Ricken

Weapon: Spectral Tome+ (+Spd) / Snow Globe+ (+Spd)

Assist: Assistless

Special: Moonbow / Glimmer / Ruptured Sky

A Passive: Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot / Sturdy Impact

B Passive: Windsweep / Watersweep / Spd/Res Tempo

C Passive: Fatal Smoke / Def/Res Smoke 3 / Time’s Pulse / Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Canto Control / Joint Drive Atk / Joint Drive Spd

Sacred Seal: Null Follow-Up / Blade Session

• Despite Ricken being a generic Green Tome with a lack of weapon options, the ones that he does have access to can prove to be successful in some aspects as they do provide their own niches. Spectral Tome is effectively Panic Smoke with the added benefit of going off as long as he can land a singular hit as it’s built into the weapon. Meanwhile, Snow Globe is beneficial in the sense that it can reverse any debuffs he may receive to his Atk and Res, the former being especially important as it can keep his damage output consistent. This set is mainly here to give him a niche that most units of his kind can’t take advantage of, whether that’s due to having a different color or having lackluster stats comparatively.
   
• Easily-triggerable Specials such as Moonbow and Glimmer are the best options as there’s very little chance that he’ll be able to run a higher-cooldown Special and get it off consistently. Granted, the main goal is to inflict a load of penalties on the foe but if the option of getting a Special off is there, he may as well take advantage of it.
   
• The best A Passive options that can be afforded to Ricken are the ones that bolster his overall Atk and Spd as he can continue to increase his damage output and more securely get Windsweep/Watersweep off. The latter is especially important if running Spectral Tome as he’ll be able to guarantee Panic on the opposing team. However, given that he can’t cover every threat, he can instead use Sturdy Impact and bank on taking a hit physically or using the extra Def to deter the adaptive damage Dragon threats have. Regardless, there are trade-offs for each skill so feel free to run what you feel is best.
   
• Ricken’s B Passive options boil down to two options: either prioritizing utility or damage output. Using either Windsweep or Watersweep means he can securely get damage out and inflict penalties with Smokes and Spectral Tome. However, any Guard effect will ultimately shut down his overall damage output. As such, he can instead run Spd/Res Tempo so that he can always get a Special out, assuming he’s on a team that functions well with him. However, he will lose out on the utility aspect and will be more prone to counterattacks. Whichever route you decide to go down, it’s best to keep these factors in mind.
   
• While Ricken’s weapon options are rather limited, his C Passive options are more than plentiful. His options range anywhere between inflicting and/or setting up effects to helping Ricken increase his damage output to simple utility. For set-up purposes, he has Fatal Smoke and Def/Res Smoke 3, the former going in tandem with Spectral Tome to inflict both Panic and Deep Wounds in one go, and the latter allowing for other defense units to swoop in for an attack as it grants the user Pathfinder. Meanwhile, if you would much rather prioritize damage, he can either run Time’s Pulse or Atk/Spd Oath 4, the former allowing him to get Specials off much more quickly, and the latter granting visible Atk and Spd and in-combat bonuses to said stats. Otherwise, he can either run Canto Control for shutting down Hit and Run strategies or any miscellaneous Joint Drive.
   
• As far as Sacred Seal options are concerned, the two best options allotted to him are Null Follow-Up and Blade Session. Null Follow-Up can allow Ricken to function as a Sweep Mage akin to units such as Ishtar and Young Merric. Meanwhile, Blade Session grants more Atk and Spd which is always a good thing to have. Depending on how you want to go about using Ricken on Aether Raids Defense, Null Follow-Up can always be replicated by Inf. Spd Tactic support so it’s not as imperative but if it’s not available to you, then having it in his kit would be much more beneficial.

Weapon: Madness Flask+ (+Spd) / Madness Flask+ (+Atk)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow / Blazing Wind / Glimmer / Ruptured Sky

A Passive: Fury (3 or 4) / Life and Death (3 or 4) / Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot

B Passive: Desperation / Special Spiral

C Passive: Atk/Spd Oath 4 / Time’s Pulse

Sacred Seal: Fury / Flashing Blade / Quickened Pulse

• As aforementioned, Green Tome units don’t have a lot of inheritable weapon options. However, Ricken having a fantastic Atk stat means he can take advantage of area-of-effect Specials, with the drawback being initial charges and looping prowess. He could also run a generic Fury Desperation set if that’s more up your alley, but as far as other options are concerned, there really aren’t many more options that can be afforded to him sadly. Even so, Ricken can make for a mean AoE spammer.
   
• Depending on which weapon you want to use on him, Ricken can either run Fury, Life and Death, or any miscellaneous Atk and Spd boosting A Passive. Fury pairs well with both sets as it increases his visible Atk stat but if the pursuit is an area-of-effect set, he would much rather run Life and Death as he can get more visible Atk out of it. Otherwise, Fury works well enough with Madness Flask, and if you would much rather use any other A Passive for boosting Atk and Spd, he can afford it as Fury is a Sacred Seal option and can allow him to fall into the Desperation range relatively quickly.
   
• In terms of B Passive options, he can either run Desperation or Special Spiral. The former pairs well with Fury stacking as he’ll be dropping his HP stat over several combats at a relatively quick pace. Meanwhile, the latter is effectively required if running an area-of-effect Special as he would otherwise struggle to loop the Special.
   
• C Passives options are a bit more limited in scope as Ricken is mainly using his Passive slots to increase his overall damage output. As such, the best option when using the Fury Desperation set would be Atk/Spd Oath 4 as it not only visibly buffs his Atk and Spd but also grants in-combat Atk and Spd that can easily make or break the difference between killing or being killed. Meanwhile, Time’s Pulse, while not required, will make charging the area-of-effect Special much more manageable as he lacks any Slaying weapon inheritables. This may change with a future Arcane weapon, but as it currently stands, he has to use Madness Flask, so it is heavily advised that he runs Time’s Pulse.
   
• The Sacred Seal options are relatively straightforward in approach. If running the Fury Desperation set, stacking Fury works well, especially if the A Passive is occupied by another Atk and Spd boosting A Slot. Otherwise, Flashing Blade will be important for the area-of-effect set as he wants to consistently loop it and can only do that with Special Spiral and Flashing Blade in tow. That being said, if the goal is simply getting it off once for Summoner Duels, he can instead run Quickened Pulse and Spring Sonya support so that he can get an instant area-of-effect going.