The best Emblem Ring pairings in Fire Emblem Engage

Fire Emblem Engage is the latest addition to the long-running Fire Emblem series, first created by Nintendo on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Now on Nintendo Switch, Fire Emblem Engage is a turn-based tactical RPG that will have you thinking about every action you make in the heat of battle.

While the core mechanics of the game are pretty straightforward and what you’d come to expect from the Fire Emblem series, there are a few new additions in Fire Emblem Engage.

One of these additions is Emblem Rings. These are special rings that allow you to summon heroes from past Fire Emblem games. Depending on the characters you get, you will unlock different abilities. But not all characters can use every Emblem Ring. To make it easier to understand, you will first need to learn about Emblem Ring pairings.

What are Emblem Ring pairings?

Emblem Ring pairings are the combination of playable characters with legendary heroes from past Fire Emblem games. Depending on the pairing you decide to use in battle, you can unlock some very potent and destructive combination attacks. Make sure your character picks the right class to make full use of their Emblem Ring pairing.

When your character activates their Emblem Ring, they will go into Engage mode which grants them special abilities depending on the Emblem Ring equipped.

To use these Emblem Rings effectively, you will need to collect them by playing through the game’s story. Don’t worry about missing any Emblem Ring since you will be able to get all of them by progressing through the main quest line, however, the same can’t be said about all the characters.

Once you acquire them, apart from a few situations where you are tasked to use certain Emblem Rings, you can freely use them as you please. Ensure you have chosen your ideal pairing option for each class since the game does not allow you to carry content over once you finish it.

There are a few Emblem Ring pairings for each character in the game. Listed below are the recommended pairings for every character, although not all of them are as effective as each other and some pairings outclass the others.

While each character has its own Emblem Ring pairing, some of them stand out better than the rest.

The top 10 Emblem Ring pairings in Fire Emblem Engage

These are the best Emblem Ring pairings in the game in terms of both utility and performance in battle. None of these are objectively better than the rest, so feel free to experiment with any of these combinations to your heart’s content. Pick the characters that you like and make the most of them with these Emblem Ring pairings.

1) Alear and Marth

While this list isn’t a definitive tier list, it is hard to argue when several players consider this to be the strongest pairing in the game. The Divine Dragon themselves is the strongest character in the game while Marth just amplifies their power even further. Marth’s Emblem Ring provides bonus Strength, Dexterity, and Speed stats to Alear while also empowering their basic attacks with their weapon.

In addition to the stats, Marth’s Divine Speed converts the damage dealt by Alear into health which recovers them retroactively. Lodestar Rush is the icing on the cake, providing an immense damage output unmatched by other Emblem Ring pairings.

2) Alcryst and Lyn

The simplest reason for pairing both Alcryst and Lyn together is because they are both bow specialists. Alcryst outputs great damage in battle which increases even further with Lyn boosting his stats. Their special Astra Storm ability is devastating in battle, dealing five shots of 30 percent damage each to a unit within 10 blocks.

Their bond also increases Alcryst’s Speed through the Speedtaker ability, which boosts his average Speed to much higher levels. It also pairs perfectly with Lyn’s Alacrity skill which allows Alcryst to attack twice before the enemy can counterattack. And finally, Lyn and Alcryst’s bond simply amplifies the latter’s raw bow damage as well, making them a perfect duo.

3) Diamant and Ike

This pairing is one of the best tank pairings in the game. Diamant is already a powerful warrior that can absorb a lot of damage by himself, then you add Ike to the mix to change the game. This potent combination buffs Diamant’s durability even further, especially with Ike’s Laguz Friend ability that can turn Diamant into a legit frontliner for his team by reducing all incoming damage in half.

As much damage as Diamant can take, he can dish it out too. When Diamant’s HP keeps dropping, Ike’s Wrath ability kicks into overdrive. The more HP Diamant has missing, the more his Crit stat will keep increasing thanks to Wrath. This makes Diamant difficult to deal with at full HP and downright terrifying to fight at low HP.

4) Fogado and Sigurd

This might be an unconventional choice because normally, Sigurd works best as a pairing with sword or lance-wielding characters. This is down to his Override ability which utilizes the sword or lance to charge through a line of foes. His other skills like Canter and Gallop, however, work well with characters like Fogado who need that extra bit of movement speed to be effective.

Fogado is an excellent warrior who can become an even more powerful archer with the Radiant Bow, which can be upgraded from the Silver Bow. You can use this in battle with Sigurd’s Gallop to strike enemies near and afar, including flying enemies. When in a pinch, Sigurd’s Canter allows for a swift retreat back to an advantageous position.

If Override is an essential skill in your lineup, the alternate option is to pair up Sigurd with characters like Alfred instead.

5) Hortensia and Byleth

Byleth is a jack-of-all-trades Emblem Ring pairing that can work with literally any class in the game. This is down to his well-rounded stats and bonuses to Luck. He can also provide bonus XP to nearby units, so it’s always a good idea to keep him in your lineup. All of these bonuses work well in tandem with characters like Hortensia who can maximize the support provided by Byleth’s skills.

Since Hortensia is based played as a support, it makes sense to pair her with Byleth, who is naturally a support character himself. In addition, Hortensia is a flying unit and thus is unaffected by terrain limitations. Her high mobility makes full use of Byleth’s support in battle, allowing her to cover a wide range with her abilities.

6) Jean and Micaiah

Due to his natural affinity towards healing, Jean is best paired with Micaiah. The major benefit of Jean is that you get access to him early in the game, which allows you to level him up fast. Secondly, Jean’s Expertise provides him with phenomenal stat growth per level, making early levels very advantageous for him.

Since Micaiah naturally works better as a support, pairing her with Jean is a no-brainer. Her Augment skill provides bonus staff range and area of effect to his abilities while also providing him extra potency on his heals. This allows him to fulfill his role as a backline healer without worrying too much about being taken down by the enemy.

7) Lindon and Celica

Lindon is quite a powerful unit by himself, so pairing him with someone like Celica just boosts his effectiveness in battle even further. He can be played as a Mage Knight or Sage, although he is more effective as the latter. Celica enables both play styles by providing bonus damage to Lindon using Echo to strike more than once.

If you decide to go all in on Celica, Warp Ragnarok sorts out Lindon’s positioning issues by moving him to an advantageous position before launching a heavy magic attack. Finally, Resonance and Magic + allow Lindon to deal decent damage using Tomes, making him a pseudo-damage dealer.

8) Mauvier and Eirika

Mauvier is a powerful frontliner that works best with Emblem Ring pairings that enable him in battle. This is where Eirika comes in because she is mostly considered best as a pairing with characters that need skills to supplement them. This is down to her relatively niche set of skills that only thrive with certain characters.

Eirika’s Twin Strike grants Mauvier bonus damage due to his being a Cavalry unit. Additionally, skills like Dodge + and Solar Brace allow Mauvier to freely charge into battle. Finally, Night and Day provides damage output, damage mitigation, and HP recovery based on how you use it.

9) Yunaka and Leif

At first glance, Leif might be a weird Emblem Ring pairing choice. This is down to his bonus skills focusing on knife proficiencies and weapon-type advantages, these skills do not synergize with each other. His strength, however, is being paired with a Covert unit because they can take full advantage of both of his talents. This is where Yunaka comes in.

Yunaka’s stat gains make her arguably the best Covert choice to be paired with Leif. His Adaptable skill grants bonus Avoidance while Quadruple Hit allows for four attacks that can additionally drop 1,000G from the enemies hit. This syncs well with Yunaka’s Trained to Kill providing her with bonus Crit and even more Avoidance in battle.

10) Zelkov and Corrin

Zelkov is quite possibly the strongest Thief class character in the game. Add to that, you have Corrin who pairs extremely well with characters of the Thief class due to their focus on disrupting the enemies and avoiding damage altogether instead of reducing it.

Thieves also specialize in getting up close and personal with their enemies, so this playstyle works well with Corrin since it works to her strengths.

Then you have Zelkov’s skill which reduces attacking enemies’ accuracy by 10, thus increasing his Avoidance rate. If you sync that up with Corrin’s Dragon Vein ability, it is almost ensured that Zelkov will not be hit by anyone except the most resolute enemies. With a focus on disruption and evasion, this pair is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.