Niles

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -DEF
• Weapon: Niles’ Bow (+Eff)
• Assist: Reposition / Flexible
• Special: Iceberg / Luna / Blue Flame
• Passive A: Atk/Spd Solo / Atk/Spd Bond /  Swift Sparrow / Fury
• Passive B: Desperation 
• Passive C: Odd Atk Wave / Even Spd Wave / Spd Ploy / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Darting Blow / Atk/Spd Bond / Atk/Spd 2 / Attack +3 / Speed +3

Although previously quite underwhelming when utilized as a frontline combatant in comparison to other archers, Niles’ newly acquired personal weapon, the aptly named Niles’ Bow, has allowed for him to attain rather formidable combat prowess and excel when equipped with an offensively oriented build such as this one. Granting him a consistent -1 Special cooldown, a significant +7 damage boost per hit when his foe’s Defense exceeds their Resistance by 5 or more points, and built-in Flashing Blade when refined, Niles can be a surprisingly potent source of damage output under the proper circumstances, however, he will still be somewhat reliant on team support to function to the fullest of his capabilities.

For his Special, those with a 3-turn cooldown will be Niles’ best options here as the combined effects of his refined PRF allow him to consistently activate them in each round of combat in which he performs a follow-up attack, even while under Desperation’s HP threshold. Of those available to him, Iceberg makes for his ideal choice as it scales quite nicely with his strong base Resistance stat of 34, granting him an additional 17 damage each time upon activation. Luna can also be considered to help against foes with particularly high Defense stats who may prove troublesome to shut down, even with Niles’ Bow bonus damage. Blue Flame offers him the highest damage of all the aforementioned options, but is somewhat impractical to effectively utilize as maintaining its adjacency requirement can prove to be rather troublesome in the Player Phase; it will also not behave synergistically with skills such as Atk/Spd Solo and is overall quite limiting. Additionally, do keep in mind that Iceberg and Luna can potentially match Blue Flame by either buffing him up to at least 50 Resistance or if his opponent has at least 50 Defense respectively.

Most offensively oriented A slot skills will work excellently here, with Atk/Spd Solo being a particularly standout choice that grants him a massive +6/+6 Atk/Spd boost without detracting from his overall bulk or requiring additional set-up -- and thanks to this build’s offensively oriented playstyle, its positioning requirement will generally be a non-issue as he will typically be away from his allies regardless. That being said, Atk/Spd Bond is a decent alternative if making use of the Atk/Spd Bond seal to stack the skill’s powerful offensive boost, however, it faces the same issues as Blue Flame in that it can be quite tricky to consistently maintain its adjacency requirement in the Player Phase. Should either of the aforementioned options be unavailable, or if one does not wish to make Niles’ offensive potential entirely dependent on his ability to consistently fulfill a positioning requirement, Swift Sparrow makes for an excellent choice as well, granting him a comparable +4/+4 Atk/Spd boost upon initiation. Fury can also be considered to similarly enhance his offenses while also giving his overall bulk a much-needed increase. 

Desperation is a pivotal component of this build, being of the utmost necessity in order for Niles freely engage in combat without having to worry about being killed in retaliation by enabling him to perform successive follow-up attacks upon initiation. Wave skills such as Odd Atk Wave and Even Spd Wave are great options for his C slot as they allow Niles to be much more self-sufficient, but are not strictly necessary for him to function properly and can simply be replicated through team support. His good base Resistance stat also allows him to be a reliable user of Ploys to similarly enhance his offensive potential, though one should keep in mind that Def Ploy is actually a relatively poor option on him due to it lessening his chances of benefitting from his PRF’s bonus damage. Instead, Spd Ploy will generally be his best option in this regard, strengthening his ability to perform follow-up attacks against any foes whom he manages to target with its potent debuff. Otherwise, Niles has no real preference towards any particular C slot, so feel free to use any skill that best fits his team composition here. 

Lastly, since Niles’ Bow unique refine already allows Niles to benefit from the effects of Flashing Blade, his seal slot is actually quite flexible and open to any offensive stat-boosting seal. Darting Blow is an exceptional option that lends itself well to this build’s playstyle, elevating his combat prowess substantially through its formidable +6 Speed boost upon initiation. If it is unavailable, the Atk/Spd Bond seal is a decent option if also utilizing the skill in his A slot as previously mentioned but otherwise, Niles will generally find more consistency from other alternatives such as Atk/Spd 2, Attack +3, and Speed +3. 

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD or +RES / -DEF
• Weapon: Niles’ Bow (+Eff)
• Assist: Reposition / Flexible
• Special: Glacies 
• Passive A: Atk/Spd Bond / Atk/Res Bond / Atk/Spd Solo / Atk/Res Bond / Fury  
• Passive B: Null C-Disrupt / Guard / Quick Riposte 
• Passive C: Atk Smoke / Spd Smoke / Atk Smoke / Spd Smoke / Flexible 
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Atk/Spd Bond / Distant Def

This build sees Niles capitalize on his more obvious strengths, taking his combination of decent Speed and good Resistance to transform him into a capable anti-magic unit in the Enemy Phase -- and fortunately enough, his PRF complements his ability to fulfill this role quite nicely. Although the fact that mages tend to have higher Resistance than Defense does make it more difficult for him to benefit from Niles’ Bow +7 bonus damage, Niles can still make fantastic use of its consistent -1 Special cooldown and built-in Flashing Blade to increase his damage output substantially through more frequent Special activations. In addition to Assets to his Attack and Speed, a Resistance Asset may be a worthwhile option to consider should one wish to augment his magical resilience and diminish the amount of damage he receives from such foes. 

Glacies makes for his ideal choice of Special and lends itself perfectly with this build’s defensively oriented playstyle -- combined with Niles’ Bow’s amalgam of effects, this ensures that Niles will be able to consistently activate it in every round of combat in which he can counterattack regardless of whether or not he is doubled, provided that he himself performs a follow-up attack and his built-in Flashing Blade activates. 

Atk/Spd Bond is an exceptional choice of A slot skill that provides Niles with a significant boost to his raw damage output as well as his survivability via a lesser chance of being doubled, merely necessitating that he has at least one adjacent ally in order to benefit from the skill’s powerful effect. Alternatively, Atk/Res Bond can be taken if already providing him with a substantial amount of support to his Speed stat and focus more on his ability to directly take on sustained offensive pressure from opposing magical damage dealers. Atk/Spd Solo and Atk/Res Solo make for strong options as well to similarly enhance his performance, possessing the additional benefit of providing him greater functionality in the Player Phase -- however, they are still generally less preferable than Bond skills as Niles greatly appreciates receiving team support to perform up to par with his direct comparables, meaning that he generally prefers being close to his allies rather than away from them. On a budget, Fury is a suitable substitute that provides Niles with an appreciable +3 overall stat boost, though its chip damage will cause him to be more picky with selecting his matchups as to keep his HP from becoming too low. 

Regardless of his chosen A slot skill, however, Quick Riposte remains a crucial and core aspect of this build as any kind of Speed-stacking here is meant only to improve his ability to deny his opponent’s follow-up attacks, with the choice of whether to utilize it in his B slot or seal slot boiling down to a matter of skill availability and personal preference. Using it as his chosen B slot skill allows him to free up his seal slot for the Atk/Spd Bond and Distant Def seals to further enhance his combat prowess in the Enemy Phase, whereas utilizing it in his seal slot lets him make use of other powerful skills, most notable which being Null C-Disrupt. Effectively canceling out the counterattack-negating property of Dazzling Staff and other similar skills, Null C-Disrupt is a rather strong option and allows him to leverage his anti-mage capabilities against staff users as well, and is especially useful in modes such as Aether Raids. Guard is also a good option to let Niles safely take on a wider variety of foes, particularly mages who rely on quick Special activations to deal massive amounts of damage.

Atk and Spd Smoke are two great potential C slot skills that can go a long way in strengthening his individual performance in the Enemy Phase, with both options helping increase his overall survivability when baiting multiple foes at once. Ploys, such as Atk Ploy and Spd Ploy, remain effective choices here as well that pair quite nicely with Niles’ inherently high base Resistance stat. Otherwise, any skill that most suits his team composition can be used instead.