Roy (LA)

This build will capitalize on Roy becoming colorless Reinhardt. You can either run this specific build or more of a quadding build, with Desperation 2 or 3 paired with Brash Assault sacred seal. With his excellent attack stat that is on par with Reinhardt, and a trash speed stat, he becomes (literally) bow Reinhardt. He has very good defenses which is why you can run Quick Riposte 3 so that he can ensure kills even with a low speed stat. LA Roy is very much underestimated, much like how Reinhardt was when he first released. With the right amount of effort put into him, he can become an amazing player phase monster.

This build emphasize LA!Roy unique ability to be a highly mobile mixed bulk distant tank.
When attacked by a ranged unit he will reach 42 def/res when high on health, and below 80% health he can reach up to 49 def/res unbuffed and 56 def/res with cavalry field buff even without any merges.
His low speed combined with QR allow him to charge and unleash devastating bonfires that, combined with a pretty high 50 atk for a ranged unit, can take down most of the game's cast.

Brazen can be replaced with DD3 for its reliability when undamaged, but DD is ranged and ennemy phase only while Brasen offer much more versatility.

QR is chosen for maximazing the damage outup of Roy while synergizing well with bonfire, for a tankyer build Guard or CA could be used as well as Ignis for special ( the def and res being equal mean you can also use Glacies and Iceberg ).

Atk Smoke is optimal for tanking but cavalry buffs or tactic skills can be used depending on the team.

Finally Guard Bow+ and DD3 sacred seal are used for the mighty +12 def/res on ranged defense providing both excellent mixed bulk and high damage specials.

Preferred IV spread: +Atk / -Spd

This set emphasizes Roy's splendid and balanced defensive spread, especially for a cavalry unit. It also stands out as a brilliant solution of area coverage for PP-focused cavalry teams.

His preferred natures are a boon in attack and bane in speed, where the former allows for bigger damage output and the latter disposes of a stat that is too low to be worth investing in. A boon in either defense or resistance also works.

Best utilized in a cavalry team, his most notable position can be area coverage. Cavalry units, specifically mages and bow users, tend to have the biggest reach in the game on the majority of maps. Due to that being the case, they can focus on the PP almost entirely, alongside other factors.

However, an issue arises when facing another top-range cavalry unit. In case of the opponent moving on default, such as in the arena, there is hardly any issue. The problem arises if the opposing units are static and won't move until you come into their line of reach or attack a unit on their side.

At that time, one can attempt to use repositional skills to their advantage, but those many times aren't enough if other aspects such as Galeforce aren't utilized. Roy can help in this area immensely.

While other tanking units can also be used to fill the spot, Roy has the leverage of being a cavalry unit and therefore being capable of receiving as well as giving cavalry buffs. Being under a hone and fortify affect before baiting, he can easily gain +6 value in all stats.

Guard bow is used to emphasize his fair amount of defenses. A +def refinement is present to balance out the base defensive spread, as he is expected to tank both bows and mages. This long-distance EP tanking is directly further complemented through the Distant Def seal.

The A slot has multiple options. One can go with a second DD, Atk Def Bond, or Atk Res Bond. A second DD will increase the defenses even further and allow for balanced tanking of both bows and tomes. Atk Def and Atk Res Bond, on the other hand, pick a tanking specialization and invest into attack alongside it.

Depending on the rest of the team composition, one can decide whether tanking bows or tanking tomes would be more essential and from there picks the respective seal. If both are relatively equivalently needed, DD can be chosen to break the dilemma.

With Roy's speed being as low as it is and preferably dropped even further through his nature, he will be doubled at almost all times. QR as a B slot ensures that he hits twice which, most of the time, means that the second hit will activate the 3-cooldown special on the EP. Depending on which Bond is taken, Bonfire and Iceberg should be chosen from there respectively. If DD is taken, either Bonfire or Iceberg can be chosen, whichever is available, as he will have an exactly balanced defensive spread due to weapon refinement, considering both defensive stats are neutral.

Cavalry units such as Reinhardt, Brave Lyn, Brave Roy and Elise perform great as Roy's allies. With all of them mainly being PP-focused units, Roy can pack Hone Cavalry to further assist them in that regard.

Enemy phase general purpose tank, should work as long as it's +DEF, optimally (mine is -RES, I have him with Close Counter on A personally as I have no fodder for Distant Def or Close Def). With horse buffs and perhaps healer support, it should let him tank even dragons, an increasing threat in AA. I don't see QR as necessary, denying enemy specials (usually a main if not lethal source of damage for most units) is far more valuable for a tank than being able to charge your own quicker.

It's to note that C is flexible as always, at least one layer of Close Defense 3 (from A or Seal) and Guard are the key passives. Guard Bow can be refined to +DEF as well, depending on IV variation.

In contrast to the offensive build using brave bow+ people have submitted, this build's strength lies in the opposite spectrum. This boy is out to do one thing and one thing only: Baiting and tanking those ranged units.

IV: +ATK/-SPD
+ATK is chosen to pump up his atk while wielding Guard Bow+ to a fantastic 50 before buff, making him a force to be reckoned with, especially if buffed with a Hone Cavalry, taking it to 56.
Alternative: If not +ATK, +DEF or +RES would be good too to increase his tankiness.
-SPD is chosen to ensure enemies doubling him, to activates his special (most probably the 3 cooldown specials) and ensuring the kill.
Alternative: If -SPD is not acceptable (because it reduces his SPD by 4 instead of 3), -HP is also an acceptable bane, although it makes his max HP to a measly 31 max HP at base

Weapon: Guard Bow+
It is a no brainer on a ranged tank set. It has a built-in Distant Def 3 for all your ranged tanking needs. Give him this if he is gonna be your ranged tank
Alternative: Slaying Bow+ would be the alternative. Although, as you may have guessed, it lowers your effective DEF/RES against ranged enemies by 6, making it that much harder to maintain his HP for QR threshold. If you are running a healer with him or have him sport a HP healing special, Slaying Bow+ could be a good Option
Refinement: +DEF
I choose +DEF because it makes his DEF 30, same as his RES and it is just aethestically pleasing lol. But in all seriousness, it ups his def and lets him tank both spectrum equally well with this set. +DEF refinement is good if you have +ATK or +DEF boon
Alternative: +RES or +ATK. +RES brings his decent 30 RES to 33, the same as some of our beloved female mages at base. It makes him more specialized to tank those pesky mages that threatened to sweep the floor with your whole team. If you have a +RES Roy, +RES refinement is gonna be something to consider. +ATK is for those that are not satisfied with only 50 ATK on +ATK Roy for all your one-shotting-mages needs. In all seriousness, +ATK refinements are just generally pales in comparison to the other refinement. Imo it is better to get the other refinement, but +ATK might just be able to help him secure some of those one-shots

Assist: Reposition
Reposition is the standard and bread-and-butter of all my unit builds so that is why I put it here. In all honesty, assist skills are flexible and it depends heavily on your playstyle. Just put whatever is the most comfortable to you here. Moving On!

Special: Bonfire
Ahh yes. Some of you might ask "Why Bonfire and not Iceberg? You must be noob!! Smh". I choose Bonfire because in this set, with this specific IV combination, he sports 30 DEF/RES. Exactly the same. so you can pick whatever you want, really. Bonfire and Iceberg will deal the same amount of damage. If you use Slaying Bow+, Bonfire and Iceberg WILL always proc, as long as you are over QR threshold. But then again, you will miss out on extra 6 DEF/RES so you are missing a few point of extra damage and also the bulk, that might make him survive the round. If your Roy is +DEF and you choose +DEF refinement, definitely do Bonfire. If he is +RES, definitely do Iceberg
Alternative: other 3 cooldown specials, Luna, Draconic Aura, and Sol. these will always activate if you are getting doubled and over QR threshold. 4 cooldown specials or more will never proc in one round, unless you are using Slaying Bow+ (Aether still would not proc unless Quickened Pulse and sacrificing more bulk), so it is not desirable in this set. 2 cooldown specials are a good budget alternatives that will always proc.

A slot: Distant Def 3
No explanation needed, i think? +6 DEF/RES if attacked by ranged foes, and we want our boy to do the ranged tanking for us, so no brainer, right? Moving On
Alternative: Def+3 and Res+3 for those uncultured savages who do not care about aestethic #jk or Fury 3 if you have seized the means of healing, like using Noontime or Sol or run him alongside healer

B slot: Quick Riposte 3
The cornerstone of most tank units who are slow af. This skill lets our boy, with his utterly irredeemable SPD of 15 (with SPD bane), doubles his enemies if he is being initiated on, so he can land the kill on the more bulky enemies
Alternative: Breakers of your choice. while QR lets him do all ranged tanking by himself, breakers can be a valid choice, if his other teammate took care of some of his ranged tanking duties (or if you do not have a QR fodder or feathers). He just have to do the Ephraim: pick a fight he can win.

C Slot: Hone Cavalry
The most flexible slot, really. Put whatever suits your team needs in this slot. I put Hone Cavalry here because he wants the buffs from Fortify Cavalry to tank.

Seal: Distant Def 3
The last of the Three Distant Def 3 Musketeers. With DD3 seal, Roy will get +18 DEF/RES when attacked from afar, bringing his DEF/RES to 48 before any buffs making it hard for enemies to deal damage to him.
Alternative: Quick Riposte 3
If you do not have QR fodder or do not have enough feathers, chances are, this will be your seal. You are gonna lose +6 def/res but in exchange you can double when attacked. If you do use QR seal, I recommend you use Renewal 3 on B slot, to offset the loss in DEF/RES with periodic HP healing

Final Note: This boy will take care of all your ranged tanking need in the upcoming Valentine TT so the rest of your team can be dedicated to sweep those melee units. While this boy can also thrive in the arena, the low BST and superbane chosen will make him less desirable for it. He will also struggles against TA -raven wielder, in which case, he might probably be better off running Brave Bow+ and Cancel Affinity. Despite that, His potential as a ranged tank is massive and should not be overlooked just because he has low spd