This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience.
Arran is not that useful. While he has a Silver Lance, Cecil's base weapon level of seven is high enough to use it as well. While he does have a base stat of six in resistance with the cavaliers having a base of zero, there won't be any magic-using enemies until chapter 5, by which time the player will have Catria, Palla, Sirius, and Caeda. He does have a higher base speed stat than any of the three cavaliers, but in a few level ups he will be outclassed. His defense, however, is good and it will take a bit for the cavaliers to reach his defense, as they all have a low defense growth rate; however, Palla has a similar defense stat (one less than Arran). Due to Arran's very low growth rates, it is probably not a good idea to use him long term.
Arran lives in a village near the Altean castle near another village which has bad blood with Arran's village. When Marth's army arrives to retake Altea, he has to choose between visiting Arran's village and recruiting him, or visiting the other village and recruiting the hero Samson. If Arran is chosen, he serves as a soldier in Marth's army for the rest of the War of Shadows.
During the time between Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Arran contracts a disease that severely hampers his combat abilities and will eventually kill him. Despite this, he continues to serve Marth as one of his knights. One day, Marth is given an imperial edict by Hardin of Archanea to deploy his troops to Grust to quash a rebellion led by General Lorenz. Arran is among the knights Marth chooses to accompany him, and he continues to serve Marth throughout the War of Heroes.
Commander of the Altean Knights:[Always] If this unit is in the Front Line, this unit gains +10 attack. Looming Malady:[Trigger] At the beginning of your turn, if you have 2 or fewer orbs and this unit is not your lord, send this unit to the Boundless Area.
Some card information translation provided by Serenes Forest. For more detailed strategic information on these cards, see their TCG wiki article on Arran .
Trivia
Arran's name, paired with the name of Samson's, who the player must choose between in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon, is a possible pun on major Nintendo character Samus Aran.
The developers originally intended for the plot of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light to change depending on whether the player recruited Arran or Samson, but the limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System made this impossible. This concept later served as the basis of the split versions and storylines of Fire Emblem Fates, in which Corrin must choose to side with either the country that adopted and raised them, the alleged country of their birth, or neither, with their decision having major ramifications on the games' plot.[1]
Etymology and other languages
Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language
Name
Definition, etymology, and notes
English
Arran
From the name of an island off the west coast of Scotland in the Firth of Clyde.[2]
↑"In the first Emblem game, depending on which village you went to, you could only choose either Arran or Samson. But no matter which character you chose, the story didn't change. When I said, "Aww, I wish it would change something," my senior told me, "We can't due to limited memory capacity." [...] I remembered how futile it seemed then, and I said, "Maeda-san, wouldn't you want to play a game where you could see what would happen if you chose the other side? I want to try this!"" —Hitoshi Yamagami (Iwata Asks: Fire Emblem Fates)