Sothe

Weapon: Peshkatz (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist / No Assist / Flexible

Special: Glimmer / Ruptured Sky / Luna / Draconic Aura 

Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Impact Skills / Atk/Spd Push / Death Blow / Fury

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Special Spiral / Lull Skills / Desperation 

Passive C: Joint Drive Skills / Time’s Pulse / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Atk/Spd Solo / Heavy Blade / Sturdy Blow / Hardy Bearing

• Sothe naturally shines in a traditional offensive role, particularly when supported by refreshers as they naturally help him maximize the ramp-up potential of Peshkatz’s buffs and debuffs; this may also make Sothe worth considering for certain Aether Raids Defense compositions. Regardless of where one is using him, though, an Asset to Attack or Speed is recommended to bolster his combat prowess. 
  • Positional Assists like Reposition or Draw Back work excellently for general gameplay purposes, though it’s advisable to not equip any Assist for AR-D to avoid complications and employ a standard movement-based overload.
• Specials with low cooldowns synergize with refined Peshkatz’s cooldown reduction effect for consistent activations, with Glimmer and Ruptured Sky being his best options of those available. Alternatively, those with three-turn cooldowns like Draconic Aura can be equipped if using Special Spiral for an OHKO-oriented build, as his B skill alongside his weapon lets him activate them on his first hit in each round of combat. 
• A skills that enhance both Attack and Speed are generally ideal. It’s worth noting that Swift Sparrow and Atk/Spd Solo are preferable over candidates like Atk/Spd Push and Fury that inflict recoil damage since Peshkatz requires that Sothe have over 25% HP for some of its effects. One may also consider Impact skills for Aether Raids Defense to reinforce his raw damage and survivability (Sturdy Impact is especially useful), or Death Blow for OHKO sets using Special Spiral.
• As for his B skill, Sothe has a few other options besides the aforementioned Special Spiral. In particular, Null Follow-Up is a standout to avoid having his performance shut down by denial skills like Wary Fighter, though Lull skills are decent catch-alls to break through enemy bonuses and build upon his debuffing capacity further. Those with less resources to work with can make great use of the tried-and-true Desperation to ensure he can engage in continuous rounds of combat safely. 
• Sothe’s C slot is flexible, though it's worth noting that skills like Spd Smoke or Odd Atk Wave are redundant since Peshkatz already applies visible buffs and debuffs. With that in mind, Joint Drive skills are stellar as they grant in-combat boosts (and thus stack) and also support his allies. Time’s Pulse may also be considered for faster Specials.
• Lastly, any Sacred Seal that augments Sothe’s key stats like Swift Sparrow and Atk/Spd Solo will work to once again supplement his damage. Those using him in Aether Raids Defense may get good mileage from Hardy Bearing as well to negate Vantage threats.

Weapon: Broadleaf Fan+ (+ATK) 

Assist: Positional Assist  / Flexible

Special: Miracle / Glimmer 

Passive A: Close Foil / Close Counter / Fury

Passive B: Vantage

Passive C: Smoke Skills / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade / Atk/Spd Solo / Brazen Atk/Spd / Fierce Stance

• Sothe’s good base Attack and access to the notorious Broadleaf Fan also makes a standard Vantage sweeper setup an option for those that wish to use him in Aether Raids Offense; this build emphasizes his damage to consistently OHKO incoming foes in the Enemy Phase. Thus, a +ATK IV is ideal here. 
• Using an Attack-refined Broadleaf (which directly augments Sothe’s raw damage based on the number of debuffs on his foe) with Vantage and an ability that enables counterattacks regardless of distance composes the core of this set; upon losing sufficient HP, this helps him cleanly sweep through incoming enemy forces. 
  • Close Foil is typically ideal because dragonstone users are not common on Defense team (with the main exception of Seiros during Anima Season) and it further heightens his Attack, but Close Counter is still an option if Close Foil is unavoidable. Regardless, though, one should be careful to not simply place Sothe in enemy range and press End Turn — some setup is typically required in the initial Player Phase.
• Sothe’s Special of choice here primarily boils down to whether you prefer increased damage or some safety in his playstyle. For the former, low cooldown options like Glimmer are preferred to quickly unleash them. For the latter (which is typically best since he usually has enough firepower), Sothe should equip Miracle since even with Vantage, taking damage isn’t always avoidable; this should be paired with the Heavy Blade Sacred Seal to access it quickly. 
• Pulse Smoke is a powerful C skill if you commonly run across Infantry Pulse compositions in Aether Raids Offense, as this helps essentially neuter most of their effectiveness. It is somewhat cost-intensive, though, so Atk Smoke or Spd Smoke are options too for enhanced damage via Broadleaf Fan. Def Smoke and Res Smoke are already built into dagger weapons, so using them is not recommended. 
• The Heavy Blade Sacred Seal helps Sothe charge his Special faster and remains particularly potent when paired with Miracle, as this helps him charge it up with much less setup and have it ready when he’ll actually need it. Otherwise, he can use one of Atk Smoke or Spd Smoke if not already using one in his C slot, or a simple stat-booster.

Weapon: Peshkatz (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist  / Flexible

Special: Blazing Special / Growing Special

Passive A: Life and Death / Heavy Blade 4 

Passive B: Special Spiral

Passive C: Time’s Pulse / Savage Blow / Joint Drive Atk / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Life and Death / Quickened Pulse / Heavy Blade / Hardy Bearing

• Although this set once again places the limelight on his performance during the Player Phase, it focuses on his ability to wield AoE Special activations to tear through foes with arguably greater force — just with a bit more set-up required. Sothe can consistently activate such Specials in every round of combat when equipped with Special Spiral upon getting the chain started thanks to his refined Peshkatz’s cooldown reduction effect, removing the need to use Heavy Blade like other units. 
  • However, while Sothe may not need Heavy Blade to keep the chain going, using it is an option nonetheless to break through foes equipped with Stance 4 skills or other Guard effects as they will otherwise put a halt to his onslaught.
• Since AoE Specials calculate their damage based on visible stats, it’s recommended to rack up as many visible Attack boosts on Sothe as possible; this includes taking a +ATK IV, and using Life and Death as his chosen A skill and/or Sacred Seal. Fury does boost his visible Attack as well, but this is not recommended as it inflicts chip damage and may shut down his PRF’s reduction (which requires 25% or greater HP). 
• Time’s Pulse is solid to reduce the amount of initial attacks necessary for Sothe to first activate his AoE Special, or Joint Drive Atk to simply keep increasing his damage further. A more cost-friendly alternative is Savage Blow for splash chip damage on nearby foes, increasing his chances of knocking them out in one hit; Def Smoke doesn’t work as well since it’s pretty redundant with Peshkatz.
• Besides the Life and Death Sacred Seal for greater damage or Heavy Blade to break through Guard effects, the Quickened Pulse Sacred Seal works similarly to Time’s Pulse in that it helps reduce Sothe’s setup. Hardy Bearing is also a candidate given that AoE Specials may trigger enemy Vantage effects accidentally, which may be otherwise difficult to work around. 
• As for what AoE Special to actually equip, this is mostly down to personal preference. Blazing Specials are preferred usually for their higher damage modifier (with Blazing Wind and Blazing Light having the most useful ranges of those available), but some may find Growing Specials worthwhile for their massive radius.

Weapon: Peshkatz (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist  / Flexible

Special: Moonbow / Ruptured Sky 

Passive A: Swift Sparrow / C Duel Infantry / Atk/Spd Solo / Atk/Spd Push

Passive B: Windsweep / Watersweep

Passive C: Panic Smoke / Fatal Smoke / Savage Blow / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Phantom Spd / Atk/Spd Solo / Drive Skills / Chill Skills 

• In exchange for sacrificing much of his offensive potential, this build focuses on Peshkatz’s buffing and debuffing ability to enable support for Sothe’s teammates. The centerpiece of this build is Windsweep (or if magic enemies are really an issue, Watersweep) — by disabling enemy counterattacks, Sothe can stay safe while simultaneously mass buffing and debuffing to supercharge to clean up. A +SPD Asset works best here to ensure he can pass Windsweep/Watersweep’s Speed check.
• Any low cooldown Special can be put to use here since they have the greatest chance to activate given that Sothe will only attack once per round of combat, provided that Windsweep or Watersweep triggers. Ruptured Sky has the benefit of working especially well on high Attack foes that his team may otherwise have dealing with, in addition to scoring well in Colosseum modes.
• Swift Sparrow is Sothe’s preferred A slot as it provides an ample damage and Speed boost for his B slot with no condition other than initiating combat. Atk/Spd Solo and Atk/Spd Push 4 offer slightly improved damage, but come with the respective detriments of discouraging adjacent allies (which may make it hard to supercharge them) and self-inflicting chip damage (which may eventually shut down Peshkatz). For scoring purposes, C Duel Infantry may be taken.
• Since Peshkatz already debuffs all stats from an enemy and also has innate Pulse Smoke upon refinement, Sothe is free to choose between Panic Smoke or Fatal Smoke to debilitate enemies to the maximum; the former is useful to punish the use of visible buffs, while the latter helps his foes make quick work of sustain tanks. Savage Blow is also an option to directly reduce enemy HP further.
• Sothe’s Sacred Seal slot is flexible. Options like Swift Sparrow and Atk/Spd Solo help him actually contribute decent damage of his own while also letting him activate Windsweep or Watersweep, but Phantom Spd may be worthwhile to strictly focus on the latter. One can also equip other forms of supportive utility like Savage Blow or a preferred choice of Drive, Chill, or Tactic skill.