Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Class Guide (All Tiers and Masteries)

Classes in Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave are not handed out by promotion items. Every reclass runs through a Certification Exam, gated by a purchased License, a Renown level, and enough weapon proficiency to pass the test. Because weapons are tied to whatever class a unit currently holds, the class you certify into decides what that character can swing for the rest of the chapter.

Quick answer: Take a Certification Exam with the Exam Proctor in Dagsion using the matching License. Beginner exams need Renown Level 1, Specialty needs Renown Level 4, and Advanced needs Renown Level 8.

Certification exam requirements: licenses, renown, and levels

Each tier has its own License item and its own entry bar. The listed level is the ideal level for that tier, and Renown is the hard gate that decides whether the exam even appears on the menu.

Class lines and route-locked classes

The exam menu sorts everything into archetype lines — Gladiators, Hunters, Soldiers, Fliers, and Mages — so you can see which tier-two and tier-three classes a unit is naturally heading toward. Some entries never appear on the standard list at all, because they are tied to specific characters and route events.

01:02Route-Specific Classes

• Dragoon — Cai (Special Request from Mom) or Theodora (Send Supplies)
• Caladrius — Cai (Special Request from Pop)
• Cataphract — Theodora (Send Supplies)
• Dancer — Leda (Great Dancer’s Successor)
• Blacksmith — Dietrich (Enhance 10 Combat Arts)
• Elephant Rider — unlocks in Part 3, uses the Elephant License instead of an Advanced one

Wing Soldier carries a different kind of restriction. The pegasus class is female-only, so no amount of Flying or Spear proficiency will open it for a male unit.

What a class gives you: master abilities, class skills, and skill XP

Every class carries three separate payloads. There are class abilities that only work while you are in that class, such as Combat Arts +1 or Locktouch. There are passive skill experience bonuses. And there is the Master ability, which is the part that permanently sticks to the character.

Master abilities carry across classes

Fully mastering a class unlocks its Master ability as a permanent passive for that unit. Once it is unlocked, equip it from the Abilities tab in the inventory menu and it keeps working no matter which class the character is currently certified into. The one limit is the mount split: infantry-only abilities cannot be equipped while riding, and mounted-only abilities switch off on foot.

Skill XP bonuses stack toward your next exam

Each class quietly multiplies the weapon skill experience you earn while wearing it, which is the fastest way to prep proficiency for the next tier. Dragoon, for example, grants Axe +1, Spear +3, Riding +2, and Flying +2. Parking a unit in a class that feeds the skills its target class needs saves a lot of Training time later.

02:24Skill XP Bonuses

Growth rates and Attack Speed: how a class changes stats

A class does not overwrite a character’s stat growths, it adds to them. The number you see on the class screen is the character’s base growth rate plus the class modifier, and that final percentage is the chance of that stat rising by 1 on level up. A unit with weak base Magic will still grow slowly in a caster class, so check the combined figure before committing a License.

The other number worth watching is Attack Speed, because it decides who doubles:

Attack Speed = (Speed + Build) - Equipped Weapon Weight

When your Attack Speed exceeds the defender’s by 4 or more points, you score a follow-up attack in that combat. Build (Bld) determines how much weapon weight a unit can manage while retaining the ability to double, so a high-Build character can wield an axe that would otherwise erase a Myrmidon’s Speed advantage.

All Beginner classes

The basics masteries are small but permanent: Attack Basics gives +1 Strength, Defense Basics +1 Defense, Hunting Basics +1 Dexterity and Speed, and Offense Basics +1 Strength and Magic. They are cheap to farm early and every unit can carry one forever.

Ornius Rider is the odd one out of the five. It puts the unit on a giant bird for extra movement, gains from both Strength and Magic, and comes with Mount/Dismount so you can drop to foot in tight terrain.

04:44Beginner Classes: Ornius Rider

All Specialty classes

Myrmidon is the crit platform of the tier, pairing Sword Crit +3 as a class skill with Ravaging Arts, which adds 6 damage on critical hits once mastered. Brigand goes the opposite way with raw Strength and Axe Hit +3, and its Regroup mastery hands the unit Avoid +20 after a foe dodges an attack.

06:11Specialty Classes: Brigand

Armored Knight trades movement for Strike-Last Def +3 and the Great Counter mastery, which gives +3 Attack and Protection whenever a foe opens the fight. Light Cavalry sits at the other end, with balanced growths, high movement, Mount/Dismount, and Bolster Health for a flat Max HP +3.

09:14Specialty Classes: Light Cavalry

Charioteer is the most specialised pick here. It is bow-only, leans on high HP, Strength, and Dexterity, and runs its own Chariot Armor, Charioteer Tactics, and Charioteer’s Path skills. The trade-off is that a chariot cannot avoid attacks at all, so it soaks hits instead of dodging them.

09:58Specialty Classes: Charioteer

On the ranged and magic side, Archer stacks Hit through Crescendo up to +30, Rogue brings Locktouch and Search for chest and map utility plus In Shadow for Avoid +10 after a kill, Shaman debuffs adjacent foes for 3 Dexterity with Bind Dexterity, and Priest adds Magic Heal +5 alongside the Piety mastery’s +3 Luck.

All Advanced classes

Shido is the capstone swordmaster line, and its Ever Vigilant mastery restores HP on critical hits, which turns a crit-built Myrmidon graduate into a self-sustaining duellist. Warrior is the raw damage option with Practiced Art for +10 Hit on combat arts, covering the accuracy problem heavy axes usually have.

Bow users split two ways. Sniper stays on foot and takes Marksmanship for a flat +15 Hit, while Forest Knight keeps the bow on a mount with Bow Hit +5 and Hunter’s Eye, which adds 3 Attack to follow-up attacks. The mounted version trades a little accuracy for the ability to reposition after shooting.

For durability, Dreadnought pushes Strike-Last Def +5 and Combat Arts +2, with Focused Counter granting +10 Hit and +5 Protection when the enemy attacks first. Cataphract merges armor and cavalry with the Pavise mastery, and Bardinger covers the magic hole in mounted lines with Aegis, a 20 percent chance to halve magical damage.

The route-locked mounts are the most distinctive. Caladrius is a hybrid magic and physical rider whose Overtake mastery grants +1 movement after defeating a foe, and Dragoon puts a unit on a dragon with axes and spears, using Besieger for +20 Hit while standing on favorable terrain. On the caster side, Ovate inflicts Speed -3 on adjacent foes through Bind Speed, and Bishop brings Magic Heal +10 plus Barrier, which gives adjacent allies +3 Resistance.

Once a unit has a checkmark next to a class on the exam list, that certification is permanent. The practical pattern is to master a class for its ability, equip that ability, then Reclass into the next one you need — the passive travels with the character, so the time spent in a class you will not keep still pays off.