Sniper

Sniper Artwork of a Sniper from Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. An advanced bow unit and expert at ranged combat.

Weapon(s) Bow (all appearances except Fates) Yumi (Fates) Skill(s) Follow-Up (Genealogy of the Holy War) Access to ballistae (The Binding Blade-Radiant Dawn) Sure Strike (The Sacred Stones) Shove (Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn) Deadeye (Path of Radiance) Critical +10 (Radiant Dawn) Hit Rate +20, Bowfaire (Awakening) Certain Blow, Bowfaire (Fates)

The Sniper (Japanese: スナイパー Sniper) is an advanced bow-wielding class which debuted in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and is present in all games in the Fire Emblem series. It is the promoted version of the Archer in most games, and of the Bow Fighter in Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776; in Gaiden and Radiant Dawn, Snipers can in turn promote again to Bow Knights in the former, and Marksmen in the latter.

Snipers are primarily characterized by their exceptional skill and accuracy, augmented by the class's recurring tendency to receive skills enhancing it even further in certain games. Their strength and speed are also high, and they tend to possess competent defenses. However, they are crippled by their unsuitability for the enemy phase: as they are almost perpetually locked to 2 or 3 range, Snipers are vulnerable to enemies attacking them at close range, in which case they are entirely incapable of counter-attacking and are easily ganged-up upon and trapped. Ideally, rather than operating as the front line of an army, Snipers are best positioned behind close-range-capable allies in order to fight by picking off enemies beyond their range.

Stats

Base stats

Game	HP	Strength	Magic	Skill	Speed	Luck	Defense	Resistance	Movement	Constitution	Weight	Experience	Weapon Level
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light	24	7	--	10	14	0	7	0	7	--	--	42	Bow: 10
Gaiden	30	12	--	6	6	0	6	2	5	--	--	80	Bow
Mystery of the Emblem	24	7	--	8	9	0	7	3	7	--	--	45	Bow: 10
Genealogy of the Holy War	40	12	0	12	12	0	7	3	6	--	--	--	A
Thracia 776	22/20	5/4	1	6	7/8	0	3	--	7	7/5	--	--	D
The Binding Blade	21/19	7/6	--	6	5/7	0	5	2/3	6	8/7	--	--	C
The Blazing Blade	21/19	7/6	--	6	5/7	0	5	2/3	6	8/7	--	--	C
The Sacred Stones	21/19	7/6	--	6	5/7	0	5	2/3	6	8/7	--	--	C
Path of Radiance	21	6	2	8	5	0	6	2	7	10	11	--	C
Radiant Dawn	33	18	4	19	18	0	14	10	7	11	12	--	C (+Crossbows)
Shadow Dragon	24	7	1	8	9	0	7	3	7	--	--	--	C
New Mystery of the Emblem	24	7	1	8	9	0	7	3	7	--	--	--	C
Awakening	20	7	1	12	9	0	10	3	6	--	--	--	E
Fates	19	7	0	10	9	3	6	2	6	--	--	--	E
Echoes: Shadows of Valentia	30	12	--	6	6	0	6	2	5	--	--	80

Snipers in Gaiden and Shadows of Valentia also have a base class strength of 4 in Gaiden and 3 in Shadows of Valentia.

Max stats

Game	HP	Strength	Magic	Skill	Speed	Luck	Defense	Resistance	Movement	Constitution	Weapon Level
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light	52	20	--	20	20	20	20	20	20	--	Bow: 20
Gaiden	52	40	--	40	40	40	40	40	--	--	Bow
Mystery of the Emblem	52	20	--	20	20	20	20	20	20	--	Bow: 20
Genealogy of the Holy War	80	27	15	27	27	30	22	18	6	--	A
Thracia 776	80	20	20	20	20	20	20	--	20	20	A
The Binding Blade	60	24/23	--	30	29	30	22/21	23/25	15	20	S
The Blazing Blade	60	25/24	--	30	28/29	30	25/24	23/24	15	20	S
The Sacred Stones	60	25/24	--	30	28/29	30	25/24	23/24	15	20	S
Path of Radiance	60	25	20	30	28	40	25	23	20	99	S
Radiant Dawn	45	27	10	30	26	30	24	16	?	?	S (+Crossbows)
Shadow Dragon	60	24	20	30	29	30	23	20	32	--	A
New Mystery of the Emblem	60	24	20	30	29	30	23	20	9	--	A
Awakening	80	41	30	48	40	45	40	31	8	--	A
Fates	55	31	25	35	33	30	31	28	8	--	S

Class growth rates

Game	HP	Strength	Magic	Skill	Speed	Luck	Defense	Resistance	Constitution*	Movement*
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light	?	?	--	?	?	0%	?	0%	--	--
Gaiden	150%	50%	--	50%	50%	0%	50%	0%	--	--
Mystery of the Emblem	80%	20%	--	30%	30%	0%	20%	0%	--	--
Genealogy of the Holy War	100%	30%	10%	30%	30%	0%	30%	10%	--	--
Thracia 776	50/90%	20/30%	3%	15/30%	10/30%	10/20%	15/20%	--	15/40%	0%
The Binding Blade	65%	30%	--	30%	20%	30%	15%	15%	--	--
The Blazing Blade	65%	30%	--	30%	20%	30%	15%	20/25%	--	--
The Sacred Stones	65%	30%	--	30%	20%	30%	15%	20/25%	--	--
Path of Radiance	60%	45%	10%	55%	45%	30%	35%	35%	--	--
Radiant Dawn	60/100%	35/75%	20/35%	45/90%	25/65%	50/75%	45/70%	25/60%	--	--
Shadow Dragon	40/80%	10/20%	-10/0%	20/30%	30%	0%	10/20%	-10/20%	--	--
New Mystery of the Emblem	40/80%	10/20%	-10/0%	20/30%	30%	0%	10/20%	-10/20%	--	--
Awakening	45/90%	15/35%	0%	30/50%	15/40%	0/35%	15/30%	5/25%	--	--
Fates	10%	15%	0%	20%	15%	5%	10%	0%	--	--
Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Player)	-5%	0%	--	10%	-5%	0%	-5%	0%	--	--
Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Enemy)	120%	50%	--	50%	40%	0%	40%	0%	--	--

Click here for more details on the mechanics of class growths in each game.

Class skills

Game	Skill	Learning conditions
Genealogy of the Holy War	Follow-Up	Innate.
The Sacred Stones	Sure Strike	Innate.
Path of Radiance	+15 crit	Innate.
Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn	Shove	Innate; hidden in Path of Radiance.
Path of Radiance	Deadeye	Occult skill.
Radiant Dawn	Critical +10	Innate.
Shadow Dragon New Mystery of the Emblem	+5 crit	Innate.
Awakening	Hit Rate +20	Learned at Level 5.
Awakening Fates	Bowfaire	Awakening: Learned at Level 15. Fates: Learned from Level 15 and up.
Fates	+10 hit, +10 crit	Innate.
Fates	Certain Blow	Learned from Level 5 and up.
Echoes: Shadows of Valentia	Bowrange +2	Innate.

• The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade, The Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn: Snipers are capable of boarding and attacking with ballista objects found on certain maps.

Class change

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using an Orion's Bolt after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

Gaiden

Trainee-like class	Method	Base class	Method	Advanced class	Method	Advanced class
Villager	After reaching Level 3, at any Mila Shrine.	Archer	After reaching Level 7, at any Mila Shrine.	Sniper	After reaching Level 10, at any Mila Shrine.	Bow Knight

Mystery of the Emblem

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using an Orion's Bolt after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

Genealogy of the Holy War

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Bow Fighter	Choosing the option "Class change" in the home castle after reaching Level 20.	Sniper

Thracia 776

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Bow Fighter	Using a Knight Proof after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

The Binding Blade

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using an Orion's Bolt after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

The Blazing Blade

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using an Orion's Bolt or Earth Seal after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

The Sacred Stones

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using an Orion's Bolt or Master Seal after reaching Level 10.	Sniper or Ranger
Promotion choice criteria: The player can freely choose.

Path of Radiance

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using a Master Seal after reaching Level 10, or reaching Level 21.	Sniper

Radiant Dawn

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using a Master Seal after reaching Level 10, or reaching Level 21.	Sniper	Using a Master Crown after reaching Level 10, or reaching Level 21.	Marksman

Shadow Dragon

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using a Master Seal after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

New Mystery of the Emblem

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using a Master Seal after reaching Level 10.	Sniper

Awakening

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using a Master Seal after reaching Level 10.	Sniper or Bow Knight
Promotion choice criteria: The player can freely choose.

Fates

Base class	Promotion method	Advanced class
Archer	Using a Master Seal after reaching Level 10.	Sniper or Kinshi Knight
Promotion choice criteria: The player can freely choose.

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Trainee-like class	Method	Base class	Method	Advanced class	Method	Advanced class	Method	Over class
File:Ma fe15 villager playable.png Villager	After reaching Level 3, at any Mila Shrine.	File:Ma fe15 archer playable.png Archer	After reaching Level 7, at any Mila Shrine.	File:Ma fe15 sniper playable.png Sniper	After reaching Level 10, at any Mila Shrine.	File:Ma fe15 bow knight playable.png Bow Knight	After reaching Level 20, at the Altar of the Marksman.	File:Ma fe15 oliphantier playable.png Oliphantier

Playable Snipers

Playable Characters
Name	Game
Jeorge	Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Mystery of the Emblem, Shadow Dragon, New Mystery of the Emblem
Briggid	Genealogy of the Holy War
Klein	The Binding Blade
Igrene	The Binding Blade
Louise	The Blazing Blade
Innes	The Sacred Stones, Awakening
Shinon	Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn
Rolf	Radiant Dawn
Tomas	New Mystery of the Emblem
Clarisse	New Mystery of the Emblem ("Three Assassins" only)
Playable Sniper units in the Fire Emblem series.

Notable enemy Snipers

Enemy Units
Name	Game
Wolff	Gaiden
Draco	Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, Awakening
Denning	The Blazing Blade
Norris	Path of Radiance
Silvano	Radiant Dawn
Clarisse	New Mystery of the Emblem
Setsuna	Fates: Conquest
Takumi	Fates: Conquest
Enemy Sniper units in the Fire Emblem series.

Flavor text

Game Text (English) Text (Japanese) Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light Archers with high experience. They are powerful bowmen.* けいけんをつんだアーチャーが　しょうかくする。　ゆみを　あつかうことにかけては　さいきょうの　ユニットである。 Mystery of the Emblem Experienced archers. They are the strongest bow users.* 経験をつんだアーチャーが　昇格する。　弓を扱うことにかけては　最強のユニットである。 The Blazing Blade (class roll) A title won by veteran archers. None can match their skill with the bow. ?? The Sacred Stones (help) Archers of unparalleled accuracy. Equip: Bows. Skill: Sure Strike. ?? The Sacred Stones (class roll) Archers dedicated to mastering their art. None can match their skill with the bow. ?? Path of Radiance Seasoned fighters who posses unparalleled accuracy with their bows. Ever archer aspires to this level of expertise. ?? Radiant Dawn (class roll) Seasoned fighters who possess unparalleled accuracy with their bows. ?? Shadow Dragon Seasoned archers whose arrows fly truer than those of any other class. ?? Awakening A seasoned archer with superior Skill who has mastered the bow. ?? Fates Hoshidan. A master of the yumi. They have high Hit and Crit rates. 白夜の兵種。和弓の道を極めた者。命中と必殺に優れている。 Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (class roll) Bow masters and experts at ranged combat. They can reliably take down targets at great distance away. ?? Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (help) An advanced bow unit and expert at ranged combat. ??

Trivia

• The Sniper is one of only two classes to appear in every game in the Fire Emblem series, along with the Pegasus Knight. Of the two, it is the only one which wields the same weapon type in every game with no additions or changes. It is also the only one to be playable in every game in the series.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology and notes
English	Sniper	A marksman wielding a bow or gun, specializing in observing and striking the enemy at long range under cover. In reality, actual snipers almost never operate in the thick of combat as they do in Fire Emblem.
Japanese	• スナイパー • 狙撃手スナイパー • 弓聖	• Officially romanized as Sniper. This katakana rendering is used in all games except Fates. • Officially romanized as Sniper. This kanji rendering is used only in Radiant Dawn. In Radiant Dawn, all Japanese class names are spelled primarily in kanji (i.e. 狙撃手), with a foreign-language name in katakana applied as furigana (i.e. スナイパー) and used as the basis for the romanized name in the class roll. • Officially romanized as Kyuusei; roughly translates as "bow saint" or "holy bow". This name is used only in Fates, where it forms a naming theme with the other advanced single-weapon Hoshidan classes, 剣聖 Kensei (sword saint) and 槍聖 Sousei (spear saint).
Spanish	Tirador	Sniper
French	Archer d'élite	Elite archer
German	Scharfschütze	Sniper
Italian	Tiratore scelto	Sharpshooter
Dutch	Scherpschutter	Sniper
Simplified Chinese	狙击手
Traditional Chinese	狙擊手

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of the Sniper from the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game.

• 

  Artwork of a Sniper from Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Mystery of the Emblem.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Genealogy of the Holy War.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Thracia 776.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in the Game Boy Advance games.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Shadow Dragon.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in New Mystery of the Emblem.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Awakening.

• 

  The generic Risen Sniper portrait in Awakening.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Fates.

• 

  The generic Sniper portrait in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

• 

  The generic Sniper Specter/Death Mask portrait in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

• 

  An enemy Sniper in Path of Radiance.

• 

  An enemy Sniper in Radiant Dawn.

References

This article is part of Project Classes, a project focused in writing articles for every class present in the Fire Emblem series.