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Analysis by raelet
Leon - True of Heart

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
148
HP 39
ATK 34
SPD 30
DEF 30
RES 15

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 16 7 5 7 4
Middle 17 8 6 8 5
High 18 9 7 9 6

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 35 31 27 26 12
Middle 39 34 30 30 15
High 42 37 33 33 19

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

Brutal Beauty

Build by raelet
Recommended
Bow of Beauty (+Eff) A Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Reposition B Lull Spd/Def 3
Alternate: Special Spiral 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Bonfire
C Joint Hone Spd
Alternate: Odd Spd Wave 3
IVs

+SPD -RES

SSwift Sparrow 2
Alternate: Flashing Blade 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Bow of Beauty (+EFF)

Assist: Reposition

Special: Bonfire / Moonbow

Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Atk/Spd Solo

Passive B: Lull Spd/Def

Passive C: Joint Hone Spd / Odd Spd Wave

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Flashing Blade

  • While Leon's Speed is mediocre at best, it can improve drastically with some investment. Thanks to the Speed buff on his Bow of Beauty's special refine, an unmerged +SPD Leon can reach 48 Speed before buffs, while debuffing his opponent by -3 Speed due to his Lull skill. Merges and Dragonflower investment further improve his offensive prowess.
  • Because his weapon has cooldown mitigation, Leon can choose whether he wants to utilize Moonbow, which he can trigger in a single combat even if his opponent does not retaliate, or Bonfire, which will hit harder, but be more difficult to utilize in a single fight.
  • Due to Speed stacking, the followup denial on Bow of Beauty is more of a deterrent that protects him against units who use skills such as Quick Riposte or Vengeful Fighter.

Brave Heart (Player Phase)

Build by raelet
Recommended
Brave Bow+
Alternate: Spendthrift Bow+
A Death Blow (3 or 4)
Alternate: Sturdy Impact
Reposition B Lull Atk/Def 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Luna
C Def Smoke 3
Alternate: Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK -RES

SDeath Blow 3
Alternate: Heavy Blade 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Brave Bow+ / Spendthrift Bow+

Assist: Reposition / Flexible

Special: Moonbow / Luna

Passive A: Death Blow 4 / Sturdy Impact

Passive B: Lull Atk/Def

Passive C: Def Smoke / Pulse Smoke

Sacred Seal: Death Blow / Heavy Blade

  • Despite his refine, Leon still gets more mileage out of disregarding his poor Speed and focusing his Attack via the Brave Bow. With an +ATK IV, Leon reaches 37 Attack, which increases to 44 with the Brave Bow equipped, and hits over 50 with his skills all in play.
  • Because he is so easy to merge, a +10 Leon with +10 Dragonflowers will reach 67x2 with this build, which vastly outstrips many of his other options.
  • Leon is also one of the better users of the Spendthrift Bow for this reason: with his above-average Defense, combining Spendthrift Bow's -7 Attack debuff on his foe with Sturdy Impact's +10 Defense and Lull Attack's further -3 Atk Debuff, Leon essentially adds +20 Defensive Bulk on his initiations, making him very difficult to OHKO by a physical target. Furthermore, due to Sturdy Impact's followup denial, his target only has one opportunity to attack him in retaliation.
  • The difference between the two builds is that the Brave Bow build trades defensive utility for raw offensive power, while his Spendthrift Bow build may not KO his target, but it also makes him exceptionally tanky.

Rose's Thorns (generalist)

Build by raelet
Bow of Beauty (+Eff) A Close Foil
Alternate: Close Counter
Draw Back
Alternate: Reposition
B Lull Atk/Def 3
Alternate: Vantage 3
Bonfire
Alternate: Moonbow
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Atk Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +DEF / -RES

SQuick Riposte 3
Alternate: Atk/Def Bond 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Bow of Beauty (+EFF)

Assist: Draw Back / Reposition

Special: Bonfire / Moonbow

Passive A: Close Foil / Close Counter / Steady Posture

Passive B: Lull Atk/Def / Vantage / Mystic Boost

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Atk Smoke

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Atk/Def Bond

  • Since the Bow of Beauty's stat buff works in either phase, Leon can utilize a Close Counter build to be more flexible. He prefers Close Foil for the additional stats and his low Resistance makes him too vulnerable to dragons to want to bait them in the first place.
  • Lull Atk/Def adds to this, increasing his bulk while also increasing the damage he does. Vantage is another option for his B slot, but be warned that Vantage and Bow of Beauty's effects are anti-synergistic. Leon only gets his stat buff above 50% HP and Vantage only works below 75% HP, giving him a very narrow window in which both effects will be active. It's generally better to keep his HP as high as possible through Defense stacking.
  • Mystic Boost is a niche option for refilling his HP after every combat to keep him in range for his Bow of Beauty stat buffs.
  • Pulse Smoke and Atk Smoke both help to mitigate the damage he takes, while Quick Riposte is needed in his S slot to ensure that he doubles in the Enemy Phase.

Strengths

Bow of Beauty

Bow of Beauty's weapon refine is a pseudo impact skill, which grants him Atk/Spd/Def+4 while he is over 50% HP, as well as denying enemy followups if he initiates an attack. While this may be somewhat underwhelming, it still synergizes reasonably well with his base stats and can help him be a lot more survivable in PvP modes.

High Attack

Leon's Attack is reasonably high for an archer in the lower rarity pool and when merged and invested in, his base Attack can reach over 40, making it a decent investment.

Weaknesses

Poor Stat Allocation

Leon's Speed is in a dead zone at 30 - it can be increased, particularly with the help of his Bow of Beauty, but it still won't be able to compete with newer units coming out with over 40 base Speed. His Defense is similarly middling, though it's somewhat high for an archer.

Underwhelming Refine

Unfortunately, Leon's refine did not vault him into higher tiers as many of his fans had hoped. A meager conditional stat boost and restrictive Player Phase followup denial does little to help his Gen 1 statline and mediocre Speed tier.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Bow

Effective against flying units.

Only Inheritable by Bow users.
50 2 4
Steel Bow

Effective against flying units.

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

Effective against flying units.
Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1).

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
200 2 8
Slaying Bow+

Effective against flying units.
Accelerate Special trigger (cooldown count -1)

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Only Inheritable by Bow users.
300 2 12
Bow of Beauty

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). Effective against flying foes.

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

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Glowing Ember

Boosts damage dealt by 50% of unit's Def.

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

Boosts damage dealt by 80% of unit's Def.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 4

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Speed +1

Grants Spd+1

Inheritable by all units.
30
A
Speed +2

Grants Spd+2

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
A
Speed +3

Grants Spd+3

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
A
Guard 1

If unit's HP is ≥ 100% at start of combat, enemy is inflicted with Special cooldown charge-1.
(If using similar skill, only highest value applied.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
50
B
Guard 2

If unit's HP is ≥ 90% at start of combat, enemy is inflicted with Special cooldown charge-1.
(If using similar skill, only highest value applied.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
100
B
Guard 3

If unit's HP is ≥ 80% at start of combat, enemy is inflicted with Special cooldown charge-1.
(If using similar skill, only highest value applied.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
B

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem Gaiden

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Official Hero Artwork