Direct answer
There is no required starting protagonist and no irreversible path order. You can switch among Cai, Dietrich, Theodora and Leda, progress their stories in parallel, or replay the same route. Fortune's Weave uses one consolidated save, but Nintendo says it preserves the start of every chapter for each protagonist so you can restart a selected chapter to revisit its map, scene or battle.
This guide describes published rules, not a fabricated complete route or optimized build. Check the released game for changing values and exact availability.
What to do
- 01Choose the protagonist whose unique activity you want to learn first; no official best opening path exists.
- 02Switch to another protagonist when you want its story or activity instead of waiting for a supposed mandatory route order.
- 03For a completed or earlier chapter, use the game's preserved chapter-start data to begin that selected chapter again.
- 04Use chapter replay for a map, cutscene or battle; use a later playthrough when you want a different long-term character build that can eventually merge with earlier progress.
- 05If the expected chapter is missing, confirm that the chapter has started in that protagonist's route and that you are checking the chapter-start history, not the limited in-battle rewind tool.
What each protagonist does
The four stories follow the same wider event from different viewpoints. Cai catches animals, tends fields and trades harvests. Dietrich gains and strengthens combat arts through battle. Theodora recruits soldiers and deploys battalions. Leda performs in taverns for rewards or hints about secret locations.
These are official descriptions of path identity, not a ranking of the best opening route. Nintendo says the four paths later converge and that some features opened in one path become available to others.
- Cai: animals, riding, farming and harvest trade.
- Dietrich: defeat enemies to learn and strengthen combat arts.
- Theodora: recruit soldiers and use battalions.
- Leda: perform in towns for rewards and possible location information.
Switch paths, replay a chapter or replay a route?
These actions solve different problems. Switching paths changes which protagonist's current story you advance. Chapter replay starts a selected earlier chapter from its preserved opening so you can review its map, scene or battle. Replaying the same route is a longer-term build choice: Nintendo's example develops a protagonist differently on another playthrough, then merges the accumulated strengths later.
The one-save design does not mean each decision immediately overwrites the last one. Nintendo says progress from multiple paths and repeated routes is consolidated so accumulated experience is not wasted.
- Switch path: continue another protagonist's current story.
- Replay chapter: restart that chapter from its saved beginning.
- In-battle rewind: correct a limited tactical sequence without restarting the whole chapter.
- Replay route: try a different character-development plan that can merge later.
When a chapter restart is missing or looks wrong
First confirm that the chapter has actually begun for the selected protagonist. Nintendo says the game preserves data from the start of every chapter for each main protagonist; it does not say an unopened future chapter appears in advance. Then check the chapter-start history rather than the battle rewind counter or a second manual-save menu.
If your goal is only to recover one tactical move, use the limited in-battle rewind instead. If your goal is to change an entire route build, chapter replay may be too narrow; a later route playthrough is the system Nintendo describes for building the same character in another direction.
- Chapter not listed: verify the protagonist and whether that chapter has started.
- Wrong recovery tool: distinguish chapter replay from limited turn rewind.
- Different build desired: plan another route playthrough, not repeated chapter resets.
- Missed item or scene: Nintendo says there are no permanently missable elements, so immediate reset is not required.
A practical first choice
Choose based on the task you want to learn first. If you want the animal and field systems, start Cai. If you want a combat-art loop, try Dietrich. Choose Theodora for army recruitment or Leda for town performances. After learning the first route's controls, sample another path instead of waiting for a supposed optimal order.
Nintendo has not published a universal best opening character, exact cross-path unlock chapter or complete route-by-route reward table in these sources. Check the released version before planning a 100% route.