Dark Mage

Name (JP)	(ダークマージ, Dāku Māji)
First Seen	Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Promotes From	Loptyrian Mage (FE5 only) Mage (FEW3H only)
Promotes To	Sorcerer (FE11-14) Dark Knight (FE13-14) Dark Bishop (FE16)
Usable Weapon Types	Dark Fire (FE5 onwards) Thunder (FE5 onwards) Wind (FE5 onwards) Staff (FE3-5) Tome Reason(FE16 only) Faith(FE16 only)
Class Skills	Hex (FE13 only) Anathema (FE13 only) Heartseeker (FE14 only) Malefic Aura (FE14 only)
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The Dark Mage is a magical combat class that appears across the Fire Emblem series. Dark Mages have access to the ability to cast Dark Magic. The class is functionally similar to the Shaman class seen in the GBA-era titles.

Dark Mages commonly promote into Sorcerers in most games where they are available, and the Dark Knight class introduced in Fire Emblem Awakening serves as an alternate promotion option.

Quick Answers

What is the primary weapon of choice for Dark Mages in the Fire Emblem series?

Dark Mages in the Fire Emblem series primarily utilize Dark Magic, known for its high damage output but less accuracy. Despite the weight and inaccuracy of Dark Magic, Dark Mages usually maintain sufficient accuracy for consistent hits. Occasionally, Thunder Magic is also employed as a secondary weapon by Dark Mages.

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What spells do Dark Mages have exclusive access to in Fire Emblem?

In Fire Emblem, Dark Mages have exclusive access to Dark Magic spells. These include Miasma Δ, accessible to male units through a Dark Seal, and Nosferatu and Mire. They can also use monster attacks like Evil Eye, Demon Surge, and Crimson Eye, classified as Dark Magic. The base game includes only one Dark tome, Nosferatu.

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How do Dark Mages compensate for their lower Magic compared to Anima counterparts?

Despite having lower Magic, Dark Mages compensate with superior Defense. They typically promote to Sorcerers or Dark Knights in different games. They wield Dark Magic, which, while heavier and less accurate, has higher power and unique abilities like hit point drain. Dark Magic is superior to Anima magic, but is vulnerable to Light magic.

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Into what class do Dark Mages commonly promote in most Fire Emblem games?

In the majority of Fire Emblem games, Dark Mages typically promote into the Sorcerer class. However, in newer 3DS versions, they have an alternate promotion option to become Dark Knights. They are seen as the equivalent of the Shaman class from the GBA games, utilizing Dark Magic in combat.

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What is the difference between Dark Mages and their Anima counterparts in Fire Emblem?

In Fire Emblem, Dark Mages possess lower Magic than Anima counterparts but compensate with increased Defense. They typically promote into Sorcerers, with Dark Knights as an alternate promotion in recent 3DS games. Equipped with Dark Magic, Dark Mages are akin to the Shaman class from GBA titles, with unique access to spells like Nosferatu and Mire.

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History in the Series

The Dark Mage class first appeared in Mystery of the Emblem, where it is an enemy-only variant of the Bishop class that is used by Gharnef and the priests of Dolhr in the later parts of Book 2.

In Genealogy of the Holy War, the class is again enemy-only and wields enemy-exclusive Dark Magic, with the Dark Bishop being its promoted equivalent.

The Dark Mage class is made playable for the first time in Thracia 776, where it is a promotion from the Loptyrian Mage class. In this entry, the class first became capable of wielding Anima as well as Dark magic, becoming the class standard going forward.

The Dark Mage class next appeared in Shadow Dragon, where it promotes into Sorcerer. No unit starts as a Dark Mage by default, but units may reclass into it.

In New Mystery of the Emblem, the class acts as it does in Shadow Dragon, and again, while no player unit is a Dark Mage by default, units can be reclassed into becoming one. As enemies, Dark Mages appear on maps where they hadn't before in the original Mystery of the Emblem, while Dark Mages that appeared in the original are replaced with the stronger Sorcerer class.

In Awakening and Fates, the Dark Mage class is again playable, and can promote into either Sorcerer or, for the first time, Dark Knight. When promoted to Dark Knight, the former Dark Mage loses access to Dark Magic but gains access to a horse mount and the ability to wield swords.

In Fates, the Dark Mage class is treated as a Nohrian class. Its Hoshidan counterpart is the Diviner.

In the spin-off Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, the Dark Mage Tharja from Awakening appears as the Mirage partner of Kiria Kurono. Tharja can promote into either a Sage or Sorcerer. The Dark Mage also appears as an enemy Mirage in Illusionary Daitama and is considered the weakest of enemies second only to the Blob Mirages. A stronger variant, the Red Mage, is found in Illusory Daitou TV.

In the spin-off Fire Emblem Warriors, the Dark Mage class is considered an infantry unit that uses Tomes. It is the base class of Tharja and, fittingly enough, acts as a clone of the Tactician class.

In Three Houses, Dark Mage is an optional, male-only promoted class of the Commoner or Noble class accessible if the unit passes the Certification Exam at Lv. 10 with a Reason Skill Level of C or higher and a Dark Seal.

In the spin-off Three Hopes, the Dark Mage class returns. While still locked to male units, the class is now an Advanced class that requires having mastered the Mage class in addition to an Advanced Seal. A difference the Dark Mage have with most tome classes is that they have access to Cavalry Buster Lv 3 instead of Bow Buster Lv. 3.

Other Series

In TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga the Dark Mage is an enemy-only class with the Dark Bishop class as the promoted equivalent; the player is granted access to Dark Magic through the Witch class instead.

In TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga, Dark Mages are associated with the Raze clergy and come in two varieties: the Raze Monk and the Raze Priest. The former is an enemy-only class that can only use Dark magic, whereas the latter can also use Fire, Wind, and Thunder magic and has a slightly different palette. Though Olwen is a High Priest, he has the ability to transform into a Raze Priest. If he's not permanently recruited, the transformation occurs automatically on turn 20, and he becomes an enemy unit for the rest of the battle. This limitation is removed once he's permanently recruited, giving him the ability to switch between his High Priest and Raze Priest forms at will, both under full player control.

Uniform

To match their name, Dark Mages are typically heavily cloaked and hooded to demonstrate their role as a mainly sinister-looking class that wields dark magics.

In Awakening, their clothes under their cloaks consist of revealing, tight clothing as well as black lace and sewn-in gold inspired off clothing used by priests from ancient civilizations. In place of a hood, they wear an additional dragon headpiece to show their allegiance to the Fell Dragon Grima and emphasize the fact that most (if not all) playable and enemy Dark Mages are from Plegia, whose culture and architecture is based off of ancient Egypt. This is further supported by the fact that male Dark Mages sport

shendyt

s, an Egyptian skirt worn by men of that era.

Dark Mages from Fates are largely the same as Awakening although they now have a more European design, with a new clothed headdress replacing the Grima inspired one.

Dark Mages in Three Houses return to their heavily cloaked design from previous games, though now they don a plague doctor-esque crow mask to conceal their faces further. In most cases, dark mages are part of Those Who Slither in the Dark, a mysterious faction led by Thales that oppose the goddess.

In-Game

Base Stats

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE3	26	5	-	1	3	0	8	8	6	-	-	Tome/Staff 6	-
FE4	40	0	10	8	8	0	7	10	5	-	-	B B	-
FE5	24	0	5	4	3	0	4	-	6	5	-	E E E C C	-
TS	20	0	5	5	4	0	3	-	?	-	-	5	-
FE11	16	0	2	1	3	0	4	3	6	-	-	E	-
FE12	16	0	2	1	3	0	4	3	6	-	-	E	-
FE13	18	1	3	2	3	0	4	4	5	-	-	E	-
FE14	16	0	6	3	3	1	3	5	5	-	-	E	-
FE16	25	4	10	7	6	8	3	5	4	-	-	C	0
FEW	62	3	9	4	7	4	6	10	5	-	-	E	-

Maximum Stats

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE3	52	20	-	20	20	20	20	20	6	-	-	Tome/Staff 20	-
FE4	80	15	25	23	23	30	22	25	5	-	-	B B	-
FE5	80	20	20	20	20	20	20	-	20	20	-	A A A A A	-
TS	60	15	20	20	19	30	18	-	12	-	-	20	-
FE11	60	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	6	-	-	A	-
FE12	60	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	6	-	-	A	-
FE13	60	20	27	25	25	30	25	27	5	-	-	A	-
FE14	35	19	24	16	19	18	19	22	5	-	-	B	-

Growth Rates

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE3	40%	20%	-	30%	10%	0%	20%	40%	-	-	-	-	-
FE4	100%	10%	30%	30%	30%	0%	10%	30%	-	-	-	-	-
FE5	30%	3%	20%	10%	10%	10%	5%	-	0%	-	-	-	-
FE11	20%	-15%	20%	20%	20%	0%	-15%	20%	-	-	-	-	-
FE12	20%	-15%	20%	20%	20%	0%	-15%	20%	-	-	-	-	-
FE13	50%	5%	15%	15%	15%	0%	10%	10%	-	-	-	-	-
FE14	0%	10%	20%	0%	10%	0%	5%	10%	-	-	-	-	-
FE16	5/10%	-5%	10%	5/0%	0%	0%	-5/-10%	5/35%	-	-	-	+2 +1	0%
FEW3H	10%	0%	30%	15%	0%	0%	0%	20%	-	-	-	-	0%

Class Modifiers

	HP	Str	Mag	Skl	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Con	Wt	Wlv	Cha
FE16	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	-	-	-	0
FEW3H	0	0	6	3	0	0	0	5	2	-	-	-	0

Class Skills

	Skill	Requirements
FE13	Hex Anathema	Learnt at Level 1. Learnt at Level 10.
FE14	Heartseeker Malefic Aura	Learnt at Level 1 and above. Learnt at Level 10 and above.
FE16	Miasma Δ Heartseeker Poison Strike	Class ability of dark mages. Class ability of dark mages. Mastery ability of dark mages.
FEW3H	Miasma Δ Dark Magic Mastery Essence of Darkness Poison Strike Bolganone Thoron Ragnarok Bolting Excalibur Agnea's Arrow Death Γ Dark Mage's Ploy Dark Mage's Wisdom Apex Tome Lifetaker Transmute	Class ability. Class ability. 1-star Class Mastery for Shez, Hubert and Jeritza. 1-star Class Mastery for most units. 1-star Class Mastery for Ferdinand and Linhardt. 1-star Class Mastery for Jeralt. 1-star Class Mastery for Sylvain. 1-star Class Mastery for Holst. 1-star Class Mastery for Claude, Yuri and Seteth. 1-star Class Mastery for Lorenz. 1-star Class Mastery for Hubert. 2-star Class Mastery for certain units. 2-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for Hubert. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units. 3-star Class Mastery for certain units.

Promotions

	Base Class	Promotion Method	Promoted Class
FE5	Loptyrian Mage	Use a Knight Proof on a Level 10+ Loptyrian Mage.	Dark Mage
FE11	Dark Mage	Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Dark Mage.	Sorcerer
FE12	Dark Mage	Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Dark Mage.	Sorcerer
FE13	Dark Mage	Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Dark Mage.	Sorcerer Dark Knight
FE14	Dark Mage	Use a Master Seal on a Level 10+ Dark Mage.	Sorcerer Dark Knight
FE16	Any class	Use a Dark Seal on a Level 10+ unit and pass the Dark Mage Certification Exam.	Dark Mage
FEW	Dark Mage	Use a Master Seal on Tharja.	Sorcerer
FEW3H	Mage	Use an Advanced Seal on a male unit that has mastered the Mage class.	Dark Mage
FEW3H	Dark Mage	Use a Master Seal on a male unit that has mastered the Dark Mage class.	Dark Bishop

Notable Dark Mages

Mystery of the Emblem

• Gharnef - The Dark Pontifex who wishes to revive Medeus and destroy the world.*

*Gharnef is a Bishop in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and a Sorcerer in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem.

Genealogy of the Holy War

• Sandima: Member of the Lopto Sect who manipulated the country of Verdane.

Thracia 776

• Promotion for: Salem

TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga

• Olwen: A gentle Verian priest suffering from a curse placed on him by the Raze church.*

*Olwen is a High Priest but can transform into a Raze Priest.

Awakening

• Tharja - A moody mage from Plegia with a dark side and a possessive streak, especially with Robin.
• Henry - A mage with a bright grin and a taste for the gruesome in battle.
• Chalard - A Grimleal priest attempting to capture Nowi.

Fates

• Nyx - A recluse fortune-teller woman of age who was cursed to retain her youthful image.
• Odin - A familiar eccentric man from a distant land and one of Leo's retainers who tends to be overly theatrical.
• Ophelia - Odin's daydreaming daughter who applies a flair for the dramatic to her magic.
• Zola - A mage in service of King Garon who specializes in deceptive illusions.

Gallery

Concept artwork of the male Dark Mage class from Awakening.

The second set of concept artwork of the female variant of the Dark Mage class from Awakening.

Concept art of a female Dark Mage from Fates.

A Level 10 generic Dark Mage, as he appears in the fifth series of the TCG.

Generic CG portrait of the Dark Mage class from TearRing Saga

Generic portrait of the Raze Priest class from TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga

Generic CG portrait of the Dark Mage class from the DS titles.

Battle model of the Dark Mage class from TearRing Saga.

Battle model of Laurent, a male Dark Mage from Awakening.

Generic class portrait of a Dark Mage from Fates.

Battle model of Nyx, a female Dark Mage from Fates.

Battle model of Linhardt as a Dark Mage in Fire Emblem Three Houses

Map sprite of the Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.

Map sprite of the Dark Mage class from TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga.

Map sprite of the Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem.

Map sprite of the female Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem Awakening.

The first set of concept artwork of the female Dark Mage class from Awakening.

Concept artwork of the female variant of the Dark Mage class from Fates

Concept art of a male Dark Mage from Fates.

A Level 1 generic Dark Mage, as he appears in the first series of the TCG.

Generic CG portrait of the Dark Mage class from Genealogy of the Holy War.

Second portrait of the Raze Priest class from TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga

Generic portrait of the Dark Mage class from Awakening.

Battle model of the Raze Priest class from Berwick Saga

Henry's unique Dark Mage model from Awakening.

Battle model of Tharja, a female Dark Mage from Awakening.

Battle model of Odin, a male Dark Mage from Fates.

Generic portrait of the Dark Mage class from Three Houses.

Map sprite of the Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

Map sprite of the Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.

Map sprite of the Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.

Map sprite of the male Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem Awakening.

Map sprite of the male Dark Mage class from Fire Emblem Fates.