What is the Cai route about?
A young hero learning about the wider world while fighting for the people closest to him.
Nintendo describes Cai’s story as a coming-of-age journey with family at its center.
Can you switch to another hero route?
Yes. Nintendo says you can advance multiple hero stories in parallel. Between matches, the Pale Raven's perch in the city can be used to move to a different storyline, so choosing Cai does not mean you must ignore the other three paths.
Before leaving Part I, check the chapter counts, Part II War and Part III preparation guide to plan which armies you want available later.
How to plan the Cai route
Follow the route for Cai's story, but check the recruitment table before major story advances. Prioritize route-limited characters and any recruit with a quest, Paralogue, payment, item, dialogue or story condition instead of watching only Support and Renown.
You do not need to finish all four hero stories in a fixed order. Switch when another route offers a recruit or activity you want, then return to Cai when you are ready to continue.
Cai route recruitment snapshot
This route lists 24 optional characters as recruitable, including 4 automatic recruits.
Unavailable recruits on the Cai route
These characters cannot be recruited while playing the Cai route:
Cai route spoilers: what follows Part I?
Open this section only if you want later-part structure and army carry-over details. The story overview above avoids those reveals.
Reveal Part II and Part III route spoilers
Cai's Part I story leads into War through the Strife Obelisk. War shares its main sequence across heroes, with dialogue differences. After one clear, later armies can use the offered Skip option. See RPG Site's War walkthrough.
Salvation follows through the Door of Destiny. Its opening includes a battle against Dagda; previously recruited units can be recruited around Dagsion in the Second Section after their route has completed War. See RPG Site's Salvation walkthrough.
Use the story progress checklist before taking Cai's army forward. Completing Part I alone is not the same as preparing that army for Salvation.
Official route sources
- Nintendo Ask the Developer Vol. 23 — Part 1Four protagonists and their story premises
- Nintendo Ask the Developer Vol. 23 — Part 3Family themes behind the four protagonist stories
- Nintendo tips — jump between pathsOfficial explanation of switching between hero stories