Tiki (Adult)

• Preferred IV: +ATK  / -HP or -SPD
• Weapon: Breath of Fog (+Eff)
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Glimmer / Bonfire
• Passive A: Distant Counter / Steady Breath / Warding Breath
• Passive B: Wrath / Renewal / Guard
• Passive C: Threaten Res / Varies with Team
• Sacred Seal: Quickened Pulse / Quick Riposte

Breath of Fog grants Tiki a significant boost in combat effectiveness - not only does it secure her matchups against the majority of dragons, but the healing and bonus Attack and Defense from standing near sword or dragon allies push her to new levels of power. She no longer has to worry about getting overpowered by raw damage from a unit like Fallen Robin (M) without having to resort to a mixed tank setup. It’s important to note that the bonus stats from Breath of Fog do require a sword or dragon ally nearby; without the bonus stats, it becomes a bit harder to justify running it over a Lightning Breath tank setup. Running Tiki alongside at least one other dragon ally is highly recommended.

One of the perks of Breath of Fog is that it lacks the Special cooldown penalty of Lightning Breath; this allows Tiki to have access to instant Special activations thanks to Steady Breath, Warding Breath, or Quickened Pulse. An instant Glimmer activation will obliterate a huge portion of the cast, including a good number of blue threats. Bonfire is an option if running Steady/Warding Breath for a higher damage option, or if lacking Wrath and needing an alternative setup.

Distant Counter is important for this build as Tiki lacks a consistent method of handling ranged threats without it. Running Glimmer and Quickened Pulse with Distant Counter allows Tiki to take out a massive breadth of units. Steady Breath or Warding Breath are also exceptionally powerful in this setup, as they allow Tiki to activate Glimmer on every counterattack (or Bonfire after getting hit once while running Quickened Pulse). The main caveat is that this results in Tiki losing access to Distant Counter - this is one reason why running Tiki alongside at least one other dragon ally is so powerful, as they can cover for her against ranged threats (in addition to activating a refined Breath of Fog’s effect).

Wrath is particularly strong with this setup because not only does it further increase the damage that Tiki can do with Glimmer, but the Special cooldown effect allows her to replicate her first combat capabilities with Quickened Pulse. One important note is that Breath of Fog’s healing happens after the -1 Special cooldown effect from Wrath, meaning that there is no anti-synergy between Breath of Fog and Wrath. If Wrath is unavailable, then both Renewal and Guard are acceptable alternatives for making Tiki a bit tankier - pair them up with the Quick Riposte seal for best results, as without Wrath she will struggle to consistently take down enemies due to her difficulties charging her Special.

• Preferred IV: +DEF or +RES / -SPD
• Weapon: Lightning Breath+ (+Def/Res)
• Assist: Reposition
• Special: Aether / Ignis / Bonfire
• Passive A: Steady Breath / Warding Breath / Fury
• Passive B: Guard / Swordbreaker / G Tomebreaker / Quick Riposte
• Passive C: Panic Ploy / Atk Ploy / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Distant Def / Close Def

This build maximizes Tiki’s impressive bulk, either focusing on physical or opting for a mixed tank setup. +DEF IV, +Def refine, and Steady Breath will turn Tiki into a physical wall, featuring over 46 Defense when attacked. +RES IV, +Res refine, and Warding Breath will turn her into a strong mixed tank, with clean 35/35 defenses when attacked. Both variants are exceptionally strong, and the choice between them is mainly up to preference and Arena scoring range; the mixed tank set is much better at lower tiers, due to mages being much more prevalent there. At the highest levels of Arena, the most common enemies tend to deal heavy physical damage, making a purely physical wall quite potent.

Thanks to the increased Special charges from Steady Breath or Warding Breath, the high cooldown of Aether or Ignis gets reduced to the point that Tiki can activate them in a single combat (assuming she gets doubled). Ignis will deal significantly more damage than Aether in most cases, but Aether’s healing should not be underestimated; it provides a lot of staying power thanks to the sustain. If on a budget (run Fury if not running Steady Breath or Warding Breath), then Tiki’s base Bonfire works just fine.

Guard is a key component of this build, as it allows Tiki to fully function as a tank without having to worry about getting hit hard by enemy Specials. It allows her to easily take on units like Hector (LA), Ayra, Mia, and Zelgius, as otherwise their Specials can potentially overpower Tiki’s bulk. Swordbreaker can be used instead for similar effects versus units like Ayra, Mia, and Zelgius, with the added benefit of Tiki being potentially able to take them on during Player Phase. It can also allow her to occasionally consider taking on Falchion users, though that will always be risky. G Tomebreaker helps keep Tiki safe from Julia and Deirdre, as their Naga/Divine Naga tomes can present a serious issue otherwise, particularly for dragon teams. If in lower tiers of Arena, then obscenely powerful Specials are much less of an issue, so running Quick Riposte as a B skill is more viable.

Tiki can run pretty much anything in her C slot, but Panic Ploy can work decently well with the increased HP from refining her breath weapon, or Atk Ploy if she is running a mixed tank setup.

The Quick Riposte Seal is vitally important to maintain Tiki’s full coverage, as she will practically never be able to consistently double all enemies without it. If running Quick Riposte as Tiki’s B slot, then choose between Distant Def or Close Def. Generally speaking, Distant Def is likely more useful as it allows her to easily handle the likes of Brave Lyn and Gunnthrá, but Close Def is always a good option as well for dealing with all melee threats.

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

An alternative direction to go with Tiki is to maximize her raw Attack power; the main benefit of this is that by taking full advantage of refined breath weapons’ adaptive damage trait, Tiki can potentially KO a lot of enemies in a single hit. Unfortunately, this build isn’t quite as potent as the equivalent on a unit like Nowi; while Nowi is primarily concerned with taking out red threats, Tiki has to contend with green threats. Unlike reds, a lot of the strongest green threats have enough bulk that Tiki cannot reliably take them out in a single hit, even with maximum Attack power. However, this build works great for obliterating threats like Brave Lyn and Nino, making it a great asset for a team that has issues with those types of enemies.

This set is pretty straightforward; just take options that boost Attack whenever possible. Glimmer and Draconic Aura are both great options for Specials, as they both scale off the fantastic damage that Tiki will be dealing. Glimmer is generally the better choice due to its lower cooldown, but Draconic Aura works well if running the Heavy Blade Seal.

Fierce Stance provides the maximum amount of Attack while remaining consistent, but Fury is a great option for budget. Fury pairs particularly well with Vantage thanks to the recoil damage making it easier to reach the requisite 75% HP threshold. It’s important to run the Quick Riposte Seal if running Vantage, due to Tiki’s difficulty securing KO’s in a single hit against bulky targets. Otherwise, both Attack +3 and Heavy Blade are good choices for Seals if opting to run Quick Riposte as a B skill instead.

One of the biggest benefits of this particular setup is that it gives dragon teams a consistent and reliable check against Julia/Deirdre, whose Naga/Divine Naga tomes can present a dangerous issue otherwise. Tiki should have enough Attack that she can easily take either of them out in a single hit, which allows her to completely avoid taking heavy damage from them - all she needs to do is initiate on them. She can even potentially handle Falchions with Swordbreaker, though this will always be a risk due to lacking color advantage to gain an edge.