The most recent entry in the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Three Houses allows players more freedom than ever to customize their units and develop their own strategies. While there are many classes and characters at a player's disposal, each character comes along with their own strengths and weaknesses. While each character has its own selling points, some characters are just frankly capable of dealing more damage than others. So today, we're going to examine the characters of Three Houses and see which recruitable characters are capable of dealing the most damage!
Before we start, we should note that as we're analyzing recruitable characters, characters such as Dedue, Dimitri, and Edelgard who are locked behind specific routes will be excluded from this list.
Updated on July 31, 2021 by Paul DiSalvo: Whether it be through physical offense or magic, the varied characters of Fire Emblem: Three Houses are capable of dealing their damage in numerous ways. While some characters tote great blends of speed and strength, others can make use of skills, combat arts, and even personal weapons in order to take down their foes with ease. Thanks to the Cindered Shadows DLC, players have even more powerful units at their disposal when it comes to dealing tons of damage in Three Houses.
15 Annette
While Annette’s reputation as a unit in Three Houses is largely based around her support capabilities due to the various rallies she can learn, Annette is capable of dealing great magic damage. With an impressive 50% magic growth rate, in the Azure Moon route, the players can obtain Annette’s personal Relic Weapon: Crusher. Crusher is an incredible axe that uses its wielder’s magic stat to deal damage rather than their strength, making it perfect for Annette. Paired with her aptitude for axes and Crusher’s Dust Combat Art, when Annette isn’t supporting her allies, she can really pack a punch.
14 Shamir
A member of the Church of Seiros, Shamir is a pre-promoted Sniper that benefits from solid base stats and a 40% growth rate in both strength and speed. This allows Shamir to reliably double her foes when attacking from afar using her class’s excellent range. Additionally, Shamir boasts an impressive 55% dexterity growth rate that allows her to more easily land critical hits, especially when using a killer bow, leading her to be one of the most reliably high damaging ranged units in the game.
13 Hapi
Released as part of the Cindered Shadows DLC, Hapi is one of the best damage-dealing magic units available in Three Houses. WIth solid speed and magic growth rates, Hapi can hit hard and often. This pairs in stellar fashion with her spell list that’s jam-packed with potent dark spells such as Hades Ω and Death Γ. While she makes for an excellent Valkyrie, she can also excel in the Gremory class, learning great faith spells like Seraphim and Warp.
12 Balthus
Another member of the Ashen Wolves that appeared in Cindered Shadows, Balthus is a solid offensive unit who makes for one of the best gauntlet-users in the game. With a solid strength growth and a great personal ability that raises his offense when he’s below half of his maximum HP, one of the biggest appeals of Balthus is Vajra-Mushti. The personal relic gauntlets of Balthus, though these gauntlets can already rack up great damage through their consecutive attacks, they allow Balthus to access the Eviscerate Combat Art that can take advantage of a foe’s low defense or resistance.
11 Constance
The other spellcaster of the Ashen Wolves alongside Hapi, Constance has access to an absolutely incredible 60% magic growth rate. This makes her quite deadly when made into classes such as Gremory, Valkyrie, or Dark Flier, as she has access to a multitude of great damaging spells like Fimbbulvetr, Bolting, and Agnea’s Arrow. As if this blend of spell list and growth rates didn’t make of a potent enough combo, Constance’s personal ability, Circadian Beat, further improves her magic stat as long as she’s indoors.
10 Raphael
A rather polarizing unit from the Golden Deer, Raphael is not nearly as multifaceted as other characters in the game and excels in one area in particular: hitting things hard. With one of the highest strength growth rates of any character in the game and the ability to quickly raise his axe and brawling skills, players who invest in Raphael have the potential to make a deadly War Master or Wyvern Lord. However, getting Raphael to this point requires a great deal of commitment, and he tends to not be too useful in other roles, so players planning on using this character should bear this in mind.
9 Alois
A member of the Church of Seiros, Alois is recruitable in each route and can be recruited once a player completes Chapter 11 in the Academy phase as long as Byleth is a high enough level. An underrated unit, Alois joins one's army as a Warrior with an A rank in axes and a B rank in brawling. This means that he can be made into the excellent War Master class with minimal effort on a player's part, utilizing his high strength stat and the War Master's high critical rate to deal high sums of damage. While players often pass on Alois in favor of students with earlier availability, he can be quite strong for the lack of investment he requires.
8 Seteth
Another member of the Church of Seiros, Seteth automatically joins a player's army at the beginning of Chapter 12 as long as they aren't playing the Crimson Flower route. Joining as the excellent Wyvern Rider class,
Seteth has solid base stats and growth rates that are comparable to those of Alois. With a Major crest of Cichol, Seteth is the perfect candidate to wield the powerful Spear of Assal, one of the most potent lances in the game.
7 Dorothea
Dorothea is one of the premier magic users of the Black Eagles, and can be recruited by other houses if Byleth has high enough Charm and Authority. With a solid 40% magic growth rate, Dorothea has one of the most impressive reason spell lists in the entire game, learning the likes of Thoron, Sagittae, Meteor, and Agnea's Arrow! When benefitting from the +10% magic growth from classes like Warlock or Gremory, Dorothea is among one of the biggest magical threats a player can use in Three Houses, and can even deal her damage from across the map thanks to Meteor!
6 Petra
Like Dorothea, Petra is initially a student of the Black Eagles house, though she may be recruited by players of other houses if Byleth has high enough Dexterity and Riding. With a stellar speed growth of 60% and a solid strength growth of 40%, it isn't hard for Petra to become the fastest unit in one's army, doubly any enemy she comes across.
Between these growths, an ability capable of raising her critical rate in Hunter's Instincts, and easy access to highly damaging classes like Wyvern Lord and Assassin, Petra is an excellent unit that any playthrough can benefit from.
5 Hilda
Hilda is a student of the Golden Deer house, and like Seteth is available in every route save for Crimson Flower. With above-average growth rates and strength and speed as well as a strength in axes, like Petra, Hilda can make for one of the strongest Wyvern Lords in the game. Additionally, due to her Advocate ability, Hilda is even capable of improving the damage of adjacent allies under the condition that they're male. As if this weren't enough, as the bearer of the crest of Goneril once the player obtains the Heroes' Relic Freikugel, she gains access to the devastating Apocalyptic Flame combat art.
4 Lysithea
When it comes to dealing raw magical damage, few characters can come close to dealing as much damage as Lysithea. A Golden Deer student like Hilda, Lysithea can be recruited into another house if Byleth has high enough magic and faith. As a unit, Lysithea is the epitome of a glass cannon, incapable of living through nearly any physical attack, but dealing absurd amounts of magic damage. With one of the most extensive dark magic spell lists in the game, featuring spells like Dark Spikes and Hades, Lysithea totes an incredible 60% magical growth that is only improved by classes like Warlock and Gremory. As long as a player makes sure to protect her with their other units, Lysithea can serve as one of the most deadly units at a player's disposal.
3 Felix
The first Blue Lions student on our list, Felix is among the easiest characters to recruit for players in other houses, as he only requires Byleth to have high ranks in speed and swords. With an incredible 55% growth in strength and speed, Felix can hit hard and repeatedly. Excelling with swords and brawling, Felix can make a powerful swordmaster, assassin, or even a war master, dealing additional damage for simply not having a battalion equipped.
2 Catherine
A swordmaster who is recruitable in each route save for Crimson Flower, Catherine can be recruited as early as chapter four as long as Byleth is a high enough level. While this level requirement is 15 by default, it can be lowered by raising her support rank with Byleth. As a unit, Catherine has high growth rates in strength and speed, and notably comes with one of the best weapons in the game: the Thunderbrand. Essentially an improved Brave Sword, as long as Catherine is wielding this sword she gains access to the Foudroyant Strike combat art. Between numerous guaranteed attacks and a strong combat art, few characters can deal high damage as reliably as Catherine.
1 Sylvain
The easiest character in the game to recruit, Sylvain is a Blue Lion's student who can automatically be recruited by players who are playing as female Byleth. With solid growth rates across the board, Sylvain's Philanderer ability grants him additional damage if he's adjacent to a female unit. Most notably, a player can easily access the Heroes' Relic, the Lance of Ruin by refusing to give it to Rhea as early as Chapter 5. Once Sylvain is equipped with this lance, he gains access to the Ruined Sky combat art that allows him to erase practically any enemy unit from the map!