BANRYU

Fair. I suppose that's the basis for the primary build, with any of the listed natures suitable for the job, then. When I run calcs I'll make note of which foes each IV handles better.

Marth: Altean Prince The mascot of the Fire Emblem series, Marth himself, is frankly one of the best support and utility units in the entirety of Heroes. In terms of healing capabilities as a non-staff unit, sheer quantity of passive boosts (or field buffs, as they're known), and availability/ease of use, the Archanean Hero-King of Legend is second to none, providing all of this in a single package on top of dragon-effective damage to boot. He's also notable for being the best healer unit in the upper eschelons of Arena scores, since staff units inherently possess a lower BST than a melee infantry, making Marth the best and highest-scoring healing and support unit when merged to completion. While he may not pack Alm or Chrom's raw power or Lucina's powerful sweeping capabilities, Marth can safely lay claim to a niche all his own thanks to the numerous boons he can grant his allies, being both common and extremely easy to build with no exceptionally rare skills required, and the ease of use with which he can provide assistance for any team composition. 5* Level 40 Stats: HP: 37 / 41 / 44 Atk: 28 / 31 / 34 Spd: 31 / 34 / 37 Def: 25 / 29 / 32 Res: 20 / 23 / 26 BST: 157~158 Default Skills: Weapon: Falchion Assist: Pivot Special: -- A-Skill: -- B-Skill: Escape Route 3 C-Skill: Spur Speed 3 The Lodestar (utility support) **Optimal Build** General use, Arena modes, Chain modes, Assault modes Other Options: Marth's competent defenses and balanced stats make him a decent unit when built for dedicated combat, though there are other sword units available who can outcompete him in this field with little substantial effort. He can still definitely be good when built for combat, though his sole and primary claim to fame is his support utility via Falchion's unique refine. (if folks deem it necessary, I can run calcs for some combat builds for him too, but for now was planning to just stick with this)

I hope y'all can forgive me for merely skimming this discussion =3= Regarding the combat sims, while yes, they should never be viewed in a vacuum, they are undeniably useful for mass-testing matchups, whether against everyone at once or even narrowed down against a selective demographic of targets that the unit is needed to handle. Hard results are also important, to be sure, but neither should be overlooked IMO. In any case, I'm thinking the breakdown for Henry's builds might want to be IV-based possibly, since pretty much all his -Spd IVs seem to have their merits (even +HP might be... debatably useful for HP-based skills, but. shrug. others probably better) With regards to what @Ice Dragon was saying about specialism VS generalism, I think it's best for Henry to focus on the type of units he wants to counter, as opposed to maybe the color. (example: Wolf Sophia, who can potentially live through QP Moonbow Rein) If he CAN successfully bait and kill blue tanks who ordinarily are intended for enemy phase play, that is a perk he can afford himself, though his target focus should not be on them for the aforementioned reason of losing points in other areas. I'm thinking something along the lines of: +Def = CC + Guard + QR/CD (survival-focused; specialist against wrath/wo dao/slaying/etc melee units) +Res = CC/AtkRes Bond + Dull Ranged + QR/CD/DD (generalist if CC / ranged specialist if ARB; intended mainly to handle red/green/grey ranged units on emblem teams that pack the higher buffs, or else just blade mages. Since his Res isn't the best, I'm not entirely convinced he is best suited to this; its main niche would be the likes of Hibowka, STakumi, SKagero, etc. but I'm not sure they're common enough to warrant specializing against. testing will help I'm sure) +Atk = CC + QR + CD/DD (kill-count focused melee specialist, with a side of bow/dagger handling capabilities) (for other skills assume the standard Owl + bonfirignis + Panic Ploy/Infantry Pulse/Atk Smoke) I haven't had a chance to run simtests yet regrettably, but I feel like this discussion has been good for narrowing my focus when it does come to the testing. With regards to the Savage Poison build I had, it's bad. Just. Really bad, unfortunately. I like it in terms of concept and flavor, but it performed poorly even before staff refinements were introduced, and trust me, Henry is better off taking advantage of what he has over staff-users: his ability to kill things with a proc.

Looking over this again, I agree that +Atk is probably not the best, and that this boi could definitely use a bit of an overhaul, where +Def and +Res should be the preferred options on any given set really. Henry's high HP letting him make use of Panic Ploy and Infantry Pulse is one of his main advantages over other mages as well, yeah. As for QuickPulse, I will be honest and chalk that up to lack of experience at the time of writing lol. Completely agree, he definitely wants different S-passives like Close/Distant Defense, Panic Ploy, or Atk Smoke instead. Yes, Henry can definitely use an overhaul! And especially with both Close Counter and Raudrowl becoming more accessible due to Canas' and Takumi's F2P availability, there's scarcely been a better time to take advantage of dat boi's unique traits-- and write him as such. I'm going through your analysis ATM and seeing what can be used from it, and would be happy to share co-author credit, since you've clearly put some work in yourself as well. Here's what I'm getting that should be changed/added: +Def/+Res* > +Atk Ideal S/C skills should be Infantry Pulse, Atk Smoke, Panic Ploy, and Close/Distant Defense (will run tests to see if the latter two make a substantial enough difference to be mandatory, or if they can be skipped) I think it's safe to say Owl, Candle, and to a lesser extent Raven are all the best/most usable weapons on him, though do let me know if perhaps there's a special banner one I might have forgotten about I feel AtkDef or AtkRes Bond is probably worth mentioning alongside Close Counter on an Owl build, since the Bond skills synergize super nicely with Owl tomes and might even be worth skipping close counter on (though that is the main reason to use Henry over other red mages, besides his HP) Guard should definitely be mentioned somewhere, shame on me for not doing so myself Does Dull Ranged get good enough results to be worth consideration? It sounds pretty lackluster on paper I'll admit, though in practice I don't know what it can do, so maybe I'd be surprised ....and lastly (but perhaps most importantly), I need some good owl puns to name the set after lol. It's what Henry would want

As I understand it, Ice Dragon has been kinda busy and had trouble updating it I suppose. I've just been Ctrl+F'ing my way through each page of the subforum just to be sure anytime I need to check if an analysis has been done. (also yeah I suppose that is a fitting reaction given the circumstances, huh xD)

.....me? I mean, if you have new stuff for the thread, I'd think you can just edit it in right? or else post it in the thread?

Ahh. Hmm. I suppose we forgot / didn't check that we already have a Henry Analysis? https://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?/topic/80538-henry-twisted-mind/

Right on, appreciate the consideration.

Wowzers seems like this boi may be due for a bit of an update. @DarkLordIvy If you can't spare the time, any objections if I write up some stuff relating to his signature weapon and its refinements?

Sorry for the double-post but in my defense it has been a while. So, any thoughts on Water Breath for this cornball? I feel like Water Breath DC is probably pretty decent, right?

Welp, I finished the build I had in mind (save Ward Dragons, which I'm still holding out for), and... Sad to say, the melee build hasn't proven to be quite as useful as I was hoping (and not just because of the Light Breath thing we discussed previously) x< It's tough to find justification to have her approach compared to other units, and (in my dragon team at least, though I imagine for SCamilla-less flier teams this would also hold true) her ranged-countering utility just seems to be more useful in general. It's too bad because she can really hit some ridiculous offense levels (60/52 with a Hone Dragons/Fliers), but she's yet to prove to be more worth it than Expiration/Dragonskin/Desp. =__= Maybe I'm just not using her right....??

All right, it's been a while but Canas is updated with mention of Fury and Dull Ranged on the main set. Since we're sharing as well, here's my Canas that I've been running: I was fortunate to get a Sanaki from the bride banner before it ended x3 Owl tomes + Bond skills are seriously The Shit^TM, getting +9 Atk/Res and +4 Spd/Def just from being next to an S-supported unit is no joke. Caps out at +13/+8 when surrounded by pallios, which is just ridiculous.

Is this a WIP? I think you can probably provide some additional alternatives for Specials, like something with quicker activation/less SP, and I would also expect to see builds running Slaying and Firesweep lance at the very least.

Hey all sorry for the delayed responses, I been working at E3 the last 3 days and been utterly wiped when I finally make it home lol. Honestly I feel that 29 speed is much too low for Desperation to be of any use, even with darting blow... my bare minimum that I require my Desperation units to hit is 40, otherwise I feel that their speed is too low and it's more worth it to capitalize on the other stats they do better with (in his case, Res). I could still see Canas running Blade on a similar build to the other ones posted if he's being run on a team with a lot of Tactic skills, that's absolutely a valid point, but I definitely think he's much better off focusing on his Res than his Spd, which I think is honestly kind of a lost cause for anything besides avoiding doubles. Looks good man, I definitely considered the possibility of Dull Ranged on him but I might have been paying a little too much attention to the sims' kill count (which absolutely doesn't ALWAYS matter I admit, if your goal is to tank then sometimes living is all you need ~w~)... and it's available on a 4* unit as well so it's not too pricey or anything. I can definitely add dull ranged I think. But yeah I agree with Ice Dragon that the Owl tome stat stacking is probably better than the candelabra (both in terms of inheritance priority as well as outright performance), especially with the Fury boosts since ALL stats get boosted and that's cool right?? If anything, Dull Ranged probably works better than QR for that since (IIRC?) it doesn't have the HP threshold like QR does. @bottlegnomes regarding Mirror Stance, based on my testing I actually found that his default HP+4/Res+2 was more useful for him than Mirror Stance IIRC :0 or similar by a narrow enough margin that it wouldn't be worth spending such valuable fodder for it (Atk/Res Bond is definitely better IMO, and it just synergizes really well with Owl tome as well; if being next to folks doesn't suit one's gameplay style then I suppose Candelabra and Mirror Stance would yield better results? But I feel like the higher numbers are worth having even just ONE adjacent ally, and 2 isn't that hard to accomplish either IMO). I'll change stuff accordingly on the analysis when I'm slightly less worn out.

I did notice that Distant Def seems to be the more helpful skill of the two when it came to his matchups at large. Allright, sounds fine to me. I'll adjust accordingly when I get some time to edit. It's fine if I just copypasta the info provided there into the build itself, right?

I'm all ears if you wanna give me the specs bro.

Thinking about splitting off Close Counter into its own build (with either Wolf or Owl as weapon options) but for now, dat boi done like dinner.

Canas: Seeker of Knowledge A long-awaited character who finally found his way into the ranks of Heroes, Canas proves to have capabilities quite eerily similar to those of his great-nephew, Raigh... which is to say, rather generic and lackluster, differing only from Raigh in the stats department by possessing 1 less Defense and 4 more Resistance. Fortunately, Canas is at least given a more usable base kit and comes available at 5* rarity, which almost makes up for the IV flexibility that he lacks compared to Raigh. Fortunately, there are ways to put both his kit and his stat spread to use with tangible benefits, and if nothing else, he marks a turn in his weapon's accessibility for those who are tired of waiting for Katarina to return to a focus banner. 5* Level 40 Stats: HP: 36 Atk: 32 Spd: 29 Def: 21 Res: 33 BST: 151 Default Skills: Weapon: Raudrowl+ Assist: Reciprocal Aid Special: -- A-Skill: HP/Res+2 B-Skill: -- C-Skill: Res Tactic 3 Scholarly Slayer (enemy phase / range tank) General use, Arena Offense, Chain Modes Fangs of Academia (anti-Cavalry) General use, Arena Offense/Defense

Sorry for double post in relatively short succession but Merric is all good to go. This update did more for him than I imagined it could. Finally he can be usable =w= And hecc, I might just build that Brazen kit now that Lloyd is coming out soon.

Yeah, that looks like it does pretty decently well after running the numbers. +Atk is definitely outright the best IV for it, and Distant Defense actually seems to do a bit better at times but I guess both are options. I'll add it for consideration.

Okay, I've been running the numbers on sets with Excalibur's new refinements, and it seems like it pretty much hard-outclasses both of the non-joke builds. For reference, the set is Excalibur [refined], Glimmer, Brazen Atk/Spd, Desperation, and Atk+3 (+Spd/-Def or Res IV). also probably works fine with Atk/Spd bond, Swift Sparrow, etc. ....are there any other sets we think Merric could run? Considering how low his Res is I don't think he makes for much of a blow-trading duelist; as much as this update helped him out, his stats are still pretty bad =x= There's possibly Close Counter for countering fliers, but that still isn't all that great on him outside of that. Being able to instantly proc Glimmer on counterattack is pretty good for bait'n'killing fliers that aren't red (or Nino), but flying mages are only getting more prominent and his Res is still quite bad. EDIT: I'm thinking maybe a variation of the antiaircraft set with Watersweep... maybe. It seems to work for Julia, so why not Merric?

Alright, I went ahead and removed her Brash Desperation set (there are plenty of more effective alternatives to this nowadays) to replace it with the Close Counter build (conveniently pretty easy to build now that Canas and Takumi have both been made F2P-available), so she should be all up to date. Time to finally get going on the updates for Merric @3@

Okay Raven has been edited accordingly and should be up to date. I went ahead and consolidated the listed builds into just 2 (Desperation and Wrath), with related skills explained in detail.

Ah fair enough. Welp this way I know what to emphasize, much appreciated. I'm still not 100% sold on it, but I do know that most teams need their Green unit to be their Rein counter, which I suppose is reason enough to run it, if not the surprise factor.

ahh excellent. I thought as much but it's good to hear it confirmed. Probably not worth it to run Close Def over Guard then (with QR moved accordingly), huh. I'm thinking about removing her Brash Desperation set as well. Blade tomes kinda feel like yesterday's news, and I'm not sure there's much point in building Sophia that way considering Lilina is just as common now and does better at it without or ESPECIALLY with Forblaze + its refine.