Combat Arts

An overview of combat arts in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.

Combat Arts in Three Hopes

Combat Arts reprise their role in Three Hopes as powerful attacks tied to weapon types that consume a lot of weapon durability. The difference here is that combat arts (and spells, which are effectively the same) are the only way to consume weapon durability in Three Hopes. Weapon durability is always fully restored at the end of a battle, so it's always worth it to use combat arts in order to clear a map faster.

Unlike regular strong attacks, combat arts cannot be interrupted during their animation, though they can still take damage. Combat arts can also interrupt enemies that are charging strong attacks when used within the correct window, making them a good defensive tool as well.

Learning Combat Arts

Combat arts are primarily learned from obtaining class mastery. Every unit also has a set of basic combat arts that they can use from base as long as they have the right weapon type equipped. There are certain abilities such as Fire that grants units access to a particular spell, but there aren't any abilities that grant access to combat arts.

Combat Art Levels

When a combat art is first learned, it will be at level 1. By using the combat art, a unit can gain experience and eventually increase that level up to level 3. With each level gained, a combat art's might and durability cost will improve. Cooldown is never reduced, however.

In order to gain combat art experience, the player has to use the combat art in battle and actually deal damage. Spamming it with no one around will not give any experience. The amount of experience gained does not seem to change based on how many targets are hit, but using it to deal the finishing blow to an enemy commander seems to double the amount of experience yielded.

Might Categories

Combat arts are categorized into three different might levels: Small, Medium, and Large. In general, durability cost and cooldown will increase as might goes up. For each level gained, one "+" will be added to the might. It is unclear how these might levels translate into damage dealt.

Durability Cost

Combat art durability cost scales depending on might. The following applies to most combat arts.

Might	Durability Cost
Small	10
Medium	15
Large	20

Certain more powerful combat arts like Atrocity will cost extra durability. If the unit's weapon does not have enough durability remaining to satisfy a combat art's cost, then that combat art cannot be used. Combat arts that are tied to Hero Relics will cost an extra 2 durability when the weapon has not been unleashed yet.

Every level gained for a combat art will reduce the durability cost by 2 for the most part, but some of the 40 cost arts will reduce by 4 per level.

Cooldown

Combat arts have a cooldown, so that they cannot be spammed. The cooldown scales directly with might levels, as shown in the following table.

Might	Cooldown
Small	10
Medium	15
Large	20

Combat art cooldown will slightly decrease in proportion to the unit's speed. The following formula is used to calculate the effective cooldown of a combat art based on an original cooldown of 10/15/20 and a unit's speed stat, rounded to 2 decimal places.

\(C' = \frac{C}{1 + \frac{Spd}{100}}\)

For example, if Petra has 24 Spd and knows Flash Strike (Medium might, 15 second original cooldown), then the effective cooldown can be calculated as:

\(\begin{aligned} C' &= \frac{15}{1 + \frac{24}{100}} \\ &= 12.1s \end{aligned}\)

Sword Combat Arts

Combat arts that can be used when wielding a sword.

List of Sword Combat Arts

Combat Art	Might/Cost/CD	Description
Assassinate Instant Kill: Has a chance to instantly defeat non-commander units.	Medium/15/15s	Slash while charging forward. Has a chance to instantly defeat non-commander units.
Astra Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Perform a series of five slashes while moving swiftly.
Beast Fang Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard. Heal: Recovers the user's or an ally's HP.	Large/20/20s	Absorb a portion of inflicted damage as HP. Damage dealt will increase with Mag.
Electric Grounder Lightning Magic (Shock): Shocks the opponent. Shocked units discharge electricity when sent flying, damaging units around them and rendering them shocked as well.	Medium/15/15s	Strike with a trio of lightning-charged slashes. Deals damage based on Mag.
Finesse Blade	Medium/15/15s	Strike the surrounding area with blades. Damage dealt will increase with Dex.
Firesweep Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack.	Medium/15/15s	Generate a fiery cyclone.
Flash Strike Effective vs Cavalry: Effective against mounted units.	Medium/15/15s	Unleash a single, powerful slash.
Foudroyant Strike Effective vs Armored Units: Effective against armored units. Lightning Magic (Shock): Shocks the opponent. Shocked units discharge electricity when sent flying, damaging units around them and rendering them shocked as well. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Unleash a single, powerful slash imbued with lightning.
Grounder Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers.	Small/10/10s	Strike swiftly with a trio of slashes.
Haze Slice	Large/20/20s	Strike a wide area ahead with a series of slashes.
Iceblade Ice Magic (Frozen): Freezes the opponent. Frozen units are unable to move or attack.	Small/10/10s	Lash at foes with an ice magic-based sword attack. Deals damage based on Mag.
Lightblade Heal: Recovers the user's or an ally's HP. Light Magic: Inflicts light magic damage on the opponent.	Small/10/10s	Absorb a portion of inflicted damage as HP. Deals damage based on Mag.
Magic Blade Effective vs Armored Units: Effective against armored units.	Medium/15/15s	Strike the surrounding area with magical blades. Deals damage based on Mag.
Mortal Struggle Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	None/20/20s	Temporarily reduces the user's defense to make the Stun Gauge display with all attacks.
Shadowblade Dark Magic (Spellbound): Spellbinds the opponent. Spellbound units will move slowly, have reduced defense and resistance, and will not able to prevent damage even when guarding.	Small/10/10s	Lash at foes with a dark magic-based sword attack. Deals damage based on Mag.
Sublime Heaven	Large/20/20s	Slice apart the surrounding area with a flurry of strikes. Damage dealt will increase with Mag.
Swift Slice Effective vs All: Effective against all enemies.	Large/40/40s	Strike a wide area ahead with a series of slashes. Damage dealt will increase with Spd.
Sword Dance Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard.	Medium/15/15s	Slash while charging forward.
Grounder Wind Magic (Windtorn): Inflicts the windtorn status. Windtorn units take more damage when in the air.	Medium/15/15s	Generate a cyclone.
Wrath Strike Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Small/10/10s	Perform a powerful sword attack.

Lance Combat Arts

Combat arts that can be used when wielding a lance.

List of Lance Combat Arts

Combat Art	Might/Cost/CD	Description
Airshaker Guard Pierce: Inflicts damage even when opponent is guarding.	Medium/15/15s	Perform a powerful thrust that produces a shockwave.
Atrocity Effective vs All: Effective against all enemies.	Large/40/40s	Launch a wide swath of foes into the air.
Burning Quake Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack. Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard.	Large/20/20s	Launch a wide swath of foes into the air.
Dark Lance Dark Magic (Spellbound): Spellbinds the opponent. Spellbound units will move slowly, have reduced defense and resistance, and will not able to prevent damage even when guarding.	Small/10/10s	Send dark hexes flying at foes. Damage dealt will increase with Mag.
Earthsplitter	Small/10/10s	Perform an air-to-ground plunging thrust.
Frozen Lance Ice Magic (Frozen): Freezes the opponent. Frozen units are unable to move or attack.	Small/10/10s	Launch columns of ice at foes. Damage dealt will increase with Mag.
Glowing Ember Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack.	Medium/15/15s	Hurl a fiery lance straight ahead. Damage dealt will increase with Def.
Knightkneeler Effective vs Cavalry: Effective against mounted units. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Perform a powerful lance thrust.
Lance Jab Critical: High critical hit rate.	Medium/15/15s	Perform a thrusting attack that often yields critical hits. Damage dealt will increase with Spd.
Lightstrike Light Magic: Inflicts light magic damage on the opponent. Heal: Recovers the user's or an ally's HP.	Small/10/10s	Absorb a portion of inflicted damage as HP. Damage dealt will increase with Mag.
Paraselene Instant Kill: Has a chance to instantly defeat non-commander units. Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard.	Large/20/20s	Strike a wide area with a sweeping attack. Has a chance to instantly defeat non-commander units.
Ruined Sky Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard.	Large/20/20s	Hurl a magical lance straight ahead that bursts when it reaches its target.
Shatter Slash Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard. Weaken: Weakens the opponent.	Medium/15/15s	Perform a series of lance strikes that temporarily reduce enemy Def.
Stormblade Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Wind Magic (Windtorn): Inflicts the windtorn status. Windtorn units take more damage when in the air.	Medium/15/15s	Whip up a storm that ravages the surrounding area with blades of wind.
Tempest Lance Wind Magic (Windtorn): Inflicts the windtorn status. Windtorn units take more damage when in the air. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Medium/15/15s	Conjure up a whirlwind with an overhead spin of the lance.
Thunder Rush Lightning Magic (Shock): Shocks the opponent. Shocked units discharge electricity when sent flying, damaging units around them and rendering them shocked as well.	Medium/15/15s	Perform a series of lance strikes imbued with lightning.
Titanic Might Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	None/20/20s	Temporarily increase Str.
Vengeance	Medium/15/15s	An attack that increases in Mt in relation to the user's missing HP.
Wheelsweep	Medium/15/15s	Strike a wide area with a sweeping attack that also produces a shockwave.

Axe Combat Arts

Combat arts that can be used when wielding an axe.

List of Axe Combat Arts

Combat Art	Might/Cost/CD	Description
Apocalyptic Flame Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Hurl a flaming axe at the ground that creates a pillar of fire.
Armor Smasher Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard. Weaken: Weakens the opponent.	Large/20/20s	Hit foes hard with a single, powerful axe blow that temporarily reduces enemy Def.
Armored Strike Guard Pierce: Inflicts damage even when opponent is guarding.	Large/20/20s	Hit foes hard with a single, powerful axe blow. Damage dealt will increase with Def.
Crush Ice Magic (Frozen): Freezes the opponent. Frozen units are unable to move or attack.	Medium/15/15s	Smash the ground and generate pillars of ice.
Diamond Axe Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard.	Large/20/20s	Smash the ground so hard it displaces the earth.
Dust Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Medium/17/15s	Launch the foes ahead into the air, then smash the earth to hit them with the rubble.
Flickering Flower Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Break the enemy's stance, then hurl an axe at the ground.
Focused Strike	Medium/15/15s	Bring an axe down to cut through the foes ahead.
Helm Splitter Effective vs Armored Units: Effective against armored units. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Smash the foes ahead with a powerful overhead strike.
Invigorating Spirit Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	None/20/20s	Temporarily increases Str.
Lightning Axe Lightning Magic (Shock): Shocks the opponent. Shocked units discharge electricity when sent flying, damaging units around them and rendering them shocked as well. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Small/10/10s	Hurl a lightning-charged axe. Deals damage based on Mag.
Raging Storm Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack. Reduce Stun Gauge: Depletes the stun gauge.	Large/20/20s	Conjure up a whirlwind of fire straight ahead.
Returning Axe	Small/10/10s	Strike a wide area with a hurl of the axe.
Shredder	Small/10/10s	Cut enemies to shreds with a spinning axe attack.
Smash Critical: High critical hit rate.	Medium/15/15s	Pummel a wide area ahead. Often yields critical hits.
Spike	Medium/15/15s	Launch the foes into the air, then swat them away with a swing of the axe.
Swinging Fury Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Medium/15/15s	Effective against armored units.
War Strike Effective vs All: Effective against all enemies.	Large/30/30s	Bring an axe down so fiercely it sunders the ground and sends enemies flying into the air.
Wild Abandon	Medium/15/15s	Rip through foes with axe swings.

Bow Combat Arts

Combat arts that can be used when wielding a bow.

List of Bow Combat Arts

Combat Art	Might/Cost/CD	Description
Break Shot Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard. Weaken: Weakens the opponent.	Medium/15/15s	Send an exploding arrow toward enemies that temporarily reduces their Def.
Curved Shot Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers.	Small/10/10s	Unleash a volley of arrows that travels in a straight line.
Deadeye Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Guard Pierce: Inflicts damage even when opponent is guarding. Critical: High critical hit rate.	Large/20/20s	Perform a long-distance attack that yields critical hits.
Drill Arrow Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Effective vs Armored Units: Effective against armored units. Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard. Weaken: Weakens the opponent.	Medium/15/15s	Skewer foes with a blindingly fast arrow that temporarily reduces their Def.
Fallen Star Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers.	Large/20/20s	Rain down arrows of light on foes. Deals damage based on Mag.
Flame Volley Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack. Guard Pierce: Inflicts damage even when opponent is guarding.	Medium/15/15s	Attack a wide area with a volley of fire arrows.
Hide Presence Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	None/20/20s	Temporarily increase Str and Lck.
Hunter's Volley Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Critical: High critical hit rate.	Small/10/10s	Attack enemies launched into the air with three consecutive shots. Often yields critical hits.
Point-Blank Volley Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers.	Small/10/10s	Attack a wide forward area with three consecutive shots.
Precision Volley Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Guard Pierce: Inflicts damage even when opponent is guarding.	Large/20/20s	Perform a long-distance attack that hits multiple times. Deals damage based on Dex.
Spiral Shot Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers.	Medium/15/15s	Loose arrows at a wide surrounding area.
Thunderbolt Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Lightning Magic (Shock): Shocks the opponent. Shocked units discharge electricity when sent flying, damaging units around them and rendering them shocked as well.	Medium/15/15s	Fire a barrage of electrified arrows.
Tornado Shot Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Wind Magic (Windtorn): Inflicts the windtorn status. Windtorn units take more damage when in the air.	Medium/15/15s	Conjure a cyclone that launches enemies into the air.
Tracking Shot Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Reduce Stun Gauge: Depletes the stun gauge.	Small/10/10s	Send a series of arrows toward the locked-on target.
Waning Shot Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Instant Kill: Has a chance to instantly defeat non-commander units. Weaken: Weakens the opponent.	Medium/15/15s	Attack a wide forward area with three consecutive shots that temporarily reduce enemy Str.
Ward Arrow Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Weaken: Weakens the opponent.	Medium/15/15s	Attack enemies launched into the air with three consecutive shots that temporarily reduce their Mag.
Wind God Effective vs All: Effective against all enemies. Wind Magic (Windtorn): Inflicts the windtorn status. Windtorn units take more damage when in the air. Guard Pierce: Inflicts damage even when opponent is guarding.	Large/40/40s	Attack with a wind-imbued arrow that draws foes in and lands multiple hits.

Gauntlet Combat Arts

Combat arts that can be used when equipped with a pair of gauntlets.

List of Gauntlet Combat Arts

Combat Art	Might/Cost/CD	Description
Battle Trance Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	None/20/20s	Temporarily make it easier to fill the Warrior and Awakening Gauges.
Bombard Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard. Critical: High critical hit rate.	Medium/15/15s	Pummel the enemy with both fists. Often yields critical hits.
Draining Blow Heal: Recovers the user's or an ally's HP.	Small/10/10s	Absorb a portion of inflicted damage as HP.
Dual Devastators Reduce Stun Gauge: Depletes the stun gauge.	Medium/15/15s	Pummel the enemy with both fists. Deals damage to enemy Stun Gauges.
Eviscerate Effective vs All: Effective against all enemies. Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard.	Large/40/40s	Deals damage based on the higher of Str or Mag.
Fierce Iron Fist	Large/20/20s	Strike down at foes from midair. Damage dealt will increase with Spd.
Flamewhorl Kick Fire Magic (Burning): Burns the opponent, causing continual damage for a time. Burning units may combust if hit with a follow-up attack.	Medium/15/15s	Generate a fiery cyclone in front of the unit that launches enemies into the air.
Frozen Fist Ice Magic (Frozen): Freezes the opponent. Frozen units are unable to move or attack.	Medium/15/15s	Charge forward with fists of ice. Deals damage based on Mag.
Lightning Fist Effective vs Armored Units: Effective against armored units. Lightning Magic (Shock): Shocks the opponent. Shocked units discharge electricity when sent flying, damaging units around them and rendering them shocked as well.	Medium/15/15s	Launch foes into the air with an electrified punch, then create a shockwave on landing that sends them flying.
Mighty Blow Guard Break: Breaks opponent's guard.	Large/20/20s	Channel force into a perfectly executed punch.
Mystic Blow Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	Small/10/10s	Temporarily deal damage based on Mag.
Rushing Blow Cannot Guard: Opponents cannot guard. Reduce Stun Gauge: Depletes the stun gauge.	Small/10/10s	Charges forward with fists flying.
Steady Mind Strengthen: Strengthens the user.	None/20/20s	Temporarily increase Str.
Whirlwind Kick Effective vs Fliers: Effective against fliers. Wind Magic (Windtorn): Inflicts the windtorn status. Windtorn units take more damage when in the air.	Medium/15/15s	Generate a cyclone in front of the unit that draws enemies in and launches them into the air.

Triangle Attack