Three Houses, four routes
Fire Emblem: Three Houses gives you three houses (haha, get it?) to choose from, and offers four possible endings. Each route centers around different themes and characters and allows you to see the same story from a different point of view. After finishing one route, or spending an obscene amount of time playing through all of them, you might wonder: which ending is the best one? We've put together a list of all possible endings in Three Houses, including the best one you can get. (Spoilers ahead!)
4. Silver Snow
Silver Snow ending
Known among the fanbase as The Church Route, this path centers around the Church of Seiros. Silver Snow reveals the truth behind Byleth's mysterious origins and pits you against Edelgard during the war. Following this storyline will give you a deeper look into the past of characters affiliated with the Church, like Rhea, Flayn, Seteth, and Jeralt.
Three Houses’ developers confirmed that the first storyline ever written for the game was Silver Snow. This route focuses on the main character, Byleth, and paints Edelgard as the obvious antagonist. While this storyline is solid and does a great job of tackling important themes surrounding mortality and morality, it falls flat in comparison to other routes in terms of story progression and character development.
It's strange that Silver Snow, despite being so plot-driven, doesn't add much to the lore already established in other routes. Besides the truth behind a few characters' origins, there isn't anything you can learn in this route that you can't learn in others. It's still a route worth playing, but be sure not to play it too close to Verdant Wind, as the two routes are notoriously similar.
How to get this ending
- Choose the Black Eagles House during Chapter 1.
- Try not to raise your support status with Edelgard past C+.
- If your support with Edelgard progresses past C+, choose the 'I must stay here' option when Edelgard talks to you in the Monastery in Chapter 11.
- If you choose 'I'll go with you instead of 'I must stay here,' don’t worry, you won't be locked out of the route. Later in the same chapter, Rhea instructs Byleth to kill Edelgard after Edelgard reveals herself to be the Flame Emperor. Choose to kill Edelgard—this will guarantee you the Silver Snow ending.
3. Verdant Wind
Verdant Wind ending
Centered around the life and times of the Golden Deer house’s ragtag bunch of misfits, the Verdant Wind route features Claude as its main Lord. This route puts you at an interesting middle ground between the warring nations and factions of Fódlan. It allows you to see the main storyline from a more neutral and objective bird's-eye view.
Among all the routes, Verdant Wind covers the most ground when it comes to lore. If you can only play through one route and want to know as much as you can about the world of Three Houses, this route is the way to go. This path even introduces you to key characters from outside Fódlan, expanding the borders covered by the story.
While Verdant Wind doesn’t lack exciting plot twists or a phenomenal storyline, it is the least character-centric route. This is a huge bummer considering the Golden Deer house has some of the most interesting characters in the entire game, including everyone's precious golden boy, Claude von Riegan (if that even is his real name...). It's reasonable to expect that Claude's route will answer all your questions about who he really is, but this path sadly falls flat in that regard. Although this route does reveal his origins, it focuses more on the war at hand and the history of Fódlan.
How to get this ending
- Choose the Golden Deer house during Chapter 1. This will commit you to the Verdant Wind route.
2. Crimson Flower
Crimson Flower ending
The Crimson Flower route shines the light on the members of the Black Eagles house, students hailing from the Adrestian Empire. Among them is Edelgard, the main Lord of this storyline and the primary antagonist of the three other routes. Opposite to Silver Snow, the Crimson Flower route is the path you take when you choose to side with Edelgard instead of the Church.
This route tells the story through Edelgard's eyes. While the three other routes vilify her as a warmonger, Crimson Flower exposes her reasons for starting the war. This route showcases exciting twists and turns and serves up a fresh take on the game's plot. One of the best things about this storyline is, more than the other three routes, it puts you in a position to reflect on your own beliefs. This immerses you even further into the world of Three Houses.
Crimson Flower has everything you could ask for: well-written characters, a great storyline, and an amazing exposition of themes addressing revolution and revenge. But, your enjoyment of this route heavily depends on whether or not you disagree with Edelgard’s principles. If your personal beliefs don’t align with hers, you might find it difficult to play through this route as you might feel like you’re playing the villain. Another thing that bumps Crimson Flower down to number two is that the ending can feel a bit rushed compared to the ending of our pick for the best route. Regardless, Crimson Flower is a route worth playing if you want to know more about the darker side of Fódlan’s history and Edelgard’s reasons for waging war against the Church.
How to get this ending
- Choose the Black Eagles house in Chapter 1.
- Raise your support with Edelgard past C+.
- When Edelgard asks you to go to Adrestia with her in Chapter 11, reply with 'I'll go with you.'
- Refuse Rhea's command to kill Edelgard after she reveals herself to be the Flame Emperor. Choose to protect Edelgard—this will commit you to the Crimson Flower route.
1. Azure Moon
Azure Moon ending
Azure Moon focuses on the Blue Lions house, led by the route’s main Lord, Dimitri. This route digs deep into Dimitri's dark past as the sole survivor of his family's massacre. It explores his relationship with Edelgard and reveals the reason for Dedue's unwavering loyalty. Through this storyline, we find out what really happened during the infamous Tragedy of Duscur.
Dimitri is not only the main Lord for this route, he is also the main character. Almost all the events in Azure Moon anchor themselves to Dimitri and his journey with grief, loss, and acceptance. His painful fall from grace post-time skip, and later, his satisfying rise to redemption, drives most of the story forward. This route is both beginner-friendly and great for repeated playthroughs. If you're playing the game for the first time, it's highly recommended that you play through Dimitri’s storyline first (and it doesn't hurt that he’s one of the most eligible husbando options in the entire series.)
Azure Moon truly has it all: a compelling story, interesting characters, and a satisfying ending. It doesn't feel like it was cut short, as other routes do. It puts focus on the cast of its featured house and main Lord, which other routes lack. This route does have the minor caveat of trading Fódlan lore for further exposition into Dimitri's character; some events might seem confusing and hard to grasp until you play other routes and find out more about Fódlan’s history. But, this doesn't take away from how enjoyable and immersive the Azure Moon route is.
How to get this ending
- Choose the Blue Lions house in Chapter 1. This will lock you into the Azure Moon route.
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