Tempest Trials - Doorway to Destiny

Using a bonus ally on your team will raise your score by +40%. Multiple allies do not stack.

This special event contains a series of maps you must fight your way through from beginning to end. Losing does not mean game over, as you can retry with  multiple teams. At the end of each round, points are awarded based on clear speed, survivability and bonus units. Your total points are tallied and used to unlock various rewards, many of which are exclusive to the Tempest Trials. Additionally, there is a player ranking with large feather rewards given to those with the highest scores.

Basic information about the Tempest Trials+ are as follows.

• Using a Bonus ally on your team will increase your score by 40%.

• Bonus allies gain double EXP and SP, and stat boosts (HP+10, +4 other stats).

• Your first two runs per day earn triple the amount of points, and grant stat boosts to all of your units (as if they were bonus allies).

• Event Duration is 10 days.

• Rewards are given for scores up to 50,000.

4★ Ethlyn: Spirited Princess

Sigurd's spirited younger sister is the bonus unit from this Tempest Trials+ event. She's a cavalry staff-user, and perfect for supporting teammates. She's usable at four star rarity, or can be promoted and sacrificed through Skill Inheritance to give a unit Spd/Def bond. If you want to read more about Ethlyn, you can do so at her Hero Analysis here.

Blaze Dance Seal

Blaze Dance is a skill designed specifically for users of Sing/Dance. It allows them to buff units they refresh and at level 3, grants them +4 Attack until the start of the player's next turn. Blaze Dance is a decent skill, best used on offensively-inclined units to boost their damage. However, most Sing/Dance users typically prefer to use a skill such as Wings of Mercy to aid mobility or Quick Riposte to aid combat.

Threaten Def Seal

This skill debuffs all foes within two spaces, reducing their Defense by five at max level. It's great for physical tanks and mixed phase units designed to fight and sustain over multiple turns. Threaten Def is a nice way to buff a units' damage without increasing their Attack directly. However, it's limited range and activation timing (being applied at the beginning of the player phase) make it somewhat unwieldy, and units with enough Resistance will generally opt for the Ploy equivalent.

5★ Ethlyn: Spirited Princess

A five-star version of Ethlyn: Spirited Princess. It's highly recommended to use Ethlyn during this event, as she has great synergy with many other bonus units. She can be used or sacrificed through Skill Inheritance to give a unit Spd/Def bond. If you want to read more about Ethlyn, you can do so at her Hero Analysis here.

Drive Spd Seal

Arguably the most valuable reward from this event, the Drive Spd seal buffs all allied units within two spaces by three (at max level). It's an incredibly useful support skill best used alongside fast units to turn Speed matchups in their favor. Drive seals tend to be great general-purpose seals when a specific one isn't required. The Drive Spd seal has a max level of two, meaning only one upgrade is needed at the Sacred Seal Forge to max its potential.

All Sacred Seals come at level one, but can be upgraded to their higher-leveled versions in the Sacred Seal Forge. To access the forge, one must complete all Book 1: Chapter 13 story missions, as well as the Intermission: A Power Awakens story mission. Then, the Sacred Seal Forge can be accessed in the menu through Allies >Change Equipment>Sacred Seal Forge.

Team Building

For those looking to maximise their score and stamina efficiency, care should go into choosing a Tempest Trials team. Instead of talking about just completed teams, I’ll be talking about the elements that make those teams successful, so that players with different units can construct viable teams. Unless otherwise stated, all units from here on out are assumed to be running their recommended builds. A team with the best chance of success will have the following: 

• As many bonus units as possible, as they receive huge stat boosts.
• Source(s) of healing, such as healing specials or a staff-user.
• Strategy for the final map and boss.
• Weapon Triangle coverage, as the actual units within each map can vary significantly.

The first two runs each day grant all units a stat boost as if they were bonus units. This simplifies team-building for those looking to complete just those runs and nothing else.

Bonus Units

The first units you’ll want to think about using are of course, the bonus units. With their huge stat bonuses (+10 HP, +4 to all other stats) they will punch far above their normal weight. Always endeavor to have at least one bonus unit on your team, as they increase your score by 40%. Bonus units do not stack: 40% total will be awarded no matter how many bonus units are on the team.

The first two runs each day grant all units a stat boost as if they were bonus units. This makes team-building much simpler for those runs, as players can use nearly any unit they want.

• Lewyn, Guiding Breeze: Lewyn is a green mage, and thanks to his powerful Forseti tome, is one of the best sweepers in the game. With buffs or help from a dancer, he can single-handedly KO the vast majority of foes in the event maps. However, he won't do well against the boss, Sigurd. Check out his Hero Analysis here.

• Silvia, Traveling Dancer: Bonus units who can Sing or Dance are always useful, and Silvia is no exception. She's the best bonus unit when it comes to accelerating clear times and is a great partner to Lewyn, especially with her Deluge Dance skill. Silvia's great against magic damage, but is very physically frail and can be easily slain with meager physical damage. Check out her Hero Analysis here.

• Quan, Luminous Lancer: The only blue bonus unit, Quan is a great choice in any Tempest Trials team. His lance, the Gáe Bolg makes him a physically defensive monster, and he's a great partner to Sigurd or Eldigan. However, Quan's Resistance is critically low, making it likely he'll need help when fighting mages or dragons. Check out his Hero Analysis here.

• Ethlyn, Spirited Princess: Ethlyn ticks all the boxes, being F2P, a cavalry unit, and providing strong heals to her allies. It's highly recommended to use her no matter what kind of team is being run. Ethlyn's healing becomes significantly more powerful at five stars, thanks to Physic+. Check out her Hero Analysis here.

• Sigurd, Holy Knight: Thanks to his exceptional bulk in both physical and magical fields, Sigurd excels at surviving for extended periods of time and is the best tank available in the bonus units. He can be used as a part of a cavalry team if desired. With the right support and skillset, he can overcome any foe, even himself! (as the boss of this event). Check out his Hero Analysis here.

• Deirdre, Lady of the Forest: The weaker of the two green mages available as bonus units, Deirdre is much better at dueling other mages than attacking outright. She's incredible against dragons, but extremely easy to KO with physical damage. It's recommended to use her with a source of healing if possible. Check out her Hero Analysis here.

• Eldigan, Lionheart: A deadly red cavalry, just like Sigurd. Eldigan focuses more on raw Attack and Defense, and with Fury can even become fairly fast. If using his Mystletainn refine and/or Fury, Eldigan will need healing support to counter the HP loss. His low Resistance can prove deadly however, making him less reliable than Sigurd. Check out his Hero Analysis here.

• Jamke, Prince of Verdane: The only archer and physical ranged sweeper available as a bonus unit, Jamke has a valuable niche and is a great choice of bonus unit, His sky-high Attack lets him easily KO many foes, and with a Brave Bow he becomes nigh unstoppable. However, his Resistance leaves him out to dry when facing mages or dragons with Distant Counter abilities. Check out his Hero Analysis here.

Healers

Staff-users are highly recommended for all kinds of teams due to their amazing healing potential. They are by far the most reliable and powerful healers available, and can also provide strong chip damage to neutralize strong threats. Ethlyn is a bonus unit who wields a staff, making her an exceptional choice for the Tempest Trials.

There are a few types of builds which can be used to heal teams without using a dedicated healer. The first of these is the “Renewal Medic”, a build type which relies on healing from Renewal and the legendary weapon Falchion. Reciprocal Aid is a must-have skill to ensure clean transferral of health to allies. Forging Falchion increases the healing from this type of build. Lastly, there is the "sustain tank" build. With a cooldown -1 weapon such as a Slaying Axe combined with Steady Breath, Quick Riposte and Aether, a unit can charge and fire off their special every round of combat keeping their health topped up over a long time.

Dancers

These are some of the most potent allies for Tempest Trials, offering both safety and speed to your run. In short, they are great for all the usual reasons, but are affected by their low combat stats, which can hold them back. Due to team limitations, if you choose to field a dancer they must be a respectable combat unit in their own right, with either a full build or something close. Silvia's a bonus unit who can Dance and is highly recommended as a team member.

Sweepers

One of the fastest ways to clear the Tempest Trials is with a powerful ranged attacker wielding a Brave Bow or Blade tome. Combined with a buffer or dancer, they can destroy most units in the trials with ease once they are under the Desperation threshold. Lewyn is the obvious pick, reaching a ridiculous 44 Speed after bonus unit stat increases. Jamke is F2P and is also a great choice, but requires a Brave Bow to reach his full potential.

Using Autobattle

For those looking to save time, the autobattle feature lets you quickly gain Tempest Trial points with minimal effort. When creating an autobattle team, there are a few considerations:

Difficulty

• Hard (5 Battles) is the most suitable difficulty for most players, assuming you can field a full team of five star characters. With enough bonus units or merges, it may be possible to do the lower infernal difficulty.

Team Building

• Team building considerations are mostly the same for manual teams. The AI tends to play recklessly, making tanky units with well-rounded statlines and Distant Counter fare the best.
• A dedicated healer is nearly always better unless you have multiple units with Aether or other healing. If you choose a dedicated healer, don’t forget to un-equip their weapon. Otherwise, the AI will treat them like a ranged attacker, and play aggressively with them.
• Don't forget to pack a bonus unit!
• Flying units tend to be poor choices, unless equipped with Iote's Shield. This is because the AI's reckless playstyle often leaves them in the range of deadly archers.

Examples

• Distant Counter Units: Black Knight, Hector(LA), Nowi, Dorcas, Hector, Ike, Ike(VL), Ryoma, Young Tiki, Zelgius.
• Sustain Tanks: Marth: Enigmatic Blade, Brave Ike, Ike, Ike(VL), Raven, Brave Lucina, Leif, Linus.
• Dedicated Healers: Ethlyn, Any staff-user!
• Other Healers: Marth: Enigmatic Blade, Marth, Lucina, Chrom, Arvis, Linde, Performing Olivia, Alm.
• Sweepers: Lewyn, Jamke, Bridal Sanaki, Bridal Tharja, Sanaki, Reinhardt, Olwen, Brave Lyn, Lute, Reinhardt, L'Arachel, Olwen, Delthea, Lilina, Bridal Cordelia, Nino, Nino(SF).

Threats to Autobattling Teams

• Triangle Adept
• Weapon Breaker Skills
• Firesweep Weapons
• Brave Weapons
• Effective Weapons (Such as Armorsmashers, Horseslayers and Bows)
• Wrath/Wo Dao/Wo Gun/Harmonic Lance users

Defeating Sigurd: Holy Knight

Sigurd is the equivalent of an impenetrable fortress, with high stats all around and a weapon that cuts off what would be the most obvious way to counter him. His status as a cavalry unit also makes him tough to deal with, due to his boosted mobility. Although Sigurd appears to have low Resistance, his sword the Divine Tyrfing grants him halved incoming damage from mages. And his B slot skill Crusader's Ward reduces subsequent attacks from ranged units by 80%. These skills make Sigurd nearly impossible to take down from range. 

Micaiah is a unique sort of Tempest Trials boss, threatening teams through her Dance ability more than anything else. Her weapon, the Dawn Suzu, grants her effective damage against Cavalry and Armor, and also prevents Vantage and Desperation from working on her. You'll need a unit with good resistance and enough power to tear through her inflated statline.

Blue Dragons

• Thankfully, blue dragons don't count as magic foes for the purpose of Divine Tyrfing. Giving one of these units Quick Riposte is a surefire way to take him down. Most have enough defense to take multiple hits from Sigurd. Nowi, Corrin(F) and Kana(M) are three excellent choices. This is the simplest way to defeat the boss and all blue dragons make excellent trials runners in their own right.

Swordbreaker

• The second way to pierce Sigurd's defenses is with Swordbreaker. Sigurd himself boasts enough Speed to win Speed battles against most other swordsmen and both bonus units. Attaching Swordbreaker to Quan, Eldigan or your own Sigurd allows them to auto-win the Speed duel and hit them hard. This also works for any slow sword unit, such as Chrom or Alfonse. If your unit is quick enough to tie with Sigurd normally, Quick Riposte can be used instead and comes as a seal. Lancers such as Nephenee and Ephraim are effective without Swordbreaker due to the former's Wrath and the latter's Siegmund refine.

Armor

• Sigurd's physical Attack and Defense is impressive, but not in the realm of armored units. Although none of them are bonus units, units such as Effie, Fallen Hardin and Brave Hector can abuse skills such as Wary Fighter, Bold Fighter and Vengeful Fighter to win the Speed matchup. Zelgius and the Black Knight are two excellent choices, the latter being F2P and both being fast enough to tie Sigurd even on Infernal difficulty.

Anti-Cavalry weaponry

• While there are certainly more elegant ways of handling Sigurd, any unit with bonus damage against cavalry can take him down with relative ease. Caeda, Mathilda and Gray are three good units against Sigurd, although they may need a Speed buff or Swordbreaker to guarantee a second attack. Mages such as Micaiah will have their damage reduced by Divine Tyrfing, but can leave a significant dent. Hoshidan Festival Xander or any dagger-user with his Dusk Uchiwa can deal heavy damage to Sigurd, but they will likely need an Attack buff to overcome his high physical defense.