Hone Fliers

This family of skills grants stat boosts to units positioned directly next to the user of the skill at the start of their turn. The standard boost is four to any given stat, and they last through the entire enemy turn, wearing off at the start of the player’s next turn. Hone skills boost attack and speed, whereas Fortify skills boost defense and resistance. There are special variants of these skills limited to unit movement types, which grant significant boosts of six, each to two stats at once. The raw power of these skills enables flier, cavalry and armor teams to dominate the field thanks to their large stat boosts. However, even in a regular infantry or mixed team, these buffs can help units to win duels they otherwise couldn’t and defeat a wider range of foes.

These skills form the backbone behind flier, cavalry and armor teams. A typical team will run a mix of Hone/Fortify skills alongside Goad/Spur/Ward skills. Blade tomes are powerful choices for magic users, largely because of these skills. If running one of the above teams, it’s highly recommended to have at least one Blade tome user. The most important thing to understand when running Hone/Fortify skills is that the user themselves cannot take advantage of the skill’s buff. This means that you must take great care when building your team. For instance, an offensive mage should not carry Hone Atk, as they will want the use of it for themselves. Flier, cavalry and armor teams can avoid this by simply running two of each type of skill. Hone and Fortify skills can be used effectively on every unit in the game, regardless of abilities, statline or role.

Great care must be taken when positioning your team, as the primary limitation of Hone/Fortify skills is that they require units to be standing next to each other at the start of their turn. Moving units up as a group is the best way to maintain the buffs on your team. Units who operate independently will not be able to give or receive buffs through these skills. Dealing with a well-buffed team is tricky, but possible granted you have your own buffs and can outplay the AI. However, buff teams consisting of fliers, cavalry or armor are a nightmare without a true counter.