Leonardo

"What were you two thinking, taking on these bandits alone? That’s beyond reckless."

- Leonardo to Edward and Micaiah

Leonardo (レオナルド Reonarudo) is an archer of the Dawn Brigade. He is a mature and serious young man who had a noble upbringing before his family was ravaged by war. Along with Edward and Nolan, he receives a personal weapon; the bow known as Lughnasadh, as a gift from Pelleas.

History
Since detailed support conversations were removed from Radiant Dawn, not much information on Leonardo's past is available in the game. However the released designer's notes help to shed more light on the subject.

The notes reveal that Leonardo is the son of a noble. Leonardo lost his father and older brother in the Mad King's War, and became an orphan as his mother soon followed them. After Daein's defeat in the war, the military school where Leonardo studied fell into the Begnion Occupational Army's hands. While everyone is being sent to the prison camps, he flees alongside a few colleagues. However, those colleagues are captured, one after another, and Leonardo ends up being the last remaining one. When he loses his way and is cornered by the Occupation Army, he is saved by a youth of his age. That was his first encounter with Edward, who would later become his best friend.

Personality
Leonardo's personality is the opposite of his friend Edward, who Leonardo regularly nags in an effort to teach him self-control. His views can be best described as being down-to-earth, though he can be occasionally skeptical or bitter. Quiet by nature, Leonardo's personality rarely surfaces, though he is said to have good composure. For the most part, he is characterized by a subdued and pensive demeanor which is evident from his few Base Conversations. He has a strong sense of loyalty to his country, and dislikes the senselessness of wars. He and Edward both seem to look up to Nolan, who acts like a mentor to them.

Throughout the game, he shares a particular bond with Edward. This is supported in a base conversation they have, in which Leonardo presents Edward with a Tempest Blade, and remarks that the two of them are each other's best friend and family.

Recruitment

 * Part 1: Chapter Prologue: Automatically from Turn 4. Available in 1-P, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8, and 1-E.
 * Part 3: Available in 3-6, 3-12, and 3-13.
 * Part 4: Can select to join the team with Micaiah/Ike/Tibarn, available in which team he joined and Endgame.

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◎=Forced　○=Available　□=Available for selected

Class
Leonardo appears as a Level 4 Archer. He promotes to a Sniper by either the use of a Master Seal at level 10 or above, or by reaching level 21. Promoting gives him the skill Critical +10, and access to Crossbows.

If promoted to the Marksman class by using a Master Crown or by reaching level 21, he earns the skills Critical +15 and Deadeye, which triples his final damage and puts the target to sleep. His range raises to 2-3 while using most bows, Longbows and Crossbows being exceptions.

He appears with a Cancel skill.

Base Stats
|Archer |Water |4 |17 |8 |0 |12 |10 |6 |5 |4 |7 |7 |6 |Bow - D |Shove Cancel |Iron Bow Herb Dracoshield

Growth Rates
|60% |40% |15% |75% |35% |65% |35% |55%

Overall
Leonardo joins as a first-tier unit, and is rather difficult to train, a result of his fairly limited availability. Leonardo is notable for having unusual stats for his class due to his abnormal growth rates. On average, he will have extremely high Skill, Luck, and Resistance, average HP, Strength and Defense, and below average Speed.

As a result of his uneven stat distribution, Leonardo will most likely cap his Skill and Resistance early on, as well as Luck toward the end of his Sniper class. His HP, Strength and Defense will be average but his Speed will remain below average, weakening his overall offense as he will be unable to reliably Double Attack unless he uses the Brave Bow. Despite this problem, Leonardo gains a unique bow in Part 3 that only he can wield, the Lughnasadh, which grants him five more points Speed, in addition to having 16 might, improving his combat performance for the duration of Part 3 and Part 4 (however, this isn't available in the Japanese versions of Radiant Dawn).

To patch up his Speed stat, the player can give him Bonus Experience after he naturally caps his Skill, Resistance, and Luck, use a Speedwing or he can grow it naturally if his other stats cap. Leonardo is often criticized as an "inferior" Marksman to both Rolf and Shinon, though such is fan-bias, as Leonardo's higher luck and resistance can prove to be an advantage over Rolf and Shinon. Leonardo fares very well in his final class, should the player give the effort to promote him twice, he has the potential to be a very powerful unit while providing an excellent support with his Water affinity.

Death Quote
"How is it...that people are born... only to die so swiftly? ...If only I had lived a little longer..."

- Leonardo’s death quote

Retreat Quote
"We’re totally outclassed in this battle. This is insane. Micaiah, I'm sorry. I have to turn back for now..."

- Leonardo’s retreat quote in 3-7

"We can’t hold them off... Sorry, Micaiah. I'm falling back for now."

- Leonardo’s retreat quote in 3-E

Vs. Numida
"You crushed freedom in Daein for years! Do you even have a conscience?!"

- Leonardo

"Daein gutter trash! I should have had you all killed when I had the chance!"

- Numida

Ending
Freedom's Arrow (心正しき弓使い) Leonardo toiled at rebuilding the army. With his proven skills and good looks, he was beset by women across Tellius.

Trivia

 * In the prototype of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Rolf's character model has a resemblance to Leonardo . This may imply that his character was originally conceived at an early stage, but for whatever reason was scrapped in the previous game, and subsequently restored for the sequel.
 * One would expect Leonardo and Edward to have a Bond Support as they became best friends after Edward saved his life, however, they do not.

Gallery
Leonardo