Archer

The Archer (アーチャー) is a bow-wielding class that appears in every Fire Emblem game. Archers are foot soldiers carrying Bows who can deal with enemies from a range without fear of counterattack. Notably, Archers cannot attack from one space away under normal circumstances. While low in defense and health, Archers attack from a space away, so as long as they are placed behind friendly units, they will be okay (unless there is an enemy who can attack from a range, then they can be attacked).

Combat
Archers need cover and support. While they can attack Sword, Lance, or Axe users without being counterattacked, any enemy in range can easily move in and fearlessly attack the archer; not being able to counterattack at melee range is an inherent downside of the class. Any type of ground unit, preferably one with at least moderate defense, will make for suitable cover. Archers are strong against flying units such as Pegasus Knights, so drawing these enemies into their firing range will save them a lot of trouble later on. In Gaiden, they are able to attack an enemy from three spaces away, as well as being able to counter attack melee fighters, as opposed to the usual two.

Promotions
Archers upgrade into the more powerful Sniper class. The increased defense and health is a plus, and the strength and speed of attacks make these units much more powerful over their non-promoted counterparts. In Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, they can also promote to Ranger, a mounted unit that can use swords in addition to bows.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

 * HP: 52
 * Str: 20
 * Skl: 20
 * Spd: 20
 * Lck: 20
 * Def: 20
 * Res: 20
 * Mov: 5

Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

 * HP: 80
 * Str: 20
 * Mag: 20
 * Skl: 20
 * Spd: 20
 * Lck: 20
 * Def: 20

Fire Emblem: Binding Blade, Rekka no Ken, and The Sacred Stones

 * HP: 60
 * Str: 20
 * Skl: 20
 * Spd: 20
 * Lck: 30
 * Def: 20
 * Res: 20
 * Con: 20

Fire Emblem: Awakening

 * HP: 60
 * Str: 26
 * Mag: 20
 * Skl: 29
 * Spd: 25
 * Lck: 30
 * Def: 25
 * Res: 21

Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi/Shadow Dragon

 * Gordin - Archer of Altea. The youngest of the Altean Knights, who dreams of becoming a Sniper.
 * Tomas - Member of the Akaneia Knights, who was captured and imprisoned in the palace.
 * Norne - A volunteer soldier from Altea, who appears in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.

Gaiden

 * Paison - One of members of Clive's Sofia Liberation Army on Alm's route.
 * Leo - One of the Valbar's members battles Geyse's pirates in the Pirate's Fortress on Celica's route.

Monshō no Nazo

 * Raian - Gordin's younger brother.

Binding Blade

 * Wolt - An archer serving Pherae. Roy's milk-brother.
 * Dorothy - A girl from Etruria serving the Elimine church.

Rekka no Ken

 * Wil - A youth from Pherae, in the Lycian League. Very social.
 * Rebecca - A youth from Pherae. Very helpful and bright.

Sacred Stones

 * Neimi - A childhood friend of Colm who hails from Renais. She cries a lot.

Path of Radiance

 * Rolf - Member of the Greil Mercenaries and the youngest brother of Oscar and Boyd. He is a gentle and bright boy.

Radiant Dawn

 * Leonardo - An archer of noble birth, whose family was destroyed by war. His personality rarely shows, since he is quiet and rarely talks. A serious and thoughtful person. He regularly nags his daydreaming partner, Edward.

Awakening

 * Virion - A noble archer from a fallen country in Valm and a member of Chrom's Shepherds force.
 * Noire - Tharja's daughter from the future.

Trivia

 * The Archer class is unused in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. It can be seen if cheats or hacking is done the class has a C rank in Bows so it can be assumed that it was going to be a lesser version of the Bow Fighter class. However, if brought into battle the game will freeze.

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