'Fire Emblem Fates' Castle Guide: Recipes, Crafting And Leveling Your Fort In Birthright And Conquest

By Nathalie Medina Published 02/19/16 EST

Fire Emblem Fates is a complex game, and new features like the base-building element for Birthright and Conquest can be overwhelming. We feel you. So after the Branch of Fate in Chapter 6, when your player gets the opportunity to customize a home base on the astral plane, consult this handy Fire Emblem Fates castle guide.. This guide helps you choose which buildings to place, the style of fort you would like, and how to level your buildings up. When you return to your home base in between battles these custom choices can lead to stat boosts both on and off the field. You want to win, don’t you?

Castle Battles/Invasions

Your castle will periodically face invasions from astral enemies. The various buildings you can build give you bonuses in these invasions, during which you must both rout the enemy and defend your throne.

Allies can be placed either near the throne or in front of your buildings, so consider where you place your buildings carefully, as enemies enter from the south, east and west of the map. Units can’t be placed in front of blocked buildings.

If your building is destroyed during an invasion, it will be repaired afterward. Be aware that if enemies destroy your buildings, you will lose the associated stat boost during that battle.

Castle Buildings

In order to place or upgrade buildings, you need Dragon Vein points. You acquire Dragon Vein points by completing battles and visiting other castles.

Most buildings can be upgraded up to Level 3 for additional bonuses in castle battles as well as bonus functionality.

Prison : Holds increasing numbers of captured prisoners for recruitment. Leveling the Prison increases Crit for defenders in castle battles.

Einherjar Shop: Allows you to buy Einherjar to get extra allies. Some are based on allies in this castle, as well as on their stats, while other Einherjar are basic units. Leveling the Einherjar Shop increases Avo for defenders in castle battles.

Accessory Shop: Change looks/stats with trendy accessories. Leveling the Accessory Shop increases dodge for defenders in castle battles.

Mess Hall: Boosts ally stats with dishes. Leveling the Mess Hall increases Hit for defenders in castle battles.

Lilith’s Temple: Helps you raise Lilith into a big strong dragon who helps you defend your castle. Leveling her temple raises her level cap.

Staff Store : Buy quality staves and other goods from Nohr/Hoshido. Leveling the Staff Store increases the quality of goods available.

Lottery Shop: Try your luck for better and better prizes as you level the Lottery Shop. Can’t be damaged in castle battles.

Dawn/Dusk Armory: Buy quality Nohrian/Hoshidan weapons. Leveling the Armory increases the quality of goods available.

Emerald Mine/Jade Spring: Allows you to obtain more of this resource each evening when leveled up.

Traveler’s Plaza: Leveling this allows you to meet increasing numbers of travelers via StreetPass.

Smithy: The person on duty can fuse two like weapons to make one with a bonus (max +7), with cost lowered if he/she is proficient in the weapon (never below 1). Weapons are limited to those in your castle’s story path.

Records Hall: Leveling the Records Hall allows you to play a wider variety of music and decreases damage done to defenders in castle battles.

Dawn Dragon: Defenders in castle battles recover increasing amounts of HP each turn as this is leveled up.

Dusk Dragon: Attackers in castle battles take increasing damage each turn as this is leveled up.

Arena: This lets you bet on battles fought by your allies to obtain more resources. Increasing the level lets you bet on up to three consecutive fights. Can’t be damaged in castle battles.

Pupplets/Golems A/B/C: These automatons get stronger as you level them up with DVP and support your defenders during castle battles.

Statues: At level 1, these statues raise one of the subject’s most important stats. At level 2, they raise the stat again plus that of their close allies. At level 3, they raise the subject’s “boon” stat and that of all allies by one.

In addition to these buildings, you can also build ballistas, launchers, and fire orbs for the appropriate class to use. Be aware that the right enemy can use these, too!

Guide to the Smithy

In order to forge a stronger weapon, you need two of the same weapon. You’ll also need the correct stone to forge that particular weapon. The correct stone will be noted on the upper right.

If you don’t have that stone, go to Ore Swap, which will let you exchange 5 of something you do have for 1 of something you don’t.

(Another good way to get more resources is to bet strategically at the Arena, but careful not to lose anything you can’t easily get back…)

The confirmation screen will show you what stats increase out of 4: Bonus, Mt (Might), hit (hit rate) and crit (crit rate). You can re-forge a forged weapon to make it even stronger, too - but you’ll need two forged weapons to do it.

Statues