Est

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -HP or -SPD
• Weapon: Brave Lance
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Iceberg / Glacies / Glimmer
• Passive A: Death Blow / Life and Death / Atk + 3 / Swift Sparrow
• Passive B: Chill Def / Hit and Run / Drag Back
• Passive C: Spd Ploy / Def Ploy / Fortify Fliers
• Sacred Seal: Def Ploy / Heavy Blade / Atk +3

Est’s infamous Brave Lance set has put her on the map as one of the more reliable and hard-hitting budget units in the game. With a 3-4 star availability, finding an Est with the proper IVs isn’t too difficult, and the basic skills for her infamous build (Brave Lance/Death Blow) are generally easy to allocate on a budget.  Chill Defense is more difficult to obtain but helps her out monumentally, potentially giving her an additional 14 damage on the opponent with the highest Defense.

Chill Def notwithstanding, a +ATK Est can hit an effective 52x2 Attack on initiation with Brave Lance/Death Blow, which already helps her  offer a significant amount of damage for your team. Additionally, Est is infamous for her unique ability to Ploy opponents with her significant Resistance stat. If she can land her Defense Ploy, she can debuff her opponent for -5 Defense, enabling 57x2.  However, do note that Chill Def and Def Ploy do not stack- if targeting the same foe, they will only suffer -7 to Defense and not -12.

Her C and Seal slots are the most variable with this build and can be changed around depending on what you want her to accomplish. Spd Ploy in the C slot will offer her some additional utility to the rest of her team by decreasing the Speed of enemy units before her teammates engage with them... though with 25 Speed, it won’t exactly help Est  quad anytime soon. If one has a unit with Hone Fliers on their team, it could be worth attempting equipping Life and Death and a +SPD IV on Est, but ultimately the idea of quadding makes her too reliant on flier buffs and loses out on damage if she can’t quad or sustain a counterattack.

It’s better then, to use her C slot either as a way to carry her Def Ploy or as a utility slot for the rest of your team: Spd Ploy to help your Player Phase sweepers, Fortify Fliers to help your flying tanks, Guidance, or any other sort of buff or debuff your team may need.

Her Seal slot is similar. Generally it’s wise to carry Defense Ploy in either her C or Seal, so if not carrying it in C, then she should have it here. However, opening up her Seal slot also offers her the option of running a Heavy Blade set.  You’ll want to make sure that she has a proper attack buff for this, as 52 Attack isn’t the best for Heavy Blade activation, but if you have a unit on your team who can buff her Attack, she’ll be able to activate it quite easily for a devastating Glimmer at the end of her Brave Lance double, which vastly increases her damage.

If neither is available, then Atk + 3 is plenty serviceable to further increase her damage done.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -HP or -RES
• Weapon: Slaying Spear (+DEF)
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Moonbow / Iceberg
• Passive A: Death Blow / Atk + 3
• Passive B: Swordbreaker / Quick Riposte
• Passive C: Def Ploy / Threaten Defense
• Sacred Seal: Close Defense

While Est’s most famous build requires some heavy Skill Inheritance, it isn’t her only claim to fame. For a bit cheaper of an investment, Est can also be a fantastic anti-armor unit and can also effectively counter sword units as well.  For this reason, she can prove to be incredibly valuable in Arena Assault and in general use.

Depending on her opponent, Est utilizes Death Blow or Close Defense in order to engage her armored foes in the Phase of her choosing. For some opponents, like a typical Hector or Fallen  Robin, Est will bait attacks in Enemy Phase and survive due to Close Defense and her mixed defenses, before countering with a double attack and activating Moonbow for the KO. For others, such as Zelgius, Effie, and Hardin, Est will utilize Death Blow for the final few points of damage required to KO her opponent in a single hit.

With this set, the only armors that Est has difficulty with are green units with Bold Fighter (LA! Hector, Hector, Winter Chrom) and Halloween Jakob.

Swordbreaker over Quick Riposte helps Est to quickly shut down Zelgius if he manages to survive past his first hit, in addition it increases Est’s survivability against non-armored sword units and helps her to secure valuable KOs against units like Ayra and Mia.