Brave Axe+

Some of the most common and deadly weapons in the entire game, Brave weapons are a powerful choice for nearly any type of unit. These weapons synergise with many different stat distributions, but all Brave weapon builds require high attack to offset their low might. Units with low speed can use a Brave weapon to attack twice. If a unit would normally score a double attack, they will attack four times with a Brave weapon. This lets them charge long specials relatively quickly and surprise foes with high damage. Brave weapons have much lower might than normal weapons, weighing in at only eight. Additionally, they lower speed by five, making it very difficult to activate all four hits.

The only thing a Brave weapon user truly needs is high attack. Skills such as Death Blow and Swift Sparrow can provide a significant damage boost, as the damage bonus is applied twice. When creating your skill build, you must decide whether you are going for a 2x attack or 4x attack build. Slow, powerful characters such as Cherche and Effie can sacrifice their speed to deal incredible damage and remain tanky. Faster units with lower defenses such as Setsuna and Hana can opt for a 4x attack build with the help of buffs and skills such as Life and Death. Quad builds prefer Desperation for slot B, but standard builds have a wide range of good choices, including Drag Back, Hit and Run, and Wings of Mercy. Choice of special is extremely important for these builds, as it is possible to trigger some within the first attack with the help of a Quickened Pulse seal. Moonbow is popular if your unit has low speed, but if they can attack four times, a stronger special such as Ignis or Glacies can be selected and activated in a single turn. A Breaker skill can also be used to guarantee a quadruple attack against a weapon type of your choice. Armoured units can run Wary Fighter, which does not block the double attack from a Brave weapon. This is a great way to circumvent low speed and protect from ranged attackers.

Brave weapons lower the unit’s speed, making them weak to units with a naturally high speed. They only gain their effects when initiating battle, so the best way to deal with them is to initiate combat yourself before they can do so. It’s common to see Brave users sacrifice their defenses for attack, so a strong preemptive attacker should be able to KO them. The slow but tanky variant can be tricky to KO without a mage on your team, as they still have high defenses and can hit hard even on defense. Defensive buffs go a long way vs. brave weapon users, Fortify Def and Fortify Res are two excellent skills that will reduce damage by a total of eight over the two hits.