Cai development guide: Connecting mount capture, farming, and a mounted teamMinor spoilers

Original video: “Fire Emblem — A smooth Cai playthrough: Mount capture and development guide | Fortune's Weave”; Bilibili creator Pser_hanser; https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1NChE6yE16/

Develop mounts around the mounted team's needs#

Cai's route assigns mounts to cavalry and fliers for extra abilities and stats. Story quests unlock Caladrius and Troubadour, giving mages and healers mounted paths so the whole team can keep up.

I prefer connecting the systems. Identify the team's gap, catch a suitable mount, check its stable preferences, then grow crops and buy materials. Do not collect everything while traveling without knowing which mount it will feed.

Recruit to fill team gaps first#

From the starting team, I would first consider replacing Tialla with Olympia in the mage role. Her own Critical potential combines with class and equipment for high-Critical magic damage. Peter's range advantage is worth keeping. With more Renown, recruit Mu for a chariot path.

For fast physical combat, prioritize Guzran, who is easy to recruit and powerful. Then consider Noctula and Nezha. Flying characters with low Strength can use a chariot path first to improve their foundations.

For Cai, I prefer developing Strength and Magic together toward Dragoon. Other physical units choose Bardinger or flying paths according to Strength and Speed. Armored units can aim for Cataphract, and mages and healers for Troubadour. Keep archers on chariots rather than rushing into mounted bow classes.

Reroll mount types and abilities separately#

Choose bait by category: vegetables for horses and Pegasi, fish for ostriches, and meat for dragons. The protagonist responds when the category is right. For rare mounts, I prioritize trying high-tier materials.

This separates mount type from abilities. After finding the desired rare variant, changing one ability no longer requires starting again from common variants. For ground mounts, I prioritize Canto for comfortable repositioning after combat.

Grow preferred crops and feed mounts daily#

Check the current mount's tastes at the stable. You can grow large quantities of vegetables for horses, while fish and meat require more purchasing and gathering, making horses easier to raise.

After unlocking farming points, fast travel between them and plant in rotation. Prepare what your mounts need deliberately. Low-tier materials can also produce higher-tier harvests. Individual preferences vary, so do not assume every mount of one type always eats the same material.

An easy schedule detail to miss: feeding is once per day, not once per week. High-tier materials speed development, so feed harvests promptly instead of leaving them in storage.

Use gathering and material crates to cover shortages#

Seeds and materials come from side quests, map gathering points, city shops, and random merchants. Large cities and Anna's later shop also sell Meat Crate, Vegetable Crate, and higher-tier crates.

Save before buying crates and select the contents you need. They can cover mount feed, recruitment materials, or a shortfall for trading company exchanges. I tried inn exploration, but its materials were low tier, so I did not keep farming there.

Inherit an opened map from another route before Cai#

For efficiency, I do not recommend Cai first. Early destinations are limited and waystations open slowly. Use Theodora's route to open most paths first, then return to Cai.

Map access unlocked on other routes carries over. Once the relevant quest is done, waystations connect, saving travel time for more mount capture and farming. Cai offers extensive development options; opening the roads first makes them smoother.