- Default
- Attack
- Special
- Injured




Legendary Ike - Vanguard Legend |
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Related Heroes
Hero Stats
Stat Variations
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
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Low | 18 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
Middle | 19 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
High | 20 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 5 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
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Low | 37 | 33 | 27 | 32 | 18 |
Middle | 41 | 36 | 30 | 35 | 21 |
High | 44 | 39 | 33 | 38 | 24 |
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. |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES |
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Skill Sets
Bruising Kindness (Special Spiral + Radiant Aether II Retaliation Tank)
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Slaying Edge+ (+Spd) Alternate: Ragnell |
A | Atk/Spd Solo (3 or 4) Alternate: Warding Breath |
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Positional Assist | B | Special Spiral 3 |
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Radiant Aether II | C | Joint Drive Atk Alternate: Joint Drive Res |
IVs | +ATK or +SPD / -HP or -RES | S | Atk/Spd Solo 3 Alternate: Quick Riposte 3 |
Weapon: Slaying Edge+ (+Spd or +Atk) / Ragnell / Wo Dao+ (+Spd)
Assist: Positional Assist
Special: Radiant Aether II
Passive A: Atk/Spd Solo / Warding Breath / Darting Breath / Kestrel Stance 3 / Distant Counter / Atk/Spd Push 4 / Atk/Res versions of all aforementioned skills
Passive B: Special Spiral
Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Joint Drive Res / Def Smoke
Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Solo / Quick Riposte / Atk/Def Solo / Mirror Stance
- Special Spiral is an ideal dancing partner to Radiant Aether II; after every round of combat where Radiant Aether successfully fires, Special Spiral will prepare it at a lower cooldown value (by -2) in time for Ike's next counterattack. Because Radiant Aether II already reduces its own cooldown on Turn 1 and provides both healing and great burst damage, Ike will have little problem getting it up and running while maintaining relatively good matchups against most except one-hit mages and Guard effect skills.
- Ike's weapon and A slot choices depend on your preferred level of investment and whether you want to maintain the ability to counterattacked ranged enemies. Generally speaking, there are a few flavors to this build:
- Slaying Edge + Atk/Spd A-slot skill: While Ike loses on distant countering properties, he would instead opt for generally better melee performance with a refined Slaying Edge and an Atk/Spd-boosted A slot of choice. The -1 CD from Slaying Edge also allows Ike to be completely independent of Breath effects.
- Ragnell + Breath Skill: Ike's native Ragnell grants no other effects other than granting the ability to counterattack ranged units, which is generally fair enough if you exercise discretion against powerful magic units. Some form of Breath, whether it be through running an A-slot (such as his also-native Warding Breath — preferably Ike wants Fierce or Darting Breath instead if you can help it) or running ally-provided sources (mainly, Brave Lucina's Geirskogul), is required in order to activate Radiant Aether instantly on all counterattacks since it will be left at 2 CD.
- Slaying Edge + Distant Counter: Maintains Ike's ability to run Distant Counter while enabling him to activate Radiant Aether II without the help of a Breath effect thanks to Slaying Edge's permanent -1 CD reduction. His ability to tank high-powered magical hits is still suspect, however.
- Wo Dao + Breath Skill: Wo Dao directly increases the amount of retaliation damage done by Radiant Aether, giving generally more room for one-shots as well as better healing. Like Ragnell, it requires Breath in some form to instantly activate Radiant Aether.
- In the C slot, Ike's base Joint Drive Res is a fine budget choice as-is as it slightly improves his exploitable magic bulk. To further increase the power of Ike's counterattacks, though, Def Smoke or Joint Drive Atk would be preferred.
- Finally, Ike will opt for Sacred Seals that improve his damage and/or follow-ups. Atk/Spd Solo is a direct solution to this, but Mirror Stance or Atk/Def Solo can be taken alternatively to raise his defenses instead. For a guaranteed follow-up regardless of Ike's Speed, Quick Riposte is also optimal and stays consistently active thanks to Radiant Aether's healing.
Weapon Matching with 2021 Black Knight (Alternative Weapon Physical Melee)
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Slaying Edge+ (+Def) Alternate: Carrot Cudgel+ (+Def) |
A | Atk/Def Solo (3 or 4) Alternate: Atk/Spd Solo (3 or 4) |
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Positional Assist | B | Lull Atk/Def 3 Alternate: Null Follow-Up 3 |
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Radiant Aether II Alternate: Bonfire |
C | Atk Smoke 3 Alternate: Joint Drive Res |
IVs | +ATK or +SPD or +DEF / -HP or -RES | S | Atk/Def Solo 3 Alternate: Atk/Spd Solo 3 |
Weapon: Slaying Edge+ (+Def) / Carrot Cudgel+ (+Def) / Armorsmasher+ / +Spd refined versions of mentioned weapons
Assist: Positional Assist
Special: Radiant Aether II / Bonfire
Passive A: Atk/Spd Solo / Atk/Def Solo / Fury / Breath Skills / Push or Bond versions of mentioned skills
Passive B: Lull Atk/Def / Null Follow-Up / Quick Riposte / Lull Atk/Spd / Lull Spd/Def
Passive C: Joint Drive Res / Atk Smoke / Joint Drive Spd / Joint Drive Atk
Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Atk/Spd Solo / Stance or Bond versions of mentioned skills
- Yeah, let's not mince words, Ike needs stats and he's not exactly getting much of that with his base kit alone. Though it takes a considerable amount of inheritance, this build helps make use of Ike's decent attacking stats, especially his Attack, Speed, and Defense, repurposing him into a more melee-oriented unit.
- As with the previous build, forgoing Ragnell is a mostly beneficial sacrifice despite losing out on innate Distant Counter, especially as Ike's matchups against tomes and some powerful physical ranged units can be questionable. In place of it, there a few great inheritable swords he can run:
- Slaying Edge is yet again a great weapon to consider as it permanently reduces the cooldown of some longer-going Specials. Radiant Aether II will tend to activate at a more consistent rate of 3 CD, for example, while Bonfire takes only two actions to fire off.
- Carrot Cudgel is fortunately easily acquirable from Heroic Grails and grants a nice, beefy Atk/Def bonus of +5 whenever Ike is parked near his allies. The debuff immunity is also helpful against enemies attempting to brute force with Attack or Defense penalties.
- For Arena or Arena Assault, Armorsmasher is more practical than other choices due to the majority of high-scoring teams using armored units to score high. This also makes Ike a very good check to several high-pressure armored threats such as Brave Edelgard.
- The rest of the build is basically a mix-and-match depending on which stats / gameplay aspect you'd like to focus on.
- The best way to fortify Ike's stats is through running double Solo skills in both his A slot and Sacred Seal. This can include Atk/Spd Solo to fix up his otherwise forgettable Speed and help him make follow-ups while avoiding those from the enemy. Atk/Def Solo is his next best bet for fortifying his physical tankiness. Push or Bond versions of these skills are also viable but have differing conditions.
- A Breath skill is still viable when taken with Slaying Edge and Bonfire, allowing Ike to retaliate instantly with Bonfire against initiating enemies. His default Warding Breath suits this purpose just fine without laying it hard on inheritance costs.
- A Lull skill of choice allows Ike to skew stat comparisons in his favor more by inflicting -3 to the skill's respective stats while canceling any bonuses present on the opponent. Null Follow-Up allows Ike to safety handle units with artificial follow up manipulation skills — it pairs especially well with Armorsmasher as it disables the Fighter skill line they rely on. Finally, on a budget, just good old Quick Riposte does well, saving Ike from having to use it in the Sacred Seal and acting as his main follow-up method on Atk/Def-focused builds.
2018ing a Little Too Hard (Budget Enemy Phase)
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Ragnell | A | Warding Breath |
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Positional Assist | B | Quick Riposte 3 |
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Radiant Aether II | C | Joint Drive Res |
IVs | Flexible | S | Atk/Def Solo 3 Alternate: Mirror Stance 2 |
Weapon: Ragnell
Assist: Positional Assist
Special: Radiant Aether II
Passive A: Warding Breath
Passive B: Quick Riposte
Passive C: Joint Drive Res
Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Mirror Stance / Atk/Spd Solo / Fierce Stance
- If you really don't want to treat Ike a bit luxuriously from the get-go, that's fine and dandy! As long as you replace his pretty bad default B slot (Seal Atk/Def) with the much more useful Quick Riposte — which guarantees Ike can counterattack twice as long as he's above 70% HP — he's already quite built with a somewhat antiquated but synergistic enemy phase build. Notably, Radiant Aether II's healing keeps Quick Riposte's threshold going as long as you exercise reasonable matchups. The game plan is mostly similar to the first build with just as simple finesse: End Turn and watch the Special sparks fly.
- Fortunately, the list of Seals Ike can use has gotten significantly better as years went by. Most Atk-based Solo (which offers two beefy stats swings in non-tight maps) or Stance skills (less stat boosts but works unconditionally) will do great here. Of note is Mirror Stance, which stacks up Ike's otherwise forgettable Resistance alongside Joint Drive Res and Warding Breath.
Strengths
Radiant Aether II
Radiant Aether II is a direct upgrade over Legendary Ike's previous version of it; like the original version, it provides all the perks of Aether (both powerful burst damage and sustain off whatever damage it's doing) at a more even cooldown of 4. After Ike's legendary hero remix, it now sports the ability to precharge itself by -2 on Turn 1, giving Ike the opportunity to activate it sooner. This works especially well in conjunction with Special Spiral, which previously needed Ike to retaliate twice to get it going on its first activation.
Infantry Perks
A lack of effective weaknesses is something Ike at least enjoys due to his infantry movement typing. Additionally, Special Spiral, Null Follow-Up, and the Lull skills are also great exclusive tools at his disposal.
Decent Stat Spread
Legendary Ike's stat spread can hardly be called fantastic these days, but 36 base Attack at least ensures his Radiant Aether powered hits strike very hard, 35 Defense is decent enough to go toe-to-toe against fellow physical hitters, and 30 Speed, though average, is buildable through the right skill investments and ally choices.
Legendary Hero Perks
Ike is more readily available in Legendary Hero Remix banners, where he can be summoned at an improved rate with no other off-focus heroes while having a guaranteed chance after 40 summons if needed. Additionally, on Earth seasons, he can contribute upwards of six additional points to your Arena scoring range (though more recent Earth legendaries score better by themselves), while on Aether Raids, he can benefit from the blessing boosts of other Mythic heroes in Aether Raids.
Weaknesses
Low Resistance
Legendary Ike, unfortunately, suffers a common early-installment weakness of having a distant countering weapon yet unable to use it with full effectiveness due to his weaker Resistance stat. A base Resistance value of 21 indeed leaves Ike weaker to powerful magical hits, which can take him down quickly through one-shots or double attacks.
Average Speed
High Speed is a key offensive and defensive strength in Fire Emblem Heroes, and Ike unfortunately doesn't spare much of that at a base value of 30. Without high investment (which even then can be beaten by dedicated speedsters such as Mareeta), Ike will not be able to perform many follow-ups or avoid them on his own.
Outclassed
It's no longer undeniable that Ike's stats, though great in 2018, are simply lacking in comparison to modern sword infantry units. For instance, his most comparable competition, his Fallen version, is leagues above him due to a directly improved version of Ragnell that absorbs penalties, while boasting significantly higher Speed and the ability to be blessed in any season. A lot of sword infantry units like Fallen Ike also tend to perform the role of a tank much more reliably with access to Speed-based reduction skills. With just Radiant Aether II as a sporting trophy, it's obvious there's still more room for Ike to improve.
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Ragnell | A | Warding Breath |
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Swap | B | Quick Riposte 2 |
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Radiant Aether | C | Atk Smoke 3 |
S | Distant Def 3 |
When I rejoined L!Ike was there to welcome me back xD
His base skills that I kept are his Ragnell, R!Aether, and Breath skill.
I added Swap, so he can put himself onto the frontlines at any moment desired.
Quick Riposte is there to make sure he can double no matter the opponent and get that R!Aether charged up. Atk Smoke can be very useful to lower the incoming damage from enemies, making his survivability even higher.
The seal of choice is either Distant Def or Mirror Stance, it changes per map/challenge :-)
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Ragnell | A | Atk/Res Solo 3 |
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Reposition | B | Wrath 3 |
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Radiant Aether | C | Rouse Atk/Def 3 |
S | Quick Riposte 3 |
What I have in mind was making Ike, like in Path of Radiance where he was able to solo the game Lol.
Mine is +5 merged, + def and summoner support. I think, if you have a + spd will work better, he will be able to avoid some doubles and make his own, specially against those annoying dragons (Except for Winter Sothis, she is too fast, but a Aether with wrath and she is death). L Ike + spd at +10 without summoner support and draco flowers can reach 37 spd and with teammates who can speed buff, he can go further to the point where QR sacred seal will not be needed. Without merges he is at 33 spd, it is still good.
Now the build:
- Weapon: Ragnell, Distant Counter on a weapon is always great.
- Assist skill: Reposition because it is cheaper, but a Rally+ or Harsh Command+ is better if you want to score more arena points.
- A slot: Atk / res solo or his warding breath. I prefer Atk / res solo because it works on both phases and Ike get a +6 invisible boost in atk and res.
- B slot: Wrath. when active, he is able to defeat so many units, even blue ones and will restore full hp or almost thanks to his Radiant Up B (Aether).
- C slot: Rouse Atk / def. A +6 visible boost in attack and defense. Ike will have a great mixed bulk thanks to his C skill and A skill, also he will have a +12 in atk. The problem with this skill is the activation, Ike must be alone in order to use it.
- Sacred seal: Quick Riposte or Distant / Close defense. QR is in my opinion more usable for him when he is not a + spd and +10. That double is needed, but if Ike is +10, + spd and +10 dracoflowers you may change it to Close or Distant defense to make him more durable than he already is.
Conclusion: Even if my Ike is not a +10 and + spd, this set works amazing on him, for arena and every other mode it works great. You shoulg give it a try if you like it.
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Ragnell | A | Warding Breath |
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Reposition | B | Quick Riposte 3 |
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Radiant Aether | C | Def Tactic 3 |
S | Close Def 3 |
W - Ragnell: DC weapon
A - Reposition: Standard assist
S - Radiant Aether: Aether at 4 special charge
A - Warding Breath: Special charge +1 and res +4
B - Quick Riposte 3: Retaliate with a double
C - Def Tactic: Filler skill
SS - Close Def 3: Increase close range bulk
Stats higher than usual due to summoner bond (+5 HP, +2Atk/Spd/Def/Res), + 1 merge, and +3 dragonflowers
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Slaying Edge+ (+Spd) | A | Distant Counter |
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Reposition | B | Special Spiral 3 |
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Radiant Aether | C | Infantry Breath 3 |
S | Darting Stance 3 |
Weapon: Slaying Edge+ (Def+ Refine)
Support: Variable
Special: Radiant Aether
A Skill: Distant Counter / Steady Breath / Warding Breath
B Skill: Special Spiral / Quick Riposte / Swordbreaker
C Skill: Variable
Sacred Seal: Darting Stance / Quick Riposte / Quickened Pulse
An incredibly high investment build, but hear me out. If you really like Ike I think this is the ideal build. It reduces his unique Aether thanks to Slaying Edge+ but also pads his stats some more thanks to weapon refinery.
By switching out your weapon and A skill you lose a net 2 attack but gain a special cooldown charge (retaining Aether proc retaliation), 5HP and whatever refinery buff you choose (speed to avoid doubles?).
Ideally he would have an ally providing infantry breath to him to further reduce special cooldown on the first enemy phase.
and thereafter special spiral 3 in hid B slot should cover the rest.
If highly merged darting stance can avoid critical doubles whereas at lower merges quick riposte is your best bet.
One cheese shenanigan you can run is Slaying Edge+ (refined), Steady/Warding Breath, Wrath and Quickened Pulse Sacred Seal to make him an almost unkillable enemy phase melee brawler
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Ragnell | A | Warding Breath |
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Pivot | B | Vantage 3 |
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Radiant Aether | C | Threaten Def 3 |
S | Quick Riposte 3 |
It's an +4 with a boon +ATK
A: Warding Breath, it give him some bulk against magic user in combat and lower the cooldown.
B: Vantage, it gives him the possibility to attack before the enemy which safe me several time even more when he's special was ready.
C: At the time, I didn't know which C I should give to him so let's reduce the enemy def...
Seal: The combo Vantage and QR is deadly for this kind of unit who can heal themselves.
Weapon Skills
Weapons | SP | Rng. | Mt. |
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![]() Learns by default at 1 ★ Unlocks at 1 ★ Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
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50 | 1 | 6 |
![]() Learns by default at 3 ★ Unlocks at 2 ★ Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
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100 | 1 | 8 |
![]() Learns by default at 4 ★ Unlocks at 3 ★ Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
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200 | 1 | 11 |
![]() Learns by default at 5 ★ Unlocks at 5 ★ Non-Inheritable skill.
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400 | 1 | 16 |
Special Skills
Special Skills | SP | Turns |
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![]() Learns by default at 4 ★ Unlocks at 3 ★ Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
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100 | 3 |
![]() Unlocks at 4 ★ Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
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200 | 3 |
![]() Unlocks at 5 ★ Non-Inheritable skill.
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500 | 4 |
![]() Unlocks at 5 ★ Non-Inheritable skill.
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500 | 4 |
Passive Skills
Passive Skills | SP | Slot |
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![]() Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 3 ★ |
50 | A |
![]() Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 4 ★ |
100 | A |
![]() Melee, Infantry, and Armored Only
Unlocks at 5 ★ |
240 | A |
![]() Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 3 ★ |
40 | B |
![]() Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 4 ★ |
100 | B |
![]() Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 5 ★ |
200 | B |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 1 ★ |
60 | C |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 2 ★ |
120 | C |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★ |
240 | C |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 2 ★ |
50 | C |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★ |
120 | C |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★ |
240 | C |
![]() Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★ |
300 | C |
Other Info
Origin |
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
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