Tempest Trials Mini - Shrouded by the Storm

 Event Overview

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 a second team. At the end of each round, points are received 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. This event is a Tempest Trials Mini, and has a few differences.

Other Rules

• Bonus allies gain significant stat boosts (HP+10, +4 other stats).
• Bonus allies gain double EXP and SP.
• Your first two runs per day earn triple points.

About the Tempest Trials Mini:

• Runs for one week instead of two.
• Rewards require half the normal points.

Notable Rewards

4★ Marisa (1,000 Score)

• Marisa hails from Sacred Stones, and is a quick-sword-wielding unit with a versatile statline. She is a bonus unit for this Tempest Trials and will perform well even at 4★ due to the stat boost. She can also be used to inherit HP/Def 2 to other units.

Poison Strike 1 seal (6,000 Score)

• This Sacred Seal deals extra, flat damage after combat when the unit initiates combat. This damage is non-lethal but can quickly chip down an opponent's HP. Poison Strike is a B slot skill normally, and cannot be used by staff-wielders. Units like Jaffar can make great use of this seal to cripple foes.

Hone Atk 1 seal (10,000 Score)

• This C slot skill is easy to obtain, being on the free unit Olivia. Hone Atk gives allies adjacent to the unit an attack buff at the start of their turn. This buff is universally useful, but especially so to offensive units. Blade-tome users in particular depend on buffs such as these. This seal can be used on nearly anyone effectively, but is strongest when paired up with a Blade-tome.

5★ Marisa (15,000 Score)

• A five star version of Marisa. She's not the strongest Tempest Trial reward, even for a red unit. She'll do her job admirably during the trials however, thanks to the bonus unit buffs. If you don't feel like keeping her around, she can be sacrificed to inherit Infantry Pulse or Wo Dao+, two rare and valuable skills, to your other units.

Drive Def 1 seal (20,000 Score)

• Drive skills are hard to get but extremely easy to use. Their ability to buff stats at a range of two allows for a lot of team and map flexibility, that other buff skills do not. The boost provided by Drive Def is invisible, and cannot be removed with Panic Ploy or alike skills. It might be hard to notice its effects, but it's a great general-use seal and skill.

All seals can be upgraded within the Sacred Seal Forge to their higher-level counterparts. Orbs, feathers and crystals are awarded up to 50,000 score. Sacred Coins are also available, with the highest tier being 13,750 score. Up to 10,000 feathers can be obtained depending on your score ranking compared to other players.

Team Building

Without further ado, let us jump into the team-building part of the guide. Instead of talking about just completed teams, I’ll be talking about the elements that make those teams successful, so that players with varying boxes 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 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.

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. All bonus units receive the same stat boost. Always endevor to have at least one bonus unit on your team, as they increase your score by 20% or 40% respectively. Bonus units do not stack (the score increase is capped at 40%). 

40% Units

• Radiant Ike: The new Ike is a clear standout, with a strong healing special with a reduced charge time. Ragnell combined with Warding Breath means he is guaranteed to activate Radiant Aether when he is attacked, unless he OHKO's his opponent!

• Fjorm: As a free unit, Fjorm will be most people's choice of 40% unit. Luckily, she comes well-equipped right out of the box, and only needs an external source of healing to keep her healthy. Distant Counter is always amazing in the trials, especially if using Autobattle. Fjorm: Princess of Ice can be obtained for free by completing the Chapter 1 of Book II in story mode.

• Gunnthra: A very strong unit with support and offense capabilities. She works great alongside the usual Cavalry suspects such as Brave Lyn and Reinhardt. Her debuff will make it very easy to clear problem enemies from maps.

• Performing Azura: A dancer as a bonus unit?! Dancers have always been amazing as trial runners, and Azura is only the second to be featured as a bonus unit. She can send allies forth with buffs thanks to Urdr, and allow them to cover ground faster, as well as attack more. If using Autobattle however, it's recommended to unequip Triangle Adept from her A slot.

20% Units

• Marisa: A good all-around red unit, with above-average defense and HP. She's sturdy enough to survive most engagements, and comes equipped with a Wo Dao+ to hit back with some power. She's a good budget choice due to being a free 5★ unit.

• Brave Lucina: She has a great statline and and an awesome spear which boosts the speed and attack of physical allies. Usable with just her base kit since it comes with Aether. However Fjorm is more useful overall due to her Distant Counter.

• Summer Robin(F): Robin has a well-rounded statline which makes her easy to keep alive. Deft Harpoon gives her extra power, but will require her to be paired up with a source of healing to be most effective. She's a solid choice, but outshone by Fjorm and Brave Lucina.

• Summer Xander: He's nearly invincible on the defensive side, and has good attack and speed after the bonus stat boost. He's great at killing Fjorm, but is generally inferior to Performing Azura.

Healers

Thanks to the 2.0 update and forging, Staff-users are stronger than ever and are highly recommended for all kinds of teams. They are by far the most reliable and powerful healers available, and can also provide strong chip damage to neutralize strong threats. However they are not the only option on the table.

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.

Breath of Life is another great skill capable of turning a unit into a substitute healer. With the skill itself and the fully upgraded seal, it’s possible to heal 14 health to allies every attack. Dagger-users have access to a dagger to provide further healing, as does Linde with her unique tome Aura. Reciprocal Aid is a must here too, to ensure that Linde herself can remain sustained. Remember that a dancer can potentially double this healing output.

Lastly, there is the "sustain tank" build. With a cooldown -1 weapon such as a Slaying Axe, 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. Radiant Ike, and Brave Lucina can both pull this off with their default skills.

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. Performing Azura is an excellent choice of unit, as with the bonus stat buffs she receives she can more than hold her own in direct combat.

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. Nino, Linde, Rhajat, Tharja, Katarina, L'Arachel, Ursula, Brave Lyn and Reinhardt are all common choices. Gunnthra works just fine with her Blizzard tome, but can be equipped with a Blade tome for increased damage output.

Using Autobattle

For those looking to save time, the autobattle feature lets you quickly gain tempest 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: Radiant Ike, Fjorm, Nowi, Dorcas, Hector, Ike, Ryoma, Black Knight, Young Tiki
• Sustain Tanks: Radiant Ike, Brave Lucina, Winter Robin, Winter Lissa, Brave Ike, Ike
• Dedicated Healers: Any staff-user!
• Other Healers: Masked Marth/Lucina, Chrom, Arvis, Fae, Linde, Performing Olivia
• Sweepers: Gunnthra, Brave Lyn, Lute, Reinhardt, L'Arachel, Olwen, Nino, Delthea, Celica, Bridal Cordelia

Enemies to watch

• Triangle Adept/Gem Weapon Users: Oscar, Sanaki, Seth, Sully, Stahl, Titania, Subaki, Palla, Cordelia
• Breaker Skill Users: Oscar, Abel, Sully,
• Firesweep Weapon Users: Roderick, Faye
• Brave Weapon Users: Luke, Cain, Abel, Klein, Elincia, Camilla, Hinoka, Cordelia
• Effective Weapon Users: Rhajat, Kagero, Merric, Micaiah, Raigh, Mathilda, Julia, Deirdre, Caeda, Cherche, Frederick, Est, Florina, (All Archers)
• Wrath/Wo Dao Users: Sonya