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Ward (character)
Ward (Japanese: ワード Wade), also known as Wade, is a playable character in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He first appears in Chapter 2. He is a member of Dieck's mercenary group. Ward comes from the Western Isles, and his sister, Mary, is there waiting for him and their good friend Lot.
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“ | Fighting like that just doesn't sit well with me. I'm getting even stronger, too. I'll crush anyone who dares stand up to me. | ” | — Ward to Dieck in a support conversation. |
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Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Role
Ward is a young man from the Western Isles. Having grown up in a poor village, he and his best friend Lot decide to leave the islands in search of a job. After a while, they join Dieck's band, which is then hired by Lord Eliwood for the war against Bern. They are to meet Roy at a certain point near the border with Bern, but when Ward and his comrades arrive there, the Pheraen army is already fighting. They join the battle immediately, and after rescuing Elen's mistress Guinivere, they work alongside Roy during the rest of the war.
When the Lycian Army is fighting bandits in the Western Isles, they come across a small village. If Ward and Lot visit certain houses, their sisters will come and talk to them, giving valuable items to help them in battle.
After Bern is defeated and the war is over, Ward returns to the Western Isles and dedicates himself to their development. Over the years, his work becomes the basis for the greatest city of that nation.
Starting stats and growth rates
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Promotion stat gains
Class | HP | Str | Skill | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Mov | Weapon level |
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Warrior | +8 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +0 | +3 | +0 | +2 | +1 | +50, E (+1) |
Analysis
This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience. |
The Binding Blade is quite infamous for its low hit rates, and axes in particular have the lowest hit rates of all weapons, making skill an essential stat for any unit that wants to remain useful through the entire game. Ward's base skill is 3, which is very poor. Ward's hit rate might not seem too bad at first when he is fighting slow knights and soldiers, but once the game introduces enemy cavaliers and wyvern riders Ward's weapon triangle advantage will quickly become irrelevant. Although Ward has fairly decent skill and luck growths, and a fast support with Lot which can somewhat fix his problems with hitting enemies, this will not be too useful in the long-term, as enemies wielding swords will become far more common and have much better avoid as well.
Another aspect worth mentioning is Ward's awful base speed of 5 and even worse growth rate of 20%. While Ward has very high constitution meaning that he will not lose speed when he is not equipping the heavier weapons, this does not matter much since he will never double and will more likely get doubled by the enemies instead. This cuts into his otherwise solid physical durability and leaves him very vulnerable to mages with his 0 base resistance and 5% growth. To Ward's credit, he has a decent 8 base strength and a strong 50% growth, complemented by the might of axes, and while he has worse offense than units that double, enemies on Hard Mode have high enough speed where this is not guaranteed.
Ward's promotion into a Warrior is difficult to recommend simply due to the number of units vying for the coveted Hero Crest. Dieck joins at a higher base level, Rutger and Fir both gain access to the incredible Swordmaster class and an increased crit rate, Gonzalez has great strength and speed, and even Lot is generally better than Ward with better base stats. Nevertheless, Ward's promotion gains are incredible and thanks to the +8 HP combined with his high growth he will likely cap said stat. Additionally, the Warrior promotion also gives Ward a very useful +3 skill and access to bows which will help combat dangerous enemy flyers. However, in terms of both weapon types, Ward is largely outclassed because Lot, Geese, and Gonzalez are much better unpromoted axe users, not to mention there are prepromotes like Echidna or Bartre who do not require a Hero Crest. Furthermore, units such as Klein, Igrene, Bartre, Shin and Sue offer far better bow utility when dealing with enemy flyers.
Overall, Ward is a unit with both offensive and defensive issues. There is very little reason to use him over other axe users and even many other units in general. He has some valuable early game utility, where he is force deployed and is rarely enough of a liability to not contribute, but he will quickly fall off without a promotion, and you will likely find more use in other units that can hit more consistently.
Personality
Ward's main trait is his hot-blooded attitude. He likes to fight - and likes doing it on his own style. He is used to charge ahead and leave the small details to others,[1] and hates being called weak, even resorting to exaggerate his adventures.[2] Dieck is always calling him on this, but Ward tends to forget his boss' advice.[3] His tendency to rush through things and somewhat naive personality make him the target of many jokes; he complains that not even Lot's little sister respects him.[4]
According to his supports with Lot and Echidna, he frequently fights[5] with his sister. Nevertheless, deep down, he greatly values his family and comrades, calling Lot off after he confesses having left his sister alone.[6] He certainly has problems expressing his true feelings.[7]
Supports
- Main article:
Ward (character)/Supports
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Endings
Ward, Sincere Axeman
Short: Helped develop the Western Isles.
Long: After returning home, Ward worked to cultivate the land and construct homes in the Isles. His work continued through many generations and eventually became the greatest city in the Isles.
Quotes
Battle Quote
“ | This is it! The great battle I've been waiting for! | ” | — In the final chapter. |
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Death quote
“ | Oh, man... I really messed up this time... | ” | — Ward |
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Other appearances
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Ward's official artwork from The Binding Blade can be viewed in Path of Radiance's extras menu if a copy of The Binding Blade is connected to a Japanese copy of Path of Radiance. This illustration, along with all other The Binding Blade-related artwork, is inaccessible in the international versions of the game, owing to the fact that The Binding Blade was not released in those regions.
Fire Emblem Cipher
Ward is featured on one card in Fire Emblem Cipher.
Fire Emblem Cipher data for Ward | |||||
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Reckless Mercenary, Ward | |||||
"All right, who's next! Bring it on!!" | |||||
Attack: 30 | Support: 10 | Range: 1 | Deploy Cost: 1 | ||
Class: Fighter | Tier: Base | Class Change Cost: -- | |||
Fighter's Expertise: [Trigger] During your turn, this unit gains +20 attack. Attack Emblem: [Support] Until the end of this battle, your attacking unit gains +20 attack. | |||||
Card #B05-020N, B05-020ST • Artist: Karuta Shiki | |||||
Some card information translation provided by Serenes Forest. For more detailed strategic information on these cards, see their TCG wiki article on Wade . |
Flavor text
Game | Text (English) |
Text (Japanese) |
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The Binding Blade | A young man fighting alongside
Dieck. Brash and impulsive.* |
ディークと共に戦う戦士
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Choose Your Legends placement history
Round | Placement | Character | Votes |
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CYL 1 (2017) |
682 | Wade The Binding Blade |
71 |
CYL 2 (2018) |
749 (+67) |
Wade The Binding Blade |
38 (−33) |
CYL 3 (2019) |
675 (+26) |
Wade The Binding Blade |
29 (−9) |
CYL 4 (2020) |
714 (−10) |
Wade The Binding Blade |
41 (+12) |
CYL 5 (2021) |
719 (+5) |
Ward The Binding Blade |
38 (−3) |
CYL 6 (2022) |
740 (+19) |
Ward The Binding Blade |
33 (−5) |
CYL 7 (2023) |
749 (+9) |
Ward The Binding Blade |
22 (−11) |
CYL 8 (2024) |
746 (−3) |
Ward The Binding Blade |
29 (+7) |
Total results | This character has 8 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls. | 301 |
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Etymology and other languages
Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
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Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
English |
• Ward |
• Used in the Choose Your Legends polls for Fire Emblem Heroes from round 5 onward and on the Fire Emblem World website. |
English (unofficial) |
• Wade |
• Used in the DTN fan translation. |
Japanese |
ワード |
Romanized as Wade in the Fire Emblem Museum website (archived by the Wayback Machine). Wade is an English male name that means "ford".[8] It is also the name of a Germanic mythological character associated to the sea. |
Spanish |
Ward |
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French |
Ward |
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German |
Ward |
-- |
Italian |
Ward |
-- |
Portuguese |
Ward |
-- |
Traditional Chinese |
瓦德 |
Wade |
Gallery
Sprite Gallery | |||||||||||
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References
- ↑ "Ward: Then what's the problem? I rush in, and you do everything else. That's worked great so far." — Ward and Lot's C support, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
- ↑ "Echidna: Trust me, you don't want to be a mercenary. You never know when you could die. And you're weak, so that'll be sooner rather than later.
Ward: Grr... You'll regret saying that... You don't want to see me when I'm angry.
Echidna: Oh?
Ward: What are you looking at me like that for?! I've slain monsters stronger than any human!
Echidna: Wow, now that's something. What kind of beasts?
Ward: ...Near my village...there's this weird cave. When I was a kid, people said it was filled with monsters. So one day I got my friend Lot and we went to defeat them.
Echidna: Yeah?
Ward: The cave was dark and damp... Something seemed wrong. Lot was scared, but I was fine. I led the way...and finally, there they were. The monsters were crawling all over the cave floor. Long, skinny bodies slithering about, all scaly and spotted...
Echidna: Snakes?" — Ward and Echidna's B support, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "Dieck: ...Ward.
Ward: Big Man! Did you see me?! I took down three guys with one swing...
Dieck: Do you even remember what I told you?
Ward: Huh? Uhh... Charge?
Dieck: No! I told you to pay more attention to your surroundings." — Dieck and Ward's B support, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "Mieu: It's Ward!
Ward: Hey, Mieu! ...Come on, can't you call me UNCLE Ward?
Mieu: But... You're just Ward.
Ward: Ah, never mind. You look like you've gotten bigger.
[...]
Ward: My sister's still here, right? She'll take you.
Mieu: Yeah, Auntie Mary's here.
Ward: So she's Auntie Mary but I'm just Ward, huh?
[...]
Ward: No, I don't know. But, uh, anyway, this is for me?
Mieu: No, it's for Big Brother Lot.
Ward: And Lot is Big Brother Lot... Have you got it out for me?" — Chapter 10B, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "Echidna: Do you have family back home?
Ward: Yeah, an older sister who never stops yelling at me." — Ward and Echidna's A support, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "Ward: What?! Why didn't you tell me?!
Lot: Because if I did, you'd tell me to go home to Mieu.
Ward: No kidding! She's all alone now. Don't you care about your baby sister?
Lot: But I got the message during a job. I couldn't leave without finishing.
Ward: ...Lot?
Lot: What?
Ward: You're stupider than I thought." — Ward and Lot's B support, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "Shanna: What? I thought you were angry about me fighting without you.
Ward: Of course I am! We need to work as a team in battle...
Shanna: Then what was all that about the archers and stuff?
Ward: Uh! Th-that was...
Shanna: ...Were you worried about me?
Ward: W-w-what are you talking about?! N-n-no way! Y-you just don't know how to act in battle...
Shanna: Ward, you're stuttering.
Ward: Err..." — Ward and Shanna's A support, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ Meaning, origin and history of the name Wade, Behind the Name, Retrieved: August 23, 2011
This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series. |