The 1.0.2 update for Fire Emblem: Three Houses is here, bringing with it a bunch of changes, and a notable change in voice acting roles. Fire Emblem is a great franchise, and the newest Switch title continues that by adding an entirely new character-driven element to the game. Players are falling in love with the various characters, even though some of them are pretty tropish, and that’s a hallmark of enjoyable writing and believable characters. And with the new patch, new content is being added, and a very important and needed change is being made.
The biggest change is a total switch in the voice actor portraying in-game character Byleth. For those of you wondering why this happened, it’s a simple yet grisly story. Byleth is the default name for the male avatar in the game; the avatar in the game can either be male or female. Male Byleth was initially voiced by Chris Niosi, an actor and animator known throughout the industry. And a few months ago that reputation soured as Niosi admitted to a history of abuse and exploitation against friends and partners.
Nintendo committed to changing out the performance very quickly, and with this patch a completely new actor has replaced the original Byleth performer entirely, wiping clean the stain such allegations have on the property.
But aside from that one particularly nasty element, version 1.02 also tweaks the game in other ways. In terms of gameplay, there’s actually a fair few adjustments to Renown rewards, like increased rewards for New Game+, among other difficulty adjustments. Players will also be able to toggle Maddening mode, a new gameplay addition. New battles are also being added to the game, five additional auxiliary battles in total will be added with this patch.
Bug fixes and other change abound as well. Some UI bugs have been fixed, as well as a bunch of gameplay issues, like Critical attacks not displaying properly. The second wave of DLC in the Expansion Pass is also included in version 1.0.2 meaning players who purchased the DLC pack should be able to access it now.
You can find the full patch notes for the update down below. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is out now for the Switch. Head over to Amazon to grab a copy for yourself.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses 1.02 Patch Notes
- New and Updated Features
- Added Maddening mode to the New Game difficulty options. Note that if you clear Maddening mode without selecting New Game +, the title screen will change.
- Increased the bonus Renown for selecting New Game + at the start of the game.
- In addition to the usual difficulty bonus, 10,000 Pts. will now be added each time you clear a path.
- The max threshold for bonus Renown is now 50,000 Pts.
- If you already started playing using New Game + before applying the DLC data, 10,000 Pts. per cleared path will be added to each save slot the first time it is loaded.
- Up to Ver.1.0.1, only the type of path cleared was saved but not the number of clears for the same path, which will now be saved applying the DLC Ver.1.0.2.
- Added Goddess Tower to the Event Gallery in Extras. Use the ZL/ZR Buttons to select the Goddess Tower page, then choose a character event to replay.
- The Event Gallery is unlocked once you’ve cleared the game.
- Implemented new English voice for Byleth (male).
- New Expansion Pass Content:
- A new set of items
- You can receive this set of items as DLC Supplies from the bed in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. Each save file can receive these supplies: Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1), Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7), Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3), Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3).
- Additional auxiliary battles
- There are five additional auxiliary battles in the Expansion Pass: Battle at Lake Teutates, Battle in the Forest, Battle at Gronder Field, Battle at the Sealed Forest, and Battle at Conand Tower.
- Depending on your progress, one of them will be listed in the battle-selection screen.
- These additional auxiliary battles will be marked with the yellow “!” icon in the battle-selection screen. As a bonus, these battles may give you status-up items, such as Ailell Pomegranate, and an increased Gold reward in addition to the Bullions.
- All maps will consume one activity point to start.
- A new song (Corridor of the Tempest)
- You can access the new song (Corridor of the Tempest) from the System menu while you are in an auxiliary battle. You can also listen to it in the Music Library.
- New attire/accessory (House Loungewear / Glasses for Byleth)
- The new attire (House Loungewear) is for the protagonist and students. Swap outfits in Byleth’s Personal Quarters from the Journal. These outfits are only wearable inside the monastery, or for specific unit classes during battle (this varies by character).
- The new attire cannot be sent along with a traveler.
- The new accessory (Glasses) can also be put on in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. They can be combined with any other attire. The glasses can be worn in the monastery and during battle.
- A confirmation message is now displayed when you abandon an item during battle.
- A new set of items
- General
- Fixed the bug that caused the game to freeze when Fortify was used while equipped with a certain skill.
- Addressed the incorrect character design in event still images.
- Fixed the bug that incorrectly displayed a Caspar line as Linhardt’s during the White Heron Cup.
- Fixed the bug that displayed a “TBD” message when mastering combat.
- Fixed the bug in the cut-in sequence for a CRITICAL attack.
- Fixed the bug that prevented Rescue magic from working properly to move an ally to a space near the user.
- Fixed the bug that accidentally let the player enter the closed-off desk corridor in the Cardinals’ Room.
- Some text has been revised.
- The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few additional bugs.