Ae†her Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 (edited) Ishtar, Thunder Goddess "I mean no disrespect... but do understand I take great pride in being a warlock of Freege." Description: Ishtar is called the Goddess of Thunder for a reason. Sporting possibly one of the best 'Thunder Tomes' in the game and the best offensive stats for a mage, Ishtar with her Mjolnir will not only gain a Special cooldown count-1 (something which no common tome does), but will also gain the effect of Darting Blow 3, giving her some insane Player Phase power. Her base kit is also great as it comes with Swift Sparrow 2 and Odd Atk Wave 3, both of which better increase her performance right out of the Breidablik. Stats:HP 34/38/41Atk 31/34/37Spd 33/36/39Def 13/17/20Res 23/26/30BST: 150~152 Skills:Weapon: Thoron > Mjölnir (Blue)Special: MoonbowSupport: NoneA Skill: Darting Blow 1 > Swift Sparrow 2B Skill: Vantage 3C Skill: Odd Atk Wave 3 Movement: Infantry - Can run skills that Cavs and Fliers can not run such as Infantry Pulse. Holy Tordo Blood Spoiler Nature: +Spd/+Atk, -Def / -HP / -Res Weapon: MjölnirAssist: Repostion / Varies on TeamSpecial: Glimmer / Moonbow / Luna / Draconic Aura A: Swift Sparrow 2 / Fury 3 / Life and Death 3 / Brazen Atk/Spd 3 / Death Blow 3B: Desperation 3 / Wings of Mercy 3 / Lancebreaker 3C: Odd Atk Wave 3 / Varies on TeamSS: Spd+3 / Atk+3 / Heavy Blade 3 / Distant Defense 3 / Quickened Pulse Swift Sparrow 2 / Fury 3 / Life and Death 3 / Brazen Atk/Spd 3 + Desperation 3 - Mjölnir gives Ishtar +6 Spd when attacking so Ishtar's power is mostly going to be found in the Player Phase. Swift Sparrow 2 already comes with Ishtar, and it supports the Player Phase power of Ishtar without compromising on her bulk. Fury 3 gives her power and bulk, but she becomes easily weak enough to be killed my melee attacks, but it helps her get closer to the Desperation range, though even with 34 HP she won't be in it after 1 round of combat. Life and Death 3 completely sacrifices any bulk she has for 1 more Atk and Spd over Swift Sparrow 2. Brazen Atk/Spd 3 sacrifices her performance above 70% HP for the best buffs all around when at 70% HP or less. Luna + Odd Atk Wave 3 + Heavy Blade 3 - Odd Atk wave means right from the start Ishtar will get +6 Atk so running Heavy Blade 3 might be a good idea because Ishtar's Atk will be so high from that turn and every other odd turn number that she can make great use of Heavy Blade seal to proc higher cooldown specials sooner. Moonbow / Glimmer / Draconic Aura / Luna + Quickened Pulse - Due to Mjölnir granting Special cooldown count-1, Quickened Pulse will work great at letting Ishtar just straight up get the trigger from the first attack if she uses Moonbow or Glimmer. If she follow-ups she'll get the trigger on 3 turn cooldowns like Draconic Aura and Luna. Spd+3 / Atk+3 - Meant to provide her even more power. Spd+3 is probably the better option for even more coverage on Ishtar's ability to double her foes. Fury 3 + Distant Defense 3 - Works well with a Res bane so Ishtar doesn't get one-shotted by physical units, and it is also meant to make Ishtar have some similar utility as Nino, and it works even better if she's highly merged, as expensive as that may be. Spd boon is pretty useful here. Res bane is better as there isn't as many popular red mages as there are blue mages and green mages that can one shot Ishtar. Death Blow 3 / Swift Sparrow 2 + Lancebreaker 3 - Useful against tanky Wary Figher and Breath/Vengeful Fighter armors, and it helps get guarantees on lances. Can also be surprising in Arena Defense. Wings of Mercy 3 - Helps Ishtar be a ninja mage on Defense Teams for the Arena. A Storm of Swords Spoiler Nature: +Spd, -Def / -HP Weapon: Blarblade+Assist: Repostion / Varies on TeamSpecial: Glimmer A: Fury 3 / Swift Sparrow 2 / Life and Death 3 / Brazen Atk/Spd 3B: Desperation 3C: Odd Atk Wave 3 / Varies on TeamSS: Heavy Blade 3 / Spd+3 / Distant Defense 3 Notes: This is just the standard Blade Tome set-up. Swift Sparrow 2 / Life and Death 3 / Brazen Atk/Spd 3 - Again same as in "Holy Tordo Blood". Fury 3 + Distant Defense 3 - Since she has good bulk -Res with Distant Defense 3 helps Ishtar tank hits, and then proceed to end her foes with all the buffs that her on her. Odd Atk Wave 3 + Heavy Blade 3 + Glimmer - The +6 buff to herself gives her even more consistent power especially with a Heavy Blade Seal, a Blade Tome, and Glimmer. Atk+3 / Spd+3 - Same purpose as in the previous section. Disclaimer: Note Blarblade+ and Mjölnir builds pretty much give off about the same performance, and you will probably get more out of Mjölnir for the first attack with Ishtar with a Quickened Pulse seal especially. Edited May 14, 2018 by Ae†her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatsumaFSoysoy Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Tbh, Luna is probably a better choice than Draconic Aura for the Mjolnir build. Even with +Atk and Odd Atk Wave on herself, she only reaches 57 Atk, which is 17 damage from DAura. Since one of her main targets includes W!Tharja, who has way more than 34 Res most of the time, Luna is the stronger pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ae†her Posted May 12, 2018 Author Share Posted May 12, 2018 1 minute ago, SatsumaFSoysoy said: Tbh, Luna is probably a better choice than Draconic Aura for the Mjolnir build. Even with +Atk and Odd Atk Wave on herself, she only reaches 57 Atk, which is 17 damage from DAura. Since one of her main targets includes W!Tharja, who has way more than 34 Res most of the time, Luna is the stronger pick. I was thinking when I put down Draconic Aura what was that other "common" 3 turn cooldown that makes more sense if you don't have that much Atk, and I just gave up trying to remember it that I put down Draconic Aura. You're definitely right, Luna makes more sense with Ishtar and most speedier mages because they generally have lower Atk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 How often do her targets hit 43+ Speed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottlegnomes Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, eclipse said: How often do her targets hit 43+ Speed? I think actually semi-often. Celica and SM!Eirika can hit it without too much trouble, and there are a lot of fast sword units, especially Ayra and Mia. Physical blue has some quick pegs, and there are actually a decent number of pretty fast mages, such as Ishtar 1.0 Linde. Not all of them will for certain, but between skills, boons, seals, and buffs it seems like there'd actually be a decent number she can't guaranteed double with neutral speed. Edited May 12, 2018 by bottlegnomes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 4 minutes ago, bottlegnomes said: I think actually semi-often. Celica and SM!Eirika can hit it without too much trouble, and there are a lot of fast sword units, especially Ayra and Mia. Physical blue has some quick pegs, and there are actually a decent number of pretty fast mages, such as Ishtar 1.0 Linde. Not all of them will for certain, but between skills, boons, seals, and buffs it seems like there'd actually be a decent number she can't guaranteed double with neutral speed. Figured as much. Since Ishtar isn't exactly designed for taking blows, and her tome screams "player phase initiation", would probably throw a -breaker in her B slot, just to ensure some KOs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ae†her Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 5 hours ago, eclipse said: Figured as much. Since Ishtar isn't exactly designed for taking blows, and her tome screams "player phase initiation", would probably throw a -breaker in her B slot, just to ensure some KOs. That's a lot of sacrifice for a unit that already gets so many follow-ups, Desperation provides much more utility, and not many people run B. Tome Breaker anyways so. Seems kind of overdoing it to put a breaker on. If we're taking about high merge Arenas vs no-merge Ishtar then I guess it could be worth it, but the fastest units are typically red units who may even get one-shotted by Ishtar if she has her Atk buffed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 19 minutes ago, Ae†her said: That's a lot of sacrifice for a unit that already gets so many follow-ups, Desperation provides much more utility, and not many people run B. Tome Breaker anyways so. Seems kind of overdoing it to put a breaker on. If we're taking about high merge Arenas vs no-merge Ishtar then I guess it could be worth it, but the fastest units are typically red units who may even get one-shotted by Ishtar if she has her Atk buffed. That's assuming she's in Desperation range. That's also assuming that you're not challenging some of the +Spd variants of certain units with Fury (several lance units can survive her like this). At worst, a -breaker does about as much as Desperation does at full health. At best, you secure a KO you otherwise wouldn't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ae†her Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 2 minutes ago, eclipse said: That's assuming she's in Desperation range. That's also assuming that you're not challenging some of the +Spd variants of certain units with Fury (several lance units can survive her like this). At worst, a -breaker does about as much as Desperation does at full health. At best, you secure a KO you otherwise wouldn't have. Most lancers who can Distant Counter in one way or another usually can't generate enough Spd to survive a +Spd Ishtar attacking them though, if you fail to double a lancer, and it can't counter against you then a simple reposition and reattack is usually a pretty common and available choice. Breaker skills also just limit her best talent, which is securing doubles, while Desperation 3 embraces it allowing her to secure kills on Distant Counter Greens, Blues and also ranged foes, that can't or don't run Wary Fighter by not getting hit by them. You can also get Ishtar into Desperation easily by using Fury 3 and attacking any red or blue DC unit, which are pretty common in the Arena nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 3 hours ago, Ae†her said: Most lancers who can Distant Counter in one way or another usually can't generate enough Spd to survive a +Spd Ishtar attacking them though, if you fail to double a lancer, and it can't counter against you then a simple reposition and reattack is usually a pretty common and available choice. Breaker skills also just limit her best talent, which is securing doubles, while Desperation 3 embraces it allowing her to secure kills on Distant Counter Greens, Blues and also ranged foes, that can't or don't run Wary Fighter by not getting hit by them. You can also get Ishtar into Desperation easily by using Fury 3 and attacking any red or blue DC unit, which are pretty common in the Arena nowadays. Fury lowers her doubling threshold further, which in turn lowers the number of kills she gets. Have you run Ishtar's numbers through your favorite dueling simulator? I'm not pulling the assertion that she misses doubles out of thin air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ae†her Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, eclipse said: Fury lowers her doubling threshold further, which in turn lowers the number of kills she gets. Have you run Ishtar's numbers through your favorite dueling simulator? I'm not pulling the assertion that she misses doubles out of thin air. Well I suppose it could be useful against annoying Wary Fighter and the Breath/Vengeful Fighter lancers such as Hardin and Effie as well. Lancebreaker 3 only gave her 1 more kill in Mass Duel Simulator, most likely against Effie. Also Fury 3 and Spd boon with Def bane also didn't change the results. She just can't kill certain greens. Edited May 13, 2018 by Ae†her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landmaster Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 I will try to use her, might as well, though I know she's pretty much outclassed by other characters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BANRYU Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 So I have a question. What does the Blade build do that the Mjolnir build doesn't already accomplish, if anything? I know blade builds are considered obligatory on mages (or were once), but if she's not gaining something that her default tome can't already do then there isn't much point to wasting 20k feathers to give her the weapon, the way I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottlegnomes Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Landmaster said: I will try to use her, might as well, though I know she's pretty much outclassed by other characters In what sense? I mean obviously there's Reinhardt, and maybe HatF!Catria, but otherwise, she's basically a hard upgrade of Linde who's still considered among the best blue mages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landmaster Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 6 minutes ago, bottlegnomes said: In what sense? I mean obviously there's Reinhardt, and maybe HatF!Catria, but otherwise, she's basically a hard upgrade of Linde who's still considered among the best blue mages. I just mean that there’s better options, not that she’s terrible, sorry, maybe I worded it too harshly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ae†her Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 1 hour ago, BANRYU said: So I have a question. What does the Blade build do that the Mjolnir build doesn't already accomplish, if anything? I know blade builds are considered obligatory on mages (or were once), but if she's not gaining something that her default tome can't already do then there isn't much point to wasting 20k feathers to give her the weapon, the way I see it. Gives her consistent Atk power over Spd, they'll both get different kills in the Arena. Plus it works so well with her C skill. 1 hour ago, Landmaster said: I will try to use her, might as well, though I know she's pretty much outclassed by other characters She has the best offensive stats for a mage other than Linde in terms of Atk and Spd. Plus Mjolnir helps her reach some dominating Spd, and she even gets a Cooldown help.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewyn Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 The Wings of Mercy 3 option is interesting since with Mjolnir she doubles pretty much everything, even more so with +spd nature. With odd attack wave as well for the opponent to worry about. I think unless you pulled -atk or -spd, quickened pulse is maybe best choice as a seal. Double moonbow shenanigans, and that first moonbow could kill a lot so she doesn't have to take retaliation damage. With the res superboon she can run ploys in the C slot, though I think Odd attack wave is too good to drop unless she is in a tactics team with atk tactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRay Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Ae†her said: Gives her consistent Atk power over Spd, they'll both get different kills in the Arena. Plus it works so well with her C skill. Are there notable differences in kills though? Offensive exclusive tomes that boosts Spd are usually about the same as Blade tomes if both are buffed. Unbuffed, all exclusive tomes are vastly superior. Ishtar +Spd, -Res Moonbow Swift Sparrow, Desperation Enemies +5, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury Player Phase [Mjölnir, Attack +3] 174:20:55 Player Phase [Mjölnir, Attack +3, 4/4/0/0] 205:20:24 Player Phase [Blárblade, Speed +3] 73:21:155 Player Phase [Blárblade, Speed +3, 4/4/0/0] 198:19:32 Celica +Spd, -Def Ragnarok, Moonbow Swift Sparrow, Desperation Speed +3 Enemies +5, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury Player Phase [Ragnarok] 142:17:90 Player Phase [Ragnarok, 4/4/0/0] 186:17:46 Player Phase [Rauðrblade] 33:20:196 Player Phase [Rauðrblade, 4/4/0/0] 143:18:88 SM!Eirika +Spd, -Res Moonbow Swift Sparrow, Desperation Enemies +5, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury Player Phase [Gleipnir, Attack +3] 93:27:129 Player Phase [Gleipnir, Attack +3, 6/6/0/0] 181:24:44 Player Phase [Rauðrblade, Speed +3] 39:38:172 Player Phase [Rauðrblade, Speed +3, 6/6/0/0] 181:33:35 L'Arachel +Spd, -Res Moonbow Swift Sparrow, Desperation Speed +3 Enemies +5, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury Player Phase [Ivaldi] 79:25:145 Player Phase [Ivaldi, 6/6/0/0] 188:25:36 Player Phase [Blárblade] 34:40:175 Player Phase [Blárblade, 6/6/0/0] 182:29:38 I agree that Blade builds should still be included to make the analysis more complete, but you might want to put a small disclaimer somewhere pointing out that giving units Blade tomes who already has access to offensive exclusive tomes might not be the best use of resources since they do not really need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ae†her Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 14 hours ago, XRay said: Are there notable differences in kills though? Offensive exclusive tomes that boosts Spd are usually about the same as Blade tomes if both are buffed. Unbuffed, all exclusive tomes are vastly superior. I agree that Blade builds should still be included to make the analysis more complete, but you might want to put a small disclaimer somewhere pointing out that giving units Blade tomes who already has access to offensive exclusive tomes might not be the best use of resources since they do not really need it. I meant in certain scenarios specifically in the Arena in which you may get the follow-up attack, but can not generate enough Atk power to kill, a Bladetome may give you more Atk with the follow-up attack to get the kill. Whereas Mjolnir may get the follow-up attack when a Bladetome can't. Though generally they do about the same, I agree. Especially considering Mjolnir's Special Cooldown count -1 with Quickened Pulse gives off the best power even if it is only for the first attack. I'll add the disclaimer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 (edited) On 5/13/2018 at 9:19 AM, Ae†her said: Well I suppose it could be useful against annoying Wary Fighter and the Breath/Vengeful Fighter lancers such as Hardin and Effie as well. Lancebreaker 3 only gave her 1 more kill in Mass Duel Simulator, most likely against Effie. Also Fury 3 and Spd boon with Def bane also didn't change the results. She just can't kill certain greens. Was thinking neutral speed, since that's what the majority of people will pull. Assuming every single armor runs Wary Fighter, and she's neutral attack, she kills all reds not named Arden/Zephiel, gets murdered by both Hectors and Grima (maybe Hardin if she's running Life and Death 3, and Jakob if she's -HP/-Def on top of that), and leaves everyone else alive. Of the lance armors, I can see arguments for having Hardin/blue Robin run it, and maybe Eliwood too. Not sure how practical this is, but it's something to consider when recommending Desperation. It's also part of the reason why I consider -breakers on fast characters, even if it looks like they should double the entire cast (the other part involves an ungodly fast Nino I met in some arena match long ago). Edited May 15, 2018 by eclipse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Dragon Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 On 5/13/2018 at 1:10 AM, Ae†her said: You can also get Ishtar into Desperation easily by using Fury 3 and attacking any red or blue DC unit, which are pretty common in the Arena nowadays. The biggest problem is the fact that a lot of red units have bad magic bulk and simply die before counterattacking. And one Fury recoil won't drop her HP enough to activate Desperation. On 5/14/2018 at 3:10 AM, XRay said: Are there notable differences in kills though? Offensive exclusive tomes that boosts Spd are usually about the same as Blade tomes if both are buffed. Unbuffed, all exclusive tomes are vastly superior. Ishtar is likely keeping Odd Atk Wave, which would give her +6 Atk to power Blarblade, not +4 Atk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRay Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 6 hours ago, Ice Dragon said: Ishtar is likely keeping Odd Atk Wave, which would give her +6 Atk to power Blarblade, not +4 Atk. Hone Attack is more consistent. Odd Atk Wave is not always going to be active and there is not always an option to retreat and wait for Odd Atk Wave to kick in next round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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