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This analysis was written by FlashingFire.

If you're looking for a sturdy tank amidst a sea of frail teenagers, then it's time to learn about what Dedue can do for you.

Looking at his stat spread and personal ability, this game is not subtle about what role Dedue is designed for. He has the highest defense growth of any character in the game at 50%, the lowest speed growth at 20%, and a very high HP growth at 60%. His personal ability, Staunch Shield, gives him 4 extra defense when using the Wait command, another screaming indication that Dedue is meant to take hits and take them well. Physical hits, anyway. Early game Dedue will find ample opportunities to guard the weaker members of your army and let them finish off enemies for vital early level-ups.

This does not mean that Dedue is exclusively pigeonholed into life as an armored tank. It does, however, mean that he can excel in that niche. Most students crumple within one or two rounds of combat with Maddening mode enemies, so being able to lure multiple enemies or choke off specific points is a utility in high demand. Still, Poison Strike enemies litter the field in many chapters, and anything beyond a sideways glance from a Mage will decimate Dedue, so even at his best his usefulness as a tank will be limited.

A full defensive focus will see Dedue master Commoner for HP +5 and Soldier for Defense +2 and Reposition, then certify into Armored Knight and eventually Fortress Knight. The mastery skills for these two classes are not particularly desirable, though they don't hurt to have. A Dedue such as this will accept being doubled as a way of life, so shields and weapons can be considered regardless of weight. You'll want to work toward B Authority so Dedue can command the Duscur Heavy Soldiers with their +10 protection, though the Kingdom Armored Co. is worthwhile in the meantime thanks to its modest defense boost and Impregnable Wall (and that gambit may be more useful than the extra defense for some chapters). B Brawling is worth considering for the Healing Focus combat art, even if it doesn't synergize well with Staunch Shield. Death Blow is not necessary when the bulk of Dedue's time will be spent in enemy phase combat, waiting, repositioning, or using Healing Focus. Great Knight is also simply not worth the heavy riding investment through Dedue's riding bane.

Armored Dedue can comfortably rebuff assaults from enemy Swordmasters, Heroes, Assassins, Paladins, Grapplers, and perhaps most importantly Falcon Knights. Snipers only pose a threat thanks to Poison Strike, and even the Death Knight may struggle to meaningfully damage Dedue by the end of Part 1. He may not reliably deal much damage in return, but the ability to manage enemy positions is its own kind of damage.

When Dedue does need to take an offensive stance, he can make use of the Vengeance combat art once he achieves C+ lances. This can be a supplementary tool or the focus of his entire build, even if the most effective way for him to abuse Vengeance (Paladin) requires muscling through his riding bane.

The other major route Dedue can take is that of the Grappler and/or War Master. This strategy sacrifices most of Dedue's durability since getting doubled will hurt significantly harder without super-high defense, but it can make use of Dedue's high strength and boons in Axes and Brawling much like Raphael would. In this case, mastering Fighter for Strength +2 and Brigand for Death Blow is the way to go. The main drawback here is Dedue's lack of availability during the first several post-timeskip chapters. Grappler and War Master are heavily reliant on mastery to reach their potential, and Dedue can struggle to reach those thresholds and catch up to the levels the rest of your army will reach while he is gone.

Overall, Dedue is a rather limited unit, but he has the ability to withstand assaults few others can. Not every member of your team needs to deal big damage to be useful, so Dedue may very well be worth a spot on your squad.

Dedue can build support with the following characters.

Dedue cannot be recruited into other houses.

They will automatically be recruited if the player selects to teach the Blue Lions house.