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Analysis by CCZeroFire
Leanne - Forest's Song

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
150
HP 36
ATK 27
SPD 37
DEF 16
RES 34

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 13 4 8 2 7
Middle 14 5 9 3 8
High 15 6 10 4 9

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 32 23 34 12 31
Middle 36 27 37 16 34
High 39 30 40 19 37

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

Assets

  • +SPD: A Speed Asset keeps Leanne safe from getting doubled and helps ensure she can perform her own doubles if needed.

  • +RES: An Asset in Resistance helps her be a great user of Ploys as well as easily brush off any enemy mages or dragons.

Neutral

  • ATK: An Attack Asset is not quite as imperative as a Speed or Resistance Asset as it does not at all contribute her utility. However, if one plans to heavily merge Leanne or simply does wish to utilize her and her high movement more offensively, an Attack Asset may be more preferable.

  • HP: An HP Flaw is less desirable than a Defense Flaw as the 4-point drop will also hurt her magical bulk.

Flaws

  • -DEF: With just 52 physical bulk at neutral, Leanne cannot reliably take physical hits, and in the majority of circumstances a Defense Flaw will least impact her overall performance.

    • It may be worth considering that Leanne can utilize Fury 3 and a Defense (or HP) Asset to reach 58 physical bulk. Though far from high, this can often be just enough to allow her to live one physical attack in a pinch, and as a colorless unit this can be rather reliable due to having no triangle disadvantages (aside from Raven tomes). It will not, however, help against archers or enemies with guaranteed follow-up attacks, meaning in these cases the Asset is wasted. Additionally, this strategy will likely necessitate she takes an Attack or Resistance Flaw, which may be undesirable.

Skill Sets

Naesala’s Wife (Beast/Dragon Support)

Build by
Recommended
Heron Wing A Mirror Stance 2
Alternate: Fury 3
Sing B Chill Def 3
Alternate: Wings of Mercy 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Iceberg
C Hone Beasts
Alternate: Goad Fliers
IVsSSpd Ploy 3
Alternate: Blaze Dance 3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV: +SPD or +RES / -DEF
  • Weapon: Heron Wing
  • Assist: Sing
  • Special: Moonbow / Iceberg
  • Passive A: Mirror Stance / Fury / Fort. Def/Res
  • Passive B: Chill Def / Chill Spd / Wings of Mercy 
  • Passive C: Hone Beasts / Goad Fliers / Ploy passive 
  • Sacred Seal: Spd Ploy / Ploy passive / Blaze Dance

Many units excel when on a team of other units with a specific weapon or movement type, and Leanne is no exception. Her weapon, Heron Wing, grants her an additional 2 Attack and 1 additional movement, but only if she begins her turn adjacent to only beast or dragon allies, or no allies at all. Thus it should be no surprise that Leanne performs best on a team made only of other beasts and dragons as it will allow her to easily stay transformed permanently.

As a refresher, Leanne will rarely be engaged in combat, thus it is a good idea to pick a Special with the lowest cooldown possible. As Leanne’s Attack is a bit too low to utilize Glimmer, Moonbow is the greatest choice. Iceberg can be used as a stronger option to build off her high Resistance, but there is a large chance she will go most matches without ever using it.

Mirror Stance, Leanne’s native A skill, is a fairly good option for her as she will usually be using Sing on her own turn, meaning in the uncommon event she does engage in combat, it will usually be on Enemy Phase. The boost to her Attack and Resistance is a great help for combating enemy dragons, and the Resistance grants her very welcome bulk versus mages. If one is looking for more all-rounder stats, the good ol’ reliable Fury can be used to boost all of her stats, including Speed and Defense, which some may find welcome. If one does not care about her combat at all, a skill such as Fort. Def/Res will best help keep her alive.

Chill Def is a very strong option for Leanne and helps increase the physical damage dealt by her and all allied beasts, though Chill Spd or Chill Atk may be a more reliable option if paired more often with Dragons. Wings of Mercy is the classic option for refreshers, allowing her to warp across the map in a pinch, though with her three range flying movement she may be less reliant on it than other refreshers.

Leanne’s C skill should be picked based on her allies. Hone Beasts provides the biggest boost when used exclusively with other beast units. Goad Fliers is a more-general option that can apply to both beast fliers such as Naesala and dragon fliers such as Myrrh. If she is expected to be on a team with both non-flying beasts and non-flying dragons at the same time, then she’ll find the best use in a more general skill such as Def Ploy or Spd Ploy.

Likewise, Leanne will also find Ploys to be her highest-impact Sacred Seal choices. If none are available many other basic support skills could be chosen, such as a simple Hone or Drive, and she may also find high value in Dance Sacred Seals such as Blaze Dance.

I… H-help! Yes? (Generic Support / Budget Friendly)

Build by
Heron Wing A Mirror Stance 2
Alternate: Fury 3
Sing B Flier Formation 3
Alternate: Wings of Mercy 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Iceberg
C Drive Spd 2
Alternate: Def Ploy 3
IVsSSpd Ploy 3
Alternate: Guidance 3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV:  +SPD or +RES / -DEF
  • Weapon: Heron Wing
  • Assist: Sing
  • Special: Moonbow / Iceberg
  • Passive A: Mirror Stance / Fury
  • Passive B: Flier Formation / Wings of Mercy
  • Passive C: Drive Spd / Ploy passive
  • Sacred Seal: Spd Ploy / Guidance / Drive Atk / Ploy passive

Leanne can also make for quite a powerful support on teams that aren't centered around beast or dragon heroes. Even if she doesn’t remain transformed all the time, she still remains an above-average support unit due to her stats as a flier, granting her access to skills such as Guidance and her native Flier Formation.

This set is also fairly budget friendly—she finds the best use in most of her base skills, really needing only a Special and most likely a replacement more-general C slot skill. Moonbow and Iceberg are her best Special options, Moonbow more likely to be utilized due to its lower cooldown, though Iceberg is slightly more powerful.

Mirror Stance is a great skill that helps her tank magical threats when needed, while Fury remains a good all-rounder that most notably grants her additional Speed.

Flier Formation extends her movement range around the field even when untransformed, massively increasing her positioning options when not on a team with beasts or dragons. If one does not expect her to always be by other fliers, it is likely best to switch to Wings of Mercy or other such non-team-specific skills.

Leanne’s C slot and Sacred Seal both pull from the same set of skills. Either a Ploy or a Drive will be her best support options, and she can find use with them on nearly all team compositions. Guidance is also a great choice that is available as a rare C skill and a more-accessible Sacred Seal that greatly helps her aid Infantry and Armored allies with their positioning.

Introduction

Leanne the mesmerizing chanteur is a colorless flying beast unit, and one of the very first beast units added to the game. As a Heron Laguz, she gains one additional movement when transformed, also making her (alongside her brother, Reyson) the first three-movement Singer/Dancer in the game. While many have long feared the concept of a cavalry Singer/Dancer due to their range, the Herons surpass that fear bringing both that and flying mobility. To the surprise of some, they even keep their ability to attack, a trait Heron Laguz did not have in Path or Radiance or Radiant Dawn (though of course in those games Herons were also able to refresh units in multiple directions around them at the same time—a scary thought to think about in Heroes).

Compared to her brother Reyson, Leanne is slightly more min-maxed, having much higher Speed and Resistance, but lower Attack and Defense. This makes Leanne the more support-focused of the two, with Reyson the slightly more battle-ready, quite fitting of their personalities. Having low Attack and no color advantages, Leanne quite expectedly hits like a wet noodle without offensive investment, but nonetheless makes up for it in spades with her sheer mobility, Sing skill, powerful Ploy ability, and the regenerative effect offered by Heron Wing.

While for the most part, Heron Wing’s healing is a welcome blessing, it should be kept in mind that it could potentially cause an issue when used with heroes utilizing skills such as Desperation or Wrath, as she could potentially bring them out of its range. One must also keep in mind that her transformation is disabled if she begins combat adjacent to any non-beast or non-dragon allies. Though these traits may slightly limit her team compositions, thankfully, there are more than enough Fliers and Dragons that act as tanks, making use of skills such as Quick Riposte, and when on the proper team Leanne easily finds her place as an extraordinarily versatile support, perhaps overwhelmingly so.

Strengths

Extraordinary Mobility + Sing

As a Heron Laguz, Leanne has three movement range when transformed, and is unimpeded by terrain such as forests or mountains. Having access to Sing, this gives her an unprecedented refresh range, easily able to make her way to her allies without needing to use any mobility-focused B slot or C slot skills.

Incredible Ploy Ability

Leanne ties Hoshidan Summer Micaiah with 34 Resistance, making her one of the best users of Ploy skills such as Spd Ploy among all support units. In particular, her flier mobility and three movement when transformed also provides her with some of the easiest ability to aim and land these Ploys, easily making her one of the very best users of them in the game.

Heron Wing

Not only does Heron Wing maintain the movement up effect found in all other flying beast weapons, but it increases her Speed by a further 3 (bringing her to an effective base 40!) and gains the unique effect of healing all allies around her by 7 at the start of every turn. This healing makes her an optimal support for units that utilize skills such as Quick Riposte and other tanks.

Weaknesses

Low Attack and Physical Bulk

As a refresher, Leanne comes with the normal penalties of such units, namely a very low BST. In particular, she takes the hit in her Attack and her physical bulk. Leanne doesn’t hit very hard without a serious investment into Attack or team buffs, and she is very frail, quite easily able to die in a single hit from the majority of physical threats.

Transformation Restrictions

Leanne’s exceptional movement-up effect is conditional on the fact that she starts her turn either adjacent to nobody or only adjacent to beasts or dragons. While she can make use of skills such as Flier Formation to maintain powerful mobility even without transforming, it certainly puts limitations on her effectiveness, resulting in offering less utility in such cases than other Flying Singers/Dancers such as Legendary Azura.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Hatchling (Flier)

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, unit can move 1 extra space. (That turn only. Does not stack.) If unit transforms, grants Atk+2.

Beast Flier Only
50 1 4
Fledgling (Flier)

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, unit can move 1 extra space. (That turn only. Does not stack.) If unit transforms, grants Atk+2.

Beast Flier Only
100 1 6
Adult (Flier)

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, unit can move 1 extra space. (That turn only. Does not stack.) If unit transforms, grants Atk+2.

Beast Flier Only
200 1 9
Heron Wing

Grants Spd+3. At start of turn, restores 7 HP to allies within 2 spaces of unit. At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, unit can move 1 extra space. (That turn only. Does not stack.) If unit transforms, grants Atk +2.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 14
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Sing

Enables target to take another action. Cannot be used on units with Sing or Dance

Learns by default at 5 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Warding Stance 1

If foe initiates combat, grants Res+2 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
50
A
Mirror Stance 1

If foe initiates combat, grants Atk/Res+2 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
120
A
Mirror Stance 2

If foe initiates combat, grants Atk/Res+4 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
A
Flier Formation 1

If unit has 100% HP, unit can move to a space adjacent to a flier ally within 2 spaces.

Only inheritable by flier units.
60
B
Flier Formation 2

If unit has ≥ 50% HP, unit can move to a space adjacent to a flier ally within 2 spaces.

Only inheritable by flier units.
120
B
Flier Formation 3

Unit can move to a space adjacent to a flier ally within 2 spaces

Only inheritable by flier units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
B
Hone Spd 1

Grants adjacent allies Spd+2 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Hone Spd 2

Grants adjacent allies Spd+3 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
100
C
Hone Beasts

At start of turn, grants Atk/Spd+6 to adjacent beast allies for 1 turn.

Beast Only
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

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