GamePress

Valentine Faye

Analysis by Naz
Valentine Faye - Drawn Heartstring

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
179
HP 43
ATK 40
SPD 23
DEF 35
RES 38

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 6 3 6 7
Middle 19 7 4 7 8
High 20 8 5 8 9

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 40 36 20 32 35
Middle 43 40 23 35 38
High 46 43 27 38 42

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

[N]ice [T]anking [R]eturns (Defensive)

Build by Naz
Recommended
Short Bow+ (+Def)
Alternate: Guard Bow+ (+Def)
A Close Counter
Alternate: Distant Def 4
Swap
Alternate: Pivot
B Special Fighter 3
Noontime
Alternate: Glacies
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Atk Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +DEF or +RES

SFierce Stance 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF or +RES

  • In addition to Attack, Faye also appreciates a boost to her overall bulk in order to reduce damage taken.

Weapon: Short Bow (+Def/Res) / Guard Bow (+Def/Res)

  • In addition to increasing her damage output, the +10 damage upon Special activation that Short Bow provides also boosts the amount healed when paired with a Special such as Noontime.

  • Guard Bow also makes for a solid defensive option by granting Faye a boost to her defensive stats when attacked at range.

  • The most productive boosts to give Faye when refining her weapon are to further boost her overall bulk with +Def or +Res.

Assist: Swap/Pivot

Special: Noontime / Glimmer / Glacies

  • Noontime makes for the overall strongest option when it comes to sustainability by allowing Faye to immediately recover lost HP when paired with Special Fighter.

  • For a purely offensive choice, Glimmer also has the benefit of activating upon every single counterattack, allowing for quick OHKOs while Glacies trades a shorter cooldown for a lot more raw power on every second attack. 

Passive A: Close Counter / Distant Def 4

  • Close Counter is a highly coveted skill for this set, as it grants Faye much greater coverage by allowing her to retaliate against melee opponents.

  • At the cost of being able to retaliate against melee opponents, one can also choose to run Distant Defense 4 to greatly reduce damage taken from opponents that attack at range. Not only does this grant Faye a significant boost to her Def and Res when attacked at range, it also nullifies her opponent’s visible buffs. 

Passive B: Special Fighter 

  • When Faye is above 50% HP, Special Fighter accelerates the cooldown of Faye’s Special per attack (similar to Breath skill) and prevents her opponent from activating their own Special (similar to Guard). This pairs best with even-numbered Specials such as Noontime, ensuring that Faye is able to activate her Special on each counter-attack.

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Atk Smoke / Def Smoke / Flexible

  • Smoke skills such as Pulse Smoke are very effective when taking on multiple opponents. Pulse Smoke is particularly effective in reducing the damage of opponents around the target after combat by slowing down the activation of their Special. However, a simple stat debuffer such as Atk Smoke also does well to accomplish this while Def Smoke allows Faye to deal additional damage to inflicted opponents. 

Sacred Seal: Fierce Stance / Quick Riposte / Distant/Close Def / Atk Smoke

  • Fierce Stance pairs well with healing Specials such as Noontime. By boosting the damage that Faye is able to do, it also allows her to gain more health upon Special activation.

  • Quick Riposte is essential in allowing Faye to perform any sort of follow-up attack during the Enemy Phase. However, it is preferable that Faye simply OHKOs opponents that would otherwise pose a problem when doubling her

  • Both Distant Defense and Close Defense also make for solid Sacred Seal options by reducing the damage taken from ranged and melee opponents respectively when initiated on.

  • If not already being utilized in the C slot, Atk Smoke can also be run in the Sacred Seal slot.

Bullet for my Valentine (Offensive)

Build by Naz
Recommended
Brave Bow+
Alternate: Monstrous Bow+ (+Atk)
A Death Blow 4
Swap
Alternate: Pivot
B Bold Fighter 3
Ignis
Alternate: Bonfire
C Armor March 3
Alternate: Joint Hone Atk
IVs

+ATK

SSturdy Blow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK 

  • Since this build takes a purely offensive approach in dealing as much damage as possible on initiation, an asset in Attack is the most desirable nature that Faye can receive.

Weapon: Brave Bow+ / Budding Bow (+Atk) / Monstrous Bow (+Atk)

  • Brave Bow is the premier in pure damage dealing when combined with Bold Fighter by guaranteeing a quadruple attack on initiation as well as rapidly accelerating the cooldown of Faye’s Special. 

  • For a safer approach, Faye’s inherent Budding Bow acts as a mini Sturdy Impact skill by granting her a moderate boost to Atk/Def while also preventing her opponent from making a follow-up Attack on retaliation. 

  • As if Faye didn’t already kill Halloween Jakob enough with her strictly superior stat spread, she can also do well to take his weapon. Monstrous Bow can be particularly useful on Defense, as it allows Faye to disrupt the opposing team applying the Panic status to her target as well as any other enemies within 2 spaces. 

Assist: Swap/Pivot

Special: Ignis / Bonfire / Moonbow / Ruptured Sky

  • The combination of a high base stat and skills that further increase it such as Sturdy Blow make Defense-scaling Specials such as Bonfire and Ignis the perfect choices for Faye. The toss-up between the two lies in whether or not you are using the Brave Bow, as a Special with a cooldown of 4 such as Ignis will activate in a single round of combat with it equipped while any other weapons demands a Special with a cooldown of 3 such as Bonfire. 

  • Alternatively, one can choose to combine the Brave Bow with Specials that have a cooldown of 2 such as Moonbow and Ruptured Sky for an activation upon every second strike. This gives Faye the potential to activate her Special twice in a single round of combat. 

Passive A: Death Blow 

  • For her A skill, Faye’s native Death Blow gives her all she needs by providing the strongest possible boost to Attack upon initiation.

Passive B: Bold Fighter 

  • Bold Fighter is an core aspect of this set, as the guaranteed follow-up attack as well as Special cooldown acceleration when initiating greatly increase Faye’s offensive power. 

Passive C: Armor March / Joint Hone Atk / Panic Smoke / Flexible

  • Armor March is incredibly useful in offsetting Faye’s poor movement as an armored unit. This is especially important when utilizing an offensive set.

  • Joint skill buffs such as Join Hone Atk greatly benefit both Faye as well as any adjacent allies by granting both a significant stat boost at the start of turn.

  • If not already using the Monstrous Bow weapon, Panic Smoke can be used in the C slot to emulate the effect. 

  • The C skill can otherwise be replaced as needed to suit the team.

Sacred Seal: Sturdy Blow 

  • The Sturdy Blow Sacred Seal makes for a good cherry on top by further boosting Faye’s key stats on initiation.

Strengths

Stellar Attack

With a standout base value of 40, Faye hits incredibly hard with her raw Attack alone, granting her consistently high damage output in both Player and Enemy Phase.

Fantastic Mixed Bulk

Sporting an incredible 35 Defense and 38 Resistance at base, Faye does well in tanking both physical and magical attacks.

Armored

Being an armored unit comes with several benefits including but not limited to having a much higher BST compared to other class types as well as access to class-exclusive skills such as Bold Fighter and Special Fighter.

Weaknesses

Very low Speed

Faye’s low Speed makes her highly susceptible to getting doubled which can greatly increase the amount of damage she takes as well as allowing her opponent to charge their Special.

Poor movement

Faye’s class type limits her movement to only one tile. This makes her reliant on assist skills such as Pivot or team support through the use of Armor March to quickly move across the map.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Bow

Effective against flying units.

Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
50 2 4
Steel Bow

Effective against flying units.

Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
100 2 6
Budding Bow

 Effective against flying foes. If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def+4 during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
200 2 8
Budding Bow+

 Effective against flying foes. If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def+4 during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
300 2 12
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
New Moon

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100 3
Moonbow

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 2

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Death Blow 1

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

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
50
A
Death Blow 2

If unit initiates combat, grants Atk+4 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
100
A
Death Blow 3

If unit initiates combat, grants Atk+6 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
A
Death Blow 4

If unit initiates combat, grants Atk +8 during combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
300
A
Bold Fighter 1

If unit's HP = 100% and unit initiates combat, grants Special cooldown charge +1 per unit's attack, and unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack. (Does not stack.)

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
B
Bold Fighter 2

If unit's HP ≥ 50% and unit initiates combat, grants Special cooldown charge +1 per unit's attack, and unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack. (Does not stack.)

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
B
Bold Fighter 3

If unit initiates combat, grants Special cooldown charge +1 per unit's attack, and unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack. (Does not stack.)

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
B
Armor March 1

If unit has 100% HP and an adjacent armored ally at start of turn, unit and any such allies can move 1 extra space. (That turn only; does not stack.)

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
60
C
Armor March 2

If unit has ≥ 50% HP and an adjacent armored ally at start of turn, unit and any such allies can move 1 extra space. (That turn only; does not stack.)

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
C
Armor March 3

If unit has an adjacent armored ally at the start of turn, unit and any such allies can move 1 extra space. (That turn only, does not stack.)

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem Echoes

Banners Featured In