Fire Emblem is known for its great tactical combat and, just as importantly, a very smoochable cast of characters. Some games in the series go as far as letting you get married and have children with your allies, while others keep the romance a bit tamer. Naturally, there’s been a lot of speculation about how Fire Emblem Engage will handle its relationships. With the game now out, it’s clear that it’s an improvement on the series’ relationship mechanics in some ways, but a step back in others. Here’s how S-rank support and romance work in Fire Emblem Engage.

How do you reach S-rank support?

First off, you have to earn your ships in Fire Emblem Engage. To reach S-rank support, you need to give your crush the Pact Ring, an item than can only be acquired late in the game by completing a specific quest. As you near the story’s end, you’ll return to Lythos for a battle, and completing it will unlock a Paralogue called the Connector. You need to beat this optional mission to acquire the Pact Ring.

Once the Pact Ring is in your possession, it will be stored in the Momento Drawer in your room at the Somniel. When you’re ready to make someone your S-rank companion, you need to first take it out of the drawer and then find the ally you want to give it to. Talking to them will reveal the option to offer the Pact Ring. All this ceremony is in place because it’s a big decision. You can only have one S-rank ally, so think carefully about who you want to wear the Pact Ring.

Before you actually hand over the ring, you’ll need to reach A-rank support with the character you want to cozy up to. By the time you’re able to get the Pact Ring, you’ll likely already have made it that far with your character of choice. If you’re still not quite there, gaining support isn’t difficult.

You can give characters an unlimited number of gifts, which is the easiest way to raise support. The Somniel’s flea market opens up well before the Pact Ring is available, and it sells gifts for every character. Characters’ personalities make it pretty clear what kind of gifts they like, and the Ally Notebook option in the menu spells out their likes specifically. You can also gain support by standing next to characters when you attack in battle, dueling with them in the arena, and eating meals together at the cafe.

What do you get for reaching S-rank support?

Love and affection, of course. The biggest reward for reaching S-rank is a special scene where your character and the ally you gave your Pact Ring to declare their undying affection for each other. The chosen character also gets an extra page describing your life together in the Ally Notebook.

The unit with the Pact Ring also gets a buff that significantly increases their Dodge and Crit rates in combat. It’s a nice boost, but it’s not really enough to pick your partner based on that alone.

Who are the romance options in Fire Emblem Engage?

Unlike other entries in the series, Fire Emblem Engage doesn’t limit who you can reach S-rank support with by gender. No matter which protagonist you choose, you can give the Pact Ring to any other character to cement your relationship. That only applies to your actual party members, though. The Emblem characters returning from previous Fire Emblem games aren’t eligible for romance.

The downside, if you’re in it for the smooches, is that not all of the S-rank conversations are explicitly romantic. Previous games made it clear that some S-rank relationships resulted in marriage, but that’s not the case here. A few characters in Fire Emblem Engage are either minors or related to the protagonist, so their relationships are obviously platonic. For everyone else, their S-rank conversations lean toward the romantic, but most can also be read as very devoted friendships if you’re not into the idea of getting down with your teammates.

No matter who you choose, you’ll get to see a short but sweet scene where they and your character pledge themselves to each other. Your imagination can do the rest.