Rutger

Weapon: Wanderer Blade (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Vital Astra / Sol / Noontime

A Passive: Distant Dart / Distant Stance / Distant Counter

B Passive: Null Follow-Up / Spurn / Null C-Disrupt

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

Sacred Seal: Mystic Boost / Atk/Spd Solo

• Wanderer Blade is just the upgrade Rutger needed to compete in today’s climate. The PRF in question contains a Slaying effect, +10 Atk/Spd, Spd-based Dual Phase Breath, and Spd-Based Damage Reduction, making Rutger much more formidable than he was prior to his refine. In a similar vein to Yen’Fay, he can opt for a Dodge tank role as the innate Damage Reduction, combined with the Slaying effect and Dual Phase Breath effect, will allow him to not only maintain a fair amount of survivability but also allow to output a fair amount of damage, the latter Yen’Fay somewhat struggles with. As such, the first build that will be highlighted is for Dodge tank purposes.
   
• Vital Astra on its own is rather potent as it scales damage based on the user’s Spd stat, so even without gaining the Damage Reduction properties, it’s still a solid Special all-around. That being said, Rutger would like to have some form of sustainability in his kit, and given that his PRF already has innate Damage Reduction, running Sol or Noontime isn’t a bad alternative, especially since he’ll guarantee it going off on his first hit, provided that the foe initiates combat and doesn’t have a Guard effect (Noontime will be charged regardless of Guard).
   
• As a Dodge tank, it’s imperative that he is able to keep his sustainability high. As such, allowing Ranged units to attack him without having the ability to retaliate will wear him down over time as his mixed bulk is rather low and 40% Damage Reduction will only do so much by itself. So, running a Distant Counter skill will be the way to go. Distant Dart is great for bolstering his overall Spd and making him even harder to double with Distant Stance will provide additional Res for more general tanking. Avoid using Distant Counter skills with chip damage as he wants to keep his HP above 25%. Regular Distant Counter is a much better alternative.
   
• Null Follow-Up will arguably be his most important B Passive as he will want to secure his ability to double and shut down as much incoming damage as possible. Of course, you could have fun and run Spurn to bolster his Damage Reduction even more but do keep in mind that it scales multiplicatively rather than additionally and isn’t that optimal comparatively to Null Follow-Up. You could also run Null C-Disrupt for some interesting tech options against units with a Firesweep effect and run Null Follow-Up support from the likes of either Fallen Lilith or Inf. Null Follow from Ascended Celica.
   
• To get the full effects of Vital Astra on a consistent basis, Rutger will want to opt for Time’s Pulse as it’ll be fully charged at the start of every turn. That being said, if you only want it for its damaging properties or are running a different Special entirely, he can instead opt for skills that bolster his overall Atk and Spd such as Atk/Spd Oath 4 or Joint Drive Atk & Joint Drive Spd, the former granting +3 Atk/Spd as well as visible buffs to his Atk and Spd and the Joint Drives providing +4 to their respective stat.
   
• Provided that Vital Astra is his Special of choice, he won’t have any means of keeping himself healthy which may not be too bad depending on the composition he’s in but if there are no external means of providing HP to Rutger, then he’ll want to run Mystic Boost as his Sacred Seal so that he can continually Dodge tank as well as maintain his 25% HP condition. However, if he is running Sol or Noontime, he can instead opt for a Sacred Seal that bolsters his Atk and Spd such as Atk/Spd Solo.

Weapon: Wanderer Blade (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Galeforce

A Passive: Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot / Fury

B Passive: Null Follow-Up / Close Call / Wings of Mercy / Hit and Run

C Passive: Time’s Pulse / Odd Tempest / Even Tempest / Savage Blow

Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Blade Session / Savage Blow / Fury

• Wanderer’s Blade is quite flexible in what it can accomplish thanks to the accelerated cooldown it grants per attack, provided that he meets the Spd check which shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish. What also helps is the innate Slaying as that can allow for easier Special triggers. As such, one of the better kits you can run on Rutger is a Galeforce set as even with Guard effects present, he can still get the Special off as long as he is running Time’s Pulse or can get his Galeforce to three-cooldown before combat with external support. He will also need the foe can counter back and charge his Special if they have a Guard effect present, which is perfectly safe to do in most instances as he has Damage Reduction built into his weapon as well.
   
• Since the goal is to double and meet his weapon’s conditions, he will realistically want to stack as much Atk and Spd as possible. He doesn’t have to worry about running Heavy Blade / Flashing Blade as the accelerated cooldown is built into his weapon, so inherit to your heart’s content. If there is one skill worth mentioning, it’s Fury as that can allow him to act as a Wings of Mercy beacon, but you will have to keep in mind that by chipping away at his health, he will eventually lose the ability to gain Damage Reduction from his weapon but this won’t matter too much for Aether Raids purposes as once he’s in the Wings of Mercy range, the rest of the team will take care of what’s left.
   
• Null Follow-Up will be the go-to B Passive for almost any situation as Rutger will want the ability to not only secure his own doubles but shut down any form of guaranteed follow-up from foes as that’ll cut down on his survivability. That being said, it’s not the only option at his disposal. If you want to run a Hit and Run set, he can instead opt for Close Call or Hit and Run, the former providing additional survivability but either work as the main draw is the movement after combat. Beyond that, he can run Wings of Mercy in a Galeforce composition if you already have a dedicated Wings of Mercy beacon.
   
• For securing Galeforce triggers without the need for a Tempo effect, he’ll want to run Time’s Pulse, and potentially the Quickened Pulse Sacred Seal, as that will make Galeforce into a three-cooldown Special, and as previously mentioned, if the foe can retaliate and Rutgegr attacks twice, he will guarantee a Galeforce proc. However, it’s not the only option at his disposal as Time’s Pulse can be interchanged with external support such as Velouria or Groom Rafiel. For Hit and Run strategies, he’ll much prefer a Tempest skill as that will allow him to retreat with three movement, not including the potential movement he gains with Hit and Run or Close Call. Otherwise, Savage Blow is fairly standard for widdling down foes and helping incoming allies but do keep in mind that if the foe he goes up against has less than 75% of their HP present, he will lose the Breath effect.
   
• As far as his Sacred Seal of choice is concerned, it’ll mainly depend on what you want to accomplish with him. Quickened Pulse can allow Rutger to almost guarantee a Galeforce trigger as he’ll have the benefit of being able to go up against foes that can’t counter back. Meanwhile, Blade Session is good for providing additional Atk and Spd, Savage Blow pairs well with the Savage Blow C Passive for chipping away at adjacent foes, and Fury is good for the Wings of Mercy beacon role.