The Fire Emblem franchise will be turning 30 this year on April the 20th. In that time, Fire Emblem has gifted us with so many amazing games and characters. There are unforgettable characters like Ike, Marth and Roy who are so popular they’ve appeared as playable characters in Super Smash Bros.
10 OSCAR
Although by no means an overlooked or underpowered character, Oscar is sometimes overshadowed by the titanic power of the Titania. However, he is without a doubt one of the strongest mounts in Fire Emblem history. Once promoted to the Silver Knight class, he can tear through enemies with lances and pick them off from afar with his bow.
He is a playable character in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Although he doesn’t excel in any particular stat, his master skill, Sol, more than makes up for it. It lets him perform a critical hit and heal himself by however much damage he deals.
9 BOEY
Boey is a mage in Shadows of Valentia who often gets flak for his slow growth. He isn’t an offensive powerhouse like his magical counterpart Mae, and he’s as slow as a turtle. However, he is able to carve out a nice niche for himself with his high HP and defense, which is very uncommon for a mage.
Mages often do high damage against physical combat enemies but risk getting their health reduced to zero in a couple of hits. Boey isn’t relegated to the back lines with the other magic users; you can put him up front with your physical units to torch and electrocute his enemies.
8 AZURA
Azura is a vitally important character in the Fire Emblem Fates games. She is the deuteragonist and the only character to have the songstress class. Her song, Lost In Thoughts All Alone, has the power to make miracles happen, which occurs at various times throughout the Fates story.
However, apart from her importance in the story, some people only have her in their party due to necessity. Her ability to sing to an allied unit and give them another turn in battle is enough of a reason to keep her in your party. But if you level her up, she can be a support unit that can also mix it up on the front lines.
7 MOULDER
You may remember Moulder for his amazing mustache, but few remember him for his prowess on the battlefield. Appearing in Sacred Stones, Moulder is the first staves user you get in the game. Although he can be a little difficult to level up, getting Moulder to a bishop or sage class is definitely worth the patience.
Moulder gets excellent support options with Colm and Vanessa, and he has relatively high defense for a magic user, which is a pleasant change in pace. As a bishop, he gets access to powerful light magic which can tear through the throngs of monsters that will inevitably cross your path.
6 DORCAS
Yes, Dorcas is outclassed by other fighters and characters in Blazing Blade. But, he doesn’t deserve all the backlash he gets. There is something so enticing about the fighter class in Fire Emblem. Marching into battle with no armor, equipped with a ridiculous amount of HP, and brandishing a giant axe.
Not to mention, Dorcas evolves into the beastly warrior class where he can get S rank affinity with both axes and bows. If you’ve been hesitant to use him before, wait no longer. Massive attack and HP stats are never a bad thing to have.
5 SOREN
As Staff Officer and Strategist of the Greil Mercenaries, Soren plays an important role in the stories of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. His downfall at the beginning of the game is that he is weak. Even keeping him behind a wall of units to pick off enemies with his magic is risky.
But the patience is worth it if you can get him to a sage. He has high enough magic to deal decent damage and even though sages don’t have the highest stat caps, he’s by no means weak. Also, upon promotion you can choose to have him wield either knives or staves.
4 NEIMI
Neimi, from Sacred Stones, is the pink-haired archer that is often overlooked. Archers are not easy to level up and with characters like Innes the Sniper and Gerik, who you can promote to ranger, it’t hard to justify the time it takes to level her up. She has to spend the first bit of the game hunkered behind other characters.
With some patience and grinding, she becomes a much more valuable character than Innes. Promote her to ranger to make sure she can fight at close and long-range, and she’ll be a valuable addition to your team.
3 ULKI
A member of the Hawk Tribe, Ulki is one of King Tibarns most trusted soldiers. For some players, it’s hard to justify using a non-royal Laguz character when you have the likes of Tibarn, Caineghis, and Nailah on your side. But Ulki is worth trying out on your team if you’re a fan of the Laguz - as some players aren’t.
He has high attack and skill, and although his speed isn’t the best, it is high enough to make him an offensive threat. Due to his innate skill Vigilance, which gives a +20 boost to his avoid, he has one of the best avoidance rates in the game.
2 GILLIAM
Low speed? Yes. Terrible movement? Again, yes. But Gilliam from Sacred Stones is one of the bulkiest and most powerful units to put on the front line of any battle in the game. He has great attack and defense and although he is hindered by low movement, he can soak up damage from any non-magic attackers.
Whether you promote him to general or great knight, he will have access to all three physical weapons. Promoting to great knight also gives him the canto ability and increases his movement, so he won’t lag behind your other characters.
1 MORDECAI
Mordecai is an absolute tank on the battlefield in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. He won’t often double attack, but he has a massive pool of HP and defense as well as a beastly attack stat. The fact that he takes a couple of turns to transform may put some players off, but once he reaches the enemies he does some serious damage.
Mordecai also happens to be the best shover in the game. He gains access to the smite skill and can use it to moves allies out of danger and enemies into danger. Also, he has possibly one of the coolest designs in the game, whether he’s transformed or not.
NEXT: The 10 Best Mages In The Fire Emblem Franchise, Ranked
