Some changes and additions are on their way to Fire Emblem Heroes! The Version 2.8 Update Notification gives us an insight into what’s in store for the game’s future.

Feh already told us about some of these updates in the recent Feh Channel. However, there’s also some new stuff that she didn’t mention, including updates to Blessed Gardens and the Allies menu. Read on below for more details!

Version 2.8 will release in “early August”, but we don’t yet have a specific date.

Arena Updates

A new tier, Grand Summoner, will be coming to the Arena in mid-August! Grand Summoner is one tier above the current highest tier, Tier 20: First Dragons. Players who manage to make the top 20% of Tier 20 during a season will be able to climb to this tier. Here’s the updated Arena Tier promotion and demotion information:

Additionally, all players will get a three-point score bonus for any enemies defeated by a Bonus Ally.

These changes will go into effect with the arena season that begins on 14 August.

Weapon Refinery Updates

As mentioned by Feh, Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna will finally be receiving weapon refinements!

• Fólkvangr: At start of combat, if unit’s HP ≤ 80%, grants Atk/Def+7 during combat. If unit has weapon-triangle advantage, boosts Atk by 20%. If unit has weapon-triangle disadvantage, reduces Atk by 20%.
• Fensalir: Neutralizes foes’ bonus (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat. If unit is adjacent to an ally, grants Spd/Def+5 during combat.
• Nóatún: If unit’s HP ≤ 50%, unit can move to a space adjacent to any ally. If units HP ≥ 50%, unit can move to a space adjacent to any ally within 2 spaces.

As usual, these weapon refinements come in two parts. The first ability applies to all enhancement options whereas the second is a special ability. You can either choose to grant the weapon’s special ability, or give the hero a stat Might or Stat boost.

Blessed Gardens

Heroes is adding a new type of map to Blessed Gardens: Grounds. Grounds battles will feature multiple maps that require you to use different teams, like as in Squad Assault or Arena Assault.

There is no mention of how these new Grounds maps will utilize the Blessings requirements. Perhaps you will have to defeat multiple maps with lots of allies of the same Blessing type, or the Blessing type might change from map to map.

Grounds maps will be arriving in Blessed Gardens on 26 August.

Allies Menu: Skill Sets, Favourites, & Team/Brigade Updates

Heroes is now making it easier to switch skills for your frequently-used heroes! Skill Sets enable you to save and swap between different skills for your heroes for use in different situations. This is ideal for when you want to swap a unit between an Emblem team and a mixed team, or to have a different skill set for a large battle like in Grand Conquests.

You’ll be able to easily set Skill Sets for individual allies, teams, or even brigades! Each ally will be able to have up to five different Skill Sets at a time.

Additionally, the Favourites feature will be getting a bit of an update. You’ll now be able to give multiple types of favourite marks to your heroes, and also assign them priority.

Furthermore, starting with the new update, all players will get more Teams and Brigades avaialble! The maximum number of Teams will be raised to 15 (currently 10), and Brigades to 8 (currently 5).

Miscellaneous Updates

• Checkmarks will be added back to mark Arena Chains.
• Tap Battle gets a new Speed setting enabling you to speed up the battles to up to 3x.
• Heroes will gain EXP, SP, HM, and Support points in Rival Domains and Grand Conquests.
• Summoning Stones in the gacha will more clearly reflect the types of weapons that can be summoned via that stone.
• The Orb display will be updated to show Orb numbers in the four digits. The maximum number of Orbs to be purchased is also being raised to 9,999.