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Analysing Darting Stance

I got a free Shigure, and I already used up the other two for the only Lance units I care about...so I kind of thought of Darting Stance, and how it might not be all that useless.

A Youtube user by the name of Chaz Aria LLC also made a very small analysis on it, so you can check that out as well.

The thing this game has is that there's never really one perfect skill. You're always sacrificing either one or the other, so it ends up being up to personal preference and playstyle:

- Fury has it's HP drawback, which means defensive stances (no pun) are usually shortlived. Even if you take little to no damage, you're always losing 6 HP per combat, making you fall out of QR. Since Darting Stance is aimed to be defensive, this is important.
- Darting Blow is strictly Player Phase.
- Wind Boost requires a huge amount of HP to pull off consistently. And since you're likely to be prefering defensive boosts and taking little damage, it's rarely ever feasible as a defensive option.

Who wants Darting Stance?

Since I also happened to give my Libra Handbell (+2 to all stats on Enemy Phase), I found that there might be a case for it. Regarding a few comments here and there, it might also be good at halting a massive amount of doubles that other skills wouldn't. This would mean a total of +8 Spd before any extra buffs and Seals.

What does this mean, then? Why would a defensive character mind taking doubles? Don't they need it to charge their specials? Stopping doubles can mean avoiding most cooldown specials (assuming they're not off to go as it is). This means you can essentially save your B-slot for anything other than Guard. Since the B-slot has a lot of weight to it (especially defensive characters, who work a lot with combos like QR+Close/Distant Def and Guard+QR) it can allow things like Wrath+QR, QR+Close Def without needing Guard...

The example is my Libra vs. 50 Spd Ayra. He only really needed 1 Spd to avoid her double, which is why I circled the S-support (two spaces)

Asked by Nogitsune4 months 3 weeks ago

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- Forgot to mention Breath-skill characters also thrive off of avoiding doubles. They can set off 4-turn Specials without even needing to get doubled. For people with lower-cooldown weapons, this can mean stuff like Aether in one round.

But if you're using a breath skill, how can you use darting stance unless you're flying Tiki?

Yeah, miswording. Meant to say they're an example of characters that can still thrive in the mix of high Spd + defenses.

welp, another reason Darting Stance has it's place.

Got it

Your thoughts on the idea that darting stance gets outdone by any bond skill involving spd because it's not hard to position for enemy phase? (For you especially I think - you're used to stacking buffs on Henry.)

Libra definitely likes the extra stats, plus with his atk the spd will be good for player phase.

Also, I'm really glad that you're enjoying this different way of defending, not using guard. You're really exploring it a lot. Libra's introduction into the game has been so good for you.

You almost had me cornered with that, but then I realise you're allowed to be a bit more flexible with Darting than you would with Bond/Spur-like skills. Yeah, I use a lot of defensive characters, and I would know well that Enemy Phase allows you to position better vs. offensive characters...

Darting stance still allows more freedom, since you can still stack extra buffs like Hones and Drives are a still a thing. At least that's one thing I do see in it...I might just end up trying it myself, but I'm holding off to see if there's a good Lance unit in the future (that I like).

Hmm, yes it's actually a wholly separate variation on the same play style isn't it? Stance + drives is for flexibility of positioning; spurs+bond is for maximum stats; on either phase theoretically, but requires a lot of skill to use during player phase.

Yep. Darting stance is the cheaper option to bond skills. But.......thats not the point of this post tbh.

Id also like to add. That its a good option for units with midling spd and average defenses as a defensive/offnsive measure. Together with qr, those units can avoid important doubles and double back for a ko. Camus is a prime example of this.

Camus, Libra and Charlotte are all in the same Spd tier (32 Libra & Charlotte, 33 Camus)...Camus isn't even that bad. Between merges and Horse buffs, it's really easy for him to double offensively. He might appreciate it since he at least has a good reason to stay defensive because he has built-in DC.

+6 Spd is still massive. Like you said, it doesn't just get those certain characters away from getting doubled, but then combining it with QR allows you to double back (like my example with Libra).

Shit. Yesterday I should've considered saving Darting Stance 3 when I sacrificed Shigure to his mom for Harmonic Lance+. Actually.. she killed both versions of him for her own personal gain.. double filicide

Why.