Donnel

Donnel, given the full name Donnel Tinhead in the localization, is a playable character in Fire Emblem Awakening.

Quick Answers

What is the full name of Donnel in Fire Emblem Awakening?

In Fire Emblem Awakening, Donnel is fully named Donnel Tinhead, often referred to as Donny. He is a human male, part of the Shepherds faction in Ylisse. Notably, Donnel is among the limited number of Fire Emblem characters with a disclosed surname, exclusive to the English game version.

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What is Donnel's occupation before joining the Shepherds in Fire Emblem Awakening?

Donnel, a character in Fire Emblem Awakening, was a villager in Ylisse before joining the Shepherds. His daily life involved plowing fields and hunting. He lived with his mother and had not ventured out of his village until he joined Chrom's army, following a bandit attack on his village. His father died protecting his family from Roddick.

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Who killed Donnel's father in Fire Emblem Awakening?

Roddick is the character who killed Donnel's father in Fire Emblem Awakening. The incident happened when Roddick attacked their village. Despite managing to wound Roddick, Donnel's father couldn't survive. Donnel, however, escaped, joined the Shepherds under Chrom's leadership, and played a part in defeating Roddick, freeing their village.

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Why is Donnel interested in many things in Fire Emblem Awakening?

In Fire Emblem Awakening, Donnel's broad interests stem from his desire for self-improvement and his learning aptitude. He excels in survival skills, including animal trapping, fishing, and cooking, contributing to the army's sustenance. Additionally, he aspires to explore the world to decipher the mysteries of his father's cherished stone, indicating his inquisitive and adventurous nature.

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Profile

Donnel is a villager from Ylisse, and is a common young man who likes plowing fields. Due to the fact that before his recruitment into the Shepherds, Donnel had never left his village, he is interested in many things. Donnel appears as a kid in makeshift armor wielding a Lance on foot. He lives with his mother before leaving to join Chrom's army. His father was killed by Roddick trying to protect his wife and son. Upon meeting Chrom he introduces himself as Donny before quickly correcting himself with his real name. Nevertheless, some members of the Shepherds refer to him as Donny, such as Lissa and Chrom themselves. Donnel is a bit younger than Lissa. Donnel wears a pot over his head in order to hide his messy hair.

One day, Donnel's village is attacked by bandits, but he is able to escape. Donnel encounters Chrom and asks him to save the kidnapped villagers. He leads them to the bandit's hideout and Chrom asks him to fight with them. Though he tells Chrom he's just a regular villager, after some encouraging words from Chrom, he musters enough courage to fight with them. After defeating the bandits and Donnel gets a bit stronger, he joins Chrom's army. Alternatively, if Donnel does not get stronger after defeating the bandits, he will remain in his village and cannot be recruited.

In the epilogue, Donnel returns back home to his village and lives a quiet life with his mother and wife if he got married. He never returned to battle after this.

Personality

Donnel is a typical village boy "from the sticks" and is unaccustomed to life outside of his village. Though he was hesitant to ever enter battle, Donnel musters enough courage to stand up for himself and eventually join Chrom's army. His speech is vastly different compared to the rest of the army, speaking with a southern-farmer accent, saying phrases such as "git 'r done!".

In his support with Nowi, it is revealed Donnel's father was an avid rock collector until he was killed, making him carry his father's favorite stone ever since, with his supports with Lissa, revealing that his dream is to travel the world looking for the secrets to his father's stone.

Donnel is well versed in survival and practical skills including animal trapping, fishing, and cooking, as shown in his supports with Panne and both Robins, with his supports with Kellam even saying he grows food for the army as well. Many people in the army note of his incredible aptitude in learning due to his eagerness to improve himself and find his true potential, with perhaps the most extreme example being when he completely memorizes a legal tome, lent to him by Maribelle, which even she herself hasn't fully done so yet.

In-Game

Awakening

Base Stats

Starting Class
Villager
Level	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov
1	16	4	0	2	3	11	3	0	5
Skills			Weapon			Starting Items
Aptitude			Lance - E			Bronze Lance Vulnerary

Growth Rates

Without Aptitude

For Aptitude, add +20% to all growth rates.

Max Stat Modifiers

Support

See also: Donnel/Supports

Romantic Supports

• Robin (Female)
• Lissa
• Sully
• Maribelle
• Miriel
• Cordelia
• Panne
• Nowi
• Tharja
• Olivia
• Cherche

Other Supports

• Robin (Male)
• Stahl
• Kellam
• Donnel's children

Class Sets

Base Classes	Promoted Classes
Villager	-
	-
Mercenary	Hero
	Bow Knight
Fighter	Warrior
	Hero
Dread Fighter (Dread Scroll required)	-
	-

Inheritance

Donnel has two Male-only classes: Villager and Fighter. If his wife has a daughter, then his daughter will inherit the following classes instead.

• Pegasus Knight - Promotes to Falcon Knight or Dark Flier
• Troubadour - Promotes to Valkyrie or War Cleric

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 Class

Donnel is the archetypical Kliff of Awakening and as such, he starts off with some of the lowest stats in the game and can be well behind the current characters in the roster. What he lacks in his start, he makes up for with incredible long term potential in a short period of time due to his strong growths in nearly all stats save his Magic and Resistance growths.

As a Villager, Donnel is mostly stuck in this temporarily in order to farm enough Level Ups so he can Reclass as soon as possible. As the sole starting Villager of the game, he is the only unit that starts off with Aptitude, which gives all of his stats a 20% growth rate boost, solidifying his exponentially strong ascent. In the long term, the Villager class is mostly a small foothold for him to get going before eventually Reclassing into his secondary classes, which have higher stat caps and better long term potential for him.

Reclassing

Donnel's reclassing options are Mercenary and Fighter, both of which are a step above his Villager days. It is also worth mentioning that Donnel will be reverted back to E rank in whatever class he reclasses into, forcing you to use Bronze Weapons or expend Arms Scrolls on him to allow him access to stronger weaponry.

After grabbing Underdog, it is highly recommended to go straight to Mercenary, since his immediate acquisition of Armsthrift combined with his high Luck makes him extremely good at extending the lifespan of rarer weapons. The class also balances out Donnel's stats with good speed, skill, and strength and good defense. In addition to the stat compliments, the Mercenary class will offer Donnel the Patience skill, which will increase his Hit and Avoid during the enemy turn. His Hero promotion from this class yields Sol, allowing him to heal himself during battle, and with his fairly high Skill, Sol should activate often. Hero is Donnel's most well-balanced class in terms of stats, abilities, and weapons and is recommended as his end class. Reclassing into Bow Knight will offer Donnel access to Bowbreaker, a useful skill to complement Counter from the Warrior class, which will not activate against ranged attacks from weapons such as bows.

Fighter boosts Donnel's offensive capabilities as much as possible while slightly dropping his defenses. This class emphasizes axes letting him wield Hand Axes for range until he promotes into either Hero or Warrior. Zeal and HP + are good skills for Donnel to use even outside of this class. However, over time, these skills may begin to lose relevance as Donnel begins to reclass multiple times, leading to them being swapped for more versatile skills such as Sol. Warrior adds higher Strength caps, Bows, and Counter to his repertoire, the latter of which is especially useful in conjunction with Sol from the Hero class. Unfortunately, due to the overlap of Mercenary and Fighter both promoting to Hero, Donnel has access to only three upgraded classes total. This gives him a rather limited, but useful, skill pool.

Overall, Donnel has to be reclassed to be a unit worth using, as Villager is useless in the long run. Despite his somewhat shallow range of abilities, Donnel can still be a very capable unit with skill combos like Sol and Counter, with Bowbreaker alleviating the combo's range weakness to an extent and Patience further extending his survival during the enemy turn. Armsthrift will allow Donnel to wield expensive and forged weaponry for longer periods of time, making him a prime candidate for holding fabled weapons like Helswath. Ultimately, Donnel's biggest strengths lie in his fast growths and Luck stat. His growths and the benefits of Aptitude allow him to cap out faster than nearly all other units, making him a very strong mid- to-lategame unit with some early-game investment and decent training.

Inheritance

Donnel is one of the better fathers in the game due to having a unique class. While weak on its own, his sons can get both Aptitude and Underdog on their own, plus Mercenary carries the valuable Armsthrift and strong class options in the Hero and Bow Knight classes. Fighter does overlap with Mercenary in terms of one of his promotions, the Hero, but he also gains the Warrior class for Counter. His sons naturally receive all of these classes and their respective promotions and skills, making Donnel a decent option for them. His strongest options for sons are Owain and Brady since they can inherit Galeforce on their own and lack the Mercenary class. Inigo is perhaps his weakest option since he already has the Mercenary class in his kit and also gains Galeforce, though Villager is still unique to him and Morgan similarly mainly benefits to become a Villager for the unique skills.

Donnel is arguably one of the best fathers in the game for the female children, especially Kjelle, Noire, and Nah as his Villager and Fighter classes become the Troubadour and Pegasus Knight classes, the latter being one of the strongest classes in the game since the Dark Flier promotion gives Galeforce. It also means that he can gift them male exclusive skills like Counter and Underdog since there are also no legitimate means for them to obtain it otherwise or even Aptitude if looking to speed up stat gains and if the other skills that they can naturally learn appeal more. Severa, his only other daughter choice, is arguably the weakest choice since she stands to only gain the Troubadour class and one male-exclusive skill via his inheritance, though her stat inheritance from her does sync well, but not enough to consider it superior to other options who will provide more or that his pairing to another would do more or better.

Fire Emblem Heroes

• Original
• Summer Firsts

Village Hero

A farm boy from a country village in the Halidom of Ylisse. Handy and hardy. Appears in Fire Emblem Awakening.

Base Stats

Rarity:

✯

		Title
		Village Hero
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15 34	5 26	3 21	4 23	2 16
Skills			Weapon
Iron Lance			Lance

✯✯

		Title
		Village Hero
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15 36	6 29	3 22	5 26	2 17
Skills			Weapon
Iron Lance			Lance

✯✯✯

		Title
		Village Hero
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15/16/17 36/39/42	5/6/7 28/31/34	3/4/5 22/25/28	4/5/6 25/28/31	2/3/4 17/20/23
Skills			Weapon
Steel Lance			Lance

✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Village Hero
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15/16/17 37/40/43	6/7/8 30/33/36	3/4/5 23/26/29	5/6/7 27/30/33	2/3/4 18/21/24
Skills			Weapon
Brave Lance Reciprocal Aid			Lance

✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Village Hero
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	16/17/18 40/43/46	6/7/8 32/35/38	4/5/6 26/29/32	5/6/7 29/32/35	3/4/5 20/23/27
Skills			Weapon
Brave Lance+ Reciprocal Aid			Lance

Weapon

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Iron Lance	-		-
	Steel Lance	Iron Lance
	Brave Lance	Steel Lance
	Brave Lance+	Brave Lance
	Hewn Lance	-	-
	Reciprocal Aid	-
A	HP +3	-
	HP +4	HP +3
	HP +5	HP +4
B	Drag Back	-

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

Village Hero Donnel
	I'd recognize that tin pot anywhere! Here's Donnel, a young Hero from a small village in Ylisse. He's an expert at working the land and hunting, and he spent most of his life in the countryside.
	One day, when the village came under attack by bandits, Donnel asked the Shepherds for help. Desperate to become stronger, he formally joined the Shepherds after the battle!
	Donnel had already learned a lot about working the land and hunting game during his time at the village, but from that point onward, his appetite for knowledge really took off. I hear he even memorized a hefty old tome about law from cover to cover!
	If there's a challenge on the horizon, you can be sure Donnel will slap on his tin pot helmet and charge headlong at it. With his enthusiasm and sheer potential, I can see him doing great things for the Order of Heroes!
Closely Associated Characters
Chrom	A prince of Ylisse and descendant of the Hero-King. Leads the Shepherds. He invites Donnel into the group.

Sunny Villager

A farm boy from the countryside of Ylisse out enjoying the ocean with his beloved pot. Appears in Fire Emblem Awakening.

Base Stats

Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Sunny Villager
		Group
		Infantry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	15/16/17 43/46/50	9/10/11 42/45/48	4/5/6 28/31/34	9/10/11 37/40/44	5/6/7 27/30/33
Skills			Weapon
Wooden Tackle+ Reciprocal Aid			Axe

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Iron Axe	-	-	-
	Steel Axe	-	-	-
	Wooden Tackle	-	-	-
	Wooden Tackle+	-		-
	Reciprocal Aid	-	-	-
A	Atk Def Form 1	-		-
	Atk Def Form 2	Atk Def Form 1		-
	Atk Def Form 3	Atk Def Form 2		-
B	Chill Def 1	-		-
	Chill Def Res 1	Chill Def 1		-
	Chill Def Res 2	Chill Def Res 1

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 Kit

Counters

Skill Inheritance

Meet Some of the Heroes

Sunny Villager Donnel
	We've got a very special visitor joining our tropical-island holiday: it's Donnel, the villager from Ylisse! Donnel grew up on an island, so he's already made himself right at home.
	Donnel's swapped his usual pot-helmet for a straw hat. He's also got some very fashionable sandals!
	That's a lot of fish he's got hanging from that pole—did he catch all those himself? I didn't realize he was as good at fishing as he is at farming!
	Farming and helping out the Shepherds must keep Donnel very busy. I hope he takes plenty of time to unwind at the beach!
Closely Associated Characters
Chrom	A prince of Ylisse and descendant of the Hero-King. Leads the Shepherds. He invites Donnel into the group.

Quotes

Awakening

Donnel/Awakening Quotes

Heroes

Donnel/Heroes Quotes

Possible Endings

Donnel - Village Hero (村人, Murabito lit. Villager)

Donnel returned to his tiny village and lived a quiet life with his mother. He never took up arms again—a blessing for which he thanked the exalt daily.

Donnel and Robin

Many wrote of Robin's legendary exploits, but accounts of her origins and character varied. Scholars, poets, and bards agreed on one thing alone--she loved her husband, Donnel, above all else.

Donnel and Cherche

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Cherche. The latter's easy laugh and many skills quickly earned the love and respect of her new family.

Donnel and Cordelia

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Cordelia. The latter, however, continued to train hard as a knight and often answered the exalt's call.

Donnel and Lissa

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and Lissa. Still, the latter insisted on breaking the monotony, and the couple often traveled to far-flung markets.

Donnel and Maribelle

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and Maribelle. Still, he was careful not to pester his new bride about working in the fields, lest she lift a scythe for other reasons.

Donnel and Miriel

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Miriel. The latter directed her studies on the local flora; Donny was shocked that trees could have ten-syllable names.

Donnel and Nowi

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Nowi. She loved her new home and scampered through the fields and mountains with the fervor of a village cat.

Donnel and Olivia

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Olivia. Their forgotten hamlet glowed during festivals, when Olivia's dancing warmed more than any fire.

Donnel and Panne

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Panne. This new "warren" had more than enough nature to please any taguel, and her heart found a home at last.

Donnel and Sully

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Sully. The latter established a militia much like the Shepherds to arm the villagers against the threat of brigands.

Donnel and Tharja

Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Tharja. The latter never warmed to the villagers, but she was said to smile around her family.

Non-Canon Appearances

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Donnel is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

B04-080HN

B04-081N

B04-082N

Choose Your Legends Placement History

Round	Placement	Character Version	Votes

CYL1	23	Awakening	10,479
CYL2	137 ↓114	Awakening	1,876 ↓8,603
CYL3	144 ↓7	Awakening	1,835 ↓41
CYL4	185 ↓41	Awakening	824 ↓1,011
CYL5	206 ↓21	Awakening	439 ↓385
CYL6	157 ↑49	Awakening	635 ↑196
CYL7	140 ↑17	Awakening	429 ↓206

CYL8

215 ↓75

Awakening

264 ↓165

Etymology

Donnel is an Irish name meaning "brave" or "dark-haired one". The latter probably refers to his dark purple hair color, and the former possibly refers to his Villager class.

Trivia

• Donnel came in 13th place for males in the Fire Emblem Heroes Choose Your Legends popularity poll. He had 10,479 votes.
• Donnel shares his English voice actor, Sam Riegel, with Stahl.
  • Donnel shares his Japanese voice actor, Ichiki Mitsuhiro, with Hinata and Hisame.
• Donnel's portrait always shows him wielding a Lance, even though none of his other classes besides Villager uses it.
• Donnel will sometimes say "let's get-r-done!" when Dual Supporting. This is probably a reference to the famous catch phrase used by American comedian Larry the Cable Guy.
• Donnel has the smallest class set out of the entire cast of Awakening having only 6 different classes (7 including Dread Fighter).
  • Donnel's base reclassing options (Mercenary and Fighter) are referenced in his C Support Conversation with Stahl, where Stahl recommends that Donnel learn from their fighting styles.
• In Donnel's localized A-rank Support conversation with Cherche, he mentions that his last name is Tinhead. This is a reference to his Villager class, where he and all the others like him wear giant pots on their heads.
  • In all of Donnel's reclassing options, he wears a tin pot on his head.
  • Before Fire Emblem: Three Houses featured full names for most of its cast, Donnel was one of just 9 Fire Emblem characters with known last names. This also applies to Jill, Elincia, Sanaki, Sigurd, Seliph, Leif, Alm, and anime-exclusive Marth.
  • Donnel is the only character with a last name in the English but not in the original Japanese version.
• A set of map sprites featuring Donnel as a Swordmaster exists within the game data, although they are unused in the main game itself.

Gallery

See main article: Donnel/Gallery.