Fire Emblem Heroes General Discussion and Links

[Ice Dragon]

The next Hall of Forms has been officially announced with Summer Fjorm, Legendary Gunnthra, Legendary Hrid, and Summer Ylgr.

We're finally getting a new Grail unit in Hall of Forms for me to use a Forma Soul on. Yay. This also means I get another chance to spark Summer Fjorm.

 

This set of units is particularly weird. Summer Fjorm is recent enough that her base kit is already optimal with only side-grades available due to her exclusive skills being very good, but very picky with what synergizes with them. Gunnthra's stat spread is pretty awful, and she's in a class that has a pretty limited pool of skills to choose from. Hrid is an Atk/Def cavalry unit where all of the good skill series are still stuck without tier-4 versions. Summer Ylgr has a stat spread that is just barely usable, but she can lean heavily into her class giving her access to Arcane Thrima and Axe of Devotion along with all of the human melee infantry B skills.

For reference, this month added skills through Emblem Ike to the Hall of Forms skill pool. The list of notable skills is somewhere above.

 

Summer Fjorm:

Spoiler

Fjorm is really weird for Hall of Forms because she already has all of the skills she wants.

The only skills I'd even consider giving her would probably just be these:

Summer Fjorm [+Spd]
[Weapon]
[Assist]
Godlike Reflexes
Distant Bonus Doubler
Laguz Friend 4
Atk/Spd Pledge / Def/Res Pledge

You're probably not going to swap out Frostbite Mirror for Godlike Reflexes, but the other skills are all actually viable side-grades for her base kit.

Gunnthra:

Spoiler

I have no idea what to do about Gunnthra's stat spread. She's a unit old enough that she's behind modern units of her class by 8 stat points when all units are compared with maximum Dragonflowers, which is to say that she deserves a Resplendent outfit to make up for it. But even then, the Resplendent stat boost wouldn't fix her stat spread.

Gunnthra [+Spd / +Atk]
Teacake Tower+ [Spd]
[Assist]
Ruptured Sky
Flared Sparrow / Remote Sparrow
S/R Far Trace 4 / Occultist's Strike / Seal Spd/Res 3
Incite Atk/Spd

She clearly needs Blizzard's refine effects to make up for her relatively flat stat distribution, but her Res is too low to run Sabotage/Ploy, which means she either needs to keep her default Chilling Seal or rely on an ally for debuffs.

Hrid:

Spoiler

Hrid at least has a stat spread that has some sense of direction. While he wants opponents to be debuffed to activate Gjoll's effects, there are much easier ways to do that now than running his Freezing Seal, so there's much less compelling you to keep it. On the other hand, there really aren't many good tier-4 skills to replace it with yet.

Hrid [+Atk / +Def]
Farmer's Tool+ [Def]
[Assist]
No Quarter / Ruptured Sky
Atk/Def Prime 4 / Atk/Def Clash 4 / Distant D/R Solo
Atk/Def Snag 4 / Assassin's Strike
Alarm Atk/Def / Incite Atk/Res

Unfortunately, we're still missing the Atk/Def versions of Flared, Near Trace 4, Ruse 4, and Incite, which is rather troublesome.

It's also worth noting that because Gjoll doesn't have the Slaying effect, he can't reliably activate No Quarter. However, No Quarter is significantly harder to get than Ruptured Sky, so I'd still recommend getting it even if you're planning to run Ruptured Sky on him.

It feels really weird actually recommending Atk/Def Snag 4 and a future Atk/Def Ruse 4.

Summer Ylgr:

Spoiler

Ylgr's stat spread is not great, but it's still better than Gunnthra's, at least at base. Both Arcane Downfall and Arcane Thrima are also really good weapon options for her, and there is also a bunch of good seasonal axes for her to choose from in the skill pool.

Summer Ylgr [+Spd / +Atk / +Def]
Axe of Devotion+ [Spd / Def] / Wind Tribe Club+ [Spd / Def]
[Assist]
No Quarter / Ruptured Sky / Godlike Reflexes
Finish 4 / Prime 4 / Boost 4 / Distant Bonus Doubler
Potent 4 / Laguz Friend 4 / Spurn 4 / Phys. Null Follow / Tempo 4 / Atk/Spd Bulwark 4 / Buffer 4
Pledge / Oath 4 / Incite

I've dropped stat indicators for her passive stats for clarity, but she can viably run either Atk/Spd (Spd/Def for debuffs) or Atk/Def versions where they exist.

Axe of Devotion is probably her best non-Arcane weapon option, but Wind Tribe Club makes it significantly easier for her to activate Prime if you're going with that build. Between the two Arcane options, Thrima is certainly the better weapon, as it comes with Tempo, Null Follow-Up, and Sabotage, but Downfall does let you move Pledge and passive healing to the weapon slot in case you want to run different skills in the A or C slots or want to stack passive healing for whatever reason.

If built for Spd with maximum (or close to maximum) Dragonflowers, Ylgr has a Spd stat that makes her very well suited for running Potent 4. She's fast enough to still activate the skill against almost everything, but not fast enough to get natural follow-ups with the standard threshold against actually fast units.

I don't think she's fast enough to run Godlike Reflexes in more competitive game modes, but it's an option for PvE. You'll want to run a Dodge 4 skill with it, though, for the Phantom Spd effect just to help out with the comparison against some of the newer units that show up in PvE.

Phys. Null Follow and Tempo 4 are listed in case you aren't getting their effects from other slots (namely from Arcane Thrima) and still want them.

As usual, feel free to let me know if I forgot a skill.

[Othin]

2 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Summer Fjorm:

  Hide contents

Fjorm is really weird for Hall of Forms because she already has all of the skills she wants.

The only skills I'd even consider giving her would probably just be these:

Summer Fjorm [+Spd]
[Weapon]
[Assist]
Godlike Reflexes
Distant Bonus Doubler
Laguz Friend 4
Atk/Spd Pledge / Def/Res Pledge

You're probably not going to swap out Frostbite Mirror for Godlike Reflexes, but the other skills are all actually viable side-grades for her base kit.

 

Hmm. I'm planning on going for her just to have her in my barracks, but I'm a bit confused by some of the choices. I get Godlike Reflexes and Laguz Friend, but if you're not using Godlike Reflexes, how likely are you to want Bonus Doubler and Pledge? Both of them seem a bit redundant with Frostbite Mirror.

[Ice Dragon]

2 hours ago, Othin said:

Hmm. I'm planning on going for her just to have her in my barracks, but I'm a bit confused by some of the choices. I get Godlike Reflexes and Laguz Friend, but if you're not using Godlike Reflexes, how likely are you to want Bonus Doubler and Pledge? Both of them seem a bit redundant with Frostbite Mirror.

Pledge is an alternative to Time's Pulse 4 because Fjorm has Null C-Disrupt on her weapon if the opponent is ranged and can therefore almost always counterattack to recharge Frostbite Mirror. The only things that stop her from recharging Frostbite Mirror on enemy phase would be Guard, Sweep from a melee unit, and being doubled. Pledge lets you get around Guard as long as the opponent doesn't also have Tempo.

Distant Bonus Doubler is basically only there for the cases where you want to switch to Godlike Reflexes instead of Frostbite Mirror, as it's currently the most efficient source of Distant Counter. I suppose you could also run Atk/Spd Prime 4 there to get more Atk/Spd in exchange for less Def/Res.

Edited May 23 by Ice Dragon

[Othin]

10 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Pledge is an alternative to Time's Pulse 4 because Fjorm has Null C-Disrupt on her weapon if the opponent is ranged and can therefore almost always counterattack to recharge Frostbite Mirror. The only things that stop her from recharging Frostbite Mirror on enemy phase would be Guard, Sweep from a melee unit, and being doubled. Pledge lets you get around Guard as long as the opponent doesn't also have Tempo.

Distant Bonus Doubler is basically only there for the cases where you want to switch to Godlike Reflexes instead of Frostbite Mirror, as it's currently the most efficient source of Distant Counter. I suppose you could also run Atk/Spd Prime 4 there to get more Atk/Spd in exchange for less Def/Res.

Hmm. Could there be benefit in Spd Smoke 4 in the C slot, for extra damage reduction when active?

[Ice Dragon]

3 hours ago, Othin said:

Hmm. Could there be benefit in Spd Smoke 4 in the C slot, for extra damage reduction when active?

You can, but it's not as efficient of a skill to get from Hall of Forms since it's available from 3 units in the standard summoning pool.

[Diovani Bressan]

With the Hall of Forms's summoning event, we now know when Gunnthra and Hrid are returning.

Hrid will be back in August. That means Seliph is pretty much confirmed for August's HoF, unless he gets Fjormed (get rescheduled close to the event's date).

Gunnthra will be back in September, with Thrasir so far. Eitri should be moved to remixes and be on the banners as well, maybe even get her remix in September.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I don't normally say this about game modes, but...yeah, I think it's time to retire Tap Battle.

[Tybrosion]

13 minutes ago, Fire Emblem Fan said:

I don't normally say this about game modes, but...yeah, I think it's time to retire Tap Battle.

They've stopped making new ones since 2021.....and that one just had one stage. It was the one that tied in with the Book V April Fool's video.

Yet for some reason, IS still insists on occasionally re-running the old Tap Battles. They either need to start making new Tap Battles (tracks from Three Hopes and Engage obviously haven't been used in a Tap Battle) or just bury it for good already.

[Ice Dragon]

The next Hall of Forms has now been officially announced with Legendary Marth, Legendary Caeda, Fallen Maria, and Spring Maria.

This month also adds skills through Mythic Loki. The most notable new skills are:

• Magic Shield+
• Magic Gambit 4
• Sabotage A/D 3
• Dazzling Discord

 

My recommendations. Let me know if I missed a skill somewhere. As usual, it's hard to keep track of everything that exists these days:

Legendary Marth:

Spoiler

Legendary Marth is a little bit outdated, but he has a Sweep effect on Binding Shield II and Shining Emblem grants him a full +6 to all stats as a stat bonus for free.

Legendary Marth [+Spd]
Florid Cane+ [Spd] / Exalted Falchion [unique]
[Assist]
No Quarter / Godlike Reflexes
Atk/Spd Finish 4 / D Bonus Doubler / Atk/Spd Prime 4 / Flash Sparrow
Spurn 4 / Potent 4 / Phys. Null Follow / Laguz Friend 4 / Special Spiral 4 / Spd/Def Tempo 4 / Atk/Spd Bulwark 4 / Null C-Disrupt 4
Incite Atk/Spd / Atk/Spd Pledge / Infantry Pulse 4 / Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Infantry Null Follow 4 / Fatal Smoke 4 / Spd Smoke 4 / Def/Res Smoke 3

Bridal Blade and Petalfall Blade are both in the standard summoning pool, which really only leaves Florid Cane as a weapon option worth grabbing from Hall of Forms. If you haven't already refined his weapon, you can obviously grab it here to save on some Dew.

Shining Emblem is way too good to pass up, but you can grab either No Quarter or Godlike Reflexes just to have options. Note that Exalted Falchion doesn't have the Slaying effect and Binding Shield grants a Sweep effect, so you'll want Special acceleration from somewhere if you want to switch to one of these.

D Bonus Doubler is the best Distant Counter option, but it's extremely vulnerable to stat bonus nullification (but then again, so is his weapon). Atk/Spd Prime 4 is an alternative option. Atk/Spd Finish 4 is the best dual-phase option without Distant Counter. Flash Sparrow gives Special acceleration to offset not being able to gain Special charge from a counterattack when running Binding Shield, but only works on player phase.

While Binding Shield II is a pretty good skill, there are definitely alternative options for more conventional builds, and the options listed are pretty self-explanatory.

While Marth doesn't need the stat bonuses from the tier-4 Oath and Rouse skills, they still grant a secondary effect and in-combat stats, so they're still worth running. Since Shining Emblem only activates if Marth is within 2 spaces of an ally, Incite also gives him the ability to get some of the stat bonuses even when he's off on his own. Atk/Spd Pledge and Infantry Pulse 4 grant Special acceleration that will help activate his Special if you're running Binding Shield on him. Since Marth can completely forgo stat bonuses in his C slot, he's also completely free to run more niche options like Infantry Null Follow 4 and the good tier-4 Smoke skills. It's honestly a shame that Breath of Life 4 isn't in the pool yet.

Legendary Caeda:

Spoiler

Legendary Caeda is in the awkward position right now where her exclusive skill Faithful Loyalty is outdated, but she's not likely to come up for a remix for another year. Her default weapon, Wing-Lifted Spear, also notably has no defensive effect other than the gigantic potential stat boost from the Binding Necklace effect.

Legendary Caeda [+Spd / +Atk]
Nabata Lance+ [Spd] / Kumo Naginata
[Assist]
No Quarter / Ruptured Sky
Atk/Spd Prime 4 / Flared Sparrow / Atk/Spd Clash 4
Aerial Maneuvers / Flow Desperation / Potent 4 / Guard Bearing 4
S/D Rein Snap

Nabata Lance is currently the best inheritable lance available in Hall of Forms, but Kumo Naginata is also a decent option. Wing-Lifted Spear may be a bit outdated, but the Binding Necklace effect is still insanely strong, so you're probably going to run it over the alternative options regardless.

No Quarter is harder to get and stronger than Ruptured Sky, but Wing-Lifted Spear doesn't have the Slaying effect on it, so you won't be able to reliably activate it without some form of Special acceleration.

In the A slot, Atk/Spd Prime 4 is the best option for Distant Counter, but she'll need team support to supply the additional non-stat Bonuses. It's worth noting that she doesn't share an element with Legendary Hinoka, which is somewhat of a bummer since Hinoka grants 2 non-stat Bonuses and Special acceleration, but she does share an element with Legendary Camilla. If you don't need Distant Counter in the A slot, Flared Sparrow is the strongest player-phase option, and Atk/Spd Clash 4 grants stat penalty nullification and works on both phases.

As mentioned above, her weapon doesn't grant her any defensive effects other than stats, so if you're going to get a replacement for Faithful Loyalty, you probably want something with a defensive effect on it to make up for losing Vantage. Aerial Maneuvers and Flow Desperation grant the Desperation effect, which lets her ignore her defenses entirely, but makes it even harder to activate No Quarter. Potent 4 and Guard Bearing 4 grant percentage damage reduction.

S/D Rein Snap is really the only option for her in the C skill unless you're running one of the Guidance variants because Deadly Miasma nullifies the opponent's stat bonuses, which is detrimental to her weapon's Binding Necklace effect.

Fallen Maria:

Spoiler

Fallen Maria managed to perfectly catch Magic Shield being added to the skill pool. Dazzling Discord is also available this month, but her default weapon already has the Dazzling Staff effect.

Fallen Maria [+Spd]
[Weapon]
Magic Shield+ / Return+
Glitter of Light / Light's Restraint / Holy Pressure
Atk/Spd Finish 4 / Bonus Doubler 4 / Atk/Spd Ideal 4 / Firestorm Boost 3
Wrathful Tempo
Pulse Up: Blades / Atk/Spd Pledge / Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Incite Atk/Spd / Odd Recovery 3

Magic Shield is the new premium staff Assist that grants Galeforce with a turn-based cooldown and a full Arena score bucket over any other option. However, Return is still worth running for the Reposition effect, though it is easier to acquire through normal means.

Maria has Holy Panic by default, so you can get any of the other premium Specials based on which one has the effect that works best for you. I like Glitter of Light, though it does have a higher cooldown.

Atk/Spd Finish 4 is the most reliable of the options for the A slot and deals more damage than Atk/Spd Ideal 4, but grants less Spd. It's also harder to get the tier-3 prerequisite if you wanted to get it through normal means. Bonus Doubler 4 grants more stats, but is a bit less reliable than Finish 4. Firestorm Boost 3 is more of a supportive option to prevent the opponent from charging their Special on her attacks if she can't immediately kill them.

Unfortunately, Maria already has Poetic Justice and has no need for Wrathful Tempo because her weapon already has the offensive Tempo effect on it. However, Wrathful Tempo is really the only worthwhile skill to get even if it's just for the defensive Tempo effect unless you're planning on switching her weapon out for whatever reason.

Pulse Up: Blades is the most reliable option if you're planning on running a 3-cooldown Special without team support for Special acceleration, but Atk/Spd Pledge is also an option. Otherwise, she can run the usual infantry options of Atk/Spd Oath 4 or Incite Atk/Spd.

Spring Maria:

Spoiler

Spring Maria is notable as one of the few units in the game that can actually use the full effect of Wyvern Rift due to being a Spd/Def-based flier. However, unlike Rosado, her weapon has flat damage reduction instead of percentage damage reduction on it, which means if you want to take advantage of the synergy of having both percentage and flat damage reduction, she'll need some kind of team support, like the Dodge effect from Rockslide Dance 3.

Spring Maria [+Spd]
Axe of Devotion+ [Spd / Def] / Wind Tribe Club+ [Spd / Def]
[Assist]
No Quarter / Ruptured Sky
Earthwind Boost 3 / Atk/Spd Prime 4 / Atk/Def Prime 4 / Spd/Def Clash 4 / Spd/Def Catch 4 / Flared Sparrow
Wyvern Rift / Potent 4 / Guard Bearing 4 / Aerial Maneuvers / S/D Near Trace 4
S/D Rein Snap / Deadly Miasma

Axe of Devotion is currently the best inheritable axe available from Hall of Forms, but Wind Tribe Club is also a decent option, even if you're unlikely to actually use anything other than her default Pastel Poleaxe.

It's worth noting that Pastel Poleaxe doesn't have the Slaying effect on it, which means she won't be able to reliably activate No Quarter unless you use Emblem Marth or have team support that can grant her some form of Special acceleration. However, No Quarter is significantly harder to get than Ruptured Sky, so it's still recommended to get it.

For the A slot, you're ideally going to want to run the Spd/Def versions of skills if they are available, even if you aren't planning on running Wyvern Rift. However, because her base Spd and Def are so high and Wyvern Rift has a lot of leeway in its stat comparison, she can still viably run Atk/Spd or Atk/Def versions instead.

Prime 4 is her best option for a Distant Counter build, but it does require some team support to get her the necessary non-stat Bonuses to activate it, and it's vulnerable to the newer units that can remove non-stat Bonuses. Additionally, the Spd/Def version of the skill doesn't exist yet.

Earthwind Boost 3 and Spd/Def Clash 4 are her best options if you don't need Distant Counter or are running it in her Sacred Seal slot. Boost 4 grants Guard and additional HP, whereas Clash 4 grants stat penalty nullification. Obviously, if you're planning on running Guard Echo on her, it's better to give her Clash 4 to not overlap the Guard effect, which doesn't stack.

Spd/Def Catch 4 is viable for for its stats and its ease of activation, but is generally going to be less powerful than the other options. Flared Sparrow is the strongest option on player phase, but has no effect on enemy phase.

In the B slot, Wyvern Rift is the strongest and rarest option. Potent 4 and Guard Bearing 4 grant percentage damage reduction to synergize with her weapon's flat damage reduction and can be useful if you can't get percentage damage reduction from a different source, but are generally weaker options. Aerial Maneuvers and S/D Near Trace 4 are options if you really want to just use her on player phase for whatever reason.

In the C slot, S/D Rein Snap is the rarer option right now and can provide 1 stack towards Prime 4 if you're going that route. Deadly Miasma is generally stronger, though.

 

Edited June 19 by Ice Dragon

[Diovani Bressan]

42 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

D Bonus Doubler is the best Distant Counter option, but it's extremely vulnerable to stat bonus nullification (but then again, so is his weapon).

At least D Bonus Doubler also uses allies within 2 spaces's bonuses as well. They are still vulnerable to Panic, but at least Null Bonuses effects do not apply on allies during Marth's combat.

[Diovani Bressan]

Hall of Forms is here, and we have now the schedule of Caeda and Marth:

• Legendary Caeda is returning in July, next month, sharing with Legendary Deirdre.
• Legendary Marth is returning in August. That month already has 5 heroes scheduled (Altina, Plumeria, Hrid, Sigurd and Seliph), Marth being the 6th now. And since August's HoF will be Genealogy of the Holy War, we have confirmed both Seliph and Sigurd in the event (unless they reschedule one of them out of August).

[Jotari]

With how protective Sothe is for Micaiah in this latest forging bond and with him having a skill like it already in Radiant Dawn, it'd be kind of cool if Sothe were a Save unit. I might be wrong, but I don't think they've done anything so far with Save Skills as Prf abilities. Like, every single Save Unit is one who comes with an inheritable skill as an armour. It could have been pretty unique and a nice reference if he were an infantry save unit. What could an infantry save unit do that an armourer couldn't? Well, at very least Distant and Close Save together would be a niche no one else is doing, and he could get damage reduction on his save to let him survive the attacks.

[Ice Dragon]

4 hours ago, Jotari said:

With how protective Sothe is for Micaiah in this latest forging bond and with him having a skill like it already in Radiant Dawn, it'd be kind of cool if Sothe were a Save unit. I might be wrong, but I don't think they've done anything so far with Save Skills as Prf abilities. Like, every single Save Unit is one who comes with an inheritable skill as an armour. It could have been pretty unique and a nice reference if he were an infantry save unit. What could an infantry save unit do that an armourer couldn't? Well, at very least Distant and Close Save together would be a niche no one else is doing, and he could get damage reduction on his save to let him survive the attacks.

Legendary Tiki, Duo Duma, and Valentine Myrrh have exclusive skills that grant Far Save, though all of them are still armors.

You can get Savior on a non-armored unit using Brave Soren's Assign Decoy status effect, which can be granted to a unit of your choosing by having an ally support with Soren if you don't want to use the stat comparison targeting.

 

I don't think they plan on ever giving a unit a Savior effect that activates against all opponents. Assign Decoy specifically deactivates itself if the unit already has any skill skill equipped that grants the Savior effect in order to prevent this from happening, and all of the exclusive skills that grant a Savior effect are in the C slot to prevent more than one effect from being equipped at a time. The Save skills are also unable to be offered in Seer's Snare, which would otherwise have been the only game mode where equipping multiple Save skills would be possible.

I wouldn't be surprised if we got an Emblem that grants a Savior effect in the future, though. Hector, perhaps. But I would expect it to still have Assign Decoy's limitation of disabling itself if another Savior effect is equipped, similar to how Emblem Marth's effect can't bring the Special cooldown below 1.

Edited June 21 by Ice Dragon

[Jotari]

8 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

Legendary Tiki, Duo Duma, and Valentine Myrrh have exclusive skills that grant Far Save, though all of them are still armors.

You can get Savior on a non-armored unit using Brave Soren's Assign Decoy status effect, which can be granted to a unit of your choosing by having an ally support with Soren if you don't want to use the stat comparison targeting.

True, these examples skipped my mind. Not being weapon or C Slot skills probably caused the blank. Still, Save Sothe would have been thematically on point and surely could have been useful in some way even if full coverage is out (for being too broken? At this point something being two broken sounds almost laughable).

[Ice Dragon]

7 minutes ago, Jotari said:

True, these examples skipped my mind. Not being weapon or C Slot skills probably caused the blank. Still, Save Sothe would have been thematically on point and surely could have been useful in some way even if full coverage is out (for being too broken? At this point something being two broken sounds almost laughable).

Armors are already struggling to deal with the current offensive threats, so there's really no way Sothe would be able to function as a Save unit with just an Arcane weapon and an exclusive Special skill. He would need an insanely powerful exclusive passive skill just to even be viable.

 

While I don't think full Savior coverage would be broken, the reason I don't think it'll ever happen is because the game specifically has so many restrictions against it. In addition to the restrictions on Assign Decoy and Seer's Snare, which specifically prevent a unit from being able to have more than one Savior effect, many of the newer challenge game modes also prevent players from fielding more than one unit with Savior at a time.

And honestly, I think full Savior coverage is simply a boring effect and they should instead be focusing on making viable alternatives like the Bulwark skills so that we have more build and playstyle variety. Also because I think it would be more fun to run Emblem Ike with both Laguz Friend 4 and a Bulwark Sacred Seal.

[Flying Shogi]

Upcoming focus units for the July NHR banner

Spoiler

 

 

[Diovani Bressan]

5 hours ago, Flying Shogi said:

Upcoming focus units for the July NHR banner

  Hide contents

 

 

About that...

Spoiler

Since March, Alcryst was in a banner every single month, and before that he was in January.

We didn't have New Heroes Return this month, so Alcryst can be in a New Heroes Return in July. I thought it could be in the Remix Banners in case both Mila and Duma are in Hall of Forms, but July 20th is too late for remixes... they usually happen earlier than that.

 

[Ice Dragon]

The next Hall of Forms rerun has started, and with the update, this one now has skills up through Legendary Male Corrin, which means we're getting the new skills from the Bride and Fallen banners. The notable skill additions (which are basically all of them) are:

• Harp Bow
  • Competes with Whitecap Bow and Whitewind Bow for best-in-slot non-Arcane inheritable bow.
• Dragonbloom
  • Competes with Dragon's Stone for best-in-slot non-Arcane inheritable dragonstone for fast units.
• Verge of Death
• Crystalline Water
• Spd/Res Scowl 4
• Atk/Spd Excel
• Flow Guard 4
• Beast Assault 4
• High Dragon Wall
• Def/Res Oath 4

 

No Grail units is, as usual, disappointing for me since it means I'm not grabbing anyone with my swimming pool full of Forma Souls. The banner is also not a 3-unit banner, which means it doesn't have better focus odds than the units' original banners.

Young Larchel:

Spoiler

Larchel is somewhat falling behind in terms of Spd these days, but that really isn't much of an issue for staff units. Her exclusive weapon has the rare effect of functionally having both Wrathful Staff and Dazzling Staff (due to inflicting Flash on enemies), which gives her more options for the B slot.

Young Larchel [+Spd]
[Weapon]
Magic Shield+
Light's Restraint / Holy Pressure / Holy Panic / Glitter of Light
Atk/Spd Catch 4 / Firestorm Boost 3
S/R Far Trace 4 / Dazzle Far Trace
Incite Atk/Spd / Even Recovery 3 / Odd Recovery 3

Just like with Fallen Maria in the previous Hall of Forms, all of the good non-Arcane inheritable staff weapons have already been added to the standard summoning pool, so just pick whatever helps clear floors more easily.

For the Special skill, pick whichever one you find most useful.

S/R Far Trace 4 is typically going to be better than Dazzle Far Trace since her exclusive weapon already inflicts Flash on the closest enemies to her, and S/R Far Trace 4 also grants a better Canto effect and additional damage. However, if you want the Dazzling Staff effect to attack units that weren't targeted with the Flash application or you want to be able to Canto after a Dance, Dazzle Far Trace is an option.

Unfortunately, Resonance 4 isn't in the Hall of Forms skill pool yet because Larchel with maximum merges and Dragonflowers with a Boost 4 skill is just 1 HP away from capping out Resonance 4's effect, which can be easily reached with a Squad Ace Sacred Seal. And she's one of the few units in the game that actually has a good argument to run it over other options since she doesn't have access to Mag. Null Follow or Occultist's Strike, and she does have access to Far Trace Echo to make up for not running S/R Far Trace 4.

Unfortunately, Breath of Life 4 also isn't in the skill pool yet.

Fallen Lyon:

Spoiler

 Lyon recently received a refine and a pretty damned good one at that, making him a properly viable ranged tank.

Fallen Lyon [+Res / +Atk]
Blood Tome [unique] / Teacake Tower+ [Res]
[Assist]
Flare
Bonus Doubler 4 / Def/Res Finish 4 / Atk/Res Finish 4 / Crystalline Water
Laguz Friend 4 / Null C-Disrupt 4 / Sabotage A/R 3
Def/Res Pledge / Def/Res Oath 4 / Atk/Res Oath 4 / Time's Pulse 4

There's no real reason to ever have him run anything other than Blood Tome, but if you already have it and its refine, I suppose Teacake Tower is the best inheritable option available from Hall of Forms.

Blood Tome not having the Slaying effect on it makes it perfect for running Flare + Laguz Friend 4. Null C-Disrupt 4 and Sabotage A/R 3 are only listed as options in case you already have Laguz Friend 4 on an existing copy of Lyon.

It's very much worth noting that Blood Tome loses many of its most important effects on enemy phase against melee opponents, so there's little reason to run C Bonus Doubler over Bonus Doubler 4.

Pledge is preferable over Oath 4 in the C slot to nullify Guard. Time's Pulse 4 is also an option for the same reason, but you lose out on the stat bonuses.

Summer Joshua:

Spoiler

Joshua is almost strictly outclassed by Groom Alcryst, but his stats are somehow still usable.

Summer Joshua [+Spd]
Whitewind Bow+ [Spd] / Whitecap Bow+ [Spd] / Harp Bow+ [Spd]
[Assist]
Deadeye
Atk/Spd Finish 4 / Atk/Spd Prime 4 / Atk/Spd Hexblade / Verge of Death / Remote Sparrow
Phys. Null Follow / Spd/Def Tempo 4
Atk/Spd Pledge / Incite Atk/Spd / Inf. Null Follow 4 / Pulse Up: Blades

Pretty standard fare.

Atk/Spd Prime 4 is mostly for use with Whitewind Bow, but it's easy enough to stack non-stat Bonuses these days with all of the units with support effects that we keep getting. Verge of Death is for use with Arcane Darkbow.

Selena:

Spoiler

Selena doesn't have a refine yet (it should be about half a year away or so), but there aren't really many skill options for cavalry tomes to begin with. You do run the risk of picking a skill that will overlap or conflict with her eventual refine, though.

Selena [+Spd]
Seashell Bowl+ [Spd] / Magical Lantern+ [Spd]
[Assist]
Ruptured Sky
Remote Sparrow / Flared Sparrow
S/R Far Trace 4 / Occultist's Strike / Desperation 4 / Magic Gambit 4 / Resonance 4
Incite Atk/Spd

I'm not sure you can actually justify running Resonance 4 on her, but she does cap out its effect with just maximum merges and Dragonflowers and a Boost 4 skill. Occultist's Strike is better most of the time as a pure damage-dealing skill.

 

Edited July 8 by Ice Dragon

[Diovani Bressan]

Limited Hero Battles for July 2024:

• LHB Eirika - Awakening
• GHB Castor - Blazing Blade (no dancer allowed)
• LHB Male Byleth - Judgral
• BHB Lapis & Citrinne - Echoes (no dancer allowed)
• LHB Male Alear - Heroes

[Othin]

Okay apparently I don't have it in me to quit while I'm one unit away from finishing up the launch roster and in spitting distance of a few other fun targets. I've started reinstalling the game, but only after setting up a sleep mode on my phone so I won't keep being tempted to play late at night. I don't plan to stay anywhere near as dedicated as I was, and in particular my hopes for New Heroes banners have been thoroughly crushed. Might end up moving most of my focus to rounding out my lineup of older units.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

My hopes for Heroes are slim for most things. I'm just saving orbs for Lyns, Broms, and the units that feel like they'll be broken so I can clear certain challenges very easily.

[EricaofRenais]

I have been holding out for Elphin for years, the alts have taken the interest in "new" heroes banners out of me a long time ago when they added ascended heroes to the "new" heroes banners.  I have more hope in the seasonal banners adding someone I have been waiting for to the game then "new" heroes banners, I still save up for 40 pulls when it looks like a Binding Blade banner will happen but every time ends in disappointment. 

[Ice Dragon]

A few days late because I had other things taking up my time and this Hall of Forms doesn't have a Grail unit to make me actually care about it.

As mentioned above, this month add skills through Legendary Male Corrin, which means we have High Dragon Wall available in the skill pool and 2 units that could potentially use it. Dragonbloom, Atk/Spd Excel, and Flow Guard 4 also appear in the recommendations.

 

Mila:

Spoiler

Mila is a good support unit with her default refined Nurturing Breath and Mila's Turnwheel and is a staple of Aether Raids Light season due to Mila's Turnwheel granting an additional turn. Conveniently, she doesn't share a season with Freyr, which means her debuffing effects are actually usable.

Mila [+Def]
Nurturing Breath [unique] / Dragonbloom+ [Def] / New-Sun Stone+ [Def]
[Assist]
Dragon's Roar
Def/Res Scowl 4 / D Bonus Doubler / Distant D/R Solo / Fort. Def/Res 3 / Solid Earth 4
Laguz Friend 4 / High Dragon Wall
Def/Res Pledge / [any tier-4 Ploy]

Nurturing Breath is, as usual, worth grabbing if you haven't already refined her weapon and want to save on Dew. Otherwise, Dragonbloom is actually her best inheritable weapon option because New-Sun Stone loses some value by overlapping the Guard effect with Mila's Turnwheel.

Mila is one of only a few dragons that can run their exclusive weapon with both Dragon's Roar and Laguz Friend 4 due to not having the Slaying effect on her weapon. Other dragons are stuck using either older out-of-date exclusive weapons or passing up on Arcane Grima and Arcane Fellstone to run Dragonbloom, New-Sun Stone, or Dragon's Stone if they want to run this combo.

Fortress Def/Res 3 is Mila's best-in-slot A skill due to the fact that the debuffs from Mila's Turnwheel require a Def comparison, and while Solid Earth 4 grants more Atk and Def, it costs her Res, which is needed to activate Dragon's Roar's damage reduction effect. However, if you think the Def boost from Fortress Def/Res 3 is overkill or you don't need it from Hall of Forms because it's relatively easy to get normally, Def/Res Scowl 4 is probably the next best option. However, you can also go for one of the Distant Counter variants if you don't want yet another unit fighting for the Sacred Seal.

Duma:

Spoiler

Duma is in a somewhat rough spot being an armor with neither the Slaying effect nor a guaranteed follow-up on his weapon. On top of that, his weapon is designed to go for one-hit kills with a weaker Glimmer effect on his first attack in combat, but he lacks access to percentage damage reduction nullification due to being an armor.

Duma [+Atk / +Def / +Res]
Fell Breath [unique] / New-Sun Stone+ [Def / Res] / Dragonbloom+ [Def / Res]
[Assist]
Armored Blaze / Armored Floe / Armored Beacon / Dragon's Roar
Def/Res Scowl 4 / Atk/Res Scowl 4 / Earthfire Boost 3 / Fireflood Boost 3
High Dragon Wall / Counter Roar 4 / Special Fighter 4 / Vengeful Fighter 4
D/R Near Save 3 / D/R Far Save 3

Despite Duma having higher base Def, he actually ends up with higher Res due to Fell Breath granting him +6 Res, but no boost to Def. Even with a Def Asset, his Def only ties his Res. Unfortunately, there isn't a Res version of Armored Blaze yet, so he's stuck with either that or the slightly less reliable Dragon's Roar if you're going with a melee build. However, you can still get his Def higher if you build for Def on his passive skills, and the difference isn't that significant anyways.

High Dragon Wall gives him more bulk, though his Res is still a bit shaky. Counter Roar 4 adds damage to his first counterattack and gives him a little bit of passive healing. Special Fighter 4 lets him actually land a 3-cooldown Special if the opponent doesn't have Tempo or Guard and he has Emblem Marth equipped and gives him passive healing when his Special lands. Vengeful Fighter 4 gives him a guaranteed follow-up and makes landing his Special a bit more reliable, but has no defensive effect.

No access to Assault Troop is a crime.

Echoes Est:

Spoiler

Est has a really unfortunate stat spread that gravitates towards Atk, Spd, and Res, but doesn't actually give her enough Spd to be reliable, and she doesn't have a guaranteed follow-up to make up for it.

Echoes Est [+Atk / +Spd]
Nabata Lance+ [Spd] / Kumo Naginata
[Assist]
No Quarter / Ruptured Sky
Flared Sparrow / Atk/Spd Excel / Atk/Spd Clash 4 / Solid Ground 4 / Fury 4
Assassin's Strike / Brash Assault 4 / Wyvern Rift / Flow Guard 4 / Flow Refresh 4
Spd/Res Crux / S/D Rein Snap / Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Deadly Miasma

Est is kind of a mess.

No Slaying effect means she relies on Emblem Marth or an Arcane weapon to activate No Quarter. Otherwise, she's stuck running Ruptured Sky.

Flared Sparrow is her most offensive A skill. Atk/Spd Excel grants flat damage reduction to pair with the percentage damage reduction on her weapon. Atk/Spd Clash 4 grants penalty nullification.

Solid Ground 4 or Fury 4 with Wyvern Rift is a skill combination that could potentially be usable. At maximum merges and Dragonflowers, Est only has 32 visible Def, so she needs additional boosts if you want to actually get the additional damage and flat damage reduction. However, you can alternatively just run standard Atk/Spd or Spd/Def skills and aim only for the guaranteed follow-up and enemy follow-up threshold increase.

Unfortunately, Est is 2 months too early to have Spd/Def Crux available as an option for a guaranteed follow-up, which means she's stuck with only Spd/Res Crux as an option. That said, that's probably not too bad, as it could still end up be useful for a future Pegasus Rift skill, so it's still worth considering.

Mycen:

Spoiler

Mycen is stuck as a slow melee cavalry before the release of the Atk/Def versions of the Excel, Flared, Near Trace, and Incite skill series. That's really unfortunate.

Mycen [+Atk / +Def]
Nabata Lance+ [Def] / Kumo Naginata
[Assist]
No Quarter
Distant D/R Solo / Flared Mirror
S/D Near Trace 4 / Flow Guard 4 / Flow Refresh 4 / Assassin's Strike
Alarm Atk/Def / Alarm Def/Res / Incite Atk/Res

He already has Atk/Def Clash 4 by default, so there's no point grabbing it.

Despite his weapon already having Guard, Flow Guard 4 is still worth running for its Scowl effect. Flow Refresh 4 grants percentage damage reduction and passive healing.

 

[Etrurian emperor]

If the next banner is the Tea banner again then Azelle has a decent shot at an alt. Tailtiu directly mentions him as someone she wants to see partake. However she also mentions Claude who due to not being in yet I think might have the higher chance. Either one of her kids could also be added. 

And if its a Tea banner then Celine is about the strongest contender there is. I could see Louis joining her. 

Hubert would be fun as the ''villain'' of the banner who spreads coffee propaganda. 

[Tybrosion]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

If the next banner is the Tea banner again then Azelle has a decent shot at an alt. Tailtiu directly mentions him as someone she wants to see partake. However she also mentions Claude who due to not being in yet I think might have the higher chance. Either one of her kids could also be added. 

And if its a Tea banner then Celine is about the strongest contender there is. I could see Louis joining her. 

Hubert would be fun as the ''villain'' of the banner who spreads coffee propaganda. 

If the tea theme does come back and Celine isn't involved, then IS has no clue what they're doing.

Too bad about Emblem Celica's timing, though. That probably ensures that Celica won't show up on a hypothetical second tea banner. As usual, she and Valentia in general desperately needs seasonal representation.