Ice Dragon

As far as the gameplay purpose of Resplendent Heroes is concerned (ignoring all other reasons why the mechanic exists), every unit through CYL 3 is fair game to receive a Resplendent outfit. The gameplay purpose of Resplendent Heroes is to compensate for the fact that older units don't have access to enough Dragonflowers to fully catch up to the stat totals of modern units. Units released prior to CYL 3 have stat totals about 5-10 points lower than the stat totals of modern units when all units have maximum Dragonflowers, and the extra 10 points of stats from the Resplendent stat boost covers that difference (even if it doesn't fix issues with suboptimal stat distributions). As it is, I think we'll occasionally see some Ophelia-like jumps into pre-CYL-3 Book 3 units, but I doubt we'll get a sizable number of them while we still have so many passably viable launch units that haven't received one.

And since I was already making lists, here's the current distribution of units (counting units up to Surtr's banner and Gharnef). By origin mark: Heroes: 0/1 (0%) → 1/7 (14%) Akaneia: 8/25 (32%) → 11/31 (35%) Echoes: 7/16 (44%) → 7/20 (35%) Genealogy: 7/14 (50%) → 8/19 (42%) Thracia: 3/6 (50%) → 3/8 (38%) Binding: 5/13 (38%) → 8/15 (53%) Blazing: 10/21 (48%) → 14/25 (56%) Sacred Stones: 5/11 (45%) → 7/15 (47%) Radiance: 4/9 (44%) → 5/10 (50%) Dawn: 3/4 (75%) → 3/5 (60%) Awakening: 8/27 (30%) → 12/33 (36%) Fates: 10/41 (24%) → 15/50 (30%) Fodlan: 0/0 (100%) Engage: 0/0 (100%) By outfit: Askr: 10 → 11 Embla: 11 → 13 Nifl: 8 → 11 Muspell: 10 → 15 Hel: 9 → 12 Ljosalfheimr: 7 → 10 Dokkalfheimr: 5 → 10 Nidavellir: 4 → 5 Jotunheimr: 6 → 7 By both: And here's a list of the most recent unit for each outfit theme ordered from least to most recent: Askr: Innes (2023-02-25) Hel: Female Robin (2023-06-25) Ljosalfheimr: Nina (2023-07-10) Jotunheimr: Nephenee (2023-08-10) Embla: Sheena (2023-10-25) Nifl: Fir (2023-11-10) Nidavellir: Azama (2023-11-25) Dokkalfheimr: Awakening Tiki (2023-12-10) Muspell: Brave Ephraim (2023-12-25)

We need more Nidavellir units. I really like the aesthetic, and there aren't enough of them. We're still missing Sigurd, Nanna, Ninian, Myrrh, and Female Corrin among main characters and characters with Legendary alts, and there are also notable missing characters like Tharja, Awakening Tiki, and Camilla. Ninian would be nice to have because she's Ninian. Also because she'd have so much HP. Vanaheim would probably fit her perfectly, though it would also be cool if they wanted to go for contrast with Dokkalfheim, Nidavellir, or Jotunheim. I also want Nephenee and Brave Lyn in Nidavellir outfits. For reference, here's a list of every unit that's guaranteed eligible (standard summoning pool through Surtr's banner and Grail units through Gharnef), ordered by origin mark, then banner, then alphabetically (because that was the easiest way to sort the list on the wiki): And non-seasonal units from the same window that aren't in the above list. Now that Grail units are confirmed to be eligible, these are basically just the Askr trio and Legendary Heroes: And the banners after 6% Surtr Focus Rate (to right before CYL 3):

And the usual translation notes: Shez's epithet, "Sharpest Blades", is "修羅の如き双刃" (shura no gotoki moroha), "Asura-like Dual Blades". Asura Blades is "アスラの双刃" (asura no moroha), "Asura's Dual Blades". Swift Slice is "連閃" (rensen), "Chain Flash". The word "連" (ren) means "linked together" and is often used to mean "repeated in quick succession". Seal Spd is "速さ封じ" (hayasa fūji), "Spd Sealing". As usual, contrast with Chill Spd, which is "速さの封印" (hayasa no fūin), "Spd Seal". "封じ" (fūji) is the stem of the verb "封じる" (fūjiru), "to seal", which is used here as a gerund, whereas "封印" (fūin) is a noun meaning "seal". Unrelated, but Shez's name in the internal files is apparently spelled "Sheds".

Seal Spd 4 is finally released, and there is a decent number of units that really want it. Swift Slice is stupid. However, due to the fact that it grants effective damage based on weapon type instead of movement type, the dragons that have immunity to effective damage against dragons don't have to deal with that bullshit. Hopefully, Winter Sothis has a good refine because it would probably make her the premier Shez counter. Otherwise, it looks like they're really trying to push infantry tanks over Save tanks without actually addressing the reason why people use Save tanks instead of infantry tanks (hint: ranged offensive units are too strong, and Shez isn't helping). Due to my budget (and the fact that I'm actually putting in an effort to stay under budget), I'll probably be waiting until the New Year characters are announced before I pull past the spark. Blue is okay for me. Shez is new, and Chrom is S/D Near Trace fodder, but Myrrh is a dud since I already have a ton of spare copies of her from before, and her one useful skill is Dragon Wall, which is also on Seiros, who I also have a ton of spare copies of. If I remember correctly, I have enough copies of Dragon Wall from Seiros alone to give it to one third of this game's dragons. Green is actually better in terms of the number of useful units, but isn't as useful in terms of quality since Shez is kind of worth a lot. I do need merges on Seidr since I held back from pulling on her release banner, but she's not very high on my priorities. Ninian is another source of Atk/Spd Catch 4. Tiki is a source of Atk/Res Finish 4, though it's only just Legendary Fae that really wants that right now. Red and colorless only really have the CYL units that I'm interested in, though Claude is good fodder with both Atk/Spd Catch 4 and Spd/Def Rein.

The difference is that the Harmonized Hero is the centerpiece (or co-centerpiece) of a banner and actually needs to pull weight selling the banner, whereas Mahnya was obviously not the centerpiece of her release banner and was not pulling any weight. If anything, a green-haired Harmonized pegasus pair would likely go to Ferry and Palla if Palla isn't the one in front.

Do you see yourself actually using the unit (and with some of the new skills) if you did?

If Nina is at all being considered for use as skill fodder, I recommend passing Lethality and Chill Def/Res 3 instead of Atk/Spd Catch 4. There are more units in the standard summoning pool with Atk/Spd Catch 4 (5) than there are units in the entire game with Lethality or Chill Def/Res 2 combined (4 if you don't count Nina twice).

Well, it looks like karma from the Winter banner caught up with me. But first, my free Arena ticket this week got me Luke. Record-keeping: 108 pulls on the Double Special Heroes banner got me a paltry: 2 Lyn (+1 spark) 2 Cath 3.7% focus rate is garbage and is a full 3 pulls below average. No longer under budget. Depending on what FGO does later this month, I might have to reduce my pulls on the upcoming Legendary Heroes banner to stay under budget. And then there's the upcoming AHR banner. Ugh.

About half of my disposable income.

I've never seen any of those units in Aether Raids. Other than a few slow units that run Atk/Def Catch, there isn't really anything that actually stacks Def on player phase, and the most commonly seen unit that does this is Legendary Sigurd, who Dimitri doesn't care about anyways. Muspell running his default AR-D Def/Res is an actual threat to Dimitri despite being at weapon triangle disadvantage, but he's extremely rare. Maybe when I get another copy of Velocity. Festival Lyn absolutely needs to be able to counter Guard in order to be reliable enough with Godlike Reflexes since there are so many units that get the effect now. It's also going to be difficult to fit in two stacks of Infantry Pulse to make up for losing Shield Pulse if I want Legendary Eliwood to be a support unit when it's his season. I hope we get a Sacred Seal so that I can put both stacks on the same unit. Also, Distant Dart is a pain to get right now since it's only available from two seasonals, neither of which I have at +10 yet. But in the meantime, I have enough copies of Brave Dimitri to get him to +10, and he seems like he'd be suitable for the role, so I'll be using him first. Triandra is the most likely unit left over, and I don't reliably have Spd or Res boosts from Mythic blessing bonuses since Spd and Res only come from units that are in my rotating slot. I also just don't have a +Res copy at all.

Not having any form of movement Assist other than Dance is terrifying.

I'm pretty sure that kind of idle animation is new to Annette. I noticed it while checking the Tempest Trials bonus units right after the daily reset since units use their idle animations on that screen, and it was one of the things that convinced me to also pull for her in addition to Cordelia.

Forma units are my first priority for obvious reasons. I haven't used them on anything else yet, but I'm extremely likely to end up using them on Special Heroes that I already have at +10, don't have the correct Asset for (e.g. the unit got a refine and now wants a different stat or I just never got the right Asset to begin with), and don't plan on ever pulling for ever again. Right now, Summer Mystery Tiki and Summer Lyn are likely to get this treatment since they are both +Atk and want to switch to +Spd.

This week's Resonant Battle's fastest unit is Malice with 62 Spd including skills, and that's on a unit with no Spd boost from her weapon. Harmonized Catria hits 71 Spd at max merges and Dragonflowers with her base kit and a Sacred Seal that grants +6 Spd, which only puts her 5 Spd away from missing a follow-up against the above Malice, which is an uncomfortably small margin given that Malice is nowhere near the fastest unit the mode throws at you. While Catria can get a guaranteed follow-up and +4 Spd from her Harmonized skill, she can only do so once per map (and I have Vietnam flashbacks of Asvel, who has both Bonus nullification and Null Follow-Up). If we replace Malice's kit with a functional weapon (i.e. +6 Spd) and Null Follow-Up, even with Catria's Harmonized skill active, she's only 3 Spd away from losing her follow-up. I'm drawing a blank on examples. The only unit I remember off the top of my head that plays with Def comparisons is Dancer Eldigan, which is intended to block Mila's Turnwheel, but Eldigan is not an offensive threat. Mila herself is a permanent fixture of my Light Aether Raids team, so Dimitri will also always at least get +5 Def from her blessing bonus. Given that Dimitri would be intended to be used against Embla, that won't work. I think Fallen Ninian is the only unit that can provide that support against Embla. Even then, I'm not entirely convinced it's worth running Vital Astra over Ruptured Sky due to the increasing prevalence of Guard and Tempo (noting that Embla herself has Guard on her weapon). Godlike Reflexes is still out of the question due to the lack of the Slaying effect. Speaking of Fallen Ninian, that reminds me that I still haven't decided on an Asset for her, either, and she'd probably be a decent support unit for Brave Dimitri. An HP Asset would help with HP-based support effects, but I'm not sure she'll even be running any since I'm considering replacing her default Pulse Tie with either a Cantrip (probably Def Cantrip) or tier-4 Chill (probably Chill Def/Res). While she has no ability to deal damage whatsoever, a Spd Asset would help her function as a tank for the purpose of stalling the last opposing unit while the rest of the team cleans up Aether structures, in which case I would probably run a Bulwark in the B slot (though I'd probably have to wait for Atk/Spd Bulwark to be released).

And I value having a unit that I know Trait Fruits won't be wasted on by pulling copies with a better Asset. So far every Hall of Forms has had at least 3 units from the banner backlog. Is it too much to ask for just 1 unit from the Grail pool each time?

So now that Harmonized Cordelia is a thing, I'm revisiting my indecisiveness for the Assets for Harmonized Catria and Harmonized Cordelia. Both have Brave effects that are conditional based on position, and the positioning requirements are pretty hard to consistently fulfill in Resonant Battles. In other game modes, Cordelia's is probably pretty easy to work with since it only has a Bond condition and she also has Formation on her weapon, but Catria's is a lot less reliable. As such, I'm leaning towards Spd for both of them, but I'd like to get other opinions. (This will probably be a moot point once I get off my lazy ass and start using florets since fast Brave units are first on my priority list, but it'll still be relevant in the meantime while I continue to be lazy.) I'm similarly still indecisive on Brave Dimitri's Asset. While Blue Lion Rule functions based on a Def comparison, I'm not sure he really benefits that much from a Def Asset compared to Atk (or Spd). His refined weapon already boosts his Def relative to his opponent's by 10 points, which makes it less likely for him to fail getting the full 10-point difference for maximum effect. The additional 4 Def from an Asset would really only add 0.8 damage and reduce incoming damage by 0.8 points after percentage damage reduction, which isn't particularly significant, though the 4 Def itself is still somewhat useful, but only against physical opponents. An Atk Asset is just +4 damage. It might be better than the Def Asset, but I'm not sure. A Spd Asset is iffy. His Spd isn't amazing, but it's workable. However, he's unable to viably run Godlike Reflexes because his weapon lacks the Slaying effect, and the Special charge rate boost is on the wrong attacks (enemy instead of his own). Vital Astra is okay, though he probably gets more out of Ruptured Sky because, due to his Special charge rate boost being on his opponent's attacks, he'll almost never have a fully charged Vital Astra at the start of combat.

Continuing my pulls from the Winter banner from last night. 34 pulls on both blue and colorless to finish getting merges for Annette (prioritizing green, then red if no blue or colorless): 1 Cordelia 1 5-star Annette 3 4-star Annette 2 pity breakers Echoes Est Yuri Combined with the previous set, this comes out to a 3.9% focus rate, which is about 1 pull above average, and a 7.1% 5-star rate, which is also about 1 pull above average. Not bad. 131 pulls on just blue (prioritizing green, then colorless, then red if no blue): 7 Cordelia 2 Black Knight 1 4-star Annette 5 pity breakers Ascended Ishtar Ymir Zeke Nifl Female Kris 6.9% focus rate is comically high, above average by about 5 pulls. 10.7% total 5-star rate is above average by an additional half of a pity breaker pull or so. Total 286 pulls across the entire banner: 10 Cordelia (+1 spark) 2 Black Knight (+1 spark) 0 Dorothea (+1 spark) 3 5-star Annette 9 4-star Annette 10 pity breakers 5.2% focus rate is 6 pulls above average, functionally 1 copy of Cordelia plus all of the non-Cordelia focus pulls. 8.7% 5-star rate is an additional 1 pity breaker above average. Overall a very good run with good Assets on both Cordelia and Annette. Both of my Black Knight pulls were +HP, which is unfortunate, but I'm not too concerned about him. I am very under budget on this banner, and that makes me happy.

Three adjacent units is pretty much impossible on player phase outside of fixed opponent spawns and is still incredibly difficult to pull off on enemy phase outside of Save configurations (which Bruno is not good at due to his poor bulk), so there wasn't any point including it. "Doesn't exist" and "functionally impossible" are indistinguishable in practice, after all.

The Sacred Seals this time are pretty underwhelming. Guard is way too outdated to even really matter as a Sacred Seal at this point, especially with how restrictive its HP condition is. The skill is weak enough that it honestly should have taken the lower Sacred Seal slot instead of the higher slot. Well, at least we're getting a bunch of Tempest Trials in a row, so maybe we'll get something less of a let-down in the next couple events. Bruno would have been interesting, but as I've already mentioned in the banner thread, his stat spread makes zero sense. His base 38 Spd (with no superboon) isn't quite high enough to function properly as a player-phase unit without rendering it mostly useless by just running Bold Fighter, and it actively detracts from his bulk, leaving him with only 43/29/34, making him ill-suited for use on enemy phase (especially since he's weak to Duo Chrom). It also doesn't help that there isn't an inheritable green tome that grants more Spd than Gronnfox (since there wasn't one on the Fluffy Hat banner), so we're probably going to have to wait for an Arcane green tome to get something more worth using on him.

It seems like they've given up on including Grail units in Hall of Forms. This is the sixth one in a row that has no Grail unit, with the most recent being Kempf back in June.

Initial pulls on the Winter banner just to clear out all of the sparks. I would like to get some sleep, so I'll pull more later in the day. I'll be pulling blue and colorless until I get a +10 Annette with priority to green if there is no blue or colorless. Once I finish Annette, I'll be pulling blue until I get a +10 Cordelia with priority to green then colorless if there is no blue. Annette ends up having higher priority than Dorothea because she has Crafty Fighter as a 4-star pull, which is super useful. 121 pulls: 2 Cordelia (+1 spark) 0 Black Knight (+1 spark) 0 Dorothea (+1 spark) 2 5-star Annette 5 4-star Annette 3 pity breakers Monica Ascended Laegjarn Ascended Joshua 3.3% focus rate is basically exactly average. 5.8% 5-star rate is below average by 1 pull. As usual, I seem to be a magnet for Ascended units, but only the older ones.

The banner and Tempest Trials are now out, so have some stats: Superboons and superbanes: Cordelia: +Atk, +Res, -HP, -Spd Dorothea: +Spd, -everything else Annette: +Atk, +Spd, -Res Black Knight: +Spd, -Atk Bruno: +Atk, -Def I have no idea what Bruno is trying to do with that stat spread.

You only need a 53% win rate to max out your offense score, so as long as you can get that much, it's more efficient to optimize for score per win than to optimize for win rate. I imagine players even now are still more likely to merge their Elimines than run two of them.

One of the other possible reasons for the lack of guides is that the meta is constantly changing due to the introduction of new units, which makes it difficult to make a general guide that doesn't need to be constantly updated. Instead, you're more likely to find guides for building specific map archetypes like Harmonized Catria maps or Save ball maps. As for Embla, I honestly recommend running double Embla on both seasons. Embla is that good. Most importantly, it's always worth remembering that you don't need a set of teams that beats everything. Assuming you have your ladder upgraded to max level, you can have up to 15 matches each week and only need to win 8. As far as offense team archetypes: A standard Save team runs 1 Near Save unit and 1 Far Save unit and ideally has Flayn and/or Elimine to grant additional damage reduction and Def/Res. The goal of this team is to simply sit in place and let the opponent kill themselves on you. You typically want at least one unit that has good movement so that you can snipe the opponent's Aether structures before their last unit dies, but if you have good enough bulky units, you can try to leave a weak enemy unit alive and have a bulky unit move outside of Save range to draw attacks until your other units can break the structures. An infantry tank team runs 1 infantry tank with Distant Counter and has as many units behind them as possible for support. Ideally, you run Bulwark on the infantry tank to prevent the units behind them from being targeted, but that's not always necessary. The best tanks for this archetype are Brave Tiki, Ascended Tiki, and Halloween Female Corrin. A Vantage team is a variation on the infantry tank archetype that uses Vantage-like effects instead of bulk in order to tank. This team archetype largely fell out of favor due to rising unit bulk making it difficult to one-hit kill opponents reliably, but is making a comeback with some newly released units like Ninja Camilla. Galeforce teams are intended to kill all of the opponent's units, preferably minus one unit that can be rendered non-threatening, in a single turn. This team composition uses several units with Galeforce (or a similar effect) and Wings of Mercy to allow units to teleport into the enemy formation. You want to use units that can activate Galeforce in a single round of combat (usually a weapon with the Slaying effect and some source of +1 Special charge rate) so that they do not need to be danced to actually activate Galeforce. Units like Duo Chrom and Brave Chrom, who get a Galeforce-like effect from using their Assist skill, are also decent support units. Legendary Ninian, who gets a Galeforce-like effect from using her dance skill, is amazing since she can dance and attack in a single turn. Thorr's Worldbreaker can also be used to provide +1 Special charge rate to other units. If you need pointers, I believe it shouldn't be too hard to find guides for specific offense team archetypes on YouTube, much like for defense teams. Also make sure to check your defense replays to see what other players are using against you, especially if they win. You can also get ideas for defense maps based on maps that you see in your own matches.