The Soldier is a combat physical class that has appeared throughout Fire Emblem series' history, sometimes playable, and sometime as an enemy-only class. The class traditionally uses Lances as their sole weapon of choice.

History in the Series[]

Soldiers first appear in Fire Emblem Gaiden as the first-tier class of the Knight/Baron path, with Lukas being the first soldier to appear in the series. As part of the Armored line, Soldiers have similar movement as Knights, as well as the highest Defense and Strength out of the first-tier classes.

Soldiers first show up as enemy-only units in Mystery of the Emblem. In the indoor chapters of Book 1, Soldiers frequently take the place of Cavaliers and Paladins that appear on these same maps in the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Enemy Soldiers in Mystery of the Emblem tend to be among the more powerful appearances of the class, compared to non-playable Soldiers in later games.

Soldiers exist in the game data for Genealogy of the Holy War but do not appear in the final release. The data for the class features several weapon variations (normal, spear, axe, and sword). The class's role appears to have been filled by Armor Knights in the finished game.

Soldiers first appear as weak enemy-only fodder in Thracia 776. Soldiers have been revamped in such a way that their stats are much lower as compared to any other class. They are also classified as a tier-0 unit, boast a movement range that mirrors that of Armored units, and award less experience than other units. Possibly due to these reasons, Soldiers are one of the only classes not to show up in the arena.

Enemy and NPC-exclusive Soldiers based off their Thracia 776 incarnation appear in all three GBA games, though with higher movement. In The Sacred Stones, the class of the playable character Amelia, Recruit, appears to be a personalized variant of the Soldier class. It has similar characteristics, traits, and nearly identical base stats to the classic Soldier class. The connection is also suggested by the Japanese name, Trainee Soldier.

In Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, Soldiers are a playable class for the first time since Gaiden and will promote into Halberdiers once the necessary requirements are met. In the latter title, a Soldier that has promoted to Halberdier can further promote into a third-tier class called Sentinel.

In the DS remake of the first game, Shadow Dragon, Soldiers appear exclusively in the prologue chapters for Normal mode, where they act as weak enemy units that are slightly more dangerous then the enemy Fighter units.

In the DS remake of Mystery of the Emblem, New Mystery of the Emblem, Soldiers appear yet again, where they are notably less important as compared to their original Super Famicom incarnation; they no longer appear in the arena, and the Soldier enemies in later chapters are replaced by other classes such as Warriors and Paladins.

Soldiers are one of few common classes that are unplayable in Awakening. While Ephraim appears as an enemy Soldier in two DLC maps, his playable incarnation takes the form of a Great Knight. Nephenee, on the other hand, appears as an Einherjar General instead of a Soldier. Concept artwork for female Soldiers for this title exists, though within the game, they only appear in-game in cutscenes.

In Fates, the Soldier class is split into the Nohrian class, Lancer, and their Hoshidan equivalent, the Spear Fighter. The Spear Fighter is heavily based on the Soldier class from the Tellius games and promotes into the Spear Master class, which similarly takes after the Halberdier class. The Lancer class cannot be accessed by any regular character, although the player army can recruit playable Lancers by capturing and thereafter persuading them. The Lancer class has no promotions and boasts stats that are superior to those of a standard first-tier class. However, they still retain the first-tier rank lock (B rank) and their stats are lower than that of a second-tier class. Despite having no promotions, Lancers tend to have a wide variety of skills from other classes depending on their level. These include Lunge, Strength +2, Defense +2, Elbow Room, Natural Cover, Underdog, Wary Fighter and Lancefaire.

Soldiers return in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia where they are once again part of the armored line and an optional promotion of villager. Unlike the original, Soldiers do not have Armored type movement. Like in the original, Soldiers are one of the only classes to never gain movement in their class line.

The class also features in the spin-off title Fire Emblem Warriors, however the class is technically an enemy-only class and are a moveset clone of Oboro, a Spear Fighter. Soldiers who fly under the Hoshidan flag are referred to as Spear Fighters.

In Three Houses, the Soldier returns as an optional promoted class of the Commoner and Noble class if the unit passes the Certification Exam at Lv. 5 with a Lance Skill Level of D or higher and a Beginner Seal.

Other Games[]

In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, the Soldier appears as an enemy-only class. The enemy-only Lancer appears to be a mounted Soldier, and Soldiers may be considered to be their dismounted form. There is also another foot class present that is called the Spear Knight, one that boasts many similarities to the Soldier class, in particular the unused incarnation from Genealogy of the Holy War. The Spear Knight promotes into a Sergeant, a class blessed with the ability to wield all melee weapon types. The Dismounted form of the playable Dark Knight class is known as Dark Soldier, wields Lances exclusively, and can use Devil Spears with no chance of backfires.

In Vestaria Saga I, the Soldier is an enemy-only class. They wield Lances and Throwing Spears. Unlike other titles, Soldiers are significantly more dangerous due to having decent stats and being able to wield more than one weapon type.

Uniform[]

Since Mystery of the Emblem, Soldiers have had distinctive uniforms and helmets as well as a small, circular shield on their left arm. Typically, Soldiers wear light armor with helmets that cover their eyes. Since The Binding Blade, the color of the uniform will reflect the nation or alignment of the soldier.

In Gaiden, and Mystery Soldier armor has as roman theme consisting of a chainmail vest with a kilt, a helmet with a slit for the eyes, and sandals. In Gaiden, enemy soldiers wore a variation with spiked shoulderpads and a helmet resembling a human skull. In Mystery, the soldiers uniform was shared with Archers and Ballisticians, the latter of whom would share their uniform with soldiers in the majority of their appearances.

Ballisticians and Archers often use similar, or even identical uniforms to the Soldier class. Generic units of various classes such as Sniper, Cavalier, and Knight will typically use a speaking portrait based on Soldiers. This is even true in games where Soldiers do not appear, one such example being Genealogy of the Holy War.

In Awakening and Fates, Soldiers now resemble 16th century pikemen and appear with less armor than in previous titles, as their uniform now consists of a back and breastplate with a pair of cuisses attached, shin guards, a scarf that covers their neck and face and Morion helmets.

In-Game[]

Base Stats[]

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE2	26	10	-	1	3	0	5	0	4	-	-	Lance	-
FE3	18	5	-	1	3	0	3	0	6	-	-	Lance 12	-
FE4	30	6	0	5	5	0	7	0	6	-	-	C	-
FE5	20	3	0	0	0	0	1	-	5	6	-	E	-
TS	20	4	0	1	1	0	2	0	4	-	-	2	-
FE6	20	3	-	0	1	0	0	0	5	6	-	E	-
FE7	20	3	-	0	1	0	0	0	5	6	-	E	-
FE8	20	3	-	0	1	0	0	0	5	6	-	E	-
FE9	20/18	4/2	0	4	4/5	0	4/3	0/1	6	10/8	13/10	D	-
FE10	20	8	0	8	8	0	7	2	6	11	15	D	-
FE11	16	3	0	3	3	0	3	0	6	-	-	E	-
FE12	16	3	0	3	3	0	3	0	6	-	-	E	-
FE13	16	3	0	3	3	0	3	0	5	-	-	E	-
FE14	17	5	0	5	5	2	5	2	5	-	-	E	-
FE15	26	10	-	1	3	0	5	0	4	-	-	-	-
FE16	20	8	3	6	6	4	5	2	4	-	-	D	0

Maximum Stats[]

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE2	52	40	-	40	40	40	40	40	40	-	-	Lance	-
TS	60	19	15	16	16	30	17	-	12	-	-	12	-
FE6	60	20	-	20	20	20	20	20	15	20	-	A	-
FE7	60	20	-	20	20	20	20	20	15	20	-	A	-
FE8	60	20	-	20	20	20	20	20	15	20	-	A	-
FE9	40	20	15	20	20	40	20	20	6	10/8	13/10	A	-
FE10	40	20	10	20	20	30	20	20	6	11	15	A	-
FE11	60	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	6	-	-	A	-
FE12	60	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	6	-	-	A	-
FE13	80	30	30	30	30	45	30	30	5	-	-	A	-
FE14	60	31	25	29	29	30	31	29	5	-	-	B	-

Growth Rates[]

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE2	150%	50%	-	50%	50%	0%	50%	0%	-	-	-	-	-
FE3	80%	40%	-	40%	40%	0%	40%	0%	-	-	-	-	-
FE5	50%	20%	3%	15%	10%	10%	15%	-	0%	15%	-	-	-
FE6	80%	50%	-	30%	20%	25%	12%	10%	-	-	-	-	-
FE7	80%	50%	-	30%	20%	25%	12%	15%	-	-	-	-	-
FE8	80%	50%	-	30%	20%	25%	12%	15%	-	-	-	-	-
FE9	80%	40/35%	15%	50%	45/50%	25%	40%	35%	-	-	-	-	-
FE10	70%	50%	20%	45%	50%	25%	40%	40%	-	-	-	-	-
FE11	80%	45%	0%	45%	45%	0%	45%	0%	-	-	-	-	-
FE12	80%	45%	0%	45%	45%	0%	45%	0%	-	-	-	-	-
FE13	40%	10%	0%	10%	10%	0%	5%	5%	-	-	-	-	-
FE14	10%	10%	0%	10%	10%	5%	10%	10%	-	-	-	-	-
FE15	5%	5%	-	0%	-10%	-5%	5%	0%	-	-	-	-	-
FE16	10%	0%	0%	5/10%	0%	0%	0%	-5/-10%	-	-	-	+1	5%

Class Modifiers[]

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE16	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	0
FEW3H	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	0

Class Skills[]

	Skill	Requirements
FE16	Defense +2 Reposition	Class Mastery. Class Mastery.
FEW3H	Sword Buster Lv 1 Backbone Max HP +500 Lance Prowess Knightkneeler Wheelsweep	Class skill. 1-star Class Mastery for certain units. 1-star Class Mastery for certain units. 2-star Class Mastery for all units. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units.

Promotions[]

	Base Class	Promotion Method	Promoted Class
FE2	Villager	Visit a Shrine after reaching Level 3+.	Soldier
FE2	Soldier	Visit a Shrine after reaching Level 8+.	Armor
FE9	Soldier	Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Soldier.	Halberdier
FE10	Soldier	Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Soldier or train a Soldier to Level 21.	Halberdier
FE15	Villager	Visit a Shrine after reaching Level 3.	Soldier
FE15	Soldier	Visit a Shrine after reaching Level 7.	Knight
FE16	Any class	Use a Beginner Seal on a Level 5+ unit and pass the Soldier Certification Exam.	Soldier
FEW3H	Soldier	Use an Intermediate Seal on a unit that has mastered the Soldier class.	Cavalier Pegasus Knight (female-only)

Notable Soldiers[]

Gaiden[]

• Lukas - A member of the Deliverance who started Alm's quest by recruiting in Ram Village.
• Forsyth - Clive's lieutenant and advisor in the Deliverance, whom he has sworn an ardent allegiance to.
• Possible promotions for: Gray, Tobin, Kliff and Atlas.

Path of Radiance[]

• Nephenee - A soldier from the Crimean countryside whose silence is mistaken for shyness.

Radiant Dawn[]

• Aran - A childhood friend of Laura and a member of the Daein Liberation Army.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes[]

• Dimitri - The leader of the Blue Lions and King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.
• Ingrid - A member of the Blue Lions and the heir of House Galatea.
• Sylvain - A member of the Blue Lions and the heir of House Gautier
• Lorenz - The co-leader of the Golden Deers and Claude's rival.
• Leonie - A member of the Golden Deers and Jeralt's apprentice.
• Ferdinand - A member of the Black Eagles and Edelgard's retainer.
• Gatekeeper - A soldier who originally guarded the entrance to Garreg Mach Monastery, but has fled to the Base Camp.

Trivia[]

• Soldiers are unable to use Javelins or other throwing lances in Gaiden. This is likely because the only Javelin is available in Celica's route, one that has no default soldiers. Also, the Gradivus is only available near the end of the game, by which time all soldiers should have been promoted.
• In the game data for Mystery of the Emblem, Soldiers have a set of player palette sprites, and there exists a roster of opponents for a playable Soldier to fight in the arena, unlike most other unplayable classes in the game.

Gallery[]