Fire Emblem Heroes Wiki:Manual of Style

This is the wiki's manual of style, which notes various conventions on the wiki and reasons why they can be followed. Note that consistency is not a reason to do something, it should be a result of applying reasoning.

North American English
To avoid conflict, it is recommended that all English on this wiki is written in North American English instead of Queen's English.
 * Example:
 * Favorite, not favourite.
 * Color, not colour.
 * Armor, not armour.

Text from the North American version of the game is used, though it rarely differs from the UK version enough to matter.

Writing perspective
'''In order to keep information straight forward and not opinionated, please avoid writing in first-person on content pages. This does not include talk pages!'''
 * Example:
 * Correct: Players have to spend 10 stamina enter this battle.
 * Alternatively: 10 stamina is required to enter this battle.
 * Incorrect: You have to spend 10 stamina enter this battle.

Encyclopedic tone
Try to maintain an encyclopedic tone when writing pages. This includes avoiding second-person pronouns such as "you" and profanity unless used in a quotation.

Terminology on the wiki
Where possible, the wiki should always use official terminology instead of slang or fan terminology. A common mistake is calling a Summoning Focus a "Banner" on a page, for example.

Many of the internal fields of the wiki are different than the official names, so have some caution when differentiating between internal wiki usage and display. For example, the Cargo field for a Hero's epithet is "title", despite the term being epithet. Another example is how page names can be different from their official in-game names. For example, Falchion (Mystery) and Laevatein (weapon) have page names that are different from the weapon names.

In case of conflicts, as a general guideline, the order of priority in order of highest to least for terminology is as follows:
 * 1) In-game text
 * 2) *Text from skill descriptions takes priority over help text since they appear to be written better and are updated more often. (The bow help text still says "extra damage" instead of "effective against", Spd says "attacks twice" instead of "follow-up", etc.)
 * 3) Text from notifications.
 * 4) Other official FEH sources (official FEH site, official English Twitter, official YouTube videos, Learn with Sharena! etc.)
 * 5) Other Fire Emblem games OR internal names from game files

Sometimes usage of a terminology term in the game is inconsistent in meaning or the meaning conflicts with a previous usage of the term. In cases such as these, the wiki adopts the most consistently used or applied definition of the term. For example, on the wiki, "unit", "character", and "Hero" all have different meanings, but the game may occasionally use them interchangeably.

Some notable cases for the wiki are listed below.

Capitalization
Capitalization in article titles should follow sentence case, and section headers should also follow sentence case. This means that only proper nouns should be capitalized. Capitalization carries the implication that the subject is about a proper noun about something officially recognized by the game.


 * Green_check.svgExamples of what should be capitalized: Names and titles of maps, Heroes, skills, terms, etc., special words such as "Hero" and "Special", proper nouns.
 * Dark_Red_x.svgExamples of what should not be capitalized: Words like "weapon", the movement types, e.g. any non-proper nouns. "Follow-up" for a specific example should not be forced capitalized, it is only capitalized in the title Follow-Up Ring since that is a name of the skill (but is lowercase in the description and in all sentences that refer to the follow-up mechanic). It may get confusing at times, for example, Special Maps is a named category of a type of map and is always capitalized within announcements and descriptions (when talking about the category and not just using special as an adjective, anyway), but the word map itself is not capitalized in descriptions/help text/etc., so make sure to double check sources or ask around on a talk page if you're not sure.

Unit, character, and Hero
Unit refers to an instance of a unit. For example, if you have Raigh: Dark Child, and you summon another one, you now have two units. These two units are of the same Hero, but they are different units, and only one can be Summoner Supported at once. It can also be used to refer to a type of unit, e.g. "Veronica: Emblian Princess is the only unit in the game to use Élivágar".

Character and Hero
Characters and Heroes are two different things, and it's common for people to get them confused. As the key information about summoning states, "Heroes that share the same illustration, name, and epithet are considered the same Hero. Even if the character is the same, Heroes with different illustrations and epithets are considered to be different Heroes. As such, you cannot use them in Merge Allies."

For an example, Olwen: Righteous Knight and {Olwen: Blue Mage Knight are different Heroes, but they are the same character.

Do not ever refer to a Hero as an "alternate" version of another, or one as a "standard" or "main" version. Intelligent Systems never does this.

The use of "Hero" for units that do not appear in the Hero catalog (Veronica: Emblian Princess, generic units, etc.) is ambiguous and it is unknown whether these units should be referred to as Heroes or not. For now, avoid referring to them as such.

Breath weapons and dragonstones
When collectively referring to the group of weapons that consists of Red Breath, Blue Breath, Green Breath, and Colorless Breath, this group should be referred to as dragonstones, instead of breaths.

See Template talk:WeaponType Infobox for rationale.

Stat increases and decreases
Note that the Japanese version of the game does not make distinctions between the different types of stat increases. This section only refers to wiki-specific terminology based off the North American text.

Boosts and reductions
Any relatively permanent stat increase can be referred to as a boost. Example of boosts include boosts from skills such as Attack +3, Legendary Effects, Summoner Support, stat boost for bonus units in Tempest Trials, and combat boosts.

Combat boosts are boosts that are always active given certain conditions are fulfilled. All combat boosts have at least one condition, which is being in combat.

The opposite of a boost is a reduction, which is a decrease in stats. Combat reductions also exist.

The rationale for choosing boosts is that several texts in the game refer to this increase as a boost, bonus unit "Ally Stat Boost", Ally Support, Legendary Effects, owl tomes, Focus: Heroes with Combat Boosts, etc..

The rationale for choosing reductions as the opposite of boosts is that "reduces" is often used to describe the opposite of a boost. Specials say "boosts damage dealt" while Shield Pulse says "reduces damage dealt", triangle advantage "boosts Atk by 20%" while disadvantage "reduces Atk by 20%".

Bonuses and penalties
Bonuses are stat increases granted through a status effect that lasts for a limited amount of time. Penalties are the same, but for stat decreases.

It is also acceptable to call bonuses the more specific form of "stat bonuses", as is done in Issue with Prayer Wheel (Notification).

Buffs and debuffs are use interchangeably with bonuses and penalties. The words "bonuses" and "penalties" are applied more consistently in skill descriptions, so as per terminology guidelines they will be used instead.

The word "buff" and "debuff" has only been used in exactly one place for the English localization, which are the stat help tooltips, which have been known for faulty terminology ("attacks twice" instead of "follow-up" for the Spd stat help, "extra damage" instead of "effective against" for bows) whereas the wording bonuses/penalties is used everywhere else. "Buff"/"debuffs" and "bonuses"/"penalties" are the same term in the Japanese version as well (強化/弱化), with the differentiation existing only once in the help tooltip in-game.

There appear to be inconsistent uses of "buff", "bonuses", "debuffs", and "penalties" officially:
 * uses bonus to refer to a combat boost, while the majority of skills such as use it to refer to stat increases through status effects. (Localization-only error)
 * Learn with Sharena uses "Buffs" to describe both combat boosts and stat increases through status effects.
 * Issue with Prayer Wheel (Notification) uses "buff" in the game balance sense.
 * The 【Penalty】 description tag defines penalties as all negative status effects, contradicting with the usage of the term penalty in other descriptions such as.

Although issues like these exist, the wiki will adopt the most common application of the term per terminology guidelines, using bonuses and penalties as referring to the stat changes through status effects.

Base stats and raw stats
In-game, base stats refers to stats of a unit as displayed on the status page without including stat changes from status effects. However, stat changes from permanent boosts are included, with the way the game uses it. In all sources of "base" stats, stats from skills, Legendary Effects, etc. are included. "Base" simply refers to without status effects, not without any skills equipped. Sources: "Base Value" when tapping a stat, Updates for April and Beyond (Notification), What's New in Version 1.2.0 (Notification).

To differentiate between base stats (stats with boosts but without status effects) and stats without any boosts or status effects, the wiki will use an unofficially appointed term raw stats, since no equivalent exists within the game.

For example, if a unit has 10 Atk without any weapon, and 20 Atk after equipping a weapon, and results in a final value of 24 Atk after equipping a weapon and receiving +4 Atk from Rally Attack, that unit's raw Atk will be 10, and its base Atk will be 20.

Don't do skill comparisons
On skill pages, in general, unless you are absolutely sure, it is better to avoid making skill comparisons altogether. Some examples of what not to do:
 * Don't include stat skills (e.g. Attack +3) in any comparison.
 * If a weapon says "Grants Atk+3" that is already the most simplest form of explanation. Saying something like "This skill has the same effect as Attack+3, which grants Atk+3" is unneeded. This effectively just sends the reader in a minor circle for something they already knew. It's not a complex effect and comparing it to a stat skill does not add anything.
 * Especially do not compare any skills to Squad Ace skills, since even if you were to make this comparison, they aren't the primary example of stat skills.
 * Don't add "Has a similar effect to Attack +2, but it only activates when the user is transformed." to the Laguz weapon pages. At this point this is a stretch, and this would be similar to adding comparisons such as "Death Blow 1 has a similar effect to Attack +2, but it only activates when the user initiates combat." or "Fortress Def 1 has a similar effect to Defense +3, but it also subtracts 3 Attack.".
 * Don't compare skills just because they are similar. The criteria for "similar" is too vague as well and what you consider similar may not appear so to somebody else (see the previous example for some instances of this). Comparing skills that do not function identically can also create misconceptions on how they operate.
 * Don't combine effects to explain a singular effect. If there is a unique effect that cannot be appropriately explained with only one skill, it's better just to leave it as the weapon already has the simplest form of explanation. Comparing skills that do not function identically can also create misconceptions on how they operate.
 * Don't say Deathly Dagger has similar effects with and . Saying it had similar effects to those two skills is like saying "Deathly Dagger has similar effects to Poison Strike 3 and Savage Blow 3, except Deathly Dagger does not require the user to initiate combat, and also Deathly Dagger deals 10 damage instead of 7 to the foes within 2 spaces, and also Deathly Dagger does not require the unit to survive like Poison Strike and Savage blow do.".
 * From looking at exclusive weapons from launch, it is evident that was intended to have an effect fitting a rank 2 skill. Don't say it has the effects of Steady Stance 1 and Warding Stance 1, even if  does not exist and no substitute skill can be used as comparison. Similar situations with, etc..
 * Don't compare with hypothetical skills.
 * For example, don't say has the effect of what would be Warding Stance 3.5.
 * Don't compare with a less common skill.
 * For example, don't say has the effect of, as Distant Counter is the more universal form of counterattacking regardless of distance.
 * Don't say a skill with +10 special damage has the special effect of Giant Spoon, a seasonal weapon.
 * Similarly, don't say a skill with +10 special damage has the effect of Bushido.

The goal of skill comparisons is to help readers understand skills better by connecting it to a more common skill. If you want to say "this skill functions kind of like this one except...", just put it in the See also section instead, and describe how it is different there if you want.

That being said, it is still good to help the reader understand a skill by breaking it down into parts. It may be acceptable to include skill comparisons if:
 * The skill being compared to has identical conditions and effects to part of the skill on the skill page, and does not have any extra effects the skill on the skill page does not have (For example, if a skill restores 6 HP after combat and nothing else, don't say it has the same effect as ).
 * For example, it is appropriate to compare with.
 * This is especially appropriate with refined effects such as in where both the image and effect is that of, which clearly shows the intentions of the developers. However, do not compare them if the effects differ, even if the image is the same, as is the case with  and , or with  and.
 * You are trying to stop a possible prevalent misconception.
 * Forseti's "If unit's HP ≥ 50% and unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack." is extremely similar to Desperation 2's "If unit's HP ≤ 50% and unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.". The reader may be left wondering whether that was a typo, or may have not read carefully to see the minor one character difference, and it might be best to clarify that it is NOT like Desperation.
 * Meisterschwert always attacks twice regardless of who initiates combat, unlike the majority of other weapons that attack twice which require you to initiate combat. Intelligent Systems has already clarified in the skill description, but if they happened to not, it would be good to clarify to avoid confusion.

Timezones on the wiki
All dates on the wiki are in UTC. Previously there was no standard format, and it was a mixture of different formats for different kinds of pages, but moving forward the wiki will now use the ISO 8601 date format. Old formats should be converted. This is an example of the format the wiki uses:. In this example, 2018 is the year, 05 is the month, and 06 is the day. The T separates the days from the hours and minutes. 13 is the hour, 51 is the minutes, and 42 is the seconds. The Z means the time is in UTC.

An easy way to remember the order is to think of the order as the largest unit of time to the smallest unit of time, or in other words, the numbers that change the least go first while the numbers that change the most go last.

A common time that would be helpful to remember is 07:00:00, which is when the daily reset occurs.

Linking to a Hero page
Correct: If the link is referring to the specific version of a character or that unit itself. Example: Faye: Devoted Heart is the first user of Firesweep Bow.

or

is the first user of.

or

Faye is the first user of Firesweep Bow. Incorrect version: Faye is the first user of Firesweep Bow.

Linking to a character page
Incorrect: Hero links if the link is only referring to the character. Example: Olwen is the sister of Reinhardt.
 * Green_check.svgCorrect version: Olwen is the sister of Reinhardt.

Example units
When you are using a unit as an example for something and it's not important who the unit is, try to use more common units than something like a 5 star exclusive unit, as those are applicable to more people. If possible, try using reward units.

File names
When adding a file to the wiki, try to make the file name indicative of its content if possible. Also to avoid technical issues, you should make sure your file names can go through Template:MF.

Below various formats for various types of files are listed. Regardless, ideally any templates created do not rely on filenames following a pattern and should be able to accept/handle any file name format even if it does not comply with its common format. means that whatever is in content is as if it passed through the template. Basically, remove certain characters. See the template documentation for more information.