Shiro

• Preferred IV: +DEF or +ATK or +SPD / -RES
• Weapon: Slaying Lance+ (+Def) / Slaying Lance+ (+Spd) / Bright Naginata
• Assist: Swap / Flexible
• Special: Bonfire / Aether / Ignis
• Passive A: Steady Breath / Steady Stance 
• Passive B: Guard / Renewal / Quick Riposte 
• Passive C: Atk Smoke / Spd Smoke / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Close Def / Quickened Pulse

An Enemy Phase build that revolves around Shiro’s ability to tank physical hits with ease and then strike back with great force; this is his most potent set and allows him to be extremely self-sufficient. A boon in either his Defense or Attack stat makes for an excellent choice of IVs, though a Speed boon is also a good choice, as his Speed stat is high enough to be built upon to avoid doubles and thus lower the amount of damage he takes. 

His weapon of choice for this build is a Slaying Lance, which has great synergy with Steady Breath and lets Shiro frequently activate his Special. The refine taken here should be correspondent with his IVs -- if working with a Speed boon, take a Speed refine, but if working with any other IV, then a Defense refine will be his best choice. His personal weapon, Bright Naginata, is also a fantastic option on budget and grants him a simultaneous increase to his damage output and survivability during Enemy Phase.

His Special choice is mostly up to personal preference with his most noteworthy Special being Aether, granting him concurrent sustain and damage output increase. When used in tandem with Slaying Lance, Steady Breath, and Quick Riposte, Aether will be able to activate in any combat where Shiro can counterattack, regardless of whether or not he gets doubled; this makes a Speed boon particularly more alluring in comparison to other boons. However, should one value raw damage over sustain, Bonfire is then his preferred Special and will be fully charged after he is hit just once. 

Though Steady Breath is Shiro’s ideal A slot and has the best synergy with the rest of this set, his native Steady Stance may also be used if on budget. Regardless of his A slot, Quick Riposte is of the utmost necessity, as stacking his Speed with this build is meant to prevent doubles instead of causing them; the choice on whether to use it in his B slot or Seal slot boils down to personal preference. Using it in his Seal slot opens his B slot to other options like Guard and Renewal. 

Guard lets him shut down several prominent meta threats who rely on fast Special activations to deal large amounts of damage, with some notable examples being Zelgius, Fallen Hardin, and Ayra, whereas Renewal serves to give him more sustain and lets him stay in Quick Riposte’s HP threshold much more reliably. Alternatively, using it in his B slot lets him make use of the Close Def Seal for added survivability or the Quickened Pulse Seal for faster Special activations. 

Shiro’s C slot is fairly flexible here, though Atk or Spd Smoke both make for fantastic options. Both bolster his ability to tank multiple opponents in one Enemy Phase, with Atk Smoke giving greater survivability while Spd Smoke decreases his chances of getting doubled. Otherwise, his C slot can be filled by any skill that suits his team’s needs, like his native Def Tactic. 

• Preferred IV: +ATK or +SPD / -RES or -HP
• Weapon: Bright Naginata 
• Assist: Swap / Flexible
• Special: Blue Flame / Bonfire 
• Passive A: Fierce Breath / Steady Breath / Warding Breath
• Passive B: Wrath 
• Passive C: Odd Atk Wave / Def Tactic / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Atk/Def Bond / Attack +3

Shiro can also perform quite well as a defensive nuke thanks to the raw power that Bright Naginata provides him, as well as to the introduction of skills such as Fierce Breath that allows him to rapidly fire off deadly Special activations. Boons to his Attack and Speed stats are his greatest options here, with the former being ideal to maximize his damage output while the latter works excellently to give him additional survivability. 

Shiro's unique personal weapon, Bright Naginata, will be his ideal choice of weapon and complements this build's playstyle excellently, granting him a significant boost to his damage output and physical durability in the Enemy Phase. As for his choice of Special, Blue Flame is an incredibly strong option that will consistently add 25 points of damage upon activation, but does require him to have at least one adjacent ally -- given this build's defensively oriented playstyle, however, this positioning requirement will generally be inconsequential. Furthermore, when combined with a Breath skill in his A slot, the Quickened Pulse seal, and Wrath, Shiro will be able to activate it in every single round of combat on his counterattack. Should it be unavailable, Bonfire is a fantastic alternative that can potentially match Blue Flame's potency by buffing Shiro up to at least 50 Defense, something which isn't necessarily impossible to do given his already excellent base Defense stat and the +4 Def boost Bright Naginata provides him. 

His A slot is best filled by a Breath skill, with his best choice by far being Fierce Breath as it enables him to activate his Special at a much faster rate in addition to granting him a significant boost to his damage output. Alternatively, Steady Breath can be taken to heighten his physical bulk further and if neither is unavailable, Warding Breath can also be utilized but will be useful solely for its effect of accelerated Special cooldown. Wrath is another crucial component of this build due to its ability to essentially mimic Quickened Pulse's effect at the start of each turn so long as he is within the 75% HP threshold, and is what allows him to consistently activate his Special on each counterattack without having the need to equip a Slaying Lance; the flat +10 damage it grants him is also incredibly beneficial, effectively skyrocketing his damage output tremendously. 

Odd Atk Wave is a fantastic C slot skill that serves to further augment Shiro's damage output through its significant +6 Attack buff on odd-numbered turns. This skill, however, can simply be replicated with team support, leaving Shiro's slot open to any skill that best suits his team composition, such as his native Def Tactic. If already providing him with Infantry Pulse Support, Shiro can forego using the Quickened Pulse seal altogether in favor of other alternatives, most notable of which being Atk/Def Bond and Attack +3.

• Preferred IV: +SPD or +ATK / -RES
• Weapon: Slaying Lance+ (+Spd) / Bright Naginata
• Assist: Reposition / Swap / Flexible
• Special: Moonbow / Bonfire
• Passive A: Fury / Atk/Spd Solo
• Passive B: Wrath 
• Passive C: Even Spd Wave / Threaten Spd / Def Tactic / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Speed +3

Though Shiro’s stats lend themselves to a more Enemy Phase oriented build, he can still run a mixed phase build to great effect but requires slightly more outside support. As this build is more reliant on his ability to frequently activate his Special for his damage output, a Speed boon is his preferred boon; when combined with a Speed refine, Fury, and the Speed +3 seal, Shiro manages to reach an impressive 42 Speed while still remaining exceptionally bulky. An Attack boon may also be taken to increase his damage output outside of Special activations but will make Shiro slightly more reliant on buffs to his Speed. 

The Slaying Lance will again be his weapon of choice, as the -1 cooldown complements Wrath’s playstyle and further increases the rate at which his Special activates. His Bright Naginata may also be used on a budget but will force him to focus more on his match-ups in the Enemy Phase since Bright Naginata does nothing for him in the Player Phase. For his Special, the decision between Bonfire and Moonbow is largely up to personal preference. Bonfire is best utilized when used in tandem with Infantry Pulse allies and Quickened Pulse, offering the more destructive power of the two, but Moonbow will activate more frequently and has the potential of activating twice in one combat when under Wrath’s HP threshold. 

Fury is Shiro’s ideal A slot for this build, and offers Shiro a solid boost to all his stats while also letting him safely drop into Wrath’s HP threshold through its recoil damage; this recoil damage is extremely beneficial to him, as his great physical bulk could otherwise prove to be a detriment and make reaching Wrath’s HP threshold somewhat difficult. Atk/Spd Solo can also be considered to raise his offensive potential to even further extents but given its lack of chip damage and scarce availability, Fury can function just as effectively should it be unavailable. 

For his C slot, Even Spd Wave is a fantastic skill that allows Shiro to be self-sufficient, granting him and any adjacent allies a +6 Speed buff on even-numbered turns. Threaten skills can also do so to a similar, albeit lesser, degree. Threaten Spd helps increase his chances of doubling while Threaten Def is better for an overall increase in damage output. Alternatively, Shiro can also run supportive skills, like his native Def Tactic, for a more cohesive team composition but this is again up to personal preference. Lastly, aside from the Speed +3 Seal, Shiro also has the option of using the Quickened Pulse Seal alongside Infantry Pulse allies to make use of more powerful Specials like Ignis; it can also be used alongside Moonbow to have it instantly charged for his first engagement.