This page covers the basics of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance gameplay.
Weapons[edit]
There are three main types of weapons in the game: swords, axes, and lances. In a system known as the Weapon Triangle, swords grant a bonus to damage and chance to hit against axes, while axes do the same against lances and lances do so against swords. Daggers are a fourth weapon type that do not participate in the Weapon Triangle.
Magical weapons follow a similar pattern called the Trinity of Magic—with fire magic being effective against air magic, air versus thunder, and thunder versus fire. Light magic exists outside the Trinity of Magic.
Individual units can only wield certain types of weapons. Each weapon in the game has a number of stats, including Rank, Might, Hit percentage, Critical percentage, Weight, Range, and Durability.
Rank[edit]
Each weapon has a Rank, or Level, ranging from E to S. Once a character uses lower-ranked weapons of a given type enough times, they will increase their Level with that weapon type by one, allowing the use of higher-level weapons. For example, say your Ike has a Weapon Level of C for swords. He will be able to wield an Iron Sword (Rank E), but not a Steel Sword (Rank D), until he increases his swords Level by one.
Might[edit]
Might (abbreviated Mt) is the base amount of damage a weapon causes. Add this to a unit's Strength stat (or Magic stat if they are using a magic weapon), subtract the enemy's Defense (if a physical weapon) or Resistance (if a magical weapon), and you have the amount of damage that will be dealt to the enemy if the attack hits.
Hit[edit]
A weapon's innate chance to successfully connect with the enemy during an attack. The weapon's Hit, combined with a unit's Skill and the enemy's Avoid—itself a combination of Speed, terrain, and other factors—determines if an attack hits its target.
Crit[edit]
A weapon's innate chance to strike a critical blow, inflicting triple damage. The weapon's Crit, combined with a unit's Luck and other factors, determines if an attack critically hits.
Weight[edit]
Items with higher Weight (Wt) increase a unit's weapon rank more quickly than lighter weapons, but can reduce the number of strikes in an attack. (See Speed in the Stats section below for more details on double-attacking.)
Range[edit]
A weapon's Range (Rng) is the distance at which its wielder can attack. Melee weapons have the lowest Range of 1, while most ranged weapons have a Range of 2.
Durability[edit]
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[edit]
A character's stats include Hit Points, Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, Defense, Resistance, Movement, and Weight. Each stat affects something different.
HP[edit]
When a unit's Hit Points (HP) reach 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[edit]
The higher a unit's Strength (Str) is, the more damage they will deal with physical weapons. Higher Strength also lets a unit use heavier weapons without a penalty to the number of strikes per attack. (See Speed below for more details on double-attacking.)
Magic[edit]
Higher Magic (Mag) means a unit will deal more damage with magical weapons. The higher a healer's Magic is, the more HP they will heal with staves.
Skill[edit]
The higher a unit's Skill, the more often the unit's attacks will hit. Higher Skill also means a higher chance for critical hits and for certain units' inherent skills to activate.
Speed[edit]
Speed (Spd) affects dodge chance as well as how many times a unit will strike during a single attack. The formula for strikes per attack is Speed-(Weight-Strength). If Weight-Strength is negative, ignore that part. If the result of this formula for an attacking unit is 4 or more than the defending unit's result, the attacker will strike twice. Enemies can also double-attack, so watch out!
Luck[edit]
The higher a unit's Luck (Lck), the better its chance to hit. Luck also increases chance to dodge both normal and critical strikes.
Defense[edit]
The higher a unit's Defense (Def), the less damage a unit will take from physical attacks.
Resistance[edit]
The higher a unit's Resistance (Res), the less damage a unit will take from magical attacks.
Your Turn[edit]
On your turn, each character may perform certain actions, depending on their class and abilities. Click on a character to select, then click on one of the following menu options to tell the character what to do.
Moving[edit]
All characters may move each turn, unless they are sleeping or stunned. Select a character, and the blue spaces that appear are the ones to which that character may move. Enemies units on red spaces can be attacked. Move a unit within range of an enemy unit to be eligible to attack them. Mounted units may move, attack, and move again with the remainder of their movement. For example, Titania can move 4 spaces, attack, and retreat 5 spaces.
Attack[edit]
When you are beside an enemy unit, you may select attack to try to damage an enemy unit. The amount of damage, hit percentage, HP, and other information is shown in the combat window before you launch an attack.
Staff[edit]
Some characters may use staves to heal allies. Select staff, then select the character you wish to heal. This will restore some of that unit's HP.
Shove[edit]
Foot units may shove another unit to move it one space away. Mounted units cannot shove but can be shoved by other units whose weight is higher than the mounted unit's weight (laguz can shove mounted units). A unit can only shove another unit if the shover's weight is no more than two less the weight of the person being shoved. For example, a character with a weight of 7 can shove a character with a weight of 9, but not 10.
Rescue[edit]
If a unit is in danger of dying, you can rescue it with another unit. A unit must weigh at least 2 more than the unit it is trying to rescue. When a unit is carrying a rescued unit, its speed and skill are reduced by half.
Drop[edit]
If a unit is carrying another unit, it may drop the unit into an adjacent space. This will, however, end the turns of both the unit dropping and the unit being dropped. The exception to this rule are mounted units, who can still use their extra movement. However, they will be unable to attack for the rest of the turn.
Take[edit]
A unit can receive a rescued unit without ending the original rescuer's turn, providing that the new carrier is strong enough to hold the rescued unit.
Trade[edit]
A unit can trade items and weapons with any adjacent character.
Items[edit]
A unit can use or equip an item, such as a Laguzguard or a vulnerary.
Wait[edit]
Ends your unit's turn.