Legendary Ryoma

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES or -HP
• Weapon: Firesweep Sword+
• Assist: Reposition / Draw Back
• Special: Moonbow / Glimmer
• Passive A: Life and Death / Swift Sparrow / Death Blow
• Passive B: Bushido / Hit and Run / Chill Spd
• Passive C: Goad Fliers / Fortify Fliers / Guidance / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Quickened Pulse

Thanks to his fantastic 34/39 offensive statline and his signature skill Bushido, Legendary Ryoma is arguably the best Firesweep user in the entire game. Among sword fliers specifically, his offensive spread is identical to that of a +SPD Elincia, meaning he will almost always outperform her offensively. Additionally, while it is common for Firesweep users to run a 2-cooldown Special combined with Heavy Blade (or Quickened Pulse), allowing for instant Special activations, Ryoma can do so most reliably by reaching a higher max Attack or Speed with the appropriate boon, and will de facto always hit harder thanks to having an additional 10 damage granted by Bushido. Compared to other sword users like Soleil, his flier mobility also makes initiating (and retreating away) an easier task than any other movement type.

Reposition is the classic choice for assist on fliers, giving his allies fantastic maneuverability and potentially allowing any non-flier allies the ability to pass over mountains or water. On a budget or if one want to prioritize Ryoma's survivability, Draw Back allows him to scoot farther away from enemies when retreating.

As Ryoma wants to use a 2-cooldown Special, Moonbow or Glimmer are his options. Moonbow will help him break through tanks, while Glimer will be stronger when he has lots of Attack boosts and also comes on him by default.

Life and Death is the preferred choice for A skill, giving Ryoma the biggest boost possible at the cost of his defenses which he will almost never be making use of anyway (as he cannot be counterattacked and should ideally never be in enemy range on Enemy Phase). Before any boon, this boosts Ryoma's total offenses to 54/44, and can be boosted to 60/50 with an allied Hone Fliers. An Attack boon brings this to 63/50 and any Goad Fliers buffs can continue to push these numbers to frankly absurd levels, almost guaranteeing he will be activating Heavy Blade and doubling his opponent (barring the effects of skills like Swordbreaker or Wary Fighter). Swift Sparrow is an alternate option if one is uncomfortable dropping his defenses, though is generally harder to get one's hands on, and sometimes the loss of Speed on Enemy Phase may hurt him more than the increase in bulk helps. If one has a +SPD Ryoma, one can use Death Blow as a cheap alternative, granting him a bonus point of Attack at the cost of just two Speed.

His exclusive skill Bushido is essentially a Wo Dao as a skill, granting him 10 additional damage when his Special activates. As a B slot skill, this makes it somewhat comparable to Wrath, which fliers are normally unable to learn. Although unlike Wrath it doesn't grant -1 Special cooldown at the start of his turn, it does not have a HP restriction, which is much appreciated as Ryoma will usually be attacking at full HP. If one is willing to forego Bushido, Hit and Run is the standard pick for Firesweep fliers, allowing them to retreat to safety after combat, and helps keeps him safe on Enemy Phase. Alternatively, Chill Spd allows him to gimp opposing speedy units like Ayra, potentially enabling him to double her even when she is significantly Speed-invested.

Ryoma's C skill will depend on what kind of team he is being run on. Goad Fliers is a great generic pick that gives a huge offensive boost to any flier allies. If his team is running any bulky Enemy Phase fliers or a mage flier with a Blade tome, Ryoma is also a good holder of Fortify Fliers, as he himself will rarely need the defensive stats. If being used on a mixed or tactics team, his default Guidance is already perfect. Many more options can work such as a Threaten or Smoke skill if one wishes.

Heavy Blade is Ryoma's preferred Sacred Seal, as it will enable him to activate Moonbow or Glimmer every time he doubles an opponent so long as his Attack is high enough. If the Seal is unavailable, Quickened Pulse will provide a similar effect, but only on his first initiation.

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES or -HP
• Weapon: Raijinto
• Assist: Reposition / Draw Back
• Special: Glimmer
• Passive A: Kestrel Stance / Fury
• Passive B: Vantage / Bushido
• Passive C: Guidance / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Iote's Shield / Attack +3 / Speed +3 / Defense +3

A low investment set that requires no inherits from heroes unable to be obtained as 3 star units.

A budget set is actually fairly easy to create for Ryoma. He comes with an almost entirely full kit right out of the gate, only really requiring an assist, and all of his skills are fairly powerful and completely usable. The main drawback here is that the playstyle of his base kit is somewhat anti-synergistic with his stats. As a flier with low Resistance, he is a fairly poor user of his base Raijinto, not often wishing to take ranged counterattacks, and much more suited to an offensive style of play. Even so, the set of skills is still powerful enough to be perfectly viable.

Kestral Stance is a great skill and does not necessarily need to be replaced, but Fury can grant him some appreciated bulk that may be needed if he is expected to Enemy Phase.

While Bushido is a fantastic skill, Vantage may be what he needs to allow him to Enemy Phase more than once, and has been a fan favorite skill on Distant Counter users such as the non-legendary Infantry Ryoma ever since Skill Inheritance was added to the game. Combined with enough boosts to his Attack and proper timing of his Special, it can let him cut down an enemy before they can even touch him.

Guidance is already a top tier skill, and likely should not need to be swapped unless one seriously desires another skill, such as a flier buff.

If Ryoma is being expected to Enemy Phase, it may be wise to take the Iote's Shield Sacred Seal. This removes his weakness to Fliers and grants him much better Enemy Phase capability, though he must still watch out for powerful mages. If unavailable, virtually any common budget Seal, such as a basic Stat +3, can be utilized quite effectively.

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK / -RES or -HP
• Weapon: Slaying Edge+ (+Spd/Def) / Wo Dao+ (+Spd/Def)
• Assist: Reposition / Draw Back
• Special: Moonbow / Glimmer
• Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Kestrel Stance / Fury / Distant Counter
• Passive B: Bushido / Desperation / Vantage / Swordbreaker
• Passive C: Guidance / Goad Fliers / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Speed +3 / Attack +3 / Close Def

While Ryoma works great as a Firesweep user, his 34/39 Atk/Spd and his fairly decent 41/28 HP/Def is still some of the greatest among all sword users, allowing him to work perfectly well as a conventional sword duelist. While most fliers would be disadvantaged in this respect due to lack of access to powerful duelist skills like Wrath, Ryoma's exclusive skill Bushido grants him a comparable effect. However, one must beware that his weakness to fliers and low Resistance makes him a slightly worse Distant Counter user, another common skill for similar sword duelists like Ayra, Mia, and Soleil. This is also why it is common to forego his exclusive weapon Raijinto, slightly more suited to Ryoma's non-legendary infantry counterpart.

Ryoma can choose between a Slaying Edge or a Wo Dao for his weapon, the choice depending largely on how one wants to use him. Slaying Edge drops Moonbow or Glimmer's cooldown to 1, and if playing Enemy Phase style, lets him always respond with a counterattack. Quickened Pulse will also allow him to instantly activate his Special for his first combat, potentially taking down a powerful enemy in a single blow. Wo Dao however can be used to combo with Bushido granting him a striking +20 damage on every Special activation (or alternatively continue to grant him some bonus Special damage if one is passing on Bushido). This allows him to better burst through difficult tanks, and may be preferred on a bulkier Ryoma that is more willing to take counterattacks (i.e. a decent choice if one has a Defense boon).

Swift Sparrow is a great skill on such a duelist build, and grants him the biggest boost if he is planning to play on Player Phase. Conversely, his default Kestrel Stance will grant him the same stats on an Enemy Phase style Ryoma. Fury lets him do a mix of the two, and grants him some bonus bulk, at the cost of 6 HP per combat. As a final alternative, while he is not the greatest user of Distant Counter, he will still often have the bulk to take a single mage hit from full HP and OHKO in retaliation, but against particularly tough enemies this may put him low enough that he may be unable to take any more hits for the remainder of the map. If his team lacks any other Distant Counter users it is a viable option, letting him clear out a dangerous ranged enemy. Be careful attempting to combat any opposing archers however. Sitting at 74 Physical Bulk after a weapon refine, Ryoma will be unable to survive archers that initiate with any higher than 49 Attack, which is not all that hard to reach. While it is true Ryoma does have his Raijinto weapon which grants Distant Counter, utilizing a different weapon that can be refined for additional bulk and said weapon's bonus effect will generally be more impactful than running Raijinto alongside another A skill.

Bushido grants Ryoma the greatest nuking power on Special activation. If one is willing to forego it, Desperation is a powerful duelist skill that works great on a Player Phase set comboed with an A slot like Fury. Also Vantage is a great (if slightly antiquated) option that synergizes decently if one opts for Distant Counter. Swordbreaker is a niche option that can be used specifically to shut down units such as Bold Fighter Zelgius, if his team lacks any other reliable counters.

As this is a generalist Ryoma set, he may find himself deployed alongside all types of allies, making him a great user of his natural Guidance skill. A flier buff is preferred though if mainly used with fliers.

Quickened Pulse has some interesting synergy with his two weapon options and allows him to nuke an enemy with Bushido as early as possible. Speed +3 and Attack +3 are absolutely acceptable options that may be more accessible. Close Def is an option on a tankier Ryoma, such as when used with a Defense boon and/or refine, and when expected to Enemy Phase.