History MemeticLoser / FireEmblemHeroes

** Seliph. Despite being one of the best units in his home game, he falls a bit short in ''Heroes'', mostly owing to his mediocre stats and being a common unit. The rest of his family all were premium units on their banners and his half-sister Julia became the first Jugdral character to have a Legendary variant, and following that, his cousin Leif being the next to do so (who already had his own case of MemeticLoser status). In terms of combat prowess, Seliph's refined Tyrfing at least gives him an edge by having a unique Miracle effect built in, giving him a niche use in Aether Raids defense. In addition, while he finally got a Legendary variant in June 2020, it's considered by many to be [[JunkRare one of the worst Legendary units]] in the game due to going for a pure enemy phase playstyle that's easily shut down due to his low speed and reliance on an enemy phase-only guaranteed follow up effect while being a cavalry unit which notoriously have trouble pulling off those roles due to their lower BST. Him being a more recent addition means that there are many more set to get a remix before him. Finally, his only other representation in the game is as the back up to Leif in their Harmonic alt, compared to all of the other lords having some other non-Legendary alt or having a resplendent version. That said, Seliph got the same Divine Tyrfing refine that Sigurd also got, putting him in contention as one of the best 4-star infantry swords due to it helping his speed problem with its guaranteed follow up and working well with him naturally having decent bulk, as well as a Resplendent variant later on while the August 2023 remix and refine fixed almost every single problem he had with Holy Wars End II now granting him guaranteed follow ups and denying his opponents follow ups on both phases so he now actually can fight on player phase while letting him strike twice on enemy phase so follow up denial is no longer an option there while he inflicts -5 atk/def on his opponent. Meanwhile Virtuous Tyrfing now prevents his counters from being denied, gives him a minimum of 40% damage reduction as well as a once per turn Miracle effect incase the opponent is able to get through his damage reduction while still being able to heal himself back up and inflict another debuff of -11 atk/def and deal 15% of his attack as true damage taking his Legendary self from being one of the worst heroes in the game to being one of the best enemy phase units.

* Ross started to fall under this after his Father-Son Axe turned out to only have a dual-phase brave effect with a 5 Spd penalty and the unique refine inflicting -5 Atk/Def on his foe, dealing true damage equal to 15% of his HP, and restoring 7 HP to him after combat if he initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally. These effects are not only rather underwhelming and not enough in the current meta, but they're also anti-synergistic with Vantage builds and speed stacking builds. However, this status plunged into newfound depths when just one month after Ross's refine, Echidna received her Western Axe, which grants +4 to all stats, reduces damage from her foe's first attack by 30%, and deals damage equal to the total amount of damage reduced if she's within 3 spaces of an ally. This kind of weapon would be good on its own, but the unique refine takes things to a whole new level, as it gives her the Unity effect to all of her stats and special cooldown charge +1 to unit per attack during combat if her foe initiates combat or if her foe's HP is 75% or above. The fact that both Ross and Echidna are back-to-back 3-4 star infantry axe demotes with the former receiving a lackluster refine and the latter getting a downright broken refine by comparison is what truly seals Ross's fate as one of the biggest "losers" in the refine department, to the dismay of his fans.

** Seliph. Despite being one of the best units in his home game, he falls a bit short in ''Heroes'', mostly owing to his mediocre stats and being a common unit. The rest of his family all were premium units on their banners and his half-sister Julia became the first Jugdral character to have a Legendary variant, and following that, his cousin Leif being the next to do so (who already had his own case of MemeticLoser status). In terms of combat prowess, Seliph's refined Tyrfing at least gives him an edge by having a unique Miracle effect built in, giving him a niche use in Aether Raids defense. In addition, while he finally got a Legendary variant in June 2020, it's considered by many to be [[JunkRare one of the worst Legendary units]] in the game due to going for a pure enemy phase playstyle that's easily shut down due to his low speed and reliance on an enemy phase-only guaranteed follow up effect while being a cavalry unit which notoriously have trouble pulling off those roles due to their lower BST. Him being a more recent addition means that there are many more set to get a remix before him. Finally, his only other representation in the game is as the back up to Leif in their Harmonic alt, compared to all of the other lords having some other non-Legendary alt or having a resplendent version. That said, Seliph got the same Divine Tyrfing refine that Sigurd also got, putting him in contention as one of the best 4-star infantry swords due to it helping his speed problem with its guaranteed follow up and working well with him naturally having decent bulk, as well as a Resplendent variant later on.

** Despite being a very popular character, Edelgard became a huge butt of jokes for losing '''[[https://i.redd.it/me7zxu9a4hla1.png 9 times in 8 voting gauntlets]]''', making her the biggest loser in voting gauntlet history. While she did make it in the final rounds of two of them (Kingdoms vs. Empires and Brave Reprisals), in the 4 years of having at least one of her variants participate in every post-2018 AHR finals voting gauntlet, her status as this is even ''worse''. Not only did she not have any of her variants win a single AHR voting gauntlet despite being in the Top 8 every year, but she has '''''never''''' gotten past the first round of each, especially losing to [[UnderdogsNeverLose characters that are less popular than her]][[note]]So far, she lost to Legendary Leif in 2020, Legendary Dimitri in 2021, Hatari Harmonic Azura & Leanne in 2022, and Legendary Veronica with her Summer variant (''alongside'' 2020 AHR winner Altina) '''and''' Ninja Camilla with her Fallen variant in 2023.[[/note]], in the Dueling Darkness Voting Gauntlet in June 2022 she was just against a more popular character in the form of Fallen Rhea, and the Sea-Spray Skirmish Voting Gauntlet in July-August 2022 she lost to Summer Micaiah at the last hourly multiplier, with both results having her be knocked out in the first round.

* Despite being considered [[GameBreaker about as good a unit]] as he was in ''Engage'', Alcryst got on the receiving end of this in regards to ''Heroes''' characterization of him. Many feel his ChronicSelfDeprecation and [[ApologizesALot apologetic nature]] are {{Flanderized}} to an exaggerated degree (which is saying something) while his [[BewareTheNiceOnes other traits]] and HiddenDepths that helped balance it out in his home game are barely touched on, making him come off as a major wuss. Not helping matters is how his Forging Bonds accessory is a forehead gauze resembling bandage patches with the explanation being that he is prone to ''[[TheKlutz accidentally banging his head while apologizing]]'', which fans found hilariously pathetic.

* While seen as a good unit like he was in ''Engage'', Alcryst's characterization in this game became a quick source of mockery. Many note his ChronicSelfDeprecation and [[ApologizesALot apologetic nature]] are {{Flanderized}} to an exaggerated degree (which is saying something) while his [[BewareTheNiceOnes other traits]] that helped balance it out in his home game are barely touched on, making him come off as a major wuss. Not helping matters is how his Forging Bonds accessory is a forehead gauze that looks like bandage patches with the explanation being that he is prone to ''[[TheKlutz accidentally banging his head while apologizing]]'', which many found hilariously pathetic.

* Out of the four Aether Raids seasons, Anima has been hit with this status for a multitude of reasons. In Book V alone, Astra had Reginn, Ashera, and Thórr, all of which provided great utility and had great combat as well, while Anima had Seiros and Ótr, the former having her personal skill only supporting ally Mythic Heroes and the latter having no form of utility. In addition, Ótr’s banner had poor sales that set a new low in history at the time of his release. The introduction of Elimine was another harsh blow, as she introduced [False Start], which invalidated many units that were heavily relied on in Anima defenses, most notably Bridal Catria and Thea. Then the rotation between Legendary and Mythic Heroes were changed from 1 Legendary Hero and 1 Mythic Hero to 2 Legendary Heroes and 1 Mythic Hero, making the wait for a new Mythic Hero longer than before. The next two times after Elimine’s release that the rotation landed on a Mythic Hero, Medeus and Askr were released as Dark and Light Mythic Heroes, respectively, before Anima received a new Mythic Hero. This left Anima in the dust, especially since the former two seasons already had great Mythic Heroes in Nótt and Ash, respectively, while Anima was still suffering under Elimine’s iron fist. When Anima ''finally'' got its turn for a new Mythic Hero in the form of Arval in October 2022, which was ''a year and a month'' since Ótr, they only had the ability to inflict [Guard] on foes within 3 rows or 3 columns if Arval had more Res than the foe for any form of utility. This wasn’t enough to save Anima from Elimine’s rule, and as a result Arval sold '''worse than Ótr''', with the only compensation being they managed to beat Legendary Xander. And then, as if Anima hadn't already suffered enough, Book VII introduced another free-to-play Astra mythic with Seiðr, who not only grants a status to her allies that prevents foes from doubling, but she also can end the turn of the nearest foes in a cardinal direction of her on odd-numbered turns. It's telling that when Fomortiis was introduced in January 2023, a mere ''three months'' after Arval, as an Anima mythic who can act as a save tank, he managed to not only place 2nd in the A Hero Rises 2023 event, but go on to win the subsequent Voting Gauntlet and be given out for free between March 22, 2023 and April 21, 2023.

** Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, and Elm have been quickly categorized as part of a hopeless "No default form released" club for male ''Heroes'' characters. Throughout their respective books, Bruno, Fáfnir, and Elm (who were recurring bosses) as well as Freyr (who sacrificed himself for the progression of the story and had to be fought once) had no announcements of being released as either a Normal, Legendary or Mythic Hero, while every other main character in their respective books did. It came as a surprise that Thórr served as the other ''Heroes'' character being released as playable instead of Fáfnir when Eitri was inevitably announced in late November 2021, and Elm himself was nowhere to be found when the Legendary Veronica and Embla banner was revealed in the following year. All of them have at least received a seasonal alt since, with Bruno receiving two seasonal alts, cementing them in what many refer to as "alt hell", yet some consider it a consolation prize for at least being considered playable in some capacity. Henriette and Veronica (despite having both a Brave and Legendary alt) qualify for this too, but they're not mentioned as much because they are much more popular than any of the male characters above. Gustav was a part of this group as well, but he managed to escape this fate with his surprise inclusion on the "Beyond Control" banner in May 2022.

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Henriette, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, Manuela]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage Ivy]]. [[/labelnote]], an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto, and Anankos]][[/labelnote]], or both [[labelnote:So far this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Gustav, "Books 1-5" Veronica]], and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Anna]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

** Funny enough, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' as a group has been hit with this status considering [[BreakingOldTrends that unlike the other mainline games (Echoes and Three Houses) released after Heroes, it has only had one "New Heroes" banner instead of two consecutive ones]], which has generally only been relegated to spinoff titles (''Tokyo Mirage Sessions'' and ''Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes''). Considering that only one gender (female) of the protagonist Alear has currently appeared (usually both genders of the protagonist have been available at the same time), along with an April Fools 2023 video acknowledging Timerra and Ivy appearing in the second 2023 summer banner, many fans have wondered whether if Intelligent Systems doesn't have as much faith in the game compared to the other two mainline titles.

** Funny enough, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' as a group has been hit with this status considering [[BreakingOldTrends that unlike the other mainline games (Echoes and Three Houses) released after Heroes, it has only had one "New Heroes" banner instead of two consecutive ones]], which has generally only been relegated to spinoff titles (''Tokyo Mirage Sessions'' and ''Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes''). Considering that only one gender (female) of the protagonist Alear has currently appeared (usually both genders of the protagonist have been available at the same time) along with an April Fools 2023 video acknowledging Timerra, many fans have wondered whether if Intelligent Systems doesn't have as much faith in the game compared to the other two mainline titles.

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Henriette, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto, and Anankos]][[/labelnote]], or both [[labelnote:So far this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Gustav, "Books 1-5" Veronica]], and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Anna]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Henriette, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Saul, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto, and Anankos]][[/labelnote]], or both [[labelnote:So far this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Gustav, "Books 1-5" Veronica]], and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Anna]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

** ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'' got hit with this ''hard'', as it's the only represented ''Fire Emblem'' game to have only ''one'' dedicated banner, with no seasonals, Legendary, or Mythic heroes added in the two years since. Out of all the characters, Touma and Yashiro get hit with this the hardest, due to the other playable characters at least being in the game itself. Many fans still hope that the game will be given a second chance by getting another banner.
** Funny enough, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' as a group has been hit with this status considering [[BreakingOldTrends that unlike the other mainline games (Echoes and Three Houses) released after Heroes, it has only had one "New Heroes" banner instead of two consecutive ones]], which has generally only been relegated to spinoff titles (''Tokyo Mirage Sessions'' and ''Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes''). Considering that only one gender (female) of the protagonist Alear has currently appeared (usually both genders of the protagonist have been available at the same time) along with an April Fools 2023 video acknowledging Timerra, many fans have wondered whether if Intelligent System doesn't have faith in the game compared to the other two mainline titles.

** Funny enough, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' as a group has been hit with this status considering [[BreakingOldTrends that unlike the other mainline games (Echoes and Three Houses) released after Heroes, it has only had one "New Heroes" banner instead of two consecutive ones]], which has generally only been relegated to spinoff titles (Tokyo Mirage Session and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes). Considering that only one gender (female) of the protagonist Alear has currently appeared (usually both genders of the protagonist have been available at the same time) along with an April Fools 2023 video acknowledging Timerra, many fans have wondered whether if Intelligent System doesn't have faith in the game compared to the other two mainline titles.

** Poor Adult Tiki from ''Awakening'' just can't catch a break. In contrast to her child self from ''Mystery of the Emblem'' who has received an alt every year starting with Summer Child Tiki in 2018, Adult Tiki only got one alt to call her own: Summer Adult Tiki, released in 2017. When the disparity between the representation of the two Tikis got so bad, players took the matter into their own hands and voted en masse for Adult Tiki in Choose Your Legends 6 and won first place overall, which gave her a Brave variant. Unfortunately, when her Brave variant was revealed, she was dressed in Young Tiki's outfit, which added salt to the wound for people already accusing Intelligent Systems of favoring Tiki's child self over her adult self. [[HistoryRepeats Things heated up again]] when it was revealed that Harmonic Adult Tiki was revealed in 2023's "Bridal Dreams" banner, with Tiki's child self appearing once again as the backpack. As a result, people often lump Adult Tiki and Sharena together as "those two characters that are cursed to live in the shadow of Child Tiki and Alfonse and/or Veronica".

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Henriette, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Saul, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto, and Anankos]][[/labelnote]], or both [[labelnote:So far this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Gustav and "Books 1-5" Veronica]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

** Poor Adult Tiki from ''Awakening'' just can't catch a break. In contrast to her child self from ''Mystery of the Emblem'' who has received an alt every year starting with Summer Child Tiki in 2018, Adult Tiki only got one alt to call her own: Summer Adult Tiki, released in 2017. When the disparity between the representation of the two Tikis got so bad, players took the matter into their own hands and voted en masse for Adult Tiki in Choose Your Legends 6 and won first place overall, which gave her a Brave variant. Unfortunately, when her Brave variant was revealed, she was dressed in Young Tiki's outfit, which added salt to the wound for people already accusing Intelligent Systems of favoring Tiki's child self over her adult self. As a result, people often lump Adult Tiki and Sharena together as "those two characters that Intelligent Systems refuses to acknowledge in favor of Child Tiki and Alfonse and/or Veronica".

*** Adding salt to the wound is how all of these characters (including Gustav himself) were eventually killed off in their stories. The only one currently alive is Hrid (who is playable as a Legendary Hero), who is currently PutOnABus, and Elm (whose base form isn't playable, but still has a New Years variant that is), [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse whose fate was left undetermined]] after his last appearance beyond flashbacks.

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Henriette, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Saul, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto]][[/labelnote]], or both [[labelnote:So far this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Gustav and "Books 1-5" Veronica]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

** Despite being a very popular character, Edelgard became a huge butt of jokes for losing '''[[https://i.redd.it/me7zxu9a4hla1.png 9 times in 8 voting gauntlets]]'''. While she did make it in the final rounds of two of them (Kingdoms vs. Empires and Brave Reprisals), in the 4 years of having at least one of her variants participate in every post-2018 AHR finals voting gauntlet, her status as this is even ''worse''. Not only did she not have any of her variants win a single AHR voting gauntlet despite being in the Top 8 every year, but she has '''''never''''' gotten past the first round of each, especially losing to [[UnderdogsNeverLose characters that are less popular than her]][[note]]So far, she lost to Legendary Leif in 2020, Legendary Dimitri in 2021, Hatari Harmonic Azura & Leanne in 2022, and Legendary Veronica with her Summer variant (''alongside'' 2020 AHR winner Altina) '''and''' Ninja Camilla with her Fallen variant in 2023.[[/note]], in the Dueling Darkness Voting Gauntlet in June 2022 she was just against a more popular character in the form of Fallen Rhea, and the Sea-Spray Skirmish Voting Gauntlet in July-August 2022 she lost to Summer Micaiah at the last hourly multiplier, with both results having her be knocked out in the first round.

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Henriette, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Saul, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran, ]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto]].[[/labelnote]], or both [[labelnote:So far this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Gustav and "Books 1-5" Veronica]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

** The sixth Choose your Legends pool would end with [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Jorge]] at the bottom, with a mere six votes. More details below on how it was a big 'fall from grace' for Jorge.

* Male Wyvern Riders. Most of them will debut as a Grand Hero Battle unit, to which they would always be stuck in neutral stat spread, and usually be given non-unique weaponry, which won't make them stand out compared to other characters that actually have unique weapons. Making matters worse is that even if they were fantastic units in their home games, they're doomed to be mediocre in ''Heroes''. It started right at the game's launch with the absolute joke of a unit [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Narcian]], who originally wielded the rare and somewhat unique Runesword in his home game, but here, he is a MasterOfNone that started with an [[CripplingOverspecialization Emerald Axe+]]. [[note]]He was then thrown a bone when he received a unique weapon, the Runeaxe, in May 2020. It still doesn't quite save him, but it's at least [[ClosestThingWeGot the closest thing to the Runesword as he'll get]].[[/note]] It really ramped up in 2019 with [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Haar]], followed by [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Cormag]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Travant]], and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Heath]] in relative succession. All four were somewhat insulting portrayals of the characters for one reason or another. [[note]]Haar is considered one of the strongest units in ''Radiant Dawn'', but is a mere MightyGlacier that's too similar to another free MightyGlacier axe flier in Gerome, and both are outdone by the common Cherche. Cormag and Heath have balanced statlines, but nothing too unique or great to help them stand out, and Travant is a MightyGlacier with a ''Silver Lance+'', essentially a blank weapon that offers absolutely nothing else but higher Mt and was released alongside Altena who has a near identical statline, but is in the normal pool and has Earthly Gae Bolg as a prf.[[/note]] While their voice and artwork are fine, their combat performances all pale greatly compared to their original selves, especially in Haar's case. [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Ashnard]] actually broke the streak in May 2020 by actually being decent and wielding his unique weapon Gurgurant, and while fans feared for [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Seteth]], he joined in October 2020 as a demote but with a good stat spread and good supportive weapon with his unique weapon Spear of Assal.

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Veronica, Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, Elm,]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Saul, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran, ]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], or an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

* Book V's entire Grand Hero Battle lineup [[note]] Caellach, Veld, Díthorba, Solon, Sonia, Fallen Orson, Fernand, Arete, Pelleas, Aelfric, Sedgar, and Bertram[[/note]] is infamous for its perceived low usability and quality, especially in comparison to Book 4 and 6's overall well received GHB lineup. Most of this can come down to the vast majority of the units being [[{{MightyGlacier}} Mighty Glaciers]] of common unit types in a meta in which [[{{LightningBruiser}} Lightning Bruisers]] and Armored save tanks are largely the meta, with the few fast units of the bunch lacking any personal weapon to take advantage of their statlines and stand out from the sea of similar units, and the few units that do have personal weapons were either considered to be poor [[note]] Fallen Orson [[/note]] or largely support based [[note]] Veld and Solon [[/note]]. As such, the fanbase at large considers Book V's lineup to be the "dark days" of Grand Hero Battle units, with nearly every unit being seen as dead-on arrival and outclassed by the numerous options that came out afterwards. It's to the point that when Yen'fay, Book VI's first GHB, was shown to have a speed-based personal weapon that actually helped him in combat, he was near-universally praised on release and considered to be better than anything Book V had.

* Every character that is either exclusively a seasonal unit [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Darros, Rickard, Xane,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Deen, Rinea, Rudolf,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Brigid,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Lifis,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Wolt, Saul, Zelot, Geese, Juno,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Mark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Artur, Dozla, Saleh,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Greil, Boyd, Rolf, Rhys, Zihark,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Vika, Rafiel, Kyza, Lyre, Kurthnaga, Ena, Dheginsea, Sephiran, ]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo, Severa, Noire,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dorothea, Caspar, Ashe, Raphael, Leonie, Ignatz, Lorenz, and Manuela]][[/labelnote]], or an "alt" in the regular/grail pool [[labelnote:So far, this includes...]][[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Orson,]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Muarim, Ashnard,]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Mikoto]].[[/labelnote]], are made fun of as a whole, since being introduced in these ways tends to heavily lowers their chances of being featured in their normal outfits on New Heroes banners. Jokes about these characters being stuck in "seasonal/alt hell" are very common throughout the fanbase. While this mantle applies to any character introduced this way, there are a few notable examples...

* Bruno, Freyr, Fáfnir, and Elm have been quickly categorized as part of a hopeless "No default form released" club for male ''Heroes'' characters. Throughout their respective books, Bruno, Fáfnir, and Elm (who were recurring bosses) as well as Freyr (who sacrificed himself for the progression of the story and had to be fought once) had no announcements of being released as either a Normal, Legendary or Mythic Hero, while every other main character in their respective books did. It came as a surprise that Thórr served as the other ''Heroes'' character being released as playable instead of Fáfnir when Eitri was inevitably announced in late November 2021, and Elm himself was nowhere to be found when the Legendary Veronica and Embla banner was revealed in the following year. All of them have at least received a seasonal alt since, with Bruno receiving two seasonal alts, cementing them in what many refer to as "alt hell", yet some consider it a consolation prize for at least being considered playable in some capacity. Henriette and Veronica (despite having both a Brave and Legendary alt) qualify for this too, but they're not mentioned as much because they are much more popular than any of the male characters above. Gustav was a part of this group as well, but he managed to escape this fate with his surprise inclusion on the "Beyond Control" banner in May 2022.
** Adding salt to the wound is how all of these characters (including Gustav himself) were eventually killed off in their stories. The only one currently alive is Hrid (who is playable as a Legendary Hero), who is currently PutOnABus, and Elm (whose base form isn't playable, but still has a New Years variant that is), [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse whose fate was left undetermined]] after his last appearance beyond flashbacks.
* All of the Choose Your Legends 6 winners (except for Female Byleth) fell into this status, albeit with different reasons for each.

** ''The Binding Blade'' was stuck with this status for a while due to not having a dedicated banner for two years. While it did have a sizeable number of units at launch, only one new character, Klein, was added since then, with the only other additions being 3 alts of Roy and 1 alt each for Lilina, Cecilia, and Fae. These jokes died down in 2019, however, despite being ''two years'' after the game's launch, when Binding Blade got two dedicated banners that year, perhaps to make up for their absence.

* Funny enough, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' as a group has been hit with this status considering [[BreakingOldTrends that unlike the other mainline games (Echoes and Three Houses) released after Heroes, it has only had one "New Heroes" banner instead of two consecutive ones]], which has generally only been relegated to spinoff titles (Tokyo Mirage Session and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes). Considering that only one gender (female) of the protagonist Alear has currently appeared (usually both genders of the protagonist have been available at the same time) along with an April Fools 2023 video acknowledging Timerra, many fans have wondered whether if Intelligent System doesn't have faith in the game compared to the other two mainline titles.

** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Inigo and Noire]] are often thrown in the same boat as Charlotte, being some of the longest characters to remain in seasonal/alt hell, and some of the few to remain before the concept started to take off. While this is at least {{Downplayed}} with Inigo in certain fans eyes, as the circumstances of his representation in ''Heroes'' has left some of them satisfied [[note]] Namely, the fact that Inigo's ''Fates'' counterpart, Laslow, has had his base form in since launch.[[/note]], this is very much played straight with Noire, who is an outdated seasonal unit with [[UnintentionallyUncannyValley/FireEmblemHeroes widely panned art]], and has been skipped on banners that would suit her, such as ''From a Future Past''.