Ascended Celica

Weapon: Mila’s Testament 

Assist: Assistless / Rally Assist

Special: Dragon Fang / Luna / Moonbow

Passive A: AR-D Atk/Spd (3 or 4) / Life and Death 4 / Atk/Spd Unity

Passive B: Soul of Zofia 

Passive C: Time’s Pulse / Atk/Spd Oath 4

Sacred Seal: Blade Session / Atk/Spd Form

• Boasting incredible damage and a dangerous survivability gimmick, Celica is one of the strongest ranged nukes in the game, which can be particularly threatening for Aether Raids Defense. As Mila’s Testament helps Celica circumvent her terrible bulk by granting her a Miracle effect if her HP before a lethal attack was ≥ 25%, Celica only needs to worry about enemies with Enemy Phase Brave weapons that can deactivate this pseudo-Miracle effect on their first hit, then KO Celica on their second hit. Since Celica doesn’t need to invest into her Def/Res at all, she can go all-in on maximizing her damage output, which Mila’s Testament also does very well by granting her -1 Special cooldown, Guard nullification, +6 Atk/Spd, and true damage equal to 10% of the enemy’s Atk during combat.
• The AI prioritizes moving units without Assists or with Rally Assists before units with positional Assists, making either of these options viable for Celica. Typically, the latter is only preferred if attempting a Rally trap, which involves rallying an ally whose threat range reaches the enemy in order to bring Celica closer to the enemies than she was at the beginning of the turn. After receiving a refresh, Celica’s threat range ideally matches the ally whom she rallied, allowing both of them to attack the enemy rather than just Celica’s ally.
• Although Life and Death 4 already provides a hefty +7 Atk/Spd for Celica, AR-D Atk/Spd can realistically replace it, as its third version can grant up to +10 Atk/Spd during combat while its fourth version can grant up to +11 Atk/Spd. However, how much Atk/Spd AR-D Atk/Spd grants depends on the number of undestroyed defensive structures, which can be rather inconsistent. Atk/Spd Unity is another realistic replacement, as it grants +5 Atk/Spd during combat and reverses Atk/Spd visible debuffs and panicked Atk/Spd visible buffs during combat if Celica is within two spaces of an ally, which is an especially lenient condition for Aether Raids Defense.
• Granting Null Follow-Up and Desperation 3, Soul of Zofia is an excellent B slot to ensure Celica performs a follow-up. After the Miracle effect from Mila’s Testament is consumed, her HP will reach Desperation 3’s ≤ 75% condition; ideally, she receives refreshes to take full advantage of this on the same phase, as unless she is covered by Near Save and Far Save allies, she will almost certainly be KO’d on the following phase.
• Which Special and C slot Celica uses depends on two factors:
  • Bridal Catria- Wedding-Bell Axe grants Catria and allies within two spaces the【Triangle Attack】effect, which grants a Brave effect on initiation if at least two allies within two spaces also have the【Triangle Attack】effect.
  • Presence or Absence of Additional Special Charges- Skills such as Infantry Pulse, Grandscratcher, and Time’s Pulse can reduce Celica’s Special cooldown.
• Sacred Seal options include Blade Session and Atk/Spd Form. The former grants Atk/Spd on initiation depending on how many allies have moved (+3 if zero, +6 if one, +9 if at least two), while the latter synergizes well with the aforementioned【Triangle Attack】effect because it grants +1 Atk/Spd, then additional Atk/Spd during combat depending on how many allies are within two spaces (+2 if one, +4 if two, +3 if at least three).

Weapon: Mila’s Testament 

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow / Luna

Passive A: Life and Death 4 / Atk/Spd Unity 

Passive B: Soul of Zofia 

Passive C: Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Res Smoke

Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Solo / Flashing Blade / Blade Session

• 43/42 offenses and Mila’s Testament make Celica one of the strongest and most consistent ranged nukes in the game. In particular, the latter grants Celica a myriad of strong effects:
  • -1 Special cooldown and Guard nullification, guaranteeing frequent Special activations,
  • +6 Atk/Spd, improving damage and follow-up consistency,
  • True damage equal to 10% of the enemy’s Atk for further damage, and
  • A Miracle effect if Celica’s HP before the lethal attack was ≥ 25%. This synergizes well with Soul of Zofia (which grants Null Follow-Up and Desperation 3 to improve her consistency and circumvent her poor base bulk respectively), as Celica can safely drop to the ≤ 75% HP condition for the latter effect.
• Celica activates 2-cooldown Specials such as Moonbow and Ruptured Sky on her follow-up attack regardless of whether she has Desperation from Soul of Zofia active, making them strong and consistent choices. She can perform the same feat with 3-cooldown Specials such as Luna and Draconic Aura if she has Heavy Blade or Flashing Blade in her Sacred Seal, which grant +1 Special charge if she has more Atk or Spd respectively than the enemy; typically, the latter is much more consistent, as Enemy Phase units prefer investing into their Atk/Def/Res than their Spd. If the former choice is preferred, strong Sacred Seal options include Atk/Spd Solo and Blade Session, which boost Celica’s Atk/Spd during combat (+6 for non-adjacency to allies for the former, +3, +6, or +9 Atk/Spd if zero, one, or two allies have moved before Celica for the latter).
• Atk/Spd Boosting A Slots are ideal for Celica’s damage output. Her native Life and Death 4 is fantastic given that Celica cares little for her bulk, though Atk/Spd Unity is another option that can be stronger if Celica has Atk/Spd visible debuffs or panicked Atk/Spd visible buffs, as it reverses these during combat.
• Granting +6 visible Atk/Spd, teleportation to spaces adjacent to allies within two spaces, and +3 Atk/Spd if Celica is within two spaces of an ally, Atk/Spd Oath 4 is a fantastic and consistent C slot option for both combat and mobility purposes. A more budget-friendly option is the simple and effective Res Smoke, which inflicts -7 Res on enemies within two spaces after combat. With the help of refreshers, Celica can easily KO multiple enemies in one turn.