Prison

Learn how to capture and recruit enemies in Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation's Prison. Discover strategies for persuasion, bribery, and utilizing captured units.

Alright, so you've been using the Capture/Kidnap skill and now you've got some enemies chilling in your prison! This is where you can convince them to join your cause and fight for you. It's a pretty neat system that adds a bit of extra depth to your army building.

You've got a couple of options when it comes to persuading these captured foes. You can try to convince them to join you for free, which might take a little longer. Or, if you're impatient or just want to speed things up, you can bribe them with some of your resources. Either way, they'll eventually join your ranks, or you can just let them go if you decide they're not worth the hassle. Keep in mind that these 'Turncoat' units act a lot like units you recruit from your Castle or Einherjar units – they can't build support levels with anyone, so don't expect any budding romances!

The bigger and better your prison, the more prisoners you can hold at once, so upgrading it is definitely a good idea if you plan on capturing a lot of units.

Why Use the Prison?

Beyond just expanding your army, the prison has some really cool uses, especially if you're playing on higher difficulties like Classic mode. Captured units can serve as excellent 'cannon fodder' – basically, disposable units to soak up damage or draw enemy attention while your main forces do the heavy lifting. It's a smart tactical move that can save your valuable units from taking unnecessary hits.

Plus, some of the units you can capture are actually pretty unique! For example, the Spear Fighter class might be something you can't get otherwise in certain versions of the game (like in Conquest). So, if you missed out on getting that unit during the main story, don't sweat it! The DLC map Museum Melee brings back a bunch of these prison units as minibosses, giving you another chance to capture them.

Getting Started with Capture

To even get prisoners, you need units with the right skills. In Conquest, the character Niles has the Kidnap skill, and in Birthright, Orochi has the Capture skill. Since you get access to both of these characters in Revelation, make sure you invest in them if you want to start filling up your prison. Having them on your team is key to getting those valuable recruits!