Full character ranking: why Dietrich alone reaches SS, and why healing Range and reliable Hit matterMajor spoilers

Original video: Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave full character power ranking! Only one SS-tier unit!; Bilibili creator Qiongyuan Destiny. Watch the original

This list places Dietrich alone at SS, with Sofia, Leda, and Eshmel at S+. Dietrich combines critical damage and gem healing for sustain. The other three provide ranged healing, extra actions, and an answer to the Underworld respectively. For everyone else, consider arrival timing and training cost.

Rank practical value before training cost#

I played the highest difficulty on Classic, aiming to collect as much as possible over more than two hundred hours. Even late on, terrain, combat arts, and teamwork matter. Any random team cannot simply steamroll everything. I first judge how much a unit helps across most maps, then recruitment and training costs, and finally whether someone else can replace them.

Early arrivals with reliable Hit and easy development have an advantage. Later merging brings strengths trained on different routes together, so favorites can keep developing. On a first clear, though, late recruits with many weaknesses to fix are less convenient.

C and B: readily replaceable roles#

In C, Yang Jie has Physic and can heal for a while. Benditz has the strong Charioteer class, but weak Strength and Resistance leave him unable to damage enemies after charging in and vulnerable to defeat.

B units are usable, but someone else fits the role better. Tobias has high Strength and a chance of extra combat art damage, but low Speed and Dexterity. Missed attacks deal nothing. Centurio has good defenses and damage reduction but joins too late. Aswan hits reliably but has low Resistance and arrives late; I eventually had her Dance from the rear.

Io suits mounted combat and initiating against fragile enemies, but requires Renown 10 on Cai’s route. Other routes struggle to raise a horse early. Seteth has high potential, yet key effects depend on chance. Peppe is fast but lacks Strength and Magic, arriving late with damage still to fix. Simon has good physical durability, but on Classic I will not stake survival on a random activation.

Ultand arrives early and can train broadly, but lacks an outstanding role. His healing lacks Physic, tanking lacks powerful abilities, and magical burst is insufficient. I eventually mounted him for support, finishing blows, and recovery. Sha Lan adjusts formations through displacement and rescue, but is awkward to operate, arrives late, and lacks Physic. Noctula’s Avoid bonuses are unreliable, with low Resistance making a failed dodge dangerous.

Nydine passes through enemies and reduces terrain movement costs, giving excellent mobility, but that does not justify charging into crowds. Caladrius also requires extra magic training. Jasmine has good reactive Hit, Attack, and Critical bonuses, but arrives late outside Leda’s route, where an armored starter already overlaps her role. Ludia gains Avoid after a follow-up, yet cannot follow fast enemies and struggles to hurt slow armor. Low Magic makes Levin Sword an inadequate solution.

Nathan has high Strength and Dexterity and reliably finishes fragile enemies, but is slow and has few maps remaining after recruitment. Nezha has good physical stats, yet his extra damage requires repeated chance activations, and recruitment needs Sandworm Meat. Strong sword competition makes him hard to prioritize. Halvin supports with a Venin Bow, slowing enemies after attacking so allies can exploit status damage bonuses. Alone, building Hit feels slow. Goliath tanks physical attacks and restricts adjacent enemy movement, but cannot ride or fly, making timely lockdown difficult. His recruitment materials are troublesome too.

Fianna offers strong Magic and sustained healing but is slow and lacks Physic. Moving her fragile body near the front to heal demands more protection. Fabio has powerful, long-range black magic, but low Speed and a critical-support effect requiring proximity to enemies conflict with safe damage positioning. Buccar stabilizes Leda’s early route, but low Resistance and chance-based reactive damage make him poor at initiating kills. He is easily replaced later.

A: investment and returns#

Alexandra joins early, is fast, and has an exclusive mount, but lacks Strength. Recruit early, build offense with Brigand or Ranger, then return to flight later so high levels do not leave her unable to hurt enemies. Lysander stacks Speed through kills and gains Avoid when initiating. Improve Strength first, then use wyverns and consider The Cavalier in Part 3. He can develop earlier than late cavalry recruits.

Inyoni is a strong archer with unremarkable Speed but good bulk, fitting Charioteer well. Ordinary archers often lack damage after changing to chariots; she covers that weakness, and I used her throughout Cai’s route. Kiroc combines Strength and Speed with extra damage against status-afflicted enemies. Pair him with Halvin’s Venin Bow or Leda’s group ailments. Jester is fast and gains Attack after dodging, fitting swords or Rogue. Recruitment requires many requests, so recruit and train early on Dietrich’s route.

Creek has excellent Strength, Speed, and Dexterity, with useful Attack Speed and Avoid bonuses after taking a hit. Joining only in Part 2 is his main drawback. Do not skip training in the war campaign, and prepare a mount for Part 3. Bonaventure has sufficient Magic, enough Speed to follow up on slow enemies, varied white magic, and a Hit aura, letting him damage or heal. Gaitz is balanced and can become a core unit, but is exclusive to Dietrich’s route and easy to miss.

Dadao has enormous theoretical burst but low Speed and Dexterity. Recruit early and use Archer to improve Hit so the damage lands. Diego has high Dexterity and more Hit and Critical during follow-ups, fitting swords and Rogue. His main drawback is arriving only after a paralogue. Dante has enough Magic and Speed, learns long-range magic, and gives nearby allies Hit, Critical, and Dodge auras. Build the team around her, though she is fragile and expensive to recruit.

Tialla fits support and healing better than pure damage. She lowers the opponent’s Avoid after combat, helping allies hit enemies in brush even if her own attack misses. She joins early; train advanced magic promptly, then use a mounted magic class. Ursula rewards heavy investment. Train Magic on one route and Strength and Speed on a physical route, then merge and use Levin Sword and magic bows. Luck from The Calamity mastery also improves her chance-based damage activation. Give her sufficient training and class resources.

Mikaela is a dependable axe user with Attack and Hit modifiers, trainable from Dietrich’s opening. Mu is also worth investment. His personal ability changes bonuses with class and weapon. Use several routes to improve Speed, then give him a Divine class slot later to realize his potential.

S: dependable combat and unique roles#

Olympia is more than a healer. She gains Critical while magic is equipped, and Nosferatu adds Attack and Critical while draining HP through damage. She also has Physic, letting her move between frontline and backline roles. Safe White Magic training makes it easy to gain a level lead, improving bulk and damage in turn. Hong Hua only comes fully online in Part 3, but has good Magic, Speed, and durability plus a magic accuracy bonus. Give her training when a slot opens.

Guzran starts with good physical Attack Speed. His ability randomly improves Hit, Avoid, or Critical, all useful outcomes. Peter relies on Range and Hit: bow combat arts gain 1 Range, and Hit bonuses let him reliably attack from beyond retaliation. A normal Archer to Bow Knight path works, with an earlier Brigand detour for extra Strength if desired.

Catania and Loretta are fast mixed attackers. The former needs an Attack Speed lead, the latter full HP, to gain Attack and Avoid. Improve Strength first, then choose swords or flight. Levin Sword handles armor too. For Ninae, do not force a damage role. Armor abilities improve Movement and Resistance. Take Castle Knight damage reduction, then switch to Elephant Rider to suppress both physical and magical damage and hold a lane alone.

Lilian uses Range to avoid counters, then Hit bonuses to activate extra damage at full Hit. She can train from the queen’s opening. Build Strength early for reliable ranged damage later. Sirocco has good Strength, Magic, and Speed, heals after combat, handles swords or magic, and has group healing. Troy also has fast mixed offense, an exclusive ranged weapon, and white-magic leveling. Train promptly after receiving him in Part 3.

Nuzzuo has high Strength and Speed, plus Attack and Hit against favorable matchups. Carry Cleansing Blade for netherfiends, Zanbato for cavalry, and bows for flyers. Weapon changes cover many enemy types. Talimun specializes in distant support. Reducing Hit or Defense and switching attack and defense types offers more tactical value than another personal attack.

Theodora has high HP, damage reduction, and ranged throws, but frontline tanking and rear throwing sometimes conflict. Do not make her the team’s only frontliner. Improve Resistance midgame, take defensive mastery later, then return to armor to raise both offense and defense. Cai should improve Magic before Caladrius. Pair a magic-oriented Ornius with Canto, use an area Blaze Art, then retreat. He clears soldiers and breaks shields well but needs allies for difficult targets.

Orchel has high Defense and Resistance but low HP and Speed. Improve HP and obtain damage reduction before returning to healing, combining frontline and recovery roles. This especially saves slots in split groups. Esmeralda has strong physical offense and defense, with Hit and Attack bonuses for Pilum that let her counter ranged enemies. Improve Defense on one route and Resistance on another for a more complete merge. Bertrand joins late but unusually combines high Speed, reliable Hit, and burst among axe users, with combat arts that handle Underworld conditions. Anatolia has strong Magic and Speed. Ranged magical weapons, dodge healing, and growth through kills connect offense and sustain into a complete attacking mage.

S+: healing, extra actions, and the Underworld#

Sofia’s greatest asset is healing Range. With Healing Staff, healing amounts are already ample. An advanced ability adds 2 Range to healing magic, letting her heal from safer positions and expanding Physic coverage. Healing matters on almost every map. Restoring full HP without risking the front line makes her difficult to replace.

Leda can deal early damage with Speed, Avoid, and Levin Sword. Hard targets become tougher later, but she still raises the team’s physical and magical Attack and grants extra actions through Dance. If she cannot break through, let the best-suited ally attack again. Her support always matters.

Eshmel lets nearby allies deal with Underworld mechanics, making him the core of Part 3 formations. He can use cursed weapons to sustain Blaze, has area Blaze Arts for burst, and levels easily through white magic. Allies often need to follow his aura, making his position irreplaceable.

SS: Dietrich’s critical-healing loop#

Dietrich is fast enough to follow up easily, with high Dexterity for Hit and Critical. Initiating improves Critical, combat builds more Critical, and sword-class bonuses add further Critical. Two attacks readily produce high damage. His Strength handles fragile enemies, while Levin Sword deals with armor.

Sacred Gem is what lets him advance alone. Critical hits restore one-third of the damage dealt. High Critical defeats enemies while restoring lost HP, keeping him fighting as long as he is not killed outright. Powerful enemies often lack Hit, while accurate enemies may struggle to pierce his durability. Damage, Avoid, and healing reinforce one another.