Inherit Skill Coming Soon

[Roxachronc]

2 hours ago, Locked Apple said:

Give Takumi vantage and every unit that fights tries to finish him has a harder time. Give Takumi Quick Ripost and fighting Takumi on player phase can be a nightmare. Give Robin/any-Takumi-counter a skill to help kill him and that's helpful in ONE major matchup in the current meta- which could change even in a month.

When you have to plan your units with killing one particular character in mind, we get gen 4 competitive pokemon. It doesn't mitigate the fact that Takumi is leagues above most in ability; and all because of a skill he already has no business using afaik. 

The big difference being that the number of threats of Heroes vs the ones of OU in pokemon is much less, adding that some units blanket check a much wider number of units(Azura countering every Red which means she alone can handle half the current units in the meta) , the problem in pokemon is when you need to use a mon to handle an specific threat that is otherwise useless(gimmicky crap like AV Klefki for checking Greninja in ORAS being an example), putting bowbreaker on something like Lilina or MRobin is different because they still can do work even if Takumi is not on the enemy's team(similar to how Landorus-T was used against CharX and still could blanket check other mons and support the team), so even if it is centralizing is not something that stops your unit from working against other teams.

Vantage doesnt matter since you are killing him, that is why I said just put bowbreaker on your mage and Takumi stops being a problem, there are other units that can deal with him with bowbreaker like Roy or other hardhitters.

Takumi is getting cool tools but believe so are other units, Lilina with Deathblow is a good example of a unit without Bowbreaker that can one shot all the variants bar +RES/+HP with neutral on HP/RES, with a buff it kills all of them and also things like Lucina or Hector.

Edited February 26, 2017 by Roxachronc

[Apples]

3 hours ago, Roxachronc said:

[saving space]

Vantage doesnt matter since you are killing him, that is why I said just put bowbreaker on your mage and Takumi stops being a problem, there are other units that can deal with him with bowbreaker like Roy or other hardhitters.

Takumi is getting cool tools but believe so are other units, Lilina with Deathblow is a good example of a unit without Bowbreaker that can one shot all the variants bar +RES/+HP with neutral on HP/RES, with a buff it kills all of them and also things like Lucina or Hector.

Vantage does matter, if you don't have a setup that OHKO's or ORKO's Takumi. Because you'll be eating two decent hits instead of one. And I can imagine lots of people regretting putting bowbreaker on their best units when the meta no longer revolves around him. 

Unlike Pokemon, the units that we get are random. I'd bet a lot of people don't have a Setsuna to pass bowbreaker from. Or a mage capable of a one shot. 

 So yes, Takumi could be easier to take down. But if you by bad luck don't have the tools he just became way harder to take down.  

And we still don't know this works. If it turns out breaker skills are stuck to weapon types  then so much for that plan. This is why I'm not a fan of speculative discussion.

[Roxachronc]

2 hours ago, Locked Apple said:

Vantage does matter, if you don't have a setup that OHKO's or ORKO's Takumi. Because you'll be eating two decent hits instead of one. And I can imagine lots of people regretting putting bowbreaker on their best units when the meta no longer revolves around him. 

Unlike Pokemon, the units that we get are random. I'd bet a lot of people don't have a Setsuna to pass bowbreaker from. Or a mage capable of a one shot. 

 So yes, Takumi could be easier to take down. But if you by bad luck don't have the tools he just became way harder to take down.  

And we still don't know this works. If it turns out breaker skills are stuck to weapon types  then so much for that plan. This is why I'm not a fan of speculative discussion.

To be fair talking about how Takumi is gonna be more op is already being speculative, so posting some ways around it does no more harm.

Of course this game is random, is a gacha game, and lets be real there are people who dont have units to deal with Hectors or Takumi consistently, and this is a reality since the game came out, is not because skill inheritance itself.

Not defending the mechanic itself since we dont really know how it will turn out, just pointing out that it is not bringing any problem that doesnt already exist.

Luck? Already here since start, Takumi? Is already op, if the mechanic allows free skill inheritance between all units then that means there are some ways to deal with him more consistently, if the skill inheritance is heavily restricted then nothing will matter and the meta will surely remain the same.

So in the end I think skill inheritance could be better for other units more than it is for Takumi, and requiring Setsuna for Bowbreaker is no bigger than the current meta needing things like MRobin for Takumi or Red Lords for Hector.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Roxachronc

[Katrisa]

I'm really hopping starting off characters can only fill in their empty slots.  That would make for less game breaking combinations IMO.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Katrisa

[Raven]

1 hour ago, Katrisa said:

I'm really hopping starting off characters can only fill in their empty slots.  That would make for less game breaking combinations IMO.

To be able to mix and match skills would be a real problem, I too am hoping that units are only able to fill in their empty skill slot after every other skill has been learned.

[Katrisa]

Honestly I'm surprised they're delivering something like this so soon.  It tells me they are likely getting so much cash up front from the game that they're looking to be proactive and strike hard and while the irons hot.  I think its probably a smart decision and its good to see the game so well supported.  I just hope things don't get too wacky.  As others have mentioned at a glance there are some really undesirable issues that could come out of this.

None the less I look forward to tinkering with my characters.  Eirika's flowery ultimate needs to live <3

[NickV]

I can't wait for swordbreaker Nowi to kill off this sword lord meta

[eclipse]

On 2/27/2017 at 5:49 AM, Katrisa said:

Honestly I'm surprised they're delivering something like this so soon.  It tells me they are likely getting so much cash up front from the game that they're looking to be proactive and strike hard and while the irons hot.  I think its probably a smart decision and its good to see the game so well supported.  I just hope things don't get too wacky.  As others have mentioned at a glance there are some really undesirable issues that could come out of this.

None the less I look forward to tinkering with my characters.  Eirika's flowery ultimate needs to live <3

There's a ton of things I'd love to do, as well.  If I could, I'd give Gordin a proc, because I'm insane like that.  Or switch Virion's Defiant Res with something more useful (which is. . .damn near anything without the word "Defiant" in it).  Or Wary Fighter Donnel, for absolutely stupid Draw Back shenanigans.  Or Draw Back on a bunch of things.

I can see a lot of hilarious combos.  I can also see the incoming salt, no matter how it's implemented.  I'm both optimistic and a little scared, but I think I'll find a way to make it fun!

EDIT: Someone mentioned "Fury" and "Vantage" in the same sentence.  If the game will let me, I'm giving Fury to Odin instead.  +3 to all stats, with a very fast Defiant Atk activation sounds like my kind of strategy.

Edited March 1, 2017 by eclipse

[Katrisa]

9 hours ago, eclipse said:

EDIT: Someone mentioned "Fury" and "Vantage" in the same sentence.  If the game will let me, I'm giving Fury to Odin instead.  +3 to all stats, with a very fast Defiant Atk activation sounds like my kind of strategy.

Same here.  I looked at things closer last night and then realized that Vantage is a "B Slot" ability... and that not so useful Axe user has the skill.   And that Hector has an open B Slot.

If Anna + Hector = Vantage Hector I'm not sure if I should cry or rejoyce.  It would mean killing Hector would be much more painful for everyone, but it would also make Hector a super awesome offensive character especially if he can pickup pivot or swap so he can get himself up to the front faster.

I also noticed that Chrom's defiant Defense is an A Slot ability... which I will almost certainly pass to Eirika so she can grant buffs and take frontline hits like no tomorrow.

What are your guys thoughts on Sing being passed?  I'm really hopping it can be.  But it begs the question who the heck I'd put the ability on.  If I could put the ability on F Corrin I would probably explode with happiness.  Then I could run F Corrin + Nino as a super nasty buff debuff pair.

[Skala_Bundet]

Vantage Takumi and Hector are just not right... That would kill all fun in the arena for a casual like me (and I know I'm not alone there... some people don't have the tools to ORKO these characters). I'm still hoping that each character can only inherit from a limited set of skills withing categories, which they don't already have a skill in (this would still provide refreshing diversity, and maybe leave some room for balancing and meta shifts )

[LordFrigid]

10 hours ago, eclipse said:

EDIT: Someone mentioned "Fury" and "Vantage" in the same sentence.  If the game will let me, I'm giving Fury to Odin instead.  +3 to all stats, with a very fast Defiant Atk activation sounds like my kind of strategy.

Fury & Defiant are both "A"s, sadly (unless they plan on breaking that boundary). I was hoping to run Fury/Defiant on someone too...though I can't remember who it was for the life of me.

46 minutes ago, Katrisa said:

What are your guys thoughts on Sing being passed?  I'm really hopping it can be.  But it begs the question who the heck I'd put the ability on.  If I could put the ability on F Corrin I would probably explode with happiness.  Then I could run F Corrin + Nino as a super nasty buff debuff pair.

I don't think that will, or should, happen. Dance/Sing just doesn't feel, to me, like something that should be able to go on anyone but a character who was a Dancer/Singer in the game they appeared in. It's kind of in keeping with the idea of unit uniqueness. Also, imagine a Cav/Flier with Dance (chuckling to myself just thinking about how strange that would look irl...like...who's dancing? The rider? The mount? Is the rider doing a jig atop the mount?). The mobility + utility factor would just be...evil.

Edited March 1, 2017 by LordFrigid
Changed "tap-dance" to "jig" so hypothetical mounts don't have to suffer the pain of hypothetical steel-toe

[Kruggov]

I think I already mentioned it, but getting Alfonse Brash Assault (from Hinata, I think) will make him even more dangerous below 50%. Or Life and Death, so that he could OHKO  quite a few enemies. (Like, say, neutral HP/Def Takumi). For other chars, Hector with Wings of Mercy comes to mind. Or, yes, Takumi with Vantage. Or Linde with Desperation for safe 2-range sniping (can she take a hit to proc it though? She's fragile AF).

I doubt Dance/Sing will be passable. Unless devs want to make unique animations for everyone. As for utility + Mobility factor, Wings of Mercy/Escape Route for Azura will be broken AF.

[LordFrigid]

12 minutes ago, Kruggov said:

Wings of Mercy/Escape Route for Azura will be broken AF.

Yup, Wings of Mercy is what I've been planning/hoping for (well...one of the things I've been planning/hoping for). Even if they restrict it to currently empty slots...Azura's B is the open one. Most healers have an open B too, so they're also reasonable candidates (if just for story/tower/grand hero battles) if you have the people to pull it off of must find more Cains.

Edited March 1, 2017 by LordFrigid

[Katrisa]

One thing which bothers me about this all is the stat gaps in some characters and weapon gaps.  Some characters are just super terrible because of poor base stats.  Makes me kind of cranky because the skill swaps are going to make me want to try and buff some of my favorite characters into something usable... but the current arena stat problems make it so no amount of skill tinkering will fix the issue.

May have some characters just for flavor and fun at this rate.

I'm curious if we'll be able to do any weapon swapping but I strongly doubt it.

[Korath88]

9 hours ago, Skala_Bundet said:

Vantage Takumi and Hector are just not right... That would kill all fun in the arena for a casual like me (and I know I'm not alone there... some people don't have the tools to ORKO these characters). I'm still hoping that each character can only inherit from a limited set of skills withing categories, which they don't already have a skill in (this would still provide refreshing diversity, and maybe leave some room for balancing and meta shifts )

The balancing factor of vantage is that you can avoid its effects by attacking at a range the enemy cannot counter at, but close/distant counter makes it impossible to avoid being hit twice if you don't ORKO them.

I'm just hoping that they make counter + vantage an illegal skill combination.

[Sire]

Decided to do some random theorycrafting for the inheritable skills. For this particular case I went all out with no restrictions whatsoever (save for weapons). If I could change weapons, I would like to mess around with changing Selena's and Caeda's swords (say a Silver for Selena and a Ruby for Caeda), and would love to see Hana go to town with a Brave Sword. Give Hana Desperation and either Threaten DEF or Savage Blow, and watch the fireworks.

For now, I'll keep it simple and stick to starter characters (save for Raigh who I do not care much for.)

Alfonse		Fólkvangr	|| Sol, Pivot			|| Defiant SPD, Desperation, Threaten SPD
Sharena		Fensalir	|| Luna, Rally Attack		|| Death Blow, Drag Back, Fortify DEF
Anna		Nóatún		|| Astra, Reposition		|| Armored Blow, Vantage, Fortify RES

Matthew		Rogue Dagger+ 	|| Galeforce, Reciprocal Aid	|| Close Counter, Poison Strike, Spur SPD
Viron		Silver Bow+	|| Astra, Harsh Command		|| Darting Blow, Seal DEF, Spur Atk

Alfonse: More or less changed him up completely to take advantage of his high ATT and weapon special. I transformed him into a "risk vs reward" character who can become extremely dangerous when below 50% HP as his subpar SPD is suddenly boosted while opponents are slowed. Desperation allows Alfonse to follow up immediately when he can double, and Pivot allows Alfonse some nice maneuverability. Now, Sol may be an odd choice and there are no doubt better specials for him, but I kept Sol as I feel it is iconic for Alfonse and helps him stay alive.

Sharena: If Alfonse is the sun with Sol, Sharena can be the moon with Luna. Otherwise, not much changes for Sharena, save for swapping out SPD +3 for Death Blow and giving her Drag Back to set up kills if need be.

Anna: Another character who stayed mostly vanilla, I gave Anna Reposition to move allies around (and reflect her status as a Commander). Then, she gets Armored Blow as I find Anna to be a bit squishy when dealing with physical units. Vantage is unchanged, but I did change Spur RES to Fortify RES to suit my playstle better.

Matthew: He doesn't do much damage, but as a spy, Matthew has to be moving around a lot. So, I gave him Galeforce. Then, as I miss daggers being able to retaliate in melee, I gave him Close Counter to debuff enemies that hit him and help Matthew act as an "off-tank" of sorts due to the Rogue Dagger. Poison Strike is unchanged, but Hone SPD is now Spur SPD to not conflict with Alfonse's Defiant SPD buff.

Viron: Some changes, notably going from Seal SPD to Seal DEF. As Alfonse already has Threaten SPD, I find the Seal SPD to be redundant. Viron has Darting Blow to help him chip away at enemies, and he supports allies with Spur ATT and Harsh Command as he comments on your subpar tactics. In short, Viron takes shots at the enemy to deal damage and seal their DEF, and then someone else can finish the opponent off with the Spur Atk bonus.

[eclipse]

So much for the dream of Fury Odin. . .but then there's always Vantage/Defiant Atk, which is WRONG.

5 hours ago, Katrisa said:

One thing which bothers me about this all is the stat gaps in some characters and weapon gaps.  Some characters are just super terrible because of poor base stats.  Makes me kind of cranky because the skill swaps are going to make me want to try and buff some of my favorite characters into something usable... but the current arena stat problems make it so no amount of skill tinkering will fix the issue.

May have some characters just for flavor and fun at this rate.

I'm curious if we'll be able to do any weapon swapping but I strongly doubt it.

Ooh, which characters were you talking about?  If there's one thing I love, it's insane theory-crafting~!

5 hours ago, Sire said:

Decided to do some random theorycrafting for the inheritable skills. For this particular case I went all out with no restrictions whatsoever (save for weapons). If I could change weapons, I would like to mess around with changing Selena's and Caeda's swords (say a Silver for Selena and a Ruby for Caeda), and would love to see Hana go to town with a Brave Sword. Give Hana Desperation and either Threaten DEF or Savage Blow, and watch the fireworks.

For now, I'll keep it simple and stick to starter characters (save for Raigh who I do not care much for.)

Alfonse		Fólkvangr	|| Sol, Pivot			|| Defiant SPD, Desperation, Threaten SPD
Sharena		Fensalir	|| Luna, Rally Attack		|| Death Blow, Drag Back, Fortify DEF
Anna		Nóatún		|| Astra, Reposition		|| Armored Blow, Vantage, Fortify RES

Matthew		Rogue Dagger+ 	|| Galeforce, Reciprocal Aid	|| Close Counter, Poison Strike, Spur SPD
Viron		Silver Bow+	|| Astra, Harsh Command		|| Darting Blow, Seal DEF, Spur Atk

Alfonse: More or less changed him up completely to take advantage of his high ATT and weapon special. I transformed him into a "risk vs reward" character who can become extremely dangerous when below 50% HP as his subpar SPD is suddenly boosted while opponents are slowed. Desperation allows Alfonse to follow up immediately when he can double, and Pivot allows Alfonse some nice maneuverability. Now, Sol may be an odd choice and there are no doubt better specials for him, but I kept Sol as I feel it is iconic for Alfonse and helps him stay alive.

Sharena: If Alfonse is the sun with Sol, Sharena can be the moon with Luna. Otherwise, not much changes for Sharena, save for swapping out SPD +3 for Death Blow and giving her Drag Back to set up kills if need be.

Anna: Another character who stayed mostly vanilla, I gave Anna Reposition to move allies around (and reflect her status as a Commander). Then, she gets Armored Blow as I find Anna to be a bit squishy when dealing with physical units. Vantage is unchanged, but I did change Spur RES to Fortify RES to suit my playstle better.

Matthew: He doesn't do much damage, but as a spy, Matthew has to be moving around a lot. So, I gave him Galeforce. Then, as I miss daggers being able to retaliate in melee, I gave him Close Counter to debuff enemies that hit him and help Matthew act as an "off-tank" of sorts due to the Rogue Dagger. Poison Strike is unchanged, but Hone SPD is now Spur SPD to not conflict with Alfonse's Defiant SPD buff.

Viron: Some changes, notably going from Seal SPD to Seal DEF. As Alfonse already has Threaten SPD, I find the Seal SPD to be redundant. Viron has Darting Blow to help him chip away at enemies, and he supports allies with Spur ATT and Harsh Command as he comments on your subpar tactics. In short, Viron takes shots at the enemy to deal damage and seal their DEF, and then someone else can finish the opponent off with the Spur Atk bonus.

Fine, I'LL do Raigh (since I use him seriously).

Raigh        Red Wolf+  ||  Escutcheon, Rally Attack  ||  Armored Blow 3, Seal Res 3, Threaten Def 3

"Er, wait, what?"  Raigh's now a debuff unit.  Anyone that gets in his face will do reduced damage, and have their defense/resistance shanked.  Armored Blow allows him to peck at the likes of Felicia, without having to worry so much about the counter.  If he can't kill something, he can donate a Rally Attack to someone who can.

Think of it as a dagger user with a color, that hates horses.

[Katrisa]

12 hours ago, Sire said:

Sharena: If Alfonse is the sun with Sol, Sharena can be the moon with Luna. Otherwise, not much changes for Sharena, save for swapping out SPD +3 for Death Blow and giving her Drag Back to set up kills if need be.

I have Drag Back on Eirika and it is seriously disappointing with my current composition.  I think the problem there though is color counter.  A red unit with drag back is most likely only facing Hector, Nino, Camilla, Minerva, or Julia.  Hector you'll kill last (with a counter attack) so no need to drag back.  Camilla and Minerva will most likely be baited and counter killed (so again no need to drag back).  For Nino and Julia Eirkia will oneshot them... and you'll drag yourself back which is the one time its not terrible.  You would think I would use it on red units but in my comp I almost always let red units attack first so drag back again never activates.  For Sharena Drag back might not be as terrible though since she will be facing red/blue matchups and she's fairly tanky against both

7 hours ago, eclipse said:

Ooh, which characters were you talking about?  If there's one thing I love, it's insane theory-crafting~!

Fine, I'LL do Raigh (since I use him seriously).

Raigh        Red Wolf+  ||  Escutcheon, Rally Attack  ||  Armored Blow 3, Seal Res 3, Threaten Def 3

 

That's actually a really good idea for turning someone into a debuff unit without suffering the horrible fate of current debuff units (nooooodamagee)

I also super love theory crafting and its the reason I'm drawn to this game.  Even when you can't adjust characters changes in your groups composition has huge impacts when you only have four people.  Personally I'm eyeing two characters that I love but am having trouble justifying in an endgroup: Adult Tiki and Setsuna

Setsuna is someone I just absolutely love since I'm a lot like her absentminded personality IRL.  But unfortunately she's just terrible for some really silly reasons.  She would have been great except for her moderate attack vs Takumi's high defense and her weapon sports -3 less damage than his making her non competitive even against her primary counter likewise dagger users are extremely rare.  So If I had full control over her:

   Setsuna:   Parthia 14Mt and + 4 Res
                    Iceburg damage based of 50% Res, Reciprocal Aid
                    A: Death Blow +6 on attack  B: Bow Breaker  C: Spur Spd or Spur Res

This would keep Setsuna close to home, keeping her nice assisting with Reciprocal aid to dump her HP into someone else and bow breaker to laugh at the other archers.  But with Parthia and Death blow she would seriously threaten other archers and mages, likewise this would give her access to an amplified Iceburg attack 

Adult Tiki is someone I absolutely love because she's so lovely and graceful.  While she is ranked high at A+ I think she's a bit less useful than indicated.  For one she really TERRIBLE speed and two she's a dragon (causing many top reds to decimate her).  Likewise lightning breath with a ranged counter is nice but with her middling speed she will usually get hit twice and only counter once.  She's ok if you back her with a healer, but someone like Hector fairs much better.  So if I had control over Tiki I would probably do the following.

  Adult Tiki:   Lightning Breath+ 11Mt and Counter (though stealing Ryoma's 16Mt counter weapon would be perfect)
                    Bonfire damage based of 50% Def, Pivot or Swap
                    A: Defiant Defense +7 if under 50%  B: Brash Assault Auto followup if under 50%  C: Threaten Attack -5 Attack

This would would make Tiki a super fun physical tank  They can double her all they want but after dropping her to 50% her Def would jump up 7 points, she would threaten everyones attack by 5... making her average defense 47.  Likewise following hitting 50% she would double people when attacking with Brash assault making her a little monster stomping around all angry for having torn her cute outfit.  

Edited March 2, 2017 by Katrisa

[pianime94]

If possible I have been thinking of giving Ryoma Vantage. Got 2 Gordins as sacrificial pawn..

Still thinking of what's suitable for Eliwood if I had him.. I could give him death blow for the sweet sweet potential 70, atk with Hone and Goad Cavalry but even that is not enough to OHK Takumi. Slapping one more Goad will definitely kills otoh.

If there's no slot restriction I'll probably go with:

Darting Blow Vantage Ward Cavalry.

 

 

[Soulkey]

it will have a lot of restrictions ~

[Lord-Zero]

1 hour ago, pianime94 said:

If possible I have been thinking of giving Ryoma Vantage. Got 2 Gordins as sacrificial pawn..

Still thinking of what's suitable for Eliwood if I had him.. I could give him death blow for the sweet sweet potential 70, atk with Hone and Goad Cavalry but even that is not enough to OHK Takumi. Slapping one more Goad will definitely kills otoh.

If there's no slot restriction I'll probably go with:

Darting Blow Vantage Ward Cavalry.

 

 

I hope Hector can pass Distant Counter to Eliwood and turn him into a mage killer of sorts. 

[Katrisa]

On 3/1/2017 at 10:34 AM, Skala_Bundet said:

Vantage Takumi and Hector are just not right... That would kill all fun in the arena for a casual like me (and I know I'm not alone there... some people don't have the tools to ORKO these characters). I'm still hoping that each character can only inherit from a limited set of skills withing categories, which they don't already have a skill in (this would still provide refreshing diversity, and maybe leave some room for balancing and meta shifts )

Personally I can deal with this the same way I do now which is to counter kill Takumi by baiting him into Hector.  And killing Hector by baiting him into Lyn or Eirika.  I rarely directly attack either, so for me seeing Vantage on them means its actually a wasted skill (which is to my advantage).  

With this said none of this considers having to throw a bonus character into my party and deal with these same issues.  If my bonus character options for a given week aren't so good, then you're right some of these combinations could be very painful.  Currently I eek by on my counter kill of Hector because I sport two reds in my party.  This also means when a bonus comes around that is not Eirika, I've got to sub out her or Lyn.  So not fun.

I would bet money though that what people will be complaining about by the end of this month is Pivot and Swap Hector.  Most of us currently deal with Hector by dealing with him last without other units around.  But with Pivot Hector, he's going to be right smack at the front of the pack.  Personally I have no idea how I can deal with a Hector right smack at the front of the battle.  I think many people are going to be panic computations for trying to one round him with Nino.  Problem being you'll almost certainly have to pull Nino back a square after doing so.   So I think tanks with Pivot are going to be the bigger issue. 

Edited March 2, 2017 by Katrisa

[TheNiddo]

I'd love to drop Fury on Anna.

She currently has 41 HP/45 Attack/38 Speed/22 Def/28 Res for a total of 174 points

Fury would move her up to 41 HP/48 Attack/41 Speed/25 Def/31 Res, with a total of 186 points. And her A slot is the open slot, and Bartre has it (who is another green axe footman, so if that type of restriction applies she can still get it). She naturally has Vantage as well, so with Fury she's going to be hitting that range sooner. But 48 attack + 41 speed + Vantage + Wings of Mercy from her axe is just nasty. Hector for comparison has 52/24. Hana has 52/41, but no Vantage, awkward Obstruct, and significantly worse defences.

If you can flat out replace skills, I'd drop Spur Res for either Savage Blow or Threaten Attack. And Swap/Pivot for her assist.

[Sire]

Figure I'll throw more random theorycrafts here. Once again, I'm working with no restrictions save for weapons. To learn more, click on the Spoiler button.

Ryoma		Raijinto	|| Astra, Swap			|| Defiant ATT, Vantage, Hone SPD
Marth		Falchion	|| Escutcheon, Pivot		|| Death Blow, Escape Route, Spur SPD
Ephraim		Siegmund	|| Luna, Pivot			|| Defiant DEF, Brash Assault, Threaten DEF
Camilla		Brave Axe+	|| Dragonic Aura, A. Sacrifice	|| Darting Blow, Desperation, Savage Blow
---------------
Takumi		Fujin Yumi	|| Glimmer, Shove		|| Close Counter, Vantage, Threaten SPD
Clarine		Fear		|| Att Balm, Rehabilitate	|| Close Counter, Live to Serve, Hone DEF
---------------
Hector		Armads		|| Pavise, Pivot		|| Distant Counter, Vantage, Threaten ATT
Effie		Silver Lane+	|| Luna, Pivot			|| Death Blow, Wary Fighter, Hone Armor
Young!Tiki	Flametongue+	|| Sol, Ardent Sacrifice	|| Armored Blow, Renewal, Breath of Life

 

My Current Arena Team - With Custom Stuff!

Ryoma: More or less the default Ryoma but with Vantage and Swap thrown in. I tend to use Ryoma defensively and let enemies come to him first before unleashing him on my opponents. So, Vantage will help Ryoma handle himself when on low health (and it synergies well with Defiant ATT) while Swap helps Ryoma "swap out" so someone else can tank on the front lines.
If I was building an offensive Ryoma, I would go Death Blow for Slot A and either Renewal or Desperation for Slot B. However, given the nature of his weapon special to counter at range, I rather build a defensive Ryoma than on offensive one.

Marth: Same ole Mar Mar, but with new skills! I give him Death Blow to more reliably handle Dragons and dish out more damage in general, while Escutcheon protects Marth from damage. I keep Escape Route as it is really useful, especially during split maps or when there are multiple fronts, and Spur SPD makes my team even faster since it stacks with Ryoma's Hone SPD.

Ephraim (The Bonus Guy): Exchanged Moonbow for Luna and Seal DEF for Defiant DEF. Once again, I am more of a defensive player, so I let enemies come attack Ephraim and watch as the shrugs off most physical attacks with ease. He has Brash Assault to make up for his SPD deficiency, and with the Defiant DEF, makes him difficult to handle when below half health. However, just like normal Ephraim, he will have trouble with green and magic units. Pivot is added for maneuverability.

Camilla: I could have given Camilla Death Blow for that extra damage, but I find Darting Blow to be just as useful. This is especially the case when combined with Desperation and Ardent Sacrifice - I let the others tank while Camilla heals, and when she reaches the threshold, she can charge in herself to deal massive damage. Also, I find that Camilla being desperate and sacrificing her life force for others to be suitable for her personality.

Some Dream Character Compositions

Takumi: If I had a Takumi, he may end up replacing Camilla as both characters share similar ratings. However, I am a bit worried about how I will handle Blues, but that is not the point of this topic. // So, Takumi is baseline save for exchanging Vengeance for Glimmer and gaining Shove (because Takumi pushes people around) and Vantage (because Vantage is too good on counter characters). When paired up with Ryoma, the Threaten SPD combined with Ryoma's Hone SPD will give my team the advantage in terms of going super sonic.
As for some alternative skills, a part of me wants to try giving Takumi Miracle (just to screw with people) or Noontime to help him maintain survivability. Then, if I wanted an Offensive Takumi, give him Desperation.

Clarine: If healers were completely customizable, then the only point to choose one over the other is stats and favoritism. Luckily for me, I happen to like Clarine and if the numbers are accurate, Clarine has the highest rating among the current healers at 162 (one point over Takumi!).
Skill wise, Clarine is almost a full custom. She keeps Fear to reduce the damage enemies deal and also is useful if I use Clarine as a meatshield due to her Close Counter. Live to Serve is the superior option for staffies over Renewal because healers should be healing and not on the battling on the front lines (sorry Lissa). Finally, Hone DEF serves to mess up the enemy's calculations while the ATT Balm allows my forces to burst down the enemy.

Aiming Higher for Arena Ratings

Hector: Hector remains as a walking juggernaut that can counter at range and remains mostly vanilla save for gaining Vantage and exchanging Spur ATT (or Goad Armor) for Threaten ATT. Threaten ATT helps Hector stay alive while Vantage makes opponents think twice before engaging with him. Pivot is given so he can play "Leapfrog" with Effie.

Effie: Effie is the heavy hitter of the armored duo, having gained Luna and keeping her Death Blow. She gains Hone Armor to help Hector deal damage and to help Hector from being doubled. Pivot is used to play "Leapfrog" with Hector.

Young!Tiki: Tiki is the Divine Dragon, and she shows off her holy nature by becoming a Paladin! Growing Flame is replaced by Sol to help Tiki survive, and the addition of Renewal further helps Tiki stay in top form. Then, Tiki can heal Hector or Effie with Breath of Life or directly by using Ardent Sacrifice. Oh, and Tiki serves as the Red Magic member of the trio. The fourth member is a random and is chosen from the Bonus Heroes. If the bonus covers Hector, Effie, or Young!Tiki, then I'll add a favorite character or something.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Sire
Takumi Alt Skills

[Alpha Wolves]

So... I didn't know how busted Fury was until Eldigan started being one of my best solo units in Arena.

Imagine Fury Hector or Fury Effie.... oh my god Fury Meta is going to be real. Fury + Counter Attacks! LET THE FURY OF COUNTER ATTACKS REIGN!