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

[Mercakete]

13 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

Are the skills worth 100 Trait Fruits to you? If yes, then go for it. If no, then don't.

If you aren't using Forma Souls exclusively on Grail units (which is what I assume based on the fact that you only have 1 Forma Soul), recent-ish Fallen and CYL units are basically the strongest units you can grab from Hall of Forms, so if you're going for unit value, those are typically the best picks.

Actually, this is the free forma soul that I was given. I've never gotten any others. Been holding onto it since I got it, waiting for the right forma to use it on.

And, mostly, I've been waiting for a unit that I wanted, but hadn't been able to get. What's making me hesitate is that I already do have Fallen Ike (at +1 even) but this particular forma turned out amazing and I'm thinking that I should maybe get him instead. But I only have 1, so...I don't know.

Edit: As for trait fruit, I have nearly 600 of them, so I could use them on the forma if I wanted to.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Mercakete

[Othin]

1 hour ago, Mercakete said:

Actually, this is the free forma soul that I was given. I've never gotten any others. Been holding onto it since I got it, waiting for the right forma to use it on.

And, mostly, I've been waiting for a unit that I wanted, but hadn't been able to get. What's making me hesitate is that I already do have Fallen Ike (at +1 even) but this particular forma turned out amazing and I'm thinking that I should maybe get him instead. But I only have 1, so...I don't know.

Edit: As for trait fruit, I have nearly 600 of them, so I could use them on the forma if I wanted to.

There's been two free Forma Souls available by now: one from anniversary quests, and one in the Celestial Stone shop. If you haven't gotten the one in the shop, I'd suggest getting it now if you can, since today is the last day before the shop refreshes. (Which will make another Forma Soul available to get there, but it'll also mean permanently missing your chance to get the current one.)

It's up to you whether or not this is worth giving up a chance at a new unit. Personally, I've been only using my Forma Souls on units I'm missing - specifically, seasonal armored units I've given Save builds, since seasonal units are rarer than regular ones and the Save builds allow them to fill distinct high-power team roles.

If you were to get Forma Fallen Ike, how much more use do you think you'd get out of him than your current one? The skills are good, but I doubt they'll allow him to do much you couldn't already do with him or other units. And you could probably get just as good of a skill set on a future Forma unit who you don't have already.

[Mercakete]

21 hours ago, Othin said:

There's been two free Forma Souls available by now: one from anniversary quests, and one in the Celestial Stone shop. If you haven't gotten the one in the shop, I'd suggest getting it now if you can, since today is the last day before the shop refreshes. (Which will make another Forma Soul available to get there, but it'll also mean permanently missing your chance to get the current one.)

It's up to you whether or not this is worth giving up a chance at a new unit. Personally, I've been only using my Forma Souls on units I'm missing - specifically, seasonal armored units I've given Save builds, since seasonal units are rarer than regular ones and the Save builds allow them to fill distinct high-power team roles.

If you were to get Forma Fallen Ike, how much more use do you think you'd get out of him than your current one? The skills are good, but I doubt they'll allow him to do much you couldn't already do with him or other units. And you could probably get just as good of a skill set on a future Forma unit who you don't have already.

I may have missed the shop forma soul since I just saw your message and checked the shop, and the current soul costs 3 stones celestial stones (of which I only have 1: the only one I've ever earned.) Man, how did I miss that there was a free forma soul in the shop? Anyway, thanks for the tip all the same.

I guess part of it is that resources are slim for me, and it'd be cool to have a +10 Fallen Ike since Ike himself is my favorite FE character. I don't think I'll ever manage to properly build one otherwise, so this is a tempting opportunity. That said, I totally agree with saving for seasonal units you don't have. It's tricky to choose between these... I appreciate the input. Oh, also, I mostly collect and just use all of 8-10 units I've already built (or at least partially built) for everything. It makes it tough in some areas, but I don't like having to constantly be building new units. So, I may be able to utilize this Ike, who's essentially pre-built.

[Othin]

2 hours ago, Mercakete said:

I may have missed the shop forma soul since I just saw your message and checked the shop, and the current soul costs 3 stones celestial stones (of which I only have 1: the only one I've ever earned.) Man, how did I miss that there was a free forma soul in the shop? Anyway, thanks for the tip all the same.

I guess part of it is that resources are slim for me, and it'd be cool to have a +10 Fallen Ike since Ike himself is my favorite FE character. I don't think I'll ever manage to properly build one otherwise, so this is a tempting opportunity. That said, I totally agree with saving for seasonal units you don't have. It's tricky to choose between these... I appreciate the input. Oh, also, I mostly collect and just use all of 8-10 units I've already built (or at least partially built) for everything. It makes it tough in some areas, but I don't like having to constantly be building new units. So, I may be able to utilize this Ike, who's essentially pre-built.

The previous one also costed 3 stones, so it sounds like you wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway. But yeah, it's a good reason to try to get enough stones to afford the souls available each shop cycle.

Personally, I don't do much serious building of units, usually it's just a matter of slapping a movement assist on them and otherwise running with their base set. Base skill sets have gotten really good.

[SoulWeaver]

6 hours ago, Mercakete said:

I may have missed the shop forma soul since I just saw your message and checked the shop, and the current soul costs 3 stones celestial stones (of which I only have 1: the only one I've ever earned.) Man, how did I miss that there was a free forma soul in the shop? Anyway, thanks for the tip all the same.

I guess part of it is that resources are slim for me, and it'd be cool to have a +10 Fallen Ike since Ike himself is my favorite FE character. I don't think I'll ever manage to properly build one otherwise, so this is a tempting opportunity. That said, I totally agree with saving for seasonal units you don't have. It's tricky to choose between these... I appreciate the input. Oh, also, I mostly collect and just use all of 8-10 units I've already built (or at least partially built) for everything. It makes it tough in some areas, but I don't like having to constantly be building new units. So, I may be able to utilize this Ike, who's essentially pre-built.

Just a heads up, Forma you give souls to don’t keep their merges, your Ike will be +2, not +10. Not sure if you knew that, but your responses are indicating you think he’ll come with merges.

[Mercakete]

20 hours ago, Othin said:

The previous one also costed 3 stones, so it sounds like you wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway. But yeah, it's a good reason to try to get enough stones to afford the souls available each shop cycle.

Personally, I don't do much serious building of units, usually it's just a matter of slapping a movement assist on them and otherwise running with their base set. Base skill sets have gotten really good.

Ah, so I wasn't imagining it. Okay; thanks. 🙂 I feel a lot less like I have to rework entire kits now. Kind of felt the pressure to before; for some reason, I felt like I'd be short-changing myself if I used units I hadn't carefully planned the skills and such of.

17 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Just a heads up, Forma you give souls to don’t keep their merges, your Ike will be +2, not +10. Not sure if you knew that, but your responses are indicating you think he’ll come with merges.

Oh man thank you so much for telling me! Indeed, the merges were a big reason why I was considering using my forma soul on him. (Saves on summoning, you know?) Since that's not a factor, I'm much less inclined to use my soul on him, and I think I'll save it for another time. Again, this really helped! Thanks a bunch!

[SoulWeaver]

On 11/2/2021 at 2:27 AM, Mercakete said:

Ah, so I wasn't imagining it. Okay; thanks. 🙂 I feel a lot less like I have to rework entire kits now. Kind of felt the pressure to before; for some reason, I felt like I'd be short-changing myself if I used units I hadn't carefully planned the skills and such of.

Oh man thank you so much for telling me! Indeed, the merges were a big reason why I was considering using my forma soul on him. (Saves on summoning, you know?) Since that's not a factor, I'm much less inclined to use my soul on him, and I think I'll save it for another time. Again, this really helped! Thanks a bunch!

Yeah, no problem, would have sucked to use it before finding that out.

Meanwhile another question, my cousin recently discovered Thea and I guess he considers her Lucina-Tier so now he’s building her and asked for recommendations. I gave him an EP idea of Vanguard, Bonfire/Ignis, her base A upgraded for the Guard effect, Guard Bearing, and ATK/SPD Rein. Was that about right or would you guys recommend something else?

[Ice Dragon]

9 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Meanwhile another question, my cousin recently discovered Thea and I guess he considers her Lucina-Tier so now he’s building her and asked for recommendations. I gave him an EP idea of Vanguard, Bonfire/Ignis, her base A upgraded for the Guard effect, Guard Bearing, and ATK/SPD Rein. Was that about right or would you guys recommend something else?

Thea is one of those units whose stats are so middling all around that there are a lot of builds you can run, but every single one will be out-performed by some other F2P unit, and she doesn't have a Prf weapon to really give her any direction or make her stand out.

I'd probably lean towards enemy-phase with Thea simply because she's less outclassed there than she is in player-phase builds. Cordelia, Seteth, Catria, Cynthia, and Deet'var all handily beat her offensively, but her only challengers defensively are Heath and Spring Narcian. There's pretty much no way to make her usable in the higher tiers of Aether Raids, so I'd focus more on a general-use build for PvE content and Arena.

Your suggestion more or less works, though I'm a bit leery on Guard Bearing, as it only works once per enemy phase. That isn't particularly reliable in PvE content, but it could be fine for Arena, where you can typically bait out enemies one at a time due to the prevalence of Rally skills:

Thea [+Spd]
Any weapon that boosts Atk, Spd, and/or Def on enemy phase / Slaying Lance+ [Spd]
Reposition / whatever
Ruptured Sky (not Slaying Lance) / Moonbow (not Slaying Lance) / Bonfire (Slaying Lance)
Steady Posture 3 / Close Def 4
Wyvern Flight 3 / Guard Bearing 3 / A/S Near Trace 3 / Quick Riposte 3
Atk/Spd Rein 3 / Atk/Spd Menace
Quick Riposte 3 / any skill that boosts Atk, Spd, and/or Def on enemy phase

You can potentially forgo running defensive boosts with Guard Bearing and focus on boosting Atk/Spd instead of Spd/Def (so Kestrel Stance, Atk/Spd Catch, Spd/Def Rein, etc.).

Spd/Def Catch is an option once it is released.

A/S Near Trace is in the list because its stat debuff works on both phases and Canto is still useful even on an enemy-phase unit since it still lets you move after using an Assist skill.

[XRay]

11 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Meanwhile another question, my cousin recently discovered Thea and I guess he considers her Lucina-Tier so now he’s building her and asked for recommendations. I gave him an EP idea of Vanguard, Bonfire/Ignis, her base A upgraded for the Guard effect, Guard Bearing, and ATK/SPD Rein. Was that about right or would you guys recommend something else?

I am a bit iffy on giving her an enemy phase build, as fliers in general lack access to strong tanking B skills. Tank fliers are also highly dependent on having a good exclusive Weapon to compensate for that lack of access, which she does not have.
+Spd; +Def/Res AscAss
Guard Lance — Slaying Lance — Spirited Spear — Steadfast Lance — Stout Lance — Candy Cane — Flowing Lance — Springy Lance
Spd Refinement
Reposition
Ruptured Sky — Bonfire (with Slaying Lance)
(Any Stance or Unity that boosts Spd/Def or Spd/Res)
AS Near Trace — Dull Close — Quick Riposte
Atk/Spd Rein — Pulse Smoke — Atk Smoke
(Any Sacred Seal that boosts Spd/Def or Spd/Res) — Quick Riposte — Mystic Boost

Dual phase is also an option, although I am also iffy on it due to lack of access to good skills.
+Spd; +Atk AscAss
Guard Lance — Slaying Lance — Spirited Spear — Stout Lance — Flowing Lance — Springy Lance
Spd Refinement
Reposition
Ruptured Sky — Galeforce
(Any Solo or Catch that boosts Atk/Spd)
AS Near Trace
Atk/Spd Rein — Pulse Smoke — Threaten Atk/Spd — Atk/Spd Menace
Atk/Spd Solo

I personally would go for player phase. Even if she is outclassed, most of her competition would be running their exclusive Weapons, so she can differentiate herself by running Ninja Naginata or Firesweep. Cordelia, Catria, and Est got good Brave Weapons, but all their Weapons got various minor issues that need to be accounted for. Ninja Naginata on the other hand just works. Firesweep is a good option for taking out problematic enemies in Arena Assault.

Player Phase Desperation:
+Atk; +Spd AscAss
Ninja Naginata
Reposition
Luna
(Any A that boosts Atk/Spd)
Desperation
Spd/Def Rein
(Any Sacred Seal that boosts Atk/Spd)

Player Phase non-Desperation:
+Atk; +Spd AscAss
Ninja Naginata
Reposition
Luna
(Any A that boosts Atk/Spd) — Surge Sparrow
Flow Refresh — Dive Bomb — SD Near Trace
Spd/Def Rein
(Any Sacred Seal that boosts Atk/Spd)
You want Surge Sparrow and/or Flow Refresh to provide sustainability to compensate for the lack of Desperation.

Player Phase Firesweep:
+Atk/Spd; +Atk/Spd AscAss
Firesweep L
Reposition
Moonbow — Ruptured Sky
(Any A that boosts Atk/Spd) — Heavy Blade
Flow Refresh — Hit and Run — AD Near Trace (with Heavy Blade) — SD Near Trace — Poison Strike
Atk/Def Rein (with Heavy Blade) — Spd/Def Rein
(Any A that boosts Atk/Spd) — Poison Strike

Since Ninja Naginata will be a thing soon, she could kind of help take out bulky tanks, and even more so if Windsweep ever becomes a Sacred Seal to combo with Flow Refresh (or a bunch of other B skills). 
+Atk; +Spd AscAss
Ninja Naginata — Slaying Spear [Atk] (if Flow Refresh and/or Windsweep becomes Sacred Seal)
Reposition
Ruptured Sky — Moonbow
(Any A that boosts Atk/Spd) — Heavy Blade
Windsweep — Flow Refresh — Hit and Run — AD Near Trace (with Heavy Blade) — SD Near Trace — Poison Strike
Atk/Def Rein (with Heavy Blade) — Spd/Def Rein
(Any A that boosts Atk/Spd) — Poison Strike — Windsweep (if it gets released)

[kradeelav]

windsweep as a seal feels like it'd break the game as much as NFU as one, ngl. not saying that in a bad way, just amused at the possibilities, given how deceptively powerful selena is with it.

[XRay]

4 hours ago, kradeelav said:

windsweep as a seal feels like it'd break the game as much as NFU as one, ngl. not saying that in a bad way, just amused at the possibilities, given how deceptively powerful selena is with it.

With how bulky the Def/Res tanks have become, I think having Windsweep gives players an easier way of dealing with stuff like Edelgard: Hegemon Husk and Hector: Brave Warrior.

On defense, Windsweep also brings a bit more balance between traditional super tanks and newer Save tanks on offense. Super tanks feel a bit outclassed, since Save tanks right now are basically immune to Lunge and being flanked, with the only major draw back being potentially lower score depending on how many Flayns you use. And with highly merged Save tanks, you can probably get away with only one Flayn which would have no negative impact on scoring, and running two Flayns is not really an issue either if the goal is to just stay in Vault of Heaven rather than max scoring. With more Windsweep around, it will negatively impact Save tanks more than super tanks, as super tanks have an easier time meeting stat checks, especially in regards to Spd. Even slow pokes like Ike: Brave Mercenary can counter foe's Windsweep with the right Mythics. Fjorm: Ice Ascendent is the only Save tank that can counter Windsweep, and maybe Tiki: Legendary Dragon too, but that is about it.

[Xenomata]

So... between Ninja Hana and Ninja Shamir, is there one who would be... "better" to focus on? If not by fact, then just by opinion is enough.

I'm not really able to come up with anything myself. I've not really done any building on Hana and I don't really have any plans for Shamir. They are both incredibly fast/strong Infantry Axe units though, both are Grail units which means it'll only take some months of grail grinding to complete their growth, and both by default have strong default weapons (albeit inheritable)

Their stats literally are not a factor. On the one hand Shamir has slightly better defensive stats, but only by a few points. Her attack is one point higher by default, and Shamir can enter 185bst total for Arena purposes (not that it matters though, since my core Arena Offense team has already been built). Hana is able to get an extra layer of Dragonflowers, so by the end of full investment she'd technically be slightly faster than Shamir, but I don't think that's a huge factor.

The biggest difference between the two is literally in SI and games of origin. The Ninja Masakari and Shuriken Cleaver are basically the same weapon, but one grants Spd +4 and the other grants up to an additional +4 damage per attack, so two different types of value can be observed. Not really a factor between the two units as it is a factor in which weapon would I rather have cheaper if I ever want to inherit it to someone.

Meanwhile the comparison of Fates to Three Houses is not even fair: the large majority of Fates units are in the 4* pool (and some of them in the 4* special pool), and even though the available Infantry Axe units are either rarer or on the same level of availability as Hana, I don't think that matters as much if all you need is a fast/strong unit (Kaze literally just got a pretty neat refinable weapon), and most of whom I already have built up solidly (not to mention Charlotte being direct competition). Most of Three Houses units are 5* locked, limited time units, or Grail units, and Shamir's only competion for Infantry Axe units do not really play the same as her. The pool of usable Three Houses units is smaller, but the majority of Fates units are worthless simply because they were released too early/got their refines too soon.

I dunno... kinda hoped I could talk myself into a decision, but instead I just made my stance more divided...

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Xenomata said:

So... between Ninja Hana and Ninja Shamir, is there one who would be... "better" to focus on? If not by fact, then just by opinion is enough.

I'm not really able to come up with anything myself. I've not really done any building on Hana and I don't really have any plans for Shamir. They are both incredibly fast/strong Infantry Axe units though, both are Grail units which means it'll only take some months of grail grinding to complete their growth, and both by default have strong default weapons (albeit inheritable)

Their stats literally are not a factor. On the one hand Shamir has slightly better defensive stats, but only by a few points. Her attack is one point higher by default, and Shamir can enter 185bst total for Arena purposes (not that it matters though, since my core Arena Offense team has already been built). Hana is able to get an extra layer of Dragonflowers, so by the end of full investment she'd technically be slightly faster than Shamir, but I don't think that's a huge factor.

The biggest difference between the two is literally in SI and games of origin. The Ninja Masakari and Shuriken Cleaver are basically the same weapon, but one grants Spd +4 and the other grants up to an additional +4 damage per attack, so two different types of value can be observed. Not really a factor between the two units as it is a factor in which weapon would I rather have cheaper if I ever want to inherit it to someone.

Meanwhile the comparison of Fates to Three Houses is not even fair: the large majority of Fates units are in the 4* pool (and some of them in the 4* special pool), and even though the available Infantry Axe units are either rarer or on the same level of availability as Hana, I don't think that matters as much if all you need is a fast/strong unit (Kaze literally just got a pretty neat refinable weapon), and most of whom I already have built up solidly (not to mention Charlotte being direct competition). Most of Three Houses units are 5* locked, limited time units, or Grail units, and Shamir's only competion for Infantry Axe units do not really play the same as her. The pool of usable Three Houses units is smaller, but the majority of Fates units are worthless simply because they were released too early/got their refines too soon.

I dunno... kinda hoped I could talk myself into a decision, but instead I just made my stance more divided...

If you have to pick one, I would pick which ever game that does not have a fast axe infantry yet. If you already got a fast axe infantry for both Fates and Three Houses, then I lean towards Hana: Focused Ninja, as she got 1 extra Spd at max investment.

Personally, I would upgrade both. Right now, Shamir: Lone-Moon Ninja works with Dorothea: Twilit Harmony, so that is a pretty big deal. Hana: Focused Ninja got Azura: Vallite Songstress, but Azura: Vallite Songstress can work with anyone so Hana: Focused Ninja does not really stand out in that regard outside of Limited Hero Battles.

[Ice Dragon]

4 hours ago, Xenomata said:

So... between Ninja Hana and Ninja Shamir, is there one who would be... "better" to focus on? If not by fact, then just by opinion is enough.

If either your Fates roster or Three Houses roster is lacking in strong units, prioritize that first.

If neither game's roster is in serious need of more units and you plan on keeping their default weapons, see if you need more units of a particular role or if you don't have the resources to make Hana worth investing in over Shamir. Hana is more suited for taking on faster units, but really wants Trait Fruits and Dragonflowers to function. Shamir is more suited for wall breaking, and while she would certainly benefit from various resources, she's less dependent on them to do her job.

If you aren't planning on keeping their default weapons, I'd lean towards Hana, as she ultimately has higher offensive stats after Dragonflowers.

[Xenomata]

9 hours ago, XRay said:

If you have to pick one, I would pick which ever game that does not have a fast axe infantry yet. If you already got a fast axe infantry for both Fates and Three Houses, then I lean towards Hana: Focused Ninja, as she got 1 extra Spd at max investment.

Personally, I would upgrade both. Right now, Shamir: Lone-Moon Ninja works with Dorothea: Twilit Harmony, so that is a pretty big deal. Hana: Focused Ninja got Azura: Vallite Songstress, but Azura: Vallite Songstress can work with anyone so Hana: Focused Ninja does not really stand out in that regard outside of Limited Hero Battles.

Currently from TH the fast axe infantry users are Annette (who has more of a support role), Hilda (who has slightly lower raw offensive stats than Shamir but does have Freikugel to make up for it, though she also have the downside of being a character I don't particularly care for), and Summer Caspar (a seasonal unit).
Fates only has Rinkah (who'se Prf weapon is slightly more EP than PP, and which doesn't grant her any Spd bonuses to capitalize on her higher Spd) and Charlotte, who trumps Hana in every regard.
The bad thing is that technically I have all of the above units (I don't use Rinkah, Caspar, or Hilda though), so if all I wanted was a fast InfAxe unit from TH or Fates, I'm technically settled, but the ones I do have are not easily summoned, ergo their BSTs will be lower than merged up Shamir/Hana (though at the very least I do have ideal asset/flaws for Charlotte and Hilda, so no Trait Fruits used)

9 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

If either your Fates roster or Three Houses roster is lacking in strong units, prioritize that first.

If neither game's roster is in serious need of more units and you plan on keeping their default weapons, see if you need more units of a particular role or if you don't have the resources to make Hana worth investing in over Shamir. Hana is more suited for taking on faster units, but really wants Trait Fruits and Dragonflowers to function. Shamir is more suited for wall breaking, and while she would certainly benefit from various resources, she's less dependent on them to do her job.

If you aren't planning on keeping their default weapons, I'd lean towards Hana, as she ultimately has higher offensive stats after Dragonflowers.

I'm not short on powerful units from either title either. While some of my Fates units need some skills, they are still plenty strong for the content they are asked to partake in, and my TH barracks are bloated with powerful units. In that regard, I guess my Fates barracks could use the extra manpower, but the very presence of Charlotte makes me hesitate as well (since I'm not certain one needs TWO fast/strong InfAxe units from Fates in a given scenario?)

Again, kinda hoped my rambles would lean me more to one side or the other, but as it stands I almost think I'd be better off benching this particular grail project and looking at a different grail unit. While ideally both ninja axewomen would be built up, I just don't have the resources available to see that be a reality.

[XRay]

9 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

I'm not short on powerful units from either title either. While some of my Fates units need some skills, they are still plenty strong for the content they are asked to partake in, and my TH barracks are bloated with powerful units. In that regard, I guess my Fates barracks could use the extra manpower, but the very presence of Charlotte makes me hesitate as well (since I'm not certain one needs TWO fast/strong InfAxe units from Fates in a given scenario?)

They can occupy different niches. Not every nuke is built the same, and you use different nukes against different foes.

Not too long ago, you only need a Firesweeper on the team to handle the most asinine builds, and wall breakers were not really necessary. Now, if you want to use a Firesweeper against a bulky unit, you probably want to specialize them towards that with at least Flashing Blade, and maybe even Null Follow-Up and Time's Pulse too if you want to see bulky foes go down under a reasonable time frame. That is a lot more expensive and different the traditional Firesweeper with literally just Firesweep Bow and double Poison Strikes.

In terms of just triggering Galeforce, Hana: Focused Ninja is best suited for that straight out the box since she got Ninja Masakari. As for Charlotte, her base kit makes her a good plain old raw damage nuke, although I would run Moonbow instead and give her Reposition too; it is not the most relevant niche, but it is something. You can also slap Galeforce on Charlotte too, since it does not hurt to have a second Galeforcer, especially one with a Weapon that can better chew through tougher foes.

[Faellin]

I'm just really bad at orb management. So assuming my current situation, do you think i'll still be able to hit the 135 mark to spark for Laegjarn?

My current situation is: I'm only at 7 right now. And still 10 summons short of sparking legendary Marth (there is no way i'm missing this chance). So 33 more still needed. Which will probably dip into the huge imflux of 20 from the new story chapters a bit. So i'm a bit worried I won't be able to hit said mark. And if I can't, i'm just going to have to snipe colorless and hope for the best instead of the garunteed copy.

Since the banner lasts from the 17th to the 7th. Do you think i'll be safe for the spark amount by the time it ends?

Edited November 15, 2021 by Faellin

[XRay]

On 11/14/2021 at 8:05 PM, Faellin said:

I'm just really bad at orb management. So assuming my current situation, do you think i'll still be able to hit the 135 mark to spark for Laegjarn?

My current situation is: I'm only at 7 right now. And still 10 summons short of sparking legendary Marth (there is no way i'm missing this chance). So 33 more still needed. Which will probably dip into the huge imflux of 20 from the new story chapters a bit. So i'm a bit worried I won't be able to hit said mark. And if I can't, i'm just going to have to snipe colorless and hope for the best instead of the garunteed copy.

Since the banner lasts from the 17th to the 7th. Do you think i'll be safe for the spark amount by the time it ends?

As far as I can dig around, you can consult the orb distribution table and maybe better plan your summons around that.

I am not sure how hard you have mined Story Maps, but there are quite a bit of Orbs in there if you have not exhausted that mode yet. I try not to complete everything in Story Map so I have an emergency stash of Orbs I can fall back on, but I do not think this is a realistic idea for free players since free Orbs is their only source of Orbs.

As for Orb spending in general for free players, I recommend only spending on favorites, really powerful units, and/or skill fodder.

If you want some sort of discouragement (Is this even a word?), Laegjarn: Flame Ascendent is not super special as a nuke. She can run Windsweep, so that is really good, but so can plenty of other units, and other units can bust super bulky tanks better with better access to true damage and effectiveness. If you really want a strong player phase ranged cavalry, Leif: Destined Scions is the one to go for.

[Ice Dragon]

Now that I actually have the option, does anyone have strong opinions on +Atk or +Spd for Duo Lyn?

Maxed out with just her default weapon and passive A and C skills, Lyn has effectively 67/63 with +Atk or 63/66 with +Spd. I'm not entirely convinced the extra Atk is worth losing the Spd, considering her weapon gives her less Spd (4) than most Prf weapons do (5 or 6) on fast units.

On top of that, Igrene pulls off the wall breaker role much better with her higher base Atk, so there's less of a reason to make Lyn overlap that role.

I also have no intention of using her in Aether Raids at the moment, if that makes a difference. (There's also a moderately high chance she'll end up getting a second Asset, so the question might end up being moot anyways.)

[XRay]

2 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Now that I actually have the option, does anyone have strong opinions on +Atk or +Spd for Duo Lyn?

Maxed out with just her default weapon and passive A and C skills, Lyn has effectively 67/63 with +Atk or 63/66 with +Spd. I'm not entirely convinced the extra Atk is worth losing the Spd, considering her weapon gives her less Spd (4) than most Prf weapons do (5 or 6) on fast units.

On top of that, Igrene pulls off the wall breaker role much better with her higher base Atk, so there's less of a reason to make Lyn overlap that role.

I also have no intention of using her in Aether Raids at the moment, if that makes a difference. (There's also a moderately high chance she'll end up getting a second Asset, so the question might end up being moot anyways.)

For Brave units, I lean towards +Atk. Spd matters, but I think it is better to prioritize Atk and then use Florets on Spd later. The only place where Spd might matter more than Atk is in Arena, but even there, I generally find myself wishing I have more Atk than Spd.

I have used her and Leif: Destined Scion in Aether Raids, but she is not as good as him in my opinion. I think Leif: Destined Scion is a lot better as a Galeforcer due to higher mobility, being generally unkillable for the first counter attack hit, and most importantly, can Galeforce far more reliably since it is not tied to a Duo skill.

In all other game modes though, I think +Atk is generally better since Spd creep is so minimal.

[Ice Dragon]

14 minutes ago, XRay said:

For Brave units, I lean towards +Atk. Spd matters, but I think it is better to prioritize Atk and then use Florets on Spd later. The only place where Spd might matter more than Atk is in Arena, but even there, I generally find myself wishing I have more Atk than Spd.

I have used her and Leif: Destined Scion in Aether Raids, but she is not as good as him in my opinion. I think Leif: Destined Scion is a lot better as a Galeforcer due to higher mobility, being generally unkillable for the first counter attack hit, and most importantly, can Galeforce far more reliably since it is not tied to a Duo skill.

In all other game modes though, I think +Atk is generally better since Spd creep is so minimal.

As I said, I have no intention of using her in Aether Raids (and even if I did, Lyn having access to Disarm Trap is more valuable to me than being able to Galeforce after the first turn).

Arena Assault is the game mode that is most relevant to me, and I run Windsweep there, so Spd comparisons end up being extremely important.

[XRay]

3 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Arena Assault is the game mode that is most relevant to me, and I run Windsweep there, so Spd comparisons end up being extremely important.

I do not see winning Spd checks being too important for her there either. Firesweep can do the job against fast tanks without a stat check and it works against both physical and magical enemiess, and I think it is easier to just nuke them directly without worrying about the Spd check (Blazing nukes, start-of-turn Moonbow/Ruptured Sky nuke, etc.).

[Ice Dragon]

5 hours ago, XRay said:

I do not see winning Spd checks being too important for her there either. Firesweep can do the job against fast tanks without a stat check and it works against both physical and magical enemiess, and I think it is easier to just nuke them directly without worrying about the Spd check (Blazing nukes, start-of-turn Moonbow/Ruptured Sky nuke, etc.).

I don't use Firesweep units, and one-hit kill nukes miss out on one-hit kills and die to the counterattack more often than I'd like. I've had to use the Fear Charm a few too many times, and it doesn't even work against Ascended Fjorm.

I've had many instances in the past few months where Duo Byleth (+1+0 +Spd) or Duo Lyn (who was +2+0 +Spd at the time) fail their Spd checks for Windsweep because pausing the run to rearrange Sacred Seals is a giant pain in the ass, resulting in most fast tanks having a 6 Atk/Spd advantage from being able to use the Atk/Spd Solo Sacred Seal. Losing Spd checks has very much been an issue.

Firesweep units have worse offenses than Duo Byleth due to their weapons being down 4 Atk and 5 Spd and are stuck attacking at melee range, which is not always an option.

Hana, for example, typically has 59 Spd when running a Distant Counter + Spurn build, which goes up to 62 Spd with a Spd Lull instead of Spurn, before counting a possible Joint Drive Spd or the omnipresent Rally buffs. Legendary Dimitri has 61 Spd with a Distant Counter build before counting his C skill or buffs from teammates. Distant Pressure is still rare, but I have seen it a few times on Hana already.

[XRay]

3 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

I don't use Firesweep units, and one-hit kill nukes miss out on one-hit kills and die to the counterattack more often than I'd like. I've had to use the Fear Charm a few too many times, and it doesn't even work against Ascended Fjorm.

I've had many instances in the past few months where Duo Byleth (+1+0 +Spd) or Duo Lyn (who was +2+0 +Spd at the time) fail their Spd checks for Windsweep because pausing the run to rearrange Sacred Seals is a giant pain in the ass, resulting in most fast tanks having a 6 Atk/Spd advantage from being able to use the Atk/Spd Solo Sacred Seal. Losing Spd checks has very much been an issue.

Firesweep units have worse offenses than Duo Byleth due to their weapons being down 4 Atk and 5 Spd and are stuck attacking at melee range, which is not always an option.

Hana, for example, typically has 59 Spd when running a Distant Counter + Spurn build, which goes up to 62 Spd with a Spd Lull instead of Spurn, before counting a possible Joint Drive Spd or the omnipresent Rally buffs. Legendary Dimitri has 61 Spd with a Distant Counter build before counting his C skill or buffs from teammates. Distant Pressure is still rare, but I have seen it a few times on Hana already.

I use Firesweep archers and they can soften up foes if allied nukes cannot kill those foes immediately. Fjorm: Ice Ascendent is pretty slow movement wise, so it is not really difficult to take out the rest of the team and deal with her last using a melee nuke. The only items I use are Dancer's Veil and Pressure Charm since I have more difficulty dealing with high mobility foes whom I cannot take my time and wait for better positioning.

Against Save armor defense teams where Fjorm: Ice Ascendent can actually keep up with her team, the whole team is still vulnerable to melee range Sweeps, since there are no melee versions of Fjorm: Ice Ascendent yet. Once the Near Save armor is down, Fjorm: Ice Ascendent is not that far behind either. I use Alm: Imperial Ascent, Fir: Student of Spring, and Caeda: Sea-Blossom Pair to take these teams out. Micaiah: Dawn Wind's Duo and Catria: Azure Wing Pair are also good support units to help other nukes on the team finish off Save armors more quickly, and they themselves can finish off weakened stragglers too. 

I use presets so I do not have to move around Sacred Seals as much. Aether Raids style offense teams are also extremely effective against all kinds of Arena Assault defense teams, so I recommend having them as presets. I use Myrrh: Spring Harmony on Team 6 and Ike: Brave Mercenary on Team 7, and since they win 99.9999% of the time with no effort, it feels like I am only playing four or five matches, and that helps a lot in combating fatigue and worry on building teams and running out of counters. 

Edited November 23, 2021 by XRay

[Ice Dragon]

35 minutes ago, XRay said:

I use Firesweep archers and they can soften up foes if allied nukes cannot kill those foes immediately.

Firesweep Bow is annoying to get, is weaker than the other Firesweep weapons, and is weaker than any of the Windsweep + Null Follow-Up units I have. Double Poison Strike is also not an option because I'm not going to bother bouncing around the Sacred Seal. It's not worth it for a game mode that I just want over and done with.

 

38 minutes ago, XRay said:

Fjorm: Ice Ascendent is pretty slow movement wise, so it is not really difficult to take out the rest of the team and deal with her last using a melee nuke.

I ran into three teams yesterday where the Save tanks had Pivot.

 

39 minutes ago, XRay said:

The only items I use are Dancer's Veil and Pressure Charm since I have more difficulty dealing with high mobility foes whom I cannot take my time and wait for better positioning.

The only item I use now is the Fear Charm. The other items I have selected and use rarely are the Special Blade, which is really only used to reset a Blazing Wind after hitting an enemy with Guard or to ready a Galeforce, and the Infantry Boots.

 

42 minutes ago, XRay said:

Aether Raids style offense teams are also extremely effective against all kinds of Arena Assault defense teams, so I recommend having them as presets.

Reminder that have exactly 2 distinct Aether Raid teams, and 5 of the 6 units are the same between them.

 

Anyways, I'm still not really convinced that +Atk is particularly important for Duo Lyn when Igrene now exists and is a better wall breaker. Fast units have been a constant thorn in my side, and Lyn is currently the third fastest dagger in the game and is tied for the fastest unit in the game with a Brave weapon.

Lyn having the Slaying effect on her weapon also means she can viably run Lethality on Desperation builds to patch up her Atk once I get more copies of Volke.