Best Skill Stat based skills?

[Flareblade]

My avatar in my second playthrough of Birthright is a Hero with his boon and bane being Deft and Slow respectively. I was wondering what skills would be the best for my avatar to use in general. I'm choosing four because Hoshidan Unity is in my fifth spot. I currently have Astra, Lethality, Rend Heaven, Sol, Luna, and Vengeance available, with the first three being equipped.

So any ideas for a good setup?

(Keep in mind that I don't have access to DLC at the moment and cannot get Aether, Ignis, Opportunity Shot, etc.)

Edited May 9, 2016 by thedeltarune

[Rezzy]

Are you planning to be primarily Magic or Strength based? Rend Heaven is probably the best for Strength users, since it has such a high proc rates and physical units are far more common than mages.

I think Lethality has too low a proc rate to really be viable and pretty much every other choice would be better.

Dragon Fang is pretty nice, especially if you have Hoshidan Unity.

Hoshidan Unity, Rend Heaven, Luna, Astra, Dragon Fang is good for straight damage. Drop Astra for Sol if you want the occasional healing, drop Rend Heaven if you're Magic based.

[Flareblade]

Are you planning to be primarily Magic or Strength based? Rend Heaven is probably the best for Strength users, since it has such a high proc rates and physical units are far more common than mages.

I think Lethality has too low a proc rate to really be viable and pretty much every other choice would be better.

Dragon Fang is pretty nice, especially if you have Hoshidan Unity.

Hoshidan Unity, Rend Heaven, Luna, Astra, Dragon Fang is good for straight damage. Drop Astra for Sol if you want the occasional healing, drop Rend Heaven if you're Magic based.

Actually, I think I chose Dull and not Slow considering how much lower my Mag stat is compared to Spd. So I'm definitely not Magic based. I

And also, Lethality is one of my favorite skills in both effectiveness and how it looks. It'd be hard to drop it. Then again, it would only activate about 10% of the time with my stat modifier.

[Quintessence]

Imo Hoshidan Unity, Dragon Fang / Rend Heaven, Sol, Luna and Astra. Tbh I prefer Dragon Fang over Rend Heaven, since DF adds more dmg generally, while RH adds half the enemy's offensive stat. Depending on how overpowered your Corrin is, you might find some offensive skills redundant.

Vengeance is only good at fe13 where Nostanking is op, but now it is pretty useless unless you eat high dmg and then face enemies that do low dmg to you.

Lethality is unreliable and gets redundant as well when you one shot units with Luna, Rend Heaven or Dragon Fang. It just serves well on units that have low offensive and high skill and their only option to kill is either crt or proc it.

You can also check for Quixotic for more reliable procs.

[Flareblade]

Imo Hoshidan Unity, Dragon Fang / Rend Heaven, Sol, Luna and Astra. Tbh I prefer Dragon Fang over Rend Heaven, since DF adds more dmg generally, while RH adds half the enemy's offensive stat. Depending on how overpowered your Corrin is, you might find some offensive skills redundant.

Vengeance is only good at fe13 where Nostanking is op, but now it is pretty useless unless you eat high dmg and then face enemies that do low dmg to you.

Lethality is unreliable and gets redundant as well when you one shot units with Luna, Rend Heaven or Dragon Fang. It just serves well on units that have low offensive and high skill and their only option to kill is either crt or proc it.

You can also check for Quixotic for more reliable procs.

Quixotic is a popular skill for a good reason but I just don't like it very much considering that it effects both the user and enemy.

[Quintessence]

Yeah, it is a double edged issue, but hopefully with a bulky statspread with Sol, it'll withstand any dmg sustained.

[Rezzy]

With HP so low in Fates, I don't run Quixotic, since one proc from an enemy can often get you killed.

[Quintessence]

With HP so low in Fates, I don't run Quixotic, since one proc from an enemy can often get you killed.

How many enemies run offensive skills, though? I've only played through HM on both versions and only bosses (or some) have offensive skills.

Edit: dunno about Lunatic.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Quintessence

[Shadow Mir]

With HP so low in Fates, I don't run Quixotic, since one proc from an enemy can often get you killed.

Ditto. I also feel that the hit boost benefits the enemy much more than the player.

[Crimean Archivist]

I tend to stop at two offensive skills unless the additional options were obtained via Nohrian Trust and don't need to take slots on Corrin. Procstacking gives diminishing returns at the upper extreme and some combinations don't synergize well. If I run a build optimized for most skill activations between Astra and Sol, but my strategy relies on survival (Sol), I may find that I fail due to the fact Astra will block Sol pretty regularly.

That said, I'm a big fan of Astra, which has a very large payoff per activation, and Dragon Fang, which is very consistent in terms of damage output even though it has one of the lower activation rates. Sol is good for survivability, while the rest of the skills have relatively niche uses imo.

[Blade]

How many enemies run offensive skills, though? I've only played through HM on both versions and only bosses (or some) have offensive skills.

Edit: dunno about Lunatic.

Lunatic Birthright only has threatening skills like Vengeance on bosses as far as I know.

Lunatic Conquest is obvious.

I don't know about Lunatic Revelations.

[MapleRose]

My Kana has Lethality, Rend Heaven, Vantage, Hoshidan Unity and Quixotic as a Hero. I gave him a forged Umbrella, it's pretty funny watching him proc Lethality with it. It's not the most reliable strat but it's fun nonetheless

[Rezzy]

For post game planning, I have almost all my units with Warp and Replicate taking up 2 Skills slots.

I almost wish those 2 skills didn't exist. They are almost Gale Force tier, where there's very little reason to not take them.

[Roflolxp54]

For post game planning, I have almost all my units with Warp and Replicate taking up 2 Skills slots.

I almost wish those 2 skills didn't exist. They are almost Gale Force tier, where there's very little reason to not take them.

Warp: it's largely useless if you're turtling or don't have Galeforce users that can indirectly bus the Warp-user over. Warp also doesn't particularly synergize well with Galeforce (in the same skillset) unless you're using it to retreat to an ally that isn't in immediate danger.

Replicate: the shared HP bar between the real and the replica unit can be a liability if you can't position them properly and/or can't reliably survive the enemy phase.

Galeforce: good if you can reliably score kills; wasted skillslot in pair-up situations; useless if you used Warp to get into position to attack an enemy unit

[Rezzy]

Warp: it's largely useless if you're turtling or don't have Galeforce users that can indirectly bus the Warp-user over. Warp also doesn't particularly synergize well with Galeforce (in the same skillset) unless you're using it to retreat to an ally that isn't in immediate danger.

Replicate: the shared HP bar between the real and the replica unit can be a liability if you can't position them properly and/or can't reliably survive the enemy phase.

Galeforce: good if you can reliably score kills; wasted skillslot in pair-up situations; useless if you used Warp to get into position to attack an enemy unit

I meant the Gale Force of Awakening. It's much more balanced in Fates.

I still think Warp and Replicate are OP.

[HylianTiki]

I don't understand why people bother with Sol and Luna honestly. I would get Eather and Lifetaker which works much better since Lifetaker will always give you HP back. so if you're physical you could do Rend Heaven, Astra, Aether, Lifetaker and Hoshidan unity. That's what my Revelation guy has and he's great. My Boon and Bane are the same as yours, Deft and Dull.

[Roflolxp54]

I don't understand why people bother with Sol and Luna honestly. I would get Eather and Lifetaker which works much better since Lifetaker will always give you HP back. so if you're physical you could do Rend Heaven, Astra, Aether, Lifetaker and Hoshidan unity. That's what my Revelation guy has and he's great. My Boon and Bane are the same as yours, Deft and Dull.

Sol is for survival, not damage output. Aether + Sol is not a bad setup in which survival matters (especially if you're doing Awakening-style Enemy Phase Nosferatanking); Sol is a terrible skill if your main priority is damage output. Astra isn't a bad skill but VS. Dragonskin users and high Def/Res enemies and it'll likely be doing too little damage to matter, especially if the enemy is in Guard/Bold Stance and also has some Avoid. Lifetaker, like Galeforce, only works if you can score kills during player phase -- otherwise, it's a complete waste; it works very well with Galeforce though, especially for retreating. Luna is good because it boosts damage output and has a reliable proc rate; it only stinks if it's against an enemy unit that has near 0 Defense/Resistance, similar to how Rend Heaven can stink depending on the situation.

There is also the fact that Skill caps are lower than when compared to Awakening.

[Shadow Mir]

I meant the Gale Force of Awakening. It's much more balanced in Fates.

I still think Warp and Replicate are OP.

Warp, maybe, but I fail to see what makes Replicate anywhere near the level of Awakening Galeforce, much less overpowered.

I don't understand why people bother with Sol and Luna honestly. I would get Eather and Lifetaker which works much better since Lifetaker will always give you HP back. so if you're physical you could do Rend Heaven, Astra, Aether, Lifetaker and Hoshidan unity. That's what my Revelation guy has and he's great. My Boon and Bane are the same as yours, Deft and Dull.

As stated earlier, Lifetaker only works on player phase.

[Dragrath]

As others have pointed out it depends on what you want the offensive proc to do as they all have different roles.

Aether-Combines survivability and damage through combined sol then luna attacks at the cost of a lower than normal proc chance(Skill/2)

Astra-Allows units to decimate squishy enemies or foes with high HP but lackluster defenses Suffers horribly against bulky foes however and has a lower than average activation chance(skill/2)

Luna-Halves the foes defenses when attacking. This makes it far more effective the higher the foes defenses are thus it can be though of as an anti tank proc skill average activation chance(Skill)

Rend Heaven-Boosts the damage of the offensive type you are using thus it suffers against foes with low strength/magic depending on the stat the user is using. Has an absurd proc chance however(1.5*skill)

Dragon Fang-Gives an innate boost of damage to attacks when activated so naturally becomes more effective the higher the users offenses are. Basically exists to make Corrin powerful.(3*skill/4)

Vengence-A high risk high reward proc skill works best with high HP units that also have vantage.(1.5*skill)i.e. nerfed from awakening

Sol-Survivability Proc Skill doesn't add any damage however it heals you which lets you live(skill)

Lethality-A skill meant to terrify your opponent about the small chance of it insta killing your unit. Only really effective on low attack units such as Dancers super low proc chance(skill/4)

Ignis-Male Only Because IS was super lazy and must hate females :( Naturally as it adds half your other offense to your attacks(skill)

Which ones you use depends on what you want your character to do/what your characters role and stats are.

Replica while certainly not a bad skill doesn't synergize as well with Nohrian trust unless you turn two units into proc bots with one being far less effective than the other. I do find it great for a character able/meant to act solo (or in attack stance) as replicas don't gain support bonuses

Now the best use here is to keep the replica back with your rallier/healer as that will let you heal/rally buff them wherever that unit is so that could Warrant a skill slot for the above though I feel that hurts the role of a proc master unit unless you have a planed rally bot with rally skill/Spectrum to boost the units skill to compensate.

Warp is an amazing skill however. So that can be... yeah.

My thoughts are to build a high mobility unit with Galeforce,Warp,Replicate,Pass,1 attack initiation skill such as Aggressor/Death Blow/Certain Blow etc. meant to be buffed and serve as a team jumping point. With Warp as an escape tool in case things go sour.

[Rezzy]

Replica while certainly not a bad skill doesn't synergize as well with Nohrian trust unless you turn two units into proc bots with one being far less effective than the other. I do find it great for a character able/meant to act solo (or in attack stance) as replicas don't gain support bonuses

Now the best use here is to keep the replica back with your rallier/healer as that will let you heal/rally buff them wherever that unit is so that could Warrant a skill slot for the above though I feel that hurts the role of a proc master unit unless you have a planed rally bot with rally skill/Spectrum to boost the units skill to compensate.

Warp is an amazing skill however. So that can be... yeah.

My thoughts are to build a high mobility unit with Galeforce,Warp,Replicate,Pass,1 attack initiation skill such as Aggressor/Death Blow/Certain Blow etc. meant to be buffed and serve as a team jumping point. With Warp as an escape tool in case things go sour.

Units who get a bonus from "Waiting" also give their bonuses to their clone, which can often come in handy.

[Flareblade]

I don't understand why people bother with Sol and Luna honestly. I would get Eather and Lifetaker which works much better since Lifetaker will always give you HP back. so if you're physical you could do Rend Heaven, Astra, Aether, Lifetaker and Hoshidan unity. That's what my Revelation guy has and he's great. My Boon and Bane are the same as yours, Deft and Dull.

Don't currently have access to DLC, so even if I did go with that setup it'd be incomplete as I'd still need Aether.

[B.Leu]

Lethality is just too unreliavable. Skill/4% is just too low, even more so then the final bosses are immune to it.

But damn, when it activate, it's awesome.

The best of the best imo, are Dragon Fang, Rend Heaven, and Luna. And Ignis.but this one is DLC. This is all about what you want.

Dragon Fang, Skillx0,75%... I think ?... Add half of your damage to your next attack, which make it very very good no matter what you use.

Rend Heaven, Skillx1,5, if your units have a physical weapon, it adds half of the opponent's STR when it's activate, or if, you are using a magic weapons, it adds half of opponent's MAG. The problem with this skills is that if by chance, your opponents doesn't have much STR or MAG, like you know, the nice Generals/GreatKnights with 0 Mag.... it's useless, and you'll have to be picky to fully use it.

Luna: Skill%. Halves the Def and Res of the ennemies,it's very good, plus, unlike Rending Heaven, you'll always get something out of it, since ennemies always have some Def/Res. Of course, it's not very usefull if your opponent have very low Def/Res.

Ignis: Skill% Add half of your STR if you use a magical weapon or half of your MAG if you use a physical weapon. Do I need to say more ? It's awesome, probably even better than Dragon Fang;. Alas, it's DLC and male only, despite being able to have the DLC's Warp and Aether for male and female. Yaaaaaay...

Sol: Skill% Half of the damage you do is given to you. A reliable source of 'I don't need no staves !'

Vengeance... I dunno, I never used it in this game. :p

Also, how is Replicate not broken ? I mean, imagine it, Two. Xander. Both supported with character that buff their (already great) stats.

[SageHarpuiaJDJ]

My thoughts:

Sol is good for surviving.

Luna I would only use for high defense units like Generals and Oni Chieftains.

Astra can dish out a lot of damage, but it's is semi-reliable. It also works to build up the guard gauge.

Rend Heaven is situational. Berserkers come to mind due their high strength.

Vengeance is good for a high HP unit with Vantange to dish out some serious damage.

Dragon Fang is probably the better of all of the skills because of the huge damage that it adds and skill/.75 isn't that huge of a loss.

[Shadow Mir]

Ignis: Skill% Add half of your STR if you use a magical weapon or half of your MAG if you use a physical weapon. Do I need to say more ? It's awesome, probably even better than Dragon Fang;. Alas, it's DLC and male only, despite being able to have the DLC's Warp and Aether for male and female. Yaaaaaay...

Also, how is Replicate not broken ? I mean, imagine it, Two. Xander. Both supported with character that buff their (already great) stats.

The question is, how many units would be able to use Ignis well? The answer, I'd imagine, is not very many.

As to Replicate: I think calling it broken is little more than just another rush to judgment. It's good, yes, but not so much that I'd consider it ubiquitous in the manner that the likes of Stealth Rock and Earthquake are in Pokemon.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[Roflolxp54]

Vengeance... I dunno, I never used it in this game. :p

Also, how is Replicate not broken ? I mean, imagine it, Two. Xander. Both supported with character that buff their (already great) stats.

Vengeance isn't as good as it used to be due to the lower HP caps of all classes when compared to Awakening classes and the fact that Hexing Rod exists. There's also that Rend Heaven has a higher proc priority when compared to Vengeance. And of course, there's the usual stuff like Vengeance being useless when at full HP as well as there being more weapons of various attack ranges (Spy's Shuriken, Spy's Yumi).

True, but Replicate is also a double-edged sword if the player does a poor job of positioning the original and the replica, especially if they get mobbed without any team support. Replica also doesn't get or give any support-rank-related bonuses, which makes Replicate more of a skill for solo units.