New Year Hríd

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF / -SPD or -HP

• Weapon: Safeguard+ (+Def)

• Assist: Reposition / Flexible

• Special: Blue Flame / Bonfire / Ignis

• Passive A: Steady Stance / Atk/Def Bond

• Passive B: Quick Riposte / Guard

• Passive C: Def Smoke / Hone Fliers / Flexible

• Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Bond / Close Def / Quick Riposte / Atk Smoke

This set focuses primarily on Enemy Phase combat by playing to Hrid’s strengths, making Attack and Defense the choice boons in order to improve his performance. For his weapon, Safeguard makes for the strongest overall option. Not only does it massively boost his physical bulk when initiated on, but it also pairs exceptionally well with Specials that have a cooldown of 3. As for the Special itself, Blue Flame makes for a great choice thanks to its raw power as well as Hrid’s Enemy Phase playstyle favoring him being close to his teammates. If the former is unavailable, both Bonfire and Ignis make for strong and consistent options thanks to Hrid’s fantastic Defense.

Moving on to main skills, Steady Stance gives Hrid yet another massive boost to his Defense when initiated on as well as the effect of Guard. This boosts his survivability by further boosting his physical bulk as well as preventing his opponents from activating their Specials. Although this doesn’t give as big of a boost to his physical bulk, Hrid’s native Atk/Def Bond makes for a solid alternative by boosting both his Attack and Defense when adjacent to a teammate.

Quick Riposte is essential for Hrid, as he is reliant on it to perform follow-up attacks in the Enemy Phase. Assuming Hrid is not running Steady Stand in his A slot, one can also choose to move Quick Riposte to the seal slot in favor of running Guard as his B skill. Guard will greatly reduce damage taken from opponents that rely on activating their Specials such as Ayra, Karla, and Zelgius.

Def Smoke is a great choice of C skill for Hrid as a standalone unit. By reducing the physical bulk of opponents around him after combat, any affected targets that initiate on him afterward will take even more damage. A more team-synergetic option is Hone Fliers, as it allows Hrid to be a benefactor on a flier-centric team by buffing his allies. Otherwise, the C slot can be replaced as needed to suit the team.

Hrid has several options for Sacred Seals. Atk/Def Bond makes for a very strong option here as well by granting Hrid even more Attack and Defense when adjacent to a teammate. Close Defense makes for a good alternative, as it will reduce damage taken from all melee opponents when initiated on. If not already being used in the B slot, Quick Riposte is pivotal in allowing Hrid to perform follow-up attacks in the Enemy Phase. Finally, Atk Smoke pairs well with Def Smoke by reducing the damage of opponents around him after combat and increasing his overall survivability.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -SPD

• Weapon: Brave Sword+

• Assist: Reposition / Flexible

• Special: Moonbow / Draconic Aura

• Passive A:  Death Blow

• Passive B: Chill Def

• Passive C:  Odd Atk Wave / Hone Fliers / Flexible

• Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Attack +3

Thanks to his exceptional Attack, Hrid can take a page out of Cherche’s book by adopting the classic Brave weapon offensive set. This ORKO playstyle makes Attack to boon to have above all else. For his Special, Moonbow makes for a fantastic choice by potentially activating every single round of combat on Hrid’s second hit when combined with the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal. Draconic Aura makes for a stronger but less consistent alternative, as it will only activate every other round of combat.

In order to maximize the amount of damage Hrid can do in a single round of combat, Death Blow makes for the best overall A slot option by granting him a massive boost to his Attack on initiation. Chill Def is a good B skill both for increasing Hrid’s damage output as well as the overall support that he can provide to his team. While Chill Def can greatly increase physical damage against the affected target, it is not always consistent. This is due to it targeting the unit with the highest Defense on the enemy team and not necessarily the unit with the highest physical bulk.

Odd Attack Wave makes for a great choice of C skill, as it boosts Hrid’s self-sufficiency by granting him a strong +6 boost to his Attack on odd-numbered turns. Last but not least, Attack +3 is a good choice of Sacred Seal in giving Hrid a solid boost to his damage.

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF or +RES / -SPD or -HP

• Weapon: Barrier Blade (+Res)

• Assist: Reposition / Flexible

• Special: Blue Flame / Bonfire / Aether

• Passive A:  Distant Counter

• Passive B: Quick Riposte

• Passive C: Def Smoke / Hone Fliers / Flexible

• Sacred Seal: Distant Defense / Iotes Shield / Atk Smoke

This build aims to build on Hrid’s solid magical bulk in order to turn him into an effective magic tank and ranged combatant through the skill Distant Counter. As such, Barrier Blade makes for the choice weapon by greatly boosting Hrid’s Resistance when initiated on.

In addition to Attack and Defense, Resistance also makes for a good choice of boon in order in order to even out his overall bulk as well as making it more difficult for magical attackers to take him out in a single round of combat. For his Special, Blue Flame and Bonfire remain choices for their sheer damage alone though Aether can make for a good alternative by giving Hrid self-sustainability through its healing aspect at the cost of a longer cooldown.

The rest of this set bears many similarities to the previous one. Hrid still needs Quick Riposte in order to perform follow-up attacks in the Enemy Phase, making it the best B skill for him to have. Smoke skills such as Def Smoke and Atk Smoke also remain a great option in both the C and Sacred Seal slot by debuffing opponents around Hrid after combat.

Distant Defense makes for the best choice of Sacred Seal by reducing damage taken from all ranged opponents when initiated on. However, Iotes Shield can make for a situationally useful alternative when facing opponents that have flier-effective weapons such as archers.