In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the Golden Deer’s witty and carefree leader is Claude von Riegan. He’s loved amongst both classmates and fans for his friendly demeanor, though there are also times when they can’t stand his antics.
Regardless, both his likable and less desirable qualities are what makes Claude one of the most well-balanced characters overall, and he’s sure to win everyone’s heart over in the end.
10 Loves: His Chill Vibe
As a game of war and severed bonds, Three Houses is full of serious and heartbreaking moments. Thankfully, there are characters like Claude who can lighten the mood and maintain their composure even in the darkest of times.
In contrast to the other two house leaders, Claude is shown to take school events less seriously while also attempting to make things interesting and fun with his mischievous shenanigans.
9 Can’t Stand: Third Wheel To Dimitri & Edelgard
When it comes to house leaders, Dimitri is the Prince of Faerghus, Edelgard is the Princess of Adrestia, and Claude is the future leader of the Leicester Alliance. In that sense, they should all be in the same boat.
However, there’s always been a distinct tension between Dimitri and Edelgard while Claude watches from the sidelines. Because the two other house leaders have beef and a complex history that directly involve one another, it sometimes feels as though Claude got the short end of the stick.
8 Loves: His Schemes
As a witty student with a mischievous side to him, Claude is very open about his schemes and acts of sabotage against the other houses.
Before the first friendly battle against the Black Eagles and Blue Lions, Claude discusses his clever strategy with his professor, Byleth. He casually throws out the possibility of poisoning the other students’ food so that they won’t be well enough to fight in the mock battle, though Byleth quickly shuts him down.
7 Can’t Stand: Can Come Across As Too Lax For A Leader
While Claude’s chill personality is a great quality to have in a friend and classmate, it does conflict with his role as a future leader of the Leicester Alliance.
In the eyes of some Alliance nobles such as Lorenz, Claude is not fit to be a leader with his lax way of handling matters. It is understandably frustrating to Lorenz who takes his position of nobility seriously while Claude seemingly does not always carry that same seriousness.
6 Loves: Forever Calls Byleth “Teach”
As both a teacher and comrade of their students, Byleth develops and maintains close bonds with their class from their time at the academy throughout the war. In particular, Byleth will have a special relationship with the leader of their chosen house.
To show off his love and respect for Byleth, Claude develops the habit of referring to his professor as “Teach.” This habit continues long after their academy days as more of an affectionate nickname for the beloved professor.
5 Can’t Stand: Excuses Himself From The War
Claude may be the hero and leader alongside Byleth who saves all of Fodlan in the Golden Deer route, but his fate is much different in the Blue Lions route.
After Dimitri and the Blue Lions lend a hand to Claude in Derdriu, Claude makes the decision to not only step down as the leader of the Alliance but also leave the war altogether. He could have at least joined forces with Dimitri until the war ended, but his business in Almyra apparently could not wait.
4 Loves: His Levelheaded Approach
Unlike Dimitri and Edelgard, Claude is much more open to hearing other sides of the story before forming any opinions. He’s not extreme enough to start a whole war against the Church like Edelgard, nor is he reckless enough to pounce at the Fame Emperor upon learning their true identity like Dimitri.
Edelgard and Dimitri might have lived under different circumstances than Claude that led them into making those rash decisions, but it is definitely not in Claude’s nature to do anything major without thinking it through first.
3 Can’t Stand: Full of Secrets
Claude is very open when it comes to his schemes, but very few people know the truth about his upbringing because it’s not something he often talks about.
As the game progresses, Claude reveals to Byleth that he wasn’t actually born in Fodlan and instead came from Almyra. Additionally, it was recently revealed by the writers of Three Houses that Claude’s real name is actually Khalid, a secret never mentioned in the game.
2 Love: His Ambition
Due to his experience as someone whose heritage stems from both Almyra and Fodlan, Claude sees the world differently from most of the people at Garreg Mach Monastery who have only ever know Fodlan.
Claude points out that Fodlan exists in its own little bubble and isolates itself from the rest of the world. After ending the war within Fodlan, Claude hopes to encourage the people of Fodlan to expand their horizons beyond the borders.
1 Can’t Stand: Hard To Read
Just as he has many secrets about his upbringing, Claude also tends to keep a lot of other thoughts and feelings to himself. As a methodical person, he spends more time collecting and analyzing information about other people rather than sharing his own genuine thoughts.
Additionally, Claude has rarely been shown to express emotions as strong as either Dimitri or Edelgard, which makes him an extremely difficult person to read at times.
NEXT: Fire Emblem: 10 Facts About Three Houses’ Golden Deer That You Didn’t Know
