We’ve written about the Characters of Fire Emblem: Three Houses at length already. Topics covered include recommending recruits for each house, ranking the DLC members, picking out the best Archer and even ranking the entirety of each individual house. One thing we have yet to do however, is rank our absolute Top 10 characters, taking into consideration absolutely everything the game has to offer. Here we’ll be attempting to measure every possible variable, from recruitment difficulty to ultimate combat performance, and bring you what we consider to be the very best that Three Houses has to offer. As per usual we’ll preface this by saying that such things are subjective and come down to personal experiences when playing the game… In other words, our ranking is right because we say so, OK?
10. Shamir
First up on our list is a character that doesn’t actually belong to one of the titular Three Houses, at least not yet anyway. Shamir is a member of the Knights of Seiros, albeit in a temporary capacity, and she may be recruited into the house of your choice should you meet the required level. Once said recruitment is completed, you’ll be in possession of one of the best early game recruits possible; Shamir is very strong when she first joins your team, and her skills in everything Bow related will keep her relevant throughout the entirety of Three Houses.
Character Highlights
- Probably the best Archer in the entire game.
- Excellent starting statistics.
- Good growths.
- Much less effort required than fresh Archer students.
9. Lindhart
We’ll level with you first – being in a group that contains Lindhart is good enough as it is. His lazy and seemingly careless demeanour makes for such entertaining support conversations that it’s almost worth recruiting him for this alone. Thankfully he’s also a fantastic character in battle, mainly due to his healing prowess. His kit has access to Physic, which is on balance the most useful restoration spell in the game, and with a little more time investment he’ll gain access to the fantastic Warp spell. He’s almost certainly the best non-DLC healer and he’ll make an excellent addition to any team build.
Character Highlights
- Probably the best non-DLC healer available.
- Access to the excellent Warp spell.
- Good damage capabilities.
- All round high performing healer unit.
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8. Sylvain
You know, we’re not sure if the developers did it on purpose, but Sylvain is by far the most… Forthcoming of chaps in Three Houses, and he’s also by far the easiest to recruit, no matter the house. It’s almost as if he’ll come running at the faintest glimmer of attention. In truth he’s actually quite a complex character, something you’ll learn at the later levels of his supports. In battle however, he is far from complicated; his statistics are fantastically well suited to heavy hitting combat roles like Paladin and the Wyvern duo, and no matter which you choose he’ll perform well. There are differences but in practice he works very much like Ferdinand, though we always tend to get better performance from the less flirty of the two.
Character Highlights
- Great all round physical statistics.
- Boons make him ideally suited for heavy hitting classes, such as Wyvern Lord or War Master.
- Personal skill is unusual, but can be useful.
- Hilariously easy to recruit.
7. Balthus
We all knew this was coming didn’t we? The Cindered Shadows DLC plugged plenty of gaps in Three Houses, but one of our absolute favourite additions has to be Balthus. On the surface he might seem like a simple, rough and ready chap, but in reality he’s quite the complex individual replete with an unusual and chequered past. The gap that he fills is that of the Heavy Armour user – oh sure, Dedue and Raphael exist, but their solid defences are gained at the expense of their offensive capabilities. Not so with Balthus, who somehow manages to tow the line between tank and damage dealer. He does this by specialising in both Brawling and Heavy Armour, meaning that with a little work he can become fantastic at both dealing and soaking up damage.
Character Highlights
- Defensive powerhouse turned damage dealer.
- Simple recruitment, post DLC.
- Boons compliment the defensive-yet-offensive classes he suits.
- Possibly the best heavily armoured unit option in the game.
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6. Ferdinand
Unfortunately our next choice has little in the way of redeeming personality features, though we’d argue that the meme he spawned probably made up for this. What he lacks in this regard however, he makes up for by being really damned good at everything combat related. Alright so there’s a little hyperbole going on there, but Ferdinand has a boon in Swords, Lances, Axes, Riding and even a Budding Talent in Heavy Armour. Combined with his excellent statistical growth, all of this adds up to a powerful, adaptable unit that’s capable of excelling in almost any class he turns his hand to.
Character Highlights
- Fantastic physical statistics.
- Excels in the fantastic Wyvern Lord class.
- Simple recruitment requirements.
- Useful Personal Skill can extend multiple rounds in battle.
- Can easily pivot into an armoured role thanks to his Budding Talent.
5. Petra
Our top five gets going with that most speedy of foreign imports, Petra. It’s hard not to love this most friendly of interlopers because well, quite apart from her novel background she’s an absolute monster when it comes to combat. Petra is the epitome of Skill and Speed and thanks to a her boons, she’s able to turn her hand to pretty much anything you desire. Being proficient in Bows and Swords will grant her quick access to the excellent Assassin class, or if you prefer you can take her to the skies thanks to a Boon in flying, where she’ll make a fantastic Falcon Knight.
Character Highlights
- Very high speed growth, likely to double a lot.
- Ideally suited for almost any physical class, though trends towards those that encourage avoidance over tanking attacks.
- Personal Skill is a little limited, but gains in power as the game progresses.
- Recruitment is a little more difficult due to the Dexterity requirements, but still very doable.
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4. Lysithea
Every Fire Emblem game has what we affectionately call the ‘Glass Cannon’. Don’t be mistaken, we’re aware that they always have multiple mage and spell caster options, but they often have a singular unit that has the potential for massive destruction at the expense of any defence whatsoever. In Three Houses we have Lysithea, who epitomises the role perfectly. Her arsenal of spells, both Faith and Reason, make her a magic wielding powerhouse, no matter the situation, and her personal skill that doubles weapon experience ensures that she’ll quickly learn the very best the game has to offer. All of this is powered by a tremendous Magic and Speed growth which keep her numbers rising throughout the entirety of the game. Just don’t expect her to take a hit at all and you’ll be fine.
Character Highlights
- Likely to be the hardest hitting mage type unit in the game.
- The above is achieved primarily due to her massive Magic stat, which she pairs with a very good Speed.
- Excellent spell selection, albeit without a Siege option.
- Ideal candidate for a DLC magic class, thanks to their increased movement.
3. Leonie
We’re closing in on the performance pinnacle here with our next choice: Leonie. Yes she might be absolutely obsessed with one mister Jeralt, but such things can be understood when her attempt to emulate him has resulted in a powerhouse of a unit. Truth be told there is nothing that Leonie cannot do, from a physical perspective at least, and this mainly comes from her immense statistical prowess. It’s not unusual to see her with a higher Speed stat than pretty much anyone else whilst still retaining huge Strength and very reasonable defences. At this point we would normally recommend a particular class for the character in question, but this is a bit of a moot point with Leonie; make her whatever you want and she’ll come through with flying colours.
Character Highlights
- Fantastic Speed and Strength means she’ll hit hard and often.
- Second only to our top choice for physical class performance.
- Excellent in high mobility classes of any type.
- Personal Skill is very similar to Sylvain, so whilst not incredible it can be of use.
- Easy to recruit.
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2. Hapi
Whilst our statistics in Google Analytics might say otherwise, we think there might be a few of you out there that read multiple articles on our site. If that is the case then you may have noticed that there is a ‘personal touch’ to what we write, often indicated by our inclusion of unusual choices in ‘best units’ lists. In truth, anybody could take a look at some stat sheets and tell you the best Fire Emblem units to a good degree of accuracy, but it takes actually playing the games to realise that true hidden gems exist. Reading some of the top search results these days makes it painfully obvious that this is not always the case.
How does this relate to our current topic though? Well, do you see Hapi in any other top lists? We’re aware that people have favourites and that the DLC was released later, but it’s criminal just how underappreciated this girl is. Not only does she have an excellent selection of statistical growths for magical roles, but she has access to a truly incredible spell list. From a healing perspective she has access to both Physic and Warp, but even better than this is her Reason list which features exclusively Dark Magic spells, replete with additional effects and increased range. Further still, her personal skill will see her do increased damage to monsters, something that only gains in value as the game progresses.
Character Highlights
- Incredible spell selection, both Reason and Faith.
- Excellent magical statistics.
- By far the best Mage/Healer hybrid, often outperforming those that focus on a single one of these.
- Simple recruitment, post DLC.
1. Felix
Alright, so our choice for second place was a bit unusual, but there was only ever going to be one winner here wasn’t there? That’s right, we’ve chosen the moody lad with a chequered past as our peak of character performance. Actually nearly all of them have an unusual history… Regardless we’ve chosen Felix based on his absolutely incredible battle abilities, something we’re positive was a known decision by the developer, but perhaps one that they underestimated somewhat.
Their first decision was to give him a Major Crest. This alone isn’t necessarily an overpowered aspect, after all plenty of other cast members have access to such things, however the Major affixed to Felix gives him a 40% chance to increase the might of his attack. Yes you read that right, FORTY percent. Almost half of the time he will do an increased amount of damage. When this is paired with his personal skill, which gives him a flat boost to damage when he’s not equipped with a Battalion, it amounts to a great deal of damage. This is multiplied even further when you realise that the lad has some of the best Strength and Speed growths combined in the entire game. Given the right setup you can have a character that attacks 2 – 4 times per turn of battle, each of which do more damage due to the personal and all have a 40% chance to increase might!
Character Highlights
- Absolutely the best Crest in the game.
- Fantastic Personal Skill.
- Very good growth in Strength and Speed.
- Relatively simple recruitment.
- With the right setup Felix can do ridiculous amounts of damage.
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Categories: Fire Emblem: Three Houses