Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers players numerous weapons for their units, but if they don't choose wisely, terrible weapons will soon spell disaster.

Despite releasing three years ago, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is still gaining momentum, new players, and devoted fans. The player takes up the role of Byleth, a former mercenary turned academy professor, teaching the next generation of Fódlan's leaders both in academia and warfare. When a dark syndicate's plan to consume the continent in war slowly starts coming to fruition, it will be the bonds born within the academy walls that will shape Fódlan's future.

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Before heading out into battle, it's always best to check on one's inventory and make sure units have the best weapons and items to ensure their survival. Often, what's important is the user, not the tool. For some weapons, however, that unfortunately isn't the case.

Fire Emblem is no stranger to weapons that have seen their fair share of wear and tear. As in the real world, weapons that don't receive proper maintenance eventually develop rust. Weapons coated with rust aren't good for anything, and among all the rusted weapons in Three Houses, the sword remains the worst.

Most sword-wielding classes rely on light weapons that enable them to attack multiple times per combat round. Not only is the rusted sword tied with another weapon for the heaviest sword in the game, but it's also the weakest sword. Thankfully, blacksmiths can forge rusted swords into better weapons, including the legendary Mercurius, the second strongest of the original Regalia.

The hammer has been a consistent mainstay in the Fire Emblem franchise since the beginning, designed to take out heavily armored units with ease. They have moderate damage and can be equipped at a relatively low weapon proficiency. However, they come with the caveat of being inaccurate and heavy. Since their targets are slow and easy to hit, that isn't much of an issue.

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By contrast, the mace is a new weapon that debuted in Three Houses. It's half as powerful as the hammer, but proves to be much more accurate. The mace isn't a terrible weapon in and of itself, but when compared to its much larger counterpart, its flaws become evident.

A prominent figure in the game's story, the Death Knight has a reputation as a formidable enemy. His signature weapon, the Scythe of Sariel, strikes fear into players who confront him without caution, unless Lysithea is on the field. Sometimes, enemy knights who ride beside the Death Knight will carry Crescent Sickles to emulate his menace.

Players can obtain the Crescent Sickles by defeating the enemy knights. Unfortunately, these prove vastly inferior to the original. Players would be better off choosing the Black Eagle house, where the Death Knight himself joins their army.

Iron weapons are near the bottom of the weapon hierarchy, just below steel weapons and right above training weapons. Despite having more Might than training weapons, iron weapons have less durability. This means players can use more combat arts with a cheaply forged training weapon than they can with a standard iron one.

The iron axe remains the worst in this group because it's the most inaccurate, used by a class already infamous for their mediocre hit rates. It's a well-known joke within the Fire Emblem community that axes are the worst weapon type, and the iron axe only reinforces that notion.

Poison has been a loathed status effect in the series since its inception in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Their purpose was to throw another tedious obstacle at the player. In older games, the poison would kill units with low health. Later installments removed this impact, making it felt like a trifle rather than a punishment.

The Fighter class line prides itself on large amounts of damage at the cost of speed. The Venin Axe is absurdly heavy, meaning units are slower than normal when wielding it, opening them up to enemy follow-up attacks. That, combined with the fact enemy HP is rarely high enough to justify inflicting poison, makes the Venin Axe pointless.

Like in the real world, weapons eventually break if misused or overused. In Three Houses, weapons reach zero durability will break. While players can still use these weapons, the broken weapons' stats render them useless. The only way to fix them is to repair them at the blacksmith.

This dilemma hits lance users the hardest. Axe, sword, and bow users can try relying on their Strength, Speed, and Skill respectively to hold off enemies until they can change weapons. Lancers don't have this option, as they're often all-rounders with no tricks up their sleeves and will be betrayed by their honesty if not properly prepared.

Bolt Axes are special in that they fall into a category of weapons that deal magical damage rather than physical damage. Because of this, they are a niche family that's often good for a select few classes. The only class that can properly use this weapon is the War Monk, a class proficient in axes, magic, and gauntlets.

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A problem arises from the fact the class is DLC, forcing players to buy the Cindered Shadows expansion. Outside of that, the only option is for a unit with both high Magic and axe proficiency like the bubbly Annette. However, such a unit often feels more comfortable with spells.

The Archer class is a controversial one. They're the standard ranged class, dealing physical damage from a distance to avoid counterattacks. Their weakness is close-quarters combat, against which they can't defend themselves. It doesn't help that Archers almost universally have terrible Defense.

The Mini Bow, known previously as the Short Bow, mitigates this weakness by allowing Archers to counter at close range. However, the Archer can't attack at a distance with this weapon. The Mini Bow has become a reviled weapon because it robs the unit of what makes them an Archer. Additionally, units who reach a high enough bow proficiency learn the Close Counter skill, making this weapon meaningless in the long run.

The dark magic spell, Bohr X, is exclusive to only two units in the entire game, both of them enemies. That doesn't make it any less of a bad spell, as its effect is to bring targets to 1 HP from a significantly long distance. The weapon is well-executed in-game, since enemies are approaching the player's army while the spell is cast.

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Its user, a Warlock named Myson, weakens units before another enemy comes to deal the finishing blow. As a supporting attack in the player's hands, Bohr X would be an amazing weapon for facilitating experience grinding. However, as a primary form of attack to cull enemy lines, it doesn't do much good.

Aura Knuckles suffer from the same problem other magic weapons do, because they're most useful in the hands of niche units and classes. Knuckles are the staple weapons for Brawlers, Grapplers, and War Masters who are just as bad as the Fighter line in terms of magical aptitude.

Unlike the Bolt Axe, there aren't optimal units to use Aura Knuckles except Byleth and Balthus, the latter being a DLC character. Any characters who would make good use of them take too long to reach the requirement to wield them, and the units who naturally reach the required level are horrible magic users.

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