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Resistance
Resistance (Japanese: 魔法防御 magic defense), abbreviated Res (Japanese: 魔防 or ＭＤＦ), is a statistic belonging to units which determines their ability to resist the effects of magic. Its primary use is in reducing the hit point damage taken from incoming magical attacks fueled by the magic stat, such as with a tome or magic weapon. When attacking magically, a unit's calculated attack has their target's resistance subtracted from it to produce the damage they actually deal against this target, and vice versa. Some games also use it to determine how well protected a unit is from the effects of offensive staves. Resistance can be temporarily enhanced by taking shelter in terrain types which give defense boosts, such as forests or forts, and can also be boosted through some support bonuses.
A unit's resistance stat will not protect them against physical attacks at all. When a unit is defending against an enemy who is using a physical weapon type, their defense stat is used to reduce damage instead.
Resistance is somewhat unusual because, particularly in the earlier games of the Fire Emblem series, it was rarely gained or used by many units, so for many units it is common for resistance to be their lowest stat by far. Indeed, in the original Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, all units—both playable and enemy, with the sole exception of Gotoh—start with a resistance stat of zero and have zero resistance growth, meaning that units will never have any resistance at all without using a Talisman item to boost the stat or using Pure Water or having a Barrier staff used on them to temporarily boost the stat. While the average resistance stats and growths have slowly improved as the series progressed, it is still common for physically inclined units to have very low resistance even in the most recent games.
Members of classes which wield magic tend to have good resistance. Staff-using "healer" classes in particular, such as the Priest and Troubadour class families, are built to possess very high average resistance compared to other classes; Pegasus Knights also have high resistance. Generally speaking, high-resistance units have good speed and decent-to-high offensive power, but aside from their resistance stat, they tend to be frail and to suffer from poor maximum HP.
The resistance stat does not exist at all in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Instead, the offensive magic stat performs all of the same functions as resistance, being used for both magical offense and defense.
Calculations
This section has been marked as a stub. Please help improve the page by adding information.
Damage
Note that this does not include alterations to damage from critical hits, skills, special effects on items and weapons, etc.
| Game | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Gaiden | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 1. |
| Mystery of the Emblem | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Genealogy of the Holy War | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 1. |
| The Binding Blade | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| The Blazing Blade | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| The Sacred Stones | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Path of Radiance | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Radiant Dawn | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Shadow Dragon | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| New Mystery of the Emblem | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Awakening | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Fates | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
| Echoes: Shadows of Valentia | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 1. |
| Heroes | (attacker's Attack) − (defending unit's Defense*/Resistance*) | Minimum damage of 0. |
Staff accuracy
In Genealogy of the Holy War, The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade, The Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, and Radiant Dawn, resistance is used in determining whether or not a staff that inflicts a status effect, such as Sleep or Silence, will have the desired effect on its target.
| Game | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Genealogy of the Holy War | If user's Magic > Target's Resistance, the staff will hit. | -- |
| The Binding Blade | 30 + ([ User's Magic − Target's Resistance ] x 6 ) + (User's Skill) − (Distance between units) | -- |
| The Blazing Blade | 30 + ([ User's Magic − Target's Resistance ] x 5 ) + (User's Skill) − (Distance between units x 2) | -- |
| The Sacred Stones | 30 + ([ User's Magic − Target's Resistance ] x 5 ) + (User's Skill) − (Distance between units x 2) | -- |
| Path of Radiance | 30 + ([ User's Magic − Target's Resistance ] x 5 ) + (User's Skill) − (Distance between units x 2) | -- |
| Radiant Dawn | 30 + ([ User's Magic − Target's Resistance ] x 5 ) + (User's Skill) − (Distance between units x 2) | -- |
Items and skills affecting resistance
| Items providing a permanent increase | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Resistance increase | Games | |
|
Talisman | Permanent +2/+3/+7 increase when used. | All titles except Gaiden, Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776 |
|
Naga's Tear | Permanent +2 increase when used. | Awakening |
|
Dragon Herbs | Permanent +1 increase when used. | Fates |
|
White Verona | Permanent +1 increase when used. | Three Houses |
| Items and skills modifying the growth rate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item/skill | Resistance growth modification | Games | |
|
Pisces Shard | +10/2% to growth rate when in inventory. | Mystery of the Emblem, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
|
Taurus Shard | +5/2% to growth rate when in inventory. | Mystery of the Emblem, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
|
Virgo Shard | +30/5% to growth rate when in inventory. | Mystery of the Emblem, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
|
Libra Shard | -10/2% to growth rate when in inventory. | Mystery of the Emblem, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
|
Starsphere | +30% to growth rate when in inventory. | Mystery of the Emblem |
|
Afa's Drops | Permanent +5% to growth rate when used. | Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade |
|
Metis's Tome | Permanent +5% to growth rate when used. | The Sacred Stones |
|
Pegasus Band | +5% to growth rate when equipped. | Path of Radiance |
|
Priest Band | +5% to growth rate when equipped. | Path of Radiance |
|
Growth Drop | Permanent +10% to growth rate when used. | New Mystery of the Emblem |
|
Aptitude | +20/10% to all growth rates when active. | Awakening, Fates, Three Houses |
|
Star Jacinth | +5 to growth rate when equipped. | Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
| Items and skills providing a temporary boost | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Resistance increase | Games | |
|
Parthia | +7/+5 increase when used; effect decreases by 1 each turn | Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem, Awakening |
|
Ward | +7/+5 increase to one ally when used; effect decreases by 1 each turn. | All titles except Gaiden, Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, Fates, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia and Engage |
|
Pure Water | +7/+5 increase when used; effect decreases by 1 each turn | All titles except Gaiden, Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, Fates and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |
|
Ninis's Grace | +10 to one adjacent ally for one turn. Activated via the Dance/Play command. | Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade |
|
Guardian | +1 to all allies for the duration of the map*. | Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem |
|
Pure Sword | +7 increase when used; effect decreases by 1 each turn | New Mystery of the Emblem |
|
Resistance Bond | +2 to a single ally's Resistance for the duration of a chapter when used. | New Mystery of the Emblem |
|
Resistance Tonic | +2 for the duration of one mission when used. | New Mystery of the Emblem, Awakening, Fates, Engage |
|
Rainbow Tonic | +2 for the duration of one mission when used. | New Mystery of the Emblem, Fates |
|
Kris's Confect | +2 for the duration of one mission when used. | Awakening |
|
Tiki's Tear | +2 for the duration of one mission when used. | Awakening |
|
Defender | +1 when Pair Up is active. | Awakening, Fates |
|
Special Dance | +2 to one adjacent ally for one turn. Activated via the Dance command. | Awakening |
|
Rally Heart | +2 to all allied units in a 3-tile radius of the user for one turn. | Awakening |
|
Rally Resistance | +4 to all allied units in a 3/2-tile radius of the user/to an adjacent ally for one turn. | Awakening, Fates, Three Houses |
|
Rally Spectrum | +4/+2 to all allied units in a 3/4-tile radius of the user for one turn. | Awakening, Fates |
|
Harp Yumi | +4 to all allied units in a 2-tile radius of the user for one turn, if user initiates battle. | Fates |
|
Warding Blow | +10/+6 if unit initiates the combat. | Fates, Three Houses |
|
Calm | +4 for one turn when choosing to wait. | Fates |
|
Resistancetaker | +2 when defeating an enemy.* | Fates |
|
Imperial Lineage+ | +4 for one turn when choosing to wait. | Three Houses |
|
Defiant Resistance | +8 if HP ≤ 25%. | Three Houses |
| Weapons and skills providing a temporary decrease after use | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item/skills | Resistance change | Games | |
|
Bronze Dagger | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -2 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Iron Dagger | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Steel Dagger | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Silver Dagger | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Soldier's Knife | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -5 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Fruit Knife | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Hunter's Knife | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Kris Knife | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Quill Pen | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -1 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Stale Bread | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Raider Knife | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -2 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Votive Candle | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Sacrificial Knife | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -5 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Felicia's Plate | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Jakob's Tray | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Pebble | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
Iago's Tome | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
Brass Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -2 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Iron Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Steel Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Silver Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Spy's Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -5 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Dual Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Sting Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Barb Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Flame Shuriken | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Chakram | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -6 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Chopstick | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -1 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Hair Pin | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -2 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Caltrop | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -8 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Kaze's Needle | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Saizo's Star | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Kagero's Dart | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -3 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
|
Setsuna's Yumi | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
Enfeeble | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
Draconic Hex | If user survives, inflicts -4 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates |
|
Seal Resistance | If user survives/If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -6 debuff on the target after combat. | Fates, Three Houses |
|
Schism Shot | If user's attack hit the target, inflicts -5 debuff on the target after combat. | Three Houses |
|
Annihilation, Light-Lance Barrage | Inflicts -5 debuff on targets on hit. | Three Houses |
Flavor text
| Game | Text (English) |
Text (Japanese) |
|---|---|---|
| The Binding Blade | Magical resistance. Reduces
damage from magic attacks.* |
敵の魔法への抵抗力です
魔法によるダメージを減らします |
| The Blazing Blade | Magical resistance. Reduces
damage from magic attacks. |
敵の魔法への抵抗力です
魔法によるダメージを減らします |
| The Sacred Stones | Magical resistance. Reduces
damage from magic attacks. |
敵の魔法への抵抗力です
魔法によるダメージを減らします |
| Path of Radiance | The unit's magical resistance.
This reduces damage taken from magic. |
敵の魔法への抵抗力です
魔法によるダメージを減らします |
| Radiant Dawn | The unit's magical resistance. This
reduces damage taken from magic. |
ユニット自身の魔法防御力
敵からの魔法攻撃によるダメージを減らす |
| Awakening | Resistance. Reduces damage
from magical attacks. |
魔法防御 高いほど、敵の
魔法攻撃のダメージを減らせる |
| Fates | Resistance. Reduces damage
from magical attacks. |
魔法防御 高いほど、敵の
魔法攻撃のダメージを減らせる |
| Echoes: Shadows of Valentia | Resistance. Reduces damage
from magical attacks. |
魔法防御 高いほど、敵の
魔法攻撃のダメージを減らせる |
| Three Houses (Resistance) |
Innate resistance. Reduces damage from
magical attacks. |
魔法防御。高いほど、敵の
魔法攻撃への耐性が高い。 |
| Three Houses (Resilience) |
Current resilience. Reduces magic damage
from enemy attacks. |
高いほど、敵の
魔法攻撃のダメージを減らせる。 |
| Engage | Resistance. Reduces damage
from magical attacks. |
魔法防御力。高いほど敵の
魔法攻撃のダメージを小さくする |
Trivia
- In Gaiden, its abbreviation uses the ryakuji form of 魔.
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English |
Resistance |
-- |
| Japanese |
魔法防御 |
Magic defense |
| Spanish |
Resistencia |
Resistance |
| French |
Résistance |
Resistance |
| German |
Resistenz |
Resistance |
| Italian |
Resistenza |
Resistance |
| Dutch |
Weerstand |
Resistance |
| Korean |
마방 |
Magic defense |
| Simplified Chinese |
魔防 |
Magic defense |
| Traditional Chinese |
魔防 |
Magic defense |
