Shigure

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

• Either an Attack Asset or a Speed Asset can be chosen here. As the weapon options for this build will be Speed refined, an Attack Asset shows promise here as Shigure is already receiving a solid boost to his Speed. Resistance impacts Shigure the least of all his stats, and should be prioritized as a Flaw.

Weapon: Harmonic Lance+ (+Spd) / Slaying Lance+ (+Spd) / Lofty Blossoms+ (+Spd)

• The Harmonic Lance is Shigure’s default weapon, and it actually works quite nicely on Shigure’ providing 10 bonus damage whenever his Special activates. A Speed refine is taken to build on Shigure’s already potent Speed stat.

• A Slaying Lance opens up additional options for Shigure thanks to the -1 Special cooldown count. Shigure is capable of running Moonbow without the need for the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal, or being able to activate Luna or Galeforce in a single round of combat when using it when making use of the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal.

• While Lofty Blossoms is seasonal locked, it is quite strong in its own regard. It grants Shigure with 4 Attack/Speed on his initiation of combat, on top of the fact that it can be refined for further stat boosts.

Assist: Reposition / Player Preference

• Reposition proves to be a useful Assist Skill for multiple situations whether it be for retreat, or helping an ally move forwards.

Special: Moonbow / Luna / Galeforce

• Moonbow’s low cooldown makes it able to be activated frequently. When paired with the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal and Harmonic Lance or Lofty Blossoms, it can be activated even in Desperation range. With a Slaying Lance, it does not require Heavy Blade to achieve this.

• Luna is an excellent option with a Slaying Lance and the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal, becoming a 2 cooldown Special that can frequently activate.

• Galeforce sacrifices the raw power of an offensive Special in exchange for allowing Shigure to move again after combat.

Passive A: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3) / Atk/Spd Solo / Life and Death / Fury (3 or 4)

• Swift Sparrow provides a strong Attack/Speed boost when Shigure initiates combat, an excellent skill to pair with a player phase oriented kit such as this.

• Atk/Spd Solo also grants a large Attack/Speed boost and can function in both Phases at the cost of only working when Shigure is not adjacent to an ally.

• Life and Death decreases Shigure’s defensive stats in exchange for boosting his offensive ones. Life and Death can be a dangerous option as Shigure will require surviving a counter attack in order to safely set himself up for Desperation.

• Fury is an all around stat boost for strong performance, and the chip damage will gradually knock Shigure into the HP range for Desperation. Fury’s offensive boost is lower than previously mentioned options in order to compensate for the boost to all his stats.

Passive B: Desperation

• Desperation is the B Passive of choice for this build, as the lack of running Firesweep Lance forces Shigure to carry a means of bypassing trading attacks with his opponents often so that he can keep on the offensive. Once setup safely, Desperation will ensure that even in a weakened state, Shigure will be able to strike twice before the opponent has a chance to counter attack.

Passive C: Goad Fliers / Ward Fliers / Savage Blow / Player Preference

• A class-specific buff such as Goad Fliers or Ward Fliers will benefit Shigure’s teammates greatly if they are fellow fliers.

• Savage Blow is a viable C Passive as Shigure is focusing on the Player Phase for this build. He can soften up future targets with chip damage for him to fight on his next turn of movement, or for his allies to capitalize on.

Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Darting Blow / Atk/Spd 2 / Flier Formation / Aerobatics

• The Heavy Blade Sacred Seal is important for abusing frequent Special activations, though Shigure will often find himself needing support from a team to consistently activate the effect.

• The Darting Blow Sacred Seal gives Shigure’s Speed a high boost on his initiation of combat.

• The Atk/Spd 2 Sacred Seal gives Shigure a consistent 2 Attack/Speed on both the Player Phase and the Enemy Phase.

• The Flier Formation or Aerobatics Sacred Seals offer Shigure with warping mobility and can be considered depending on what kinds of teammates Shigure is fielded alongside.

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

• An Attack or Speed Asset is used to give Shigure an offensive boost necessary to either dish out more damage and activate Heavy Blade with relative ease using an Attack Asset, or securing more natural follow-up attacks with a Speed Asset. A Resistance Flaw is recommended, but for this build a Defense or HP Flaw is fine as well.

Weapon: Firesweep Lance+

• The Firesweep Lance will free up Shigure’s B Passive from running something such as Desperation as he can attack foes freely without having to fear a counter attack so long as the opponent does not carry an effect such as the one granted by Null C-Disrupt. Shigure will become unable to counter attack, making this build purely Player Phase oriented.

Assist: Reposition / Player Preference

• Reposition is a potent Assist Skill for fliers as they have immense mobility and can even help the other movement types cross otherwise accessible terrain. The Assist Skill is ultimately flexible depending on what the user has at their disposal, or may desire to run instead.

Special: Moonbow / Luna

• When combined with the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal, Moonbow can be activated frequently within a single round of combat so long as Heavy Blade’s Attack check is met. The frequency of this Special will ensure Shigure’s damage output is stable across matchups.

• Luna can be run if not opting for the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal, and provides a more substantial Defense bypass effect at the cost of not being as frequently available.

Passive A: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3) / Atk/Spd Solo / Life and Death

• Swift Sparrow pairs wonderfully with the fact that the Firesweep Lance makes this build purely Player Phase oriented. Swift Sparrow 3 is recommended to maximize Shigure’s offenses in the Player Phase by 6 Attack and 7 Speed. Swift Sparrow 2 on the other hand while still fine, is a weaker boost than the other alternative Skills listed.

• Atk/Spd Solo provides a large 6 Attack/Speed during combat to Shigure so long as he is not adjacent to an ally during combat. More often than not, this is quite easy to achieve for a Player Phase oriented unit.

• Life and Death grants Shigure with 5 Attack/Speed at the cost of lowering his Defense and Resistance by 5. The decrease in defensive stats will not matter much as Firesweep Lance prevents his opponents from counter attacking, but this decrease can prove to be an issue if Shigure is to deal with any unit that can bypass counter attack disabling such as a Null C-Disrupt user.

Passive B: Chill Def / Chill Spd / Hit and Run / Drag Back / Flier Formation / Aerobatics

• Chill Def and Chill Spd can inflict -7 Defense or -7 Speed to the unit with the highest value of the specific stats targeted on the enemy team. If Shigure is able to capitalize on his debuffed opponent, this can greatly enhance his ability to either do more damage or have an easier time landing follow-up attacks. Alternatively, an ally can make use of the debuffs applied.

• Hit and Run and Drag Back offer similar mobility after combat, causing Shigure to move back a space after combat so long as there is room to retreat. Hit and Run will always move back a space so long as there is space for Shigure to retreat to, while Drag Back if Shigure’s opponent survived will bring the opponent along with him so long as they can pass through the terrain properly.

• Flier Formation and Aerobatics provide Shigure with mobility options, allowing him to warp to a nearby flier ally through Flier Formation, or a nearby infantry, armored, or cavalry ally with Aerobatics.

Passive C: Goad Fliers / Ward Fliers / Savage Blow / Player Preference

• Goad Fliers and Ward Fliers are simple to access class-exclusive buffs, with Ward Fliers in particular being the C Passive that Shigure comes with by default.

• Savage Blow plays nicely with this build’s Player Phase orientation, as Shigure can inflict chip damage on those near his opponent after combat.

Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Darting Blow / Atk/Spd 2 / Flier Formation / Aerobatics

• The Heavy Blade Sacred Seal enables Specials to be charged sooner so long as Shigure has more Attack than his opponent. Shigure’s Attack is somewhat on the average side, team support may be necessary to make his Attack reach reliable levels for Heavy Blade activations.

• The Darting Blow Sacred Seal builds upon Shigure’s already high Speed with a further 6 Speed boost on initiation.

• The Atk/Spd 2 Sacred Seal provides a small 2 Attack/Speed which can always prove to be useful for a consistent offensive boost.

• The Flier Formation Sacred Seal or Aerobatics Sacred Seal allow for stronger mobility depending on what kinds of teammates Shigure finds himself with.

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

• An Attack Asset can be chosen to boost Shigure’s counter attack damage, a Speed Asset can help Shigure secure more follow-up attacks or avoid being follow-up attacked by opponents, and a Defense Asset will further increase Shigure’s Defense. A Resistance Flaw is recommended to keep the rest of Shigure’s stats intact, but if running Close Def, a merge is recommended to return Shigure’s Resistance to a neutral value.

Weapon: Vanguard+ (+Def) / Vanguard+ (+Spd)

• Vanguard will boost Shigure’s Defense in the Enemy Phase by an astonishing 7 Defense. Either a Defense refine can be used to further improve the boost in Defense, or a Speed refine to help with Shigure’s follow-up potential.

Assist: Reposition / Player Preference

Special: Moonbow / Bonfire / Ignis

• Moonbow will activate frequently, making it a strong Special for stable damage.

• Bonfire or Ignis will be ready less often, but these Specials will take advantage of the large boosts that Shigure is receiving in his Defense stat.

Passive A: Steady Stance (3 or 4) / Close Def

• Steady Stance gives Shigure a further boost in Defense during the Enemy Phase. If Steady Stance 4 is being utilized, this will even include a Guard effect during the Enemy Phase as well as a larger boost in Defense compared to Steady Stance 3.

• Close Def will increase not only Shigure’s Defense, but also his Resistance. This can be quite useful if one wishes for Shigure to duel against dragon units by baiting them to attack him.

Passive B: Renewal / Guard / Quick Riposte

• Renewal will provide Shigure with 10 HP every other turn, perfect for a small bit of sustain.

• Guard will inflict Special cooldown charge -1 on the enemy so long as Shigure is able to stay within the HP range to activate it. Guard in the B Passive is redundant if Shigure is running Steady Stance 4, but is useful if Shigure is unable to carry Steady Stance 4.

• While Shigure is already very potent in regards to his defensive Speed, Quick Riposte can prove to be a useful insurance policy in the event that Shigure finds himself against a foe that is on the same level of Speed as him, or perhaps even faster.

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Pulse Smoke / Ward Fliers / Player Preference

• Atk Smoke and Pulse Smoke have similar properties in regards to increasing Shigure’s overall survivability whether it be through an Attack debuff, or shutting down opponents that have their Specials pre-charged.

• A simple class-specific buff such as Shigure’s native Ward Fliers will work fine in the C Passive as well. Ward Fliers in particular is often used in a common tactic known as a defensive “Flier Ball”, which Shigure can easily slot into.

Sacred Seal: Darting Stance / Steady Stance / Close Def / Atk/Def Bond

• The Darting Stance Sacred Seal gives Shigure 6 Speed during the Enemy Phase. This helps him not only defensively through the ability to deny enemy follow-up attacks easier, but also for him to secure his own follow-up attack and perhaps defeat his attacker.

• The Steady Stance or the Close Def Sacred Seals will further improve upon Shigure’s defensive bulk stats.

• The Atk/Def Bond Sacred Seal gives Shigure 5 Attack/Defense during combat so long as he is adjacent to an ally.