After finishing Act 1, the Strife Obelisk shows up, and it gives players a choice to skip the War Arc in Act 2. If you choose not to use it, you can simply pass by it and keep going toward the door. Doing so will raise every character to level 45, which marks the lowest point needed before starting Act 3.
The game does not force you to skip anything. It simply explains what skipping costs so that you can decide for yourself whether it is worth it at your current point in the game. That information is there to help you make an informed choice, not to tell you what to do.
What the War Arc Actually Does
The game makes it clear that skipping the War Arc is not the worst choice you can make, even if it is not the strongest one either.
Act 3 follows the Flame Lords’ first acts, and it functions as a link between two parts of the story. That link serves a purpose: it gets you ready for what comes next. Even if you skip the story itself, the advice holds that the arc prepares you for the far tougher trials of Act 3, where the fights grow larger and more difficult.
Every character follows the same maps and story throughout Act 2, save for a personal opening scene and a closing scene that is all their own. There is nothing you miss by skipping through, since the shared content plays out only once for all of them.
Why Skipping Works
The automatic level increase is the biggest feature here. Level 45 gets you to the bare minimum required for Act 3. For those who need several armies prepared for Act 3 fast, skipping the War Arc works well enough. It also makes sense when you go back to redo Act 1 chapters so you can adjust certain characters, better preparing them for Act 3 or adding new ones to your roster.
Act 2 allows you to stop watching at any point and return later to continue from where you last paused. The experience is not confined to a single sitting; you can pick it up again whenever you want.
The Cost of Skipping
There is a drawback to skipping. Dealing with every enemy and reinforcement in Act 2 will bring your main characters up to around level 50, which gives them a stronger foundation and more opportunities to develop.
Running the War Arc yourself also lets you change classes and work through training to raise your army’s skill levels. That gives you more say in how they grow and cuts down on the management needed at the beginning of the third act. Going straight through skips those choices entirely.
Playing through a campaign gives you far more freedom to build your army exactly how you want it, while skipping ahead simply gets the job done quickly and without much fuss.
Who Should Skip
Hurry along if time is short. If all you wish is to rush past the adjustments you made in Act 1, skipping is the simplest way forward. The guidance plainly states what the exchange truly costs.
New Players Beware
When you first sit down to play Fortune’s Weave, the guidance is plain: do not skip the War Arc under any circumstances. This arc serves as a crucial link between earlier parts of the game and what follows. Its value holds true whether you care about the story or not, since it prepares you for Act 3.
Other Guides Worth Reading
A huge amount of effort has gone into building this game, and a collection of guides has been gathered to help people get through it. These include advice on which character to choose first, how to switch heroes, and whether casual or classic mode is best for you. Each guide exists to help players set up their campaign in a way that fits their own tastes.
The game also offers an estimate of how long it will take to complete. Early on, the emphasis is on adding more characters to your roster, opening up Boons of Salvation, and making use of any spare time in the most efficient way. Remember to stop by the Perch for a short Bird Time session while you’re at it.
The Bottom Line
The recommendation to skip the War Arc isn’t terrible, but it is far from ideal. The guidance is steady: if time is short, go past it. If you need command of the game’s pace, work your way through it instead.
What the Guidance Says
The guidance is truthful, even though it is unclear. The War Arc is necessary, yet the game offers a path to avoid it. That is the tale, and the tale makes no apology for it.
Before you decide, here is the information you need to consider.
- The Strife Obelisk appears after finishing Act 1 as any of the Flame Lords
- Skipping bumps every character to level 45, the minimum threshold for Act 3
- You can skip at any point during Act 2 and come back later
- Skipping does not let you swap classes or run drills
- The maps and story are the same for every character, except for a start and end scene
Source material: “Should you skip the War Arc (Act 2) in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave?,” Polygon.
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