Champions of Yore 1

Background
''Chrom ends up lost in another world, where he chances upon an ageing fortune teller who can use magical talismans to summon lost spirits. When a battle breaks out, the fortune teller aids Chrom by summoning who...?''

Episode Information
Champions of Yore 1 (Spirit Talisman 1 in the Japanese version) is Xenologue 1 of Fire Emblem: Awakening and the first of a 3 part series of episodes introducing players to the concept of the Outrealm.

When the chapter begins, Chrom finds himself in the middle of a battlefield on the isle of Talys. There, he meets an old fortune teller, the keeper of the Outrealm, who requests for Chrom to defeat Spirit Talismans who have manifested into heroes from ancient times. To aid Chrom, the fortune-teller uses the ancient Spirit Talisman arts passed down by his family to summon Marth, as well as Alm and Ike. Chrom is then joined by Marth, Alm, and Ike as NPC units, with the objective of defeating the 10 main heroines from previous titles. The battle map is modelled after Chapter 1: Marth Embarks of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. After completion of the mission, Marth will join as a Level 8 Lodestar.

After the battle is over, the old fortune-teller explains that he has lost control of a number of Spirit Talismans and they are causing chaos in the Outrealm. He warns Chrom that these Spirit Talismans could gain enough power to level an entire country, and requests that Chrom continue sealing the Spirit Talismans by defeating them in battle. After Chrom grudgingly accepts, the fortune-teller mentions how time passes differently in the Outrealm and tells Chrom that he is welcome to visit again any time during his adventures.

Special Conversations
A special conversation will trigger if the these playable units talk to these Champion units.
 * Avatar (Male): Ike and Celica
 * Avatar (Female): Ike
 * Chrom: Eirika and Marth
 * Lissa: Julia and Alm
 * Virion: Elincia
 * Miriel: Lilina
 * Kellam: Shiida
 * Maribelle: Micaiah
 * Gregor: Lyndis
 * Henry: Dierdre
 * Owain: Nanna

Repeatable Maps
The DLC add-on maps are repeatable, and can be completed an unlimited amount of times. Your characters retain their experience and leveling progress, thus making these maps a decent way to level up your characters by "farming" experience as well as items to sell for gold, and/or to upgrade your units' equipment. Since, the enemy units' levels don't change or scale with your own character's levels, and the experience is relatively decent, this is an easy way to level your lower leveled characters.

Important Map Details
There are two villages and two sparkling "mystery" tiles on the map. These allow for the potential gain of up to 4 items total, which can be used for equipment upgrades or to sell for additional income. However, the "mystery" tiles can also yield experience, weapon experience or character support progression, allowing one to not only farm experience and items, but also farm support ranks and weapon skills.


 * The first village is located on the east side of the map, right at the starting position, just behind Chrom's starting location.
 * The second village is on the far western side of the map, located south of the boss enemy unit.
 * The two "mystery" tiles found on this map are located in the central section of the map. One can be seen on the far northern coast, east of the mountains, while the other lies within some forested tiles on the far southern edge of the map, near where the Lyn enemy unit is positioned.

Farming Strategy
Note: This strategy was done on Hard/Casual setting and can be used as a basic strategy to complete this mission for the first time.

One basic strategy to follow is to have at least 3 to 4 mid-to-high level characters to carry your lower level units through this side-mission. It is recommended to bring along at least one healer, (such as Lissa or Maribelle, etc.) or plenty of Vulneraries/Elixers spread evenly among your units.

(It is not necessary to talk to your Ally units, but it does give into some additional insight into the Fire Emblem lore.) A good defense is often times the best offense. It is recommended to use a defensive strategy for this map, as a careless decision can easily cost you a unit or two, especially on higher difficulties.

Unit Selection

By bringing along at least two or three high-defense characters, such as Frederick, Kellam, or Vaike, you're able to use them as your "tanks", to cover the frontline, while defending your other weaker units. With this in mind, it's recommended to position your lower-level characters, as well as any ranged or support characters behind them, presumably out of reach from enemy ranged attacks or flying enemy units. It is also recommended to utilize the Pairing Up feature to help give your lower-leveled characters added assurance, as well as building support ranks between character pairs, and to give them added support in battle, as well.

Mission Walkthrough

The three additional NPC Ally units (Marth, Ike, and Alm) help take off some of the heat by, (at the bare minimum), weakening various enemy units, allowing you (and your lower level units) to finish them off with ease. However, they seem to rush into battle and not act very defensively at all. Aside from stopping at a nearby fort, intentionally or not, these units do not carry any Vulnerary or Elixers to heal themselves. Because of this, you may see your ally units easily become overwhelmed by as many as 2 to 3 enemies. Fortunately, they are able to hold off long enough to take out a few, or at least chip off the enemy's health, allowing for you to clean up any remaining enemies. If you want to keep them alive for as long as possible, be sure to send over a healer to heal any damage that they sustain. This is also a good opportunity to quickly level a healer character as they tend to take a lot of hits each turn, allowing for opportunities to gain experience through consecutive healing turns. Just be mindful of your own unit positioning, as you can easily lose your healer when lending support to your Ally units.

This mission is relatively straight forward. First, use a team of paired-up mounted units or pair-up a ranged with a mounted unit (such as Sully and Virion) to take out the Mage, Deirdre, located in the southern part of the starting area. Take caution of her Flux Spell Tome, as it can cause a decent amount of damage on lower level characters or units with low resistance. If you are unable to defeat Deirdre with your chosen pair, you can send Fredrick down to finish her off using a ranged Hand Axe, Javelin or equivalent ranged weapon (if available). If you're choices are limited, you can wait for your Ally units to finish her off on their first turn.

During the enemy's first turn, they will send over the Pegasus Knight, Elincia, who is equipped with a Javelin. She will fly over the water to the same position that Deirdre was stationed. Mounted units, such as Sully or Stahl should be able to withstand her attacks with ease (often times coming out of battle having taken no damage at all). Your Ally units should help you defeat her, giving you the chance to focus your attention towards the ground units that will be making their way towards your position, moving in from the north-west.

With Deirdre and Elincia out of commission, begin moving your units northward, keeping with a defensive formation - high-defense characters in front, weaker/low leveled units and support/ranged behind them.

Again, by using the Pairing Up support feature, you can also have your weaker/lower leveled units paired up with your stronger units, to literally "carry" them through the mission, switching them out only to finish off any weakened enemies as you press on through the opposing team.

Be careful of the other enemy Mages, particularly Lilina, who is positioned south of Nanna, their Troubadour healer. Keep in mind that Lilina is equipped with Elfire, which can easily take out any lower-leveled characters in a single shot. It is recommended to take on these units with high-defense/resistance characters, or to wait for your Ally units (such as Marth or Alm) to take down some of their health, opening them up for you to finish them off on your following turn. Maintain your defensive positioning and you should be able to take out the enemy team in about 10 or so turns. Be sure to take out their healer, Nanna, as soon as the opportunity arises, negating their support unit, entirely.

The enemy boss unit is a mage, and uses Arcwind, a C level Wind Spell Tome, that can take out over 75% your Ally units' health in a single turn, giving you some idea of the strength her spell has. Again, maintain your defensive strategy and you should be able to get through this mission with little trouble.

Be sure to visit the villages, and to stop at the two "mystery" tiles to grab your free items or other effects they yield before engaging the boss.