Aether Raids General Thread

[Diovani Bressan]

I decided to rematch one of the players that defeated my defensive team... this player had a Ward Armor Team... sigh... They got destroyed by Laevatein. 

[Vicious Sal]

30 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

So? Both Raven and Linus share the same prf (Basilikos). And they have nothing to do with each other as characters, I think.

That’s because the have the same weapon, with the same name. 

Catria has the WW Lance and Est has the spear. Having two pref weapons that have different names but the same effect would be very confusing and illogical.

There are pref weapons that have te same effect as generic weapons tho. 

Siegberts weapon grants swift sparrow i believe, just like the bridal weapons this year. But i am not 100% sure.

[Anacybele]

35 minutes ago, Vicious Sal said:

That’s because the have the same weapon, with the same name. 

Catria has the WW Lance and Est has the spear. Having two pref weapons that have different names but the same effect would be very confusing and illogical.

There are pref weapons that have te same effect as generic weapons tho. 

Siegberts weapon grants swift sparrow i believe, just like the bridal weapons this year. But i am not 100% sure.

Who said their weapons had to have different names and the same effects?

EDIT: Oh my fucking god. I actually build Astra teams and I still fucking lose both battles. I guess Cecilia is trash. I should send her home or fodder her. Got nearly one-shot easily by a colorless bow unit despite having Triangle Adept, Bowbreaker, and Gronnraven. And now that I look at her stats, none of them are actually high at all, even at 5 star. That's pure rubbish. Can't believe I wasted any resources on this piece of garbage.

This mode is also trash anyway though. I hope IS eventually replaces it with something that has a lot less bullshit. They obviously don't want to improve it much.

Edited July 20, 2019 by Anacybele

[Usana]

@Anacybele You don't mention the bow unit by name. Was it Alm? Wouldn't surprise me if he can punch through a TA Groonraven given his skill set and stats. Actually any of the foot bows with Null Follow up and enough speed to naturally double Cecilia(which lets admit isn't hard to do) can probably put a good dent in her, if not bring her down. The trick would be surviving Cecilia's only counter attack in that case, which does require a fair chunk of HP/RES. However, Jamke can hit that requirement with Fury in his A, a refined weapon, and a blessing for the 5 HP. He is 6HP away from killing her. But wait. What if he is on team Duma? Duma does 7 damage to everyone, and if Cecilia doesn't get that healed up then Jamke can take her at merge parity.

Both at 5*+0 with Jamke initiating.
Cecilia(+ATK) - Gronnraven+, Moonbow, TA 3, Bow Breaker, DD in the seal, and Naga Blessing vs Jamke- Slaying Bow+ ATK Refine, Ignis, Fury 3, Null Followup, Heavy Blade seal, and Duma Blessing
Jamke Survives with 1 HP and Cecilia survives with 6 HP assuming she has been healed back up or Duma wasn't running Upheaval.
Both 5*+10 Same Builds with Jamke initiating
Jamke Survives with 1 HP and Cecilia survives with 9HP. Upheaval won't be enough this time. Jamke would also need +1 attack from something, at which point he deals exact damage and wins.

Of course there is also Cancel Affinity which Jamke comes with by default, but I don't see it often and bow breaker actually gives the win to Cecilia in that case. Actually running these numbers makes a case to use a defense boon Cecilia instead since that leads to a match where they both survive and she can clean up on her turn. Anyways the point is, screw null follow up. That skill annoys me even more than Wary Fighter ever did. Probably because it is an uneven playing field in comparison since it is harder to source.

[Anacybele]

19 minutes ago, Usana said:

@Anacybele You don't mention the bow unit by name. Was it Alm? Wouldn't surprise me if he can punch through a TA Groonraven given his skill set and stats. Actually any of the foot bows with Null Follow up and enough speed to naturally double Cecilia(which lets admit isn't hard to do) can probably put a good dent in her, if not bring her down. The trick would be surviving Cecilia's only counter attack in that case, which does require a fair chunk of HP/RES. However, Jamke can hit that requirement with Fury in his A, a refined weapon, and a blessing for the 5 HP. He is 6HP away from killing her. But wait. What if he is on team Duma? Duma does 7 damage to everyone, and if Cecilia doesn't get that healed up then Jamke can take her at merge parity.

Both at 5*+0 with Jamke initiating.
Cecilia(+ATK) - Gronnraven+, Moonbow, TA 3, Bow Breaker, DD in the seal, and Naga Blessing vs Jamke- Slaying Bow+ ATK Refine, Ignis, Fury 3, Null Followup, Heavy Blade seal, and Duma Blessing
Jamke Survives with 1 HP and Cecilia survives with 6 HP assuming she has been healed back up or Duma wasn't running Upheaval.
Both 5*+10 Same Builds with Jamke initiating
Jamke Survives with 1 HP and Cecilia survives with 9HP. Upheaval won't be enough this time. Jamke would also need +1 attack from something, at which point he deals exact damage and wins.

Of course there is also Cancel Affinity which Jamke comes with by default, but I don't see it often and bow breaker actually gives the win to Cecilia in that case. Actually running these numbers makes a case to use a defense boon Cecilia instead since that leads to a match where they both survive and she can clean up on her turn. Anyways the point is, screw null follow up. That skill annoys me even more than Wary Fighter ever did. Probably because it is an uneven playing field in comparison since it is harder to source.

I think it was Alm, yeah. Bowbreaker should've prevented Alm from doubling though. Otherwise, yeah, I get that he'd be hard to tank. I did notice I forgot to change Cecilia's seal though, and that was surely a problem. >_<

My Cecilia is neutral. I've pulled her a lot, but none of those Cecilias had IVs I thought would be good. If she was +Atk, she was -Res or something, for instance. Though this was mostly before the merge change came. So I guess next time I pull her, which I could in the near future because I'd like to go for Edelgard on the upcoming banner, I can think about giving her a merge. Except for one problem. I'm low on feathers after having finished merging Silas and giving more merges to Reinhardt (because let's face it, lots of people want to merge him up lol).

I don't think I've ever seen Jamke in AR or anything though, is he the best example to use here? Otherwise, I believe I understand your point.

Edited July 20, 2019 by Anacybele

[BoaFerox]

12 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I think it was Alm, yeah. Bowbreaker should've prevented Alm from doubling though.

Basically all Legendary Alm run his default Null Follow-Up which cancels the effect of Bowbreaker. This is part of what makes him so incredibly hard to counter and almost impossible to tank. I wouldn't blame Cecilia in this case, because Alm is among the most unbalanced things this game has at the moment.

[Diovani Bressan]

I don't recommend to try to tank Legendary Alm. His bow can ruin your day... It's better to deal with him in Player Phase.

[Anacybele]

20 minutes ago, BoaFerox said:

Basically all Legendary Alm run his default Null Follow-Up which cancels the effect of Bowbreaker. This is part of what makes him so incredibly hard to counter and almost impossible to tank. I wouldn't blame Cecilia in this case, because Alm is among the most unbalanced things this game has at the moment.

Oh, I see. I forgot he has that. >_< Alm does suck to go against in general though.

17 minutes ago, Diovani Bressan said:

I don't recommend to try to tank Legendary Alm. His bow can ruin your day... It's better to deal with him in Player Phase.

Yeah, that's kind of hard to do when he's parked way on the back of the map and stays behind everyone else. Which was the case in that map...

[Landmaster]

You can't Enemy Phase Alm unless you have like a godlike +10 Omega Tank~ He has to be Player Phased or he's killing your whole team~ Especially if there's WOM Dancers on the team~

I was only going to do one match today but, for whatever stupid reason, thought the Season ended tomorrow and I would be at work when it ends so I ended up doing two~ I'll just do one tomorrow morning~ Both were perfect but I was really close to losing the 1st with how much time I wasted trying to heal before initiating~ Luckily the Fortress was just a 4 so we were able to tank it out~

2nd match caught me off guard~ Had a Pivoting Hector with two dancers meant to destroy any unit that tried to tank their Hrid but he didn't have Armored Boots so he couldn't reach me after 2 dances. Disappointing, that would have been cool, though he likely wouldn't have killed Kana anyway~ Give that man Boots!

[Kuroi Tsubasa Tenshi]

I want to reiterate that a relatively low-investment way to cripple L!Alms on defense (and a number of other units, though watch out for Desperation if you're doing this) is to run Bolt Tower 4 with Fallen Takumi. That's 35 unmitigatable damage stacked up (though they can have a maxed Healing Tower in the mix, not every setup has it) plus Panic that doesn't depend on HP thresholds. L!Alm's biggest threat comes from the ability to almost always double and have that second hit do a crap load of damage (thanks to the prf plus proc, unless you're running a Guard effect). One non-proc hit from him is way more survivable, so putting him near death, then putting a DC tank in range to kill him on the first hit can make everything fall into place. Vantage tanks work even better here if they defense decided not to bring any uncounterable or Hardy Bearing effects.

[Anacybele]

3 hours ago, Landmaster said:

You can't Enemy Phase Alm unless you have like a godlike +10 Omega Tank~ He has to be Player Phased or he's killing your whole team~ Especially if there's WOM Dancers on the team~

Yes, I get that, but when I have a situation like I described, where Alm is being stuffed in the back of the map behind obstacles and other enemies, what am I supposed to do?

[Maaka]

36 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Yes, I get that, but when I have a situation like I described, where Alm is being stuffed in the back of the map behind obstacles and other enemies, what am I supposed to do?

Perhaps look into using some galeforce units. 3 of my 5 teams for each season are filled with either one or two galeforce units along with a dancer or two if the bonus units work out. I hardly ever use anything else. As long as you take the time to plan out your strategy and calculate the damage, it can easily end in a flawless victory. My 4 main galeforce units are Cordelia, Peri, Soleil, and Hana. Cordelia has incredibly high attack and speed and rarely has trouble doubling people and activating heavy blade. Using a slaying lance is generally better than her brave lance. Peri has Just as good attack, but with slightly less speed. However, her weapon refine gives her +4 to all stats when is isn't at 100% hp, which is amazing on Astra seasons with the Dumas running around, immediately activating her weapon. Soleil and Hana are used as armor killer galeforce units. Soleil has some massive attack, even with an armorsmasher+, and Hana's preferred weapon is armor effective, with a swift sparrow refine for some extra attack and speed. Both of them use flashing blade, one for light and one for astra. There are quite a few other good options as well.

Along with the galeforce units, you might want to put a few wings of mercy units on your team as well. These can either be Naga/Eir, other supporting units, or even a second galeforce unit. My secondary galeforce units are Brave Celica and Velouria. Celica has the royal sword, which increases the charge of your special when there is an ally within 2 spaces, so there is no need for flashing or heavy blade on her. I generally put quickened pulse on her so she doesn't need to get hit and only has to double to activate her galeforce. Velouria's weapon is basically a special spiral on turn 1 only for her and her ally support, so she is already at 3 charge for galeforce, 2 with quickened pulse, and can activate galeforce rather easily after teleporting in with wings of mercy.

Here's an example from one of my matches this morning: 

Spoiler

 

 

Again, it does take a lot of thinking and calculating, which you can see in the video. I had it planned out before I even started, but forgot to destroy the flying school and give Naga the odd attack wave buff from Laevatein. Even so, it still worked out.

Smite is also one of the most useful assists for galeforcing. Smite one of your units onto a lightning trap, and they're likely going to be in wings of mercy range if it's real. Otherwise, you can smite them in close enough to initiate combat. Once you get used to it, even the most threatening maps can become a joke.

Edited July 20, 2019 by Maaka

[Anacybele]

6 minutes ago, Maaka said:

Perhaps look into using some galeforce units. 3 of my 5 teams for each season are filled with either one or two galeforce units along with a dancer or two if the bonus units work out. I hardly ever use anything else. As long as you take the time to plan out your strategy and calculate the damage, it can easily end in a flawless victory. My 4 main galeforce units are Cordelia, Peri, Soleil, and Hana. Cordelia has incredibly high attack and speed and rarely has trouble doubling people and activating heavy blade. Using a slaying lance is generally better than her brave lance. Peri has Just as good attack, but with slightly less speed. However, her weapon refine gives her +4 to all stats when is isn't at 100% hp, which is amazing on Astra seasons with the Dumas running around, immediately activating her weapon. Soleil and Hana are used as armor killer galeforce units. Soleil has some massive attack, even with an armorsmasher+, and Hana's preferred weapon is armor effective, with a swift sparrow refine for some extra attack and speed. Both of them use flashing blade, one for light and one for astra. There are quite a few other good options as well.

Along with the galeforce units, you might want to put a few wings of mercy units on your team as well. These can either be Naga/Eir, other supporting units, or even a second galeforce unit. My secondary galeforce units are Brave Celica and Velouria. Celica has the royal sword, which increases the charge of your special when there is an ally within 2 spaces, so there is no need for flashing or heavy blade on her. I generally put quickened pulse on her so she doesn't need to get hit and only has to double to activate her galeforce. Velouria's weapon is basically a special spiral on turn 1 only for her and her ally support, so she is already at 3 charge for galeforce, 2 with quickened pulse, and can activate galeforce rather easily after teleporting in with wings of mercy.

Here's an example from one of my matches this morning: 

  Hide contents

 

 

Again, it does take a lot of thinking and calculating, which you can see in the video. I had it planned out before I even started, but forgot to destroy the flying school and give Naga the odd attack wave buff from Laevatein. Even so, it still worked out. Once you get used to it, even the most threatening maps can become a joke.

I see. My only Galeforce units are Cordelia, Brave Roy, and Cherche though. And I don't have the resources to inherit it onto anyone else right now. Specifically feathers, since I do have Cordelia combat manuals. In the future, I could upgrade a Peri or Hana or Soleil, but I don't have Brave Celica or Velouria. So for the time being, is there any way I could use the Galeforce units I DO have?

[Maaka]

3 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

I see. My only Galeforce units are Cordelia, Brave Roy, and Cherche though. And I don't have the resources to inherit it onto anyone else right now. Specifically feathers, since I do have Cordelia combat manuals. In the future, I could upgrade a Peri or Hana or Soleil, but I don't have Brave Celica or Velouria. So for the time being, is there any way I could use the Galeforce units I DO have?

Absolutely. Cordelia is probably one of my favorites to use, just because she has such high attack and speed. Here is my build for her: 

Spoiler

Obviously, yours won't be +10, but her attack and speed will definitely still be high enough, especially with buffs.

Brave Roy Is amazing as well since he has heavy blade built into the Blazing Durandal. As long as he isn't -atk or -spd, he should perform rather well, although he will probably be pretty useful either way. Fury is quite nice for galeforcers since they want to get into wings of mercy range/desperation range pretty fast, so I would go with fury for Roy as well. It's up to you whether to make him into a wings of mercy galeforcer or not though. He would do really well as a wings of mercy galeforcer because he can use a seal like atk/spd bond. Although, the 3 movement is nice as a main galeforcer, so perhaps you can make Cordelia for one season and Roy for the other.

[Anacybele]

13 minutes ago, Maaka said:

Absolutely. Cordelia is probably one of my favorites to use, just because she has such high attack and speed. Here is my build for her: 

  Hide contents

Obviously, yours won't be +10, but her attack and speed will definitely still be high enough, especially with buffs.

Brave Roy Is amazing as well since he has heavy blade built into the Blazing Durandal. As long as he isn't -atk or -spd, he should perform rather well, although he will probably be pretty useful either way. Fury is quite nice for galeforcers since they want to get into wings of mercy range/desperation range pretty fast, so I would go with fury for Roy as well. It's up to you whether to make him into a wings of mercy galeforcer or not though. He would do really well as a wings of mercy galeforcer because he can use a seal like atk/spd bond. Although, the 3 movement is nice as a main galeforcer, so perhaps you can make Cordelia for one season and Roy for the other.

Okay, cool to know.

Though I just noticed I gave both Cordy and Roy a Light blessing. Cherche has Astra. I guess I should switch one of those first two... Oh, and Cordy is -Spd because she originally had her brave lance. I guess I need to fix that at some point too. >_<

[Landmaster]

3 hours ago, Anacybele said:

Yes, I get that, but when I have a situation like I described, where Alm is being stuffed in the back of the map behind obstacles and other enemies, what am I supposed to do?

As Maaka said, a Galeforce team is how I handle those kind of situations. My Galeforcers are L!Eirika, Yarne, Velouria, and Raven with my two Nagas having WOM and L!Azura. Doing this can clear a map in a single turn and you don't have to worry about trying to Enemy Phase Alm, or you may be able to trap him where he can't attack anyone~

[Anacybele]

1 minute ago, Landmaster said:

As Maaka said, a Galeforce team is how I handle those kind of situations. My Galeforcers are L!Eirika, Yarne, Velouria, and Raven with my two Nagas having WOM and L!Azura. Doing this can clear a map in a single turn and you don't have to worry about trying to Enemy Phase Alm, or you may be able to trap him where he can't attack anyone~

Yeah, I get the idea now. I'll have to try it when I can.

[Tree]

On 7/17/2019 at 9:25 PM, Baldrick said:

I don’t see anyone suggesting you need to save for months to reach T21. 

I kind of did. 😀 (Mythics are the easy way to Tier 21.)

[Integrity]

i made 21 with cc rein and the free eir 😤

[MonkeyCheez3K]

1 hour ago, Integrity said:

i made 21 with cc rein and the free eir 😤

Gratz and welcome, now you can go full try-hard, or just switch off your brain like I do and just coast that tier, depending on your enjoyment of the mode (I hate it immensely, hence the latter approach for me).

Regardless, the hard part is done.

[Integrity]

i think ar is an amazing mode that is deeply flawed at the top end, so i will endeavor to maintain my status and casually climb to t22-23 each week without cursing it for being garbage bullshit in the thread because i'm not willing to try to be in the top 1%

[Tree]

1 hour ago, Integrity said:

i made 21 with cc rein and the free eir 😤

You chose the higher difficulty setting. 😀 That's actually pretty impressive.

[Anacybele]

Hey, I actually won today and got back into tier 20! 90 lift obtained. 🙂

I'll probably need to win again tomorrow to in order to stay there though.

[Usana]

@Anacybele Yeah I just used Jamke because he is free and easy for me to use as an example. True he is outclassed, but that was sorta the point. The freebie archer can wreck a dedicated counter's day with Null Followup. That skill is bonkers. So I figured Jamke would prove that point very well, particularly since he isn't even all that fast. I still think that skill needed to be divided. Letting it negate follow up effects and anti followup effects at the same time was a bit much, even if divided it would probably be too weak without something else coming into play.

Anyways, congrats and good luck with tier 20. Hopefully you make it!


@Maaka I really do need to get a galeforce team up. Sadly my Brave Roy is -ATK and I have never pulled another, so he is a bit iffy. I do have L!Ephraim and L!Eirika built up though. I actually used the two of them on a defense team for a while(which is why L!Eirika is galeforce built). People seemed to have some issues with both of them Galeforcing. Problem was that it wasn't hard to bait them out with a super tank. They just don't have enough attack(that is so sad since Ephraim is probably my highest attack unit) and the AI can't use them right. Still they were pretty good and managing to pick 1 unit off for a while there. Once I got higher up tier wise though folks stopped falling for it so I just switched to my current armor set up. My armors often brute force at least a single kill. And that is my goal.

[Anacybele]

1 minute ago, Usana said:

Yeah I just used Jamke because he is free and easy for me to use as an example. True he is outclassed, but that was sorta the point. The freebie archer can wreck a dedicated counter's day with Null Followup. That skill is bonkers. So I figured Jamke would prove that point very well, particularly since he isn't even all that fast. I still think that skill needed to be divided. Letting it negate follow up effects and anti followup effects at the same time was a bit much, even if divided it would probably be too weak without something else coming into play.

Anyways, congrats and good luck with tier 20. Hopefully you make it!

Oh, I see now. Makes sense.

Thanks!