Berkut, Prideful Prince

[Lord_Grima]

"First in line to the Rigelian throne. Prideful, but loves Rinea with all his heart." 

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Analysis:

Max Stats at 5 :  

HP	43
Str	34
Spd	22
Def	31
Res	24

Berkut, Prideful Prince was the reward of the 12th grand hero battle. 
His main strengths are his high HP, Atk and Def. His Res is low, but still higher than some other Blue Cavaliers. His Speed is his worst stat. Because of his high HP, Atk, and Def Berkut can perform well as a frontline attacker or a physical defender. 

His weapon gives him +4 Res when attacked, which can be upgraded to +7 Res when attacked. When upgrading his weapon he also gains HP +5 and Atk +2/Spd+3/Def+4/Res+4.

Berkut is a great unit, but is held back by his low Spd. These builds show ways to overcome that problem. 

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My Builds:

Ranged/Mage Counter

Spoiler

This Build is designed to bait and counter mages by boosting his Res. Because of his already high Def, he can also be a archer/shuriken counter.

Weapon:	Res+ Berkut's Lance+
Assist:	Varies
Special:Luna/Sacred Cowl/Bonfire
A:	Distant Counter/Distant Def 3/Warding Stance
B:	Quick Reposte 3
C:	Panic Ploy/Varies
SS:	Distant Def 3

 - By upgrading Berkut's Lance + to the Res version, Berkut effectively has +11 Res when attacked. 
 - The Assist skill varies depending on what you need. Reposition and Swap are typically the best option.
 - Luna or Bonfire is his best special for this build, because of his low speed he will activate it on his second attack(QR3). But if you want a more defensive Special, Sacred Cowl. Berkut gets attacked, then retaliates (Sacred Cowl is now charged), enemy attacks back (Sacred Cowl Activates). 
 - Distant Counter allows him to kill the mages he is fighting. If you don't have DC, you can run Distant Def 3 or Warding Stance to increase his Res further. Budget sets can use Water Boost.
 - Quick Reposte is his best B, because of his low speed he won't be able to double naturally. 
 - His C can vary depending on what you need. Any of the Cavalry buffs will help on Horse Emblem teams. Threaten Def/Atk can help his survivability and kill potential. Panic Ploy to debuff.
 - Distant Def 3 helps him a lot buy boosting his Def and Res to 37/41 (with +Res Berkut's Lance+).

This build functions well on a Horse Emblem Team, because Berkut loves the Hone and Fortify buffs giving this build 43/47 Def/Res when attacked. Add Summoner Support or a Unit Support, or any Ward/Spur/Drive skills to greatly buff his Def/Res.

With this build he can survive and kill a +10 merged, Death Blow, QP-Moonbow Reinhardt. 

Dueling Defender

Spoiler

This set will take advantage of Berkut's High HP, Atk, and Def to counter a lot of 1-range units. 

Weapon:	Def+ Slaying Lance+ / Def/Res+ Berkut's Lance
Assist:	Varies
Special:Bonfire/Ignis/Aether
A:	Close Def 3/Steady Stance
B:	Quick Reposte 3
C:	Threaten Atk 3/Panic Ploy/Varies
SS:	Close Def 3

 - +Def Slaying Lance+ boosts his def by four, while reducing the cooldown charge of his special. Berkut's Lance is a budget option, Res+ to survive Dragons better, Def+ for higher Def.
 - Assist will vary. Reposition or Swap are typically the best choice.
 - Bonfire and Ignis will deal more damage based on his Def, which we are boosting by a lot. Aether for damage and sustainability.
 -  Close Def grants +6 Def & Res, which helps a lot against the growing threat Dragon Emblem. 
 - Quick Reposte is a must for this build. Berkut's Spd is low, so he needs QR to deal damage to kill.
 - Threaten Atk is to debuff the enemy and make them deal less damage against Berkut. Panic Ploy can be used quite well with his high HP.
 - Close Def 3 is the best SS because we want to boost his Def as high as possible. 

This build uses Berkut's low speed, QR-Steady Breath-Bonfire to give two powerful Bonfire Procs. By boosting his Def really high he can survive hits from some Axe units then kill on the counter. Add Fortify Cav buffs to increase his Def/Res and he will be hard to take down.

Brave Lance + QP

Spoiler

This is one of Berkut's best offensive builds.

Weapon:	Brave Lance+
Assist:	Varies
Special:Moonbow
A:	Death Blow 3
B:	Lancebreaker
C:	Threaten Def 3/Varies
SS:	Quickened Pulse

 - Brave Lance+ is one of his best offensive weapons, because it lets him do two attacks even with a low speed.
 - His assist will vary depending on what you need. Reposition and Swap are typically the best option.
 - Moonbow is used with Quickened Pulse to activate on the second hit of the Brave Lance.
 - Death Blow 3 is used to optimize his attack output without sacrificing bulk. Berkut does not need Spd in this build, so Fury and L&D aren't the best choice.
 - Lancebreaker is best her because it lets him deal with a lot of lance units. He gets WTA against red units, so the follow-up attack is not always needed. Most mages have low Def, so he can take them on easily.
 - His C can vary, but Threaten Def 3 is a great choice. Any Calvary Buffs work great on Horse Emblem teams.
 - Quickened Pulse + Moonbow is great for any Brave weapon set.

With this build, Berkut becomes a strong attacker. Pair him with Hone Cav buffs for added attack. His high HP and Def help him survive the enemy phase if you can't get him out of the enemy's range.

Firesweep Damage

Spoiler

This build is focused on dealing as much damage as possible without a counterattack.

Weapon:	Firesweep Lance+
Assist:	Varies
Special:Blazing Flame
A:	Death Blow 3
B:	Poison Strike 3/Seal ---
C:	Savage Blow 3/Smoke ---
SS:	Savage Blow 3/Smoke ---

 - Firesweep Lance lets Berkut attack without being countered. This is helpful against a lot of Axe units with QR or higher speeds. 
 - Assist can vary. Reposition or Swap are typically the best options.
 - Blazing Flame as a special allows Berkut to do high AOE damage, making it easier for a kill. 
 - Death Blow helps boost his damage output. His speed is too low for Darting Blow to make a difference.
 - Poison Strike helps against axe units, or units with high Def. It is pure damage.
 - Savage Blow in C and SS gives a lot of AOE damage after the battle, which can help other units follow up and kill. 

This build is a more support role, but it allows Berkut to take off as much HP on the enemy as he can. If you want you can substitute the Poison Strike and Savage Blows for Seals and Smokes making him more of a debuffer.

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Submitted Builds:

Renewal TT build - submitted by @Javi Blizz

Spoiler

"It is thought mostly for content such as Tempest Trials. With Berkut's Lance + (+Res), Water Boost and Close Defense, this enemy phase and baiting unit does a bit more damage using Iceberg than Bonfire. His B skill is Renewall (still waiting for you, Fae  ) to keep Water Boost active. The Sacred Seal spot used to be HP+5, but weapon refinery has given us that free slot by building HP+ into his weapon. 
His assist is Reciprocal Aid, both to heal an ally before moving to the next map or stalling an ally's life to keep Water Boost active. Finally, C-slot is cavalry support." 

-Quote from Javi Blizz

Images of the builds from FEH Unit Builder - https://feh-stuff.github.io/unit-builder.html

Edited February 19, 2018 by Lord_Grima

[Ciarre]

Unfortunately, Berkut can't learn steady breath as it's infantry/armored melee only. 

[Lord_Grima]

9 hours ago, Ciarre said:

Unfortunately, Berkut can't learn steady breath as it's infantry/armored melee only. 

Thanks, I missed that. Close Def offers a better boost to Def and Res, making it a better choice against Dragons. Steady Stance could work as well.

 

Edited December 11, 2017 by Lord_Grima

[Javi Blizz]

Hi, I'd like to add to the list the build I'm running:

It is thought mostly for content such as Tempest Trials. With Berkut's Lance + (+Res), Water Boost and Close Defense, this enemy phase and baiting unit does a bit more damage using Iceberg than Bonfire. His B skill is Renewall (still waiting for you, Fae  ) to keep Water Boost active. The Sacred Seal spot used to be HP+5, but weapon refinery has given us that free slot by building HP+ into his weapon. 

His assist is Reciprocal Aid, both to heal an ally before moving to the next map or stalling an ally's life to keep Water Boost active. Finally, C-slot is cavalry support.

[Lord_Grima]

4 hours ago, Javi Blizz said:

Hi, I'd like to add to the list the build I'm running:

 

It is thought mostly for content such as Tempest Trials. With Berkut's Lance + (+Res), Water Boost and Close Defense, this enemy phase and baiting unit does a bit more damage using Iceberg than Bonfire. His B skill is Renewall (still waiting for you, Fae  ) to keep Water Boost active. The Sacred Seal spot used to be HP+5, but weapon refinery has given us that free slot by building HP+ into his weapon. 

His assist is Reciprocal Aid, both to heal an ally before moving to the next map or stalling an ally's life to keep Water Boost active. Finally, C-slot is cavalry support.

Thank you for your submission. :)

He will be able to bait mages, then attack back during the Player Phase. If you can get Warding Stance, that would be a good alternative to Water Boost, so you don't have to worry about the HP threshold. Though Water Boost does grant the +Res in the Player Phase, so that can help your Iceberg when attacking. 

[bottlegnomes]

BL+ (def or res) might be a good alternative to the slaying lance+ in the dueling defender build. He can't proc specials as reliably, but it ups his survivability a good bit and then he can safely eat doubles from a lot of units to still manage one-round bonfires/lunas. He's looking at either 48/43/47 or 48/47/43 durability with it. I guess the issue is that it really only comes into play for dragons much, but it's a pretty good budget option.

Edited February 18, 2018 by bottlegnomes