Beruka

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

• Increasing Beruka’s Defense is always a good option to make her both a better physical tank as well as adding to her Bonfire or Ignis damage.

• +RES is worth consideration because Beruka’s low Speed and Resistance make her vulnerable to enemy mages.

• +ATK is a bit greedier than +DEF or +RES but can work with good team support (such as Ward Fliers stacking).

Weapon: Beruka’s Axe (+Eff)

• Beruka’s Axe is almost unquestionably her best weapon option for the vast majority of her builds, as its various benefits allow her to forgo other skills that she’d ordinarily be required to take (such as Guard or Steady/Warding Stance 4 for the reduced Special charge generation on enemies). 

• The +Eff refine is also generally better than either a +Def or +Res refine since the Atk-4 debuff reduces incoming damage by the same amount. However, this does mean that Beruka misses out on extra Bonfire/Ignis damage or extra visible Resistance to deal with incoming AoE Specials.

Assist: Reposition

Special: Ignis / Noontime

• Ignis is Beruka’s Special of choice, as it will do considerable damage thanks to her high Defense stat. It also helps alleviate her fairly low Attack.

• Noontime is a good Special to run if using Beruka as a superunit in Aether Raids to help increase her survivability, which is particularly important to help keep her HP at or above 50% to maintain her weapon’s effect.

Passive A: Distant Counter

• Distant Counter is a key component of this build, and is mostly viable due to the effect of a refined Beruka’s Axe. Having a Guard effect built-in allows Beruka to forgo skills like Guard or Steady/Warding Stance 4, which frees her up to use Distant Counter. This also means that she is free to use the Iote’s Shield Seal without having to make a considerable sacrifice in her build.

Passive B: Quick Riposte / Renewal

• Quick Riposte is vitally important on Beruka as otherwise her Speed is too low to be able to consistently double her opponents.

• If opting to use Quick Riposte as her Seal, then Beruka can use Renewal to help keep her HP at or above 50%.

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Pulse Smoke / Flexible

• Beruka’s C skill isn’t particularly important for this build, and can freely be replaced as needed to suit the team.

Sacred Seal: Iote’s Shield / Quick Riposte / Renewal

• The built-in Guard effect of a refined Beruka’s Axe allows Beruka to run the Iote’s Shield Sacred Seal to deal with archers without having to sacrifice her ability to negate enemy Specials.

• Alternatively, Beruka can use either the Quick Riposte or Renewal Sacred Seals, whichever she isn’t using as her B skill, to help keep her HP high enough to maintain her weapon.

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

• Increasing Beruka’s Defense is always a good option to make her both a better physical tank as well as adding to her Bonfire or Ignis damage.

• +RES is worth consideration because Beruka’s low Speed and Resistance make her vulnerable to fast magic damage dealers, though this is less of a concern when she isn’t using Distant Counter.

• +ATK is a bit greedier than +DEF or +RES but can work with good team support (such as Ward Fliers stacking).

Weapon: Beruka’s Axe (+Eff)

• Beruka’s Axe is almost unquestionably her best weapon option for the vast majority of her builds, as its various benefits allow her to forgo other skills that she’d ordinarily be required to take (such as Guard or Steady/Warding Stance 4 for the reduced Special charge generation on enemies). 

• The +Eff refine is also generally better than either a +Def or +Res refine since the Atk-4 debuff reduces incoming damage by the same amount. However, this does mean that Beruka misses out on extra Bonfire/Ignis damage or extra visible Resistance to deal with incoming AoE Specials.

Assist: Reposition

Special: Ignis

• Ignis is Beruka’s Special of choice, as it will do considerable damage thanks to her high Defense stat. It also helps alleviate her fairly low Attack.

Passive A: Close Def / Fort. Def/Res

• Opting to not use Distant Counter means that Beruka is free to greatly increase her overall bulk with skills like Close Def or Fort Def/Res. 

• Close Def is generally a bit better for Beruka due to not reducing her Attack, but Fort Def/Res allows Beruka to keep the defensive stats on Player Phase as well as increases her visible Resistance to help survive enemy AoE Specials.

Passive B: Quick Riposte / Renewal

• Quick Riposte is vitally important on Beruka as otherwise her Speed is too low to be able to consistently double her opponents.

• If opting to use Quick Riposte as her Seal, then Beruka can use Renewal to help keep her HP at or above 50%.

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Flexible

• Beruka’s C skill isn’t particularly important for this build, and can freely be replaced as needed to suit the team.

Sacred Seal: Close Def / Quick Riposte / Renewal

• Beruka’s lack of Distant Counter means that she shouldn’t be getting attacked by archers, so there’s not much reason to put Iote’s Shield on her.

• Close Def is a fantastic option that increases Beruka’s mixed bulk even further against melee threats.

• Alternatively, Beruka can use either the Quick Riposte or Renewal Sacred Seals, whichever she isn’t using as her B skill, to help keep her HP high enough to maintain her weapon.