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The General is a physical combat class that debuted in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. A class that appears across the Fire Emblem series, it is most often the promoted form of the Knight class. Historically, Generals primarily wield lances as their weapons of choice, but depending on the title, may wield other weapons as well. The General class is defined by superior offense and defense, alongside a fairly decent evasive ability for their bulk and somewhat decent resistance. These strengths are offset by the class's low movement.

History in the Series[]

Generals first appear in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light as a powerful armored class surpassing the Knight. Despite this and the class roll indicating otherwise, the Knight class does not promote into this class. Generals only wield Swords in this installment, unlike their Knight counterparts, who wield both swords and lances. While most Generals appearing in the game are enemy units, a powerful late-game unit of this class is recruitable. This is the only Fire Emblem title where Generals do not wield Lances or have it as their main weapon.

Generals technically do not appear in Gaiden, but the Baron class is functionally similar. The Baron class is the promoted form of the Armor Knight, and is represented by an edit of the General's map sprite on battlefields. Barons exclusively wield lances in this title, much like the rest of the Armored line in Gaiden.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem is the first title to feature Generals as the promotion of Armor Knights. Generals in this title wield lances exclusively, just as all classes in the game are restricted to one weapon type. Though the game's Dismount mechanic causes most lance-wielding units to use swords while indoors, Generals are one of few classes unaffected by this, and continue wielding lances in these scenarios.

In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Generals are the promoted form of not only the Armor Knight class, but also its other variations: Armor Sword, Armor Axe, and Armor Bow. Generals are thus given full control of all physical weapons, holding a B-Rank in bows and axes and a solid A-Rank in lances and swords. All Generals possess the powerful Great Shield skill in the new skill system, which gives them the chance to completely nullify an attack.

In Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, with the return of the Dismount command, Generals are the only class capable of using lances while indoors. Great Shield is no longer a class skill of Generals, but a late-game recruitable General possesses it as a personal skill.

Generals are playable in all three GBA titles. In the first two, The Binding Blade and The Blazing Blade, Generals, the skill system is not present, and by extension, Generals do not have access Great Shield as they did in previous titles. In the third GBA title, The Sacred Stones, the skill system, as well as the class's access to Great Shield, return.

In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Generals uniquely possess Luna as their class skill, while Hawk Laguz are instead given Great Shield (now known as Pavise).

In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, the classic Generals are known as Lance Generals, and are joined by Axe and Sword Generals. Lance Generals are characterized by Resistance that is considered high for a physical class in this installment, only falling behind the Falcon Knight. Generals are given a third-tier promotion for the first time, promoting into Marshalls when the necessary requirements are fulfilled.

In Fire Emblem Fates, the General is treated as a Nohrian class. As with previous incarnations of the General, they are the promoted form of the Knight.

In the spin-off Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, the General class is one of the promotion classes for Draug. Enemy Mirages of this class are called Platinum Generals, and they can be found in Illusory Dolhr. They are the final form of the Ironclad Knight Mirages.

The class also appears in the spin-off title Fire Emblem Warriors as an enemy-only class, which wields lances and is considered an Armored unit. The General class has a Hoshidan variant called Shield Masters.

In Three Houses, they are known as the Fortress Knight class, and are considered an Advanced Class. The Fortress Knight class is an optional promoted class of the Commoner or Noble class if the unit passes the Certification Exam at Lv. 20 with an Axe Skill Level of B or higher, a Heavy Armor Skill Level of B or higher and an Advanced Seal. The class has a primary skill experience class bonus (+3) with Axes and a secondary (+2) in Lances.

In Warriors: Three Hopes, the Fortress Knights are the Advanced class upgrade for the Armor class line from the Fighter class tree, and exclusively wield Axes. It is available for any unit by mastering the Armored Knight class first, then spend an Advanced Seal after unlocking the Advance Class Certification Exam from the Facility Manager. Edelgard is unique in that she can potentially access Fortress Knight after mastering the Armored Lord first.

Other Games[]

In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, Generals are like their Fire Emblem counterparts, promoting from Knights and possessing Pavise as a class skill. In a similar fashion to the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Generals in this title wield swords exclusively.

In TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga, the General class is disconnected from Armor Knights, who are now unable to promote. Unlike Armor Knights who wield axes exclusively and wear bulky armor, Generals in this game don streamlined armor without helmets and are armed with swords. Generals are also equipped with exclusive General Shields, almost always have the Commander skill, and are all named characters.

In Vestaria Saga I, the General is known as the Grand Guard. It wields lances and throwing spears.

Overview[]

Combat[]

Generals can act as very effective "walls" in the formation of chokepoints to block the advance of enemy forces as well as endure in survival and defense-objective battles. Enemy troops tend to have a difficult time penetrating these units, and thus set up a nigh-unbreakable chokepoint, especially if a healer is right behind them. They can be used to block small entrances to prevent opposing units from getting past them, a fact that is very useful to prevent thieves from escaping with looted treasure. A General's weaknesses are magic and anti-armor weapons (such as the Armorslayer), as well as fast-moving, durable and powerful units like Heroes, experienced Paladins and Warriors. In many recent titles, Generals have higher Resistance, thus making speedy units and anti-armor weapons their prime weakness.

However, Generals, though great walls, are seen by many players as lackluster for one main reason: their Movement. Their movement throughout the series is very low: most games in the series see Generals with only 5 movement, with the exceptions of Thracia 776, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Shadow Dragon, and New Mystery of the Emblem, where they have 6 movement. This means that in most instances, Generals have the lowest movement of the army, and when combined with their harsher movement costs on terrain, Generals often struggle to keep up with their allies. While this doesn't impact a slower, more methodical player, players who take advantage of classes like Paladins and Wyvern Lords will often find their Generals missing out on crucial EXP unless they go out of their way to feed kills to them, and without taking the time to let Generals kill enemies, the statistical difference between them and other units will decrease. This often makes the best time to use a General, and, to a larger extent, to use a Knight, in the early chapters of the game, where their high base Defense allows them to easily soak up hits where other units wouldn't be able to, and where enemies often have low enough speed that they needn't worry about getting doubled. This makes Generals rather mixed in terms of their popularity: casual players can use Generals to their fullest extent, making their high Defense and ability to use multiple weapon types valuable, where as players looking to play the games as fast as possible will see their low movement as a detriment and will overlook the class in favor of classes with move favorable mobility, with the Wyvern Lord in particular being seen as largely superior to the General by some because of this.

In WiFi battles, Generals suffer greatly for their low Speed cap. Although their high Defense helps them survive at least four hits from a Swordmaster, they can hardly survive being doubled by a Berserker or a Sage. They lack high Movement, and are vulnerable to anti-armor weapons. Individually, these flaws can be addressed with cards, but when combined as a whole they cannot. Using a General often means leaving the fate of a battle in the opponent's choice of squad. If a General is placed up against a Swordmaster, and the Swordmaster does not have an Armorslayer, the battle can be quite even (especially when using cards like Fleet Feet). However, due to the relative ease of counter-picking teams to beat Generals, it is difficult to use them reliably on WiFi.

In Fates they received a significant buff in the form of their new skill Wary Fighter. This skill effectively halves all the damage they take, as it prevents the opponent doubling them. Although it also prevents them from doubling anyone, their low Speed means they will rarely be able to double anyone anyway.

In-Game[]

★ - FE10 SP Class.

Base Stats[]

HPStrMagSklSpdLckDefResMovConWtWlvCha
FE1289-1401405--Sword 13-
FE3288-3301535--Lance 10-
FE4401006501235--FE4 Sword A FE4 Lance A FE4 Axe B FE4 Bow B-
FE5267152012-610-FE5 Sword Icon E FE5 Lance Icon E FE5 Axe Icon E FE5 Bow Icon E-
TS307074010-4--TS Sword 5-
FE621/208-4/53/5013/113/4515/11-Lance C Axe E-
FE721/208-4/53/5013/113/4515/11-Lance C Axe E-
FE821/208-4/53/5013/113/4515/11-Sword E Lance C Axe E-
FE923/248/72/142/1010/113/261318FE9 Sword E/S FE9 Lance C-
FE103518517160201061323FE10 Lance C FE10 Axe D-
FE10 4020719180221261323FE10 Sword D FE10 Lance A FE10 Axe C-
FE1128813401536--FE12 Lance D FE12 Bow E-
FE1228813401536--FE12 Lance D FE12 Bow E-
FE13281207401535--LanceIconFE13 E AxeIconFE13 E-
FE14221107341235--FE14 Lance E FE14 Axe E-
FE16 35178128101774--FE16 axe icon B FE16 heavy armor icon B0
FE16 (Gilbert)35148128101374---0
FE1728111723141410-FE17 Sword A^ FE17 Lance A^ FE17 Axe A^-

Maximum Stats[]

HPStrMagSklSpdLckDefResMovConWtWlvCha
FE15220-20202020205--Sword 20-
FE35220-20202020205--Lance 20-
FE480251521203027185--FE4 Sword A FE4 Lance A FE4 Axe B FE4 Bow B-
FE580202020202020-2020-FE5 Sword Icon A FE5 Lance Icon A FE5 Axe Icon A FE5 Bow Icon A-
TS60221522193025-12--TS Sword 20-
FE66027/25-2521/22303025/261520-Lance S Axe S-
FE76029/25-27/2524/22303025/261520-Lance S Axe S-
FE86029/27-27/2824/253030/2925/261525-Sword S Lance S Axe S-
FE960/7029/302027/3024/35403025/3061318FE9 Sword S FE9 Lance S-
FE10452715252330302061323FE10 Lance S FE10 Axe A-
FE10 553418322930352861323FE10 Sword A FE10 Lance SS FE10 Axe S-
FE1160272025213030206--FE12 Lance A FE12 Bow A-
FE1260272025213030206--FE12 Lance A FE12 Bow A-
FE1380503041354550355--LanceIconFE13 A AxeIconFE13 A-
FE1470382532253240305--FE14 Lance A FE14 Axe B-
FE178647163917255516625-FE17 Sword A^ FE17 Lance A^ FE17 Axe A^-

Growth Rates[]

HPStrMagSklSpdLckDefResMovConWtWlvCha
FE390%30%-30%20%0%20%0%-----
FE4100%30%10%30%30%0%30%10%-----
FE550%20%3%15%10%10%15%-0%15%---
FE675%30%-25/35%10%20%23%15%-----
FE775%30%-20/25%10%20%23%25%-----
FE875%30%-20/25%10%20%23%25%-----
FE975%45%20%45%30%25%55%45%-----
FE1055%40%45%30%25%40%50%50%-----
FE10 80%75%60%70%60%65%70%85%-----
FE1160%15%-15%20%0%0%30%-10%-----
FE1260%15%-15%20%0%0%30%-10%-----
FE1350%/100%25%/50%0%15%/35%10%/25%0%/40%15%/35%10%/20%-----
FE1425%20%0%15%0%10%20%5%-----
FE16 30%/50%10%/20%0%0%-10%/-30%0%15%/60%0%/-20%---FE16 lance icon +2 FE16 axe icon +3 FE16 heavy armor icon +35%
FE16 (Gilbert)30%20%0%0%-30%0%50%-20%----0%
FE1725%20%0%10%0%0%30%0%-10%---
FEW3H25%15%0%0%0%0%30%0%----5%

Class Modifiers[]

HPStrMagSklSpdLckDefResMovConWtWlvCha
FE165000-601000---0
FE16 (Gilbert)5000-60200---0
FEW3H800000-901501---0

Class Skills[]

SkillRequirements
FE4Big shieldGreat ShieldClass skill of the General, Baron and Emperor classes.
FE8Great ShieldBase skill of the General class.
FE9Luna (FE9)LunaOccult skill of the General and Halberdier classes; assign with an MasteryBookOccult Scroll.
FE10ShoveShoveBase skill of all foot units.
FE13DefenseCryRally Defense
Great Shield (FE13)Pavise
Learned at Level 5.
Learned at Level 15.
FE14Defensive FormationWary Fighter
Great Shield (FE13)Pavise
Learned at Level 5 and above.
Learned at Level 15 and above.
FE16Axefaire FE16Axefaire
Weight -5 FE16Weight -5
Pavise FE16Pavise
Class Ability of the Fortress Knight class.
Class Ability of the Fortress Knight class.
Mastery Ability of Fortress Knights.
FE17FE17 Swap IconSwap
FE17 Steady Stance IconSteady Stance
Class Skill of Generals.
Maddening mode skill.
FEW3HImpregnable Impregnable
Lance Buster Lv 3 Lance Buster Lv 3
Anchor FE16 Anchor
Defiant Crit FE16 Boost Critical
Defense 2 FE16 Def +5
Pavise FE16 Pavise
Confidence skill Smite
Axe Crit +10 FE16 Apex Axe
Icon Combat Art FE16 Axe Wild Abandon
Icon Combat Art FE16 Axe Focused Strike
Class ability.
Class ability.
1-star Class Mastery for certain units.
1-star Class Mastery for Edelgard and Dedue.
1-star Class Mastery for certain units.
2-star Class Mastery for certain units.
2-star Class Mastery for certain units.
3-star Class Mastery for Edelgard and Dedue.
3-star Class Mastery for certain units.
3-star Class Mastery for certain units.

Promotions[]

Base ClassPromotion MethodPromoted Class
FE3FE3 Knight Map SpriteArmor KnightUse a Knight Crest (FE3)Knight Crest on a Level 10+ Armor KnightFE3 General Map SpriteGeneral
FE4FE4 Sword Armor SpriteSword ArmorChoose the "Class Change" option in the Home Castle when the relevant unit reaches Level 20.FE4 General SpriteGeneral
FE5FE5 Armoured AxeAxe ArmorUse a Knight Proof (FE5)Knight Proof on a Level 10+ Knight.FE5 GeneralGeneral
TSArmourKnightArmor KnightUse a Ts-knight-proofKnight Proof on a Level 10+ Armour Knight.GeneralGeneral (Billford)
FE6FE8 Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a KnightcrestKnight Crest on a Level 10+ Knight.FE8 General Map SpriteGeneral
FE7FE8 Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a KnightcrestKnight Crest on a Level 10+ Knight.FE8 General Map SpriteGeneral
FE8FE8 Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a KnightcrestKnight Crest on a Level 10+ Knight.FE8 General Map SpriteGeneral
FE9FE9 Gatrie Knight Sprite
Knight
Use a FE9mastersealMaster Seal on a Level 10+ Knight.FE9 Gatrie General Sprite
General
FE10FE10 Zaitan Armor Lance Sprite
Lance Armor
Use a FE10mastersealMaster Seal on a Level 10+ Lance Armor or train a Lance Armor to Level 21.FE10 Gatrie Lance General Sprite
Lance General
FE11FE11 Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a FE11mastersealMaster Seal on a Level 10+ Knight.FE11 General Map SpriteGeneral
FE12FEDS Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a FE11mastersealMaster Seal on a Level 10+ Knight.FEDS General Map SpriteGeneral
FE13FE13 Generic Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a Master Seal FE13 IconMaster Seal on a Level 10+ Knight.FE13 GeneralGeneral
FE14FE14 Generic Knight Map SpriteKnightUse a Master Seal FE13 IconMaster Seal on a Level 10+ Knight.FE14 Generic General Map SpriteGeneral
FE16Any classUse an FE16 Seal IconAdvanced Seal on a Level 20+ unit and pass the Fortress Knight Certification Exam.FE16 Fortress Knight IconFortress Knight
FE17 FE17SwordArmorSpriteSword ArmorUse FE17MasterSealSpriteMaster Seal on Level 10+ Sword Armor.MadelineFE17SpriteGeneral
FE17 LouisFE17SpriteLance ArmorUse FE17MasterSealSpriteMaster Seal on Level 10+ Lance Armor.MadelineFE17SpriteGeneral
FE17 JadeFE17SpriteAxe ArmorUse FE17MasterSealSpriteMaster Seal on Level 10+ Axe Armor.MadelineFE17SpriteGeneral
FEW3HFE16 Armored Knight Icon Armored Knight
FEW3H Armored Lord Icon Armored Lord
Use an FE16 Seal Icon Advanced Seal on a unit that has mastered either the Armored Knight or Armored Lord classes.FE16 Fortress Knight Icon Fortress Knight
FEW3H FE16 Fortress Knight Icon Fortress KnightUse a FE16 Seal Icon Master Seal on a unit that has mastered the Fortress Knight class.FE16 Great Knight Icon Great Knight
FEW3H Emperor Icon Emperor (Edelgard only)

Notable Generals[]

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon[]

Mystery of the Emblem and New Mystery of the Emblem[]

  • Sheema - Daughter of King Jiol and later the ruler of Gra.
  • Macellan - Knight of Archanea who is loyal to Nyna. (Exclusive to New Mystery of the Emblem.)
  • Dolph - Knight of Archanea who is loyal to Nyna. (Exclusive to New Mystery of the Emblem.)
  • Lang - Marquess of Archanea and leader of the Grust Occupational Army.
  • Rucke - Leader of Macedon's military coup.
  • Eibel - Commander of the Altea occupation army.
  • Nehring - Archanean knight who sided with the crown.
  • Promotion for: Draug.

Genealogy of the Holy War[]

Thracia 776[]

TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga[]

The Binding Blade[]

The Blazing Blade[]

  • Darin - The Marquess of Laus.
  • Murdock - Young vassal to Prince Zephiel of Bern.
  • Lundgren - The younger brother of the Marquess Hausen of Caelin who attempted to overthrow his brother.
  • Uther - The Marquess of Ostia and Hector's older brother.
  • Bernard - Remorseful general of Laus.
  • Promotion for: Wallace and Oswin.

The Sacred Stones[]

Path of Radiance[]

Radiant Dawn[]

Awakening[]

Fates[]

Three Houses[]

Engage[]

Vestaria Saga I[]

  • Zoy - A mysterious knight who rescued Athol from Nirving.
  • Promotion for Prody and Bonacel.

Vestaria Saga: The Holy Sword of Silvanister[]

  • Abrahm - A knight in the service of Count Lorec. His face is normally obscured by his helmet.
  • Promotion for: Lucion, Claude and Prody.

Trivia[]

  • Owing to the position of Generals as a defensive class and position as leaders of an army, it is the most occupied class among Boss units in the series.
    • Fates is the only game to lack bosses in the class; the two generals who are the sub bosses of the eighteenth chapter of the Conquest route are a close second in this regard.
  • In various games, the General class can be seen as a parallel to the Wyvern Lord: both have the highest Strength and Defense caps (on the ground and in the air respectively), both have a status which makes them vulnerable to a certain type of weapon (in the case of the General, being weak against Armorslayers, Hammers, and Rapiers/Noble Rapiers) and both classes often wield Axes and Lances.
  • Generals consistently possess the lowest Speed cap of all promoted classes in most of their appearances; only the Ballistician class has had a lower speed cap than it when it appeared in the remade Archanea titles (by a negligible margin), otherwise tied with it in Fates.
  • In Fates, even if their shield is knocked off, their shield arm will still be placed as if they were carrying it.
    • In addition to this, if all of their armor is removed or they are encountered in the Hot Spring, they will use the same animations as they do during combat (such as their walking animation).
  • In Fates during Chapter 13 of Birthright, before Ryoma reveals himself, his portrait and sprite is a General.

Gallery[]

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