Weapon triangle
Weapons in the Fire Emblem series have been arranged into a few different categories. In earlier games, such as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, there are three basic weapons: swords, axes, and lances. This also introduces the way weapons work. Each weapon has a strength and weakness in the triangle.
The weapon triangle, as the game refers to it (first in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War), is in a "rock-paper-scissors" format. Swords are more effective against axes but less effective against lances, lances are more effective against swords but less effective against axes, and axes are effective against lances but less effective against swords.
However, a character with a sword can still defeat an enemy with a lance, and the same holds for the other weapons. Not to mention, there are weapons that reverse the triangle such as a Lancereaver (a type of sword).
Although the weapon triangle does affect damage, it does not necessarily determine the outcome of a battle. It merely determines the strength of the weapon and the chance the unit can hit his or her opponent.
The weapon triangle has been reorganized slightly in Fire Emblem Fates, to encompass almost all available weapon types: Swords and tomes are effective against axes and bows, axes and bows are effective against lances and daggers, and lances and daggers are effective against swords and magic.[1]
For the first time since Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, the weapon triangle did not reappear in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
Etymology and other languages
Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
---|---|---|
Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
English |
Weapon triangle |
-- |
Spanish |
Triángulo de las armes |
Triangle of the weapons |
French |
Triangle des armes |
Triangle of the weapons |
German |
Waffen-Dreieck |
Weapon triangle |
Italian |
Triangolo delle armi |
Triangle of the weapons |
References
- ↑ "To begin with–and probably the biggest surprise: apparently the weapon triangle has been revised. Part of this could already be observed (in multiple screenshots, swords were strong against bows), but here’s the rest. Sword and Magic > Axe and Bow > Lance and Hidden Weapon > Sword and Magic" — VincentASM, Fire Emblem if 21st May Famitsu leak: Weapon Triangle Revamped, Serenes Forest, Published: 19 May 2015, Retrieved: 19 May 2015