Flame Lyn

Weapon: Firelight Lance 

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Vital Astra / Godlike Reflexes

Passive A: Verdict of Sacae 

Passive B: Atk/Def Bulwark / Null Follow-Up / Atk/Def Tempo

Passive C: Spd Smoke 4 / Time’s Pulse

Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Form / Atk/Spd Solo / Darting Breath

• This set focuses on the synergy between Firelight Lance, Vital Astra, and Verdict of Sacae to make Lyn an incredibly strong melee specialist.
  • Firelight Lance’s Slaying effect reduces Vital Astra’s cooldown to 1, allowing Lyn to easily ready it on turn 1 with Time’s Pulse or external support.
  • Because Vital Astra is ready, Lyn will receive damage reduction on all hits before and during combat; additionally, she will gain +5 true damage and 7 HP healing per her attack from Verdict of Sacae.
  • When Lyn activates Vital Astra during combat, she gains bonus damage = 30% of her Spd; in combination with the 5 true damage from Verdict of Sacae, she gains a significant amount of damage on her first counterattack. 
  • After combat, Firelight Lance decreases Lyn’s cooldown by 1, readying Vital Astra once again and allowing Lyn to reap both its and Verdict of Sacae’s full benefits.
• Why would I use Vital Astra over Godlike Reflexes?
  • The first and most important point is its lower cooldown. Lyn can loop Godlike Reflexes under normal circumstances, but if the enemy has a Guard effect, she needs additional Special charge or a Tempo effect to counteract it. Additionally, Lyn is not self-sufficient unless she keeps Shield Pulse, which is relatively weak compared to other B slot options. Lyn can either use Time’s Pulse or receive just -1 Special cooldown from an ally to ready it on turn 1.
  • Vital Astra gives Lyn better OHKO consistency, as increased damage = 30% of her Spd naturally gives higher damage output than Godlike Reflexes’ true damage = 15% of her Spd.
  • Godlike Reflexes’ flat 40% damage reduction is substantial, but it only occurs on the enemy attack that activates it. While Vital Astra’s damage reduction is conditional (3X%, with X = how much more Spd Lyn has than the enemy) and has a lower ceiling (maximum of 30%), the condition is a joke given Lyn’s blisteringly high Spd and the damage reduction applies to AoE Specials and all in-combat attacks.
• Since Verdict of Sacae does not grant a Distant Counter effect, Lyn’s role is a melee specialist; as such, she requires a Far Save ally that protects both her and their other allies from ranged attacks. Atk/Def Bulwark is important for assuring melee enemies only attack Lyn; Lyn does not have a Savior effect, so without Bulwark, enemies can simply go around Lyn and attack her allies in the backline instead. Additionally, its -4 Atk/Def infliction on the enemy and 7 HP healing for Lyn after combat help her damage and survivability.
  • An even more important effect for Lyn is Null Follow-Up, which neutralizes effects that prevent Lyn’s follow-up and guarantee the enemy’s follow-up. Bulwark is ideal, but only recommended if an ally can provide Lyn with a Null Follow-Up effect; otherwise, Null Follow-Up is simply too valuable to forego it.
• Spd Smoke 4 provides more Spd-based damage reduction after Lyn’s first combat (maximum of 40%, so a total maximum of 58%), making her even more difficult to KO. However, having Vital Astra ready before Lyn’s first combat is significant, as the AI prioritizes initiating with units that survive, then units that deal the most damage; if Lyn is unable to receive -1 Special cooldown from an ally, then Time’s Pulse is preferred instead.
• Maximizing Lyn’s Atk/Spd is beneficial for her damage, follow-up control, and damage reduction, making Sacred Seals that contribute to that purpose Lyn’s best options. Atk/Spd Form has a higher ceiling than Atk/Spd Solo (+7 as opposed to +6), but also has an arguably more difficult condition (3+ allies within two spaces vs. not being adjacent to any ally) that can be virtually impossible without Bulwark.
• So what if I used Godlike Reflexes instead?
  • That’s cool, too! Compared to Vital Astra, Godlike Reflexes gives 10% more damage reduction on activation; while it only works on the attack that activates it and does not decrease AoE damage, against enemy teams that have no melee Brave effects or AoEs (which is a significant portion of them), this is just 25% better than Vital Astra’s damage reduction. Its true damage = 15% of Lyn’s Spd also applies on every hit, rather than the damage bonus from Vital Astra that only occurs on the attack it is activated on.
  • Something to keep in mind, however, is that Lyn will not be able to Special loop if her Special charge gets decreased to 0 per hit. Without any additional Special charge, enemies can achieve this by simply having a Guard effect; while this is uncommon for melee enemies in Aether Raids Defense, to counteract this if necessary, it is recommended to give Lyn the Darting Breath Sacred Seal (+1 Special charge per hit when defending), pair Lyn with an ally that gives +1 Special charge per hit, or give Lyn a Tempo effect (either in her B slot or via Legendary Female Byleth).

Weapon: Firelight Lance 

Assist: Ardent Sacrifice / Positional Assist

Special: Vital Astra 

Passive A: Verdict of Sacae 

Passive B: Vantage

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Time’s Pulse / Spd Smoke 4 / Atk/Spd Oath 4

Sacred Seal: Brazen Atk/Spd

• Similarly to Brave Marth and Ascended Mareeta, Lyn can run a unique OHKO Vantage set that has excellent firepower while also having failsafes. Unlike Marth and Mareeta, however, Lyn does not have access to a Distant Counter effect unless she replaces Verdict of Sacae with a Distant Countering A slot (which is generally not recommended given how powerful Verdict of Sacae is and that counterattack prevention is more common on ranged enemies anyway); as such, she needs a Far Save ally to protect her (and their allies) from ranged attacks.
• If Vital Astra is ready at the start of combat and Lyn has 10+ more Spd than the enemy, she gains 30% damage reduction in addition to damage = 30% of her Spd when it is actually activated. Given the true damage = 15% of the enemy’s Atk from Firelight Lance, the 5 true damage from Verdict of Sacae if Vital Astra is ready, and her excellent Atk and Spd (especially once the +17 to all stats from Firelight Lance and Verdict of Sacae is taken into account), Lyn has the firepower to consistently OHKO melee threats, sometimes even through damage reduction.
  • Should she fail to OHKO, she still has respectable defenses in addition to the 7 HP healing per attack from Verdict of Sacae in addition to the aforementioned +17 to all and 30% damage reduction. Her Guard effect also slows enemy Specials, decreasing their firepower since effects that grant additional Special charge or neutralize Guard effects are relatively rare on melee initiators. 
• Firelight Lance’s Slaying effect decreases Vital Astra’s cooldown from 2 to 1, meaning Lyn needs only 1 Special cooldown reduction to immediately ready it. This is ideally done via an ally such as Askr, as not needing Time’s Pulse in her C slot allows her to run alternatives such as Joint Drive Atk and Atk/Spd Oath 4 to increase her in-combat Atk. Lyn’s native Spd Smoke 4 can also be used for additional safety; in combination with Vital Astra, Lyn can have 58% damage reduction after her first combat.
• As Firelight Lance grants Lyn -1 Special cooldown after combat and Vital Astra only has 1 cooldown to begin with, she can loop Vital Astra to maximize her OHKO capabilities and damage reduction consistency.
• Winter Bernadetta is crucial for this set, as Lyn can decrease her own HP by 10 HP increments via healing allies that receive chip damage from Bernadetta’s Hrist with Ardent Sacrifice. She can rely on Bolt Traps, Bolt Towers, or just taking damage, but this method guarantees that Lyn will be in Vantage’s ≤ 75% HP threshold to counterattack before the enemy can attack.
• Brazen Atk/Spd grants Lyn +7 Atk/Spd during combat if her HP is ≤ 80%, which naturally synergizes well with a Vantage set.