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Analysis by lordhelpme
Chrom - Exalted Prince

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
157
HP 47
ATK 37
SPD 25
DEF 31
RES 17

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 20 8 5 6 3
Middle 21 9 6 7 4
High 22 10 7 8 5

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 44 34 22 28 13
Middle 47 37 25 31 17
High 50 40 29 34 20

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

Dancing Blade (High-Investment Speed Tank)

Build by lordhelpme
Recommended
Sealed Falchion (+Eff) A Distant Counter
Positional Assist B Spurn 3
Noontime
Alternate: Sol
C Joint Drive Spd
Alternate: Spd Smoke 3
IVs

+SPD / -HP

SSpd/Res Solo 3
Alternate: Atk/Spd Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Sealed Falchion (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist  / Flexible

Special: Noontime / Sol

Passive A: Distant Counter

Passive B: Spurn / Repel / Close Call

Passive C: Joint Drive Spd / Spd Smoke / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Spd/Res Solo / Atk/Spd Solo

  • This build retains Chrom’s typical defensive playstyle, but instead aims to do so through Speed-stacking to leverage damage reduction-based skills like Spurn. His initially unimpressive base Speed may make this seem unwieldy, but his access to numerous Speed boosts — such as from his four-point +SPD IV, Blessings, and Sealed Falchion — does certainly make this a possibility. 
    • That being said, for Chrom to truly shine and be effective with this set, heavy investment will be necessary. This means incorporating a mix of high merges, Summoner Support, Dragonflowers, and his Resplendent if available alongside support from his allies. 
  • The success of this build lies in the usage of a Speed-based reduction skill in Chrom’s B slot, which directly decrease the amount of damage he takes from opposing foes (up to a maximum of 40%) based on how much faster he is; this makes any available Speed boost well appreciated. Of those available, Spurn is generally ideal as it also aids his damage, but Repel or Close Call nonetheless remain useful if Spurn is unavailable.
  • Combining this reduction with Distant Counter and healing Specials help him maximize his versatility, expanding the breadth of foes he can handle effectively while providing ample sustain to supplement his tanking. If accelerated cooldown support from Brave Lucina’s refined Geirskögul or New Year Velouria’s Renewed Fang is available, Noontime is preferred for instant activations on each counterattack. Otherwise, Sol should be used.
  • For his C slot, Joint Drive Spd is a stellar option to build upon the Exalted Prince’s Speed further and solidify his performance across the board. Spd Smoke is a more readily available alternative that serves a similar purpose, but comes with the drawback of needing Chrom to engage in combat at least once first to reap benefits. 
  • Lastly, any Sacred Seal that enhances Chrom’s Speed can realistically be used here, though Solo skills are the best available for their dual phase functionality and high overall boosts. His innate damage output is typically strong enough such that Spd/Res Solo is preferred to try to patch up his magical bulk, but Atk/Spd Solo works well regardless.

Fall with Grace (Defensive Generalist)

Build by lordhelpme
Recommended
Sealed Falchion (+Eff) A Distant Counter
Positional Assist B Null C-Disrupt 3
Alternate: Special Spiral 3
Noontime
Alternate: Sol
C Joint Drive Atk
Alternate: Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +RES / -HP

SQuick Riposte 3
Alternate: Mirror Stance 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IV: +ATK or +RES / -HP

Weapon: Sealed Falchion (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist / Flexible

Special: Noontime / Sol

Passive A: Distant Counter 

Passive B: Null C-Disrupt / Special Spiral / Null Follow-Up / Lull Atk/Def

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Pulse Smoke / Def Smoke / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Mirror Stance / Atk/Def Solo / Fierce Stance / Mystic Boost

  • This build instead capitalizes on Chrom’s innate statline and the widespread improvements granted by his refined Sealed Falchion to perform admirably as more of a generalist. A +ATK IV is Chrom’s ideal choice for boosted damage and effectiveness at using healing Specials, though the ubiquity of magic threats in Aether Raids makes +RES potentially worthwhile as well.
  • Distant Counter once again remains Chrom’s preferred A skill for maximum versatility, and healing Specials are recommended to further boost his longevity. The choice between Noontime and Sol depends on whether he has access to accelerated cooldown support (such as from Brave Lucina).
  • Meanwhile, his B skill options are diverse and depend on skill availability and the type of utility one prefers:
    • Null C-Disrupt stands out amongst other candidates to shut down the common threats of Dazzling Staff healers and/or Firesweep weapons — the likes of which can easily cripple him through their counterattack-negating ability. 
    • Special Spiral works excellently for more one-shot oriented playstyles and allow for instant Sol activations on Chrom’s first counterattack every round of combat; this serves to maximize the amount of HP he can heal. 
    • Although Sealed Falchion’s follow-up negation effect does help counter foes that rely on automatic doubles, Null Follow-Up remains an stellar B skill to instead guarantee Chrom’s ability to work around Impact effects if using the Quick Riposte seal. 
    • Lastly, Lull Atk/Def is another option to further improve Chrom’s bulk and damage. It also allows him to break through enemy bonuses, though this may not be particularly valuable in AR-O given the lack of visible buffs in Defense teams.
  • Joint Drive Atk is a fantastic choice to heighten Chrom’s damage even further, secure more KOs and greater healing from Sol/Noontime. If Infantry Pulse teams are a common threat in your Offense runs, Pulse Smoke should be considered to effectively shut them down. Regular stat-targeting Smoke skills work well for general purposes as well. 
  • The Quick Riposte Sacred Seal grants Chrom some wiggle room and makes him less dependent on OHKOing foes by providing an automatic follow-up in the Enemy Phase. Alternatively, Mystic Boost imparts additional healing and anti-magic capabilities, thus lending itself well to this playstyle, or standard stat-boosting seals may be used.

Strengths

Sealed Falchion

Although Chrom already had an exclusive weapon in his native Falchion, he received a new lease on life through access to his mounted counterpart’s refined Sealed Falchion. The most meaningful aspect of this weapon is its crucial ability to deny his foe’s follow-up attack, helping mitigate considerable damage and lending itself perfectly to his preferred playstyle. This also comes with the benefit of safeguarding him somewhat from foes with built-in doubles without outright needing Null Follow-Up

Combined with its massive stat boosts, improved activation requirement, and bonus damage against dragons, Sealed Falchion ensures that Chrom’s performance sees notable advancement across all fronts. 

Great Attack

Despite being available since launch, the Exalted Prince boasts rather formidable Attack even by current standards. This alongside the effective +10 Attack boost he obtains via Sealed Falchion provides Chrom excellent raw firepower to quickly leave large dents in enemy HP pools, if not outright OHKO — especially when granted the proper support and investment. 

Strong Physical Bulk

Chrom’s base Defense is fairly decent and is padded an ample amount by his high HP pool, allowing him to stand relatively tall against incoming physical threats. Although the threat of enemy doubles due to his low Speed previously made his durability against even physical damage questionable, Sealed Falchion’s built-in follow-up negation and +10 Defense boost rectifies this substantially. 

Infantry Benefits 

The main advantage of Chrom’s infantry status is his accordingly immense skill accessibility. Although his defensively-inclined statline and lack of range renders it a little difficult to fully exploit this for greater build variety, it remains an overwhelming strength in his favor; being able to equip skills such as Special Spiral, Spurn, and Null C-Disrupt helps his performance stand out much more compared to if he were mounted.

Fantastic Availability 

Chrom’s current availability in the 3-4* makes acquiring merges and the ideal IV set a simple task compared to his higher rarity counterparts — a useful advantage given how well his performance scales with investment. Chrom also been in the game since launch, so most are likely to have at least a couple or more copies of the prince lying around in their barracks.

Weaknesses

Horrible Resistance

Although Sealed Falchion’s refine improved upon numerous aspects of Chrom’s design, his Resistance was certainly not one of them. With only a meager +5 boost to offset its poor base value of 17, Chrom is still incredibly fragile to magical damage and will incur substantial wounds from sources of it, making it crucial that the proper precaution is used.

Thankfully, his bloated HP pool and ability to avoid enemy doubles does lower his risk of being simply ORKO’d by a significant degree compared to before. 

Strong Competition

Infantry sword users comprise an exceedingly bloated pool of units, and their numbers are only going to continue rising as time progresses. With such stiff competition, it may be a struggle to justify using Chrom or investing in him at all—especially compared to newer infantry sword units who tend to either be much better generalists or offer stronger specialization. 

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Sword
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
50 1 6
Steel Sword
Learns by default at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
100 1 8
Silver Sword
Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
200 1 11
Falchion (Awakening)

Effective against dragons. At the start of every third turn, unit recovers 10 HP.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Daylight

Restores HP = 30% of damage dealt.

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

Restores HP = 50% of damage dealt.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 3
Aether

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 50% during combat. Restores HP = half of damage dealt.

Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
500 5

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Defiant Def 1

Grants Def+3 at start of turn if unit's HP < 50%

Inheritable by all units.
40
A
Defiant Def 2

Grants Def+5 at start of turn if unit's HP < 50%

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
80
A
Defiant Def 3

Grants Def+7 at start of turn if unit's HP < 50%

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
160
A
Spur Def 1

Grants Def+2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
50
C
Spur Def 2

Grants Def+3 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
100
C
Spur Def 3

Grants Def+4 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Awakening

Banners Featured In

Official Hero Artwork