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Basic Mechanics and Skill Glossary
For those new to Fire Emblem, and those who simply want a reminder of what certain terms mean, this will provide a brief explanation for the basic mechanics of the game, including what each stat does, a glossary of skills and the formula for calculating hit and avoid. Although some elements crop up in every Fire Emblem game, the method for calculating them often differs.
Base Stats
Strength
Added to the might of an equipped physical weapon to determine attack.
Magic
Added to the might of an equipped magical weapon to determine attack.
Determines whether a status effect will be conferred on a unit (if user’s mag > foe’s res)
Skill
Modifies hit rate, activation of skills like sol.
Speed
Enables follow-up attacks
Modifies avoid and activation for some skills (adept).
Luck
Modifies avoid.
Defense
Modifies the amount of damage received from an enemy’s physical attack.
Resistance
Modifies the amount of damage received from an enemy’s magical attack.
Determines whether a status effect will be conferred on a unit (if user’s mag > foe’s res)
In-Combat Stats
Attack
Relevant stat + weapon might.
Hit rate
Chance to hit an enemy
Hit of weapon + (Skill x 2)
Leadership, support bonuses and certain skills (charm) modify this stat
Avoid
Chance to avoid an enemy’s attack
(Attack speed × 2) + Luck
Leadership, support, certain skills (charm) and terrain modify this stat
Attack speed
Effective speed during combat.
Speed - weapon weight.
Weapon triangle
Swords > axes
Axes > lances
Lances > swords
Fire > wind
Wind > thunder
Thunder > fire
Dis/advantage modifies hit rate by 20%
Skill Glossary
Pursuit
Pursuit allows a unit to make a follow-up attack when their attack speed exceeds the enemy’s.
Critical
Enables critical hits. Critical hits double the user’s attack (relevant stat + might) before deducting the foe’s defenses.
Critical rate = [skill + weapons kill bonus]%
Criticals can also be obtained from:
- Sibling or lover crits. When siblings or lovers are positioned next to each other, they may trigger a critical hit in combat.
- Weapons. Killer weapons grant the critical skill. Effective weaponry enables automatic critical hits against the unit type they target (eg horseslayers make critical hits against cavalry units 100% of the time). Any weapon will become a killer weapon if it records 50 or more kills.
Accost
If a unit’s HP is greater than or equal to 25, they may continue a round of combat, up to a limit of 20 rounds.
[User’s Attack Speed – Enemy’s Attack Speed + (HP/2)]%
Adept
Triggers a second consecutive attack.
[Attack speed +20%]
Vantage
Vantage allows a unit to attack before the enemy if they initiate when the unit is below half-health.
Nihil
Nullifies critical hits, sword skills (Sol, Astra, Luna) and effective weaponry.
Paragon
Doubles experience gain.
Charm
Provides +10% hit/avo to allies within three tiles.
Bargain
50% discount at all shops.
Miracle
When user’s HP is under or equal to 10, increases avoid by [(11 – HP) x 10] for one turn. If a unit with miracle drops below this threshold during the player phase of turn 1, they maintain this bonus through the enemy phase, but it ends when turn 2 begins.
Wrath
If user’s HP is less than half +1, all attacks are critical hits. Cannot be nullified by nihil.
Astra
Strike five times consecutively. Limited to infantry sword users.
[Skill%]
Luna
Nullifies foe’s defense on hit. Limited to infantry sword users.
[Skill%]
Sol
Restores damage dealt as health to the user. Limited to infantry sword users.
[Skill%]
Pavise
Completely nullifies all damage from a strike. Class skill of promoted armoured units only.
[User’s level%]
Steal
Steal all the enemy’s gold if a strike connects. Class skill of thieves only.
Dance
Allows four adjacent allies to move again. Class skill of dancers only.
Renewal
Restores between 5 and 10 HP at the start of the turn. No units possess this skill, but it is a feature of some weapons and items.