Boss

Almost every chapter in Fire Emblem has an enemy commander, or Boss. Bosses are often higher leveled than their underlings and possess better weapons. In some chapters, the only condition for victory is to defeat the Boss. In other chapters, the player must defeat a Boss that is guarding a throne, then seize the throne. Bosses give much greater experience values than normal enemies. Against Bosses that can heal themselves (such as those sitting on gates and thrones), the player can attack Bosses repeatedly without killing them in order to rack up experience points. This tactic is known as Boss Abuse. Bosses usually have a battle quote and a death quote. The battle quote is said when the player first engages the Boss in battle. The death quote is said when the Boss is finally defeated. Bosses have different battle music than normal enemies. While these are rare events, there are some Bosses that can be recruited by the player. In Chapter 19 of Shadow Dragon, Tiki can be recruited. In Chapter 4-4 of Radiant Dawn, Oliver can be recruited. There are also some Fire Emblem chapters that feature multiple Bosses. This is a common occurrence in Seisen no Keifu and Thracia 776. Bosses are suspected to be immune to status effects such as Sleep and Berserk.

Boss is also a unit class in TearRing Saga. Maerhen belongs to this class, but he is considered a very poor unit.