Quite a while ago, I did a short QS article on this blog about Fire Emblem Heroes. Well, it should come as no surprise that I still love this game and play it religiously. As I’m still in a Fire Emblem mood after the excitement of Fire Emblem Engage, I figured that a fun little article to do for this week would be to take a look at my ten favorite units to use. Seeing as this game has over 900 different units, it was a little tricky to narrow it down to just 10! Let’s jump in!
10) Setsuna
Five or so years ago, Setsuna would have laid claim to the highest spot on this list. However, it’s been a very long time since I’ve gone from using her daily to never using her at all. The issue is just that she stopped being great after the first two years of the game, and she was only “barely good enough” to lull me into complacency and keep using her. When I eventually dropped her (for the unit who will be ranked much higher on this list), I’ve never looked back. She certainly will always have a nostalgic place in my heart, of course.
9) Brave Veronica
This is a unit with a similar story to Setsuna above, but with a different outcome. She’s definitely really good, but there’s a whole slew of units better than her that I should probably be using. The issue is that (specifically in Aether Raids, the mode I use her in), Brave Veronica is again just good enough to justify her continued use and satisfy a specific niche that I’ve come to rely on as a bit of a crutch. She can attack enemies for weak chip damage, but the primary thing is that those enemies can’t attack back. Sometimes, a bit of softening up is just what the doctor ordered.
8) Summer Elincia
I’ve always enjoyed units who excel at basically a single specific gimmick, because it makes it easier for me to build them out with skills and fit them onto a proper team. Summer Elincia does one primary thing and one thing only: if she initiates combat against a foe, she attacks four times (instead of the usual two). On top of this, she’s a flying unit that can sail over mountains and rivers, and she can even retreat to safety after attacking. For units who can’t even counter her to begin with, like melee enemies, Elincia is a menace. Also, due to her status as a Grail unit, she was extremely easy to hit +10 power level with.
7) Fallen Lilith
Ever since this dorky little dragon helped to defend your fortress against nefarious online opponents in Fire Emblem Fates, I’ve had a soft spot for Lilith. Her normal version has been in the game for a while, but just recently we received Fallen Lilith, who is corrupted by the power of her accursed father, Anankos. Not only has this cursed power given Lilith some absolutely top-tier illustrations, but it’s certainly hiked up her strength and capacity of devastation significantly. Best of all, she works well when paired with a partner, opening the door for unique team synergy.
6) Ascended Laegjarn
To be completely fair, Ascended Laegjarn mostly has a place on this list because she’s the most recent version of Laegjarn that’s been added to the game, and Laegjarn has been one of my favorite Fire Emblem Heroes original characters since her debut. It helps, of course, that Ascended Laegjarn is exceptionally good. She has the movement range of a horse unit, with the extra attack capability of a ranged character. She’s also a Bow user, historically my favorite weapon type for reasons even I couldn’t fully explain. On top of this, her strength is high and she can retreat after attacking.
5) Summer Norne
Now we’re really getting into the upper echelons of my favorite units in the game. I’ve used Summer Norne here extensively, ever since I first purchased enough Grails to get her to +10. Norne is one of many, many units that I’ve built with the same skills and strategy in mind, and I think she pulls off the gimmick most effectively. Essentially, Norne is a very tanky unit who has a skill to further reduce the damage she receives in combat proportional to how much faster than her opponent she is (so it’s a good thing she’s super speedy). Alongside this, I gave Norne Distant Counter, allowing her to bash foes both up-close and far away.
4) Flame Festival Rinkah
Flame Festival Rinkah is the newest unit to be added to the game that has cracked this Top 10 list, but for good reason. Alongside some exceptional illustrations, this rendition of Rinkah packs a whole lot of strength into this fiery-honed muscles. With a staggering amount of both attack and defense, Rinkah is able to shrug off practically all incoming damage, then retaliate with a hefty chunk of hurt herself. She does this while still maintaining infantry unit benefits (huge access to skills, two-movement speed, lots of support ally buffs), maintaining a consistent place on most of my teams because of it.
3) Brave Edelgard
As someone who will die on the hill that Edelgard is a compelling and well-written character in her home game, I’m always hyped when a new Edelgard unit drops in Fire Emblem Heroes (and it’s a nice boon that all Edelgards in the game have been game-breakingly good). Brave Edelgard is my easy favorite pick amongst the bunch, and I’ve used her consistently in both single-player and multi-player content. There’s basically nothing that she can’t do, since she can attack at range with Distant Counter, always attack twice despite her low speed, move two spaces despite being an armored unit, and heals her lost health when she damages a foe. She’s a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
2) Young Innes
The character that I replaced Setsuna with a few years ago, and as I mentioned above, I haven’t looked back since. See, Young Inness maintains similar benefits to Setsuna, chiefly his Bow user status and his high damage and speed. What he brings to the table, however, is his special ability to pierce an opponents defense by half and prevent their skills that might reduce damage (like that skill Summer Norne has that I mentioned above). What this means is that Inness will always be a strong and relevant unit, because no matter how much stronger every new unit added to the game is, Innes still cuts them down to size, baring occasional obvious counters, since Innes can’t receive much punishment comparative to how much he dishes out.
But, I mean, Fire Emblem Heroes would never add an invincible unit to the game, so it’s all balanced, right? Surely they wouldn’t do that…right? Surely an invincible unit, if there was one, wouldn’t actually have been in the game since the beginning, and grows stronger and more unstoppable each year…
…right?
1) Nowi
Oh, the love I have for Nowi in Fire Emblem Heroes could span an entire article. It’s hard to describe the personal connection I feel to a character I have interacted with and sent into battle every single day for the past five and a half years. Yes, it took me a bit into my time with the game to recognize Nowi’s superiority, but I am now(i) a true believer!
Nowi is a dragon, which are already one of the best weapon types in the game. At her base, Nowi was able to easily beat red units and could counterattack at range with Distant Counter…but my Nowi? My Nowi can heal herself by 14 points after combat, gains stats during combat, reduces foe’s damage by 40%, lowers foe’s defense and resistance, gets a guaranteed follow-up attack even if the foe out-speeds her, and boosts her damage with her special. On top of this, Nowi received a Resplendant form a few years back, which gave her in-game art a redesign and also boosted all of her stats.
It’s a testament to how good any unit can be with the right amount of love, care, and power-up investment. After all, Nowi has been in the game ever since the very first day, and yet she’s still capable of destroying modern-day units with ease. Still, for my money, there’s really no better and more reliable unit in the game than Nowi, and I don’t see myself ever stopping using her.
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 