Map
- Normal
- Infernal
Zephiel: The Liberator
While doubtlessly one of the less taxing maps on lower difficulties, Zephiel’s Infernal Grand Hero Battle is definitely a challenge. Between the tight maneuvering quarters, a multitude of armors toting Wary Fighter, the presence of Armor March, and Zephiel himself carrying Distant Counter, there will likely be no easy way to win here -- you may have to change up your usual strategy if you want to succeed.
Who To Choose
As is generally true of GHBs, the individual units used is very important as they will primarily inform a strategy. There are a few routes one can take depending on what units are personally available, and, of course, adjustment based on the units one possesses is always a possibility.
Baiters
Technically, you can use an entirely baiting strategy on this Grand Hero Battle, but you might want to use a more mixed team composition so as to get the best of both worlds.
If you’re struggling with choosing a unit to bait, consider a dragon. Tanks who deal damage to Defense will probably have difficulty chipping away at the armors, so you may want to use bulky units who deal magic damage as your baiters instead. Further complicating matters is the fact that these armors seem to favour using movement skills to throw a wrench into your plans -- this means that Triangle Adept tanks such as Triangle Adept Nowi may have difficulty avoiding being KO’d due to the close quarters of this map. Consider using dragons with Fury or other skills instead.
Ideally, you’ll also want to use a Distant Counter or Close Counter user utilizing the Quick Riposte skill or seal with mid-to-high Defense, as these units are able to override Wary Fighter’s effect and default to a regular Speed check. Self-sustaining tanks who tote Aether, Radiant Aether, or Sol / Noontime can potentially forego healer support as well. Nowi, Female Corrin, Adult Tiki, Lightning Breath Young Tiki, Fae, Fallen Robin, Myrrh, and bulky Close Counter mages like Winter Tharja are all good choices who are able to counterattack regardless of distance. You can also use a unit with an Armorslayer / Armorsmasher or the Hammer to deal massive damage to most of the enemies on this map.
Strikers
Brave Bow users are decidedly less useful than they normally are on this map due to most of the enemies here being high Defense armors, but can still prove handy for easily KOing the mages if you have a free spot on your team. The same goes for units who carry melee Brave Weapons -- they will likely struggle to break through the wall the enemy armors create.
Olwen and Reinhardt, however -- as the only users of Brave tomes -- are able to attack foes’ Resistance twice instead of their Defense, making these two units much better candidates for the role of Striker in this Grand Hero Battle. Blade mages may also be able to deal heavy damage if not outright KO the armors while fully buffed, but be warned -- the fact that these enemies all carry Wary Fighter make them difficult to perform follow-up attacks against unless they’ve been heavily damaged, which may cause your Blade mage to be put in a particularly dangerous position.
Dancers
Dancers help support units with high firepower, may even have a decent offensive presence themselves, and can usually tank a hit or two, if need be. Olivia, Performing Olivia, Performing Inigo, Performing Shigure,Performing Azura, Azura, New Year Azura, and Ninian all give the support that high-firepower units need while also possessing the ability to provide an assist to KO an enemy.
Healers
While not generally a great choice over units who can deal heavy damage or dancers, Healers can be incredibly useful in this Grand Hero Battle to heal up your Tanks, especially if your bulky units carry Fury. Genny, Priscilla, and Elise are potential additions to a team that may serve useful in this Grand Hero Battle.
Strategy
While it’s difficult to exactly predict what will happen on this map due to the IV / Merge variance of your units, here’s some general tips to get you started.
The First Move
You may be wondering where to begin on this map, and that’s a reasonable question to ask. Essentially, you have two options; baiting and striking. Which one you chose depends on if the AI’s movement is favourable to you at the end of this turn.
Since Zephiel has Distant Counter and a massive HP pool, it’s probably a bad idea to attack him with any mage unless you know for sure you can KO him outright. If you’re using a Striker to start off, then, you’ll likely want to target the lance armor instead, be danced, and then Reposition or Draw Back your Dancer/Singer to safety.
Alternatively, if you’re using a baiting strategy, you can move into the range of Zephiel or the green armor.
Know Thy Enemy, Love Thy Enemy
You may notice that in the screenshot above, I’m placing Adult Tiki as if Zephiel had the movement of an infantry unit. What gives? Well, he and the lance armor have Armor March in their C slot, which extends their range if they begin Enemy Phase next to another armor. This makes them significantly more threatening, and will be something you’ll need to account for as you're trying to beat this Grand Hero Battle.
Unfortunately, this map doesn’t exactly grant a lot of maneuvering room for you to kite these foes once they start advancing -- and if they manage to catch you off guard, it will likely result in an instant game over. Because the Danger Area can prove inconsistent in showing where enemies will end up if Armor March is active, be sure to account for any armors who may have extended range at the beginning of Enemy Phase.
Swapping Out
Since this map doesn’t exactly give you a lot of space to work with, it’s a good idea to equip your Tank with a movement skill like Swap so that they can deliver your other units to safety. You likely won’t have a lot of safe space to work with, so the leeway this skills provide in positioning can help you recover from a move that may otherwise spell out disaster.
The Triangle Doesn’t Trump All
Speaking of Weapons Triangle Advantage, it isn’t always necessary to deal effective or even neutral damage to the armors on this map. Since Wary Fighter is exceedingly common here, your primary goal should be to break through the enemy’s defenses in order to allow yourself to KO them -- whether you possess a Weapons Triangle Advantage or not. Low cooldown Specials like Moonbow can assist you power through if their current charge permits, but even if they’re not at the ready, any damage you can deal will help.
And When All Else Fails…
Thankfully, the armors who don’t tote Brave weapons (including Zephiel) will most likely be unable to perform follow-ups on your units due to their low Speed. While it’s far from ideal, even slowpokes like Reinhardt can tank a hit from them if need be (provided they aren’t weak to that color). Don’t assume all is lost because your Striker has been left in the line of fire -- it’s entirely possible they’ll be able to brave the hit like a champ.
If At First You Don’t Succeed
Don’t be fooled by video walkthroughs of any Grand Hero Battle that you watch -- it’s very rare for anyone to beat high-difficulty content (or record a video of themselves doing so!) on their first try. Additionally, the potential variance in unit builds that Skill Inheritance brought along with the random nature of summoning has resulted in pretty much every single summoner having different “building blocks” to work with. This, when combined with the high difficulty level of Infernal, may prove frustrating while someone is trying to find the right combination of units and moves. The key thing to keep in mind is that it may take some light skill inheritance and seal shuffling (Breaker skills and the Attack +3 seal are your friends!), multiple tries of the map, and a few stamina potions to find a strategy that works for you. Every single turn you complete gets you one step closer to completing the puzzle. Finally, reading about or watching videos of successful strategies may also help you break through a particularly difficult turn that you can’t complete, or may give you ideas of a new unit to use.
Map Enemies
- Hard
- Lunatic
- Infernal
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
58 | 49 | 16 | 26 | 13 | |
Weapon | Eckesachs | A | Life and Death 3 | ||
Support | B | Wary Fighter 3 | |||
Special | Reprisal | C |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
34 | 33 | 25 | 15 | 20 | |
Weapon | Bolganone | A | Armored Blow 2 | ||
Support | B | Seal Atk 3 | |||
Special | Blazing Thunder | C | Breath of Life 2 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
34 | 33 | 25 | 15 | 20 | |
Weapon | Thoron | A | Armored Blow 2 | ||
Support | B | Seal Atk 3 | |||
Special | Blazing Thunder | C | Breath of Life 2 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49 | 35 | 6 | 32 | 14 | |
Weapon | Brave Lance | A | |||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Sol | C | Fortify Res 2 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49 | 35 | 6 | 32 | 14 | |
Weapon | Brave Axe | A | |||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Sol | C | Fortify Res 2 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 | 57 | 21 | 34 | 20 | |
Weapon | Eckesachs | A | Life and Death 3 | ||
Support | B | Wary Fighter 3 | |||
Special | Reprisal | C |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | 44 | 32 | 20 | 28 | |
Weapon | Bolganone+ | A | Armored Blow 3 | ||
Support | B | Seal Atk 3 | |||
Special | Blazing Thunder | C | Breath of Life 3 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | 44 | 32 | 20 | 28 | |
Weapon | Thoron+ | A | Armored Blow 3 | ||
Support | B | Seal Atk 3 | |||
Special | Blazing Thunder | C | Breath of Life 3 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 | 47 | 11 | 41 | 19 | |
Weapon | Brave Lance+ | A | |||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Sol | C | Fortify Res 3 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 | 47 | 11 | 41 | 19 | |
Weapon | Brave Axe+ | A | |||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Sol | C | Fortify Res 3 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
90 | 55 | 18 | 42 | 27 | |
Weapon | Eckesachs | A | Distant Counter | ||
Support | B | Wary Fighter 3 | |||
Special | Reprisal | C | Armor March 3 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
52 | 44 | 35 | 22 | 31 | |
Weapon | Rauðrwolf+ | A | Sturdy Blow 2 | ||
Support | B | Seal Atk 2 | |||
Special | Blazing Thunder | C | Drive Res 2 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
52 | 45 | 35 | 22 | 31 | |
Weapon | Blárraven+ | A | Distant Def 3 | ||
Support | B | Guard 3 | |||
Special | Blazing Thunder | C | Drive Res 2 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 | 51 | 13 | 45 | 21 | |
Weapon | Brave Lance+ | A | Atk/Res Bond 3 | ||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Bonfire | C | Armor March 3 |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 | 51 | 13 | 45 | 21 | |
Weapon | Brave Axe+ | A | Atk/Res Bond 3 | ||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Bonfire | C | Ward Armor |
HP | ATK | SPD | DEF | RES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 | 57 | 18 | 45 | 21 | |
Weapon | Slaying Axe+ | A | Svalinn Shield | ||
Support | Swap | B | Wary Fighter 3 | ||
Special | Vengeance | C | Ward Armor |
User Submitted Teams
This is a harder team for the map, but it is very doable.
I'm posting it to assure people that, even with a suboptimal damage selection, you can get Zephiel.
Tharja does a lot of the work for this, and it's important to note that Klein killed both mages, on subsequent turns. Azura (but, sub either other dancer, she took one hit from the red mage that did 0 damage at her lvl 38, Olivia would have survived that same hit red v red) allowed him to not be hit by either mage, going in for a kill and retreating.
First move I did was to hit the blue knight with Tharja to begin the enemy team movement. Red mage heals him a little when he hits Azura (who has gone into mage range to get Tharja out of knight lance range. He would have murdered her.) but that's fine.
The knights are going to be playing Swap while you kite the whole team down the corridor. Never let your teammates sit in knight swing range, because you'll probably have them color swap out on you and Brave Wep+ one of your people out.
Order of kills went Red Mage, Blue Mage (blue mage also hit Azura before Klein could kill him, so one caveat here is that Olivia might be precariously close to death or even fall if she's taken a red mage hit and then the blue one, if none of your ranged offensive units offer breath of life or something. Mine didn't but, Azura.), Green Knight (Tharja blasted and got the go again from dance), Zephiel (Klein had Glacies up after killing both mages. Used it on Zeph to blow away 44 hp, allowing Tharja to then double hit him for lethal) and finally the blue knight.
At this point, I swooped Camilla in from the sideline for no other reason than to be able to take some blue melee hits. Any other beefy green would likely serve better. She didn't end up being necessary at all though, because I moved Klein over to whack the knight for like 6, but Tharja (being a champ) hit him for 20 or so, and then got danced for another hit, which blasted him double this time for the map finish.
That is to say, with careful positioning, I'm pretty sure you can 3-crew this map on Lunatic with Klein, Tharja, and Azura.
It should be noted that Nino would have done a lot more damage to the blue knight, but I'm not sure you can take out Zephiel in a turn the way I did with Glacies+double turn Tharja with her.
I think the only hits taken with this team were by Azura, one each from the mages. If Camilla had been a healer, and Azura were Olivia, you can probably also do this map this way. But remember Tharja is doing more damage regardless of triangle because she's getting some buffs, etc.
Tharja: +spd -def, darting blow 3, spur res 3, raudrblade+, vengeance
Azura: (lvl 38) +hp -spd wings of mercy 2, fortify res 2, sapphire lance+, sing
Klein: -def +res, death blow 3, quick reposte 3, brave bow+, glacies
Camilla: +hp -def darting blow 3, savage blow 3, brave axe+, dragon aura
Leo can kill everyone but the blue mage if Nino draws him back, and Nino cleans up after boosts. Specific I.V's don't matter as long as Leo has enough bulk to survive a round of combat with the red mage
Leo attacks the lancer, Nino pulls him back. Next turn, hide Leo and use Nino to kill the severely weakened mage. Afterwords, buff Nino up before using her to bait the blue mage. Leo can use his special to kill an armored unit.
Leo with a drawback ally cleans up the rest.
An all flier team using Spring Camilla to whittle down the armors, Hinoka as the anti-mage and 2 supports. Key skills are Hone Fliers, Drag Back or Hit and Run (inherited for Hinoka), Reposition (inherited for Caeda/support flier) and Ward Fliers (Minerva). No other skills except for Reposition and Drag Back are inherited. To make up for not using a dancer, Reposition is needed to keep pot-shooter Camilla safe. Any of your 2 support units should have this. Minerva's Ward will come in when you can't avoid a hit from the mages and the axe knight. Caeda and Hinoka should have no problem taking a mage hit while Minerva and Camilla have enough defense to survive a green knight brave attack. The opening move should be taking out the lance knight first to expose the mages on one lane. Once exposed, Hinoka should prioritize in take them out over buffing Camilla. Once they are gone, kiting the armors should be easy. Use Hinoka to take out Zephiel when he's on low enough health to save time.
Used Robin to bait and kill the Red Mage (Quick Riposte to get a double counter). After that just waited for the units to get in my range and a Ninian dance allowed doubles on the Wary Fighter armored units. Nino killed the Lance, Axe, and Blue Mage. Both Nino and Robin attacked Zephiel.
This team is focused on ranged attacks, this team I crafted myself with the resources I had and most may not have this kind of team but this served me well. Your MAIN concern are the mages as they have AOE spells that can potentially knock out a unit if you don't take them down after the first round. When they're dealt with, use Julia and Sanaki to focus on one armor unit at a time, if they're positioned where you might end up getting hit while focusing an armor down, use your Dancers or Singers to pull your mages out of the way and start kiting the armor unit until Zephiel is left, then what I did was use my 17 true damage Jaffar with his deathly dagger and poison strike to drastically lower his HP, enough for both mages to finish him off together.
For the start of the battle, bait the red mage first if you know you cannot potentially kill him, he's positioned in a way that the armor cannot catch you if you place yourself in range of the red mage, once you kill the red mage, lure the blue mage out and you'll be good to go.