The Battle Begins

The Battle Begins (Japanese: 初陣, First battle) is the first chapter of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. After officially becoming a full-fledged member of the Greil Mercenaries, Ike sets out on his first mission with Titania, Oscar and Boyd. As they rescue the bandit-ravaged Caldea, the more experienced mercenaries teach Ike some of the intricacies of battle and encourage him to rely on them for assistance.

Plot

Main article: The Battle Begins/Script

The chapter begins in the Mercenary Fort, with Ike finally getting out of bed, late on his first day as a real mercenary. Greil and Titania conference about the day's missions, dividing up the mercenaries to properly take care of each job. Titania takes Oscar, Boyd and Ike with her to inspect Caldea, a town complaining of bandits, while Greil takes Shinon and Gatrie to work the other two jobs of the day. Boyd, for the first time, is ready to depart for their mission early, intent on being an "absolute model of perfection", and setting the example for Ike.

When the party of four arrives in Caldea, Titania explains to Ike what the symbols on the map mean, and the importance of the Weapon Triangle in combat. She also encourages Ike to speak to the villagers, using the Visit option. She tells the party that their main mission is to remove Zawana from guarding the main building of the town.

At the end of the first Player Phase, Zawana gives his comrades a motivating speech, telling them to kill the mercenaries, or else they'll be pursued by sellswords until the ends of their days. One particular bandit takes it upon himself to burn down one of Caldea's buildings, encouraging the rest to do the same.

Whoever visits the Southeast house will speak to a man who tells the visitor that Caldea is a town of farmers, not fighters. He will give the visitor a Steel Sword. Whoever visits the Northwest house will be greeted by a young woman who complains that the villagers haven't been able to sleep since the bandits moved in. She gives the visitor a Seraph Robe, asking the visitor to rid their village of the Bandit's tyranny.

The party regroups at the end of the battle, checking in on each other and making sure everyone made it safely through the battle. They each commend Ike for a job well done during his first mission, and then head back to the mercenary fort in hopes of a good meal cooked by Mist.

Chapter data

Easy Normal Difficult Maniac

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Seize	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Ike dies	4	{{{partner}}}	{{{other}}}	7	{{{third}}}
Map dimensions: 12 columns by 16 rows

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Seize	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Ike dies	4	{{{partner}}}	{{{other}}}	7	{{{third}}}
Map dimensions: 12 columns by 16 rows

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Seize	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Ike dies	4	{{{partner}}}	{{{other}}}	10	{{{third}}}
Map dimensions: 12 columns by 16 rows

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Seize	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Ike dies	4	{{{partner}}}	{{{other}}}	13	{{{third}}}
Map dimensions: 12 columns by 16 rows

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Character data

Characters
New units
Titania Paladin HP 33 Inventory Steel Axe Iron Axe Vulnerary Level 1 Automatically from the start Oscar Lance Knight HP 26 Inventory Iron Lance Vulnerary Paladin Band* Level 3 Automatically from the start Boyd Fighter HP 30 Inventory Iron Axe Vulnerary Fighter Band* Level 2 Automatically from the start
Required characters
Available characters
None

Item data

Items

Name Obtainment Method Iron Sword Automatically in Ike's inventory (replaces the Trainer) Iron Sword Automatically in Ike's inventory if the Visit tutorial is skipped* Iron Sword Automatically in Ike's inventory if the Visit tutorial is skipped* Iron Sword Automatically in Ike's inventory if the Visit tutorial is skipped* Iron Sword Dropped by enemy Myrmidon Iron Axe Dropped by Zawana Steel Sword Visit southeastern village Seraph Robe Visit northwestern village

Enemy data

Stats with two figures separated by a ~ are presented as a range, representing stats that vary due to random growths. The figures to the left and right of the ~ are the stat's minimum and maximum possible values respectively.

Easy Normal Difficult Maniac

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Wlv Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Zawana Bandit 5 1 29 6 0 5 6 0 5 0 5 Iron Axe Does not move; stands on an objective, the chapter's seize point. Bandit Myrmidon 4 1 18 5~6 0 7 7 1 4 0~1 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Fighter 3 2 25 4 0 4 4 0 4 0 6 Iron Axe Immediately begins moving unprovoked. Bandit Myrmidon 4 1 18 5~6 0 7 7 1 4 0~1 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Bandit 3 1 26 5 0 2 5 0 2 0 5 Iron Axe • Prioritizes destroying villages. • Destroys the northeastern village in a scripted event on turn 1. Bandit Bandit 4 1 27 7 0 3 5~6 0~1 3 0 5 Iron Axe Begins moving if he can reach a unit within two turns.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Wlv Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Zawana Bandit 5 1 29 6 0 5 6 0 5 0 5 Iron Axe Does not move; stands on an objective, the chapter's seize point. Bandit Myrmidon 2 1 18 5~6 0 6 6 0 4 0 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Fighter 1 2 24 4 0 3 3 0 4 0 6 Iron Axe Immediately begins moving unprovoked. Bandit Myrmidon 2 1 18 5~6 0 6 6 0 4 0 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Bandit 1 1 25 5 0 2 4 0 2 0 5 Iron Axe • Prioritizes destroying villages. • Destroys the northeastern village in a scripted event on turn 1. Bandit Bandit 2 1 26 5 0 2 4~5 0 3 0 5 Iron Axe Prioritizes destroying villages.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Wlv Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Zawana Bandit 5 1 29 6 0 5 6 0 5 0 5 Iron Axe Does not move; stands on an objective, the chapter's seize point. Bandit Myrmidon 2 1 18 5~6 0 6 6 0 3 0 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Fighter 1 3 24 5 0 3 3 0 3 0 6 Iron Axe The southern two immediately begin moving unprovoked. Bandit Bandit 1 1 25 5 0 2 4 0 2 0 5 Iron Axe Immediately begins moving unprovoked. Bandit Fighter 2 1 25 5~6 0 3 3 0 3 0 6 Iron Axe -- Bandit Myrmidon 2 1 18 4~5 0 6 6 0 3 0 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Bandit 3 1 27 6 0 1 5 0 3 0 5 Iron Axe • Prioritizes destroying villages. • Destroys the northeastern village in a scripted event on turn 1. Bandit Bandit 2 1 26 6 0 2 4~5 0 2 0 5 Iron Axe Prioritizes destroying villages.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Wlv Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Zawana Bandit 5 1 29 6 0 5 6 0 5 0 5 Iron Axe Does not move; stands on an objective, the chapter's seize point. Bandit Myrmidon 4 1 19 6~7 0 7 7 1 5 0~1 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Fighter 3 4 26 6 0 4 4 0 5 0 6 Iron Axe The southern two immediately begin moving unprovoked. Bandit Bandit 3 2 27 6 0 2 5 0 4 0 5 Iron Axe Immediately begins moving unprovoked. Bandit Fighter 4 1 27 7 0 4 4 1 5 1 6 Iron Axe -- Bandit Myrmidon 4 1 19 5~6 0 7 7 1 5 0~1 6 Iron Sword -- Bandit Bandit 5 1 29 7~8 0 3 6 1 3~4 0~1 5 Iron Axe • Prioritizes destroying villages. • Destroys the northeastern village in a scripted event on turn 1. Bandit Bandit 4 2 28 7 0 3 5~6 0~1 4 0 5 Iron Axe Prioritizes destroying villages.

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Boss data

Main article: Zawana

Bandit Level 5 Attribute Build 10

Stats Max HP 29 Speed 6 Strength 6 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 5 Skill 5 Resistance 0 Movement 5 Weight 11

Inventory Skills Iron Axe -- Weapon Levels -- -- D -- -- -- -- --

Strategy

This level serves as the first real test for any new player. Only four units are available to command, none of whom are healers. As such, they will have to make careful use of vulneraries when they get hurt, or otherwise avoid getting hit. On most difficulties, the Paladin, Titania, is effectively invincible in this chapter, due to her relatively high HP and defense. As such, the level could be cleared effortlessly by just having her mow through the bandits by herself. However, doing that robs the other fighters of valuable experience that they could gain here, especially Ike and Boyd.

There are two houses that can be visited in this chapter, one near the starting point, and one to the far left. Technically there is a third visitable house, but it is destroyed before the mercenaries have anything to say about it. The other houses can also be destroyed if a Bandit visits them, but they can be easily saved. The first house, near the start, gives whoever visits a Steel Sword. The second house to the left offers a Seraph Robe, which will permanently increase the HP of whoever uses it by 7 points (but will not heal them unless it's done at Base Camp). It is advisable to give this robe to Ike, since he will arguably make the most use of its bonus.

The boss Bandit, Zawana, holds position at the upper middle, guarding the seize square. He must be defeated in order for Ike to take control of that area and complete the level. Your other units may be able to handle Zawana at this stage, but Titania is capable of bringing him down in one match, and earning a fair amount of experience in the process.

Playing on Difficult Mode adds three more enemies to the battlefield, including another Bandit, who could threaten the house to the left. Apart from dealing with them, the strategy is the same as it would be otherwise.

Maniac Mode adds further enemies, and all but the boss have higher stats. One reliable strategy is to have Boyd blockade the two southern units, Titania attack the bandit within her range, Ike attack the nearby fighter, and Oscar visit the house before repositioning left of Ike. On subsequent turns, Titania can save the western house, Boyd can finish the southern enemies, and the army can push towards the boss relatively easily.

Bonus experience can be earned in this chapter, based on how quickly the level is completed. However, this experience is not spendable until Chapter 8.

Trivia

• As Ike leaves the mercenary fort on the way to Caldea, Rolf can be seen talking to Mist in the courtyard and Shinon and Gatrie can be seen standing guard at the doors to the fort.
• In the North American version of Path of Radiance, a glitch exists where, if the player does not view the "Visit" tutorial, Ike's starting inventory contains four Iron Swords instead of only one. This was not present in the Japanese version, and was fixed for the PAL release.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 

  Oscar, Boyd and Ike conversing before the battle.

• 

  Titania, ready to advance.