Gwendolyn

• Preferred IV: +DEF or +ATK or +RES / -SPD
• Weapon: Slaying Lance+ (+Def) or (+Res) / Reprisal Lance+ (+Def) or (+Res)
• Assist: Swap
• Special: Bonfire / Aether / Ignis
• Passive A: Distant Counter
• Passive B: Special Fighter
• Passive C: Ward Armor / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte

One of the biggest consequences of the Special Fighter skill is that now any armor can mimic one of the greatest strengths of the Steady Breath/Distant Counter combo, which is to be able to maintain a 1-2 range for counterattacks combined with an accelerated Special charge rate. For Gwendolyn, this means that she is now an even more effective defensive powerhouse due to now being able to instantly activate Bonfire on every counterattack while maintaining Distant Counter. It also allows her to mimic the Steady Breath/Distant Counter/Aether combo that used to be unique to dragons and units with built-in Distant Counter. For all of Gwendolyn’s weapons, either a +Def or +Res refine is acceptable; +Def doubles down on her massive physical bulk (and also boosts her Bonfire/Ignis damage) while +Res helps make her a better mixed tank.

A Slaying Lance is the weapon of choice to allow Gwendolyn to instantly activate Bonfire on every counterattack thanks to Special Fighter. Alternatively, a Reprisal Lance can work well if looking for a higher charge Special like Ignis or Aether. Reprisal Lance is recommended here as a higher damage alternative; Gwendolyn is flexible enough that she can utilize pretty much any lance effectively.

Ward Armor works great for Gwendolyn’s C skill since she’s at her best in an armor team, but can be freely replaced by any other C skill to suit the team. The Quick Riposte Seal is vital for this build, as otherwise Gwendolyn will not be able to make follow-up attacks against most enemies due to her poor Speed.

• Preferred IV: +DEF or +ATK / -SPD
• Weapon: Slaying Lance+ (+Def/Res)
• Assist: Swap
• Special: Ignis / Bonfire
• Passive A: Distant Counter / Steady Breath / Warding Breath
• Passive B: Bold Fighter
• Passive C: Armor March / Def Ploy / Ward Armor / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte

This is a standard mixed phase setup for armored units. The combination of Bold Fighter and the Quick Riposte seal means that Gwendolyn will always be able to double, regardless of phase. Furthermore, the increased Special charge from Bold Fighter means that she will always be able to activate her Special on either phase, though she needs to be doubled on Enemy Phase for her Special to activate.

Slaying Lance is important for this build, as the reduced cooldown allows Gwendolyn to run higher damage Specials like Ignis or Bonfire. The choice of refine is mostly up to preference; +Def is generally better due to physical damage threats being significantly more abundant (particularly amongst red units), but +Res is a good option to help round out Gwendolyn’s defenses to improve her matchups against magical threats. Keep in mind that +Def will also increase Gwendolyn’s Special damage in addition to increasing her physical bulk.

The choice of Special is tied to the choice of A skill: run Bonfire only if using Steady Breath or Warding Breath to allow Gwendolyn to activate her Special on every counterattack. Otherwise, Ignis is the best choice.

Distant Counter is important to allow Gwendolyn to take on all types of threats on either phase. However, Steady Breath or Warding Breath can be used instead if ranged threats aren’t an issue.

Armor March is an important skill to have, as the increased mobility makes it much easier for Gwendolyn to close the distance to an enemy in order to engage them on Player Phase. If unavailable or unneeded, then Def Ploy is a good option to help Gwendolyn increase her damage output against enemies with low Resistance or simply to provide support for her team. Ward Armor is always a good choice if running Gwendolyn in an armor team. Her C skill slot can be easily replaced as needed to suit the team.

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF / -SPD
• Weapon: Berkut’s Lance+ (+Def/Res) / Slaying Lance+ (+Def/Res)
• Assist: Swap
• Special: Ignis / Aether / Bonfire
• Passive A: Distant Counter / Steady Breath / Warding Breath
• Passive B: Vengeful Fighter / Guard / Quick Riposte
• Passive C: Ward Armor / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Close Def / Distant Def / Quick Riposte / Flexible

This build is oriented purely toward Enemy Phase prowess, and plays to many of Gwendolyn’s strengths. There are several factors that can drastically change how the build plays out, though the basic premise generally stays the same. The first choice to be made is preferred choice of Special: Ignis will offer by far the best damage output, but Aether offers far superior scoring in Arena and a bit of sustain. Bonfire is only recommended as a Special if paired with Steady Breath or Warding Breath and a Slaying Lance to allow Gwendolyn to activate her Special on every counterattack.

If running Vengeful Fighter with Ignis and an A skill other than Steady Breath or Warding Breath, then basically any lance can be utilized. Berkut’s Lance is recommended due to it giving a large boost to Gwendolyn’s Resistance, rounding out her defenses, but it can easily be replaced with any other lance such as Tannenboom!, Harmonic Lance, Carrot Lance, or Slaying Spear. The choice is entirely up to preference. If running Aether, then Slaying Lance is a must to ensure that Gwendolyn can activate it every combat that she gets doubled thanks to Vengeful Fighter giving an extra Special charge on counterattacks.

Pairing Steady Breath or Warding Breath with Vengeful Fighter is somewhat inefficient due to the increased Special charge gain not stacking, but it is still worthwhile since Vengeful Fighter will not give extra Special charges on enemy attacks as well as having a larger HP threshold than Quick Riposte. If Vengeful Fighter is unavailable, then Guard is a great option for protecting Gwendolyn from enemy Specials, greatly enhancing her survivability. If running Guard, then pairing it with the Quick Riposte seal is a must to ensure that Gwendolyn can still double. Otherwise, running Quick Riposte as a B skill is acceptable despite being strictly inferior to Vengeful Fighter.

If not running the Quick Riposte seal (due to running Vengeful Fighter or Quick Riposte as a B skill), then Close Def and Distant Def are both good choices for simply increasing Gwendolyn’s tankiness. Neither are particularly necessary, however, and can be swapped as needed.