A Guide to Duel Skills (Colorless Infantry)

What are Duel Skills?

Duel Skills are a new type of skill introduced into Fire Emblem Heroes that specifically affect the Arena and Arena Assault modes. They allow units with a base stat total (or BST) equalling 169 or lower to score as if they had 170 or more BST. These calculations don’t take merges into account: For instance, a Draug who was merged four times would have his score increased, since his BST at five star level 40 is 169. Each duel skill increases a units’ HP by five making them identical in function, but they are restricted by color and movement type.

This means that those looking to increase their Arena score can take a unit with a Duel Skill. While many more units are now available to people seeking high Arena scores, missing an A slot skill can hamper a units performance significantly. This is because HP+5 is a comparatively poor skill compared to others, such as Steady Breath and Distant Counter.

The criteria for selecting good units for duel skills is as follows:

• They must have 169 or less BST.

• They must have enough copies of themselves available to merge to +10.

• They should have a unique weapon or skill to help with scoring.

• They should have good matchups against other high-scoring units.

• They should be able to function well without relying on an A slot skill.

• Being available to summon at 3-4 stars is a bonus for most players, but not important for those with more resources.

C Infantry

This Dueling skill can be inherited by all colorless infantry units. This includes units who use breath weapons, bows, and staves. Using the above criteria, let’s look at some of the best easily-merged choices for high-scoring units.

Please note that recommended Duel skill builds are optimized for score first, and combat second. They are specialized sets for the Arena and are not recommended for general use. For a list of a unit’s best build choices, please see their respective Hero Analysis pages.

With high availability, strong offensive stats, and a battle-warping effect in Peshkatz, Sothe is a prime candidate for a Duel skill. Though it may take a large amount of positioning to fully utilize, Peshkatz’s ability to simultaneously apply buffs and debuffs to entire teams is extremely valuable in the Arena.

Advantages

• Peshkatz’s effect is invaluable in Arena when trying to score Bonus Unit KOs

• Being summonable at both 4 and 5 stars greatly increase ease of merging

• Great offensive statline and passable bulk

Disadvantages

• Peshkatz’s effect requires positioning setup to reach its full potential

• Requires some Speed support to ensure that Windsweep effects apply

Sothe boasts one of the best Attack/Speed spreads out of the generally mediocre Dagger units. If that wasn’t enough, Sothe’s unique weapon, Peshkatz, has an effect that is extremely prized in Arena; in a mode centralized around giving one Bonus Unit all of the KOs, a weapon that combines the effects of Light Breath and Dark Breath is invaluable, making securing those Bonus Unit KOs much easier.

Being released after the BST benchmark increase means that Sothe has more stats to work with than many of his peers -- these stats were allocated exceedingly well. 61 physical and 60 magical bulk is usually enough to survive one hit, and 36 Attack is sufficient to make a sizeable dent in just about any unit.

If Sothe has any weaknesses, they would mainly stem from the setup required to maximize Peshkatz’s effectiveness. Many Arena maps are designed to split up enemy teams, and Sothe will often either have to wait around or rely on team positioning to be able to apply Peshkatz’s effect to as many units as possible.  However, if this condition is met, Sothe’s unique mix of offensive prowess and buffing/debuffing utility will not disappoint.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD/ -DEF or -RES

• Weapon: Peshkatz

• Assist: Rally Up Atk+ / Rally Spd/Def+

• Special: Blue Flame / Aether

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Windsweep / Watersweep / Chill Def

• Passive C: Odd Atk Wave / Even Spd Wave

• Sacred Seal: Drive Atk / Drive Spd / Phantom Speed / Poison Strike

Duel skills breathe new life into refresher units, whose low BST would ordinarily disqualify them

from being used in high-scoring Arena teams. Olivia is a very typical refresher, sacrificing offensive potential to maximize Speed and Resistance, making her ideal for supporting her team with Ploys and other skills.

Advantages

• Possesses refresher utility to support team’s offensive potential

• Surprisingly high Resistance allows for Ploy usage

Disadvantages

• Poor Attack relegates her to fulfilling a support role

• Dance compared to other Assists decreases scoring potential; lack of unique weapon

• Seasonal availability decreases chances of obtaining +10 merge

Dance is one of the most coveted tools in Arena, and for good reason -- refreshing Bonus Units to maximize their KOs (and bonus points), in addition to aiding teams with positioning and defense, is a great boon to any team. Olivia

However, outside of her utility, Olivia doesn’t offer much -- her abysmal defensive soak of 50 and her low 28 Attack means that she will have a hard time both surviving and damaging enemies. Though she can try to patch this up with effective weaponry, Olivia is best left to support her team, safely out of enemy reach.

Additionally, those wishing to use Olivia for her utility must be mindful that her Dance skill and lack of access to a unique weapon will slightly decrease her scoring potential below that of other candidates for Duel skills, due to the lower SP costs of Dance and non-unique weapons compared higher scoring Assists and Weapons.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD/ -DEF or -HP

• Weapon: Sky Maiougi+ (+Spd) / Barb Shuriken+ (+Spd)

• Assist: Dance

• Special: Blue Flame / Aether

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Windsweep / Watersweep / Chill Def

• Passive C: Spd Ploy / Def Ploy / Drive Atk

• Sacred Seal: Drive Atk / Drive Spd / Phantom Spd

Bringing some much-needed bulk to the Colorless infantry lineup, HS!Xander is a very unique Refresher unit. Unlike other Refreshers, who focus on maxing out on Speed at the cost of survivability, Xander can also fulfill the role of a bulky frontline unit.

Advantages

• Has arguably the highest physical bulk out of all Colorless Infantry units

• Possesses refresher utility, boosting team offensive potential

• High physical damage potential differentiates him from other Refresher units

Disadvantages

• Very low BST means that stats other than Attack and Defense suffer

• Dance compared to other Assists decreases scoring potential; lack of unique weapon

• Seasonal unit with extremely low availability, therefore affecting mergeability

With 35 Attack and 34 Defense, Xander’s physical stats rival those of many armored units. Though he would perhaps like Close Counter to retaliate against melee threats, a Duel skill augments Xander’s already impressive bulk, and still allows him to fight against the occasional ranged unit. This decent combat potential, in addition to his Dance utility, makes Xander a very attractive support unit. Compared to Olivia, he trades his Ploy potential for damage and tankiness -- whether that tradeoff is worth it is dependent on the rest of the team.

However, Xander suffers from many of the same issues that Olivia does -- not having a unique weapon and using the Dance skill will decrease Arena scoring potential. And whereas Olivia’s physical bulk is poor, Xander’s magical bulk is abysmal, to the point where he will have trouble surviving a round of combat even against the likes of Odin. Played to his strengths, Xander will provide invaluable support to both the defensive core and the offensive units of any team.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF / -SPD or -RES

• Weapon: Sky Maiougi+ (+Def) / Barb Shuriken+ (+Def)

• Assist: Dance

• Special: Blue Flame / Aether

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Quick Riposte / Wrath

• Passive C: Odd Def Wave / Atk Smoke / Drive Atk

• Sacred Seal: Drive Atk / Poison Strike / Quick Riposte

Innes

Nidhogg’s new refine gave Innes a second chance in the metagame, allowing him to stand out from the crowded Colorless archer roster. Innes may still find it difficult to perform in high-level Arena though, given how physically bulky many of his opponents will be.

Advantages

• Nidhogg applies Firesweep-like effect to Dragons and Mages

• High resistance improves matchups against Tome/Staff users and allows for Ploy usage

Disadvantages

• Has difficulty damaging Armored and Dragon units, the most common enemies in high-level Arena

• Abysmal physical bulk reduces ability to fight other physical units

• Brings less utility to a team than Dagger users and refresher units

Though his 33 Attack and 34 Speed are quite commonplace in the large pool of Colorless infantry archers, Nidhogg gives Innes a way to differentiate himself. The ability to safely engage against Dragons and Mages is an ability that even Brave Lyn would covet, and the Owl Tome effect provides a powerful, if situational, boost to his stats.

The main issue that Innes faces doesn’t come from his weapon or his stats, but from the nature of high-level Arena. Being a physical damage dealer in a metagame infested with Armor and Dragon units, who often boast extreme physical bulk, makes Innes’s job very difficult -- even if Dragons can’t counterattack when Innes initiates combat, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to do significant damage, which will leave him very vulnerable in Enemy Phase, especially considering his rock-bottom Defense. His matchups against Armored units, especially those carrying Distant Counter, will likely be even worse. While units like Sothe and HS!Xander can compensate for their damage-dealing deficiencies with the utility that their weapons and skills bring, Innes has no such utility to speak of.

When facing Tome users, Innes will be able to fare much better, striking magic users’ weaker Defense stats while taking no retaliation in return. All in all, while Innes seems very strong on paper, he may find that his performance is highly dependent on the types of foes he faces.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -DEF

• Weapon: Nidhogg (+Eff)

• Assist: Rally Up Atk+ / Rally Spd/Def+

• Special: Blue Flame / Aether

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Chill Def / Windsweep / Cancel Affinity

• Passive C: Def Ploy / Spd Ploy

Sacred Seal: Distant Def / Flashing Blade / Poison Strike

With her unique weapon and high, well-distributed base stats, Loki outclasses just about every infantry staff user that preceded her. Her only shortcomings come from the skill limitations that all staff users have, which hamper her overall potential as a combatant.

Advantages

• Higher BST than other infantry healers, with superior Attack, Speed, and HP

• Thökk’s effect is amplified with a Duel Skill

• Access to Wrathful + Dazzling Staff gives her strong combat potential

Disadvantages

• No access to offensive Special skills

Loki sets the standard for all upcoming Staff users, bringing a powerful unique weapon in addition to an impressive stat distribution. Thökk gives Loki a combination of combat prowess and a one-of-a-kind “Movement Ploy” effect, the efficacy of which is only improved by taking a Duel skill.

Her impressive 33 Attack and 35 Speed, in tandem with her access to the coveted combination of Wrathful and Dazzling Staff, makes her a fearsome offensive unit that does not fear enemy counterattacks. Also, her high Attack stat boosts her support potential by increasing the amount of HP she can heal.

Her access to the aforementioned skills come at the cost of being unfortunately shackled to the limitations that all Staff users face; namely, her lack of an offensive special skill, and lack of strong B skills outside of Dazzling Staff. These deficiencies are easily made up for by her offensive and support abilities, which make Loki a flexible unit and a compelling choice for many teams.  

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -DEF

• Weapon: Thökk

• Assist: Restore+ / Recover+

• Special: Windfire Balm+ / Earthwater Balm+

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Dazzling Staff

• Passive C: Atk Ploy / Spd Ploy / Drive Atk

• Sacred Seal: Res Ploy / Brazen Atk/Res / HP/Res Plus

As a very specialized counter to Tome and Staff users, Felicia may find it very difficult to accomplish much in the armor-dominated landscape of high-level Arena. Still, Felicia’s Plate may let her support her team with debuffs.

Advantages

• Unique weapon allows her to apply debuffs and target weaker enemy defensive stat

• Very high resistance lets her effectively wall magic users and use Ploy skills

• High availability allows for easy merges

Disadvantages

• Abysmal attack makes dealing damage difficult, even with her weapon’s effect

• Very poor physical durability removes any chance of survival against most foes

Felicia is a hyper-specialized unit, optimized to wall common threats like Reinhardt and Celica, while firing back with supercharged Glacies and Icebergs. While that niche can be very useful for certain teams, it is hardly ever relevant against the most common foes in high-level Arena. Against Dragons and Armors, who usually have high mixed Defence and Resistance, Felicia will find it difficult to deal damage and will usually fall to a single attack due to her own low Defense.

With this in mind, Felicia should usually be relegated to a support role; however, her utility in this role should not be estimated. Felicia’s Plate applies a potent -7 Defense/Resistance debuff, and she will usually be able to do so without retaliation with Windsweep. Additionally, she has one of the highest Resistance stats in the game, making her a top candidate for Ploy skills. Her effectiveness in these roles, combined with her availability at both 3 and 4 stars, make Felicia a strong contender for a budget Duel skill user.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -DEF

• Weapon: Felicia’s Plate (+eff)

• Assist: Rally Up Atk+ / Rally Spd/Def+

• Special: Blue Flame / Aether

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Windsweep / Watersweep / Chill Def

• Passive C: Def Ploy / Spd Ploy

• Sacred Seal: Spd Ploy / Brazen Atk/Res / Flashing Blade

Since Parthia will rarely apply its effects in high-level Arena, Jeorge may struggle to do meaningful damage against the ubiquitous Dragon and Armor units. He may not stand out in any particular aspect, but his well-rounded nature and high availability make him a decent option for a Duel skill.

Advantages

• Well-rounded base stats are usually sufficient to survive one round of combat

• High availability allows for easy merges

Disadvantages

• Unique weapon is often irrelevant against high-level Arena opponents

• Offers little team utility, especially when compared to other Colorless Staff and Dagger users

• Average offensive stats make it harder to deal damage common foe

Ordinarily, Parthia’s effects of reducing magic damage and empowering attacks against ranged foes would give Jeorge a niche in Arena; however, in an environment like Arena where BST is a top priority, it is unlikely that Jeorge will encounter many ranged units.

Without his unique weapon to give him advantages versus his opponents, Jeorge can only rely on his base stats to contribute to the team. Unfortunately, as a release unit, Jeorge’s stat total is lower than some of his later peers’, and they are not distributed towards any particular niche; 32 Attack and 32 Speed are usually insufficient to do meaningful damage against the tanky behemoths that are so common in Arena. His bulk, while nothing noteworthy, is usually enough to take one hit against most opponents.

With all of these negative points, one may wonder, why bother with Jeorge at all? Of all the non-limited Bow users available at 3-4 stars, Jeorge is the only one with a unique weapon - this fact alone makes him better than the other budget options for Colorless archers. If one absolutely wants an archer unit for high-level Arena and doesn’t have the resources for Innes, then Jeorge is perhaps the best choice for a Duel skill.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES or -DEF

• Weapon: Parthia (+eff)

• Assist: Rally Up Atk+ / Rally Spd/Def+

• Special: Blue Flame / Aether

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Chill Def / Chill Spd / Cancel Affinity

• Passive C: Odd Atk Wave / Even Spd Wave

• Sacred Seal: Drive Atk / Drive Spd

With some of the highest Resistance and Attack stats out of all Staff users, Lucius can function as a debuffer in addition to a healer. His abysmal physical bulk is something to watch out for, but his great availability makes him a compelling choice for a budget Duel skill user.

Advantages

• High Resistance stat allows for Ploy usage and combating mages

• Access to Wrathful + Dazzling Staff gives him strong chip potential with Pain

• Summonable at 3-4 stars, giving him very high availability

Disadvantages

• Pitiful physical bulk necessitates careful positioning

• No access to a unique weapon, or to high SP Special and Assist skills, lowering scoring potential

Though he is mostly outclassed by other, rarer Staff users (Loki, Genny), Lucius still boasts a very impressive 35 Resistance and a decent 32 Attack, allowing him to fulfill the roles of a healer and a Ploy user well.

Not having access to a unique weapon is unfortunate, but also means that Lucius is free to use any of the high-utility generic staves without an SP opportunity cost. The combination of Wrathful and Dazzling staff is just as potent on Lucius as it is on any other staff user; the ability to do serious chip damage without fear of retaliation, all the while applying debilitating effects like Gravity or Panic, is something that almost any team would appreciate.   

Lucius’s main downfalls stem from his lower BST and the limitations that all staff users face. His low base stat total of 147 means that his other stats had to suffer in exchange for Attack and Resistance; Lucius’s low physical bulk means that he should never be placed in a situation where he can be attacked by the Dragon and Armored units in high-level Arena. Additionally, his lack of offensive specials, dual Rally+ skills, or unique weapons means that compared to many other units on this list, Lucius’s scoring potential is lower and thus he cannot be placed on a team seeking to maximize its Arena score. If these points can be overlooked, many teams would benefit from the addition of Lucius to their lineup.

Recommended Duel Skill Build

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +RES / -DEF

• Weapon: Dazzling Gravity+ / Dazzling Pain+ / Dazzling Panic+

• Assist: Restore+ / Recover+

• Special: Windfire Balm+ / Earthwater Balm+

• Passive A: C Duel Infantry

• Passive B: Wrathful Staff

• Passive C: Res Ploy / Spd Ploy / Drive Atk

• Sacred Seal: Atk Ploy / Spd Ploy / Brazen Atk/Res