or Tumblr!

Objectives

From Fire Emblem Wiki, your source on Fire Emblem information. By fans, for fans.
(Redirected from Defend)
The status menu in The Sacred Stones explains a chapter's objective.

In every chapter or skirmish in the Fire Emblem series, the player is tasked with achieving a certain objective (Japanese: 目的 objective) or victory condition (Japanese: 勝利条件 victory condition) in order to clear the map.

Common objectives

Seize

The first objective the series offered, and an extremely common one since, is seizing: the aim being to have the player's main character arrive at a certain point on the map and end the chapter by selecting the Seize command once standing on top of it. In the majority of games, seize points are thrones in the heart of a castle or fort in interior maps, or the gates of a castle or fort in exterior maps, although Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, and the prologue maps of Shadow Dragon vary this by having seize points be a space of otherwise innocuous terrain which happens to be marked by a blue glow (Tellius) or yellow glow (Shadow Dragon). Seize points are almost always occupied by the chapter's boss, requiring that the player's army defeat them before they can seize; this task is made more daunting by how typical seize points give their occupier defensive, resistance, and avoidance boosts and heal the occupier at the beginning of their turn.

Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn feature an objective similar to seize called "Arrive"; it differs from seize in that the player army's commander is not necessarily the character who must arrive. In Path of Radiance, any unit may arrive, while in Radiant Dawn, the unit that must arrive differs by chapter—for example, the playable character Laura must arrive in Part I, Chapter 2, while the Part III, Prologue's goal is to have Skrimir – an NPC character – arrive. Arrive also appears in Episode IV of the New Archanea Saga bonus chapters in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, where Nyna must arrive at a particular fort; unlike the Tellius games, the condition is met when Nyna ends her turn on the designated space, rather than performing a dedicated command.

In Fire Emblem Fates, similar to the arrive objective in Path of Radiance, any character can seize.

Seize objectives are the only objectives in Mystery of the Emblem and Genealogy of the Holy War; the latter uniquely requires that multiple castles be successively seized in the same chapter, with each castle seized opening the way to the next until the player's army reaches the map's final castle. Also, it is the only objective in The Binding Blade, with the exception of the Endgame and the trial maps; and the only one in Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and its remake, Shadow Dragon, with the exception of the Endgame, as well as the multiplayer maps in the latter.

Rout the enemy

Rout simply requires that every enemy unit currently on the map be defeated in order to clear the chapter. If reinforcements appear, they must also be defeated.

Rout first appeared as an objective in Fire Emblem Gaiden, and serves as the objective in the majority of the battles in it and its remake, Shadows of Valentia. Additionally, all skirmish situations also have a rout objective.

Defeat the boss

Worded as "defeat the enemy commander" in Shadows of Valentia and Three Houses, this objective is effectively a typical seize objective minus one step: the goal is simply to kill the enemy boss, and doing so automatically ends the chapter. This objective does not require that all other enemies be defeated as well.

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Chapter 16 of non-Crimson Flower routes and Chapter 17 of the Azure Moon and Verdant Wind routes have multiple bosses, and the objective is expanded to "defeat all enemy commanders". These otherwise function the same as other "defeat the boss" chapters.

Defend or survive

Defensive objectives task the player with enduring an enemy siege for a set number of turns (often between 7 and 15 turns), and the emphasis is on maintaining the defenses of their location to avoid being overwhelmed and defeated, rather than taking an active offensive against the enemy (though in most cases, doing so is certainly possible). Maps termed "defend" typically require the player to prevent enemies from seizing an area or killing NPCs, while "survive" maps generally lack such objectives. Some defense maps can be won prematurely by defeating the chapter boss. In addition, all defense maps in Three Houses and Heroes are automatically won if the player successfully routs the enemy.

The deaths of particular units has been a Game Over condition in every game in the series since the first, and each chapter of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War features a home castle that must be defended from enemies attempting to seize it. Defensive victory conditions were introduced Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga, where each episode required the player to survive the broadcast; they were introduced to the main series in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, and were relatively common until games after Radiant Dawn did not continue to include them.

The following maps are defensive maps. An asterisk (*) indicates that the chapter can also be completed by defeating the boss:

Escape

Escape objectives require the player to reach a point with a number of units; maps with escape objectives typically feature enemy units that are much stronger than the players or that greatly outnumber them. How many units or which units must escape varies by game and by chapter: in Thracia 776, Path of Radiance, and Radiant Dawn, the main lord is the only unit that must escape; while in later games, depending on the chapter, every unit must escape.

Escape was introduced in Thracia 776, and has appeared somewhat infrequently since. In Thracia 776, escape has an additional mechanic: any player unit who does not leave from the escape tile before Leif will be considered captured and removed from the player's party. As with other captured units, the player has an opportunity to get these units back in Chapter 21x. Similarly, in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn (except during chapter 1 of the latter game), bonus experience is given out for every additional unit that escapes besides the main lord.

Unusual objectives

Occasionally, individual chapters in a game may have an entirely unique objective that does not appear elsewhere in the series.

  • In Chapter 15 of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, the goal is simply to have Leif choose one of two alternate routes by arriving at one of two seize points or by visiting a house in the center of the map.
  • Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade has numerous unique objectives:
    • The objective of Chapter 6 is to find a set of switches to open up a passageway into Castle Araphen; this objective type resurfaces in Chapter 25 of Hector's tale under the name "score 3 points" involving seizing three fortresses with any character of the player's choice. Chapter 28 of Eliwood's tale and Chapter 30 of Hector's tale have similar switches guarded by the chapter boss, but the main lord must end his turn on that switch to complete the chapter.
    • In 16xE/17xH, the goal is to fight through a pirate horde and reach their boss, Fargus, but the player is supposed to talk to him to clear the chapter. Fighting or killing him instead results in a Game Over.
    • 29xE/31xH involves no conflict at all, and instead gives the player several turns to stock up on weapons and items at Ostia's armories and vendors. It is effectively a survive chapter with no enemies to survive against, except possibly Karla and the fighters in the arena.
  • In Part III, Chapter 3 of Radiant Dawn, the goal is to navigate the map and set fire to bundles of supplies on the map within a time limit.
  • In Part III, Chapter 6 and Part III, Chapter 12 of Radiant Dawn, the objective is to defeat a set number of enemies. This objective appears again in Chapter 6 of Fates: Conquest, where the player must defeat 4 enemies.
  • Similar to the above, Part III, Endgame requires a certain number of units to be defeated; this chapter differs in that these units may be of any affiliation.
  • In Chapter 22 of Engage, the objective is to reclaim all twelve Emblem Rings from various enemies.

Multiple objectives

A map may have multiple conditions for victory. Depending on the map, victory may result from meeting any one of the conditions, or only once they have all been met. For instance, Chapter 19 of The Sacred Stones is a defend map that player wins once 13 turns have passed, but they player may also win by defeating Riev; conversely, Chapter 20 of Thracia 776 requires the player to defend for at least 15 turns and to defeat the boss, while Chapter 22 of Engage requires the player to retrieve twelve Emblem Rings and rout the enemy. The first map with multiple conditions was the final chapter of Mystery of the Emblem Book II, which requires the player to defeat Medeus, then seize the throne; unlike most bosses, who must be defeated by virtue of guarding their seize points, Medeus does not defend the throne, rather his defeat unlocks the seize command.

Hidden or changing objectives

Infrequently, one or more objectives may be hidden from the player or may change partway through a map. While hidden objectives usually apply at all times, an objective that changes usually only applies once the change has taken place, meaning it is possible to clear the map based on the initial objective. Rarely, changes in the objectives displayed to the player do not reflect changes in the true conditions to end the map, usually because the new condition was previously hidden.

Examples of hidden or changing objectives include:

  • Path of Radiance: Chapter 27 Stage 2, where the objective is displayed as "???"; the true objective is to escape, defeat the Black Knight, or survive for 5 turns.
  • Radiant Dawn: Part III Endgame, where the stated objective is rout, while the true objective is for 80 units to be defeated.
  • Three Houses: Chapter 14 of routes other than Crimson Flower, where the initial condition is rout, but can change to defeat boss.
  • Three Houses: Foreign Land and Sky, where the initial objective is rout or arrive, but changes to rout later.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology, and notes
English

• Objective
• Victory condition

• Used in the GBA titles.
• Used from Path of Radiance onward.

Japanese

もくひょう
目的
クリア条件
勝利条件

Objective. Used in Mystery of the Emblem.
• Objective; used from Genealogy of the Holy War to The Sacred Stones. Written as もくてき in Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776. In The Blazing Blade and The Sacred Stones, it is used in the objective window in the corner, while the below name is used on the battle status menu.
• Clear condition. Used in The Blazing Blade and The Sacred Stones on the battle status menu.
• Victory condition. Used from Path of Radiance onward.

French

Objectif

Objective

References

Game mechanics
Out-of-battle management Base (BarracksBase CampBase conversationEveryone's ConditionsExpeditionGarreg Mach Monastery (Abyss) • My CastleSomniel) • Bonus experienceDungeonsGameplay modes (DifficultyCreature CampaignNew Game +) • GoldLessonsMila ShrinesPeddlerPreparationsRenownShopping (ArmoryBargainsForgeItem shopMerchantOnline shopSecret shop) • Supply convoyWorld map
Battles and chapters ArenaBattle saveBossCastleChapter (Alternate routeParalogueSide quest) • ChestCombat forecastEvent tilesHidden treasureObjectivesReinforcementSkirmishTerrain (Hazards) • Turn (Turn rewind) • Weather (Fog of war) • Village
Stats Units ActionAffinityAuthorityBiorhythmCharmClass (Class masteryClass relative powerUnit type) • Constitution (Aid) • DefenseExperienceFollow-up critical multiplierGrowth rateHit pointHoly BloodInventoryLevelLuckMagicMovementProficiencyResistanceSkillSpeedStrengthWeapon levelWeight
Weapons Brave weaponCritical rateDurabilityHitKill bonusMightPersonal weaponsRangeWeapon experienceWeapon levelWeightWorth
Unit mechanics and commands AdjutantAttack (Counterattack) • Auto-BattleBattalion (Gambit) • CantoChain attackChain GuardClass change (Reclass) • Combat artCrestsDance (GaldrarPlaySing) • Death (Decoy) • DismountDragon VeinEmblem RingsFatigueInventoryLaguz transformationLove (JealousyInheritance) • Pair UpRallyRecruitmentRescue (Capture) • Skills (Offensive skill) • SmashStaggering BlowStatus effectsSupportTalkTradeUnit (AvatarBond unitsBonus unitEinherjarLoan unitPrisonerReplacement unitSubstitute character) • Visit
Calculations AttackAttack speedAvoidBonus damageCritical hit (Combination bonusDodgeTriangle Attack) • Hit rate (True hit) • Random number generatorWeapon triangle (Trinity of magic)
Connectivity amiiboData transferDouble DuelDownloadable contentLink ArenaMultiplayer battleOnline shopSpotPassStreetPass
Other BarrierBirthdayClass rollGlitchesMultiple endingsRankingsSound RoomTactician bonus