Fire Emblem Heroes sneakily released the Version 2.8 Update just a few hours ago! Load up the program to download this latest update. If Heroes does not download the update automatically, you can grab it manually from the Play Store or App Store.

The Version 2.8 Update brings lots of neat, new features to the game, including Skill Sets for your heroes. We also get a new Arena Tier, Weapon Refinery options for the Askr Trio, additions to Blessed Gardens, an updated Favourites system, more Teams and Brigades, and more!

Click on the “Read More” button to see a text breakdown of everything the new update brings us.

Furthermore, Feh’s Summer Celebration is still continuing! Today’s banner is Heroes with Threaten Def, containing 5★ focus units for Ephraim, Peri, and Raven. Don’t forget to do your daily free summons and complete the daily maps for additional Orbs. You’ll certainly want those Orbs for when tomorrow’s Hoshidan Festival units come out…

Arena Updates

A new tier, Grand Summoner, will be coming to the Arena next season! 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 next arena season beginning on 14 August.

Weapon Refinery Updates

Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna have finally received 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 can also easily set Skill Sets for individual allies, teams, or even brigades! Each ally can have up to five different Skill Sets at a time.

Additionally, the Favourites feature has gotten. You’ll now be able to give multiple types of favourite marks to your heroes, and also assign them priority.

Furthermore, all players now have more Teams and Brigades avaialble! The maximum number of Teams has been raised to 15 (previously 10), and Brigades to 8 (previously 5).

Miscellaneous Updates

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