Wild Mass Guessing pages are Spoilers Off. You have been warned.
Pre-release WMGs
The golden armor hand holding Dimitri's hand is none other than Dedue.
- Hubert and Hilda showed up in the trailer and will likely be playable. Who else, other than Byleth, will hold Dimitri's hand?
- Dedue is confirmed to be playable, but his armour is completely grey. So jossed on that front.
- The armor glove design does look very similar between the two trailers, and the color difference may just be due to lighting.
- Confirmed in the final game.
Three Hopes isn't canon / exists in its own canon / is another timeline.
- This is probably a Captain Obvious Reveal, but I've seen some people claim that this fits into the pre-established canon of 3H and I don't agree. Especially considering Byleth is shown in both her pre and post-Sothis fusion forms and the existence of new antagonists, I find it pretty hard to believe all these desperate and contradictory elements could all work in the same story.
- I personally am in the belief that this is a fifth route that may have ties to the Ashen Wolves DLC events.
- The second trailer includes a glimpse of Monica, a character who definitely was not around during the original game's time skip (not even as Kronya), which lends credence to Three Hopes being an entirely separate canon.
- Changing my guess of it being the fifth route to being that Azure Gleam, Scarlet Blaze and Golden Wildfire are respectively the fifth, sixth and seventh routes of the Three Houses universe.
- The demo makes it clear it's an alternate timeline stemming from Shez's survival (It's all but said that in the original timeline they die)
The route split will return, though with different results.
- There's probably separate campaigns for the Black Eagles, Blue Lions and Golden Deer, especially when you remember that the original Three Houses was based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is the very basis of the Warriors series as a whole. That, and the trailer shows battle preparations screen with Edelgard attempting an assault on the church just like in the original 3H, implying at least chapters where you're with only one house. That said, I don't think the outcomes will be the same for each ending as per last time.
- Second trailer confirms that the story is split into three paths, just that they have new names: Azure Gleam, Scarlet Blaze and Golden Wildfire.
- The Demo reveals the names are different due to the radically changed political environment stemming from Shez's interactions.
The purple-haired individual is a time-traveler who slithers in the dark, come to prevent the destruction of Shambhala
- Their presence causes things to go quite differently, resulting in Edelgard starting her war much earlier.
- Jossed. This character, "Shez", is the new avatar.
Possible playable characters
- The initial trailer obviously showed the house leaders being playable, but I think it would suck if Byleth and the house leaders were the only playable characters. Possible playable character ideas I have in my head include:
- Hubert. He was in the trailer, with a new outfit no less. Gameplay-wises, maybe he could be a Suspiciously Similar Substitute to Tharja from the last Warriors game?
- Confirmed that he's playable, jossed on the moveset clone part, reasonably.
- Hilda. In the trailer
you can see a character that appears to be Hilda. Perhaps she could wind up as this game's representation of the Warrior class like she was in Cindered Shadows.- Confirmed.
- Dedue. It's customary to bring up Dedue whenever the other Number Twos are brought up. I could see him being similar to Edelgard in terms of gameplay, though hopefully not a complete Moveset Clone.
- Confirmed.
- Lysithea. Considering she won Choose Your Legends 4 alongside the house leaders, I think she might be a given for a playable position here. On top of dark magic, she's also a light mage, so maybe she could use a hybrid of the two magic types as a playable character, using different spells than Hubert to help differentiate them.
- Confirmed alongside the rest of the Golden Deer.
- Ingrid. She could serve as a Suspiciously Similar Substitute to Caeda from the last game, representing the Pegasus Knight class.
- Substitute or no, confirmed alongside the rest of the Blue Lions.
- Ferdinand (von Aegir). He's one of the more important Black Eagles' students on account of his relationship with Edelgard, and his dynamic with Hubert makes him similar to Lorenz and Felix in terms of importance to the main lord. Plus, someone looking like him briefly appears in the second trailer.
- Confirmed alongside the rest of the Black Eagles.
- Raphael. He's not the most popular student, but he's the most obvious Brawler/Grappler class representative if the Ashen Wolves are absent, specializing in heavy close-combat blows.
- Confirmed alongside the rest of the Golden Deer.
- Dorothea. She's the dedicated Dancer in Three Houses so having her represent the class in Three Hopes sounds natural.
- Her presence is confirmed alongside the rest of the Black Eagles. She does not don the dancer attire, however.
- The Ashen Wolves. I'm a little iffy on them considering they don't appear anywhere in the first trailer and they were Downloadable Content in Three Houses proper, but nothing's saying the Wolves can't appear in this game either (like how Monk Maz Kyoshia was a secret character in Age of Calamity, despite debuting as DLC for Breath of the Wild). As for gameplay, they could each represent their Special classes, with Yuri as a Trickster, Balthus as a mixed-range War Monk, Constance as a Dark Flier, and Hapi as a Valkyrie.
- The "Awakened Rivals" trailer confirms that they are in the base game to boot this time around, much like Monk Maz Kyoshia in Age of Calamity. That being said, most of their base classes don't look like the DLC classes they're associated with- Constance in particular looks like she prefers Gremory, not Dark Flier.
- Seteth. He's the de facto Silver Snow lord, so I could see him being added as a melee-oriented Wyvern Rider representative with his Spear of Assal. The question is, will they let Church characters be playable?
- The "Awakened Rivals" trailer confirms his presence in the game, but it's still uncertain if he will be playable or not.
- Jeralt. He's the father of Byleth, and thus a relatively important character in Three Houses, and has already been shown in the trailer. He's also the most prominent knight unit of the original game, and thus, he could be this game's equivalent of characters like Frederick and Xander of the first Fire Emblem Warriors.
- Con-freaking-firmed if you choose not to kill Byleth.
- Nemesis. Because the game kinda needs some playable representation for the villain side too.
- Jossed, though in New Game Plus, his weapon can be bought with renown.
- Male Byleth. It should be a given that the Player Character would come in both genders, much like with Robin and Corrin in the previous game, however his presence or not is yet to be confirmed.
- We're not sure of he's playable yet (although I'd bet money on him being so), but he's certainly in the game.
- Byleth is indeed playable if you spare them..
- Gatekeeper. Basically the game's Joke Character, or Lethal Joke Character in the right hands. A defense-oriented Oboro expy who may not move fast or hit hard, but can tank damage like it's nothing. His victory animation would be greeting Byleth with nothing to report... except for the pile of enemy bodies behind him.
- Con-freaking-firmed as a secret character.
- Every playable character from Three Houses. Given the nature of the game, making any of the cast unplayable wouldn't be a popular move. Warriors games are no stranger to massive playable casts either.
- The "Issue Orders" part of the second trailer pretty much confirms that at least Bernadetta will be playable.
- All starting students from Three Houses are confirmed to be playable.
- The Ashen Wolves too, have been confirmed playable with the "Awakened Rivals" trailer.
- Unfortunately, despite being playable in Three Houses, Hanneman, Cyril, Alois, and Gilbert remain unrecruitable in the base 1.0 version of the game.
- Judith and Nader. They're often cited as wasted potential for not being route exclusive units for the Golden Deer class, might as well have the opportunity here. Plus Judith was spotted in one of the pre-release screenshots. Nader however might be recast due to Brad Venable's passing.
- Jossed as of the game's release.
- Monica. She appears in the game's second trailer when demonstrating how to order units on the battlefield, as a Mage with "Wind Caller's Genesis" allied with Edelgard. However, she's not actually shown fighting, which may mean she's merely a unique NPC ally.
- With a better look at the scene in the trailer, one can see a battle level and number of potions in the ui, close to her portrait; and, most importantly, her map icon is marked with the color blue, the de-facto indicator for playable units in Fire Emblem games. This alone already, all but openly confirms that she will be playable.
- Confirmed in the demo release.
- Rodrigue. He's another relatively important secondary character, father of Felix, and foster father to Dimitri after the death of Lambert; it would be reasonable to expect his return. In terms of gameplay he can be a Swordmaster, reflecting the weapon of choice of his son.
- The second trailer heavily hinted at his presence in the game, with a scene where a hand reaches for Dimitri, and it looks awfully similar to his.
- On the other hand, the hand could be Felix's given the trailer focusing on the Blue Lions revealed his new outfit has similar sleeves to that of his dad.
- The "Awakened Rivals" trailer and the demo released the same day confirmed his presence in the game and him being playable respectively. His starting class also isn't any from the Swordmaster family, but rather Cavalier. Whether the hand in that scene with Dimitri is his or not, is still up in the air.
- Confirmed and in the Cavalier line of classes.
- Hubert. He was in the trailer, with a new outfit no less. Gameplay-wises, maybe he could be a Suspiciously Similar Substitute to Tharja from the last Warriors game?
Possible gameplay elements
- Much like in Three Houses, every character can use any weapon, and progress in virtually every class. To balance things out, they can have that the class the character currently is in, will determine which weapon is the more powerful; and much like in the original game, characters can have weaknesses in certain subjects.
- Semi-jossed. While characters can indeed use virtually every weapon, and progress in virtually every class, you aren't as free as in Three Houses, because the weapon you can use is dictated by the class you currently are in. Luckily, it is much easier to progress in the class system this time around, and the characters start with at least all the 5 basic classes already available to them.
- In order to avoid flattering every character, they can give each one a unique moveset for their "canon" class, and a generic one for every other. For example, Lysithea would have a very unique moveset as a mage, but in case she was wielding a sword, she wouldn't be any different from characters like Claude, whose main weapon also isn't a sword.
- Partially confirmed; there are a few perks to using a character's preferred class line. And the abilities learned differs per character.
- They could also introduce a "swap weapon" mechanic, allowing for characters to swap between at least 2 weapons in the same battle. This would help to further make the gameplay less repetitive.
- Semi-jossed. Weapons are locked to certain classes (i.e. Bow Knights can only equip bows). However, classes that can use magic (i.e. Mortal Savant, Holy Knight, and Dark Knight) can use magic aside from their weapons.
- In a similar fashion to Age of Calamity, this game will also ditch ranked missions and skill trees in favour of smaller and more varied side missions, which will also reward you with upgrades and items.
- Jossed for the ditching ranked missions part.
Male Byleth's Whereabouts
- Assuming that Female Byleth takes center stage as the main avatar fighting alongside the three House Leaders, one possibility, due to the usage of timeline altering shenanigans, may have Male Byleth actually as the new purple-haired character that clashes against his female counterpart, only pulled out of his own timeline before becoming corrupted and enslaved by the main antagonistic forces. Defeating him and fulfilling certain conditions allow him to be playable, both normal and his Superpowered Evil Side.
- Jossed. The purple haired character is a new protagonist named Shez and players will still be able to choose Byleth’s gender.
Three Hopes will have the azure moon, crimson flower, and verdant wind route merge with each other
- You mean the Azure Gleam, Scarlet Blaze and Golden Wildfire routes, right? As that's what they are called this time.
- Jossed.
Mentioned-only characters will finally make an appearance.
Characters like Holst and Maya would finally appear and we can see what they look like. As for Glenn, if he's still dead then maybe have a flashback and/or a portrait of him.- Second trailer seems to confirm that Holst is in the game, as there is one new character wearing a cape with the Crest of Goneril on it.
If romance supports return, Claude will be able to be romanced by M!Shez.
- Jossed. S-ranks and character endings are not in Three Hopes; at most, upon reaching A-Rank, a specific gift to a character of any gender will allow Shez to use their unique skill, and they will write a supportive letter to Shez in the ending rather than proclaim their love.
- Jossed, while Rhea doesn't take the same shine to Shez, she still warmly offers them a spot as a student. However, Shez's seen as an interesting unknown due to their non-existent reputation but they managed to get off to a decent start with the student population.
Similarly to Age of Calamity, this game is the product of temporal shenanigans.
In this game, the Agarthans realized they were in a Hopeless War with a united Fódlan in their present, and used Time Travel to ensure the birth/creation of Shez and their guide (who resembles a dragon-person because she's an artificial Manakete they made from cloning Sothis' body), and then manipulated Byleth by making sure they never actually arrived at Garreg Mach. Of course, it's going to go massively wrong; Shez is not a bad person who would tolerate the Agarthans' manipulations (assuming a faction doesn't have a Heel–Face Turn due to interacting with the surface and coming to realize their revenge is pointless), and Byleth is just a mercenary at worst, entirely willing to change sides if it turns out they've been working for the bad guys. This game is canon, and the path the Shez chooses is one opposed to Byleth’s choice
For example, if Shez chooses the role of following Edelgard, Byleth will be sided with Dimitri, and vice versa.- Turns out that Byleth doesn't show up when they would normally do, and instead Shez takes their place, only this time they're a student instead of an instructor.
Arval is the god of humans before Sothis arrived.
And they were unconscious or rejected for whatever reason - the Agarthans revived them and implanted them in Shez as a personal "fuck you" to Rhea.- Semi-Jossed. Arval was originally Epimenides who was created by the Agarthans as a weapon to destroy Sothis.
The route split is a Red Herring and will only last a few chapters
It might determine which faction you side with during the Battle of Garreg Mach and a few other missions, but the routes will merge earlier than expected when a new enemy (possibly Arval) reveals itself and all factions unite against them. The game's Japanese title keeps the "Wind Flower Snow Moon" subtitle from Three Houses, trailers didn't reveal a "Snow" route...- Jossed. The route split is permanent. All three routes share a hidden chapter that can only be played if Byleth is spared.
The post-timeskip Lords, time travelling from the main timeline, will be separate playable characters.
In the vein of Age of Calamity. Their story role could be one of two things: to Set Right What Once Went Wrong, or act as Bad Future versions this timeline's Lords refuse to become. And come on, playing as Boar!Dimitri, Armored Edelgard and Wyvern-riding Claude in a Warriors game would be insanely fun.- The second option is the more logical, given that in the story of 3 Houses there is no apocalyptic event that would force the 3 lords to try such a ploy, even more so counting that they were among the major players of their stories.
- That doesn't mean that they couldn't create a secondary version for each lord based on their post timeskip appearences from the original game, and give each a different moveset from their "main" versions. Or, at the very least, make these versions alternate costumes for them, should the story in this game really drastically diverge from the original.
- Jossed. The paths in Three Hopes are separate from Three Houses and time traveling is not a part of the story.
Possible gameplay elements
There will be a fight at some point in the game against Byleth where they will use the time abilities against you. This will either be an unwinnable fight or you'll have to survive x numbers of rewinds to win.- Semi-jossed. There's a cutscene where Byleth awakens with Sothis's power. Shez is forced to run from the battle, but it's more of a cutscene rather than actual gameplay.
Possible character moment
Since the game starts a year before the main game, you end up rescuing Monica and she'll follow you to whatever house you choose.- Mixed; while Shez and allies end up saving Monica, she remains loyal to Edelgard first and foremost.
The route choice will happen right before the timeskip
Instead of Shez choosing one of the houses right away, they will initially be allowed to train with whatever students they like. However, once the war breaks out, they will be forced to pick a side.- Seems to be Jossed by the demo, as you have to choose a house during the prologue chapters.
- Jossed as of the game's release. Shez can only pick one house at the start of the game that they would follow during the war phase.
The Monica in the trailer is Kronya.
Kronya is posing as Monica again. However one possible mission will have you save Monica by killing Kronya, and have Monica at as a spy by posing as Kronya.- Jossed as of the demo's release, as the second mission has you rescue the real Monica from imprisonment before Kronya has the chance to kill her off, with her being mentioned by name by Monica's captors.
Arval's goals and powers
Arval seeks to destroy Sothis in the name of the Agarthans as revenge for wiping them out. The catch is that, due to them dying before the war between Sothis and the Agarthans concluded, they're unaware of the eventual outcome of that war, namely that not only is Sothis herself dead but that most of her descendants were murdered and made into crude weapons. Because they, like TWSITD, believe that Byleth essentially is Sothis, and because Byleth tried to kill their "vessel" Shez, they take advantage of Shez's desire for a rematch against Byleth. Arval grants Shez powers comparable to those given by the blood of the Children of the Goddess, but due to the difference in their nature they do not manifest as a Crest. For this reason, Shez quickly attracts the attention of Edelgard, who does not realize these powers originate from a deity-like being, believes them to be Shez's own and that she finally found proof that there is an alternative to Crests.
- Mixed.
God Shattering Star will return as the theme of the final mission of the game (or at least the Golden Wildfire variant of it) with a similar rock theme for the final boss.
Bonus points if FamilyJules ends up helping out with that version like he did for the 1 year anniversary of Three Houses, although that's possibly unlikely.- Jossed. God Shattering Star is absent from the game, likely because Nemesis (the character the song is associated with) is also absent from the game.
Each route is going to have a different Final Boss again.
Things will be different this time around, however.Edelgard's route will have Byleth as the Final Boss. Since she is teaming up with their self-proclaimed rival who may or may not coincidentally be a vessel for Sothis's rival, Byleth is still Sothis's vessel/avatar/successor, and El herself was originally designed as Byleth's rival, this fits. Crest of Flames vs. Crest of Flames and all that. Bonus points if she doesn't realize Shez themselves is benefitting from some kind of divine backup until they fuse with Arval. Assuming the game goes for a Bittersweet Ending again, Rhea, Claude and Dimitri would all have been defeated by that point, as there's no way El isn't conquering Fódlan; she is too stubborn to stop, so her route is pretty much bound to end the same way as in 3H. It is also possible the game will still somehow play up El's crush on Byleth, for extra drama, but with the roles reversed from the player's perspective.
- Jossed. Byleth is not a final boss for any of the routes, due to the fact that they can be killed off before then.
Claude's route will have Rhea as the Final Boss. Without Byleth, Rhea is very unlikely to start revealing things, and depending on how the plot goes, Claude may end up directly opposing the Church due to seeing it as an obstacle to his goals ("This world cries out for change, while you keep it shackled to the past."); without Byleth he cannot manipulate it. It's also unlikely we'll see Zombie Nemesis again unless the Agarthans play a bigger role in this, which admittedly is a possibility if that one Shambhala shot is any indication. El and Dimitri will have killed each other like the Agarthans planned, leaving Claude to deal with things, and if Byleth also dies at some point (possibly as a Climax Boss), Rhea is not going to be in a happy mood no matter what. The battle will most likely be presented as a tragic one, kind of like a fusion of Silver Snow and Crimson Flower's endgame.
- Confirmed to have her fighting them at the end of the game.
Dimitri's route is the trickiest one due to his goals being very personal in nature. Assuming they don't just go for El again - though she might also be a Climax Boss like on Verdant Wind - there aren't really any good candidates for the Final Boss role. Thales/Arundel is not someone Dimitri likes enough to care, and neither Rhea nor Nemesis make sense as his opponent. Nor does Byleth. The only other existing character I can see fitting into this - and I have no idea why or how this would happen - is Patricia, possibly having undergone the Hegemon Edelgard treatment. Azure Moon suggested that she might have survived the Tragedy of Duscur and was partially responsible for it, but nothing ever comes out of this plot point besides allowing Dimitri to prove the Duscur people innocent after the war ends. And because the second trailer already showed two people who appear to be Holst and Count Bergliez, characters who were mentioned in 3H without ever appearing in person, Patricia showing up isn't outside the realm of possibility...
- Jossed. Dimitri's Final Boss is Thales alongside a mind-controlled Edelgard.
If there's some kind of a Silver Snow equivalent fourth route, it could involve Shez and Byleth teaming up against the Agarthans while everyone else dies. In that case, and if Arval is somehow related to the Agarthans, the Final Boss could just be Thales. Having your own deity team up with your arch-enemy against you - the absolute Epic Fail that Thales deserves. Of course, he'll probably have to power himself up with Agarthan tech, but this is the same guy who nuked his own base to kill Sothis's avatar.
- Jossed. There appears to be no such route but the path to the golden ending of each route has Byleth joining the party.
All three routes in the game will lead to the Golden Ending, shown from different perspectives.
Picking a route will just provide different views on the game's events, and some battles may be different, but in the end each route will have an Everybody Lives ending. The biggest issue with this approach, regardless of what role Byleth ends up playing in the game, would be the implication that Byleth's involvement in the events of Three Houses was a bad thing and their existence screwed up the balance or something — but if you consider that they're a byproduct of an attempt to revive someone who was supposed to be dead and the circumstances of them being at the monastery (including only being allowed to teach one house)...
- Each route has its own Golden Ending, but to do that, you must meet certain conditions, like sparing Byleth. So Jossed.
The three routes will each have two Lords ally against the third Lord.
But exploring different circumstances to the base game. Unfortunately, it's impossible to arrange the Lords without at least one route having the same enemy as the original, but it could work like this:- Mixed. Claude allies with Edelgard (Scarlet Blaze and Golden Wildfire) or Dimitri (Azure Gleam)
Azure Gleam: Dimitri and Edelgard vs Claude. Dimitri and Edelgard actually manage to put aside their differences and work together, however, a more antagonistic Claude resorts to more drastic methods, possibly leading a full-scale Almyran invasion of Fódlan.
- Jossed. It's Dimitri and Claude and Rhea vs Edelgard.
Golden Wildfire: Claude and Dimitri vs Edelgard. On this route Claude's focus is less on Rhea and the Church, and Edelgard becomes the direct Big Bad instead of the Climax Boss.
- Jossed. It's the opposite - Claude and Edelgard vs Dimitri.
Scarlet Blaze: Edelgard and Claude vs Dimitri. An Edelgard/Claude alliance was hinted at being possible in Three Houses if he hadn't been put off by her methods. Perhaps on this route she relaxes her stance, meanwhile Dimitri becomes a Dragon Ascendant over Rhea (possibly killing her himself) and unlike the original game where he was at his most lucid on Edelgard's route, his vendetta is instead even more all-consuming here, becoming an Omnicidal Maniac bent on taking all Fódlan down with him, possibly aided by Agarthan technology.
- Confirmed. However, depending if you spared Byleth, Claude can break his alliance with Edelgard in the epilogue.
The game will involve a deconstruction of the Set Right What Once Went Wrong trope.
This assumes that Arval is either a time-traveler or possesses knowledge of possible Three Houses outcomes. Anyway, they realize that having Sothis's spirit grants Byleth the ability to essentially decide Fódlan's future by merely choosing which house to teach. Not happy about Sothis having this kind of influence, Arval saves Shez and grants them powers they need to defeat Byleth. In doing so, however, they make Shez themeselves receive identical "protagonist powers", meaning that now Fódlan's future is decided by a different person's choice.Shez is an Artificial Human.
In contrast to Byleth, who was explicitly conceived and born the normal way (even if their mother was some kind of an Artificial Human herself) and whose father is still alive at the start of the story, Shez's profile implies that they're an orphan with no known relatives, possibly having been adopted at a young age by a mercenary to be trained as one. This obviously raises a lot of questions about how and why they came to be connected to Arval and why they wield a sword that resembles a Hero Relic. Their hair and eyes are also an unusually bright shade of purple compared to the unnatural yet duller colors used for pre-fusion Byleth and most of the human cast, which stands out as much as the range of blueish-green tints sported by the Children of the Goddess and the post-fusion Byleth. Lastly, the first trailer includes a shot from inside some kind of a liquid-filled tank in Shambhala, suggesting that Agarthan experiments will play a role in the plot. All of this points to the possibility of Shez not being a "conventional" human. Their origins will likely be a large part of the story, much like the reveal of Byleth's origins on Silver Snow explained several characters' motivations and goals. Arval shares a similar origin to Sothis.
Considering Three Hopes seems to be expanding on the lore present in Three Houses, (such as Holst being there) Arval might be our peek into where Sothis came from, and if there are others like her.- Jossed. Arval is an Agarthan creation originally named Epimenides who was planned to be a weapon to destroy Sothis.
Arval is an Artificial God.
The Agarthans used some of their technology, as well as some spare pieces they harvested from the Children of the Goddess, in order to create their own version of Sothis - including creating a partially-synthesized Hero's Relic for Arval, which is why the Relic that Shez uses looks to be a mix of the typical bone of a Child of the Goddess (for the edge and the guard) as well as Agarthan technology (for the back of the blade and the hilt). Shez, as an Artificial Human, was designed by the Agarthans when they learned of Rhea's attempts to implant Sothis into a human, with the potential goal being to create a Physical God through fusion with Arval, and Shez becoming an Unknown Rival to Byleth was a situation engineered by Agartha to pit Arval against Sothis. The end result, however, turned out to be a lot less receptive to their plans, possibly due to Arval being made from the remains of Children of the Goddess, which are shown to still be semi-sentient after death.- Relating to the above, Arval and Shez will fully fuse, which is how Shez gets Arval's facial markings in the trailer. However, unlike Sothis and Byleth, whose fusion was forced by Agartha and resulted in Sothis being able to return eventually, Arval and Shez would fuse willingly at some point, and the full, willing fusion alongside Arval's Artificial God status would mean that Arval would be permanently subsumed by Shez.
- The intro cutscene to the game has a blink and you'll miss it moment where a figure who looks a lot like Arval is seen near some Agarthan Mages. It's possible Arval was an attempt at making a God for the Agarthans, and much like Sothis, was not able to awaken till later.
There will be a fourth route as the true ending.
After completing the three routes, a fourth opens up and time-space warping will be used to bring the characters from their own routes together so that they can all unite against the true enemy of the story. Given how Age of Calamity already did the same, I'm not putting it past them to do it again.- Joseed. There's only three routes in the game, DLC not including.
- Confirmed on Azure Gleam and you can recruit Beradetta beforehand to allow such a scenario.
- Semi-confirmed on Golden Wildfire and Scarlet Blaze. You can't have Bernie kill him directly on those routes, but you as the player can leave him to die without failing the mission.
The fake Cornelia's true appearance and name will be revealed.
Azure Moon all but outright confirms that the "Cornelia" seen in the game is an Agarthan imposter. However, despite being a chapter boss on both Azure Moon and Crimson Flower, she neither reveals her true self like Solon and Kronya do (not even while gloating on the former route), nor is implied to be a specific Agarthan like with "Arundel" and Thalesnote . The glimpse of Shambhala in the first trailer suggests the Agarthans are definitely still involved in some capacity, so there's a possibility we might finally see "Cornelia" without her disguise. She is also closely linked to Dimitri's backstory, being the one behind the Tragedy of Duscur.- Confirmed. Cornelia's true identity is Cleobulus.
The final boss is going to be Shez themselves.
After seemingly defeating Byleth, Shez's powers will go out of control and cause them to mutate into a beast type enemy. The player then takes control of Byleth, who aids the chosen house in giving Shez a Mercy Kill, similar to Rhea on Silver Snow.- Jossed. Shez isn't a final boss in any routes.
The Agarthans are replacing different people this time around.
This is based off the guess that the Monica seen in the trailers is the real deal. To make the plot less predictable, the game might change things around and have the TWSITD impostors be different. Possible candidates:- Jeralt. The trailers made it seem like he still dies, but he could potentially undergo an Unexplained Recovery, only to turn out to have been impersonated by an Agarthan.
- Seteth. This would be tricky due to him being a dragon, but he hasn't shown up in the early trailers while Flayn has, so this could mean something.
- Alois. He is the absolute last person you'd expect to be a villain, so a good choice.
- Gatekeeper. Another person nobody would suspect, and this would make him plot-relevant. Would also explain how the Adrestian army got into the monastery.
- Rodrigue. The character from the trailers initially thought to be him turned out to be Felix wearing a similar outfit, so his whereabouts are still unknown.
- On the topic of Rodrigue specifically: he is an important character on Azure Moon and appears as a boss on Crimson Flower, yet is conspicuously absent from the Three Hopes trailers despite Randolph and Judith showing up as enemies. Furthermore, the latter two are using their original designs, while Rodrigue's is essentially given to his son Felix. This means that if Rodrigue does show up in the game, his design would have to be updated, so what was the point of altering Felix's outfit in the first place? And if Rodrigue's role is large enough to warrant a design change...
- Jossed.
Monica is Kronya, but she will have a Heel–Face Turn eventually.
As insane as Kronya was, she clearly didn't expect Solon to sacrifice her, even spending her last moments begging Byleth to save her. Perhaps, if made aware of her comrades' plans for her, she would defect and choose to live as "Monica" among humans.- Jossed, Monica is saved early on.
Dimitri will lose an eye towards the end of the game.
Because why not.- Jossed. Dimitri doesn't lose his eye in any routes of Three Hopes.
Shez is Living on Borrowed Time.
Arval didn't so much save Shez from being killed by Byleth as temporarely revived them in order to avert their own death. However, unlike with Sothis, whose Crest Stone successfuly brought a stillborn Byleth to life, the result is too unstable for Shez's body to stay alive for long. Eventually, Arval solves the problem by performing a Heroic Sacrifice and fully fusing with Shez, ceasing to exist in the process but restoring Shez's lifespan.- Mixed, Arval has saved them 22 times in between the first prelude mission and the bandit attack.
There will be 5 routes.
- Marketing mentions 3 routes, but marketing pre-release for Three Houses also only mentioned 3 routes. Also, the subtitle in Japanese is the same as Three Houses, which mentions all four routes. So, the Church route will return as a Black Eagles off-shoot.
- Also, since Warriors games, love to make the villains playable, the fifth route will be where Shez sides with "those who silther in the dark." Again, an off-shoot of the Black Eagles.
- Jossed. There's only three routes in the game (each with two different endings) in the base game. DLC might change this.
Arval is The Fatalist
- In the trailer that revealed Arval, at one point he (or she?) appears to tell Shez in the trailer that "we're partners in destiny". Given they're pretty clearly meant to be opposite of Sothis, it's likely Arval might be a believer that fate is something set in stone, in order to contrast Sothis' belief that Byleth' is free to choose their own destiny, which in Three Houses is something she mentions after Jeralt's death.
- Jossed, Arval despite such words, is largely content to support Shez in their goals.
If Supports are in this game, like Byleth and Sothis, Shez can romance Arval regardless of gender.
- Jossed. S-ranks are not included in Three Hopes.
Arval is a monster whose body was used to create Aymr in the Three Houses timeline.
It's all but stated that Edelgard's relic axe was created for her by the Agarthans during the five-year timeskip, but it's unclear what type of creature bones was used to craft it, as unlike all other relics in the game it is repaired using Agarthium instead of Umbral Steel. Now, Umbral Steel in Three Houses is dropped appropriately by enemies classified as dragons, hinting at the origins of the Hero Relics, but the only source of Agarthium besides the clearly mechanical Titanuses are the monster worms referred to in the game as Giant Crawlers, which are implied by their description to be regular worms mutated by a piece of a Crest Stone, like the Giant Wolves and Giant Birds. This suggests the Agarthans may have at some point experimented on living creatures for the purpose of obtaining specific materials that were then used to create their tech. Coincidentally, a worm-like creature can be a type of larva.
In the finale of Azure Moon, Edelgard uses something to give herself a monstrous form that is notably not considered a dragon-type enemy despite the implication that her Crests played a role in creating it. When she returns back to normal during the final cinematic, the Sword of Seiros can be seen lying on the floor nearby, but Aymr is nowhere to be found, and when she goes for one last attack on Dimitri she uses the dagger she had on her since their last meeting. So what happened to the axe? Was it somehow part of her transformation? If so, why is her appearance so different from the clearly draconic Demonic Beasts that result from Crest Stone misuse?
Perhaps Arval was originally one of the experimental monsters created by the Agarthans to get more dragon-like bones, and some event prior to Three Hopes accidentally led to their merge with Shez, or maybe Shez was meant to be their "vessel" from the start and was taken away from Shambhala by someone. It's unclear why Arval would be sentient in this scenario, but if Rhea can create Artificial Human vessels for Sothis... why not? Regardless, after Shez died to Byleth, Arval's influence eventually mutated their body, which the Agarthans retrieved and took apart to craft Aymr.
- Jossed.
Shez is Agarthan, but is actively hiding it.
Because even the game itself points out how Arval's Humanshifting ability is to Solon's, to the point where they actively guess Shez wants to ask that awkward question. Given how Shez did not know their birth parents, it's very likely they were Agarthan enemies of Thales. However, due to Ambiguous Syntax, it could be that Shez knows they have the distinct Agarthan paleness, but has been hiding it with makeup and/or magic ever since they were young; seeing Solon be the first other Agarthan they know of, and he's a Smug Snake infiltrator, has got to be a bit alarming.- Unlikely that they know it, they showed shock at Kronya & Solon when they appeared in the demo and showed no knowledge of who they were, and there would have been something if they did.
Byleth will successfully become Sothis's vessel like Rhea always planned, but it's a case of Gone Horribly Right.
The Awakened Rivals trailer portrays Byleth and Sothis as being much more antagonistic, to the point where Sothis declares that they must "bring this world to an early grave". It could explain how Rhea/Seiros resolves to fight with all her might even for the sake of humanity, whom she was already established to distrust, in order to rectify her mistake.- Seems to be a stretch, Sothis actually said "Whelp" to refer to Shez in the trailer, not world.
Arval comes from Sothis' homeland and is a member of her species
This would explain his similar godlike power and the horn motifs that appear on Shez when they use their Awakened form.- Jossed. Arval is a weapon to destroy Sothis created by the Agarthans.
Nemesis will be reuinted with the Sword of the Creator.
With Byleth not there to accept it from the Holy Tomb, I can see the Agarthans using the reawakened Nemesis as a last resort to try and attack Garreg Mach to reclaim it, maybe even dual-wield it with the Dark Creator Sword as a lategame, maybe even final boss for at least one route.- Either that, or he finds it and realizes he can't use it due to its crest stone missing. This is where he begins to hunt for Byleth to reawaken its power.
- Jossed. Nemesis does not appear in the game.
The prologue mission where Shez's group fights Jeralt's/Byleth's group will end up becoming a crucial plot point.
The fact that the dialogue provides no information regarding why the two mercenary groups are fighting each other seems rather suspicious. It would have been simple enough for the scenario writers to come up with a generic backstory if it wasn't important to the plot, but the details were left intentionally vague, with Shez's party simply focused on proving themselves as the best mercenaries around. Who hired Shez's group? Who hired Jeralt? And what exactly was Shez supposed to stop Jeralt and Byleth from accomplishing?- Semi-jossed. Shez's encounter with Byleth and Jeralt wasn't because of an important plot point. However, it is because of their encounter with Byleth that motivates them to become stronger, influencing their choice to study in Garreg Mach.
Shez is one of the failed Sothis vessels, revived and repurposed by the Agarthans.
On Silver Snow, Rhea reveals that Byleth's mother Sitri was her 12th attempt to create a new body for Sothis. Given that according to Cindered Shadows the vessels' bodies don't decay even after the Crest Stone is removed, and no mention is made of what happened to the bodies of the previous 11 vessels, it's possible that the Agarthans got their hands on one of them at some point and implanted another entity (Arval) into it.- Jossed
All voiced C-Supports are available in the demo... Except Bernadetta's and Edelgard's, which is locked. This is because...
Bernadetta's father will likely be assassinated as per Edelgard's plan and the two will discuss it. It's hinted that Edelgard is keenly aware of Count Varley's "treatment" towards his daughter and gave him a position that made him a prime assassination target for the Central Church. There doesn't seem to be any other plot-related reason why this support would take time unless something significant happened to one person or the other. It's possible that a future chapter will involve the Black Eagles disposing of him themselves.Shez's weapon as a Fluegel is made out of Arval's corpse.
Due to Heroes Relics generally made by the bones of the Children of the Goddess, the second weapon is whiter than the usual Relic, and it's not gained until Shez awakens their powers... it's possible that the sword is one of Arval's bones.Shez dies at the end.
Probably to explain why there's no S support with any character like in Three Houses is because Shez won't live to have a future with their loved one... unless the S support option is hidden until the final battle.- Jossed. All three endings are open-ended with the war still in place. Shez doesn't die in any of the three routes.
Cornelia will incite an Enemy Civil War against Agarthans
Cornelia (AKA Cleobulus) shows clear disdain for Thales' leadership due to how sooner the identities of "Those who slither in the dark" were exposed, and one of her last lines we hear from her in the demo is her blaming everything on him before retreating. It is possible that in one of the routes, Cornelia might try to attack Thales due to being sick of his leadership, possibly rallying up some of the other members to be on her side. She might even be Spared by the Adaptation alongside other members like Kronya by abandoning the other Agarthans and going their own way.Shez's powers come from a botched attempt by Arval to take over their body.
The mission where Shez's class saves the real Monica strongly implies that the Agarthan shapeshifting somehow involves using the original body of whoever they're replacing, with the person dying in the process. Considering the heavy hints towards Arval being related to the Agarthans, it's possible they were meant to hijack Shez's body, but something went wrong in the process, leaving them stuck as a mere disembodied spirit in Shez's mind and (unless they're faking it) saddled with amnesia. This could explain why Shez is only capable of partial shapeshifting, merely gaining Arval's distinct Facial Markings and mostly remaining in control of their body despite Arval being the one triggering the transformation.- Unlikely. When Sothis and Arval take control of Byleth and Shez respectively, they don't transform any further than they would normally had utilizing their powers. This could indicate that trying to body-snatch someone like the two do doesn't cause a full-on transformation.
Post-Release WMGs
There will be Outfit DLC to give all of the students their Three Houses time-skip outfits.
Given the existence of a menu that allows units to change between their unique appearances, their Academy outfits, or the default outfit for their class, additional outfits as DLC seems like an inevitability. Additionally, given how frequently players have compared everyone's new appearances to their old ones, giving them the option to mix-and-match feels like a profitable option.Shez's adoptive mother...
- ...is an Agarthan.
- Unlikely as they're the type to want to gather power/influence, not nigh-totally hide.
- Alternatively, Shez's mother being an Agarthan that rejected Thales and their organization, similar to how Jeralt ran away with a baby Byleth from Rhea.
- ...is Patricia / Anselma von Arundel, who even in this game is an example of What Happened to the Mouse? whose ultimate fate after the Tragedy of Duscur is unclear and who would have very good reason to hide in a remote mountain village if she did indeed instigate it alongside Cornelia. Additionally, Shez's support with Ashe has them talk about how Shez was taught to read by their educated mother, who didn't like talking about her past to the point of possibly forbidding the village chief from telling Shez about it, and how that kind of education is usually reserved for nobles instead of commoners; in their A-Rank, Ashe even fantasizes that Shez's mother was a high-ranking noble forced into obscurity, though Shez claims that kind of story isn't original and pictures that she was instead a legendary knight or an adventurer from outside of Fodlan.
- The timelime doesn't make sense. The tragedy was in 1176. The start of the academy year is in 1180. You're telling me Shez only knew their mother for 3-4 years? Probably even less than that since we saw Shez already being part of Berling's merc crew for a long time 6 months before they met the three lords.
- There's also the fact that Shez pretty much lived their childhood in Leicester territory. Patricia would have been all the way at Enbarr when Shez was even born.
There will be a Story DLC that will continue from where each route left off
- Possible (Age of Calamity did similar), but due to how the game is structured, things would have to be done differently from that game.
- This could be framed as a unifying "fourth route", since the Japanese title of the game implies the existence of one.
Why Rhea largely forbade contact with humans from outside Fodlan.
- Given this game doubles down on the indications that the people of Fodlan are actually creations of Sothis rather than descendants of the humans who originally lived on the planet, perhaps in addition to wanting to keep them contained Rhea also limited contact with other humans for fear of what could happen if the secret of their origins came out, or perhaps unforeseen consequences of mixing with other humans occurred.
- Unlikely, since it seems to be implied that the humans in Duscur, Brigid, and Almyra are also these false humans. It’s very likely these new humans were seeded across the entire planet.
- Also, there was a period of time between the Flood War and the War of Heroes that could've lasted hundreds, if not thousands of years. The new breed of humanity could've found out their origin then.
- Unlikely, since it seems to be implied that the humans in Duscur, Brigid, and Almyra are also these false humans. It’s very likely these new humans were seeded across the entire planet.
- It helps maintain the authority of the Church and the nobility. Fodlan's isolation keeps new ideas from taking root, and by preventing any sort of real diplomacy it keeps the nations of Fodlan locked in a permanent state of low-grade war, which in turn encourages the people to rely on the crest-bearing nobility for protection.
The Faerghus Royal line has a history of mental illness.
Dedue and Ashe's support line heavily implies that Lonato's interest and expertise in herbs and botany came from his time working for Rufus in the capital and suggesting it's because he wanted to help Rufus even comparing it to Dedue wanting to help Dimitri. It would match what we know of Lonato's history and Rufus seeing similar symptoms to himself but in regards to someone with super human strength might be his reasoning for being so scared of Dimitri. If it went farther back in the line it could also explain some of the actions of the Faerghus nobility.Shez's backstory is that they're actually...
- ...an Agarthan vessel created for Epimenides. The most obvious option considering their connection to Arval and the fact that they grew up in Ordelia territory which is near Shambhala. Epimenides mentions that he passed his consciousness through the ages and that even a small error could have ruined it, making it likely that Shez was a vessel built for him similar to how Rhea created Sitri for Sothis. The town's eagerness to kick them out as soon as their mother died could have been because they knew Shez was fundamentally different from them, instinctively or consciously.
- ...an escaped Agarthan test subject. Besides Shez's canonically strange hair color and powers there are no indications that Shez is not a human of Fodlan and its a known fact that the Agarthan's use humans as test subject. Shez could be one of many and had Arval implanted into them as a hail mary before escaping and ending up in Ordelia territory. Their ability to naturally learn Dark Magic in their natural class line could be due to the experiments just like with Lysinthea and Edelgard.
- ...an unwitting and accidental vessel for Arval but otherwise a normal human. Unlike Sitri and Byleth, Shez has a normal range of emotions and displays very average for their age social skills. The Agarthans' confusion at Shez's powers indicates that they aren't their project since they should know of implanting their creator god into a human child. This indicates that Shez was neither purposefully created for Epimenides nor were they experimented on to become their vessel but became one as they grew up. Shez recognizing Arval's voice as one they heard in their dreams means that they have been connected for a while but the exact timeline is unclear.
- Related, it's possible that Shez became Arval's vessel due to their adoptive mother who was weirdly learnt and knowledgable despite living in a remote mountain village. Her suddenly falling ill and dying is similar to how Sitri died the moment she gave away her crest stone acting as her heart to save Byleth, making it plausible that she did something similar for Shez when they were young.
Byleth does not die if beaten by Shez in their final battle
- If Shez pursues vengeance against Byleth they shall eventually defeat and seemingly kill them. However, back in 3Houses, Byleth went into a five year coma during the timeskip due to the events of the attack on the monastery. And while Shez may seemingly kill Byleth, their body is still left intact. So it’s quite possible Byleth is not actually dead and instead just sleeping while their body heals itself… and once they wake up they’re unlikely to be in the most pleasant mood, neither is Sothis.
- Not very likely. It's implied that Byleth survived their five-year coma thanks to Sothis passing her powers onto them. But if you look closely at the scenes where they die by Shez's hand, their hair actually reverts back to the darker color it had originally - something that only ever happened on Crimson Flower after Sothis's crest stone disappeared. This pretty much implies that not only is Byleth dead, but Sothis is dead as well since she was the one controlling Byleth's body at the time...
- It's quite possible that Sothis is still alive (or "exists" in some capacity) if Byleth dies, given that she can still be S-Supported even in Crimson Flower when her crest stone is destroyed. That said, it's still unlikely that Byleth survives if Shez defeats them.
- Not very likely. It's implied that Byleth survived their five-year coma thanks to Sothis passing her powers onto them. But if you look closely at the scenes where they die by Shez's hand, their hair actually reverts back to the darker color it had originally - something that only ever happened on Crimson Flower after Sothis's crest stone disappeared. This pretty much implies that not only is Byleth dead, but Sothis is dead as well since she was the one controlling Byleth's body at the time...
Post GW Edelgard will use the fact that Dimitri left Rhea against him.
- Assuming Mercedes returns to Adrestia with Jeritza since she disobeyed orders by Dimitri to withdraw and leave Rhea, this means Edelgard has a witness who can testify to the people of Adrestia and Faerghus that Dimitri ordered Rhea to be left behind to face the Federation and die. Edelgard could use this information to blackmail Dimitri into surrendering, or spread it to Faerghus territories to incite rebellion against Dimitri for betraying the Central Church that he went to war to protect.
