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Analysis by Chibi_Chu
Groom Rafiel - Blessed Wings

4-5

Obtainable as a 4 - 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
162
HP 38
ATK 28
SPD 35
DEF 20
RES 41

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 15 3 6 4 10
Middle 16 4 7 5 11
High 17 5 8 6 12

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 34 25 32 17 38
Middle 38 28 35 20 41
High 41 31 38 23 45

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

Skill Sets

Serenes' Serenity (Support)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Groom's Wings A Fort. Def/Res 3
Alternate: B Duel Infantry 3
Sing B Sabotage Atk 3
Alternate: Odd Pulse Tie 3
Glacies
Alternate: Aether
C Def Ploy 3
Alternate: Infantry Pulse 3
IVs

+HP or +RES / -ATK or -DEF

SFortress Res 3
Alternate: HP/Res 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Groom’s Wings

Assist: Sing 

Special: Glacies / Ruptured Sky

Passive A: Fort. Def/Res 3 / B Duel Infantry / Fury (3 or 4)

Passive B: Sabotage Atk / Odd Pulse Tie / Sudden Panic / Wings of Mercy 

Passive C: Def Ploy / Infantry Pulse / Flexible 

Sacred Seal: Fortress Res / HP/Res 2

  • The combination of Groom’s Wings, Sing, and high Resistance makes Rafiel an amazing support unit. While his HP is rather low at 38, if stacked high enough, it can be used to further support his allies.
  • Rafiel wants to stack his Resistance as high as possible to ensure that he can utilize skills such as Sabotage Atk and Def Ploy effectively. Sabotage skills inflict -7 to a stat to all enemies adjacent to another enemy if Rafiel’s Resistance is 3+ more than theirs, while Ploy skills inflict -5 to a stat to all enemies in cardinal directions that have less Resistance than Rafiel. As such, Fort. Def/Res 3, Fury, Fortress Res, and HP/Res 2 are all great choices. Since he plans to stack his Resistance so high, Glacies is a great Special for Rafiel, adding 80% of his Resistance as bonus damage when activated.
  • Alternatively, Rafiel can sacrifice some Resistance stacking to increase his HP to be able to use Sudden Panic, Panic Ploy, Odd/Even Pulse Tie, and Infantry Pulse effectively. Sudden Panic and Panic Ploy both inflict the Panic status, with the former being a B slot dependent on enemies being adjacent to each other and having less HP than Rafiel and the latter being a C/S slot dependent on enemies being in cardinal directions of him and having less HP than him. Odd/Even Pulse Tie inflict +2 Special cooldown to the enemy with the lowest HP and their Special ready on odd/even turns respectively, helping to shut down the prevalent Infantry Pulse teams in Aether Raids.
  • If using Rafiel in Arena, he’ll need to swap Glacies for a 500 SP skill such as Aether; additionally, he’ll want B Duel Infantry to increase his scoring, which also increases his HP by 5 to help him utilize the aforementioned skills consistently.

Watch me fly! (Galeforce)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Groom's Wings A Atk/Spd Push 4
Alternate: Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)
Sing B Wings of Mercy 3
Galeforce C Time's Pulse 3
IVs

+SPD / -HP or -DEF

SFlashing Blade 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Groom’s Wings 

Assist: Sing 

Special: Galeforce 

Passive A: Atk/Spd Push 4 / Swift Sparrow (2 or 3) 

Passive B: Wings of Mercy 

Passive C: Time’s Pulse 

Sacred Seal: Flashing Blade 

  • Rafiel can take advantage of his decent 35 Speed to become a Galeforcer. While Groom’s Wings and Sing don’t benefit him, having the flexibility to be both offensive and supportive is great utility. Groom’s Wings also allows Rafiel’s teammates to be more flexible with their skills, since -1 cooldown to his support partner can make all the difference in Aether Raids Offense teams seeking to sweep a Defense team in one turn.  
  • Time’s Pulse and Flashing Blade are key to this set. Given that Galeforce is a 5-cooldown Special, decreasing it to 4 with Time’s Pulse is vital, since it allows Rafiel to activate Galeforce in 2 attacks (assuming Flashing Blade activates and no Guard effect is present) even if the enemy cannot counterattack.
  • A 28/35 offensive statline leaves much to be desired; ironically, 28 Attack may be a blessing in disguise, since it decreases the chances that Rafiel OHKOs, preventing him from activating Galeforce. Regardless, he wants skills that increase his Attack and Speed; Atk/Spd Push 4 is particularly good since its recoil damage makes it easier for Wings of Mercy Galeforcers to warp adjacent to him and begin a Galeforce chain. Swift Sparrow is another strong option, increasing Rafiel’s Attack by 4/6 and Speed by 4/7 when he initiates combat.
  • Wings of Mercy is important for any refresher, but it’s even more important when that refresher is seeking to Galeforce. It’s very difficult to start a Galeforce chain just with Assists and natural movement, so many Galeforcers rely on Wings of Mercy to teleport adjacent to a weakened Galeforcer.

Chill out! (Special Nuke)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Groom's Wings A Flashing Blade 4
Sing B Wings of Mercy 3
Iceberg
Alternate: Glacies
C Spd Smoke 3
Alternate: Time's Pulse 3
IVs

+SPD or +RES / -HP or -DEF

SSwift Stance 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Groom’s Wings 

Assist: Sing 

Special: Iceberg / Glacies 

Passive A: Flashing Blade 4

Passive B: Wings of Mercy 

Passive C: Spd Smoke / Time’s Pulse

Sacred Seal: Swift Stance

  • While a 28/35 offensive statline is far from ideal, Rafiel’s massive Resistance and transformation bonuses of +2 Attack and +10 damage on Special activation can make him a humorously effective damage-dealer. 
  • Iceberg and Glacies are the clear Specials to go for, granting bonus damage equal to 50% and 80% of Rafiel’s Resistance respectively. Iceberg synergizes better with Flashing Blade due to its 3 cooldown (allowing Rafiel to activate it on his follow-up attack assuming the enemy either attacked first or counterattacked and no Guard effect is active) and frees Rafiel’s C slot for a Smoke skill such as Def Smoke or Spd Smoke. Glacies also works, but Time’s Pulse is needed to drop its cooldown to 3 to allow it to synergize with Flashing Blade.
  • Def Smoke and Spd Smoke are nice, with the former inflicting -7 Defense and the latter inflicting -7 Speed to enemies within 2 spaces of the target. This helps Rafiel’s damage output and/or ability to consistently activate Flashing Blade and perform a follow-up attack.
  • Rafiel will likely spend a majority of his Player Phase refreshing his allies, making Enemy Phase skills stronger overall. Swift Stance is particularly good, granting +4 Spd/Res when an enemy initiates combat, 2 key stats for this set.

Strengths

Solid Speed

While 35 Speed isn’t amazing, Rafiel can consistently avoid follow-up attacks and potentially perform follow-up attacks with some Speed support.

Fantastic Resistance

With a whopping 41 Resistance (and a Resistance Superasset to boot), Rafiel has very few issues dealing with magical attacks and activating Sabotages and Ploys.

Amazing support capabilities

The combination of Groom’s Wings, Sing, and sky-high Resistance make Rafiel a fantastic support unit. Along with decreasing the cooldown of his support partner by 1 on turn 1, he can refresh allies to escape enemy lines or continue an offensive assault and debuff enemies with Sabotages and Ploys.

Versatile

Despite a low 28 Attack, Rafiel can become a hybrid between a supportive and nuking unit by having both Groom’s Wings + Sing for support and Iceberg or Glacies for damage on Special activation. Rafiel’s transformation bonuses of +2 Attack and +10 damage on Special activation also boost his damage output.

Infantry advantages

As an Infantry unit, Rafiel can take advantage of key skills such as Infantry Pulse, Time’s Pulse, and Flashing Blade to improve his supportive and/or offensive capabilities. In addition, he rarely needs to worry about Infantry-effective weapons.

Weaknesses

Disappointing Attack

Unfortunately, Rafiel’s offensive capabilities are restricted by his 28 Attack. As such, he’ll need Attack support and Special activations to become a potent force.

Low physical bulk

The combination of 38 HP and 20 Defense sums to a concerningly low 57 physical bulk. Because of this, Rafiel is prone to being OHKO’d and quickly struck down by physical enemies.

Transformation restrictions

While +2 Attack and +10 damage on Special activation are nice transformation bonuses, Rafiel cannot transform if he’s adjacent to a non-beast or non-dragon unit and the beginning of the turn. This compromises his offense, as refreshers often need to be close to their allies for convenience and flexibility.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Whelp (Infantry)

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, grants Atk+2 and deals +10 damage when Special triggers.

Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Beast Infantry Only
50 1 4
Yearling (Infantry)

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, grants Atk+2 and deals +10 damage when Special triggers.

Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Beast Infantry Only
100 1 6
Adult (Infantry)

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to any ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, grants Atk+2 and deals +10 damage when Special triggers.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Beast Infantry Only
200 1 9
Groom's Wings

Grants Res +3.

At start of turn 1, grants Special cooldown count -1 to unit's support partner (if any).

At start of turn, if unit is adjacent to only beast or dragon allies or if unit is not adjacent to an ally, unit transforms (otherwise, unit reverts). If unit transforms, grants Atk +2 and deals +10 damage when Special triggers.
 

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 14
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Sing

Enables target to take another action. Cannot be used on units with Sing or Dance

Learns by default at 4 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Gale Dance 1

If Sing or Dance is used, grants Spd+2 to target.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
50
B
Firestorm Dance 1

If Sing or Dance is used, grants Atk/Spd+2 to target.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
B
Firestorm Dance 2

If Sing or Dance is used, grants Atk/Spd+3 to target.

Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
B
Spur Res 1

Grants Res+2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
50
C
Spur Res 2

Grants Res+3 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
100
C
Ward Beasts

Grants Def/Res+4 to beast allies within 2 spaces during combat.

Beast Only
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

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