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Analysis by lordhelpme
Shiro - Raw Talent

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
163
HP 41
ATK 35
SPD 30
DEF 35
RES 22

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 8 5 8 4
Middle 19 9 6 9 5
High 20 10 7 10 6

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 37 32 27 32 19
Middle 41 35 30 35 22
High 44 38 33 38 25

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

Skill Sets

Early Summer Rain (Defensive Generalist)

Build by lordhelpme
Recommended
Bright Naginata (+Eff) A Distant Counter
Swap B Lull Atk/Def 3
Alternate: Null C-Disrupt 3
Sol
Alternate: Noontime
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Def Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +RES

SQuick Riposte 3
Alternate: Mirror Stance 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Bright Naginata (+Eff)

Assist: Swap / Flexible

Special: Sol / Noontime 

Passive A: Distant Counter 

Passive B: Lull Atk/Def / Lull Atk/Spd / Null C-Disrupt / Null Follow-Up

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Def Smoke / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Fierce Stance / Mirror Stance / Spd/Res Solo

  • This is a relatively high investment build (and works well at higher merge levels) meant to capitalize on Shiro’s strong defensive prowess to let him handle a wide breadth of opponents. A +ATK IV is a strong choice to further boost his damage output, allowing for greater healing and a higher chance of landing OHKOs, while +RES may be considered to improve his performance in Aether Raids. 
  • Equipping a healing Special here works well to ensure he can consistently stay at high health. Sol works well if using Quick Riposte as his chosen seal and also comes packed with massive healing potential, but Noontime should be taken instead if using anything else due to its shorter cooldown. 
  • Distant Counter is pivotal to maximize Shiro’s versatility as a unit -- and thanks to the massive stat boost and debuff immunity Bright Naginata provides upon receiving its unique refinement, he remains quite effective despite the lack of a standard stat-boosting A slot skill. 
  • Shiro’s B slot is somewhat flexible here but should ultimately lend itself to this build’s generalist nature. To that end, a Lull skill is a particularly strong choice to provide Shiro a massive boost through the small in-combat debuff it applies as well as its ability to remove their field buffs. Lull Atk/Def is the better option for pure damage output, though Lull Atk/Spd is also a strong choice if wanting to take a safer approach to Shiro’s playstyle and potentially avoid follow-up attacks. Alternatively, Null C-Disrupt or Null Follow-Up may be taken to bypass mechanics that would otherwise shut Shiro down completely (such as counterattack negation). 
  • Smoke skills inherently pair quite well with a defensive playstyle, with Pulse Smoke being the premium option for Aether Raids to counter Infantry Pulse setups and other similar team compositions dependent on Special activations. Otherwise, any of the Smoke skills (barring Res Smoke) are good alternatives. 

Thunder Strike’s Scion (Defensive Nuke)

Build by lordhelpme
Recommended
Bright Naginata (+Eff) A Distant Counter
Swap B Vantage 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Miracle
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Def Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK / -HP or -RES

SFierce Stance 3
Alternate: Brazen Atk/Res 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Bright Naginata (+Eff)

Assist: Swap / Flexible

Special: Glimmer / Moonbow / Miracle 

Passive A: Distant Counter 

Passive B: Vantage 

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Def Smoke / Savage Blow / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Fierce Stance / Brazen Skills 

  • Shiro can also perform quite well as a defensive nuke thanks to the raw power that Bright Naginata grants, providing a massive +9 Attack boost alongside safeguarding him from any sort of debuffs that would harm his offensive prowess. Since the primary focus of this build is landing one-shots, a +ATK IV is ideal. 
  • Distant Counter and Vantage together compose the centerpiece of this set and are what allow Shiro to function to his fullest capacity here. Through this combination, he is able to swiftly sweep through all enemy types upon losing enough HP. One can choose to opt out of Distant Counter in favor of a stat-boosting A slot but this comes at a massive cost to Shiro’s versatility. 
  • Shiro can take Glimmer or Moonbow as his chosen Special for their frequent activation rate, though Miracle is also a potential consideration to grant him some much-needed survivability -- since even with Vantage, taking damage isn’t always avoidable which can be risky given how this build relies on Shiro consistently being at low HP.
  • Pulse Smoke is a great C slot candidate if using Shiro in Aether Raids to shut down Infantry Pulse setups; otherwise, Res Smoke is better to increase damage.Most Attack-increasing seals will work perfectly fine here, such as Fierce Stance (which requires no additional setup) and Brazen seals (which synergize with Vantage’s HP threshold).

Song of Storms (Physical Tank)

Build by lordhelpme
Bright Naginata (+Eff) A Distant Foil
Alternate: Sturdy Stance 3
Swap B Null Follow-Up 3
Alternate: Lull Atk/Def 3
Sol
Alternate: Noontime
C Atk Smoke 3
Alternate: Def Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +DEF / -RES

SQuick Riposte 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Bright Naginata (+Eff)

Assist: Swap / Flexible

Special: Sol / Noontime

Passive A: Distant Foil / Steady Breath / Fierce Breath / Steady Stance 4 / Sturdy Stance 3

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Lull Atk/Def / Guard / Quick Riposte

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Def Smoke / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Sturdy Stance / Steady Stance

  • This build focuses on complementing more of Shiro’s natural strengths and retains a defensive playstyle, but focuses more on Roy’s performance against physical units. Thus, besides the standard recommended +ATK IV (to augment his damage output), a +DEF IV works excellently to fortify his physical resilience. 
  • Distant Foil makes for an interesting A slot to supplement his two most important stats while also allowing him to counterattack against dagger units and archers for some bonus versatility. Breath skills are also great options to rapidly activate his Special without the need of outside assistance (e.g. Brave Lucina, Infantry Breath, etc.). Steady Stance 4 and Sturdy Stance 4 may also be considered for their built-in Guard effect and massive stat boosts.
  • Quick Riposte is essential here to ensure Shiro’s follow-up attack. If used as his seal, this opens up his B slot for several options, most notable of which being Null Follow-Up to mitigate damage against opponents whose skills enable follow-up attacks. Lull skills can be considered to burst through enemy bonuses, whereas Guard (if a Stance 4 skill isn’t taken) can help him avoid deadly Special damage.
  • Smoke skills are once again recommended to debilitate opposing foes and improve the quality of his subsequent matchups, with Atk Smoke and Def Smoke being his best options here. If Quick Riposte is taken in Shiro’s B slot, any defensive seals that boost his key stats remain ideal. 

Strengths

Bright Naginata

Previously a rather underwhelming weapon, Bright Naginata received a solid power boost through its unique refinement. In addition to providing a massive boost to his Attack and Defense stats (total of +9 to each), it also grants him debuff immunity -- a highly powerful and coveted asset given the increasing commonality of penalties in enemy team compositions. Its activation requirement is fairly easy to fulfill to boot. 

Strong Attack and Defense 

Shiro’s stat spread is centered largely around his Attack and Defense stats, both of which stand tall at strong base values of 35 each and are complemented further by Bright Naginata. Combined with his decent enough HP pool, Shiro fits excellently into the role of that of a defensive bruiser.

Just Enough Speed

While Shiro may not be particularly fast, his base Speed of 30 is decent enough to avoid follow-up attacks somewhat frequently at higher levels of support and investment. This can be quite valuable to further help him mitigate damage from incoming opponents given his typically defensive role. 

Infantry

Being an infantry unit comes with the crucial advantage of boasting immense skill availability which helps further cement Shiro’s role as a solid defensive lancer, with skills such as Null Follow-Up and Lulls being key in bolstering his overall performance when combined with his inherent strengths.

Weaknesses

Low Resistance 

At a low base value of 22, Shiro’s Resistance leaves a lot to be desired and makes him exceptionally easy prey to most mages in addition to dragons; this is only further accentuated by the fact that his Resistance is considered his dump stat, leaving him even more vulnerable to magic attacks when unmerged. Using him for Aether Raids requires either high investment or some precautions (such as using Vantage to make tanking hits unnecessary) for maximum effectiveness. 

Lacks Flexibility

In order to even try to keep up with recent additions, Shiro is pretty much entirely locked into using his exclusive Bright Naginata. While it is a strong weapon and certainly allows him to shine in the Enemy Phase, this combined with his heavily defense-oriented statline does make Shiro rather inflexible as a unit.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Steel Lance
Lance Users Only
100 1 8
Silver Lance
Lance Users Only
200 1 11
Bright Naginata

If foe initiates combat, grants Atk/Def+4 during combat

Learns by default at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Swap

Unit and target ally swap spaces.

Learns by default at 5 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Steady Stance 1

If foe initiates combat, grants Def+2 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
50
A
Steady Stance 2

If foe initiates combat, grants Def+4 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
100
A
Steady Stance 3

If foe initiates combat, grants Def+6 during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
A
Def Tactic 1

At start of turn, grants Def+2 to allies within 2 spaces for 1 turn. Granted only if number of that ally's movement type on current team ≤ 2.

Inheritable by all units.
60
C
Def Tactic 2

At start of turn, grants Def+4 to allies within 2 spaces for 1 turn. Granted only if number of that ally's movement type on current team ≤ 2.

Inheritable by all units.
120
C
Def Tactic 3

At start of turn, grants Def+6 to allies within 2 spaces for 1 turn. Granted only if number of that ally's movement type on current team ≤ 2.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem Fates

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Official Hero Artwork