The Dark Bishop is a magical combat class that debuted as an enemy-only class in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. It debuted as a playable class in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
The class is usually associated with evil cults such as the Loptr Church of the Jugdral Series and Those Who Slither in the Dark from the Fódlan Series. Dark Bishops are outfitted with Dark magic, Anima magic, and Staves and are the powerful counterparts to Dark Mages.
History in the Series
In their original inception in Genealogy of the Holy War, the Dark Bishop class commonly appears armed with potentially lethal tomes like Fenrir and Hel and status-inflicting Staves like Berserk and Sleep, posing as tremendous threats to all who come within range of their attacks. They can use A-Rank Dark and Anima magic and Staff weapons. Dark Bishops have the Pursuit skill, high stats, including Defense and HP, they essentially are the dark magic counterpart to the Sage class.
Dark Bishops in Thracia 776 are again an enemy class with very powerful stats and access to dangerous magic.
Dark Bishops make their playable debut in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, utilizing their Reason magic to deal damage to enemies. It is an Advance class gender-locked to male characters, and passing the certification exam requires a Lv. 20+ character with an A in Reason who previously unlocked the Dark Mage class. Taking the exam requires the use of a Dark Seal.
Dark Bishops return in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. While still restricted to male units, Dark Bishops are now a Master-tier class, being treated as the male version of the Gremory class, and as such both are at the Master tier of the Monk class tree. To unlock this class, a unit has to master one of of the Advanced magic classes (Bishop, Warlock, or Dark Mage) then using a Master Seal.
Other Games
In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, the Dark Bishop similarly manifests as a dangerous adversary armed with nefarious spells that are capable of inflicting vast amounts of damage to all who enter their range of attack. They are one of two common classes capable of using both offensive magic and staves, the other being the Bishop. The class is generally associated with members of the Gerxel Church.
In TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga, the class is known Raze Bishop, where it is once again an enemy-only class. In contrast to its other appearances, the class is not used by generic enemies and minor bosses but is instead shared by the four archbishops of the Raze Church. They use dark magic to heal and inflict status effects. Raze Bishops have a Dark skill cap of 60, the highest in the game, they will receive a bonus to their critical rate accumulative for weapon rank points over 50. Their two signature spells are Tomaharn (a devastating magic attack that also drains experience points and even levels) and Berserk, which in conjunction with their high stats, makes them very dangerous opponents.
In-Game
Base Stats
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE4 | 40 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 5 | - | - |  A  A  A  A  A | - |
| FE5 | 30 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | - | 6 | 5 | - |  E  E  E  A  A | - |
| TS | 25 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | - | 4 | - | - |      5 | - |
| FE16 | 30 | 8 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 4 | - | - |  A | 0 |
Maximum Stats
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE4 | 80 | 15 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 27 | 5 | - | - | A A A A A | - |
| FE5 | 80 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | - | A A A A A | - |
| TS | 60 | 15 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 30 | 19 | - | 12 | - | - | 20 | - |
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE4 | 100% | 10% | 30% | 30% | 30% | 0% | 10% | 30% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE5 | 90% | 30% | 3% | 30% | 30% | 20% | 20% | - | 0% | 40% | - | - | - |
| FE16 | 10/30% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 0% | 0% | -5% | 5/50% | - | - | - | +3  +2 | 0% |
| FEW3H | 15% | 0% | 35% | 15% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 30% | - | - | - | - | 0% |
Class Modifiers
Class Skills
| Skill | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| FE16 |  Miasma Δ Heartseeker Fiendish Blow Lifetaker | Class Ability of the Dark Bishop class. Class Ability of the Dark Bishop class. Class Ability of the Dark Bishop class. Mastery Ability of Dark Bishops. |
| FEW3H | Miasma Δ Dark Magic Mastery Impair Cavalry Buster Lv 4 Bowbreaker Impossible Feat Mag +10 Excalibur Dark Spikes Τ Hades Ω Reason Covenant Absorb Strength Absorb Magic Absorb Dexterity Absorb Speed Absorb Luck Absorb Defense Absorb Resistance Absorb Charm Nullify Magic | Class ability. Class ability. Class ability. Class ability. 1-star Class Mastery for Hubert and Linhardt. 1-star Class Mastery for certain units. 1-star Class Mastery for certain units. 1-star Class Mastery for Linhardt. 1-star Class Mastery for Hubert. 1-star Class Mastery for Arval. 2-star Class Mastery for most units. 2-star Class Mastery for Byleth. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for Hubert and Arval. 3-star Class Mastery for Claude, Ashe, Lorenz and Seteth. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for Ignatz. 3-star Class Mastery for Dedue and the Gatekeeper. 3-star Class Mastery for Linhardt and Rodrigue. 3-star Class Mastery for Holst and Byleth. Innate Ability for certain units. |
Promotions
| Base Class | Promotion Method | Promoted Class | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FE16 | Any class | Use a  Dark Seal on a Level 20+ unit and pass the Dark Bishop Certification Exam. |  Dark Bishop |
| FEW3H |  Bishop Warlock Dark Mage | Use a Master Seal on a male unit that has mastered either the Bishop, Warlock or Dark Mage classes. | Dark Bishop |
Notable Dark Bishops
Genealogy of the Holy War
- Manfroy - Leader of the Loptyrian Cult who wishes to revive the Loptyrian Empire.
- Kutuzov - Loptyrian bishop presiding over the Yied Shrine; he wields the Fenrir tome.
- Judah - Loptyrian priest sent to Thracia as part of its alliance with Grannvale.
- Morigan - Loptyrian bishop in Miletos' Rados Castle who is charged with carrying out the Child Hunts.
- Zagam - Loptyrian bishop serving under Manfroy.
- Yupheel - Loptyrian bishop serving under Manfroy.
- Daggon - Loptyrian bishop serving under Julius.
- Baran - Loptyrian bishop serving under Julius.
- Gallus - One of the twelve Deadlords serving under Julius.
Thracia 776
- Veld - High ranking Loptyrian bishop with manipulations in Thracia and the Manster District; wields the unique Stone tome.
- Codda - Loptyrian priest who pursues Leif and his forces as they flee Tahra.
- Mua - Loptyrian priest stationed in Leonster.
- Rinecok - Loptyrian bishop stationed in the Melfiye monastery; he wields the Berserk.
- Alfan - Loptyrian priest stationed in Manster.
TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga
- Dagon - Cruel bishop of the Gerxel Church.
Three Houses
- Solon - Member of Those Who Slither in the Dark. His methods are extremely dark and brutal.
- Odesse - Member of Those Who Slither in the Dark.
- Hubert - Empress Edelgard's minister and retainer. Under his cruel exterior he is an honorable general.
TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga
- Almachius - One the four archbishops of the Raze Church.
- Cordova - One the four archbishops of the Raze Church.
- Rasputin - One the four archbishops of the Raze Church.
- Jacharam - The final boss of Berwick Saga and the fourth archbishop of Raze.
Trivia
- Gair, a background character in Genealogy of the Holy War, is referred to as a Dark Bishop, but it is unknown if this is his class or just a title.
- In Three Houses, Hubert is the only enemy Dark Bishop that is not a member of Those Who Slither in the Dark.
- Dark Bishops are the second playable class in the main series after Snipers to also be the class of a final boss. Previously the class used by Veld, the final boss of Thracia 776, it subsequently became playable in Three Houses.
Gallery
.png "Dark Bishop (TS).png (40 KB)")
