—Boyd to Mist in a support conversation
Boyd is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. He is the middle child of his family, and joined the Greil Mercenaries in order to support his younger half brother Rolf and fight alongside his older brother Oscar. He is friendly rivals with Ike, initially doubting him as the leader of the Greil Mercenaries, but eventually coming to terms with him. Boyd is supervised occasionally by his Deputy Commander, Titania.
Profile
Path of Radiance
Boyd is first introduced in Mercenaries, where he is tasked to check on Mist, who has apparently taken quite a while to get Greil to return to the mercenaries' fort. Upon catching up with Greil, he is then ordered to stand in as Ike's sparring partner. When Boyd is eventually defeated, he claims that he "wasn't really giving it [his] all", to which Mist asserts is a lie.
Alongside Oscar and Titania, Boyd is assigned to assist Ike in his first job as a mercenary in The Battle Begins, where they are tasked to take out a group of bandits in a nearby village. At the end of the battle, Boyd dismissively passes off Ike's successes as "not being as flashy as [his] first time", whereupon Oscar reveals that he had gotten "so keyed up [he] broke his axe".
When Rhys later receives news of Rolf and Mist being captured by bandits in Rescue, Ike rashly dashes out of the fort in search of them, with Boyd, Oscar and Rhys hot on his heels.
At the start of Pirates Aground, Greil makes the decision to punish Ike alone, to which Boyd, Oscar and Rhys jump in to assume responsibility, with Boyd exclaiming that it is not fair of Ike to "[play] the martyr". Greil then decides to punish Ike by separating him from Boyd, Oscar, and Rhys, sending him on a mission with Titania, Shinon and Gatrie instead.
Boyd returns in Flight!, where the mercenaries are faced with the dilemma of whether or not they should protect Princess Elincia from the invading Daein forces. When cued for his opinion, Boyd immediately responds by agreeing, asserting that this is "what heroes are supposed to do". After the end of the preceding battle, Boyd will assist the mercenaries in packing up to leave the fort for the safer confines of Gallia.
After Greil's death at the hands of the Black Knight in Shades of Evil!, Boyd and Oscar attempt to stop Gatrie and Shinon from leaving the mercenaries to no avail. He then readily accepts Ike as the new leader of the Greil Mercenaries, agreeing to support him all the way. In a Base Conversation Boyd shares with Ike later in the chapter, he reveals that he is indebted to Greil for having taken himself and his brothers in during their time of greatest need, or as he puts it, for "[giving] [them] [their] lives back". He then asserts that he is staying with Ike not out of obligation, but purely out of the need for him to "protect [his] family" from harm.
At the start of Gallia's battle, Mist and Rolf take to the battlefield, determined to assist the battle in any way they can. Boyd, concerned for their safety, attempts to urge them to get off the battlefield by rudely insulting their lack of battle skills. As his show of concern escalates to a bicker, Ike cuts Boyd off by allowing Mist and Rolf to join the mercenaries in battle, much to Boyd's immense exasperation.
Later in A Guiding Wind, Boyd will engage in a discussion with his brothers, where he expresses a desire to be able to perform an "unstoppable attack" with his brothers. This wish of his is granted in Chapter 19, where Oscar reveals the results of his research, whereupon Boyd impatiently tells him to summarize his findings. As Ike accidentally walks in on them later, they break off their discussion, not without Boyd proudly informing him that they have planned a "surprise".
Boyd will then remain with Ike's forces until the Mad King Ashnard is finally defeated, thereafter continuing his life as a member of the Greil Mercenaries.
Radiant Dawn
In the three years since the Mad King's War, Boyd managed to significantly build up his physique alongside Ike. It got to the point where his clothes would often tear from being too tight, which Mist would then have to patch up for him. Boyd returns in this game at the end of Elincia's Gambit, where he participates in the plan to rescue Lucia from Ludveck's rebel forces.
In Laguz and Beorc, Boyd can reunite with Rolf's biological mother when he visits a particular house in this chapter. Upon recognizing him, she will comment on how he resembles his father, to which he responds by feigning ignorance before leaving in a hurry.
Rolf's mother will then trespass into the encampment of the Laguz Alliance in the preceding chapter, and is saved from being captured by Oscar and Boyd. Boyd promptly gets into a heated confrontation with her, revealing that she had abandoned her entire family, including her own son, in order to elope with an external lover. He even tells her that his father passed away sometime after she left and that he and Rolf would have died as well if Oscar did not leave the Crimean Royal Knights. While this is happening, Oscar tells them that he will attempt to get Rolf to meet her, much to Boyd's chagrin. Rolf will refuse to do so almost immediately, asserting that the only true family that he has is that of the Greil Mercenaries. As Oscar proceeds to get her to leave the encampment, Boyd, touched by Rolf's loyalty, goes on to assert that he is not a "thing" "to [be given] away to a crazy woman".
If Boyd has an A-rank support with Mist, he will reappear after 80 kills in From Pain, Awakening have been achieved, where he alerts Ike to the fact that Mist has fainted. He then clears a path for Ike to carry her to safe confines, reminding her to "hang in there" for his sake.
Boyd is spared when Ashera casts her judgment upon the continent of Tellius. He may subsequently be brought into the Tower of Guidance to reverse her judgment.
If Boyd shares an A-rank support with Mist, he will eventually marry her, and is chagrined when she cries during their wedding vows.
Personality
While Oscar is calm, polite, and intelligent, Boyd is the direct opposite. He tends to be more reckless, brash, and a little dense in his general actions and demeanors, which has often led him to being the butt of jokes made by his brothers and Mist. As a result, Boyd has a consistent lack of filter for most of the series regarding his thoughts and opinions; while he clearly dislikes hurting others' feelings, he often immediately states the first thing that comes to mind for him, regardless of the proper place for those thoughts or the social status of the individual he's speaking to. This often leads to him fumbling his thoughts constantly without meaning to come off as hurtful, like Boyd trying to lighten the mood by joking about Mist weighing more than Leanne in Day Breaks, prompting her to shove him into a tree.
Despite this impetuous and blunt nature, however, Boyd is consistently shown to possess an extremely kind heart and a strong sense of justice. This is best shown in Chapter 5 where he immediately vouches for protecting Elincia from Daein, citing how heroes are supposed to protect the helpless. He also shows a lot of happiness helping others whenever possible, such as talking with Brom and Ulki in his Support conversations with them and helping them through whatever issues they have. He also, despite bickering with her incessantly, cares a major deal for Mist, as well as his general "family" in the Greil Mercenaries. This is not only shown through Boyd giving Mist a shoulder to cry on through her stress from the Mad King's War, but generally how furiously he reacts to cruelty or predating on the helpless. As a whole, Boyd has a strong moral compass and is firmly believing in egalitarianism, even if he finds it hard to express such.
It's because of his troubled childhood, his temporary abandonment on the streets, and subsequent adoption into the Greil Mercenaries, that Boyd takes protecting the weak and his loved ones as seriously as he does. It's also because of this that Boyd hates betrayal or prejudice of any kind; Boyd expresses his complete disgust towards Shinon abandoning the group after everything they've been through, and later explicitly states he'll enjoy "knocking the obnoxious clean out of him" after confronting him during Crimea Marches. This is also shown three years later, with his step-mother coming to see Rolf after abandoning him and his brothers to go off with another man after his father died, which immediately prompts Boyd to tell her off, citing how she was never there for her sons when they needed her the most. It's because of this desire to protect the helpless and be a presence of strength to others that need it that Boyd takes his role as a protector as seriously if not moreso than anyone else. This is best shown in his endings, where he trains endlessly not to lose his place to "some stupid rookie".
Despite this somewhat simple approach, Boyd is far from unthinking. He can often give profound observations and insights based on the circumstances; his Supports with Brom has him genuinely act philosophical with the duality of mercenaries bringing death while farmers bring life, citing a great amount of envy to Brom's profession as such. He's also shown to be, second only to Ike, the most natural at talking to Laguz, which he noted of being initially intimidated by but soon found it to be extremely easy after speaking to Ulki. Regardless of this hidden sense of insight, however, Boyd is nonetheless portrayed as an individual who cares little about the tactics or gambles in a battle, and often fights without worrying about the details. Boyd is also shown to have moments where he's easily flustered by his thoughts, and he generally detests doing work that bores him for whatever reason, often coming off as somewhat lazy as a result. His Supports with Titania and Mist showcase him blowing off his training, much to the former's scolding and the latter's teasing.
In Radiant Dawn, Boyd appears to have matured greatly, and is no longer the simple-minded fool he was in Path of Radiance. More so, his sense of morality and kindness is much more prevalent, almost forbidding Mist from entering the battlefield due to her wooziness in Chapter 3-F. This large change in his personality may be observed in the mannerisms he exhibits throughout the course of the game, where he is portrayed to display tact before speaking his mind. Boyd's transformation is not entirely complete, however, as he persists on constantly bickering with his brothers, despite caring for them immensely.
In-Game
Path of Radiance
Recruitment
- Chapter 1: Automatically from the start.
Prologue
| Starting Class | Affinity | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fighter |  Fire | ||||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Wt | Mov |
| 2 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 6 |
| Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||||
 Discipline |  Axe - D |  Practice Axe | |||||||||
Base Stats
| Starting Class | Affinity | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter | Fire | ||||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Wt | Mov |
| 2 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 6 |
| Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||||
 Tempest | Axe - D |  Iron Axe Vulnerary | |||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75% | 60% | 5% | 50% | 45% | 35% | 25% | 25% |
Support Conversations
- See also: Boyd/Supports
Bond Support
Promotion Gains
| Item Required | Promoted Class | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
( Master Seal)
|
 Warrior
| ||||||||
| 1 | +6 | +2 | +1 | +2 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 |
| Weapon Levels | |||||||||
 C*  E
| |||||||||
* Only if Axe mastery level is at D or lower.
Overall
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Due to his good growths and perfect availability, Boyd can prove to be a very useful unit. He has excellent HP and Strength as expected of his class, but unlike most Fighters, his Speed and Skill are amazing for his class at well, being at a 45% and 50% growth respectively. While his base stats are about as low as you'd expect from a Level 2 Fighter, he very quickly outpaces these problems with training and his base stats are acceptable for his immediate join time. It's worth being careful training him however, as he gets weighed down to 3 AS by an Iron Axe, which it makes it difficult for him to double, and in fact results in him being doubled by certain enemy types early on. After the first few chapters, however, his Strength growth will outgrow these problems. On average, by Level 5, he has the 6 AS he was promised at base, and by Level 7 he'll no longer be weighed down by Iron Axes at all. It's also worth considering using the first Speedwing on him to get him started faster, though other units make arguably better use of them (most notably Kieran). As he'll continues to gain levels through the midgame, his high offensive growths begin to shine through. By the time he promotes to the Warrior class, he often only needs a Hand Axe to take care of waves of enemies by his lonesome. His default skill, Tempest, grants him extra Hit and Avoid, but may prove to be a hindrance if his biorhythm is low. It may be more reliable to take the skill off of him entirely, but it can be fun and have niche usefulness to keep it on him. He also boasts solid supports, especially that of the Bond Supports he shares with his brothers, as the Water affinity from most of his Support options is a very good support to improve his already impressive Attack and bolster his Defense.
It's worth noting that Boyd can perform a Triangle Attack with his brothers in this game. It can be extremely potent, as it grants an automatic hit and critical to the person who performs it, but it comes with some issues. Rolf is a difficult unit to train in general, and it can be hard to justify using him just for this niche. Oscar is certainly worth using, but the fact that you need to choose bows as his secondary weapon type is somewhat of a problem. Due to both Steel Axes and Hand Axes being E-rank, allowing them both to be used immediately upon promotion, axes are generally considered the better weapon type. Bows can be acceptable on him, however.
Overall, he's arguably in the running for being the best foot unit in the game. In a game where mounts and fliers are a dominating force due to having multiple weapon types and Canto, Boyd is an exception to the rule by being a very worthwhile investment to the party; it's not surprising to see him cap several of his stats by the endgame, as there's generally very few threats the game can throw at him that he can't handle.
Radiant Dawn
Availability
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Endgame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | E | P | 1 | 2 | 3 | E | P | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | E | P | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | E | A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 | A5 |
| ◎ | ◎ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||||||||||||||||||||
◎=Forced ○=Available □=Available for selected
Base Stats
| Starting Class | Affinity | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Warrior |  Fire | ||||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Wt | Mov |
| 8 | 45 | 22 | 1 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 7 |
| Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||||
 Shove |  Axe - A |  Killer Axe Steel Axe Hand Axe | |||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 65% | 5% | 45% | 45% | 40% | 50% | 10% |
Biorhythm
Bond Support
Promotion Gains
| Item Required | Promoted Class | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
( Master Crown)
|
 Reaver
| ||||||||
| 1 | +4 | +2 | +4 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +4 | +0 | +0 |
| Skills | |||||||||
 Critical +5 Colossus
| |||||||||
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
With some proper training, Boyd can once again prove to be a useful asset on the battlefield. His HP and Strength are exceptional as expected of Warriors, and his Defense is surprisingly good too, with a decent growth of 50%. Should he be RNG screwed, however, his Defense may not grow too well, but it should cap as a Reaver, as its cap of 30 is mediocre. His Speed and Skill are decent, but lower than Nolan's. The same is even more so for Luck and Resistance. Boyd has a lot of availability and can deal heavy damage against a myriad of units. Boyd's Speed and Skill stats have decent bases, but their growths are inconsistent; their caps as a Reaver are also quite high, at 36 for Skill and 35 for Speed. He can reach these caps, but it will take a bit of effort and luck. Boyd can be a powerful wielder of Urvan, due to his very high strength and decent Defense, Speed, and Skill; it also raises his awful Resistance.
Like in the previous game, Boyd can do a Triangle Attack with his brothers Oscar and Rolf; unlike the prior game, he has the attack automatically unlocked and can execute it as soon as possible. However, due to the Warrior class being locked to Crossbow weapons, it's advisable to not have him be the one who executes the triangle attack unless the unit in question is a non-Dracoknight flier, due to Crossbows not factoring in his mammoth strength growth.
Overall, while it's hard to say Boyd was as good as he was in the previous game, and Nolan is overall the far more necessary Fighter due to his crucial earlygame involvement, Boyd is still a viable alternative and can be a very useful unit like he was in the last game. The Reaver class has amazing caps and it's not hard to have him reach his stat caps, and he's thus very useful for the Endgame. Due to Fighters being a great class line in this game due to their amazing caps, great growths, and axes being the best weapon type in the game by a fairly large margin, it's ideal to use both Boyd and Nolan, as it's hard to go wrong with two Reaver units.
Fire Emblem Heroes
- Future Great
- The second of three brothers, between Oscar, the eldest, and Rolf, the youngest. He wants to grow up as fast as he's able, for Rolf's sake. Appears in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Future Great | |||||
| Group | |||||
 Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 19/20/21 47/50/54 | 12/13/14 40/43/47 | 9/10/11 33/36/39 | 6/7/8 28/31/34 | 3/4/5 18/21/24 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
 Large War Axe Shove |  Axe | ||||
Skills
| Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Iron Axe | - | - | - |
| Steel Axe | - | - | - | |
| Silver Axe | - | - | - | |
| Large War Axe | - | - | ||
 | Shove | - | - | - |
| A |  Fire Boost 1 | - | - | |
 Fire Boost 2 | Fire Boost 1 | - | ||
 Fire Boost 3 | Fire Boost 2 | - | ||
| C |  Infantry Pulse 1 | - | - | |
 Infantry Pulse 2 | Infantry Pulse 1 | - | ||
 Infantry Pulse 3 | Infantry Pulse 2 |  |
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Base Set
Counters
Skill Inheritance Options
Meet Some of the Heroes
| Future Great Boyd | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Boyd is the middle brother of Oscar and Rolf of the Greil Mercenaries, and he's a reliable warrior who rounds out the trio. Now he's here in Askr from a point during his childhood! | ||
|
Boyd is the powerhouse of the Greil Mercenaries, and even as a young boy, he was all about strength. Just look at how he handles that huge axe like it's nothing! | ||
|
Oops! Looks like he got a little carried away and fell over. Good thing he's wearing that sturdy-looking kneepad! I guess he came prepared. | ||
|
Anyway, here's Boyd showing off for his brothers. He might still be finding his feet a little bit, but he makes up for it with all that youthful energy! | ||
| Closely Associated Characters | |||
| Oscar | A straightforward but accommodating member of the Greil Mercenaries. Has good instincts. Boyd's older brother. | ||
| Rolf | A member of the Greil Mercenaries and the younger brother of Oscar and Boyd. | ||
Quotes
Path of Radiance
—Boyd's death quote
Heroes
Possible Endings
Path of Radiance
- ''Great job, Ike! Of course, if I hadn't been by your side the whole time, victory might have slipped away...''
Radiant Dawn
- Mighty Soldier (猛き豪腕, Take ki gō wan)
- Boyd trained day in and day out, so as not to lose his spot to "some stupid rookie". He never did, either.
- Boyd and Mist
- Boyd trained daily, so as not to lose his spot to "some stupid rookie". Mist humored her husband's insecurities.
Non-Canon Appearances
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Boyd is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:
Choose Your Legends Placement History
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1 | 321 |  Path of Radiance |
614 |
| 328 |  Radiant Dawn |
587 | |
| CYL2 | 322 ↓1 |
Path of Radiance |
651 ↑37 |
| 332 ↓4 |
Radiant Dawn |
601 ↑14 | |
| CYL3 | 180 ↑147 (From highest) |
Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn |
1,406 ↑154 (From combined) |
| CYL4 | 141 ↑39 |
Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn |
1,101 ↓305 |
| CYL5 | 95 ↑46 |
Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn |
1,042 ↓59 |
| CYL6 | 66 ↑29 |
Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn |
1,454 ↑412 |
| CYL7 | 130 ↓64 |
Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance |
462 ↓992 |
| CYL8 | 160 ↓30 |
Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance |
418 ↓44 |
| CYL9 | 138 ↑22 |
Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance |
388 ↓30 |
Etymology
Boyd is a Scottish surname which may have been derived from the name of the island of Bute.
Bole is the section of the trunk of a tree beneath the point where branching commences in botany, fitting to his class due to the history of fighters being woodcutters in the series.
Trivia
- In Radiant Dawn, in the base conversation "The Three Brothers", the North American version erroneously implies that Boyd and Rolf are step-brothers and not blood-related. The official Path of Radiance Japanese site states that Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf share the same father. This error was not present in the Japanese version and was fixed in the PAL version.
- In Path of Radiance, Boyd is one of the two characters to have 3 support partners with the same affinity (Water), the other being Makalov (with Wind).
- According to Tellius Recollection, Boyd was designed with an apparent age of 18 in Path of Radiance and 21 in Radiant Dawn. This puts him a year older than Ike, and three years older than Mist.
- Through Support Conversations in Path of Radiance, it is revealed that Boyd has a crush on Titania and Mist.
- Even though Boyd claims Strength is more important than Skill, while Rolf claims the opposite, Rolf's Skill growth in Path of Radiance is ironically lower than Boyd's. Even more humorous is that Rolf's strength growth is higher than Boyd's in Radiant Dawn.
Gallery
- See main article: Boyd/Gallery.