Tempest Trials - Moment of Fate

If you include a bonus ally on your team, you can increase your score. If you add multiple bonus allies, only the highest bonus will apply. Bonuses do not stack. Bonus Allies gain stat boosts equal to +10 HP, and +4 to all other stats.

Bonus Allies
+40%
+20%

This special event contains a series of maps you must fight your way through from beginning to end. Losing does not mean game over, as you can retry with a second team. At the end of each round, points are received based on clear speed, survivability and bonus units. Your total points are tallied and used to unlock various rewards, many of which are exclusive to the Tempest Trials. Additionally, there is a player ranking with large feather rewards given to those with the highest scores.

Other Rules

• Bonus allies gain significant stat boosts (HP+10, +4 other stats).
• Bonus allies gain double EXP and SP.
• Your first two runs per day earn triple points.

4★ Black Knight (6000 Score)

• One of the strongest units in the game, the Black Knight is an exceptional unit, boasting a great statline and free Distant Counter on his legendary weapon Alondite. He is also the first character to have a unique special: Black Luna, which ignores 80% of a foe's defense/resistance when attacking.

Resistance +1 seal (12,000 Score)

• This seal increases a unit's resistance by one. This reward is a rerun, but is otherwise a nice pickup for those who missed it. For those who already obtained this reward, it will be converted to 300 feathers instead.

Fortify Def 1 seal (20,000 Score)

• This seal grants a character the effects of Fortify Def 1. Combined with an appropriate C slot skill and Dual Rally, it can be used to buff all four stats at once, making it great for use with Blade Tomes or general use.

5★ Black Knight (30,000 Score)

• A five star copy of The Black Knight. This is a valuable reward as the Black Knight is a recommended promotion, and he comes with the use of a legendary weapon with no investment.

Panic Ploy 1 seal (40,000 Score)

• A seal that turns stat bonuses into penalties for all foes in cardinal directions, provided the unit's HP is at least five more than the enemy. Panic Ploy is a valuable skill, being able to counter the effects of Blade tome users and class-based teams. As most mages have low HP, this will no doubt be a useful reward in many scenarios.

There are two approaches to the Tempest Trials: manually playing through higher difficulties, and using auto-battle to clear lower difficulties. A good strategy for players who want to avoid burnout is to manually play twice per day on the highest difficulty, to get the largest possible score from the 3x multiplier. Afterwards, they can simply auto-battle on lower difficulties to use up any spare stamina.

This time around, the Trials are less accessible, with the Black Knight being the only F2P unit featured. Thanks to the large stat bonuses granted to bonus units, team-building largely revolves around them (although ultimately, only one is ever truly required). The Tempest Trials are a fantastic way to increase a unit's Hero Merit and SP, so some may opt for sub-optimal teams for this purpose.

Without further ado, let us jump into the team-building part of the guide. Instead of talking about just completed teams, I’ll be talking about the elements that make those teams successful, so that players with varying boxes can construct viable teams. Unless otherwise stated, all units from here on out are assumed to be running their recommended builds. A team with the best chance of success will have the following: 

• As many bonus units as possible.
• Source of healing.
• Strategy for the final map.
• A unit to beat each colour (As the actual units within each map can vary greatly).

Bonus Units

The first units you’ll want to think about using are of course, the bonus units. With their huge stat bonuses (+10 HP, +4 to all other stats) They will punch far above their normal weight. In this regard, Nephenee and Ike are the standout units, thanks to their well-rounded stats, especially defense. Ike's Distant Counter is valuable for handling ranged units, and his natural Aether keeps him topped up. Nephenee herself is a great Black Knight slayer, and has the speed to double nearly everything. Oscar is another great Black Knight slayer, and enables full-cavalry teams. Elincia is harder to run thanks to her low defense and resistance leaving her vulnerable to damage, but will perform nonetheless. 

Mist is the only bonus staff-wielder, making her the premiere choice for those wanting a reliable source of healing. Soren is a fantastic unit with well-placed stats for a mage, and can sweep through scores of foes, particularly if he is given a Blade tome. Titania requires some investment, but will function decently enough will her default kit. Finally, the Black Knight: He has an incredible statline, and is nearly invincible with proper support. His low movement speed can slow down clear times, however. Keep in mind that Soren, Titania and the Black Knight are all viable at four stars, thanks to the bonus unit stat boosts.

Healers

Healers are fantastic in the Tempest Trials, and can single-handedly sustain your team throughout the duration of the run. However, running a healer can compromise your team (unless you can get Wrathful/Dazzling Staff). It’s highly recommended to take a healer for safe runs, but keep in mind that they can slow your runs down compared to more offensive teams. There are also many viable alternatives to dedicated healers.

Unofficial Healers

There are a few types of builds which can be used to heal teams without using a valuable team slot on a dedicated healer. The first of these is the “Falchion Medic”, a build type which requires a user of the legendary Falchion. With Renewal in B slot and Reciprocal Aid as a support skill, this build can provide healing to allies without sacrificing offensive power. Units who can pull this off include: Alm, Marth, Chrom, Masked Marth and Lucina. This is a great option for those with the units, but expect a lower amount of raw healing. If you have Linde, you can run a Breath of Life build. The effects from Aura (Linde’s unique tome), Breath of Life, and the Breath of Life seal stack to provide a whopping 15 health to all units around her when she attacks. Make sure to take Reciprocal Aid along with this build, to ensure that Linde herself can be sustained. If you don’t have Linde, the build can be applied to any character, but will only heal 10 HP. Remember that a dancer can potentially double this healing output. Lastly, there is the "sustain tank" build recently popularized with the addition of the Steady Breath skill. With a cooldown -1 weapon, Steady Breath, Quick Riposte and Aether, a unit can charge and fire off their special every round of combat, keeping their health topped up over a long time. Ike and Nephenee can both run this build very effectively, and are bonus units.

Dancers

These are some of the most potent allies for Tempest Trials, offering both safety and speed to your run. In short, they are great for all the usual reasons, but are affected by their low combat stats, which can hold them back. Due to team limitations, if you choose to field a dancer they must be a respectable combat unit in their own right, with either a full build or something close. However, none are featured as bonus units this time.

Glass Cannons

One of the easiest ways to clear the Tempest Trials is with a powerful ranged attacker wielding a Brave bow or Blade tome. Combined with a buffer or dancer, they can destroy most units in the trials with ease once they are under the Desperation threshold. Cavalry teams are great for this, and can be run with Oscar, Titania or both.

In all of the following examples, units can be switched and subbed depending on your personal collection. Only one bonus unit is really required, but more of them tend to be better due to the sizeable stat boosts they receive. Remember that for auto-battle teams, it is highly recommended to remove weapons from staff-users, as this will cause them to play much less aggressively.

A simple team composition with everything: One unit of each color, a magical attacker, and featuring all bonus units. Ike and Nephenee are the anchors of the team, KO'ing most units with ease thanks to their boosted stats. With Reposition on either of them, Soren can play an aggressive carry role, especially if he is given a Blade tome and buffed. Ike should be running Quick Riposte in his B slot to guarantee KO's, and can sustain his health decently with Aether. Nephenee works best with Wrath and Fury, allowing her to glide through maps effortlessly, and even duel the Black Knight with ease. Mist provides much-needed healing, especially to Ike and Nephenee, who often prefer Fury in skill slot A.

Ultimately, players without all of these units can do very well with substitutes. The Black Knight can replace Ike, Nino can replace Soren, and nearly any unit can replace Mist. Nephenee is best replaced with Oscar, but units such as Camus can do well in her stead. The Black Knight is so powerful that blue Triangle Adept or Sapphire Lance users are recommended for a safe KO.

Thanks to the presence of two bonus units, Cavalry teams are back, and can do some serious damage! Oscar and Titania are shoe-ins thanks to their status as bonus units, and provide strong type coverage with their natural weapons. Brave Lyn provides ranged offense to the team, hitting hard when buffed by other members of the team. Final slot is user preference, but healing helps a lot, making Mist as well as other mounted healers good team-mates.

Yes, Reinhardt can be used, but he has trouble finding a place in this particular variation. If Oscar is not owned, a team with Xander, Reinhardt and Titania is recommended.

One of the classic Tempest Trial beaters, this team is a tried and true classic and remains the same today. Reinhardt and Nino cut through the swathes of enemies that appear, while Olivia dances them forwards. Reinhardt wants his classic build with Death Blow, while Nino prefers her usual Desperation shenanigans to sweep cleanly. Try and pack as many Rally/Hone skills as possible into this team for the best chance of success. However, this team does not have the requirements to safely KO the Black Knight, which is where the final team slot is important. A blue bonus unit or the Black Knight himself is recommended to assist in clearing the final map.