For the Tactics Drill inHeroes, seeSkill Studies 38: Triangle Attack!.

TheTriangle Attack (Japanese:トライアングルアタックTriangle Attack) is a recurring special attack introduced inFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, in which groups of three related units can work together to unleash a single powerful blow on an enemy, achieved by surrounding their target in a triangular formation. The attack is primarily associated with characters of thePegasus Knight class and itsadvanced forms, but members of other classes have been able to perform it in certain games.

Overview

The Triangle Attack is activated with two simple steps. Two of the members of the trio must wait next to the chosen target (or both be next to them already when theirphase begins), then the third member of the trio must move to complete the formation andattack the target. The activation of a Triangle Attack is usually heralded by the initiating unit announcing the impending Triangle Attack, and in all appearances except the Tellius and DS games, the Attack itself usually features a special animation depicting all three participants striking the target.

In all of its appearances prior toEchoes: Shadows of Valentia (excludingGaiden), the successful activation of a Triangle Attack guarantees that the initiating unit will deal acritical hit to the enemy. The power of the Triangle Attack is determined solely by the initiating unit's attack power, with no influence from its partners. Except inGaiden, it does not otherwise boost the stats of any of the participating units or, if the units are too weak to actually normally deal damage to their target, allow them to avoid dealing zero damage; however, this is rarely a concern.

There are two possible formations in which Triangle Attacks can be performed. The formations (pictured to the right) can be rotated in any direction and will still work, and can be activated from any of the three sides, but otherwise need to be exactly matched.

• Formation A: The three participants are adjacent to the target, surrounding it at onerange.
• Formation B: The three participants are within 2 or 3 range of the target, based on the range of their equipped weapons; the area between the three participants must contain the target. This formation works only inPath of Radiance andRadiant Dawn, and is mandatory forRolf,Boyd andOscar's bow-based Triangle Attack.

InShadow Dragon andNew Mystery of the Emblem, any and all of the participants in a Triangle Attack can bereclassed, and none of them are required to be in their original class in order to activate it, nor do they have to use the same weapon type. However, because the Triangle Attack can only be performed at 1-range, the initiator can't be classed asArcher,Hunter orSniper as these classes are all bowlocked.

In its appearance inShadows of Valentia, the Triangle Attack is acombat art whichPalla,Catria, andEst each possess. As with all other combat arts, it must be activated on command when the three participants are in formation (Formation A only; Formation B does not work), costing 10 of the initiator'shit points to activate. Additionally, all three sisters need to be in flying classes (Pegasus Knight,Falcon Knight orHarrier); if they've beenpitchforked into a different path, then the Triangle Attack can't be performed. It is significantly less powerful than in prior games, only boosting the user'scritical rate instead of guaranteeing a critical hit. It also increases the initiator's attack power and hit rate for the duration of the attack, but like most combat arts, it is impossible tofollow-up attack with it.

The combat art iteration of the Triangle Attack returns inThree Houses, where it can be learned by any female unit by mastering thePegasus Knight class.

Combat art data

Game	Icon	Might	Hit	Crit	Avo /Crit Avo*	Range	Cost	Other effects and notes
Echoes: Shadows of Valentia		+8	+30	+40	+0	1	10HP	Cannot makefollow-up attacks. Can only be used if 2 other allied flying units with access to the art are also adjacent to the target. Initiator has to be in a flying class.
Three Houses		+8	+30	+40	+0	1	3durability	Cannot makefollow-up attacks. Can only be used if 2 other allied flying units are also adjacent to the target.

Possible users

Other appearances

Fire Emblem Cipher

The Triangle Attack is a recurring skill inFire Emblem Cipher, introduced in the first series. Although various variants of the skill exist inCipher, it and its variants are the sole instances of Formation Skills () in the game, which requires the user to tap two other eligible units to use. To use the FS-Triangle Attack, the playertaps all three members to expend their turn, which activates the powerful effect. At other times, the Triangle Attack is represented through other skills in Cipher, having existed in various forms such as[Activate] skills and[Always] skills.

These 3-card sets have a Triangle Attack as a skill. They require the presence of two other allies, bearing the other two Unit Names of the trio's members, to be present as allies to activate; however, these other two units do not necessarily to be cards that have Triangle Attack skills; simply having the correct Unit Name is sufficient:

• Palla,Catria, andEst in theirB01 3(2) Falcoknight cards, have the skill "Triangle Attack" as a[Trigger] skill, that activates when the initiator declares an attack. All three cards have the same effect on their Triangle Attack:
  • The initiator gains a +50 boost to the their attack for the duration of the combat, and prevents the foe from evading the attack.
• Oscar,Boyd, andRolf, in theirB03 3(2) cards (Paladin, Warrior and Sniper respectively), have the skill "Triangle Attack" as a[Trigger] skill, that activates when the initiator declares an attack. Uniquely, each of the three brothers activates a different effect if they are the one to initiate the Triangle Attack:
  • Oscar gains +40 attack for the duration of the combat, and stops all enemies in the Rearguard from being able to declare attacks until the end of the opponent's next turn.
  • Boyd gains +50 attack, and raises the number of Orbs he will break on a successful hit against the opponent's Main Character to 2 for the duration of the combat.
  • Rolf gains +30 attack for the duration of the combat, and prevents the foe from evading the attack.
• Shanna,Thea, andJuno, in theirB05 3(2) Falcoknight cards, respectively have the skill "Triangle Attack" as a[Trigger] skill, that activates when the initiator declares an attack. All three cards have the same effect on their Triangle Attack:
  • The initiator gains a +30 boost to the their attack for the duration of the combat, and prevents the foe from evading the attack.
• Palla,Catria, andEst, in theirB09 3(2) Falcoknight cards, have ""Combat Art: Triangle Attack" as a[Activate] skill that needs to be declared during the Action Phase. All three cards have the same effect for their Triangle Attack:
  • The initiator, and the two units tapped as part of the skill's cost, gain +30 attack until the end of the opponent's next turn.
• Banba,Fotla, andEriu, in theirB12 2-cost cards (Fire Mage, Wind Mage and Thunder Mage respectively) have the skills "Triangle of Fire", "Triangle of Wind" and "Triangle of Thunder" respectively, all of which are[Activate] skills that only require the user to tap themselves. However, attempting to use them without deploying the other members of the trio will cause the skill to do nothing:
  • Banba's "Triangle of Flame" destroys a non-Main Character enemy of the user's choice.
  • Fotla's "Triangle of Wind" destroys one of the opponent's Orbs of the user's choice.
  • Eriu's "Triangle of Thunder" forces the opponent to choose one of the cards in their Hand and send it to their Retreat Area.
• Florina,Fiora, andFarina, in theirB13 3(2) Falcoknight cards, respectively}} have the skill "Three-Winged Triangle Attack" as a[Activate] skill that needs to be declared during the Action Phase. All three cards have the same effect for their Triangle Attack:
  • The initiator, and the two units tapped as part of the skill's cost, gain +30 attack until the end of the opponent's next turn.
• Est,Catria, andPalla, in theirB15 4(3) Dracoknight cards, have "Three-Wyrm Triangle Attack" as an[Always] skill that functions passively. All three cards have the same effect for their Triangle Attack:
  • This unit gains +30 attack as long as the other two members of the trio exist as allies.
• Bors,Barthe, andGwendolyn, in theirB16 3(2) General cards, have "Armored Lance Triangle Attack" as an[Always] skill that functions passively. All three cards have the same effect for their Triangle Attack:
  • This unit gains +30 attack as long as the other two members of the trio exist as allies.

Additionally, there are three cards that have Triangle Attack-type skills, but are not printed as a set of three along with cards of the other participants also with Triangle Attack-type skills:

• Barst (B01-021HN The Hatchet) has the skill "BordCordBarst" as a[Trigger] skill, that activates when Barst declares an attack. Only Barst has the skill, but it still requires tapping allied Bord and Cord to function: When activated, Barst gains +50 attack, and raises the number of Orbs he will break on a successful hit against the opponent's Main Character to 2 for the duration of the combat.
• Emma (B04-099HN A Dark Flier, Every Once in a While) has the skill "Triangle Attack?" which spoofs a regularCipher Triangle Attack. If the player has two spare Emma cards in their hand, they may reveal them to give Emma a +20 attack boost for the rest of the turn. This skill can only be used once per turn.
  • This skill eventually became the basis for theSolo Triangle Attackcombat art inEchoes: Shadows of Valentia
• Caeda (B22-015R Wings Linking the World with Love) has the skill "Triangle Attack of Love" as an[Activate] skill. At any point during her turn, Caeda can tap two other allies who are. If she does, until the end of turn, all of her attacks cannot be avoided.

Fire Emblem Heroes

InFire Emblem Heroes,Wedding-Bell Axe features the Triangle Attack status effect. It grants the unit the ability to attack twice when they initiate combat within two spaces of at least two allies with the status.

Flavor text

Trivia

• A trio ofPegasus Knights appearing inTearRing Saga: Yutona Heroes War Chronicles,Mahter,Frau andVerna, can also perform a triangle attack-like maneuver, requiring the same formation and granting a critical hit as in theFire Emblem series.
• In all of its appearances where the Triangle Attack guarantees acritical hit, exceptGenealogy of the Holy War, the Triangle Attack's guaranteed critical hit overrides any effect that would prevent critical hits; both restrictions inherent to the user's weapon or the target's skills or equipment are ignored.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  A Triangle Attack inGaiden.
• 
  A Triangle Attack inMystery of the Emblem (click image to view animation).
• 
  A Triangle Attack performed byKnights inThe Binding Blade.
• 
  A Triangle Attack inThe Blazing Blade.
• 
  A Triangle Attack on the map inThe Sacred Stones.
• 
  A Triangle Attack inThe Sacred Stones.
• 
  The Holy Guard Triangle Attack inPath of Radiance.
• 
  The brothers' Triangle Attack inPath of Radiance.
• 
  A Triangle Attack (start-up) inEchoes: Shadows of Valentia.
• 
  A Triangle Attack (formation) inEchoes: Shadows of Valentia.
• 
  A Triangle Attack (strike) inEchoes: Shadows of Valentia.
• 
  A Triangle Attack inWarriors.

References

See also

• Combination bonus
• Solo Triangle Attack