Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a strategy RPG made for the Nintendo Switch that makes you choose between three different houses to personally teach at. These are the Black Eagles, the Golden Deer, and the Blue Lions.

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While the Blue Lions are good students, sometimes you want to see what else is out there. This is why the game lets you recruit members from other houses. And with each character being different from the others, there are students that stand out above the rest and would definitely represent a greater benefit if you recruit them specifically instead of any other.

Updated March 22, 2023 by Ryan Bamsey: Years after the initial release of Three Houses, players are still flocking to the game to learn more about its colorful cast of characters. Of these, the students of the Blue Lions make a fantastic introduction, but there are some non-Blue Lions characters who deserve some attention. We've gone over this guide to make sure it's providing the best information.

How To Get A Character To Lower Their Requirements

Recruiting a character in fire emblem three houses

The first thing you need to know before trying to recruit someone is that the majority of the students will want you to have at least a C rank in the Skill they like. However, you can take advantage of the Support level a character has with Byleth to make things easier for you.

By reaching at least C Rank in Support through gifts, outings, dinners, parties, returning lost items, and having constant conversations, you can get most of the students to lower their individual requirements in their Stat and Skill of preference.

This is the rule: for each support level, the preferred Stat and Skill can go down one tier.

An important strategy for getting characters to join your house is to raise Byleth's support level with them to at least B rank - at this rank, the student has a chance to offer to join your house outright without worrying about Skills or Stats.

Lysithea - For Her Magic Abilities

Base Recruitment Requirements:

B Faith and 15 Mag

Originally a student from the Golden Deer House, the Double-Crested Lysithea is the first recruitment choice you should have as the Blue Lions' teacher. She is great with magic and the Blue Lions lacks an efficient offensive unit in that area (sorry, Annette).

Lysithea is also a Warp User and has an important Paralogue with Lorenz. She is considered a "Glass Cannon" which means that her offensive stats can be really high, but her defensive stats have a very low growth range, so avoid putting her on the front lines!

How to recruit her? In addition to the C support method explained above (she likes lilies and other flowers), you can recruit Lysithea if Byleth has a Magic Stat between 15 and 20 and a C Rank in Faith Skill.

Leonie - For An Ace Mounted Archer

Leonie from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

C Lance and 15 Str

A student from the Golden Deer House, Leonie is a great option if you want another great mounted attacker in the Blue Lions. She can become a Good Bow User to replace Ashe in that area and free up Felix and Mercedes who wouldn't have to fill the vacancy. In addition to Paladin, Leonie can easily work in the Bow Knight, Falcon Knight, and Wyvern Lord Classes.

Marianne - For Her Healing Capabilities

Marianne from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

C Riding and 10 Mag

Another student from the Golden Deer House, Marianne is a perfect choice (besides Linhardt) to add a Healer to the team. With her, you would have the advantage of having her Silence. She has three Blue Lions Support options and is a great option for Bishop or Holy Knight Class.

Linhardt - For His Healing And Warp

Linhardt from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

C Reason and 10 Mag

Originally from the Black Eagles House, Linhardt is another good second or even third option for a healer besides Marianne. By recruiting Linhardt, you gain access to his Warp. He is also a potential candidate for Bishop or Holy Knight.

How to recruit him? He likes tea, sweets, reading, and fishing -- useful information if you are planning to get a C Rank Support with him. Besides that, you will need to have a Magic Stat of 15-20 and a C Rank in the Reason Skill.

Dorothea - For Eventual Black Magic Prowess

Dorothea from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

B Authority and 25 Cha

Dorothea comes from the Black Eagles House. She is the perfect recruit for anyone wishing to further increase magical power in their House. Her ideal class is Mage and by putting her in Gremory Class's path, she becomes a great unit with access to Black Magic which leads her to achieve a Meteor Spell. She also has the Thoron spell. Dorothea performs well as a Dancer and has 3 Blue Lions Support.

Petra - For Another Flying Unit

Petra from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

C Riding and 10 Dex

When the game starts, you'll find Petra with the Black Eagles. She is a very good option if you want to have another Flying Unit alongside Ingrid and can replace Felix in certain aspects (even having more speed). She also makes for an effective Archer, with the Assassin class fitting her really well.

Caspar - For The Content

Caspar from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

C Brawling and 10 Str

Caspar brings a lot of content to the Blue Lions path. If you recruit him, you can unlock an exclusive cut scene thanks to a Paralogue he shares with Mercedes. As a fighter, he is a great option to have if you have Dedue occupying the Knight Class.

Lorenz - In Support Of Lysithea

Lorenz from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

C Reason and 20 Cha

It is best to recruit Lorenz to the Blue Lions House if Lysithea is also recruited because they have a Paralogue together and it unlocks some great items. Specifically, it helps to empower Lysithea by providing her with Thyrsus.

Hapi - Excellent All-Rounder

Hapi from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Base Recruitment Requirements:

She is free to recruit if you reach Chapter 5 of the Cindered Shadows Campaign.

Finally, if you have the DLC, you can't miss recruiting Hapi - a student from the Ashen Wolves. She is a Free Recruit that will be available in Chapter 5 of the Cindered Shadows Campaign. Her stats can reach very good levels, and she has a fantastic Physic + Warp + Dark Magic combination.

NEXT: Fire Emblem Three Houses: Secrets You Didn't Know About The Blue Lions Characters