The Dual System is a game mechanic in Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates that allows two adjacent allied units or Pair Up units to team up in battles. These change the battle by allowing characters to provide support bonuses, additional attacks, and full damage protection.

In Fates, enemies can also utilize the dual system. While the Dual Support system is unchanged from Awakening, Dual Attacks/Guards are changed into Attack and Guard Stance respectively.

Dual Support

Dual Support activates every time a battle starts. The lead character receives a boost in stats (Hit, Critical, Hit Avoid, and Critical Avoid) from the supporting unit. The stat bonus received depends on the total support rank, which depends on the number of a adjacent allies and if the unit is in a Pair Up. The sum of the support levels of the target unit with the adjacent and Pair Up units will determine the Support Boost bonuses.

• A support level of "none" counts as a support rank of 1. C, B, A, and S support levels count as support ranks of 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively.
• Support ranks are added for multiple characters so long as the character attacking or being attacked is adjacent to an allied unit or is in a Pair Up. Adjacent Pair Up units will only apply the bonus using the lead character.
  • For example, if Chrom is in a Pair Up with Sumia with a Support of S and Gaius, with a Support of B, is adjacent to him, the total Dual Support Level is 8.
• If the active or supporting Pair Up character has the Dual Support+ Skill, the support rank is boosted by 4 levels.
• The maximum support rank possible is 12.

Dual Strike

Dual Strike (デュアルアタック Dual Attack in the Japanese version) allows the support character to perform a follow up attack.

• Support characters ignore weapon range as long as the main character can attack in proper range. Thus, a supporting Archer can attack an adjacent enemy as long as they are partnered with a character that can attack the adjacent enemy.
• The supporting character's attack will not activate Counter, Pavise, Aegis, and Miracle but will be affected by passive skills such as any Weaponbreaker skill and area skills such as Anathema.
• Support characters cannot activate attacking skills, like Lethality and Ignis, but can perform a Critical hit.
• A Dual Strike will not occur if the primary attacker is using Mire; however, if the Mire-using unit is a secondary attacker, Dual Strikes act as normal.
• If the support character damages the enemy with a Dual strike, they will gain experience and weapon experience. Missing or dealing no damage will give no bonus EXP to the support unit (in the case of the latter, the weapon will still lose a point of durability).
  • However, the lead unit will gain the boosted EXP if the support character defeats the enemy.
• The rate of activation is determined by the two units Skill sum and their support levels as listed below.
  • If the lead or support character has the Dual Strike+ Skill, the activation rate is boosted by 10.

Dual Guard

Dual Guard (デュアルガード) allows the support character to push the lead character out of the way of an incoming attack and block the attack, nullifying all damage. Dual Guard has a very low activation rate, but can come in handy in a tough situation.

• Dual Guard will negate the one-hit kill strike of Lethality.
• Dual Guard will negate multi-hitting attacks such as Astra and Aether; however, the first hit must be blocked, after which all subsequent attacks from that ability are blocked.
• ​If the lead or support character has the Dual Guard+ Skill, the activation rate is boosted by 10.
• The rate of activation is calculated by the Pair Up unit's support levels and their defense or resistance stat, depending of the type of attack.

Trivia

• In the English version of the Pair Up trailer, Dual Guard is mistakenly listed as Support Block and Dual Support is listed as Support Boost.
• The skill Bold Stance is extremely similar to the Dual System.