Outside of the epic story and battles in Fire Emblem: Fates, there is a mechanic that has carried over into every Fire Emblem game. The support relationships have given players a Sims -like feel in bringing couples together through marriage that boosts their support for one another on the battlefield.
In Fates, the mechanics are largely still the same but we wanted to compile a guide to helping players gain the maximum support rankings for all of their characters in the quickest time possible.
We put a list of all of the S and A+ rankings of both the Conquest and Birthright versions of Fire Emblem Fates at the end of this guide in case you’re curious as to which two characters you can hook up.
BATTLE SUPPORT
The largest positive to building Fire Emblem relationships is how your characters will fight on the battlefield if paired off.
The more your chosen duo battle alongside each other on offense or defense, the stronger their bonds become. With each increase in support rank, you’ll see temporary stat increases during battle.
At first, you’ll see HIT rates increase but with every subsequent rank increase you’ll have hit and even evasion increases. This is especially helpful while on defense.
Pairing characters together in battle is the quickest way to build support relationships. . If you want to eventually marry a particular unit or have other couples marry and gain support increases in battle, be mindful of their positions on the battlefield and have them attack together as often as possible.
The more these units battle alongside each other, the more opportunities you’ll have to strengthen the bonds outside of battle.
OUTSIDE OF BATTLE
After Chapter 6 of Fire Emblem: Fates, where you make your story choice, you’ll have your own Castle to go to in between chapters. Here you’ll have a chance to stock up on supplies, fortify your castle and mingle with your different units.
The Castle also gives you a few methods for strengthening the bonds between characters. The first is that certain units will appear in the castle and you can talk to them. Who appears is random and changes every “day” in the game.
But there will be certain units that have an exclamation point above them and talking to them will produce different dialogues. Sometimes your dialogue will strengthen your relationship. This doesn’t increase your Support Rank but gets you closer to reaching the next level.
You can also give your units some accessories to wear.
ACCESSORIES
Accessories in Fire Emblem Fates are only for the castle invasions when you face off against your friends via the online component. But there are certain times that your units will ask for you to give them an accessory, and if you have one you can give it to them. This will strengthen your bond.
The trick here is that you only need one piece of accessory that you can switch between units. They won’t know the difference.
PRIVATE QUARTERS
Here’s where the magic happens. You’ll have access to your private quarters early on and everyday you can invite an ally over to talk.
After every battle, you’ll have a select few units who will have hearts next to their name. These are the units you can strengthen your relationship with when you invite them over. If you invite any other unit, your bond will not increase.
It’s also odd that if you choose the same units twice, even when they have a heart next to their name, the bond won’t strengthen. It’s probably best to change up who you speak to.
SUPPORT CONVERSATIONS
The Support Conversations are what increases the Support Rank of units. After every battle, you’ll see an exclamation point next to the Support tab.
Once you click the tab, you’ll see exclamation points next to characters who can have support conversations with other units. Press the unit and you’ll be treated to a dialogue that will bring the two units closer together. After it’s done, the rank of your relationship will increase instantly. But you’ll need to battle alongside them, talk to them and invite them over to your private quarters to increase the chance of these conversations to appear.
MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN
Once you reach an S rank with a unit, you’ll have a chance to marry that particular character. Almost every member of the opposite sex can have an S rank with the exception of the two same sex units you can have a relationship with.
In Fates, the child of a royal unit will be marked as someone who can activate Dragon Veins regardless of whether the S-rank partner is also royal. Having a child with another royal squanders the opportunity to double your number of Dragon Vein users, so try to spread that royal blood around.
You’ll also notice that your wife/husband will appear in your Private Quarters after you’re married. Players will have a chance to deepen their bond with their significant other to allow for more scenes and dialogue.
There is also a Partner Seal that you can use on your wife/husband to change their class to match their partner.
You’ll also have a child with your wife/husband, which will open up a Paralogue so you can recruit your child to your army.
But your character isn’t the only one who can S rank another unit. You can have two characters of the opposite sex marry and have a child you can eventually recruit too.
Note that children are linked to their father, not their mother, with the exception of Azura’s child and the player character’s child. This means that no matter who the mother is in any S-rank Support pairing, the father will always have the same child. That child will, however, have special Support conversations available with their mother.
If you have a female player character, you will have two kids: Kana, who is always the player character’s child, and one that is linked to the father.
A+ SUPPORT LEVELS
S Ranks in Fire Emblem Fates may be the pinnacle of support relationships but there are also A+ rankings that allow same sex characters to achieve higher than A ranked support levels.
Those with an A+ Support Rank can use a Friendship Seal to take on their friend’s class. And unlike S Ranks, not every character can build a strong friendship.
Here are all of the S and A+ Rank relationships in Conquest and Birthright for you to peruse and plan ahead when you purchase your copy.
CONQUEST
S Rank Relationships
Protagonist (male)
Camilla
Felicia
Effie
Nyx
Azura
Elise
Beruka
Mozu
Niles (same sex)
Selena
Peri
Charlotte
Protagonist (female)
Xander
Leo
Arthur
Jakob
Kaze
Silas
Niles
Benny
Keaton
Odin
Laslow
Shura
A+ Rank Relationships
Azura
Elise
Felicia
Peri
Arthur
Niles
Keaton
Benny
Effie
Mozu
Elise
Nyx
Camilla
Elise
Selena
Beruka
Mozu
Effie
Nyx
Leo
Xander
Odin
Niles
Xander
Leo
Kaze
Laslow
Elise
Azura
Effie
Camilla
Keaton
Arthur
Benny
Laslow
Nyx
Effie
Charlotte
Mozu
Benny
Keaton
Arthur
Kaze
Silas
Xander
Niles
Arthur
Odin
Leo
Gunter
Jakob
Silas
Jakob
Kaze
Charlotte
Nyx
Beruka
Peri
Selena
Camilla
Beruka
Peri
Laslow
Odin
Keaton
Xander
Peri
Felicia
Selena
Charlotte
Beruka
Camila
Selena
Charlotte
Odin
Niles
Laslow
Leo
Jakob
Gunter
Silas
BIRTHRIGHT
S Rank Relationships
Protagonist (male)
Felicia
Azura
Reina
Mozu
Rinkah
Sakura
Hana
Orochi
HInoka
Setsuna
Oboro
Kagero
Scarlet
Sophie
Protagonist (female)
Jakob
Ryoma
Kaze
Hayato
Hinata
Subuki
Silas
Saizo
Takumi
Kaden
Izana
Azama
Shura
Yukimura
Asugi
Hisame
Rhajat (same sex)
A+ Relationships
Oboro
Rinkah
Orochi
Mozu
Azama
Subaki
Hayato
Kaden
Kaden
Hayato
Hinata
Azama
Dwyer
Asugi
Silas
Jakob
Kaze
Ryoma
Azura
Sakura
Hinoka
Takumi
Hinata
Jakob
Ryoma
Ryoma
Takumi
Silas
Saizo
Hinata
Takumi
Subaki
Kaden
Hisame
Asugi
Jakob
Silas
Takumi
Rinkah
Orochi
Kagero
Oboro
Felicia
Hana
Mozu
Oboro
Asugi
Dwyer
Hisame
Kagero
Rinkah
Orochi
Setsuna
Subaki
Hinata
Saizo
Azama
Sakura
Azura
Hana
Hinoka
Hayato
Kaden
Azama
Hinoka
Setsuna
Sakura
Azura
Saizo
Kaze
Subaki
Ryoma
Setsuna
Hinoka
Hana
Kagero
Hana
Felicia
Sakura
Setsuna
Orochi
Rinkah
Oboro
Kagero
