—Xane in Shadow Dragon.
Xane is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and their remakes. He is one of the few Divine Dragon survivors of the war against the Earth Dragons. After the war, he threw away his Dragonstone and lost the ability to transform into a dragon. However, he has a mysterious ability to shape-shift into anything except a dragon.
He works under Gotoh, despite their differing views of humanity, and in Mystery of the Emblem, he acts as a guide for Marth in his quest to reach Gotoh and follow his ancestor Anri. In the end, though, he once again vanishes.
Personality
Xane is a carefree and somewhat effeminate person who likes to play jokes (at one point he annoys Tiki by imitating her and repeating everything she says). He has some sympathy to the Fire, Mage, and Earth Dragon Tribes that ended up forming the Dolhr Empire, to the extent that he has stated some dislike towards humans due to seeing them mistreat the powerless manakete tribes in the past. At one point, even claiming to Marth that he was just an onlooker in the battle between Anri and Medeus.
Nevertheless, he does possess firm senses of honor and duty, as shown to his loyalty to Marth and Gotoh, and refused to join up with Dolhr when they tried to press him into joining. He has a strange fondness for Marth, constantly referring to him affectionately as "Princey". He can be supportive of others, as shown in some of his talks with Tiki.
In Game
Recruitment
Shadow Dragon:
New Mystery of the Emblem:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Freelancer | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Wlv | Mov |
| 1 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Sword | Iron Sword | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | 30% | 10% | 0% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 0% |
Overall
Xane is one of the better units in the very first Fire Emblem game. Unlike later versions, Xane copies all stats the character he transforms into in this game, including Max HP and current HP. This makes him much more versatile and usable from the moment you get him, and makes his non-transformed stats of much less consequence. You can give Xane a mix of Sword and Lance weapons as most classes in the game are able to use one or both, and he will instantly be as good as the best member of your team. You can even have him carry a Staff in case you need another healer, or turn him into a flying unit.
Xane does come with some downsides to him, as his transformation will eat up a turn, and his transformation wearing off at bad times can put him at risk. However, that may not be a huge issue if you transform near the beginning of a map, as it should last for enough turns for you to take on the bulk of enemy units on any given map. Xane will also be wasting Experience Points when he kills units since any EXP he gains while transformed is lost (though at the point in the game where you recruit him, your characters are very likely close to max level). Leveling Xane's non-transformation form is a pain as he is very weak, so it is probably best not to bother as leveling him will barely increase his survivability and he should be spending pretty much all of his turns transformed.
Xane's ability to copy your most potent units and switch between them as the situation calls for negates most of his downsides, If you can deal with his unique style, he will make a great addition to your team.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Base Stats
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | 30% | 10% | 40% | 30% | 30% | 20% | 3% |
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Recruitment
Chapter 16, enemy, talk to him with Marth.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Freelancer | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 1 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| - |  Iron Sword | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 30% | 0% | 30% | 30% | 20% | 15% | 2% |
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Recruitment
Chapter 14: Automatically from the start.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Freelancer | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 5 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| - |  Steel Sword Vulnerary | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60% | 40% | 0% | 20% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 5% |
Support Relationships
Supports
- None
Supported by
Overall
The only stats that matter for Xane are defense, HP, speed, luck, and resistance due to the fact that he cannot attack while untransformed (with the exception of the Super Famicom version of Mystery of the Emblem, which allows him to use swords). When Xane transforms, he mimics the stats of the selected character, meaning that the only stats that matter for him are the stats that will help keep him alive or reduce the damage he takes while he is untransformed (in the Super Famicom version of Mystery of the Emblem, Xane does not copy the Max HP of a character, unlike other versions of the game). It should be noted that Xane should be healed after transforming, as his HP does not instantly regenerate after transforming. Also, he can use weapons which are restricted to certain characters, such as the Rapier, Hammerne Staff, Aum Staff, and Wing Spear, except for the Falchion. He also cannot copy Manaketes. Xane also does not gain EXP when transformed in the Super Famicom version, and you will have to level up while untransformed.
Quotes
—Xane's battle quote as an enemy in Mystery of the Emblem
—Xane's death quote in Book 1 of Mystery of the Emblem
—Xane's death quote in Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem
—Xane's death quote in Shadow Dragon
—Xane's death quote in Classic Mode, in New Mystery of the Emblem
—Xane's retreat quote in Casual Mode, in New Mystery of the Emblem
Endings
Shadow Dragon
- Shape-Shifter
- After the war, Xane left without a word. It was not until later that Marth learned his true identity.
New Mystery of the Emblem
- Divine Youth
- Xane vanished once more after the war. All that remained afterwards was the odd anecdote of an eccentric shapeshifter.
Non-Canon Appearances
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Xane is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following card:
Etymology
Chainey is possibly derived from Lon Chaney Sr., a famous silent actor known as the "The Man of a Thousand Faces".
Trivia
- Xane may have originally been intended to reappear in Emblem Saga. The character Narsus from TearRing Saga is extremely similar to Xane, including the ability to transform into other units.
—Shouzou Kaga answering a question about returning characters in an interview conducted by Famitsu
Gallery
.png "Xane (The Complete Artwork).png (519 KB)")
