Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave recruitment is a really important part of the game, as you're going to need more fighters by your side to take on stronger enemies. It can be a head-scratcher with different requirements across the four Flame Lords' paths and different recruitment options for each, but we're here to help. We've got a full list of who you can (and can't) get to join you, and tips on how to do it.
If you haven't checked out our Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave review, we highly recommend giving it a read, as it received a well-deserved high score. For those of you who are already into the game, we have a Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave weapon repair guide to assist you.
How do I recruit characters in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave?
The first step in recruiting any character in Fortune's Weave is to talk to them and start building a bond. To unlock their recruit option, you might need to give them a gift. You'll also need to meet certain requirements regarding your support and renown levels, which can change for each character depending on the path you're playing.
To boost your support level, you can give characters gifts and take them to the inn to share a meal. As for your renown level, you raise this by completing main and side quests in the game and by speaking with gods. This information is available in the menu, which shows all of the recruits' statuses once you've viewed them by talking to the unit. Occasionally, a potential recruit may require a specific item or for you to complete a quest, or they might even request a fee for joining your team.
Once you reach the required levels, you can ask the character to be part of your team and then take them on the go with you. Note that you can only recruit most characters in Part One, and that not all of them are able to be recruited on each path - you can see more about this in the table below. Across the different paths, characters may require different levels for you to be able to recruit them, so make sure to check this while playing.
Who are the best characters to recruit early in Fortune's Weave?
Here are some of the best characters you can access early on for each path. These characters have lower renown and support level requirements, so you can grab them early on and get them to help you out, but they're still worth their salt on the battlefield.
- Cai - Noctula, Yang Jie
- Dietrich - Io, Yang Jie
- Theodora - Noctula, Zarcone
- Leda - Guzran, Kiroc
All recruitable characters
As we mentioned above, not every recruit is available for all four Flame Lords' paths. You can see all of the recruits and which paths they're in below.
| Character | Flame Lord paths |
| Alexandra | All four |
| Benditz | All four |
| Bonaventure | Theodora |
| Buccar | Dietrich, Leda, Theodora |
| Catania | All four |
| Dadao | All four |
| Dante | All four |
| Diego | All four |
| Esmeralda | Cai, Leda, Theodora |
| Fabio | Dietrich, Leda |
| Fianna | All four |
| Gaitz | Dietrich |
| Goliath | All four |
| Guzran | All four |
| Halvin | All four |
| Inyoni | All four |
| Io | All four |
| Jasmine | All four |
| Jester | All four |
| Kiroc | All four |
| Lilian | Cai, Dietrich, Leda |
| Loretta | All four |
| Ludia | All four |
| Lysander | Cai, Dietrich, Leda |
| Majide | All four |
| Mikaela | Â Cai, Leda, Theodora |
| Mu | Cai, Dietrich, Theodora |
| Nezha | All four |
| Ninae | All four |
| Noctula | All four |
| Nuzzuo | All four |
| Nydine | All four |
| Olympia | Cai, Dietrich, Theodora |
| Peppe | Cai, Dietrich, Theodora |
| Peter | Dietrich, Leda, Theodora |
| Seteth | Cai, Leda, Theodora |
| Sha Lan | Dietrich, Leda |
| Simon | All four |
| Sirocco | Cai, Dietrich, Theodora |
| Sofia | All four |
| Tialla | Dietrich, Leda, Theodora |
| Tobias | Leda |
| Ultand | Dietrich, Leda, Theodora |
| Ursula | Cai, Dietrich, Theodora |
| Yang Jie | All four |
| Zarcone | All four |
As you can see, some characters are exclusive to specific characters. That means you only get one opportunity to recruit them before the end of Part I, so it's worth making the extra effort to boost their support level as soon as you can.
All non-recruitable characters
While there's no shortage of units you can sign up to battle alongside each of the four Flame Lords, Fortune's Weave features some characters you can't directly recruit. For starters, none of the Flame Lords can recruit each other. For example, you can't recruit Dietrich while playing through Cai's story, or vice versa.
Outside of the Flame Lords, you also can't directly recruit Anatolia, Bertrand, Orchel, or Talimun during either Part I or Part II. However, if you complete their individual prologues during Part I, they should join your ranks for the epic Part III battles that have you take on Balor's army. Each is definitely worth levelling up in preparation for the final battle, alongside prologue characters Hong Hua and Troy.
Now go and recruit all the characters you can in Fortune's Weave.