GamePress

New Year Gunnthrá

Analysis by lordhelpme
New Year Gunnthrá - Year's First Dream

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
162
HP 38
ATK 34
SPD 37
DEF 27
RES 26

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 15 7 10 7 3
Middle 16 8 11 8 4
High 17 9 12 9 5

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 34 31 34 24 22
Middle 38 34 37 27 26
High 41 37 40 31 29

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

Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru– erm, Hikami (Offensive / Damage Focus)

Build by lordhelpme
Recommended
Hikami (+Eff) A Atk/Spd Catch 4
Alternate: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Positional Assist B Flow Guard 3
Alternate: Dive-Bomb 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Draconic Aura
C Spd/Def Rein 3
Alternate: Def Smoke 3
IVs

+SPD or +ATK / -RES

SSwift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Hikami (+EFF)

Assist: Positional Assist / Flexible

Special: Glimmer / Draconic Aura / Galeforce 

Passive A: Atk/Spd Catch / Swift Sparrow / Death Blow / Atk/Spd Push / Atk/Spd Solo

Passive B: Flow Guard / Dive-Bomb / Flow Refresh / S/D Near Trace / Desperation

Passive C: Spd/Def Rein / Smoke Skills / Joint Drive Atk / Savage Blow / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Heavy Blade / Atk/Spd Form / Atk/Spd Solo

  • Through Hikami’s assortment of readily available debuffs, New Year Gunnthrá’ can quickly maintain a rather significant stat differential between herself and her foe — and with the ability to inflict a maximum of -14 Def while gaining +24 Atk simultaneously with all of her sword’s effects into play, her damage becomes a particularly compelling selling point. This build emphasizes this latter quality to enable a full-out offensive approach, naturally making +ATK and +SPD IVs the most desirable choice.
  • Glimmer and Draconic Aura are New Year Gunnthrá’s best Specials for damage-dealing purposes, scaling well with her high levels of raw Attack and damage while bearing reasonable activation rates. She can also equip Galeforce to reap the Special’s self-refreshing benefits, though this requires the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal to activate consistently in general play.
    • For Aether Raids Galeforce strategies, though, it’s better to use Heavy Blade as an A skill instead and couple this with the Quickened Pulse Sacred Seal; this lowers the maximum amount of initiations required to trigger Galeforce down to two, assuming Heavy Blade triggers and Guard isn’t in play.
  • For her A skill, any ability that augments both of her offensive stats is recommended, with Atk/Spd Catch 4 being especially synergistic with her debuffing focus (as this allows for easy maintenance of its +9/+9 Atk/Spd bonus). Other notable options include Atk/Spd Push, Atk/Spd Solo, and even her base Swift Sparrow in a pinch, though one may also consider Death Blow for a more OHKO-focused approach.
  • Flow Guard and Flow Refresh are exceptional A skills for their partial Null Follow-Up effects, allowing New Year Gunnthrá to ensure doubles as long as she outspeeds — the choice between the two depends on which of their secondary bonuses is preferred. Alternatively, Dive-Bomb maximizes her burst through the ability to double immediately at full HP, though this leaves her susceptible to follow-up denial effects (which Flow skills bypass) if she is unable to OHKO her foe, whereas S/D Near Trace enables a simple hit-and-run playstyle. Desperation works on a budget. 
  • Both her C and Sacred Seal slots are open to anything that builds upon her damage potential further, including a variety of choices like Spd/Def Rein, Joint Drives, Atk/Spd Form, and more — simply equip what best suits your specific needs and availability. 

Grand Crimson Lotus Ice Ring (Vantage Nuke)

Build by lordhelpme
Hikami (+Eff) A Atk/Spd Catch 4
Alternate: Distant Storm
Positional Assist B Vantage 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Miracle
C Atk/Def Rein 3
Alternate: Joint Drive Atk
IVs

+ATK / -RES

SAtk/Spd Form 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Hikami (+EFF)

Assist: Positional Assist / Flexible

Special: Glimmer / Miracle

Passive A: Atk/Spd Catch / Atk/Spd Unity / Fury / Distant Storm / Distant Counter

Passive B: Vantage

Passive C: Atk/Def Rein / Joint Drive Atk / Smoke Skills / Savage Blow / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Form / Heavy Blade / Atk/Spd Solo / Iote’s Shield

  • As New Year Gunnthrá can heighten her raw damage output to such a high degree and do so easily in either phase, she also has the option of adopting an Vantage sweeping approach in the Enemy Phase; this highlights her ceiling to consistently defeat initiating foes in one strike upon losing enough HP. Accordingly, a +ATK IV is the top priority. 
  • A skills that enables counterattacks regardless of range, such as Distant Storm and Distant Counter, are recommended primarily if seeking to have New Year Gunnthrá function as a main carry of sorts. 
    • However, this is somewhat finicky given her weakness to archers and inability to avoid counterattack-negation which most often tends to be on ranged foes — so if possible, it’s likely better to pair her with a Far Save ally and focus strictly on melee match-ups where she bears much greater consistency overall. In such instances, any A skill that enhances Attack works perfectly fine, with Atk/Spd Catch and Atk/Spd Unity offering the most stats possible.
  • New Year Gunnthrá’s Special largely depends on whether increased damage or some safety is preferred. For the former, low cooldown options like Glimmer are fantastic for rapid-fire activations, and Glimmer particularly melds nicely with her high firepower. For the latter, she has the option of using Miracle as a safety leash in case she’s unable to avoid taking damage once, though it should ideally be paired with the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal to access it quickly enough.
  • Atk/Def Rein, Joint Drive Atk, Savage Blow, and other skills that boost New Year Gunnthrá’s chance of landing OHKOs work excellently in her C slot, with even Smoke skills being worthwhile to ensure her foes are unable to escape being afflicted by her debuffs. The same logic applies to Sacred Seal selection, though Iote’s Shield is worth noting in her case to prevent her archer weakness from imposing on her gameplan. 

Strengths

Hikami

New Year Gunnthrá features a stellar capacity for debilitating foes via the revamped potency of her refined Hikami, being able to easily detract from an enemy’s statline by -14/14/14/6 through the ice sword’s cumulative effects in and out-of-combat; this is essential for the festive princess to keep pace with newer additions. Hikami also now borrows a core aspect of her original version’s kit through a “reverse” Blade tome effect (i.e. a flat Attack boost based on her foe’s total penalties), synergizing with her -6 visible stat debuff on nearby foes to instantly gain +24 Attack. Against foes unable to subvert such penalties, New Year Gunnthrá becomes a rather fierce offensive force. 

Respectable Offensive Statline

Boasting a solid baseline Atk/Spd combination of 34/37, New Year Gunnthrá inherently sports workable combat prowess that is honed further by the potentially staggering stat superiority she can achieve through Hikami; while her bulk leaves much to be desired, she generally shouldn’t have trouble dealing damage or performing follow-up attacks once all her pieces come into play. 

Flying Benefits

Being a flier comes with distinct advantages such as a marked lack of positioning and movement restrictions; this is particularly appreciated in New Year Gunnthrá’s case, as this allows for complete freedom in where to begin her turn so that Hikami’s debuffs can be applied on her desired foe. Additionally, her flying status enables access to an assortment of class-exclusive goodies like S/D Near Trace, Flow Guard, and Dive-Bomb for sharpened offensive performance, as well as several movement-based tools like Guidance for team support potential.

Weaknesses

Unimpressive Bulk

Neither of New Year Gunnthrá’s defensive stats is particularly great at base values of 27 and 26 respectively, and with only 38 HP to make up the difference, she relies almost entirely on Hikami’s Atk debuffs to trade blows with incoming enemies as she’ll otherwise face great difficulty in enduring sustained offensive pressure. 

Flying Drawbacks

As a flier, New Year Gunnthrá is remarkably weak to bows and will quickly fall should she be left in range of an opposing archer — not to mention that while she’s certainly competent, non-flying contemporaries still bear an easier time in exceeding her potential given the flying class’s more limited skill availability.

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
Hikami

Grants Spd+3. At start of turn, inflicts Atk/Spd/Def/Res-4 on nearest foes within 4 spaces through their next actions.

Learns by default at 5 ★
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
Glimmer

Boosts damage dealt by 50%.

Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 2

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
Swift Sparrow 1

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

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
120
A
Swift Sparrow 2

If unit initiates combat, unit granted Atk/Spd+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
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 Spd 3

Grants adjacent allies Spd+4 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C
Joint Hone Spd

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to an ally, grants Spd+5 to unit and adjacent allies for 1 turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
300
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem Heroes

Banners Featured In