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Summer Dorothea

Analysis by Chibi_Chu
Summer Dorothea - Solar Songstress

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
157
HP 38
ATK 37
SPD 36
DEF 16
RES 30

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 15 6 7 2 5
Middle 16 7 8 3 6
High 17 8 9 4 7

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 34 34 33 12 27
Middle 38 37 36 16 30
High 41 41 39 19 33

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

Star in the Summer Sky (Aggressive Aether Raids Defense Dancer)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Sky Maiougi+ (+Spd)
Alternate: Cloud Maiougi+ (+Spd)
A Sturdy Impact
Alternate: Mirror Impact
Dance B Wings of Mercy 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Glacies
C Panic Smoke 3
Alternate: Time's Pulse 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -HP or -DEF

SSwift Sparrow 2
Alternate: Sturdy Blow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Sky Maiougi+ (+SPD or +ATK) / Cloud Maiougi+ (+SPD or +ATK)

Assist: Dance 

Special: Glimmer / Glacies 

Passive A: Sturdy Impact / Mirror Impact 

Passive B: Wings of Mercy

Passive C: Panic Smoke / Time’s Pulse

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Sturdy Blow

  • Dorothea can become an obnoxious Aether Raids Defense unit thanks to not only her Dancing, but also her offensive capabilities.
  • Sky Maiougi and Cloud Maiougi / Dragonslasher are excellent weapon choices for Dorothea, not only because of their effective damage against Armored enemies and Dragon enemies respectively, but also because they disable skills that change attack priority. This means that Dorothea can ignore Vantage without needing Hardy Bearing, which can then go to an ally instead. Which weapon is chosen depends on which enemy type her allies need more help covering.
  • Sturdy Impact and Mirror Impact greatly increase Dorothea’s survivability by granting +10 Defense and Resistance respectively and preventing the enemy from performing a follow-up attack. Sturdy Impact should be chosen to ensure Dorothea doesn’t get OHKO’d by physical enemies, although Mirror Impact and Glacies can be chosen if she is receiving 4 Infantry Pulses from allies (or 3 and Time’s Pulse). Dorothea’s S slot should match her A slot.
  • Wings of Mercy adds in a surprise factor, allowing her to attack or Dance for distant allies by warping to a space adjacent to an ally with ≤ 50% HP. 
  • If not wanting to make Dorothea a nuke by providing her with Infantry Pulse and Time’s Pulse to have Glacies ready on turn 1, Dorothea can use Panic Smoke instead to turn the tables on superunits and make the rest of the Enemy Phase (and the next Player Phase) much more difficult.

Setting the Stage (Support)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Temari+ (+Res)
Alternate: Smoke Dagger+ (+Spd)
A Fort. Def/Res 3
Alternate: C Duel Infantry 3
Dance B Wings of Mercy 3
Alternate: Sudden Panic 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Ruptured Sky
C Distant Guard 3
Alternate: Infantry Pulse 3
IVs

+RES or +HP or +SPD / -DEF

SFortress Res 3
Alternate: HP/Res 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Temari+ (+RES) / Smoke Dagger+ (+SPD)

Assist: Dance 

Special: Moonbow / Ruptured Sky 

Passive A: Fort. Def/Res 3 / C Duel Infantry 

Passive B: Wings of Mercy / Sudden Panic / Windsweep 

Passive C: Distant Guard / Infantry Pulse / Pulse Smoke 

Sacred Seal: Fortress Res / HP/Res 2 / Panic Ploy / Phantom Spd

  • Dorothea can choose to focus fully on her support capabilities rather than her offensive capabilities. She has a few support sets to choose from, all of them providing excellent support.
  • Aether Raids and Resistance-focused: Dorothea can invest into her Resistance to provide debuffs through Temari, a Dagger that inflicts -5 Atk/Spd to enemies with Resistance ≤ Dorothea’s Resistance - 3. Skills such as Fort. Def/Res 3 and Fortress Res bolster Dorothea’s Resistance, allowing her to activate Temari and Sabotage/Ploy skills more frequently. Wings of Mercy and Distant Guard are still excellent B and C slots respectively, especially on Aether Raids Defense.
  • Aether Raids and HP-focused: Alternatively, Dorothea can invest into her HP to provide support via Sudden Panic and Infantry Pulse (and Panic Ploy, depending on player preference). Sudden Panic inflicts Panic on all enemies adjacent to other enemies if their HP is less than Dorothea’s, while Infantry Pulse grants -1 Special cooldown to all Infantry allies with less HP than Dorothea on turn 1; both skills make Dorothea especially helpful on Aether Raids Defense by applying positional pressure and greatly increasing her allies’ damage output. Skills such as C Duel Infantry, HP +5, and HP/Res 2 are highly recommended to increase Dorothea’s HP as much as possible.
  • Speed-focused: Although less Aether Raids focused, Dorothea can invest into her Speed to provide debuffs via Smoke Dagger and Pulse Smoke. The combination of both allows Dorothea to inflict -6 to all stats and +1 Special cooldown to the target and enemies within 2 spaces of the target. In order to ensure Dorothea’s safety, Windsweep or Watersweep can be chosen to prevent counterattacks from physical or magical enemies respectively. Phantom Spd is ideal for Dorothea’s S slot, increasing her Speed by 10 when accounting for Windsweep/Watersweep counterattack prevention.

Like Bees to a Flower in Full Bloom (Vantage Sweeper)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Broadleaf Fan+ (+Atk) A Close Foil
Alternate: Close Counter
Dance B Vantage 3
Glimmer
Alternate: Miracle
C Atk Smoke 3
Alternate: Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK / -HP or -DEF

SSpd Smoke 3
Alternate: Heavy Blade 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Broadleaf Fan+ (+ATK) 

Assist: Dance 

Special: Glimmer / Miracle 

Passive A: Close Foil / Close Counter

Passive B: Vantage 

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Pulse Smoke

Sacred Seal: Spd Smoke / Heavy Blade 

  • As with any other Dagger unit, Dorothea can use the combination of Broadleaf Fan, Close Counter, and Vantage to become a lethal Enemy Phase sweeper. Dorothea does this especially effectively thanks to her excellent 37 Attack, which can be boosted to 41 with an Attack Superasset.
  • Broadleaf Fan increases Dorothea’s Attack equal to the sum of the enemy’s debuffs during combat. Given that Broadleaf Fan innately inflicts -7 Def/Res to the target and enemies within 2 spaces of the target if Dorothea attacked, Atk Smoke and Spd Smoke can be used in her C and S slots, increasing Dorothea’s damage by a whopping 35 (28 from -7 to all stats and an additional 7 from -7 Defense).
  • Close Foil/Counter and Vantage are vital for this set. Close Counter allows Dorothea to counterattack against melee units (although Foil is preferred due to the scarcity of Dragon enemies in Aether Raids and its +5 Atk/Def during combat), and Vantage allows her to counterattack before the enemy can attack if her HP is ≤ 75%. Dorothea can circumvent her unreliable bulk by OHKOing the enemy before they can attack her.
  • Alternatives to the recommended skills include Miracle, Pulse Smoke, and Heavy Blade. Dorothea can quickly charge Miracle with Heavy Blade, allowing her to survive against an enemy that can disable Vantage or survive an attack. Pulse Smoke prevents Dorothea from getting nuked by units with their Specials ready before she reaches Vantage range; this is especially useful against the prevalent Infantry Pulse teams in Aether Raids.

A beautiful rose… (Offensive)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Lethal Carrot+ (+Spd)
Alternate: Barb Shuriken+ (+Spd)
A Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Alternate: Flashing Blade 4
Dance B Desperation 3
Alternate: Null Follow-Up 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Luna
C Joint Drive Atk
Alternate: Spd Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -DEF

SFlashing Blade 3
Alternate: Swift Sparrow 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Lethal Carrot (+SPD) / Barb Shuriken (+SPD) / Starfish (+SPD)

Assist: Dance 

Special: Moonbow / Luna

Passive A: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3) / Flashing Blade 4 / Atk/Spd Push 4 / Fury (3 or 4)  

Passive B: Desperation / Null Follow-Up / Lull Spd/Def / Wings of Mercy

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Spd Smoke

Sacred Seal: Flashing Blade / Swift Sparrow 

  • 37/36 offenses allow Dorothea to focus on combat to become a hybrid between offense and support, choosing to either attack or Dance depending on the circumstances.
  • The combination of Lethal Carrot, a 2-cooldown Special (such as Moonbow), Desperation, and Flashing Blade allows Dorothea to activate a +10 damage Moonbow on her follow-up attack before the enemy can counterattack assuming Desperation is active and no Guard effect is active. Alternatively, Dorothea can swap Lethal Carrot for Barb Shuriken and a 2-cooldown Special for a 3-cooldown Special to get similar results; while her Special won’t have +10 damage when activated, the Special itself is more powerful than any 2-cooldown Special.
  • Dorothea can also remove the need for Desperation altogether by using Starfish, which innately has Desperation. This allows Dorothea to use Null Follow-Up or Lull Spd/Def instead, both of which significantly improve her damage and follow-up consistency.
  • Joint Drive Atk and Spd Smoke are strong choices for Dorothea’s C slot, with the former granting +4 Attack to herself and allies within 2 spaces during combat and the latter inflicting -7 Speed on enemies within 2 spaces of the target to easily perform follow-up attacks. Skills that increase Dorothea’s Attack and Speed such as Swift Sparrow are excellent in whichever slot Dorothea is not using Flashing Blade in.

Strengths

Great offenses

Boasting an excellent 37 Attack and solid 36 Speed (especially for a refresher), Dorothea can deal high damage and perform/avoid follow-up attacks with some Speed investment/support.

Supportive capabilities

As a Dancer, Dorothea’s support is naturally excellent, as she can grant another action to an ally that has already used theirs in exchange for hers. In addition, however, her respectable 30 Resistance allows her to further augment her support by debuffing enemies with skills such as Temari, Sabotages, and Ploys.

Flexible

The combination of noteworthy offenses and decent Resistance makes Dorothea a flexible unit whose builds can be tuned to players’ tastes. She can become a strong Player Phase unit by investing into her offensive capabilities, a strong Enemy Phase unit by relying on her high Attack to OHKO enemies with Vantage, a great support unit by focusing her kit on debuffs that rely on Resistance and/or HP, and even a hybrid of offense and support.

Infantry advantages

Dorothea has access to a multitude of excellent skills such as Null Follow-Up, Flashing Blade, Time’s Pulse, and Sturdy/Mirror Impact thanks to her status as an Infantry unit. In addition, she rarely has to concern herself with effective damage.

Weaknesses

Low physical bulk

Dorothea’s mediocre 38 HP and terrible 16 Defense amount to a dangerously low 53 physical bulk. Without HP and/or Defense investment, Dorothea may frequently be OHKO’d by physical enemies, forcing players to keep her away from physical threats.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Dagger

After combat, inflicts Def/Res-3 on foe through its next action.

Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Dagger users only.
50 2 3
Steel Dagger

After combat, inflicts Def/Res-3 on foe through its next action.

Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Dagger users only.
100 2 5
Hidden Thorns

During unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, grants Atk/Res+5 to unit and restores 7 HP to unit after combat.  Effect:【Dagger 5】  【Dagger 5】 After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Def/Res-5 on target and foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Dagger users only.
200 2 8
Hidden Thorns+

During unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, grants Atk/Res+5 to unit and restores 7 HP to unit after combat.  Effect:【Dagger 7】  【Dagger 7】 After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Def/Res-7 on target and foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Dagger users only.
300 2 12
Available Rearmed Weapons
Arcane Void
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Dance

Grants another action to target ally. (Cannot target an ally with Sing or Dance.)

Learns by default at 4 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Atk Cantrip 1

If Sing or Dance is used, inflicts Atk-3 on nearest foes within 4 spaces of unit through their next actions.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
60
B
Atk Cantrip 2

If Sing or Dance is used, inflicts Atk-5 on nearest foes within 4 spaces of unit through their next actions.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
B
Atk Cantrip 3

If Sing or Dance is used, inflicts Atk-7 on nearest foes within 4 spaces of unit through their next actions.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
B
Hone Atk 1

Grants adjacent allies Atk+2 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
50
C
Hone Atk 2

Grants adjacent allies Atk+3 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
100
C
Hone Atk 3

Grants adjacent allies Atk+4 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
C
Hone Atk 4

At start of turn, grants Atk+7 to adjacent allies for 1 turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
300
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

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