GamePress
Analysis by ZeShado
Erk - Studious Mage

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
165
HP 45
ATK 35
SPD 39
DEF 19
RES 27

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 6 8 5 7
Middle 19 7 9 6 8
High 20 8 10 7 9

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 42 32 36 15 24
Middle 45 35 39 19 27
High 48 38 43 22 31

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

“Oh, hi there, Erk!” said Serra. Erk does not respond. “You should be thanking me. I’m the one who got you into this outfit. In fact, you should be terribly grateful to me!” said Serra. “...Well, you did introduce me to Lord Eliwood..." (Player Phase Set)

Build by ZeShado
Recommended
Rauðrfox+ (+Spd) A Flashing Blade (3 or 4)
Alternate: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Draw Back B Null Follow-Up 3
Alternate: Lull Atk/Res 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Moonbow
C Res Smoke 3
Alternate: Time's Pulse 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -DEF

SAtk/Spd Solo 3
Alternate: Swift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Rauðrfox+ (+Spd)

Assist: Draw Back / Flexible

Special: Glimmer / Moonbow / Iceberg / Luna

A Passive: Flashing Blade (3 or 4) / Swift Sparrow (2 or 3) / Atk/Spd Push 4 / Atk/Spd Solo (3 or 4) / Sturdy Impact / Mirror Impact / Fury (3 or 4)

B Passive: Null Follow-Up / Lull Atk/Res / Lull Atk/Spd / Desperation

C Passive: Res Smoke / Time’s Pulse / Spd Smoke

Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Solo / Spd/Res Solo / Flashing Blade / Swift Sparrow

  • Erk having a relatively great offensive statline means he can take full advantage of player phase skills that help bolster his player phase prowess. As such, it would be in Erk’s best interest to keep the weapon that he already comes with as the spectrum -4 debuff on the foe can help him secure more doubles and kills.
     
  • Depending on the rest of the kit, one can easily invest in a 2 CD or 3 CD special. For consistency, Erk can run Specials such as Glimmer and Moonbow. Glimmer is relatively good for Erk as his base ATK is decently high at a base of 35. Likewise, at lower merges, you can run Moonbow for foes that have above-average RES.
     
  • Because of his class type, Erk has access to a plethora of skills to compliment him in the player phase. Erk’s base SPD of 39 opens the door for running Flashing Blade 4 as his A Passive, which can lead to additional damage output thanks to the true damage as well as the additional CD it grants. Likewise, you can continue to invest in skills that raise his overall ATK and SPD such as with Swift Sparrow. And to top it all off, you can’t go wrong with an Impact skill as that will help with Erk’s longevity or Fury for budget purposes.
     
  • One of Erk’s best B Passives would have to be Null Follow-Up due to how high his base SPD is. This skill will be imperative against foes that prevent Erk from doubling and while his base ATK is good, it’s not enough to reliably OHKO. Likewise, if he ends up missing the kill against a foe that can make guaranteed follow-up attacks, there is a good possibility that he will fall in that combat unless either running an Impact or Null Follow-Up. Of course, if you aren’t terribly worried about that, you can always run a Lull skill to further bolster his offensive prowess, and if on a budget, Fury with Desperation never hurts.
     
  • For more damage output, you can run any of the following C Passives. Res Smoke is a staple choice as it makes it easier to take down opponents with higher RES stats. Of course, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue as is, but this helps secure kills more often than not. Likewise, you can run Time’s Pulse and give Erk the ability to run 3 CD specials. This would have to combo with Flashing Blade as going up against foes that cannot counterattack will render the pulse worthless. And for budget purposes, you can’t go wrong with Spd Smoke as that can help secure even more doubles.
     
  • Finally, there are the sacred seals, which depending on what Erk is already running in his kit, can be flexible. If Erk is already running Flashing Blade as his A Passive, skills such as Atk/Spd Solo, Spd/Res Solo, and Swift Sparrow are good picks for his seal. Otherwise, Flashing Blade as his seal is a perfect fit for 2 CD special spamming.

Pink-Haired Cleric Repellent (Enemy Phase Set)

Build by ZeShado
Unity Blooms+ (+Res)
Alternate: Rauðrserpent+ (+Res)
A Mirror Stance 3
Alternate: Close Foil
Draw Back B Null Follow-Up 3
Alternate: Null C-Disrupt 3
Noontime
Alternate: Glimmer
C Atk Smoke 3
Alternate: Res Smoke 3
IVs

+RES / -DEF

SSpd/Res Solo 3
Alternate: Mystic Boost 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Unity Blooms+ (+Spd or +Res) / Rauðrserpent+ (+Spd or +Res)

Assist: Draw Back / Flexible

Special: Noontime / Glimmer / Moonbow / Glacies

A Passive: Mirror Stance 3 / Close Foil / Distant Def (3 or 4) / Spd/Res Solo

B Passive: Null Follow-Up / Null C-Disrupt / Lull Atk/Spd / Lull Atk/Res

C Passive: Atk Smoke / Res Smoke / Joint Drive Atk / Joint Drive Res / Joint Drive Spd

Sacred Seal: Mystic Boost / Spd/Def Solo / Spd/Res Solo / Atk/Def Solo / Quick Riposte

  • Thanks to Erk’s boon in RES grants four points instead of three, he can easily invest into a mage tank role. However, due to the lack of red tome options, Erk is either forced to run Unity Blooms+ or Rauðrserpent+. Unity Blooms+ is the preferred choice as it not only debuffs the foe for ATK and RES, effectively giving Erk additional ATK, DEF, and RES, but it also heals for four per hit. However, as a budget tome, Rauðrserpent+ is not a bad option by any means.
     
  • Because this set focuses on the foe initiating combat, Erk has more flexibility in his Specials. For a standard set, Erk can run 2 CD Specials such as Noontime and Moonbow. Noontime is usually preferred as he’ll be able to bolster his survivability. However, because it would trigger after the first hit, Erk would not be healing as much as he could be. As a result, it’s recommended that Erk gets some support to accelerate his CD, whether that’s with Infantry Flash from a support unit or New Year Velouria. The latter opens up the possibility for Glacies procs as that grants, what is basically, Breath on Erk.
     
  • Depending on what types of foes you would want Erk to enemy phase, you can either invest into skills that raise his overall ATK and RES stats or give him Close Foil for melee countering. Mirror Stance 3 is generally the better go-to skill for mage tanking as it not only slows the cooldown reduction of the foe but also bolsters Erk’s ATK and RES, both stats that he should be receiving buffs for. Likewise, you can invest in Distant Def (3 or 4) as that will also help him deal with ranged threats. For more enemy phase coverage, you have Close Foil. The only feasible way I can recommend this skill over the others is only if Erk is running Unity Blooms+ and has a high merge count as his DEF stat is low. Moreover, Close Counter is not a recommended option as it doesn’t grant any DEF. If Unity Blooms+ is not an available option, then I would not recommend Close Foil.
     
  • Because Erk will be prioritizing his RES stat, he can easily pick up Null C-Disrupt as his B Passive. Most foes that tend to have some sort of Firesweep effect are stave wielders, which pairs perfectly for Erk as they will hit his RES stat. However, this can be a rather niche counter, so you can still stick with the staple Null Follow-Up for impact prevention and guaranteed follow-up prevention, or if you would rather run a Lull skill for more tanking/offensive prowess, you can always run Quick Riposte as his seal for impact negation.
     
  • Erk can either run a Smoke or a Joint as his C Passive. Smokes are a good pick for Erk as they can help him dish out more damage or tank more. Atk Smoke is one of the better picks as the Smoke of choice as it can help bolster his DEF and RES considerably, especially when paired with Unity Blooms+. Likewise, Res Smoke can help secure kills and since Erk will be investing in his defensive stat more than his ATK stat, it can definitely help out. As for other options, you can either run Joint Drive Atk, Spd, or Res. You’ll generally be nearby allies for supportive purposes, so running a Joint can help with that role even more. Depending on what you want to pursue, you can either use his C Passive to raise his ATK, SPD, or RES, all of which are equally good choices for all types of matchups.
     
  • And finally, Erk can run a plethora of seals that can either increase his tanking prowess or allow him to run damaging Specials. For tanking, Erk’s best options are Spd/Def Solo and Spd/Res Solo. Spd/Def Solo, combined with Close Foil, can allow him to take on some potential melee threats if needed. Of course, you can always run a Near Save ally and remove the need for Close Foil and the seal. Likewise, you can run Spd/Res solo, which helps bolster his RES stat even more and helps him double or Quick Riposte to bypass Impacts if you’re not running Null Follow-Up. Then, you have Mystic Boost. Mystic Boost can allow Erk to ditch healing Specials in favor of damaging ones as the 6 passive healing can work in his favor if up against mages, which Aether Raids is full of, and pairs well with Unity Blooms+ as that also heals damage for every hit dealt.

Strengths

High Speed

    Starting at a base of 39 SPD, Erk comes into the game as one of the fastest red mages to date. Moreover, taking a boon in SPD will raise it by an additional four points, further bolstering his already speedy nature. This can be especially handy with skills such as Null Follow-Up as, more often than not, Erk will have no trouble doubling his foe.

Infantry Skills

    Similarly, Erk has access to some of the best skills in the game thanks to his class type. This allows for more flexibility in his playstyle, whether that’s Null Follow-Up to compliment his greatly allocated SPD, Null C-Disrupt if the player wishes to invest into his workable RES stat or even skills such as Sturdy Impact and Time’s Pulse for more offensive prowess.

Weaknesses

Low Defense

    Despite his relatively high HP stat, having a base of 19 DEF can still leave him prone to OHKOs. It’s imperative that if taking on melee units that you either have the ability to prevent them from doubling, whether in the form of outspeeding or with NFU or have skills that help raise the DEF stat such as with Close Foil.

No PRF

    Having a relatively good statline can only take you so far when the amount of weapons that he can work with is rather limited. Of course, his player phase prowess is rather solid all things considered, and being that he comes with Rauðrfox+, there’s little need to replace his weapon if focusing on player phase only. However, there are units of his kind that not only outperform him in the player phase thanks to their PRF but also have prowess in the enemy phase. As a result, he doesn’t stand out in any way beyond his statline. 

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Fire
Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Red Tome Users Only
50 2 4
Elfire
Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Red Tome Users Only
100 2 6
Rauðrfox

If unit initiates combat, inflicts Atk/Spd/Def/Res-4 on foe during combat.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Red Tome Users Only
200 2 8
Rauðrfox+

If unit initiates combat, inflicts Atk/Spd/Def/Res-4 on foe during combat.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Red Tome Users Only
300 2 12
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
New Moon

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.

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

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 2

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Spd/Res Solo 1

If unit is not adjacent to an ally, grants Spd/Res+2 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
A
Spd/Res Solo 2

If unit is not adjacent to an ally, grants Spd/Res+4 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
A
Spd/Res Solo 3

If unit is not adjacent to an ally, grants Spd/Res+6 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
A
Spd Opening 1

At start of turn, grants Spd+2 to ally with the highest Spd for 1 turn. (Excludes unit.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
60
C
Spd Opening 2

At start of turn, grants Spd+4 to ally with the highest Spd for 1 turn. (Excludes unit.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
C
Spd Opening 3

At start of turn, grants Spd+6 to ally with the highest Spd for 1 turn. (Excludes unit.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

Banners Featured In