Determining the best Lord in a Fire Emblem game has historically been quite unusual. Most titles tend to feature a singular main Lord, sometimes backed by a protagonist, and as such it’s rather a moot point. Modern titles like Three Houses, and to a lesser extent Fates, have gone against this norm, however they’re predated by this particular title by quite a long time. Here, three Lord units come together to defeat the forces of evil, but with difficult enemies abound in the late game and party slots limited, which Lord should you prioritise?

3. Lyn

We’re starting out with one of the most recognisable heroines in the entire Fire Emblem series: Lyn. The girl from the Sacean planes is a favourite of many, due in no small part to her tragic back story and the determination it has imbued her with. She plays almost like a mirror to the players innocence, thrust into a dangerous and confusing world, reliant on those around her to aid in her plight. Unfortunately, ‘reliant’ doesn’t even begin to describe how much you’ll be needing your other team members when it comes to Lyn.

For all intents and purposes she’s a Myrmidon class unit, yet somehow she manages to make an already fragile class even more so by starting out with an incredibly low defence stat of 2, which is further compounded by a tiny growth rate of 20%. What results is a unit that, as the game progresses, cannot take a single retaliation strike for fear of dying. Sure, she might eventually get a bow when she promotes, but for the majority of the game you’re stuck with a 1 range unit, destined to take an attack she cannot tank.

Lord Features

• Strong Speed & Skill growth, Lyn will regularly double attack opponents.
• Middling Strength growth means she will fall behind, especially if she does not double an enemy.
• Reliant on special weaponry to combat armoured or mounted units. Otherwise locked to Swords for the majority of the game, without a ranged option to keep her both involved and safe.
• Very poor defensively. Good avoidance, but this is not at all reliable.

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2. Eliwood

Next up we have Eliwood, a lord of Pherae. Cast as a polar opposite to Lyn, he is a noble who’s family line is filled with austerity, and who’s lineage can be traced and experienced over the course of the game. Despite the initial chapters focusing on Lyn, Eliwood is essentially the main character of the game, wielding as he does the titular Blazing Blade. Within the story he plays as an unflinchingly correct, normal and morally right lord, akin to others in the series. We would assert that he gains a modicum of personality during some tragic later chapters, but that seems to happen to every Fire Emblem lord…

To play with Eliwood is to experience the canon ‘Lord’ treatment: You’ll find in him a unit that excels at nothing in particular, yet also one that cannot be considered the worst in any single aspect. As a foot locked swordsman for the majority of the game, he’ll perform OK in some combat situations, especially those that favour his Rapier, yet he will immediately struggle when faced with any unit capable of attacking from a distance. He will eventually promote into a Knight Lord, which manages to upgrade him significantly, mainly by unlocking the ability to use lances and move further every turn. Just like all of your other cavalier units…

It’s hard to dislike him too much. Part of the experience of playing a Fire Emblem is to babysit a unit that is regularly thrust upon you, and in this case he is certainly better than Lyn, but not quite the best the game has to offer…

Lord Features

• Well balanced statistics, with better defence but less speed than Lyn. Unlikely to double attack outside of the early game, or versus very slow units.
• Locked to Swords for a long period in the game, much like Lyn. Eventually he will unlock a mounted class, after which he will excel.
• Eventual access to the Javelin rescues him in the late game, because you’ll likely still want to keep him away from the direct front lines, being a Lord and all.
• Ends up feeling pretty unspectacular. Not unusual for a Lord in older Fire Emblem games.

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1. Hector

Hector is positioned within the story as a friendly rival to Eliwood, though said rivalry soon takes a back seat to the friendship angle. Throughout the game he provides the ‘edge’ to the script, unafraid to call out anybody he disagrees with, and quick to give anyone a piece of his mind, including the other lords. He’s not without his own highlights within the story, however these tend to hit those around him, so the emotions and reactions are often projected towards others rather than himself.

Using Hector could not be more different to the other lords: Where you spend most of your time protecting Lyn and Eliwood, you’ll actively push Hector to the fore. This is mainly because of his absolute mastery of physical combat: By having a huge defence, strength and a respectable HP total, he’s able to be thrown into almost any physical confrontation and return victorious. Additionally, his weapon of choice is the axe, meaning attacking from range is an option, and his personal weapon the Wolf Biel is capable of destroying bosses throughout the games entirety.

Unlike the other lords who’s promotion grants them further options they desperately require, Hector’s simply leans into the skid, making him an even stronger and bulkier tank. Sure, he gets swords too, but who cares – throw him into a choke point and watch the corpses fly.

Lord Features

• Sky high Defence and Strength makes Hector the ideal front line unit. He will not double attack much, but he will hit very hard and functionally ignore any non-magic counter attack.
• Axes are a great weapon, due to having 2-Range available via the Hand Axe. This means Hector can always get involved, soaking up plenty of EXP from relative safety… Not that he needs defending all that much.
• Movement is low, and he doesn’t get a mount after promotion, so you may want to give him the Boots for +2 movement. In fact, you absolutely should give Hector the Boots.
• Only real concern is RES, but you can pump this up with spare Talismans.
• By far the best Lord in Blazing Blade, seriously. Get him through the first few levels and watch him fly.

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  Lord Characters Ranked Worst to Best | Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade