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Analysis by Wecondo12
Brave Roy - Brave Lion

5 Legacy

Obtainable as a 5 during certain summoning events only.

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
154
HP 38
ATK 32
SPD 34
DEF 26
RES 24

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 15 7 7 6 6
Middle 16 8 8 7 7
High 17 9 9 8 8

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 34 29 31 23 21
Middle 38 32 34 26 24
High 41 35 37 30 27

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: With the release of Blazing Durandal’s Refine, an Attack Asset is now ideal as Brave Roy gains more than enough Speed when Attacking thanks to his weapon and skills such as Swift Sparrow. Raising Roy’s somewhat middling 32 Attack to a more respectable 35 base, this Asset lets Roy hit much harder and is a great choice in general.

  • +SPD: While not as good as an Attack Asset, a Speed Asset lets Roy perform follow-up Attacks with incredible consistency on the Player Phase and helps his ability to avoid them himself. Keep in mind that Roy can potentially stack excessive amounts of Speed with this Asset, however.

Neutral

  • HP: Roy’s HP sits at an average 38 base. An HP Asset is useless to Roy, and reducing it is also a poor option as it reduces Roy’s overall bulk by 4 points instead of the usual 3. With this in mind, HP is best left at neutral.

  • DEF: Roy’s Defense used to be of no consequence to his role as an offensive unit, but Blazing Durandal’s refinement grants a significant boost to his middling Defense when attacking. This makes Roy much more durable on Player Phase, and although Defense remains an acceptable Flaw, it should be left at neutral if possible

Flaws

  • -RES: Resistance is Roy’s least important stat and his ideal Flaw, as lowering it will do little to affect his performance.

Skill Sets

The Flame (Offensive)

Build by
Recommended
Blazing Durandal (+Eff) A Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Alternate: Death Blow (3 or 4)
Reposition B Lull Spd/Def 3
Galeforce C Odd Spd Wave 3
IVsSDarting Blow 3
Alternate: Sturdy Blow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

  • Brave Roy will want a boost to his Attack or Speed to increase his efficiency in cutting down enemy heroes, as he’s primarily an offensive unit. Resistance is the chosen flaw, as Roy prefers to keep his physical bulk in tact.

Weapon: Blazing Durandal (+EFF) 

  • Blazing Durandal’s Refinement breathes new life into Brave Roy, as it grants him the effects of Special Fighter in addition to a pseudo Sturdy Impact(Although Roy’s weapon raises Speed instead of Attack). This makes Roy significantly more threatening than he was before, and with his refine Roy will have little trouble cutting enemies down on Player Phase while taking significantly less damage from counterattacks himself.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

  • The ever reliable Reposition is a good choice for Assist on many units, and Brave Roy is no exception, as it allows him to pull his allies out of danger as well as move them closer to enemies when needed.

  • If Reposition is unavailable or one simply desires a different assist, Smite/Draw Back/Pivot are also good choices for Roy’s assist. For arena use, a Rally+ or 500 sp assist skill such as Rally Atk/Spd+ is necessary for scoring purposes.

Special: Galeforce / Luna / Moonbow

  • Galeforce is Brave Roy’s best choice of Special for an offensive build as it synergizes well with Blazing Durandal and has the versatility of either letting Roy move out of danger or clear out multiple enemies in a single turn. Roy will also have little trouble activating it due to Blazing Durandal’s increased Special cooldown on Player Phase.

  • If one prefers straight damage, Luna and Moonbow are decent alternatives that will activate very quickly in combination with Blazing Durandal and allow him to cut through high Defense foes easier.

Passive A: Swift Sparrow 3 / Death Blow 4 / Fury

  • Swift Sparrow 3 is the ideal A passive for an offensive Brave Roy, granting a massive bonus to his offense during the Player Phase with no drawbacks. Due to how difficult it is to acquire however, Swift Sparrow 2 can serve as a decent alternative on a budget.

  • Death Blow 4 is a powerful alternative that maximizes Roy’s raw damage output, which is useful if one feels Roy’s Speed is overkill with both Swift Sparrow and his refined Blazing Durandal.

  • If neither of these are available, Fury 3 is a good budget choice that has the additional benefit of synergizing well with Desperation, easing the difficulty of getting within its HP threshold.

Passive B: Lull Spd/Def / Chill Spd / Desperation

  • As Brave Roy’s refined Durandal alleviates his need to avoid counterattacks, he can instead utilize the powerful Lull Spd/Def to make his follow-up attacks even harder to avoid while reducing the Defense and Speed of his foes, in addition to negating their buffs in these stats.

  • Chill Spd is also a good choice, Providing a massive debuff to Speed that Roy’s whole team can take advantage of.

  • Lastly, Desperation can be used on a budget to avoid the counterattacks of magical damage users, such as Dragons and Close Counter Mages.

Passive C: Odd Spd Wave / Even Atk Wave / Hone Cavalry

  • For a self-sufficient offensive build, Odd Spd Wave is one of the best options available, providing an immediate increase to Speed, Although it and other Wave skills are hampered by only being active one turn at a time. Even Atk Wave can also work extremely well, and is much easier to access than the 5* locked Odd Spd Wave.

  • If being used on a Cavalry centric team, Cavalry buffs such as Hone Cavalry are an excellent option, Giving cavalry teammates a sizeable stat buff.

Sacred Seal: Sturdy Blow / Darting Blow / Brazen Atk/Spd / Atk/spd 2

  • Sturdy Blow is Brave Roy’s best Sacred Seal option, giving Roy even more Attack and Defense on Player Phase.

  • Darting Blow is another good choice of Sacred Seal, Granting a sizeable boost in Speed when attacking.

  • For a more explosive option, Brazen Atk/Spd grants the highest combination of offensive stats possible for the Sacred Seal slot, but has the severe drawback of being inactive until the threshold is reached.

  • Lastly, the Atk/Spd 2 seal grants a simple but always helpful raw stat buff.

Ring Of Fire (Aether Raids Defensive)

Build by
Blazing Durandal A Fury (3 or 4)
Reposition B Lull Spd/Def 3
Alternate: Lunge
Galeforce
Alternate: Escutcheon
C Drive Spd 2
IVsSSturdy Blow 2
Alternate: Darting Blow 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

  • For this build, Increases to Attack and Speed are still ideal for more damage and avoiding follow-ups. Resistance should be prioritized as a Flaw since Roy needs the rest of his stats.

Weapon: Blazing Durandal (+EFF)

  • Blazing Durandal remains Roy’s weapon of choice for the AR Defense build, as its boosts to Speed and Defense in addition to Special Fighter and follow-up prevention on Player Phase make Roy an incredibly dangerous AR Defense unit.

Assist: Rally Skill / Pivot / Preference

  • If Brave Roy is being used as part of a Rally trap setup, a Rally skill is obviously necessary for the trap to function. Otherwise the Assist skill is preference, although Pivot can help in swarming foes in AR Defense.

Special: Galeforce / Bonfire

  • Galeforce remains one of the ideal choices for an Aether Raids defensive setup, allowing Roy to potentially catch the enemy off guard with an unexpected move. 

  • Bonfire is also a great choice, scaling incredibly well with the refined Blazing Durandal’s Defense bonus and Defense Boosting skills such as Fury and Sturdy Blow.

Passive A: Fury 3 or 4

  • For AR Defense, Fury should be used as it gives Brave Roy a solid offensive bonus in addition to a much needed boost to his bulk, making him much less susceptible to being KO’d by smited Player Phase threats.

Passive B: Lull Spd/Def / Lunge

  • Lunge and Lull Spd/Def are both great choices for an AR Defense build, although Lull Spd/Def is more ideal due to making Brave Roy much more difficult to outspeed and making his doubles more consistent. Lunge remains a fantastic choice however, as in combination with a Rally trap Roy can leave enemy units exposed to the rest of your Defense team.

Passive C: Drive Spd / Preference

  • Drive Spd is a cheap and effective option that enhances allies ability to both avoid and perform follow-up attacks while in range. However, a wide range of skills can work for AR Defense purposes, such as Smoke skills if Brave Roy is utilizing Lunge, or Goad/Ward cavalry if being used in a cavalry based AR Defense team.

Sacred Seal: Sturdy Blow / Darting Blow

  • Once again Sturdy Blow is Roy’s ideal Sacred Seal, making him even more difficult to take down when initiating while providing additional Attack.

  • Darting Blow is also a good choice if one wishes to ensure that Roy’s follow-up attacks are as consistent as possible during Player Phase.

Introduction

One of the original Choose Your Legends winners, Brave Roy is an offensive sword cavalier with a decent stat spread and a good personal weapon. Brave Roy’s 32/34 offensive spread is decent, although not particularly outstanding when compared to other sword cavaliers.

What sets Brave Roy apart from his contemporaries is the Blazing Durandal, gifted with new power via weapon refinery. While initially somewhat outdated, Roy’s signature weapon has seen a significant increase in power, gifting Roy with a pseudo Sturdy Impact effect as well as Special Fighter and a large boost to Speed and Defense when initiating combat. This refine is amazing, taking Roy’s initially rather average Player Phase potential and skyrocketing it to incredible heights, letting Roy stand tall in comparison to fellow sword cavaliers. 

With this powerful refine, Brave Roy’s drawbacks are much fewer in number, although still present. His status as a cavalry unit is a mixed bag, and although it gives him increased movement and access to cavalry buffs, with it comes a debilitating weakness to terrain and cavalry effective weapons. Roy’s biggest flaw is his fairly mediocre defenses, leaving him incredibly vulnerable to being KO’d on the Enemy Phase as he is unlikely to withstand more than a single blow, although Roy’s refine negates this weakness when attacking. Overall though, Brave Roy’s refine makes him one of the best Player Phase sword cavaliers in the game, and he won’t let you down as long as you play to his strengths.

Strengths

Cavalry

Being a cavalry unit allows Brave Roy access to the powerful cavalry buffs as well as increased mobility, making him right at home with cavalry based teams who can keep up with his movement while simultaneously providing buffs to one another.

Blazing Durandal

Brave Roy’s refined Blazing Durandal is an outstanding weapon, granting massive boosts to Speed and Defense in addition to the effect of Special Fighter and Preventing enemy Follow-ups when attacking. This weapon makes Roy a terrifying offensive threat, granting him access to incredibly quick specials and increased consistency in performing follow-up attacks, in addition to making Roy nearly impossible to KO thanks to its follow-up negation, significant Defense increase, and slowing down the enemy’s specials on Player Phase.

Weaknesses

Mediocre Defensive Ability

With only an average HP of 38 and a mixed Defense spread of 26/24, Brave Roy’s defensive abilities are fairly mediocre. This middling bulk leaves Roy unlikely to survive more than a single blow should he be forced to take a hit outside of Player Phase.

Cavalry

Being a cavalry unit has the disadvantages of locking Brave Roy out of many skills he would otherwise have access to and make great use of such as Special Spiral and Time’s Pulse, as well as giving him a weakness to cavalry effective weaponry and incurring the most severe movement penalties of any movement type with the inability to cross forests as well as losing significant amounts of movement when faced with trenches.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Sword
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
50 1 6
Steel Sword
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
100 1 8
Silver Sword
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
200 1 11
Blazing Durandal

Grants Atk+3. If unit's Atk > foe's, unit gains Special cooldown charge +1. (If using other similar skill, only highest value applied.)

Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Night Sky

Boosts damage dealt by 50%.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100 3
Astra

Boosts damage dealt by 150%.

Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 4
Galeforce

If unit initiates combat, grants unit another action after combat. (Once per turn.)

Unlocks at 5 ★
Inheritable by Sword, Lance, and Axe users only.
500 5

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Darting Blow 1

If unit initiates combat, grants Spd+2 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
50
A
Steady Blow 1

If unit initiates combat, unit granted Spd/Def+2 during battle.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
120
A
Steady Blow 2

If unit initiates combat, unit granted Spd/Def+4 during battle.

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

If unit’s HP ≤ 25% and unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Inheritable by all units.
50
B
Desperation 2

If unit’s HP ≤ 50% and unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Inheritable by all units.
100
B
Desperation 3

If unit’s HP ≤ 75% and unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
B

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

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Official Hero Artwork