Armor Emblem Guide
Table of Contents
1. Basic Gameplay & Phases
2. The Units
3. Buffs
4. Positioning
5. Builds
6. Resources
7. Distant Counter & Other A Passives
8. In Conclusion
1. Basic Gameplay and Phases
As I’m sure you are all aware, the gameplay of Fire Emblem Heroes is divided into two phases: Player Phase and Enemy Phase. Skill builds for units are typically divided accordingly: Enemy-Phase, Player-Phase, or Mixed. Player-Phase units want to be charged into the enemy to deal maximum damage (i.e. Reinhardt, Cherche, Effie) using weapons and skills like Brave Weapons, Firesweep Weapons, Death Blow/Swift Sparrow, Gronnblade, Life and Death, etc. Enemy-Phase units want to bait out enemies and counter-kill or draw them out (i.e. Xander, Michalis, Hector) using weapons and skills like Quick Riposte, Vantage, Fortress Defense, Distant Defense, etc. Mixed units usually give and take damage on both phases, and combine attributes of both (i.e. Camus, Palla, Zephiel). I will frequently refer to the phases and their related builds in this guide.
Now, as for Armor Emblem itself. This is a high-investment, high-reward team composition that grants great Arena scores due to high BST and gives several interesting levels of play. If you feel bored nuking everyone with Horse Emblem or playing guerilla warfare with Flier Emblem, I recommend taking Armor Emblem out for a spin. Our loyal guardians have a major weakness compared to these popular teams, however; they only move one space at a time (technically. We will discuss how to circumvent that later). Playing Armor Emblem, therefore, is even more about positioning and proper troop deployment than any other comp I’ve used. It’s unfortunately terrible in Tempest Trials due to its pitiful speed, but in all other Arenas (see what I did there? Obviously you can use it outside of the arena though.) of the game Armor Emblem is quite powerful. In this guide we will discuss builds, phases, positioning skills, and resources. Hopefully by the end of it you will have the knowledge you need to build an Armor Emblem team and start crushing all your foes underfoot.
2. The Units
Draug-Red Sword
Zephiel-Red Sword
Gwendolyn-Blue Lance
Effie-Blue Lance
Hector-Green Axe
Sheena-Green Axe
Draug:
50/30/32/39/18 (169)
2/2 Sword Units
2/2 Player Phase Units
3/5 HP Rank
4/4 Atk Rank
1/5 Spd Rank
1/5 Def Rank
6/6 Res Rank
Analysis:
Draug is a strange Armor. Terrible Atk and Res balance out amazing Def and Spd (for an Armor). He’s obviously Player-Phase to start, and can do surprising damage with Goad support.
Skill Inheritance:
You can go full Quad with triple Goad support, LoD, and a Spd boon. Swift Sparrow is another good choice. He can trade his sword for a Wo Dao so his speed is less impaired, and he can actually run Fury/Brash Assault to insure some doubles. Bonfire is a great Special for him. Basically, pump up his offenses to the moon and steamroll any fool who gets in Draug’s way.
IVs:
Spd or Atk boon are optimal. His generously proportioned HP mean that he can take a bane in it. Res bane could also work, especially with LoD, because any mage that sneezes on him will kill him either way.
Zephiel:
55/35/16/38/24 (168)
1/2 Sword Units
1/3 Mixed Units
1/5 HP Rank
3/4 Atk Rank
5/5 Spd Rank
2/5 Def Rank
3/6 Res Rank
Analysis:
Whoo boy, it’s dragon-fan-man himself, and Zephiel is bringing strong stats and a phenomenal kit to the table. One of two Armors with a unique weapon, Zephiel has the Eckesachs, which provides him with Threaten Def 2, further increasing the team’s power. He can move easily into either Phase or remain balanced. To top it all off, he’s totally free. Hooray for GHBs!
Skill Inheritance:
So LoD can be cute on Zephiel, but he’s much better off maximizing his defense. DC is on-flavor and quite strong, as it helps him deal with the problematic mages. Atk+3 can also work. I also strongly recommend Bonfire over Retribution if you’re running a Ward team.
IVs:
Nope. Not a thing.
Gwendolyn:
49/30/24/38/28 (169)
2/2 Lance Units
3/3 Mixed Units
4/5 HP Rank
4/4 Atk Rank
3/5 Spd Rank
2/5 Def Rank
2/6 Res Rank
Analysis:
Poor Gwendolyn. Look at those rankings, her only standout stat is her comparatively weak Atk. And her kit is just awful. But her defenses are actually decent, so we might be able to salvage her in that direction. She really needs SI.
Skill Inheritance:
Gwen’s total mediocrity actually makes her arguably the most versatile Armor, even if there is another unit that does it better for every one of her builds. She can go Brave-DB Player Phase or DC-QR Enemy Phase. She can run a Wary Fighter set (which is a good idea). I personally think she can make a good tank. Basically, if you want to run Gwendolyn, pick one of the other builds in this guide and slap it on her. She’s our Jack of All Trades.
IVs:
Def, Atk, or Spd boon are good depending on your build choice. Spd or Res banes work well too.
Effie:
50/40/22/33/23 (168)
1/2 Lance Units
1/2 Player Phase Units
3/5 HP Rank
1/4 Atk Rank
4/5 Spd Rank
5/5 Def Rank
4/6 Res Rank
Analysis:
Effie is clearly another breed of Armor altogether. Able to deal the highest damage in the game, Effie is clearly well-suited (and well-equipped) to be a monster on the Player Phase. She basically glances at other units and they die. Though it’s possible to make her a Blue Hector Enemy-Phase unit, I wouldn’t recommend it.
Skill Inheritance:
And the reason I wouldn’t recommend it is because of the Brave Lance. This weapon makes Effie offensively OP, allowing her to brutally murder foes with Wary Fighter invalidating the speed drain. The rest of her kit is pretty great, though I would NEVER use Smite with Armors and she could use Bonfire or Moonbow in her Special slot.
IVs:
Just go Atk boon. Just do it. It’s so superior to other boons. And you can kill Spd because it’s already terrible and she has Wary Fighter.
Hector:
52/36/24/37/19 (168)
1/2 Axe Units
1/1 Enemy Phase Units
2/5 HP Rank
2/4 Atk Rank
3/5 Spd Rank
3/5 Def Rank
5/6 Res Rank
Analysis:
Here he is, the man himself. Hector comes to the table with good all-around stats and a kit that’ll make your jaw drop. His unique Armads straight up gives him QR2, freeing up his B slot for something else. DC is probably the best skill for Armor Emblem, and Goad Armor is also super useful. So where does that place him, you ask? Well, he’s the best Enemy Phase unit naturally (yes, I know he’s the only one) and remains that way even against other units that have been Skill Inherited, all because he’s able to pack 2 B Passives.
Skill Inheritance:
The core of his set is godly, but it is possible to optimize even further. Because he’s set up to be such a good Enemy-Phase unit, it seems ridiculous to go in any other direction. For a B slot, Vantage allows him to counter-kill fragile or injured foes after he’s no longer able to double. Renewal helps him stay in QR range longer. Wings of Mercy allows him to mitigate his slow movement speed, but that’s not likely a problem in Armor Emblem. For a Special, Bonfire and Ignis are good, as are Moonbow and Luna. His Assist and C Skill are obviously dependent on your team.
IVs:
Attack boon is highly recommended, and Speed bane is by far the least harmful.
Sheena:
45/30/25/36/33 (169)
2/2 Axe Units
2/3 Mixed Units
5/5 HP Rank
4/4 Atk Rank
2/5 Spd Rank
4/5 Def Rank
1/6 Res Rank
Analysis:
The second Axe Armor could barely be more different. Sheena has some pretty low stat ranks, especially in Atk and HP, but her top rank in Res and decent Def makes her the best Mixed Tank we have. She’s not skewed towards either Player or Enemy, so she can be built in any direction. Her base kit, however, is not great, so she needs some help to be strong.
Skill Inheritance:
Svalinn Shield is cute, but until Armor-killers get the Slayer treatment there won’t be much need for it. You’re better off with (of course) DC, or failing that Fortress Defense or Fury. For a B skill, she can use the typical suite of options, but QR makes her a strong Enemy-Phase Special-based attacker and Wary Fighter further boosts her survivability. Speaking of Specials, her natural Killer Axe makes running Ignis (or Glacies) a breeze.
IVs:
Boost either Def or Res for sure. Spd bane is good because she probably either wants to be doubled (QR) or just doesn’t care (WF).
3. Buffs
There are a total of four Armor-based buffs: Hone Armor, Fortify Armor, Goad Armor, and Ward Armor. For those of you who haven’t played a type-based team before, Hone grants +6 Atk/+6 Spd, Fortify grants +6 Def/+6 Res, Goad grants +4 to offenses, and Ward grants +4 to defenses. The significant difference here is that Goad and Ward are stackable (a.k.a. Invisible Buffs) and have 2 range, like Drive skills, and Hone and Fortify are imparted at the beginning of each turn and unstackable (a.k.a. Visible Buffs). This makes Goad and Ward pretty much vastly superior with regards to Armor Emblem. Our lack of mobility compared with Flier and Horse Emblem makes it significantly more difficult to achieve proper Hone/Fortify positioning, while the Goad/Ward increased radius gives us a lot more leeway. Additionally, until we get a Baron we have no access to Blade Tomes, so the other main benefit of Hone/Fortify is useless to us. Therefore, I would highly recommend Goad/Ward for your Armor Emblem buffs.
Now you may be wondering what combination of Buffs to use. You can commit fully to either Goad or Ward, or use a mix of both. Goad is typically more useful for Player-Phase and Offensive builds, while Enemy-Phase and Defensive builds usually want Ward. As a general rule for Mixed teams, your tanks or Enemy-Phase units should carry Goad to benefit your sweepers, and your Player-Phase units should carry Ward for the sake of buffing their protectors. Stacking buffs can lead to up to +12 offenses or +12 defenses, which makes a sweeper like Draug brutally powerful (and fast) or a tank like Sheena virtually indestructible.
4. Positioning
Positioning is the most difficult part of Armor Emblem, and our skill choice is very important because of it. It will be quite frustrating at times when you can’t get your units to safety, but practice and proper skill inheritance will make it significantly easier.
Unlike Flier Emblem, which primarily uses Reposition, and Horse Emblem, which uses Reposition and Pivot, we want something that won’t shove you out of buff range so quickly. Here is where patience really pays off. Impatient Armor Emblem players often use Pivot and Reposition to throw units far into the front lines, but such a strategy leaves your slow-moving units strung out and unbuffed. Instead, I strongly recommend Swap as your assist of choice. Swap allows you to move like a jigsaw puzzle, switching units in and out of the front lines to achieve proper triangle advantage, and to keep yourself from being limited and trapped by the fact that Armors can’t move over each other. Overall, it leaves you with a lot of strategic options, and helps you feel like you’re fighting with some kind of Voltron-style Transformer as you Swap and shift your front (and back) lines.
5. Builds
Most Armor Emblem builds fall into the same general categories, or a combination thereof.
The Hector Build is an Enemy Phase DC-QR build meant to bait out enemies from safe, buffed territories and slaughter them on the counter. Killer Weapons and Bonfire/Ignis allow units like Sheena (with low attack) to use this build to brutal effect. For units using Special-based damage, Ward support is best. For units with high attack, use Goad support. Wary Fighter is a good swap for QR on some units.
The Draug Build is a Player Phase Brave-DB build that is, ironically, run best by Effie. It mitigates the pathetic Armor speed by guaranteeing two hits on the attack (though Draug can actually run quad with support). Goad support is, without question, the way to go.
The Effie Build (though not actually Effie’s best build) is a universally effective build employing Wary Fighter-Silver Lance/Wo Dao/Killer Weapons to deal damage while trading attacks one for one. High defense means a unit like Sheena can use this to slowly build up Special activation, and it mitigates the low speed for a high attack unit like Effie. It works well on both Player and Enemy Phase, and can be readily upgraded with DC. Because this build boosts tanking abilities, Ward support is usually optimal, though Goad can be good for units with already high attack (even though the speed boost is pretty much wasted).
6. Resources
Obviously, as with all advanced teams (and unfortunately more than many of them), Armor Emblem requires a TON of inheritance, and for that you need extra units. The best buffs range from easily obtainable to literally impossible.
Ward Armor-my favorite buff happens to be very easy to find. Draug is available at 3 and 4 stars, and he can offer Ward at 4.
Goad Armor-the second-best buff is exactly as rare as Distant Counter, as it shows up solely on His Godliness, Hector. Fortunately you can give both to a unit with only one Hector if you’ve already started them with Spur 1 or 2.
Fortify Armor-Sheena carries this at 4 stars, making it slightly more available than Goad but not nearly as ubiquitous as Ward.
Hone Armor-arguably the least useful buff, it happens to be carried by arguably the least useful Armor, 4 star Gwendolyn. It’s as easily available as Ward but dramatically less useful.
Distant Counter-the best Enemy-Phase skill and likely the single best for Armor Emblem is locked to Hector, like Goad Armor. The problem with this is that most optimal sets will want DC, making a team need multiple Hectors to get tricked out. This is a major part of why Armor Emblem is so difficult to run, though it is possible. So I’m praying for you.
Wary Fighter-like most major Armor skills (except Hector’s skills, screw you Hector), IS was kind enough to give us Wary Fighter at 4 stars–on both Effie and Zephiel. This is a great skill option for nearly all Armors (Draug and Hector not included) that drastically increases defenses and survivability by preventing double attacks. Wary Fighter is second only to DC in terms of being useful in Armor Emblem.
Quick Riposte-due to the low speed of Armor Emblem units, this skill can make an Enemy Phase build devastatingly powerful. Annoyingly, QR3 is 5-star locked on Leo and Subaki. Fortunately, QR2 works quite well on our high-HP tanky armors, and Subaki is available at every star level, including free 1 and 2 star versions. At 4 stars he can provide the QR you need.
Swap-the best support option we have is, fortunately, quite easy to obtain. Arthur, Stahl and Subaki all provide it at 3 stars, and Stahl and Subaki have two free units available each.
Fortress Defense-a strong alternative to DC is available in Fortress Defense. The only problem is that it’s locked to 5 star Lukas, a.k.a. Ginger Stud or The Armor Wannabe.
Death Blow-Various units including Effie and Hawkeye have this at 5 stars, but Klein is carrying it at 4.
7. Distant Counter and Other A Passives
So. You’re FTP btw and trying to build Armor Emblem. You don’t have 4-14 Hectors lying around. That’s chill; neither do I. There is no denying that DC is an exceptional skill for Armors, neutralizing their movement weakness by allowing them to hit back against mages. But there are plenty of other options that you can use as you build your team.
Fortress Defense-on a Special damage-based unit, this skill will work wonders. Units with high attack, like Effie, will want to avoid it, but Sheena will do quite well with it.
Death Blow-obviously a Player-Phase build will prefer an offensive skill like Death Blow to DC or a stat booster. Draug even goes so far as to want LoD if he’s trying to quad.
Stat Boosters-these help to elevate your already-monstrous stat totals (especially the HP one). They are a fantastic choice.
Distant Defense-this baby mitigates the damage you take from those nasty ranged units, reducing their ability to grind you to a standstill. Close Defense works too, for Enemy-Phase builds.
8. In Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to check out my guide, and I hope some of you are inspired by this to go and create your own Armor Emblem teams! They are a lot stronger and significantly easier to assemble than popularly believed, and the joy of watching meta threats like Reinhardt and B!Cordelia bounce right off them and deal 0 damage is not insubstantial. Thanks again!
