Two weeks into Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, the game is doing exactly what it promises: building a vast, detailed world full of characters to recruit and battles to fight. The problem is that almost none of those battles matter.
The writer of the original piece reports falling asleep through large stretches of play, not during boss fights or major confrontations, but between them. The time spent training, dungeon crawling, and completing quests is so dull that it turns into a nightly sleep habit rather than engagement. The game is not broken, but the pacing in its early hours is deeply frustrating.
The Clash System That Should Have Worked
Fortune’s Weave introduces a new system alongside its traditional grid-based strategy combat: clashes. These are turn-based encounters that the game presents as a fresh way to add more battles without slowing the pace of the campaign. The idea is simple: you face a group of enemies, trade blows, and eventually win.
In practice, the early clashes are nearly empty. Enemies are weak, and the encounters are so routine that the writer can turn on auto-attack and walk away. Support points, earned by linking attacks with allies, offer a small bit of excitement. But the core loop is so thin that it barely registers as a feature.
“Sure, you can link attacks with allies for some splashy action and earn support points, but enemies are so paper-thin and toothless that you can turn on auto-attack while you go get your third cup of coffee.”
The writer sees value in clashes when they serve the story directly. Certain moments in a Flame Lord’s story use clashes as brief narrative encounters, and bounty hunts in Dietrich’s story pit the player against stronger enemies. Those are the exceptions, not the rule.
Grinding Through Forge Shards
Between the big fights, the game asks players to complete a staggering amount of filler content. Dungeon runs, shard collection, and other tasks pad out the experience, often stretching across dozens of turns before the next meaningful encounter arrives. The writer estimates that getting through part one of each lord’s story could take anywhere from 15 to 30 hours, depending on how thoroughly you pursue every thread.
That is a long time to wait for a payoff. The writer acknowledges that the game’s opening hours are designed to ease newcomers into its systems, and browsing Weave-themed conversations on Reddit suggests things improve later. Part two of the game reportedly becomes more action-focused, though the writer has not reached that point yet.
Why Dietrich’s Bounty Hunts Stand Out
Dietrich’s bounty hunts are a notable exception to the usual clash formula. Instead of facing generic foes, these encounters pit the player against enemies that are genuinely threatening. The difference is stark, and the writer singles them out as a moment when the clash system finally delivers on its promise.
Unfortunately, they are rare. The majority of clashes remain simple exchanges of damage that barely require attention.
The contrast between Dietrich’s bounty hunts and the standard clashes shows how the game’s systems can work when used with purpose. It also highlights how often the game fails to use them that way.
What Makes Fortune’s Weave Worth Playing
Despite the frustration, the writer remains attached to the game. The worldbuilding is described as fascinating, and the process of recruiting attractive brown or clown people to the party is a genuine delight. The game’s core loop, when it is firing, is strong enough to keep the writer coming back even through the rough patches.
The issue is the frequency of those rough patches. The filler content is so extensive that it bleeds together, turning individual sessions into a blur of repetitive tasks. The writer hopes that the action gets denser and more difficult as they move past part one, since the game’s strengths are clearly visible when it stops padding around.
The Pace Problem Is Real
The core complaint is pacing, not quality. The writer does not think Fortune’s Weave is bad, but the early hours are poorly paced. The clash system, which should have added variety, instead becomes a chore. The dungeon runs, shard collections, and other side tasks are so numerous that they bury the game’s best features beneath a mountain of busywork.
Reddit conversations suggest that the grind is a widespread issue, not an isolated one. Whether the game recovers in part two remains to be seen, but the writer is holding onto hope that the later stages deliver more of what drew them in.
Ranking the Game’s Systems
- Dietrich’s bounty hunts — the strongest clashes, genuinely threatening encounters.
- Standard clashes — nearly empty, easily ignored.
- Traditional grid-based strategy combat — the core loop, strong when firing.
- Filler content — dungeon runs, shard collection, and other tasks — the weakest element, burying the game’s best features.
The Final Words
The writer’s hope is that the action picks up, the encounters become harder, and the pacing tightens. Until then, the grind remains a constant presence, and the writer’s sleep schedule is paying the price.
The game has a lot to recommend it, but the pacing issue is a real concern for anyone looking to jump in. The writer’s experience is a cautionary tale about the cost of padding, and it is a reminder that even a good game can lose its audience when it asks for too much patience.
The writer’s final words are weary but hopeful. They are catching up on beauty rest, and they are waiting for the game to wake up with them.
Source material: “Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Is So Full Of Stuff That Isn’t Major Battles That It’s Putting Me To Sleep,” Kotaku.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.