There’s no denying the impact that Fire Emblem: Three Houses has had. It’s one of Nintendo Switch’s must-own exclusives, whether you’re a fan of the franchise or it’s your very first taste of this engrossing strategy series (other than the many, many Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters from the series, of course).
One of the major factors that keeps Fire Emblem fans hooked on the series is its deep and interesting cast. Among Three Houses’ most notable is the enigmatic Hubert von Vestra. The Black Eagles’ tactician has divided opinions, so let’s see what fans like about him (and what they don’t).
10 EVERYONE LOVES: His Personal Skill Highlights The New Gambit Mechanic
As series fans will know, the Gambit mechanic is new to Three Houses. This additional wrinkle to the combat is linked to the Battalions, allowing units to launch powerful attacks in tandem with the ‘supporters’ under their individual command.
Hubert’s Personal Skill, Officer Duty, makes him great at wielding Gambits. It increases his might by +5 while doing so, which is a great asset because Gambits can only be used a limited number of times per battle. You’ve got to make them count.
9 CAN’T STAND: He’s Very Frail Physically
The Fire Emblem franchise always takes care to highlight the fact that each of your units are real people, not indispensable faceless warriors. You grow attached to them, you learn their likes and dislikes, and then the permadeath mechanic kicks you squarely in the feels.
What we’re getting at here is the fact that Hubert absolutely has to be kept away from close range combat against melee units. He’s a fantastic and powerful mage, as we’ll see, but like Lysithea, he’ll be torn apart his opponents draw close. He has precious little physical defense, making it very dangerous to be reckless with him.
8 EVERYONE LOVES: He’s The Edgiest Edgelord You’ll Ever Meet
What is it that tempts people towards the dark side? What is it that makes so many favor the ‘Shadow Link’ skin in Super Smash Bros.? It’s just cool to be a little villainous, a little dark and brooding. From the player’s first encounter with Hubert, it’s clear that he’s exactly that.
Hubert is quiet, brooding and menacing. He’s got the hairstyle, the tragic past, the affinity for dark magic… he’s a textbook edgy character, and some of us are just drawn to that sort of thing. You can just tell that he has some dark secrets and you can’t help wanting to discover them.
7 CAN’T STAND: He Doesn’t Exactly Get The Best Glow-Up
As soon as we learned that there’d be a five year time skip midway through Three Houses’s story, there was one question on fans’ minds: what are all of the students going to look like? Who’s going to get the best glow-up? What about Byleth? Granted, those are actually three questions, but they’re technically kind of the same question so we won’t dwell on that any more.
Anyway, the important thing is that time wasn’t particularly kind to Hubert. He doesn’t seem to have particularly changed much, for better or for worse, so this is a tough one to judge overall. In balance, though, more could definitely have been done here.
6 EVERYONE LOVES: He’s An Excellent Mage
If you picked the proud and noble Black Eagles house, you’ll know that they’re largely inclined towards magic. As far as that goes, Hubert is the most natural choice for an offensive mage, a path that certainly plays to his strengths.
Stats-wise, we’ve already acknowledged that he’s feeble on the defensive side, but if you can keep him safe from harm, he’s a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Very high proficiency means that in terms of pure damage potential with magic, he’s second only to the aforementioned Lysithea (who is even more squishy than he is).
5 CAN’T STAND: He’s Loyal To Edelgard, Not Byleth
Delving into the backstory, it’s clear that Hubert and Edelgard have a long history together. He has served her since they were both very young and has grown to be fanatically loyal to her. We see just how devoted he is later in the story, depending on the route players take through the game.
With this in mind, though, he’s very standoffish towards Byleth, who needs the support of their students as they take on this prestigious role at such a young age. With Byleth being the player’s avatar (of sorts), Hubert’s often dismissive attitude does nothing to endear him to us.
4 EVERYONE LOVES: The Sheer Range Of Reason Magic He Can Learn
Of course, Three Houses allows the player to experiment and re-assign their units’ classes however they wish. With some dedication, you can really make any student work as any class (gender-locked classes aside, naturally). There’s no question, though, that Hubert is ‘supposed’ to be a heavily offensive mage.
It’s not just about the damage potential of his spells, but the range of them he unlocks as his Reason proficiency increases. With the likes of Death Γ, Banshee Θ and Dark Spikes T, he has excellent range and damage at his disposal, a deadly combination.
3 CAN’T STAND: He’s An (Eager) Enemy To Most At Garreg Mach At Some Point
Now, to be totally fair to the floppy-fringed anti-hero, Three Houses presents a world in turmoil; a realm ripped apart by warfare. There are various routes through the game, determined by the house you pick and choices you make along the way, but happy endings are few and far between. Regardless of your route, the story will take you to some very dark places and former friends must fight to the death. None of this is exclusive to Hubert.
One thing that is, somewhat, is his attitude. Where other one-time-classmates battle each other with the greatest of regret, Hubert seems more than happy to clear them from his path. Again, he feels few ties to anyone other than Edelgard, which makes him a tough character to connect with.
2 EVERYONE LOVES: He Does Have A Soft Side, (Very) Deep Down
So, yes. If there’s one thing many of us like more than the dark, brooding anti-hero, it’s those moments in which these characters ease up briefly, let their tough personas slide just a little and show off their soft sides.
Hubert doesn’t do his often, granted, but he does have occasion adorable interactions with his fellow Black Eagles. In a support conversation with the acutely social awkward Bernadetta, for instance, he learns that she’s super intimidated by him and tries to ‘help,’ in his own grim way. He’s also seen to blush in a conversation with Ferdinand!
1 CAN’T STAND: He Can Be Awkward To Use, Because The Other Students Don’t Like Him
Funnily enough, when you cackle around the place like some dark, malevolent specter, people don’t tend to take to you so easily. That’s just the way Hubert likes it, of course, but this does present a bit of an issue from a gameplay point of view.
Trusting only those closest to him (and even then begrudgingly), Hubert can’t Support with any students other than Black Eagles. This isn’t too much of a setback, when compared to his counterparts in other houses, but it does prevent him from developing relationships with other houses and causes him to lose certain options in battles.
NEXT: Fire Emblem Three Houses: Ranking The Black Eagles House Lineup
