"Ask Fire Emblem Heroes Questions and Get Them Answered Here" Thread

[Zapp Branniglenn]

15 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

Eliwood has high Res and high player phase damage output with Durandal due to Durandal's 16 Atk and built-in Death Blow 2 (+4 Atk).

This doesn't answer my question, and yes I'm aware of his stat spread, I posted it. Eliwood is one of dozens of four and three star units I've used, but everybody else at least has that one variation of a color of a unit they can reliably take on. Even in tenth stratum, Arena, or GHB lunatic fights.

4 minutes ago, Lyrai said:

As a user of Eliwood myself, I use him to check any Red and Green mages, or even some Blue. He can deal decent damage against Hector, but it isn't optimal as he's not a physical tank. He is, however, a mage tank and slayer. I even gave him Distant Counter from my spare Hector to really fulfill that role and bait mages to hit Eliwood and have the attacker die by the slash of a sword instead of magic (Since most mages have low DEF). In the player phase, he's great at picking off squishier units on the far back with his innate Death Blow while the rest deals with the other units.

Mage squishiness typically makes it so any physical attacker can one round them, sometimes with triangle disadvantage. Watching my Eliwood struggle to damage mages and healers alike really frustrates me. And I'd never put him in range of a mage, he'll get doubled and KOd before Sacred Cowl can activate, or just be too damaged to stay on the frontline even with healing. I get that Durandal is another 9 damage on player phase, but that wouldn't have made the difference in my most recent fights. I don't have any units with counter either, let alone spares to SI.

I feel like Eliwood would have been much better if Durandal dealt effective damage to manaketes rather than Death Blow 2. It's accurate to the lore, his speed is just high enough to fight all them fairly, and his high Res gets a chance to shine.

[ScarletSylph]

@Arcanite Hmmm, I might go with ursula then since I can use her default A passive and I can easily pass her blarblade and moonbow using 1 odin. Though may I ask why gunter is the option for a serious horse emblem team? Is it because he comes with one of the fortify/hone ability?

@Lyrai I also have an eliwood at 4* but I have yet to use him. I one thats +spd/-atk & +atk/-hp. I don't lnow if those are great boon/bane and thing is I don't see much of a use for him since Xander will already be my red sword user in the team. Maybe I could have him in there for now then switch him out with Camus at a later date

[Lyrai]

6 minutes ago, Gustavos said:

Mage squishiness typically makes it so any physical attacker can one round them, sometimes with triangle disadvantage. Watching my Eliwood struggle to damage mages and healers alike really frustrates me. And I'd never put him in range of a mage, he'll get doubled and KOd before Sacred Cowl can activate, or just be too damaged to stay on the frontline even with healing. I get that Durandal is another 9 damage on player phase, but that wouldn't have made the difference in my most recent fights. I don't have any units with counter either, let alone spares to SI.

I feel like Eliwood would have been much better if Durandal dealt effective damage to manaketes rather than Death Blow 2. It's accurate to the lore, his speed is just high enough to fight all them fairly, and his high Res gets a chance to shine.

You have a good point, yeah. Death Blow 2 is great and all, but then, that would mean Hector's Armads would have the same stats of being effective to manaketes.

Anyway, your first point explains a lot of my own struggles. But, this can be remedied by a Hone Cavalry / Fortify Cavalry to drastically empower him. If his normal state, he's there to fulfill two roles: As the best tank against Manaketes, and one of the best cavalry unit to assassinate a frail backline unit. Else, I would put him on the back and focus on giving off the Ward Cavalry on the right units, and wait for the right moment to strike.

Just now, ScarletSylph said:

@Lyrai I also have an eliwood at 4* but I have yet to use him. I one thats +spd/-atk & +atk/-hp. I don't lnow if those are great boon/bane and thing is I don't see much of a use for him since Xander will already be my red sword user in the team. Maybe I could have him in there for now then switch him out with Camus at a later date

My own 5* Eliwood I upgraded is neutral. Still, the +ATK is the best one for him as he's meant to hit hard.
Xander can be your best choice as he's simply similar to Eldigan. I tend to find mages on the battlefield and his speed is so low, so I haven't got much use of him. Camus might as well be in the same fate as Xander, but his Gradivus might prove to be more useful than Siegfried, I guess?

[Lyrai]

6 minutes ago, Gustavos said:

Mage squishiness typically makes it so any physical attacker can one round them, sometimes with triangle disadvantage. Watching my Eliwood struggle to damage mages and healers alike really frustrates me. And I'd never put him in range of a mage, he'll get doubled and KOd before Sacred Cowl can activate, or just be too damaged to stay on the frontline even with healing. I get that Durandal is another 9 damage on player phase, but that wouldn't have made the difference in my most recent fights. I don't have any units with counter either, let alone spares to SI.

I feel like Eliwood would have been much better if Durandal dealt effective damage to manaketes rather than Death Blow 2. It's accurate to the lore, his speed is just high enough to fight all them fairly, and his high Res gets a chance to shine.

You have a good point, yeah. Death Blow 2 is great and all, but then, that would mean Hector's Armads would have the same trait of being effective to manaketes.

Anyway, your first point explains a lot of my own struggles. But, this can be remedied by a Hone Cavalry / Fortify Cavalry to drastically empower him. If his normal state, he's there to fulfill two roles: As the best tank against Manaketes, and one of the best cavalry unit to assassinate a frail backline unit. Else, I would put him on the back and focus on giving off the Ward Cavalry on the right units, and wait for the right moment to strike.

Just now, ScarletSylph said:

@Lyrai I also have an eliwood at 4* but I have yet to use him. I one thats +spd/-atk & +atk/-hp. I don't lnow if those are great boon/bane and thing is I don't see much of a use for him since Xander will already be my red sword user in the team. Maybe I could have him in there for now then switch him out with Camus at a later date

My own 5* Eliwood I upgraded is neutral. Still, the +ATK is the best one for him as he's meant to hit hard.
Xander can be your best choice as he's simply similar to Eldigan. I tend to find mages on the battlefield and his speed is so low, so I haven't got much use of him. Camus might as well be in the same fate as Xander, but his Gradivus might prove to be more useful than Siegfried, I guess?

[ScarletSylph]

@Lyrai Is he worth the 20k feathers or will he do well even at 4*? I might train him up if he really is a good mage killer.

[Lyrai]

Just now, ScarletSylph said:

@Lyrai Is he worth the 20k feathers or will he do well even at 4*? I might train him up if he really is a good mage killer.

Honestly, this was a tough choice for me to make when I wanted to upgrade him back then, but I do it only because I like Eliwood and want to try maximizing his potential. You can try using his 4* version until you find a good place for him, then you can decide on upgrading him.

[ScarletSylph]

@Lyrai Yea will try him out at 4* then decide from there. Will search up some builds on him and give a try on horse emblem. Thanks

[Lyrai]

10 minutes ago, ScarletSylph said:

@Lyrai Yea will try him out at 4* then decide from there. Will search up some builds on him and give a try on horse emblem. Thanks

There's currently a lack of well-known builds on him, so I'll share you my build of Eliwood and imo, recommended skills:

Assist Skill: Reposition / Drag Back / Reciprocal Aid (Either positioning skills or heal someone when needed, is up to you.)
Special Skill: Iceberg (High RES) / Moonbow (High ATK) / Draconic Aura (High ATK) / Pavise (To survive fatal hits. This fits on squishier units than tankier ones imo.)

Skill A: Distant Counter (Becomes a true mage killer) / Fury 2 (Makes him much more capable as an all-round unit. 2 is more than enough.)
Skill B: Swordbreaker 3 (Axe users are slow, and Sword units are quick)
Skill C: Ward Cavalry (Anything, just as long as it's a Cavalry Buff)
 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Lyrai

[Astellius]

2 hours ago, Gustavos said:

Can somebody tell me what is the balancing logic for Eliwood? I trained him to level 40 as a 4 star, and he's woefully incompetent.

My thoughts on this matter. The balancing logic is that Eliwood kinda sucks and you probably shouldn't use him. Xander is better, just use him instead, if you need a swordy on your horse team. Eliwood has high res, I suppose, but why would he be tanking mage attacks? It's not like he can return fire.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

9 minutes ago, Astellius said:

My thoughts on this matter. The balancing logic is that Eliwood kinda sucks and you probably shouldn't use him. Xander is better, just use him instead, if you need a swordy on your horse team. Eliwood has high res, I suppose, but why would he be tanking mage attacks? It's not like he can return fire.

Indeed. Xander can return fire with his weapon if tanking ranged hits is unavoidable.. But even keeping the discussion to 4 star units, Xander will be able to stand up to other swords and especially Axes. Even if they double him, damage will stay minimal thanks to Armored Blow. Eliwood may have axe breaker, but every round he has against an axe unit will leave him at critical health.

 

45 minutes ago, ScarletSylph said:

@Lyrai Is he worth the 20k feathers or will he do well even at 4*? I might train him up if he really is a good mage killer.

In addition to reasons stated above, Eliwood seldom manages to defeat mages and healers in two rounds, let alone 1. Being a 5 star with Durandal may make the difference under the right circumstances, like with some speed buff, but as a 4 star he was a nightmare to train for me. Try him out, but don't expect him to serve a niche other than his ward cavalry. If you have a spare 4 star eliwood, that skill could find better use on a different horse for sure, like a mounted healer or mounted mage that's already meant to stay off the front lines.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Gustavos

[MrSmokestack]

51 minutes ago, ScarletSylph said:

@Lyrai Is he worth the 20k feathers or will he do well even at 4*? I might train him up if he really is a good mage killer.

If you'll allow me to direct you to this thread...

Eliwood is mediocre as a 4*, since only his above-average Res stands out, but I don't judge units based on their performance at lower rarities. Durandal's innate Death Blow 2 + Death Blow 3 stack for up to +10 extra Atk on top of +7 from promotion gains (2) + Durandal (5), and with a proper cavalry team Eliwood can straight up OHKO a number of bulky meta threats--approaching 40 HP / 29 Def and anything less so. His default kit doesn't do him any justice for how well he can pull his weight with the proper resources, sadly.

It's up to you and your team's needs, but Eliwood is a option that shouldn't be overlooked if you're running cavalry.

Edited May 8, 2017 by MrSmokestack

[Luun]

How does the game determine which team of yours it uses for arena defense? Does it just use the team you have registered in the first slot? I'd imagine that would be the case, but I could also see it being like...the last team you yourself used in the arena or something of that nature. Does anyone know for sure?

[MrSmokestack]

@Luun The team in the leftmost slot is used for your arena defense. The leftmost unit in that team serves as your representative, the unit that opponents see while searching for duels.

[Lyrai]

1 hour ago, Astellius said:

My thoughts on this matter. The balancing logic is that Eliwood kinda sucks and you probably shouldn't use him. Xander is better, just use him instead, if you need a swordy on your horse team. Eliwood has high res, I suppose, but why would he be tanking mage attacks? It's not like he can return fire.

He's meant to be able to safely kill someone and if there's a ranged unit that's a mage he can take it. Or... Distant Counter! :D
Though I can relate Eliwood being more of a specialist than an all-round unit unlike Xander. It's just that my Xander dies to even Green mages at 4* or take a lot of damage. I'm sure it's much riskier to send Xander into battle rather than Eliwood when there are mages around.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Lyrai

[ScarletSylph]

@Gustavos I do have 1 extra 4* eliwood thats +spd/-atk would it be a good idea to give it to Ursula? Or is fortify a better c skill? I plan to stick Ursula and Xander together so they could buff each other.

@MrSmokestack I guess it would depend on how Camus would be. If he can fill Xander's roll of being a Tank maybe I can 5* Eliwood and slip him in the team as my red sword user instead. 

So my team plan now will be ursula, xander, gunter, & eliwood until camus comes out

[Rezzy]

23 minutes ago, ScarletSylph said:

@Gustavos I do have 1 extra 4* eliwood thats +spd/-atk would it be a good idea to give it to Ursula? Or is fortify a better c skill? I plan to stick Ursula and Xander together so they could buff each other.

@MrSmokestack I guess it would depend on how Camus would be. If he can fill Xander's roll of being a Tank maybe I can 5* Eliwood and slip him in the team as my red sword user instead. 

So my team plan now will be ursula, xander, gunter, & eliwood until camus comes out

Only Hone and Fortify Cavalry count for the purposes of powering the blade spells, so, if you want to run Ward on anybody, Ursula would be the one to put it on.

[Thor Odinson]

With the datamines for Narcian returning, it's expected I'll get 2 more Narcians. I'm keeping the original one I had and I accidentally merged the 2* version ( :c ). Is it worth to give Reinhardt Lancebreaker 3 for the sole purpose of boosting his arena points, even though LB1 is sufficient for actual combat? or should i hold on to the narcians and wait for someone who may want all of LB3 down the line?

[Rafiel's Aria]

20 minutes ago, Thor Odinson said:

With the datamines for Narcian returning, it's expected I'll get 2 more Narcians. I'm keeping the original one I had and I accidentally merged the 2* version ( :c ). Is it worth to give Reinhardt Lancebreaker 3 for the sole purpose of boosting his arena points, even though LB1 is sufficient for actual combat? or should i hold on to the narcians and wait for someone who may want all of LB3 down the line?

If Rein is going to be a staple of your Arena team forever (or at least into the distant future), I say giving him LB3 is wise just for the points. Right now, I think swordbreaker is more in demand than lancebreaker. But on my Arena teams I tend to run characters with swordbreaker 2 instead of 3, and I still manage to rank in the top 30k without too much trouble. (That's running three 5* units and one 4* with some sort of skill in every slot with the exception of 1 S-passive.)

If push comes to shove, you should be getting two Narcians at least. So you'll have your merged one to keep, one for LB fodder for Rein, and a third to keep just in case.

[Thor Odinson]

Rein's part of 2/3 of my mainstay Arena configs (A-1 is Ryoma/Nino/Olivia/Bonus, A-2 is Reinhardt/Minerva/Olivia/Bonus, and then Cavsquad for when cavs are bonus), so he has a pretty good shot of being used depending on the bonus unit. I'll probably give him the LB3, then.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Thor Odinson

[rockocalypse]

So, what exactly is the reason specified for these two special log-in orbs? Is it just because of maintenance? Cant find anything in the bulletin board about it or the end date of 1.5 exp (but I have seen on these forums someone say its the 14th)

Edited May 8, 2017 by rockocalypse

[Ice Dragon]

14 minutes ago, rockocalypse said:

So, what exactly is the reason specified for these two special log-in orbs? Is it just because of maintenance? Cant find anything in the bulletin board about it or the end date of 1.5 exp (but I have seen on these forums someone say its the 14th)

Probably to celebrate the release of v1.3.

[Kaden]

So, the first summon of the ladies' side of the mage banner netted me two newbies.

4* Kagero: +Spd, -HP.

5* Linde 1: +HP, -Spd.

5* Linde 2: Neutral.

Kagero is strong, but -HP does worry me since her HP is the low-- And I just checked, 26 HP as a 4*? Holy crap, she has the second lowest HP of all the units above Elise's 30. I get it, it's for balancing, but whoa, that's... worrying. Just gotta make sure she destroys people before she gets destroyed. I'll get her default skills like most new units I get, but should I just dump Desperation on her? 26 HP is really low -- I don't think I've seen HP be that low for a unit. Don't have anyone who can give Life & Death 3 at the moment -- I'd rather just get L&D3 through one unit rather than have to use 2 by getting L&D2 and then L&D3. I still have a special map 2* Hana, but I was thinking of using her to take all of the other special map Hana's skills to build her up.

As for Linde, probably going to use neutral Linde. Not sure I want to merge her until I can actually get more units in general. My fear is that merging means she's stronger which means if I use her, then arena becomes tougher and I'm not that great at arena anyway. Then again, I'm not too into arena, but more feathers would be nice. Maybe she's just be there... Existing... taking up a slot... Man, I just realized that I have 174 units now and 2 to 4 more are coming in through the possible Narcian comeback and Lloyd let alone if I summon any more units.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Kaden

[Ice Dragon]

49 minutes ago, rockocalypse said:

So, what exactly is the reason specified for these two special log-in orbs? Is it just because of maintenance? Cant find anything in the bulletin board about it or the end date of 1.5 exp (but I have seen on these forums someone say its the 14th)

35 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

Probably to celebrate the release of v1.3.

Apparently I didn't notice it until now, but indeed it is to celebrate the release of v1.3:

 

[Taim Meich]

How do I reset the tower fights? I keep reading of people resetting them looking for more favorable enemy comps (I don't want to face 5 mage enemies with my barely functional armor team, thanks), but other than battling and leaving, I can't see how.

[Vaximillian]

Just now, Taim Meich said:

How do I reset the tower fights? I keep reading of people resetting them looking for more favorable enemy comps (I don't want to face 5 mage enemies with my barely functional armor team, thanks), but other than battling and leaving, I can't see how.

And that's exactly how it works. Enter a battle—any battle—and the tower is regenerated. The starting stratum is good for this due to only costing 1 stamina to enter.