Like all Fire Emblem games, Fire Emblem Engage is a stat-heavy game, as befitting a strategy role-playing game. On the plus side, this means you get to enjoy the endorphin rush when your numbers get bigger when you level up (or feel the immeasurable sorrow of staring at a low-gain level up…), but it also means you should probably know what all these stats and numbers mean. After all, it’s kind of hard to enjoy these things without context, and if you don’t know what DEX and LCK do, or why one character attacks twice in combat and another character doesn’t, it can make tactical decisions more difficult. This page will discuss all the basic stats and combat stats you see staring back at you on your inventory screen, and discuss how the latter are determined.

All Basic Stats in Fire Emblem Engage Explained¶

Basic Stats reflect a character’s core parameters, and include obvious mainstays such as Strength (STR), Magic (MAG) and Defense (DEF), and more obtuse stats like Dexterity (DEX), Speed (SPD), Resistance (RES) and Luck (LCK). These stats are the function of a character’s growth rates (the chance to increase every time a character levels up) and stat caps (the maximum value a stat can have). Stat caps are mostly a function of a character’s current class, while stat growths are largely inherent, but each character has minor modifiers to their max stats and classes influence growth rates. Check out the following pages for more information on stat caps and stat growth rates:

• [All Max Stats in Fire Emblem Engage]
• All Stat Growth Rates in Fire Emblem Engage

What Do Hit Points Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

The most basic of RPG stats, if you get hit, you lose Hit Points (HP). If your HP reach 0, that character is defeated. In classic mode, defeated characters are lost forever, in casual mode, they’re just out of play for the rest of the battle. If Alear’s HP are reduced to 0, the battle is lost. Defense (DEF) will reduce incoming physical damage, while Resistance (RES) will reduce magical damage. Avoid (AVO) will cause attacks to miss entirely, dealing zero damage.

What Does Build Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

A bit of an odd stat, Build (BLD) mitigates the Weight (WT) of weapons, reducing the amount of Speed (SPD) they reduce. For example, a Steel Axe has a WT of 12, which, in a vacuum, would reduce your effective SPD in combat by 12. If your SPD is 5 points or more higher than an enemy’s, you’ll get a follow-up attack during encounters, and likewise for the enemy, so maintaining your SPD can be the difference between getting two attacks in combat, or getting attacked twice. If the character attacking with a Steel Axe (WT 12) has a BLD score of 10, their SPD will only be reduced by 2 during encounters.

Higher grade weapons tend to have higher WT penalties, so there’s a bit of a balancing act between dealing more damage per hit, and keeping your SPD high enough to make two attacks each encounter. Of course, if your damage is low enough, getting two hits in may not matter, so again… balancing act. You may want to bring different weapons for different scenarios.

What Does Strength Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Strength is a fairly simple stat in Fire Emblem Engage. One point of STR = one point of PH ATK, which is directly countered by an opponent’s DEF. The higher a character’s STR, the more damage they’ll deal with most weapons, all else being equal.

What Does Magic Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Strength is to Physical Attack what Magic is to Magical Attack. One point of MAG = one point of MAG ATK, which is directly countered by an opponent’s RES. The higher a character’s MAG, the more damage they’ll deal with tomes and magical weapons, all else being equal.

What Does Dexterity Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Dexterity (DEX) primarily serves to boost a character’s HIT rate with weapons. One point of DEX = 2 HIT. A character’s HIT score is added to the HIT stat on their weapon (along with any equipped skills, if relevant) to determine their overall HIT chance. In combat, a character’s HIT is subtracted from a target’s AVO to determine their chance of landing an attack. In practice, everybody should get enough DEX to have a good chance of hitting enemies, but less dextrous characters may wish to stay away from more advanced weapons, which generally have lower HIT rates.

In addition, DEX plays a role in determining CRIT chance. One point of DEX = 0.5 CRIT. The most dextrous characters will be pushing 50 DEX, which would yield a 25% CRIT chance, in addition to whatever innate CRIT chance their weapon has. Some weapons, like “Killer” weapons, have higher base CRIT chances, and since critical hits deal x3 damage, a CRIT build can be fairly dangerous if a character isn’t too burdened by the weapon’s downsides, which typically include reduced base damage (MT), higher weight (WT) and lower HIT. A character’s CRIT is opposed by the opponent’s Dodge (DDG) stat to determine the overall chance of landing a critical hit.

What Does Speed Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Perhaps the most important stat in the game, Speed (SPD) determines a characters AVO; one point of SPD = 2 AVO. AVO directly opposes an attacker’s HIT, and since attacks that miss don’t deal damage, a character with sufficiently high AVO is very hard to kill. In fact, a time honored Fire Emblem form of survival is AVO tanking - having high enough AVO to effectively run up to enemies (ideally using AVO boosting terrain to heighten your advantage) and laughing as they whiff their attacks.

Not only is SPD a potent defensive stat, it’s a great offensive stat. If a character’s SPD is 5 points or more higher than their opponent’s, they will get two attacks in each combat engagement instead of the normal one. Yes, this effectively doubles damage, and yes, it’s as broken as it sounds, especially if the character who gets these two attacks has a high enough STR or MAG score to make their attacks hurt.

A character with high enough SPD isn’t getting hit, and is attacking enemies twice, which really tips the scale in favor of faster characters.

What Does Defense Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Defense (DEF) directly opposes Physical Attack (PH ATK), one point of DEF will reduce one point of physical damage taken, potentially down to zero.

What Does Resistance Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Resistance (RES) directly opposes Magical Attack (MAG ATK), one point of RES will reduce one point of magical damage taken, potentially down to zero.

What Does Luck Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

The last and arguably least of the stats, Luck (LCK) bestow various benefits, including 0.5 HIT, 0.5 AVO and 1 DDG. Most classes end up with 25 - 50 LCK, which translates to 5 - 10 HIT/AVO and 25 - 50 DDG. It’s a fine supplement, but it’s not a substitute for DEX or SPD, respectively. The biggest contribution LCK makes is… well, to AVO, but barring that, it also increases Dodge (DDG), which mitigates critical hits. Of course, if your AVO is high enough you’re not going to get hit, anyways, and many skills with a proc chance use DEX instead of LCK, leaving LCK with very little to call its own.

All Combat Stats in Fire Emblem Engage Explained¶

Combat stats are derived primarily from basic stats, but may also be affected by equipped weapons, equipped skills, terrain and other effects. Basic stats exist to determine combat stats, which are what actually determine the outcome of battles.

What Does Ph Atk Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Physical Attack (PH ATK) is a derived stat that measures the physical damage a character will deal with their currently equipped weapon. It is largely a combination of a character’s STR score and their equipped weapon’s Might (MT), but can be influenced by other factors, such as skills. An attackers PH ATK is directly opposed by a defender’s DEF, and the defender’s HP will be reduced by the amount by which the attacker’s PH ATK exceeds the defender’s DEF.

For example, a character with 10 STR attacks with an Iron Lance (MT 7), which gives them a total PH ATK of 17. If their target has a DEF score of 10, the attack will deal 7 damage.

Note that some weapons, like the Levin Sword and Flame Lance, deal magic damage, which uses a character’s MAG score instead of STR along with a weapon’s MT to determine MAG ATK.

What Does Mag Atk Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Magical Attack (MAG ATK) is a derived stat that determines how much magic damage a character will deal with equipped weapons. This usually applies to tomes, but some magic weapons exist that use a character’s MAG stat and a weapon’s Might (MT) value to determine MAG ATK. MAG ATK opposes a defender’s RES score, and the amount by which MAG ATK exceeds RES determines the HP damage a magic attack deals.

For example, a character with 10 MAG attacks with a Fire tome (MT 5), which gives them a total MAG ATK of 15. If their target has a RES score of 10, the attack will deal 5 damage.

What Does Hit Rate Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

HIT is a character’s hit rate - the odds of a character’s attack actually landing in combat. Whether an attack that hits actually deals damage or not is another matter. HIT is opposed by an opponent’s Avoid (AVO) - subtract the AVO from the HIT and you’ll get the overall hit chance. For example, if a character has HIT 120 and attacks an opponent with AVO 50, they’ll have a 70% chance for their attacks to strike. Higher grade weapons tend to have a lower HIT chance, so if you’re having trouble landing attacks, consider switching to lower grade weapons, which are generally more reliable, albeit weaker.

What Does Avoid Rate Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

The ultimate defensive stat, Avoid Rate (AVO) is mostly a function of your Speed (SPD), but it’s also boosted by your Luck (LCK), to the tune of 2 AVO per SPD and 0.5 AVO per LCK. It’s really that simple: a character with 40 SPD and 30 LCK would end up with 95 AVO, which directly opposes an attacker’s HIT to determine whether their attack lands and potentially deals damage, or misses, dealing zero damage. Since AVO negates damage entirely, a character with sufficiently high AVO can aggressively press into enemy lines and laugh off their attacks, making them top-tier fighters. AVO tanks aren’t invulnerable, however, as backup classes (Axe/Lance/Sword Fighter, Berserker, Halberdier, Hero, Swordmaster, Warrior) can perform chain attacks, which deal little damage, but have a reliable 80% chance to hit, and this will eventually chip your HP down if enough enemies are able to attack.

What Does Critical Rate Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Critical Rate (CRIT) represents your character’s chance of landing a lethal strike. In Fire Emblem, critical hits are incredibly strong, dealing 3x normal damage, and in a game with permadeath, this can lead to some… tense moments. CRIT is determined by a character’s Dexterity (DEX), contributing 0.5 CRIT per point of DEX. Aside from this, your equipped weapon and skills will also influence your CRIT chance (certain types of weapons, like the “Killer” family of weapons, specialize in critical hits). CRIT is opposed by an opponent’s Dodge (DDG).

What Does Dodge Do in Fire Emblem Engage?¶

Dodge (DDG) serves only one function: To oppose Critical Rate (CRIT). An attacker’s CRIT is effectively reduced by an amount equal to the defender’s DDG, making critical hits unlikely or outright impossible, if DDG is sufficiently high. DDG comes almost exclusively from a character’s Luck (LCK) stat - one point of LCK equals one point of DDG, with supplemental DDG coming only from certain skills. While critical hits can be devastating, you’re generally better off with a high AVO causing attacks (including potential critical hits) to miss entirely ,or by having enough Defense (DEF) or Resistance (RES) to weather the attack, if possible.