The Safeguard is a rare Sword that appears exclusively in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Much like its name suggests, this sword bestows upon its wielder a significant boost to his/her Defense, shielding him/her from the impact of blows sustained from enemy attacks. This sword, although not strictly bound to Silvia, may be considered to be a personal weapon of hers, as it may only be obtained from a special event in Chapter 4, in which Sylvia performs a dance for a Silessean village and receives the weapon as a gift of gratitude.

Weapon Stats

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

Fire Emblem Heroes

• Safeguard
• Safeguard+
• Upgrades

Name		Type
Safeguard		Sword
Mt	Rng	SP	Rarity
10	1	200
Effect
If foe initiates combat, grants Def+7 during combat.

Name		Type
Safeguard+		Sword
Mt	Rng	SP	Rarity
14	1	400
Effect
If foe initiates combat, grants Def+7 during combat.

Name			Cost
Safeguard+			350 SP, 500, 50
Type	HP	Mt	Spd	Def	Res
	+5	+ 2
	+5		+ 3
	+5			+ 4
	+5				+ 4
Effect
-

Item Location

*Note that there is a glitch that causes the game to freeze when she dances for the village. This occurs if Sylvia is not the first unit to move on that turn.

Strategy

The Safeguard is among the strongest swords of its rank - it is tied for the highest Might and highest Hit Chance among C-Rank swords, while its weight is only slightly higher than your base Iron Blade, and is on par with most swords of its rank. Its Defense boost is both unique (except for the comparable Barrier Blade) and dramatic. Nevertheless, while the Safeguard is singular among C-ranked swords, the Brave Sword and A-Ranked swords outclass it in terms of pure damage output.

Having Silvia keep the sword really is a numbers game, and that's because of her Miracle skill. Funnily enough, Silvia is a lot more comfortable at 1 hp than she is at 8 hp - if a single attack reduces her to 8 hp when she's holding the sword, you're really going to kick yourself. On the other hand, the sword might allow her to take two hits and remain standing. It really is rolling the dice with her. Other units in the first generation could be fair candidates for it:

• Dew: The sword will make Dew more comfortable in participating in Boss abuse. The fact that the sword is so expensive is really ameliorated by his Bargain skill. Dew might be better off with a Magic Sword, but either weapon would be a strong addition to his repertoire.
• Arden: Only the Brave Sword is better for Arden than the Safeguard, especially pre-promotion. The damage-absorption math in Fire Emblem combat means you might be able to spike Arden's Defense enough that he only takes 1 damage from many enemies. Unfortunately, Arden has terrible movement, meaning he won't be able to march ahead of the army and draw many attacks to himself, at least not without a Leg Ring or help from a Dancer.
• Naoise and Alec: Both of the Paladins never reach A-rank in swords, and both are fairly poor with Magic, meaning the Safeguard is just behind the Brave Sword in the best weapon they could get.

A promoted Azelle and a not-yet promoted Erinys also have only B-rank in swords, but both of these are probably better off with Magic Swords or other weapons.

In passing the sword to the second generation, it needn't stay in the family. There are many fair candidates for the sword.

• Patty: Patty is stuck with C-rank swords until promotion (unless her father was Chulainn). The Safeguard can help her tank the Myrmidons that pursue her right when she enters in chapter 7, but will unfortunately do nothing against the Dark Priests. Of 13 suitors, 7 can pass the Safeguard to Patty. Magic swords are also useful so that she can steal gold from range, but it's probably preferable to end most turns with the Safeguard equipped.
• Lene, like her mother before her, rolls the dice with Miracle. If nothing else, selling the sword can go towards purchasing the Leg Ring.
• Many second generation units, including Larcei, Scáthach, Diarmuid, Nanna, and Fee can all do fine with the sword. Remember though, the first four all start with A-rank in swords, meaning access to harder-hitters. Meanwhile, Fee's best weapon would probably be the Brave Lance, and her ability to position herself in hard-to-reach places means Defense isn't as important for her.
• Other units that could buy it (but not inherit it) include Leif, Oifey, promoted Arthur / Amid, and Hannibal. For Leif and Oifey, it's just a solid item that adds some tankiness. For your Mage, it's more of a gimmick, and if you really want him wielding a sword, a Magic sword would probably be preferable. Like Arden, Hannibal's Defense can spike. Unfortunately, like Arden, Hannibal is stuck with a ponderously slow movement speed, and he is also one of the worst units in your army. With the sword, he can tank quite a bit of Grau Ritter punishment in Chapter 11, but other than that, it's very hard to use effectively.

There are, of course, four more units who could buy it: Seliph, Shannan, Ares, and Altena. In each of these cases, their Holy Weapons are naturally much better.

Gallery

The Safeguard, as it appears in the second series of the TCG.

Sprite of the Safeguard from Fire Emblem Heroes.