XhenD Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 The new Arena season is upon us. I'm sure many of you, like me, didn't had the luck to pull one of the focus characters. That basically leaves us with Ursula, Azama and Anna. Of those three, I think most of us would consider Ursula since she is already 4*, and I'm having trouble to assemble a team around her that can deal with the current meta. The best I can think of (using the 5* I possess) will be Julia, Marth, Effie and Ursula. How are you guys going to approach the next Arena? What is your solution to counter the vantage Hectors and Takumis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I personally feel that to use Ursula to her full potential, you would need to inherit Odin's Blarblade tome and stack Hone/Fortify Cavalry from Gunter and Jagen so that she essentially becomes a better Nino (but blue. Actual better Nino would be Cecilia with Gronnblade). This also solves the problem of vantage Takumi because Takumi just dies in one shot. Now, if you don't have the resources/time to pull off Horse Emblem or simply don't want to, I think the proposed Julia, Marth, Effie, and Ursula is a pretty decently balanced team. As for how I plan to approach the next Arena, I currently have a pretty vanilla team of Ninian, Julia, Ryoma, Effie used to test the waters (Julia has bowbreaker for Takumi). If the maps favor Horse Emblem though, I intend to give that a shot as I have all the prerequisite pieces and just need to build up SP for inheritance shenanigans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elieson Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 22 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: I personally feel that to use Ursula to her full potential, you would need to inherit Odin's Blarblade tome and stack Hone/Fortify Cavalry from Gunter and Jagen so that she essentially becomes a better Nino (but blue. Actual better Nino would be Cecilia with Gronnblade). This also solves the problem of vantage Takumi because Takumi just dies in one shot. Now, if you don't have the resources/time to pull off Horse Emblem or simply don't want to, I think the proposed Julia, Marth, Effie, and Ursula is a pretty decently balanced team. As for how I plan to approach the next Arena, I currently have a pretty vanilla team of Ninian, Julia, Ryoma, Effie used to test the waters (Julia has bowbreaker for Takumi). If the maps favor Horse Emblem though, I intend to give that a shot as I have all the prerequisite pieces and just need to build up SP for inheritance shenanigans. Anna has a higher BST over Ursula, but is IMO a more difficult unit to use. She's not gonna sponge out any swordies at all, which are basically assured to exist at levels in which Anna is used, nor will she help enormously vs the likes of Takumi and most greens, but she does ok vs Blues and can approach & bait Lindes and Nowis with some room to spare, charging her proc and vantage-o-meter. Running Ursula requires support in anything, while Anna requires just support from a team that has bulk. Also I'm assuming you're gonna have either/or at 4*, (i'm about to Lv40 4* both my Ursula and Anna), so i'm assuming you're using those stats. Ursula inheriting Blarblade requires some support, which you can get from Hones/Rallybots. Plenty of reds offer rallies, but not so many greens that'd fit well on a team involving Ursula. Of course, Horse emblem does the job but if you don't have a generic team or horse emblem, she'll not be up to her potential. Just be sure to get Blarwolf off, since at higher levels, nobody runs ponies. You basically can't go wrong with Marth/Julia/Effie/[Literally any 4th], but with Anna having a higher BST potential, she might yield you more reward, where Ursula might offer you more cushion. 22 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: As for how I plan to approach the next Arena, I currently have a pretty vanilla team of Ninian, Julia, Ryoma, Effie used to test the waters (Julia has bowbreaker for Takumi). pretty vanilla team of generally some of the best units in the game, customized lol Edited March 20, 2017 by Elieson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 4 minutes ago, Elieson said: pretty vanilla team of generally some of the best units in the game, customized lol I just meant that my team is pretty generalist and isn't built specifically for the coming season (like how one would make a horse team for Ursula) but just has units that work in any scenario haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XhenD Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 31 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: Now, if you don't have the resources/time to pull off Horse Emblem or simply don't want to, I think the proposed Julia, Marth, Effie, and Ursula is a pretty decently balanced team. hey thanks for the advice. Yeah I'm not too fond of the all cavalry idea, mainly because I don't have any as 5* characters, and I'm aiming for above 4300 points in arena. I will give this "Julia, Marth, Effie and Ursula" team a try, let's see how it goes. 33 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: As for how I plan to approach the next Arena, I currently have a pretty vanilla team of Ninian, Julia, Ryoma, Effie used to test the waters (Julia has bowbreaker for Takumi). If the maps favor Horse Emblem though, I intend to give that a shot as I have all the prerequisite pieces and just need to build up SP for inheritance shenanigans. are you going to use Ryoma to counter Hector? I'm having trouble using Ryoma in arena, because he's more like a glass canon, even with it's range counter ability. 13 minutes ago, Elieson said: Also I'm assuming you're gonna have either/or at 4*, (i'm about to Lv40 4* both my Ursula and Anna), so i'm assuming you're using those stats. Ursula inheriting Blarblade requires some support, which you can get from Hones/Rallybots. Plenty of reds offer rallies, but not so many greens that'd fit well on a team involving Ursula. Of course, Horse emblem does the job but if you don't have a generic team or horse emblem, she'll not be up to her potential. Just be sure to get Blarwolf off, since at higher levels, nobody runs ponies. You basically can't go wrong with Marth/Julia/Effie/[Literally any 4th], but with Anna having a higher BST potential, she might yield you more reward, where Ursula might offer you more cushion. yes I might promote Anna to 4* tomorrow (and powerleveling her) when I get my arena rewards. It will be interesting to test both character in the arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, XhenD said: Are you going to use Ryoma to counter Hector? I'm having trouble using Ryoma in arena, because he's more like a glass canon, even with it's range counter ability. Yes, I am. I find that Ryoma's usually tanky enough to survive a hit against Hector, which is all I need, generally (tank a hit, then kill him on player phase if he isn't already dead). I've given him Fury to deal with Hectors with Vantage, as he should now be able to survive attacking him again to finish him off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XhenD Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: Yes, I am. I find that Ryoma's usually tanky enough to survive a hit against Hector, which is all I need, generally (tank a hit, then kill him on player phase if he isn't already dead). I've given him Fury to deal with Hectors with Vantage, as he should now be able to survive attacking him again to finish him off. wow that's actually a very good idea. Too bad I don't have any characters that has Fury. Imaging Ryoma having Fury 3 and Renewal 3.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silith13 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I'm most likely going to run Hana, Robin!M (with bowbreaker), Ursula and Olivia. It's been working out well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 3 minutes ago, XhenD said: wow that's actually a very good idea. Too bad I don't have any characters that has Fury. Imaging Ryoma having Fury 3 and Renewal 3.... I'm personally in favor of taking advantage of Fury's self-damage rather than trying to cancel it out (though that's perfectly viable). I find it quite helpful for getting Ryoma into the HP threshold of Vantage or Desperation to take advantage of Raijinto or his high speed. Edited March 20, 2017 by MaskedAmpharos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Dragon Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: Yes, I am. I find that Ryoma's usually tanky enough to survive a hit against Hector, which is all I need, generally (tank a hit, then kill him on player phase if he isn't already dead). I've given him Fury to deal with Hectors with Vantage, as he should now be able to survive attacking him again to finish him off. Ryoma survives a minimum of 2 hits from Hector with vanilla skills (sometimes 3 hits depending on natures). If Ryoma never initiates combat against Hector, Ryoma will always win. Fury doesn't actually help because the +3 Def is offset by the 6 damage at the end of every round of combat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said: Ryoma survives a minimum of 2 hits from Hector with vanilla skills (sometimes 3 hits depending on natures). If Ryoma never initiates combat against Hector, Ryoma will always win. Fury doesn't actually help because the +3 Def is offset by the 6 damage at the end of every round of combat. It doesn't help for the first round of combat, but it does for the second if Hector has Vantage and hits Ryoma again on player phase (also my Ryoma's -Def, so I personally need the boost to Def). Also, until the April update rolls around, it helps to boost my BST, which is always nice. EDIT: That said, I'm perfectly open to alternative suggestions for his A-slot. Edited March 20, 2017 by MaskedAmpharos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 8 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: It doesn't help for the first round of combat, but it does for the second if Hector has Vantage and hits Ryoma again on player phase (also my Ryoma's -Def, so I personally need the boost to Def). Also, until the April update rolls around, it helps to boost my BST, which is always nice. Especially considering you're running Fury on Ryoma, have you considered also putting Vantage on him since it'll just get him to that range anyway? I also run my Ryoma like an off-tank in general and this will also tank out Vantage Hector just by standing there. Two can play at the vantage game. While doing a few tests with Ursula on my usual team (Ryoma, Nino, Olivia, +seasonal) Occasionally I'd have Ryoma oneround a guy on first round, got Ursula to chip another red--Ursula doesn't often have what it takes to double, unlike Sully or Reinhardt, and then just have Nino and Olivia get Ursula out of there while Ryoma vantagekills the weakened red. Edited March 20, 2017 by Thor Odinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Thor Odinson said: Especially considering you're running Fury on Ryoma, have you considered also putting Vantage on him since it'll just get him to that range anyway? I also run my Ryoma like an off-tank in general and this will also tank out Vantage Hector just by standing there. Two can play at the vantage game. While doing a few tests with Ursula on my usual team (Ryoma, Nino, Olivia, +seasonal) Occasionally I'd have Ryoma oneround a guy on first round, got Ursula to chip another red--Ursula doesn't often have what it takes to double, unlike Sully or Reinhardt, and then just have Nino and Olivia get Ursula out of there while Ryoma vantagekills the weakened red. I do have Vantage on Ryoma actually, but I appreciate the suggestion nonetheless. Putting Vantage on Ryoma was actually my very first skill inheritance haha. EDIT: I'm a complete fool though. I can't believe I didn't think of literally just standing there and letting Vantage kill an attacking Hector to negate Hector's own Vantage. Thanks for the tip! Edited March 20, 2017 by MaskedAmpharos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 8 minutes ago, MaskedAmpharos said: I do have Vantage on Ryoma actually, but I appreciate the suggestion nonetheless. Putting Vantage on Ryoma was actually my very first skill inheritance haha. At Neutral HP Ryoma needs 30.75 HP to enter Vantage range, which I'm p sure rounds down to just 30. Hector usually hits mine for 14 dmg, so taking your -def into account he'll likely take 17 dmg instead. Fury is probably fine in this case just because it's not quite enough to go defiant attack, though I find even without that boost he should be able to kill Hector--since Ryo will always double Hector (mine does around 24x2) unless Wary Fighter and Hector can't have Wary Fighter if he has Vantage. I just keep Defiant Atk on mine. Wary Fighter Hector means Ryo eats 2 hits from him and initiates on the third. Either way he wins. Edited March 20, 2017 by Thor Odinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Dragon Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 3 minutes ago, Thor Odinson said: At Neutral HP Ryoma needs 30.75 HP to enter Vantage range, which I'm p sure rounds down to just 30. Any "less than or equal to" or "greater than or equal to" in a skill description literally means just that, decimals included. Since HP is an integer value, "less than or equal to 30.75 HP" is equivalent to "less than or equal to 30". The direction you round is determined by the direction of the comparison operator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said: Any "less than or equal to" or "greater than or equal to" in a skill description literally means just that, decimals included. Since HP is an integer value, "less than or equal to 30.75 HP" is equivalent to "less than or equal to 30". The direction you round is determined by the direction of the comparison operator. Alright cool, good to know. I take <= translates to rounding up then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Dragon Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 1 minute ago, Thor Odinson said: Alright cool, good to know. I take <= translates to rounding up then? "<=" is "less than or equal to" and rounds down. ">=" is "greater than or equal to" and rounds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) 1 minute ago, Ice Dragon said: "<=" is "less than or equal to" and rounds down. ">=" is "greater than or equal to" and rounds up. derp. I can't into english today. somehow I misread it the other way around. Edited March 20, 2017 by Thor Odinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XhenD Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 I finshed my first arena run with Julia, Marth, Effie and Ursula. The result was mixed, I got 4061 in the end, barely got over the 4001 mark. During this run, I noticed that Ursula is effective against some reds and Effie. She's very weak agains Takumi and Kagero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedAmpharos Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, XhenD said: I finshed my first arena run with Julia, Marth, Effie and Ursula. The result was mixed, I got 4061 in the end, barely got over the 4001 mark. During this run, I noticed that Ursula is effective against some reds and Effie. She's very weak agains Takumi and Kagero. Blarblade Ursula one-shots both of those just saying :P Assuming, I calculated correctly, the max damage Ursula can do before factoring in stuff like WTA or resistance is 82 assuming an optimal setup with Blárblade+, Hone/Fortify/Goad Cavalry, and Death Blow. Crazy stuff. This is assuming optimal setup, of course, but even without all of that, Blarblade Ursula can still one-shot a pretty hefty chunk of the metagame. Edited March 22, 2017 by MaskedAmpharos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XhenD Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 sadly I don't have Odin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elieson Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1 minute ago, XhenD said: sadly I don't have Odin Then it's na uphill battle for you :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XhenD Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 2 minutes ago, Elieson said: Then it's na uphill battle for you :( yeah, but since I got over 4000 in my first arena run, I'm not too bothered with the ranks. I would be praying for people failing to my defence team soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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