Fire Emblem Engage: Best Louis Builds

Fire Emblem: Engage takes many steps to encourage the player to make the most out of their turn in order to limit the use of enemy phase strategies that have dominated the past few Fire Emblem titles. Nonetheless, every team needs a defensive backbone to rely on when the going gets tough and to block the path of approaching enemies. Thankfully, in Chapter 4, Louis arrives to fill this role with aplomb. As a Lance Armor unit, Louis excels in defensive play and can shrug off most physical hits with ease, but his low resistance means you must play carefully around mages.

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As your adventure progresses, and the Fell Dragon’s power grows, you must equip Louis correctly to allow him to continue to weather the onslaught of foes. Here are some of the best Skills, Weapons, Classes, and Rings to form Louis into the unbreakable wall he was meant to be.

Growth Rates

Both tied for second highest in the game, the hallmarks of Louis’ growth rates are his impressive 50% in defense and 75% in HP. Combined with the 30% from his class bonus, Louis will receive an increase in his defense every four out of five level-ups. To top this off, he joins your party with an astronomical 16 defense. These numbers far outstrip those of your party members to this point. His bulk is complimented by above-average strength and phenomenal build, allowing Louis to tank attacks and hit back harder.

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Best Classes

Louis joins your army as a Lance Armor, which can promote him to either a General or a Great Knight. General is a simple power boost from his base class allowing him to do his previous job even better. The Great Knight route, however, switches his play style significantly, providing extra movement as well as access to another weapon type, either axes or swords. The choice between the two will likely depend on your own party structure and method of approaching combat. General makes the most use out of Louis’ stats, but if you find yourself irritated at his lack of movement, needing another weapon type, or simply prefer a more active approach, you might want to try out Great Knight.

Best Weapons

Unlike the majority of previous entries in the series, Fire Emblem: Engage’s weapons do not rely on durability. Since the amount of use is not a limiting factor, the biggest hurdle when it comes to weapon use is weight. The heavier a weapon is, the more it slows down the character using it, provided their build is lower than the weight of the weapon. Now throw all this information out of the window, because Louis is blessed with a high build of 8, and a growth of 20% (in his base class). Because of this, he can utilize many of the game’s most powerful weapons with little penalty. Louis will make great use of steel and silver spears, alongside being a good user of the greatlance line of weapons. Finally, he will always want to have a javelin, or a spear once obtained, on hand to allow him to counterattack pesky daggers and bows.

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Best Emblem Rings

As a defensive-oriented unit, Louis has multiple good options for Emblem Rings namely, Ike and Leif. If you have the DLC, he can also make use of Hector or Tiki. Ike’s ring provides the wielder access to Great Aether, a counterattack skill that devastates all surrounding enemies on the following turn. This is perfect for Louis, who already enjoys being in the middle of the fight. Leif’s unique ability Adaptable allows the user, when defending, to automatically counterattack with the best weapon available. This is especially powerful at high bond levels, or if Louis is classed as a Great Knight, as he will have plenty of different weapon types with which to get the upper hand.

Best Skills

When inheriting skills, Louis will want to focus on skills that allow him to take hits better. Skills that add defense or reduce damage will help greatly, as well as anything that can shore up his weaker resistance. Finally, if you have access to the DLC, Tiki’s Lifesphere ability allows you to give your clerics a break and heal while preparing for the next turn.

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