When composing your team in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, it’s handy to have a couple of archers on your team. They can attack from a long range, meaning they won’t always get hit back, and they can cause a lot of damage to the right units.

Here are the top seven best archers in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and why. 

7. Ignatz (Sniper)

Let Ignatz paint you a picture!

Ignatz is your go-to archer if you choose the Golden Deer. He will come with a bow automatically equipped, ready to shoot down his enemies for you. Though more so preparing them for other units. 

Ignatz is a very accurate archer, hitting his enemies from far away, which is partly thanks to his personal skill. He has average stat growths which prevent him from being higher up on the list, but he still made it to the list! The damage he provides isn’t always the highest, but he is good for dwindling down an enemy’s health, especially for units like Petra who thrives on lower HP. 

He is best for debuffing enemies around him for other units with skills such as Ward Arrow that prevents an enemy from using magic for one turn. He is one of the only archers to learn this skill upon getting an A rank in bows. 

What Makes Ignatz a Great Archer: 

• Ignatz’s personal skill, Watchful Eye, simply gives him +20 to his hit. This means he has a better chance of hitting enemies, even with high avoid, which always comes in handy, in both early and late game.
• Ignatz learns powerful combat arts, such as Hunter's Volley, which shoots two consecutive hits, without giving the enemy a chance to fight back. 
• He can support other allies with his debuffing attacks.

6. Petra (Falcon Knight)

Petra is the best hunter of all.

While Petra is not an archer by default, she is easy to class into one and you’ll be glad that you did. 

The most notable thing about Petra’s ability as an archer is her personal skill, Hunter’s Boon, that increases her crit when her enemy is at less than half health. While she doesn’t need to be an archer to use it, it will come in handy. Upon mastering bows, she’ll learn Bow Crit +10 which only increases this more. 

Petra also has a high speed stat at 60% growth. She’ll quickly level up her speed, allowing her to double hit often. Because of her high statistics, she’ll excel in almost any physical class. The only reason she’s six on this list and not higher is because she could probably be utilized in another class. However, she can switch in and out of different classes to learn the most skills. 

What Makes Petra a Great Archer:

• Petra has a high chance of critical hits, especially to finish off tough enemies. She can attack them from far away while saving her health. 
• She can finish off tough enemies from a space away on her bow, meaning that she doesn’t have to get up close. However, she is very capable of handling herself if she does get in the line of fire!
• With many talents, she can learn different skills upon mastering different classes that will help her as an archer, like Death Blow from axes. 

5. Ashe (Bow Knight)

Can Ashe become a knight with these skills?

Ashe was made to be your archer as soon as you start teaching the Blue Lions, but he’ll be great to recruit as well. 

Ashe is really best suited for bows as opposed to trying to class him as something else. He learns great combat arts such as Deadeye, Waning Shot, and Hunter's Volley, which take him from an average archer to a great one. Ashe’s stats have high speed and dexterity growth rates, which cause him to land double hits if he doesn’t crit on the first time.

Despite his impressive skill, he doesn't quite meet the standards of other archers further down on this list. His personal skill, Lockpick, does not help him as an archer, while it does come in handy. 

What Makes Ashe a Great Archer:

• Ashe learns impressive combat arts to increase his range and strength as an archer.
• He has high speed and dexterity which are always helpful skills, but especially for a bow.
• If you choose the Blue Lions, he will automatically be recruited so you can start training him right away. 

4. Leonie (Bow Knight)

Watch all that Leonie has learned from Jeralt.

Leonie was taken under Captain Jeralt’s wing as a kid, when she decided to be a mercenary. Because of this, she knew that she had to be strong. Her training has paid off because she will be one of the best archer’s on your team if you use her. In fact, she has no weaknesses, meaning she can excel in any class. 

With high growth rates, Leonie can cause a lot of damage, and will likely become one your best units, regardless of what you class her as. But, among many, Leonie has strengths in Bow and Riding, which make her perfect to be a Bow Knight. Plus, she loves horses! I’m sure that helps her ability to control one on the battlefield. 

What Makes Leonie a Great Archer: 

• Leonie has high dexterity and speed growths, sitting at 55% and 60%. She will often double her hits and have a high chance of critical hits! This allows her to easily become one of your best units.
• All of her other stat growths are pretty solid as well, leaving her a very well-rounded and powerful ally. 
• She learns great archery combat arts such as Break Shot and Point-Blank Volley.
• When placed next to male allies on the battlefield, she gives 2 extra damage and takes 2 less damage herself, adding a little bit of extra fire to her strike. 

3. Bernadetta (Falcon Knight)

A rare Bernadetta sighting.

If you happen to get Bernadetta out of her room, she is the primary bow user for the Black Eagles. However, you can recruit her to any house for her powerful arching skills. 

Bernadetta’s growths are below average, but that doesn’t stop her from being a great unit. Her personal skill and crest allow her to increase her damage. Unfortunately, her defense isn’t too high, so she is susceptible to damage. I recommend using her as a Falcon Knight with a bow so that she can gain extra movement and fly away if needed. Since she has a strength in lance, in addition to bow, this class is easy for her to achieve. 

What Makes Bernadetta a Great Archer: 

• Persecution Complex, Berndetta’s personal skill, allows her to cause more damage when she is below maximum health. Due to her low defense growth, she will likely be able to use this skill a lot. It is worth it to keep her HP below its max.
• Once she reaches C+ in lances, she gains the combat art Vengeance, which causes damage equal to her missing HP. This pairs very well with Persecution Complex. 
• Her crest allows her to get an extra hit on her enemies, causing even more damage and hopefully finishing off an enemy.

2. Claude (Barbarossa)

Charismatic and powerful Claude.

Claude is the charismatic leader of the Golden Deer. The main reason he is second as opposed to first is because he cannot be recruited into any other house, which while it makes sense, is disappointing. He has a special class, Barbarossa, where he rides a white wyvern and learns powerful bow skills.

If you choose the Golden Deer, you will be required to deploy Claude during most of your missions. This isn’t a problem, given that he is a very skilled archer. He has great speed and dexterity, which make up for his lower strength growth. Plus, he has a great movement on his Wyvern, causing him to be more nimble and mobile.

As an archer, he should use Combat Arts often, like Curved Shot to increase his range, and take advantage of his crest. 

What Makes Claude a Great Archer:

• Upon mastering Barbarossa, Claude learns the combat art Wind God, which increases his range. He will also deal extra damage to other flying units. Claude is the only character in the entire game to learn this skill!
• His Crest of Reigan occasionally stores up to 30% of his max HP when he uses combat arts. 
• Claude has the Heroes’ Relic Failnaught that gives him the combat art Fallen Star, which when combined with his crest, works very well to take down enemies and avoid foes. 

1. Shamir (Sniper)

Shamir always goes for the kill.

Shamir is a member of the Knights of Seiros that you can have in every route, even Crimson Flower! You don’t want to miss out on recruiting her due to her incredible bow-usage. 

Shamir’s combat style is very heavy in high damage and critical hits. She doesn’t necessarily hit multiple times in one turn, but that’s fine! She’ll likely kill them with one arrow. She has higher strength than other bow users on this list, so she is the most powerful archer that you could have. While Ignatz may be a support archer, Shamir is definitely the powerful one shot, one kill archer. 

What Makes Shamir a Great Archer:

• As soon as you recruit her, she already comes classed as a Sniper with access to these strong skills.
• She has a high dexterity growth of 55%, which is already great, but when paired with a Killer Bow, she will crit on almost every turn. 
• Shamir learns Monster Blast and Heavy Draw to increase the power she is capable of against monsters and regular foes. 

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 10] Fire Emblem 3 Houses Best Characters
• [Top 5] Fire Emblem 3 Houses Best Dancers
• FE 3 Houses Best Girls [All Girls Ranked Worst to Best]
• Fire Emblem Best Route