Claude Fire Emblem Guide

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Ethan's first contact with the FE saga was with a Super Nintendo emulator that his father had installed on his PC. The ROM in question? Genealogy of a Holy War. After that, He remembers the first Fire Emblem game he managed to complete was The blazing Blade on a GBA emulator for android and his favorite character of the whole saga is Seliph. Outside of FE, Ethan is a keen indie gaming fan and loves reviewing games when he gets the chance!

What do I Need to Know about Claude on Fire Emblem Three Houses?

Level: 1
Health: 26
Strength: 11
Magic: 5
Dexterity: 8
Speed: 8
Luck: 7
Defense: 6
Resistance: 4
Charm: 8
Movement: 5
Special Ability: Leicester Lineage, Sword Prowess Lv1, Bow Prowess Lv1, Authority Lv 1.
Combat arts: Curved Shot
Crest: Minor Crest of Riegan.
Magic: –
Weapon: E+ word (Bonus), E lance (Weakness), Budding Talent with the Axe, D bow (Bonus), E gauntlets, E Reason, E Faith (Weakness), D Authority, E armor, E+ Horse unit (Bonus), E+ Flying unit (Bonus)
Equipped items: Iron Bow, Vulnerary
Class: Noble

Claude is one of the characters you start the game with, appearing from basically the prologue. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use him during the prologue to see if he’s the type of character that goes with you. In addition, during the prologue, you start to see the first traits of his personality, so it is a good idea to evaluate him then.

Remember that the decision you make regarding which of the three factions you will use is one of the most essential things in the game. The house you choose is the one you will end up playing with for the rest of your game.

Another crucial part of Claude at the first point of the game is that he is a chaotic unit. He is the only one of the three units that use a ranged weapon (he makes use of a bow).

In general, the first chapter allows you to see how good a character he can become throughout the game. And if you don’t choose him, it lets you see how good an enemy he can be. He is one of the few characters you can’t recruit unless you choose his house.

One of the most essential points you can observe about Claude is the type of weapons he can use. This is due to the way his bonuses are structured. They make him a user quite suitable for most physical weapons.

This opens the door to being a pretty varied character when it comes to choosing the class of the unit. This is curious since Claude is, to some extent, one of the few characters that do not belong to the faculty with a personal class.

Still, even so, the game assures you that he will be able to perform well in most physical classes.

Claude’s Background

Most of the protagonists of Fire Emblem Three House have something in common with Corirn: Their background is not what it seems at first glance. And Claude is no exception to this rule. Suppose you want the spoiler-free version of his backstory.

In that case, Claude is basically one of the members of the Leicester Alliance. To be exact, Claude is a member of Riegan’s House, the momentarily most important house of the Leicester Alliance, serving as the temporary leader of the Leicester Alliance.

The Leicester Alliance differs from the other two houses in its form of government, in which each of the houses that comprise it rules over the others temporarily.

Now, if you want to know a little more about Claude, I just have to tell you: SPOILERS ALERT. This is your last chance, ready? Claude actually has blood from the continent of Almyra, and that’s because his mother (Tiana) is the wife of the King of Almyra.

Claude even has a brother who lives on the mainland. When he lived in Almyra, people discriminated against him and treated him differently just for having Fóland Blood. When he lived in Fóland, people treated him differently for having Almyra blood.

His mother’s brother, Godfrey, was the designated heir of Oswald, the Duke of Riegan, and the alliance’s leader. However, after Godfrey’s death, Claude is declared the new heir of the alliance. In fact, Claude’s real name is Khalid, but he had to change it so as not to appear foreign, and the reality is that no one notices it.

House Riegan’s Background

House Riegan was founded directly by the hero of the same name after the war of heroes. To be exact, he was one of the ten elites who fought in that war. However, his story is not entirely clear.

In theory, he was one of the saints who, together with Nemesis, had fought against the four saints of the Adrestian Empire. Besides that, Riegan had his own personal weapon, the Failnaught. This weapon is passed down from generation to generation of the Riegan house, currently in Claude’s hands.

Should I Side with Claude?

In reality, choosing which house to play is, at the end of the day, an entirely personal decision, so whether or not you want to play, Claude ends up being an entirely personal decision. Me, I liked playing with Claude because I found him to be a very charismatic character.

Besides his charisma, another point that makes Claude a good character, in general, is his play style. I could define it as a chaotic style since he is a character that attacks from a distance but is not defenseless against direct attacks. It is a type of strategy similar to the one used by the Myrmidons.

Claude has stats that would usually allow him to become a Myrmidon if he did not have a personal class. This allows him to take advantage of one of the strengths of this class: the ability to attack fast.

Claude can finish fast enough, attack not only quickly but also twice, and with enough luck to dodge any attack coming from his enemies. And one of the stats allowing Claude to grow accelerated is his luck.

Claude is the character with the highest luck statistic of the three protagonists. This leaves him with the possibility of making more critical hits, dodging on more occasions, and the one with more possibilities to use his abilities.

This is precisely what I mean by a chaotic play style. Although he depends a lot on luck, he always ends up having it in his favor. This allows him to chain many abilities, statuses, and critical hits and attack twice in the same turn. It’s a character that can easily break a game if you take advantage of it.

As for his side of the story, Claude has the most neutral version of events. Unlike Edelgard or Dimitri, Claude doesn’t fight to conquer the rest of the kingdoms or eliminate the church, but only for the Leicester Alliance’s survival.

To a lesser extent, his side of the story is also about making Fóldand a less hermetic continent. Claude has a highly complex history, marked by discrimination within the different kingdoms of the continent. His main point of interest is to try to obtain a status quo.

Suppose you want to see it in a certain way. In that case, Claude is the character for you if you prioritize having a fast game style. You want to have a story that, although it is not inherently political (full of betrayals, for example), is complicated enough to make you think.

The Best Way to Make Claude a Good Barbarossa

Concentrate on improving his use of the bow, winged units, and authority. This is because it is the unit that will mainly define him. Claude has a budding talent for the use of the axe, and also in his authority. You have to focus mainly on his authority because it will give him access to better battalions at an integer level.

The battalions will allow you to overcome any weaknesses that may arise if necessary. This allows Claude’s skill development to be superior at all levels.

Claude’s stats are mainly focused on stats that allow him to have a series of attacks based on luck, evasion, and critical hits. The main stats he has are Luck, Speed, and Evasion.

Skill is another significant point in terms of attack capabilities, allowing you to make better use of different weapons. But his main point of interest is that he has a Major Crest. Using the crest gives you access to holy weapons, which allows you to have a better way of dealing with enemies.

Finally, another essential point is that luck allows better use of skills since activating the same depends mainly on the luck statistic. So the fact that Claude has one of the highest luck statistics in the game allows him to more easily activate skills such as Lethality without many problems.

A good alternative is that before leaving him only as Barbarossa, you should also make him go through the Assassin and thief classes, as this will benefit him greatly.

The Abilities of Claude Barbarossa

Claude Barbarossa starts with:

Leicester Linage: +20% Experience Gained
Sword Prowess Lv1: Grants Hit +5, Avo +7, and Crit Avo +5 when using a sword.
Bow Prowess Lv1: When wielding a Bow, Hit Rate +7, Evade +5, Critical Avoid +5
Authority Prowess Lv1: When using Gambits, +2 Might

He then can gain access to:

Leicester Linage+: +20% Experience Gained. Allows units to pass through spaces occupied by foes.
Bowfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a bow
Swordfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a sword.
Sword Crit +10:Grants Crit +10 when using a sword.
Close Counter: Allows unit to counterattack adjacent foes.
Bow Crit +10: Grants Crit +10 when using a bow.
Bowfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a bow.
Battalion Desperation: If unit initiates combat when battalion endurance is ≤ 1/3, unit’s follow-up attack (if possible) occurs before foe’s counterattack.
Model Leader: Doubles experience earned for battalions.
Defensive Tactics: Battalion endurance takes half damage.
Battalion Wrath: If foe initiates combat while unit’s battalion endurance is ≤ 1/3, grants Crit +50.
Rally Charm: Use Rally to grant Cha +8 to an ally.
Offensive Tactics: Grants Mt +5 and Hit +20 with gambits.
Charm: Adjacent allies deal 3 extra damage during combat.
Canto: Allows unit to move again after completing certain actions if there is movement remaining.
Lethality: Chance to instantly kill a foe when dealing damage. Trigger % = 0.25×Dex.

How to Play Claude Barbarossa Promotion

Health: 26
Strength: 11
Magic: 5
Dexterity: 8
Speed: 8
Luck: 7
Defense: 6
Resistance: 4
Charm: 8
Movement: 5
Special Ability:
- Lethality: Chance to instantly kill a foe when dealing damage. Trigger % = 0.25×Dex.
- Leicester Linage+: +20% Experience Gained. Allows units to pass through spaces occupied by foes.
- Bow Crit +10: Grants Crit +10 when using a bow.
- Bowfaire: Grants Atk +5 when using a bow.
- Canto: Allows unit to move again after completing certain actions if there is movement remaining.
- Rally Charm: Use Rally to grant Cha +8 to an ally.
- Offensive Tactics: Grants Mt +5 and Hit +20 with gambits.
- Charm: Adjacent allies deal 3 extra damage during combat
Combat arts: Curved Shot, Encloser, Monster Blast
Crest: Minor Crest of Riegan.
Magic: –
Weapon: S Words, S bow, S Authority, S Flying unit.
Equipped items: Failnaught, Concoction
Class: Barbarossa

As you can see in that Build, the main thing you have to do is to focus on its authority. It is the most important thing. Besides that, Lethality is a good alternative because due to its high Skill stat and luck, you can have more chances of activation than other skills.

What Happens if I don’t Side with Claude?

If you don’t side with Claude, three things can happen:

Azure Moon: Claude will be part of the conflict, being an ally of the kingdom of Faerghus. During this route, he behaves as an ally of the kingdom, not fighting against it at any time.
Silver Snow: He also behaves as an ally, allowing the capture of the Bridge of Myrddin. This allows the resistance army to stop the empire and rescue Rhea.
Crimson Flower: This is the only route in which Claude behaves hostilely. This is because he is part of the resistance army, fighting Byleth’s attack on the alliance. His primary intent within this route is to prevent the empire from conquering the entire alliance.

How to Defeat Claude as a Boss?

You fight Claude on four different occasions depending on the route you choose. The first two occasions happen on any of the routes. They are not really any kind of problem as far as the battle is concerned.

The only thing that matters in such battles is defeating the enemies, so you don’t have any real strategy. On top of that, Claude doesn’t have his full potential, being entirely in the early stages.

The next occasion you try to fight Claude happens during the “Capturing Derdriu” chapter of the Crimson Flower route, chapter fourteen. In this chapter, you face the most challenging version of Claude in the game during this route.

On this occasion, it is best to leave Claude alone, first eliminating Hilda, the dancers, and Almyra’s Army. The reality is that this is not such a difficult option since once you leave him completely alone. You only have to eliminate him, leaving him completely surrounded.

The last fight against Claude happens in Blood of the Eagle and Lion. In this one, it is a three-way battle. The best way to eliminate him is to use Impregnable walls to eliminate all his squads. The ideal is to attack him simply with a unit like Combat Art, Windsweep, Hunter’s Volly, or Atrocity as fast as possible.

Claude as a boss is generally not complicated, being his most challenging version of Capturing Derdriu. But even in that combat, it is not a problem since he does not have his final class; on the contrary, he only has his intermediate class.

Gift List, Share a Meal, and Lost Item

The gift list for Claude is:

Riding Boots: Favorite (Three Stars)
Owl Feather: Favorite (Three Stars)
Book of Crest Designs: Favorite (Four Stars)
Exotic Spices: Favorite (Four Stars)
Board Game: Favorite (Four Stars)
Book of Sheet Music: Dislike (Three Stars)
Blue Cheese: Dislike (Four Stars).

The share a Meal list is:

Beast Meat Teppanyaki: Favorite
Sautéed Jerky: Favorite
Onion Gratin Soup: Favorite
Garreg Mach Meat Pie: Favorite
Pheasant Roast with Berry Sauce: Favorite
Cheesy Verona Stew: Favorite
Pickled Rabbit Skewers: Favorite
Country-Style Red Turnip Plate: Favorite
Daphnel Stew: Favorite
Gronder Meat Skewers: Favorite
Sautéed Pheasant and Eggs: Favorite
Gautier Cheese Gratin: Favorite
Cabbage and Herring Stew: Favorite
Vegetable Stir-Fry: Favorite
Bourgeois Pike: Favorite
Derdriu-Style Fried Pheasant: Favorite
Saghert and Cream: Dislike
Sweet Bun Trio: Dislike
Fried Crayfish: Dislike

And the gift list is:

Leather Bow Sheath
Mild Stomach Poison
Board Game Piece

The Best Way to Level Up Claude

The ideal is to simply play with him during skirmishes and also allow him to take the classes for his bonuses. His budding talent is likewise an appropriate point to build, even if you won’t use it initially. You can best prepare to upgrade those levels because you will get the correct stats.

Besides that, as has been said on many occasions, Claude relies almost exclusively on his luck. Therefore, it is not necessary to use other stats as long as you improve Claude’s luck since it will allow you to perform the necessary critical hits and evasions.

Others Claude Apparitions

Claude also appears in Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes. He is one of the most suitable options in that game due to his versatility. Besides that, he has many chapters within the story mode.

Besides that, it also appears in Fire Emblem Heroes. In this game, his versions are:

Claude The Schemer: Cavalry Bow Unit.
Claude The King of Almyra: Flying Bow Unit
Claude King of Unification: Flying Bow Unit
Claude Tropical Trouble: Flying Dagger Unit

FAQs

Question: What is the Best Class for Claude?

Answer: His personal Claude, Barbarossa. However, if you want to spice things out, you can play with other classes like assassin, swordmaster, or sniper because he can rely on luck.

Question: Who is Claude Brother?

Answer: Shahid. He is one of the antagonists of Fire Emblem Warrior’s three hopes.

Question: Which is the Canon Ending for Claude?

Answer: None. However, Claude can survive on any of the routes. So at the war’s end, he will always survive; that can be considered the canon ending for him.

Final Thoughts on Claude

Claude is one of the best characters in Fire Emblem Three Houses. He is also one of the most interesting protagonists in the series. Even if it is a character with an unorthodox play style, on a general level, it works due to his balance between the different stats.

Although the game doesn’t seem to give him the importance he deserves, Claude is a character worthy of respect and admiration by his fellow members of the Academy. Because of the three factions, Claude is the only one who really has in mind the welfare of the three houses that give the game its title.

He is a character whose priority is his faction’s survival but does not openly attack any of the other houses. He could even be considered a bit of a pacifist or idealist.

Still, if your interest is not history and only strategy, Claude is a box of possibilities. His variability and chaos make him a perfect option if you want to play with a character that can adapt to different situations.

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