Elieson Talks Teams & Units | Today, The Starting Three, Alfonse Day, Not a Fun Day

[dragonlordsd]

Great work so far! Yeah, the meta is shaping up interestingly. So far nothing seems to shake the Takumi-Hector-Tiki-Azura dominated arena, but I love your analyses, they're so clear and well thought out.

[Hawk King]

8 hours ago, Elieson said:

Dealing with Reds:

Alfonse fits in here too, with his huge 51+6 attack leaving you with 3 HP. Him being +Atk will oneshot you unless you are +HP/+Def.

Currently Alphonse can only have a neutral bane/boon. And i really doubt we will ever see other copies of the 3 main characters ever.

 

 

Otherwise, a great read. Keep them up at whatever pace works for you.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Hawk King

[Elieson]

2 hours ago, Hawk King said:

Currently Alphonse can only have a neutral bane/boon. 

As long as people stop hacking the planet, yes this is likely true.

[eclipse]

Polls are still wonky.  Jyo needs to look into them (one day).

Klein = Brave user = he wants every attack steroid, ever.  Ideally, I'd run Eir/Nino/Azura/Klein, ensuring a ton of buffs on Nino, plus giant attacks on Klein.  Nino can drag him out of the way, should things become out of hand.

[Elieson]

On 3/2/2017 at 5:04 PM, ILikeKirbys said:

Elieson. Though I do have one more set of units to suggest for future analysis: Alfonse, Sharena and Anna. I know Sharena can be pretty good, but I know next to nothing about the other two (Anna I dropped very quickly since she kept dying due to poor defenses, and Alfonse joined her on the bench after he had 6 Speed at level 10 so I switched him out for Marth) and am curious about them, and you seem like you'd be able to explain what makes them work.

 

On 3/2/2017 at 5:40 PM, ILikeKirbys said:

Nino, Olwen, Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna are the units I'd like to see you cover in the future. Nino for reasons I gave in a previous post, Olwen because you already covered Reinhardt and I'm curious about the other brave tome user that's in right now, and Alfonse, Sharena and Anna because I'm curious as to how the Heroes original characters hold up compared to the various other characters in this game (and what makes Alfonse stand out compared to the various other sword lords).

 

On 3/2/2017 at 5:54 PM, Sire said:

1. Next Focus - Nino, Felicia, Setsuna, Effie: While I sorta know how effective Nino and Effie are and the fact I like Felicia, the detailed information would be nice and hopefully prove to be helpful for individuals wanting to spend their orbs.

2. Askr Heroes  - Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna: Starter heroes and the main characters of FE:Heroes. New and veteran players may like to know how useful (or useless) these units are.

Ask, and you shall receive. With Alfonse mentioned first, but the clear underdog for the upcoming Voting Gauntlet, I think I'll tackle him second. Anna being excluded can go last. Right now, it's all about Waifus. Who better to start than one of the two posterchilds of the game, and the clear candidate for best free unit the game has to offer?

Sharena

Sharena starts off as a measily 2* in a game where any summon attempt you make gives you a hefty 3* at bare minimum to work with. She's easily overlooked when you quickly accumulate oodles and oodles of high-rarity units to stuff into your team. She joins with her brother, Alfonse, and shares the seat with Anna and her big bro as the main characters of the game. She's upbeat, positive, a bit cheeky and pretty alright as the game goes, but easily replaced by other units, especially blue units, and definitely not worth the effort of raising up to 5* from 2, to 3, and through 4.

Or so we thought.

After diving into the game and pushing her to her limits, people quickly learned that with a bit of effort and investment, Sharena's not just your blah lord like Alfonse, and isn't weak like Anna. Sharena dons a Lance (making her the second starting Lance-using lord in the franchise after Ephraim from Fire Emblem Sacred Stones), and has some pretty useful supporting abilities, and with time and investment, gives you a powerhouse of a unit. She ranks in the Top 10 "Rating"s as far as units go, meaning she's got a very high stat ratio to work with (177, 7 off from the highest unit in the game, Hector). She has an exclusive PRF weapon that has a neat ability, and her stats are balanced in pretty much all of the right places. Even at 4*, while she lacks a PRF weapon and access to her final skill, she seems to be finding herself on many a team, and if I could count all of the "Who should I 5*" posts on SF and Reddit /r/FireEmblemHeroes that include Sharena in their list, I'd be counting for hours.

Sharena hits the board at 2*, but I'll post stats for 4* and 5* Level 40, in case you're tempted to make the jump but currently lack the drive or the 20,000 Hero Feathers and 20 Great Azure Badges to do so. For what it's worth, Sharena (along with all Free units and Grand Hero Battle units) cannot have stat variations, so what you see is what you get:

4* Stats:

HP     40
ATK   41
DEF   26
SPD   33 
RES   20
RATING 160

5* Stats:

HP     43
ATK   48
DEF   29
SPD   35
RES   22
RATING 177

Maximum Skills:

☆☆

1. Iron Lance (6 Mt, 1 Rng)
2. Rally Attack (Active Support skill, Grants adjacent ally +4 Atk until end of turn)

☆☆☆

1. Steel Lance (8 Mt, 1 Rng)
2. Rally Attack (Active Support skill, Grants adjacent ally +4 Atk until end of turn)
3. Fortify Def 1 (At Player Phase start, grants adjacent allies +3 Def into their next action)
4. Speed +2

☆☆☆☆

1. Silver Lance (11 Mt, 1 Rng)
2. Rally Attack (Active Support skill, Grants adjacent ally +4 Atk until end of turn)
3. Fortify Def 2 (At Player Phase start, grants adjacent allies +2 Def into their next action)
4. Speed +3

☆☆☆☆☆

1. Fensalir (16 Mt, [Enemies within 2 tiles receive -4 Atk through their next action], 1 Rng)
2. Rally Attack (Active Support skill, Grants adjacent ally +4 Atk until end of turn)
3. Fortify Def 3 (At Player Phase start, grants adjacent allies +4 Def into their next action)
4. Speed +3

On the Offense

Since 4* Sharena is common and 5* Sharena requires careful consideration of Hero Feather spending, let's look at the stats for both. I'm putting both in spoilers, because they're downright massive this time around.

☆☆☆☆

Spoiler

 

• Effective Atk (v Red) [49]
• Neutral Atk (v Blue/Colorless) [41]
• Ineffective Atk (v Green) [32.8 = 32 because RoundDown]

In a world of 5 stars, Sharena at 4* Lv 40 can keep up with her 41 natural Blue attack. She lacks buffs to her own attack power (and therefore, appreciates them herself...though they aren't hard to find with supporting units) but 41 physical attack does give her some impressive numbers. While she obviously struggles with green melee units, the arena is saturated with quick and hardhitting red/colorless units and rather tanky blue units, or mages that take hefty hits from her regardless of color advantage (Julia/Nino).

1 range forces her to engage in combat and she'll eat counterattacks, but 26 Def/20 Res aren't going to save her skin all the time. Her relatively high speed as a lancer help her survive counterattacks from Non-Greens. 33 speed at 4* puts her in the top 10 fastest blue units, allowing her only to be doubled by +Spd Azura on counterattacks, along with neutral Lon'qu/Hana/Fir and +Spd Lyn/Caeda/Lucina/Ryoma/Eirika, and most threatening of all, Anna and neutral Minerva. In terms of two-range opponents, Neutral Linde, +Spd Nino and +Spd Gaius/Felicia get the edge on her. This means that in terms of the meta, 4* Sharena is not likely to be doubled by more than a handful of units. Keep in mind, everyone mentioned above is assumed to be a 5* unit. That's impressive!

How about damage? She faces steep competition from other lancers, like 5* Effie (who's available in the upcoming Focus next week) and 5* Ephraim, both of which outdamage her by 10 but have speed that gets them doubled in return* Effie w/ Wary Fighter avoids some of this, and defense to tank hits a bit harder. Ephraim tuns 51 Atk and 26 Spd to 4*Sharena's 41 Atk and 33 Spd, and can also run supporting natures. Cordelia runs more Atk and relatively similar stats elsewhere, and also packs a Brave Lance+ at 5* and Nowi outclasses her in every stat except Speed (27 though, which is a big deficit). 4*Sharena is not a top-tier damaging blue unit. However, her safe/doubling speed and support options give her a place on teams, and she's easy to buff due to being a Rally user herself, letting her set herself up easily to receive Hone/Spur buffs from people that she Rally Attack boosts herself.

So where does 41 attack and 33 Spd get her in an arena that's probably flooded with 5* units and cheap dancers by now?

Versus Red: 

   This is obviously her strongest role. She can support the team while preparing to deal with opposing SwordLords and slowing down red Manaketes. She trades pretty evenly with most, as above, I already mentioned that there's only a few red units that double her (making her extremely safe to bait & chip with, even at 4*). Here's the numbers though, because it's what you came here for:

• While Hana, the most powerful sword user, doubles Sharena back, 4* Sharena still hits her hard
• She secures no OHKOs but comes 1HP shy of OHKO'ing Sanaki, her closest kill option and the only unit she can kill with a single +4 buff to her Attack from Spur/Hone/Rally Attack bonuses. Of the more common lords that she engages in combat with, she deals (assuming -3 dmg per hit if her opponent has +Def natures):
• Lucina: Hits for 24, hit back for 14 (or 14*2 if +Spd)
• Marth: Hits for 20, hit back for 9 Ryoma: Hits for 22, hit back for 14 (or 14*2 if +Spd) A!Tiki: Doubles for 14, hit back for 10 Y!Tiki, Hits for 17, hit back for 10 Eldigan: Hits for 12*2, hit back for 8 Lyn: Hits for 23, hit back for 9 M!Corrin: Hits for 18, hit back for 12 Eirika: Hits for 23, hit back for 7 (or 7*2 if +Spd)
• What this means is that the most common sword threats can barely 3HKO unbuffed Sharena 2RKOs everyone except for Marth [lives with 1 HP], M!Corrin [4 HP] and Y!Tiki [7 HP]. What else this means is that with a Spur/Hone/Rally attack boost from anybody, she'll 2RKO everybody mentioned above

   She doubles Alfonse/Cain/Chrom/Draug/Eldigan/Laslow/Lilina/Sanaki/Seliph/Sophia/Stahl and notably, A!Tiki, and will only fail to ORKO Seliph [lives with 4 HP], Sophia [2 HP], Henry [1 HP] and Draug [7 HP]. Since Sophia and Henry can't counter back, only Seliph and Draug can. Seliph hits back for 14, Draug for 4.  Not a single red unit can deal more than 36 damage to Sharena without a hefty speed buff. Any red unit with +Atk or +Spd natures will fail to ORKO Sharena if she initiates attack.

   What this means is that No red units can ORKO Sharena without huge Atk buffs or large Speed and some form of middling Attack buff. 4*Sharena can 2HKO the most commonly fielded red threats. She can not only tank a hit or two, but sometimes three even. What's better, is that no red Mages can ORKO her without receiving +14 to attack buffs at minimum, a feat that's pretty much not going to happen, so she can safely approach these units or block them off while you reposition your own team.

Versus Blue: 

   Sharena can safely chip everybody, as no blues ORKO or even double her back back without enormous speed buffs and/or attack buffs (except Linde, but from 2-range, so not applicable here). Unfortunately, she only deals 10+ damage per hit to units that cast magic or are mounted in some way. On the bright side, she does double many common things, like Ephraim, Gwendolyn, Abel, Nowi and Reinhardt. This ultimately means that if you're running solid green support, Sharena's contributions can keep your green getting hit, as Green units tend to be powerhouses and take out Blues relatively easily. For reference:

• Sharena herself deals 20 to Azura, 16*2 to Abel and 9*2 to Ephraim, three of the more common blues.

   Additionally, she hits M!Robin for 12, Odin for 16 and Linde for 27, 4H/3H/2H KO'ing, respectively Manaketes shrug her damage off. Nowi takes 8*2 while F!Corrin takes 7, making them reliable stoppers to 4* Sharenas Gwendolyn faces 6*2 with a massive 49 HP pool, and Effie takes 8 with Wary Fighter (8*2 otherwise) Close calls come from Cordelia, who takes 19/40 dmg per hit, and Reinhardt, who gets doubled for 15*2. All other mounted units take between 11-21 damage per hit, with some like Jagen and Est getting doubled for the lower values

   In return, Sharena's shiny armor doesn't fair off too well. The only blue unit that doesn't 3HKO her is Subaki. F!Corrin barely avoids 2HKO'ing her, while Nowi does it with room to spare. Ephraim, Effie, Est and 5*Sharena herself are the only ones that hit her back up close for over 20 melee damage (Effie at 29, Ephraim at 25 and 5*Sharena at 22, all 2HKO'ing her in return). 4*Sharena's job in handling Blues should be restricted to finishing them off, as she deals enough damage to many to finish what an allied Green would've started and almost finished up by themself.

Versus Colorless: 

   She does alright in this area, keeping Takumi at bay by punching him hard for 16 but being 2HKO'd in return without defensive support. Nothing doubles her back, and she does manage to double a few of these, including Brave Bow threats Klein and Gordin. She ORKO's Klein, which at 4* is quite a feat, and hits most everyone else for damage from 12-23 damage per hit. Healers don't like her smacks, in particular, Azama, Wrys and Lachesis, but these are the only healers she doubles.

   As far as damage goes, she's not doing much in terms of killing power, but she's great for chip or follow up. As said above, she checks Klein by having just enough power to kill Kleins that are +Atk or +Res (any other boon and she'll fail, and she won't double +Spd Klein). She also doubles Gordin for 12*2, but with his 43 HP, will need two rounds to secure the KO. Felicia is a smooth 2HKO no matter what, at 23 damage, and Kagero takes 19/31, which is important due to her Poison Dagger being effective against Sharena herself. Most everyone else is 3H/4H KO'd if they aren't Elise or Clarine, who are both 2HKO'd by her.

   One thing to keep in mind, is that Sharena's average 33 speed keeps her on par with Takumi's 33 speed, but if she engages in combat with him, will encounter his Threaten Spd 3. This will drop her speed to 28, letting her get doubled by Takumi on the next turn, along with anyone else running 33+ speed. 

Versus Green: 

   4*Sharena struggles to damage greens, as expected with the triangle. Anna, Arthur, Camilla, Fae, Hawkeye, Minerva and Raven are the only non-magically based units that 4*Sharena can scratch, and the hardest hit she delivers is 10 to Anna, or 7*2 to Fae. Fortunately, she's not doubled in return by almost any green. 

   Against green Mages though, she does respectably well for having WTD. She doubles Cecilias for 10 and Julias for 15, while giving Nino a nice little punch of 13.

   In terms of returned damage, Anna and Minerva double poor 4*Sharena back for absolutely destructive damage. Cherche is strong enough to OHKO 4*Sharena back. On the bright side, this means that she can sponge an emergency hit from anyone else and be alright, so the few points that she can deliver that could turn a win with 1 death into a win with 0 deaths could be just enough to get what you need. It's pretty impressive, that she can poke all but three greens and survive to tell the tale.

   Raven also punches back hard for 24 damage, and with Threaten Def turning your defense into 21 for the following turn, you'll die to another strike from him or anyone else packing 37 Atk power or more vs your Def (basically, any green, and most blues).

 

☆☆☆☆☆

Spoiler

 

• Effective Atk (v Red) [57]

Neutral Atk (v Blue/Colorless) [48] Ineffective Atk (v Green) [38.4 = 38 because RoundDown]

Versus Red: 

   If you take everything I mentioned above, consider what Sharena's capable of doing with an extra 2 speed and 7 attack under her belt. In the world of reds, only units with 40 speed can double Sharena via counter, naturally achieved by only Hana and Lon'qu, and also by Lyn/Fir/Caeda with a +Spd nature. Of course, this means that she also now doubles any 30-or less speed reds, which aside from the ones mentioned above (Alfonse/Cain/Chrom/Draug/Eldigan/Laslow/Lilina/Sanaki/Seliph/Sophia/Stahl and notably, A!Tiki), also included Ogma, Eliwood and Y!Tiki, and puts her one [+4] speed buff away from doubling Roy and M!Corrin.

   What all this means, is that she's hitting harder and more frequently, and very unlikely to take pain back due to safety from +Spd Lucinas/Lyns/etc that would've otherwise threatened her red-tanking ability.

   How about the math, you say? Well, let's see.

• She will now OHKO non +HP/+Def Hana, a red that could otherwise hurt Sharena back decently. She can't OHKO anyone else without proper Atk buffs or if her opponent has a -Def/-HP nature (-Def Caeda is the only case for the latter).

She has enough speed to double both Tikis now and only fails to ORKO +Def variants, as well as +Def Stahl and +Def Chrom

• Draug and Seliph survive with under 8 HP each, assuming neutral natures

If they're not Draug/Seliph or a +Def version mentioned above, then they die if Sharena doubles them. Draug is the only unit that she hits for less than 20 damage in a neutral scenario [18] and A!Tiki/Eldigan are the only units that take less than 20 damage with +Def natures.  Of the units that she cannot double, she still hits them all relatively hard. She 2RKOs every red unit.

Best of all, she is 4HKO'd at worst, and only by a few opponents at that. Brave Sword Cain/Ogma at best 9HKO her, and get doubled back to death if they're silly enough to attack you. Her durability against reds and offensive capabilities aren't the best, but what is key is that matches seldom last long enough for her only above-average durability to be an issue when dealing with counterattacks.

Versus Blue: 

   One must be a bit more careful in this batch, but only for counterattack damage. Amazingly, Sharena doubles the vast majority of blues, but fails to OHKO anybody without help.

• Neutral Azura, Catria, F!Corrin, Odin, Peri, Shanna, Sharena, Subaki, Sully, and Linde avoid getting doubled naturally
  • +Spd natures provide safety to the above, plus 28-30 speed units, including
    • Cordelia/Olwen/M!Robin fall into this category

Nobody will double Sharena to 2-hit her via counter, as the only blue capable of doing so is Linde, and she's a tome user

As far as damage is concerned, she can OHKO Linde if Linde is -HP or -Def, as neutral survives with 1 HP, but otherwise fails. So close!

How about her killing capabilities?

• Doubles & ORKOs
  • Abel, Cordelia, Donnel, Ephraim, Est, Hinoka, Jagen, Nowi, Oboro, Olwen, Reinhardt

Doubles (no ORKO)

• M!Robin is just barely tanky enough to survive with 2 HP

Effie and Gwendolyn are difficult to handle. At best, they're 4HKO'd by Sharena Single-hits (2HKO)

• F!Corrin (hits back hard to 3HKO right back, but is just barely 3HKO'd)

Sharena's damage capabilities as a 5* are pretty huge, because anyone that she doesn't kill is going to receive attack debuffs, while Sharena gives her own team Def buffs by herself. She's not the best at dealing with blues, granted that she's a blue herself, but she's safe chip and that's sometimes the difference between securing a kill or not with a proper team.

Versus Colorless: 

   Unbuffed Sharena cannot OHKO anybody in this group. She also fails to 2HKO only Azama/Gordin/Matthew/Saizo. Of key note, she does hit Takumi for 30, 2HKO'ing all variants of him.

Sharena naturally doubles:

• Doubles & ORKOs
  • Clarine
• Klein

Lachesis Sakura Wrys

• If you're fortunate enough to run into a -Spd Takumi, Sharena will be fast enough to double him, and a -Spd Takumi is ORKO'd, hitting back for 17

Doubles (no ORKO)

• Azama (3HKOs, hits for 16)

Gordin (kills -Def Gordin, as he survives with 4 HP) Single-hits (2HKO)

• Elise/Felicia/Gaius/Jakob/Jeorge/Kagero/Matthew/Setsuna/Takumi
  • +HP/+Def Jakob/Matthew would survive, as neutral survives two hits with 1 HP

Single hits (3HKO or worse)

• Saizo

   Since Takumis often run +Atk, there is a chance you could find a -Spd Takumi to assault, but they more often run +Spd to double more people, so you're not as likely as you would hope.

   5*Sharena covers most Colorless hard, as Takumi is the only unit that hits her (and 3HKOs her at best), while strangely enough, only Lachesis and +Atk Elise are able to 2HKO Sharena (from range), and since we're on the offensive, they'll never get in to harm you unless you let them.

Versus Green: 

   5*Sharena only fails to double 4 green units, which is mighty nice, meaning that she can dish out some decent chip damage to lower health greens. Most importantly, she counters Julia by doubling her for 21 damage (killing all variants except +Def) and also dealing an impressive 13*2 to Fae and 10*2 to Camilla. She can't double Nino though, and only hits her for 19, which is a 2HKO but a risky one to send her in on. Unlike her 4* self, she does manage to deal damage to everybody in the greens that isn't running +Def as a nature. Bartre, Beruka, Frederick, Hector and Sheena all take 0 damage though if running +Def. I don't think I need to state the obvious; her job here is to support her allied reds and mages in disposing of greens, and not to be assaulting them herself. Still, dealing 9 damage or more damage to every green magic-based green is decent for a blue, and gives her some extra value if a chip is needed to finish someone off. Don't bother with Narcian/Arthur though, as they have effective wpnry and lancebreaker to keep you down.

   Do be wary of Ravens though, because their Brave strike will kill you if running +Atk (as they do 21*2 to you on counter phases) and carry Threaten Def to turn your ok 29 Def into turn it into 24 next turn.

   I won't post numbers, but she hits greens melees for a 3HKO at best, so really shouldn't be doing this. 

 

On the Defense

At 4*, your defensive parameters are just under what you would want them to be, but at 5*, they are about perfect. Nothing really oneshots you, despite a few things one rounding you, and that's a very reassuring feeling since it means little is needed to sustain Sharena, and defensive resources can be utilized elsewhere. 

Dealing with Reds:

   Reds don't scare you. As I said above, at 4*, only Fir/Hana/Lon'qu double you naturally. Aside from Hana, nobody can naturally harm you for 20 damage or more, even with +Atk natures at melee range. Lilina and Sanaki can hit you for 22/23, struggling to 2HKO you with WTA.

   At 5*, Fir can no longer double you. Magical damage from the girls is reduced by 2, and your higher HP pool and Fensalir can slow down their threat. +Atk Hana can double you for 15*2, but nobody else can hurt you for more than 15 damage except for Chrom (16) even with a +Atk nature. You're a hard Red check.

Dealing with Blues:

   If you're 4*, Linde has 39 speed, and outright demolishes you with her huge 29*2 damage. Reinhardt also Brave hits you unbuffed for 21*2, just barely killing you. Of course, if he is +Atk, then it's 24*2 and you never stood a chance. High Hitters like Ephraim still hit you for 25, and everyone else hits you for between 15-21 damage, so you're still relatively safe. F!Corrin hits you for 21. Aside from Subaki, every blue will hit you for about 17 +/- 3

   At 5*, damage is reduced by 3 overall, and you have 3 more HP too, and the only units that 2HKO you are Effie, Ephraim, Nowi and Linde. Everyone else hits for sub 20 damage, and that means even Reinhardt and Olwen can't Brave you down. The 17 +/- 3 is now 14 +/- 3, which means you're 3HKO'd on average by Blues, making you relatively safe. Effie/Ephraim still hit you for 26/22 though, letting them both still 2HKO you just barely. Nobody with a +Atk nature can 2HKO, which is the good news!

   One thing to keep in mind is that some foes carry Threaten/Seal skills that matter a lot to you.

• Shanna
  • Threaten Spd: Engaging in combat with 5* Shanna and her 35 speed means that she has a scary counterattack. Shanna herself normally doesn't hurt you for that much (12) but in a scenario where you attack Shanna first and she counters, then on her followup turn, will have Desperation active and Iceberg on queue for the second attack. This means 5* Sharena takes 12+12+23 damage before Sharena can counterattack on the followup turn, resulting in a kill. If it kills 5*, you know it kills 4*. Don't engage in combat versus Shanna unless you have methods to secure a KO on the same turn that you initiate your attack
• Corrin
  • Seal Res/Dark Breath: Getting in combat with Corrin drops your res by up to 7, AND speed by 4. This is huge, as it allows her to double back 4* Sharenas and with +Spd, 5* Sharenas. She also hits for a natural 20 dmg to smoothly 2HKO Sharena, and if there's a situation where 5* Sharena attacks F!Corrin first and she survives, F!Corrin can attack on the next turn and have just enough power from the Seal Res debuff to kill you in a second hit.
• Nowi
  • Threaten Res: A 5 point res debuff lets Nowi hit a bit harder (30 or 28). She would have 2HKO'd you anyway, but this allows setup from support to hurt you just a bit more
• Oboro
  • Like the aforementioned Threaten Res, Oboro carries it as well, letting mages and manaketes hurt Sharena much harder. Oboro carries Seal Def as well, letting her soften you up on a counterattack that she would always survive in
• Ephraim
  • Seal Def: Engaging in combat to soften up Ephraims hits you back with Seal Def 3, dropping your Defense by 7 through your next action. This gives 4* Sharena under 20 defense, and with 15 HP left after combat with Ephraim, results in almost any blue or green being able to follow up for the kill, despite not having the bonus to work with. 5* gets 22. Ephraims taking the lead should not be allowed to attack your Sharena without great risk.
• Peri/Ephraim
  • Threaten Def: Drops your defense by 5 if the aura triggers your defense drop, which is entirely possible, setting you up to have 21 4*/24 5* defense

Fensalir can offset some of this with its -Atk debuff, but careful placement and strategic followup is important when dealing with these units.

Dealing with Colorless:

   Takumis always hurt, but you're safe from getting OHKO'd and unless you're letting Sharena get hit, she shouldn't get 2HKO'd by anybody except Takumis that are designed to do so (+Atk). Keep an eye out for them, and you're taking no more than 25 damage per hit from anyone other than Kagero, who still can't OHKO you (33 damage to 4*, 31 to 5*). Do watch out for Gordin (13*2 via Brave) and Klein (11*2 via Brave) though. Takumi does a natural 20/40 to you at 4*, which is also bad.

Dealing with Greens:

   Cherche can OHKO 4* Sharena, as well as Minerva, Narcian and Anna, but Beruka fall short. High hitters Julia and Nino need one attack buff each to be able to kill you, as both hit for over 35 damage. Cecilia and Fae hit for exactly 35 with neutral natures, so if they have 49 Atk due to buffs at any point, you're dead. 

The biggest threats come from the Emerald users, who both carry Lancebreaker, ensuring a second strike when at a decent amount of health. Narcian would normally get doubled by you for miniscule damage, and double back for 31 (if 4*) and 28 (if 5*) damage, while Arthur meets the threshold of killing power as well.

   5* Sharena can tank things a bit easier. Nobody can double you if you're battling a green unless they have Speed buffs of their own (Anna and Minerva come close though). With your 43 HP, Julia needs +7 Atk to kill you, but Nino can still do the job with +5 of any kind of buff...basically, they both need two buffs to take you down. Cecilia and Fae hit you for 33/43, so they're threatening too. Most neat of all, is that Hector and Minerva hit you for 33 dmg too, but won't kill you, but you're not chipping in return.

 

Other Synergy and Team Options:

☆☆☆☆ & ☆☆☆☆☆

• Speed Support
  • Spur Spd through Marth, Lyn, Jeorge
    • 4*Sharena has almost enough speed to assure that her hits will be both safe, and threatening. Marth and Lyn give her team red balance while also helping give Sharena +4 speed to offset her almost-just-right speed, while Sharena gives them the Atk and Def support that they crave. She'll bump Marth and Jeorge to 51/50 Atk, and also give them just a bit more defense to do what they need to do. Lyn especially appreciates the Def support. 5* Sharena craves the speed as it turns her from 35 to 39 after one buff, which lets her double many opponents
  • Hone Spd through Eirika, Ryoma, Laslow
    • Sharena gives all three some extra muscle, and Ryoma's 50 natural Atk and Raijinto love that. Eirika compliments Sharena by buffing her Atk and Spd right back, while Laslow serves as an extremely hard counter to Axes, which plague 4*Sharena horribly and 5*Sharena just a lot but not as badly of course
• Map Staples
  • Hector
    • A power green that checks blues which Sharena struggles against, and boasts the highest Arena rating of them all. Sharena doesn't need to offer him support, as running Hector lets you dedicate Sharena to giving support elsewhere
  • Lucina
    • Lucina is a strong red that checks threatening greens, and also gives Sharena some attack in return for reciprocated defense via adjacency bonuses. Lucina carries the Falchion, which lets her sustain herself while being able to also check Manaketes, a global nuisance
  • Y!Tiki
    • While not the most threatening Red unit, Y!Tiki can give 5*Sharena some extra stability with Breath of Life, while also being able to soak up incoming green threats like Julia and Hector with not as much fear
  • Kagero
    • While Kagero is squishy, the Rally Attack bonus turns her Poison Dagger into a very threatening effective weapon against both Manaketes and Infantry. Kagero sets herself up as a stellar Anti-mage, which is the thing that probably scares Sharena the most right now
• Brave Weapon Users
  • Gordin, Klein
    • These guys love her Rally Attack, and her Fortify Def gives Gordin more than 30 Defense to work on tanking with. The big thing here is that with Rally Attack, Sharena can give them both over 45 attack to Brave strike with at range, letting them either heavily chip for a third unit to follow up or outright kill
  • Cain, Draug
    • Cain offers alright Red coverage, and with Threaten Atk, synergizes with Sharena's Fortify Def to turn Cain into a mobile damage sponge that can charge in and double strike without much fear of taking return damage. Effectively, you could be seeing Cain's natural 27 Def, with Fortify Def's +3 and Threaten Atk's bonuses on top of that.
    • Draug, if engaged in the combat, offers Sharena Spur Def 2 right back, and also takes her Def bonus and turns it into 42 Defense, which even after being doubled by WTA, isn't going to be that intimidated
  • Barst
    • Barst boasts slightly less str and much less Res than Raven, in exchange for a bit more speed and much more HP/Def. This, combined with Rally Atk and Fortify Def, turn Barst into a very scary green unit. 45 Atk Brave strikes are very threatening, especially against blues, and 33 Def with WTA lets him soak up damage that Sharena herself definitely doesn't want to get involve in
• Dancers
  • Azura
    • Repeat turns to give more Rallies. Unfortunately, Sharena's already fairly good as a blue combatant and doesn't crave Azura support, and Olivia doesn't offer the strongest Red help to offset the need for a solid axe counter, especially against units like Hector.
  • Olivia
    • and another Red, like Marth, would work well in this case, instead of another Blue and giving Sharena some offense via Hone Atk right back, but against the Red-heavy meta, Azura offers more flexibility and some safer coverage with her Sapphire Lance. It's a toss up, and depends on your team's balance, but I think Azura is better than Olivia, albeit more rare.
• Magic Support
  • Julia, Tharja, Linde
    • Hard hitting greens like Julia are always a plus to have, and Julia herself boasts the second best Rating to carry into the Arena out of all the mages (166, a bit low, bit for a very reliable unit, is great). This lets you bring in a Swordie like Marth or Ryoma, both units that bolster Sharena and Julia's
    • Tharja offers potent Red support, letting you confidently run a strong green like Hector or Minerva, and makes an adequate setup for Azura to join. Both can chip enemy Hectors safely, and let Tharja or Sharena herself finish him off.
    • Linde is just a tactical nuke, but with Sharena and Linde, you'll need some muscle to safely tackle green with, and Olivia as a red can't offer that, just more bolstered nuking
  • M!Robin, Nino, Reinhardt
    • With proper setup, Nino can hard-counter Takumi, an arena staple. Nino thrives much more from the buffs that Sharena gives, turning Rally Attack and Fortify Def 2 into +11 Attack for Gronnblade. This lets Nino hit anybody hard.
    • M!Robin and Reinhardt don't need as much help and offers blue overlap, but can take Rally Attack's +4 and accomplish a lot with it. They beg for a dancer, which complicates team balance

Who do I suggest to run?:

Sharena carries Rally Attack and Fortify Def 2, and at 5*, has buffed FD3 and also innate Threaten Atk 2 through her weapon. This lets her help physically challenged units survive, and pushes high damaging units up in value with a buff that stacks with Spurs.

• Marth/Julia/Azura
  • Marth checks greens and can sustain himself with Falchion's 10 HP heal, while Julia can use Breath of Life to AoE heal the team after delivering high power blasts. Sharena can check Reds, while Marth and even Julia can finish them off. Azura operates as support, mainly giving people more turns where needed, but her Sapphire Lance also helps her check common red threats with high powered burst hits that have amplified damage through Rally Atk. Marth's Spur Spd gives the team a bit of extra speed to operate with, and helps Julia keep up or dodge scary situations, while Azura and Sharena hit doubling speeds to take out other threats like +Atk Takumis
    • Lucina can sub in for Marth here for additional Atk support, but I feel as though Marth's speed makes options generally safer, and his durability + mobility perks let him take on other Sword Lords with a lot more consistency, especially in tightly arranged arenas
• Eirika/Nino/Azura
  • Again, we see Azura in here for the same reasons. Between these four, Nino can have every one of her stats boosted in some way to capitalize on Gronnblade's conversion bonus and turn Nino into what reddit has turned her into, the best. Eirika mainly serves to buff the others while Sharena takes a bit more of an offensive role in this team, making the anti-green forces more limited to Nino explosions and Eirika for red chip.
• Hector/Effie/Sharena/Eldigan
  • This high rating team can storm into the Arena and with its high overall rating, get a ton of feathers. Coverage comes in the form of Eldigan's high mobility to dance around and capitalize on Sharena's buffs to extend his lifespan while Fury saps it away, while Hector and Effie just serve to smash whatever unfortunate soul crosses into their aggro range

Brave weapon users pull Arena ratings down, but if you do choose to run them, I suggest sticking Olivia on your team as your dancer of choice, allowing Sharena to fill combat and defensive related options while Olivia's Hone Atk serves to buff Atk with more flexibility.

 Final Words

In short, 4* Sharena is practical and can serve her job in the Arena quite well. She's not the best, but she has universal applications as a blue supporter that can also sponge hits and deal with Reds. Meanwhile, 5* Sharena is an offensive threat that happens to also be able to boost your team's arena rating and at the same time, offer fantastic physical support through Fensalir's Threaten Attack helping everybody out. Her stats are generally considered "above average" and despite not being the most defensive unit on the planet, has enough speed to be safe from pretty much any threat and also enough firepower to set up kills left and right. Braves slow her down, but braves slow everyone down, and if you're running a high-point team, you won't even encounter them in the Arena anyway due to Advanced Arena never actually having them because of low Ratings.

If you're on the fence about promoting Sharena to 5*, the cost is 22,200 Feathers from start to finish. I highly, highly recommend promoting her, and if you're doubting it, consider the value of what your other units can do.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Elieson
Applied consideration for Threaten/Seal effects

[Elieson]

Oh snap, i need to fix that part where I copypasted and didnt delete the Klein bit in the durability section...and for some reason, my colorless 5* bullets flubbed up. 

Edited March 4, 2017 by Elieson

[eclipse]

And while you're at it, 5* +Atk Tharja is just shy of ORKOing 4* Sharena.  Assuming the person using Tharja has a brain and has some form of attack buff, then it quickly becomes a clean ORKO.

EDIT: Where the fuck did I draw 49 Atk from?

Edited March 4, 2017 by eclipse

[ExpendableExtra]

F!Corrin KOs Sharena on the next turn if Sharena attacks first and wasn't in range of the attack debuff because of Seal Res.

[Elieson]

I added in consideration for Threaten/Seal effects, and updated to accomodate that Narcian and Arthur with Emerald+Lancebreaker secure KOs if at proper health to trigger it. tl'dr,

• Narcian doubles for 28*2, killing pretty much any instance
• Arthur, I lack the stats for, but with his Emerald Axe, would have to have less than 37 Atk in order to fail securing a KO, and I'm positive that he has over 40 Atk with Emerald Axe+

 

• Takumi's Threaten Spd lets 4* Sharena get doubled by him, and he normally hits for 20, resulting in a smooth KO. 5* would survive being doubled, even from a +Atk version, with 3 HP.
  • Shanna's version lets her double 4* and 5*, and more notably, Iceberg Desperation countering on a followup turn with the speed debuff that will allow her to kill 4* and 5* with anything other than a -Atk or -Spd nature
• F!Corrin's Seal Res lets her just barely secure a KO on 5* Sharena, while Oboro's Seal Def does the same v 4* Sharena.
• Ephraim's Seal and Threaten Defs are superfluous, he'd kill her anyway, and the same goes for Nowi and her Threaten Res.
• Raven's Threaten Def and Defiant Speed could combine to let him Quad-hit Sharena, necessary when going after 5* Sharena as she survives with 1HP under neutral circumstances
• Peri's Threaten Def doesn't really make a difference unless Glimmer is about to proc, but because of speed issues, would need one extra action to actually proc.

[LordFrigid]

16 hours ago, Elieson said:

Eirika/Nino/Azura

• Again, we see Azura in here for the same reasons. Between these four, Nino can have every one of her stats boosted in some way to capitalize on Gronnblade's conversion bonus and turn Nino into what reddit has turned her into, the best. Eirika mainly serves to buff the others while Sharena takes a bit more of an offensive role in this team, making the anti-green forces more limited to Nino explosions and Eirika for red chip.

Another pro for that team - amazing positioning options. Between Pivot, Draw Back, and Sing, even some of the most evil team splits can be remedied (except possibly the bridge map, but at least on that one your enemies have their movement equally restricted). For example, the Lava Map:

 

It's pretty fun.

Edited March 4, 2017 by LordFrigid
Stuck the image in a spoiler. It's shortened, but still...

[dragonlordsd]

I think it's really cool at least one of the starting characters is actually really good. Still, hero feathers remain a barrier.

[Sylphid]

Caught up to all your posts, really great reads! Especially appreciate

Choosing between Sharena and Kagero for 5* suddenly became a lot harder though, dammit

Edited March 4, 2017 by Sylphid

[Arcanite]

4 hours ago, Sylphid said:

Caught up to all your posts, really great reads! Especially appreciate

Choosing between Sharena and Kagero for 5* suddenly became a lot harder though, dammit

I'd go kagero for the record

Anywho, I can't wait for Anna. She is my only good ax user so my body is ready for a deep annalysis of her skills!

[Elieson]

Took the weekend off to do Kid stuff. Anna/Alfonse come tomorrow/Tuesday. The more I research this stuff, the more i realize that Anna is an  Axe with typical Swordie stats while Alfonse is a Sword with typical Lancer stats and Sharena is a Lance with...ok better than typical Axer stats. A Heads Up, Alfonse research surprised me with some numbers that make 5* look tasty, and may prove to be better on average than Anna...You'll just have to wait and see :)

On 3/1/2017 at 7:45 AM, Vaximillian said:

@Elieson, can you say what Rising/Blazing Thunder area of effect is?

Woah I missed this!

https://gyazo.com/61c9c57d6fc91e05283f3859a461201c

 

There you go. It's a 5 up Vertical column, 2 U/D on target.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2017 by Elieson

[Vaximillian]

7 hours ago, Elieson said:

There you go. It's a 5 up Vertical column, 2 U/D on target.

Yeah, thank you.

[MaskedAmpharos]

I was excited to pull an Eldigan just now, until I checked his IVs and found he was +Spd, -Atk. How badly does the -Atk hurt him? (what important KOs does he miss out on?)

[Elieson]

8 hours ago, MaskedAmpharos said:

I was excited to pull an Eldigan just now, until I checked his IVs and found he was +Spd, -Atk. How badly does the -Atk hurt him? (what important KOs does he miss out on?)

+Spd gives him 30 speed, giving him a bit of safety from getting doubled from some threats like neutral and +Atk Takumi, Catrias (a bit more common right now) and F!Corrins, and also lets him double Chroms, Lilinas, Gordins and most notably, Hectors (that he wouldn't otherwise double).

 

However, the -Atk nature brings his standard Atk power to 48 with a Sword, which isn't super stellar since it's less than normal Lucina, and only +1 over Marth (who runs more speed than +Spd Eldigan anyway). 48 Atk gives 57 vs Green though, and lets you double Berukas and Hectors for 20 each (leaving Beruka with 6HP and Hector with 12), as well as killing -HP or -Def Sheenas outright via double. Against Greens, you have -4 Attack power with your nature (normally 61), and you miss out on a little bit with that. You still OHKO Julias and Ninos, but don't OHKO typical Cecilias. 

In short, you no longer OHKO:

• Cecilia
  • You ORKO her, since you now double her though
• Sanaki
• Elise
• -Def / -HP Kagero

That's basically it. You would probably have preferred a +Spd/-[Anything Else] for the humongous bonus (- 48 | 51 | + 54). If you're running -Atk Eldigan, please run some form of +Atk support like Gunter or something else even in Sharena to offset the difference and give him back his punch, and the +Spd does give you access to a few options when unbuffed that you otherwise would need to look out for, notably, F!Corrins and Hectors, which are pretty common.

[dragonlordsd]

28 minutes ago, Elieson said:

However, the -Atk nature brings his standard Atk power to 48 with a Sword, which isn't super stellar since it's less than normal Lucina, and only +1 over Marth (who runs more speed than +Spd Eldigan anyway). 48 Atk gives 57 vs Green though, and lets you double Berukas and Hectors for 20 each (leaving Beruka with 6HP and Hector with 12), as well as killing -HP or -Def Sheenas outright via double. Against Greens, you have -4 Attack power with your nature (normally 61), and you miss out on a little bit with that. You still OHKO Julias and Ninos, but don't OHKO typical Cecilias. 

How much would Hector do in response? Would Eldigan survive? I assume he has the defense to, but I've been surprised by some reprisals.

An interesting tidbit: Lvl 40 Reinhardt can kill Takumi on the attack, and will survive being doubled by Takumi on defense. He hits Takumi surprisingly hard (~25), and against double Takumis, I've found that his Vantage (finally) has some use.

Also, I'm not yet aware of any red units that Reinhardt does not kill outright when attacking, although I haven't tested him against some of the pegasus knights or  Tiki (I think Tiki survives, not completely sure)

Edited March 6, 2017 by dragonlordsd

[Elieson]

2 minutes ago, dragonlordsd said:

How much would Hector do in response? Would Eldigan survive? I assume he has the defense to, but I've been surprised by some reprisals.

 

Hector attacking you first would result in 15 damage +6 from Fury, assuming neutral natures all around. If he's neutral, you double him back for 20x2.

If you attack him, Armads ensures that he hits you for 15*2 +6. but you still hit him for 20x2. +Atk would mean a bit more, but only 6 more damage in total. +Spd Hector won't get doubled, and +Def Hector takes -6 damage in total, letting hector survive 3 hits with 1 HP to spare. Armads followup won't happen after he attacks you for one round of combat.

Eldigan will survive, but be at about half health +/-, if you initiate the attack. If he attacks you, you'll faire off much better.

[dragonlordsd]

Just now, Elieson said:

Hector attacking you first would result in 15 damage +6 from Fury, assuming neutral natures all around. If he's neutral, you double him back for 20x2.

If you attack him, Armads ensures that he hits you for 15*2 +6. but you still hit him for 20x2. +Atk would mean a bit more, but only 6 more damage in total. +Spd Hector won't get doubled, and +Def Hector takes -6 damage in total, letting hector survive 3 hits with 1 HP to spare. Armads followup won't happen after he attacks you for one round of combat.

Eldigan will survive, but be at about half health +/-, if you initiate the attack. If he attacks you, you'll faire off much better.

Wait 15*2 +6 or (15+6)*2? One gives you 36, the other 42. 

But a +Spd Hector won't get doubled? Wow.

[Kruggov]

9 minutes ago, dragonlordsd said:

Also, I'm not yet aware of any red units that Reinhardt does not kill outright when attacking

Roy lives with 6 HP so long as he doesn't have TA equipped. (MAYBE he can survive with TA1 on, but definitely now with higher TA-s)

Y!Tiki/Raigh/Leo live with 1 HP. Raigh then throws a wolf head FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE (?)

Fir and Eliwood live with 5 HP.

Sanaki lives with 3 HP without TA (TA1 kills her)

Caeda lives with 6.

That's about it? All neutrals though, IVs change things, i think +Atk Reinhardt kills all of then unless they are +Res.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Kruggov

[Elieson]

4 minutes ago, dragonlordsd said:

Wait 15*2 +6 or (15+6)*2? One gives you 36, the other 42. 

But a +Spd Hector won't get doubled? Wow.

(15*2)+6

[dragonlordsd]

11 minutes ago, Kruggov said:

Roy lives with 6 HP so long as he doesn't have TA equipped. (MAYBE he can survive with TA1 on, but definitely now with higher TA-s)

Y!Tiki/Raigh/Leo live with 1 HP. Raigh then throws a wolf head FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE (?)

Fir and Eliwood live with 5 HP.

Sanaki lives with 3 HP without TA (TA1 kills her)

Caeda lives with 6.

That's about it? All neutrals though, IVs change things, i think +Atk Reinhardt kills all of then unless they are +Res.

Cool. Haven't seen any of those in the arena yet, so thanks.

@Elieson Interesting. Good to know.

Edited March 6, 2017 by dragonlordsd

[MaskedAmpharos]

@Elieson Thanks for the response! The -Atk is a bit of a bummer, but I'll work around it. It's nice to know the +Spd is better than I thought at least. 

Also, I love your write-ups! Looking forward to the next one (been wondering about the starters for a while)

[Ice Dragon]

On 3/3/2017 at 5:47 PM, Elieson said:

Ineffective Atk (v Green) [38.4 = 38 because RoundDown]

The weapon triangle bonus and penalty is rounded down, not the end effective Atk, so that weapon triangle advantage and disadvantage are symmetric with each other.

With 48 base attack, you'd have a weapon triangle modifier of 9, rounded down from 9.6, resulting in 57 damage against red and 39 damage against green, not 38 damage against green.

To double-check, I dropped a Marth with 44 Atk (not fully leveled) into the training tower against a low-level lance unit with 3 Def. The resulting damage was 33, or 44 - 8 - 3, meaning the 44 x 0.2 = 8.8 weapon triangle modifier was rounded down to 8.