The Wyvern Rider, also known as Dracoknight in the English version of Radiant Dawn and Shadow Dragon, is a wyvern-mounted combat physical class that debuted in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
Quick Answers
What weapons does a Wyvern Rider typically wield in the Fire Emblem series?
What was the first game in which the Wyvern Rider class appeared?
How does the Wyvern Rider class compare to the Wyvern Lord class in Fire Emblem: Three Houses?
Is the Wyvern Rider class considered a strong choice in Fire Emblem: Three Houses?
What is the difference between a Wyvern Rider and a Wyvern Knight in the Fire Emblem series?
History in the Series[]
The Wyvern Rider recurrently appears across the Fire Emblem series. This class features warriors soaring into battle atop the backs of Wyverns, and are usually armed with Lances and/or Axes as their primary weapons of choice.
In its original inception in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, the Dracoknight class is the promoted form of the Pegasus Knight class, and is thus unable to promote any further.
Beginning from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Dragon Knights are cleanly separated from the Pegasus Knight class, with the Dragonmaster class introduced and instituted to be the promoted form of the class. Like its predecessors, the Dragon Knight class wields Swords and Lances as its weapons of choice in this installment.
Dragon Knights are the promoted form of the Dragon Rider class in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Eda is the only playable member of the Dragon Rider class.
In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga, the Dragon Knight class, like its original iteration, is once again intertwined with the Pegasus Knight class by acting as its promoted form. The Dragon Knight class also functions as the promoted form of a Commando Knight named Raffin, owing to the plot establishing him as originally being a wyvern-riding combatant.
In Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and its prequel Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the Wyvern Rider class loses the ability to wield Swords, only gaining it when it promotes into the Wyvern Lord class.
In Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Wyvern Riders are further given the option to promote into Wyvern Knights alongside Wyvern Lords, a class granted the devastating Pierce skill.
The Wyvern Rider class is redubbed Dracoknight in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and promotes into the Dragonmaster class. This title is credited as being the pioneer of the class being outfitted with the Axe as its sole weapon of choice instead of the Lance.
In Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, remakes of the Archanea Series, the Dracoknight class is re-instituted as the main promoted form of the Pegasus Knight class.
Dracoknights are again referred to as Wyvern Riders in Fire Emblem Awakening. This version of the class is further given the option to promote into the unique Griffon Rider alongside Wyvern Lord.
In Fire Emblem Fates, the Wyvern Rider class is treated as a Nohrian class, and is further given the option to promote into Malig Knights, a class that arms Tomes and Axes as its weapons of choice. The class' Hoshidan counterpart is the Sky Knight.
In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Wyvern Rider is an Advanced class that requires a unit with an Axe level of B or higher and a Flying level of C or higher to pass the Certification Exam. The class has a main skill experience class bonus in Axes (+2), but has a secondary weapon proficiency in Lances (+1).
In the spin-off title Fire Emblem Warriors, the Wyvern Rider acts as the base class for Minerva. Unlike previous incarnations, this version can only use Axes. The class acts as a clone of the Malig Knight, and as such, makes it the first time in franchise history of Wyvern Riders being female only units. Unlike in Fates, Wyvern Riders can (rarely) pop up under the Hoshidan flag, where they are called Wyvern Warriors. In Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, the Wyvern Rider is playable by both male and female units, but is still locked to axes, being one of the promotions of the Brigand class.
In Fire Emblem Engage, Wyvern Rider is localized as "Wyvern Knight", presumably to emulate their old localization name of "Dracoknight" despite it being the name of an already made class and are still called "Dragon Knight" in Japan. Wyvern Rider in this incarnation is once more a promoted class, as one of the promotions for Pegasus Knights. Generally, upon promotion, Wyvern Knights gain the ability to wield axes, though sword-locked Pegasus Knights can pick up lances instead of axes. While the Pegasus Knight class is female locked, Wyvern Knight is not, thus male units can be reclassed into the Wyvern Knight class.
In Vestaria Saga I, the Wyvern Rider is known as the Dragon Knight. The class wields Swords, Lances and Throwing Spears. It is an enemy-only class, but its promotion, the Dragonmaster, is playable.
Overview[]
Combat[]
Like all other flying units, Wyvern Riders are units that stand out for not just high Movement, but also the ability to traverse terrain that is normally impassable. Wyvern Riders typically excel in HP, Strength and Defense, and thus make for fairly decent combatants against regular enemy units.
Wyvern Riders do, however, suffer from having easily exploitable weaknesses. The most glaring of these is that of the fact that in most of their iterations, they are vulnerable to attacks inflicted by Bows and Wind magic (save for Radiant Dawn, where they are weak to Thunder magic and no longer vulnerable to bows). Apart from this, they are also vulnerable to dragon-slaying weapons like the Wyrmslayer. Given these facts, it is thus common to charge Wyvern Riders forward into areas where there are few bow or magic users and hold them back when bow users are abundant. However, these weaknesses can be nullified by placing Iote's Shield, Delphi Shield or Fili Shield into their inventories, all of which are imbued with blessings that guard their holders from sustaining bonus damage from weapons effective against them.
In WiFi battles, Dracoknights are occasionally used due to their strong Defense allowing them to survive being attacked by Brave Sword-wielding Swordmasters. However, they can still be killed one-on-one by Berserkers. The main reason Dracoknights are used, despite this weakness, is because of their unparalleled movement; 10 base movement (12 with Boots), with no terrain hindrance, gives them the best scouting ability of any unit (tied with Falcon Knights). However, because they are weak to bows, a squad is usually limited to one Dracoknight only. Several tactics rely on the Dracoknight's ability to embark on reconnaissance missions to determine the strength of immediate foes. Their weakness to Berserkers is usually avoided by actively scouting a Berserker and killing them preemptively.
In-Game[]
Base Stats[]
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE1 | 22 | 9 | - | 3 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | - | - | Sword/Lance 10 | - |
| FE3 | 20 | 8 | - | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | - | - | Lance 9 | - |
| FE4 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 9 | - | - |  B  B | - |
| FE5 (Mounted) | 24/20 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 | - | 9 | 8/5 | - |  D | - |
| FE5 (Dismounted) | 24/20 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | - | 6 | 8/5 | - |  D | - |
| TS | 25 | 8/5 | 0 | 5/3 | 6/4 | 0 | 7/4 | - | 7/4 | - | - |  4  4 | - |
| FE6 | 20/19 | 7/6 | - | 3/5 | 5 | 0 | 8/7 | 0 | 7 | 10/9 | - |  D | - |
| FE7 | 20/19 | 7/6 | - | 3/5 | 5 | 0 | 8/7 | 0 | 7 | 10/9 | - | D | - |
| FE8 | 20/19 | 7/6 | - | 3/5 | 5 | 0 | 8/7 | 0 | 7 | 10/9 | - | D | - |
| FE9 | 20/19 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8/7 | 0/1 | 8 | 11/7 | 39/35 |  D | - |
| FE10 | 20 | 7/6 | 0 | 5/3 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0/2 | 8 | 12/7 | 41/36 |  D | - |
| FE11 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | - | - |  D  E | - |
| FE12 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | - | - | D E | - |
| FE13 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | - | - |  E | - |
| FE14 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 | - | - |  E | - |
| FE16 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 7 | - | - |  B  C | 0 |
| FE17 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | - |  B^  B^  B^ | - |
| FEW | 68 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 20 | - | - |  E | - |
Maximum Stats[]
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE1 | 52 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 12 | - | - | Sword/Lance 20 | - |
| FE3 | 52 | - | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | - | - | Lance 20 | - |
| FE4 | 80 | 25 | 15 | 22 | 21 | 30 | 26 | 15 | 9 | - | - | B B | - |
| FE5 | 80 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | - | A A | - |
| FE6 | 60 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 20 | - | A | - |
| FE7 | 60 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 20 | - | A | - |
| FE8 | 60 | 20 | - | 20 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 20 | - | A | - |
| FE9 | 40 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 8 | 11/7 | 39/35 | A | - |
| FE10 | 40 | 20 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 12/7 | 41/36 | A | - |
| FE11 | 60 | 26 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 30 | 30 | 21 | 10 | - | - | A A | - |
| FE12 | 60 | 26 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 30 | 30 | 21 | 10 | - | - | A A | - |
| FE13 | 60 | 28 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 30 | 28 | 20 | 7 | - | - | A | - |
| FE14 | 40 | 22 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 24 | 15 | 7 | - | - | B | - |
| FE17 | 83 | 46 | 31 | 43 | 38 | 25 | 35 | 22 | 8 | 18 | - | B^ B^ B^ | - |
Growth Rates[]
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE4 | 100% | 30% | 10% | 30% | 30% | 0% | 30% | 10% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE5 | 50% | 20% | 3% | 15% | 10% | 10% | 15% | - | 0% | 5% | - | - | - |
| FE6 | 80% | 45% | - | 35% | 30% | 25% | 25% | 10% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE7 | 80% | 45% | - | 35% | 30% | 25% | 25% | 15/17% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE8 | 80% | 45% | - | 35% | 30% | 25% | 25% | 15/17% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE9 | 80% | 55/50% | 10% | 50% | 40/45% | 25% | 55/50% | 40/45% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE10 | 80/70% | 65/45% | 0/25% | 55/40% | 55/65% | 15/30% | 45/40% | 5/40% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE11 | 30/40% | 10% | -15% | 20% | 25% | 0% | 10% | 0% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE12 | 30% | 10% | -15% | 20% | 25% | 0% | 10% | 0% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE13 | 45% | 30% | 0% | 15% | 15% | 0% | 10% | 5% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE14 | 10% | 15% | 5% | 10% | 10% | 5% | 20% | 0% | - | - | - | - | - |
| FE16 | 30/40% | 10/25% | -5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5/35% | -5/-10% | - | - | - |  +2 +3 +3 | 5% |
| FE17 | 20% | 20% | 0% | 10% | 5% | 5% | 20% | 5% | - | 5% | - | - | - |
| FEW3H | 25% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 0% | - | - | - | - | 5% |
Class Modifiers[]
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE16 | 1 | 3/2 | 0 | 1 | 3/1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3/1 | - | - | - | 0 |
| FEW3H | 200 | 5/3 | 0 | 2 | 5/2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6/0 | - | - | - | 1 |
Class Skills[]
| Skill | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| FE4 |  Re-Move | Hidden base skill of all mounted and flying units. |
| TS |  Re-Move | Base skill of Pegasus Knight and Dragon Knight classes. |
| FE10 |  Canto | Base skill of all mounted and flying units. |
| FE13 |  Strength +2 Tantivy | Learnt at Level 1. Learnt at Level 10. |
| FE14 | Strength +2 Lunge | Learnt at Level 1 and above. Learnt at Level 10 and above. |
| FE16 |  Canto Axefaire Seal Defense | Class Ability of Wyvern Rider. Class Ability of Wyvern Rider. Mastery Ability of Wyvern Riders. |
| FE17 |  Air Raid Certain Blow | Class Skill of Wyvern Knights. Maddening mode skill. |
| FEW3H |  Lance Buster Lv 3 Boost Critical Defiant Str Offensive Tactics Wyvern Rider's Ploy Wyvern Rider's Wisdom Apex Axe Diamond Axe Crush | Class ability. 1-star Class Mastery for Seteth. 1-star Class Mastery for certain units. 1-star Class Mastery for certain units. 2-star Class Mastery for certain units. 2-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for Seteth. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units. |
Promotions[]
| Base Class | Promotion Method | Promoted Class | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FE1 |  Pegasus Knight | Use a Dragon Whip on a Level 10+ Pegasus Knight. |  Dracoknight |
| FE3 |  Pegasus Knight | Use a  Dragon Whip on a Level 10+ Pegasus Knight. |  Dracoknight |
| FE4 |  Dragon Knight | Choose the "Class Change" option in the Home Castle when the relevant unit reaches Level 20. |  Dragonmaster |
| FE5 |  Dragon Rider | Use a  Knight Proof on a Level 10+ Dragon Rider. |  Dragon Knight |
| TS |  Pegasus Knight | Use a  Dragon Flute on a Level 10+ Pegasus Knight. |  Dragon Knight |
| TS (Raffin) |  Commando Knight | Clear Map 10 and choose to activate the promotion event. | Dragon Knight |
| FE6 |  Wyvern Rider | Use an  Elysian Whip on a Level 10+ Wyvern Rider. |  Wyvern Lord |
| FE7 | Wyvern Rider | Use an Elysian Whip on a Level 10+ Wyvern Rider. | Wyvern Lord |
| FE8 | Wyvern Rider | Use an Elysian Whip on a Level 10+ Wyvern Rider. | Wyvern Lord Wyvern Knight |
| FE9 |  Wyvern Rider | Use a  Master Seal on a Level 10+ Wyvern Rider. |  Wyvern Lord |
| FE10 |  Dracoknight | Use a  Master Seal on a Level 10+ Dracoknight or train a Dracoknight to Level 21. |  Dragonmaster |
| FE11 |  Pegasus Knight | Use a  Master Seal on a Level 10+ Pegasus Knight. |  Dracoknight |
| FE12 |  Pegasus Knight | Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Pegasus Knight. |  Dracoknight |
| FE13 |  Wyvern Rider | Use a  Master Seal on a Level 10+ Wyvern Rider. |  Wyvern Lord Griffon Rider |
| FE14 |  Wyvern Rider | Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Wyvern Rider. |  Wyvern Lord Malig Knight |
| FE16 | Any class | Use an  Advanced Seal on a Level 20+ unit and pass the Wyvern Rider Certification Exam. |  Wyvern Rider |
| FE17 |  Sword Flier | Use  Master Seal on Level 10+ Sword Flier with  Lance or  Axe Proficiency. |  Wyvern Knight |
| FE17 |  Lance Flier | Use Master Seal on Level 10+ Lance Flier with  Sword or Axe Proficiency. | Wyvern Knight |
| FE17 |  Axe Flier | Use Master Seal on Level 10+ Axe Flier with Sword or Lance Proficiency. | Wyvern Knight |
| FEW |  Wyvern Rider | Use a Master Seal on Minerva. | Wyvern Lord |
| FEW3H |  Brigand | Use an Advanced Seal on a unit that has mastered the Brigand class. | Wyvern Rider |
| FEW3H | Wyvern Rider | Use a Master Seal on a unit that has mastered the Wyvern Rider class. |  Wyvern Lord |
Notable Wyvern Riders[]
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light[]
- Minerva - The Princess of Macedon and leader of the Whitewings who took up arms against her brother.
- Michalis - The King of Macedon who had great ambitions for his country.
- Promotion for: Caeda, Palla, Catria, and Est
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem[]
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War[]
- Papilio - A Dragon Knight of Thracia.
- Altena - The daughter of Prince Quan of Leonster and Ethlyn and sister of Leif.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776[]
TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga[]
- Reshe - The daughter of King Bahanuke of Canaan.
- Simon - The leader of Canaan's Condor Squad.
- Marco - A member of the Condor Squad who rescues Leteena.
- Toms - A member of the Condor Squad.
- Philip - A member of the Condor Squad.
- Andrew - A member of the Condor Squad.
- Shion - The younger brother of Theodora.
- Theodora - The confidant of Prince Julius of Canaan.
- Promotion for: Sasha, Raffin, Mahter, Frau, and Verna.
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade[]
- Melady - The elder sister of Zeiss and a renowned captain in Bern's army. Loyal to Princess Guinivere.
- Zeiss - The younger brother of Melady.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade[]
- Heath - An honorable knight who deserted the army of Bern.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones[]
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn[]
TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga[]
- Larentia - A Dragon Knight of Peshire.
Fire Emblem Awakening[]
- Cherche - A vassal of House Virion who thinks her wyvern is adorable.
- Gerome - Cherche's son unaccustomed to interpersonal interactions whose wyvern belonged to his late mother.
- Orton - One of the generals from Plegia.
- Vasto - A general from Plegia who led the assault on Emmeryn thanks to information from a traitor.
Fire Emblem Fates[]
- Beruka - A Wyvern-riding assassin and one of Camilla's retainers who seems devoid of emotion.
- Percy - Arthur's son who inherited his Hero of Justice mentality. Unlike his father, he has astronomically good luck and is close friends with his mount, Ace.
- Possible fixed reclass option for: Xander, Elise, Siegbert.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses[]
- Seteth - Rhea's loyal second-in-command, he's shrouded in mystery.
- Ladislava - Commander of the Adrestian Empire and leader of Edelgard's personal guard.
- Claude (Cindered Shadows) - Heir to House Riegan and next in line to become leader of the Leicester Alliance.
Fire Emblem Engage[]
- Rosado - A royal knight from Elusia who is also Hortensia's retainer and friend.
- Seforia - The Queen of Solm and the mother of Timerra and Fogado.
Vestaria Saga I[]
- Possible promotion for: Ma'aya.
Gallery[]
.png "Raffin battle (Dragon).png (134 KB)")
.png "Frau battle (dragknight).png (170 KB)")
.png "FE9 Wyvern Rider (Jill).png (369 KB)")
.png "FE10 Dracoknight (Jill).png (270 KB)")
.png "FE13 Wyvern Rider (Cherche).png (147 KB)")
.png "FE13 Wyvern Rider (Gerome).png (138 KB)")
.png "FE13 Wyvern Rider (Brady).png (179 KB)")
.png "FE13 Wyvern Rider (Tiki).png (152 KB)")
.jpg "FE14 Wyvern Rider (Beruka).jpg (92 KB)")
.gif "FE4 Dragon Knight Sprite (F).gif (773 bytes)"){kind=icon}
