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Aether Raids Tier List Article - March 2022

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Summary of changes

  • Kris (M): Unknown Hero <TIER 3>

  • Kris (F): Unsung Hero <TIER 3>

  • Larcei: Keen Kin <TIER 3>

  • Shannan: Wielder of Astra <TIER 3>

  • Yen'fay: Blade Legend <TIER 3>

  • Fjorm: Princess of Ice <TIER 3>

  • Nowi: Eternal Youth <TIER 3>

  • Resplendent Seliph: Heir of Light <TIER 3>

  • Keaton: Lupine Collector <TIER 3>

  • Shinon: Scathing Archer <TIER 3>

  • Brunnya: Devoted General <TIER 3>

  • Lloyd: White Wolf <TIER 4>

  • Ogma: Loyal Blade <TIER 3>

  • Say'ri: Chon'sin's Blade <TIER 3>

  • Hana: Focused Samurai <TIER 3>

  • Soleil: Adorable Adorer <TIER 2>

  • Mareeta: Sword of Stars <TIER 2>

  • Sumia: Maid of Flowers <TIER 2>

  • Naesala: Sea’s Shadow <TIER 2>

  • Tibarn: Shipless Pirate <TIER 2>

  • Dimitri: Savage Boar <TIER 1>

  • Alm: Imperial Ascent <TIER 1>

  • Legendary Hector: Marquess of Ostia <TIER 2>

  • Chrom: Crowned Exalt <TIER 2> (Defense)

  • Hinoka: Blue Sky Warrior <TIER 2>

  • Caeda: Beloved Queen <TIER 2>

  • Hugh: Worldly Mage <TIER 3>

  • Ascendant Idunn: Divine Demon <TIER 1>

  • Spring Delthea: Prodigy in Bloom <TIER 2> (Defense)

  • Spring Maria: Sunny Smile <TIER 2>

  • Spring Sonya/Tharja: Dazzling Rabbits <TIER 2> (Defense)

  • Legendary Azura: Vallite Songstress <TIER 2>

  • Shigure: Uplifting Artist <TIER 4>

  • Mikoto: Caring Mother <TIER 2> (Defense)

  • Sue: Doe of the Plains <TIER 3> (Defense)

  • New Year Gunnthra: Year's First Dream <TIER 3>

  • Garon: King of Nohr <TIER 3>

  • Bow Fliers <TIER 4>

  • Staff Fliers  <TIER 3>

Introduction

In the last update, we released the graphics for the generics tier list. We hope to improve the system over time as new inheritable are introduced. This update also seeks to re-align some of the strategies that are used on the offensive side of the metagame, mainly solo tanks (adjusted downwards) and Galeforce (adjusted upwards). 

We will also make it a point to establish a stronger connection with the Fire Emblem Heroes community. A shortened version of this page will be released on Reddit with a general summary of the changes. However, if you wish to know more, stick around as we dive deeper into the changes that happened over the course of February.

Generics Discussion

While there aren’t any groundbreaking inheritable that were released over the course of the month, the opinions of Bow and Staff Fliers have slightly shifted. The Rein C skills are probably some of the strongest generic support skills for a Flier, as Atk debuffs have more value than any other form of support. As such, any form of Atk-based Reins can be used with great effect. We started considering weapons that have similar Rein-based effects, and the two we looked at are Staves and Bows, with Palm Staff and Rein Bow respectively.

The team believes that Staves are significantly better than Bows; inflicting an Atk debuff with Palm Staff is huge, and healing utility can be valuable for a team revolving around Saviors. In fact, they can also be seen as a counterplay to Fatal Smoke, as the afflicted tanks could simply end turn to get rid of the affliction. Bows have fewer of these advantages, as it inflicts Spd/Def debuffs, which is significantly worse compared to Palm Staff. However, we still think that it is enough to bump it up from the lowest tier.

  • Bow Fliers <TIER 4>
  • Staff Fliers  <TIER 3>

Galeforce Discussions

Galeforce strategies have been options since the start of Aether Raids. Since the introduction of Thorr as an Astra Mythic last year, the strategy became much more popular, as her Worldbreaker lowers the bar of entry needed to be a Galeforce unit. With that said, there are also many other units introduced to help out such strategies, most notably Winter Bernadetta for her HP manipulation capabilities. 

There are many ways to use a Galeforce strategy, so the team hopes to address all forms of Galeforce teams if the bar of entry is sufficiently low. There are two groups that we wish to adjust: those which perform at least on the same level as a generic Galeforce unit, and those that have a major upside in terms of HP manipulation. We also wish to realign some of the Galeforce units that have not been reassessed for a long time. 

We start off with these three units. They can be used in Galeforce strategies using generic builds. We do not think Lloyd’s stat distribution is sufficiently competitive to be of parity with the modern generics, but it is just enough to lift him from the bottom tier. 

  • Lloyd: White Wolf <TIER 4>
  • Say'ri: Chon'sin's Blade <TIER 3>
  • Hana: Focused Samurai <TIER 3>

We then move on to adjusting for HP manipulation Galeforce units. All of these units have some effect that improves the performance of being the main Galeforce unit after manipulating their HP value with Winter Bernadetta. This includes Special acceleration (Ogma / Soleil), Null Follow-Up (Mareeta), or other miscellaneous effects that are game-changing for the said unit (Brave Alm / Fallen Dimitri). These units are also Infantry, which means that acceleration support is much easier to come by compared to other movement types.

  • Ogma: Loyal Blade <TIER 3>
  • Soleil: Adorable Adorer <TIER 2>
  • Mareeta: Sword of Stars <TIER 2>
  • Fallen Dimitri: Savage Boar <TIER 1>
  • Alm: Imperial Ascent <TIER 1>

As for the other movement types, Pirate Tibarn and Naesala are adjusted downwards, as we do not think they are a tier above other modern Galeforce units, such as Legendary Eirika and Legendary Ephraim. Sumia’s Wings of Mercy effect, however, is pretty reliable alongside access to the Flow series of B skills, which grants the offensive half of Null Follow-Up. All three units are slated for Tier 2 in this update.

  • Sumia: Maid of Flowers <TIER 2>
  • Naesala: Sea’s Shadow <TIER 2>
  • Tibarn: Shipless Pirate <TIER 2>

The end of Infantry Dominance

Over the past few months, we have been adjusting many previously-meta units downwards due to the overwhelming nature of Savior skills. While the team tried to justify most of their placements by pivoting to other roles, there are some units that are simply not cut out to do so. This includes effects such as debuff negation and counter-based skills, like Distant and Close Counter. Segregating the roles to ranged and melee tanks is simply a more efficient approach, as the stats can be more skewed or specialized in order to be more apt to break the weapon triangle in half. Examples of this include Arden, Valentine’s Henriette, and Valentine’s Robin (F).

It is safe to say that the era of defensive Infantries is pretty much over. As we are almost done shifting the Infantries to other roles, we felt that it is about time to adjust the ones who can’t make the switch downwards. 

  • Kris (M): Unknown Hero <TIER 3>
  • Kris (F): Unsung Hero <TIER 3>
  • Larcei: Keen Kin <TIER 3>
  • Shannan: Wielder of Astra <TIER 3>
  • Yen'fay: Blade Legend <TIER 3>
  • Fjorm: Princess of Ice <TIER 3>
  • Nowi: Eternal Youth <TIER 3>
  • Resplendent Seliph: Heir of Light <TIER 3>
  • Keaton: Lupine Collector <TIER 3>
  • Shinon: Scathing Archer <TIER 3>
  • Brunnya: Devoted General <TIER 3>

Other Adjustments

Legendary Hector is in an awkward spot; Armors are known for using their C skill, but Ostia’s Pulse is also a C skill, meaning that he has to choose between it and a Savior skill. In terms of performance, due to his lackluster Spd, we do not think that Thunder Armads’ follow-up negation is enough defensively, and Armor movement woes make his Galeforce performance fiddly.

  • Legendary Hector: Marquess of Ostia <TIER 2>

The launch of Valentine’s Chrom directly led us to re-evaluate his Legendary alt. While his Weapon aged pretty remarkably with the stats it provides, his color did not. Valentine’s Chrom somewhat circumvents Armor-effective neutralization by being red and focusing on non-Brave Hector matchups, whereas Legendary Chrom cannot do that. To Change Fate! is still a potentially spooky skill on Defense, but we do not think it is sufficient to be of parity with the other Tier 1 units.

  • Chrom: Crowned Exalt <TIER 2> (Defense)

The team also had significant discussions with the state of support in the game. While Wings of Fate Hinoka’s value did increase as eluded in the previous month’s article, things become murkier when compared to other supports such as Brave Lucina and Summer Hilda. Mythics being increasingly supportive and the availability of generic support weapons also somewhat downplays the potential efficacy of such supports. For now, we reversed the change on Hinoka to be of parity with other competitive supports.

  • Hinoka: Blue Sky Warrior <TIER 2>

Weapon Refinery

Legendary Azura: Vallite Songstress <TIER 2>

For a long time, Legendary Azura was Tier 1 due to Gray Waves being a powerful Assist, with extra movement providing utility on Defense. However, as more and more dancers became more competitive and counterplays to dancers exist, Legendary Azura’s effect slowly faded away from the spotlight. In order for Azura to succeed and regain her niche, she would need to find a way to break through dancer counters, such as Mila and Bridal Fjorm, so that Gray Waves’ additional movement could be useful once again. 

Unfortunately, the team believes that the remix and refinement of Azura did not do enough to make her an enticing option for Aether Raids in general. Gray Waves II now grants Null Panic, but that does not justify a Tier 1 placement; Null Panic is generally more useful on Enemy Phase, where dancers are not as important. Although Prayer Wheel provides a +6 Spd buff to allies within two spaces without any condition, visible buffs are easier to come by nowadays. Lastly, the Triangle Adept effect for Azura is probably a token effect that rarely comes to play, as her combat is unimpressive.

Shigure: Uplifting Artist <TIER 4>

New Year Gunnthra: Year's First Dream <TIER 3>

These two units are fairly similar in terms of stat distribution, as both of them focus on Atk and Spd. Usually, such stat distribution means the unit will want to use Galeforce to leverage their offense. However, both of these weapons provide little support in that regard. Both Gunnthra and Shigure focus on trying to do more damage, which means that both are typically locked into a melee specialist role. Gunnthra’s weapon is slightly better in this regard due to the Atk debuffs Hikami gives on top of the boost in firepower similar to her original form, whereas Shigure is likely going to struggle due to the lack of defensive investments.

Mikoto: Caring Mother <TIER 2> (Defense)

Canto Control is potentially a good counter to hit-and-run strategies; however, the big issue is that Mikoto herself is unlikely to contribute much otherwise, as even the Flash effect is no longer as useful due to Ascended Fjorm. Mikoto is likely to be strongest when the defensive team has a huge range, which means that not only does the Canto unit find it difficult to move out of range, the dancer cannot be situated close enough to dance and retreat far enough as well. We will be examining Mikoto’s placement more closely and make changes if applicable.

Sue: Doe of the Plains <TIER 3> (Defense)

Similar to Mikoto, we will also be examining the performance of Sue. First impressions however are not great, as the chip damage that Sue provides is not adequate, and the Firesweep effect is no longer as useful with Ascended Fjorm. Sue does have decent damage output thanks to her true damage, but that only applies on the first hit, which does limit her potency.

Garon: King of Nohr <TIER 3>

Garon’s gimmick was that he deals damage over 4 spaces and heals himself, which was very similar to Surtr a very long time ago as Sinmara also has the damaging effect. Garon’s refine added an extra turn on the weapon, but in the modern context, it is not the most helpful, as most defensive units nowadays are primarily focused on dealing damage (and tanks are usually Far Save rather than Near Save anyways). This makes the benefit of Garon’s clean-up effects limited.

However, Garon is still a serviceable melee specialist at the end of the day, with a built-in Guard and sufficient stats. The dragon-effective neutralization is also a decent effect that can be relevant against Brave Alm and Brave Eliwood.

New Units

Hugh: Worldly Mage <TIER 3>

As eluded by the previous section on the fall of Infantry units, Hugh falls right into this category. Hugh is just a giant statstick, and this can mostly be superseded by running supports on a Savior-based composition.

Ascendant Idunn: Divine Demon <TIER 1>

Brave Hector, but change out the automatic follow-up for adaptive and Armor-effectiveness. Whether Brave Hector or Ascendant Idunn is the better unit is up for debate, but it would be foolish to not put her in Tier 1. 

Spring Delthea: Prodigy in Bloom <TIER 2> (Defense)

Relying on foe’s debuffs is bad with the prominence of Brave Hector (and now Ascendant Idunn), and relying on unit’s buffs can be unreliable with some foes running Distant Def 4 and Panic. Additionally, the Firesweep effect is useless against Ascended Fjorm. While on paper Spring Delthea has many things going for her, in reality, her effect can be unreliable against the bulk of common units used in the offensive metagame.

Spring Maria: Sunny Smile <TIER 2>

The biggest point about Spring Maria is that her damage reduction comes right after any form of percentage damage reduction, which is similar to Hardy Fighter with the flat 5 damage reduction after all calculations. As such, the effectiveness of this damage reduction can be amplified to hilarious levels. For example, if Maria can reduce the damage done by 10 with her weapon effect, this effectively increases to 20 when considered with 50% damage reduction using Guard Bearing. With that in mind, Maria’s best friends are units that provide damage reduction, such as Elimine and Flayn.

Spring Maria will be an excellent melee specialist with her durability; however, it could be argued that competitive Near Save units are still slightly better than melee specialists due to the amount of support they could bring without the strict restriction of positioning. Nevertheless, we have no doubts that Maria will excel in this role, and even more so when Fliers receive stronger Enemy Phase options.

Spring Sonya/Tharja: Dazzling Rabbits <TIER 2> (Defense)

Spring Sonya hits hard, and the mobility provided by her weapon allows for more flexible positioning. The elephant in the room is, as usual, her Flier status. Her best B Slot option is probably Windsweep, which is falling out of favor due to Ascended Fjorm, and she cannot receive Infantry Pulse buffs. Lastly, while it is probably a moot point, her weapon’s cooldown reduction can be disabled by Elimine’s False Start.

Caeda: Beloved Queen <TIER 2>

Other than Bridal Catria comps, the other most common comp is Cavalry-based ones with Cavalry nukes. Caeda is a great answer to all of these, with automatic Vantage against Cavalry foes. The additional Canto effect on the weapon can also be used for hit-and-run strategies, with the offensive half of Null Follow-Up being helpful against follow-up negation as well.

Other than the Canto effect and effectiveness, her weapon’s gaining stats based on foe’s buffs can be hit-or-miss due to the general reluctance of buffs on Defense. The team believes that Caeda being such a good Cavalry check lands herself in Tier 2, but this may change depending on whether there will be any shifts to the defensive metagame. Should the metagame shift away from Cavalries, Caeda will likely be adjusted downwards

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About the Author(s)

Maskilraid is a writer specialising in Fire Emblem Heroes. He situates in the tiny island of Singapore, and is a fanatic in crafting Aether Raids Defence teams. He also has academic background in Statistics, providing statistical analysis of the pull rates in Fire Emblem Heroes.

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