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Legendary Claude

Analysis by raelet
Legendary Claude - King of Unification

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
166
HP 41
ATK 37
SPD 41
DEF 23
RES 24

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 16 8 10 5 4
Middle 17 9 11 6 5
High 18 10 12 7 6

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 38 34 38 20 21
Middle 41 37 41 23 24
High 44 40 45 26 28

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

Skill Sets

Don't Judge Me Too Harshly!

Build by raelet
Recommended
Failnaught A Atk/Spd Catch 4
Alternate: Close Foil
Positional Assist B Fallen Star
Deadeye
Alternate: Luna
C Spd/Def Rein 3
Alternate: Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -HP

SAtk/Spd Solo 3
Alternate: Iote's Shield

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Failnaught

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Deadeye / Luna

Passive A: Atk/Spd Catch / Close Foil / Atk/Spd Solo 4

Passive B: Fallen Star

Passive C: Spd/Def Rein / Pulse Smoke

Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Solo / Iote's Shield

  • As has been the case with most Legendary units, Claude's base kit is so good that he only needs a minor tweak or two to be his best self. By replacing Luna with the rare Deadeye skill, Claude cuts through damage mitigation and can effectively counter enemies like Brave Dimitri or Brave Edelgard.
  • This inheritance turns him from annoying to absolutely deadly on Aether Raids Defense, as he hard counters slower tanks via his Null Follow-Up built into his bow and then locks them into place after combat with Gravity.
  • However, Claude is so fast on his own that he doesn't necessarily need to worry about Speed-based damage mitigation, so it's less of a priority if your main concern is units like Mareeta.
  • You should only inherit a skill like Atk/Spd Solo 4 if you're worried about the consistency of Atk/Spd Catch. Because Atk/Spd Catch requires foe HP to be at 100%, and+or penalties to be on the foe, Claude can't get the full +9/+9 effect on his own since he only inflicts his Gravity effect after combat. If his foe is weakened and has no penalties (such as if running him alongside a Duma, Kemf, or units who utilize Savage Blow, Pain, or Poison Strike) or  then Claude loses all effectiveness of Atk/Spd Catch and is better off running Solo.
  • Close Foil and Close Counter are both solid options for Claude's A slot, though they hamstring his offensive potential in the Player Phase. However, without the ability to retaliate at close range, Claude's kit is less flexible, as any opponent he can't one-round will still be able to attack him freely due to only being one space away.
  • Iote's Shield is the no-brainer for his seal slot, but the opportunity cost of losing out on a powerful seal like Atk/Spd Solo is so great that you might want to simply rely on his teammates to deal with other bows, or hope that Claude can either tank or one-round them. As it is, even with Iote's, he'll likely die to his fellow Earth Legendary, Legendary Alm, anyway thanks to his lower Def stat, so you might as well have him specialize in other areas.

Strengths

Unique Skill Access

The great weakness among fliers is that they lack access to powerful skills such as Null Follow-Up and ranged fliers are even worse, lacking class damage mitigation skills like Guard Bearing. Fortunately, Legendary Claude's powerful kit gives him access to both of these effects: with NFU on his bow and Fallen Star in his B slot, Claude is head and shoulders above his other fliers.

It's fitting that Fallen Star is his B slot skill, as there is virtually no competition for his B slot due to the terrible inheritance restrictions on ranged fliers.

Defying Gravity

Claude has a whole bundle of goodies in his kit, but one of the most lethal ones is his ability to apply Gravity in a 1 space AoE around his foe. This effectively traps his enemies in place, ensuring that he is a nightmare to deal with in game modes like Arena and Aether Raids Defense.

Stats All Around

Claude's base kit is... ridiculously stacked in terms of passive stat buffs. Just for existing at above 25% HP and engaging a foe with 100% HP, Claude gets a passive +18 to his already-impressive Attack and Speed while also increasing his Defense and Resistance by 5.

Weaknesses

Typical Flier Weaknesses

While Claude mitigates quite a few of his class weaknesses via his strong skills, he can't singlehandedly scheme his way into making fliers meta. Just by virtue of being weak to bows with a Defense of 23, Claude is immensely vulnerable to ranged counterattacks from foes who he can't oneshot, and he lacks the sustain of his Brave counterpart. He can run Iotes in his Seal slot to fix some of this, but it wastes a slot that he could otherwise be using to further boost his damage with powerful skills like Atk/Spd Solo.

One Combat Wonder

Unlike meta skills like Repel, Fallen Star shares Guard Bearing's weakness in that the effect only works for one combat per phase - in addition, Claude has to attack first in order to trigger the skill in the first place. There are two major issues with this, the first being that requiring Claude to initiate combat first is extremely limiting in modes like Aether Raids Offense and Arena, where it's often easier to bait foes than it is to engage them. This also makes him vulnerable to a second or third combat from foes, in which he's not benefitting from his mitigated damage.

Due to Claude's range, it's possible that he can engage, inflict Gravity on his foes, and only be vulnerable to one enemy per enemy turn - but this isn't a guarantee and won't happen every time. It's just a finnicky skill that isn't quite as good in practice as it is on paper.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Bow

Effective against flying units.

Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
50 2 4
Steel Bow

Effective against flying units.

Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
100 2 6
Silver Bow

Effective against flying units.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
200 2 9
Failnaught

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). Effective against flying foes. At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+5 to unit during combat and neutralizes effects that guarantee foe's follow-up attacks and effects that prevent unit's follow-up attacks during combat.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 2 14
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
New Moon

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100 3
Luna

Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 50% during combat.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 3

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Atk/Spd Catch 1

At start of combat, if foe's HP = 100% or if【Penalty】is active on foe, grants Atk/Spd+3 to unit during combat. 

【Penalty】

All effects that last "on foe through its next action." Includes penalties inflicted by a skill like Panic or Threaten and negative status effects (preventing counterattacks, restricting movement, or the effects of a skill like Triangle Adept or Guard).

Cavalry & Flying Only
Unlocks at 2 ★
60
A
Atk/Spd Catch 2

At start of combat, if foe’s HP = 100% or if【Penalty】is active on foe, grants Atk/Spd+4 to unit during combat. 

【Penalty】

All effects that last "on foe through its next action." Includes penalties inflicted by a skill like Panic or Threaten and negative status effects (preventing counterattacks, restricting movement, or the effects of a skill like Triangle Adept or Guard).

Cavalry & Flying Only
Unlocks at 3 ★
120
A
Atk/Spd Catch 3

At start of combat, if foe’s HP = 100% or if【Penalty】is active on foe, grants Atk/Spd+5 to unit during combat. 

【Penalty】

All effects that last "on foe through its next action." Includes penalties inflicted by a skill like Panic or Threaten and negative status effects (preventing counterattacks, restricting movement, or the effects of a skill like Triangle Adept or Guard).

Cavalry & Flying Only
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
A
Atk/Spd Catch 4

At start of combat, if foe's HP = 100% or if【Penalty】is active on foe, grants Atk/Spd+7 to unit during combat. At start of combat, if foe's HP = 100% and【Penalty】is active on foe, grants an additional Atk/Spd+2 to unit during combat. 

【Penalty】 All effects that last "on foe through its next action." Includes penalties inflicted by a skill like Panic or Threaten and negative status effects (preventing counterattacks, restricting movement, or the effects of a skill like Triangle Adept or Guard).

Cavalry & Flying Only
Unlocks at 5 ★
300
A
Fallen Star

If unit initiates combat, reduces damage from foe's first attack by 80% during combat, and after combat, grants【Fallen Star】to unit and inflicts【Gravity】on target and foes within 1 space of target.  【Fallen Star】 For 1 turn, during unit's first combat in player phase and enemy phase, reduces damage from foe's first attack by 80%.  【Gravity】 Restricts target's movement to 1 space through its next action.

Non-Inheritable skill.
Unlocks at 5 ★
300
B
Spd/Def Rein 1

Inflicts Spd/Def-2 on foes within 2 spaces during combat.

Only inheritable by flier units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
60
C
Spd/Def Rein 2

Inflicts Spd/Def-3 on foes within 2 spaces during combat.

Only inheritable by flier units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
C
Spd/Def Rein 3

Inflicts Spd/Def-4 on foes within 2 spaces during combat.

Only inheritable by flier units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

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