"Ask Fire Emblem Heroes Questions and Get Them Answered Here" Thread

[Othin]

5 hours ago, Humanoid said:

DR stacks, but multiplicatively. For example, if you have two sources of 50% DR, it reduces the damage you take by 75%.

To expand: Each successive DR effect applies to the result of the previous one. So you have separate 30%, 40%, and 50% DR effects, the damage you take is multiplied by 0.7x0.6x0.5=0.21, for a total of 79% damage reduction.

This is the premise of Alear's base kit: 40% from Liberation, 50% from Close Call, and 40% from Spd Smoke works out to a 0.18 multiplier, for 82% damage reduction. Under those conditions, beating an Alear with 40 HP requires damage that, without reductions, would add up to about 222. Each DR source effectively applies a multiplier to the character's HP, so the more damage reduction you have, the more benefit to the character's overall durability from each new source of it.

[Ice Dragon]

8 hours ago, Ether said:

As of right now, Repel 4(Lucia) and Close Call 4(Alear) are the best dodge skills, just because they're the ones with a t4 version. Spurn 3 is more common and still pretty good, while Velocity and Frenzy are more rare. Velocity is usually the call because of it's tempo effect, but with TP4 or Spiral you don't really need it to loop VA. When one of the latter 3 get a t4 version, they should be preferable over Repel of Close Call. 

@Dylan Corona One thing to add: While Velocity is not necessary to loop Vital Astra, it's probably still the most optimal option (once it gets a tier-4 version) because the Tempo effect still prevents an opponent's Guard from blocking Vital Astra activating on your follow-up attack, and it blocks opponents that use a Special charge rate boost to counterattack with a powerful Special.

[Dylan Corona]

2 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

@Dylan Corona One thing to add: While Velocity is not necessary to loop Vital Astra, it's probably still the most optimal option (once it gets a tier-4 version) because the Tempo effect still prevents an opponent's Guard from blocking Vital Astra activating on your follow-up attack, and it blocks opponents that use a Special charge rate boost to counterattack with a powerful Special.

So you think I should just wait till that one comes out then? Hopefully soon lol.

 

Has rearmed sword guy, future Alfonse, shown up again at all? In a banner, I mean.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Dylan Corona

[Humanoid]

3 hours ago, Dylan Corona said:

Has rearmed sword guy, future Alfonse, shown up again at all? In a banner, I mean.

Luckily for you, his debut banner has just won the Twitter vote for the next rerun, and so it'll reappear as a sparkable banner with tickets.

[Ice Dragon]

14 hours ago, Dylan Corona said:

So you think I should just wait till that one comes out then? Hopefully soon lol.

As far as prioritization, I would wait until you get a copy of Time's Pulse 4 before worrying to much about the B skill (though it's still worth going for one if a good banner shows up). Once you get Time's Pulse 4, if you don't have Velocity yet, Spurn 3 is a relatively easy to get Dodge skill that you can use while you wait for Velocity 3/4.

 

Also, given that we just got a second Arcane lance announced that's aimed more towards fast units, if you are not in a hurry (very not in a hurry), it's potentially worth waiting for a second Arcane sword, though there's no telling how long that wait will be.

[Flying Shogi]

As someone with a +10 Katarina, I'm considering using a Forma on her in the upcoming HoF. She's part of my arena core but I'm aiming for performance instead of score. I have Flora Guide so I'm not too concerned about getting it on her. I'm thinking of this build

Drifting Grace+/Pact Blooms+ 

Harsh Command+  

Rupture Sky

Atk/Spd Catch 4

Spd/Res Far Trace | Chill Atk/Res 4 

Atk/Spd Oath 4 | Spd/Res Hold

I know Menace is probably a better skill on her but I prefer the consistency of Oath and Hold. What are other skills that'll be good on her? 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Flying Shogi

[Ice Dragon]

1 hour ago, Flying Shogi said:

As someone with a +10 Katarina, I'm considering using a Forma on her in the upcoming HoF. She's part of my arena core but I'm aiming for performance instead of score. I have Flora Guide so I'm not too concerned of getting it on her. I'm thinking of this build

Drifting Grace+/Pact Blooms+ 

Harsh Command+  

Rupture Sky

Atk/Spd Catch 4

Spd/Res Far Trace | Chill Atk/Res 4 

Atk/Spd Oath 4 | Spd/Res Hold

I know Menace is probably a better skill on her but I prefer the consistency of Oath and Hold. What are other skills that'll be good on her? 

Drifting Grace is still the best offensive inheritable blue tome for general use, but even if she can't use the terrain-ignoring effect of Magical Lantern, its Special charge rate boost effect is still pretty valuable.

Remote Sparrow is generally the best A skill that grants Atk/Spd to grab from Hall of Forms right now, both because it's hard to get and because most ranged units that run Atk/Spd builds have awful bulk and can use the damage reduction.

In the B slot, S/R Far Trace is the best general-use skill in the slot. Guard 4 is a decent skill for surviving counterattacks, but you should probably only go for it if you have the resources to get S/R Far Trace on her through normal means. If you're running Remote Sparrow, the best Chill skill to run on her is Chill Spd/Res 3 since you won't need the Atk debuff quite as much.

Atk/Spd Menace is probably the best option for the C slot simply because her exclusive weapon would like to have the debuffs from it. Even with Atk/Spd Menace, I think Chill Spd/Res is still fine to run in the B slot, though you can definitely swap to Chill Def/Res 3 if you want slightly more support utility at very little cost to her own performance. However, Atk/Spd Menace isn't particularly difficult to get normally now due to it having decent distribution, so it's probably still better to grab Atk/Spd Oath 4 or Spd/Res Hold from Hall of Forms instead and get Atk/Spd Menace through normal means.

To sum things up:

Desert Katarina
Drifting Grace+ [Spd] / Magical Lantern+ [Spd]
Rally Atk/Spd+ / Harsh Command+ / [any other Rally+]
Ruptured Sky
Remote Sparrow
S/R Far Trace 3 / Chill Spd/Res 3 / Chill Def/Res 3 / Guard 4
Spd/Res Hold / Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Atk/Spd Menace

Edited April 18, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[Flying Shogi]

On 4/17/2023 at 9:29 PM, Ice Dragon said:

To sum things up:

Desert Katarina
Drifting Grace+ [Spd] / Magical Lantern+ [Spd]
Rally Atk/Spd+ / Harsh Command+ / [any other Rally+]
Ruptured Sky
Remote Sparrow
S/R Far Trace 3 / Chill Spd/Res 3 / Chill Def/Res 3 / Guard 4
Spd/Res Hold / Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Atk/Spd Menace

Thank you for the suggestions. I completely forgot about Remote Sparrow/Guard 4. I've definitely have had some close calls in tier 19/20 arena so the DR would definitely help with her survival.

[SoulWeaver]

How dumb of an idea is it to run Trace Skills on Dancers? Are there any Dancers who want or don't have a better option than those(besides the obvious OG Olivia since she doesn't have any reason not to use Florid Cane)?

[Humanoid]

6 minutes ago, SoulWeaver said:

How dumb of an idea is it to run Trace Skills on Dancers? Are there any Dancers who want or don't have a better option than those(besides the obvious OG Olivia since she doesn't have any reason not to use Florid Cane)?

Remember that Trace skills are exclusive to cavalry and fliers. Works great on cavalry in particular - I mean, of the four cavalry dancers in the game, three of them come with it by default with Duo Sigurd being the odd one out. 😉

For flying dancers, it feels a little bit less impactful, especially for ranged ones as I would often expect them to have no movement remaining after dancing. But the alternative is just Wings of Mercy so it depends how you plan to use the unit. Not like there are many premium alternatives, especially if building one in Hall of Forms.

[Ice Dragon]

5 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

How dumb of an idea is it to run Trace Skills on Dancers? Are there any Dancers who want or don't have a better option than those(besides the obvious OG Olivia since she doesn't have any reason not to use Florid Cane)?

Melee cavalry and melee flying dancers typically want Near Trace.

Ranged cavalry dancers can run Far Trace or Firestorm Dance 3. The former grants Canto (Rem.), whereas the later grants Canto (1), which is sometimes the superior option.

Ranged flying dancers have a greater argument for running Firestorm Dance 3 over Far Trace due to having less movement to activate Canto (Rem.) off of.

Infantry dancers don't have access to Trace skills and only have access to Firestorm Dance 3 for Canto.

 

Wings of Mercy is always a decent option regardless of the class.

Aerobatics and Flier Formation are also good mobility options for fliers depending on who their teammates are, even if they are both available as Sacred Seals.

Escape Route 4 is a really good mobility option, but is only really viable for dancers that have the combat performance to actually fight a round of combat now and then (and isn't Legendary Ninian, who has Sweep to avoid taking damage).

Cantrip skills are decent, but are hard to get, and it might be worth waiting until tier-4 versions of them are released before going for them.

Ninian, Fallen Ninian, and Nils can run HP-comparison debuffs like Sudden Panic or Pulse Tie.

Rafiel can run Res-comparison debuffs.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[DefyingFates]

Does the Rating sort option show how well units score in Arena? Because it also increases based on Dragonflower usage, and I thought DF didn't affect Arena score.

Thanks in advance as always!

[Ice Dragon]

4 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

Does the Rating sort option show how well units score in Arena? Because it also increases based on Dragonflower usage, and I thought DF didn't affect Arena score.

Thanks in advance as always!

"Rating" is the unit's visible stat total, i.e. the original Arena scoring method that was ditched after only a couple months because everyone just ran Fury.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[DefyingFates]

10 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

"Rating" is the unit's visible stat total, i.e. the original Arena scoring method that was ditched after only a couple months because everyone just ran Fury.

That makes sense, thanks!

[SoulWeaver]

On 5/9/2023 at 6:42 AM, Ice Dragon said:

Infantry dancers don't have access to Trace skills and only have access to Firestorm Dance 3 for Canto.

With exception of the swordies(OG Olivia, Sylvia, Lene), who can run Florid Cane if you don't have the T4 Dance. Is that worth it given that those Units are probably not getting prfs down the line considering how long they've left Olivia(and Azura but there isn't a Lance that grants Canto as far as I know) behind with the prfs?

 

Other question, it's HoF time again, and Fallen Celica seems to like me for some reason(evidence being that mine is like +3), so I may trick out a Forma for her. Can I ask for recommendations? So far the game has already thrown Distant Stance and Frenzy at me but I assume she's not actually good at using either Skill based on the statline of mine. I assume it looks something like this?

Beloved Zofia(Effect Refine)
Insert premium nonsense here
Ruptured Sky because there isn't a single Unit in the game that wouldn't appreciate it from what I gather(Staffs shed a tear but will take their new combat Specials)
ATK/SPD Ideal(?)/Surge Sparrow(?)/Sturdy Surge(?)
Lull(?)/SPD DR(?)
Menace because when in doubt(and when Reins/Saves aren't possible) slap a Menace on there

[Xenomata]

1 hour ago, SoulWeaver said:

Other question, it's HoF time again, and Fallen Celica seems to like me for some reason(evidence being that mine is like +3), so I may trick out a Forma for her. Can I ask for recommendations?

Weapon: If you haven't already refined her weapon previously, then Beloved Zofia will let you save 200 Divine Dews. Otherwise this is entirely up to you how to handle it.
Assist: Honestly if you forget to replace Reposition, it's not that big a deal.
Special: Ruptured Skies

A. Distant Stance isn't a horrible choice since her maximum Spd is 43, but if you want to replace it and lean more into Celica's melee combat the best option would be Atk/Spd Finish 4 (don't worry about how it looks like it wouldn't sync with Beloved Zofia, with how the HP recovery works Celica will still always be below 100% HP)
B. Frenzy is alright, but Velocity is objectably better because you won't be seeing the Desperation effect of Frenzy all the time, and Tempo is a good effect that all units like, especially given the huge number of Guard effects in the game...
c. Atk/Spd Oath 4 is my recommendation, since it not only gives stats and a Guidance status to the unit, but also some in-combat stats.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Xenomata

[Ice Dragon]

7 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Other question, it's HoF time again, and Fallen Celica seems to like me for some reason(evidence being that mine is like +3), so I may trick out a Forma for her. Can I ask for recommendations? So far the game has already thrown Distant Stance and Frenzy at me but I assume she's not actually good at using either Skill based on the statline of mine. I assume it looks something like this?

If you haven't already spent dew to refine Beloved Zofia, you can grab it to save on spending dew. Otherwise, the best inheritable weapons are either Petalfall Blade+ [Spd] or Florid Cane+ [Spd]. For reference, Petalfall Blade comes from Valentine Hana, who is a 4-star Special Hero, and Florid Cane comes from Thief Rickard, who is a Grail unit.

For the Assist slot, any skill worth 300 SP is fine. However, I typically prefer Rally Atk/Spd+ or Harsh Command+ because they have the most general utility. However, you can pick a different Rally if, for example, you run a lot of units with Atk/Spd boosts in the C slot where Rally Atk/Spd+ would end up useless.

Vital Astra is probably her best option for the Special slot, followed by Ruptured Sky. While she can't reliably have Vital Astra fully charged at the start of combat unless she's running Special Spiral, it grants more consistent damage compared to Ruptured Sky and will occasionally still give you its damage reduction effect at the cost of having less power against dragons and beasts. She also has access to Godlike Reflexes, but lacks the skill effects to make use of it unless you replace her weapon with Arcane Devourer.

 

Due to the fact that Beloved Zofia prevents Celica from being at full health at the start of combat except for her first round of combat, you don't usually want to run Atk/Spd Ideal on her because then you're reliant on her having a Bonus to get just one stack of stats. Her best skills in the A slot are Atk/Spd Finish 4, Surge Sparrow, Atk/Spd Clash 4, Atk/Spd Hexblade, and Distant Pressure. Surge Sparrow grants more sustain, but is restricted to player-phase usage. Atk/Spd Finish and Atk/Spd Hexblade are the strongest options with reliable performance, with Finish granting a bit more sustain and Hexblade granting a bit more damage against units with high Def, but low Res. Atk/Spd Clash is inconsistent, but pairs extremely well with Escape Route 4 and is also a good enemy-phase skill against certain pesky 4-movement cavalry. Distant Pressure is the best general-use Distant Counter skill. It can be substituted for Distant Dart for a pure enemy-phase build or if you already have the resources to give her Distant Pressure normally, but those are really the only reasons I see for running it over Pressure.

Her best options for the B slot are Close Call 4, Repel 4, and Escape Route 4. Escape Route is notably always active after her first round of combat due to Beloved Zofia's recoil damage. Special Spiral 4 is a decent alternative option depending on what you want to do with her, and she also has access to Velocity 3 if you don't mind waiting to get its tier-4 version normally for whatever reason.

The best skills for the C slot are Atk/Spd Oath 4, Atk/Spd Menace, Time's Pulse 4, and Def/Res Smoke 3. Time's Pulse is currently the rarest option, but it's also not entirely necessary since Celica can activate Ruptured Sky or Vital Astra on her follow-up as long as the opponent can counterattack and doesn't have Guard. Atk/Spd Oath is the next rarest option and is probably the most valuable option to grab because Atk/Spd Menace has pretty decent distribution. However, Def/Res Smoke is currently only available from Special Heroes and has good support utility.

 

EDIT: Forgot about Def/Res Smoke.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[SoulWeaver]

9 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

If you haven't already spent dew to refine Beloved Zofia, you can grab it to save on spending dew. Otherwise, the best inheritable weapons are either Petalfall Blade+ [Spd] or Florid Cane+ [Spd]. For reference, Petalfall Blade comes from Valentine Hana, who is a 4-star Special Hero, and Florid Cane comes from Thief Rickard, who is a Grail unit.

For the Assist slot, any skill worth 300 SP is fine. However, I typically prefer Rally Atk/Spd+ or Harsh Command+ because they have the most general utility. However, you can pick a different Rally if, for example, you run a lot of units with Atk/Spd boosts in the C slot where Rally Atk/Spd+ would end up useless.

Vital Astra is probably her best option for the Special slot, followed by Ruptured Sky. While she can't reliably have Vital Astra fully charged at the start of combat unless she's running Special Spiral, it grants more consistent damage compared to Ruptured Sky and will occasionally still give you its damage reduction effect at the cost of having less power against dragons and beasts. She also has access to Godlike Reflexes, but lacks the skill effects to make use of it unless you replace her weapon with Arcane Devourer.

 

Due to the fact that Beloved Zofia prevents Celica from being at full health at the start of combat except for her first round of combat, you don't usually want to run Atk/Spd Ideal on her because then you're reliant on her having a Bonus to get just one stack of stats. Her best skills in the A slot are Atk/Spd Finish 4, Surge Sparrow, Atk/Spd Clash 4, Atk/Spd Hexblade, and Distant Pressure. Surge Sparrow grants more sustain, but is restricted to player-phase usage. Atk/Spd Finish and Atk/Spd Hexblade are the strongest options with reliable performance, with Finish granting a bit more sustain and Hexblade granting a bit more damage against units with high Def, but low Res. Atk/Spd Clash is inconsistent, but pairs extremely well with Escape Route 4 and is also a good enemy-phase skill against certain pesky 4-movement cavalry. Distant Pressure is the best general-use Distant Counter skill. It can be substituted for Distant Dart for a pure enemy-phase build or if you already have the resources to give her Distant Pressure normally, but those are really the only reasons I see for running it over Pressure.

Her best options for the B slot are Close Call 4, Repel 4, and Escape Route 4. Escape Route is notably always active after her first round of combat due to Beloved Zofia's recoil damage. Special Spiral 4 is a decent alternative option depending on what you want to do with her, and she also has access to Velocity 3 if you don't mind waiting to get its tier-4 version normally for whatever reason.

The best skills for the C slot are Atk/Spd Oath 4, Atk/Spd Menace, Time's Pulse 4, and Def/Res Smoke 3. Time's Pulse is currently the rarest option, but it's also not entirely necessary since Celica can activate Ruptured Sky or Vital Astra on her follow-up as long as the opponent can counterattack and doesn't have Guard. Atk/Spd Oath is the next rarest option and is probably the most valuable option to grab because Atk/Spd Menace has pretty decent distribution. However, Def/Res Smoke is currently only available from Special Heroes and has good support utility.

 

EDIT: Forgot about Def/Res Smoke.

Much obliged, I'm so close already, she just needs the C Skill now. Can I ask if you would consider CC/Repel 4 to be better than Escape Route? The game has offered me both options but I'm uncertain if one is better than the other.

[Ice Dragon]

59 minutes ago, SoulWeaver said:

Much obliged, I'm so close already, she just needs the C Skill now. Can I ask if you would consider CC/Repel 4 to be better than Escape Route? The game has offered me both options but I'm uncertain if one is better than the other.

Close Call 4 and Repel 4 give better combat performance (+4 Atk/Spd, +7 Phantom Spd, and up to 50% damage reduction), whereas Escape Route 4 gives more mobility (+3 Spd/Def/Res, Canto (1), and teleportation effects).

Between Close Call and Repel, the main difference is whether or not you want your unit to move after combat. Close Call can be useful if you're running Def/Res Smoke 3 to make better use of the Pathfinder effect, but it can also just as easily screw you over since its movement is forced.

Escape Route doesn't have as good of effects for combat performance, but it also pairs well with Def/Res Smoke 3 due to granting Canto (1) and actually letting you choose where you move with it. Escape Route also grants a higher ceiling for Spd creeping when run with Clash, though you lose out on the damage reduction and the Phantom Spd effect.

Which is better is really down to preference and whether or not you have the resources to get them normally (Close Call 4 and Repel 4 are both in the standard pool, but Escape Route 4 is not).

Edited May 13, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[Xenomata]

Opinions on the Dark Delthea and Sonya I have built in HoF? Neither one was ever given their refine prior, so they both have their refined Prf weapons.

Delthea: Ruptured Sky, Remote Sparrow (seems like the best A slot for PP offensive ranged units), Escape Route 4 (works in tandem with Death to give her the otherwise elusive Canto effect, even if it does somewhat clash with her existing refined teleport), A/S Menace (haven't gotten D/R Smoke on her yet)

Sonya: Blue Flame, A/R Finish (seems the better option on her to maximize Iceberg damage), Special Spiral 4, Time's Pulse 4 (between her weapon, SS4, and TP4 she can have any 3-cooldown special fully charged at all times. Iceberg triggers at +10 merge alone will be dealing 36 damage)

I'm still deciding if I should get Sonya, since she's not very premium anymore, but at the same time she'd be almost fully merged up and I would not otherwise be able to get her such premium skills otherwise. I do have 2 Forma Souls, but the units in non-revival HoF are getting so much stronger that it may be better to save it for when one of them become available.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Xenomata

[Ice Dragon]

7 hours ago, Xenomata said:

Opinions on the Dark Delthea and Sonya I have built in HoF? Neither one was ever given their refine prior, so they both have their refined Prf weapons.

Delthea: Ruptured Sky, Remote Sparrow (seems like the best A slot for PP offensive ranged units), Escape Route 4 (works in tandem with Death to give her the otherwise elusive Canto effect, even if it does somewhat clash with her existing refined teleport), A/S Menace (haven't gotten D/R Smoke on her yet)

Sonya: Blue Flame, A/R Finish (seems the better option on her to maximize Iceberg damage), Special Spiral 4, Time's Pulse 4 (between her weapon, SS4, and TP4 she can have any 3-cooldown special fully charged at all times. Iceberg triggers at +10 merge alone will be dealing 36 damage)

I'm still deciding if I should get Sonya, since she's not very premium anymore, but at the same time she'd be almost fully merged up and I would not otherwise be able to get her such premium skills otherwise. I do have 2 Forma Souls, but the units in non-revival HoF are getting so much stronger that it may be better to save it for when one of them become available.

Definitely try to get Def/Res Smoke on Delthea.

Otherwise, those are literally the exact builds I'm running, so go for it. It might still be worth getting Ruptured Sky on Sonya instead of Blue Flame just for flexibility, though, as you'd pretty much never use Blue Flame over Iceberg unless you're in a mode with Arena scoring.

As for whether or not to grab Sonya, that's mostly a question of whether you think you'll be using her you get her. Her weapon is pretty comparable to Arcane Eclipse, granting an additional +5 effective Atk (but only for one hit) and not needing to run Quickened Pulse (or team support) to set up the first round of combat in exchange for not getting the Slaying effect, so her performance should be pretty similar to Arcane Eclipse builds on units with her Atk stat (if you have her Resplendent outfit, she hits 40 neutral Atk with maximum-minus-3 Dragonflowers (you need an Atk Asset and no Res Asset, though, otherwise, it's maximum-minus-2)).

[Xenomata]

3 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

As for whether or not to grab Sonya, that's mostly a question of whether you think you'll be using her you get her. Her weapon is pretty comparable to Arcane Eclipse, granting an additional +5 effective Atk (but only for one hit) and not needing to run Quickened Pulse (or team support) to set up the first round of combat in exchange for not getting the Slaying effect, so her performance should be pretty similar to Arcane Eclipse builds on units with her Atk stat (if you have her Resplendent outfit, she hits 40 neutral Atk with maximum-minus-3 Dragonflowers (you need an Atk Asset and no Res Asset, though, otherwise, it's maximum-minus-2)).

Problem for me is that there's only two modes where I could conceivably use Sonya consistently in Arena Assault and Legendary/Mythic Hero Battles. I don't consistently do AA anymore (even when I do feel like doing it it's almost always closed by Summoner Duels) and it's  not consistent for Sonya to be of any use inside of Hero Battles.

It'd almost certainly lead to her being little more than a symbolic trophy if I don't shoehorn into a Hero Battle clear.

[XRay]

24 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

Problem for me is that there's only two modes where I could conceivably use Sonya consistently in Arena Assault and Legendary/Mythic Hero Battles. I don't consistently do AA anymore (even when I do feel like doing it it's almost always closed by Summoner Duels) and it's  not consistent for Sonya to be of any use inside of Hero Battles.

It'd almost certainly lead to her being little more than a symbolic trophy if I don't shoehorn into a Hero Battle clear.

If you do not use her consistently, then I would just skip her, unless you really want her as a symbolic trophy. I generally do not spend on characters just because they are my favorites, but I myself am not completely immune to it either, and I grabbed a few skills that were premium at the time and put it on Edelgard even though I rarely used her. If I am still playing the game, I would probably use her a lot more since she can Galeforce twice now.

As for the premium skills, skills will be less premium over time as they get demoted into the normal pool. If you think of it that way, maybe it will help you feel like you are missing out less. You might not have Sonya with those skills today, but you will eventually get around to giving her those skills over time. Unless you are building a lot of dragons or something, I cannot really imagine Atk/Res Finish being in huge demand compared to Atk/Spd Finish. And while Special Spiral and Times Pulse are nice, they are mostly geared towards a specific type of nuke; other nukes can use them too of course, but there are better options out there that are more universally appealing like Dive Bomb, Frenzy, Rein, Oaths, etc.

Edited May 14, 2023 by XRay

[SoulWeaver]

Alright so this is probably going to be my last character build for a while. Cynthia ultra carried me through all of Seer's Snare on her unrefined PRF and three lucky Rein rolls, so I want to make her my first official tricked-out maxxed-out Grail Unit. I've already got her PRF Effect Refine.

[Ice Dragon]

7 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Alright so this is probably going to be my last character build for a while. Cynthia ultra carried me through all of Seer's Snare on her unrefined PRF and three lucky Rein rolls, so I want to make her my first official tricked-out maxxed-out Grail Unit. I've already got her PRF Effect Refine.

Cynthia's main gimmick is her Wings of Mercy-style teleportation, and she gets extra stats with a Clash effect and a Unity effect.

Cynthia [+Spd (+Atk)]
Lance of Heroics [unique]
[Assist]
Ruptured Sky
Atk/Spd Catch 4 / Surge Sparrow / Atk/Spd Unity
Flow Guard 3 / Flow N Trace 3 / S/D Near Trace 3 / [Guard 4] / [Dive-Bomb 3] / [Escape Route 4]
S/D Rein Snap / Spd/Def Hold / Atk/Spd Menace
[any Sacred Seal that boosts Atk/Spd]

Despite Cynthia having teleportation, Atk/Spd Clash doesn't actually work well with her because it nullifies the bonus to Atk/Spd from her weapon's Unity effect, so it's better to run Atk/Spd Catch instead when going for pure stats. Surge Sparrow sacrifices a few points of stats for passive healing. Atk/Spd Unity grants the highest stat boost in game modes where debuffs are common, but is worse everywhere else.

Of the B skills, pick whichever one suits your play style and the role you need her to play most.

The two tier-4 skills in the Rein tree are the best choices for the C slot if you have another unit on the team providing buffing and debuffing support or in game modes where Grand Strategy is common. Menace is always a good general-use option otherwise.