Fallen Hardin

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +RES or +DEF / -SPD
• Weapon: Gradivus
• Assist: Pivot / Swap
• Special: Aether / Ignis / Bonfire / Glimmer
• Passive A: Warding Breath / Steady Breath / Brazen Def/Res
• Passive B: Bold Fighter
• Passive C: Armor March / Ward Armor / Hone Armor 
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte

Thanks to Hardin's weapon Gradivus, the resistive power of Warding or Steady Breath, as well as the astounding power of Bold Fighter, Hardin has the ability to act as a fantastic fighter on both Player Phase and Enemy Phase.

For his assist, Hardin will usually prefer either Pivot or Swap, the most common options to aid slow armored units with their movement.

With all these Special-accelerating skills, the natural question becomes which Special to pick. Perhaps his strongest option, Hardin can proc Aether on every encounter when he is doubled and grants him welcome sustain. Ignis/Glacies activates for superior damage at similar intervals and lacks Aether's healing, but it will still activate when Hardin is not doubled. Bonfire/Iceberg is weaker, but will also activate on Player Phase so long as he is counterattacked. Glimmer grants Hardin an instant special retaliation and allows him to successfully secure one-hit-kills against Ayra or Bold Fighter Zelgius before they chunk Hardin hard with their own specials. Glimmer will also activate when Hardin initiates combat even against units that cannot counterattack, unlike Bonfire. 

Hardin makes great use of a Breath passive giving him amazing potential on both Player and Enemy Phase. With one of the highest Resistance stats among units with a Distant Counter weapon, Hardin exhibits himself as one of the greatest users of Warding Breath and is great at combating the rising popularity of red magic users like Winter Tharja and Eirika (SM). Of course, he is just fine with boosting his beefy Defense with Steady Breath. If building Hardin on a budget and unable to give him a Breath passive, stick with Glimmer for his Special, to ensure he is still activating a special on every Enemy Phase.

Bold Fighter is clearly the skill of choice for Hardin's B slot, and is what grants Hardin his astonishing Player Phase. It grants Hardin the ability to always perform a follow-up attack regardless of his Speed stat and also causes these blows to increase his Special charge by an extra point, widening the pool of Specials he is able to use. Not only is it one of the strongest skills available to armored units, but thankfully, he already comes packaged with it.

Performing best with an armor-centric team, it goes without surprise that Hardin's best C skill will be one that synergizes with other armored units. Armor March is Hardin's favorite option, as it is integral to his ability to effectively reach his targets on Player Phase, and Hardin's reliance on the Quick Riposte Sacred Seal prevents him from using the Armored Boots. If an ally is already granting him Armor March, Ward Armor is a common choice to bulk up his team even further. Hone Armor is also a fantastic choice for Hardin, particularly when used alongside a fast armored mage that can run a blade tome, like Halloween Henry.

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +RES or +DEF / -SPD
• Weapon: Gradivus
• Assist: Swap / Pivot
• Special: Aether / Ignis / Glimmer
• Passive A: Warding Breath / Steady Breath / Fury / Brazen Def/Res
• Passive B: Vengeful Fighter / Quick Riposte / Guard 
• Passive C: Def Ploy / Atk Ploy / Panic Ploy
• Sacred Seal: Distant Def / Close Def / Armored Boots / Quick Riposte

Incredible bulk on both ends of the spectrum allows Hardin to invest fully in his defenses on an Enemy Phase set.

Swap allows Hardin to slide himself into spaces occupied by allies and may be slightly preferred in a bait-centric set compared to Pivot.

Hardin's special choice is similar to the previous set. Aether continues to be used for self-healing, more easily allowing Hardin to fight in successive combats. Ignis remains the optimal nuke choice, easily reaching over 30 damage. In optimal situations, such as when paired with Def Ploy debuffs, it can even result in kills against green tanks such as Fallen Robin (M). Glimmer instead offers the instant retaliation to destroy threats such as Zelgius before activating Black Luna. Choose whichever best suits the threats Hardin is needed to cover.

Warding or Steady Breath is used for the much-needed cooldown acceleration, although skills that offer stat boosts in other situations such as Fury or his default Brazen Def/Res can be used on a budget.

Vengeful Fighter is the primary option for his B slot. While its cooldown acceleration property does not stack with Warding Breath, its larger HP threshold compared to Quick Riposte makes it the superior option, if the skill is available. If not, Quick Riposte will work all the same in the majority of cases. The secondary option here is Guard, which secures Hardin's matchups versus Special nukers like Reinhardt and Ayra. In such a case, Quick Riposte can easily be swapped to the Sacred Seal slot.

Hardin's fantastic Resistance also grants him the ability to use Def Ploy, a welcome source of extra damage. Paired with a Special, Hardin can easily breach the weapon triangle as his damage on activation can begin to breach the 70s or even 80s depending on which Special is used. Atk Ploy is another option that can help Hardin tank harder and keep his HP as close to full as he can manage. Panic Ploy is an interesting alternative that may also allow him to tank even green mages such as Nino without much fear when inflicted at the right time.

As an Enemy Phase defender, either Distant Def or Close Def are fantastic options for stacking even more armor on top of his already imposing bulk. Armored Boots can also work as a tool to allow Hardin to more easily get into a proper position at the start of a map. Of course, make sure to use Quick Riposte if neither it nor Vengeful Fighter is his B skill.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -SPD
• Weapon: Gradivus
• Assist: Swap / Pivot
• Special: Ignis / Glimmer / Noontime
• Passive A: Steady Breath / Warding Breath
• Passive B: Wrath
• Passive C: Def Ploy / Threaten Def
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte

Such high Defense also allows Hardin to go all in on a set designed to nuke virtually every unit in the game out of existence. Explained quite simply, a Wrath-boosted Ignis from Hardin is able to blow up even the sturdiest of green foes without trouble, including Love Abounds Hector, Myrrh, and Fallen Robin (M).

This set is essentially a variation on the previous Enemy Phase set, but with all cards put into maximizing Hardin's damage as sky high as possible, ensuring nobody will survive. Virtually the only thing Hardin has to fear is ensuring he gets his nuke off. While Hardin is assuredly quite bulky, there is always the possibility of being knocked out in two hits from an incredibly powerful enemy, such as opposing Zelgius running Bold Fighter.

While Ignis is most likely to achieve total domination, there is still the opportunity of changing out his special for a different style of play. Glimmer is a strong option for a Hardin that wants to be able to take a hit from a mage and virtually always ensure an instantaneous death in return. As well, Hardin also has the opportunity to make use of the special Noontime. This will result in Hardin healing on every single counterattack he makes, and any time he falls below 75% health, Wrath will activate, resulting in a "miniature Aether" of sorts until his health recovers.