Terrain (Japanese:地形効果terrain effect) is a mechanic which influences how units interact with and are affected by the terrain of the world around them as they progress through battles. Different types of terrain can impair how far a unit canmove across the battlefield in a single turn, but conversely hiding in rougher terrain also helps units better defend themselves from enemy attack.

Overview

Every space/tile on a chapter's map is classified as a type of terrain, and accordingly brings with it a set of properties which influence the stats of a unit who stands on or passes across it in several ways. Some recurring terrain types include:

• Plain orGrassland: The default terrain type; a neutral terrain with no effect on units' stats that allows them to move unhindered.Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light andMystery of the Emblem give Plain tiles a small avoid bonus.
• Floor: Tiles that serve a similar purpose to plain tiles, mostly appearing in indoor maps. InMystery of the Emblem andThracia 776, mounted units cannot move when on floor tiles and mustdismount.
• Forest orWoods: A forest-covered tile which hinders movement through it, but in exchange the trees grant a unit defensive cover. In indoor maps,Pillar tiles perform a similar role.
• Mountain: Hilly terrain which can be crossed by infantry units, but hinder movement even more than forests; they also give defensive cover.Horse-mounted units cannot cross mountains at all untilpromotion, while armored units such asKnights andGenerals are entirely unable to cross them in most titles.
• Peak: Large, towering mountains which cannot be crossed by the majority of units who fight on the ground. Only flying units,Brigands, andBerserkers can cross peaks.
• Sea: Bodies of water can only be crossed by a handful of infantry classes, although very slowly and often only one tile per turn.Pirates andBerserkers have a much easier time crossing water, and flying units are again able to cross. Select maps label these tiles asLake orWater.
• Desert: Sandy terrain that is difficult for most units to cross. Magic-using infantry, such asMages andClerics, and flying units generally suffer no movement penalty, while other infantry move with more difficulty, while armored or horse-mounted units such asKnights orCavaliers can barely move at all. Most games feature one or two chapters with this type of terrain.
• Fort: These small defensive fortresses can protect a single unit, boosting their defenses and healing them slightly at the start of every turn.
• Wall: Solid stone walls which cannot be crossed at all, except by flying units (and even then, most of the time they are disallowed). Usually they can only be crossed by unlocking doors or breaking cracked sections to clear a path. In outdoor maps,Thicket tiles—particularly thick forest tiles—perform a similar role and also cannot be crossed.
• Stairs: This terrain type, which only appears indoors, offers no bonuses but is notable as frequently being points wherereinforcements appear.

Movement cost

The primary effect terrain holds on gameplay is the concept ofmovement cost orterrain penalty, the effect it holds over a unit'smovement range. The movement cost value, associated directly with the terrain type, determines how many movement points held by a unit are consumed when attempting to cross a tile. The standard cost for basic plains terrain is 1 movement point per tile, and thus has no tangible penalty. Other terrain types such as forests have a higher movement cost, typically requiring 2 movement per forest tile crossed, and thus limit the unit's movement distance should they be moved in that direction.

For example (pictured):Lewyn possesses 6 movement. On normal plains terrain, this allows him to move a maximum of six tiles away from his starting point, at a cost of one movement per plains tile (pictured: his movement range to his left). However, were he to cross through two forest tiles, he would only be able to move a maximum of four tiles as each forest tile has a cost of two movement per tile (pictured: his downward movement range).

Different classes typically have different movement costs depending on the terrain. Typically, armored units likeKnights and horse-mounted units likeCavaliers andTroubadours are penalized more for crossing forests and are incapable of crossing mountains at all, flying units likePegasus Knights andWyvern Riders are not hindered at all by terrain penalties, and non-mounted magic units are significantly less affected by the severe movement cost of desert terrain.

Unique toGenealogy of the Holy War is the road terrain, the only terrain which has a movement cost less than 1: for all non-flying units, the terrain cost for roads is 0.7 movement per tile, boosting their movement by a factor of nearly 1.43 while traversing roads in comparison to typical terrain. With the assistance of an unbroken stretch of road terrain, a unit's movement can be boosted by 2 or 3 tiles.

Stat boosts and reductions

Acting as compensation for the movement impairment, various terrain types offer temporary, minor bonuses to a unit while they stand on the terrain. These typically come in the form of stat increases toavoid anddefense, and less frequently,resistance; this encourages players to have their units end their turns under the cover of defense-boosting terrain, and is a valuable asset to units with inherently low defenses. The most common forms of defense-aiding terrain are forests, mountains and forts.

Less commonly, certain terrain types will heal a small amount ofHP to units who stand on them at the beginning of theirturn, often in addition to defensive boosts. The most frequent form of terrain to do this is forts, with most chapter maps having several forts scattered across them. Gates and thrones, the typical goals ofseize-objective chapters, also restore HP to their occupier, adding to the challenge of defeating thebosses situated on top of them. Some other games have their own unique HP-restoring terrain, such as the healhedges of theTellius duology and the castles ofGenealogy of the Holy War.

Some terrain may damage units that start their turns atop it. Swamps inGaiden, for example, deal 5 damage to units at the start of their turn, while lava inFates reduces a unit's HP by 10%. Damaging terrain rarely has any direct benefits, as it is typically also more costly to move through and imposes penalties to defense and avoid. Like other penalties, flying units generally do not suffer damage from terrain. Damage from terrain cannot reduce a unit's HP to 0.

Altitude

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is the onlyFire Emblem game which takes varying heights of different parts of the map into account, giving further boosts and penalties against units depending on their level of elevation; this mechanic tends to be common in other strategy RPGs, but is absent fromFire Emblem outside ofRadiant Dawn. When a unit attacks their foe from a higher elevation on the map, their damage output,hit rate andavoid are all boosted, while their foe's hit rate and avoid are lowered; conversely, attacking a foe who is positioned higher up than the unit will reduce the unit's hit rate and avoid, while their foe benefits from the height advantage. Attacking an enemy on the same plane will award no height bonuses either way.

Terrain stats by game

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  Icon for forest terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for grassland terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for sea terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for sky terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for village terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for arena terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for castle terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for floor terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for fort terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for mountain terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for river terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for stairs terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
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  Icon for pillar terrain fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.

References

See also

• Castle
• Movement
• Dragon Vein