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Analysis by Chibi_Chu
Boey - Skillful Survivor

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
149
HP 43
ATK 29
SPD 27
DEF 32
RES 18

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 6 4 7 4
Middle 19 7 5 8 5
High 20 8 6 9 6

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 40 25 23 29 14
Middle 43 29 27 32 18
High 46 32 30 35 21

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

Skill Sets

I'll take on anything! ...except Dragons (Enemy-Phase Generalist)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Inscribed Tome (+Eff) A Steady Stance 4
Alternate: Warding Stance 4
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Null C-Disrupt 3
Bonfire C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Atk Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +DEF / -SPD

SFierce Stance 3
Alternate: Renewal 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF / -SPD

  • For a general defensive set, an asset in Attack or a defensive stat is nearly always favored to help the unit tank better and deal more damage on enemy phase, and Boey is no exception. In this case, since Boey focuses much more on Defense than Resistance, +DEF is chosen over +RES. However, if the player wants to turn Boey into a mixed tank with Warding Stance 4 and Bond skills that increase Resistance, then +RES can be a nice alternative. -Speed is chosen because Boey will be unable to double most enemies due to his mediocre 27 base Speed, along with his reliance on Quick Riposte to double on Enemy-Phase anyways.

Weapon: Inscribed Tome (+Eff) 

  • As the name suggests, this set capitalizes on Inscribed Tome’s unique refine to counter every weapon type in the game except Dragons (Null C-Disrupt can be used to counter Dazzling Staff healers). Gaining Close Counter against most melee weapons is incredibly beneficial to Boey. Since his Defense and HP are both pretty solid, he performs well as a physical tank on Enemy-Phase. Gaining Weapon Triangle advantage against Colorless units is also nice for Boey, as it allows him to deal more damage to more enemies.

Assist: Reposition / Flexible 

Special: Bonfire 

  • Without any buffs or a Defense asset, Boey is already dealing an extra 16 damage every time Bonfire is activated. This can reach even more impressive values with the help of Defense-increasing skills such as Sturdy/Steady Stance and Atk/Def Bond, and it can be activated in one combat if no Guard or Special Fighter is active on the enemy and both the enemy and Boey double (Quick Riposte).

Passive A: Steady Stance 4 / Warding Stance 4 / Bonus Doubler / Sturdy Stance / Triangle Adept

  • While Steady/Warding Stance 4 are extremely expensive and rare, they’re excellent for Boey, as they increase his Defense/Resistance by 8 and grant him the Guard effect if the enemy initiates combat against him. The best way for physical units to rip through Boey’s Defense is with specials (especially Moonbow and Luna), but that can be slowed with Steady/Warding Stance 4. Which one to use is the player’s choice based on skill availability and whether they want Boey to focus solely on Defense or become a mixed tank.

  • Bonus Doubler can increase Boey’s stats to very respectable amounts depending on his buffs. If Bonus Doubler is being used, Boey can avoid being doubled, so -SPD can be replaced by -RES or -HP.

  • Sturdy Stance increases Boey’s Attack and Defense by 4 if the enemy initiates against him, allowing him to have a stronger Enemy-Phase.

  • The Triangle Adept + Gronnraven+ combination can counter many of the most prevalent Aether Raids units such as Brave Veronica, Reinhardt, Brave Lyn, Legendary Azura, and Legendary Alm. Triangle Adept not only allows him to score more kills since his Attack is so middling, but also allows him to tank units that he might not be able to tank normally even with color advantage, such as Reinhardt.

Passive B: Quick Riposte / Null C-Disrupt / Guard

  • Due to his poor base Speed, Quick Riposte is nearly always necessary to double on Enemy-Phase. Doubling on Enemy-Phase allows him to dish out more damage and activate Bonfire if his enemy doubles and they don’t have Guard or Special Fighter.

  • Alternatively, Null C-Disrupt allows Boey to take advantage of his Inscribed Tome’s Raven effect against Dazzling Staff healers, Firesweep weapons, and Watersweep. However, this does mean Boey must run Quick Riposte as his Sacred Seal. 

  • While not as consistent or versatile and completely useless if running Steady/Warding Stance 4, Guard can be nice to slow the charge of enemies’ specials, since he’ll be enemy-phasing a lot of enemies.

Passive C: Attack Smoke / Pulse Smoke / Odd/Even Attack Wave / Odd/Even Defense Wave

  • C skills are usually flexible and dependent on Boey’s teammates. However, Attack Smoke and Pulse Smoke are universally beneficial and are most useful for Boey in order to tank better on Enemy-Phase.

Sacred Seal: Fierce Stance / Renewal / Quick Riposte

  • Because Boey’s Attack is so middling and he wants to increase his damage output as much as he can, Fierce Stance is chosen to increase damage by 6 per hit on Enemy-Phase.

  • If the player is concerned about Boey dropping out of the 70% HP threshold for Quick Riposte, Renewal can be run to give him some sustainability and if necessary, flee/stall so he can restore enough HP to be in Quick Riposte range again.

  • Finally, if Null C-Disrupt or Guard is run as his B slot, Boey needs to run Quick Riposte as his Sacred Seal so he can double on Enemy-Phase. Doubling on Enemy-Phase is absolutely vital for Boey’s damage output.

Beast Slayer (Anti-Meta)

Build by raelet
Inscribed Tome (+Eff) A Triangle Adept 3
Positional Assist B Null Follow-Up 3
Alternate: Chill Res 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Bonfire
C Rouse Atk/Def 3
Alternate: Odd Atk Wave 3
IVs

+ATK / - RES

SAtk/Def Solo 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Inscribed Tome (+EFF)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow

Passive A: Triangle Adept

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Guard

Passive C: Rouse Atk/Def / Odd Atk Wave

Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Quick Riposte

  • Boey is a surprisingly strong anti-meta unit who is capable of counterattacking and defeating common overwhelming threats like Ophelia and Fallen Edelgard
  • This build relies on little expensive inheritance, with Null Follow-Up playing a crucial part in allowing him to counterattack twice and KO Fallen Edelgard without needing to run Quick Riposte. This allows him to pick up the stronger Atk/Def Solo in his seal slot, which helps him to survive and counterattack.
  • This build also can defeat units like Brave Alm, Ninja Lyn, and other eyesores, simply by stacking Attack and Defense and utilizing Triangle Adept for a severe 40% buff due to the Inscribed Tome's Weapon Triangle Advantage.
  • A cheaper build would be to use Guard and Quick Riposte, but Boey would likely need a bit more of an Attack buff in order to KO a fully kitted Edelgard and may need some investment in the form of merges or dragonflowers.

Strengths

Counter Meta

While Boey isn't exactly the greatest unit in the world, he can do surprisingly well as a counter-meta unit. A fully kitted Boey is capable of defeating units such as Fallen Edelgard, a notably hard unit to handle.

Inscribed Tome

Boey’s Inscribed Tome allows him to counter against all melee units with the exception of Dragons. With what’s practically Close Counter and a Raven effect built into his weapon, he can use his A slot to gain some much needed stat increases. Inscribed Tome also synergizes really nicely with his high Defense and HP, allowing Boey to be a fantastic physical tank both up close and at range.

Weaknesses

Poor offenses

Boey’s Attack and Speed are laughably mediocre at 29 and 27 at neutral respectively. Due to this, he practically can’t run a player-phase set, since he just won’t have the damage and doubling ability to pull it off. While his low Speed can be somewhat worked around with the help of Quick Riposte, his low Attack severely damages his viability, since he’ll need it regardless of what type of set he’ll be using.

Low magical bulk

While Boey’s HP is quite high for a mage at 43 at neutral, his Resistance is the opposite, sitting at a puny 18 at neutral. Since he’ll be getting doubled frequently, his magical bulk drops to a pitiful 39, although it can be increased with Speed and Resistance buffs.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Wind
Green Tome Users Only
50 2 4
Elwind
Learns by default at 3 ★
Green Tome Users Only
100 2 6
Gronnowl

During combat, unit's Atk/Spd/Def/Res boosted by number of adjacent allies x 2.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Green Tome Users Only
200 2 6
Gronnowl+

During combat, unit's Atk/Spd/Def/Res boosted by number of adjacent allies x 2.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Green Tome Users Only
300 2 10
Inscribed Tome

Grants weapon-triangle advantage against colorless foes, and inflicts weapon-triangle
disadvantage on colorless foes during combat

Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 2 14
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Glowing Ember

Boosts damage dealt by 50% of unit's Def.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100 4
Ignis

Boosts damage dealt by 80% of unit's Def.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 4

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Earth Boost 1

If unit has at least 3 more HP than enemy at the start of combat, unit receives Def+2 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
50
A
Earth Boost 2

If unit has at least 3 more HP than enemy at the start of combat, unit receives Def+4 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
100
A
Earth Boost 3

If unit has at least 3 more HP than enemy at the start of combat, unit receives def+6 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
A
Renewal 1

At the start of every fourth turn, restores 10 HP.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
B
Renewal 2

At the start of every third turn, restores 10 HP.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
B
Renewal 3

At the start of every second turn, restores 10 HP.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
B

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem Echoes
Fire Emblem Heroes

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Official Hero Artwork