Skirmish: Difference between revisions

[[File:Ss fe08 skirmish.png|thumb|right|[[Ephraim]] engages an [[Entombed]] in a skirmish at Za'ha Woods in {{title|The Sacred Stones}}.]]

A <strong>skirmish</strong> or <strong>challenge</strong> is a type of battle which occurs outside the game's main chapters in the three games which feature the [[world map]] system: {{title|Gaiden}}, {{title|The Sacred Stones}} and {{title|Awakening}}. In these games, groups of enemy units periodically appear on the world map, and the player can engage them in a skirmish to gain [[experience]] and clear the path obstructed by the enemies.

Technically speaking, almost every encounter in ''Gaiden'' is a skirmish contained within a single chapter. Unique to the ''Gaiden'' treatment of skirmishes is that, every few turns taken on the world map, certain enemy locations will spawn skirmish armies which are in subsequent turns capable of travelling around the world map themselves and may even ambush [[Alm]] or [[Celica]]'s parties should they attempt to move to the present location of a protagonist. It is possible for enemy groups to double up, with two separate enemy armies moving to occupy the same location; in this case, the player fights both groups at once.

After [[It's a Trap!|Chapter 8]] has been completed, skirmishes become available. Every time the player completes a chapter or visits the [[Tower of Valni]]/[[Lagdou Ruins]], [[monster]] enemy bands will spawn on certain locations on the world map, as marked by the group's [[boss]]. When a location is occupied, the player is prevented from being able to pass it until it has been cleared (while in theory this involves routing the enemy, the location will also be cleared if the player retreats instead). As with the Tower and Ruins, enemies are randomly generated and may be spawned carrying weapons, items or bags of [[gold]] which they drop upon defeat.

The strength of the enemies present in a skirmish is dependent on the location, scaling in difficulty based on the location's situation in the game; Za'ha Woods houses the easiest skirmishes, while Melkaen Coast, which does not actually feature as a chapter in the main game, is the most difficult. All skirmishes will randomly commence with [[fog of war]] either on or off.

One notable difference in Sacred Stone's skirmishes is that the player may retreat at any time during their turn from the map menu.

Challenges start appearing on the world map following the completion of [[Warrior Realm|Chapter 3]], normally comprising bands of enemy [[Risen]].  They work mostly the same way as in ''The Sacred Stones'', except now the player is not obstructed by the presence of challenges and can walk past them to other destinations on the world map, only engaging them by choice.  All locations on the map (with the exception of [[Grima (chapter)|the Endgame's location]]) are capable of playing host to challenges.

If the player opts to engage a [[StreetPass]] or [[SpotPass]] bonus team in battle to attempt to recruit their leader, this also acts as a challenge.  It is possible to summon Risen groups to the world map at any time using [[Reeking Box]]es; the group will appear on the same location the player was on at the time of using the Reeking Box. The levels of the opposing army depend on where they were summoned; they will be weaker on earlier maps, but get progressively stronger on later maps.

In ''Birthright'' and ''Revelation'', challenges can be found on the next chapter menu after completing chapter 6. The player can also scout to spend gold to make a challenge appear. Challenges do not appear at all in ''Conquest''. As with ''Awakening'', the levels of the opposing army vary depending on where they were scouted at.

* [[Sidequest]]