Information about the Stun Gauge and Critical Rushes in Fire Emblem Three Hopes, including how to trigger and deplete the Stun Gauge and how to execute Critical Rushes.

What Are the Stun Gauge and Critical Rushes in Fire Emblem Three Hopes?¶

While you can get through the game just fine by playing it like a normal musou game, chaining together and button combos - perhaps with the odd button when your Warrior Gauge is charged and you’re ready to unleash a Warrior Special, that’s not always the most optimal way of besting your foes. Despite being a musou game, Fire Emblem Three Hopes still has Fire Emblem blood coursing through its metaphorical veins, and that means some strategic elements have been added to the combo-spamming goodness we all know and love. Different types of weapons (or rather, different classes thanks to the innate “Buster” Class Abilities each class has) have advantage over other types of weapons/classes, and advantage can be added or intensified (there are up to five tiers of advantages/disadvantage), or disadvantaged mitigated, by using specific weapons, Combat Arts and Magics, or by equipping various Class Abilities and Accessories. Check out the page Battle Advantages and Disadvantages for more details.

Without going too far afield regarding advantage, when units with advantage attack disadvantaged units they’ll knock them back more easily, interrupting their attacks, keeping them off balance and exposing their Stun Gauge. When an enemy’s guard is broken their Stun Gauge (represented by a shield icon with numerous segments) will appear, and further attacks will empty the enemy’s Stun Gauge segment by segment. An enemy’s Stun Gauge is only exposed for a brief period of time, but if you manage to deplete it they’ll become vulnerable to a Critical Rush - an incredibly powerful coup de grace attack that you can execute simply by pressing the button near a downtrodden foe.

The greater your advantage, the easier it is to expose the Stun Gauge and the faster it depletes. Various Class Abilities can also influence how easy it is to expose the Stun Gauge, causing it to appear in more varied circumstances, extending the duration that the Stun Gauge remains visible, and increasing the rate at which your attacks deplete the enemy’s Stun Gauge.

In addition, an enemy’s Stun Gauge will always become visible when they’re performing a Combat Art or Magic attack, although there’s a fair amount of risk versus reward, as attacking them while they’re exposed like this also make it more likely that you’ll be caught in the enemy’s aforementioned Combat Art or Magic. Using your own Combat Arts or Magic on an enemy will also cause their Stun Gauge to be exposed, and finding a Combat Art or Magic that combos well into one of a character’s attack combos is key to taking advantage of Critical Rushes. Shez, for example, can chain the Firesweep Combat Art and her combo (as a Fluegal or Asura) can keep foes juggled nearly indefinitely.

What Combat Arts and Class Abilities Affect the Stun Gauge and Critical Rushes?¶

Below you’ll find a list of Unique Abilities, Class Abilities and Combat Arts which modify how the Stun Gauge and Critical Rushes function:

Fists of Justice - Caspar Support Ability¶

King’s Might - Dimitri Support Ability¶

Natural Warrior - Holst Support Ability¶

Perceptive Gaze - Hubert Support Ability¶

Brawler’s Wisdom - Brawler Class Ability¶

Dual Devastators - Brawler Combat Art¶

Death Blow - Brigand Class Ability¶

Warrior’s Wisdom - Brigand Class Ability¶

Mortal Struggle - Swordmaster Combat Art¶

Patience - Trickster Class Ability¶

Battalion Wrath - Warrior Class Ability¶

Heavy Hitter - Warrior Class Ability¶

Wrath - Warrior Class Ability¶

Defiant Crit - Wyvern Lord Class Ability¶

Wyvern Rider’s Wisdom - Wyvern Rider Class Ability¶