Ranking the 10 Best Students in Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses has one of the most complex stories of all the Fire Emblem games. This story is filled to the brim with amazingly well-written characters, including Rhea, Jeralt, and Seteth for example. But the stars of the game are the students, the ones that the player spends countless hours training and bonding with. Each one of them has a unique and dynamic personality that makes them feel like real people. Of course, this means that some of them can be more interesting than others, depending on their motivations, their traits, and their relationships with others. Though their personalities are the most important part, this list also ranks the students by their use in battle. Typically, the most complex characters are the most powerful.

10. Bernadetta

Bernadetta is a fan-favorite because of her endearing personality. She is extremely anxious and has difficulty interacting with people because of the abuse she endured at the hands of her father, who wished to make her into a perfect wife for a wealthy noble. She hardly ever leaves her room and enjoys spending her time with plants, especially those of the carnivorous variety. The rare moments where she does venture outside are special, such as when she goes to the cemetery after Jeralt’s death. During the war phase, she gains a little more confidence and is not quite as afraid of others. Many of her support also help her grow, with the majority of them helping to improve her anxiety. Her supports are some of the best in Fire Emblem: Three Houses because they showcase her overcoming her fears and becoming a slightly more outgoing person.

Bernadetta is likely the weakest character on this list by herself, but with a lot of care and training, she can become a strong archer. Her skill, Persecution Complex, allows her to deal additional damage to opponents if she herself is damaged. It is incredibly risky to use this skill because of her low defense, meaning that she can die easily. However, it is useful to boost her attack by allowing her to have low health. She also learns a combat art called Vengeance which works well with her own skill since it boosts her damage even further.

9. Constance

Constance von Nuvelle has one goal in mind; to restore her fallen house and family name. She is a noble type much like Ferdinand and Lorenz, but manages to be a bit more endearing than the two of them because of her shy and reserved personality when she is in the sun. When in the shade or underground in Abyss, she speaks with a dramatic flair and a touch of snobbish attitude. But when exposed to sunlight, she loses all of her confidence and becomes apologetic, sad, and reserved. Essentially, she is two characters for the price of one. Her personalities contrast so much, and both are equally great.

Constance’s two personalities even affect battles. When inside, her strength and magic is boosted, but when she is outdoors, her defense and resistance are boosted. This Circadian Beat skill of hers makes her a versatile unit who may perform better on some maps than others. She does not have high defense in general but has powerful magic to make up for it. Her spell list includes some of the best spells in Three Houses, such as Fimbulvetr. She performs the best as a magic class; most other classes are not useful for her.

8. Felix

Felix is not the friendliest character in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, as he frequently insults Dimitri and has an attitude with most others. He only cares about practicing his swordsmanship with little regard for anything else. Though he is so obsessed with fighting, he hates the idea of chivalry and that his brother Glenn’s death was seen as honorable. His reaction to the death of his brother is the opposite of Dimitri’s reaction to the deaths of his loved ones; Felix chooses to move on and let the dead rest, while Dimitri’s life becomes consumed by pursuing revenge for those he lost. The two of them are also opposites in their views of battle. Felix enjoys swordsmanship but keeps himself contained on the battlefield, and Dimitri is not quite as interested in fighting but behaves savagely in battle. The two of them are perfect foils, hence their strained relationship. The Azure Moon route is the best route for Felix, as the player gets to see him grow out of his hatred for Dimitri and become a bit more easygoing.

Felix is easy to recruit early on in routes other than Blue Lions. He requires skill in swords and speed, which Byleth will likely develop quickly. Felix has a high chance of critical hits and very good strength, so he is likely to defeat foes quickly. Since his focus is on offense, his defense is on the lower side, but he usually dodges attacks. He has a good chance of defeating almost any enemy he comes across. With access to the Mortal Savant class, he can also use spells in addition to his physical attacks.

7. Hilda

Even though she is the right-hand woman of Claude, Hilda is not quite as helpful as Hubert and Dedue are to their lords. Hilda does anything to get out of doing work, whether she has to make excuses or even manipulate others to avoid performing her duties. Though she is extremely lazy, she can work hard when she needs to, such as in her and Marianne’s supports, when she organizes all of the library’s books when Marianne fails to do so. This, along with her friendly personality and loyalty to her friends, makes her more than just a lazy girl that avoids work at all costs. She is one of Claude’s most trustworthy allies, and can always be counted on regardless of her laziness.

Hilda is a hard-hitting unit with high strength and easy access to armor class lines, making her effective as a fighter and a tank. She is the most useful character that naturally uses axes, since she has the highest speed of them all. She dishes out high damage attacks on a regular basis, and with her good speed, she can usually attack twice. She is an essential unit to use in Verdant Wind and Azure Moon, as she can easily defeat many types of enemies.

6. Yuri

Leader of the Ashen Wolves Yuri is a charismatic individual, while also being quite blunt with his words. His charismatic personality is a leftover from his shady past, where he was an expert at manipulating others to get what he wanted. But today, he no longer participates in that way of life and instead dedicates himself to protecting the Abyssians. He cares deeply for them and wants to ensure their safety above all, though he is not above teasing his friends, such as Constance. Yuri is the type of character whose actions and words cannot be predicted, which is what makes him so entertaining.

Yuri is a jack-of-all-trades, able to perform well in multiple classes, unlike the other lords. He has the highest speed stat in all of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, along with other decent stats. Because of his versatility, it is useful to train him in multiple classes to make him the most effective in whichever class the player chooses to keep him in. Befitting of his personality, he shines the best in the Trickster class, but he also makes a great Dancer. Regardless of class, his impeccable speed makes him able to frequently attack multiple times and dodge enemy attacks.

5. Sylvain

Sylvain, despite his constant philandering, is actually one of the Blue Lions’ best characters. At first, he comes off as insensitive to women, especially in Byleth’s C support with him. Eventually, it is revealed that his attitude towards relationships is derived from the belief that noble women are only after his crest. He holds a negative view of crests in general, partially because of his troubled relationship with his brother, Mikan. He views himself as unable to form proper relationships, mostly because of his crest. Sylvain has many hidden depths that are not apparent from his usual flirty and laid-back persona. His disdain for crests, his intelligence, and his genuine care for women are what make him a great character, and the fact that these traits are all hidden makes his supports especially interesting.

Gameplay-wise, Sylvain is the earliest student female Byleth can recruit outside of the Blue Lions route. He provides extra help early on, in case one of the Black Eagles or Golden Deer’s students is not up to par. Additionally, he gains a Heroes’ Relic early on, the Lance of Ruin. This lance coupled with his crest’s power, make him an excellent cavalry unit. Due to his early recruitment and all-around good stats, he is likely to be a staple of players’ teams.

4. Lysithea

Lysithea captured the hearts of many, leading to her second place spot in Fire Emblem Heroes’ Choose Your Legends event. In the women’s division, she was only beaten by fellow Three Houses character Edelgard. Sometimes she comes off as rude since she is against wasting time with trivial matters and often dismisses people that bother her. This attitude of hers is because she really does not have much time; because of crest experimentation, her lifespan was drastically shortened and she wants to make the most of the little time she does have. Though this tragic fate awaits her, she still has a soft side, such as her love for sweets and fear of ghosts. Sometimes, when she deems people worth her time, she can show her kind side as well.

Magic is extremely useful in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Lysithea excels at it. She is not very good in other classes, but her absurdly powerful magic makes her the perfect candidate for classes such as Gremory. She has a great spell list as well, even including warp. Her main downside is that she is very fragile; she is likely to be killed with one or two hits, which is unfortunate in classic mode runs. As long as she is kept safe, though, she is an absolute powerhouse on the battlefield.

3. Dimitri

The lord of the Blue Lions is likely the most dynamic character in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Dimitri starts out as a polite young man, but with a few dark moments, such as the past Felix brings up and his reaction to Edelgard being revealed as the Flame Emperor. After the timeskip, he changes completely and becomes solely focused on getting revenge on Edelgard for the Tragedy of Duscur. A few chapters later, he changes once again, deciding to become a good ruler for his kingdom of Faerghus. Dimitri’s character development is some of the best in Fire Emblem history. The most entertaining part of Azure Moon is watching his growth and rooting for him to become a kind man once again after his descent into darkness.

Dimitri is not only strong offensively, but he also has good defense. He is encouraged to focus on lance and cavalry classes, and does not do very well in other class lines. Therefore, the player does not have many options besides focusing on promoting him through his natural class line. Despite this, he performs amazingly with a lance. Dimitri is able to use powerful combat arts thanks to his crest’s ability, and he does not take much damage in return. The only thing to worry about with him is keeping him away from mages; otherwise, he could likely take on an entire map’s worth of enemies alone.

2. Edelgard

Edelgard is an extremely complex character with motives that are hard to determine in routes other than her own. She wishes to change the land of Fódlan for the better, and destroy the system of crests that has ruined so many lives. This goal of hers is what drives her, and she refuses to give up until she accomplishes it, even if it means that she has to use unpleasant methods of achieving it. She comes off as a serious person because of her motivations, but she also has an endearing side. This side is revealed mostly in her interactions with Byleth, whom she cares about dearly. Her affection for Byleth leads to multiple cute and awkward moments, like when she draws portraits of them. Edelgard’s bond with her professor is what makes her seem less like an intimidating emperor, and more like a woman that simply wants the best for the world.

Edelgard, like an axe user, is able to deal a lot of damage. She is immensely powerful in classes that wield axes, but she is also good with magic, unlike both Dimitri and Claude. It can be worthwhile to train her in Reason if the player is willing to sacrifice her use of axes, especially her personal axe Aymr, which allows her to move again after combat. She can easily become one of the strongest mages available, but even if the player does not choose this path for her, she still excels as a fighter that deals physical damage.

1. Claude

Claude, the leader of the Golden Deer, stands out from the other lords as a character whose morals never change. However, his unchanging morals do not make him a static character; in fact, they can be a breath of fresh air after experiencing the other lords’ dark moments. Claude strives to make a change peacefully. He is especially invested in the relations of Fódlan and Almyra, due to his father being the king of Almyra and his mother being the daughter of the Leicester Alliance’s Duke. Because of his heritage, he faced discrimination in both countries when he was young, and now wishes to bridge the gap between the two cultures. However, his desire for a world of equality is not the only great thing about him. He is also intelligent, perceptive, very comical, and keeps a laid-back demeanor even in stressful situations. Claude’s overall friendly attitude and his dreams of bringing all people together regardless of their cultures are what make him the best student in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

As the main character of the Verdant Wind route and the one you are forced to use the most alongside Byleth, Claude is very powerful. He gets critical attacks often and has high enough speed to attack multiple times. His Wyvern Master and Barbarossa classes give him high mobility; he can cross over otherwise impassable terrain and attack from a vantage point that melee units cannot reach. Additionally, he has a powerful relic, Failnaught, that makes him even stronger. Even though he does not have the strength of Dimitri or Edelgard, he shines as the most agile of the lords.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses exceeds in creating characters that players feel connections to.  It is hard not to become attached to most of them, whether they are a favorite because of their character or because of their strength.  Every student has a deep personality, interesting story or backstory, and the potential to become a beast on the battlefield.  Claude, Edelgard, and Dimitri are the best examples of this, but everyone else on this list—and even those not on it—can easily become a player’s favorite.