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Analysis by MackerelPye
Reinhardt - Thunder's Fist

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
145
HP 38
ATK 32
SPD 23
DEF 27
RES 25

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 15 7 5 4 7
Middle 16 8 6 5 8
High 17 9 7 6 9

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 34 29 20 23 22
Middle 38 32 23 27 25
High 41 35 26 30 28

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

Skill Sets

And Thus The Reinhardt Was Born (Low-Investment / General Gameplay)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Dire Thunder A Death Blow (3 or 4)
Reposition
Alternate: Draw Back
B Chill Res 3
Alternate: Lancebreaker 3
Luna
Alternate: Moonbow
C Hone Cavalry
Alternate: Savage Blow 3
IVs

+ATK / -Anything Else

SDeath Blow 3
Alternate: Quickened Pulse

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Dire Thunder

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Luna / Moonbow

Passive A: Death Blow

Passive B: Chill Res / Lancebreaker / Wings of Mercy

Passive C: Hone Cavalry / Savage Blow / Atk Tactic / Def Tactic / Goad Cavalry / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Death Blow / Quickened Pulse / Atk/Def SoloSturdy Blow / Mirror Strike / Atk +3 

  • Building Reinhardt at his most basic takes as much effort as instant ramen. 
    1. Death Blow in two slots for cheaply inherited, near-maximum damage.
    2. Moonbow or Luna for short and sweet burst damage — especially combined with Dire Thunder hitting and charging twice as fast.
    3. And literally any Assist skill you want, though Reposition and Draw Back will be preferred above all else as always.
  • There you have it: the simple, low-cost, and quintessential Reinhardt build, focused on dealing damage in strong but short bursts. It's like magic.
  • The B slot skill is open for some complementary but hardly essential options.
    • Chill Res is available from Heroic Grails and is an easy, passive way to wear down units with the highest visible Resistance on the enemy team. Reinhardt himself effectively gains +14 damage against most enemies hit by the Chill.
    • Lancebreaker is a pretty practical and cheap skill Reinhardt can utilize for general content. It protects him from follow-up attacks if he is left open against lance units while allowing him to make quadruple attacks on particularly tough ones (especially Resistance-heavy armors).
    • Wings of Mercy expands Reinhardt's range of attack even further by allowing him to teleport next to badly injured allies across the map. This is potent especially in large maps and Aether Raids Offense and Defense. 
  • The C slot is also mostly neither here nor there — the only low-investment C skill that actively supports Reinhardt selfishly is Savage Blow which generally works out well with multiple rounds of Dance/Sing. Else, Reinhardt can run some cheap team support skills such as Hone Cavalry or a Tactics skill of choice. 
  • Quickened Pulse with Moonbow is a classic combination worth noting for a guaranteed Special hit on Dire Thunder's second hit, which can be quite frightening when defending in Aether Raids or Arena Defense. An Attack-boosting Sacred Seal like the previously-mentioned Death Blow, however, is generally more consistent in damage output outside of Reinhardt's first match. 

Literally The Lord of Thracia 776 (High-Investment Nuke)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Dire Thunder A Death Blow 4
Alternate: Atk/Def Push 4
Positional Assist B Lull Atk/Res 3
Bonfire
Alternate: Luna
C Joint Drive Atk
Alternate: Rouse Atk/Def 3
IVs

+ATK 

SDeath Blow 3
Alternate: Atk/Def Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Dire Thunder 

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Bonfire / Luna / Iceberg / Moonbow / Ruptured Sky / Glimmer

Passive A: Death Blow 4 / Atk/Def Push 4 / Atk/Res Push 4 / Heavy Blade 4

Passive B: Lull Atk/Res

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Rouse Atk/Def / Rouse Atk/Res / Joint Hone Atk / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Death Blow / Atk/Def Solo / Sturdy Blow / Mirror Strike

  • This build assumes maximal investment (through +10 merge and Dragonflowers) as well as access to higher-grades skills when you're able to offer them. However, the gameplay is very much the same as its low-investment version: smoke things in Player Phase with the electrifying might of Dire Thunder, and don't get caught up in bad matchups or positioning. 
  • Death Blow 4 offers one of the highest and most reliable Attack swings of all A-slot options at a bludgeoning +8. It requires absolutely zero setup other than initiating combat — which Reinhardt should be doing absolutely nothing but, at any rate. 
    • Atk/Def Push 4 or Atk/Res Push 4, however, make for rather compelling choices if you're also inheriting Lull Atk/Res from their respective units (i.e. Bramimond, Guinevere, Valentines Lif/Thrasir). In addition to an easy stat boost like Death Blow, both Push skills also raise a defensive stat of choice, potentially aiding in emergency survivability scenarios, especially in Enemy Phase. Depending on which Push you choose, you can run a Sacred Seal of choice which doubly increases their respective defensive stat (i.e. Atk/Def Push 4 + Atk/Def Solo for Defense in both phases).
  • Lull Atk/Res is pretty much the only B slot worth talking about when it comes to optimized Reinhardt builds. It's really not hard to see why: it cancels out any existing Attack and Resistance bonuses present on the enemy and further pushes them down by -3 each.
    • This serves to aid in Reinhardt's general survivability if he must take a hit (synergizing pretty well with the defensive boost from Push skills) and, most importantly, keeping his damage output maximized no matter how buffed the enemy is. 
  • Joint Drive Atk is the only C slot skill at this time of writing that actively boosts Reinhardt's Attack while in combat, allowing it to stack with any existing visible bonuses and penalties (which don't stack unlike in-combat effects) that are active. It's also not difficult to activate, given Reinhardt's mostly flexible movement options and tendency to run back and forth to other allies.
    • Else, you can run Rouse Atk/Def or Atk/Res or Joint Hone Atk to self-sufficiently grant a bonus to Reinhardt's Attack between turns, or run anything else depending on the setup of his team. 
  • Finally, Reinhardt can choose between Luna, Bonfire, or Iceberg for his damaging Special as Dire Thunder's rapid attack behavior allows them to activate relatively quickly every other match. Bonfire and Iceberg, in particular, benefit from increased stats as a result of high investment and become even stronger and reliable with specific investment in Defense or Resistance, respectively. In the end, it depends what Reinhardt's resulting stats are and which combinations of Push/Solo/Blow skill he is running. 
    • The combination of Heavy Blade 4 + [Glimmer or Moonbow or Ruptured Sky] is worth mentioning as Heavy Blade 4 grants both 5 true damage and increased Special charge when activated. This allows the chosen 2 CD Special to activate on almost every second hit of Dire Thunder, giving Reinhardt both unblockable damage and constant Specials on his initiations on the right targets. Keep in mind, however, that Dire Thunder's low Might and Reinhardt's only good base Attack may get in the way of this occurring a bit more often than desired, and Reinhardt must take proper steps to keep his Attack higher than the enemy's. This can be done by through properly utilizing Lull Atk/Res, Joint Drive Atk, and ally-provided swings (like Hone Cavalry, Chill Atk, Temari, Bond of the Álfar, etc).

Strengths

Dire Thunder

Here it is: the meme that's so disgustingly good that it makes every other blue tome cavalry — except maybe Selena and a certain other Resplendent sister (mainly because she literally has it)  utterly green in envy and left in the pitfalls of oblivion. 

Reinhardt's trademark weapon still makes him as fearsome and reliable as ever five generations later. If you've been living under a really damp rock, Dire Thunder sports a deadly combination of double hits, being able to target Resistance (a boon in a game with units that are weaker in Resistance than Defense), and two-space range. The only drawbacks associated with it are -5 Speed, which is basically a non-issue given Reinhardt's already bare Speed, and lower Might than regular weapons, which can be made up by using Attack-boosting skills.

Cavalry Range and Skill Access

The other source of Reinhardt's overbearingness is the three-space movement granted by his cavalry status. When combined with the range of Dire Thunder, this allows Reinhardt to achieve high mobility and attacking range, giving him more numerous and flexible initiation options than other units. Being a cavalry unit also affords him the only luxury B slot worth caring about for his playstyle: Lull Atk/Res.

Great Attack

A Brave weapon is nothing without at least a good helping of Attack (lookin' at you, Olwen), and Reinhardt is happy to provide for his playstyle with 32 base Attack, which is pretty tame but dressable by today's standards. Like all units using Brave weapons, Reinhardt can easily pick up the slack by taking an Asset in Attack as well as other high Attack modifiers such as double Death Blow, Joint Drive Atk, and Dragonflowers. For you more premium players, getting his Resplendent version is just the icing on the cake.

Easily Accessible and Buildable

Reinhardt not only is an easily summonable, low-rarity unit who has been available in the game since near-launch, but by completing just the Rank 1 quests of Heroes' Path, all players are basically entitled one free 5 star copy of him. From there, all it takes is re-kitting him with some basic, cheaply-available skills — all he really needs is a good Special (like Luna) and Death Blow —  to become a totally valuable offensive force in your barracks.

Weaknesses

Terrible to Decent Stats Everywhere Else 

Attack is the only thing remarkable about Reinhardt's statline while his other stats range from awful to simply badly-distributed. His Speed, in particular, starts out at a paltry 23 Speed. It only gets worse from the -5 Speed penalty from Dire Thunder, making him totally susceptible to follow-ups and bouncing badly off his only okay uninvested physical and magical defenses. 

Limited Versatility

Reinhardt is one of the most fantastic hyper-offensive initiation units in the game, but unfortunately his talents don't bleed in other departments. Sorry to you 2018 Close Counter + Blarowl builders out there.  

Tfw Magic Isn't Everything :( 

Reinhardt's Resplendent form losing his signature catchphrase aside, his electrifying magical might isn't as powerful as it had been in the past. In addition to more skills that increase magical resilience, units with higher base stats, and methods of inflating bulk (such as Mythic blessings), Reinhardt must face the fact that many competently built teams have at least a few casual countermeasures against him due to how commonplace he was back then and now.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Thunder
Blue Tome Users Only
50 2 4
Elthunder
Learns by default at 3 ★
Blue Tome Users Only
100 2 6
Thoron
Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Blue Tome Users Only
200 2 9
Dire Thunder

Spd-5. Attack twice when initiating combat.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 2 9
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Rising Thunder

Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target
take damage equal to (unit's Atk minus foe's Def or Res).

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
150 4
Blazing Thunder

Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target
take damage equal to 1.5 x (unit's ATK minus foe's Def or Res).

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
300 4

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Vantage 1

Unit counterattacks first when attacked at HP ≤ 25%

Inheritable by all units.
50
B
Vantage 2

Unit counterattacks first when attacked at HP ≤ 50%

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
100
B
Vantage 3

Unit counterattacks first when attacked at HP ≤ 75%

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
B
Spur Atk 1

Grants Atk+2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
50
C
Spur Atk 2

Grants Atk+3 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
100
C
Goad Cavalry

Grants cavalry allies within 2 spaces Spd/Atk+4 during combat.

  • Requires Spur Atk 2 or Spur Spd 2.
Only inheritable by cavalry units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776

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