Fire Emblem: Three Houses patch notes: Maddening difficulty, bug fixes, and more DLC outfits

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses 1.0.2 patch brings the Maddening difficulty to the battlefield

Fire Emblem: Three Houses
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses latest 1.0.2 update is live and one of the main highlights of the patch is the addition of a new "Maddening" difficulty setting. The new setting has been added for players "who crave a challenge," and is sure to put your strategic prowess on the battlefield to the test like never before. The Hard setting is already pretty tough as it is, so you can only imagine how difficult this will be. One things for sure, if the name "Maddening" is anything to go by, it's going to push your tactical abilities to the limit. 

After launch, Nintendo revealed a new difficulty setting would be added at some point as part of its plan to keep rolling out additional content for Fire Emblem: Three Houses leading up to 2020 and beyond. Alongside the new difficulty setting, the 1.0.2 patch also introduces the second wave of DLC included in the expansion pass. The new content includes five additional Auxiliary Battles, new Auxiliary Battle background music, four valuable items with stat boots, one new type of attire for most students, and a pair of glasses for Byleth. Yep, things are about to get extra stylish. 

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The first initial update made some minor tweaks to address some bugs at launch, but this latest patch adds quite a generous helping of general quality of life bug fixes and additional improvements. For those who start a New Game+ playthrough, you'll now get additional bonus Renown throughout the campaign.  You can see the full patch notes below. 

Patch notes

New and Update Features

  • Added Maddening mode to the New Game difficulty options. Note that if you clear Maddening mode without selecting New Game +, the title screen will change.
  • Increased the bonus Renown for selecting New Game + at the start of the game.
  • In addition to the usual difficulty bonus, 10,000 Pts. will now be added each time you clear a path.
  • The max threshold for bonus Renown is now 50,000 Pts.
  • If you already started playing using New Game + before applying the DLC data, 10,000 Pts. per cleared path will be added to each save slot the first time it is loaded.
  • Up to Ver.1.0.1, only the type of path cleared was saved but not the number of clears for the same path, which will now be saved applying the DLC Ver.1.0.2.
  • Added Goddess Tower to the Event Gallery in Extras. Use the ZL/ZR Buttons to select the Goddess Tower page, then choose a character event to replay.
  • The Event Gallery is unlocked once you’ve cleared the game.
  • Implemented new English voice for Byleth (male).

New Expansion Pass Content:

  • A new set of items
  • You can receive this set of items as DLC Supplies from the bed in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. Each save file can receive these supplies: Sacred Galewind Shoes (Movement +1), Sacred Floral Robe (HP +7), Sacred Snowmelt Drop (Strength +3), Sacred Moonstone (Speed +3).

Additional auxiliary battles

  • There are five additional auxiliary battles in the Expansion Pass: Battle at Lake Teutates, Battle in the Forest, Battle at Gronder Field, Battle at the Sealed Forest, and Battle at Conand Tower.
  • Depending on your progress, one of them will be listed in the battle-selection screen.
  • These additional auxiliary battles will be marked with the yellow “!” icon in the battle-selection screen. As a bonus, these battles may give you status-up items, such as Ailell Pomegranate, and an increased Gold reward in addition to the Bullions.
  • All maps will consume one activity point to start.

A new song (Corridor of the Tempest)

  • You can access the new song (Corridor of the Tempest) from the System menu while you are in an auxiliary battle. You can also listen to it in the Music Library.

New attire/accessory (House Loungewear / Glasses for Byleth)

  • The new attire (House Loungewear) is for the protagonist and students. Swap outfits in Byleth’s Personal Quarters from the Journal. These outfits are only wearable inside the monastery, or for specific unit classes during battle (this varies by character).
  • The new attire cannot be sent along with a traveler.
  • The new accessory (Glasses) can also be put on in Byleth’s Personal Quarters. They can be combined with any other attire. The glasses can be worn in the monastery and during battle.
  • A confirmation message is now displayed when you abandon an item during battle.

General

  • Fixed the bug that caused the game to freeze when Fortify was used while equipped with a certain skill.
  • Addressed the incorrect character design in event still images.
  • Fixed the bug that incorrectly displayed a Caspar line as Linhardt’s during the White Heron Cup.
  • Fixed the bug that displayed a “TBD” message when mastering combat.
  • Fixed the bug in the cut-in sequence for a CRITICAL attack.
  • Fixed the bug that prevented Rescue magic from working properly to move an ally to a space near the user.
  • Fixed the bug that accidentally let the player enter the closed-off desk corridor in the Cardinals' Room.
  • Some text has been revised.
  • The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few additional bugs.

Getting stuck into the tactical RPG? Here are all the Fire Emblem: Three Houses tips you need. 

Heather Wald
Heather Wald
Evergreen Editor, Games

Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.