Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Gameplay

This page tells the basics of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, including information on leveling up, weapon advantages, terrain, attacking, and everything you need to know about the game.

Weapons
Each character wields certain types of weapons. Each weapon in the game has a set might, rank, weight, and durability. These are explained in-depth here.

Might
Might, or MT, is the base amount of damage a weapon causes. Add this to your strength stat (or magic stat if you are using a magic weapon), subtract your enemy's Defense (if a physical weapon) or Resistance (if a magical weapon, and you have the amount of damage you will deal to your enemy if the attack hits.

Rank
Each weapon has a rank, ranging from E to S. Once characters use a lower-ranked weapon enough times, they will gain the abilities to use higher-ranked weapons. For example, say your Ike has a sword proficiency of C. He will be able to wield an Iron Sword, rank E.  He will not, however, be able to wield a Sonic Sword, rank B.

Weight
Each weapon has a weight. The heavier the weapon, the slower your character is. However, heavier weapons make your weapon rank rise more quickly than lighter weapons. Weight also affects attack speed. Here is the formula for attack speed: Speed-(Weight-Strength). If WT-Strength is negative, ignore that part. If your attack speed is more than 3 higher than your opponent's, you will attack twice in one turn. However, your opponent will also double-attack if their attack speed is high enough, so watch out!

Durability
Each time a weapon is used, its durability rating drops by 1. When a weapon's durability drops to 0, the weapon breaks and cannot be repaired. Some weapons, such as Ragnell and Amiti, will never break.

Stats
To understand this game, you must first understand your characters. Each character has 8 major stats. These are HP, Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, Resistance, and Defense. Each stat affects something different.

HP
When a unit's HP reaches zero, the unit dies. Pure and simple. Low HP can be healed with items such as Vulneraries and Elixers. Stave wielders can also heal units with low HP.

Strength
The higher your strength is, the more damage you will do from physical weapons. Higher Strength also lets you use heavier weapons without being slowed down.

Magic
Higher Magic lets you do more damage from magical weapons. The higher a healer's Magic is, the more HP they will heal with a specific staff.

Skill
The higher a unit's skill, the more often the unit's attacks will hit. Higher Skill also means a higher chance for certain unit's inherent skills to activate.

Luck
The higher a unit's luck, the more often a unit will dodge or get a critical hit.

Resistance
The higher a unit's resistance, the less damage a unit will take from magical attacks.

Defense
The higher a unit's defense, the less damage a unit will take from physical attacks.