Claude von Riegan is the heir to the Leicester Alliance in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Upon Three Houses' release, a good chunk of the fanbase took amusement with Claude's placement on the box art, in which he's seen hanging upside down above the other lords and both Byleths. It may be ironic for some that Claude's actual personality and goals are a bit more rooted and in line with Edelgard and Dimitri.
While Claude does appear approachable, he's a complex character. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes takes a risk by exploring Claude's pragmatism. It's easy for the fanbase and even in-game characters to forget that he's very calculating and a schemer at heart. Fans expecting a lighthearted story with the Golden Deer this time around are in for a surprise.
Warning: Content and images below contain major spoilers for the Golden Deer route in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes and Fire Emblem" Three Houses
5 Khalid And Shahid
As most fans have learned by now, Claude wasn't born in Fodlan, but rather Almyra. This initially led some to speculate that "Claude" wasn't his real name, which was confirmed in Three Houses' Cindered Shadows DLC. An interview revealed Claude's name was "Khalid" and that he had several siblings back in Almyra. It's only natural that Claude fans wanted to see more of Claude's origins, and luckily, Three Hopes delivered by introducing Shahid.
According to Claude, there's been conflict among the Almyran royal family for the throne. Naturally, this gave a good excuse to include Shahid in the Golden Wildfire route to serve as a minor antagonist to Claude. It's unknown whether Shahid will appear in another Three Houses spinoff (if there is one), but chances are likely.
4 Claude's Supports With Other Houses
Something interesting about Claude's Supports in Three Houses is that he's the only one who can have Supports with characters from different classes. Dimitri doesn't have any Supports with the Empire, and Edelgard doesn't have any with the Kingdom of Faerghus. This was to reference Claude's dream of wanting to break down the walls surrounding Fodlan and uniting it into one country where everyone would be treated as equals regardless of their background. Thus, it's only natural that Claude would be more open to non-Golden Deer house members.
This is averted in Three Hopes' Golden Wildfire. While Claude has Supports with Constance and Hapi of the Ashen Wolves, he doesn't seem to have any with the Black Eagles or Blue Lions. Similarly, Edelgard doesn't have any Supports with Alliance/Golden Deer members, but Claude's case is particularly noteworthy when comparing his diverse Support chains in Three Houses. It could also be a reference to Claude being less trusting of his allies in Three Hopes.
3 Secrecy, Trust, And Brutal Tactics
Branching off Claude's distrust, he's much more calculating and secretive in Three Hopes than he ever was in Three Houses. Unlike Three Houses, the Claude of Three Hopes only had two-three months with the Golden Deer before the Monastery closed for war. This means Claude didn't have nearly as much time to bond and get to know his classmates. Thus, he's got a load of tricks up his sleeve but doesn't have the trust to share them with those that he should, such as Lorenz and Holst.
An event in Fire Emblem Heroes revealed Claude's reasoning for creating poisons and why he's not above using underhanded tactics to win. If Claude had to choose between his closest allies over his enemies, he would do whatever it took to make sure his friends made it out alive. This finally gets put to practice in Golden Wildfire, where Claude works with Edelgard and Randolph to take down the Knights of Seiros at Ailell. Rather than save Randolph from Catherine and the Knights, Claude purposefully locks in Randolph and his men to weaken Catherine. Once he's killed, the stronghold's unlocked and Claude and his army swoop in to defeat the knights.
Many fans saw this as out of character for someone of Claude's personality, but it's just another side to him that's been hinted at, but never shown on screen until now. To further this, Claude doesn't take much joy out of sacrificing Randolph, and he argues with Shez and Judith that it was the best way to minimize casualties for the Alliance Federation.
2 Claude Has More To Worry About In Three Hopes
Since Claude never met Byleth before the war and because he didn't have five years to build the support system he needed in the Alliance, he's more or less taken on all the burdens Leicester has to offer. While he partakes in council meetings with Lorenz, Holst, and Hilda, some may find the relationship between them isn't as amicable as it was in Three Houses. Taking Claude on Expeditions will have him reveal to Shez that he's tired of the war and isn't as sure of himself as he appears.
In a nutshell, Claude's much more stressed in Three Hopes. This worsens when Claude disbands the Leicester Alliance to make the Alliance Federation, being voted as the Federation's first king. The Federation's practice means every decision needs to be made by Claude rather than coming to a cooperative agreement among the council.
In Verdant Wind, the Alliance Federation never comes to be simply because there's no need for it. Claude and Byleth managed to achieve their goal without overhauling the Leicester Alliance. Claude's not exactly carefree in Three Houses, but he certainly has less on his plate than his Three Hopes counterpart.
1 Claude Never Learns About Fodlan
Although sharing numerous amount of cutscenes and chapters with Silver Snow and Azure Moon, Verdant Wind had Claude learning about Fodlan. Edelgard even points out to Claude that he can't rule Fodlan simply because he doesn't know about Fodlan. What pushes Claude to get to the bottom of Fodlan's true history is his determination to make his dream a reality. Claude learns about Rhea's true identity and the Agarthans, and thus sympathizes with her actions.
Claude in Golden Wildfire doesn't learn anything about Fodlan's history. He's too busy trying to keep the Alliance from crumbling to learn about the church. The final boss in Claude's route isn't Nemesis this time, but rather Rhea/Seiros and her knights. Claude deduces that Rhea and the church are the central problems that need to be removed in order to bring peace to Fodlan. After they're taken care of, the Alliance will work on settling things with the Empire. Golden Wildfire's final boss is the complete opposite of Verdant Wind, and it shows just how much Claude is missing about the big picture in Three Hopes.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is available now on Nintendo Switch.