Capture (捕捉) is a gameplay mechanic that first appeared in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.

Overview

Under certain conditions, units can capture individual units from the opposing side. While captive, an enemy may have items taken from their inventory by the player. It is also possible to recruit captured enemies to the player's force. The specific mechanics of capturing vary by the game in which it is available.

Game-specific Details

Thracia 776

Characters can only capture enemies that have a smaller Build than their own.

In order to successfully capture an enemy, the capture attempt must reduce the enemy's HP to zero. When a battle is initiated with the intent to capture the enemy, the Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed and Defense of the unit attempting the capture are all halved, and so it is recommended to weaken the enemy prior to a capture attempt, unless the unit attempting the capture is powerful enough to inflict sufficient damage regardless of stat reductions.

It is also possible to capture enemies without the need to reduce their HP to zero, if the target enemy has both a lower Build than the capturer and also meets any of the below criteria:

• The target unit has no weapons.
• The target unit is asleep.
• The target unit can only use magic, but has been silenced.
• The target unit only has Siege Tomes.

As an exception, mounted and flying units cannot be captured unless they have been put to Sleep, in which case they are treated as though they have dismounted.

Once an enemy is successfully captured, the capturer can use the trade command to remove anything of interest in the captive's inventory. They may also release the hostage, though in terms of gameplay, this is treated the same as killing the enemy, whereas just holding onto them until the chapter's end is treated as having never fought the enemy.

Certain characters can only be recruited by first capturing them, and then finishing the chapter without releasing them. These characters include Lifis, Salem, Troude, and Misha. It is also possible to capture Veld, the game's final boss. He is, at present, the only final boss of any Fire Emblem title that can be defeated in such a manner. Unique enemies and bosses have different dialogue depending on whether they are defeated via capture or through combat.

Enemies may also attempt to capture the player's units. Any unit that is unarmed will always be captured in an attempt, as they have no means to defend themselves. However, as long as an enemy is holding a captured unit, they suffer a stat reduction making it easier to defeat them and rescue the captured unit.

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Capture is an extremely important element in Thracia 776, especially since the player begins with no gold and selling stolen weapons is almost required to earn funds, unless the player exploits the arenas available.

Radiant Dawn

In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, there is only once instance in gameplay where a capture is possible. In the Prologue of Part II, the opposing Begnion Dracoknights will capture and carry off Princess Leanne if she is within their range.

Fates

In Fire Emblem Fates, the ability to capture enemy units is limited to two player units, the Nohrian Outlaw Niles and the Hoshidan Diviner Orochi. Both of their Personal Skills allow them to capture enemy units through the Capture Command. This skill works in tandem with the Prison facility that can be built in My Castle.

When the Capture Command is used, Orochi/Niles will attack the enemy with reduced damage and cannot activate skills. If the enemy is defeated, they will immediately be placed in the My Castle Prison if there is space for them. Most generic enemy soldiers are capturable, with exceptions:

• Wolfskin/Wolfssegners
• Kitsune/Nine-Tails
• Most DLC enemies (e.g Visitors and Staff in Museum Melee, Witches, Ballisticians, Illusions).
• All playable characters of the opposite route (Hoshido characters in Conquest and Nohrian characters in Birthright)
• Faceless
• Stoneborn
• Automatons
• Vallite soldiers (invisible units)

Imprisoned units are kept in their cells for an indefinite period of time, either until the player convinces them to join the army or they are released. A maximum of 20 captured units are allowed to be used in the army. However, these 20 slots apply to all Unit Logbook units. If the extra 20 slots are filled, one must be released in order to recruit a new unit. Players can recruit enemy units by having the unit currently working in the prison interrogate them into joining. The process is slow and takes considerably longer for Boss Units. Players can also bribe the prisoners by using resources, which speeds up the convincing process. Once recruited, that unit is permanently added to the logbook.

Most captured units are very low grade units, having low growths and often bad starting stats. They also are limited to their starting class set, having no secondary class, and cannot form supports with any allied units. However, they can use DLC specific class Seals and Skill Scrolls. On higher difficulties, some enemies may have unique enemy-only skills, although these will not carry over to the player when recruited.

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

In Conquest, especially on Lunatic, many enemies will come with skills that they are incapable of learning normally. Unlike the enemy-only skills, these outlier skills are still retained when they are recruited, making these special enemies particularly valuable targets. A notable example is "Rallyman" in Possessed, who carries four different Rally skills. While these units do not have to be captured, they do help players who have taken casualties in their armies or are playing special runs. These captured units can then be brought over to Birthright or Revelation for further use once registered in the logbook.

Capturable Boss Units

In Fates, the bosses below can be captured by the player rather than killing them. They can be found in their respective chapters (Daniela, Haitaka and Kumagera being path-locked to Birthright and Conquest respectively). All bosses excluding the three mentioned characters can also be found in the DLC Museum Melee.

• Daniela (Birthright Chapter 14)
• Haitaka (Conquest Chapter 9)
• Kumagera (Conquest Chapter 14)
• Lloyd (Paralogue 2)
• Llewelyn (Paralogue 2)
• Nichol (Paralogue 5)
• Candace (Paralogue 6)
• Tarba (Paralogue 7)
• Funke (Paralogue 9)
• Daichi (Paralogue 10)
• Gazak (Paralogue 16)
• Senno (Paralogue 20)
• Zhara (Paralogue 21)