Forging is a game mechanic available since Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance which allows the player to purchase a weapon made to order. When forging weapons, their statistics can be altered to a certain extent and they can be given a unique name and color. Forging can be accessed from the Base in the Tellius Series, from the battle preparations menu in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~, and from My Castle in Fire Emblem Fates.
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
In Path of Radiance, forging is available from Chapter 8 onward, and is done by Daniel of the Merchant Convoy. When forging, a weapon's Might can be raised or lowered by up to 5 points, Hit can be raised or lowered by up to 25 points (in values of 5), Crit can be raised or lowered by up to 9 points (in values of 3) and Weight could be raised or lowered by up to 5 points. The forged weapon's name and (unless it's a magic tome) color could also be changed. Only one weapon could be forged per chapter.
There was a glitch in the original Japanese where, if you forged a weapon with a non zero Critical rate (like a Slim Sword) and lowered the Crit to zero, the weapon would end up with a Crit of 255 instead, allowing for guaranteed Critical hits. This glitch was fixed for the international version of the game.
The following weapons could be forged:
Forgeable Swords
Forgeable Lances
Forgeable Axes
Forgeable Bows
Forgeable Tomes
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
In Radiant Dawn, forging is again done by Daniel, and is done mostly the same as in Path of Radiance, though there are a few differences. Crit can now be raised or lowered by up to 15 instead (still in values of 3). There is no limit to how many weapons can be forged in one chapter, though in the Japanese version, Forge Points must be spent to forge weapons. Also, one could use a Coin while forging to give the weapon a random bonus. Tomes could be recolored in this game.
The following weapons could be forged:
Forgeable Swords
Forgeable Lances
Forgeable Axes
Forgeable Bows
Forgeable Knives
Forgeable Tomes
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
In Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon it is possible to forge weapons at the armory between battles. You can only forge one weapon each battle.
Forging here is different in that you are modifying an existing weapon, not ordering a new weapon. The statistics of weapons that can be changed are Might, Hit%, Crit% and Weight. Stats can be raised or lowered to a certain amount, assuming you have enough gold, although different stats cost different amounts of gold. Raising and lowering a weapon's stats cost the same amount (i.e. forging an Iron Sword to have one less weight costs the same as one more weight).
It is possible to forge most weapons; as such you can forge iron, steel, and silver weapons, although price changes accordingly - forging a Silver Lance costs significantly more than forging an Iron Lance. Items that have 0 Worth cannot be forged, such as the Falchion, Hauteclere or Gradivus, but weapons that have other effects, such as killer weapons, Armorslayers, and Dragonpikes can. Devil weapons cannot be forged. The amount of change that can be made is also greater, allowing for weapons with as much as a 50% critical rate (maximized killer weapon). It is also not possible to reforge a weapon that has been forged before. Forging a weapon does not replenish its uses, nor does the number of remaining uses affect the forging cost.
Forging weapons is an integral part of WiFi battle, as forged weapons are more powerful than all other weapons (including legendary weapons, which cannot be forged). Forged weapons can have custom names applied to them. When playing on "with anyone" these names do not appear, instead the item's default name is shown (although it still is written in light blue, so players know it has been forged). The custom names are shown when playing on "with friends" or via wireless.
Fire Emblem Awakening
Armourer's quote when you have reached the maximum amount of forged weapons at a time.
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Merchant's quote when you have reached the maximum amount of forged weapons at a time.
In Fire Emblem Awakening players can forge weapons once Chapter 1 has been completed. Unlike previous games, players can freely forge as many weapons as they want between chapters and battles. However, the game limits a maximum amount of different forged weapons at a time, regardless of whether the weapons are stored in the inventory or the convoy. This amount isn't specified in-game, and seems to vary depending on what type of weapons you have forged. An estimate of the amount of weapons you can have at a time is roughly 95-100, though this purely speculation an no official source has been given.
When you are unable to forge any more weapons, you will need to sell some of your existing forged weapons in order to access the option again. You may have to sell multiple amounts of weapons to re-access the forge, as selling one weapon doesn't necessarily equal the ability to forge another weapon in its place. You are also prevented from renaming any weapons while this option is locked, even if the weapon has a custom name already.
Like Shadow Dragon forging modifies existing weapons, not ordering new ones. Players are given 8 forging points, however these do not have to be spent in one forging session. Thus a player can forge a weapon using only 5 points and then forge it later with the remaining 3. However once a weapon has been forged, the forged points spent cannot be reallocated. Forging points can be applied to either a weapon's Might, Hit %, and Crit %. Might increases it by 1, Hit % increases by 5, and Crit increases by 3 for each forge point spent on each category. Ruin is the only weapon in the game that has a stat that cannot be forged, Crit %, however Might and Hit % can be. Players can also rename their weapons, but there is a censor which prevents certain keywords from being used. While adding numbers to your weapon won't be censored, it will warn the player that the weapon name won't be viewable via StreetPass. Forged weapons are highlighted in-game with blue text.
All weapons in game can be forged except for Mire and Regalia weapons, such as Falchion, Double Bow, and Mjölnir. Regular shop weapons and special weapons such as Alm's Blade, Volant Axes, and Wyrmslayers can be forged. Forging prices adjust to the type of weapon being forged so forging a Bronze Lance will cost less than forging a Silver Lance. However there is a limit to how many forged weapons one can have.
Fire Emblem Fates
In Fire Emblem Fates, players can forge weapons after they have built a Smithy in their castle. The mechanics of forging weapons in Fates is very different from the previous games.
First, a player must have at least two copies of the weapon; so if they wanted a Silver Yumi +6, they would need to have two Silver Yumi +5 in their inventory, be it from a unit carrying it or in the convoy. Players will also need ores that can be found every evening at their castle, by visiting other players castles for ores, or obtained by trading at the forge. The ores needed increase as the weapon becomes more powerful and the increased stats are automatically inserted. Once the player has prepared all the necessary materials to forge the weapon, they can place a custom name on it, which is shown in highlighted blue text. Forged weapons without a custom name will show the usual black text instead. The maximum amount of forging bonuses is +7. Forging items to higher levels can be very costly, since the amount of base weapons needed to increase to the next level doubles each time. A fully forged item requires a total of 128 base variants.
Just like in the other games, legendary weapons cannot be forged.
The ores needed for several weapons are the following:
| Icon | Name | Forges | Side |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Crystal | Swords | Conquest / Revelation |
 |
Ruby | Lances | Conquest / Revelation |
 |
Sapphire | Axes | Conquest / Revelation |
 |
Onyx | Kunai | Conquest / Revelation |
 |
Emerald | Bows | Conquest / Revelation |
 |
Topaz | Tomes | Conquest / Revelation |
 |
Pearl | Katanas | Birthright / Revelation |
 |
Coral | Naginata | Birthright / Revelation |
 |
Lapis | Clubs | Birthright / Revelation |
 |
Quartz | Shuriken | Birthright / Revelation |
 |
Jade | Yumi | Birthright / Revelation |
 |
Amber | Scrolls | Birthright / Revelation |
Finally, the forged weapons have different upgraded paths depending on whether or not they can score critical hits.
If weapon cannot inflict Critical Hits
| Required Smithy Lv. |
Required Minerals |
Upgrade | Might | Hit Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | +1 | +2 | +0 |
| 1 | 2 | +2 | +4 | +2 |
| 2 | 3 | +3 | +6 | +5 |
| 2 | 4 | +4 | +8 | +9 |
| 3 | 5 | +5 | +9 | +15 |
| 3 | 6 | +6 | +10 | +22 |
| 3 | 7 | +7 | +11 | +30 |
If weapon can inflict Critical Hits
| Required Smithy Lv. |
Required Minerals |
Upgrade | Might | Hit Rate | Crit. Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 |
| 1 | 2 | +2 | +4 | +2 | +0 |
| 2 | 3 | +3 | +6 | +5 | +1 |
| 2 | 4 | +4 | +8 | +9 | +3 |
| 3 | 5 | +5 | +9 | +15 | +6 |
| 3 | 6 | +6 | +10 | +22 | +10 |
| 3 | 7 | +7 | +11 | +30 | +15 |