GamePress

Summer Frederick

Analysis by CCZeroFire
Summer Frederick - Horizon Watcher

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
149
HP 40
ATK 32
SPD 31
DEF 28
RES 18

Stat Variations

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

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 36 29 28 24 14
Middle 40 32 31 28 18
High 43 35 34 31 21

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

Summer Frederick has a somewhat balanced stat spread, with all of his stats except Resistance giving him some niche.

Boons

  • +ATK: An Attack boon boots his fairly respectable Attack stat (compared to most dagger units) and obviously pairs great with weapons like Poison Dagger.
  • +SPD: Speed is useful as always, both increasing the chance of follow-ups when in combat with sluggish enemies and denying follow-ups when in combat with faster ones.

  • +DEF: Summer Frederick can get rather tanky with a +DEF boon, improving matchups vs archers and Distant Counter units.

Neutral

  • HP: It is likely best to avoid Summer Frederick's 4-point HP superbane, as his physical bulk is one of his most defining features.

Banes

  • -RES: While his Resistance bane is also a 4-point superbane, it is his least essential stat and already a bit too low to be reliable.

Skill Sets

Sovereign of the Beach (Offensive)

Build by
Recommended
Lethal Carrot+ (+Spd)
Alternate: Seashell+ (+Spd)
A Swift Sparrow 2
Alternate: Life and Death 3
Draw Back
Alternate: Ardent Sacrifice
B Desperation 3
Alternate: Swordbreaker 3
Bonfire
Alternate: Luna
C Threaten Spd 3
IVsSSpeed +3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK / -RES or -HP
  • Weapon: Lethal Carrot+ (+Spd) / Barb Shuriken+ (+Spd) / Seashell+ (+Spd)
  • Assist: Draw Back / Ardent Sacrifice
  • Special: Bonfire / Luna
  • Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Life and Death / Darting Blow / Fury
  • Passive B: Desperation / Swordbreaker / Bowbreaker / Renewal
  • Passive C: Threaten Spd / Flexible
  • Sacred Seal: Speed +3 / Attack +3

A primarily Player Phase offensive dagger build. With all skills combined, Summer Frederick will reach a respectable 48/43 Atk/Spd on initiation. While Lethal Carrot is preferred to let Summer Frederick fire off absolutely scathing Bonfire procs, Barb Shuriken (or a Kagami Mochi if one is feeling fancy) is a great alternative for trying to get his Specials out as quick as possible. As a budget option, his native Seashell can be kept to increase his initiating Atk/Spd to 50/45, but only for his first combat (or continuously, if he carries healing support or Renewal). 

Draw Back best lets Summer Frederick assist with positioning while keeping himself safe. However, if Summer Frederick has an HP bane, which sets his HP to 38, Ardent Sacrifice will instantly put him into Desperation range with little effort, so long as no merges or blessings push him back over 40. Though of course, avoid Ardent Sacrifice if utilizing Seashell as it will disable the weapon's effect.

Swift Sparrow is the favored A slot skill, granting him some very welcome stats when initiating. Life and Death can push his Atk/Spd a point further at the cost of his defenses, wherein Summer Frederick can happily switch his Special to Luna for greater damage on tankier targets. For other cheaper options, pick Darting Blow if still not entirely convinced by his Speed, particularly if lacking a +SPD boon, or Fury to maximize his initial bulk plus give him a safe path towards Desperation.

Desperation will let Summer Frederick easily take down squishier foes after he gets himself in range, which is fairly easy for him to do vs bows, Distant Counter units, or weaker mages thanks to his nice Defense and HP stats. If opting more towards Attack than Speed, a breaker such as Swordbreaker or Bowbreaker will guarantee matchups vs the fastest units of those classes, such as Mia or Brave Lyn. Renewal has decent synergy with Seashell if one chooses to keep it, as it may allow him to utilize its effect multiple times.

When it comes to his C slot, for the selfish option, Threaten Spd is fairly easy skill to afflict onto melee enemies that he can freely bait into its in range, and can go a long way to both guaranteeing his doubles and keeping him safe. Any other Hone or Spur can work just fine though, based on the support needs of his teammates.

Saltwater in the Wound (Assassin)

Build by
Kitty Paddle+
Alternate: Poison Dagger+
A Death Blow 4
Alternate: Death Blow 3
Draw Back B Vantage 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Moonbow
C Drive Res 2
Alternate: Fortify Res 3
IVsSAttack +3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV: +ATK / -RES or -DEF
  • Weapon: Kitty Paddle+ / Poison Dagger+
  • Assist: Draw Back
  • Special: Glimmer / Moonbow
  • Passive A: Death Blow / Fury / Life and Death
  • Passive B: Vantage / Cancel Affinity
  • Passive C: Drive Res / Fortify Res / Flexible
  • Sacred Seal: Attack +3

A targeted assassin build that aims to make use of Summer Frederick's good Attack to seek and destroy either mages or infantry. Kitty Paddle is the stronger option, while Poison Dagger is quite a bit more accessible. If using Kitty Paddle, taking a -DEF bane lets him keep his one-hit magical bulk at a usable 58 which can be a lifesaver in the event he finds himself needing to take a single hit from a mage.

To make sure his Special is available as often as possible, Glimmer or Moonbow is used to benefit from the low 2 cooldown. Glimmer scales fairly great when used vs enemies his weapon is effective against, whilst Moonbow is still quite useful and may help him salvage combats against other types of enemies.

Death Blow will provide him with maximum killing power. Life and Death comes close, and remains active on Enemy Phase, but at the cost of his defenses. Fury can give him the bulk needed to fight against enemies that can survive past the first hit.

Vantage is a powerful B slot, as enemies that survive a round of combat (for example after a one-hit trade) will probably be in range where they will end up killing themselves as soon as they try to attack. When in range, Summer Frederick can easily bait and kill multiple squishy units at a time. Cancel Affinity is an alternative to give him a fighting chance vs mages running Triangle Adept in tandem with a Raven tome, but it is quite situational, and won't be needed for the majority of matches.

If Summer Frederick finds himself in a tough spot, it is usually going to be when fighting a higher powered mage that he cant take down easily. To alleviate this, a skill that boosts his ally's Resistance like Drive Res or Fortify Res can allows an ally to more easily soften that enemy for him. Of course, virtually any team support skill works as needed.

Beaches be Crazy (Tanky Enemy Phase)

Build by
Barb Shuriken+ (+Def)
Alternate: Seashell+ (+Def)
A Close Counter
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Seal Atk Spd 2
Ignis
Alternate: Bonfire
C Threaten Atk 3
IVsSQuickened Pulse

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV: +DEF or +SPD / -RES
  • Weapon: Barb Shuriken+ (+Def/Spd) / Smoke Dagger+ (+Def/Spd) / Seashell+ (+Def/Spd)
  • Assist: Reposition
  • Special: Ignis / Bonfire
  • Passive A: Close Counter
  • Passive B: Quick Riposte / Guard / Seal Atk/Spd
  • Passive C: Threaten Atk / Flexible
  • Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Close Def / Quick Riposte

A Defense focused set that aims to maximize his physical tanking power and retaliate with deadly Ignis procs. A Defense refine and boon improve his staying power and ignis damage, though Speed boosts can still be used to attempt to deny enemy doubles.

Close Counter lets him bait and retaliate vs melee foes as well as ranged. Barb Shuriken (or Kagami Mochi) pairs perfectly with Quick Riposte and a Quickened Pulse Seal, letting any initiating enemy be greeted with an Ignis. While not as powerful, Bonfire can be used if the Quickened Pulse Seal is unavailable, or if using a Smoke Dagger or Seashell instead. Close Def is the strongest backup Seal, which further increases his bulk vs melee targets, and pairs great with Threaten Atk, which can be used to easily weaken melee enemies heading near him.

As an alternative, Guard can be equipped to stop any enemy Special attacks, with Quick Riposte instead being used in the Sacred Seal slot. His native Seal Atk/Spd is also a worthy budget option, working in tandem with his dagger's debuff to cripple any foe that remains alive for round two.

Introduction

Summer Frederick is a seasonal dagger unit who is, when compared to other daggers, by all means relatively average. He has a fairly decent Attack stat, though trails slightly behind units like Sothe and Kagero. He has what seems like a workable Speed stat, but it is truthfully one of the lowest among daggers and not super impressive compared to units like Legault or Kaze. He has a pretty beefy Defense stat, though not quite at the level of tanks like Saizo. Essentially, he falls into the realm of jack of all trades—by no means bad, but not inherently a specialist in any category. Unfortunately, as dagger units are often considered rather unappealing to begin with, it is rather hard to find room on a team for such a unit that lacks said specialization.

Thankfully, the buffs given to daggers through Sacred Seals and the weapon refinery, as well as a multitude of new skills, have given Summer Frederick some much needed opportunity to push his stat spread in multiple directions. His Attack, Speed, and Defense can all reach some welcome levels when invested into, with Summer Frederick's only unfixable flaw being his inherently poor Resistance. As long as one keeps wary of such attackers, with investment he can overcome his average stats and prove to be a fair summertime ally.

Strengths

Good mix of Attack and bulk

Summer Frederick's base Defense of 28 is on the upper end of dagger units, who tend to be paper frail, and is paired with a decent 40 HP. While units like Saizo and Matthew have slightly higher values, at 33 and 30 Defense respectively, Summer Frederick's 32 base Attack is a very welcome step up from their poor base Attack stats of 29 and 25.

Fairly decent default weapon

Though it is somewhat of a niche weapon, the Seashell, which is only found on Summer Frederick, is a great generalist dagger. Thankfully, this combos quite well with Summer Frederick, who has what is perhaps most generalist stat spread among daggers. In other words: if one does wish to make use of Seashell, Summer Frederick is probably already the best user of it.

However if aiming for Summer Frederick's absolute peak potential, newer daggers such as the Lethal Carrot and Barb Shuriken offer some hefty competition, if one has them available.

Weaknesses

Average statline

While most are good, none of Summer Frederick's stats are great. His highest non-HP stat, Attack, sits at just 32. For maximum effectiveness, he desperately needs to be tailored to a role, often with some expensive inherits.

Falters to magic

Summer Frederick seems to suffer from a severe case of bibliophobia, retaining the original Frederick's crippling weakness to spellbooks. He both lacks the Speed and the Resistance to take hits from them in most cases.

Seasonal exclusivity

As a seasonal exclusive unit, it is very hard to merge him for stat boosts, or fish for optimal IVs.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Dagger

After combat, inflicts Def/Res-3 on foe through its next action.

Dagger users only.
50 2 3
Steel Dagger

After combat, inflicts Def/Res-3 on foe through its next action.

Dagger users only.
100 2 5
Seashell

Foe takes Def/Res-5 until end of foe's next action.
If unit has 100% HP at start of combat, Atk/Spd/Def/Res+2.
If attacking, unit gets 2 damage after.

Dagger users only.
200 2 7
Seashell+

After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Def/Res-7 on foe through its next action.
If unit's HP = 100% at start of combat, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+2, but unit takes 2 damage after combat.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Dagger users only.
300 2 10
Available Rearmed Weapons
Arcane Void
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Ardent Sacrifice

Heals adjacent ally 10 HP. Unit loses 10HP (but cannot reach 0 this way)

Learns by default at 5 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Armored Blow 1

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

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
50
A
Armored Blow 2

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

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100
A
Armored Blow 3

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

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
A
Seal Atk 1

Inflicts Atk-3 on foe through its next action after combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
40
B
Seal Atk Spd 1

Inflicts Atk/Spd-3 on foe through its next action after combat.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100
B
Seal Atk Spd 2

Inflicts Atk/Spd-5 on foe through its next action after combat.

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

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Awakening

Banners Featured In

Official Hero Artwork