Ares

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -RES or -HP

• Weapon: Dark Mystletainn

• Assist: Reposition / Flexible

• Special: Blue Flame / Draconic Aura

• Passive A: Distant Counter

• Passive B: Vantage

• Passive C: Def Smoke / Hone Cavalry / Flexible

• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Quick Riposte / Distant Def / Attack +3

Taking a page out of WT-Reinhardt’s book, this set aims to make Ares an untouchable Enemy Phase ranged check by utilizing the skill Distant Counter. Since this build revolves around taking out the opponent in only one hit, a boon in Attack the most desirable nature that Ares can receive. This increase in raw damage output grants Ares a wider scope of opponents that he can OHKO. In particular, this can be the deciding factor in his match-ups against Ayra, Legendary Ike, and Sigurd.

Thanks to the nature of his weapon, Dark Mystletainn, Ares is able to activate powerful Specials at a constant rate. In addition to the passive -1 cooldown, Dark Missiletainn drops the charge of any Special by two after any combat in which it activates. Specials with a base cooldown of three such as Blue Flame and Draconic Aura fit this timing perfectly, as they will always be ready to go following after their initial activation. Blue Flame has an incredibly high damage ceiling under the condition that Ares is adjacent to an ally while Dragonic Aura has a lower maximum output, albeit more consistent damage overall upon activation. 

The bread and butter of this set is running Distant Counter together with Vantage. After activating his Special for the first time, Ares will always have it ready to use. Upon hitting the HP threshold for Vantage, any subsequent opponents that initiate on Ares are forced to take the full impact of his Special activation before even having the chance to counterattack. With this combination, Ares can potentially take out multiple opponents in the Enemy Phase unscathed.

Def Smoke is a great choice of C skill for Ares as a standalone unit. By reducing the physical bulk of opponents around him after combat, any affected targets that initiate on him afterward will be hit even harder. A more team-synergistic option is Hone Cavalry, as it allows Ares to be a benefactor on a cavalry-centric team. Otherwise, the C slot can be replaced with whatever will accommodate his team.

Last but not least, Ares has several options for his Sacred Seal slot. Quickened Pulse starts Ares off on the fast track by reducing his initial Special cooldown to only 1. This allows him to activate his Special on his very first counterattack. Similarly, Quick Riposte guarantees that Ares activates his Special during his first round of combat as well as giving give longevity against opponents that survive his initial attack. Another solid choice that fits this playstyle is Distant Def, as it will reduce the damage he receives from all ranged opponents when initiated on. This grants Ares a better chance of surviving his opponent’s initial Attack, particularly when facing a tome user. Finally, Attack +3 is a good choice if one wishes to further improve Ares’ raw damage output.

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK or +DEF / -RES

• Weapon:  Dark Mystletainn

• Assist: Reposition / Flexible

• Special: Aether / Bonfire / Ignis / Blue Flame

• Passive A: Steady Stance / Fierce Stance

• Passive B: Quick Riposte / Guard

• Passive C: Atk Smoke / Def Smoke / Hone Cavalry / Flexible

• Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Bond / Close Def / Quick Riposte / Atk Smoke / Heavy Blade

At the expense of being able to retaliate against ranged opponents, this build leans more towards Ares as a physical combatant. In addition to Attack, both Speed and Defense also make for suitable choices of boon. Additional Speed allows Ares to better avoid follow-up attacks, greatly reducing the amount of damage he receives while a boon in Defense grants him a stronger resilience to physical attacks as well as additional damage into Defense-scaling Specials such as Bonfire and Ignis. If available, Blue Flame also makes for an extremely strong option with this Enemy Phase playstyle. 

In addition to being both powerful and allowing Ares to be a self-sustaining tank, Aether synergizes extremely well with Dark Missiletainn. After its first activation, Aether will drop to a cooldown of only 2. This allows Ares to potentially activate Aether every single round of combat assuming Quick Riposte is active. For a purely offensive approach, Blue Flame is the Special of choice thanks to its extraordinary damage potential and consistency with this Enemy Phase oriented playstyle. 

Moving on to main skills, Steady Stance gives Ares an extremely strong boost to his Defense when initiated on as well as the effect of Guard. This fits the Enemy Phase playstyle perfectly, as it greatly increases Ares' survivability by massively boosting his physical bulk as preventing his opponents from activating their Specials. Though it doesn't give as big of a boost to his physical bulk, Sturdy Stance makes for a solid alternative by also boosting raw damage during the Enemy Phase.

Quick Riposte is key to this build, as Ares is reliant on it in order to consistently perform follow-up attacks in the Enemy Phase. Assuming Ares is not running Steady Stance in his A slot, one can choose to move Quick Riposte to the Sacred Seal slot in favor of running Guard as his B skill. Guard will greatly reduce damage taken from opponents that rely on activating their special such as Ayra, Karla, and Zelgius. This also applies to all armored units running Bold Fighter, as their follow-up attacks cannot be avoided if they initiate on Ares.

Once again, Ares makes great out of Smoke skills. Atk Smoke makes him a better overall tank by reducing the damage output of opponents around him after combat while Def Smoke will increase his own damage output against the affected targets. As for Sacred Seals, Atk/Def Bond makes for a very strong option by boosting both Ares' physical bulk and damage when adjacent to an ally, suiting his Enemy Phase playstyle perfectly. Close Def is another good choice, as it will reduce damage taken from all melee opponents when initiated on. If not already being used in the B slot, Quick Riposte seal is pivotal in allowing Ares to consistently perform follow-up attacks in the Enemy Phase. The same applies to Atk Smoke, which can also be run here if it is not already being used in the C slot.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -HP or -RES

• Weapon:  Dark Mystletainn

• Assist: Reposition / Flexible

• Special: Blazing Wind / Blazing Flame / Blazing Thunder

• Passive A: Death Blow

• Passive B: Chill Def

• Passive C: Hone Cavalry / Flexible

• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Attack +3

This build takes somewhat of an unorthodox approach. Thanks to the effect of Dark Missiletainn, Ares can make extremely effective use of AOE Specials. After their first activation, they will drop to a cooldown of only 1. Their activation before combat, as well as the attack during combat, allow for them to be readily activated every single time. This one-shot playstyle once again makes Attack the choice boon for Ares to have. Not only does it increase Ares’ raw damage output, it also grants a boost to the power behind his Special activation.

As for the Special itself, Blazing Wind is generally the most consistent among the AOE skills thanks to its wide range. This makes it easier to catch other enemies in its range and hit them with heavy non-lethal damage. However, both Blazing Flame and Blazing Thunder work as solid alternatives. In order to maximize his OHKO potential as well as the power behind his Special activation, Death Blow makes for the best option by providing Ares with a very strong Attack boost on initiation.

Chill Def is a great choice for increasing both Ares’ damage output as well as the overall support he can provide to his team. While Chill Def can massively increase physical damage against the affected target, it is not always consistent. This is due to it targeting the unit with the highest Defense and not necessarily the unit with highest physical bulk. Once again, Quickened Pulse gives Ares a boost in getting the ball rolling by allowing him to activate his Special for the first time sooner. Otherwise, Attack +3 gives Ares a solid boost to his raw damage output.