Matthew

Weapon: Spy’s Dagger (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist / Reciprocal Aid

Special: Moonbow / Lethality

A Passive: Close Foil / Close Salvo / Close Reversal / Close Counter

B Passive: Vantage

C Passive: Spd Smoke 4 / Joint Drive Atk / Atk Smoke

Sacred Seal: Atk Smoke / Spd Smoke

• Despite having a Resplendent, Matthew’s Atk stat continues to remain on the lower end with a base of 27 and 31 with a boon. However, thanks to Spy’s Dagger, he’s able to alleviate that issue quite a bit, assuming that there are active debuffs on the targeted foe, which should be easy to accomplish given his status as a Dagger. This either requires external support to inflict debuffs on his respective foes or, the more common option, for him to enter combat. With the latter in mind, he’ll more than likely take a fair amount of damage, so for longevity and consistency purposes in mind, we’ll be making him a Vantage unit.
   
• Any Special that is easy to trigger will suit Matthew quite well. Moonbow, in particular, is an easy-to-proc Special that helps out with his overall damage output since his base Atk is quite low by today’s standards. There’s also Lethality which does take longer to charge but is a lot more effective in nature.
   
• Any A Passive that allows Matthew to counter in the enemy phase will work well for him since he’ll be acting as a Vantage unit. Close Foil continues to prove itself as a notable option as it grants Atk and Def with the only downside of not being able to counter Dragons. This trade-off remains a non-issue given that Dragons aren’t nearly as common as they once were, and while they do exist, it doesn’t compare to the number of other weapon types he’ll have to face. Of course, you can always go with Close Salvo if you are worried about the ability to counter all foes and it goes provide additional Atk as well. Beyond that, there’s Close Reversal which helps him out with his survivability quite a bit against Def-targeting foes, and Close Counter if the other options aren’t available for the taking.
   
• Vantage pairs exceptionally well with his ability to stack an absurd amount of Atk thanks to Spy’s Dagger. This can allow him to focus on one-shot potential and keep his survivability high in the enemy phase. The only caveat will be the setup but if he’s running Winter Bernadetta support then he can have it ready to go instantaneously. If that isn’t available, Matthew can simply enter combat and take damage that way.
   
• Spd Smoke 4 will arguably be one of Matthew’s best C Slot options not only as it synergizes with his PRF since it works off of the foes’ debuffs, but it can also provide Damage Reduction for survivability purposes. It will take one combat to set it up, but once it gets going, it won’t be an issue. However, given the premium nature of the skill, you can always swap it out for Spd Smoke 3 and still get plenty of damage output. There’s also Joint Drive Atk if you would rather run external support that inflicts debuffs or Atk Smoke if Spd Smoke isn’t available.
   
• The Sacred Seal is mainly for synergetic purposes with the C Slot. Preferably, Matthew would want to run Spd Smoke 4 for the Damage Reduction properties with Atk Smoke as the Sacred Seal, but if that isn’t available then it can be interchanged. However, Atk Smoke 4 would be a bit redundant since his PRF already grants visible buffs to his Def and Res so skip out on that variant.

Weapon: Spy’s Dagger (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow / Lethality

A Passive: Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot

B Passive: Spd/Def Tempo / Null Follow-Up

C Passive: Atk/Spd Menace / Time’s Pulse

Sacred Seal: Blade Session / Flashing Blade

• If using Matthew as an enemy phase unit isn’t want you want out of him, you can instead focus his attention on the player phase. Matthew can work quite well in the player phase with the right set of skills and/or support and this kit is here to highlight that role.
   
• Similar to the last set, Matthew would prefer to run low-cooldown Specials that are easy to trigger since it’ll make it easier to take out foes consistently. Of course, there’s no guarantee that a Moonbow proc alone will suffice, so he can always opt for Lethality. That being said, you will have to build around the Special since he lacks any form of Slaying in his PRF, and replacing Spy’s Dagger for Barb Shuriken will make his offensive pressure suffer greatly.
   
• Any skill that boosts Matthew’s overall Atk and Spd will be a good option for Matthew as it’ll help alleviate any sort of offensive pressure he may be lacking due to his inadequate statline. Notable options include Atk/Spd Ideal, which synergizes well with Menace, and Swift Sparrow, which simply relies on initiating combat.
   
• Matthew has quite a fair amount of options when it comes to his B Slot. Spd/Def Tempo is a recent addition to the game that negates any sort of Guard/Breath effect as well as inflicts penalties to Spd and Def respectively, allowing him to reliably charge and trigger Specials with no caveats outside of being able to double. If doubling does prove to be an issue, then he can simply run Null Follow-Up and secure doubles that way. The latter is arguably going to come into play more often but there are benefits to running Spd/Def Tempo as well.
   
• Atk/Spd Menace has fantastic synergy with Spy’s Dagger given that the weapon relies on the foe having active debuffs. Moreover, as it grants visible buffs to his Atk and Spd, he’ll have an easier time outputting damage. Of course, he can also opt for Time’s Pulse if running Lethality as his PRF lacks any form of Slaying effect. He will also have to opt for Flashing Blade since it’ll allow him to charge it reliably.
   
• Depending on the Special equipped, Matthew can either opt for a Sacred Seal that increases his overall offensive pressure, such as Blade Session or can opt for Flashing Blade to make Lethality easier to trigger. The former is more consistent as it’s a simple boost to Atk and Spd while the latter has a higher ceiling for damage output, assuming that he can get it off reliably. Even so, both options do quite well respectively.