Biorhythm

Nolan's biorhythm (bottom right) moves as turns pass. As his biorhythm changes from good to bad, it has effects on his hit rate and avoid (top right). Additionally, green and red arrows (top left) indicate his current biorhythm state.

Biorhythm (Japanese: バイオリズム biorhythm) is a mechanic applied to units which simulates how an individual's ability to fight to their fullest potential fluctuates as time goes on, making them perform better at some times and perform worse at others. A unit's biorhythm follows a pattern shaped like a sine wave, advancing along the wave a little bit periodically, and as it follows the ups and downs of this wave, the biorhythm give bonuses or penalties to the unit's accuracy and evasive ability during the course of a battle.

At any given time, a unit's biorhythm puts them in one of five states: Best, Good, Normal, Bad, and Worst. A Good state or higher gives the unit small hit and avoid boosts, while a Bad state or lower gives small penalties to the same. The biorhythm chart can be viewed in each unit's stat screen to see their current state and where the biorhythm will put them in later turns, and their current biorhythm state is shown on the map when hovering the cursor over them, indicated by red and green arrows.

Biorhythm is only present in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Biorhythm pattern

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, all units share the same biorhythm wave. Biorhythm moves in a 30-point cycle, after which it restarts from the beginning of the wave.

Biorhythm moves under two conditions:

• For every 10 rounds of attack the unit participates in (regardless of whether they initiate it or are capable of counterattacking), their biorhythm moves forward by one point.
• For every chapter they participate in that gets cleared, their biorhythm moves forward by seven points. The four parts of Chapter 17 are not treated as individual chapters for the purposes of biorhythm advancement, but the second part of Chapter 27 is treated as a separate chapter.

Almost all units, both playable and enemy, will start a map with their biorhythm at a completely random point, with the point being reset every time the player resets the game. However, several early-game units (10 playable, 2 bosses) will have their biorhythm start at a pre-set point when they first appear in their debut chapter.

• Ike starts the Prologue at biorhythm point 8 (Best)
• Oscar starts Chapter 1 at biorhythm point 23 (Worst)
• Titania starts Chapter 1 at biorhythm point 30 (Normal)
• Shinon starts Chapter 3 at biorhythm point 29 (Bad)
• Gatrie starts Chapter 3 at biorhythm point 29 (Bad)
• Soren starts Chapter 4 at biorhythm point 22 (Worst)
• Mia starts Chapter 7 at biorhythm point 8 (Best)
• Mist starts Chapter 9 at biorhythm point 11 (Best)
• Rolf starts Chapter 9 at biorhythm point 11 (Best)
• Boyd, as an enemy in the Prologue, starts at biorhythm point 8 (Best)
• Greil, the boss of the Prologue, starts at biorhythm point 8 (Best)
• Zawana, the boss of Chapter 1, starts at biorhythm point 28 (Bad)

In terms of how this is handled internally, these starting biorhythms are actually counted up from how many chapters have elapsed since the "first chapter" in terms of the game's internal storage, which is actually the debug map, with the Prologue being counted as #2 and the rest of the game's chapters proceeding from there. For instance, Mia's starting biorhythm is actually stored as 12 (Good), but since the player has progressed through eight chapters (counted as including the debug menu) by the time she first appears, the seven points awarded by clearing a chapter are applied eight times, bringing her to start with her biorhythm at 8 (Best).

Calculations

The five biorhythm states award the following bonuses

• Best: +5 hit rate, +5 avoid
• Good: +5 hit rate, +5 avoid
• Normal: No effect
• Bad: −5 hit rate, −5 avoid
• Worst: −5 hit rate, −5 avoid

Skills affecting biorhythm

Skills affecting biorhythm
	Item	Effect	Games
	Tempest	Doubles biorhythm effects.	Path of Radiance
	Serenity	Halves biorhythm effects.	Path of Radiance

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Biorhythm patterns

There are ten different biorhythm waves in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, two of which are exclusive to enemy bosses. Playable units and major enemies are all assigned one specific biorhythm pattern, while generic enemies are assigned biorhythms at random (excluding types 8 and 9). All ten waves move through a 25-point cycle, after which it restarts from the beginning of the wave. Every unit joins with their biorhythm starting at 1 regardless of their starting affiliation, and it advances at the end of their army's phase—for example, an enemy unit will change biorhythm at the end of enemy phase. A unit's biorhythm state is kept from map to map; for example, Zihark will join Part 1, Chapter 6 with his biorhythm set at 6, since he spent 5 turns as a green unit in Part 1, Chapter 5, and that chapter's ending trigger occurs before the biorhythm trigger. Meanwhile, Volug in the same chapter will be at 7 since he had 6 player phase end turns. Elincia will always start Part 2 ,Endgame at bad biorhythm, which will then become worst on the first turn of enemy phase.

Type 0

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 0 biorhythm is a standard pattern, comparable to the Path of Radiance pattern. It is found on nine playable units, five bosses, and one NPC.

Player	Nolan	Vika	Elincia	Oscar	Ranulf	Sigrun	Stefan	Caineghis	Kurthnaga
Bosses and NPCs	Isaiya	Kurth	Burton	Callum	Yuma

Type 1

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 1 biorhythm has very long Best and Worst points. It is found on nine playable units, five bosses, and one NPC.

Player	Micaiah	Aran	Volug	Zihark	Brom	Makalov	Astrid	Rhys	Tanith
Bosses and NPCs	Zaitan	Djur	Istvan	Zelgius	Roark	Black Knight

Type 2

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 2 biorhythm has relatively stable and minor effects on units' stats, having neither Best nor Worst points. It is found on nine playable units and three bosses.

Player	Leonardo	Tauroneo	Muarim	Marcia	Nephenee	Ulki	Naesala	Pelleas	Nasir
Bosses and NPCs	Agony	Tashoria	Levail

Type 3

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 3 biorhythm is somewhat erratic, spending relatively little time at Normal, Good, or Bad points. It is found on six playable units, five bosses, and one NPC.

Player	Heather	Kieran	Boyd	Lyre	Skrimir	Oliver
Bosses and NPCs	Aimee	Pain	Rommit	Sergei	Valtome	Lekain

Type 4

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 4 biorhythm is very erratic and rapidly plunges between Best and Worst points. It is found on five playable units and seven bosses.

Player	Jill	Calill	Soren	Shinon	Kyza
Bosses and NPCs	Pugo	Wystan	Yeardley	Septimus	Numida	Izuka	Hetzel

Type 5

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 5 biorhythm is somewhat erratic, spending relatively little time at Normal, Good, or Bad points. It is found on thirteen playable units and three bosses.

Player	Edward	Tormod	Nealuchi	Lethe	Mordecai	Geoffrey	Titania	Mist	Mia	Gatrie	Reyson	Janaff	Sanaki
Bosses and NPCs	Zeffren	Ludveck	Kezhda

Type 6

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 6 biorhythm is very stable, having neither Best nor Worst points and spending long periods of time in Good and Bad states. It is found on nine playable units and three bosses.

Player	Sothe	Ilyana	Fiona	Rafiel	Haar	Bastian	Volke	Giffca	Ena	Lehran
Bosses and NPCs	Maraj	Lombroso	Dheginsea	Sephiran

Type 7

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 7 biorhythm has very long Best and Worst points and sharply shifts between them. It is found on ten playable units and one boss.

Player	Laura	Meg	Nailah	Lucia	Danved	Ike	Rolf	Tibarn	Renning	Gareth
Bosses and NPCs	Laverton

Type 8

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 8 biorhythm is completely neutral and gives no bonuses or penalties whatseover. It is exclusive to enemy bosses.

Bosses and NPCs	Radmin	Silvano	Catalena	Ashera

Type 9

Biorhythm
Best
Good
Normal
Bad
Worst

The type 9 biorhythm is similar to type 0, except it never enters Worst points. It is exclusive to enemy bosses.

Bosses and NPCs	Jarod	Veyona	Goran

Calculations

The five biorhythm states award the following bonuses

• Best: +10 hit rate, +10 avoid, +10% chance of triggering skills, +20% chance of successfully recovering hidden treasure
• Good: +5 hit rate, +5 avoid, +5% chance of triggering skills, +10% chance of successfully recovering hidden treasure
• Normal: No effect
• Bad: −5 hit rate, −5 avoid, −5% chance of triggering skills, −10% chance of successfully recovering hidden treasure
• Worst: −10 hit rate, −10 avoid, −10% chance of triggering skills, −20% chance of successfully recovering hidden treasure

Items and skills affecting biorhythm

Items and skills affecting biorhythm
	Item	Effect	Games
	Matrona	A staff that restores all HP to a distant target. It also raises the target's biorhythm to its peak.	Radiant Dawn
	Galdrar	Bliss: Raise biorhythm to its highest point. Sorrow: Lower biorhythm to its lowest point.	Radiant Dawn

Trivia

• Although biorhythm as a mechanic is absent in all games after Radiant Dawn, the Japanese names of the skills Odd Rhythm and Even Rhythm from Awakening refer to it and have similar effects, although their effects work on a much smaller scale.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Biorhythm	Biorhythm is a pseudoscientific theory that a person's life is affected by steady sinusoidal cycles in their physical, emotional, and intellectual states.
Japanese	バイオリズム	Biorhythm
Spanish	Biorritmo	Biorhythm
French	Rythme biologique	Biological rhythm
German	Biorhythm	Biorhythm
Italian	Biorhythm	Biorhythm

Gallery

• 

  Mia's biorhythm chart in Path of Radiance. She is currently at Good status.

• 

  Nolan's biorhythm chart in Radiant Dawn.

• 

  In Radiant Dawn, Edward's current state (Best) is indicated by a green arrow in the corner of his HP box.