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Analysis by raelet
Minerva - Red Dragoon

5 Legacy

Obtainable as a 5 during certain summoning events only.

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
158
HP 40
ATK 31
SPD 33
DEF 32
RES 22

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 17 6 8 7 4
Middle 18 7 9 8 5
High 19 8 10 9 6

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 36 28 30 29 19
Middle 40 31 33 32 22
High 43 34 36 35 25

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

Minervykins' Revenge (Enemy Phase Bruiser)

Build by raelet
Recommended
Hauteclere (+Eff) A Distant Foil
Alternate: Steady Posture 3
Reposition B Guard Bearing 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Ruptured Sky
C Joint Drive Atk
Alternate: Def Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -RES or -HP

SIote's Shield
Alternate: Brazen Atk/Spd 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IVs: +ATK or +SPD / -RES or -HP

Weapon: Hauteclere (+Eff)

Assist: Reposition 

Specials: Moonbow / Ruptured Sky

Passive A: Distant Foil / Distant Counter / Steady Posture

Passive B: Guard Bearing / Quick Riposte / Vantage

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Def Smoke / Atk or Spd Wave

Sacred Seal: Iote's Shield / Brazen Atk/Spd / Close Def

  • Due to her weapon reducing her Special Cooldown by -1, Minerva can take a 2 CD Special and retaliate with it after she is first attacked by her opponent. The best Specials for this will likely be Moonbow over Glimmer due to her lower base Attack, or Ruptured Sky, to try and defeat a dragon before they can double her into her lower Resistance stat.
  • A Distant Foil/Iote's Shield set allows Minerva to retaliate against bow and dagger users while also bolstering her lowish Attack and respectable Defense. Distant Counter can also be considered, but due to her low Resistance stat, most high-tier mages will be able to defeat her in a single hit anyway and so she should be kept away from them regardless.
  • If you prefer her to specialize in melee engagements, Steady Posture will be her best bet - this is the ultimate defensive skill, as it raises her Speed to avoid being doubled, raises her Defense to take less damage, and prevents her opponents from charging their Special on her. She can also take Fort. Def/Res, but due to her already-middling Attack and very low Resistance, the benefits don't necessarily outweigh the drawbacks.
  • Guard Bearing enables Minerva to play much more safely, and can even allow her to take Distant Counter and bait mages, so long as they do not double her.
  • Quick Riposte will help her to eke out more damage, particularly against faster units. If a unit doubles her during Enemy Phase, then she will double back, while activating her Special with every attack. If you want to run both Guard Bearing and Quick Riposte, then the latter can be fitted into her Seal Slot, replacing Iotes Shield.

The Deathless Dragoon (Noontime Sustain Build)

Build by raelet
Hauteclere (+Eff) A Steady Posture 3
Alternate: Fury (3 or 4)
Reposition B Guard Bearing 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3
Noontime C Atk Smoke 3
Alternate: Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -HP or -RES

SClose Def 3
Alternate: Swift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IVs: +ATK or +SPD / -RES or -HP

Weapon: Hauteclere (+Eff)

Assist: Reposition

Specials: Noontime

Passive A: Steady Posture / Fury / Swift Sparrow

Passive B: Guard Bearing / Quick Riposte / Renewal

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Pulse Smoke

Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Close Defense / Iote's Shield

  • This build utilizes Minerva's weapon effects in order to fire off a 'mini Aether' Special with every engagement. Hauteclere ensures that Minerva does +10 damage each time her Special activates, even if that Special does no additional damage, and the Noontime Special heals her for 30% damage inflicted on the opponent. Hauteclere's cooldown reduction also means that Noontime is a 1 CD Special, meaning that it activates often.
  • When combined with her decent Speed, Guard Bearing in her B slot and moderate defensive bulk, this can make Minerva very sustainable and difficult to kill - a perfect unit for modes like Tempest Trials or Chain Challenges.
  • With this build, Minerva's A slot is highly flexible depending on how you want to build her: she can be an unkillable tank (Steady Posture/Fort. Def/Res), a sustainable striker (Swift Sparrow), or a successful generalist (Fury). Note that Guard Bearing is only active during the Enemy Phase and is not synergistic with skills like Swift Sparrow.
  • While Steady Posture further enhances her defensive capability by denying her opponent's Special activation, Fury is also a very attractive option due to her Special healing, which helps to negate the post-combat damage. Fury increases her Attack as well, making it a good option to try and do more damage, therefore getting more healing out of Noontime.
  • Quick Riposte helps her to ensure Special activation in Enemy Phase, however, Renewal can also bulk up her sustainability. Desperation is an interesting option that is best paired with Swift Sparrow in her A and S slot - with this, if Minerva's HP gets too low, she can attack twice consecutively to charge and activate Noontime in order to heal up.

Clere the Way (Player Phase Offense)

Build by raelet
Hauteclere (+Eff) A Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Alternate: Life and Death (3 or 4)
Reposition B Desperation 3
Alternate: Chill Spd 3
Luna
Alternate: Glimmer
C Even Spd Wave 3
Alternate: Joint Hone Spd
IVs

+SPD / -RES

SSwift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Preferred IVs: +SPD / -RES

Weapon: Hauteclere (+Eff)

Assist: Reposition

Specials: Luna / Moonbow

Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Life and Death / Fury

Passive B: Desperation / Chill Spd

Passive C: Even Spd Wave / Joint Hone Spd / Chill Spd

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Darting Blow

  • Minerva's Gen 1 stats and lack of auto-followup can make Player Phase builds difficult due to her powercrept Speed. However, by equipping her with newer skills, we can increase her Speed back to competitive levels.
  • With a +SPD boon and Swift Sparrow 3 with Swift Sparrow in her seal, Minerva will reach 48 Speed. By buffing it further with an ally's Hone Fliers or a Speed Wave skill, she can reach 54 Speed. If we add this to potential debuffs from Chill Speed or Speed Smoke, it becomes a lot easier for Minerva to secure doubles and in doing so, activate her Luna Special for additional damage.
  • If you're still unsure about her Speed, you can increase it further by using Darting Blow over Swift Sparrow, though this isn't necessarily recommended, as her Attack is also on the lower side.

Strengths

Offensive Green Flier

While many would consider Minerva to be overshadowed by Cherche, she still holds her own as one of the few noteworthy axe fliers in the game.

Her increased speed over Cherche enables a more brawling playstyle and leaves her less vulnerable in the Enemy Phase.

Hauteclere

Minerva is one of the two heroes who possess Hauteclere - a prf weapon which can be refined to grant her both a Slaying and Wo Dao effect.

This weapon adds a lot to Minerva's versatility and usefulness, as it enables her to frequently dish out high damage Specials on low cooldowns.

Weaknesses

Flier Restrictions

Minerva being a flier may be beneficial for maneuverability, but it also severely limits her build options.

Because she cannot inherit skills such as Steady Breath, Time's Pulse, or Special Spiral, her focus on activating Specials with Hauteclere cannot be adequately built around, which leaves her less effective than a unit like Karel, despite having identical weapon effects.

Low Resistance

Minerva's lower Resistance makes her extremely vulnerable to magical damage.

This forces her to initiate against mage units, and dragons (or mages/healers with Close Counter) are a massive threat to her.

This is in addition to her inherent flier weakness to bows, which will tear her apart despite her decent Defense stat.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Axe
Inheritable by Axe users only.
50 1 6
Steel Axe
Inheritable by Axe users only.
100 1 8
Silver Axe
Inheritable by Axe users only.
200 1 11
Hauteclere

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1).

Learns by default at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Holy Vestments

Reduces damage inflicted by attacks from foes 2 spaces away by 30%.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Restricted to melee units.
100 3
Sacred Cowl

Reduces damage inflicted by attacks from foes 2 spaces away by 30%

Unlocks at 5 ★
Restricted to melee units.
200 2

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Life and Death 1

Grants Atk/Spd+3. Inflicts Def/Res-3.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
50
A
Life and Death 2

Grants Atk/Spd+4. Inflicts Def/Res-4.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100
A
Life and Death 3

Grants Atk/Spd+5. Inflicts Def/Res-5.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
A
Spur Def 1

Grants Def+2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Spur Def 2

Grants Def+3 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
100
C
Ward Fliers

Grants Def/Res+4 to flying allies within 2 spaces during combat.

Only inheritable by flier units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

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Official Hero Artwork