Sias

Hey, I’m using the current double SP+EP event to (once again) clean up my barracks and am still somewhat unsure about which asset to keep on a few of my characters. My choices are between +Atk and +Spd for Fallen Ninian, Fallen Dimitri, Hatari Azura & Leanne and Shannan; +Atk or +Res for Fallen Hardin and +Def or +Res for Fallen Morgan (F). I’m leaning towards +Atk Hardin, +Def Morgan and +Spd for pretty much everyone in the first group, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask for some additional thoughts. Oh, and there’s also my +Spd Ascended Fjorm who still needs a second asset, I suppose +Atk is ideal here?

@XRay and @Ice Dragon : First of all, thank you for your responses! Since you made similar points, I’ll just reply to both of you at once: 1. I actually don’t really use Ewan at all and only keep him around in case he comes in useful for a FE8-exclusive map or gets a good personal weapon at some point. Maybe I could’ve phrased it better, but my question about +Def or +Res was in relation to minimal investment Ewan (I think I only gave him Distant Defense 3 and a Rauðrserpent refine at some point). 2. I occasionally deploy Julia when I see (preferably blue) dragons in the Arena Assault team preview. She then proceeds to either bait them on enemy phase or blow them up on player phase, depending on the flow of battle. Since I didn’t want her and Deirdre to do exactly the same, she hasn’t learned Divine Naga. I’ve never summoned +Atk Julia by the way, which is why my only options are +Spd or +Res. 3. Hm, okay then. I don’t own Spring Maria, so I guess Lethe’s skill fodder is currently not all that useful to me. 4. To be honest, my Nowi still uses the Steady Breath + Quick Riposte combo that was modern about 5 years ago, haha. Even though I would theoretically like to replace it with a tier 3 Stance + Dragon Wall, I have the fodder for neither. Bonus Doubler might be an option however, especially in combination with someone like Fae around. 5. One last question that came to mind: Would Guinivere prefer to keep her native Iceberg or to go for Moonbow and quicker, but weaker special activations instead?

Hey, I’ve been using the increased SP gains of this weekend for cleaning up my barracks a little, which is why I have a few questions: 1. Should I merge my +Def Ewan into my +Res one or vice versa? He has a super boon in both stats, and I’m questioning whether it’s better to just stack Res or to work on his mixed bulk instead (considering that he’s still using his standard Rauðrserpent tome). Similarly I’m uncertain if Sheena would prefer to go +Def in order to maximize her physical bulk or +Res to somewhat equalise her Def and Res. 2. I’m not sure if I should keep my +Res Julia or switch her for a +Spd version. The Spd super asset obviously sounds nice, but when I’m only using her once in a while in order to close counter a dragon and she has Quick Riposte anyways, it doesn’t seem like it’s really needed. 3. In a similar fashion: +Atk Mordecai to get a few more wins on the occasion he attacks or +Def to better soak hits after he’s done applying his debuffs? 4. How do you pick an asset for units with low Atk but decent Spd like Lon’qu, Eirika, Caeda and the like? On the one hand it seems to be a good idea to further improve their (for their joining time) pretty good Spd, on the other hand they struggle to do a lot of damage. Eirika and Caeda also have a tempting Atk super boon on top of that. 5. Does anyone actually want Spd/Def Solo? I have 3 extra manuals of Lethe lying around, but noone who would really like to inherit that skill instead of other options comes to mind. 6. Considering the Breath skills exist as seals now, I’m thinking about updating the ages old build of my Nowi. I don’t have all that many skills available as fodder, so how does Steady Posture 3 sound? I know it’s been a lot, but I’m nevertheless grateful for any advice :)

Hey, I pulled a +Spd Micaiah just today, and since I've seen quite a lot of fast Micaiahs in my recent Summoner Duels, I wanted to know if you'd recommend to hold on to my current +Res version or to go for +Spd instead? Keep in mind that I'm still F2P however, which means that even though Micaiah will be +5 with her latest merge, I won't be able to upgrade her to +10 easily or secure a lot of premium skill fodder for her.

Hey! I just pulled another Brave Micaiah and am now wondering whether I should merge the new (+Res -HP) into my existing (neutral) one or vice versa. It's probably not a big difference either way (+1 HP/Atk/Res vs +3 Res), but I wanted to know if you'd recommend going for max Res in order to tank and activate Yune's Whispers more easily or if it's preferable to simply have her floating around with the highest Atk she can get and one-shot as many enemies as possible. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Quick question regarding Nagi: Would she prefer a +Atk or a +Def IV (assuming she keeps her innate Special Fighter)? Thank you for any advice :)

I know that it's generally a good idea to have a wide variety of teams available, but at the same time it's quite a bit more expensive to build a good enemy phase team than to do the same for the player phase variant, imo... Which is why my Aether Raids teams have generelly been pretty player phase focused unless there's a defensive mythic/bonus character around. Okay then, so I'd basically be able to keep Quick Riposte and Atk Smoke around, but what about the A slot skills? Something like Steady Posture 3 seems to be a good option to get both Spd and more bulk, though I don't really want to fodder my only Shannan away, so I suppose it's fine if I just stick with Distant Counter for Fae and... I'm honestly not exactly sure about Nowi? Keeping Steady Breath is nice to offset the special delay from Purifying Breath, but it doesn't offer any Spd, so... And sure, I didn't mean to imply that it would be a good idea to slap Noontime or Sol on everyone for something like Arena Assault - I was talking about the game modes where you regularly throw tanky units into hordes of enemies. Since Steady Breath + Aether was such a good combo in the past, both Fae and Nowi also still have Aether available as an option in order to get both extra damage and healing.

I've never really used Fae or Nowi for Aether Raids since I honestly doubt that either of them would fare all that well against the rather extreme offensive threats you frequently have to face there, hm. There's also the slight problem that I simply can't just combine them with lots of Peonys/Plumerias due to the fact that those aren't exactly the most accessible units if you're F2P. When you recommend turning them into full Spd tanks, how far would you go? Atm they're running Steady Breath/Quick Riposte/Atk Smoke/Close or Distant Defense, and I sadly don't really have a lot of five star exclusive skill fodder. Also, why would you use Iceberg on Fae? If she's supposed to tank, wouldn't some kind of healing special be more optimal? And finally: Did the part about Spd tanks also apply to M!Robin even though you didn't specifically mention him?

I have both Fae and Nowi sitting around in my barracks at +9 with the standard Lightning Breath/Steady Breath/Quick Riposte combo that was popular on them back in the days when they were, like, pretty top-tier tank units. Now that they've both got a shiny new exclusive weapon, I've decided to return to them and polish them up a little by giving them their last merge and unique refine (Fae probably also needs Distant Counter since she loses hers when switching out her weapon). The question I have is: Would it be better to go for a +Spd nature or higher mixed defenses instead (which means +Def on Fae and +Res on Nowi)? With how fast many offensive threats nowadays are, I'm honestly not sure if the dragon girls can really keep up, even considering the +4 Spd from merges and the possibility of slapping another +3 onto that through dragon flowers... And on a similar note: I know he's not really an especially good unit anymore, but since he was my first five star character, I'm kinda attached to him, so... Is M!Robin's Spd still salvageable or would it be better to switch to an Atk asset now? Thanks in advance for any advice 🙂

So, this time I have just a few quick questions for anyone kind enough to provide some insight: 1. I have the choice between +Atk and +Spd for Legendary Tiki, Valentian Catria and Bernadetta respectively. I'm leaning towards +Atk for Tiki (since she has only her standard Bold Fighter and no Special Fighter), +Atk for Catria (due to extra synergy with her weapon and the nice superboon she gets) and +Spd for Bernadetta (more Spd is always nice on a player phase unit, even though she admittedly does get very fast already). Any opinions? 2. Is there someone who would really appreciate Blade Session or should I just slap another merge on my Tsubasa? On the one side, the potential offensive boost is huge, but on the other the turn order requirement could be somewhat clunky to play around... 3. I've acquired some more Distant Counter fodder, and out of the following heroes, who would do how well with this new skill? I've considered Ares, Adrift Corrin (M), Itsuki and Legendary Marth so far, who should probably all benefit quite a bit from it. If there are other characters out there that are easy to get and would improve massively from adding DC, I'd be open to suggestions though. Anyways, thanks for any advice 🙂

I'm once again clearing up my barracks and therefore returning for some more questions, and even though I know that it's a lot again, I'll at least try to keep it somewhat short: 1. I have a +Def Fae and a +Res Nowi with a Steady Breath/Res-refined Lightning Breath combo each. Am I right in my assumption that it's better to keep them the way they are atm than to switch them out for the +Spd versions I pulled recently? If it matters, I don't use them as AR supertanks, so they usually don't get massive stat buffs either (unless L!Azura is also around or something like that). 2. Would Mordecai appreciate a +Def or a +Atk nature more? I suppose it's not all that important since he is first and foremost a support unit, but I have the choice on which one to keep, so... And additionally: What are some good C slot options? I've considered giving him an Opening skill, which would enable him to support his teammates even after he already used Smite to push them wherever. 3. Any good (but nevertheless somehat budgety) A slot skills for Hardin ? Should I go for Death Blow to strengthen the Bold Fighter stuff he can do or instead try to improve his enemy phase? 4. I still have a spare NY!Corrin sitting around, and... Is there any way to make him useful? He's okay as a Brave Bow archer or physical tank, but outclassed by Klein and Gordin/Faye and Norne respectively, so I'm not sure what to do with him... 5. For people that have good Def or Res, but no way to accelerate their special charge (I dunno, like Eir, NY!Laegjarn. Iago, Rafiel or the aforementioned Mordecai maybe): Is it worth it to bank on their high defenses in order to get hefty Bonfire/Iceberg activations or would it be better to let them use a faster special skill (probably Moonbow)? Or does it make a difference whether the character in question is player phase focused, an enemy phase tank or more of a support unit? 6. If I want to replace Adrift male Corrin's native Atk/Def Bond due to its somewhat unreliable positioning requirement and don't have a Breath skill available, should I just go for the standard Fury? I'm kinda unsure as he's pretty balanced statwise and therefore able to do a lot of things. 7. How do you feel about Desperation on characters with Spd values that aren't really bad, but not exactly great either (something around 35 maybe). Similarly, when choosing between Life and Death or Fury: What's the least amount of bulk you try to keep on glass cannon characters? 8. When picking C slot skills for members of Flier/Cavalry Emblem teams: How do you spread the Hone and Fortify skills around? In theory things would work out nicely if offensive units would supply defensive buffs and vice versa, but in practice it's not quite that simple - Hone Fliers is still a somewhat rare skill and tanky units often prefer to use Atk Smoke instead of a supportive ability, so... Anyways, huge thanks to anyone who actually bothered to read through all of this, haha.

Last month has gifted me with even more duplicate heroes, so it's once more time to clear some space by doing a few merges, which is why I'm here again. I have the choice between +Atk and +Spd each for Summer Laegjarn, Brave Roy, M!Robin, Eirika, Felicia and Matthew. So far I'm leaning towards +Atk for Eirika and Matthew (since even though they'd like more Spd, they can somewhat patch up their awfully low base Atk with a superboon in combination with their legendary refines) and +Spd for Felicia (as her Atk is so terrible that she probably won't kill without a special proc anyways, which is why she needs Spd to double enemy mages), but i'm honestly not all that sure about the other three (Laegjarn and Roy get pretty absurdly fast on player phase with +Spd, but the number of speedy foes steadily rises as well, while Robin would really love more Atk, even though some Spd could also be useful to ensure that he doesn't implode quite as quickly when encountering a blue enemy...) Besides all that; I've also finally gotten both Julia (+Res) and Deirdre (+Spd -Def) and wanted to use the opportunity to finally give them complete builds, so... Any suggestions? I assume QR is just about ideal for both of them, though what about good A slot skills? Would it be recommended to just take the standard pick Fury or maybe something like Mirror Stance for Julia, who is more enemy phase oriented? And in a similar vein: I assume that the best budget option for Nephenee and Hostile Springs Hinoka is Fury as well?

@XRay and @Ice Dragon Okay, due to real life intervening it took me quite a while to actually write an answer to you, so first of all: Let me thank you both for your advice. Just for your information on what I did so far: I ended up keeping the +Atk versions of Legendary Marth and Sacred Memories Eirika while merging my Veronicas (since I recently got another Genny for Wrathful Staff and figured that foddering her off would be more efficient). I haven't done anything with my spare Legendary Tiki or Flora yet, though I'm leaning towards giving Flora's Atk/Res-Solo to Yune (who is at least used somewhat frequently during Aether Raids and should benefit from that). You both suggested giving Tiki's skills to an armored unit with built-in Distant Counter, but my only real option for that is the Black Knight, I suppose (since the others have DC in their A slot). If I want to give Bold Fighter to one of my characters with Armor March instead, I'm kind of wasting the Breath skill, and if I inherit Fierce Breath to one of the many many people that want a Breath skill, I'm probably wasting Bold Fighter. Oh well. I recently got a second New Year Hrid though and therefore finally want to finish his build, so... Should I just keep his native Atk/Def-Bond or replace it with something else that's somewhat budget-friendly? I know that bond skills generally aren't really great on most offensive player phase units and should be replaced with something like Fury, but since it's usually easier for enemy phase tanks to clump together and actually activate them... Also, regarding Lon'qu and Raven: Do you think it's better to double up on Life and Death for them or should I rather utilize Fury to have an easier time reaching Desperation range/surviving a single hit? Besides that, I gave Sonya her legendary refine some while ago and was wondering about a good B slot skill for her that's not Special Spiral. Something like a chill or sabotage skill maybe? Cause she doesn't really seem fast enough for Desperation or bulky enough for Quick Riposte, and most Breaker skills aren't really all that good anymore anyways... And one final question: How do you choose the special skill on your offensive units? I know that simply picking Moonbow should be pretty much optimal most of the time (unless we're talking about Bladetome mages), but there's a decent amount of units that's also good in one of their defensive stats and therefore kinda commonly seen with a skill that capitalizes on this (e.g. Eir with Iceberg). Do you still just pick Moonbow regardless of that, mix it up depending on someone's stats or does it also somewhat rely on their general skillset (due to Moonbow getting comparatively worse when you hit an enemy with debuffs from a Chill skill or a dagger or something like that)?

So I've recently accumulated a few units that might be good skill fodder, but since I'm not quite sure about whom I should give their skills to (if at all), I'd like to ask for some of your opinions. I generally use Brave Veronica and Legendary Tiki quite a lot, but have both of them at +1 with a good nature already, so I was considering to utilize their Wrathful Staff/Fierce Breath + Bold Fighter as skill fodder. On one hand there are many units who would appreciate those skills, but on the other hand the merge bonus might be quite useful as well, even if it's quite small and my chances of actually getting either Veronica or Tiki to +10 are pretty slim due to me not spending money on the game. There's also the following issue: granting another healer Wrathful Staff might be neat, but isn't really a necessity since I have exactly 10 Wrathful + Dazzling healers already. Fierce Breath + Bold Fighter are far rarer however and would likely be more useful, which is why I've considered giving them to one of my Armor March armors (Halloween Henry, Halloween Dozla or Valentine's Lyn). So basically I'm asking: Would you fodder those two units off, and if yes, which one of the Armor March guys would be the best recipient of the mentioned skills? Secondly there's Flora, who's also at +1 with a good nature, but whom I'm using significantly less than Veronica or Tiki since she's kind of more situational. She obviously has Atk/Res-Solo, which might be pretty good for slower magic tanks like Yune/Julia/female Morgan. Would you recommend inheriting it to one of them? And finally: I've pulled Legendary Marth and Sacred Memories Eirika both with a neutral and a +Atk nature. Which one of them should I merge away and which one should I keep respectively? I'm leaning towards the neutral ones atm since I'm assuming that 1 Spd/HP are worth more than 2 Atk, but I'm not completely sure yet... Also, on that note: What would be a good A slot skill for Legendary Marth (that's sort of not too expensive)? Probably just Fury or maybe Distant Counter? Thanks in advance for any help! 🙂

Okay, so if I understand this correctly: +Spd is superior on dancers who don't fight in order to have an easier time surviving stray hits and for general utility. +Atk however is better on those that regularly do see combat or are specific colour counters. I don't know, in general I don't really use them much in battle... So +Spd would be preferred? Or still +Atk for the few cases when they actually do enter combat? Draw Back also works fine on ranged characters, right? Because out of all the fodder I have, Reposition is the only one available in rather limited quantity. Hm, okay... So for player phase teams, just spreading around Hones would be better? And yeah, I was seeing a lot of Threaten skills around on glass canons during the last Voting Gauntlet, so I kind of wondered whether they were any good, since the positioning required to get them to work seems to be tricky at best. Okay... So what about units with Wary Fighter, since their attack rhythm can be kind of weird at times? I assume 3 turn specials would be ideal here? Also, on another note... What are good options for the B slot of Firesweep users? I know that Chill skills are popular here, but those are rather expensive, so... Poison Blade instead? Or Drag Back? Or a Breaker? And finally: Sturdy Stance seems to be superior to Steady Stance on a lot of enemy phase tanks like Shiro, the Black Knight or Gerome (with Slaying Axe + Quick Riposte)... But do you think the performance difference is big enough to start buring some grails on Halloween Dorcas in order to get the necessary fodder?