Halloween Duma

Weapon: Ghostly Lanterns

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Glimmer / Sol / Draconic Aura

A Passive: Distant Ferocity

B Passive: Dragon Wall

C Passive: Woeful Upheaval

Sacred Seal: Distant Def / Warding Breath / Def/Res Form / Steady Breath / Deflect Magic

• Ghostly Lanterns is quite the weapon as there is an assortment of effects that allow Halloween Duma to function as a premiere Far Save unit. Outside of the innate Slaying, which is beneficial for getting Specials off, he inflicts -6 Atk on foes during combat, grants +6 Atk to himself, has follow-up prevention and partial Null Follow-Up that prevents guaranteed follow-up attacks, Adaptive damage, and most importantly, in-combat Pulse Smoke which you may recall from Brave Tiki. That'll be covered a lot more in the “Strengths” section but for simplicity’s sake, it’s a very, very strong weapon that makes Halloween Duma one of the most threatening Far Save units in the game, especially when paired with Woeful Upheaval. As with many units these days, he also has a complete kit for the most part, so there’s very little reason to change it if you simply want to use him right out of the gate. As such, this will mainly be here to highlight its benefits.
   
• For the most part, the base kit works well as is so there’s little reason to replace Glimmer, but if you were to run a Breath Sacred Seal, he can instead opt for Sol or a harder-hitting Special such as Draconic Aura. The former helps with his sustainability and will be solid in the long run as he can continue to maintain his weapon’s condition of being above 25% HP.
   
• Distant Ferocity works in tandem with his Woeful Upheaval as it can allow him to gain even more Damage Reduction properties. That, alongside providing more damage output in general without the cost of losing HP after each combat, there’s very little reason to remove it for any other Distant Counter skill.
   
• Dragon Wall works quite well with the rest of his kit as he can gain an absurd amount of Damage Reduction properties, especially against the likes of area-of-effect Specials. Without the ability to double him, most foes won’t be able to deal a lot of damage as they can’t rely on instant Specials to pierce through it. He could always replace it with a Fighter skill, but it’s not as important for him since the main goal is to survive.
   
• No matter what other skills you’d want to run instead, Woeful Upheaval should not be replaced in any scenario. Outside of it being a Far Save skill, it also inflicts damage on foes at the start of turn 1 and provides flat Damage Reduction, and when paired with Dragon Wall, he will shrug off most damage he’d otherwise take in the Enemy Phase. There could potentially be an argument to replace it with the likes of Near Save but he would not only lose out on more Damage Reduction, but he’d also arguably have even worse matchups because of threats such as Brave Eirika, Brave Seliph, and so on. Simply put, don’t replace it.
   
• In terms of base kit, the only Passive worth considering a lot more is the Sacred Seal as there are plenty of options available to him. For Far Save purposes, he can either bolster his overall Def and Res with the likes of Distant Def or Def/Res Form or increase his Special prowess with a Breath Sacred Seal. The former is solid for general tanking purposes, which is the higher priority of the two, as the main goal with Halloween Duma is to survive before kill, even though the former is quite achievable. However, if you would much rather prioritize his damage capabilities, you can instead a Breath Sacred Seal, whether that’s Steady Breath or Warding Breath, to help him trigger higher-cooldown Specials. Warding Breath, in particular, can help with Dragon Wall checks during combat but if we ever do get a Fierce Breath Sacred Seal, that will be much more beneficial for damage output. Deflect Magic is also an option if he has to go up against units with Brave, and while that would only cover Magic threats, Bows and Daggers can pierce through Deflect Missile as is with the likes of Deadeye and Lethality, so it won’t be as optimal.

Weapon: Ghostly Lanterns

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Noontime / Sacred Cowl / Glimmer

A Passive: Svalinn Shield / Def/Res Unity / Bracing Stance 3 / Mirror Stance 3 / Distant Def 4 / Distant Ferocity

B Passive: Dragon Wall / Crafty Fighter / Dragon’s Wrath 4 / Dragon’s Ire 4

C Passive: Woeful Upheaval

Sacred Seal: Dist. Counter (D) / Deflect Magic / Quickened Pulse

• Outside of Ghostly Lanterns and Woeful Upheaval, Halloween Duma is also an Armored Dragon, and despite that being quite apparent, it means he has quite a lot of skill availability afforded to him, including the recently release Dist. Counter (D) Sacred Seal. This Sacred Seal, in particular, allows him to run an assortment of A Passives that were otherwise out of the question for him, and, in turn, significantly improve upon matchups that would otherwise prove troubling. That, combined with all of the Fighter skills and Dragon skills he has access to, he has plenty of flexibility with his kit in general. This set is here to highlight said options that he can run to help him function as a Far Save to the best of his abilities.
   
• In terms of Special options, Halloween Duma has a fair amount of options that are readily available to him. Noontime is one of the better options for sustainability purposes, and while Sacred Cowl doesn’t provide healing, it can remove a good amount of incoming damage that would otherwise be considerable, especially if going up against foes with Deadeye-Esque effects. Just be sure to get an initial charge from an ally if you plan to run it so that he can consistently loop it. You can also keep Glimmer if you simply want the damage properties but if you simply want to use him for tanking purposes, I’d consider replacing it.
   
• Because Halloween Duma doesn’t have to sacrifice his A Passive for Distant Counter, he can run an assortment of A Passives that would significantly improve upon his Far Save capabilities. Svalinn Shield is one of the notable options that come to mind as it simply nullifies any Armor-Effective weaponry that would otherwise prove troublesome. Meanwhile, Stance skills can be beneficial against foes that can bypass Halloween Duma’s follow-up prevention as inflicting Guard on the foe will prevent them from getting a Special off without any sort of Tempo effect. There’s also Def/Res Unity and Distant Def 4, the former reversing any debuffs he’d receive, making him an even bigger nuisance to take down, and the latter removing any visible bonuses the foe may have which may not be the best option since his Duo Skill removes visible bonuses from the foe. However, that only works in modes where the Duo Skill can be used consistently, and in Aether Raids, he won’t get it off too frequently. Otherwise, he can simply keep his innate Distant Ferocity if you would much rather run a different Sacred Seal.
   
• In terms of B Passive options, Halloween Duma has quite a lot to work with. He can simply keep his innate Dragon Wall for Damage Reduction purposes, and it so happens that it works against area-of-effect Specials so if he needs to eat a hit before the start of any combat, he can. Crafty Fighter is also an option if the goal is to inflict Guard on the foe. The guaranteed follow-up could potentially go to waste if you revoke any form of Distant Counter skill but it could be beneficial for the Guard alone as he can then use his A Passive for other effects such as Armor-Effectiveness negation or Unity. However, if you would much rather have the ability to counterattack, Dragon’s Wrath 4 and Dragon’s Ire 4 are solid options, the former providing a significant amount more damage for one-shot potential while also providing a bit of Damage Reduction, and the latter providing a guaranteed follow-up with the added benefit of being Impact-proof so that he could still double unless there’s Null Follow-Up present.
   
• There’s no reason to replace Woeful Upheaval as it’s already a Far Save skill and simply replacing it for one that provides stats will hurt his longevity as he loses out on more Damage Reduction.
   
• The Dist. Counter (D) Sacred Seal is going to provide a lot of his utility. Without it, Halloween Duma won’t be able to counter back which can be problematic if he is a bit more dependent on his Special. With Sacred Cowl, in particular, if he loses the ability to double and the foe can’t attack twice, then he won’t be able to have Sacred Cowl active for the following combat. That being said, Deflect Magic is also an option if the goal is to tech Brave hits. Bows and Daggers will be able to bypass Deflects regardless, and at this time, there aren’t any Specials for Magic units that bypass Damage Reduction, meaning that Deflect Magic is the only notable option. However, this would go in tandem with Sacred Cowl so that he can still reduce incoming damage. Regardless, Dist. Counter (D) will be a lot more consistent but it’s an option nonetheless. If you would much rather keep Distant Ferocity, you can instead opt for Quickened Pulse to have Sacred Cowl ready to go.