Fire Emblem: Three Houses gets its final and biggest piece of expansion pass DLC today, the Cindered Shadows side story. As detailed in the patch notes, this expansion operates as a completely separate campaign from the main quest, with pieces of it filtering in as you progress. But how much time can you expect to put into it?
Siliconera reports that on Normal, the new story will take roughly 8-10 hours. It also offers some insights from the developers, via the Japanese magazine Famitsu. One optional side story episode will also add extra post-game content to the main campaign. Also, each of the four new characters can only be recruited in the first part of the main game, but if you do so, they’ll remain in your party for the second part.
The story of Cindered Shadows revolves around a band of outcast students–Balthus, Hapi, Yuri, and Constance–who call themselves the Ashen Wolves. Their unofficial fourth house has been hiding away in a secret area of the monastery. You and your selected house finds them, and as you progress through the side story they’ll become recruitable.
The Cindered Shadows story has to be selected from the title screen, and all of its saves and autosave function are separate from your main campaign progress. The expansion also includes a new “Shifty Merchant,” and new main game quests and paralogues to go with the new characters. The 1.2.0 update accompanying the expansion adds a new Dancer outfit for Byleth, more flexible options for changing your appearance, and the ability to have tea time with Rhea.
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