Roderick

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK / -RES
• Weapon: Firesweep Lance / Harmonic Lance (+Spd/+Atk)
• Assist: Pivot / Swap / Flexible
• Special: Luna  
• Passive A: Life and Death / Atk/Spd Solo
• Passive B: Chill Spd / Drag Back
• Passive C: Spd Smoke / Spd Wave / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Speed +3

Like most builds on units with mid-to-high Speed, Roderick’s most optimal set seeks to boost his Speed and Attack to ensure he can perform heavily-damaging follow-ups. He achieves this through various stat boosts and debuffs, which in the most circumstances will allow him to easily power through most other speedy threats.

While a Speed boon is ideal in this set to allow Roderick to outspeed common Arena threats like Ayra without debuffs, an Attack boon can also be used to boost his damage output. +ATK will bring Roderick’s Speed to 42 and his Attack to 39 (without a weapon equipped) if he is running Life and Death and the Speed +3 seal, as opposed to the 45/36 Speed/Attack spread that is possible with a +SPD IV. Both of these IVs are quite good for an offensive unit, but the preference goes to Speed in order to secure follow-ups.

The Firesweep Lance, which is native to Roderick, allows him to attack without getting counterattacked when he initiates combat. This allows him to easily poke other units or KO them outright without taking damage. The drawback is that he will not be able to counterattack during Enemy Phase, though his high Speed should save him from getting KO’d by any unit who is not a high-firepower green mage or is not carrying a Brave weapon. Another option, the Harmonic Lance, does not have this drawback and serves to boost the damage deal by his Special procs. Additionally, it can be refined to grant Roderick additional Speed or Attack.

Life and Death -- despite decreasing Roderick’s Defense and Resistance significantly -- actually helps his survivability by allowing him to avoid being followed up on. Alternatively, Atk/Spd Solo boosts his Attack and Speed an additional point without sacrificing his defenses - albeit at the cost of a positional requirement. With the restricted movement of cavalry with the likes of forests and trenches, positioning at times can be tricky. Also, it's more challenging to position units to receive support buffs and set up Hone buffs for following turns.

For assists, Pivot may help Roderick retreat even farther than his high movement would normally allow, while Swap performs a similar function. This can vary, and since Roderick also naturally has a Dual Rally and Drive Def, he can easily provide team support instead.

Chill Spd is now one of the best B slot skills for most speedy units, inflicting a devastating -7 Spd debuff to the fastest opponent on the enemy's team at the start of every turn. This, when combined with his high movement, allows Roderick to charge forward and double most units, even when they’re at higher merge levels than he is. Drag Back is a good alternative for Firesweep users, allowing them to retreat after attacking and be swapped or repositioned to safety. Roderick also has this skill in his base kit, allowing him to use it without inheritance.

Spd Smoke allows Roderick to debuff surrounding foes once he attacks, which further adds to his bulk by allowing him to avoid follow-ups. Alternatively, Even or Odd Spd Wave can be used for a considerable Speed boost on alternating turns.

• Preferred IV: +SPD / -RES
• Weapon: Firesweep Lance+
• Assist: Pivot / Swap / Rally Def/Res
• Special: Luna
• Passive A: Fury / Darting Blow
• Passive B: Drag Back
• Passive C: Threaten Spd / Drive Def
• Sacred Seal: Speed +3

If one is looking for a Firesweep build that requires less heavy investment, this set will likely prove to be perfectly functional, especially in modes like Arena Assault.

Once again, Roderick’s ideal boon is Speed to secure more follow-ups, but an Attack boon is also a serviceable alternative. -RES does decrease his magical bulk somewhat, but it’s a bad idea to have Roderick baiting mages anyways.

Fury is almost always a great budget option on any unit, and Roderick is no exception. In exchange for taking 6 damage after combat has concluded, Roderick receives a +3 boost to his Attack, Speed, Defense, and Resistance. This increases both his offensive and defensive presence. Darting Blow is another easily accessible skill which grants Roderick a +6 boost to his Speed when he initiates combat. Although he loses out on the boost to his Attack, Defense, and Resistance, the extra Speed allows him to secure more doubles.

Drag Back is a common component of a Firesweep build that also just so happens to be a part of Roderick’s base kit. It allows him to damage an enemy and bring them into range of his allies, or retreat once he has netted a KO so he can be repositioned or swapped to safety.

Threaten Spd allows Roderick to debuff any enemy within range, and will come in handy if he must tank a hit from a sword-wielding enemy. Drive Def is another part of Roderick’s base kit that will be particularly useful if he is using Rally Def/Res instead of a movement assist.

• Preferred IV: +SPD / -RES
• Weapon: Brave Lance+
• Assist: Ardent Sacrifice
• Special: Luna
• Passive A: Life and Death / Atk/Spd Solo
• Passive B: Desperation
• Passive C: Hone Cavalry / Fortify Cavalry / Goad Cavalry / Ward Cavalry / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Speed +3

Roderick’s impressive base Speed allows him to run a Quad Brave build quite easily if he receives the proper team support.

Combined with Life and Death and the Speed +3 seal, a +Spd IV grants Roderick 44/40 Attack/Speed. This brings him to 50/46 while he is buffed with Hone Cavalry, which is enough to quad most units.

Once again, Life and Death increases Roderick’s Speed and Attack considerably. This negates the -5 Speed penalty the Brave Lance inflicts in exchange for free doubles, and also boosts Roderick’s rather low Attack. It does, however, reduce his Defense and Resistance by 5. Atk/Spd Solo is an option that can be used instead that inflicts no penalty and provides greater gains, but requires positional planning.

For assists, Ardent Sacrifice makes perfect use of Roderick’s 40 base HP, allowing him to activate Desperation after using Ardent Sacrifice only once. This enables him to perform consecutive attacks, which means he can quad without taking a hit in between the first two strikes. Combined with Luna, which will proc on the last hit, it’s exceedingly likely that any unit Roderick attacks will be KO’d unless they are a bulky green.

The C slot of this build is variable. Since Roderick functions best while under the effects of a Hone Cavalry buff, it logically follows that he would support his allies in a similar manner. If a cavalry buff or Spur is unnecessary, then he can run his native Drive Def or any other support skill instead.