You know I know, yes, I've been told I redefine a sin.

Ed is a quick learner, a problem solver and studious tactician. He thinks on his feet (most of the time), outside the box, and is even calculating under pressure. He’s dedicated, determined and loyal. Edward makes fast friends, sometimes even with those previously perceived as enemies, which shows that he’s capable of adapting well to change. Due to the upbringing with his alchemy teacher he’s a skilled martial artist and a natural in alchemy, able to decode the work of others in a considerably short amount of time. Observant as he is, Edward also has a keen eye for detail, even ones others might overlook, as demonstrated at the Tucker Estate. Ed also has an incredible memory, allowing him to recall the face and name of a woman he saw once four years prior when he meets her again.

He doesn't cater to the authority for the sake of it and appears disinclined to follow orders unless they align with his own morals. Ed openly resents those who appear to and also wastes no time on respect solely because of another person's age. He's shown to be a realist who can be incredibly cynical with little patience for concepts he doesn’t believe in. He lives by the concept of always moving forward, imposing this belief upon others during trying times in their lives as shown with Rose when he tells her to figure it out after the fall of the Church of Leto. Just as it had been imposed on him during his own time of struggle Ed pushes people to work with what they have and take control of their own lives. A similar conversation happened in Youswell when he tells the miners to simply pack up and leave if things are so bad in town.

Edward is aware of who he is and strong in his convictions even at a young age, and this is an unwavering truth no matter what he goes through in his life. He doesn’t shy away from bending rules if it may help others who are struggling and has no means to advocate for themselves, but not if it will go to waste or risk keeping him from fixing Al.

He remains an advocate of taking control of one’s own life and holds people responsible for their beliefs and actions, but that doesn’t make him heartless. On the contrary his critical nature is born of a no-nonsense desire to see people succeed and not rely on others or “miracles” for help.

Despite being rather self-absorbed in a number of ways, Edward Elric is not a selfish person. His goal and desires tend to come first, regardless of the warnings given to him about their danger, however doing what's right is a big priority for him. His own goals are his first priority before others only in the interest of making things right by someone besides himself (most notably his brother.) The whole reason he is driven to put his own interests first is that it’s in the name of restoring his brother back to his own original body.

Not that any of this stops him from being a caring, both sensitive to other's feelings and even sweet to those he develops any level of concern for, given the appropriate circumstances. He’s a compassionate individual, always intending to guide others to a better outcome (even if his methods may not be the best.) There’s a level of empathy within the older Elric that may go completely unnoticed by most, but he hates to see others suffer in any way and will go so far as to reveal the secrets of his and Al’s mistakes if it might prevent another from straying down a similar path.

At the start of the series Edward is painted as a selfish character only out for his own gains, demanding Cornello hand over the stone he has so that the Elrics can use it to regain their bodies. The truth is later revealed that Ed's strong moral code is reflected even in his use of alchemy, quoting that "alchemists be thou for the people" and it is their duty to help others, especially those who can not help themselves. Although Ed's primary view of alchemy is using it for the betterment of people, he's been made familiar with the ways this concept can become warped by others. Despite the selfish goal of getting their bodies back, the Elrics put helping others in high regard and believe that alchemy exists for the purpose of doing so. He refuses to back down from doing what's right Joining the military didn't equate to selling his soul for the sake of power, and Ed took on that role fully aware of how it could go against his own moral standards, accepting the reputation of "dog of the military" without backing down. The brothers help several people over the course of the years, many times with no intention of getting anything in return.

Edward is realistic about being no more than any other human and has no qualms telling others the same about both himself and them, should they seem to have lost sight of the bigger picture. Even when things are All About Him or he's indicated to be special, Ed is quick to dismiss the notion, either disbelieving the situation or refusing to see the scope of how much something is actually about him. While he is also shown basking in the adoration of his fame from time to time, Ed’s boastful attitude is not a consistent reflection of his true self. He frequently dismisses his talent with alchemy as a side-effect of having witnessed the Gate, ignoring that he could have only survived seeing it in the first place if he was already a gifted alchemist.

In contrast to the arrogant boastful nature that most equate with Ed, when he offers to pay someone for a job he makes no mention of his power or wealth, simply writing a total on a piece of paper to be deduced from his account and leaving with thanks before the recipient has time to react. The older he gets the less inclined he is to puff up at praise and gossip around his title and his focus always comes off as more about hearing that his reputation is solid as an alchemist of the people who prioritizes helping others.

Ed is not the most traditional example of codependency, there’s no addiction involved and much of his personality actually reflects on the other side of the roles involved in codependent relationships. Where Ed is often the rescuer, the one that puts his entire life on hold to do by others he’s not the enabler, he’s the enabled in his relationships. His life started with him neglecting all other pursuits to follow after alchemy as a topic when his mother showed pride and interest in the brothers’ discovery of it, his life revolved around making her happy until the moment of her death - and then switching abruptly to bringing her back, without hesitation. When Al was lost the human transmutation attempt at reviving her Edward offered up his arm, his heart, literally anything to get his brother back because in his eyes that was all he had left. Ed has literally attempted suicide more than once to save his brother’s life, without hesitation, he’s the rescuer, the one that has no purpose outside of whoever his eyes are set on regardless of the influence that has on his own life. He joined the military to fix his brother’s body, he learned rocket science to get back to him and when all else failed? He went into a depression and stopped caring about anything to the point of not even keeping a job. In this relationship it’s Alphonse who is the enabler, encouraging - and then allowing, despite protests - Ed to do as he pleases. Al is by no means a pushover, but when Ed digs his heels in about doing something he doesn’t tend to stop him throughout most of their lives.

Although he does learn to rely on others and focus on the rest of the world rather than just him and his personal interest it takes some growth on his part to adjust his “we’re all we’ve got” mentality to encompass everyone. Despite being far from a selfish person Edward maintains a level of consistency in being self-absorbed, those he cares about - and thus his interests - come first, whether that’s a single person, a whole city or an entire country. Edward spends a good deal of his time in the military with the mentality that it's "us against the world", trying to shoulder the burden of getting their bodies back and proceed without outside help. He grows out of this in canon, both mentioned in an episode and then again later in the movie, however where Edward stands in Zhautas is before either of those canon points. He has to a degree matured past being solely focused on one person, needing to learn about being part of a team in order to survive Purg for all of the years he was there, however Purgatorium also isolated him significantly at the end, leaving him with only one person to rely on and again develop that level of obsessive devotion in relation to her the same way he had with his brother previously.

From childhood, Ed has had a habit of avoiding whatever he didn't want to deal with. As early as when his brother first asked about when their father was coming home he'd change the subject, walk away, or outright brawl with the younger Elric to not have to face the problem. This theme continues throughout the series, from the first moment he catches sight of the Fuhrer's secretary until his brother later tries to force him to realize the truth about her identity. Several times throughout the series when Edward doesn't want to deal with something he simply doesn't until he has no choice. It isn't until Sloth gives him no option that he prepares himself for what he has to do in order to face off against her. Even after accepting what she was, as Lust and Sloth explain the truth about homunculi to him Ed continues to deny their claims, refusing to believe what he doesn't want to have to face.

This behavior continued in Riverview when dealing with his brother, shutting out the truth and refusing to acknowledge it as if that would make it go away. Even when Alphonse tried to talk to him about it.

Ed, for all of his cynicism, can be naive and surprisingly trusting of others. He’s quick to take people at face value, believing the word of others, even those who are his enemy. He accepts Envy’s word for truth, most notably when the homunculus reveals his true identity and believes what Dante tells him without question, including that the use of alchemy would cause a reaction with the Stone activated in the room.

He goes into the military believing he can follow his own code and gets away with it for a number of years, probably primarily due to his age. Edward expects that he can get away with being in the military without killing anyone, despite the fact that he does before even joining the military at 11-years-old. Although his resolution not to kill is played more towards the angle of not wanting to consider souls bound to armor less than human, Ed protests the concept of killing in general until he faces the fact that he had to, and already has in the past.

The Elrics were raised by their Teacher to understand that the body and mind must be trained together. As such while studying to improve their alchemical knowledge they have also undergone martial arts training and spent the years since toning their skills in both. Due to this, Ed, in particular, does not like to sit still and will train to keep himself in fit shape at all times.

Due to the human transmutation committed as a child, Ed’s equipped with two automail limbs. Although this makes his arm and leg both less susceptible to injury it does provide new challenges as well.

Edward's specialty is specifically metal alchemy, as evidenced in his ability to transmute his automail arm, the spear he frequents as a weapon, and the metals found within the planet itself.