Fire Emblem: Three Houses, as its name suggests, features three Houses that players have to choose from - Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer. This decision is made fairly early on in the game, and after it's made, players can't go back and swear allegiance to another House without completely restarting the story from the beginning. Considering this, Fire Emblem: Three Houses players will no doubt want to pick the House that's right for them the first time.
There are a number of factors to take into account when it comes to selecting a House in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Players will want to consider the unit types one House favors, as well as the personality of the characters in the House. Unit types may be especially important, as they will have a direct impact on how players approach each battle in the game.
Here is everything players need to know about the playstyles of the titular three Houses in Fire Emblem: Three Houses so that they can decide which House to pick.
Black Eagles
In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the Black Eagles are cold and calculating, lacking any of the bubbly personalities that may be found in other Houses. Led by Edelgard, the Black Eagles are comprised largely of Magic users, and they are formidable on the battlefield. Quite possibly the best choice for Fire Emblem newcomers, the Black Eagles also feature some of the more compelling story beats, and are our recommendation for a first playthrough. Of course, those playing on higher difficulty settings like Lunatic difficulty (coming as part of a post-launch update) will still have quite a tough time, regardless of which House they pick.
Golden Deer
Whereas the Black Eagles favor Magic, the Golden Deer favor archery. Since players have more archery units at the start, they will find themselves at a significant advantage in many of the game's early battles, though this playstyle will get more difficult later on. While the Black Eagles seem the best choice for Fire Emblem newcomers, the Golden Deer take a bit more skill to master.
Claude, the leader of the Golden Deer, is perhaps the most interesting of the three House leaders, which makes for some entertaining anime-style cut-scenes. So gamers who are looking for a leader with a bit more personality than the leaders for the Black Eagles and Blue Lions may want to pick the Golden Deer for that reason alone.
Blue Lions
And finally, we have the Blue Lions, which are the melee-focused House. Led by Dmitri, the Blue Lions House may very well be the most difficult House for Fire Emblem: Three Houses players to pick. That's mainly due to their melee-focused combat style, which puts them in the heart of battles and doesn't give them too many options for ranged attacks. This means that players will likely lose more of their Blue Lions units than they would their Black Eagles or Golden Deer units, which can make the game much more challenging.
Overall, the House players pick in Fire Emblem: Three Houses will ultimately boil down to what kind of gameplay experience they're looking for. Mileage may vary, but we'd say that the Black Eagles House is a good choice for Fire Emblem: Three Houses players looking for the easiest route in terms of battles, whereas the Golden Deer are slightly more difficult, and the Blue Lions offer the most all-around challenge.
Each House has its own distinct story beats and events, and how compelling those are is subjective. Ultimately, players who want the full Fire Emblem: Three Houses experience will want to invest the 200+ hours necessary to go through the game with each House and truly see what each story has to offer.
And while that may seem like a significant time investment, Fire Emblem: Three Houses makes putting in the time worth it. We named it one of our most exciting Switch exclusives of 2019 for a reason, and judging by the near-universal critical acclaim, it's definitely lived up to the hype.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.