Dalvin (Japanese:ロドルバンRoddlevan) is anIsaachian warrior, the twin brother ofCreidne and a member of PrinceShannan's anti-Grannvale resistance army atTirnanog. When Tirnanog was besieged by theDozel occupation army, he set out withSeliph and his sister to repel them and free Isaach, initiating Seliph's liberation war.

Dalvin isScáthach'ssubstitute character, filling his role in the story and gameplay ifAyra died or failed to be married in the course of the first generation.

Biography

While scouting, Dalvin observed the approach of KingDanann's Grannvale forces towardTirnanog and reported back this news, observing that it had been discovered as the hideout of Shannan's rebellion. On Shannan's orders in lieu of his absence, he strongly advised caution until such a time as Shannan and Oifey returned, but was overruled by Creidne and Seliph's insistence, and so departed with the two andLana to take on Grannvale.

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

Role

Dalvin is a playable character during the second generation. AsScáthach'ssubstitute character, Dalvin only appears ifAyra wasn't married or was dead at the end ofChapter 5. He is available from the start ofChapter 6.

Starting stats and growth rates

Sword Fighter Level 1 Holy Blood -- Movement 6

Recruitment:Chapter 6, automatically from the start StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 30 Speed 13 Strength 10 Luck 4 Magic 0 Defense 8 Skill 13 Resistance 0 Max HP 80% Speed 30% Strength 30% Luck 20% Magic 5% Defense 30% Skill 50% Resistance 5% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Skills Iron Blade 2,000Gold Follow-Up Vantage Weapon Levels A -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Promotion stat gains

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
Forrest	+0	+5	+3	+2	+2	+0	+2	+3	+0	A

Love growths and events

Dalvin Sword Fighter Lana/Muirne Initial: 0 Per turn: 2 Creidne Initial: -- Per turn: -- Julia Initial: 0 Per turn: 0 Fee/Hermina Initial: 0 Per turn: 2 Patty/Daisy Initial: 0 Per turn: 2 Patty/Daisy Initial: 0 Per turn: 2 Nanna/Jeanne Initial: 0 Per turn: 2 Lene/Laylea Initial: 0 Per turn: 2 Tine/Linda Initial: 0 Per turn: 3 {{{portrait9}}} {{{option9}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints9}}} Per turn: + {{{portrait10}}} {{{option10}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints10}}} Per turn: + Tine/Linda Initial: 0 Per turn: 3 {{{portrait9}}} {{{option9}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints9}}} Per turn: + {{{portrait10}}} {{{option10}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints10}}} Per turn: + {{{portrait11}}} {{{option11}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints11}}} Per turn: + {{{portrait12}}} {{{option12}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints12}}} Per turn: + {{{portrait13}}} {{{option13}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints13}}} Per turn: + {{{portrait14}}} {{{option14}}} Initial: {{{initialpoints14}}} Per turn: +

• InChapter 6, Dalvin can talk to Creidne at any time, giving her +1Luck.
• InChapter 7, Dalvin has a hidden conversation withTristan if both are under Level 10. After Melgen Castle has been seized, if Tristan waits next to Dalvin, a conversation will occur which grants Tristan +2Strength and +1Speed andDefense, and grants Dalvin +2 Strength, +1Skill and Defense.
• In theEndgame, if they are lovers,Lana orMuirne can initiate a conversation with Dalvin, awarding him +5Resistance.

Analysis

Dalvin is a substitute unit available for the entirety ofGenealogy's second generation, and his best trait is hisFollow-Up skill. Thanks toFollow-Up, Dalvin can double enemies, and he does so reliably, because he uses swords – one of the lightest weapon types in the game. Dalvin's base speed is also quite good, so even though his growth is not very high, he meets the necessaryattack speed thresholds to double most enemies he faces. Moreover, Dalvin has an A rank in swords, so he can use every sword except for Holy Weapons and theMiracle Sword (which is locked to female units). While being a substitute unit prevents him from inheriting powerful swords, Dalvin can usually clear the arena or at least most of it, so he can typically afford good swords.

Dalvin hasVantage, which allows him to attack first on enemy phase when on low HP. If he is using a powerful sword from the first generation with theCritical skill unlocked, such as aBrave Sword or aSilver Sword, he can potentially one-shot an enemy trying to attack him with a critical hit before he can take damage – however, this is not reliable, as it depends on him activating Critical. Without a powerful sword with Critical unlocked, Dalvin lacks the attacking power to one-shot his attackers, so Vantage only lets him deal some damage to whoever strikes him before he takes the hit, making it not very useful.

Dalvin's most significant downside is that he is an infantry unit. Infantry units perpetually fall behind onGenealogy's sprawling maps, and Dalvin has no way of catching up without theLeg Ring, a highly contested item that most players give toSeliph to let him reach and seize castles faster. Aside from that, Dalvin's durability is not very good, because his resistance is terrible and his defense is mediocre. This lack of durability prevents him from engaging too many enemies on enemy phase, as he has a good chance of dying in the process. He is quite good in the arena, but his lack of durability can prevent him from winning some fights, and he is highly dependent on having a good sword, as his only offensive skill isFollow-Up. These drawbacks make Dalvin one of the worst substitute units, as while his combat is not terrible, he struggles to get to the action and cannot engage too many enemies when he does reach them.

Personality

According to Seliph and Creidne, under most circumstances Dalvin is hot-headed and eager when it comes to battle; however, this is balanced and sometimes outweighed by his sense of duty. To this end, when both Creidne and Seliph were calling for departing to respond to the impending Grannvale assault on Tirnanog, he was uncharacteristically reluctant to allow them to just leap into battle, as Shannan had tasked him with protecting Seliph in his absence.^[1] He tries to act friendly toTristan, but his actions consistently annoy the latter, causing Tristan to act hostile and disinterested when Dalvin attempts to converse; Dalvin appears to be somewhat thoughtless in his comments about Tristan.^[2]

Endings

Genealogy of the Holy War

If Shannan is alive

And so, with Shannan assuming the crown,

Dalvin, the dutiful swordsman,
Dalvin's lover, Dalvin's wife,
[...]

and others by his side to restore the land, they also strove for a new age of diplomacy and trade, seeking to build a wealthy nation.

If Shannan is dead

Aided by, among others,

Dalvin, the dutiful swordsman,
Dalvin's lover, Dalvin's wife,
[...]

Seliph assumed control of Isaach. He set to work forging a good government for this impoverished land, which someday will amass incredible wealth and become one of Jugdral's most central powers. And so, together with Seliph, the people chose to become one with the new Kingdom of Grannvale.

Quotes

Death quotes

Choose Your Legends placement history

Round	Placement	Character	Votes

CYL 1 (2017)

768

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

35

CYL 2 (2018)

811

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

15 (−20)

CYL 3 (2019)

675 (−18)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

29 (+14)

CYL 4 (2020)

772 (+15)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

11 (−18)

CYL 5 (2021)

799 (+27)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

14 (+3)

CYL 6 (2022)

773 (−28)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

22 (+8)

CYL 7 (2023)

835 (+62)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

5 (−17)

CYL 8 (2024)

695 (−140)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

41 (+36)

CYL 9 (2025)

788 (+93)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

20 (−21)

CYL 10 (2026)

776 (−12)

Dalvin Genealogy of the Holy War

15 (−5)

Total results		This character has 10 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls.	207

Trivia

• Dalvin finished in last place of the 774 characters from across theFire Emblem series featured in the fourthChoose Your Legends poll forFire Emblem Heroes, with a total of 11 votes; he is tied for this placing withHalcyon andHayden.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

Sprite Gallery
Sword Fighter Forrest Sword (Steel Sword orBlade) Sword (Steel Sword orBlade)

Official artwork

• 
  Artwork of Dalvin fromTreasure.
• 
  Artwork of Dalvin from theTrading Card Game.

References

This article is part ofProject Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in theFire Emblem series.