Winter Jaffar

Weapon: Barb Shuriken (+Spd/Res) / Lethal Carrot+ (+Spd/Res) / Minty Cane (+Spd/Res)

• Winter Jaffar’s weapon choice for this build will depend primarily on two key factors: personal preference and skill availability. Barb Shuriken is a great choice that provides him with a consistent -1 Special cooldown, which allows him to activate Sol on every counterattack in the Enemy Phase when equipped with Special Fighter. 

• Alternatively, one can equip Winter Jaffar with Lethal Carrot to lose out on some sustain in exchange for increased firepower, granting him a flat +10 damage boost upon each Special activation. His native Minty Cane is also a great option that complements this build’s focus on maximizing his survivability through the 5 HP heal it provides per hit. However, using either of these weapons instead of Barb Shuriken means that he’ll have to use Noontime instead of Sol to ensure its activation.

• A +RES refine is ideal to minimize the damage Winter Jaffar takes from incoming magical threats (particularly those wielding AoE Specials, which are of particularly high prominence in Aether Raids), but a +SPD refine may be considered to reduce his likelihood of being doubled; however, against particularly fast opponents, further support to his Speed stat from his allies will likely be necessary. 

Assist: Swap / Flexible

Special: Sol / Noontime

• Healing Specials synergize wonderfully with this build’s intended playstyle, with the choice between which to use depending on what weapon he is using -- if equipped with Barb Shuriken, use Sol and if equipped with any other, use Noontime. When utilized in tandem with Special Fighter, this enables him to activate his chosen healing Special upon every counterattack for dramatically improved sustain. 

Passive A: Close Counter / Distant Def 4 / Def/Res Bond

• Close Counter is an excellent choice of A slot skill that serves to further bolster Winter Jaffar’s versatility via the ability to counterattack against melee opponents. do keep in mind, though, that taking Close Counter instead of a standard stat-boosting skill will make the amount of team support he receives much more impactful in determining his success as a defensive tank; however, as he should already be receiving an intensive amount of support regardless, this typically shouldn’t be much of an issue. 

• Distant Def 4 also makes for a worthwhile consideration here due to the massive defensive boost it provides when attacked at range but more importantly, its negation of enemy bonuses; combined with Special Fighter’s powerful effect, this allows Winter Jaffar to stand tall against even the strongest of ranged opponents. On a budget, his native Def/Res Bond can be kept, though this is heavily advised against if using him in Aether Raids. 

Passive B: Special Fighter 

• Special Fighter is a pivotal component of this build as its Breath-like effect of Special acceleration is crucial to Winter Jaffar’s performance, allowing him to consistently activate healing Specials to instantly recover the majority (or even all) of the damage he may have incurred in battle. Its built-in Guard effect is also useful in safeguarding him from enemy Specials and can safeguard the Angel of Night from receiving large amounts of damage he may have otherwise taken. 

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Atk Smoke / Flexible 

• However, keep in mind that Special Fighter’s effect of enemy Special deceleration does nothing to prevent the activation of Specials that are already fully charged. For this reason, Pulse Smoke makes for a standout candidate here and remains highly recommended if aiming to maximize his performance in Aether Raids, particularly for its effectiveness against enemy team compositions that revolve around the use of instant Special activations. Atk Smoke is a good option as well to directly diminish the damage he takes from sustained offensive pressure. 

Sacred Seal: Fierce Stance / Swift Stance / Darting Stance / Distant Def / Quick Riposte 

• Stance seals work perfectly here and similar to his other skill slots, the choice of which to use here depends mostly on personal preference; Fierce Stance pairs particularly well with an OHKO-dependent playstyle and serves to bolster his healing potential, whereas Swift Stance and Darting Stance work better to mitigate the damage he takes directly. Distant Def is a good option too to strengthen Winter Jaffar’s resilience to ranged opponents. 

• Although Winter Jaffar will typically be fast enough to perform follow-up attacks against the majority of common threats when given the proper support, the Quick Riposte seal can still be taken to help him break through the effects of skills like Sturdy Impact and  exceptional Speedy threats. 

Weapon: Barb Shuriken (+Spd) / Lethal Carrot (+Spd)

• Barb Shuriken’s -1 Special cooldown makes it a stellar choice of weapon once again and helps increase Winter Jaffar’s damage output via faster (and more consistent) Special activations, though Lethal Carrot’s flat +10 damage upon Special activations makes it an attractive option as well for greater burst potential. Ultimately, both are excellent and a +SPD refine should be taken to strengthen his proficiency at performing follow-up attacks. 

Assist: Swap / Pivot

Special: Bonfire / Moonbow / Glimmer

• Bonfire scales quite nicely with Winter Jaffar’s strong base Defense stat and offers him a consistent damage boost upon Special activations. In exchange for losing out on Bonfire’s consistency, Moonbow or Glimmer may be taken for their faster activation rates, resulting from their incredibly low two-turn Special cooldowns. 

Passive A: Swift Sparrow / Atk/Spd Push 4 / Atk/Spd Solo / Brazen Atk/Spd / Fury 

• Most standard offensive A slots will work just fine here; of those available to him, Swift Sparrow (2 or 3), Atk/Spd Push 4, and Atk/Spd Solo are amongst his best options. The main difference between them is their respective activation requirements and availability, so the decision on which to use will once again depend on personal preference. Fury is always a good budget alternative that helps him safely drop down to Daring Fighter’s HP threshold. 

• Brazen Atk/Spd is a valid choice here too and helps supplement Winter Jaffar’s potency at lower levels of health, but comes with the demerit of requiring some additional set-up before becoming functionally useful to him. This will typically means that he will be without an A slot skill for the first round of combat (unless one makes use of an Assist such as Ardent Sacrifice or Reciprocal Aid), so take caution. 

Passive B: Daring Fighter

• Daring Fighter is Winter Jaffar’s ideal B slot skill here and acts as a directly improved version of Desperation, allowing him to perform follow-up attacks consecutively with a more easily achievable HP threshold. More importantly, however, Daring Fighter also comes packed with a variant of the Null Follow-Up skill -- something previously locked only to infantry units -- and enables the Angel of Death to break through the effects of skills like Wary Fighter upon initiation that would otherwise severely hamper his offensive potential. 

Passive C: Armor March / Odd Atk Wave / Flexible

• Armor March can make for a great choice to circumvent Winter Jaffar’s otherwise poor mobility and expand his reach, allowing him to perform his role as an offensive nuke much more effectively; however, do keep in mind that it’s not strictly necessary for him to function properly. If another ally is already equipped with Armor March or if making use of skills like Ground Orders and Guidance, a Wave skill are good options as well to make him more self-sufficient. 

Sacred Seal: Sturdy Blow / Darting Blow / Flashing Blade / Heavy Blade

• The Sturdy Blow and Darting Blow seals can be taken to further build upon his already solid offensive stats for directly improved damage output, though the Flashing Blade and Heavy Blade seals are also notable to let Jaffar activate his Special at a faster rate.