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

[Silverly]

I’m a little torn here. I got two Ishtar in one session, but neither have particularly appealing IVs. One is +HP -Spd, the other is +Spd -Atk. I’m leaning towards the latter for the phenomenal speed fir guaranteed doubles, but the brutal bane on attack makes me think twice. Any ideas?

[Xenomata]

12 hours ago, Ginko said:

My recommendation would be promote Valter for Panic Ploy( or any rare skill fodder) on your powerhorse units.

If you don't have any target for +10 merge, then I think improving your powerhorse by giving them rare skill to their build can help.

Besides Valter with Panic Ploy, a skill I personally prefer as a Sacred Seal, I only otherwise have Subaki for Quick Riposte, which I mentioned, in terms of rarer skills.

12 hours ago, silveraura25 said:

I'd promote Raven as your top priority, female Corrin as second and Caeda as third

Interesting priority order... could I ask why?

@XRay

Spoiler

 

~Gwendolyn's numbers, as well as the quality of her losses and draws, are at least better than I thought they would be with +Atk, or at least not surprising results.

Harmonic Lance will probably not be on the table anytime soon, but since it uses pretty much the same build, it does at least remain plausible to give Berkuts Lance and Harmonic Lance to the same Gwendolyn.

I'll have to sit on this...

~I just consider it safe to assume, given the nature of Nifl Frostflowers as well as recent seasonal/alt mages, that Sanaki will have at least average speed, maybe not on par with NS!Corrin, but at least higher than or equal to Fem!Morgan and easily beating SF!Camilla (comparing to other mage fliers).

I won't argue against Mjolnir and Ragnarok, but Ivaldi and Gleipnir do compete with the almost oppressive power offered by field buff 6/6/6/6 bladetomes, especially on +Spd Eirika. At least, assuming they are used on Cav teams, otherwise standard Hone/Fortify skills are weaker on Bladetomes compared to Gleipnir and Ivaldi with their conditions met.

Also, Nifl Frostflowers boosts her Atk/Spd by the number of allies within 2 spaces x2, so if everyone groups around her, it'd be combat buff 6/6/0/0.

~Odd thing about having 100+ units 5* and competently built, almost every arena season I have at least one or two units who are bonus units, even excluding the Askr unit. Totally not taking the chance to brag about my honestly bloated army size.

I'm also not going to say I dislike using ranged units (the opposite), but the ranged units I have waiting for promotion are somewhat underwhelming compared to the physical units. Not to say that I directly compare, for example, Raven with Gordin, but IMO the physical units are simply more... exciting?

Probably the most "exciting" ranged units below 5* i have are Merric, with his +10 special damage green tome, and Julius, the mage tank with Dragonskin.

 

@SilvertheShadow I'd personally go with +Spd -Atk, for two reasons.

1) Ishtar, with her default kit and default speed, hits 46 speed, which isn't bad. -Spd takes her down to 43, which isn't as good, considering most offensive units prefer having well over 40 speed, something you can counter with the +Spd nature.

2) -Atk on Ishtar is not as bad as it seems thanks to Odd Atk Waves. That's +6 atk every odd numbered turn regardless if she is standing near anyone.

Honestly, and I'm speaking as someone with a decent natured Ishtar (+Atk -HP), I'm kinda jealous you got off as easy as having +Spd -Atk.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Xenomata

[XRay]

57 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

~I just consider it safe to assume, given the nature of Nifl Frostflowers as well as recent seasonal/alt mages, that Sanaki will have at least average speed, maybe not on par with NS!Corrin, but at least higher than or equal to Fem!Morgan and easily beating SF!Camilla (comparing to other mage fliers).

I won't argue against Mjolnir and Ragnarok, but Ivaldi and Gleipnir do compete with the almost oppressive power offered by field buff 6/6/6/6 bladetomes, especially on +Spd Eirika. At least, assuming they are used on Cav teams, otherwise standard Hone/Fortify skills are weaker on Bladetomes compared to Gleipnir and Ivaldi with their conditions met.

Also, Nifl Frostflowers boosts her Atk/Spd by the number of allies within 2 spaces x2, so if everyone groups around her, it'd be combat buff 6/6/0/0.

I just realized BB!Sanaki's boost is 2/2/0/0 per ally, not 3/3/0/0. I am generally more conservative with buffs that require placement since it is not practical to always have three allies in the area, so I go with the lower buffs.

Blade tomes require buffs to work well, while exclusive offensive tomes can still work decently without buffs as they can activate a Special to help compensate for the lack of buffs. I just checked Gleipner again and Rauðrblade do indeed perform better than it with just Hone Cavalry; Blárblade technically performs better too, but the difference is not as large as with SM!Eirika, so I think Ivaldi's independent performance would be a stronger reason to run it over Blárblade. I remember checking them both in the past and Gleipnir and Ivaldi performed about the same as Blade tomes, hence why I generally discourage inheriting Blade tomes to units who already got access to exclusive offensive tomes, since it is basically flushing Feathers down the drain for practically the same performance.

I generally do not factor in 4/4/4/4 or 6/6/6/6 for calculations for Blade mages since they are not always guaranteed to be fully buffed all the time, so having just half the buffs with 4/4/0/0 and 6/6/0/0 seems more reasonable as measure of performance.

Edited May 20, 2018 by XRay

[Poimagic]

For my +def/-spd Ares, once he gets into Vantage, what would be a better special for him? Draconic Aura, or Bonfire? This is for the Brazen Atk/Def and Vantage Build 

[XRay]

14 minutes ago, Poimagic said:

For my +def/-spd Ares, once he gets into Vantage, what would be a better special for him? Draconic Aura, or Bonfire? This is for the Brazen Atk/Def and Vantage Build 

Bonfire is better.

Bonfire: 0.5 * 36 = 18
Draconic Aura: 0.3 * 52 = 15.6 = 15

[Silverly]

@Xenomata Thanks for the input, I think I’ll think take it. When I really think about it, it’s better to go with something that has a good boon with a bad bane than a meh boon with a bad bane. So I’ll pick the +Spd one.

[Xenomata]

3 hours ago, XRay said:

I just realized BB!Sanaki's boost is 2/2/0/0 per ally, not 3/3/0/0. I am generally more conservative with buffs that require placement since it is not practical to always have three allies in the area, so I go with the lower buffs.

Yep, it's pretty much half a Gronnowl with a wider trigger area.

Blade tomes require buffs to work well, while exclusive offensive tomes can still work decently without buffs as they can activate a Special to help compensate for the lack of buffs. I just checked Gleipner again and Rauðrblade do indeed perform better than it with just Hone Cavalry; Blárblade technically performs better too, but the difference is not as large as with SM!Eirika, so I think Ivaldi's independent performance would be a stronger reason to run it over Blárblade. I remember checking them both in the past and Gleipnir and Ivaldi performed about the same as Blade tomes, hence why I generally discourage inheriting Blade tomes to units who already got access to exclusive offensive tomes, since it is basically flushing Feathers down the drain for practically the same performance.

I generally do not factor in 4/4/4/4 or 6/6/6/6 for calculations for Blade mages since they are not always guaranteed to be fully buffed all the time, so having just half the buffs with 4/4/0/0 and 6/6/0/0 seems more reasonable as measure of performance.

Fair enough.

[NegativeExponents-]

@Zeo Sorry, I’m very late. You haven’t yet posted what you intend to do though so I suppose it’s ok if I give my two cents.

For CC, I say you should give it to someone you intend to use often. It would be a waste if you give it to someone you’ll rarely use like ToD!Henry. I was gonna say Saizo or Boey out of bias but sadly they’re not candidates and Saizo would have been similar to Matthew anyway.

My vote goes to Morgan. With his tome he could reach 34 def on the enemy phase with the set you gave him. Add in some support through the use of a hone or def tactics and it goes up to 38-40.

Serra’s build seems like more of a meme build but fun meme build so that’s a close second. -def seems like a bad idea if you go for it tho. I would say -res to keep as much physical bulk intact.

For DD, I think Faye makes the best use of it followed by Julius.

Julius will be untouchable by magic but Faye is gonna be walling not just magic hits but everything ranged even without merges. I think Guard 3 would be better suited in her B slot because special procs will still hurt.

I like the second build for Sonia. Magic tank and player phase nuke sounds too good. Blade tome seems like a better choice than Dark Excalibur but I understand wanting to make use of her prf weapon. I personally almost never switch them out.

[DraceEmpressa]

Which Clair should be a merge base, +atk one or +spd one? 

Edited May 21, 2018 by DraceEmpressa

[Humanoid]

3 minutes ago, DraceEmpressa said:

Which Clair should be a merge base, +atk one or +spd one? 

She needs all the attack she can get her hands on, because 150% of 0 is still 0. ;) Attack is also a superboon for her, bonus.

In some situations speed can be preferred but it seems the consensus for general usability is +atk. See the Caeda analysis on the subforum for discussion, since Clair is just blue Caeda.

[Xenomata]

12 minutes ago, Humanoid said:

She needs all the attack she can get her hands on, because 150% of 0 is still 0. ;) Attack is also a superboon for her, bonus.

That... isn't how effective damage works? The 50% bonus damage is applied before combat, so even if 150% of 0 is 0, 150% of 41 is 61, which at least becomes 21 damage on most armors.

@DraceEmpressaI mean, Humanoid still right, but... the percentage of zero joke really doesn't apply to bonus damage.

[Humanoid]

5 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

That... isn't how effective damage works? The 50% bonus damage is applied before combat, so even if 150% of 0 is 0, 150% of 41 is 61, which at least becomes 21 damage on most armors.

@DraceEmpressaI mean, Humanoid still right, but... the percentage of zero joke really doesn't apply to bonus damage.

I didn't engage my brain for this evidently, oops.

[Vince777]

I always struggle when it comes time to make a unit inherit a Special skill?

Is there a rule or guide most of you go by or use to know when Luna/Draconic Aura/Bonfire/Iceberg, Moonbow/Glimmer is preferable to use?
 

[redlight]

11 hours ago, Xenomata said:

Interesting priority order... could I ask why?

Raven is the best infantry axe unit. You could build him to be a glass cannon or a heavy hitting swift tank with Pavise + Heavy Blade.

Female Corrin is pretty underrated IMO and you got perfect IVs for her. There are several builds you could make for, but I'd focus on Dark Breath ones. She has really nice speed that you won't need to prioritize for IVs as all you need to do is smoke the enemy and watch her tank and double like a champ.

While your Caeda has extremely good IVs, I think that the other two will help you against any team while Caeda is mostly meant for armors 

Edited May 21, 2018 by silveraura25

[Humanoid]

15 minutes ago, Vince777 said:

I always struggle when it comes time to make a unit inherit a Special skill?

Is there a rule or guide most of you go by or use to know when Luna/Draconic Aura/Bonfire/Iceberg, Moonbow/Glimmer is preferable to use?
 

Iceberg, Bonfire and Draconic Aura are easy to calculate since they're based on your unit's stats, not the target. I sometimes see the numbers 50 atk, 30 def or 30 res thrown about as a threshold to when these skills are worth it for their respective specials. It's not a bad rule of thumb, because they all actually result in 15 extra damage at those thresholds. So does Luna, if you're attacking a unit with 30 def/res. A theoretical unit with 50/30/30 attacking a 30 def target would see identical results from all four specials. :P

Brave users typically go for a 3 turn cooldown special because the special firing on the third or fourth hit doesn't make a practical difference. A Brave user using Moonbow would waste a charge if they get countered after this, which isn't optimal. Exception if you run QP Moonbow a'la Reinhardt to fire the special on the first volley of course. Slow enemy phase units go with 3 CD specials as well which results in the special firing on their second counter.

By comparison, two-turn CD specials are popular because they can fire on the first combat if your target can counter (or for speedy enemy phase units where your attacker will only attack once).

[Hilda]

2 hours ago, DraceEmpressa said:

Which Clair should be a merge base, +atk one or +spd one? 

i went with a +spd/-def and i dont regret it. It allows her to check fast sword units. As long as she gets +6 atk from a source she is fine (tactics or flyer buffs). I correctly built Clair with summoner support can deal with ALOT of things. Killing all armorers including greens: check, tanking all dragons and killing them: check, killing and tanking mages: check, killing meta relevant sword units (so in essence all): check.

I run her with Iceberg, Distant Counter, Guard 3, Guidance 3 and Close Defense seal. on top of that she has Gunnthras wind blessing for more RES during wind season, since she runs with her.

[Cute Chao]

I want to give Ares an AOE special, mostly for Rival Domains and Grand Conquest. What would be the best one to give him for that? Or doesn't it really matter?

[Humanoid]

13 minutes ago, Cute Chao said:

I want to give Ares an AOE special, mostly for Rival Domains and Grand Conquest. What would be the best one to give him for that? Or doesn't it really matter?

Wind is considered the easiest to use, but have a look at the patterns here if you want to judge for yourself.

[Cute Chao]

4 minutes ago, Humanoid said:

Wind is considered the easiest to use, but have a look at the patterns here if you want to judge for yourself.

Thanks so much :D 

[bethany81707]

Does Skadi trigger on Turn 3 or after 3 turns? I just had a Fallen Takumi spawn in GC, and it suddenly occurred to me that that might have been a problem.

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Vince777 said:

I always struggle when it comes time to make a unit inherit a Special skill?

Is there a rule or guide most of you go by or use to know when Luna/Draconic Aura/Bonfire/Iceberg, Moonbow/Glimmer is preferable to use?
 

The easiest way to do that is to just use a calculator and scroll through the Specials and see which one gives you the highest kill count. If you do not have calculator, you will have to memorize the attack order and damage Specials' formulas.

For me, a general rule to follow is that a unit should activate a Special during its first round of combat, and ideally every round of combat.

— — — — — — —

Player Phase units that do NOT use Brave Weapons, Slaying Weapons, or Weapons that increases cooldown charge per attack (Ayra's Blade, Blazing Durandal, Rhomphaia, Winged Sword) should use Moonbow. If they have Bold Fighter, they may want to consider running Moonbow, Luna, Iceberg, and Bonfire.

Player Phase units running fast Brave Weapons for quad attacking should use Luna or Escutcheon. If they have Bold Fighter, they may want to consider Ignis, Glacies, Dragon Fang, and Luna instead.

Player Phase units running slow Brave Weapons for attacking twice should run Moonbow and Quickened Pulse/Heavy Blade

Player Phase units running Slaying Weapons or Weapons that increases cooldown charges per attack should run Luna, Bonfire, or Iceberg. If they have Slaying Weapons and Bold Fighter, they may want to consider running Iceberg, Ignis, Dragon Fang, or Luna instead.

— — — — — — —

This list is only for Enemy Phase units that run Quick Riposte.

Slow Enemy Phase units should generally run Bonfire, Iceberg, or Luna. If they run Vengeful Fighter, they can run Ignis, Glacies, Dragon Fang, or Luna instead.

Slow Enemy Phase units with Slaying Weapons, Weapons that increases cooldown charge per attack, or Vengeful Fighter should run Ignis, Glacies, Dragon Fang, or Luna.

Fast Enemy Phase units should generally run Moonbow. If they run Vengeful Fighter, they can run Bonfire, Iceberg, or Luna instead.

Fast Enemy Phase units with Slaying Weapons or Weapons that increases cooldown charge per attack should run Bonfire, Iceberg, or Luna. If they are running Slaying Weapons and Vengeful Fighter, they can run Ignis, Glacies, Dragon Fang, or Luna instead.

Enemy Phase units running Steady Breath should run Ignis, Glacies, Dragon Fang, or Luna.

Enemy Phase units running Slaying Weapons with Steady Breath can also run Aether, but Ignis, Glacies, or Dragon Fang usually perform better.

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by XRay

[Ice Dragon]

3 hours ago, bethany81707 said:

Does Skadi trigger on Turn 3 or after 3 turns? I just had a Fallen Takumi spawn in GC, and it suddenly occurred to me that that might have been a problem.

On Turn 3.

Similarly, S Drink and Quickened Pulse only activate on Turn 1, meaning a unit that spawns after the first turn in Rival Domains or Grand Conquest with the skill will not be able to use its effect.

[Rinco]

So, I got a +Spd/-Def B!Tharja. She's the only one I really wanted on this banner and I got her on my free summon. Call me lucky.

She's probably going to do well with a build similar to original Tharja, right? Desperation/Moonbow and keeping her original A slot.

[Ice Dragon]

55 minutes ago, Rinco said:

Call me lucky.

I hate you.

 

56 minutes ago, Rinco said:

She's probably going to do well with a build similar to original Tharja, right? Desperation/Moonbow and keeping her original A slot.

Yes. However, you'd probably do better to use something other than Atk/Spd Bond. Its restriction is far less lenient than Muspell Fireposy's, and I personally often find it difficult to use Bond skills on player-phase units without teleportation skills available.

[Rinco]

Yeah, true.

Since she has low def/res already, maybe L&D would do. Or Fury, for the recoil damage to get into Desperation range...