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The final chapter ofFire Emblem: Engage’s Fell Xenologue is certainly one of the hardest challenges of the entire game, and perhaps one of the most difficult in recent Fire Emblem history, due to its questionable balancing, strange mechanics, overwhelming reinforcements, and lackluster forced deployments.
RELATED:Fire Emblem Engage: Ancient Well Guide
Faced with the task of avoiding the destruction of Fell Nil, your strategic mind will be pushed to the limit as you race from one sinking island to the next. Depending on your luck, you’ll be leaving this map with tears of joy, either from the enjoyment you had with an exciting map or the relief you feel now that the pain is finally over.
Understanding The Map - Battle Preparation
Enemies
First Island:x1 General (Axe), x1 General (Lance), x1 Wyvern Knight (Axe), x2 Wyvern Knight (Lance), x1 Corrupted Wyvern
Second Island:x3 Bow Knight, x1 Mage Cannoneer, x1 Fogado and Tiki
Third Island:x3 General (Lance), x1 General (Axe), x1 Sniper, x1 Sage, x1 Alcryst and Chrom
Fourth Island:x4 Halberdier, x2 General (Lance), x1 Corrupted Wyvern, x1 Timerra and Camilla
Fifth Island:x2 Hero (Sword), x2 Hero (Lance), x2 Hero (Axe), x1 Sage, x1 Corrupted Wyvern, x1 Diamant and Veronica
Sixth Island:x4 Swordmaster, x1 General (Lance), x2 Corrupted Wyvern, x1 Alfred and Hector, x1 Celine and Edelgard, x1 Fell Nil
Seventh Island:x1 Corrupted Wyvern, x4 Mage Knight, x1 General (Axe), x1 General (Lance), x1 Hortensia, x1 Ivy and Soren
Deployment Allowance
13 - 8 guests and 5 required units: Zelestia, Madeline, Gregory, Nel, and Alear
Defeat:Nel or Alear is defeated.
★★★★★★★★★★ (10/10)
Top Recommended Units
Panette and Ike, Alcryst and Lyn, Any Max Bond Soren and Veronica Users,
Before units are chosen, scouting the game’s most interesting but difficult map will be necessary for your success.
There areseven islands, and each will have at leastone sigil for Fell Nilandone bracelet-user(except the Sixth Island which has two bracelet-users to make up for none on the first). Your goal will be tomake it to the Sixth Islandon the North side - an island that cannot be sunk - with as many units as possible.
On your way, there are two areas that should fittingly be calledDeath Valley. They arelong, vertical stretchesof land on thefar east and west sides. If you are to struggle anywhere on this map, it will be in one of these two locations.Time is of the essenceon this map, and your top priority will be continuing to move forward at all times.
This is a very long map and will takeno less than an hour for a first playthroughin most instances - unless you build your team specifically to finish this map in a single turn.
Fell Nil will havethree main actions:
Devastation and Drain Essence make it essential for you tocomplete islands as fast as possible. It is highlighted clearly and takes one round to charge. Once released, the island will cease to exist.
This ability is also why you’ll need toprioritize the Emblem-paired enemieson the map. Any paired enemy absorbed by Fell Nil will have their class skill added to his skill roster.
This is why the Shortcut-Path will not be covered in this guide. Yes, you can bypass most of the map by taking the islands in a 1-2-7-6 order, but you do so at the cost of facing swarms of annoying flying reinforcements and giving Fell Nil skills like Luna, Sandstorm, and Sol. As such, it cannot be recommended for general use. Take the Shortcut at your own peril or for added challenge.
Unit Selection
For this map, you’ll beallowed eight units of your choiceand five forced deployments. This leaves a lot of room in variability for units that will work, and some creativity in Emblem pairings for all thirteen.
Given the wide variety of units that can be used, it’s hard to go wrong with select choices so long as they’reunits you’re comfortablewith and you strikea balance between physical and magical units.
For a balanced team, select the following:
Therewill be some overlapbetween the two, but so long as youhit these requirementsfor the eight units you choose, you should have a viable team for this map.
It’s recommended tostay away from dagger unitson this map. There are several high-defense enemies, and most dagger units will struggle to put a reliable dent in them. Likewise,Seadallisn’t recommended due to hisliabilities in turn-economy and fragile defenses.
Beyond the guest units, you’ll need topair your forced deployments with Emblemsthat will be helpful despite not gaining any Bond Levels.
Celica/Micaiah
Beginning Battle - Islands One And Two
The beginning of this map is fairly straightforward. Your goal is toget everyone off the First Islandand onto the Second in order todefeat Fogadoand Second Island enemies as quickly as possible. To do this,defeat the two Generalsblocking your path andensureGregory finishes off the General equipped with the Rescue staff, so you won’t have to spend a turn trading it over. He will be your Rescue-horse for the rest of the map.
As you send anyflying units on the south sideof the Second Island to deal with the Mage Cannoneer,assign your tank unit as a decoy with Soren’s ability. Move them into the Bow Knight’s range, so you don’t need to fear your flying units getting targeted.
If you have a good Lyn user,use Astra Storm on one nearby unit within the first turn- preferably one of the Wyvern Knights to the east. By the time you’ve reached the next Engage source, you’ll be able to refill.
As youmove all your units to the Second Island, keep at leastfive of them behindmomentarily on the First tostand on the red sigils. Doing so will prevent Fell Nil from summoning enemy reinforcements.Do not attempt to stay for the sigils on the right sideof the island. It is not worth the struggle you’ll face attempting to rush off the island onto the next, andyou may lose units.
On the Second Island,make a beeline for Fogado. You need to defeat him before Fell Nil arrives. Otherwise, he will always prioritize using Divine Blessing on Fell Nil, giving him an avoidable extra health bar.
Fogado starts with no ranged attack equipped, socorner him with your ranged unitsand finish off any remaining health with melee fighters.
As you take on Fogado,begin your approach to the Third Islandwith any spare units.
you’re able to leave a few units behind to stand on the sigils as they appear on the Second Island (after Fell Nil moves onto the sigil there). However, you shouldignore the sigils on the south side of this islandas they are bait to lead you into a trapagainst next-turn Wyvern Knight reinforcements.
Alcryst And Chrom - The Third Island
Like every gateway between islands on this map, there aretwo Generals standing guard. They will not approach you and only have a range of two tiles in any direction (leaving them vulnerable to Lightning-based spells and Longbows/Failnaught).Defeat the Generalsto enter the Third Island where Alcryst will be situated on the far side.Defeat the Sniper and additional enemies before attempting toface Alcryst.
you may also, at this time,attempt baiting Hortensia and Ivy from the North. However, this is a dangerous strategy due to Ivy’s range, the need for flying units, and Ivy’s access to Rexcalibur. It is recommended to wait to challenge these two until you’ve reached the Sixth Island.
Alcryst typically opens any encounter with Giga Levin Sword, so sending in ahigh-resistance unit to absorb the blowis recommended. After you’ve baited Alcryst forward, you canswarm him with melee fightersand defeat him relatively quickly due to his squishy nature. Alcryst defeated, you’ll soon start running intoWyvern Knight reinforcementsfrom the south. Keep tanky units on the south side of the island to absorb any hits while youmove to the southwesttoward the Fourth Island.
To deal with the Phantom Wyvern and Mage Cannoneer before progressing,send in a flying unit against the Wyvern and use Lyn’s Astra Storm to deal them a fatal blow. Grab the enemy sages to the northwest too, if you can manage.
March Through Death Valley - The Fourth And Fifth Islands
While you’re able to split your party to the Fourth and Fifth Islands simultaneously, it is recommended tosend most - if not all - of your army to the Fourth Islandwhen playing on the Hard and Maddening difficulty settings. This is because of unintended map-glitches (such asFell Nil sometimes skipping to the Fifth Islandand breaking the map) and early triggering of Diamant’s terrifying summons.
Therefore, send your units through the General blockade tochallenge Timerraand her entourage of Halberdiers.
The Halberdiers are troublesome due to their status as Backup Units, so it’s recommended tomove a tankier unit with Pair Upinto the midst to deal with them before Timerra. Timerra herself is thankfully quite easy, and her lack of good ranged options makes hereasy pickings for your ranged units. Deal with her and prepare tomake the final run north.
When facing Timerra, you’ll want to do it with as few units as possible, andyou should favor more mobile ones. Keep your slower units up to the north and begin to make the run north while fighting Timerra to give them the head start they’ll need.
Send your tankier units in the front to the north.Use Rescueto grab your units left behind andbring them forward as fast as possible. When they make it, begin attempting to angle yourself a little left.
The danger in Death Valley stems fromDiamant’s powerful summonsin the North (summons likeMarth, Celica, Leif, and Roy) and the destruction of the Fourth Island. If you don’t pass through this area quickly enough, you could be:
As you fight on this island, you’ll also beoverrun with a swarm of flying enemy reinforcementsevery turn you linger. Additionally, there isn’t much room on this island, and Fell Nil doesn’t like staying on it for more than two or three turns.
Destroy Diamant’s forces as fast as possiblewhile attempting to broach theSixth Island on the southwest side. Powerful mages will attempt to stop you, but they can be dealt with by flying units and archers like Alcryst.
Cracking The Nut - The Sixth And Seventh Islands
The hardest part of facing the Sixth Island is entering it.Alfred and Celine guard this islandwith powerful Emblems. Their range includes the entrances of the island on either side, so getting in without their notice is not possible. There are also several Swordmasters aiding them, andCeline’s access to magicmeans it isn’t entirely safe to try tanking all the blows with one high-defense unit.
The best strategy here is actually tobait them with an Ike-user, leading them into aGreat-Aether trap.If you’re uncertain about your unit surviving, using Tiki’s Divine Blessing to grant an extra life can be extra security.
Soren’s Assign Decoy is also useful here for ensuring that most of the units will prefer your Ike-user over your lesser units approaching behind. Quickly make your way onto the island andprioritize Celine over Alfred. Her versatility makes her the more dangerous foe.
As you enter the Sixth Island, you’ll eventuallytrigger Hortensiaon the far western side. She’s a magic unit, so trybaiting her with a high-resistance unit(preferably a mage with Elwind/Excalibur). She’ll be followed by a fewPhantom Wyverns, potentially moreflying reinforcements,Fell Nil, andIvy and Soren. They will all join for the final battle on the Sixth Island.
Fell Nil will begin throwing in new reinforcements and firing laser beams and continue to be a general nuisance to your strategy and units. You’ll need to juggle him with the rest of the enemies here.Ivy and Soren will be your biggest threatin the meantime, but the high number of other dangerous enemies and her multiple health bars will likely mean that you’ll need toprioritize other units over Ivy for at least one round.
Phantom Wyvernswill now pose a huge issue with the limited space, as they will freeze any unit they successfully attack. They should beprioritized above standard enemy units.Thankfully, they usually require only one unit to deal with them thanks to their low defense.
For facing Ivy, the best strategy is todefeat her enemy companions, block as many reinforcement sigils as possible, anduse Assign Decoy on a high-resistance unit. Try to refrain from keeping any units beside the bait as they may get hit with a Cataclysm.
She does have several ranged options, so you’ll need to rely heavily on attacks like those from bow-users and wind-tome mages to deal significant chunks of damage at a time. Once Ivy is dealt with, you may finallyfocus all your attention on Fell Niland his Wyvern lackies.
Facing The Fell Dragon - Fell Nil
With all seven bracelet users defeated, Fell Nil’sdefenses will fall, and heshouldn’t have any glaring skill additions, so long as you didn’t lose any units to his Devastation. He does regularly spawn additional enemies, use his laser beams, and slam one corner of the island. Phantom Wyverns will also appear on the northern side of the map every other turn. You’ll need tokeep special attention to cues on the ground.
Thankfully, the Phantom Wyverns and enemies are an opportunity tofarm for Engage Meter points. This is important sinceEngage Attacks are the only attacks Fell Nil cannot counter. Take care of the additional enemies with units that don’t have full meters, dodge the laser beams and slam attacks, and try plugging up a few reinforcement sigils to prevent getting overwhelmed. In the meantime, you can begin attacking Fell Nil.
Focus attacks on Fell Nil withunits that can take a hit, units that canuse their Engage Attack, and use weapons likeVeronica’s staffthat cannot be answered.Chain attacks are uselesshere due to their low hit rate, so you’ll need to do this the old-fashioned way. As you attack, take advantage ofAlear’s personal ability by placing your attacking units next to themto increase outgoing damage.
There areno changes or phases between health bars, thankfully, and enemy reinforcements continue steadily throughout the entire match. Continue using Engage Attacks and similar strategies to get the best of Fell Nil and finally round out this DLC adventure.
