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History in the Series Edit

Theis a horse-mounted combat physical class that recurrently appears across the, beginning from

Introduced as the promoted form of the Axe Knight class, the Great Knight has also been instituted as one of the possible promotions for the Cavalier and Knight classes. The Non-Armored incarnation wields Axes as their sole weapon of choice, while the Armored incarnation are known to be able to wield Swords and Lances in addition to Axes.

In its original inception in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the Great Knight class is established as the promoted form of the Axe Knight class, focusing on strength, and wielding Axes as its sole weapon of choice.

In Thracia 776, the Great Knight class is again the promoted form of the Axe Knight class, but this iteration can dismount, and is forced to do so for indoor chapters. When dismounted, Great Knights are entirely unable to use axes, and must arm themselves with Swords.

While TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga does not feature Great Knight, the Iron Knight class is retroactively similar to the Armored Great Knight incarnation introduced in the Sacred Stones, though it predates it. Like all armored units in the game, Iron Knight uses Swords exclusively.

The Great Knight class is absent until the onset of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, where it is one of the promoted forms of both the Cavalier and Knight classes. This version of the class is able to wield Swords, Lance, as well Axes as its weapons of choice. Additionally, Great Knights are classified as Armored units, and have lower move than the other mounted classes.

In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, the class is renamed as the Axe Paladin in localized versions of the game to make them thematically similar to Lance Paladins and Sword Paladins. Radiant Dawn reverted the Great Knight class to the original unarmored, and axe specializing version of the class. Axe Paladins further promotes into the Gold Knight class when the necessary requirements are fulfilled.

The armored version of Great Knight appeared again in Fire Emblem Awakening. The Great Knight possesses the Luna, and Dual Guard+ class skills. Great Knight wielded all three melee weapons like in Sacred Stones, and due to Generals losing swords, they are the only class with this weapon combination.

In Fire Emblem Fates, the Great Knight class is treated as a Nohrian class, and is again an armored class with one of the promoted forms of both the Cavalier and Knight classes. While Great Knight can still use all three melee weapons, unlike other appearances, Lances are the Great Knight's main weapon as it is their highest weapon rank.

In the spinoff, Fire Emblem Warriors, the class does not feature the ability to use Lances or Swords for simplification, as well as being the base class of Frederick, though their ability to use Lances and Swords are referenced within Frederick's Awakening Special. Additionally, Great Knights can pop up under the Hoshidan flag unlike how it was in Fates, where they are called Steel Knights. Here, Great Knights can promote into Guardian Knights.

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the Great Knight class a optional promotion for the Noble and Commoner class. Great Knight is part of the Master Class curriculum, requiring qualifiable units to reach Level 30 to be able to take the Certification Exam for the class, requiring an A in Heavy Armor, as well as B+'s in Axes and Riding.

In Vestaria Saga I, the Great Knight is known as the Axe Lion. This incarnation of the class is very similar to it's Jugdral and Tellius incarnations, being non-armored and exclusively wielding Axes.

Overview Edit

Combat Edit

The Great Knight is a powerful horseback-mounted class that has higher Strength and Defense as compared to other physical damage-oriented mounted classes.

The Axe Cavalry variation of Great Knights that appears in Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776 and Radiant Dawn is locked to Axes exclusively, but aside from this, it should, in most situations, be treated much as one would Paladins. Their high Strength at the cost of Skill means that they should have little difficulty with dispatching defensive units wielding lances or axes, but they will face more difficulties when dealing with faster Sword-using classes such as Swordmasters.

The armored variation of Great Knights can use Swords, Axes and Lances, giving them a better selection of weaponry compared to Paladins. However, they have poor Skill and Resistance caps (somewhat akin to that of Generals), which means they will miss more often and be more susceptible to magic attacks. They also have a Movement of 7 as a mounted unit, compared to other mounted units which have a movement of 8, which can cause problems when retreating.

In The Sacred Stones and Awakening, Great Knights are considered to be both an armored and a horseback-mounted unit. Because of this, both armor and horse "slayer" weapons (such as Armorslayer and Halberd) are effective against Great Knights, but weapons effective against armored and mounted foes, such as the Rapier, only inflict normal bonus damage (x3 weapon might instead of x9).

In Awakening, Great Knights learn two different skills. Luna, for one, causes the opponent's Defense/Resistance to be cut in half (Defense for all physical weapons such as axes, Resistance for all magical weapons such as Levin Swords and Tomes) when activated. This skill is excellent when facing units with high Defense or Resistance as it will allow them to deal greater damage to their foes. Dual Guard+, on the other hand, increases the chances for Dual Guard to activate by 10%, which can be helpful when facing strong enemies or protecting weakened units.

In Fates, Great Knights remain arguably parallel to their Awakening incarnation, but their Lance rank caps at A while Swords and Axes cap at B. Their Skill is also reasonably higher from what it was in Awakening in comparison to other classes, making them more likely to trigger Luna whenever needed. Their Dual Guard+ skill has been replaced by the outstanding Armored Blow, a very useful skill that allows them to push through most physical attacks, provided that they initiate battle (nothing they should have much issue with, given their wide range of Movement), matching their exceptional Defense perfectly. It is also possible to further improve their assets by making them spend time as a General in order to obtain the Wary Fighter skill, ridding them of any concerns of being double attacked due to their poor Speed, essentially turning them into wide-reaching, versatile and impenetrable physical walls.

In Three Houses, Great Knights are considered both Armored and Cavalry, taking bonus damage from attacks against either of those types. They innately have Canto, Axefaire, and Lancefaire, but lose 1 Movement compared to the Paladin. Stat-wise, they are also somewhat slower than Paladins, while not being as durable as Fortress Knights, and still being highly vulnerable to magic. As such, experienced players tend to view the Great Knight as an unfavorable class in Three Houses, given that Paladin is more mobile and not as slow, while War Master is a better choice for Axes thanks to its innate critical hit bonus. Wyvern Lord is also favored more due to better stats, flight capability, and better growth rates. If one intends to use an armored unit, however, it is still far better than Fortress Knight as it exceeds that class in every way besides 10% defense growth and 2 class bonus, arguably negligible as by level 30 the armor unit should have massively inflated Def anyway.

Base Stats Edit

HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res Mov Con Wt Wlv FE4 40 12 0 7 7 0 10 3 9 - - A FE5 24 5 / 4 1 6 / 5 6 / 4 0 5 / 4 - 9 / 6 9 - E D FE8 21 / 20 8 / 6 - 4 / 6 6 / 7 0 11 / 9 3 6 13 / 10 - E D D FE10 33 / 35 18 / 11 5 / 1 16 / 6 16 / 8 0 15 / 10 10 / 3 9 11 / 8 36 / 33 C FE10 ★ 38 20 7 18 18 0 17 12 9 11 36 A FE13 26 11 0 6 5 0 14 1 7 - - E E E FE14 21 10 0 6 6 3 10 2 7 - - E E E

Maximum Stats Edit

HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res Mov Con Wt Wlv FE4 80 27 15 22 22 30 25 18 9 - - A FE5 80 20 20 20 20 20 20 - 20 20 - A A FE8 60 28 / 26 - 24 / 26 24 / 25 30 29 / 28 25 / 26 15 20 - S S S FE10 45 26 15 25 23 / 25 30 24 / 22 16 9 11 / 8 36 / 33 S FE10 ★ 58 34 17 33 29 30 28 22 9 11 36 SS FE13 80 48 20 34 37 45 48 30 7 - - A A A FE14 65 35 25 29 27 28 37 28 7 - - B A B

Growth Rates Edit

HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res Mov Con Wt Wlv FE4 100% 30% 10% 30% 30% 0% 30% 10% - - - - FE5 70% 30% 5% 30% 20% 20% 30% - - - - - FE8 70% 30% - 20 / 25% 15 / 20% 20% 21% 20 / 22% - - - - FE10 55 / 60% 30 / 60% 40 / 25% 35 / 40% 25 / 40% 55 / 30% 35 / 40% 20 / 35% - - - - FE10 ★ 105% 75% 55% 80% 60% 80% 60% 55% - - - - FE13 50% / 95% 25% / 45% 0% / 0% 15% / 30% 15% / 30% 0% / 40% 15% / 35% 5% / 15% - - - - FE14 20% 20% 0% 10% 5% 5% 20% 0% - - - -

Class Skills Edit

Promotions Edit

Notable Great Knights Edit

Slayder - A general of Dozel working under Lombard.

Schmidt - A Dozel officer serving under Danann during his reign in Isaach.

Fisher - An aide to Brian, the current heir to Dozel.

Possible promotions for: Lex and Iuchar.

Promotion for: Brighton and Hicks.

Duessel - A former Grado General known as the Obsidian. Joins Ephraim because he is suspected of treason after questioning Vigarde's acts.

Aias- A former member of Caellach's mercenary group, who attempts to stop Eirika from reaching Jehanna Hall.

Possible Promotion for Amelia, Franz, Kyle, Forde and Gilliam.

Frederick - A veteran who prefers to guide others in the Shepherds.

Ephraim (DLC)

(Spotpass) Mycen, Ephraim and Titania.

Possible promotion for: Sully, Stahl, Kellam and Kjelle.

Gunter - A knight and a retainer of Corrin's who has served the kingdom of Nohr for a long period of time.

Possible promotion for: Peri, Silas, Siegbert, Sophie, Benny, Effie and Ignatius.

Easily obtained promotion for: Ferdinand, Gilbert

promotion for: Ferdinand, Gilbert Accessible promotion for: Edelgard, Claude, Sylvain, Hilda, Cyril, Alois, Anna

Gwendal - Knight of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus known as the Grey Lion.

Gautier: One of the Ten Elites, original bearer of the Crest of Gautier, and founder of House Gautier.

Jamulan - A capable Axe Knight and the Ordom Clan's greatest warrior.

Trivia Edit

In Genealogy of the Holy War , all default and potential Great Knights hail from the duchy of Dozel. Additionally Dozel's squadron of knights, Grauen Ritter was composed mostly of Great Knights.

, all default and potential Great Knights hail from the duchy of Dozel. Additionally Dozel's squadron of knights, Grauen Ritter was composed mostly of Great Knights. In Awakening , the Great Knight's Magic cap is the lowest of all promoted classes, while it is tied with many unpromoted classes for said stat. The Great Knight's Skill cap is also the lowest of all promoted classes available.

, the Great Knight's Magic cap is the lowest of all promoted classes, while it is tied with many unpromoted classes for said stat. The Great Knight, Bride, Conqueror and Dread Fighter classes are the only ones to be able to use 3 different types of equipment with ranks in Awakening .

. The helmet worn by generic Great Knights in Fates, with minor differences, uses the same design as the helmet for the unused female variant of the generic Great Knight from Awakening.