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Winter Hilda (Three Houses)

Analysis by lordhelpme
Winter Hilda (Three Houses) - Holiday Layabout

4-5

Obtainable as a 4 - 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
184
HP 44
ATK 39
SPD 38
DEF 37
RES 26

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 19 8 9 10 6
Middle 20 9 10 11 7
High 21 10 11 12 8

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 41 36 35 34 23
Middle 44 39 38 37 26
High 47 43 41 40 30

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

Fódlan Holiday (Aether Raids / Defensive Tank)

Build by lordhelpme
Recommended
Flowing Lance+ (+Res)
Alternate: Slaying Lance+ (+Spd)
A Distant Counter
Positional Assist B Special Fighter 3
Alternate: Slick Fighter 3
Noontime
Alternate: Sol
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Atk Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD or +RES / -HP

SSpd/Res Solo 3
Alternate: Atk/Def Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Flowing Lance+ (+SPD/RES) / Slaying Lance (+SPD/RES) / Harmonic Lance (+DEF/RES) / Gilt Fork+ (+SPD/RES) / Candy Cane+ (+SPD/RES)

Assist: Positional Assist / Flexible

Special: Noontime / Sol

Passive A: Distant Counter / Fort. Def/Res / Stance Skill

Passive B: Special Fighter / Slick Fighter 

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Smoke Skills / Flexible

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

  • Winter Hilda excels at defensive play by merit of her exceptionally well-balanced statline and access to several, powerful skill options, in terms of both her B slot and weaponry. Taking her four-point +ATK IV provides a notable boost to her damage output (and somewhat improves her healing ability), but +SPD and +RES are equally worthwhile to enhance her ability to deny follow-ups or directly pad her magical resilience.
  • She has several options for her weapon, depending on personal preference:
    • Flowing Lance is excellent to augment both her damage and survivability, as well as break through enemy bonuses; this essentially operates as a significantly stronger Lull Atk/Def
    • Alternatively, Slaying Lance may be taken to use Specials with longer cooldowns. Both of these weapons boast great general applicability and work well, regardless of the rest of her set.
    • The following are more dependent on Hilda’s specific B slot or support:
      • Harmonic Lance pairs well with an OHKO-focused playstyle if using Special Fighter or providing Brave Lucina’s Geirskögul support to instantly activate Noontime on each counterattack. 
      • Gilt Fork is a solid substitute if Slick Fighter is unavailable to provide Hilda some immunity to debuffs, though only those targeting her Attack and Defense.
      • Lastly, her base Candy Cane should only be used if equipped with Slick Fighter as its Guard effect will be redundant with Special Fighter.
  • Distant Counter aids Hilda’s success at tanking damage from all enemy types through the crucial ability to counterattack regardless of range. Should you favor raw tanking ability over versatility, Fort. Def/Res or a Stance 4 skill (if not using Special or Crafty Fighter) become potential candidates.
  • Special Fighter is a powerful B slot choice to hasten her Special activations without needing outside support. Pairing this with Noontime (or Sol when using Slaying Lance) allows Hilda to obtain solid sustain. However, Slick Fighter is an equally valid option to bypass the ubiquity of debuffs in Aether Raids; it also guarantees her follow-up in the Enemy Phase, allowing Hilda to focus more on her Attack and bulk over Speed. 
  • Smoke skills inherently go well with this defensive playstyle, with Pulse Smoke being Hilda’s C slot to delay otherwise deadly Special activations and shut down Infantry Pulse setups in AR-O. Otherwise, normal stat-debuffing Smoke skills like Atk Smoke work well too.
  • Sacred Seals that enhance Hilda’s key stats are ideal here, including Spd/Res Solo, Atk/Def Solo, and Stance skills. Although her Speed is sufficiently high enough to double opponents given the adequate support / investment, Quick Riposte is a reasonable choice to break through Impact skills when using Special Fighter.

her bunny is too adorable (Player Phase Offensive)

Build by lordhelpme
Slaying Lance+ (+Spd)
Alternate: Flowing Lance+ (+Def)
A Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Alternate: Death Blow 4
Positional Assist B Special Fighter 3
Alternate: Bold Fighter 3
Galeforce
Alternate: Bonfire
C Armored Stride 3
Alternate: Armor March 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -HP or -RES

SSwift Sparrow 2
Alternate: Atk/Def Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Slaying Lance (+ATK/SPD) / Flowing Lance (+SPD/DEF) / Lofty Blossoms (+SPD)

Assist: Positional Assist / Flexible

Special: Galeforce / Bonfire / Ignis 

Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Death Blow / Atk/Spd Solo / Atk/Spd Push

Passive B: Special Fighter / Bold Fighter 

Passive C: Armored Stride / Armor March / Smoke Skills / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Offensive Blow Skills / Quickened Pulse 

  • Hilda’s outstanding Attack and Speed combination (with base values of 39 and 38 respectively) alongside her Fighter skill access provides a great foundation for offensive play as well. Taking a +ATK IV is preferred if using Bold Fighter to maximize damage—otherwise, +SPD should be taken as her follow-ups won’t be guaranteed.
  • Slaying Lance is a great generalist choice for consistent Special activations; this lends itself especially well for Galeforce strategies. For a pure damage focus, Flowing Lance (or Lofty Blossoms, specifically for Special Fighter sets) work well as alternatives. These can work with Galeforce as well, but require the Quickened Pulse seal to ensure its activation without requiring an enemy counterattack. Bonfire and Ignis are solid damage-based Special choices if using Galeforce isn't preferred.
  • The Holiday Layabout’s A slot will largely depend on whether she is utilizing Special Fighter or Bold Fighter. If the former, skills that boost both Hilda’s Attack and Speed are ideal (i.e. Swift Sparrow, Atk/Spd Solo, etc.) but if the latter, Death Blow 4 is ideal to frontload as much damage as possible. 
  • Armored Stride and Armor March are both excellent to bypass Hilda’s otherwise poor mobility and allow her to more easily narrow the gap between her and her opponents. Should her mobility either not be an issue or already be addressed through outside support, Smoke skills serve as solid C slot options that improve her subsequent matchups when using Galeforce or provided refresher support. 
  • Given this build’s aggressive nature, Sacred Seals that supplement Hilda’s key stats during the Player Phase—namely Blow skills, such as Swift Sparrow, Death Blow, and Sturdy Blow—are ideal, though some Solo Sacred Seals like Atk/Def Solo may work as well. 

Strengths

Fantastic Overall Statline

Winter Hilda’s BST of 184 is exceedingly high, rendering it entirely unsurprising that her statline is accordingly quite good. With a solid HP pool and the majority of her other stats in the high 30’s, Hilda statline leaves very little to be desired, coming packed with good damage, strong innate ability to both perform and avoid doubles, and respectable durability. 

Even her lowest stat, Resistance, can barely be considered middling—and even then, it can easily be improved with support and sufficient investment. Suffice it to say, when it comes to stats, Hilda covers all her bases fairly well. 

Armored Benefits

In addition to providing a substantial BST boost (which also makes her a good choice for Colosseum scoring), Hilda’s armored status enables her to equip the notoriously powerful Fighter skills; these are all incredibly useful in cementing her already admirable combat performance. She also benefits from access to class-exclusive buff support. 

Extremely Versatile

Hilda’s great skill access—particularly in terms of B slot skills and weaponry—and well-rounded statline provides impressive build variety, making her incredibly malleable as she can be fine-tuned to best serve one’s preferred playstyle with relative ease.

Weaknesses

Armored Drawbacks

Although being an armored unit comes with several substantial advantages, it does weigh Hilda down with some disadvantages as well. This includes a debilitating weakness to armor-effective damage and abysmal mobility, which can altogether inhibit her ease of use. However, these weaknesses are in no way unique to Hilda as they apply to armored units as a whole and can be mitigated relatively easily through careful play.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Lance
Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Lance Users Only
50 1 6
Steel Lance
Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Lance Users Only
100 1 8
Candy Cane

If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Def+5 to unit during combat and inflicts Special cooldown charge -1 on foe per attack. (Only highest value applied. Does not stack.)

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Lance Users Only
200 1 10
Candy Cane+

If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Def+5 to unit during combat and inflicts Special cooldown charge -1 on foe per attack. (Only highest value applied. Does not stack.)

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Lance Users Only
300 1 14
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Shove

Push adjacent ally 1 space farther away.

Learns by default at 4 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Atk/Def Form 1

If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Def+X to unit during combat (X = number of allies within 2 spaces; max 3).

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
60
A
Atk/Def Form 2

If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Def+X to unit during combat (X = number of allies within 2 spaces + 2; max 5).

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
A
Atk/Def Form 3

If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Def+X to unit during combat (X = 2 × number of allies within 2 spaces, + 1; max 7).

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
A
Even Follow-Up 1

If it is an even-numbered turn and unit's HP = 100%, unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
60
B
Even Follow-Up 2

If it is an even-numbered turn and unit's HP ≥ 50%, unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
B
Even Follow-Up 3

If it is an even-numbered turn, unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Only inheritable by armor units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
B

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

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