Building Cai’s team: Include mounts in class paths and recruit to fill gapsMinor spoilers

Original video: A step-by-step guide to building a team on Cai’s route — Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave; Bilibili creator Fire Emblem Xiaomou. Watch the original

Account for Cai’s mounts, then recruit for missing roles#

Cai can capture horses, pegasi, wyverns, and Ornius. These affect their riders’ growth and stat modifiers, giving you extra tools for developing cavalry and fliers. Recruitment still follows “early over late, missing roles over redundancy.” Check which job you lack, then choose from the recommended characters rather than recruiting the entire list.

Guzran, Yang Jie, Majide, Nuzzuo, Ninae, Nezha, Alexandra, Goliath, and Sofia are all options. Some fill overlapping roles, so choose one of the pair.

Change mounts alongside sword-class promotions#

Guzran joins very early. Capture a Wild Bau for him first, then switch to a more suitable wyvern when you can catch one later. Focus on swords and lances.

Prepare an Ornius before changing to Caladrius

Alexandra comes with Bucephalus and joins as Wing Soldier. Her late-game role can be Celestial Trooper with Levin Sword, using Caladrius as a possible midgame transition. But Caladrius cannot keep riding her original pegasus: you need a separate Ornius. Being able to change class is only half the preparation.

Consider post-combat healing when choosing a tank’s mount#

For tanks whose Speed already makes enemy follow-up attacks hard to avoid, use a shield to improve defense. Feed them some experience first to build base stats, then move into the strong phase of armored classes.

If you have unlocked Great Knight, consider riding Monoceros. Its stat modifiers are unremarkable, but its post-combat healing suits units taking repeated hits. When choosing a mount, include its ability to keep your front line standing.

Choose Burst or adjacent control for your axe user#

Majide and Goliath both lean toward high Strength and low Speed. Choose one if your team needs a powerful axe user. Majide gains Strength when using an axe, and his player-phase ability increases Attack at the cost of Avoid. He suits well-timed heavy hits.

At level 35, Goliath gains an ability that reduces adjacent enemies’ Movement by 5. Against a large enemy you cannot immediately kill, put him next to it to restrict its movement. Both characters need attention to Hit. Do not choose axes solely for high might and end up missing.

Use Charioteer as an archer’s transition class#

Peter has good Hit. Develop him through Charioteer, then move to Bow Knight. A Ferghanan Horse can supply Strength and defense, or you can choose a mount that adds Movement if that is what you need now.

Nuzzuo already has high Strength, Dexterity, and Speed, so he can deal damage without a chariot. You can still use Charioteer to build stats for a while, then return to Forest Knight or Bow Knight. A transition class serves the final role. Having used a chariot does not mean you must stay in one.

Plan magic class changes and mounts together#

Develop Tialla through Diviner and Shaman, then change to Troubadour once she can ride, followed by Valkyrium. Mount bonuses to Strength and defense can help Build too. If she feels slow to move, prioritize Movement instead.

Ultand has good total growth, but her spell selection does not quite fit my approach when she stays on a pure magic path. Across multiple routes, you can first train her Strength and defense on another route, then merge that development with her progress in Cai’s story.

On a single route, consider changing her to Ornius Rider after recruitment to improve Speed. Continue through Armored Ornius Rider and Caladrius, then finish as Celestial Trooper, dealing damage with Levin Sword and her available spells. Use Black Magonius during the Caladrius stage and Dark Pegasus during the pegasus stage to add Magic and Speed. Plan mounts and class changes together.