Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing. (Defensive / Melee Generalist)

Weapon: Freikugel (+Eff)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow / Ruptured Sky / Glimmer / Sol / Noontime

Passive A: Atk/Spd Unity / Kestrel Stance / Atk/Spd Ideal / Atk/Spd Solo

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Spd/Def Tempo / Lull Atk/Spd / Lull Spd/Def 

Passive C: Joint Drive Skills / Smoke Skills / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Mystic Boost / Atk/Spd Form / Atk/Spd Solo / Atk/Spd Bond

• More than anything, this is a purely “for fun” build for anyone seeking an alternative to Hilda’s more obvious playstyle by opting for a defensive lean — which, despite her mediocre defenses, she can perform decently at by merit of Freikugel’s 40% damage reduction and ability to pad it with further support and/or skills. 
  • Note: this build assumes access to a Far Save ally as her abysmal Res value is compounded by how overwhelming modern magical threats are, making her quite weak to them even with Distant Counter. Accordingly, it’s best to focus on her melee match-ups instead (where reduction-piercing effects are also less common) and rely on said Far Save ally to make up the difference.
• Atk/Spd Unity is a neat A skill candidate for its effective reversal of any penalties affecting said stats, carrying the greatest ceiling in the sheer amount of stat enhancements it can provide. For a more defensive lean, Kestrel Stance may be considered to prevent foes from accessing their Special through permanent Enemy Phase Guard (and should receive much more priority if you’re not keeping Null Follow-Up as her B skill). If neither are available, something like Atk/Spd Solo is perfectly usable.
• Her default Null Follow-Up once again merits mention, though this should come at little surprise given how useful the skill is for consistency and survival with the amount of follow-up mechanics that exist in the meta. It’s particularly significant in Hilda’s case, though, since Freikguel’s damage reduction only applies on her foe’s first hit, so this skill minimizes the risk of second strike landing (with the exception of Brave effects).
  • If deemed unnecessary (such as if gaining a Null Follow-Up effect externally from skills like Inf. Null Follow or Inf. Spd Tactic), Spd/Def Tempo or a Lull of your choice are simple slot-ins that bring useful QoL upgrades for her playstyle. 
    • Spd/Def Tempo becomes much more important if relying on healing Specials for her sustain, as this ensures enemy Guard effects will not keep her from maintaining high HP — at which point, you just have to look out for Fatal Smoke effects.
  • Generally speaking, it’s best to avoid trying to stack further damage reduction effects beyond Freikugel’s effect. It’s a high investment for diminishing returns since such effects stack multiplicatively — not additively — and she gets better use out of other skills anyway.