When the contents of the Fire Emblem Three Houses Season Pass were announced, there were many shadows about the shape that the Cindered Shadows expansion would take. For the record, it will introduce new characters, dialogues and new activities on February 13, 2020. Thanks to the Japanese version of the official website, we know more. You can discover all this step by step below.
FE3H: Access to the Cindered Shadows secondary story
The most important thing is that the story of the Expansion Pass is separated from the main game. So you will have to start a new game by selecting the option "Secondary History" in the game menu. This game will also have a different save data. You will then have to create your version of Byleth, choose the difficulty and the game mode. This is a good thing for those who have played the game several times and don't want to redo the whole campaign, especially the first game. The DLC will follow a different game cycle than the normal campaign, but we don't know what form it will take yet.
The Ashen Wolves
The hidden house in the Abyss, which protects the inhabitants in its own way, is composed of 4 new characters, in order, from left to right, Yuri, Constance, Balthus and Hapi. It's worth noting that after completing the secondary story, you will be able to recruit them in the main campaign.
Team, students and recruitment
Your team will be fixed and it will be impossible to recruit students for the story of Cindered Shadows. But obviously you won't have to worry about your staff, since, surprisingly, the 3 leaders of the house will ally themselves temporarily and join you, so you will have Edelgard, Claude and Dimitri. At least you will still have your favorite leader, and this will finally be the opportunity to have interaction between them.
In addition to the Ashen Wolves and the 3 leaders, one student from each house will come to assist you, so you will have Linhardt, Ashe and especially our favourite pink duvet tank, Hilda, at hand. Obviously axes are popular in this team. So you should have a strong and versatile team of 11 characters in total, which means you probably won't have anyone to leave on the bench counting the Warrant Officer.
Scenario
The story begins shortly after the first part of the game starts, when the students and Byleth got used to their new life at the academy. When the previously listed group follows a shady character into the depths of the monastery, they discover an underground city called the Abyss, which serves as a refuge for the outcasts of society. The Ash Wolves make up Garrech Mach's 4th secret house, its members would normally enter the officers' academy, but their special circumstances led them to take refuge in the Abyss.
According to the limited information available, secondary history maps are more complex and full of special features. The difficulty would be somewhat higher than that of the main story.
