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Analysis by Wecondo12
Subaki - Perfect Expert

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
157
HP 40
ATK 25
SPD 35
DEF 35
RES 22

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 17 5 8 8 4
Middle 18 6 9 9 5
High 19 7 10 10 6

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 36 22 32 32 19
Middle 40 25 35 35 22
High 43 29 38 38 25

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

  • +ATK: Despite the Golden Naginata’s reliance on Subaki retaining a low Attack stat, Subaki’s Attack is far too low to deal any significant damage at base. In addition, even with an Attack asset, Subaki’s Attack is still low enough to activate his exclusive weapon’s effect fairly consistently while improving his incredibly lacking damage output, making Attack Subaki’s best choice of asset overall.

  • +SPD: A Speed asset is an excellent choice as well, as it allows Subaki to avoid follow-up attacks from all but the fastest foes, while helping him secure his own without the aid of skills such as Quick Riposte.

Neutral

  • DEF: Subaki has an abnormally high Defense stat for his unit type at base 35, allowing him to tank physical damage easily. A Defense Asset is a decent choice if one wishes to maximize Subaki’s physical bulk, but it’s not as useful as a Speed or Attack Asset overall, so Defense is best left neutral.

  • HP: Subaki’s HP is fairly average, but it’s a poor choice of flaw due to reducing the stat by 4 points instead of 3, hampering Subaki’s overall survivability. As such, HP is best left neutral.

Flaws

  • -RES: At an underwhelming base value of 22, Subaki’s Resistance leaves much to be desired, and lowering it further will hardly affect his performance.

Skill Sets

Flawless Victory (Defensive)

Build by
Recommended
Golden Naginata (+Eff) A Steady Stance 4
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Mystic Boost 3
Bonfire
Alternate: Ignis
C Atk Smoke 3
IVsSClose Def 3
Alternate: Iote's Shield

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

  • Subaki prefers to improve his raw damage output or his ability to perform and avoid follow-up attacks with an Attack or Speed asset respectively. Resistance is the chosen flaw as it does little to impact Subaki’s performance overall.

Weapon: Golden Naginata(+EFF)

  • Subaki’s exclusive Golden Naginata is his weapon of choice, as it heavily compensates for Subaki’s lacking damage output by granting a +3 boost to all of his stats if his Attack is lower than that of his foe, in addition to granting him permanent -1 Special cooldown and +7 damage if his HP is equal to or higher than 70%, which greatly improves Subaki’s combat overall.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

Special: Bonfire / Ignis

  • Defense Scaling specials are Subaki’s best choice of special, as they scale incredibly well thanks to his stellar Defense. Of the two, Bonfire is superior due to its good damage output in conjunction with its reasonably fast cooldown, but Ignis remains a solid alternative if one wants a harder hitting Special at the cost of a longer cooldown.

Passive A: Steady Stance 4 

  • Steady Stance 4 grants Subaki a massive +8 Defense in addition to the Guard effect on Enemy Phase, allowing Subaki to check Physical threats with greater ease, particularly if they’re reliant on Special activations.

Passive B: Quick Riposte / Mystic Boost

  • Subaki’s innate Quick Riposte remains a solid option despite Subaki’s high Speed, as it allows him to negate follow-up prevention effects such as Impacts on Enemy Phase while also allowing him to secure follow-ups on Enemy Phase regardless of the foe’s Speed.

  • Mystic Boost is also a great choice, granting him some much needed self sustain by restoring 6 of his HP after every combat, in addition to nullifying Adaptive Damage and Wrathful Staff, reducing the damage he takes from Staff users.

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Preference

  • Atk Smoke increases Subaki’s Enemy Phase durability further by inflicting a -7 Attack debuff on all foes within 2 spaces after combat, but his C slot choice is mainly dependent on the needs of the team and player preference.

Sacred Seal: Close Def / Iote’s Shield / Steady Stance

  • The Close Def sacred seal rounds out Subaki’s defensive build nicely, granting Subaki a +6 boost to both his Defense and Resistance when attacked by melee foes.

  • The Iote’s Shield Sacred Seal is also an excellent choice as it nullifies Subaki’s crippling Bow weakness, allowing him to tank bow users easily thanks to his High Defense.

  • Finally, Steady Stance can also be used in the Sacred Seal slot to grant Subaki an additional +6 Defense during Enemy Phase.

The Perfectionist (AR Distant Counter)

Build by
Golden Naginata (+Eff) A Distant Counter
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Noontime C Pulse Smoke 3
IVsSSwift Stance 2
Alternate: Warding Stance 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +RES / -HP

  • Due to the widespread presence of mages in Aether Raids, a Resistance asset is taken to improve Subaki’s durability against magical damage. HP is chosen as a flaw despite its 4 point reduction, as the rest of Subaki’s stats are of greater importance.

Weapon: Golden Naginata(+EFF)

  • The Golden Naginata is once again an excellent choice, as it greatly bolsters Subaki’s combat ability by granting him a +3 bonus to all of his stats provided that Subaki’s Attack is lower than that of his foe, in addition to permanent -1 Special cooldown and a +7 damage bonus as long as his HP remains equal to or above 70%.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

Special: Noontime

  • Noontime is Subaki’s special of choice for an AR Distant Counter build, as it activates after every hit thanks to the Golden Naginata’s Slaying effect, granting Subaki a consistent source of self healing, provided he deals enough damage.

Passive A: Distant Counter

  • Distant Counter is essential to this build, as it grants Subaki the ability to counterattack KO ranged foes, allowing Subaki to serve as a potent Ranged check(although vulnerable to Bow users such as Legendary Alm)

Passive B: Quick Riposte

  • Quick Riposte is also crucial, as it allows Subaki to perform follow-up attacks through the effects of skills such as Sturdy and Mirror Impact during Enemy Phase, skills that are common in the higher tiers of Aether Raids.

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Preference

  • Pulse Smoke allows Subaki to disable potentially dangerous Specials by increasing the cooldown of all foes within two spaces by 1, which is especially useful when facing Special Based Defense teams.

Sacred Seal: Swift Stance / Warding Stance

  • Swift Stance grants Subaki additional Speed and Resistance during Enemy Phase, increasing his ability to tank magical damage while also improving his resistance to Enemy follow-up Attacks.

  • The Warding Stance Sacred Seal can also be used to give Subaki a greater Resistance bonus than Swift Stance,  although it does not increase Subaki’s Speed.

A Perfect Storm (Offensive)

Build by
Golden Naginata (+Eff) A Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Alternate: Atk/Spd Solo 3
Reposition B Chill Spd 3
Alternate: Desperation 3
Bonfire C Even Spd Wave 3
IVsSSturdy Blow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

  • Assets in Attack and Speed remain ideal for to increase Subaki’s offensive potential. Resistance remains the best choice of flaw, as Subaki prefers to keep his other stats in tact.

Weapon: Golden Naginata(+EFF)

  • The Golden Naginata remains Subaki’s weapon of choice, as it greatly enhances Subaki’s offensive capabilities while still functioning as a Slaying Lance.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

Special: Bonfire

  • Bonfire remains Subaki’s ideal choice of Special due to its consistent damage output coupled with a reasonably fast cooldown.

Passive A: Swift Sparrow 2 or 3 / Atk/Spd Solo

  • Swift Sparrow is one of the best offensive A slot options available, granting a massive boost to Attack and Speed during Player Phase with no drawbacks. In addition, due to Swift Sparrow being an incombat buff, it does not interfere with the Golden Naginata’s Attack based activation condition, as it only factors visible Attack into its calculation.

  • Atk/Spd Solo serves a similar purpose to Swift Sparrow, with the upside of being active during Enemy Phase as long as no allies are adjacent. Its positioning requirement can be strict at times, however.

Passive B: Chill Spd / Desperation

  • Chill Speed inflicts a -7 Speed debuff to the foe with the highest Speed, allowing Subaki and his team to perform follow-up attacks more easily on the afflicted foe.

  • Desperation is also a good choice of B slot as it grants Subaki the ability to Attack twice before the Enemy can counterattack, although keeping Subaki’s +7 damage bonus active while reaching Desperation’s HP threshold can be difficult without the use of skills such as Ardent Sacrifice.

Passive C: Even Spd Wave / Preference

  • Even Speed Wave grants Subaki a +6 Speed boost on even turns, allowing him to perform and avoid follow-up Attacks more consistently when the buff is active.

Sacred Seal: Sturdy Blow 

  • Sturdy Blow is an excellent choice of Sacred Seal, as it grants Subaki a sizeable buff to his Attack and Defense when attacking, granting him a much needed boost to his damage output without interfering with his weapon’s activation conditions.

Introduction

Despite Subaki’s claims of perfection, he was one of the most underwhelming Lance Fliers in all of Fire Emblem Heroes for most of the game’s history, due to lacking any noteworthy attributes to set him apart beyond his bizarre statline. However, the weapon refinery granted Subaki a saving grace in the form of the Golden Naginata, which grants him a +3 bonus to all of his stats as long as his Attack is lower than that of his foe’s, In addition to the Slaying effect. It can also be refined to grant Subaki additional stats, or a Special ability that grants him an additional +7 damage as long as his HP remains above or equal to 70%.

This weapon greatly increases Subaki’s damage output in spite of his terrible Attack, and as long as one plays to its strengths, Subaki can perform well in both an Offensive and Defensive role. Subaki’s main flaw is his lackluster Resistance, which leaves him weak to any source of magical damage without investment in the stat. Subaki’s status as a flier is also a mixed blessing, as while it grants him the ability to move past any terrain and access to flier exclusive skills, it also grants him a crippling weakness to Bow users in addition to denying him access to skills such as Time’s Pulse and Wrath.

Overall, Subaki’s weapon refine greatly improves his viability, and while it’s not enough to make Subaki stand out among the bloated lance flier group, he’s at least able to perform up to par with other lance fliers such as Thea and Shigure.

Strengths

Golden Naginata

The Golden Naginata is a fantastic weapon, granting Subaki a +3 bonus to all of his stats as long as his Attack is lower than his foe’s, in addition to the Slaying effect and a +7 Damage bonus as long as his HP is equal to or above 70%, greatly improving Subaki’s previously nonexistent damage output.

High Speed and Defense

Subaki’s Speed and Defense are both excellent at base 35, making him fairly adept at performing and avoiding follow-up attacks while also allowing him to tank physical damage easily.

Weaknesses

Lackluster Resistance

Subaki’s poor base 22 Resistance leaves him easily KO’d by any form of magical damage, making him easy prey for Mages, Dragons, and Staff users alike.

Horrible Base Attack

While the Golden Naginata improves Subaki’s damage output greatly, his awful base Attack ensures that he will struggle to do damage without all of his weapon’s effects active. His low Attack also leaves him unable to use any other weapons effectively, as his damage output is completely reliant on special activations without the Golden Naginata, and an Attack asset does little to change this.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Lance
Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Lance Users Only
50 1 6
Steel Lance
Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Lance Users Only
100 1 8
Sapphire Lance

Gives Atk+20% if weapon-triangle advantage, Atk-20% if disadvantge.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Lance Users Only
200 1 8
Sapphire Lance+

Gives Atk+20% if weapon-triangle advantage, Atk-20% if disadvantge.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Lance Users Only
300 1 12
Golden Naginata

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1).

At start of combat, if foe's Atk ≥ unit's Atk+3, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+3 during combat.

Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Swap

Unit and target ally swap spaces.

Learns by default at 4 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Resistance +1

Grants Res+1

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
30
A
Resistance +2

Grants Res+2

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
60
A
Resistance +3

Grants Res+3

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
A
Quick Riposte 1

Unit automatically makes a follow-up attack if attacked at HP ≥ 90%.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
B
Quick Riposte 2

Unit automatically makes a follow-up attack if attacked at HP ≥ 80%.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
B
Quick Riposte 3

Unit automatically makes a follow-up attack if attacked at HP ≥ 70%.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
B

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem Fates

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Official Hero Artwork