Jakob

"Lady Avatar, apologies for the delay. I am pleased to find you alive and well."

- Jakob

Jakob (ジョーカー Jōkā, Joker in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem Fates. He will be the Avatar's ally regardless of their route, but will join later than usual if the Avatar is male. He is voiced by Junichi Suwabe in the Japanese version and by Benjamin Diskin in the English version.

Profile
Jakob is a butler who serves the Avatar in the Kingdom of Nohr. Although born into aristocracy, Jakob lost connections with both of his parents, a fact that, according to his supports with Azura, stems from them never loving him and forging happy memories with him. Electing to follow the Avatar regardless of the choice that they make, Jakob attributes this to the kindness and compassion that they displayed towards him when he was alienated during his induction into the service of the Nohrian royalty. If he achieves an S-Support, Jakob will have a son named Dwyer.

If the Avatar is male, Jakob will remain in the Northern Fortress with Flora. At the end of Chapter 15 of Birthright, Conquest, and Revelation, Jakob will eventually find the Avatar's My Castle and promptly joins their cause.

In the case of the female Avatar, he is more involved with the first few chapters.

Prologue
After the female Avatar earns the right to leave the Northern fortress, Jakob accompanies her to Castle Krakenburg where they are tasked with executing a few Hoshidan prisoners of war. After the Avatar refuses to execute the prisoners, she is tasked with surveying a fortress at the Bottomless Canyon and Jakob tags along. After the battle, the Avatar goes missing and Jakob goes off in search of her. Jakob eventually reunites with her during the first battle between Hoshido and Nohr. Regardless of the path the Avatar has chosen to follow, Jakob follows her.

Birthright
If the Avatar is male, Jakob joins the Avatar's army after they clear Mount Garou in Chapter 15

After successfully infiltrating Nohr, the Avatar and the army reunite with Flora who offers to bring them to the Ice tribe Village to rest. However, this was a trap that King Garon forced Flora to commit. During the battle, should Jakob face her, he attempts to dissuade her from attacking them and asks to reconsider her actions. As Flora laments that their happier days in the Northern Fortress are long gone, Jakob is unable to hear her desire of living together with him due to the howling blizzard. After the battle, the Avatar attempts one last time to convince her to join their cause, however her shame in betraying the Avatar and her own guilt for succumbing to Garon's evil makes her set herself ablaze. Jakob and Felicia do all that they can to stop the blaze, but their efforts are worthless as Flora eventually dies from self-imolation.

Conquest
Upon returning to Castle Krakenburg after the Avatar decides to side with Nohr, she is tasked with quelling a rebellion by the Ice Tribe Village by herself. Worried for his liege, Jakob accompanies the Avatar on the way to the Ice Tribe Village. On the way in the Woods of the Forlorn, they are ambushed by a group of Faceless, but are assisted by Silas, Elise and her retainers Effie and Arthur.

If the Avatar is male, Jakob joins the Avatar's army as he begins his assault on Hoshido in at the end of Chapter 15.

Personality
Jakob is a dutiful butler who serves the Avatar. On top of being great at housework and other chores, he is an excellent fighter. According to his supports with Azura however, this was not always the case. It was because of the Avatar's strong belief in him that he continued to remain in services. He is dutiful, kind, and courteous to the Avatar when speaking to them. He has an undying loyalty towards them to the point he ends up getting into a verbal spat for the Avatar's caretaking in his support chain with Camilla and even gets into a verbal battle with Frederick in the Before Awakening Xenologue on who serves their Lord/Lady better as a butler. Jakob's devotion is so strong that he, against his better judgement, aids Takumi in very dangerous archery practice just because refusing might disappoint the Avatar.

However, around other members of the army he can be rather unsociable, speaking very rudely and bluntly to them. He sometimes speaks to others purely for the sake of making fun of them as shown in his support conversations with Silas. He can be petty, enough so that he becomes upset that his own son brews coffee better than he can and repeatedly challenges him until he can produce superior coffee. Nonetheless, he still helps others when needed as part of his duty as the Avatar's butler. He hates mornings the most out of everyone in the army. His birthday is December 3.

Base Stats

 * -|Chapter 2=


 * -|Chapter 16=

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
 * 50%
 * 40%
 * 25%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 30%
 * 35%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

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

Standard Sets

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Friendship Sets

 * -|All Routes=


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 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Conquest=

Partner Sets

 * -|All Routes=


 * }
 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Conquest/Revelation=


 * }

Special Classes

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Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Female)
 * Azura
 * Felicia
 * Mozu

Hoshido

 * Hinoka
 * Sakura
 * Kagero
 * Setsuna
 * Oboro
 * Hana
 * Rinkah
 * Orochi

Nohr
Other Supports
 * Camilla
 * Elise
 * Peri
 * Beruka
 * Selena
 * Effie
 * Nyx
 * Charlotte
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Silas
 * Takumi
 * Gunter
 * Dwyer
 * Kana (if Jakob is his father)
 * Shigure (if Jakob is his father)

Base Class
Jakob stats starts off as a decent offensive unit given that he has good starting strength and skill stats upon recruitment in the second chapter for the Female Avatar. Between Jakob and Felicia, Jakob favors being more offensive than supportive given that his strength stats and growths are much higher than Felicia, though his Magic is not as strong as hers, meaning that she is better as a healer than he is. Most of his stat growths are middling, giving erratic growths with no real emphasis on a stat specialization. However, he can become well balanced if time is put into him. Jakob's Personal Skill, Evasive Partner, increases the Avatar's Avoid and reduces received damaged by three, making him a great partner for the female Avatar throughout the game. Jakob can further support the female Avatar by his Troubadour skill, Gentilhomme, further reducing damage taken to her by two. For male Avatars, most likely Felicia will fulfill this same role for them. Since he is recruited later in the story and has barely increased his stats, she will be much better for them than he will at that point if the player has put time into her.

Players may be surprised to find that Jakob's stats are very low for a promoted unit, as he is only slightly more powerful than the first tier opponents the player is facing. Unlike most Pre-Promoted units, he can be easily felled by beginning enemies if the player is not careful, but there is a special condition with Jakob. Jakob basically has four Eternal Seals built into him, giving him a max level cap of 40 rather than 20, allowing him to grow alongside most of the units in the army. Additionally, he can easily acquire more Promoted class skills as his EXP gains are considered the same as a first tier unit, rather than Gunter who would gain Promoted EXP gains. This allows him to skill grind much sooner and much more easily than other units.

Regardless of when he is recruited, Jakob starts off with his Troubadour skills already learned. As mentioned above, he has Gentilhomme to reduce the damage done to female characters in a two tile zone around him. He also has Resistance +2 which is mainly good for early game Jakob but loses potency later. If playing with a male Avatar, he will start off with Live to Serve, while female Avatars will have to train him to learn it. This skill gives him the ability to heal himself as long as he heals someone else, good for minimizing staff usage while allowing him to stick close to the Avatar while continuing to support them and keep himself alive. He will later learn Tomebreaker to help avoid magic attacks and make him a viable anti-mage unit. He can also reclass into the Strategist class if needed to give him good movement and to train him in magic for better healing. Even if the player is not keeping him in this class, it will provide Rally Resistance and Inspiration for more supportive options.

Secondary Class
Jakob's secondary class is the Cavalier class. For a more offensive oriented Jakob, the Cavalier class is worth considering as the class compliments his strong strength and skill growths. He gains Elbow Room when fighting on normal tiles and Shelter to rescue wayward units. As a Paladin, he gains Defender which boosts his stats when he is the lead unit in Guard Stance, and Aegis to shave off indirect weapon damage. As a Great Knight, he learns Luna which can help him deal damage to enemy units thanks to its defense halving ability, and Armored Blow to reduce damage when initiating battle.

Friendship Class
Jakob's only Friendship Class comes from Takumi
 * Takumi - As Jakob's only new class gained from his friendship classes, the Archer is hit and miss with him, especially if considering keeping him in his base class in the end. Overall, he can serve as a moderately good Archer thanks to his emphasis on Strength and Skill. If venturing into this class solely to obtain skills, Quick Draw can give him more damage to his attacks to set up kills for other units and the Sniper's Certain Blow skill can be used to ensure that his stat reductions follow through. Through the Kinshi Knight class he can gain Air Superiority to help deal with aerial units and Amaterasu giving him a good heal zone support skill.

Quotes
Refer to Jakob/Quotes.

Possible Endings
Jakob - Devoted Servant (忠実な執事 Chūjitsuna Shitsuji lit. Faithful Butler)
 * Jakob continue to serve as Avatar's butler. He was often offered other positions based on his extraordinary skills, but the records show he refused them all to stay by Avatar's side.


 * Jakob and Avatar (Birthright/Conquest)
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Avatar was hailed as a hero, working alongside her spouse to spread peace worldwide.


 * Jakob and Avatar (Revelation)
 * The two spent the rest of their lives together, Avatar ruling as the wise Queen of Valla. Jakob was unsure in his new role as a royal, but he supported his wife for the rest of his days.


 * Jakob and Azura
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. There are a few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Jakob and Beruka
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Beruka was torn about leaving Camilla but enjoyed having enough emotions for them to conflict.


 * Jakob and Camilla
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Camilla, gave up her royal title and spent her days at home doting on her family.


 * Jakob and Charlotte
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Records show his wife, Charlotte, was a caring wife and mother, and they had a happy family life.


 * Jakob and Effie
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Effie retired after getting married, but she and Elise remained best friends for the rest of their lives.


 * Jakob and Elise
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Elise, grew out of her childish ways into a talented healer of extraordinary compassion.


 * Jakob and Felicia
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Felicia gave up her career in the service industry for the military, ultimately becoming a commander.


 * Jakob and Hana
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone.


 * Jakob and Hinoka
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Hinoka, became general of the Hoshidan royal army, and the two remained together always.


 * Jakob and Kagero
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Kagero remained a ninja. It is said that the couple got along, but didn't have much time together.


 * Jakob and Nyx
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Nyx, was indispensable with her vast experience and magic abilities.


 * Jakob and Oboro
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Oboro, worked hard and eventually was able to reopen her late parents' tailor shop.


 * Jakob and Orochi
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Orochi, was completely indispensable, both through her intelligence and her future sight.


 * Jakob and Peri
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Peri eventually learned the difference between right and wrong. It took a while.


 * Jakob and Rinkah
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Rinkah's fiery personality ensured her husband's life was not boring, and they loved one another well.


 * Jakob and Sakura
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. His wife, Sakura, dedicated herself to helping the underprivileged, and the two worked happily together.


 * Jakob and Selena
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. After marrying, he and his wife, Selena, disappeared from records. They likely lived happily ever after.


 * Jakob and Setsuna
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. Records show that his wife, Setsuna, stayed by his side and was a great source of support and joy.

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

Etymology
Jakob is a variant of the name Jacob, which is of Hebrew origin. The name is derived from Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites in the biblical book of Genesis.

Joker is a name for a Jester. It is also a unique playing card most notably used as a wild card in several card games.

Trivia

 * Jakob shares his English voice actor, Benjamin Diskin, with Saizo and Hayato.
 * Concept art for Jakob appeared in the publication "The Making of Fire Emblem". Interestingly, it depicted him with black hair compared to his now silver hair.
 * Jakob placed 4th in the official character popularity poll held on the game's official site for males.
 * He also placed 4th in the character popularity poll and placed 2nd in the spouse poll. Both were issued by Famitsu.
 * He placed 6th in the character popularity poll issued by Nintendo Dream.