Sigurd

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

• Sigurd prefers Assets in Attack, Speed, or Defense for a Defensive build. An increase in Attack helps Sigurd secure KO’s during the Enemy Phase, An Asset in Speed helps him perform and avoid follow-ups easier, and a Defense Asset helps maximize Sigurd’s raw physical tanking abilities. Regardless of which Asset is chosen, Sigurd will want to dump his Resistance, as the Divine Tyrfing makes this a non issue against mages, and the stat is simply too low to feasibly make use of regardless.

Weapon: Divine Tyrfing

• The Divine Tyrfing greatly bolsters Sigurd’s mage-tanking prowess, reducing their first attack’s damage by 50%. This makes Sigurd’s low Resistance much less of an issue and allows him to handily check powerful mages such as Reinhardt and Ishtar in combination with either his innate Crusader’s Ward or the Deflect Magic Sacred Seal. However, keep in mind that this reduction does not apply to dragons, and AOE specials ignore this reduction as well.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

Special: Bonfire / Aether / Ignis

• Bonfire is Sigurd’s best choice of special, scaling wonderfully off of his high Defense in addition to having a reasonably fast cooldown.

• Aether and Ignis are also good alternatives that give Sigurd some self-healing or higher damage output, at the cost of a longer cooldown.

Passive A: Steady Stance 4 / Fortress Def/Res 3 / Close Def

• Steady Stance 4 is an amazing choice of A slot for Sigurd, granting a stellar boost to his already good Defense in addition to a Guard-effect on Enemy Phase, making Sigurd into a powerful mixed wall.

• Fortress Def/Res 3 is another good choice of A slot. At the cost of Guard and 2 Attack compared to Steady Stance 4, Sigurd gains a sizeable boost to his Defense and Resistance, improving his matchups against both physical units and Dragons with the added bonus of being active on both Player and Enemy Phase.

• As a budget option, Sigurd’s Innate Close Def can be used to decent effect, granting a sizeable bonus to Defense and Resistance against melee opponents during Enemy Phase.

Passive B: Crusader’s Ward / Mystic Boost / Quick Riposte / Lull Atk/Def

• Functioning as a global Deflect skill, Sigurd’s innate Crusader’s Ward is crucial for his role as a mage tank. In combination with Divine Tyrfing’s 50% damage reduction, Sigurd can greatly neutralize the damage he takes from mages, as well as take greatly reduced damage from the consecutive attacks of otherwise dangerous ranged enemies such as Legendary Alm.

• Mystic Boost is a powerful alternative, granting Sigurd good self sustain as well as  reducing the damage he takes from Staff users by neutralizing their Wrathful Staff.

• On a Budget, Quick Riposte can be used to guarantee Sigurd’s follow-up attacks during the Enemy Phase.

• Finally, Lull Atk/Def Bolsters Sigurd’s Survivability and Damage output by reducing the foe’s Attack and Defense by 3 in addition to negating their buffs in these stats.

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Hone Cavalry / Preference

• Attack Smoke is a great choice of C slot for Sigurd as it further bolsters his Enemy Phase durability by inflicting a -7 Attack debuff to foes within 2 spaces. However, Sigurd can also utilize cavalry buffs such as Hone Cavalry to benefit his teammates if he’s being used alongside other cavaliers.

Sacred Seal: Close Def / Fierce Stance / Atk/Spd Bond

• Close Def is Sigurd’s best choice of Sacred Seal, as it grants him a significant boost to his defenses against melee foes during Enemy Phase.

• For a boost to Sigurd’s offensive capabilities during the Enemy Phase, Fierce Stance and Atk/Spd Bond are also good choices. Fierce Stance grants a simple but effective damage bonus during the Enemy Phase, while Atk/Spd Bond grants a significant boost to Sigurd’s Attack and Speed as long as he’s near an ally, although this can be problematic when faced with Aversa or a unit with Sudden Panic.

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

• Sigurd prefers to raise his Attack or Speed for this build to either increase his damage output or make his ability to avoid follow-up attacks more consistent. Resistance remains Sigurd’s best Flaw for this build, as he prefers to leave his other stats untouched.

Weapon: Divine Tyrfing

• Sigurd’s Divine Tyrfing remains ideal when utilizing Distant Counter, as it greatly reduces the amount of damage Sigurd takes from magic users and covers for Sigurd’s poor Resistance.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

Special: Bonfire / Glimmer

• Bonfire remains an excellent choice for Sigurd, giving him a consistently high damage Special.

• Glimmer is also a good choice of Special, as its quicker cooldown lets Sigurd activate it every round if he performs a follow-up attack, provided the opponent lacks Guard. Its Damage output is less consistent than Bonfire’s against high Defense foes, however.

Passive A: Distant Counter

• Distant Counter is essential for this build, as it gives Sigurd the ability to retaliate against ranged opponents. This allows him to become a potent mage duelist, and as most mages are have low Defense Sigurd will have little trouble KO’ing them in a single hit.

Passive B: Mystic Boost / Lull Spd/Def

• Mystic Boost remains a powerful B slot choice, as it gives Sigurd fantastic sustain in addition to nullifying Wrathful Staff and Adaptive Damage.

• Lull Spd/Def is another good choice, improving Sigurd’s offensive and defensive abilities by strengthening Sigurd’s ability to avoid and perform follow-up attacks in addition to lowering the Defense of foes and negating their Speed and Defense buffs during combat.

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Preference

• Pulse Smoke is a powerful C slot choice that inflicts +1 Special cooldown to all foes within 2 spaces after combat, allowing Sigurd to delay the foe’s special activations and increase his survivability. This is particularly useful against users of AOE specials that Sigurd would normally struggle against, such as Ophelia. However, as this skill is seasonal locked and difficult to obtain, other C slot skills such as Atk Smoke can work as well.

Sacred Seal: Fierce Stance / Atk/Spd Bond

• Fierce Stance is ideal to ensure Sigurd scores consistent KO’s against mages during Enemy Phase.

• Atk/Spd Bond is a decent alternative that grants more stats overall than Fierce Stance, but its positioning requirement can be restrictive, especially if Sigurd’s allies are non cavalry.

Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES

• For an offense focused set, Sigurd will want to boost his offensive prowess with either an Attack or Speed Asset. Resistance is the chosen Flaw, as reducing has little impact on Sigurd’s performance.

Weapon: Slaying Edge(+SPD) / Cake Cutter(+SPD)

• The Slaying Edge permanently reduces Sigurd’s Special cooldown count by one, Allowing him to activate powerful Specials such as Bonfire and Galeforce with greater ease, especially in conjunction with Heavy Blade.

• The Cake Cutter is a great alternative, granting the effect of Swift Sparrow when attacking, further bolstering Sigurd’s raw Player Phase power. As a seasonal locked weapon, it is incredibly difficult to obtain, however.

Assist: Reposition / Preference

Special: Galeforce / Bonfire

• Galeforce can be used in conjunction with the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal to give Sigurd the ability to move out of danger after attacking or clear out additional enemies whenever his Special triggers. Galeforce is difficult to use without the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal due to its slow cooldown, however.

• If one desires a damage special instead, Bonfire remains a great choice due to Sigurd’s high Defense.

Passive A: Swift Sparrow 2 or 3 / Death Blow 3 or 4

• Swift Sparrow is Sigurd’s strongest choice of A slot for offense, granting a sizeable bonus to both his Attack and Speed during Player Phase with no drawbacks.

• With sufficient Speed boosting support, Death Blow 4 is a noteworthy alternative that allows Sigurd to maximize his raw damage output.

Passive B: Lull Spd/Def / Desperation

• Lull Spd/Def is once again a great choice of B slot for Sigurd, bolstering his ability to cut down foes by reducing their Defense and Speed as well as negating their Defense and Speed buffs. 

• On a budget, Desperation can also be used to avoid dangerous counterattacks when its health threshold has been met.

Passive C: Even Atk Wave / Preference

• Even Atk Wave grants Sigurd a sizeable bonus to Attack on even turns, giving Sigurd greater self sufficiency on the offensive and allowing him to break through bulky foes easier, at the cost of only being active half the time. However, what C slot is used is largely up to Player Preference.

Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Darting Blow

• The Heavy Blade Sacred Seal is an amazing choice as it grants Sigurd much quicker access to his specials, which is essential if Sigurd wishes to utilize Galeforce. In addition, Sigurd will have little trouble making its effect live due to his good Attack. 

• As an alternative, Darting Blow can be used to grant Sigurd more consistent follow-up attacks during Player Phase.