Nowi

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +DEF / -HP or -SPD
• Weapon: Lightning Breath+ (+Spd) or (+Def)
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Aether / Ignis / Bonfire
• Passive A: Steady Breath / Fury
• Passive B: Guard / Quick Riposte
• Passive C: Panic Ploy / Varies with Team
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Close Def / Distant Def

This is Nowi’s strongest and most consistent set, as it takes advantage of everything that makes her so powerful. This build gets increasingly stronger the higher one goes in the Arena tiers, as the increased prevalence of Bold Fighter makes it easier for Nowi to shut down enemy threats.

There are two primary choices for IVs for this build: +SPD/-HP and +DEF/-SPD (+DEF/-HP is fine too). The main consideration is the breadth of threats that Nowi is expected to tackle; for maximum coverage, +SPD is ideal, while +DEF maximizes Nowi’s ability to completely shut down physical threats. In either case, take the same Lightning Breath refine as the chosen boon.

Aether works significantly better with a +SPD build, as activating it in a single combat (if Nowi gets doubled with Steady Breath) will result in significantly less healing - it’s much better to avoid getting doubled, so that Aether will be ready for the next combat. Bonfire is a good budget alternative to Aether for a +SPD build, as it will activate on the second hit with no wasted potential. If running a -SPD setup, then Ignis will result in huge damage output with no downsides to overkill damage.

Steady Breath is a key component to this build, as it provides a strong +4 boost to Nowi’s Defense, while also significantly speeding up her Special charge rate during Enemy Phase. Fury is acceptable as a budget alternative, but keep in mind that Nowi loses a large amount of power without the accelerated Special charges from Steady Breath.

Guard is the major component that allows Nowi to safely and consistently tackle enemies with powerful Specials like Ayra and Zelgius. By preventing them from rapidly charging their Specials, Guard allows Nowi to negate all possible danger. Pair Guard with the Quick Riposte seal to ensure that Nowi can land doubles; her Speed isn’t high enough for her to double consistently otherwise. The damage lost from the lack of enemy Special activations more than makes up for any defenses Nowi doesn’t gain as a result of not being able to run Close Def or Distant Def as her seal.

If Nowi has good team support, or if simply looking for a more general-purpose setup, then she can still run Quick Riposte as a B skill and run either Close Def or Distant Def as her seal. She runs the risk of getting taken out by units like Ayra, Zelgius, and Mia; however, at lower Arena tiers, this typically isn’t much of an issue.

• Preferred IV: +ATK / -HP or -SPD
• Weapon: Lightning Breath+ (+Atk)
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Glimmer / Draconic Aura
• Passive A: Fierce Stance / Fury
• Passive B: Vantage / Quick Riposte
• Passive C: Panic Ploy / Threaten Res / Varies with Team
• Sacred Seal: Attack +3 / Heavy Blade / Quick Riposte

An alternative method of handling powerhouse units like Ayra, Zelgius, and Mia is to simply stack as much Attack as possible. Nowi’s high Attack combined with her ability to target her enemy’s magical bulk means that she can easily stack enough Attack to wipe most low Resistance reds out in a single hit. This set works best with team support; all it really needs is a Hone Atk buff to significantly boost its efficiency. It also works exceptionally well for budget considerations; Fierce Stance and Panic Ploy are clearly not budget-friendly, but replacing them with Fury and Threaten Res won’t massively impact Nowi’s capabilities.

Since this is an Attack stacking build, Glimmer pairs very well as it capitalizes on the build’s goal of maximizing damage output in a single hit. Fierce Stance grants the maximum amount of Attack while staying consistently active, but it can be replaced with Fury on a budget. Keep in mind that every point of Attack lost can result in Nowi failing to secure a KO; plan ahead with Ally Support and Attack buffs for best results.

Vantage works exceptionally well in this build, as the build relies on a single massive hit to try to KO enemies. Quick Riposte will also work for better matchups against units that Nowi can’t KO in one hit, but it does make it rather dangerous for Nowi if she has to take on multiple enemies.

An Attack +3 seal maximizes Nowi’s damage output, but it can be replaced by either the Heavy Blade or Quick Riposte seals if preferred. Heavy Blade works well if running Quick Riposte as Nowi’s B slot, as it allows her to activate Glimmer on her second hit; it also allows Nowi to consider running Draconic Aura instead of Glimmer, since the increased Special charge allows her to easily activate it when doubled. The Quick Riposte seal works well if running Vantage, as it gives Nowi strong coverage regardless of her current HP percentage.

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD or +DEF / -HP or -SPD
• Weapon: Lightning Breath+ (+Atk) or (+Spd) or (+Def)
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Glimmer / Bonfire
• Passive A: Triangle Adept / Steady Breath / Fury
• Passive B: Swordbreaker
• Passive C: Threaten Res / Varies with Team
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Close Def

With the introduction of Falchion refines, dragon teams have more issues with Falchions than ever before. In particular, Alm is now a monstrously powerful user who is fully capable of wiping out entire teams of dragons if they are not prepared for him. This setup allows Nowi to easily handle all Falchion users, including Alm, while retaining a good amount of general coverage.

IVs are not super important for this build; pretty much any combination of the recommended boons and banes will work. Regardless of choice, pick the breath weapon refine that corresponds to the chosen boon.

Glimmer works best due to the specialized nature of this build, but Bonfire can work if looking for more general coverage (i.e. more than just red units).

Triangle Adept pairs very well with Swordbreaker to ensure that Nowi will completely destroy sword threats, including Falchion users. If this feels like overkill, or if worried about the highly uncommon Cancel Affinity sword, then both Steady Breath and Fury are fully functional.

The Quick Riposte seal is important to allow Nowi to retain general coverage over non-sword units. This is a particularly important consideration if not running Triangle Adept; if expecting Nowi to take on units like archers, lances, and red mages, then she needs to be able to double. The Close Def seal can be taken instead for maximum overkill if one really, really hates swords (and the rest of the team has good coverage already, as is likely the case with a full dragon team).