Devil Axe

Devil Axe
Concept artwork of the Devil Axe from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
First Seen	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Weapon Type	Axe
Most Common Rank	E
Uses	Varies
[view]

“A mighty but cursed axe known to harm its user.”
—In-game description, Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem

The Devil Axe (デビルアクス Debiru akusu) is a special Axe that appears across the Fire Emblem Series, beginning from the Archanea Series. This axe has the ability to to randomly deflect damage back to its wielder when it is used, the frequency of which depends on the Luck of its user. This makes the axe a risky weapon: while it is able to inflict enormous amounts of damage with a single strike, any backfires are similarly enormous.

In most games, the trigger rate of the Devil Axe's ability is [31-Luck]%. Exceptions to this rule exist in Thracia 776 and The Binding Blade, where the backfire rates are [21-Luck]% and [21-Level]% respectively. This ability can also be triggered when the axe is used to damage destructible map features like snags.

The The Blazing Blade and The Sacred Stones iterations of the Devil Axe award a very high amount of Weapon Experience per use, meaning that a unit could raise their axe Weapon Rank by a large amount in only a few uses. This is particularly useful for Paladins (The Blazing Blade) and Great Knights (The Sacred Stones), as it allows them to greatly accelerate their weapon ranks in Axes and more time to build up their ranks in Swords and Lances to solidify their control over the Weapon triangle.

The Devil Axe is analogous to the Devil Sword and the Devil Spear.

Weapon Stats

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Name				Type
Devil Axe				Axe
WLv	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	Worth
4	9	20	70%	0%	1	14	-
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Name				Type
Devil Axe				Axe
WLv	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	Worth
1	9	20	70%	0%	1	20	900
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

Name					Type
Devil Axe					Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	WEx	Worth
E	20	20	50%	0%	1	20	1	1,200
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

Name					Type
Devil Axe					Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	WEx	Worth
E	20	18	55%	0%	1	18	1	900
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

Name					Type
Devil Axe					Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	WEx	Worth
E	20	18	55%	0%	1	18	8	800
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

“Might injure its wielder.”
—In-game description

Name					Type
Devil Axe					Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	WEx	Worth
E	20	18	55%	0%	1	18	8	880
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (Unused)

Name					Type
Devil Axe					Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	WEx	Worth
E	20	18	55%	0%	1	18	8	900
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Name					Type
Devil Axe					Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt	WEx	Worth
D	20	17	100%	0%	1	8*	2	-
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Name				Type
Devil Axe				Axe
Rank	Uses	Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	WEx	Worth
D	20	17	100%	0%	1	2	-
Effect
May damage the wielder instead.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Name			Type
Devil Axe			Axe
Mt	Hit	Crt	Rng	Wt
15	70%	5%	1	5
Effect
Hex, Lifetaker

Item Locations

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Method	Location
Visit	Ch. 3 - Village

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Method	Location
Visit	Book 1: Ch. 3 - Village

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

Method	Location
Dropped	Enemy Berserker (Ch. 16B)

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

Method	Location
Inventory	Gonzales

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

Method	Location
Visit	Eliwood's Story: Ch. 16 Hector's Story: Ch. 17

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Method	Location
Inventory	Ymir
Visit	Ch. 3 - Village

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Method	Location
Dropped	Enemy Barbarian (Ch. 15) • Enemy Berserker (Ch. 21)
Inventory	Dice

Trivia

• In the GBA titles, when a character damages themselves with the Devil Axe and is attacked by a Hand Axe-equipped enemy, the game may freeze depending on the class of the Devil Axe wielder.
• It is possible for a unit to kill themselves by attacking a cracked wall or snag with the Devil Axe's return damage effect.
• The unused Devil Axe from Path of Radiance does not function properly; the reversal effect does not work and the unit using it will become stuck in a bind pose.

Gallery

Concept art of the Devil Axe from Path of Radiance.

Official artwork of the Devil Axe from the TCG.

The Devil Axe, as it appears in the fourth series of the TCG.

Animation of the Devil Axe backfiring on an enemy Brigand in The Binding Blade.