Donnel

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -SPD or -RES

• Weapon: Slaying Lance+ (+Atk)

• Assist: Reposition / Swap

• Special: Bonfire / Luna

• Passive A: Distant Counter / Fury

• Passive B: Wrath / Quick Riposte

• Passive C: Spur Def/Res / Atk Smoke

• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse

Donnel makes a great mixed tank despite having low Resistance. This set is designed to fire off powerful Specials after taking just one hit. Donnel does not need Resistance or Speed for this build, preferring Attack to hit back harder.

A Slaying Lance and the Quickened Pulse seal are what accelerate Donnel’s special cooldown and are important parts of the build. Wrath lets him fast-charge specials ready on subsequent turns and gives him extra power when counterattacking. Distant Counter is vital to be able to KO mages and other ranged units, but Fury is a decent alternative that limits him to melee combat, but gives him a nice all-rounded boost. Quick Riposte is something of a budget option over Wrath, but

Bonfire is picked as it scales off Donnel’s high defense, and the charge time of three allows him to activate it after taking just one attack (with Quickened Pulse). Luna is another decent option if Donnel is -Def or is mainly fighting Armor.

Donnel can be used alongside a wide range of units, defensive and offensive units alike. Reposition is a great move for any teammate, helping Armored allies with movement and potentially saving an offensive unit from danger. Whether you use a Smoke skill or a Dual Spur is down to player preference, as both are useful team support skills.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -RES or -SPD

• Weapon: Brave Lance+

• Assist: Reposition / Swap

• Special: Moonbow / Bonfire

• Passive A: Death Blow / Life and Death / Attack +3

• Passive B: Lancebreaker / Drag Back

• Passive C: Atk Smoke / Threaten Def

• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Attack +3

With only minimal investment, Donnel can turn  into a powerful melee attacker. With his native Brave Lance he can initiate and KO many red and blue units. There are two variants to this set, Quickened Pulse / Moonbow and Bonfire / Attack +3.

Death Blow is preferred on all sets due to its significant Attack boost. Other Attack boosting A skills can  work, but Death Blow is the best option, giving a +8 Attack bonus on initiation. Lancebreaker can be taken to deal with Wary Fighter Effie and other similar bulky lance units, but Drag Back is a great alternative that makes it a lot safer to use Donnel.

Quickened Pulse / Moonbow allow Donnel to trigger his Special up front for extra damage. However, the Bonfire / Attack +3 variant means that Donnel can activate Bonfire for his second enemy, utterly decimating them. He can beat a lot more enemies with Bonfire charged, so consider both options when building Donnel.

Reposition is a great Assist skill for any teammate, helping Armored allies with movement and potentially saving an offensive ally from danger. Smoke skills are preferred on this set, but a simple Threaten skill works as a good budget option.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -SPD

• Weapon: Sapphire Lance+ / Sapphire Lance

• Assist: Reposition / Swap / Reciprocal Aid

• Special: Bonfire

• Passive A: Fury

• Passive B: Lancebreaker / Quick Riposte

• Passive C: Spur Def/Res / Threaten Atk

• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Close Def

As mentioned in the Introduction, Donnel is great as a 4*+10 unit and with this build he becomes a great unit for Arena Assault. With this set, he can take on blue and red units as well as provide positional or buff support. He plays mostly defensive, but can initiate against Lances or if he has Bonfire charged.

The key elements of this set are Lancebreaker and Sapphire Lance. They combine to force good matchups for Donnel against red and blue units. Lancebreaker also gives Donnel the choice of initiating against Lances. Fury is an incredible skill for Donnel considering his well-rounded statline, and gives him some much-needed Resistance to help him fend off dragons such as the common Nowi.

The choice between Repostion and Swap comes down to user preference, but both allow Donnel to support other units he is paired with. He can even run Reciprocal Aid to grant allies a pseudo-heal, although this may be tough if Donnel has already seen combat. Spur Def/Res is the best team support choice, but Threaten Def or Threaten Atk give him more power on the frontline.

Donnel should run Quick Riposte, in either his B slot skill or as his Seal. Lancebreaker/Quick Riposte is stronger against units like Ephraim and Effie, while Close Def/Quick Riposte is better vs. Corrin(F) and Nowi. Quick Riposte in B slot is more expensive, but the choice should come down to which types of units Donnel aims to face.