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Your first house determines the main story route. Blue Lions leads to Azure Moon, Golden Deer leads to Verdant Wind, and Black Eagles can lead to either Crimson Flower or Silver Snow. Crimson Flower is not automatic: it requires specific Edelgard-related decisions before the time skip. After finishing any route, New Game Plus (NG+) lets you begin a new file with selected progression restored through Renown and the Journal, but it does not let you change houses inside an existing save.
Choose a house for the viewpoint you want, then use NG+ to make a second route substantially faster. The key exception is Black Eagles, where a missed chapter decision permanently sends that playthrough to Silver Snow.
The four main routes and their starting houses
Nintendo presents three starting houses at the academy. Each represents a major Fódlan power: the Black Eagles of the Adrestian Empire, the Golden Deer of the Leicester Alliance, and the Blue Lions of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Those three choices produce four campaigns because Black Eagles has a story split.
| Starting house | Route | Leader or alignment | What the route emphasizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Lions | Azure Moon | Dimitri and the Kingdom | A character-driven war story focused on Dimitri’s personal arc and the Kingdom’s experience of the conflict. |
| Golden Deer | Verdant Wind | Claude and the Alliance | Claude’s perspective, Fódlan’s history, and broader world-building answers. |
| Black Eagles | Crimson Flower | Edelgard and the Empire | An Edelgard-aligned campaign reached through the special Black Eagles branch; it is shorter than the other main campaigns. |
| Black Eagles | Silver Snow | Byleth and the Church | The Church-aligned Black Eagles branch when the Edelgard conditions are not completed. |
There is no universally correct first choice. The best house depends on which character, faction, and unanswered questions matter most to you.
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Which house should you choose?
Choose Blue Lions for Dimitri’s story
Blue Lions is the clearest choice if you want the war narrated through Dimitri and the Kingdom of Faerghus. Its emotional center is Dimitri’s transformation during the war, so the route spends more time on his personal history, relationships, and recovery. Pick it when character development and a focused royal storyline are more important to you than getting every answer about Fódlan’s ancient history on the first playthrough.
Choose Golden Deer for lore and world-building
Golden Deer follows Claude and the Leicester Alliance. The route is especially valuable if your main questions concern Fódlan’s origins, its political structure, and the forces operating beyond the academy conflict. Claude’s position gives the campaign a wider lens than a purely Kingdom-versus-Empire story. It is a strong first route for players who want context that helps interpret the other endings.
Choose Black Eagles for the Edelgard decision
Black Eagles is the right starting point if you specifically want to decide whether Byleth sides with Edelgard or remains with the Church. It is also the route that demands the most attention from a first-time player: selecting the house alone does not determine the ending. You must complete the Edelgard branch conditions before the time skip. If you miss them, the same Black Eagles file proceeds to Silver Snow instead.
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A practical first-run recommendation
For a blind run, select the character perspective you find most appealing and keep regular manual saves during the late pre-time-skip chapters. If you choose Black Eagles, treat the Edelgard conversation as a deadline rather than assuming the game will ask you again later. Players who want to see all four routes usually use their first clear to learn the systems, then rely on NG+ to reduce monastery and skill-grinding time on subsequent files.
How to unlock Crimson Flower from Black Eagles
Crimson Flower is the Edelgard-aligned branch. The game checks both your relationship with Edelgard and a chapter-specific decision. Missing either part sends the campaign toward Silver Snow.
- Build Edelgard’s support before Chapter 11. Raise her support to the level required for the branch conversation; commonly used walkthroughs identify C+ as the practical threshold. Do this before the pre-time-skip deadline rather than waiting for an automatic story increase.
- Explore the monastery in Chapter 11. During the chapter’s exploration period, speak to Edelgard when the special conversation is available. Agree to accompany her to the Imperial capital. If you do not trigger this conversation, the branch will not be available later in that file.
- Complete the Chapter 11 mission. Continue through the mission with the Black Eagles. The route decision is tied to the post-mission story sequence, so do not assume that merely visiting the capital has finished the requirement.
- Choose Edelgard at the final prompt. When the game presents the decisive choice after the chapter’s events, select the option that protects or sides with Edelgard. Choosing the Church-aligned response, or failing to meet the earlier conditions, leads to Silver Snow.
- Confirm the route after the time skip. The opening chapters after the skip make the alignment clear. Keep a separate save before the Chapter 11 exploration if you want a recovery point without replaying the entire academy phase.
The exact wording of the prompts can vary by localization, but the sequence is consistent: sufficient Edelgard support, the Chapter 11 monastery conversation, accompanying her, and the pro-Edelgard decision. There is no menu option to convert a Silver Snow campaign into Crimson Flower after the branch has been missed.
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How the routes differ in length, perspective, and information
| Question | Azure Moon | Verdant Wind | Crimson Flower | Silver Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary viewpoint | Dimitri and the Kingdom | Claude and the Alliance | Edelgard and the Empire | Byleth and the Church |
| Best for | Personal drama and Dimitri’s arc | Fódlan history and broader lore | The Imperial argument and Edelgard’s goals | The Church-aligned interpretation of the war |
| How it is reached | Choose Blue Lions | Choose Golden Deer | Choose Black Eagles and complete the Edelgard branch | Choose Black Eagles but do not complete the Edelgard branch |
| Campaign length note | Standard main route | Standard main route | Shorter than the other main campaigns | Standard Black Eagles alternative |
None of the four routes is a complete replacement for the others. Each reveals different motives, battles, and explanations. A second route often changes the meaning of events you already saw rather than merely repeating them with a different final map.
Starting a new route with New Game Plus
After clearing a route, create or load the cleared-game data when starting a new file. Cleared data and NG+ saves are marked with a Sothis icon. The in-game description reproduced by RPG Site states: “You can carry your end-game data over into a New Game +. End-game saves and New Game + saves are indicated with a Sothis Mark.”
- Finish a route and save the completed game when prompted.
- From the title screen, choose to begin a new game and select the cleared data marked with the Sothis icon.
- Choose your next house normally. NG+ does not bypass the opening house selection or merge routes.
- Once the Journal becomes available, spend Renown on the specific progress you want to restore.
NG+ is therefore a replay aid, not a route selector. You still choose Blue Lions, Golden Deer, or Black Eagles at the beginning, and Black Eagles still requires the Edelgard branch decisions if you want Crimson Flower.
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What carries over in New Game Plus?
NG+ preserves selected account-wide progress, while your new protagonist and army begin the story again. The following table separates automatic carryover from progress that must be repurchased.
| Progress | How NG+ handles it |
|---|---|
| Renown | Retained for use in the new file. Nintendo’s version 1.0.2 update notes also document 10,000 Renown for each cleared path when selecting NG+, with a 50,000-point maximum for that clear bonus in that version-specific update. |
| Saint-statue levels | Retained. The statues’ permanent effects remain available in the new playthrough. |
| Hired battalions | Retained according to the NG+ guide information; you can access previously hired units rather than rebuilding the entire collection from zero. |
| Shop progress | Retained, reducing the amount of merchant and inventory unlocking needed on later routes. |
| Professor Level | Not automatically restored to its previous rank for free; use the Journal and Renown to buy it back. |
| Skill Levels | Available as a Journal purchase using Renown. |
| Support Levels | Available as Journal purchases, letting you restore selected relationships instead of rebuilding every support conversation. |
| Class Masteries | Available to repurchase through the Journal. |
| Crest items | Available through the Journal’s Renown options. |
| Unit levels and ordinary inventories | Units do not simply return at their old levels with their previous inventories. Plan to train and equip the new campaign’s army again. |
The important distinction is between retained systems and optional restoration. Statues, shop progress, battalions, and Renown remain part of the cleared-game foundation; Professor Level, skills, supports, masteries, and Crest items are tools you selectively buy back through the Journal. This lets you spend only on progress that helps the next route.
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Protect statue progress on the first run
Saint-statue levels persist into NG+, so avoid spending Renown carelessly if a statue upgrade is close to a useful breakpoint. The permanent class, experience, or combat benefits can help every later route, while a temporary purchase benefits only the current file.
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Restore Professor Level early when activity matters
Professor Level controls practical monastery capacity, including activity points and instruction flexibility. If your next run is built around recruiting many students, raising supports, or completing more battles, restoring Professor Level near the start gives value throughout the academy phase.
Buy only route-relevant skills and supports
Do not restore every prior support automatically. Purchase the relationships needed for the characters you plan to recruit, the conversations you want to unlock, or the classes you intend to use. The same applies to skill ranks and class masteries: restore a weapon or authority level only when it supports the next army’s plan.
Reserve some Renown for flexibility
Because the Journal lets you make targeted purchases, keeping a reserve is safer than spending the entire balance immediately. You can see which units and classes your new house actually needs before committing the remaining points.
Common mistakes and how to recover
- Assuming Black Eagles automatically means Crimson Flower: It does not. Keep a pre-Chapter 11 save, complete the Edelgard conversation, and make the pro-Edelgard decision.
- Waiting until after the time skip to raise Edelgard’s support: The branch requirement is checked before the skip. Raise the support during the academy phase.
- Expecting NG+ to preserve unit levels and equipment: It does not function as a duplicate of the finished army. Use the Journal for selected progress and retrain the new roster.
- Spending every Renown point on the first Journal visit: Statue levels and the new route’s actual needs should guide your budget. Leave room for Professor Level or a key support.
- Thinking NG+ changes the route mid-campaign: It does not. Start a new file, choose a different house, and then make that route’s own decisions.
- Treating downloadable content as a fifth route: Ashen Wolves is a separate side story with additional characters and locations. It is optional and does not replace any of the four main campaigns.
Where the Ashen Wolves DLC fits
Nintendo lists the Ashen Wolves side story and its additional characters and locations as downloadable content. It is separate from the four main routes and from the base game’s NG+ carryover rules. You can approach it as optional supporting content rather than choosing it instead of a house. The four-route structure remains Blue Lions/Azure Moon, Golden Deer/Verdant Wind, and the two Black Eagles outcomes, Crimson Flower and Silver Snow.
A practical route order
If you want a broad understanding of the setting first, begin with Golden Deer for Claude’s world-building perspective, then use NG+ for a character-focused Blue Lions run. Choose Black Eagles afterward when you can deliberately set up the Edelgard branch; keep a separate save before Chapter 11 so you can experience Crimson Flower without replaying the entire academy section if a decision goes wrong. Silver Snow can then serve as the contrasting Church-aligned conclusion.
That order is a convenience, not a requirement. Starting with Dimitri or Edelgard is equally valid if their stories are the reason you bought the game. What matters mechanically is understanding that house choice determines the route family, Black Eagles contains the only split, and NG+ accelerates preparation without removing route-specific choices.
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