The Triangle Attack is a special team attack that debuted in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.

Overview

The Triangle Attack is a special attack that functions as a coordinated strike in which three units team up to attack a single enemy, dealing massive damage. It takes its name from the attack requiring the three attacking units being positioned in a triangle formation around the target.

To execute the move, the player must deploy three units capable of executing the move. These tend to be three specific units whose class are in the Pegasus Knight line of their respective games, best exemplified by the originators of the technique, the Whitewings sisters Palla, Catria, and Est in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Not all Fire Emblem titles feature the skill such as Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Some Triangle Attacks are executed by non-Pegasus Knights such as Gwendolyn/Bors/Barthe in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. During a battle, the player must position these three units adjacent around an enemy unit in any of the following four formations.

 A           A    A
AEA   AEA   AE    EA     *A = Allied Unit
       A     A    A      *E = Enemy Unit

In the case of the three brothers, Boyd, Oscar and Rolf from Path of Radiance, bows are used instead of short-range weapons, therefore each of the participants needs to be one square away from the target and must maintain their cardinal direction.

Once the player has successfully positioned their units in one of those four formations, the first unit to initiate attack against an enemy initiates the skill, usually signified by a battle cry before the attacks start to let the player know they performed it correctly. In Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Triangle Attack is a unique Combat Art exclusive to Palla, Catria, and Est and must be manually selected once the positions are fulfilled.

In most games, the damage dealt by a Triangle Attack is equivalent to a Critical Hit with Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light outright calling it a Critical Hit in the battle UI and some games show them performing Critical Hit animations, though with a unique animation with the other two characters flashing onto the screen before the attack animations. Traditionally, the move deals three times the damage like a Critical Hit and automatically passes Critical Hit checks. An exception to this is in Fire Emblem Gaiden, where fifteen is added to the usual damage dealt on a critical hit. In all other games, the unit initiating is required to deal at least one damage normally to do anything, similar to a regular Critical Hit.

While the damage dealt is generally high and the assured "Critical Hit" equivalent damage is useful, the amount of setup needed to execute the skill can be difficult and unwieldy. It forces the player to devote three deployment slots to the characters who can execute the move, thus lowering class diversity in the deployed team in most cases. Since the player only needs to factor the stats of the unit initiating the skill, the other two technically do not matter outside of their positioning. While that means that only one needs to have decent stats for the move to be performed effectively, it also means that only the initiating unit gains the benefits of the attack including things like Experience Points unless the player devotes equal training to the three units in some capacity. Using the maneuver either requires the player to waste up to three unit actions to perform the attack in a single turn or have all three focus on attacking an enemy and have the last one initiate the move which is either overkill or puts risk onto the first two attacking units. While the Pegasus Knight variation of the move have general freedom to execute the move on just about all maps since they are not restricted by most terrain, some maps may have terrain features that prevent grounded classes from being able to position themselves for the move.

With the exception of its appearance in Gaiden, It also does not occur during the enemy's turn, even if the enemy is placed in the same target location for a Triangle Attack. In the GBA games, if the unit initiating the Triangle Attack is able to perform a follow-up attack on the enemy, the unit's second attack will be a normal attack without team assistance.

History in the Series

In the first three games in the series, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Gaiden, and Mystery of the Emblem, the Triangle Attack is a special attack exclusive to the Pegasus Knight sisters Palla, Catria, and Est. In most subsequent entries, the attack is associated with trios of Pegasus Knights or their promoted equivalents. Non-Pegasus Knight trios have also used the attack, and some games, such as The Binding Blade and Path of Radiance, feature both a Pegasus Knight trio as well as a second trio of units capable of performing a Triangle Attack.

Genealogy of the Holy War is the first (and so far, only) game in the series to feature enemies capable of performing a Triangle Attack. Additionally, no player units are capable of performing a Triangle Attack, making it an enemy-exclusive technique in this title.

In Shadow Dragon, which introduced Reclassing, and New Mystery of the Emblem, the Whitewings remain capable of using a Triangle Attack regardless of their classes so long as all three are adjacent to their target. The only combination of classes that prevents them from using Triangle Attack is if all three characters are Archers/Hunters/Snipers, as it prevents them from attacking adjacent units. In WiFi battles, the Traingle Attack is able to bypass the Dazzle card effect as the attack is not considered a critical hit.

In Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Gaiden, Triangle Attack is the personal skill of the Whitewing sisters. The move can only be executed if all three are a Pegasus Knight and/or promotion. Reclassing any or all of them out of the class line through a Pitchfork removes their ability to execute the move. Costing 10 HP of the starting unit to activate, it is significantly less powerful than in prior games, only boosting the user's critical rate instead of guaranteeing critical damage. It also increases the unit's attack power and hit rate for the duration of the attack, but like most combat arts, it is impossible to perform a follow-up attack with it. A single-rider variant also exists in this game, named Solo Triangle Attack.

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Triangle Attack is a Combat Art that is learned by mastering the Pegasus Knight class. As such, it can be learned by any female character, as well as by male Byleth via New Game+. To perform the move, three flying ally units, including the user, have to be adjacent to an enemy. Only the character initiating the Triangle Attack needs to know the Combat Art.

In Fire Emblem Warriors, during Caeda and Cordelia's support, Cordelia makes mention of the move to Caeda and expresses a desire to perform the move. While Caeda is interested, she is not too sure without having practiced the move herself. The two decide to try and ask Hinoka to attempt the formation later. Caeda's Warrior Special executes this move by summoning two spirit clones of herself. As a small easter egg, if Caeda, Cordelia, and Hinoka all have achieved an A+ support with each other and all three are deployed on the same map, Caeda will instead call upon Hinoka and Cordelia to execute the move in traditional fashion.

In-Game

Stats

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Name		Triangle Attack
HP/Dur	Rng	Mt	Hit	Avo	Crt
-10	1	+8	+30	±0	+40
Effects		A flurry of attacks the sisters perform in tandem.
Users		Personal skill: Palla, Catria, Est.
Notes		Requires specific positioning

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Name		Triangle Attack
HP/Dur	Rng	Mt	Hit	Avo	Crt
-3	1	+8	+30	±0	+40
Effects		A flurry of attacks that flying units perform in tandem.
Users		Mastery Skill: Pegasus Knight
Notes		Requires specific positioning

Trivia

• In Gaiden, the Triangle Attack ignores the stats of a Javelin or Gradivus equipped by the attack's performer.
• Though it was never performed in Awakening, the Triangle Attack was mentioned in Cynthia's A-Support Conversation with Lucina, provided that Cynthia and Lucina are not siblings.
• In Three Houses, all playable male units have left over quotes that would have been used if they initiate a Triangle Attack. The same applies to enemy NPCs.

Gallery

Animation of the Triangle Attack in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.

Est prepares a Triangle Attack on a Draco Zombie in Fire Emblem Gaiden.

Animation of the Triangle Attack in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.

The Pre-Battle Animation of a Triangle Attack by Meng, Maybell, and Bleg in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

Vampa preparing to attack Tine in Genealogy of the Holy War.

Animation of Bors using the Triangle Attack in Binding Blade.

A triangle attack, with Florina initiating the battle.

Tana preparing to strike with Vanessa and Syrene in The Sacred Stones.

Triangle Attack in The Sacred Stones

Boyd preparing to strike with Oscar and Rolf in Radiant Dawn.

Catria preparing to strike with Palla and Est in New Mystery of the Emblem.

Triangle Attack in action in New Mystery of the Emblem.

Triangle Attack in Warriors.