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Ballistician

From Fire Emblem Wiki, your source on Fire Emblem information. By fans, for fans.
Ballistician

FEMN Ballistician.png
Artwork of the Ballistician from the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game.


An otherworldly artillerist. Uses movable cannons to attack at range.

Unit type(s)
  • Ballistician (all titles except Fates)
  • Infantry (Fates)
Weapon(s)
  • Ballista (Shadow Dragon & the Blade of LightNew Mystery of the Emblem)
  • Bow (Fates)
Skill(s)

The Ballistician (Japanese: シューター Shooter) is a class that fights exclusively using ballistae. The class is present in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Mystery of the Emblem, Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem as the exclusive users of the five ballistae (Stonehoist, Hoistflamme, Arrowspate, Thunderbolt, Pachyderm); in comparison, most other games instead allow any Archer or Sniper to use the ballistae positioned on the battlefield.

As users of siege weapons, the purpose of Ballisticians is to snipe at enemy units at long range. Ballisticians are the slowest and least mobile class in the games in which they appear, possessing even less movement than Knights. While they have immense range with their ballistae, the bulk of the ballista causes them to be unable to follow-up attack regardless of their attack speed, and they are further hindered by their mediocre skill lowering their hit rate. Should they ever be exposed to the thick of combat, their excellent defense affords them substantial protection, but they cannot retaliate from within two spaces of themselves.

Ballisticians return in Fates as a special class for male units which is available only through downloadable content. In Fates, Ballisticians are able to wield bows, and have unique innate access to the Ballista turret, being able to use them freely anywhere on the map without needing to commandeer a turret map object. Like its earlier incarnations, the Fates version of the Ballistician is strong, but slow, though it has higher skill than in the past. However, the Fates Ballisticians suffer from poorer defenses than their Shadow Dragon counterparts, making them easier to take down.

Ballisticians cannot class change or, in the remakes, reclass. In compensation, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem, and Fates classify Ballisticians as a special class, granting them the ability to increase their level past Level 20 to a maximum level of 30 in the former two games, and 40 in Fates, instead.

Stats

Base stats

Game HP Strength Magic Skill Speed Luck Defense Resistance Movement Constitution Weapon level
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light 20 5 -- 1 3 0 14 0 4 -- 8
Mystery of the Emblem 18 0 -- 0 0 -- 0 0 0 -- --
Shadow Dragon 20 5 0 1 3 0 14 0 4 -- --
New Mystery of the Emblem 20 5 0 1 3 0 14 0 4 -- --
Fates 18 10 0 7 2 4 3 1 4 -- Bows/Yumi E

Max stats

Game HP Strength Magic Skill Speed Luck Defense Resistance Movement Constitution Weapon level
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light 52 20 -- 20 20 20 20 7 12 -- 20
Mystery of the Emblem 52 20 -- 20 20 20 20 20 12 -- --
Shadow Dragon 60 25 20 20 20 30 25 20 32 -- --
New Mystery of the Emblem 60 25 20 20 20 30 25 20 -- -- --
Fates 50 39 25 31 25 32 27 26 5 -- Bows/Yumi B

Miscellaneous stats

Game Experience CRP Gold Weight mod. Capacity Vision Size
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light 38 -- -- -- -- -- --
Mystery of the Emblem 32 -- -- -- -- -- --

Class growth rates

Game HP Strength Magic Skill Speed Luck Defense Resistance Charm Constitution* Movement* Weapon level
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light 150% 50% -- 50% 50% 0% 50% 0% -- -- -- 50%
Mystery of the Emblem 80% 30% -- 10% 10% 0% 30% 0% -- -- -- --
Shadow Dragon 40/90% 20/50% −10/0% 10% 20% 0% 20/50% −15/0% -- -- -- --
New Mystery of the Emblem 40/90% 20/50% −10/0% 10% 20% 0% 20/50% −15/0% -- -- -- --
Fates 5/75% 25/60% 0% 15/45% 0/25% 10/30% 5/35% 5/30% -- -- -- --
See class growth rate for more details on the mechanics of class growths in each game.

Class skills

Game Skill Learning conditions
Fates Is 3ds02 survey.png Survey Learned from Level 1 and up.
Fates Is 3ds02 opportunity shot.png Opportunity Shot Learned from Level 10 and up.
Fates Is 3ds02 rifled barrel.png Rifled Barrel Learned from Level 25 and up.
Fates Is 3ds02 surefooted.png Surefooted Learned from Level 35 and up.

Class change

Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

Base class
Bs fe01 enemy ballistician ballista 05.png
Ballistician

Mystery of the Emblem

Base class
Bs fe03 enemy ballistician stonehoist.png
Ballistician

Shadow Dragon

Special class
Bs fe11 playable ballistician ballista.png
Ballistician

New Mystery of the Emblem

Special class
Bs fe11 playable ballistician ballista.png
Ballistician

Fates

Any class Promotion method Special class
?
Any male class
Using a Sighting Lens. Ma 3ds02 ballistician playable.gif
Ballistician

Playable Ballisticians

Playable Characters
Name Game
Jake Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Shadow Dragon
Beck Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Shadow Dragon
Playable Ballistician units in the Fire Emblem series.

Notable enemy Ballisticians

Enemy Units
Name Game
Grigas Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Shadow Dragon
Torus Mystery of the Emblem Book 2, New Mystery of the Emblem
Enemy Ballistician units in the Fire Emblem series.

Flavor text

Game Text
(English)
Text
(Japanese)
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
Long-range attacker with high defense.
Slowed down by their ballista.
とうせききや どきゅうなど とくしゅなしえんぶきを
つかう ユニット。
たかいしゅびりょくと きょだいな はかいりょくを
あわせもつが うごきは にぶい。
Shadow Dragon
Powerful long-range attackers with high
defense, but their ballistae slow them down.
投石器や弩弓などを用いる遠距離攻撃ユニット。
守備力と破壊力を併せ持つが動きは鈍い。
New Mystery of the Emblem
(Unused)
Powerful long-range attackers with high
defense, but their ballistae slow them down.*
投石器や弩弓などを用いる遠距離攻撃兵。
守備力と破壊力を併せ持つが動きは鈍い。
Fates
An otherworldly artillerist. Uses
movable cannons to attack at range.
異界の兵種。移動砲台を操る砲手。
弓の他、砲台で広範囲の敵軍を攻撃する。

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology, and notes
English

Ballistician

A ballistician is an individual who operates a ballista.

Japanese

シューター
戦車兵

• Romanized as SHOOTER in its internal file name in Shadow Dragon. This is also the generic name for ballistae as a whole in Japanese Fire Emblem games.
• Tank Soldier. This kanji name is used in the ending titles of Jake and Beck in Shadow Dragon.

Spanish

Artillero

Gunner

French

Balistaire

Ballistician

German

Ballistiker

Ballistician

Italian

Artigliere

Gunner

Korean

슈터

Shooter

Gallery

References

See also

Project Classes.png This article is part of Project Classes, a project focused in writing articles for every class present in the Fire Emblem series.
Classes in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
Base classes ArcherCavalierMageMercenaryPegasus KnightPriest
Advanced classes BishopDracoknightHeroPaladinSniper
Other classes BallisticianFighterFreelancerGeneralHorsemanHunterKnightLordManaketePirateThief
Classes in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Base classes ArcherArmored KnightCavalierClericHunterMageMercenaryPegasus Knight
Advanced classes BishopDracoknightGeneralHeroHorsemanPaladinSniper
Dragon classes Divine DragonEarth DragonFire DragonIce DragonMage DragonShadow DragonWyvern
Other classes BallisticianBarbarianBerserkerBrigandDancerDark MageEmperorFighterFreelancerKnightLordManaketePirateSoldierThief
Unused classes Dark KnightGuardianSea Dragon
Classes in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Base classes ArcherCavalierClericCurateDark MageFighterHunterKnightMageMercenaryMyrmidonPegasus KnightPirate
Advanced classes BerserkerBishopDracoknightGeneralHeroHorsemanPaladinSniperSorcererSwordmasterWarrior
Other classes BallisticianEarth DragonFreelancerLordManaketeSoldierThief
Classes in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Base classes ArcherBarbarianCavalierClericCurateDark MageFighterHunterKnightMageMercenaryMyrmidonPegasus KnightPirate
Advanced classes BerserkerBishopDracoknightGeneralHeroHorsemanPaladinSniperSorcererSwordmasterWarrior
Dragon classes Divine DragonEarth DragonFire DragonIce DragonMage DragonShadow DragonWyvern
Other classes BallisticianDancerEmperorFreelancerLordManaketeSoldierThief
Classes in Fire Emblem Fates
Base classes ApothecaryArcherCavalierDark MageDivinerFighterKitsuneKnightMercenaryMonkNinjaNohr PrinceNohr PrincessOni SavageOutlawSamuraiShrine MaidenSky KnightSpear FighterTroubadourVillagerWolfskinWyvern Rider
Advanced classes AdventurerBerserkerBasaraBlacksmithBow KnightButlerDark KnightFalcon KnightGeneralGreat KnightGreat MasterHeroHoshido NobleKinshi KnightMaidMalig KnightMaster NinjaMaster of ArmsMechanistMerchantNine-TailsNohr NobleOni ChieftainOnmyojiPaladinPriestessSniperSorcererSpear MasterStrategistSwordmasterWolfssegnerWyvern Lord
Non-human classes Astral DragonAutomatonFacelessFeral DragonStoneborn
Other classes BallisticianBlight DragonClericDark FalconDread FighterEmpty VesselGrandmasterGreat LordLancerLodestarLordMyrmidonNohrian KingOutrealm ClassPegasus KnightSilent DragonSongstressVanguardWitch