Fire Emblem: Three Houses's Maddening Mode provides even the most seasoned veterans to the series with rigorous difficulty. In the earliest stages of the difficulty, the majority of a player's units can't survive more than a single round of combat (if that), and every tactical decision a player makes can put a unit at the risk of death.
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As Three Houses is among the most free-form entries in the Fire Emblem series, allowing players a sizable degree of freedom when it comes to training their units as they see fit, there are certain classes a player can use that can make the difficulty much more manageable.
10 Brigand
While they may not seem too impressive at first glance, Brigand is an excellent early-game class that can help pave the way for powerful units later down the road. With an above-average strength growth, making a character a brigand will often allow them to deal more damage as they level up, all whilst working on increasing one's ability to wield weapons associated with other potent classes on this list such as War Master and Wyvern Lord. Mastering this class notably provides a character with the Death Blow ability which can greatly raise a character's offense, allowing a unit to more easily deal with the bulkiest foes in Maddening Mode.
9 Wyvern Riders
It's no secret that wyvern riders are an excellent class in the Fire Emblem series. With phenomenal mobility and access to the canto ability that allows them to use the remainder of their movement after either attacking or using an item, this class excels at maneuvering around the battlefield, flying over all terrain.
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While this class is vulnerable to bows, Three Houses' dismounting mechanic allows the class to remove its most glaring weakness. While there is still room for improvement as a character progresses, this class is quite optimal for the mid-game of Maddening Mode.
8 War Master
When it comes to raw damage output, few physical classes can compare to War Master. A Master Class exclusive to male units, War Masters have the incredible benefit of gaining a constant +20 to their critical chance, pairing well with their already excellent strength growths. While this class notably lacks a mount, detracting from its mobility, units that master this class gain the stellar Quick Riposte ability!
7 Sniper and Bow Knight
Enemies in Maddening Mode are able to dish out absurd amounts of damage that can quickly widdle down one's units' HP. One of the most surefire ways of preventing the death of a unit is to simply utilize ranged attacks. When it comes to ranged combat, the Sniper and Bow Knight Classes can't be matched. Sniper is a class that not only increases the range of a unit's bow attacks but when mastered, allows them to use the Hunter's Volley combat art. Once this skill is learned, progressing a unit into a Bow Knight is a no brainer, as the class totes even longer range with bows, improved mobility, and the ever-useful canto.
6 Gremory
While there are plenty of useful magic classes that players have access to in Three Houses, Gremory does what nearly all of these classes do but better.
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While other magic classes are focused around either offensive or support magic, the Gremory wields both, doubling the amount of time each spell the unit knows can be used. This allows Gremories to flexibly heal one's units with spells such as Physic while dealing additional damage from afar.
5 Dancer
It's safe to say that Dancers are among the most valuable units available to players in any Fire Emblem game, and this is still the case in Maddening Mode. Rather than focusing on offensive capabilities, Dancers are able to dance for another unit, allowing it to move and attack a second time in a turn. This essentially allows Dancers to let a player's best units deal twice as much damage and cover twice as much ground.
4 Death Knight
Only available in the Crimson Flower Route on a single unit, the unique Death Knight class should not be under-valued. While Paladins are a great class in their own right, they lack a proper Master Class to progress into. However, the Death Knight class essentially fills this role. In addition to toting canto and lancefaire, once the class is mastered, it provides the unbelievably useful Counterattack ability. As a player only has access to a solitary Death Knight, one should get as much out of this excellent class as they can.
3 Great Lord
Great Lord is an exclusive class for Dimitri within the Azure Moon route, and it makes an already impressive unit all the more useful. Toting above-average movement, lancefaire, and charm, once this class is mastered, it provides Dimitri with the unique Paraselene combat art that provides additional mobility options. Between the solid mobility, offensive support in lancefaire, and the buff to hit and avoid through charm, it's not hard to see why many players keep Dimitri as a Great Lord once the class is unlocked.
2 Wyvern Lord
As far as universally available classes are concerned, it's hard to beat Wyvern Lord. Often lauded as the best class in all of Three Houses, this class is a strict upgrade from the already useful Wyvern Lord, improving in nearly every category. Toting impressive offense, defense, and mobility, Wyvern Lords are the total package and as they aren't gender locked, can be accessed by every character in the game. It's not uncommon for a player to use a unit in maddening mode simply because they can quickly access this class due to their starting skill levels.
1 Barbarossa
Like the Dimitri-exclusive Great Lord class, the Barbarossa is a class that is only useable by Claude within the Verdant Wind route. As a class, Barbarossa ties together numerous elements of other potent and useful classes on this list. With the mobility of a Wyvern Lord, yet with range found within a bow-based class like sniper, Claude is capable of dealing absurd amounts of damage from afar. When paired with Claude's personal ability that allows him to move through enemy units, this unit can be wherever it's needed at a given moment to help deal with the terrors of Maddening Mode.