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Pandashock

Skill Set

Hero Build Overview/Explanation

Thanks to the new distant counter refines, Xander now has some new life breathed into him. This set aims to maximize his survivability against a multitude of threats running around nowadays.

I shall preface this by saying this is an extremely high investment build, and should not be done unless you really like Xander. This is the current build I have on my +10 +10 Summoner supported Xander. I do not recommend doing anything similar unless you have already made your mind.

Starting with Siegfried, it is a weapon with unconditional distant counter. In addition, it can inflict -5 atk/def and prevent follow-up attacks to any enemy above 75% hp, a really easy condition to meet as most enemies you come across will not start below that amount. The combat debuff effectively gives him 5 more attack, and take 5 less damage from all sources during combat, and denying follow-ups is a great boon to deal with any pesky critters that target his relatively low res.

For assist, anything is fine. Place in whatever affect you want.

For special, I have aether here, but Sol or Noontime here may work for you. This skill is meant to aid Xander in his bulk. Thanks to the follow-up denial in addition to inflicting -5 attack, that means that Xander would take less damage overall than he normally would. These skills are meant to keep Xander alive for a longer period of time, as he would likely survive long enough to activate these skills on an enemy.

The A skill listed here is Bracing Stance 3, but any stance 4 skill should be fine depending on what you want. In this case, Bracing Stance 3 is meant to help him survive against any threat, regardless of whichever stat they target. With both Bracing Stance 3 and his Refine in affect, Xander is effectively taking 11 less damage than he would normally take. It may not mean much for his already relatively good defense for a gen 1 cav, but it definitely helps him survive better against mages and dragons. Oh, and it has a guard affect. that is pretty neat too.

The B skill listed is Lull Atk/Def 2, because I was unable to find Lull Atk/Def 3 in the list for some reason. Lulls are pretty good. Stack this Lull with his weapon, that is an effective -8 atk/def against everyone, while simultaneously ignoring the enemies buffs to atk and defense.

The C skill listed is the Atk/Def Menace, introduced in the newest Fallen Heroes banner at the time of writing. Unlike Threaten Atk/Def 3, the menace skills have a farther range of 4 spaces instead of 2. It inflicts -6 atk/def to the nearest unit within 4 spaces while granting the user +6 to the same stats, whereas Threaten Atk/Def 3 only applies 5. Being a cavalier, the extra range is much more useful to Xander and a reliable way of supporting himself while indirectly supporting other allies. Assuming the menace skill is activated along with the other skills previously mentioned, Xander would effectively reduce the damage of any physical unit attacking him by 26, and reduce the damage of any magical unit by 20. He would also deal 20 more damage against the same afflicted enemy as well, giving him a much needed edge in combat.

Finally, the seal slot, Quick Riposte. Unfortunately, the Siegfried refine did not have some form of guaranteed follow-up effect on it. Even with all the damage that Xander can now deal and reduce, he would be much more effective if he could reliably follow-up. That is where Quick riposte comes in. Whether it be in his B-slot, or his S-slot, this skill is practically a requirement for him to be a threat against modern units.