Niles

"I am Niles, a retainer to Lord Leo, The enemy looks to be quite angry. Don't worry—it will be my genuine pleasure to make them regret crossing you."

- Niles in Chapter 17 (Revelation)

Niles (ゼロ, Zero in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem Fates and an ally on the Conquest and Revelation Routes. He is voiced by Takehito Koyasu in the Japanese version and by Roger Rose in the English version.

Profile
During his childhood, his father abandoned his mother and she eventually left Niles behind. Eventually, he joined a gang of street thieves and they became his family. During his time, he participated in many heists. One of his heists involved invading Peri's family mansion for a "killer doll" her family was rumored to have. Niles eventually realizes that Peri was the "killer doll" during his supports with her.

In his last heist, the gang decided to raid the Nohrian palace, but were almost instantly caught. Looking to save themselves, the gang used him as a scapegoat. It was Prince Leo who found him and, knowing that he had nothing left, begged him to kill him. However, Leo saw worth in Niles and instantly made him his retainer. Since then, he has sworn loyalty to Leo and has abandoned his criminal ways.

If he achieves an S-Support with a female character, he will have a daughter named Nina. He will also be the father of male Kana if he marries the female Avatar and Shigure if he marries Azura.

Niles' eyepatch apparently covers a completely empty eye socket. The skinship quotes with the Avatar have him explain that he lost his eye as a child, at the hands of another criminal.

Conquest
Leo, worried for the Avatar's well being on their quest to quell the Ice Tribe rebellion, sends Niles and Odin to help. After assisting them on their assignment, Leo orders Niles and Odin to continue to help the Avatar with their cause until he can join them after he finishes his own tasks for King Garon.

Birthright
Niles accompanies Leo and Odin to the Woods of the Forlorn to stop the Hoshidan army's advance into the Nohr Kingdom. They are defeated by the Hoshidan forces, but the Avatar spares their lives, allowing them to retreat.

Later, as the Hoshidan army begins their invasion of Castle Krakenburg, Iago is killed by Leo and Niles and Odin watch from the shadows as Leo talks to the Avatar and allows them to continue their invasion. Niles wonders why Leo did not try to stop the Hoshidan Army. Leo explains that they are the only means to defeat Garon and either way, something big would happen very soon.

Revelation
Niles first appears at the start of Chapter 17 where he follows Leo with his decision to join the Avatar's cause.

Should Niles achieve an S-Support with the male Avatar, it is noted in their epilogue that they eventually adopted two children to become heirs to the throne.

Paralogue
After marriage to a female army member, he eventually becomes the father of a young girl named Nina. Like most of the other married members of the army, he sent his daughter to the Deeprealms for her safety. However, his lack of visits turned her into a thief as a means to support herself and to rebel against her father's wishes.

One day, hearing of an impending heist of a wealthy Nohrian man, Niles and the army decides to help the man. Immediately, Niles manages to capture one of the thieves who turns out to be Nina, helping a gang who is stealing from the rich to help the poor. Niles admonishes her for joining the thieves, but she manages to escape his grasp and returns to helping out the bandits. After successfully defeating the thieves, Niles talks to his daughter once more, apologizing for leaving her in the Deeprealms by herself as he did it for her safety, but did not realize she would feel abandoned. While he offers to let her go, he makes her join the army in exchange, an offer she initially is against, but after seeing the ways the army can fulfill her wicked fantasies, she finds some worth in joining.

Personality
Sadistic, cold and callous, Niles derives pleasure from watching the suffering of others, a fact made plainly evident throughout his supports, where he visibly becomes excited when bearing witness to the pain and discomfort of his conversational partners. These traits of Niles in turn lends to his being an easily agitated individual; through his supports with Arthur, he is observed to, in response to being asked why a wanted criminal like him is permitted to serve a member of royalty, threaten to kill Arthur.

Niles' supports with Camilla and Azura explain the origin of his sadism. In his conversations with both women, he reveals that such tendencies arise from a bitter grudge that is deeply rooted to a wretched past, one in which he was in a state of complete destitution, forced to watch as others hedonistically enjoyed lavish lifestyles that they did not deserve. As a means of coping with the overwhelming hatred that he experiences towards such individuals, Niles thus began to develop a morbid enjoyment from watching others suffer. Mingled within this bitterness that Niles bears is a mixture of pain and sadness that all point towards his troubled past; his skinship quotes with the Avatar whom he marries see him reveal that he responds very badly to abandonment, and is tormented by severe nightmares that are closely associated with his past as a fugitive.

Owing to his background as a thief prior to his servitude to Leo, Niles thus bears innumerable connections with the intricate, chaotic web of the underworld, allowing him to achieve any purpose he puts his mind to with ease. His main uses for it are background researches on people (e.g. Odin) and incidents (the attack of Faceless that left Mozu homeless) so that he may learn more about them in order to know their history and weaknesses in order to protect Leo or to find any object, person or place he needs/desires.

Niles is also known to possess a rather lewd mind, one that he is portrayed to unreservedly reveal throughout his supports and skinship. A vast majority of the lines that he utters essentially function as double entendres, where he adeptly corrupts even the most innocent of subjects into ones that carry sexual connotations. This is particularly evident in his supports with Camilla, where he unabashedly spews one crude insinuation after another.

If Niles is wed to anyone other than the Male Avatar and his child/children have been recruited, it is unveiled through his supports with them that he has made a concerted effort to fix his lewd tendencies in favour of being a good parent. His rationale for doing this is primarily due to his love for his child/children, where he harbours no desire for them to lead lives as wretched as his was. His interactions with Nina demonstrates this best, where he harshly admonishes her for turning to thievery, as he regards her doing so to be a mirror reflection of the life of grief he once led, one that he does not wish for her to undergo.

Niles' birthday is April 22. Out of everyone in the army, he enjoys looking at the moon the most.

Base Stats

 * -|Conquest Chapter 8 - Cold Reception=


 * -|Revelation Chapter 17 - Black Flames=

Birthright Chapter 18 - Leo

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Hard=


 * -|Lunatic=

Xenologue 20 - Heirs of Fate 6: Lost in the Waves

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Hard=


 * -|Lunatic=

Growth Rates
◾ Note: Growth Rates are based on the character in their starting class
 * 40%
 * 45%
 * 25%
 * 50%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * }

◾ Note: Growth Rates as an Adventurer
 * 40%
 * 40%
 * 35%
 * 45%
 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * }

◾ Note: Growth Rates as a Bow Knight
 * 50%
 * 45%
 * 20%
 * 55%
 * 65%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 50%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

 * -2
 * 0
 * -1
 * +3
 * 0
 * 0
 * +1
 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Both Genders)
 * Felicia
 * Effie
 * Elise
 * Camilla
 * Charlotte
 * Selena
 * Beruka
 * Nyx
 * Azura
 * Mozu
 * Peri
 * Setsuna (Revelation only)
 * Oboro (Revelation only)

Other Supports
 * Nina
 * Leo
 * Odin
 * Arthur
 * Subaki (Revelation only)
 * Kana (Male) - If Niles is his father
 * Shigure - If Niles is his father

Standard Sets

 * }

Friendship Sets

 * -|Conquest/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Revelation=


 * }

Partner Sets

 * -|All Routes=


 * }
 * -|Conquest/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Revelation=


 * }

Special Classes

 * }

Base Class
Niles is a standard Thief unit boasting incredibly high Speed and decent Skill and Strength. He also has a good Resistance rate, aleviating some threat from Tome users given that they have a Weapon Triangle advantage over his choice of weapon, Bows. However, he has poor Defense and Luck, making him vulnerable to Physical units. Still, thanks to his high Speed and good Skill, he should be able to dodge most incoming threats with relative ease. In Conquest, he joins early and will be the go to Locktouch unit for many of the early maps. He also later learns Movement +1 giving him more map presence and good for flanking enemy units. He also serves as the only Bow user in that route, barring recruiting Anna through DLC, until promotions begin, giving him more of a niche in that route in terms of having good weapon diversity for the army. He is also the only means of Capturing units in Conquest thanks to his Personal Skill, Kidnap. In this route in particular, he can Capture a plethora of enemy units that are useful for the Players army given the abundance of enemy units with unusual skills.

Overall in Conquest, Niles fills three separate roles as the primary Bow user, the first lock picker, and only enemy unit capturer, making him an almost indispensable unit. However, in Revelation he is more of a jack-of-all-trades as there are stronger Bow users like Takumi and both Kaze and Saizo are recruited several chapters before he is for his lock picker role. Orochi serves more as his alternative capturer as he is better for capturing low defense units while she is more for low resistance units. Additionally, she is recruited several chapters before he is as well.

Upon promotion, Niles can become either an Adventurer or a Bow Knight. As an Adventurer, Niles gains an additional layer of utility as a staff user, and can function passably well with the Shining Bow. Lucky Seven is a helpful ability during chapters where the player is seriously pressed for time, notably Chapter 21, Chapter 25, and Endgame. As a Bow Knight, Niles gains an incredible 9 movement, but he will find little reason to ever use swords due to Boo Camp being the only way to gain weapon experience. The Bow Knight's Shurikenbreaker ability is extremely useful against the numerous Master Ninjas encountered in Chapter 25, and the Adventurer's Pass ability and access to the Rescue Staff can help the player bypass many of the hazards present in the Endgame. Because both of these abilities help alleviate some of the most difficult portions of a Lunatic playthrough, it might be worth it to train Niles as a Bow Knight until he gets access to Shurikenbreaker, then reclass him to an Adventurer.

Secondary Class
Niles' secondary class is the Dark Mage class. His decent magic growths allows him to function well in this class, although Odin excels far better at a magic class compared to Niles. However, the player should not skip out on most of this set's class skills.

From the Dark Mage class, Niles can take advantage of Heartseeker to drop the avoid of units next to him to allow their stronger units to finish them off, especially if the player has trouble hitting them. Malefic Aura increases his damage by two, but only if he is using the Shining Bow or Levin Sword in battle.

The Dark Mage's promotions are the Sorcerer and Dark Knight classes. Niles is better off suited as Bow Knight or Adventurer, but he should still grab skills from both classes before returning to his normal promotions. From the Sorcerer class, Niles can learn Vengeance to help him deal more damage with physical weapons if he loses health. Bowbreaker will allow him to deal with enemy Snipers better if the player needs more bow-killing units. From the Dark Knight class, Niles can learn Seal Magic to sap magic off enemy Onmyojis or other magic using units and Lifetaker to restore health and allow healers to focus on other units instead.

Buddy Class
Niles can form an A+ Support with Leo, Odin, Arthur and Subaki. Note that his supports with Subaki are only available in Revelation. Leo and Odin pass down Dark Mage as their buddy class, which Niles already has as his secondary, so it is advised to either form an A+ with Arthur or Subaki instead.


 * Arthur - Arthur offers Niles the Fighter class. Since Niles functions better as a support unit, most of the skills from the Fighter class set will not add any benefit to him. The only exception could be Sol to recover lost health, and Axebreaker to help him avoid getting hit by axe users more easily.
 * Subaki - Subaki offers Niles the Sky Knight class. The skills from this set offer a good amount of skills designed for a supporting role. From the Sky Knight, Niles will benefit greatly off Darting Blow as his good speed growths will allow him to double enemy units that have speed stat near him. Camaraderie does not help as it requires Niles to be near a player unit so he can heal himself. The Sky Knight's promotions are the Falcon Knight and Kinshi Knight classes. From the Falcon Knight, Niles can learn Rally Speed (although it will be his only rally skill apart from Spectrum and Skill) and Darting Blow, which due to his good resistance growths, can allow him to tackle magic units even better. From the Kinshi Knight class, Niles can learn Air Superiority to be a great anti-air unit and Amaterasu to relieve nearby allied units.

Marriage Options

 * Mozu/Setsuna - Niles can receive the Archer class from Mozu and Setsuna. While the Archer class brings Niles' resistance growth to a risky level, it grants Niles greater growth rates in HP and strength. Even if keeping Niles as an Outlaw is desired, picking up Quick Draw and Bowfaire is recommended, the former for increased damage output that Niles can access fairly quickly, and the latter for increasing his output even more later in the game. Both of these combined can alleviate Niles' issues offensively, as they can give him enough power to kill sturdier units near endgame. Additionally the Kinshi Knight is provided and its perks are listed in Subaki's section above.

Quotes
Refer to Niles/Quotes.

Possible Endings
Niles - Cruel to be Kind (加虐性癖 kagyaku seiheki lit. Sadist)
 * Niles continued to support Lord Leo throughout his royal career, handling some of the unsavory tasks a royal must assign. As a result, he wasn't popular- except among Leo's staff.


 * Niles and Male Avatar (Revelation)
 * Avatar and Niles ruled over the Kingdom of Valla together, ushering in a new era of peace. Some years later, they adopted two orphaned children and raised them as successors to the throne.


 * Niles and Female Avatar (Revelation)
 * The two spent the rest of their lives together, Avatar ruling as the wise Queen of Valla. Niles became a leading politician and lawmaker in Valla. He remained close with Lord Leo his entire life.


 * Niles and Beruka
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. Beruka was torn about leaving Camilla but enjoyed having enough emotions for them to conflict.


 * Niles and Camilla
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. His wife, Camilla, gave up her royal title and spent her days at home doting on her family.


 * Niles and Charlotte
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. Records show his wife, Charlotte, was a caring wife and mother, and they had a happy family life.


 * Niles and Elise
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. His wife, Elise, grew out of her childish ways into a talented healer of extraordinary compassion.


 * Niles and Oboro
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. His wife, Oboro, worked hard and was able to reopen her late parents' tailor shop.


 * Niles and Setsuna
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. Records show that his wife, Setsuna, stayed by his side and was a great source of support and joy.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Niles is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

Etymology
Niles is a surname derived from the given name Neil which in turn was derived from the Gaelic name Niall and the old Irish word niadh. While both translate to champion or warrior, the name Niall can also mean passionate, avid or cloud.

Niall is also the family name of the Uí Néill royal family who ruled Ireland during the 6th-10th centuries, the most famous family member being Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages). It is possible Niles derives his name from this figure, due to his personal skill which allows him to capture units for the Avatar's army.

It is most likely that Niles' localized name is in fact derived from the Latin word nihil or nil, meaning nothing. This would correspond with his Japanese name, Zero, which hints toward his ignominious past.

Trivia

 * He shares Japanese voice actor, Takehito Koyasu, with Awakening's Lon'qu and Validar.
 * Niles is the only male unit in Fates that can have an S-Support with a Male Avatar.
 * Niles and Rhajat are the first units in the series who can potentially marry characters of the same gender.
 * Niles placed 7th in the official character popularity poll held on the game's official site.
 * Niles placed 8th in the character popularity poll issued by Nintendo Dream; he was tied for the spot with Ryoma.


 * While Niles has no right eye, he fires his arrows with his right hand. This is unusual as the hand used to pull the bow is determinant on which eye is dominant.
 * However, this could be excused as reusing the default bow animation.
 * It could also be explained as Niles being cross-dominant, where the left eye aims and the right hand fires.