Ike

Weapon: Ragnell(+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist / Preference

Special: Sol / Noontime / Bonfire

Passive A: Atk/Res Unity / Mirror Stance 3

Passive B: Null Follow-Up

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Preference

Sacred Seal: Swift Stance / Mystic Boost

• Ike’s Ragnell refine gives him an obligatory spectrum stat boost as well as Slaying, which gives him faster access to his specials. Despite this, his ideal playstyle doesn’t change much from his pre-refine state.
• Thanks to Ragnell’s innate Distant Counter, Ike can opt for other useful A slot options while retaining the ability to counterattack ranged units. Atk/Res Unity gives Ike some much needed debuff absorption as well as a nice boost to Attack and Resistance, while Mirror Stance 3 can also be used if Guard is preferred.
• In terms of Ike’s healing Special, Sol is more ideal if he’s paired with a support unit that can grant him increased special cooldown on his attacks(ex: Brave Lucina), while Noontime is ideal otherwise. For a general use special in non AR modes, Bonfire is a decent choice thanks to Ike’s good Defense, and it can also be used in AR if one opts for the Mystic Boost sacred seal, although a healing special is still preferred in most situations as far as AR goes.
• Null Follow-Up is pivotal for Ike in many matchups due to the sheer amount of units with incredibly balanced exclusive weapons or skills that grant guaranteed follow-up attacks, all of which Null Follow-Up shuts down.
• Pulse Smoke gives Ike some extra protection from enemy specials, but it can be changed as needed.
• Aside from Mystic Boost, stat seals such as Swift Stance are Ike’s best seal option to improve his performance thanks to the stats they provide.

Weapon: Ragnell(+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist / Preference

Special: Sol / Noontime 

Passive A: Swift Stance 3 / Kestrel Stance 3 / Atk/Spd Bond 4

Passive B: Spurn

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Preference

Sacred Seal: Swift Stance

• Just like every other Infantry sword user with reasonable Speed, Ike can make use of Spurn to greatly reduce the damage he takes from slower foes while gaining a damage bonus on specials to boot.
• Swift Stance 3 greatly improves Ike’s poor Resistance while granting him extra Speed, which aids him in triggering Spurn against as many foes as possible, although Kestrel Stance 3 can also be used for more offensive power during Enemy Phase. Atk/Spd Bond 4 is another decent option that allows him to neutralize Attack and Speed penalties while buffing them, but needing an ally adjacent makes Ike’s friend extremely susceptible to being sniped by enemy units in Aether Raids.
• Joint Drive Atk gives Ike and his allies an additional +4 Attack as long as he’s within 2 spaces of an ally, although Ike’s C slot skill can be swapped as needed.
• Finally, seals such as Swift Stance round out Ike’s kit nicely thanks to the extra stats they provide.