Game Guides

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - How to Recruit Every Character

Gotta catch ‘em all.

by Hayes Madsen
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Nintendo

Like every game in the series, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance absolutely spoils you for choice with playable characters. As you fight the evil Daein Empire, you’ll slowly build Ike’s army with a real smorgasbord of weirdos — from bumbling knights hooked on gambling, to slightly racist archers. And since Path of Radiance can be a pretty difficult game, you’ll want every tool in your toolbox. With that in mind, and the game now on Nintendo Switch 2, we’ve crafted a guide on how to recruit the over 30 unique characters in the game.

All Recruitable Characters in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Just as a note, this list doesn’t include the characters that you already have from the start of the game — those being Ike, Titania, Boyd, Oscar, and Soren. And spoiler warning, Shinon and Gatrie leave early on and need to be re-recruited later in the game.

  • Chapter 7 - Mia (Myrmidon) - Allied NPC you need to talk to with Ike.
  • Chapter 8 - Ilyana (Mage) - Enemy NPC you need to talk to with Ike, she will attack until you do.
  • Chapter 9 - Mist (Cleric) - Joins automatically at start of battle.
  • Chapter 9 - Rolph (Archer) - Joins automatically at start of battle.
  • Chapter 9 - Marcia (Pegasus Knight) - You first must talk to Marcia with Ike in Chapter 3. After that, she’s an allied NPC in Chapter 9. Talk again with Ike.
  • Chapter 10 - Lethe (Beast Tribe Cat) - Lethe must survive Chapter 9, then joins automatically.
  • Chapter 10 - Mordecai (Beast Tribe Tiger) - Mordecai must survive Chapter 9, then joins automatically.
  • Chapter 10 - Volke (Thief) - During his base conversation, agree to hire him.
  • Chapter 11 - Kieran (Axe Knight) - During Chapter 10, open his prison cell and make sure he survives. Then joins automatically.
  • Chapter 11 - Brom (Knight) - During Chapter 10, open his prison cell and make sure he survives. Then joins automatically.
  • Chapter 11 - Nephenee (Soldier) - During Chapter 10, open her prison cell and make sure he survives. Then joins automatically.

Nephenee has some of the best growth rates in the entire game — and even though you have to put in work, she can be an absolute powerhouse by the end.

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  • Chapter 11 - Zihark (Myrmidon) - Enemy NPC, talk to him with Lethe or Mordecai.
  • Chapter 12 - Sothe (Thief) - Read his “Info” conversation at the base, before battle.
  • Chapter 12 - Jill (Wyvern Rider) - Allied NPC, talk to with Ike.
  • Chapter 13 - Astrid (Bow Knight) - Allied NPC, talk to with Ike.
  • Chapter 13 - Gatrie (Knight, Re-Recuit) - Allied NPC, talk to with Astrid.
  • Chapter 14 - Makalov (Sword Knight) - Enemy NPC, talk to with Marcia.
  • Chapter 15 - Tormod (Mage) - Joins automatically after finishing battle.
  • Chapter 15 - Muarim (Beast Tribe Tiger) - Joins automatically after finishing battle.

Stefan is an incredibly powerful secret character, requiring you to step on a single specific tile to recruit him.

Nintendo
  • Chapter 15 - Stefan (Swordmaster) - Have Lethe or Mordecai step on a specific tile. Starting from the top-right of the map, go three left and down one.
  • Chapter 16 - Devdan (Halberdier) - Enemy NPC, talk to him with Soren, Mist, Rolf, Sothe, or Tormod.
  • Chapter 18 - Tanith (Falcon Knight) - Joins automatically at start of battle.
  • Chapter 18 - Reyson (Bird Tribe Heron) - Accept his request at the start of the chapter.
  • Chapter 18 - Janaff (Bird Tribe Hawk) - Joins with Reyson.
  • Chapter 18 - Ulki (Bird Tribe Hawk) - Joins with Reyson.
  • Chapter 19 - Shinon (Sniper, Re-Recruit) - Enemy NPC, talk to him with Rolf, then defeat him with Ike.
  • Chapter 20 - Calill (Sage) - Read her “Info” conversation in the base, before battle.
  • Chapter 21 - Tauroneo (General) - Enemy NPC, talk to with Ike.
  • Chapter 23 - Haar (Wyveryn Lord) - Enemy NPC, talk to with Jill.

Despite how late he joins, Haar is one of the most powerful units in the game — although Jill can be stronger if you really put in the time to train her.

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  • Chapter 23 - Ranulf (Beast Tribe Cat) - Joins automatically at start.
  • Chapter 24 - Bastian (Sage) - Joins automatically after turn 2.
  • Chapter 24 - Lucia (Swordmaster) - Joins automatically after turn 2.
  • Chapter 25 - Geoffrey (Paladin) - If he survived Chapter 24, joins automatically.
  • Chapter 25 - Largo (Berserker) - You must have recruited Calill. If you have, read his “Info” conversation at base.
  • Chapter 26 - Elincia (Princess) - Joins automatically.
  • Chapter 28 - Nasir (Dragon Tribe) - If you defeated the Black Knight, joins automatically. More powerful than Ena.
  • Chapter 28 - Ena (Dragon Tribe) - If you did not defeat the Black Knight, joins automatically.
  • Finale - Tibarn, Naesala, or Giffca - In the finale, you’ll get to choose one of these three characters to add to your army, and only one. In Normal Mode you’ll choose at the beginning, and on Hard Mode you’ll choose at teh beginning of the 2nd part of the Chapter.

After beating the game once, you’ll unlock Trial Mode in the “Extras” section of Path of Radiance’s main menu. These are extra-hard maps designed for level 20 characters, and there are exclusive characters you can unlock, only usable in Trial Mode. They’re all unlocked by clearing the entire game multiple times.

  • Oliver (Bishop) - Beat the game 3 times.
  • Shiharam (Wyvern Lord) - Beat the game 5 times.
  • Petrine (Paladin) - Beat the game 7 times.
  • Bryce (General) - Beat the game 10 times.
  • Ashynard (King) - Beat the game 15 times.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is available on Nintendo Switch 2 via Nintendo Switch Online.

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