Brave Hector

This build is made to maximize Hector's player phase and to ensure he fulfills the tank role to the max by protecting his allies from scary blows, though it requires premium fodder, I assure you that the results are absolutely massive. Not only is this good for PvP modes like Arena and Aether Raids, but it also absolutely demolishes 80% of the PVE content, yes, even the harder ones (Unless maybe for units with Null Follow-Up but let's be honest we already know that).

Maltet's Refine is absolutely needed to get the best results with this build thanks to all the effects it provides.

For his Assist you can use a Positional Assist or a Rally Assist for Arena Scoring. I tend to use Reposition but you can use whatever you feel like using.

In this build we use Sol, though it's a flexible choice depending on what you want. You need some extra damage to accompany that healing? Get Aether, but be mindful of itss longer charge which means less healing than with Sol in *most* cases, but not all of them. You want maximum damage efficiency and to get rid of threats faster? Get Bonfire, but you won't have much in terms of sustain which can be a problem when facing many enemies at once in enemy phase which Hector loves to do.

As an A skill we use Ostian Counter for obvious reasons, but now there's an extra incentive with the C skill we're going to use.

For the B skill Special Fighter is just the perfect fit for him, it makes his charge rate even faster and it slows the enemies' charge at the same time. It's a bit of an investment, but thanks to the 4 star focus it's easier to get thanks to Brave Ephraim. If for some reason you don't have it, you can use Vengeful Fighter instead, it's not even near the greatness but it fulfills the role of charging Hector's special on enemy phase.

Now, here's the main dish of the build: C skill, A/R Far Save. Now, this skill is absolutely nuts and it allows for so much freedom for your other units. Oh? You want to give your Hector heals and support but there's that pesky archer that one-shots you? No worries, Hector can take care of that. Oh? You decided to be a bit risky and kill a unit but you're still in range for that Lynja? Don't worry, Hector's already here to save you. It also allows you to manipulate the AI if you're the Player, because it makes the enemy position badly due to the AI not registering that they're going to get blocked by Hector.

This skill is so good I even gave it two paragraphs. It allows your other units to be wilder with positioning (as long as they're not in spaces that Hector cannot go, so be mindful of your fliers) while also giving Hector a noticeable damage boost and some needed resistance boost for those dangerous mages, making his enemy phase near unbeatable. Now, as good as this is, it has its setbacks. For one, it could potentially make your Hector tank hits he should otherwise avoid taking (But that isn't very often), and, as much as you can protect yourself from ranged attacks, those melee units will still be a threat, so ALWAYS focus on them first with the rest of your team in Player Phase so that Hector will take care of the rest in Enemy phase. And the major setback is that this skill is still only present on V!Henriette which is a special unit, thankfully my Henriette got bad IVs so I foddered her off without much thought, but for those who do want to use her this build might be a bit of a massive investment.

As an alternative you could run A/D Near Save. It isn't as fantastic for ally positioning as Far Save is, but there's always exceptions.

Finally, for a Sacred Seal we can run whatever we feel like. But if you want to absolutely maximize your ranged tanking then Distant Def is perfect. However, if you need more sustain than ranged tanking, you can use Mystic Boost. Maybe you can use even Atk Smoke 3. If you need mixed tanking you can use the Stance Sacred Seals. As I said, there's plenty of flexibility for this part of the build so be creative.

This build is to be used in conjunction with Brave Lucina. The point of crafty fighter is to make sure you kill those pesky Eliwoods and to fight through fast unit impacts like Legendary Dimitri or NY!Alfonse that rocks TP and a 2CD special (He has slaying). The added bonus of craft is no special acceleration for the enemy at a lower HP threshold. You can also swap Aether for Sol.

When I rejoined the game I hadn't learned about B!Veronica's OP'ness and her relevance in the meta... but I have managed to grab a +Atk+1 Veronica from banners and no other Hectors so I'm very pleased I chose him at the time, not to mention how much he helped me. ^_^
With his Refine he's even more amazing than ever, even without any altering to his kit.
If I could have the fodder I'd likely want to expand his skills (Aether, Special Figher, some other C skill), but I don't and this works wonders as is anyways :-D

Brave Hector is extremely powerful, due to his weapon refine.
This build is designed to improve his resistance, so that with support he can tank almost everything. Special Fighter 3 and Maltet allow a quick charge of Aether, thus Hector can cause serious damage and heal himself. His seal Mirror Stance 2 increases his magic bulk and atk in the enemy phase to tank and take down magic users. His C slot is flexible, but Joint Drive Atk is always a nice option, if you are using a mixed team.

Most of it is stock with the exception of his Assist, Special, C, and Seal skills. Reposition, Panic Ploy 3, and Armored Boots make him more viable in my main team built around the Tactic skills (Atk Tactic, Spd Tactic, etc.)

Although Aether is not optimal in PvP game modes, it helps out a lot with grittier game modes (i.e. Tempest Trials, Grand Conquest, and Abyssal Legendary/Mythic Hero maps).