Unlike most JRPGs, Fire Emblem is filled with a huge roster of characters to play as. In Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, there are fifty-two different characters you can use in your party, so there is a lot of choices.
Most maps only let you have around twelve to thirteen party members at one time so it benefits you to stick with one central set of characters. This is so you don’t waste valuable experience points on characters you may not use that often.
But out of this huge cast of characters, who should you put on the front lines and who should you keep on the bench? Luckily we have this helpful guide for you.
Best Characters in Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
Marth
Marth is the main character of Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and you always have to deploy him, so you might as well use him. Plus he’s one of the best characters in the game, with some great growth rates.
He starts off with a rapier, which does bonus damage to cavalry and knights, two of the most common enemy types in the game. Most of the game’s bosses are these classes as well, so he’s a great boss killer.
If you match him with Lena’s warp staff, Marth will turn even the hardest maps into a cake walk.
Caeda
As a small disclaimer, all flying and mounted units in Fire Emblem games are a huge boon to your party. Since you get Caeda during the first mission in the game, she should be a mainstay on your team.
Fliers are able to cross water, mountains, and any type of terrain. Traversal is very important in Fire Emblem games. Sometimes you’ll desperately need to get across the map to save a unit or get to a point of interest, and Caeda is the best way to do so.
She also has a wicked speed growth rate of 90%. She’ll easily double pretty much everything in the game while barely ever getting hit herself. Do yourself a huge favor and always use Caeda, just keep her away from bow units!
Jagen
If you find yourself struggling, use Jagen. He’s a pre-promoted unit with high base stats and he’s very durable for the early game. He even comes with a silver lance so he’ll pretty much kill anything he goes up against.
The only downside is that like most pre-promoted units, he has very bad growth rates. His HP, strength, speed, and skill only have a 10% growth rate, and everything else has zero, so you shouldn’t use him unless you need to.
But he’s a really great unit to have on the field if anything goes wrong or if you’re having troubles killing a boss. He has ten movement so he’ll be able to cross most maps within a few turns.
Cain & Abel
Best Characters in Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
These are two very similar units that you get during the first chapter and you should absolutely use them on your team. While they will both have the same functions within your squad, they do have some differences.
Cain has a higher HP, speed, and skill growth rates, while Abel has a higher strength growth rate. Despite their small differences, they both have great availability, they’re mounted, have high movement, and they have good growth rates and base stats.
Everything about these two are great, they can even use two types of weapons, swords and lances, furthering their usefulness.
Ogma
Ogma shows how higher base stats can sometimes be a lot more important than higher growth rates. He starts off with decent strength but really high skill and speed, meaning he will often double enemies and actually hit his target.
The thing about Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is that not every class is able to promote. This is why a character like Barst, who has good base stats but doesn’t promote, isn’t as favorable as someone like Ogma, who turns from the mercenary class into a hero.
Overall, Ogma is an incredibly solid unit who will be useful throughout your entire playthrough.
Navarre
Best Characters in Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
Navarre and Ogma are similar units since they’re of the same class and join around the same time. The main difference is that Navarre has better growth rates, while Ogma has better base stats.
This means that Navarre has the potential to eventually outshine Ogma stat-wise except maybe in strength. He also starts with a killing edge, which has a high critical hit chance and can help with his mediocre strength.
This, mixed with his good speed, means he can even be a boss killer. You should without a doubt have Navarre on your team.
Lena
Easily the best support unit in the game, Lena has great availability and access to the warp staff as soon as you get her. Healers are one of the most important types of unit in Fire Emblem, as they save you from wasting turns and money on vulneries.
The problem with healers in this game is that the only way to level them up is to let them get attacked. This is dangerous as they have low defensive stats and poor health. It can be hard to get them to level ten to promote into a bishop.
Despite that, I recommend permanently having Lena on your team no matter how many times you’ve played this game and no matter who else you decide to use. Just make sure she stays far from the enemy.
Merric
Magic is very useful in In Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, as most units have terrible resistance and you don’t fight a lot of magical units to begin with.
The first mage you’ll get is Merric and he has great stats and growth. He starts off with his own personal weapon that does a lot of damage, and he promotes into a bishop.
He does have the small issue that the item needed to promote a mage is obtained very late in the game, but he’s still very useful and deserves a spot in your army.
Minerva
Best Characters in Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
Although seen a bit later during chapter 10, Minerva is a great addiction to your team. She has incredibly high defense and pretty decent strength, as well as the benefit of being a flying unit.
She doesn’t necessarily have the best growth rates in the game as well as a pretty bad skill and speed base stat, but she fills the role of tank very well. She’s a great candidate for any speed-boosting items you find.
Just keep her away from bow users and mages, as she has terrible resistance like most of your party. Her and Cadea make quite the dynamic duo.
Hardin
Even though it may seem like your team is overflowing with cavaliers, that’s really not a bad thing. Hardin has excellent stats and growth and just like Cain & Abel, is very balanced across the board.
Considering cavaliers are one of the only classes that can promote, Hardin will be one of the best units on your team. He also has a very high weapon level, meaning he will be able to use silver lances almost immediately.
Don’t worry, this will be the last cavalier we suggest you put on your team.
Catria
Best Characters in Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
If you’re in need of another unit on your team later on, Catrina is a great pick. She has excellent bases and high growth rates in skill and speed. As usual, being a flier makes her a lot better than most units.
As mentioned above, she does come pretty late in the game, so if you already have a full team by then, you don’t have to include her.
Characters to Avoid
- Gordin – Archers usually always have poor base stats and pretty bad growths, and Gordin is no different. Being weapon locked to only a bow also really sucks.
- Draug – While Draug might be good for blocking early game choke-points, his usefulness quickly wears out. He has high defense but bad everything else. And terrible movement to boot.
- Bord, Cord, & Barst – You get all three of these fighters at the same time, and while Barst has really great stats, he can’t promote and isn’t the greatest by the end game. Bord and Cord are just terrible.
- Julian & Rickard – While thieves are often just a utility class, their usefulness runs out as soon as Marth obtains the Fire Emblem. It allows him to open any chest so these two sneaky devils quickly become obsolete.
If you need any more help with this tricky strategy game, check out our wiki!
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