Valentine's Alfonse

Weapon: Plegian Torch+ (+DEF) / Amity Blooms+ (+RES) 

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Noontime / Sol / Bonfire

Passive A: Close Foil / Close Counter

Passive B: Slick Fighter 

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Pulse Smoke / Res Smoke

Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Mystic Boost

• With 38 Attack, 37 Defense, and 31 Resistance, Alfonse can become a great superunit whose role is to survive against (and ideally KO) several enemies in one Enemy Phase. His ability to wield Green Tomes enhances this as well; Plegian Torch and Amity Blooms are both excellent weapons for increased bulk, damage output, and/or sustainability via healing.
  • Plegian Torch inflicts an Attack and Resistance penalty to enemies during combat if Alfonse is not adjacent to an ally. The penalty is calculated as 5 + the enemy’s visible debuff in Attack or Resistance; for example, if the enemy has a -5 Attack debuff and -4 Resistance debuff, Plegian Torch would inflict -10 Attack and -9 Resistance during combat, effectively doubling the visible debuff. With -7 Attack and Resistance debuffs inflicted through his allies and/or his C slot, Alfonse effectively gains +19 Atk/Def/Res, making its potential immense.
  • Amity Blooms inflicts -5 Atk/Res on the enemy during combat if Alfonse is within 2 spaces of an ally. In addition, Alfonse recovers 4 HP every time he attacks, so this weapon grants Alfonse increased damage, bulk, and healing.
• Which Special Alfonse uses depends on multiple factors: which weapon he uses, whether he has a way to accelerate his Special charge (specifically through New Year Velouria’s Renewed Fang), and whether the player prefers healing or damage. Noontime works best with New Year Velouria because Alfonse can activate it on his first counterattack, while Sol and Bonfire work better if Alfonse does not have Velouria. Since they both have 3 cooldown, Alfonse will be able to activate them on his second counterattack. Alternatively, if Alfonse KOs on his first counterattack, their cooldown will be at 1, and after he receives another attack, he will be able to activate them on his first counterattack instead.
  • This decision is similar for Alfonse’s Sacred Seal. Atk/Def Solo grants Alfonse +6 Atk/Def during combat if he is not adjacent to an ally, while Mystic Boost nullifies effects that target the lower of his Defense and Resistance and heals him for 6 HP after combat.
• Close Foil is vital for any ranged superunit, as it allows them to counterattack against weapon type except Dragons. Close Foil trades the ability to counterattack against Dragons for +5 Atk/Def when the enemy initiates combat, which is worthwhile given that Dragons are not particularly common or threatening in Aether Raids Defense.
• Granting a guaranteed follow-up attack and neutralizing Alfonse’s penalties if his HP is ≥ 25% and the enemy initiates combat, Slick Fighter is the premier choice for any Enemy Phase Armored unit. With the myriad of debuffs in Aether Raids, penalty neutralization is more valuable than ever, and a guaranteed follow-up counterattack is great given Alfonse’s unwieldy 25 Speed.
• If Alfonse is using Plegian Torch, having an ally that can inflict Attack or Resistance debuffs without having to participate in combat is vital; whichever stat they lack, Alfonse should use that stat’s Smoke skill. Atk Smoke is still a great option for an Amity Blooms set, as -7 Attack to enemies within 2 spaces of the target after combat can easily turn the tables, but Pulse Smoke’s +1 Special cooldown infliction on the target and enemies within 2 spaces after combat is fantastic as well. Pulse Smoke shuts down common Infantry Pulse Aether Raids Defense teams that rely on pre-charged Specials to blast through enemies’ defensive stats.

Weapon: Gronnblade+ / Amity Blooms+ (+ATK) 

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Glimmer / Bonfire / Draconic Aura

Passive A: Death Blow (3 or 4) / Atk/Def Solo (3 or 4) 

Passive B: Bold Fighter 

Passive C: Armor March / Joint Drive Atk / Res Smoke 

Sacred Seal: Death Blow / Atk/Def Solo / Armored Boots

• With the help of Bold Fighter, a B slot that grants Alfonse a guaranteed follow-up attack when he initiates, he can become a potent Player Phase unit. Gronnblade grants Alfonse the highest damage ceiling, as it grants bonus Attack during combat equal to the sum of his visible buffs. However, with Panic, Lulls, and other forms of buff negation being quite common, he can settle for his native Amity Blooms instead. This is not to say that Amity Blooms is weak, as inflicting -5 Atk/Res to the enemy and recovering 4 HP every time Alfonse attacks if an ally is within 2 spaces is still strong, but the damage ceiling is much lower.
• For his Special, Glimmer works wonders because its +50% damage on activation scales with Gronnblade’s bonus Attack. Even if Alfonse is using Amity Blooms, Bold Fighter’s +1 Special charge every time Alfonse attacks allows him to activate Glimmer on his follow-up attack even if the enemy cannot counterattack. If Glimmer feels too inconsistent or variable, Bonfire or Draconic Aura can be used with Amity Blooms instead; while their 3 cooldown requires the enemy to counterattack for Alfonse to activate them on his follow-up attack, the bonus damage they grant is much more stable and reliable.
• Alfonse’s A and S slots are dedicated to maximizing his damage output. Death Blow and Atk/Def Solo are strong options for both slots; the former grants an Attack bonus on initiation, while the latter grants both an Attack and Defense bonus if Alfonse is not adjacent to an ally. 
• Which C slot to use is dependent on the rest of his team. If an Armored ally has Armor March or a Flying ally has Guidance or Ground Orders, offensive C slots such as Joint Drive Atk and Res Smoke can further bolster his damage output. The former grants Attack +4 to Alfonse and allies within 2 spaces, while the latter inflicts -7 Res to enemies within 2 spaces of the target after combat. However, if Alfonse’s allies have no way to increase his movement and/or mobility, Armor March and Armored Boots are important, as Player Phase units value movement because it allows them to attack enemies further away.