Bridal Charlotte

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK or +DEF / -RES
• Weapon: Slaying Lance (+Spd/+Atk/+Def) / Slaying Spear (+Eff)
• Assist: Reposition / Smite / Reciprocal Aid / Flexible
• Special: Aether / Luna / Moonbow
• Passive A: Steady Breath / Steady Stance / Close Def / Fury
• Passive B: Quick Riposte / Lancebreaker / Renewal
• Passive C: Panic Ploy / Infantry Pulse / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Close Def

One of Charlotte’s biggest advantages is the fact that her high Attack and good Speed, when combined with her decent Defense and excellent HP, make her a considerable offensive presence -- without the need to compromise her ability to take hits. Unlike most physically tanky units, she does not have to rely on Special procs in order to deal damage, meaning that she is not shut down by units carrying Guard.

For choice of IVs, +SPD along with a Speed refine on Charlotte’s weapon is recommended to deny follow-ups from speedy threats like Ayra. If Charlotte will be mostly facing Bold Fighter wielding armors, however, it is advisable to invest in her Attack or Defense instead. The matchups Charlotte will face also informs her choice of weapon. Speed stacking is not advisable against foes that can perform doubles regardless, so it’s a better choice to directly invest in Charlotte’s Attack or Defense. While the Slaying Lance’s cooldown reduction is consistently excellent, against armored foes the Slaying Spear will deal effective damage -- and will also nullify buffs with the proper refine -- making it a viable option. Assist choice is flexible between support skills such as Rallies, a sustain skill like Reciprocal Aid, or a movement skill like Reposition.

Charlotte’s chosen Special should directly depend on her A slot skill. Aether becomes viable due to the cooldown reduction effect of Steady Breath and the Slaying Lance, while lower cooldown Specials should be used if she’s using an alternative A skill. Luna and Moonbow are good choices since they scale based on the opponent’s Defense, making them effective wallbreakers.

If Steady Breath is unavailable, Steady Stance 4 is also a comparable option that turns most melee units into defensive walls, providing a huge Defense boost and Guard effect. Fury is another choice that is more easily accessible, giving Charlotte a flat +3 boost to her Attack, Speed, Defense, and Resistance that she can take excellent advantage of. Every recommended A skill also synergizes well with the Close Def seal, granting Charlotte considerable effectiveness when facing against melee foes.

B skills can largely vary. Quick Riposte guarantees Charlotte’s follow-ups on Enemy Phase, while Lancebreaker enables her to battle threats such as Effie, Brave Lucina, Legendary Ephraim, and Ephraim. Renewal grants her greater self-sustain and has a higher SP cost, making it more heavily weighted in the Arena.

For C skills, Charlotte can provide excellent team support due to her high HP. For Slaying Lance builds, Panic Ploy allows Charlotte to reverse an enemy’s Hones and Fortifies. Alternatively, if Charlotte has the highest base HP value on her team, Infantry Pulse can allow her to accelerate her allies’ cooldown on the first turn of the match.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -RES
• Weapon: Brave Lance
• Assist: Reposition / Draw Back / Smite / Flexible
• Special: Luna / Draconic Aura / Moonbow / Glimmer
• Passive A: Deathblow / Atk/Spd Solo
• Passive B: Hit and Run / Drag Back / Lancebreaker
• Passive C: Panic Ploy / Infantry Pulse / Threaten Def / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Attack +3 / Quickened Pulse

Given Charlotte’s high Attack, it logically follows that she would be able to quite effectively run a straightforward Brave build.

The chosen IV for this set seeks to maximize Charlotte’s Attack without further lowering her Speed. This is done to avoid follow ups from any unit with 34 Speed or less, and since Charlotte should not be baiting mages anyways with this build, her Resistance can be safely decreased.

The Brave Lance is an obvious choice for weaponry, granting Charlotte the ability to hit a foe twice on Player Phase for massive damage. The low MT of this weapon is mitigated through Charlotte’s IV, her seal, as well as skills like Death Blow or Atk/Spd Solo. Atk/Spd Solo mitigates the Speed penalty from the Brave Lance and is a strong A slot contender for offensive heroes  - especially if your team formation is based on Tactic buffs or has little regard for ally support positioning.

For choice of Special, Luna is preferred due to its heftier damage output in the long run, but Moonbow makes for a great first-turn damage burst when paired with the Quickened Pulse seal. Draconic Aura and Glimmer are alternatives that scale off of Charlotte’s Attack instead of the foes’ Defense, making them more effective against certain foes.

Hit and Run (or Drag Back for anyone who is lacking in Clairs) is a great skill for Brave users, allowing them to retreat once they’ve attacked and potentially be Repositioned or Swapped behind a waiting tank. Lancebreaker is an alternative choice that swings matchups against fellow lance users in Charlotte’s favor.

Infantry Pulse and Panic Ploy are amazing support skills that activate based on Charlotte’s high HP, but Threaten Def is a solid budget option.

•  Preferred IV: +SPD / -RES
• Weapon: Firesweep Lance
• Assist: Pivot / Swap / Flexible
• Special: Luna / Draconic Aura
• Passive A: Life and Death / Atk/Spd Solo / Swift Sparrow
• Passive B: Chill Spd / Hit and Run / Drag Back
• Passive C: Spd Smoke / Threaten Spd / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Speed +3

Like most Firesweep builds on units with mid-to-high Speed, this build seeks to to boost her Speed and Attack to deny and perform heavily damaging follow-ups. She’s enabled to do this through stat boosts and debuffs, which in most circumstances allow her to power through other speedy threats.

A +SPD/-RES IV is an obvious choice here, allowing Charlotte to further dump her Resistance and boost her Speed to a respectable 35. With Life and Death and the Speed +3 seal, this stat is raised to 43, allowing her to perform doubles on any unit with 38 or less Speed -- meanwhile, her Attack rests at a respectable value of 51. This comes at the cost of reducing her defensive stats and making her more fragile, though this isn’t as much as a problem as it could be due to Charlotte’s massive HP pool. Atk/Spd Solo offers a comparable effect though it is only active when the unit is adjacent to an ally, therefore requiring more planning in both battlefield position and team composition. Swift Sparrow is an acceptable, risk-free alternative that provides a weaker boost than its two counterparts.

Firesweep weapons continue to be great options for offensively-oriented units, allowing them to attack without being retaliated upon -- though the trade-off is that their Enemy Phase presence becomes non-existent. For this reason, Life and Death paradoxically becomes more defensively-oriented than other skills on Firesweep units, allowing said unit to dodge more follow-ups (except in the case of Brave weapons and Bold Fighter armors).

For assists, Pivot or Swap may help Charlotte in retreating further than she’d normally be able to. If she is able to poke a foe and then retreat behind a tank, she could aid a team in netting a key KO or swinging a matchup back into the team’s favor. Choice of Assist is flexible though, and can easily be changed to suit a team’s needs.

Chill Spd is now one of the best B slot skills for most Firesweep users, inflicting a devastating -7 Speed debuff to the fastest opponent on the enemy's team at the start of every turn. In particular, Chill Spd can net Charlotte key matchups against units like Soleil and Ayra. Hit and Run and Drag Back are good alternatives for Firesweep users, however, allowing them to retreat after attacking and be swapped or repositioned to safety. If used in conjunction with units possessing Earth / Water Boost, Steady / Warding Breath, Steady / Warding Stance, or the Close Def skill / seal, Charlotte is able to heavily damage foes and then hide behind her allies who will take negligible damage on Enemy Phase.

Spd Smoke allows Charlotte to provide support by debuffing surrounding foes once she attacks, adding to her bulk by allowing her to avoid follow-ups. Threaten Spd is a passable alternative, as it directly debuffs the foes Charlotte will likely be targeting if they are in-range.

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK or +DEF or +HP / -RES or -HP
• Weapon: First Bite (+Spd/+Def)
• Assist: Reciprocal Aid
• Special: Moonbow / Glimmer
• Passive A: Fury / Wind Boost
• Passive B: Vantage
• Passive C: Atk Smoke / Threaten Atk
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte

As an option for summoners on a budget, this build seeks to take advantage of as many aspects of Charlotte’s base kit as possible.

For IVs, almost any Boon will work. For Banes, -RES or -HP are obviously ideal, but any barring -SPD or -ATK won’t hurt Charlotte’s effectiveness too much. First Bite is surprisingly effective when refined, granting Charlotte an extra stat boost and also buffing her and her allies within 2 spaces with +5 Defense / Resistance after combat where she attacks. Not only does this grant Charlotte the ability to provide team support, it also adds to her physical and magical bulk. When used in conjunction with Atk Smoke, the enemy’s team can find themselves heavily debuffed and struggling to deal damage. Her native Threaten Atk can also work here, although its debuff does not have nearly as large a range.

Refines can vary. +Spd is preferred due to it synergizing well with Fury / Wind Boost, while +Def serves to make Charlotte more tanky. Fury serves to boost Charlotte’s offensive and defensive capabilities at the cost of its recoil, while her native Wind Boost allows her to dodge doubles when it is active. If Charlotte possesses an HP bane, Fury is the clear choice, though either can be used assuming her high base HP is preserved.

Vantage -- when combined with the Quick Riposte seal -- allows Charlotte to perform guaranteed follow ups when above 70% HP and attack first when she is initiated upon when her HP is ≤ 75% of its total. If timed right, this will allow her to hit any melee unit who initiates upon her with a hefty Moonbow or Glimmer proc. Finally, Reciprocal Aid allows Charlotte to heal using an ally as an HP transfusion to re-activate Quick Riposte, or heal one of her allies with her large HP pool.