Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopeswon’t just return players to the world of Fodlan, first introduced in 2019 tactical strategy titleFire Emblem: Three Houses.It also borrows the ‘musou’ gameplay style ofDynasty Warriors, pitting individual playable characters against large hordes of enemies.Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesis the secondFire Emblemtitle to make use of this gameplay, following the 2017 titleFire Emblem Warriors.Trailers indicate thatThree Hopeswill expand on theWarriorsformula with new and reworked classes, weapons, and abilities.
The originalFire Emblem Warriorswas criticized by fans for a lack of character and class variety. The playable characters, which included original characters alongside those returning fromFire Emblem: Awakening, Fire Emblem: Fates,andFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light,featured over a dozen sword users and very few axe wielders, archers, or mages. In particular, several fans were disappointed that the Dancer class, a staple in theFire Emblemseries, was not accurately represented. However, a recent trailer indicates thatFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesmight feature a new take on the Dancer.
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What Are Dancers in Fire Emblem?
First introduced inFire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblemand appearing in almost every game since, theDancer is a unique classthat allows the unit to perform a dance, thus refreshing another ally and letting that ally take another action. Typically, each game features between one and three Dancers, with special rules in place to prevent players from deploying more than one Dancer at once. Some Dancers can attack and use weapons or magic, while others are strictly limited to refreshing others. Variants on the class have included the Bard and Songstress, who sing instead of dancing, and the Heron laguz,a rare race of beings who can transform into birds with restorative powers.
The 2019 main series titleFire Emblem: Three Housesaltered the formula by allowing any student character to become a Dancer. Near the end of the in-game year, players must choose one character to compete in the White Heron Cup event; should they win, they are granted access to thepowerful Dancer class. Nobody other than the White Heron winner can become a Dancer, but players may choose a different competitor each time they play. Every selectable character has a unique outfit and color scheme for the Dancer class. This was the first main seriesFire Emblemgame to introduce male units in the Dancer class, as previously males had all been classified as Bards or Herons.
The Dancer Class In Fire Emblem Warriors
Fire Emblem Warriors,the first musou-style spinoff of theFire Emblemseries, featured no Dancers in its initial lineup. Fans speculated that this was due to the difficulty of implementing the classic’s unique ‘refresh’ mechanic in a game that did not utilize turn-based combat. However, two characters were added as part of later downloadable content pack:Olivia fromFire Emblem: Awakeningand Azura fromFire Emblem: Fates.Olivia was classed as a Dancer, moved quickly across the battlefield, and fought using swords, while Azura, a Songstress, wielded a lance and incorporated water magic into her attacks.
Rather than giving allies another turn, Olivia’s dance and Azura’s song instead restored allies' Warrior and Awakening gauges, allowing them to boost their stats and perform unique powerful attacks. Azura’s gauge-refreshing attack even included her singing a snippet of ‘Lost in Thoughts All Alone,’ her signature song fromFire Emblem: Fates.While the characters were generally positively received, fans were disappointed that they werelocked to DLC. Olivia also received criticism for being yet another sword user and Azura for her song animations taking up so much time in otherwise fast-paced battles.
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Dorothea May Be Three Hopes' Dancer
There is currently no official confirmation as to how the Dancer class will be implemented inFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes,as so many characters could become Dancers inThree Houses.However, one likely choice for the Dancer representative isDorothea Arnault, a former member of the Mittelfrank Opera Company and member of the Black Eagles house. Dorothea was a popular choice for a Dancer inThree Housesbecause of her performance background, strong magical abilities, and extremely high Charm stat.
A recenttrailer showcasing the Black Eaglesfurther hints that Dorothea might beThree Hopes’Dancer, as she was shown delivering magical attacks that caused musical notes to appear on-screen while she sings a high note. However, she was not shown refreshing allies, meaning that the appearance of the musical notes could simply be linked to her background as a singer and not indicate any refresh ability. As no other character has shown signs of being a Dancer, though, Dorothea currently remains fans' best guess for the class’s representative.
As it is likely that additional trailers featuring theGolden Deer houseand members of the Church of Seiros will be released before the game’s debut, it is definitely possible that more information about the Dancer class and its appearance inThree Hopeswill come to light.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopeswill release on June 14, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch
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