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Archived Arena Offense Tier List Patch Notes 1

10/21/2017 Placement Update

Placed:

  • Ayra has been placed in Tier 1
  • Arvis has been placed in Tier 3     

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

10/16/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Criteria has been updated to recognise Sacred Seals. The new list of criteria can be found here.

Placed:

  • Sigurd has been placed in Tier 2
  • Deirdre has been placed in Tier 3     
  • Tailtiu has been placed in Tier 3

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Nowi has been moved up to Tier 1 (from Tier 2)

Nowi has gained a great deal of strength in recent updates, and is one of the strongest opponents to many common units. Steady Breath is the obvious addition to her skillset, but the ability to upgrade the Distant Def seal is another huge boon. As a breath user, Nowi is able to bypass Sacae’s Blessing, making her a great answer to Brave Lyn, and the aforementioned tools make her even more effective in this role.

  • Tiki – Ylissean Summer has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)

Her solid base stats allow for a number of strong builds, including offensive Brave Axe+ sets or more defensive with Melon Crusher, Sol and Quick Riposte. We feel she’s more suited to Tier 3.

  • Hawkeye has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)

Hawkeye has been promoted on the merit of new skills: Slaying Axe+ is a useful upgrade, and Wrath is a great addition to his skillset that compliments his high HP pool, attack and defensive stats really nicely.

  • Gordin has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)

With the prevalence of Brave Lyn, Gordin finds a useful niche as a high defence archer. High def allows him to survive either her Mulagir or Brave Bow+ builds, and skills like Death Blow and Bowbreaker allow him to check almost every other archer in the game. Slaying Bow+ is also a great new choice for a weapon.

Demoted:

  • Azura – Lady of Ballads has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)

Azura – Lady of Ballads is easily one of the strongest dancers in the game, but despite her clear strength she is still very much reliant on her teammates. With this factor in mind, we’ve found Tier 2 to be a more suitable placement.

  • Reinhardt has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)

Reinhardt is a fantastic offensive unit, but every recent update has affected his matchups, many of which are slowly turning against him. New units like Brave Ike, Inigo, Sigurd and Deirdre all threaten his sweeping potential, and the introduction of high level Sacred Seals such as Distant Def 3 and Deflect Magic 3 allow many blue units to bait and KO him.

  • Julia has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

With more defensive tools in the form of Sacred Seals, Julia's role as a high-res mage check is less important. She's still a strong unit, but many other green and blue units can now tank the same units she's able to. But Julia's low speed means she cannot be as effective as Sonya or Nino offensively.

  • Masked Marth has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Masked Marth’s stats are identical to Lucina’s, meaning they’re pretty awesome for an offensive sword user. With that said, limited merge potential and a lack of boon/bane stats puts a limit to her stats, making her comparatively weaker than Lucina. For this reason, she has been demoted to Tier 3.

  • Olivia – Festival Dancer has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Though Olivia is arguably the best dagger user, that really doesn’t say a lot. A lack of access to Triangle Adept hurts her combat role a lot compared to other dancers, and the effectiveness of Poison Dagger+ against infantry struggles to make up for that.

  • Xander has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Xander’s demotion follows suit from Camus’ demotion in the previous update: he has a great role within cavalry teams, but outside of that he struggles to make good use of Distant Counter in his weapon due to his low resistance. The inability to tune his stats with a boon and bane also hurts his offensive usability, compared to a unit like Brave Roy or Sigurd.

  • Navarre has been moved down to Tier 4 (from Tier 3)
  • Clarisse has been moved down to Tier 4 (from Tier 3)

Both of these heroes have low attack, limited merge potential and lack of boon/bane stats. For this reason, we believe a drop to Tier 4 is in order.

Class Type Tier Lists

Cavalry placements:

  • Sigurd has been placed in Tier 1

Cavalry demotions:

  • Xander has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)
  • Eldigan has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)
  • Cain has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)
  • Seth has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

10/1/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Azura (Performing Arts) has been placed in Tier 1
  • Inigo (Performing Arts) has been placed in Tier 2
  • Olivia (Performing Arts) has been placed in Tier 2
  • Shigure (Performing Arts) has been placed in Tier 3

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Fae has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Camilla has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)

These two were promoted for their strength as mage counters thanks to their great match-ups against Reinhardt, Linde, Delthea, etc.

Demoted:

  • Eirika has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

With dual rally skills becoming more accessible and more prominent, Eirika's strength as a support is becoming less significant and her pitiful attack stat is harder to justify. Sieglinde still makes her one of the easiest to use Blade tome partners, but her combat power leaves something to be desired.

  • Tharja has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)
  • Katarina has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Katarina and Tharja have both struggled to keep up with Celica for a while now, and Tier 2 is becoming a lot more competitive with so many powerful new units around. We believe Tier 3 is a better fit for the pair at this time.

  • Camus has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Camus has a great role within cavalry teams, but outside of that he struggles to make good use of Distant Counter in his weapon due to his low resistance. The inability to tune his stats with a boon and bane also hurts his offensive usability, compared to a unit like Oscar.

  • Takumi has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Takumi has been moved down to match Jeorge, as the two have very little to differentiate them.

  • Michalis has been moved down to Tier 4 (from Tier 3)

Michalis struggles to defend against a lot of common blue units due to his low speed and resistance. No access to Steady Breath is also a heavy blow to his effectiveness as a physical wall, and makes it harder to justify him over other axe users like Amelia, Sheena, Summer Tiki and Summer Xander.

09/19/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Elincia has been placed in Tier 2
  • Nephenee has been placed in Tier 2
  • Oscar has been placed in Tier 3
  • Black Knight has been placed in Tier 1

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Reinhardt has been moved up to Tier 1 (from Tier 2)
  • Sheena has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Lukas has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Tiki (A) has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Gwendolyn has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Peri has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Hinata has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 5)
  • Henry has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)
  • Odin has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)

Demoted:

  • Saber has been moved down to Tier 4 (from Tier 3)

Class Type Tier Lists

Cavalry placements:

  • Oscar has been placed in Tier 2

Cavalry demotions:

  • Elise has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)
  • Frederick has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)

Flier placements:

  • Elincia has been placed in Tier 1

Armor placements:

  • Black Knight has been placed in Tier 1

Other Changes:

  • Tier 6 has been removed from the Tier List

Tier 6 originally existed solely for the outliers who were deemed ‘unusable’. No doubt, the most obvious culprit is Odin and his pitiful 22 base attack, but Tier 6 also included other units with awkward stats as well as healers – before they were removed in the previous update. With recent updates, namely the introduction of the support system, it’s become much easier to make those ‘unusable’ units viable. Skill Inheritance was the first major update to level the playing field between units, and we believe Supports to be the next biggest equaliser.

This tier list update includes many promotions, and this is because we have undergone a process of compression to accommodate for the removal of Tier 6. All of these units were either considered ‘borderline’ units or have gained a lot from the release of recent skills (namely Steady Breath. Wrath and Slaying Lance+). There are other 'borderline' units which remain strong candidates for promotion, but we have decided to delay these changes until the next update to allow more time for discussion and testing.

09/02/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Valter has been placed in Tier 3
  • Ike – Brave Mercenary has been placed in Tier 1
  • Lyn – Brave Lady has been placed in Tier 1
  • Roy – Brave Lion has been placed in Tier 2
  • Lucina – Brave Princess has been placed in Tier 2

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Gaius has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Laslow has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)
  • Jagen has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)

Demoted:

  • Nowi has been moved down to Tier 2 (from Tier 1)
  • Summer Gaius has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)
  • Kagero has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Class Type Tier Lists

Cavalry:

  • Lyn – Brave Lady has been placed in Tier 1
  • Roy – Brave Lion has been placed in Tier 1

Flier:

  • Valter has been placed in Tier 2

Other Changes:

  • Healers have been removed from the tier list.

For a long time, we have disliked the inclusion of these exclusively supporting characters in a tier list that values combat effectiveness so highly. We are working on a unique list which will rank the healers in regards to their effectiveness as a healer, rather than as a unit within the Arena game mode.

08/18/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Clive has been placed in Tier 4
  • Amelia has been placed in Tier 2
  • Seth has been placed in Tier 4
  • Innes has been placed in Tier 2
  • Tana has been placed in Tier 2

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Demoted:

  • Klein has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)
  • Jeorge has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

With Innes' release, we decided that there were just a few too many archers in Tier 2, despite the strength of Brave Bow+ and Swordbreaker. To reflect this, the two archers with the weakest stat-lines and build diversity have been demoted.

Class Type Tier Lists

Cavalry:

  • Seth has been placed in Tier 2
  • Clive has been placed in Tier 2
  • Stahl has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Flier:

  • Tana has been placed in Tier 1

Armour:

  • Amelia has been placed in Tier 1

08/05/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Summer Corrin has been placed in Tier 3
  • Summer Xander has been placed in Tier 4
  • Summer Elise has been placed in Tier 2
  • Summer Leo has been placed in Tier 5

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Sonya has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)

Sonya has been promoted on the merit of her high resistance: she can effectively counter Reinhardt without sacrificing offensive build flexibility thanks to her base resistance. This allows her to serve as an alternative to Julia: as an offensive green unit that can effectively counter Reinhardt.

Class Type Tier Lists

Flier:

  • Summer Corrin has been placed in Tier 1

07/20/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Clarisse has been placed in Tier 3
  • Summer Robin has been placed in Tier 3
  • Summer Tiki has been placed in Tier 4
  • Summer Frederick has been placed in Tier 4
  • Summer Gaius has been placed in Tier 2
  • Tobin has been placed in Tier 5
  • Delthea has been placed in Tier 2
  • Gray has been placed in Tier 3
  • Mathilda has been placed in Tier 5
  • Saber has been placed in Tier 3
  • Sonya has been placed in Tier 3
  • Leon has been placed in Tier 2
  • Berkut has been placed in Tier 4

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Tharja has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Cordelia has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Xander has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Shanna has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)

Class Type Tier Lists

Cavalry:

  • Berkut has been placed in Tier 2
  • Mathilda has been placed in Tier 3

06/28/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Katarina has been placed in Tier 2
  • Athena has been placed in Tier 3
  • Roderick has been placed in Tier 4
  • Luke has been placed in Tier 4
  • Legion has been placed in Tier 3

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Merric has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Boey has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)

From the last patch: 

With Bridal Cordelia asserting herself as not only a top tier archer, but a top tier unit, units that thrive as Raven tome users are become stronger additions to a team. We will adjust these placements in the future depending on how impactful Raven tomes turn out to be in the meta, while looking at similar mages to see who else can excel in this niche. The builds on these characters are niche, but it’s a great niche to have.

  • Clair has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)
  • Titania has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)

The combination of high speed and resistance makes both Clair and Titania worthy of promotion. Skills like Iceberg and Glacies are crucial to their strength, but it does improve their otherwise lacklustre damage output.

Demoted:

  • None

06/07/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Bridal Caeda has been placed in Tier 3
  • Bridal Charlotte has been placed in Tier 3
  • Bridal Cordelia has been placed in Tier 1
  • Bridal Lyn has been placed in Tier 5
  • Camus has been placed in Tier 2
  • Masked Marth has been placed in Tier 2

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Tiki (Young) has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)

Tiki (Y) already had solid stats; her main problem was a glaring weakness to Falchion users. With these units becoming less and less frequent in arena teams, Tiki (Y) is becoming a safer- and stronger – inclusion on arena teams.

  • Sophia has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Robin (M) has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Robin (F) has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)

With Bridal Cordelia asserting herself as not only a top tier archer, but a top tier unit, units that thrive as Raven tome users are become stronger additions to a team. We will adjust these placements in the future depending on how impactful Raven tomes turn out to be in the meta, while looking at similar mages to see who else can excel in this niche. The builds on these characters are niche, but it’s a great niche to have.

  • Lucius has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)
  • Serra has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)
  • Azama has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)
  • Maria has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)

These healers were promoted due to their stats complimenting new playstyles as ‘colourless mages’ or utility tanks for healers utilising Wrathful Staff and Dazzling Staff. More testing is needed before we make any more changes to our healer placements.

Demoted:

  • Tharja has been moved down to Tier 3 (from Tier 2)

Tharja’s stats are good, but they leave her to be an incredibly inflexible unit. She’s rather outclassed by Celica, who can run more interesting builds beyond the classic Blade mage set.

05/19/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

Placed:

  • Xander has been placed in Tier 2
  • Celica has been placed in Tier 2
  • Mae has been placed in Tier 3
  • Boey has been placed in Tier 4
  • Genny has been placed in Tier 5
  • Lloyd has been placed in Tier 3

Explanations regarding these placements can be found on the main tier list page here.

Promoted:

  • Jeorge has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Klein has been moved up to Tier 2 (from Tier 3)
  • Virion has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 5)
  • Michalis has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Sheena has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Niles has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)
  • Sophia has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)

Demoted:

  • Catria has been moved down to Tier 4 (from Tier 3)
  • Titania has been moved down to Tier 5 (from Tier 4)

05/03/2017 Tier List Patch Notes

  • Lukas has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Est has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Spring Camilla has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Frederick has been moved up to Tier 3 (from Tier 4)
  • Felicia has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)
  • Robin (F) has been moved up to Tier 4 (from Tier 5)
  • Spring Xander has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)
  • Beruka has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)
  • Sophia has been moved up to Tier 5 (from Tier 6)

Some units have received updated explanations for their placements. These should more accurately explain their placement in accordance to the outlined criteria.

Other considerations:

Ike: We considered whether Ike was a better fit in Tier 2 rather than Tier 1. We concluded that he should remain in Tier 1 due to his flexibility and playstyle: though Ryoma is a stronger unit from an offensive standpoint, Ike can run more defensive sets more effectively. The range of choices he has for his B slot makes him more deserving of a spot in Tier 1.

Effie: We considered whether Effie should go down to Tier 1 rather than Tier 2. We concluded that she should remain in Tier 1: powerful offensive and defensive builds with the Brave Lance+ and Silver Lance+ respectively, and her ability to win some match-ups against green units were the tipping points in her favour.

Reinhardt: Reinhardt was considered for Tier 1, but we decided that he should remain in Tier 2. With a +Atk IV and Deathblow, Reinhardt is incredibly powerful and a very strong candidate for Tier 1. However, without a +Atk IV his strength is not quite as high. In addition, he is very reliant on Dancer/Songstress support, making him a better fit in Tier 2 alongside units like Tharja, Linde and Nino. Easily capable of reaching the strength necessary for tier 1, but requires a little bit of extra support.

Dancers: Some proposed that Dancers should be included in Tier 1, for their fantastic support abilities and their decent combat ability. All three can be built to effectively duel units that they have triangle advantage over, but we did not consider a position in Tier 1 a fair reflection of their overall strength. We have updated their explanation with clearer distinctions between each unit.

Xander and Eldigan: We’ve been working on figuring out where to place Xander in the Tier List, and his similarity to Eldigan has led to a re-evaluation of his placement as well. Currently Eldigan is in Tier 3, and we have not yet placed Xander. These placements will be re-evaluated and updated in the next version.