—Basilio explaining a Dancer's role to Chrom.
The Dancer is a support class that debuted in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
Quick Answers
What unique ability does the Dancer class possess in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem?
How does the Dance command in FE3H benefit allied units?
Why can't Dancers reinvigorate other Dancers in Fire Emblem: Three Houses?
What is the gender tradition of the Dancer class in Fire Emblem?
Who are considered the best Dancers in FE3H?
Profile
The Dancer possesses the unique ability to utilize the Dance command on an allied unit who has taken an action that turn. Their Dance revitalizes the unit, allowing them another full turn of movement and action. However, Dancers cannot reinvigorate other Dancers. Traditionally a female-exclusive class, male character equivalents have most often appeared as other classes such as Bard. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the first game in the series to offer the option for a male character to be a Dancer while Fire Emblem Engage is the first game to feature a male Dancer as the sole Dancer option within the game.
As a field unit, Dancers can be involved in combat, though their actual combat ability varies between games. Several Dancers lack any sort of combat ability such as Larum or Tethys. Swords tend to be the preferred weapon of choice for Dancers that can attack. Dancers tend to focus on strengthening their Speed, Dexterity, and Luck in most cases, allowing them to dodge attacks, prevent foes from gaining Follow-Up Attacks against them, and reduce Critical hit chance. While this also can allow Dancers that can attack to perform Follow-Up Attacks themselves and their high Dex and Luck can let them launch Critical hits of their own, they are often offset by their low Strength growths and if an enemy is able to tag them with a hit, their frail defensive stats can lead to catastrophic damage. Due to being a special class, the Dancer has no natural promotion(s) and only Lara can "promote" into the class.
In nearly all main series games, the Dancer class is generally a class exclusive to a single playable character. Thracia 776 is the only game to feature enemy Dancers on multiple maps. Both Awakening and Fates feature SpotPass and StreetPass functions that allow players to challenge other player's defense teams, allowing battle against enemy Dancers, though none occur during the main storylines of both games.
While other classes have the same ability to refresh units through similar, yet differently named commands, "Dancer" is often utilized as an umbrella term for all units with this ability by fans of the franchise. Examples of other Dancer-like classes include the Heron Laguz of the Tellius series, the aforementioned Bard class used by certain male units, and Azura's Songstress class from Fire Emblem Fates.
The Anew staff serves a similar purpose to Dance, though it has limited uses. It can be used by a staff-wielding unit with a high enough Weapon Level.
History in the Series
In its original inception in Mystery of the Emblem, the Dancer class is granted the ability to engage in combat with swords alongside supporting their allies through invigorating dances. Unable to promote, Dancers are simply permitted to gain a maximum level of 30.
The Dancer class appears in Genealogy of the Holy War as the class of Sylvia, her daughter Lene, and her substitute Laylea.
In Thracia 776, the Dancer class can only be accessed by the player by having Lara, a female character who starts as a Thief, trigger an event in Chapter 12x. Able to trigger the event even as a Thief Fighter, Lara is also able to promote into the aforementioned class as a Dancer. This title is the only one to feature Dancers as enemy units.
In The Binding Blade and The Blazing Blade, Bards make their first appearances as the male variant of the Dancer class. They fulfill the same role as their female counterparts through music performed with either the harp in The Binding Blade and the flute in The Blazing Blade.
In The Blazing Blade, the Dancer class, alongside its male counterpart, can perform special dances with the aid of rings to bless their allies with additional bonuses that improve their combat prowess for the duration of one turn. Four of such rings exist in the game; Ninis' Grace increases Defense and Resistance, Filla's Might increases Attack by 10, Thor's Ire increases Critical hit chance by 10% and Set's Litany increases Avoid by 10.
In Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, the Dancer class is replaced by the Heron Laguz, who refresh their allies' expended turns through the power of Galdrar. In Radiant Dawn, Galdrar, much like the special rings in The Blazing Blade, possess different variations that improve allies' combat prowess.
In Awakening, the Special Dance skill that Dancers learn imbues their dances with the ability to simultaneously refresh a selected ally unit and boost their combat prowess for one turn.
In Fates, the Dancer class is replaced by the Songstress class. The unique class of Azura, the Songstress class fulfills the same purpose of the Dancer class through vocalized song. The Songstress class similarly learns a skill that imbues its songs with the ability to both reinvigorate and boost an ally unit's combat effectiveness.
In Three Houses, the Dancer class is not unique to any specific character, but only one character can have access to the Dancer class during a given playthrough. The class has proficiency in Swords and Authority, and can also use Reason and Faith magic. This is also the first game in which male characters can be Dancers. The class is unlocked after a student chosen by the player wins the White Heron Cup over contestants from the other houses. To win the contest, the selected student must have at least 13 Charm before the third week of the Ethereal Moon. Before then, the chosen student can also practice their dancing, permanently raising their Charm by 5. If the player's representative in the contest loses, access to the class is permanently lost. Even if the player recruits the student that did win the contest to their own class, they will not be able to reclass the recruited student into a Dancer.
Among Battalions in Three Houses, certain Battalions in the game include Dancers among their ranks, whom can be seen when the camera is zoomed in on the battlefield. Such Battalions include the Blue Lion Dancers and Empire Holy Magic Users. A speaking portrait for generic Dancers can be viewed when hiring these Battalions. There also exist NPC Dancers among the population in Abyss.
In Engage, Seadall is the first male character in series history whose base class is Dancer. The Dancer class in Engage is capable of fighting using arts and equipping arts scrolls as their weapon. Units equipped with the Ring of the Instructor also gain access to traditional Dancer class abilities, including the Engage Attack Goddess Dance.
In Fire Emblem Warriors, the Dancer class appears as the base class for Olivia. The class retains the ability to use swords and can dance (which restores her allies Warrior Gauges) with her Strong I attack, which scales on how full her gauge is. Unlike her Awakening version (and something no Dancer has done so far), Olivia's Dancer class can promote into the Prima class.
In Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, the Dancer class is, similar to Three Houses, not unique to any character. A Master-tier class in the Myrmidon promotion tree bridging Mortal Savant and Trickster together, it is not available by default and must be unlocked as a side mission reward through the game's War Map in either Chapter 12 of both Scarlet Blaze and Azure Gleam, or Chapter 13 of Golden Wildfire. Once available, a character can change to the Dancer class after mastering either the Assassin or Swordmaster classes with a Master Seal, and remain unlocked in New Game+ files. Unlike other sword classes, which has variants of the class skill Axe Buster, Dancers have Tome Buster Lv 4.
Overview
Combat
Overall, Dancers tend to lack any sort of offensive presence in battle with generally low base stats across the board, alongside subpar offensive and defensive stat growths. Some dancers, such as Ninian from The Blazing Blade, are unable to equip any weapon for self-defense. To compensate for this, Dancers are blessed with high Speed and Luck growths, both of which contribute immensely to their superb evasion. Their decent HP growth also helps ensure their survivability on the battlefield, allowing them to sustain a sizeable amount of damage before running the risk of being felled.
Due to their high Speed, armed Dancers can thus perform double and critical attacks quite frequently if used offensively, although they will need Energy Drops and other strength-boosting items to be optimal for combat purposes.
To make up for their general offensive shortcomings, the Dancer's unique Dance ability allows them to reinvigorate allied units who have expended their turn to perform a second turn of action in the same Player Phase. This allows them to give the more offensively capable units a chance to launch more attacks and further weaken the strength of enemy forces. In some titles, Dancer units are further able to bestow bonuses to the units whom they perform dances for, such as Ninian, who can utilize specially-crafted rings like Thor's Ire to boost her allies' combat effectiveness.
In-Game
Base Stats
HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FE3 | 16 | 1 | - | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | - | - | Sword 12 | - |
FE4 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | - | - | ![]() | - |
FE5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 6 | 3 | - | ![]() | - |
FE6 | 14 | 1 | - | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | - | - | - |
FE7 | 14 | 1 | - | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | - | - | - |
FE8 | 14 | 1 | - | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | - | - | - |
FE12 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | - | - | ![]() | - |
FE13 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | - | - | ![]() | - |
FE16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | - | - | - | 0 |
FE17 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | - | ![]() | - |
FEW | 53 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 5 | - | - | ![]() | - |
Maximum Stats
HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FE3 | 52 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 6 | - | - | Sword 20 | - |
FE4 | 80 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 30 | 16 | 18 | 6 | - | - | ![]() | - |
FE5 | 80 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | - | ![]() | - |
FE6 | 60 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 20 | - | - | - |
FE7 | 60 | 10 | - | 10 | 20 | 30 | 24 | 26 | 15 | 20 | - | - | - |
FE8 | 60 | 10 | - | 10 | 30 | 30 | 24 | 26 | 15 | 20 | - | - | - |
FE12 | 60 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 6 | - | - | ![]() | - |
FE13 | 80 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 45 | 30 | 30 | 5 | - | - | ![]() | - |
FE17 | 64 | 36 | 31 | 29 | 43 | 39 | 24 | 26 | 7 | 15 | - | ![]() | - |
Growth Rates
HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FE3 | 30% | 30% | - | 30% | 30% | 0% | 30% | 30% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE4 | 100% | 30% | 10% | 30% | 30% | 0% | 30% | 10% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE5 | 70% | 20% | 0% | 15% | 15% | 10% | 10% | - | 0% | 20% | - | - | - |
FE6 | 45% | 45% | - | 30% | 60% | 70% | 0% | 3% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE7 | 45% | 45% | - | 30% | 60% | 70% | 0% | 13% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE8 | 45% | 45% | - | 30% | 60% | 70% | 0% | 13% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE12 | 30% | 10% | -20% | 30% | 40% | 0% | 5 | -10% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE13 | 35% | 5% | 0% | 25% | 25% | 0% | 5% | 5% | - | - | - | - | - |
FE16 | 20% | -5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | -5% | -5% | - | - | - | - | 10% |
FE17 | 5% | 10% | 0% | 5% | 15% | 20% | 10% | 20% | - | 0% | - | - | - |
FEW3H | 20% | 10% | 20% | 0% | 30% | 0% | 0% | 0% | - | - | - | - | 25% |
Class Modifiers
Class Skills
Skill | Requirements | |
---|---|---|
FE4 | ![]() | Base skill of the Dancer class. |
FE5 | ![]() | Base skill of the Dancer class. |
FE6 | Dance | Base skill of the Dancer class. |
FE7 | Dance | Base skill of the Dancer class. |
FE8 | Dance | Base skill of the Dancer class. |
FE13 | ![]() ![]() | Learnt at Level 1. Learnt at Level 15. |
FE16 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Class Ability. Mastery Ability. Win the White Heron Cup |
FE17 | ![]() | Class Skill of Dancers. |
FEW3H | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Class ability. 1-star Class Mastery for all units. 2-star Class Mastery for all units. 3-star Class Mastery for most units. 3-star Class Mastery for Raphael. 3-star Class Mastery for Ingrid. 3-star Class Mastery for Ferdinand. 3-star Class Mastery for Ignatz. 3-star Class Mastery for Flayn. 3-star Class Mastery for Seteth. 3-star Class Mastery for Monica. 3-star Class Mastery for Dorothea and Manuela. 3-star Class Mastery for Annette. |
Promotion
Base Class | Promotion Method | Promoted Class | |
---|---|---|---|
FE5 (Lara) | ![]() | In Chapter 12x, have Lara speak to Perne. | ![]() |
FE5 (Lara) | ![]() | Use a ![]() | ![]() |
FE5 (Lara) | ![]() | In Chapter 12x, have Lara speak to Perne. | ![]() |
FEW | ![]() | Use a ![]() | ![]() |
FEW3H | ![]() ![]() | Use a ![]() | ![]() |
Notable Dancers
Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem
Genealogy of the Holy War
- Silvia - A cheerful, flirtatious dancer who is smitten with Lewyn.
- Lene - Daughter of Sylvia and the older sister of Coirpre, a vulnerable dancer who hides her emotional anguish with an exterior of bubbly carefreeness.
- Laylea - Substitute character of Lene and older sister of Charlot.
Thracia 776
- Promotion for: Lara
The Binding Blade
- Larum - A boisterous, loud and juvenile dancer from the Western Isles.
The Blazing Blade
The Sacred Stones
- Tethys - A beautiful, charming member of Gerik's Mercenaries who hails from Jehanna and is the older sister of Ewan.
Awakening
Engage
Trivia
- In Awakening, Dancers boast equal Defense and Resistance, a trait shared with Villagers/Merchants, Lords, female Great Lords, Tacticians, Grandmasters, Cavaliers, Paladins, Manaketes and Grima's personal class. Additionally, they boast equal Strength and Magic, a trait shared by Tacticians, Grandmasters, and Villagers/Merchants.
- In Heroes, in Phina's S-rank conversation in the Forging Bonds event A Time to Shine, an explanation is given for the limitation preventing Dancers from rejuvenating other Dancers in Midgard. It is told that this was attempted by a pair of goddesses who danced for each other, continuing the cycle of rejuvenation for a hundred years until both expired at the same time on the morning of the 101st.
See also
- Bard - The male counterpart to the Dancer class.
- Heron - The Laguz counterpart to the Dancer class.
- Songstress - The replacement for the Dancer class in Fates.