Fire Emblem Heroes
Characters from Nintendo 3DS games Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates appear in Fire Emblem Heroes - but you will need Orbs to unlock them. Nintendo

Nintendo's mobile library added another string to its bow on 2 February with the release of Fire Emblem Heroes – a stripped-back version of the cult RPG strategy series that brings tactical sword-and-magic action to Apple and Android smartphones.

The free-to-play app brings a whopping 80+ heroes from across the series' history for a brand new story-led adventure and modes where you can battle other players from around the world.

However, as with the majority of free gaming apps with in-app purchases, unlocking the best heroes (or just your favourites) without spending any hard cash is determined by lady luck and random number generation (RNG) when trading in your vital "Orbs" to "Summon" new hero characters, including the ultra-rare boosted heroes only available through "Focus" summoning.

Below we will be looking at how to actually obtain these heroes through "Summoning" and the best way to collect as many "Orbs" as possible per day. Before we go into methods of gathering more orbs though, a few sneaky players have found a way to cheekily reset the first batch of heroes you can unlock, essentially allowing you to reroll your starting heroes indefinitely.

For those looking for the best heroes Nintendo and DeNA's mobile RPG, you can find a full list of all the characters available and those with five-star potential here.

How to re-roll summoned heroes in Fire Emblem Heroes

The first thing to note about this trick is that it can only be performed at the start of the game. If you've already sunk several hours into saving the Kingdom of Askr, you may want to stick with your current roster if you're slaying your enemies with enough gusto or have a rare Focus hero already.

The re-roll hinges on having enough Orbs to start the process and you can earn 20 after playing for roughly ten minutes (if you're quick). Twenty is the perfect amount as it lets you summon five heroes in a row. While the first summon costs five Orbs, this number reduces in increments if you perform five summons in a row from the five available element stones per round (5 > 4 > 4 > 4 > 3, to be exact).

The 20 Orbs are obtained as follows:

  • 15 Orbs for completing the tutorial;
  • 2 Orbs for the first daily log-in bonus (this may be a timed bonus and could be removed);
  • 3 Orbs for completing the first three Story Maps.

If you are not happy with the heroes you get, then all you need to do is go into your device's settings and uninstall the app (or clear the data on Android) and try again. There are mixed reports as to whether you can do this if you have linked to your Nintendo Account, so it is worth avoiding linking during the start-up until you are content with your selections. As an example of the kind of results you can get, embedded below is an example of one player who managed to snag four five star heroes in one go.

Wow.

Fire Emblem Heroes: How to get more Orbs

So you've successfully reset your game enough times to grab a battle-ready team, but what about the rest of the huge selection of Heroes? To recruit more you are going to need more of those illusive Orbs. Here are the best ways we have found to maximise your Orb gain, as well as a couple of one-time bonuses:

Link your Fire Emblem Heroes to a My Nintendo account

This one-off nets you 10 Orbs with almost no effort, but can be easily missed. To begin, you will need a My Nintendo account, which you can set up here.

You can link your account to the app in the initial start-up (although if you want to re-roll we suggest waiting), or tap the "Misc." option when you are in the castle menu and go to the "Account Management" setting.

Then tap the "Quests & Missions" icon (the water fountain in the bottom right of your castle) and then the glowing crest in the top-right next to the heading banner. This will take you to a point overview and a free My Nintendo reward that coughs up the 10 Orbs.

Clear every chapter of the Fire Emblem Heroes Story mode on Normal, Hard and Lunatic difficulty

Each of the game's nine chapters is split into parts and you can play each on three different difficulty settings: Normal, Hard and Lunatic. The latter two unlock after you complete each chapter and each one awards a single Orb. That may not sound like much, but it soon adds up!

Log in every day for an 'App-Release Bonus'

This aforementioned bonus awards two Orbs, but is likely to disappear considering its name. Make hay while the sun shines with this one.

Buy them

Another option is to actually buy them with real money via in-app purchases. You can find the full list of Orb purchases available here, although we don't blame you if wince at spending a maximum of £69.99 on a mobile game. To buy Orbs you'll need to click the "Shop" icon in the castle menu and then "Purchase Orbs".

IBTimes UK will be keeping an eye out for any other ways to quickly obtain Orbs in Fire Emblem Heroes and will update this article if we find any, or if there are new methods added in a future app update.

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