General

The General (ジェネラル Jeneraru) is a combat physical class that recurrently appears across the Fire Emblem Series, beginning from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. The promoted form of the Knight class, Generals primarily wield Lances as their weapons of choice. In specific titles, this class is known to be armed with other types of weaponry alongside the Lance, a fact that further increases its combat viability. The General class is defined by superior offense and Defense, alongside a fairly decent evasive ability for their bulk and somewhat decent Resistance. These strengths are offset by the class's lack of maneuverability.

History in the Series
Generals first appear in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light as a powerful armored class surpassing the Knight. Despite this and the class roll indicating otherwise, the Knight class does not promote into this class, possibly due to hardware and time limitations. Generals only wield Swords in this installment, unlike their Knight counterparts, who wield both Swords and Lances. While most Generals appearing in the game are enemy units, a powerful late-game unit of this class is recruitable. This is the only Fire Emblem title where Generals do not wield Lances or have it as their main weapon.

Generals technically do not appear in Gaiden, but the Baron class can be said to be this game's iteration of the General class in hindsight. The Baron class is the promoted form of the Armor Knight, and is represented by an edit of the General's map sprite on battlefields. Barons exclusively wield Lances in this title, much like the rest of the Armored line in Gaiden.

In Mystery of the Emblem, Generals are finally instituted to be the promotion of Armor Knights. Due to there being no classes that are able to use two weapon types in the game, Generals thus wield Lances exclusively. While the game's Dismount mechanic causes many Lance-wielding units to drop their weapons in favour of Swords indoors, Generals are one of few classes who are not affected by this penalty, wielding Lances in such combat situations.

In Genealogy of the Holy War, Generals are the promoted form of not only the Armor Knight class, but also its other variations: Armor Sword, Armor Axe, and Armor Bow. Generals are thus given full control of all physical weapons, holding a B-Rank in Bows and Axes and a solid A-Rank in Lances and Swords. All Generals possess the powerful Great Shield skill in the new skill system, one that gives them the chance to completely nullify an attack. The Map graphics, sprites and artwork for Generals depict them brandishing Lances, firmly establishing it as their primary weapon.

Generals appear in a similar vein in Thracia 776, where due to the return of the Dismount mechanic and there being only one recruitable Axe Armor, they are thus the only playable class capable of using Lances indoors. Great Shield is no longer a class skill of Generals, but a late-game recruitable General possesses it as a personal skill.

In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, Generals are like their Fire Emblem counterparts, promoting from Knights and possessing Pavise as a class skill. In a similar fashion to the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Generals in this title wield Swords exclusively.

Generals are playable in all three GBA titles. In the first two, The Binding Blade and The Blazing Blade, Generals do not have the Great Shield skill due to the removal of the skill system. In the third GBA title, The Sacred Stones, Generals are granted the Great Shield skill again due to the return of the skill system, working as it did previously.

In Path of Radiance, Generals uniquely possess Luna as their class skill, while Hawk Laguz are instead given Great Shield (now known as Pavise).

In TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga, the General class is disconnected from Armor Knights, who are now unable to promote. Unlike Armor Knights who wield Axes exclusively and wear bulky armor, Generals in this game don streamlined armor without helmets and are armed with Swords. Generals are also equipped with exclusive General Shields, almost always have the Commander skill, and are all named characters.

In Radiant Dawn, the classic Generals are known as Lance Generals ( 槍武将グローリードゥクス Gurōrī dukusu, lit. Glory Dux in the Japanese version), and are joined by Axe and Sword Generals. Lance Generals are characterized by Resistance that is considered high for a physical class in this installment, only falling behind the Falcon Knight. Generals are given a third-tier promotion for the first time, promoting into Marshalls when the necessary requirements are fulfilled.

In Fire Emblem Fates, the General is treated as a Nohrian class. As with all previous incarnations of the General, they are the promoted form of the Knight.

Combat
Generals can act as very effective "walls" in the formation of chokepoints to block the advance of enemy forces as well as endure in survival and defense-objective battles. Enemy troops tend to have a difficult time penetrating these units, and thus set up a nigh-unbreakable chokepoint, especially if a healer is right behind them. They can be used to block small entrances to prevent opposing units from getting past them, a fact that is very useful to prevent thieves from escaping with looted treasure. A General's weaknesses are magic and anti-armor weapons (such as the Armorslayer), as well as fast-moving, durable and powerful units like Heroes, experienced Paladins and Warriors. In many recent titles, Generals have higher Resistance, thus making speedy units and anti-armor weapons their prime weakness.

The rarity of a General ever being outmatched on the field through sheer brute force is high, which means they are very valuable to any team and their durability is very helpful to weaker units as they can hide behind them.

In WiFi battles, Generals suffer greatly for their low Speed cap. Although their high Defense helps them survive at least four hits from a Swordmaster, they can hardly survive being doubled by a Berserker or a Sage. They lack high Movement, and are vulnerable to anti-armor weapons. Individually, these flaws can be addressed with cards, but when combined as a whole they cannot. Using a General often means leaving the fate of a battle in the opponent's choice of squad. If a General is placed up against a Swordmaster, and the Swordmaster does not have an Armorslayer, the battle can be quite even (especially when using cards like Fleet Feet). However, due to the relative ease of counter-picking teams to beat Generals, it is difficult to use them reliably on WiFi.

In-Game

 * &#9733; - FE10 SP Class.

Maximum Stats

 * Growth Rates

Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon

 * Lorenz - A general of Grust who opposed his country's alliance with Dolhr, and an old friend of King Mostyn of Talys
 * Horace - A general of Archanea who was forced to betray his country to protect his people
 * Emereus - A general stationed at Aurelis Castle to halt Marth's advance.
 * Harmein - A general put in charge of Minerva and the Whitewings to prevent Marth's advance towards Archanea's royal palace.
 * Zharov - A Grustian general put in charge of Castle Deil's defence.
 * Hollstadt - A general put in charge of defending Altea Castle's entrance.
 * Jiol - The king of Gra who betrayed Altea and sided with Dolhr.
 * Dactyl - A general stationed in Helena Castle.
 * Larissa - A Grustian general who is loyal to the alliance with Dolhr.
 * Promotion for: Draug, Macellan, Dolph and Roger (such promotions are only possible in Shadow Dragon).

Mystery of the Emblem

 * Sheema - Daughter of King Jiol and later the ruler of Gra.
 * Lang - General of Archanea and leader of the Grust Occupational Army.
 * Promotion for: Draug.

Genealogy of the Holy War

 * Hannibal - A general of Thracia who is known as "The Shield of Thracia" and the foster father of Coirpre.
 * Promotion for: Arden.

Thracia 776

 * Xavier - Former general of Leonster who sided with Freege in order to protect Leonster's people.
 * Promotion for: Dalsin.

TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga

 * Zacharia - A general in service of the Kingdom of Salia under the command of Ahab.
 * Barbaross - A general of Canaan known as the "Shield of Canaan".
 * Promotion for: Billford.

The Binding Blade

 * Douglas - The Great General of Etruria,
 * Hector - The Marquess of Ostia and Lilina's father. One of the main characters of The Blazing Blade.
 * Murdock - The military commander of Bern and the leader of the Three Dragon Generals.
 * Roartz - Noble of Etruria who betrayed his country and sided with Bern.
 * Promotion for: Bors, Gwendolyn and Barthe.

The Blazing Blade

 * Darin - The Marquess of Laus.
 * Murdock
 * Lundgren - The younger brother of the Marquess Hausen of Caelin who attempted to overthrow his brother.
 * Uther - The Marquess of Ostia and Hector's older brother.
 * Promotion for: Wallace and Oswin.

The Sacred Stones

 * Vigarde - The "Silent Emperor" of Grado.
 * Tirado - General Valter's aide.
 * Fado - The king of Renais.
 * Possible promotion for: Gilliam and Amelia

Path of Radiance

 * Tauroneo - A general of Daein and a former member of the Four Riders of Daein.
 * Bryce - One of the Four Riders of Daein.
 * Black Knight - One of the Four Riders of Daein.
 * Promotion for: Gatrie and Brom.

Radiant Dawn

 * Tauroneo
 * Gatrie - Member of the Greil Mercenaries.

New Mystery of the Emblem

 * Macellan - Knight of Archanea who is loyal to Nyna.
 * Dolph - Knight of Archanea who is loyal to Nyna.

Awakening

 * Ignatius - A Valmese commander and boss of Chapter 14.
 * Cervantes - One of Walhart's officers and boss of Chapters 16 and 20.
 * Mus - Enemy from Chapter 22 and one of the Deadlords. Boss of Infinite Regalia.
 * Possible promotion for: Kellam and Kjelle.

Fates

 * Possible promotion for: Benny, Effie and Ignatius.

Trivia

 * In various games, the General class can be seen as a parallel to the Wyvern Lord: both have the highest Strength and Defense caps (on the ground and in the air respectively), both have a status which makes them vulnerable to a certain type of weapon (in the case of the General, being weak against Armorslayers, Hammers, and Rapiers/Noble Rapiers) and both classes often wield Axes and Lances.
 * The General's Defense cap is the highest of all playable classes and is tied with the Berserker class for the highest Strength cap in Awakening.
 * Generals consistently possess the lowest Speed cap of all promoted classes in most of their appearances.
 * In Fates, even if their shield is knocked off, their shield arm will still be placed as if they were carrying it.
 * In addition to this, if all of their armor is removed or they are encountered in the Hot Spring, they will use the same animations as they do during combat (such as their walking animation).