History ThatOneBoss / FireEmblem

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemNewMysteryOfTheEmblem''
** [[spoiler:Katarina]] in Prologue 8. She uses Elfire in a game where most anyone who isn't a mage has little to no Resistance. As a result, her attacks can 2-shot all but maybe 2 people on your team. And since it isn't a Seize map, you'll be forced to bait her to your position and fight on her terms for the first round. SquishyWizard though she is, it's a difficult fight if you aren't expecting it and it can be hard to get up to her without someone dying, anyway.

*** He is so [[SNKBoss outrageously cheap]] that using staves, which would normally be frowned upon as a GameBreaker in this installment, are [[PuzzleBoss practically necessary]] [[OutsideTheBoxTactic to win this battle]]. A village in the this chapter gives you a Warp staff, which can be taken as unsubtle nod from the developers that you're better off ''not'' fighting him and taking a shortcut to beat the chapter. Players can also cast Berserk on him [[HoistByHisOwnPetard and use his fighting prowess against the enemy army]].

*** He is so [[SNKBoss outrageously cheap]] that using staves, which would normally be frowned upon as a GameBreaker in this installment, are [[PuzzleBoss practically necessary]] [[OutsideTheBoxTactic to win this battle]]. A village in the this chapter gives you a Warp staff, which can be taken as unsubtle nod from the developers that you're better off ''not'' fighting him and taking a shortcut to beat the chapter. Players can also cast Berserk on him and use his fighting prowess against the enemy army.

*** He is so [[SNKBoss outrageously cheap]] that a village in the same chapter gives you a Warp staff, which can be taken as unsubtle nod from the developers that you're better off ''not'' fighting him and taking a shortcut to beat the chapter.

** Maxime, the mid-boss in the already horrifying "Battle Before Dawn". He's a Paladin with ridiculous stats for someone who's not even a chapter boss (the boss of the chapter being Ursula). He's also hidden in a room on the left side of the map, so you have a good chance of being surprised (especially on HHM, where there's FogOfWar). Most players will go down the left side in order to protect [[GameBreaker Jaffar]], leaving them to be jumped by this bastard. At least you can avoid him by going down the right side (which also lets you rescue Nino, who you need to ''recruit'' Jaffar for the gaiden chapter).

-->-- '''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Reinhardt]]''', before unleashing a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the unfortunate target.

-->-- '''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Reinhardt]]''', before unleashing a [[ShockAndAwe fearsome thunderbolt]] on the unfortunate target.

** [[spoiler:Arvis]] is arguably even worse. He has an absolutely ludicrous attack power of ''70'', meaning that he will one-shot a lot of your units. His holy weapon grants him ''ridiculous'' defence boosts, and his defences were high to begin with. You'll need holy weapons if you want to give him anything worse than a scratch. Oh, he's also guarding a castle, which makes his '''evasion''' skyrocket as well. To add insult to injury, he also has the Awareness skill, which cancels out any chance of a critical hit on your side. If you don't have units with legendary weapons, high resistance, enough strength to actually dent him, and a shitload of healers... godspeed, soldier.
** Additionally, there is a certain Dragon Master wielding a certain [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Lance]] that is guaranteed to make any player burst into tears. If the EliteMooks with Sleep Swords, Slim Lances, and hyper-accuracy due to the Dragon Master's ''5-star'' leadership aura didn't make you rage, the boss himself will. Awareness and good defenses makes him resistant, if not immune, to most tried-and-true killing strategies, and the sadistic combination of Pursuit, Continue, and insane speed means he'll either [[OneHitPointWonder double your units normally, or double consecutively before you can counter]]. The only units that will stand a chance against this boss without being [[LudicrousGibs ludicrously gibbed]] are either your legendary-wielding bow-user, or your [[GlassCannon legendary-wielding sage]]. Oh, and if you're unfortunate enough to reduce his HP below 10 without killing him? For one turn, he'll dodge everything, and during his phase he'll fly and stab an unfortunate unit in the face. GLARGH.

** When it comes to ridiculous ''Fire Emblem'' bosses, Ishtar might as well take the cake. Not merely content with being ThatOneBoss, she insists on being a RecurringBoss as well! Not only are her stats absurdly high in each appearance, but she always wields the Mjolnir tome, which has an insane 30 might, +20 skill, and +10 speed. Combined with her maxed out magic and speed stats, Ishtar is able to 1-shot most of your characters with perfect accuracy at 1-2 range. Unlike other bosses sporting legendary weapons, Ishtar has free range of movement every time she appears. Her first appearance is in chapter 8, before most of your units are even promoted; good luck landing a critical hit with Faval's Ichival, or you'll be losing some characters. [[note]]Though if you can avoid her for a couple of turns, Julius will show up to take her away with him without you having to fight her.[[/note]] For her second appearance in chapter 10, she's backed up by [[spoiler:Julius (who's nearly impossible to kill at this stage of the game)]], and she won't leave until one of your units is dead. She returns one last time on the final chapter, flanked by three other difficult bosses at the same time. Better hope you have the Forseti tome ready by then!

** The final boss. He has an area of effect attack that damages the player's team heavily unless a Dragon Vein is used to soften the blow, but even then, it will still leave quite a mark. To say [[ThatOneLevel nothing of the hardest level in the entire game]], simply reaching the final boss is a daunting task in and of itself. Once the player has reached him, the player has to contend with his massive 1-4 range weapon and is effective against fliers. He has Dragonskin, which mitigates any damage taken, almost requiring Corrin's Shadow Yato to break through, Draconic Hex to debuff all of any assailant's stats by -4, and on higher difficulties, skills like Vengeance and Lifetaker. Finally, what makes the final boss particularly special is that he is paired up with a clone of himself and has the skill Bold Stance, which lets him fight with the benefits of both Attack Stance and Guard Stance, being able to do extra damage and also potentially block attacks. He is easily one of the toughest bosses in the game and is an incredibly dangerous opponent to face. And just who is this asshole who makes the end of ''Conquest'' so miserable? [[spoiler:It's none other than Takumi, bringing his [[RecurringBoss amount of appearances as a boss]] to a total of four times, culminating in him being the final boss, and he makes for one hell of a boss fight every time.]]

** In the original ''Fire Emblem'', you had Camus, the boss of Chapter 20. He wields the Gradvius lance, (essentially, an empowered Javelin with more might and 100% accuracy), he is the first boss where Marth can't trivialize the boss fight by himself. Couple in his well rounded stats along with the deadly spear, and you have the hardest boss fight in the original game.

** The FinalBoss, [[spoiler:Ashera]] is a doozy. Unlike any other Fire Emblem final boss, you have to destroy eight barriers surrounding her. Each barrier has 90 HP, high evade, can only be damaged by certain weapons, and will send half of any damage she takes back to you unless you use the Nihil skill (there are only four of these) or the Parity skill (there are only two of these, and they have the side effect of neutralizing your support bonuses). In addition, she recovers 40 HP each turn (a third of her HP), and the constant reinforcements will heal her even further. Meanwhile, the boss herelf cycles between an area attack that targets Defense, a 1-3 square range single attack that targets Res, another area attack that targets Res, another single attack that targets Def, and yet another area attack that silences everyone. All three area attacks hit ''everyone'' and can kill most weakened units very easily. The boss has 35 Def, so only the strongest physical units can deal decent damage, and to make matters worse, ''50'' Res, meaning your mages are dealing single-digit damage. To twist the knife further, you have to defeat her in nine turns, and if you don't, [[FinishingMove she inflicts Stun on everyone]], leaving your party powerless for several turns and able to be picked off by their mooks. Finally, if the boss isn't defeated by a certain overpowered mercenary leader, she will only get back up, recovering all 120 of her HP. The bright spot to all of this is that for the most part, none of these enemies are likely to get critical hits.

** The final boss. He has an area of effect attack that damages the player's team heavily unless a Dragon Vein is used to soften the blow, but even then, it will still leave quite a mark. To say [[ThatOneLevel nothing of the hardest level in the entire game]], simply reaching the final boss is a daunting task in and of itself. Once the player has reached him, the player has to contend with his massive 1-4 range weapon and is effective against fliers. He has Dragonskin, which mitigates any damage taken, almost requiring Corrin's Shadow Yato to break through, Draconic Hex to debuff all of any assailant's stats by -4, and on higher difficulties, skills like Vengeance and Lifetaker. Finally, what makes the final boss particularly special is that he is paired up with a clone of himself and has the skill Bold Stance, which lets him fight with the benefits of both Attack Stance and Guard Stance, being able to do extra damage and also potentially block attacks. He is easily one of the toughest bosses in the game and is an incredibly dangerous opponent to face. [[spoiler:It's none other than Takumi, making his [[RecurringBoss appearances as a boss]] to a total of four times, culminating in him being the final boss, and he makes for one hell of a boss fight every time.]]

** The final boss. He has an area of effect attack that damages the player's team heavily unless a Dragon Vein is used to soften the blow, but even then, it will still leave quite a mark. To say [[ThatOneLevel nothing of the hardest level in the entire game]], simply reaching the final boss is a daunting task in and of itself. Once the player has reached him, the player has to contend with his massive 1-5 range weapon and is effective against fliers. He has Dragonskin, which mitigates any damage taken, almost requiring Corrin's Shadow Yato to break through, Draconic Hex to debuff all of any assailant's stats by -4, and on higher difficulties, skills like Vengeance and Lifetaker. Finally, what makes the final boss particularly special is that he is paired up with a clone of himself and has the skill Bold Stance, which lets him fight with the benefits of both Attack Stance and Guard Stance, being able to do extra damage and also potentially block attacks. He is easily one of the toughest bosses in the game and is an incredibly dangerous opponent to face. [[spoiler:It's none other than Takumi, making his [[RecurringBoss appearances as a boss]] to a total of four times, culminating in him being the final boss, and he makes for one hell of a boss fight every time.]]

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Shadow Dragon]]''
** In the original Fire Emblem, you had Camus, the boss of Chapter 20. He wields the Gradvius lance, (essentially, an empowered Javelin with more might and 100% accuracy), he is the first boss where Marth can't trivialize the boss fight by himself. Couple in his well rounded stats along with the deadly spear, and you have the hardest boss fight in the original game.
* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia New Mystery of the Emblem]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Genealogy of the Holy War]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776]]''

** Reinhardt. Not only does he appear in a chapter with Saias and his absurd Leadership boost (though he leaves eventually), he's got his own Leadership stars, he's on a horse, carries two different weapons that attack twice, and also has Big Shield so he has a 20% chance to make your attack a NoSell. [[SerialEscalation Furthermore]], he also has Ambush, so he always attacks first even if you initiate combat, and also has a whopping ''five movement stars'' so he's got a rather high chance to ''move and attack twice in one turn''.

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Sword of Seals]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Sacred Stones]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Path of Radiance]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]''

** [[BladeOnAStick Haitaka]] from Chapter 9. While the bosses of Chapter 7 and 8 were nothing to write home about, this green-clad bastard has the dubious honor of being ''Conquest's'' WakeUpCallBoss. On Normal, he has very high stats on top of a (mostly, due to being Steel) unrestricted 1-2 range weapon, with his unique skill Rally Defense making him all the more challenging. Hard and Lunatic only makes it worse: Hard gives him Strong Riposte, which gives him +3 Attack when on the Defense, which can render long-range units who rely on Player Phase all the more squishy, and Lunatic takes it further by giving him Seal Defense, meaning attempting to outlast a [[LightningBruiser hard-hitting, agile spearman]] isn't an option anymore. Thankfully, the consolidation prize for capturing him instead of beating him means you'll be able to recruit him, and [[DiscOneNuke boy howdy is he useful.]] Good luck with that, though; your only unit able to capture him is Niles, and Haitaka murders the poor guy thanks to his skills effectively making him fragile as all hell.

** [[spoiler:[[DualBoss Iago and Hans]]]] are an utter nightmare in Ch. 26. [[ClimaxBoss Being a major cathartic confrontation and the last obstacle before the Endgame]] does demand a good challenge, but both of these bastards go far beyond the minimum required. [[spoiler:Iago]] is a [[CombatPragmatist total bastard]] even when not fighting him, as he peppers you with a supply of status effect staves to either immobilize, debilitate or magically-negate your army, with Lunatic only making it ''worse'' as he gets the Hexing Rod, which cuts your HP in half for the remainder of the battle - [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and he has infinite uses for each!]] Even when you ''do'' get to him [[ThatOneLevel (good luck with that)]], he's packing the [[InfinityPlusOneSword single strongest-tome in the game]] and will blast your face with his insane Magic and high Speed and Skill. Even ''before'' that you have to face [[spoiler:Hans]], who ''also'' [[InfinityPlusOneSword has the best weapon]] [[AnAxeToGrind of it's kind]], and he's a LightningBruiser who ''will'' wipe the floor with you if you aren't careful. On the bright side, you ''finally'' get the honor of murdering these two bastards in cold blood, which manages to make the result of this frustration at ''least'' a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
** In all the chapters he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]].In Chapter 25? He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towel]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]

** Speaking of [[RecurringBoss recurring]] [[ThatOneBoss TOBs]], Takumi very well rivals Ishtar (see above) for the dubious title of "Most Frustrating Boss in FE History." Takumi gets a pass in Chapter 10, for as [[ThatOneLevel hellish as that chapter is,]] the saving grace is you don't ''have'' to fight Takumi. Not so with your encounters in Chapter 13 and 23. In Chapter 13, he's a promoted SNIPER when none of your units are likely promoted at this point. His Fujin Yumi hits like a freight train, and only your tankiest units will be able to take more than one hit from him. It also allows him to ignore terrain effects, so that river separating you and him... isn't going to help you. The only saving grace is that he can't attack you up close, but you have to finish him ''fast'' if you don't want to suffer any casualties. Chapter 23 is even worse, as Takumi - [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules thanks to a skill that you cannot obtain in the base game]] - can ''attack right up close.'' Creator/{{Atlus}} would be so proud right now.
*** And the worst part? [[spoiler:That ISN'T the last encounter you have with him. No, thanks to the machinations of [[BigBad Anankos]], he's the fucking final boss! Not only does he possess Dragonskin AND can attack up front ''and'' an additional space away, he has a OPAF area-of-effect attack that, if you don't set up a barricade with a Dragon Vein, will hurt like a freight train. He is also paired up with a clone of himself; thankfully you only need to kill one, unfortunately he possesses Bold Stance which means he essentially has the pair up mechanic as it appeared in ''Awakening''. Not to mention, Takumi gains Vengeance and additional stats on Hard mode. He will eventually kill your soldiers if you get unlucky trying to beat him. BUT WAIT! [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse!]] On '''Lunatic''', he has ''Lifetaker'', allowing him to heal if you suffer casualties on his turn, and he gets 10 more HP for good measure!]] Man, [[BreatherBoss I missed it when Sniper bosses were a joke.]]

** Lloyd's version of "Four-Fanged Offense" in Hector mode. Not only does he move, his stats likely outclass any of your units and he has huge avoid. What's more, this is a ''Fog'' mission and if you are not aware that he is in a different spot from Eliwood mode, and that he moves this time, you're probably going to lose someone or need to reset. To top it all off, he has a Light Brand, which is a Sword that deals magic damage and can do [[SwordBeam ranged attacks]]. "General attacking me? I'll just blast it with magic! Is that a mage coming to counter me? I will just get up close and butcher it!". At least he's avoidable: [[spoiler:if all three Lords's levels are a total of 50 or higher, you go to the Linus version of "Four-Fanged Offense"; Linus doesn't move and there's no FogOfWar, making it far easier.]]

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates''

** [[spoiler:[[DualBoss Iago and Hans]] are an utter nightmare in Ch. 26. [[ClimaxBoss Being a major cathartic confrontation and the last obstacle before the Endgame]] does demand a good challenge, but both of these bastards go far beyond the minimum required. Iago is a [[CombatPragmatist total bastard]] even when not fighting him, as he peppers you with a supply of status effect staves to either immobilize, debilitate or magically-negate your army, with Lunatic only making it ''worse'' as he gets the Hexing Rod, which cuts your HP in half for the remainder of the battle - [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and he has infinite uses for each!]] Even when you ''do'' get to him [[ThatOneLevel (good luck with that)]], he's packing the [[InfinityPlusOneSword single strongest-tome in the game]] and will blast your face with his insane Magic and high Speed and Skill. Even ''before'' that you have to face Hans, who ''also'' [[InfinityPlusOneSword has the best weapon]] [[AnAxeToGrind of it's kind]], and he's a LightningBruiser who ''will'' wipe the floor with you if you aren't careful. On the bright side, you ''finally'' get the honor of murdering these two bastards in cold blood, which manages to make the result of this frustration at ''least'' a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.]]
** In all the chapters he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]]. [[spoiler:In Chapter 25? He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towel]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]]]

** Chapter 7: the boss guarding the first castle has ''unlimited'' uses for his long-ranged Fenrir spell, and it's strong enough to easily OHKO many characters at this point in the game. The castle's on top of a mountain, and with no flying units available, your only option is to scale the winding path up the mountain while letting him take several free shots at you. At least that boss only gets his Fenrir Spell after like 11 turns, giving plenty of time for Shanan and [[InfinityPlusOneSword his Balmung]], who starts very near from the castle, to hack him and his minions in small pieces. If you don't have the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Balmung]], though, you're most likely screwed.

** Caellach in Chapter 15. Appearing in a long and painful ThatOneLevel as it is, it's fairly likely he'll have a leg up statistically on most of your party; he is often able to 2-shot people with his Tomahawk, forcing you to pick away at him with your best fighters in hopes of causing DeathOfAThousandCuts, while praying to the RandomNumberGod that he doesn't get a critical hit. Speaking of critical hits, he's equipped with an accessory (Hoplon Guard) that reduces your critical rate to a flat 0%, which is painful for fans of [[spoiler:Joshua]] since for that character ItsPersonal, yet this character relies heavily on critical hits to do damage.
*** On the other hand, he only has 13 Speed (14 on Difficult) and the Hoplon Guard CAN be stolen by Thieves and Rogues who tend to have good speed, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard so...]]
** There's also Valter from the ''[[DualBoss same chapter]]''. His stats aren't absurdly high, but his speed is good enough to prevent doubling from many units. Thanks to his Killer Lance, he has a dangerously high chance of landing a critical hit, which will be more than enough to take out most of your units. To make matters worse, he also has the skill Pierce, which negates defense and is also enough to one-shot a good number of your units. Pierce is also capable of ''stacking with crits'', which of course results in [[NoKillLikeOverkill hilariously mean overkill]]. Oh, and he also totes a Fili Shield, which negates the effectiveness of bows. Even if you grab the Hoplon Guard from Caellach first and use it, you still have to contend with Pierce and chip at Valter very, very carefully.

** In all the chapters he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]]. [[spoiler:In Chapter 25? Well, after a certain [[DeadLittleSister major]] [[FakingTheDead plot]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge point]], Ryoma is ''pissed'' at you as he thinks [[YouKilledMyFather you murdered Hinoka]], [[SubvertedTrope except you didn't and only said you did to cover your tracks]], leading him to challenge you to a DuelToTheDeath. He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towel]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]]]

* If you are trying to keep every character alive while playing a ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' game, good luck if you're up against a magic-using boss with an extremely long range spell such as Bolting. Sure, it only has five uses, but that's enough to get your characters' HP low enough so the boss's underlings can pick him or her off before you get the chance to have him or her heal. This is notably annoying during one chapter of Ephraim's story in ''The Sacred Stones'', if only because the chapter consists of moving your units in a spiral-type formation until you reach the boss. Just be thankful that the bosses don't usually move.
** Simple: Move a Pegasus Knight just into their range, and have a healer ready. Peg Knights' high Evasion, Speed, and Resistance should allow you to dry up all five uses of Bolting before risking any other units. If you're playing a game where enemies don't use up weapon durability, though, may Naga help you, because this boss just got a '''WHOLE''' lot more painful.

** On Merciless mode: Gomer in Chapter 2 and Hyman in Chapter 3. Both wield Hand Axes, have ridiculous Attack, and doubly ridiculous attack Speed for the point you fight them at. There are few characters when you fight them who can even survive ONE round because of the ridiculous attack Speed, and with their high HP, [[FinalDeath swarming is out of the question]]. Hyman is ThatOneBoss on EVERY difficulty level too, because his attack Speed isn't even much lower on the ''lowest'' difficulty.

*** This fight can also completely slam the brakes on any Lunatic playthrough, due to her '''13''' Magic on that level. That's a big deal for the end of the tutorial-esque Prologue maps, but [[HarderThanHard that's Lunatic mode for you]].
*** Earlier on, there's either of the Prologue 4 bosses, Athena and Jeorge. Athena is faster than almost your entire army (except for My Unit and Caeda), so you'll be seeing many double-attacks and heavy damage from her. Jeorge is a ''Sniper'' and naturally has even higher stats. Though he can't counterattack at close range, he's able to move around, making that a moot point unless he's surrounded on all sides.
** The final two bosses on Lunatic mode stand out as being as unforgiving as humanly possible. In order to beat the game and not [[UnwinnableByDesign become stuck]], you will ''require'' a sufficiently trained Sage or Bishop that can take on [[spoiler:Gharnef using Starlight]], and will need to have Marth max out Speed. If you lack the former, [[spoiler:you can't kill Gharnef to get the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Falchion]], about the only thing that can harm Medeus]]. If you lack the latter, [[spoiler:Medeus (with his ludicrously high stats) will double Marth and roast him to cinders, leaving you with almost ''nobody'' who can fight him and deal sufficient damage]].

** The FinalBoss [[spoiler:Julius]] also counts. He has Meteor, and like all weapons in FE 4, it's unlimited use for enemies -- and he's all to happy to spam it when you're fighting Ishtar or the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Dark Warlords]]. He'll also Charge you with it -- so "Reduces SPD to 0" means nothing -- he can possibly keep pounding a unit with it 'till that unit is dead. And if you dared to let his twin sister die (or killed her): His main weapon, a [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Tome]], HALVES your combat stats before anything even occurs -- then he's got a good deal of Attack power, regenerates 20 HP every turn... and when he's below 40 HP? Vantage/Wrath kicks in -- he goes first and criticals any non-Awareness Unit, severely limiting your attack options. (Of course, if you do have the said sister, he's an AnticlimaxBoss, cause she gets an [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus 20 Tome]] that nullifies his weapon's ability, and has enough RES to make his attacks do about 5 Damage... She regenerates 10 HP every turn.)

** In general, ''Seals'' is extraordinarily cruel about weapon accuracy, which is a large part of the frustration. Some axes have a base hit of 50% or ''worse''. The throne that nearly every boss sits on also provides the aforementioned Avoid boost of 30%.
** If you're playing on hard mode, fighting chapter 7's Devias is like trying to fight a brick wall... except the wall hits back and knows a thing or two about dodging. For starters, he sits at the end of one of the most soul-crushingly difficult chapters, so even getting to him is a miracle in itself. Before you approach him, you better make sure everyone behind you is dead, because he'll call another horde of goons right to his side. Once that's out of the way, you realize that the usual throne bonus makes him both incredibly durable and surprisingly hard to hit - and any damage you do to him will be mostly healed away on the next turn. Then you realize he's actually better equipped than the next boss - Leygance has a steel lance and a javelin, allowing you to bait him out by making him prioritize using the stronger steel lance at close range, then pummeling him safely from 2 spaces away. Devias, however, uses only a spear, which is as strong as a steel lance and can attack from a distance. Even if you try to take advantage of his low resistance, you've only got one magic user at that point, and he's likely to get one-shot by the spear, or at least wounded enough that, by the time you've healed him enough for him to take another hit, Devias will have also recovered most, if not all of that magic damage. But then, after much frustration brought by the feeling of getting nowhere, one may be surprised to find that Devias has simply broken his weapon, and is now defenseless. That's right - the most reliable way to win this fight is through sheer repetition, helped by the fact that the spear, while powerful, is one of the most fragile weapons. So the best strategy is simply to send up your most durable guy, have him take a hit or two, retreat, heal, and repeat.
** The biggest problem with Leygance (the Chapter 8 boss) is that he has rather high defense to begin with, but his Resistance is lacking. So one would think magic would be effective... but being on a Throne effectively doubles his Resistance, in addition to the Avoid boost. The Triangle Attack certainly makes things easier (as it has perfect accuracy), but he's capable of nearly, if not outright killing one of the people you need for it.

** Murdock is basically Leygance on steroids. He has the maximum strength a General can have, maximum Con, effectively ''28'' defense from being on a Throne, and a Tomahawk to punish ranged and melee attackers. His only flaw is his speed, although that's a given for being a General. [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules He's also over the HP cap your units can attain.]] Exploiting the weapon triangle is strongly advised.

** The BossRush in the Final Chapter. Eight bosses, all with nearly maxed stats and the most powerful weapons in the game, released one by one, and they will all seek you out instead of staying put. But the worst are [[spoiler:Lloyd and Linus. Both would be difficult by themselves, but you have to fight them simultaneously. Their speed is high, which means you'll likely only get one attack in at a time, and their defenses are high enough to take plenty of hits. Through all this, they're powerful enough to kill most party members in one or two attacks and they can easily double-team a single character and kill him. Finally, they have an 'A' Support, which means they will be even more statistically pumped on top of everything else. The Japanese version is even worse, unleashing the bosses 2 rooms at a time as opposed to 1.]]
** Zoldam on the Pirate Ship level. All you have to do is survive 11 turns to win, but if you want to get an S Ranking in strategy on Normal Mode, you have to actually beat him in seven turns or so. (Hard Mode, strangely enough, is more lenient in this regard; you can S-rank Tactics as long as you beat him by turn 11.) Easier said than done, as you're fighting a high-level Shaman with the [[GameBreaker overpowered]] Luna tome at his disposal, and you have to ZergRush him in order to even get past the army of reinforcements. As if fighting him normally weren't bad enough, try doing it in seven turns on Hector Hard Mode (for added pain, you'll have to do it with mostly broken weapons and no money, which is extremely likely to happen in a typical S-ranked HHM run). Even without the logistical problems, killing Zoldam is likely the most difficult challenge in the game. If he gets a critical hit at all, [[LuckBasedMission you're very unlikely to have any units that can survive it]]. Also, on HHM he holds a Guiding Ring and you need [[FragileSpeedster Matthew]] to pry it out of his hands.
** [[SNKBoss Vaida]], the boss character of "Unfulfilled Heart". Granted, you don't WANT to kill her because [[spoiler:you can recruit her later]], but if you try... good luck. Unless you've power leveled using Arenas, or abused the Mine Glitch, the only real way to beat her is to get ''very'' lucky with your bow-users. She has a buffed spear, the "[[FanNickname Uber Spear]]", which gives her ridiculous stat bonuses, and she's already quite strong as a level 9 promoted unit. It's also exceptionally easy to aggro her by accident, especially if you want to get your two character groups to meet up.

** Ashnard's just as bad, though not nearly as luck-based. On Normal mode he's not too bad, though only [[BigFuckingSword Ragnell]], your dragon, and the laguz you've called for reinforcements can hurt him, despite the fact that there are a load of things that should be able to do the job (like a theoretical weakness to bows and wind magic -- it even flashes as if it'll be double damage, but it does nothing due to his "blessed armor"). He is merciless on Hard mode, where he actually moves and seeks out your characters, ''and'' you won't get the laguz reinforcement immedeately as normal. And once you strike him down? He revives, with jacked-up stats to boot! Like the aforementioned Black Knight battle, it's pretty much all up to Ike's Aether skill.

** Sergei in chapter 3-10. You're trying to protect an NPC who exhibits ArtificialStupidity of the highest order, which largely involves clustering around this character to (try to) prevent her from being attacked. She's weak against bows, and Sergei and his nearby mooks are all Bow Knights with a long movement range... you get the picture.
** The final chapter is a parade of PurposelyOverpowered bosses, even though most of them possess a single massive AchillesHeel (the Nihil skill). The last 3 are particularly mean:
*** [[spoiler:Dheginsea]] proves very statistically imposing, with 100 HP, a skill that combines Nihil with passive self-healing, all but Luck and Speed capped, and a base attack of '''75'''. In plain terms, he is a massive tank who will usually kill those he attacks in 2 hits. Just to even reach him, you must fight through a map full of DemonicSpiders ([[spoiler:Red and White Dragons]]) who themselves are capable of taking large chunks of health off at a time, and then hold them at bay while you fight the boss. To wear you down further, he periodically uses a wide-ranging area-of-effect attack that hits the Defense stat, and the damage ''increases'' the closer an ally is to him. To cap all this off, attacking him without Nihil or Parity equipped means you risk facing his [[LimitBreak mastery skill]] ([[spoiler:Ire]]) which is, well, a death sentence. That in itself, though, is his weakness: by only attacking him with Nihil-users (and Marksmen who can snipe from 3 spaces back without retaliation) and staying healed, actually beating him boils down to doing the math and staying out of a position where you can get overwhelmed from the damage taken. He also [[spoiler:will not attack Ena and Kurthnaga at all, even if they attack him, though typically they struggle to do any meaningful damage to him]].
*** [[spoiler:Sephiran]] doesn't stack nearly as many hurdles in your way as the above boss, but compensates by [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard outright cheating]]. He's surrounded by a clustered pattern of magic spirit mooks that must be cut through to reach him, and four of them are always positioned adjacent to him. There's a reason for that: when you've reduced his HP below 50% and attack him, one of the spirits will activate the Guard skill [[AssPull out of nowhere]] and take the hit. (One ''wishes'' it was that convenient normally.) The only way to take him out is to remove his adjacent "bodyguards" first. He's also spamming an area-based Magic attack while you're trying to get to him.
*** The FinalBoss, [[spoiler:Ashera]] is a doozy. Unlike any other Fire Emblem final boss, you have to destroy eight barriers surrounding her. Each barrier has 90 HP, high evade, can only be damaged by certain weapons, and will send half of any damage she takes back to you unless you use the Nihil skill (there are only four of these) or the Parity skill (there are only two of these, and they have the side effect of neutralizing your support bonuses). In addition, she recovers 40 HP each turn (a third of her HP), and the constant reinforcements will heal her even further. Meanwhile, the boss herelf cycles between an area attack that targets Defense, a 1-3 square range single attack that targets Res, another area attack that targets Res, another single attack that targets Def, and yet another area attack that silences everyone. All three area attacks hit ''everyone'' and can kill most weakened units very easily. The boss has 35 Def, so only the strongest physical units can deal decent damage, and to make matters worse, ''50'' Res, meaning your mages are dealing single-digit damage. To twist the knife further, you have to defeat her in nine turns, and if you don't, [[FinishingMove she inflicts Stun on everyone]], leaving your party powerless for several turns and able to be picked off by their mooks. Finally, if the boss isn't defeated by a certain overpowered mercenary leader, she will only get back up, recovering all 120 of her HP. The bright spot to all of this is that for the most part, none of these enemies are likely to get critical hits.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''
** ''[[TheTrickster Gangrel]]''. He carries a Levin Sword giving him the ability to attack at range, and has a Magic stat to back it up (not to mention that the majority of your units have rather low Resistance and Resistance growth on average, so he'll actually do significant damage with it), and he's very fast, so expect a lot of double hits. What's worse, if you bait any of the enemies that are lurking in his vicinity, [[WolfpackBoss they'll all come rushing at you]]. This is taken a step further on Lunatic; not only are his stats buffed, his Levin Sword gets forged to be stronger and more accurate, and he also gets the Acrobat skill, making his movement unhindered by forests and such, and the infamous Lucky Seven which grants him Avoid +''20'' for ''seven goddamned turns''. Although chances are you won't reach him that quickly in that time span, but if you do prepare to miss hitting him a lot.
** Good luck taking down Walhart both times when you fight him in the main story on Hard Mode and above: He has the Conquest skill which negates the weaknesses of his Conqueror class, and also gains [[DamageReduction Aegis]] to make taking him down with magic (the preferred strategy) that more difficult, thanks to his high stats. On Lunatic, he gains the physical counterpart Pavise as well, which makes taking him down damn near impossible and ''[[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Rightful King]]'' which increases the frequency of Pavise and Aegis activating. Add that he's fighting with the [[LifeDrain Sol]] Sword in his first fight, and the strongest throwing axe and [[WeaponOfChoice signature weapon]] Wolfberg in his final and more [[ClimaxBoss climactic]] fight, and you get a doozy of a boss. Both times.[[spoiler:His recruitment chapter is arguably worse thanks to his higher stats and his Prescience skill gets replaced with ''Luna''. Also, he has a broken-forged Spear that he can switch to should Wolfberg be a nuisance. And this chapter happens to have ''loads of '''Risen''' that swarm you and all of which are mounted units'' with hardly anything on the map to slow them down and all of them carry broken-forged weapons.]]
** On Hard Mode and above: [[spoiler:[[ClimaxBoss Validar]]]] after he's defeated once in Chapter 23. His Magic stat is very high and he also has the very annoying [[spoiler:Dragonskin]] skill, [[spoiler:halving all damage done to him]] (on top of his already high defense stats) and also [[spoiler:negating Counter and Lethality, so he can't be cheesed that way]]. He also has the Vengeance skill, so if he's not finished off quickly, he can pay back any damage you did to him with interest. In Lunatic he's practically an SNKBoss; he gets the maximum amount of HP, Rightful King so Vengeance can activate about two-thirds of the time when he fights, Renewal so he can regenerate HP, and ridiculously high stats.
** Also, the chapter before [[spoiler:Validar]] features Aversa who is not so bad, being a stationary boss with mediocre defenses packing only the dark tome Goetia (so while she hits hard, she'll go down fast if you know what you're doing), and only has twelve units beside her to hinder your progress... at least until you find out that these units are the newest incarnations of the [[spoiler:[[BossBonanza Deadlords (Dark Warlords)]] of Jugdral fame]], each possessing stats higher than anything you've fought so far, and wielding either a Brave weapon for multiple hits, or [[spoiler:a legendary weapon from the Jugdral era]] (sans [[spoiler:Anguilla]] and [[spoiler:Ovis]], who just use a normal, if differently elemental tome each respectively). [[spoiler:Tigris]] and [[spoiler:Canis]] are especially awful, since while they don't have Brave Weapons, they make up for it by possessing [[spoiler:[[AnAxeToGrind Helswath]]]] and [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithFire Valflame]]]], which are both high-MT 1-2 range weapons [[spoiler:(and giving rather high boosts in defense for Tigris and magic for Canis as well)]], and [[spoiler:Gallus]] isn't far behind, sporting high defenses for a spellcaster as well as Waste, which is basically the tome version of a Brave weapon. And while its possible to skip them by beating Aversa (who's the easiest of the lot), doing so makes you lose out on said [[spoiler:legendary weapons]], some of which are ''very'' useful (including [[spoiler:Helswath]] and [[spoiler:Valflame]]) [[spoiler:unless you want to grind for them through a DLC Map]].
** Three words: '' '''LUNATIC MODE [[spoiler:GRIMA]]''' ''. Granted, they ''are'' the final boss, but they put every other boss in the game (discounting DLC) to shame. They carry [[spoiler:Dragonskin (meaning Lethality or Counter is useless and all damage is reduced by half)]], ''all of their stats are capped'', they're equipped with [[spoiler:Expiration]] which has an attack range of ''five spaces'', they are stuck on a terrain called "Ire" that grants them a bonus akin to an abandoned fortress but with better effects, and they carry notorious skills such as Pavise, Anathema, ''[[spoiler:Ignis]]'', and ''[[spoiler:Rightful God]]'' (Pavise is upgraded on Lunatic+). Oh, did we mention that they have the highest stat caps in the main story (discounting anyone whose got Limit Breaker) and is surrounded by powerful [[spoiler:Grimleal]] who all carry broken-forged weapons with reinforcements popping up on every turn up to the 23rd? [[spoiler:Future Past Grima]] is even worse, as [[spoiler:Ignis]] and Anathema are replaced with Aegis and ''[[spoiler:Hawkeye]]'' [[spoiler:meaning that every attack Grima makes always hit]] (and Aegis is also upgraded on Lunatic+). They have the same stats and no Ire terrain, but replace the [[spoiler:Grimleal]] with even more powerful [[spoiler:Risen]] with a vicious combination of skills designed to screw you over. Have fun.

** As a general rule of thumb, ''Fates: Conquest'' was advertised as the "challenge" route of the two starting routes, promising the Nohrian-aligned adventure to be more in-touch with the series' infamous difficulty. [[NintendoHard They weren't bluffing.]]
*** [[BladeOnAStick Haitaka]] from Chapter 9. While the bosses of Chapter 7 and 8 were nothing to write home about, this green-clad bastard has the dubious honor of being ''Conquest's'' WakeUpCallBoss. On Normal, he has very high stats on top of a (mostly, due to being Steel) unrestricted 1-2 range weapon, with his unique skill Rally Defense making him all the more challenging. Hard and Lunatic only makes it worse: Hard gives him Strong Riposte, which gives him +3 Attack when on the Defense, which can render long-range units who rely on Player Phase all the more squishy, and Lunatic takes it further by giving him Seal Defense, meaning attempting to outlast a [[LightningBruiser hard-hitting, agile spearman]] isn't an option anymore. Thankfully, the consolidation prize for capturing him instead of beating him means you'll be able to recruit him, and [[DiscOneNuke boy howdy is he useful.]] Good luck with that, though; your only unit able to capture him is Niles, and Haitaka murders the poor guy thanks to his skills effectively making him fragile as all hell.
*** [[spoiler:Kotaro]] gives the likes of [[ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Matador]] a run for their money. Getting to the end of the chapter he's on is a [[ThatOneLevel miracle onto itself]], so you'll be in for a nasty surprise to find he - combining his innate bonuses as a Master Ninja AND on a throne - has a total of ''eighty goddamn avoid.'' Even when exploiting the weapon triangle, trying to hit him is putting yourself at a major risk, ESPECIALLY on [[FinalDeath Classic.]] To further twist the knife, he packs a Flame Shuriken with an equally deadly Magic stat, meaning that all your low-Resistance soldiers will be hit like a mack truck... and gods help you if he ''doubles'' you, [[ForegoneConclusion then you might as well reset the damn game.]] Simply put, there really isn't an easy way of beating him.
*** [[spoiler:[[DualBoss Iago and Hans]] are an utter nightmare in Ch. 26. [[ClimaxBoss Being a major cathartic confrontation and the last obstacle before the Endgame]] does demand a good challenge, but both of these bastards go far beyond the minimum required. Iago is a [[CombatPragmatist total bastard]] even when not fighting him, as he peppers you with a supply of status effect staves to either immobilize, debilitate or magically-negate your army, with Lunatic only making it ''worse'' as he gets the Hexing Rod, which cuts your HP in half for the remainder of the battle - [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and he has infinite uses for each!]] Even when you ''do'' get to him [[ThatOneLevel (good luck with that)]], he's packing the [[InfinityPlusOneSword single strongest-tome in the game]] and will blast your face with his insane Magic and high Speed and Skill. Even ''before'' that you have to face Hans, who ''also'' [[InfinityPlusOneSword has the best weapon]] [[AnAxeToGrind of it's kind]], and he's a LightningBruiser who ''will'' wipe the floor with you if you aren't careful. On the bright side, you ''finally'' get the honor of murdering these two bastards in cold blood, which manages to make the result of this frustration at ''least'' a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.]]
*** Yukimura in Chapter 22. He's got rather high stats, usually fast enough to double (or at least avoid being doubled himself) and he's sitting on a Gate with a Silver Shuriken, which debuffs your speed ''and'' defenses. On top of that, he has Strong Riposte which means he does more damage when you initiate the fight with him. Tough but manageable on its own, especially if you can finish him quickly enough before the shuriken debuffs can matter... but he is ''nasty'' on Hard or Lunatic: his stats are even higher there and he gets Seal Strength, to further punish players if they can't finish him quickly, and ''Spendthrift'', meaning the first attack he initiates will do 10 more damage and he'll take 10 less. He can only use it once, but once can be enough to turn the tide of a fight with him.
*** In all the chapters he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]]. [[spoiler:In Chapter 25? Well, after a certain [[DeadLittleSister major]] [[FakingTheDead plot]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge point]], Ryoma is ''pissed'' at you as he thinks [[YouKilledMyFather you murdered Hinoka]], [[SubvertedTrope except you didn't and only said you did to cover your tracks]], leading him to challenge you to a DuelToTheDeath. He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towel]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]]]
*** Speaking of [[RecurringBoss recurring]] [[ThatOneBoss TOBs]], Takumi very well rivals Ishtar (see above) for the dubious title of "Most Frustrating Boss in FE History." Takumi gets a pass in Chapter 10, for as [[ThatOneLevel hellish as that chapter is,]] the saving grace is you don't ''have'' to fight Takumi. Not so with your encounters in Chapter 13 and 23. In Chapter 13, he's a promoted SNIPER when none of your units are likely promoted at this point. His Fujin Yumi hits like a freight train, and only your tankiest units will be able to take more than one hit from him. It also allows him to ignore terrain effects, so that river separating you and him... isn't going to help you. The only saving grace is that he can't attack you up close, but you have to finish him ''fast'' if you don't want to suffer any casualties. Chapter 23 is even worse, as Takumi - [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules thanks to a skill that you cannot obtain in the base game]] - can ''attack right up close.'' Creator/{{Atlus}} would be so proud right now.
*** And the worst part? [[spoiler:That ISN'T the last encounter you have with him. No, thanks to the machinations of [[BigBad Anankos]], he's the fucking final boss! Not only does he possess Dragonskin AND can attack up front ''and'' an additional space away, he has a OPAF area-of-effect attack that, if you don't set up a barricade with a Dragon Vein, will hurt like a freight train. He is also paired up with a clone of himself; thankfully you only need to kill one, unfortunately he possesses Bold Stance which means he essentially has the pair up mechanic as it appeared in ''Awakening''. Not to mention, Takumi gains Vengeance and additional stats on Hard mode. He will eventually kill your soldiers if you get unlucky trying to beat him. BUT WAIT! [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse!]] On '''Lunatic''', he has ''Lifetaker'', allowing him to heal if you suffer casualties on his turn, and he gets 10 more HP for good measure!]] Man, [[BreatherBoss I missed it when Sniper bosses were a joke.]]
** While ''Conquest'' is ''Fates''' main source of difficulty, there's a few other [[ThatOneBoss TOBs]] on the other, more-easier routes:
*** [[spoiler:Anankos]], the FinalBoss of the Revelation route. The battle against him has three phases; first you take out his two arms, them his head and finally his heart. Each of these four targets has 80HP each (on Normal) giving him the most HP of any boss in the series plus the Dragonskin ability to halve damage dealt, [[MarathonBoss meaning you're going to be fighting him for a while.]] His attack meanwhile is so high that he will likely kill your weaker units in one hit and it will not take much to eliminate the others; the range meanwhile is three spaces wide so long range attackers are not safe either.

*** In all the chapter's he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]]. [[spoiler:In Chapter 25? Well, after a certain [[DeadLittleSister major]] [[FakingTheDead plot]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge point]], Ryoma is ''pissed'' at you as he thinks [[YouKilledMyFather you murdered Hinoka]], [[SubvertedTrope except you didn't and only said you did to cover your tracks]], leading him to challenge you to a DuelToTheDeath. He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towel]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]]]

** Also, the chapter before [[spoiler:Validar]] features Aversa who is not so bad, being a stationary boss with mediocre defenses packing only the dark tome Goetia (so while she hits hard, she'll go down fast if you know what you're doing), and only has twelve units beside her to hinder your progress... at least until you find out that these units are the newest incarnations of the [[spoiler:[[BossBonanza Deadlords (Dark Warlords)]] of Jugdral fame]], each possessing stats higher than anything you've fought so far, and wielding either a Brave weapon for multiple hits, or [[spoiler:a legendary weapon from the Jugdral era]] (sans [[spoiler:Anguilla]] and [[spoiler:Ovis]], who just use a normal, if differently elemental tome each respectively). [[spoiler:Tigris]] and [[spoiler:Canis]] are especially awful, since while they don't have Brave Weapons, they make up for it by possessing [[spoiler:[[AnAxeToGrind Helswath]]]] and [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithFire Valflame]]]], which are both high-MT 1-2 range weapons[[spoiler:(and giving rather high boosts in defense for Tigris and magic for Canis as well)]], and [[spoiler:Gallus]] isn't far behind, sporting high defenses for a spellcaster as well as Waste, which is basically the tome version of a Brave weapon. And while its possible to skip them by beating Aversa (who's the easiest of the lot), doing so makes you lose out on said [[spoiler:legendary weapons]], some of which are ''very'' useful (including [[spoiler:Helswath]] and [[spoiler:Valflame]])[[spoiler:unless you want to grind for them through a DLC Map]].
** Three words: '' '''LUNATIC MODE [[spoiler:GRIMA]]''' ''. Granted, they ''are'' the final boss, but they put every other boss in the game (discounting DLC) to shame. They carry [[spoiler:Dragonskin (meaning Lethality or Counter is useless and all damage is reduced by half)]], ''all of their stats are capped'', they're equipped with [[spoiler:Expiration]] which has an attack range of ''five spaces'', they are stuck on a terrain called "Ire" that grants them a bonus akin to an abandoned fortress but with better effects, and they carry notorious skills such as Pavise, Anathema, ''[[spoiler:Ignis]]'', and ''[[spoiler:Rightful God]]'' (Pavise is upgraded on Lunatic+). Oh, did we mention that they have the highest stat caps in the main story (discounting anyone whose got Limit Breaker) and is surrounded by powerful [[spoiler:Grimleal]] who all carry broken-forged weapons with reinforcements popping up on every turn up to the 23rd? [[spoiler:Future Past Grima]] is even worse, as [[spoiler:Ignis]] and Anathema are replaced with Aegis and ''[[spoiler:Hawkeye]]''[[spoiler:meaning that every attack Grima makes always hit]] (and Aegis is also upgraded on Lunatic+). They have the same stats and no Ire terrain, but replace the [[spoiler:Grimleal]] with even more powerful [[spoiler:Risen]] with a vicious combination of skills designed to screw you over. Have fun.

*** [[spoiler:[[DualBoss Iago and Hans]] are an utter nightmare in Ch. 26. [[ClimaxBoss Being a major cathartic confrontation and the last obstacle before the Endgame]] does demand a good challenge, but both of these bastards go far beyond the minimum required. Iago is a [[CombatPragmatist total bastard]] even when not fighting him, as he peppers you with a supply of status effect staves to either immobilize, debilitate or magically-negate your army, with Lunatic only making it ''worse'' as he gets the Hexing Rox, which cuts your HP in half for the remainder of the battle - [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and he has infinite uses for each!]] Even when you ''do'' get to him [[ThatOneLevel (good luck with that)]], he's packing the [[InfinityPlusOneSword single strongest-tome in the game]] and will blast your face with his insane Magic and high Speed and Skill. Even ''before'' that you have to face Hans, who ''also'' [[InfinityPlusOneSword has the best weapon]] [[AnAxeToGrind of it's kind]], and he's a LightningBruiser who ''will'' wipe the floor with you if you aren't careful. On the bright side, you ''finally'' get the honor to murder these two bastards in cold blood, which manages to make the result of this frustration at ''least'' a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.]]

*** In all the chapter's he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]]. [[spoiler:In Chapter 25? Well, after a certain [[DeadLittleSister major]] [[FakingTheDead plot]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge point]], Ryoma is ''pissed'' at you as he thinks [[YouKilledMyFather you murdered Hinoka]], [[SubvertedTrope except you didn't and only said you did to cover your tracks]], leading him to challenge you to a DuelToTheDeath. He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towl]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]]]

*** [[spoiler:Anankos]], the FinalBoss of the Revelation route. The battle against him has three phases; first you take out his two arms, them his head and finally his heart. Each of these four targets has 80HP each (on Normal) giving him the most HP of any boss in the series plus the Dragonskin ability to halve damage dealt, [[MarathonBoss meaning you're going to be fighting him for a while.]] His attack meanwhile is so high that he will likely kill your weaker units in one hit and it will not take much to eliminate the others; the range meanwhile is three spaces wide so long range attackers are not safe either.
* ''VideoGame/TearRingSaga''
** Golgotha from chapter [=26B=], one of the two bosses of an [[ThatOneLevel already difficult chapter.]] He has very high stats (albeit rather low HP) and a Brave weapon as well, not to mention Heaven Saint and Dragon Saint (the TRS equivalents of Sol and Astra, respectively). He can kill any lesser character in seconds, and lord help you if he activates one of his skills...
** Julius. He's got huge stats, and a personal weapon that can hit from a distance and restores his health when he hits. On top of all this, he's on a dragon so he can fly around. Even if you get him to break his lance against the reinforcements from the arena, it's hard to even ''hit'' him as a result of said reinforcements, who all have a skill which reduces hit rates for everyone ([[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper even player characters]]) by ''30%'', and it stacks.

*** In all the chapter's he appears in, [[WarriorPrince Ryoma]] is a LightningBruiser with insane stats whom fighting is ''extremely'' risky. He gets a pass on Ch. 12, [[BonusBoss largely because you can run right past him instead of having to fight him]]. [[spoiler:In Chapter 25? Well, after a certain [[DeadLittleSister major]] [[FakingTheDead plot]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge point]], Ryoma is ''pissed'' at you as he thinks [[YouKilledMyFather you murdered Hinoka, except you didn't and only said you did to cover your tracks]], leading him to challenge you to a DuelToTheDeath. He has ''insane'' stats alongside positively busted skills, and if your Avatar isn't strong enough, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption you might as well throw in the towl]], [[TheCavalry and let your army try to rescue you.]] [[ThatOneLevel Good luck with that, though!]]]]

*** [[BladeOnAStick Haitaka]] from Chapter 9. While the bosses of Chapter 7 and 8 were nothing to write home about, this green-clad bastard has the dubious honor of being ''Conquest's'' WakeUpCallBoss. On Normal, he has very high stats on top of a (mostly, due to being Steel) unrestricted 1-2 range weapon, with his unique skill Rally Defense making him all the more challenging. Hard and Lunatic only makes it worse: Hard gives him Strong Riposte, which gives him +3 Attack when on the Defense, which can render long-range units who rely on Player Phase all the more squishy, and Lunatic takes it further by giving him Seal Defense, meaning attempting to outlast a [[LightningBruiser hard-hitting, agile spearman]] isn't an option anymore. Thankfully, the consolidation prize for capturing him instead of beating him means you'll be able to recruit him, and [[DiscOneNuke boy howdy is he useful.]] Good luck with that, though; you're only unit able to capture him is Niles, and Haitaka murders the poor guy thanks to his skills effectively making him fragile as all hell.

*** When it comes to [[RecurringBoss recurring]] [[ThatOneBoss TOBs]], Takumi very well rivals Ishtar (see above) for the dubious title of "Most Frustrating Boss in FE History." Takumi gets a pass in Chapter 10, for as [[ThatOneLevel hellish as that chapter is,]] the saving grace is you don't ''have'' to fight Takumi. Not so with your encounters in Chapter 13 and 23. In Chapter 13, he's a promoted SNIPER when none of your units are likely promoted at this point. His Fujin Yumi hits like a freight train, and only your tankiest units will be able to take more than one hit from him. It also allows him to ignore terrain effects, so that river separating you and him... isn't going to help you. The only saving grace is that he can't attack you up close, but you have to finish him ''fast'' if you don't want to suffer any casualties. Chapter 23 is even worse, as Takumi - [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules thanks to a skill that you cannot obtain in the base game]] - can ''attack right up close.'' Creator/{{Atlus}} would be so proud right now.

** While ''Conquest'' is ''Fates''' main source of difficulty, there's a few other TOBs on the other, more-easier routes:

** [[BladeOnAStick Haitaka]] from Chapter 9. While the bosses of Chapter 7 and 8 were nothing to write home about, this green-clad bastard has the dubious honor of being ''Conquest's'' WakeUpCallBoss. On Normal, he has very high stats on top of a (mostly, due to being Steel) unrestricted 1-2 range weapon, with his unique skill Rally Defense making him all the more challenging. Hard and Lunatic only makes it worse: Hard gives him Strong Riposte, which gives him +3 Attack when on the Defense, which can render long-range units who rely on Player Phase all the more squishy, and Lunatic takes it further by giving him Seal Defense, meaning attempting to outlast a [[LightningBruiser hard-hitting, agile spearman]] isn't an option anymore. Thankfully, the consolidation prize for capturing him instead of beating him means you'll be able to recruit him, and [[DiscOneNuke boy howdy is he useful.]] Good luck with that, though; you're only unit able to capture him is Niles, and Haitaka murders the poor guy thanks to his skills effectively making him fragile as all hell.

** [[spoiler:Anankos]], the FinalBoss of the Revelation route. The battle against him has three phases; first you take out his two arms, them his head and finally his heart. Each of these four targets has 80HP each (on Normal) giving him the most HP of any boss in the series plus the Dragonskin ability to halve damage dealt, [[MarathonBoss meaning you're going to be fighting him for a while.]] His attack meanwhile is so high that he will likely kill your weaker units in one hit and it will not take much to eliminate the others; the range meanwhile is three spaces wide so long range attackers are not safe either.

** Fighting [[spoiler:Kotaro]] in ''Conquest'' gives the likes of [[ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Matador]] a run for their money. Getting to the end of the chapter he's on is a [[ThatOneLevel miracle onto itself]], so you'll be in for a nasty surprise to find he - combining his innate bonuses as a Master Ninja AND on a throne - has a total of ''eighty goddamn avoid.'' Even when exploiting the weapon triangle, trying to hit him is putting yourself at a major risk, ESPECIALLY on [[FinalDeath Classic.]] To further twist the knife, he packs a Flame Shuriken with an equally deadly Magic stat, meaning that all your low-Resistance soldiers will be hit like a mack truck... and gods help you if he ''doubles'' you, [[ForegoneConclusion then you might as well reset the damn game.]] Simply put, there really isn't an easy way of beating him.
** When it comes to recurring [[ThatOneBoss TOBs]], Takumi very well rivals Ishtar (see above) for the dubious title of "Most Frustrating Boss in FE History." Takumi gets a pass in Chapter 10, for as [[ThatOneLevel hellish as that chapter is,]] the saving grace is you don't ''have'' to fight Takumi. Not so with your encounters in Chapter 13 and 23. In Chapter 13, he's a promoted SNIPER when none of your units are likely promoted at this point. His Fujin Yumi hits like a freight train, and only your tankiest units will be able to take more than one hit from him. It also allows him to ignore terrain effects, so that river separating you and him... isn't going to help you. The only saving grace is that he can't attack you up close, but you have to finish him ''fast'' if you don't want to suffer any casualties. Chapter 23 is even worse, as Takumi - [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules thanks to a skill that you cannot obtain in the base game]] - can ''attack right up close.'' Creator/{{Atlus}} would be so proud right now.

** Yukimura in Chapter 22 of ''Conquest'' (seeing a theme here?). He's got rather high stats, usually fast enough to double (or at least avoid being doubled himself) and he's sitting on a Gate with a Silver Shuriken, which debuffs your speed ''and'' defenses. On top of that, he has Strong Riposte which means he does more damage when you initiate the fight with him. Tough but manageable on its own, especially if you can finish him quickly enough before the shuriken debuffs can matter... but he is ''nasty'' on Hard or Lunatic: his stats are even higher there and he gets Seal Strength, to further punish players if they can't finish him quickly, and ''Spendthrift'', meaning the first attack he initiates will do 10 more damage and he'll take 10 less. He can only use it once, but once can be enough to turn the tide of a fight with him.

** Three words: '' '''LUNATIC MODE [[spoiler:GRIMA]]''' ''. Granted, they ''are'' the final boss, but they put every other boss in the game (discounting DLC) to shame. They carry [[spoiler:Dragonskin (meaning Lethality or Counter is useless and all damage is reduced by half)]], ''all of their stats are capped'', they're equipped with [[spoiler:Expiration]] which has an attack range of ''five spaces'', they are stuck on a terrain called "Ire" that grants them a bonus akin to an abandoned fortress but with better effects, and they carry notorious skills such as Pavise, Anathema, ''[[spoiler:Ignis]]'', and ''[[spoiler:Rightful God]]'' (Pavise is upgraded on Lunatic+). Oh, did we mention that they have the highest stat caps in the main story (discounting anyone whose got Limit Breaker) and is surrounded by powerful [[spoiler:Grimleal]] who all carry broken-forged weapons with reinforcements popping up on every turn up to the 23rd? [[spoiler:Future Past Grima]] is even worse, as [[spoiler:Ignis]] and Anathema are replaced with Aegis and ''[[spoiler:Hawkeye]]''(and Aegis is also upgraded on Lunatic+). They have the same stats and no Ire terrain, but replace the [[spoiler:Grimleal]] with even more powerful [[spoiler:Risen]] with a vicious combination of skills designed to screw you over. Have fun.