Julius

• Weapon: Loptous
• Assist: Reposition / Swap / Flexible
• Special: Iceberg / Glacies
• Passive A: Distant Def / Atk/Def Bond / Atk/Res Bond / Steady Stance / Warding Stance
• Passive B: Quick Riposte
• Passive C: Atk Ploy
• Sacred Seal: Distant Def

This build seeks to turn Julius into an effective ranged tank. It is distinctive for flat out checking most green and red tome users and being able to survive and counter-KO a fully buffed Quickened Pulse Moonbow Reinhardt -- which is obviously an incredible feat for any red unit.

For Julius’ weapon, it shouldn’t be surprising that his PRF tome, Loptous, is used. The downside of it inflicting dragon weaknesses on him shouldn’t be an issue if he stays away from Falchions, and the -6 Attack it inflicts on any weapon that is not effective against dragons greatly contributes to his magical and physical bulk. When combined with a successful activation of Atk Ploy (which should not be difficult given Julius’ high Resistance and the +3 Res his tome grants him), this gives him a total of 11 points of additional physical bulk and 14 points of additional magical bulk -- a number that can be boosted further by additional skills.

For mixed (physical and magical) ranged baiting, double Distant Def is ideal, further increasing Julius’ soak damage potential against ranged foes. Distant Def is also notable for having no positioning requirements and being effective against all kinds of ranged weaponry, allowing Julius to safely bait an unbuffed neutral Attack Mulagir Brave Lyn as well as a neutral Attack Warrior Princess WF Hinoka. If purely focusing on countering physical foes, Atk/Def Bond can be used instead, upping Julius’ damage output at the cost of tighter positioning restrictions -- for magical foes, Atk/Res Bond is an standout alternative. Steady Stance and Warding Stance also serve similar functions (with no Attack boost). It should be noted that regardless of whether he runs Distant Def, a Bond skill, or a Stance skill, Julius will struggle with Brave Bows and will often be quadded and KO’d due to his low Speed. Against mages, though, Julius still performs extremely well even when he does not stack Resistance increasing skills.

Assists are variable and can be switched to whatever skill suits the team best. Iceberg and Glacies both scale off Julius’ excellent Resistance and thus make for an effective Special -- though Iceberg is preferred because its lower cooldown results in more useful, timely procs that net him key KOs. Quick Riposte grants him guaranteed follow-ups against ranged foes provided they initiate when Julius is in the > or = 70% HP threshold, which helps mitigate his low Speed.

• Weapon: Loptous
• Assist: Reposition / Swap / Flexible
• Special: Iceberg / Glacies
• Passive A: Fury / Resistance +3
• Passive B: Quick Riposte / Swordbreaker / Axebreaker
• Passive C: Atk Ploy
• Sacred Seal: Res Ploy / Spd Ploy / Def Ploy

Taking after his father, Arvis, Julius is able to run a double ploy build that heavily debuffs his foes. Though Loptous does not have the same built-in ploy effects as Valflame, it does add to Julius’ overall survivability against magical foes.

Loptous is a straightforward choice, reducing the damage Julius takes from most foes and boosting his ability to activate ploys because of its +3 Res effect. Iceberg and Glacies are obvious choices, dealing massive damage due to scaling off of Julius’ massive Resistance stat. Fury offers Julius a flat +3 to his Attack, Speed, Defense, and Resistance --which not only boosts his offensive prowess but also his survivability due to denying more doubles -- although it does deal 6 damage after combat occurs. Res +3 can also serve a similar function as it helps Julius debuff his foes with his ploys at the cost of not boosting any of his other stats, which may be undesirable if one intends to use him to battle units other than green or red mages.

B slot skills can vary. Quick Riposte makes Julius more effective at battling mages that either match his Speed or outspeed him by allowing him to double on Enemy Phase, while Axebreaker and Swordbreaker grant him follow-ups when initiating on axe or sword units -- although he may struggle with Distant Counter units who can target his fragile Defense.

As for his final skills, Julius will want to run his native Atk Ploy along with another Ploy seal of one’s choosing. Res Ploy is ideal as it directly boost Julius’ damage output when active, though Spd Ploy or Def Ploy may be more effective if he’s to provide team support.

• Weapon: Loptous
• Assist: Reciprocal Aid / Dual Rally
• Special: Iceberg / Glacies
• Passive A: Close Counter
• Passive B: Quick Riposte / Vantage / Guard / Renewal
• Passive C: Atk Ploy
• Sacred Seal: Close Def

Though more of a novelty than a build that truly and completely plays to Julius’ strengths, Loptous’ effect combined with his ability to activate Atk Ploy against almost every foe he’ll battle makes Julius able to run a Close Counter build. Notably, this build can max out SP cost so that it will score well in the Arena, though only die-hard fans of Julius would likely invest in him to this degree given his free unit status.

The logic behind this build is very simple -- take advantage of the -6 Attack Lopstous afflicts on non-Falchion and non-Naga users as well as a practically guaranteed activation of Atk Ploy to pump up Julius’ Defense against melee foes to decent levels. When taking into account Loptous, Atk Ploy, and Close Def, Julius has 33 Defense, which should generally be enough for him to survive an engagement, especially against dragons. Moreover, since he targets Resistance, many sword and axe users will struggle to engage with him as he will target their lower defensive stat, and his devastating Iceberg or Glacies proc will no doubt be difficult for any unit to weather.

Outside of these skills, this build can greatly vary. Quick Riposte of course grants Julius guaranteed follow-ups when he is attacked, patching up his awful Speed. Vantage alternatively allows him to attack first even when initiated upon, which could catch foes by surprise. His native Guard completely shuts down Special activations from tricky foes like Ayra, Zelgius, and Black Knight (provided he is in the > or = 80% HP threshold), while Renewal offers maximized SP cost along with HP recovery on every second turn, similar to his father’s exclusive skill Recovery Ring.

Reciprocal Aid therefore pairs nicely with Quick Riposte, Guard, and/or Renewal, allowing Julius to either heal himself in a pinch to reactivate the first two skills or heal an ally if he’s not in need of his HP. For Vantage and Arena scoring, though, a Dual Rally may be preferred so that Julius can draw a maximum score and offer his teammates more support.