Halloween Dheginsea

Weapon: Blackfire Breath+ (+Res) / Blackfire Breath+ (+Def)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Iceberg / Sol / Bonfire

Passive A: Sturdy Stance 3 / Distant Counter

Passive B: Slick Fighter

Passive C: Atk Smoke  

Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Mirror Stance / Armor March

• Slick Fighter comes natively when summoning Dheginsea, which makes for a rather cheap build as most armored units' most expensive investment comes in their B slot. In addition to offering an ever-welcome follow-up attack—a dire necessity on someone as slow as Dheginsea—Slick Fighter also cancels out existing penalties, allowing the Dragon King to operate cleanly without being held back by debuffs.
  • These effects are timed by the skill's 25% HP threshold however, meaning some form of sustain is necessary in the long term, such as using Sol on Dheginsea himself, or running dedicated outsourced healing (which allows for more aggressive Specials such as Bonfire or Iceberg, depending on your Dheginsea's higher defense).
• Thanks to Slick Fighter's penalty cancellation effects, it also synergizes very well with Dheginsea's also-native Blackfire Breath, which basically inflicts Lull Atk/Res -5 on the enemy in solo conditions. In other words, these two skills together allow Dheginsea to exercise almost total control over stats in a single matchup while empowering himself.
• Sturdy Stance 3 is also a fine default option as it offers a meaty helping of +6 to Atk/Def and, more importantly, its Guard effect. This allows Dheginsea to run something akin to a pseudo Special Fighter build without needing to run Quick Riposte in his Sacred Seal, as well as prevent enemies from winning a matchup by charging their Special in battle.
  • If you can spare the fodder, however, Distant Counter is a fantastic alternative for retaliating against ranged enemies, though Dheginsea will certainly be missing a form of Guard entirely.
• Due to this build's emphasis on budget, you don't need to think too hard of Dheginsea's C slot skill aside from Atk Smoke, which gives him a very safe defensive edge over multiple matchups in one phase. If you are able to provide Armor movement options, however, those are on the table as well.
• The Sacred Seal is rather simple: Atk/Def Solo rewards Dheginsea's ally distancing by granting a nice Atk/Def +6 while also synergizing with Blackfire Breath's also-solo effects. Else, Mirror Stance fortifies his Attack and Resistance instead, or Armor March to help out Dheginsea and his fellow armors' poor movement.

Weapon: Blackfire Breath+ (+Res) / Blackfire Breath+ (+Def)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Sol / Iceberg / Bonfire

Passive A: Distant Counter

Passive B: Crafty Fighter

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Atk Smoke

Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Mirror Stance

• This build isn't actually that much different from the budget build with Slick Fighter, but the resulting playstyle is distinct. Instead of cancelling debuffs on Dheginsea, Crafty Fighter instead inflicts Special delay on the enemy, which makes it more difficult for then to hit with a charged Special. Additionally, Crafty retains a guaranteed follow-up if Dheginsea keeps himself well above 25% HP, which directly fixes his zero potential in following up otherwise.
• As a result of the simple B slot skill substitution, Dheginsea arguably becomes a more reliable fighter as he will unlikely come under siege from a Special. It also essentially erases the need for high tier Stance skills (isolating Distant Counter as the remaining best A-slot choice) and Special Fighter (the Guard effect from these two would become redundant).
• Since Dheginsea's Sacred Seal is free from having to use Quick Riposte, he can afford to favor stat boosting Seals, especially Atk/Def Solo or Mirror Stance.
• As is the case with Slick Fighter, Dheginsea is pretty much limited to unexciting 3 CD Specials for sustain (Sol) or burst damage (Iceberg / Bonfire) due to lack of Special acceleration options.
• For Aether Raids performance, Pulse Smoke neutralizes enemy setups which rely on instantly charged Specials, though it may be difficult for Dheginsea to spread it the first time due to his mobility. If you are running Pulse Tie skills or lacking Pulse Smoke altogether, Atk Smoke is more easily available and reduces damage from subsequent enemies after his first matchup.

Weapon: Blackfire Breath+ (+Atk) / Blackfire Breath+ (+Def)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Bonfire / Iceberg / Luna

Passive A: Atk/Def Solo / Death Blow / Atk/Res Solo

Passive B: Bold Fighter

Passive C: Armor March / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Death Blow

• Dheginsea's absurdly high base Attack of 45 and ability to hit ranged targets on their lower defense stat and every other unit on their Resistance (usually the weaker of the two defenses for most heroes in the game) makes him quite a frightening offensive force when built correctly. The best way to take advantage of this sheer strength is through a simple Bold Fighter build.
• Bold Fighter significantly improves Dheginsea's player phase strength by guaranteeing a double against all non-Null Follow-Up enemies. Additionally, it accelerates his Special cooldown on his own hits, making Iceberg, Luna, and Bonfire great Special options as they will typically activate in a single round (assuming counterattack).
• To go along with the aggressive nature of Bold Fighter, equally aggressive skill options are chosen in other slots.
  • Blackfire Breath comes on Dheginsea default and there's absolutely zero need to replace it as it as it's probably the best player phase Breath at this time of writing. Specifically, its Lull effect weakens the enemy's Attack and Resistance, making initiations much safer for Dheginsea while his Bold Fighter hits are always hitting at their near-fullest damage. It should be either Attack-refined or Defense-refined for stronger hits or more sturdy physical bulk, respectively.
  • Atk/Def Solo in both the Sacred Seal and A-slot synergize perfectly with Blackfire Breath's solo effect; though Dheginsea will prefer to initiate himself, Solo grants stats and helps Dheginsea bring on his tankability/nuking talents in both phases. Atk/Res Solo may be used if you would prefer fortifying Dheginsea's Resistance instead. At any rate, if you're lacking either of these, Death Blow is always a cheap and accessible choice but pushes Dheginsea even more towards player phase exclusivity.
  • Finally, since Dheginsea will most likely be initiating combat away from allies and honoring Solo conditions, Armor March may be considered, though it may be awkward to use considering the aggressively lone-wolf nature of Blackfire Breath and Solo A-slot skills. Lacking this, the C slot doesn't exactly matter at this point save for any Atk-based buffs you can offer.

Weapon: Blackfire Breath+ (+Res)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Aether / Noontime

Passive A: Distant Counter

Passive B: Special Fighter

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Atk Smoke

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Atk/Def Solo / Mirror Stance

• Special Fighter has two properties that make it worth considering on nearly every armored unit (as the writer grits their teeth writing this):
  • It inflicts a Guard-like effect on the opponent, which prevents them from breaking through with their own Specials (assuming it isn't already charged).
  • It accelerates the cooldown of Dheginsea's own Special per his and the opponent's attacks.
• Due to Dhigensea's lack of a Slaying weapon and natural slowness as well as the 50% HP threshold of Special Fighter, however, his usage of this Fighter narrows him down to only a couple of unexciting skills in his Sacred Seal and Special slots. Thus, two combinations are as follows:
  • Aether + Quick Riposte: Dheginsea's inability to make follow up attacks from his B slot naturally leaves the Quick Riposte Sacred Seal as his only method. As such, Aether has a more practical chance of activating in one round due to this added follow-up attack. However, this is still vulnerable to Impact and Null Follow-Up skills.
  • Noontime + Atk/Def Solo or Mirror Stance: Noontime's immediate activation upon any counterattack (thanks to Special Fighter) makes up for its less potent effects compared to Aether. When paired with a Seal that increases Dheginsea's general offensive might and bulk, it gets better value due to increased healing from better one-shot damage. In exchange for better performance against Impact and Null Follow-Up enemies, however, Dheginsea will be totally lacking in follow-up options.
• In Aether Raids Offense, Pulse Smoke is easily this build's best C slot choice as it takes down AR-D setups reliant on precharging Specials. Those affected by the Smoke have little hope of charging back up thanks to the charge delay from Special Fighter. If you are already running a Pulse Tie unit or are simply lacking Pulse Smoke entirely, Atk Smoke is a great and cheaper second choice for directly reducing enemy damage.