Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List

What are the best units in Fire Emblem Three Houses (FE3H)? This up-to-date Fire Emblem Three Houses tier list will give you the best overview.

Fire Emblem Three Houses, or FE3H, has a robust cast of over 40 unique, playable characters.

With each having their own strengths, weaknesses, and hidden talents, it can be a pain figuring out who’s better than who.

For those who want to build the strongest roster possible, we’ve got you covered. This aims to be our definitive ranking of all units in the game.

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Things To Know About In The List

Before diving in, take note of the following considerations we made into making this tier list:

  • The list was made with Maddening difficulty in mind. The rankings still scale-down well with easier difficulties.
  • This list considers which house each unit belongs to, but also assumes you’re willing to recruit units from other houses.
  • This list also includes characters and classes from the Cindered Shadows DLC.

Now with all that out of the way, let’s dive right into the list.

S-Tier

Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List S Tier

These are the best units in the game. Their amazing stats and great utility make them must-haves for any Maddening playthrough.

UnitRecommended ClassesDescription
Female BylethEnlightened One, Falcon KnightOf course, the main character tops this list. The Professor has excellent stat growths and a passive ability that share EXP with other units.

The female version edges out her male counterpart because she has access to the Falcon Knight class, which is arguably the best class line in the game. You can also build into her Enlightened One class if you want more magic utility from her.

A well-built Falcon Knight Byleth can decimate entire maps in any difficulty setting. She has powerful attacks, great speed, and god-tier avoidance stats that overwhelm entire waves of enemies.
Male BylethEnlightened OneDespite not having access to Falcon Knight, Male Byleth still shines in his unique class as Enlightened One. This build makes him an offensive physical and magical powerhouse with decent defensive capabilities.

If you want more map control and movement, you can build him into a Wyvern Lord, but then you’d have to invest in axes more.
EdelgardEmperor, Wyvern LordYou can choose between two builds with Edelgard, and both would dominate.

Emperor is an overall strong class with powerful attacks and impenetrable defense. Wyvern Lord Edelgard is simply a storm surge that darts across the map leaving enemy corpses in its wake. In Maddening, Wyvern Edelgard is preferred because of incredible map control and natural affinity to axes (which includes her relic weapon).
ClaudeBarbarossaBows are great in Three Houses; flyers are, too. It’s no wonder that Claude, a bow-wielding wyvern master, belongs on the top tier.

Because of his powerful long-ranged arsenal, Claude works best as a nuker during Playe Phase. Invest in his speed stat to easily execute double attacks against any enemy unit in the game.
DimitriGreat LordDimitri is plagued by the fact that he can’t be a decent flying unit because of his weakness in axes. Still, he will serve as your best defensive anchor when he’s in his Great Lord class.

He’s especially powerful during the Enemy Phase, serving as a wall of death between you and the enemy army. He also has the best stat growths out of the three house leaders.
LysitheaGremory, Dark Flier, Dark KnightLysithea is easily the best offensive spellcaster in the game. If you want pure offensive power to one-shot enemies, build her into a Gremory.

If you want more utility, map control, and defense, build Lysithea into Dark Flier or Dark Knight. She has a heavy surplus of the magic attack stat anyway, so she’ll still be a threat to your opponents.

In Maddening difficulty, make sure to boost Lysithea’s magic stat as much as possible so that she can one-shot even the toughest enemies.

A-Tier

Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List A Tier

These are excellent units that make your playthrough a lot easier. They have great combat utility and can slot into any team composition.

They are the perfect pieces to complement your S-Tiers and conversely, lead your lower-tiered units.

UnitRecommended ClassesDescription
LeonieBow KnightIt seems being Jeralt’s student has greatly benefitted Leonie. She’s easy to build into Bow Knight (almost like it’s her natural class). Moreover, she absolutely shines in this class with her dominance across short and long-range (thanks to volley).

Leonie is also in A-tier because she’s low maintenance. Build her into Bow Knight then watch her natural stat growths take over.
PetraWyvern LordEverything about Petra just screams “make me an Assassin!”. While she’s still strong going this route, it all seems like a waste considering how dominant she is as a Wyvern Lord.

Her natural speed growth will ensure two hits on enemies even with an axe. She gets added mobility and defense as a Wyvern Lord as well, making her more well-rounded than her Assassin version. Petra is best utilized as a dodge-tank because of her high speed and avoidance growths. Because of this, she can easily hold her own during the Player or Enemy Phase.
FelixMortal Savant, Bow KnightFelix is like the male version of Petra – speedy, elusive, and is a powerhouse on offense.

The easiest class to build him to is Mortal Savant. With this, he’ll be able to pick-off opponents with physical or magical attacks.

The unconventional route involves making Felix a Bow Knight. This is a tough task initially due to the need to invest in bows and riding, but the rewards are worth it down the line.
LinhardtBishop, Holy KnightIronically, Linhardt may be the best healer in the game not because of his support spells. His heals are on par with other units like Mercedes and Marianne but his offensive capability clearly outshines them.

Because of this versatility, it’s easier to slot Linhardt in your rotation without missing out on offense or healing. Make him a Holy Knight if you want more mobility and survivability at the expense of Bishop’s magical bonuses.
DedueWar MasterDimitri might be the best defensive unit towards the end, but Dedue will carry you from early to mid-game during your Blue Lions run.

His excellent defense stat complements his decent speed and avoidance growths while in the War Master class. This makes him a one-shot monster during the Player Phase and an amazing dodge-counter-tank during the Enemy Phase
FerdinandPaladin, Wyvern LordFerdinand would be in S-tier if he wasn’t screaming “I am Ferdinand von Aegir!” all the time.

Kidding aside, Ferdinand has great skills and is relatively easy to get into the Paladin or Wyvern Lord class. He’s low-maintenance like Leonie as well – eliminating the need to micro-manage yet another unit.

B-Tier

Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List B Tier

These are great units that need a bit of fine-tuning to put them on par with the higher tiers.

Each of them has the potential to be the star of your run (depending on your luck with stat growths), so don’t disregard them.

UnitRecommended ClassDescription
AnnetteDark Flier, Pegasus KnightAnnette’s Rally skill is the ultimate support skill. It gives an ally +4 speed and strength when used – perfect to use on Byleth, Dimitri, or Dedue (Blue Lions run).

Sadly, Annette’s poor spells hold her back a bit, but at least she has decent utility. Oh, and she’s good with axes so she can be a decent offensive unit in a pinch.
MarianneFalcon Knight, Holy Knight, ValkyrieUtilize Marianne’s natural affinity to mounts immediately and make her a Falcon, Hoy Knight, or Valkyrie.

Falcon and Holy Knight use more of her Faith abilities so build her into those if you need a solid support unit. Otherwise, make her a Valkyrie to bolster her offensive capabilities.
CatherineMortal Savant, Falcon KnightCatherine is a beast especially during the early parts of the game. She’s stuck in B-tier because her utility falls hard towards the end, especially if you aren’t successful in building her into a Falcon Knight.
ConstanceDark Flier, GremoryConstance is clearly the standout of the Cindered Shadows DLC. She fits well into her natural role as Dark Flier because of her high magic stat. Her spell list is also useful and allows her to slot into Gremory when needed.

Constance’s downside is her limited versatility. It seems she was made to be a Dark Flier and stay that way. If she had an affinity to Faith, she would probably be in S-tier in terms of utility.
HildaFalcon KnightYou might be tempted to make Hilda a Wyvern Lord because of her affinity to axes.

Pause for a moment and consider that she probably has the highest strength stat out of all the characters. It makes sense to build her into a Falcon Knight which makes use of this and fills holes in her defenses by adding speed and avoidance stat growths into the mix.

A flying, double-attacking Hilda is any enemy’s nightmare.
CyrilBow Knight, Wyvern LordCyril will seem like an average unit at first, but carefully investing in him yields marginally good rewards.

He’s like a slightly worse version of Leonie. That’s not a knock on him, however, as he’s a solid flyer or ranged attacker from the mid to the endgame.
ShamirSniper, Bow KnightWe said that bows are great in Three Houses, right? Well, Shamir embodies that.

As a Sniper, she’s very powerful right off the bat. With proper stat growths and Hunter’s Volley, Shamir can be a Lysithea-like nuker during Player Phase.
MercedesBishop, Holy KnightMercedes is a decent healer, but her useful Reason spells are only obtained upon reaching A-rank.

With a careful investment, you can make Mercedes useful starting the mid-game – especially if you build her into a Holy Knight. After that, it’s just a question of how well you build an offensive party around her.
DorotheaGremoryDorothea starts out extremely slow but gradually gets stronger towards the latter half of the game.

Make sure you develop her budding talent in Faith because that will give her plenty of utility in battle.
IngridFalcon KnightLike Dorothea, she starts off slow due to her pitiful damage output.

The good thing about this is that’s her only glaring weakness. This means that you can start building her into Falcon Knight with great speed and avoidance growths while buffing her attack stat. After that, just wait and you’ll start to see her effectively murder enemy units consistently.

C-Tier

Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List C Tier

These units need careful investment and a bit of luck with stat growths to keep up with the top tier.

UnitRecommended ClassDescription
JeritzaDeath KnightJeritza is a straightforward unit. He’s strong, can use magic, and is mobile. The problem is, you can only use him during the second half of the game, which may throw your entire roster into disarray.
SetethWyvern LordSeteth is a great flyer with decent stat growths and useful skills.

Like Jeritza, however, you can’t recruit him until the mid-game so you can’t really tailor his build to your liking.
FlaynDark FlierFlayn is a good support unit with access to Rescue and Fortify. Her reason spells are weak but accurate, and sometimes that’s more important.

Flayn would be higher on this list if she had a reliable heal spell to bolster her utility.
HapiValkyrieHapi’s best trait is her awesome spell list (one of the best in the game). Sadly, her weak authority and average faith hold her back.

She does do well against monsters thanks to her personal skill, so she has a niche spot in some rotations.
YuriTricksterYuri’s weakness in mounts, lances, and axes effectively limit him into being just a Trickster. He has decent utility thanks to Recover and Foul Play but his battle prowess isn’t that impressive.
SylvainWyvern Lord, PaladinSylvain is a hit-or-miss unit. You have to carefully invest in him and have lucky stat growths so he can be useful for your team during the end game.

If you build him right, he’s like a beefier Ferdinand that is valuable during the Enemy Phase.
HubertDark KnightHubert is strong during the early game but falls off hard once half of the story is done. It’s a shame because he has excellent spells and a high magic stat. If only he had more mobility…

D-Tier

Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List D Tier

These units will probably be a liability for you in Maddening difficulty unless you build them perfectly.

UnitRecommended ClassesDescription
CasparWar MasterCaspar’s main goal is to buff your offense. You can use him to inflict heavy damage on an opponent or finish off an enemy with low health. Outside of this, he doesn’t offer any additional utility.

There is a small chance that you end up building him into a Dedue-like unit, but it will require a significant amount of luck.
IgnatzSniperIgnatz offers decent utility because of his personal skill and authority stats.

It’s unfortunate that you can’t build him into a Bow Knight because you’ll lose damage Hunter’s Volley gives (Ignatz’ damage will never catch up to other bow users’).
AsheSniper, Wyvern LordAs a Sniper, Ashe is like Ignatz with a worse personal skill.

This same personal skill does have a niche use if he’s a Wyvern Lord, however. With the mobility, he can dart across the map opening treasure chests for you. Not the flashiest of roles, but hey, somebody’s got to do it.
BernadettaSniperIf Bernie had an affinity for axes, she could be a flying bow-user like Claude. She doesn’t though, and that locks her to a Sniper/Bow Knight/Paladin at best.
BalthusWar MonkBalthus could use some more utility, but him being able to provide offense and support could prove useful in some maps. He also has his own Relic weapon too.
AloisWar Master, Armor KnightAlois has mediocre stat growths that won’t cut it for the end game content. You’ll have more value from him if you reclass him to an Armor Knight, then let him serve as an adjutant to your casters.

F-Tier

Fire Emblem Three Houses Tier List F Tier

The worst units in the game. They usually don’t offer much in any run, especially on Maddening difficulty.

UnitRecommended ClassDescription
AnnaTricksterAnna has no utility at all. Authority could have been her saving grace, but she has a weakness to it, sadly.
HannemanDark KnightHanneman joins late on your playthrough and only offers offensive magic to help. By that time, you’ll have plenty of better options on offense.
ManuelaGremory, Bishop, TricksterYes, Manuela can be reclassed flexibly. Don’t bother though, as she joins your party a bit late and doesn’t offer much help outside of her offensive spells.
LorenzPaladinFrozen Lance isn’t enough to bolster Lorenz’s resume even during the second half of the game. His stat growths, like his haircut, are horrible. Try recruiting Ferdinand or Sylvain instead if you’re on the Golden Deer route.
RaphaelWar MasterThe Golden Deer sure have it rough, don’t they? Raphael has only mediocre stat growths and horrible skills, but he’s more useful than Lorenz because of his ability to take hits and buff allies’ strength.
GilbertArmor KnightGilbert is basically a one-dimensional Alois. Use him as a guard adjutant and forget about him.

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