For this iteration of Hall of Forms, we have a variety of very compelling options from The Binding Blade. Our options include an Axe Flier, an Infantry Blue Tome, a Red Infantry Bow, and a Lance Flier. Players have the chance to build up and possibly add the following units to their roster permanently by spending a Forma Soul:
- Spring Fir: Student of Spring
- Guinivere: Princess of Bern
- Igrene: Nabata Protector
- Spring Narcian: Vernal General
We will briefly display optimal inheritance options for each unit and the advantages/disadvantages of spending your Forma Soul on them. As Forma Souls take a considerable amount of resources to acquire, it is important to get the most out of your Forma units before purchasing.
General Considerations
Forma Unit Rules
- Any Forma unit you purchase will come with their base skills already. Therefore, there is little need to inherit these base skills during Hall of Forms unless you need to save refinery costs (especially PRF weapons needing Divine Dew) or simply don’t care for hyper-optimal inheritance.
- Formas are acquired completely neutral with no Assets and Flaws. If you desire a certain Asset/Flaw combination, you will have to utilize Trait Fruits. Since you cannot merge Forma units into existing copies, this may pose an issue on resource spending if you already have the same unit with an ideal Asset.
Skill Considerations
- When rolling skills from the current Forma skill pool, unique PRF skills are often prioritized over inheritables. It's a good idea to take PRF skills first to improve your chances at finding good inheritable alternatives; Hall of Forms will pretty much constantly hound you to take the PRF skills if you don't take them otherwise.
- Due to their extreme rarity and superior SP value over most other Special skills, Ruptured Sky (typically available only on Byleth and their variations) and Blue Flame (available only on Owain) will vastly be preferred as a final Special choice. For bow-using units, this extends to the bow-exclusive Deadeye.
- For the same reason as above, high-tier Assist skills like Rally+'s and Harsh Command+ are preferred on a potential purchased Forma to increase the unit's Arena scoring slightly as well as their overall value.
- These, too, are also not necessarily optimal as positional Assists like Reposition are vastly preferred in most situations, and those can easily be inherited from lower rarity units like Norne or Barst.
- Inheriting rally skills or Harsh Command+ too early in your Hall of Forms run can also inhibit your unit's ability to support other Forma allies and escape enemy range as well, increasing the likelihood of wasted Torches (the stamina currency for Hall of Forms) and thus wasted opportunities to get better skills.
- Though optimal C Passive skills exist on a case-to-case basis, Joint Drives are essentially the most universal there is as they boost the stats of the unit as well as surrounding allies. Go for these (especially Joint Drive Atk) if available and there aren't better C slot options for your unit in particular. Likewise, Time's Pulse has fantastic overall value on infantry units due to the importance of frequent Special triggers in combat.
Spring Fir
Summary:
Spring Fir still holds up rather well despite debuting back in March 2020 thanks to her PRF Bun-Bun Baton. The PRF in question has innate Slaying, Armor Effectiveness, and, most importantly, Null Follow-Up. The third effect in question allows her to perform many types of Player Phase roles quite well as she has flexibility with her B Passive, and with Armor Effectiveness in toll, she can take down even the bulkiest of Armor units provided that they don’t have a Svallin Shield effect present.
It’s also worth noting that there are currently no inheritable weapons that Spring Fir would want to replace her PRF with, so she’s much more manageable to build up comparatively to other units that would much prefer a specific inheritable seasonal weapon for example. As such, she’s one of the more approachable options in this batch. So, if any of this sounds compelling, consider the following skills and recommended builds before you decide to pursue building her up.
Recommended Skills:
Weapons: Bun-Bun Baton
Assist: Any Rally+ or Harsh Command+
Special: Galeforce / Ruptured Sky
A-Passive: Atk/Spd Catch 4 / Sturdy Impact / Life and Death 4 / Surge Sparrow / Sturdy Surge / Swift Sparrow 3
B-Passive: A/D Near Trace / S/D Near Trace / Windsweep / Watersweep / Dive-Bomb
C-Passive: Atk/Spd Rein / Atk/Def Rein / Spd/Def Rein / Odd Tempest / Even Tempest / Spd Smoke 4
As previously mentioned, there are no inheritable Axes that compete with Bun-Bun Baton’s potency as the innate Slaying and Null Follow-Up, the latter effect only somewhat replicable by Flow skills, allows Spring Fir to opt for other B Passives. As such, there’s no benefit to acquiring other weapons beyond collective purposes.
As far has her preferred play style goes, she’ll want to stack as much Atk and Spd as possible so that she can function well in the Player Phase. Despite having innate Null Follow-Up, her lackluster bulk prevents her from acting in the Enemy Phase to a significant degree as units continue to hit harder and harder. Moreover, there are very little options for Enemy Phase Fliers when it comes to their B Passives, so turning Spring Fir into an Enemy Phase unit will only hinder her abilities.
Spring Fir can also opt for Passives that either allow her to act as a suitable Hit and Run unit or take her survivability into account. One of the notable things that holds her Galeforce capabilities back is her inability to run Flashing Blade, instead having to run Heavy Blade to secure a Galeforce trigger after her first combat. As such, she can opt for a Near Trace or Rein that inflicts Atk penalties on the foe to help make Heavy Blade checks easier. On the other side of the token, she can opt for other Passives that take her survivability into account such as Windsweep and Tempest. The former prevents specific foes from retaliating, which can help her get damage out without any risk involved, while the latter can allow her to retreat afterward, provided that she triggers Galeforce. There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to Galeforce, so it mainly boils down to preference.
Guinivere
Summary:
Guinivere is one of the better mage tanks that we have in the game thanks to her absurdly minmaxed statline as well as her PRF, Aureola, that not only bolsters her three best stats by a significant amount but also heals her after every combat, making her rather sustainable. Aureola is also notable for being effective against magic foes as well as disabling any sort of adaptive damage the foe may have, but this will mainly come into play with Dragon foes as they naturally target Res by default. Despite this, her minmaxed nature does come with a price as her HP and Def are extremely low.
Guinivere, at base, only bolsts a measly 36 HP and 16 Def meaning that any unit that so much targets her Def stat will more than likely one-shot her in the process. This had aged a bit better as the era of omni-tanking had gone away in favor of Armor units acting in place of them to take on a notable amount of ranged threats but can still prove to be an issue against Far Save units that naturally target Def. Meanwhile, acting as a Ranged Specialist with Near Save support may prove to be difficult as well since Bows and Daggers can slice through what little physical bulk Guinivere has. However, even with these drawbacks, Guinivere can still prove herself worthwhile with the right skills as it’s entirely possible to artificially bolster her survivability. So, if any of this sounds compelling, consider the following skills and recommended builds before you decide to pursue building her up.
Recommended Skills:
Weapons: Aureola
Assist: Any Rally+ or Harsh Command+
Special: Ruptured Sky / Blue Flame / Iceberg / Sol / Blazing Wind
A-Passive: Atk/Res Unity / Atk/Spd Unity / Flashing Blade 4 / Sturdy Impact / Swift Sparrow 3 / Still Water 4 / Life and Death 4
B-Passive: Null Follow-Up / Null C-Disrupt / Lull Atk/Res / Lull Spd/Res / Special Spiral
C-Passive: Joint Drive Atk / Joint Drive Spd / Joint Drive Res / Time’s Pulse / Spd Smoke 4
Similarly to Spring Fir, Guinivere would much prefer to keep her innate PRF as there aren’t any notable inheritable weapons that compete with it. Aureola having innate healing as well as effectiveness against magic foes means that she can act quite well as a Ranged Specialist. However, as previously mentioned, she will fall to anything that targets her Def as she has very flimsy physical bulk. She can opt for Spd Smoke 4 to mitigate some of the damage but that will take an initial combat to set up.
That being said, Guinivere can act in the Player Phase decently. Despite having paper-thin Def, she can run skills that bolster her overall Def so that she can potentially take a hit when needed whether that’s from Sturdy Impact or Lull Atk/Res. What’s more is that with the innate healing from Aureola, she can bolster her survivability and then take on even more foes but depending on how much damage she takes per combat, she may get worn down to the point where it would be difficult for her to function.
As such, she can instead opt for an AoE set, taking advantage of the newly released Still Water 4 by dumping her Def stat even more or the classic Life and Death 4. It’s easy enough to write off Life and Death 4 given that it decreases her overall Res but there are benefits to each skill. Still Water 4 bolsters Guinivere’s overall Atk and Res at the cost of her Def which can allow her to take on magical threats much more easily when needed. However, Life and Death 4 boosts her Spd instead of her Res, allowing for easier Flashing Blade checks so that she can consistently loop her AoE. This is especially important as Aureola lacks the Slaying effect, so she will need either Heavy or Flashing Blade in her kit, and chances are she’ll more likely be able to make a Flashing Blade check than a Heavy Blade check.
Igrene
Summary:
Despite having a relatively outdated PRF, Igrene has the benefit of inheritables on her side as well as a fantastic offensive statspread. Statwise, Igrene starts off with 37/37 Atk/Spd respectively which, while powercrept, still does quite well especially when taking Dragonflowers into account. Stats aside, Igrene has the benefit of inheritable Bows, and there are plenty of great options to take advantage of. At the time of this Hall of Forms, the most notable option, Whitecap Bow+, is currently not available in the mode but will be obtainable in the near future via Heroic Grails, so it may still be worth picking up Igrene just on that basis alone as long as you can roll decent enough skills. It’s also worth noting that Igrene is due for a refine sooner or later as she is a Book III unit, so you can always gamble away a Forma Soul on the chance that her refine will be worthwhile. So, if any of this sounds compelling, consider the following skills and recommended builds before you decide to pursue building her up.
Recommended Skills:
Weapons: Guardian's Bow / Ninja Yumi+ / Springy Bow+
Assist: Any Rally+ or Harsh Command+
Special: Deadeye / Ruptured Sky / Blue Flame / Blazing Wind
A-Passive: Atk/Spd Ideal 4 / Life and Death 4 / Flashing Blade 4 / Sturdy Impact / Swift Sparrow 3
B-Passive: Null Follow-Up / Spd/Def Tempo / Special Spiral / Lull Spd/Def / Lull Atk/Spd / Windsweep / Watersweep
C-Passive: Joint Drive Atk / Joint Drive Spd / Spd Smoke 4 / Time’s Pulse
As far as Igrene’s weapon options are concerned, she would much prefer to run Whitecap Bow+ over her innate Guardian’s Bow as it lacks the punch it once had back on release. However, at this time, Whitecap Bow+ isn’t currently available in Hall of Forms, and for what it’s worth, Guardian’s Bow isn’t the worst weapon by any means as it not only has innate Slaying but can grant a conditional Spectrum 5 if she is faster than her opponent. That being said, there aren’t many other options worth going for, so rather than focusing on her weapon options, the best thing you can do, if you plan to use a Forma Soul on her, is to focus on her Passive options.
For the most part, stacking Atk and Spd will be the most ideal thing you could do with Igrene as those are her most important stats. Atk/Spd Ideal grants the most Atk and Spd out of any inheritable Passive that we have at this time. However, maintaining both conditions will be a tad difficult without the ability to take down foes before they can potentially counter. As such, running it with Ninja Yumi+ or, if you plan to give it to her after the mode, Whitecap Bow+ will be the best thing you can do as the Brave effect can allow her to output a significant amount of damage.
That being said, there’s always the possibility that the foe can take on both hits, potentially ruining any ability to use Atk/Spd Ideal at it’s max potential. As such, she can also opt for Windsweep or Watersweep to mitigate any counterattack, provided that she can make the Spd check or if the foe lacks Null C-Disrupt. She can also run Passives that increase her damage output such as Spd/Def Tempo or Lull Spd/Def, the former negating any Guard effects which can allow her to trigger Deadeye consistently and the latter negating any visible buffs to those respective stats.
Beyond that, Igrene can also opt for Passives that either increase her overall stats, grant Damage Reduction, or accelerate her ability to trigger Deadeye. Joint Drive Atk and Spd are notable options that increase her two best stats by four points respectively. The former can help with overall damage output and the latter can help with meeting Windsweep, Watersweep, or Guardian’s Bow checks as all of those skills require a Spd check. Meanwhile, Spd Smoke 4 can help with her overall survivability if she is required to take a hit or two. However, without proper sustainability from healing Specials or Passives, she will eventually fall in battle. Outside of that, Time’s Pulse will help her with triggering Deadeye, especially if she isn’t using Guardian’s Bow.
Spring Narcian
Summary:
Spring Narcian, while the most visibly appealing unit in the batch, offers very little comparatively to the rest of the options. Statwise, he doesn’t bolster anything impressive, the most notable stat of his being his Def which sits at a base of 37, followed by his offensive stats of 35/34 Atk/Spd respectively. Offensively, there are better options available in the normal demote pool.
However, if there is anything that allows Spring Narican to stand out, even if it’s not too impressive, it’s that his Def stat, combined with his Spd stat, can allow him to act as a fairly decent Melee Specialist, which isn’t nearly as replicable by other accessible units as they either dump their defensive stats in favor of more offensive pressure or don’t have nearly as much Spd as he does. Moreover, Spring Narcian does have the benefit of having an easily accessible merge thanks to one of the Divine Codes paths as well as being a demote on his respective Spring banner, so it can be easier to invest into him on a maximum level provided that you can wait long enough for his banner to return. Even so, Melee Specialist Fliers don’t have the best catalogue of Passives for that role, only having Quick Riposte for defensive purposes. So, if any of this sounds compelling, consider the following skills and recommended builds before you decide to pursue building him up.
Recommended Skills:
Weapons: It’s Curtains…+ / Piercing Tribute+ / Bridal Sunflower+ / Gilt Fork+ / Springy Lance+ / Ninja Yari+ / Ninja Naginata+ / Allied Lance+
Assist: Any Rally+ or Harsh Command+
Special: Ruptured Sky / Galeforce / Blue Flame / Moonbow / Bonfire / Ignis
A-Passive: Atk/Spd Catch 4 / Atk/Def Unity / Surge Sparrow / Sturdy Surge / Swift Sparrow 3 / Sturdy Stance 3 / Sturdy Impact
B-Passive: A/D Near Trace / S/D Near Trace / Flow Flight / Wyvern Flight / Flow Force / Flow Guard / Flow Refresh / Guard Bearing / Quick Riposte
C-Passive: Atk/Def Rein / Spd/Def Rein / Atk/Spd Rein / Odd Tempest / Even Tempest / Joint Drive Atk / Joint Drive Spd / Joint Drive Def
Despite being rather generic, Spring Narcian has a lot of inheritable options when it comes to his weapon of choice. The two most notable options that come to mind are It’s Curtains…+ and Piercing Tribute+. The former allows Spring Narcian to opt for a Galeforce role without the need of Heavy Blade as it will set Galeforce to three cooldown at the start of Turn 1. Meanwhile, the latter allows him to take on an Enemy Phase role as it disables any sort of guaranteed follow-up the foe may have, and combined with his relatively decent Spd stat and solid Def, he can make for a solid Melee Specialist. However, as it isn’t full Null Follow-Up, he is still prone to skills that can disable his own follow-up, leaving only Quick Riposte as his most notable B Passive option for the Enemy Phase as that will cancel out any sort of Impact effect.
The Player Phase will more than likely be Spring Narcian’s bread and butter as there are a lot more complimentary skills for that role. As far as A Passives are concerned, he’ll mainly want to stack Atk and Spd so that he can naturally double and trigger Specials consistently. However, he can also opt for the likes of Sturdy Impact if the goal is to also bolster his overall survivability in the Player Phase. As far as the Enemy Phase is concerned, he can either run Atk/Def Unity or Sturdy Stance 3, the former having a higher ceiling for providing more Atk and Def and the latter inflicting Guard on the foe.
Meanwhile, Spring Narcian can run an assortment of Near Trace and Flow skills to make his Player Phase prowess even stronger. If running Near Trace, Spring Narcian can then opt for a Tempest skill so that he can act as a Hit and Run unit. This can be especially potent with It’s Curtains…+ as he’ll have a much easier time triggering Galeforce and then escaping with a good amount of movement. However, running a Flow skill can allow him to secure his own follow-up, provided that he can make the Spd check, and depending on the Flow skill being used can add even more potency to his Player Phase. Other options include Wyvern Flight and Guard Bearing, the former inflicting Atk/Def penalties on foes and the latter reducing damage taken by 50% on the first hit of every Enemy Phase, and Quick Riposte which, while not the most amazing skill, can allow Spring Narcian to bypass Impact effects and still double.
Beyond what was already mentioned, Spring Narcian can also either opt for a Rein or Joint Drive. Rein skills are much more preferred as they inflict two stat penalties on foes during combat while Joint Drive skills only boost one stat during combat if they are within two spaces of an ally, effectively placing a leash on him. However, if it isn’t possible to obtain a Rein skill during the selection process, then a Joint Drive isn’t a bad substitute whatsoever.
