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

[Ice Dragon]

16 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

New question, am I correct in assuming we get ~300 Orbs per month?

The Fandom wiki apparently stopped keeping track of orb income after 2022, but ~320 per month was the average for 2022, with ~290 being the lowest yield for a single calendar month and ~380 being the highest.

So you can probably still assume you'll get about ~300 orbs each month.

[DefyingFates]

27 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

The Fandom wiki apparently stopped keeping track of orb income after 2022, but ~320 per month was the average for 2022, with ~290 being the lowest yield for a single calendar month and ~380 being the highest.

So you can probably still assume you'll get about ~300 orbs each month.

Thanks! Having said that, given the game has gotten stingier with Orbs over time I assume the real value is around ~250 a month, so I'm still in trouble. I know luck doesn't exist but I really hope I get some in those upcoming banners...

In lighter news (I hope), I think Mauvier is the slow cavalier you advised I look out for before using R!Lif for fodder, right? I believe his best A and C skills are some combination of [Atk/Def Clash or Atk/Def Prime 4] and [Incite or Alarm Atk/Def] respectively, but I'm not sure if he's someone who wants Gambit or some other B skill, even something simple like A/D Near Trace. Does anyone have any suggestions, please?

[Ice Dragon]

1 hour ago, DefyingFates said:

In lighter news (I hope), I think Mauvier is the slow cavalier you advised I look out for before using R!Lif for fodder, right? I believe his best A and C skills are some combination of [Atk/Def Clash or Atk/Def Prime 4] and [Incite or Alarm Atk/Def] respectively, but I'm not sure if he's someone who wants Gambit or some other B skill, even something simple like A/D Near Trace. Does anyone have any suggestions, please?

Yeah, those would be what you want for the A and C slots. Mauvier wants to have at least 3 non-stat Bonuses on him to maximize the boosts he gets from his weapon, so it's definitely best to give him either Alarm (currently only on Summer Ephraim) or Incite (not yet released) so that he can get 3 without team support. The pick between Clash 4 and Prime 4 mostly just depends on whether you want stat penalty nullification or Distant Counter as the secondary effect.

If you want to run him exclusively on player phase for whatever reason (not completely unreasonable as his Hexblade gives him use as a wall breaker), you'll want to wait for Flared Sturdy to be released first.

Gambit 4 is probably the strongest choice for the B slot, but because Mauvier doesn't have a source of +1 Special charge rate on his own, you'll be giving up a functional Special to run Aether to get the maximum boost from Gambit 4. That's not too much of an issue because a fully powered Gambit 4 is ridiculously strong even with a non-functional Special, but it is something to be aware of.

If you have a teammate that can buff Mauvier with +1 Special charge rate, it's worth considering using an Emblem Marth Engage to sacrifice 1 stack of Gambit 4's effect to get a functional 4-cooldown Aether.

The other options I'd consider for the B slot are Lull Atk/Def 4, Atk/Def Snag 4, Brash Assault 4, and Guard 4. A/D Near Trace is an option if you aren't running Alarm, but I'd probably wait for A/D Near Trace 4 to be released. Seal Atk 4 is an option, but it's only worth running if his team has no sources of Atk debuffs. Assassin's Strike is worth considering for a pure player-phase build.

If you run something other than Gambit 4, his best Special is Ruptured Sky, though you can run No Quarter on him with an Emblem Marth Engage.

Edited February 20 by Ice Dragon

[DefyingFates]

13 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

If you want to run him exclusively on player phase for whatever reason (not completely unreasonable as his Hexblade gives him use as a wall breaker), you'll want to wait for Flared Sturdy to be released first.

I take this to mean he's best as a mixed or enemy phase unit?

Since A/D Clash is easier to get I'll opt for that for the time being. Hopefully we get Alarm Atk/Def and/ or those B skill suggestions in the new Divine Code section. Alarm Atk/Spd seems more valuable and thus less likely to be added and the B skills are pretty old so... here's hoping!

[Ice Dragon]

1 hour ago, DefyingFates said:

I take this to mean he's best as a mixed or enemy phase unit?

You get more versatility with a dual-phase build, and you don't actually lose much player-phase performance in doing so.

Note that the point of the enemy-phase half of dual-phase builds in the current meta isn't to be able to tank anything and everything, but to be able to choose to engage an opponent's enemy-phase unit on their weaker phase.

(I've run into Duo Male Byleth a few too many times in the Arena using a team that has no enemy-phase presence.)

 

Oh, yeah, Earthfire Boost 3 is also a viable choice for the A slot. It gives fewer points of stats than Clash or Prime, but you get Guard on enemy phase and sometimes on player phase. I still think I'd recommend Clash or Prime over Boost, but it's certainly not a bad option (if you can get your hands on it).

[DefyingFates]

1 hour ago, Ice Dragon said:

Note that the point of the enemy-phase half of dual-phase builds in the current meta isn't to be able to tank anything and everything, but to be able to choose to engage an opponent's enemy-phase unit on their weaker phase.

Gotcha.

1 hour ago, Ice Dragon said:

Oh, yeah, Earthfire Boost 3 is also a viable choice for the A slot. It gives fewer points of stats than Clash or Prime, but you get Guard on enemy phase and sometimes on player phase. I still think I'd recommend Clash or Prime over Boost, but it's certainly not a bad option (if you can get your hands on it).

And thanks again! If Rosado starts breaking my pities I'll know what to do with the spares!

[DefyingFates]

Quick question: @Ice Dragon said Scion Nanna's Spd was decent, but is it good enough to give her the Spd refine for Arcane Charmer or should I stick with Atk? Thanks all!

(P.S. Arcane Staves have 8 different refine options: Wrathful/Dazzling + Atk/Spd/Def/Res! https://www.reddit.com/r/FireEmblemHeroes/comments/1avui2g/headsup_arcane_charmer_has_a_total_of_eight/)

 

[XRay]

4 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

Quick question: @Ice Dragon said Scion Nanna's Spd was decent, but is it good enough to give her the Spd refine for Arcane Charmer or should I stick with Atk? Thanks all!

(P.S. Arcane Staves have 8 different refine options: Wrathful/Dazzling + Atk/Spd/Def/Res! https://www.reddit.com/r/FireEmblemHeroes/comments/1avui2g/headsup_arcane_charmer_has_a_total_of_eight/)

 

I think it depends on how often you see Null Follow-Up and fast units. If not often, then I would go with +Atk for more damage since the Weapon already provides guaranteed follow-up, so you do not necessarily need the Spd unless you are high up in the PvP meta or something.

She does not have the highest Res, but Res Refine could be an option.if you want to use her as support.

[Zeo]

I have a very simple question. Two actually.

1. Who wants Potent 4?

I have Potent 4 fodder now so that's really interesting, no idea who I would give it to so I'm sitting on it.

2. I have a +10 +ATK/+SPD Guy. Should he get Potent 4 or Spurn 4?

Pretty standard ATK/SPD Finish 4/Time's Pulse 4/Vital Astra build with either the Distant Counter or Guard Seal on him. But he's missing his B skill. Spurn's DR and damage is great but with Potent I don't have to worry about speed and the followup is nice. But if I give him Spurn 4 I can save Potent for someone else (Maybe Edward?! Dawn Brigade banner when?!)

 

[Ice Dragon]

9 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

Quick question: @Ice Dragon said Scion Nanna's Spd was decent, but is it good enough to give her the Spd refine for Arcane Charmer or should I stick with Atk? Thanks all!

(P.S. Arcane Staves have 8 different refine options: Wrathful/Dazzling + Atk/Spd/Def/Res! https://www.reddit.com/r/FireEmblemHeroes/comments/1avui2g/headsup_arcane_charmer_has_a_total_of_eight/)

Okay, since Arcane Charmer has Spd as a refine option, that brings my cutoff back down to ~42 neutral base Spd (counting any planned Dragonflowers, but nothing else).

If you're already running a Spd Asset on her, then she should run a Spd refine. If you're planning any Dragonflower investment at all (+2 or higher), then you should run a Spd Asset and a Spd refine.

If you're not running a Spd Asset on her, I'm still leaning towards a Spd refine simply because the alternative of running +1 Atk is kind of underwhelming. You can probably still justify +1 Atk, but it's such a small boost that I'm not sure it'll make a difference in enough cases to matter. And Nanna's Def and Res stats are too low for a Def or Res refine to really matter.

 

1 hour ago, Zeo said:

1. Who wants Potent 4?

Fast units that don't want to compete directly with Spd creep. With lots of asterisks attached.

The most notable feature of Potent 4 is the fact that you activate Potent Follow 80% if you can't make a follow-up normally and don't have the Brave effect, but your Spd is no more than 20 behind your opponent's. Because Potent Follow can only be blocked by failing its incredibly lenient Spd comparison, this allows you to perform a follow-up with only slightly decreased damage without the need for Null Follow-Up or a guaranteed follow-up as long as you can mostly keep up with the opponent's Spd stat.

If the unit can perform a follow-up normally or has the Brave effect, you activate Potent Follow 40%, which is still good, but isn't quite as game-changing. In this case, Potent 4 is pretty comparable to Gambit 4 in performance. Potent 4 grants 30% damage reduction and an extra attack for 40% of your normal damage, while Gambit 4 with a 4-cooldown Special grants 40% damage reduction and +10 damage (or 50% damage reduction and +15 damage with a 5-cooldown Special). Potent 4 grants less damage reduction in exchange for not requiring a specific choice of Special skill (and potentially the supporting effects necessary to use it).

The other notable property of Potent 4 is that it's usable by all non-armored physical melee units. This means that, like Gambit 4, it's also usable by cavalry and fliers, but unlike Gambit 4, it's also usable by beasts. And beasts don't have that many strong options for their B slot right now.

 

Human melee infantry obviously have more competition for the slot than other classes, as not only do they have access to Gambit 4, but also Dodge 4, Tempo 4, and Phys. Null Follow. The main point of comparison here, though, is that all of these options require the unit to compete directly with Spd creep. If you are confident in the unit's ability to do so (or don't care to compete with the fastest of the fast because you have a different answer for them), then these skills will be better. However, if you still need to contest them, but aren't confident at winning the Spd comparison for a standard follow-up, Potent 4 will let you do so.

 

3 hours ago, Zeo said:

2. I have a +10 +ATK/+SPD Guy. Should he get Potent 4 or Spurn 4?

Pretty standard ATK/SPD Finish 4/Time's Pulse 4/Vital Astra build with either the Distant Counter or Guard Seal on him. But he's missing his B skill. Spurn's DR and damage is great but with Potent I don't have to worry about speed and the followup is nice. But if I give him Spurn 4 I can save Potent for someone else (Maybe Edward?! Dawn Brigade banner when?!)

Since you're not running Spd-boosting skills in his C slot and Sacred Seal, he's probably not going to be able to out-speed a lot of fast units. Which skill he'll get more mileage out of mostly depends on whether you need him to fight them or not.

If you need Guy to fight things that are faster than him, run Potent 4. Otherwise, run Spurn 4.

[Zeo]

@Ice Dragon Based on that, it seems like Potent 4 has more universal use for Guy. But I think based on what you said, I'm going to go with Spurn 4 and swap DC out for a Stat Boosting skill instead. I don't know who should get Potent 4 yet, but I'm not sold on guy. So I'm going to wait for another unit.

[DefyingFates]

@Ice Dragon So is the tl;dr: for Potent 4 that it's good for units with mid-Spd to keep up with the current meta, but the extra 40% hit isn't worth missing out on Tempo or Dodge skills for units with high Spd? Thanks in advance!

Edited February 22 by DefyingFates

[Ice Dragon]

2 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

So is the tl;dr: for Potent 4 that it's good for units with mid-Spd to keep up with the current meta, but the extra 40% hit isn't worth missing out on Tempo or Dodge skills for units with high Spd? Thanks in advance!

It's worth noting that a unit is never able to perform a standard follow-up against itself under identical conditions, so no matter how fast a unit is, there's always a reason to at least consider running Potent 4 over other B skills, even on the fastest units.

Potent 4 does lose value the faster a unit is, but whether or not that value falls to less than the value of other options depends on what you need the unit to accomplish.

[XRay]

On 2/21/2024 at 1:40 AM, Ice Dragon said:

If the unit can perform a follow-up normally or has the Brave effect, you activate Potent Follow 40%, which is still good, but isn't quite as game-changing. In this case, Potent 4 is pretty comparable to Gambit 4 in performance. Potent 4 grants 30% damage reduction and an extra attack for 40% of your normal damage, while Gambit 4 with a 4-cooldown Special grants 40% damage reduction and +10 damage (or 50% damage reduction and +15 damage with a 5-cooldown Special). Potent 4 grants less damage reduction in exchange for not requiring a specific choice of Special skill (and potentially the supporting effects necessary to use it).

At least on Player Phase nukes, would not Potent almost always be the best B slot? You are getting an extra hit in to help charge your Special and it comes with built-in Desperation for the Potent strike. Three (or five) strikes is better then two (or four) strikes. Having a third follow-up feels like a pretty big deal.

[Ice Dragon]

5 hours ago, XRay said:

At least on Player Phase nukes, would not Potent almost always be the best B slot? You are getting an extra hit in to help charge your Special and it comes with built-in Desperation for the Potent strike. Three (or five) strikes is better then two (or four) strikes. Having a third follow-up feels like a pretty big deal.

Potent Follow's damage multiplier is calculated after adding damage from the Special, which means that any Special that activates on a Potent Follow 40% is functionally wasted. Timing a Special with a higher cooldown to land on a third attack is wasted due to the damage penalty, and the extra Special charge gained from the Potent Follow is both inconsistent (because the Potent Follow doesn't happen if the enemy is already dead) and doesn't significantly change the timings for the most common setups with 1- and 2-cooldown Specials.

The damage itself from a Potent Follow 40% is also not all that game-changing. On an attack that would normally do 30 damage, Potent Follow 40% reduces that attack to 12 damage. Combined with the fixed 30% damage reduction, running Potent 4 in order to activate Potent Follow 40% is, at best, only comparable to the effects on other B skills and doesn't break out from the pack.

 

Currently, the best use of Potent 4 (outside of Emblem Marth) is to use it to activate Potent Follow 80% as a workaround against faster opponents.

[DefyingFates]

17 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

It's worth noting that a unit is never able to perform a standard follow-up against itself under identical conditions, so no matter how fast a unit is, there's always a reason to at least consider running Potent 4 over other B skills, even on the fastest units.

Potent 4 does lose value the faster a unit is, but whether or not that value falls to less than the value of other options depends on what you need the unit to accomplish.

So Potent doubles as a way to future-proof units against Spd creep too, in other words? That gives it some extra value I think, even if putting it on a current speedster won't mean anything for a few years (or even just one year, if past trends continue). Thanks again!

Edited February 23 by DefyingFates

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Potent Follow's damage multiplier is calculated after adding damage from the Special, which means that any Special that activates on a Potent Follow 40% is functionally wasted. Timing a Special with a higher cooldown to land on a third attack is wasted due to the damage penalty, and the extra Special charge gained from the Potent Follow is both inconsistent (because the Potent Follow doesn't happen if the enemy is already dead) and doesn't significantly change the timings for the most common setups with 1- and 2-cooldown Specials.

The damage itself from a Potent Follow 40% is also not all that game-changing. On an attack that would normally do 30 damage, Potent Follow 40% reduces that attack to 12 damage. Combined with the fixed 30% damage reduction, running Potent 4 in order to activate Potent Follow 40% is, at best, only comparable to the effects on other B skills and doesn't break out from the pack.

Hm... I guess that means Player Phase nukes that use Potent should consider running only Galeforce, Blazings, and Godlike Reflexes then? Galeforce and Blazings trigger outside of combat. Godlike Reflexes does not trigger on the unit's hit, so it does not get wasted.

4 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Currently, the best use of Potent 4 (outside of Emblem Marth) is to use it to activate Potent Follow 80% as a workaround against faster opponents.

Would not almost all fast infantry nukes still want Potent over any other B skill? They can easily get Pulsed, so they can almost always land an in-combat Special on the first hit, so they are very unlikely to waste a Special on the Potent hit. If they cannot land a natural nor guaranteed follow-up, Potent follow-up is almost just as good. If they can land a follow-up, Potent follow-up is quite a bit weaker, but you are still doing damage anyways, so it is still something.

Not too sure about fast fliers and cavalry, but if they can easily get Pulsed too, I think they would want Potent too.

[Ice Dragon]

7 minutes ago, XRay said:

Would not almost all fast infantry nukes still want Potent over any other B skill? They can easily get Pulsed, so they can almost always land an in-combat Special on the first hit, so they are very unlikely to waste a Special on the Potent hit. If they cannot land a natural nor guaranteed follow-up, Potent follow-up is almost just as good. If they can land a follow-up, Potent follow-up is quite a bit weaker, but you are still doing damage anyways, so it is still something.

Not too sure about fast fliers and cavalry, but if they can easily get Pulsed too, I think they would want Potent too.

The only time Potent 4 is strictly better than other B skills is when the unit cannot perform a follow-up and cannot kill the opponent in 1 hit.

In any other case, Potent 4 requires you to sacrifice something in exchange for a mere ~12 damage.

Assassin Strike deals 7 damage up front and 2/3 of a Moonbow on every attack. Spurn 4 grants 7 damage, Phantom Spd, and up to an additional 20% damage reduction. Phys. Null Follow grants Null Follow-Up and half percentage damage reduction nullification. Tempo 4 grants Tempo and half percentage damage reduction nullification. Special Spiral 4 grants full percentage damage reduction nullification. Gambit 4 grants 10 damage per hit and an additional 10% damage reduction with strings attached.

If Near Trace 4 has the same additional effect as Far Trace 4, then Near Trace 4 grants Canto and 7 damage per hit.

Aerial Maneuvers grants the Desperation effect at high HP and Grimoire teleportation. Rift grants 7 damage per hit, 7 flat damage reduction on the opponent's non-follow-up attacks, and Omnibreaker and makes it really fucking hard for the opponent to double.

 

And there's really no reason to ever run Potent 4 on a unit with the Brave effect. Gambit 4 with Aether is almost always strictly better both offensively and defensively, even if you can't consistently land Aether.

[DefyingFates]

Is Dragon's Stone the best generic dragonstone in FEH right now? I'd like to pick it up for HF!Corrin in HoF if so. Thank you in advance all!

[Ice Dragon]

9 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

Is Dragon's Stone the best generic dragonstone in FEH right now? I'd like to pick it up for HF!Corrin in HoF if so. Thank you in advance all!

From Hall of Forms, Dragon's Stone is the best inheritable weapon to get for fast dragons. New-Sun Stone is the best inheritable weapon to get for slow dragons.

[DefyingFates]

5 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

From Hall of Forms, Dragon's Stone is the best inheritable weapon to get for fast dragons. New-Sun Stone is the best inheritable weapon to get for slow dragons.

Thanks! I have New-Sun on her at the moment, I'll try and get Dragon's Stone if it shows up later. I... may have gotten Atk/Spd Pledge instead when I had the chance, forgetting Moonlight Stone has cooldown charge built in 😐

[Ether]

1 hour ago, DefyingFates said:

Thanks! I have New-Sun on her at the moment, I'll try and get Dragon's Stone if it shows up later. I... may have gotten Atk/Spd Pledge instead when I had the chance, forgetting Moonlight Stone has cooldown charge built in 😐

for what it's worth, a pledge+emblem marth engage with dragonstone+ is looking to be comparable to her Prf at the moment, possibly even better, since it still allows her to loop negating fang(you lose the turn 1 instant charge but full nfu and spd-true DR are very strong upsides to make up for that). It's what I'm set to redeem on her at present, and pledge is still +9 Atk/Spd even with her prf(you lose out on the oath warping or incited status taking it over other options with the same statline) so it mostly just changes what supports you run her with. Running someone with soaring echo or other warp support instead on NFU support, Incited is PP only so it isn't particularly notable on her.

Edited February 24 by Ether

[Ether]

1 minute ago, Ether said:

accidentally clicked quote instead of edit oops

 

Edited February 24 by Ether

[Karuu30]

just merged my last Y!Minerva and i’m debating on my next merge project. i’m between Arion and Echidna, but i’m unsure which one would be worth investing in.

i have decent fodder for both, so i can afford relatively expensive builds. any advice? thanks.

[Ice Dragon]

1 hour ago, Karuu30 said:

just merged my last Y!Minerva and i’m debating on my next merge project. i’m between Arion and Echidna, but i’m unsure which one would be worth investing in.

i have decent fodder for both, so i can afford relatively expensive builds. any advice? thanks.

Arione is a bit stronger out of the gate and is also probably a bit easier to build (and doesn't require Emblem Marth), but Echidna has a higher ceiling due to infantry having access to stronger skills.

 

Arione [+Atk]
Heired Gungnir
[Assist]
Ruptured Sky / No Quarter + Emblem Marth
Atk/Def Clash 4 / Atk/Def Catch 4 / Atk/Def Prime 4 / Flared Sturdy (once released) / Sturdy Surge / Earthfire Boost 3
Wyvern Rift / A/D Near Trace 4 (once released) / Guard Bearing 4
S/D Rein Snap / A/D Rein Snap (once released) / Atk/Def Oath 4 / Deadly Miasma
[any Sacred Seal that boosts Atk/Def]

Wyvern Rift is easily the strongest skill for his B slot. S/D Rein Snap is listed specifically to be run with Wyvern Rift and isn't really worth running with any other B skill.

This build can also be run with Aether + Gambit 4. Aerial Maneuvers is an option if you run Ruptured Sky + Emblem Marth or either of the above listed options with +1 Special charge rate from an ally.

If you aren't running Atk/Def Oath 4 in the C slot, he can run Atk Oath Echo. Death Blow Echo is always an option regardless of other skill slots.

 

Echidna [+Spd]
Western Axe [unique]
[Assist]
Godlike Reflexes + Emblem Marth
Atk/Spd Unity / Atk/Spd Finish 4 / Atk/Spd Prime 4
Buffer 4 / Spurn 4 / Velocity 4 (once released) / Spd/Def Tempo 4 / Phys. Null Follow
Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Incite Atk/Spd
[any Sacred Seal that boosts Atk/Spd] / Distant Counter (M)

Echidna pretty much requires Emblem Marth to function properly since she lacks the Slaying effect on her weapon. Ideally, you also want to run her either with a teammate that can inflict stat penalties on her or in a game mode where she can reliably be hit with stat penalties. Her base stats are rather mediocre, so you really do want to make sure her weapon's Unity effect is active.

You can run Vital Astra + Emblem Marth + Time's Pulse 4 if you prefer Vital Astra over Godlike Reflexes. Obviously, you don't need Buffer 4 or Tempo 4 if you do so.

The Null Follow-Up Sacred Seal can also be used, but it's more ideal to get the Null Follow-Up effect from a teammate if you aren't already running it in the B slot.

Atk Oath Echo is the only X skill even remotely worth running right now, but even then, it's only remotely worth running. Ideally, you should wait for something better to be released.

Edited February 25 by Ice Dragon