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

[Xenomata]

@Javi Blizz How do you plan to forge the Guard Bow+ when you do get it? Res refine? Also, how is your Niles built?

I'd go with Def Ploy myself. Even if he doesn't find it worthy, it's still -5 defense on the enemy, so you can always let an ally benefit from the defense drop (Brave users especially). Spd Ploy would be good, but it really depends on if your allies or Niles himself is at a speed tier that only manages to avoid doubles. If you can't get the speed on him to make the double (without Quick Riposte), then the speed debuff won't make a difference.

[Javi Blizz]

13 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

@Javi Blizz How do you plan to forge the Guard Bow+ when you do get it? Res refine? Also, how is your Niles built?

I'd go with Def Ploy myself. Even if he doesn't find it worthy, it's still -5 defense on the enemy, so you can always let an ally benefit from the defense drop (Brave users especially). Spd Ploy would be good, but it really depends on if your allies or Niles himself is at a speed tier that only manages to avoid doubles. If you can't get the speed on him to make the double (without Quick Riposte), then the speed debuff won't make a difference.

Yes, I'm going all out on Res. I don't think my team will be speed enough to double, so maybe we should keep Speed Ploy out of the equation. My Niles actually is 5*+5, +Res/-Def, Slaying Bow + (Res refine, waiting for Guard Bow+), Draw Back, Iceberg (considering Glacies), Brazen Def/Res (since for me it's almost imposible to get DD fodder), Dull Ranged, C to be decided and Distant Defense Sacred Seal. 

Why haven't you considered Atk Ploy in your answer?Maybe I'm missing something and is the worst option, but I find it the most interesting. However, I want to be sure before sacking a limited unit. 

[Xenomata]

1 minute ago, Javi Blizz said:

Yes, I'm going all out on Res. I don't think my team will be speed enough to double, so maybe we should keep Speed Ploy out of the equation. My Niles actually is 5*+5, +Res/-Def, Slaying Bow + (Res refine, waiting for Guard Bow+), Draw Back, Iceberg (considering Glacies), Brazen Def/Res (since for me it's almost imposible to get DD fodder), Dull Ranged, C to be decided and Distant Defense Sacred Seal. 

Why haven't you considered Atk Ploy in your answer?Maybe I'm missing something and is the worst option, but I find it the most interesting. However, I want to be sure before sacking a limited unit. 

Since Niles is going full Res, with Brazen Def/Res he hits 55 Res, 61 once you get Guard Bow+ with Res refine.

While Atk ploy would support your team as well, assuming you are running a full defensive team anyways, I just didn't think Niles would need it if his main targets, mages, could barely touch him as is, especially since you even answered how you'd deal with Bladetomes (though consider Quick Riposte as an alternative, since 36 speed isn't exactly doubling material, and QR3 is just generally a great defensive unit skill). Though if you are running a full defense team with Niles, then Atk Ploy would indeed be very interesting. I mean, that's the point of a defensive team.

Do remember to consider Distant Defense when you get the chance.

[Javi Blizz]

9 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

Since Niles is going full Res, with Brazen Def/Res he hits 55 Res, 61 once you get Guard Bow+ with Res refine.

While Atk ploy would support your team as well, assuming you are running a full defensive team anyways, I just didn't think Niles would need it if his main targets, mages, could barely touch him as is, especially since you even answered how you'd deal with Bladetomes (though consider Quick Riposte as an alternative, since 36 speed isn't exactly doubling material, and QR3 is just generally a great defensive unit skill). Though if you are running a full defense team with Niles, then Atk Ploy would indeed be very interesting. I mean, that's the point of a defensive team.

Do remember to consider Distant Defense when you get the chance.

Okey, so I'll then go with Atk Ploy and if I eventually get another source of Def Ploy different than Arvis, I'll give it too to him. And yes, I'll have DD in mind. 

Thx! :D

Edited May 14, 2018 by Javi Blizz

[Ice Dragon]

On 5/12/2018 at 7:12 AM, Zeo said:

Matt isn't as strong on the offense as units like Kagero, Sothe, etc, he doesn't tank physical quite as well as Saizo and can't tank magic like Felicia/ToD!Sakura, but for everything those specialized units do better, there's something they can't and Matthew can do almost every single one of those things.

That's literally the definition of "jack of all trades, master of none".

 

On 5/12/2018 at 7:12 AM, Zeo said:

For me, you just described Jakob. Balanced and therefore middling in every single solitary stat.

Balanced stats don't make a jack of all trades in this game. Balanced stats means you're basically forced to build for one specific focus because the unit has too many points in stats that won't matter for any given role.

 

On 5/12/2018 at 4:12 PM, XRay said:

I do not have much experience with armor team vs armor team combat though, so I do not have any opinion to offer.

It is physically impossible to prevent being doubled against a competently built armor team if you aren't using Wary Fighter or a Weaponbreaker.

@mcsilas

As far as I can gather, boosting Spd on an armor helps with mixed-phase builds by increasing the range of enemies you can handle on either phase. Bold Fighter or Vengeful Fighter or Quick Riposte then covers the faster units on a single phase of your choice (assuming someone else has the Quick Riposte Sacred Seal).

[Hawk King]

On 5/12/2018 at 8:12 AM, Zeo said:

Matt isn't as strong on the offense as units like Kagero, Sothe, etc, he doesn't tank physical quite as well as Saizo and can't tank magic like Felicia/ToD!Sakura, but for everything those specialized units do better, there's something they can't and Matthew can do almost every single one of those things. He's literally the only mixed tank dagger available as long as you don't drop his RES. The fact that I'm even discussing this is mindboggling. He's sitting at the very bottom of just about every list along with the likes of Jakob, Odin, Jagen, Arthur, Tobin and S!Leo which I think is utter nonsense. He's great, at the very least fully competent if built properly. I'm anticipating a refine for him, and giddy at the prospect of it. But refinery made him completely viable and with the right set he trivializes more than half of the units above him on just about any list.

That's just it, my personal preference is to have highly specialized units (aside from Nowi who I just learned can solo Julius's GHB on Infernal). I would rather have Felicia or Halloween Sakura who can bait and kill every single type of mage. Kagero or Sothe for OHKOs with Poison dagger (would probably use Sothe with the Peshkatz though). Saizo for the disgusting things he can do to physical units with a Close Counter build.

I'm not saying Matt is bad at all. I'm just saying that he isn't my cup of tea. And it just goes to show that anyone can become "the most powerful unit in the game!" if you build them the right way. Kudos to you for using your favorite dagger unit despite him being considered one of the worst.

 

 

Anyone have an opinion on which Fjorm I should use for the base of my +10? I have the neutral one we all got at +8 but then I have a +Atk/-Spd and a +Spd/-HP that both look good to me. I have both Breath skills for potential fodder, and plenty of feathers for any other skills like QR3 or Aether.

I'm leaning towards the +Atk/-Spd one and running her with her base kit + QR3 seal, but the +Spd/-HP one could score plenty of doubles on her own, and would be able to run extra Drive support or Def Tactics for her Seal.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Hawk King

[Ice Dragon]

21 minutes ago, Hawk King said:

Anyone have an opinion on which Fjorm I should use for the base of my +10? I have the neutral one we all got at +8 but then I have a +Atk/-Spd and a +Spd/-HP that both look good to me. I have both Breath skills for potential fodder, and plenty of feathers for any other skills like QR3 or Aether.

I'm leaning towards the +Atk/-Spd one and running her with her base kit + QR3 seal, but the +Spd/-HP one could score plenty of doubles on her own, and would be able to run extra Drive support or Def Tactics for her Seal.

You can consider something like Fjorm [+Atk, -Spd] (Leiptr, Ice Mirror, Steady Breath, Shield Pulse 3, Quick Riposte 3), which lets her activate Ice Mirror on both hits against faster mages.

I'm personally a bit torn on the choice between Steady Breath and Warding Breath. Warding Breath is nice for the additional magic bulk, but cuts into Ice Mirror's damage a bit, and Fjorm isn't really great at hitting hard when she has no offensive Special and no longer has an Atk boost in her A slot.

Steady Breath helps her a bit against bows, I guess, and covers the Def half of losing Atk/Def Bond.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Ice Dragon

[Hawk King]

3 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

You can consider something like Fjorm [+Atk, -Spd] (Leiptr, Ice Mirror, Steady Breath, Shield Pulse 3, Quick Riposte 3), which lets her activate Ice Mirror on both hits against faster mages.

I'm personally a bit torn on the choice between Steady Breath and Warding Breath. Warding Breath is nice for the additional magic bulk, but cuts into Ice Mirror's damage a bit, and Fjorm isn't really great at hitting hard when she has no offensive Special and no longer has an Atk boost in her A slot.

Steady Breath helps her a bit against bows, I guess, and covers the Def half of losing Atk/Def Bond.

Yeah, Ideally I would have liked a +Atk/-Res for extra damage with Ice Mirror but I never got one with -Res. The only positive thing is that she shouldn't really need too much additional damage when attacking mages since their def is usually low or they are Winter Tharja and WTA deals with that. I would just have to finally give Nowi QR3 for her B-skill since she has been using the seal.

If she is going to primarily be a mage and Dragon killer, Warding Breath will probably be best since QR will be giving her 2 hits regardless, and I don't see the 1-2 points of damage on Ice Mirror making a big difference between her OHKO'ing or not.

Anyone have anything to sway me into +Spd/-HP? If not, I will most likely be finishing my Fjorm in the next two days.

[XRay]

55 minutes ago, Hawk King said:

Anyone have anything to sway me into +Spd/-HP? If not, I will most likely be finishing my Fjorm in the next two days.

With full investment for a skill overhaul, +Spd is her best nature.

Fjorm +10 +Spd, -HP
Leiptr, Glacies
Steady Breath, Quick Riposte
Speed +3
Enemy +10, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury, 3/3/3/3
Enemy Phase 137:64:48
Enemy Phase [-Res, Ignis] 145:56:48

Fjorm +Spd, -HP
Leiptr, Glacies
Steady Breath, Quick Riposte
Speed +3
Enemy +5, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury
Enemy Phase 148:55:46
Enemy Phase [-Res, Ignis] 154:46:49

[ILikeKirbys]

Are any of these good units to give Close Counter to?

M!Robin
+DEF/-RES Halloween Henry
+DEF/-ATK M!Morgan
Julius

Because I'm really not sure who to use my spare Takumi on.

[Ginko]

3 hours ago, Hawk King said:

Anyone have an opinion on which Fjorm I should use for the base of my +10? I have the neutral one we all got at +8 but then I have a +Atk/-Spd and a +Spd/-HP that both look good to me. I have both Breath skills for potential fodder, and plenty of feathers for any other skills like QR3 or Aether.

I have that same +ATK/-SPD on her too but I didn't use her default Ice Mirror.

I gave her Steady Breath and Glacies. Now she is mixed-tank dueler. B slot can be Guard 3 or QR 3 and then you switch her seal between QR 3 and Distant/ Close Def 3. Glacies or Aether both are good. Glacies will make her hit like a truck, Aether for arena scoring and dmg sustain.

Edited May 15, 2018 by Ginko

[XRay]

7 minutes ago, ILikeKirbys said:

Are any of these good units to give Close Counter to?

M!Robin
+DEF/-RES Halloween Henry
+DEF/-ATK M!Morgan
Julius

Because I'm really not sure who to use my spare Takumi on.

I would go for TOD!Henry. Unlike Distant Counter for melee units, ranged units are at a significant stat disadvantage and lack enough bulk to reliably tank physical and magical damage. Ranged armor units are still at a stat disadvantage, but their armor status boosts their stats quite a bit and got decent enough stats to handle both types of damage as well as having access to Wary Fighter and Vengeful Fighter.

[Nenechan]

Which is better for Sothe?

+atk / -hp  or  +spd / -res

[redlight]

29 minutes ago, Nenechan said:

Which is better for Sothe?

+atk / -hp  or  +spd / -res

Speed so he can double more reliably

[Hawk King]

11 hours ago, XRay said:

With full investment for a skill overhaul, +Spd is her best nature.

Fjorm +10 +Spd, -HP
Leiptr, Glacies
Steady Breath, Quick Riposte
Speed +3
Enemy +10, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury, 3/3/3/3
Enemy Phase 137:64:48
Enemy Phase [-Res, Ignis] 145:56:48

Fjorm +Spd, -HP
Leiptr, Glacies
Steady Breath, Quick Riposte
Speed +3
Enemy +5, +Spd, Moonbow, Fury
Enemy Phase 148:55:46
Enemy Phase [-Res, Ignis] 154:46:49

With +Spd, I absolutely would not want to run QR3 and the Speed +3 seal. Besides, I would be upgrading to her from Lukas to score higher in AA. That means her special will be Aether/Galeforce/Ice Mirror, and her seal will have a 200-240 SP value.

I've always disliked how characters are put in a vacuum when it comes to their match-ups against the entire cast. I will mess around with a simulator later to account for the Drive support she will be getting from her teammates, and to see how she handles the types of enemies I want her to. At this point, I think it is just a debate between which Breath to give her.

2 hours ago, Nenechan said:

Which is better for Sothe?

+atk / -hp  or  +spd / -res

+Atk if you give him Poison dagger. Otherwise +Spd.

[XRay]

9 minutes ago, Hawk King said:

With +Spd, I absolutely would not want to run QR3 and the Speed +3 seal.

Quick Riposte is for doubling enemies while Spd stacking is to prevent enemies from doubling the unit. Units need at least around 55+ Spd to reliably double and prevent doubles, since many enemies can reach near 50 Spd easily.

14 minutes ago, Hawk King said:

I've always disliked how characters are put in a vacuum when it comes to their match-ups against the entire cast. I will mess around with a simulator later to account for the Drive support she will be getting from her teammates, and to see how she handles the types of enemies I want her to.

Unless a person states otherwise, I am assuming that person wants to prioritize high kill count. Unless they tell me before hand, I am not going to go through every tailored enemy list and report separate ratios for each list, when match up against the entire cast at a stat disadvantage is sufficient to figure out what is generally the best build for a character.

31 minutes ago, Hawk King said:

At this point, I think it is just a debate between which Breath to give her.

That is the idea. I try to make things as simple as possible.

 

 

[Ice Dragon]

2 hours ago, Hawk King said:

With +Spd, I absolutely would not want to run QR3 and the Speed +3 seal. Besides, I would be upgrading to her from Lukas to score higher in AA. That means her special will be Aether/Galeforce/Ice Mirror, and her seal will have a 200-240 SP value.

If you're expecting to see Bold Fighter Zelgius (or Zelgius with Slaying Edge or Wo Dao) a lot and don't have another counter, you might also want to considering switching out Shield Pulse for Guard. It's a drop of 40 SP from Shield Pulse, but as long as you have 240-SP skills in her A (Steady Breath), C (Drive Atk 3), and S (Quick Riposte 3) slots, it won't drop her a scoring bin.

[ILikeKirbys]

18 hours ago, XRay said:

I would go for TOD!Henry. Unlike Distant Counter for melee units, ranged units are at a significant stat disadvantage and lack enough bulk to reliably tank physical and magical damage. Ranged armor units are still at a stat disadvantage, but their armor status boosts their stats quite a bit and got decent enough stats to handle both types of damage as well as having access to Wary Fighter and Vengeful Fighter.

That's a good point. Just realized that I'm gonna have to wait until they release Gronnserpent+ right now to give Henry the build I most want him to have (so Henry could have a DEF-refined Gronnserpent+ and run Close DEF in the Sacred Seal slot to have Close DEF, Distant DEF, Close Counter and Quick Riposte all at once and always have 38 DEF and 39 RES on Enemy Phase), but Henry has Close Counter now.

Thanks.

[Hawk King]

20 hours ago, XRay said:

Quick Riposte is for doubling enemies while Spd stacking is to prevent enemies from doubling the unit. Units need at least around 55+ Spd to reliably double and prevent doubles, since many enemies can reach near 50 Spd easily.

It is possible for many units to reach 50 Spd, but the only units I actually ever see do so are Ayra and Raven. From what I have seen in the 740+ score range, the Spd wars have been abandoned for Bold Fighter and Quick Riposte doubling.

20 hours ago, XRay said:

Unless a person states otherwise, I am assuming that person wants to prioritize high kill count. Unless they tell me before hand, I am not going to go through every tailored enemy list and report separate ratios for each list, when match up against the entire cast at a stat disadvantage is sufficient to figure out what is generally the best build for a character.

Sorry, I meant no offense to you in specific. Oddly enough, Fjorm's default Atk/Res Atk/Def Bond performs the best against the enemies I want her to focus on, and against the entire cast as well.

18 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

If you're expecting to see Bold Fighter Zelgius (or Zelgius with Slaying Edge or Wo Dao) a lot and don't have another counter, you might also want to considering switching out Shield Pulse for Guard. It's a drop of 40 SP from Shield Pulse, but as long as you have 240-SP skills in her A (Steady Breath), C (Drive Atk 3), and S (Quick Riposte 3) slots, it won't drop her a scoring bin.

I got Nowi for that, and Caeda for back-up. With Fjorm, I can switch Nowi to a Def refined Lightning Breath from her Res refined one.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Hawk King

[Lewyn]

Okay question guys, and I'm asking cause the fodder is so valuable and rare.  We all got a free Takumi.  Well my LA Lyn is +def/-res with owl tome +spd refine, she is being run in an armor team as well.  Is it worth giving her close counter?  

[XRay]

45 minutes ago, Lewyn said:

Okay question guys, and I'm asking cause the fodder is so valuable and rare.  We all got a free Takumi.  Well my LA Lyn is +def/-res with owl tome +spd refine, she is being run in an armor team as well.  Is it worth giving her close counter?  

Any armor unit is fine, especially the mages.

However, I recommend keeping at least one copy of each free unit to make copying video guides easier, unless the player has no trouble clearing Infernal content.

[Lewyn]

11 hours ago, XRay said:

Any armor unit is fine, especially the mages.

However, I recommend keeping at least one copy of each free unit to make copying video guides easier, unless the player has no trouble clearing Infernal content.

Thanks for the reply!  Yeah I put it on her and it works out great.  Her really high speed makes it so she is hardly doubled as well.

I'm fine with infernal content, have enough units.  I usually don't sacrifice the only copy of a unit though, but Takumi is just pretty much irrelevant and Close Counter is just too good.  

[Liliesgrace]

I want to refine both M!Robin and Shigure’s weapons but not really sure which options to go for. Robin has Blarowl+ and is used on EP to bait bows, daggers, and red mages (has TA3 to compensate his less than stellar RES and QR3 to double). Shigure has his default lance and is a PP unit I kill things with. Which refinements will benefit them best for their roles?

[Xenomata]

3 hours ago, Liliesgrace said:

I want to refine both M!Robin and Shigure’s weapons but not really sure which options to go for. Robin has Blarowl+ and is used on EP to bait bows, daggers, and red mages (has TA3 to compensate his less than stellar RES and QR3 to double). Shigure has his default lance and is a PP unit I kill things with. Which refinements will benefit them best for their roles?

Robin, on Enemy Phase, would benefit from the Defense Refine if his main targets are Bows and Daggers.

Shigure wants Speed refine. More Speed on Player Phase, even with neutral Speed, will let him double a large number of enemy units. Oh if only he could have Regal Astra as well...

[Zeo]

On 5/14/2018 at 12:35 PM, Ice Dragon said:

That's literally the definition of "jack of all trades, master of none".

I suppose he performs a bit too well in certain areas for me to consider him a "jack of all trades" but for all intents and purposes he's the only mixed tank dagger, if that gives him the title, fine.

On 5/14/2018 at 12:35 PM, Ice Dragon said:

Balanced stats don't make a jack of all trades in this game. Balanced stats means you're basically forced to build for one specific focus because the unit has too many points in stats that won't matter for any given role.

That's overwhelmingly mediocre. But true, and not the case for Matthew.

@Hawk King That's the thing, labeling him one of the worst in the game at this point is ludicrous. Building a Jakob, Odin or Jagen, those are achievements. But I think Matthew is a decent unit, and one without summoner support or all your best resources.

For all intents and purposes though, he's not a specialist. I'm going to have to agree with you here. Matthew can do it all well enough, but he's not as good as the best in any particular field. And sometimes you need a specialist. 

@Astellius @LordFrigid @Ginko @Hilda @Rafiel's Aria @XRay @NegativeExponents- @mcsilas @mampfoid @eclipse

Hey guys, it's another episode in "Zeo's Barracks". I've got more dilemmas as to what to do with certain units, precious fodder and I'm not sure who should get what, I've got a few questions this time, nothing so deep as to pertain to my main team, but hard choices all the same. So let's get to it.

1. Who gets Close Counter?

This is the big question. Giving Close Counter to Matthew was the single biggest and best investment I've ever made and to this day I'm reaping the benefits. I wasn't able to pull another Takumi but we were fortunate enough to get a free one. I want to make the right choice the second time around. I'm gonna knock out some of the usual suspects real quick.

• Saizo would be too similar to Matthew. 
• Boey isn't in the cards right now. 
• ToD!Jakob is out because if I ever build him I want to go the Brave Bow Bold Fighter route.
• I'm happy with my Raven Sophia and I have no Rauorowl fodder.
• I hate Azama.
• My LA!Roy is -DEF.

Now, the units I'm looking at?

Spoiler

Sothe

He was my original choice to get my next Takumi. The idea of a reverse Matthew with less bulk but far more ATK enticed me and it still does. Nevermind that his Peshkatz is like a prf Rogue Dagger in a way with more freedom for him to run things in his B, C and Seal slots. Pros and cons though.

• Fantastic use of Vantage, but he has flexibility, he can run Desperation, Swordbreaker, Windsweep, etc all while still debuffing all stats.
• C skill flexibility as well as B skill flexibility.
• Good user of Heavy Blade which means easy Aether procs, or Close/Distant DEF for additional bulk, overall seal flexibility and versatility.
• Mediocre overall bulk. With =RES and DEF he's only hitting 30 DEF and 29 RES with Peshkatz unless you run an ATK Seal or Smoke. Even with CC he's a bit squishy.
• He's somewhat invalidated by Matthew and would stifle versatility, giving it to another dagger user.
• He's premium Life and Death fodder. Trying to +10 him would make it tough on all my other units for a long time.

M!Morgan

My 2nd choice for Close Counter. The second I saw the trailer for him I knew that's exactly what I wanted to give him and that I wanted to give him RES Smoke before it even came out. Then I pulled 2 F!Grimas. It was practically slapping me in the face. I can't think of an A Skill I'd rather give him. He could potentially be my main red mage and my most unique as well. My only copy is +SPD/-ATK sadly.

• Close Counter has fantastic synergy with his tome, it's essentially a dagger.
• RES Smoke is probably his best C skill and I have the fodder for it.
• Versatility in his B slot. He can run anything he wants in his B slot for offense, defense or sustain.
• His bulk is respectable for a mage, but even with his tome's debuff, it's merely average like Sothe's.
• He wants to be +10 and I've never pulled a *4 copy of him, that and he's prime Spur DEF/RES fodder.
• He competes directly with Lilina for the spot of a +10 Red mage and she's arguably superior and I have enough of her to +7 her immediately, plus I like her too.
• Sophia is an arguably better user of Close Counter with an Owl tome build.

Serra

This one is a bit of an improv. After seeing this on a few healers it would be a neat idea. She's not bulky like Azama but unlike him she can actually do damage without Pain+. These stats are +SPD/-DEF at +10.

• I intend to +10 her.
• I have all the fodder needed to complete this build.
• No need for Dazzling Staff with this build.
• Finally my S!Leo (or a Julius) can be put to use.
• Needs support to shine.
• Her bulk is mediocre even with this build + ATK Ploy and she can be doubled and killed.
• I was kinda planning to give her Gravity+ and make her the spiritual successor to my Genny.
• Azama and arguably even Lissa both run this build better than her.

ToD!Henry

This one is a no brainer, I know Henry is near the top spot for most people that want Close Counter and mine is +DEF/-RES to boot so that nature is pretty perfect for it,  but a lot of things hold both him and me back concerning giving it to him.

• Exceptional mixed bulk.
• Armor teams are always clumped together so it's easy to stack Owl tome buffs.
• Perfect nature for the build.
• Can full multiple roles from an EP physical tank, to a Lyn and Reinhardt counter.
• Wants Vengeful Fighter to truly shine, which means taking fodder from a unit I either like more (Hector, Amelia) or a unit I can invest more into (Sheena, Draug, Effie).
• I only run armor teams for TT quests.
• The nature of his build means Armor Boots are useless for the majority of battles.
• He can't be merged and I don't particularly care about the character.

 

2. Who wants Distant DEF? 

I finally got around to building my +ATK/-HP Celica. While it sucks to lose Hone ATK 3, Renewal 3, Moonbow and Drawback, all things I invested in my +HP/-DEF Celica as I didn't think I'd ever pull another one (let alone with a better nature) she has more worth as DD3 fodder than as a +1 for my +ATK one. Distant DEF is a highly rare skill still, so it definitely is important who gets this. I've got a few units in mind for this also.

Spoiler

Faye

My first choice for Distant DEF. Always thinking she was +DEF/-RES, when I realized she was actually -SPD that cemented the idea that she was absolutely perfect for a Guard Bow+ build. With the choice to refine DEF or RES and stack 3 Distant DEFs she's virtually invincible to anything that doesn't attack at 1 range. She can't be merged because Firesweep Bow+ is too premium of a weapon (I have a spare Faye!) but let's be honest, does she really need the merges?

• My first choice for DD3.
• She already has Guard Bow+ with the refinement.
• She has the SP to finish the build immediately.
• It's her only choice of A skill.
• Perfect mixed bulk.
• She can't be merged.
• I only have one Subaki left and that's another 20k feathers to boot. Making her full cost 40k feathers and 2 *5's to complete.
• She'll have to eat either my S!Leo or one of my Julius copies.
• Even with a RES refine she can't tank Magic as well as any of the other units on this list.

Julius

He's pretty much perfect for DD3 considering he's basically already got it built into his weapon like Faye, stacking that with his A skill makes for an absurd magic tank. He can run his native guard to block specials or he can run QR3 and double up on DD3's to become not virtually, but literally invincible to magic with respectable bulk vs physical ranged units as well. He came out of nowhere to be honest, but I'm not sure there's a better A skill for him.

• Top notch magic soak.
• Perfect synergy with his kit.
• Gets Guard and ATK Ploy for free.
• Can be a Reinhardt check.
• Animation and quotes are some of the most bosslike in the game.
• Extremely cheap to build. Only slapping on DD3 and calling it a day.
• Limited merges.
• Makes my already useless S!Leo even more useless.
• I have plenty of red mages and want to build M!Morgan as well, promoting inflation. 
• Takes my only DD3 away from Faye who was groomed to take the skill.

Kaze

Not certain what I want to do with him. But I like him and intend to keep one of him (the other will be ATK Smoke 3 fodder for Matthew, or Barb Shuriken+ fodder depending on how things turn out) and he'd be a great magic check.

• I like him more than Felicia. More cool factor.
• Doesn't necessarily want anything specific in his A slot.
• Distant DEF 3 props up his already easily proc'able Iceberg.
• Gets ATK Smoke 3 for free, improving further on his RES.
• Literally no merge potential.
• Is invalidated by Felicia who not only has more RES, but a better weapon, more potential for the same build and can be merged. 

Felicia

Matthew, Sothe, Kagero, Felicia. These are my top choices for mergable dagger units that I could potentially build. I don't know if I'd go so far as to merge Felicia to +10 after both Sothe and Matthew, but I would most certainly build her for sure (even with Kaze being a thing) and Distant DEF 3 is a pretty solid A skill for her already great magical bulk. This is +SPD/-DEF because that's the best nature I have.

• Improves on her impeccable RES and can be stacked with the DD3 seal due to her incredibly high base SPD.
• She can still run Desperation due to her SPD.
• She can run other things in her A slot, particularly things that have more synergy with skills like Windsweep.
• She's currently not built.
• She wants Divine Dew which I'm against using at this time.

Faye and Julius are my top choice. I'm not sure how to proceed here. Julius could wait for Warding Stance fodder if that's ever a thing, I just don't know how I should proceed.

3. How should I build my Sonya (+SPD/-DEF)?

So, in the scheme of all the pulling I was doing on different banners, Sonya just kind of fell into my lap during my one pull on the banner she was on, and with pretty much the best nature possible. I really have no idea what to do with her. @XRay You're pretty good at units like these, so how should I proceed? I'll throw together a couple of ideas, but I'm not married to anything.

Spoiler

With a nature this ideal, an enemy phase build is wasted on her so this is just a few ideas for player phase stuff. Being able to proc Moonbow immediately means she makes great use of Quickened Pulse. G-Tomebreaker is pretty typical on her even if I'm underwhelmed. She makes good use of Fury like most but Mirror Strike is good for magic dueling which it seems like she can do pretty well with her res.

Fury/Desp is a no brainer if you give her the SPD+3 seal. It feels lazy since I already have that with Nino but who says you can't have more than one of a strong nuke?

The third build mostly just seems like a fun "Surprise! You're dead!" build but I doubt it'd see much use outside of something like Arena defense teams, and that's only assuming she's a bonus unit. so there's that.

I've got more things to decide, but that's all for now.