While the difficulty has steadily increased with each encounter, Fire Emblem Engage's fifth chapter does something downright Machiavellian: it introduces a timed element. Dun, dun, dun! You see, not only are you tasked with repelling the invaders from the castle, but as you do so, a thief will be looting the chests on the left side of the screen. If you aren't chasing them down, then you are going to miss out on some truly glorious treasures!

Related: Fire Emblem Engage: Complete Combat Guide

Alongside this added obstacle there you will have to deal with reinforcements, an intimidatingly large group of enemies, and the hardest boss up to this point in the game. But while this stage is absolutely a spike in difficulty, by following this guide you can learn from our mistakes and overcome this stage while claiming all the treasures for yourself.

Setup Phase

With this chapter you will now be able to swap out units! Though, considering you have ten units, and you are given ten slots, you aren't going to have to make any real tough choices. However, you now have a shop, so make sure you use it. Everyone should have a Vulnerary. Beyond that, you should look into optimizing everyone's equipment. You will want to make sure Boucheron has a handaxe, as that will allow him to use his chain attack at range.

You should also consider who gets what Emblem Ring. At this point in the game we kept Alear with Marth and Celine with Celica. We gave Sigurd to Framme. This allows her to heal characters and then retreat two squares. This makes for a pretty potent pairing. Though you could put Sigurd on nearly anyone, and it would be a good fit.

The Treasury Time Bomb

The first thing we want to address is the treasure. The left treasure chest has the Armorslayer sword and the treasure on the right has the Obstruct staff. The staff is extremely useful, as it will allow Framme to create obstructions, but the sword is incredible. True to its name, the Armorslayer allows Alear to be able to aggressively pursue armored units. You want that sword! Of course, it isn't going to be easy, as a Thief will be aggressively pursuing that treasure, and his buddies will have his back.

The thief will reach the first treasure by the fourth round, the second treasure by the fifth round, and they will escape through the exit on the left side of the screen by the seventh. You do not need to get to the thief before he reaches the treasures, but you do need to kill him before he escapes.

Going To Battle

There is something that won't be immediately obvious when fighting this battle for the first time: there is a destructible wall beside the treasure chests. So, while it initially looks like taking your troops down the left side of the map is going to leave them stranded, you will be able to enter the larger room where the boss is located from the treasury. This changes how you should approach this map.

Your natural instinct is probably to send the bulk of your troops up the stairs, through the doors, and directly into the boss' chambers, while sending a smaller group of faster troops to chase down the thief on the left side. However, on the harder difficulties, you may find that there are quite simply too many tough troops on the left side standing in your way, slowing your pursuit down pretty radically. If you want those treasures—and you absolutely do—we recommend a novel approach: send the majority of your troops down the left pathway.

At the opening of the stage, you will have three Sword Fighters on the left, three Axe fighters alongside them, an archer to the far left (who should be out of range of all your troops), an armored Lance Fighter up the middle, and an Archer in the right corner. Send Chloe and Alfred to the immediate left at the beginning of the battle, killing the two Sword Fighters (make sure Chloe doesn't get in range of the nearby archer, of course).

Send Boucheron up the middle to kill the lancer, and Vander, Louis, and Alear to attack the troops on the left. Have your Mages and Etie support everyone and soften enemy troops up, and send Framme around to heal up anyone who took a bruising. Within two rounds you should have this first batch of goons pretty much cleared out.

During the battle that is to come, we are going to want to attack from two sides. So, keep a few troops behind to draw troops to the lower part of the map. Louis is a great fit for this role. Of course, he is useful wherever he goes, but he can really hold his own, so if you leave a troop or two to help him out, you will be able to effectively thin out Nelucce's squad. We like leaving Etie with him to help pick away at units from afar, and if you back him up with Framme as well, his little squad should be able to really hold their own. The plan is to not advance too far behind the doorway; let the enemies come to you.

Keep in mind that nearly all the troops on this stage have the backup ability, which means they can really pile on the Chain Attacks, which will bypass Louis' armor. So make sure to keep an eye on his HP!

As for the team traveling up the left side, you will be able to exploit all of their weaknesses. There is a very narrow passage, so the enemy will be able to bottleneck you pretty aggressively. However, you should be able to kill at least one troop per turn. Ideally, you draw the other troops out, but even if you can't, remember, you have six turns to get to the thief.

Use Celine's Warp Ragnarok to take out the Lance Armor unit. That will take him out. Then send Vander up to get in between her and the remaining three enemy units. This will draw some of them out. The majority of your other units will arrive, and you should be able clear out most of the enemies and get into that treasury. Now, pin the thief, keep him away from the exit, and take then take him out (don't worry, he isn't particularly tough).

In the next turn, line up your troops with the destructible wall. You are going to want two of your beefier characters to form a wall, and then some rangier units behind them. There are also two Emblem Energy Pools in the corner of this room, so get Alear and Celine up there to recharge. Once you have a functional lineup, break the wall, and start your attack.

If you have a Handaxe on Boucheron, he can be behind your frontline troops, while still giving some add-on damage.

Nelucce, and his Cavalier bodyguards, will come to you. While you will have thinned out some of the troops by drawing them down with Louis' team, there will still likely be some of the backup Cavaliers around as well. Having axe users like Boucheron and Vander will help break them down, as they all use lances. Nelucce has a handaxe, so he can hit you with ranged attacks. He is also very strong. However, you can still break him with Alear. Once you have cleared out enough of the Cavaliers, chase down Nelucce, hit him with a Warp Ragnarok, then break him with Alear, and finish him off with the rest of your troops.

Post-Battle Exploration

Immediately after the battle, you will be given 10,000 Gold. Once you are finished talking to the queen, it is time to collect the resources. On the left side of the room, you will find 50 Bond Fragments, 20 Iron Ingots behind a column, and a potato behind another column. On the right side of the room, you can find some eggs sitting behind a column. Once you have collected all the materials and talked to all your companions, it is time to leave. Upon exiting, you will acquire Calney and Pinet, which means you will now have a blacksmith!

Next: Fire Emblem Engage: Beginner Tips