Alfonse

• Weapon: Fólkvangr (+Eff) / Fólkvangr (+Res)

• Assist: Reposition / Rally Def/Res

• Special: Moonbow / Aether

• Passive A: Distant Counter / Fury

• Passive B: Swordbreaker / Chill Atk / Wrath

• Passive C: Spur Def/Res / Spur Spd/Def / Spur Atk

• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Def Tactic / Spur Atk

There are two types of people who use Alfonse: Those who do by choice, and those who are forced into it. This build is for the latter, maximizing  Alfonse’s potential and team impact in an Arena setting. Many of the slash options on this set are high-SP skills built to maximize his score weight, but the primary choices are designed to make him an effective combatant of his own.

His +Eff refine makes Alfonse very reliable against green foes, and is a nice way to allow Alfonse to nab a few extra kills for some bonus score. However, those wishing to take Alfonse to the extreme in terms of Arena score will want to use his Resistance refine in order to better tank red mages and dragons. Dropping the +Eff refine means Alfonse can be used against weakened blue units as well.

Reposition is the classic option, and makes Arena just a little less stressful. Rally Def/Res is another great choice, increasing his score and allowing him to buff your core team members. This goes hand in hand with your choice of Spur skill for his C slot. Alfonse can make good use of any Dual Rally skill.

Distant Counter maximises score and allows Alfonse to handle green mages and most archers sent his way. However, if your Arena core already has sufficient Distant Counter units, Fury is the best general choice, boosting his stats and making Fólkvangr’s stat boosts easier to trigger. Swordbreaker is taken to allow Alfonse to beat the vast majority of sword units, even the Slaying Weapon/Wrath sets used by many high tier swords. Chill Atk is a higher-scoring option that gives Alfonse a bigger emphasis on team support. He’s also a perfectly good user of Wrath, but it has poor synergy with Aether.

Finally, his Seal slot. Quick Riposte does wonders in patching up Alfonse’s poor Speed, and is required to score one round KO’s against many high-Defense green units. Def Tactic and Spur Atk are support options, the former being useful in a mixed-movement team and the latter as a catch-all option.

• Weapon: Fólkvangr (+Atk)

• Assist: Ardent Sacrifice / Reciprocal Aid / Rally Def/Res

• Special: Glimmer

• Passive A: Brazen Atk/Def / Death Blow / Fury

• Passive B: Desperation

• Passive C: Spur Def/Res / Spur Atk

• Sacred Seal: Brash Assault

Those people who love Alfonse and want to see him tear through teams might instead prefer this offensive set. Alfonse’s ability to stack Attack buffs is impressive, making him one of the best threshold sweepers in the game. His playstyle revolves around lowering his HP to half or less, then initiating combat on foes. Although it is a gimmicky set, it is relatively cheap to build, fun to use and surprisingly effective, given the right support. As a side effect, this set also makes Alfonse incredibly resilient against  physical damage once he’s under 80% HP.

Desperation and Brash Assault are the two core skills of the build. In combination, they let Alfonse guarantee follow-up attacks at 50% HP or less, and perform both his attacks immediately when initiating combat. Foes who can’t counterattack (such as archers) won’t be subject to being doubled. This functions as a pseudo-Brave weapon, albeit with much stronger attacking power: Fólkvangr with an Atk refine and Attack boost reaches an effective 25 Mt. For his A slot skill, Brazen Atk/Def gives Alfonse the strongest boost, and shares its activation requirements with Fólkvangr. Death Blow is nearly as good, but makes him more frail. Fury is a decent option that packs less power, but makes it easier for Alfonse to reach his required HP level.

Ardent Sacrifice or Reciprocal Aid are recommended as tools to get Alfonse to low HP. He can also run Rally Def/Res as a support skill if HP-altering skills aren’t proving useful. Glimmer’s low charge time mean it can be activated many times, and it scales well with Alfonse’s high raw Attack. His C slot skill is largely down to player preference, but Spur Def/Res is a fantastic general choice, as is his natural C skill Spur Atk.