Fire Emblem Heroes Wiki:Build Center/Skill/Warding Breath

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Heroes with builds using this skill

• Chrom: Gifted Leader
• Eirika: Restoration Lady
• Fae: Divine Dragon
• Fir: Sword Student
• Fjorm: Princess of Ice
• Ike: Vanguard Legend
• Joshua: Tempest King
• Kana: Dragon Spawn
• Leif: Prince of Leonster
• Lukas: Sharp Soldier
• Robin: Fell Reincarnation
• Roy: Young Lion
• Ryoma: Peerless Samurai
• Seliph: Heir of Light
• Soren: Shrewd Strategist
• Tiki: Dragon Scion
• Tiki: Naga's Voice
• Tobin: The Clueless One
• Xander: Student Swimmer

Submitted builds which use this skill

User Submitted Builds

Below are all user-submitted builds. The quality of these builds may vary wildly. Please use your own judgment when deciding if any of them fit your needs.

Creative Chain Very high investment Armored Chrom: Gifted Leader

Sack o' Gifts+ (Def)  Pivot / Reposition  Miracle Traits: +Res/-Spd  Warding Breath  Shield Pulse 3  Panic Ploy 3  Deflect Magic 3

Click to show/hide build description  This build focuses on three things: being creative, unique, and effective. It's sole purpose is to prevent Winter Chrom from dying in Tempest Trials or Chain Challenge. It accomplishes this by combo-ing Shield Pulse with Warding Breath. Shield Pulse 3 will lower the cooldown of Miracle from 5 to 3 at the start of the first round. As long as an enemy melee unit attacks first, Chrom's Sack o' Gifts will activate, buffing his protective stats, and his Warding Breath will help him gain -2 cooldown on miracle before counterattacking, thus giving him miracle throughout the entire Tempest Trial run, should he die. Panic Ploy 3 and Deflect Magic 3 should help shave off any additional damage, as well as debuffing the enemy.

Optimal Arena High investment Eirika: Restoration Lady

Sieglinde (Skill)  Reposition / Rally Speed  Luna / Iceberg Traits: +Atk/+Res/-HP  Fury 3 / Warding Breath  Renewal 3  Res Tactic 3  Def Tactic 3 / Close Def 3

Click to show/hide build description  Erkia's incredibly balanced stats along with her ability to benefit from the same stat boosts she supports her team mates with make her a deceptively bulky sword. Her great speed makes her hard to double, and her higher than average Res in particular means she has little trouble handling popular Dragon teams without necessitating a Falchion user, yet still being amazingly adaptable against other emblem teams too, thanks to her robust versatility. Due to the immense lack of weapons and abilities that are effective against Infantry units, you may be surprised how far Erika's bulk can take you if you invest in it. The refined Sieglinde is what makes Erkia such an amazing support unit, on top of a hard carry. All the support bonuses she provides to her allies have a drive bonus applied to her as well within two spaces of said units. This stacks on top of regular buffs she can get, pushing her defenses well into the 40s! Her Assist slot is flexible; use Reposition to maneuver allies around, or use a Rally skill for further mutual benefit. Erkia's Atk is her only middling stat, as such, Luna is the preferred Special skill to half the monstrous defensive stats of Dragons and even Armor teams. However Iceberg is another option that adds a flat benefit based on your Res stat. Fury 3 is a great A Passive to enhance all of her great stats even further. Being so bulky, the HP loss after combat is of little consequence. That being said, Warding Breath is an excellent option as well to better take a beating from Dragons and mage users alike while reducing her special charge in the process. Mirror Stance 3 has a similar impact only increasing attack instead of reducing special charge. Renewal 3 is what mitigates passive Fury damage rather well. With such great speed there is little need for breaker skills or even Quick Riposte, and on maps with defense tiles it is by far the most beneficial B Passive to have. Res Tactic 3 will boost allies Res by 6 as long as you have mixed movement and is a fundamental part of this anti-Dragon kit. As long as the ally is within 2 spaces, Erika receives the +6 buff to her own resistance as well, so she can shrug off Breath and Magic. For her Sacred Seal, Def Tactic 3 provides the physical beneficial equivalent of Res Tactic 3 and is the best for supporting the whole of her team. That being said, Close Def 3 is another option to take her close range defenses to the maximum.

Optimal All-purpose Very high investment Dragon Fae: Divine Dragon

Lightning Breath+ (Res)  Reposition / Draw Back  Iceberg / Aether Traits: +Res,Def -Spd,HP  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 3  Hone Dragons / Fortify Dragons  Close Def 3 / Distant Def 3

Click to show/hide build description  This build uses the new Warding Breath skill from VL!Ike to boost Fae's defensive Res stat sky high. Otherwise, it follows the standard Breath build. When combined with dragon emblem buffs, this turns Fae into an even better magic tank than before, capable of hitting back with very solid force.

Optimal All-purpose High investment Fir: Sword Student

Nameless Blade (Skill)  Reposition  Glacies / Iceberg Traits: Flexible  Flashing Blade 3 / Warding Breath  Wrath 3  Def Ploy 3 / Flexible  Speed +3 / Quick Riposte 3

Click to show/hide build description  With the release of the Nameless Blade in 2.4, Fir suddenly becomes a viable damage unit with many good build possibilities. Rather than scrap all the hard work I made on my build prior to this update, I'll simply modify it to show a way to build her that doesn't focus purely on Attack. IVs are rather flexible here as they don't vary the results that significantly. +Spd/-Res might be the best combination though. While the previous build of Res-refined Slaying Edge+ could be made strong (especially defensively), the Nameless blade is unquestionably stronger/better on its own and allows Fir to do better when initiating combat. Use the Special refine and now it's a Wo Dao and a Killing/Slaying Edge in one. Like before, I'll cover both offensive and defensive takes on this build. As with most melee units, you want Reposition to get whoever you're saving behind you. For our special, we can go with Glacies, dropped to 3 turn CD thanks to the Nameless Blade. This is further helped by Flashing Blade 3 building charge every attack so long as she's at least 1 point higher in Spd, which she will be against the vast majority of foes. Due to this combo, Fir can often get her special to trigger on doubles if she's countered (provided the enemy doesn't have Guard). For a more defensive style of play, you'll want Warding Breath as your A Passive which accelerates her special when she's attacked rather than when she attacks. It also strengthens her special by 4. If going this route, you'll get more out of Iceberg as your special since Glacies doesn't activate as often without Flashing Blade's help. That brings us to Wrath... This is another chance to bring about her Special faster when she's hurt, such as getting attacked on the enemy phase. The real boon here though is the +10 damage on specials, stacking with the +10 you already received from the refine on the Nameless Blade. As Wrath can be difficult to obtain (only available on a single 5-star unit), Vantage can also be a viable option. You won't kill as many enemies due to the damage decrease on specials, but the drop off isn't TOO bad, and you might be able to clean up units that would otherwise finish you off on the enemy phase. C Passive has a lot of options that should be molded to what you need for her place in your team. If her role is more to support better damage-dealers, a buff would work well here. Otherwise, a Ploy would be a nice option. Speed +3 is the ideal seal here as it helps activation of Flashing Blade and chances of doubling. If not using Flashing Blade, you may consider Quick Riposte (especially if your boon is already Speed). These are my Mass Duel sim tests for Offense and Defense. In the "Offense" tests, assume Fir imitated, the enemy attacked back on their turn, and if both are still alive, Fir initiates again and so on. For "Defense", assume this sequence begins with the enemy initiating. Glacies/Flashing Blade: (Offense): 189-44 Iceberg/Warding Breath: (Offense): 177-56 Glacies/Flashing Blade: (Defense): 193-40 Iceberg/Warding Breath: (Defense): 220-13

Optimal Arena Very high investment Fir: Sword Student

Nameless Blade (Skill)  Ardent Sacrifice / Reposition  Glacies Traits: +ATK/-HP,-DEF  Warding Breath  Wrath 3  Def Ploy 3 / Threaten Def 3  Close Def 3

Click to show/hide build description  With the addition of Nameless Blade, Fir now has more destructive Glacies potential than ever before. This build is focused more on Enemy Phase. +ATK is an absolute MUST in the boon category, as it is a superboon, and really helps patch up her pitiful 25 ATK to an almost respectable 29. The -1 cooldown on Nameless Blade brings Glacies down to a cooldown time of 3, and with Warding Breath granting her an extra cooldown point upon being attacked, she'll be able to proc Glacies on any enemy she can double. (Unless they have Guard). The combination of Warding Breath, and the Close Defense seal will boost her RES by an additional 10 points, already adding to her deadly Glacies hits. The Wo Dao effect refinement for Nameless Blade is very important here, as, when combined with Wrath, grants another 20 flat damage to her Glacies hits. Def Ploy is useful to reduce the Def of enemies on her less spectacular player phase, just overall letting her do more damage. A good budget option would be Threaten Def. If your Fir has an HP bane, you can use Ardent Sacrifice once to get into Wrath range, so that's a useful skill. Otherwise, Reposition is always good. Close Defense 3 on the enemy phase will help her shaky defenses a little bit, but you'll likely still need to keep a healer nearby. With weapon triangle advantage, she reaches 116 ATK on her Glacies hits before the enemy's DEF is taken into consideration. She can also do just enough damage to kill a neutral ivs Lukas with Fortress Def 3, so she won't just be limited to killing reds and greens.

Optimal All-purpose Very high investment Fjorm: Princess of Ice

Leiptr  Reposition  Aether / Glacies Traits: +Res,+Atk/-Def  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 3  Drive Atk 2 / Def Ploy 3  Distant Def 3

Click to show/hide build description  This build simulates a blue Ike, but hits less harder and is generally more resilient on the magical side. In the hands of the enemy phase, Fjorm can become a monster. Her magical soak is what sets her apart from all of the 16 might DC-built weapon heroes. Her chosen boon is +Res so that she can function as a magic check relatively well. +Atk is also plausible, because she appreciates all the attack she can get. Her chosen bane is -Def because out of all the stats, she needs it the least. Leiptr is her bread and butter, and she wouldn't settle for anything less than that. Assist is Reposition so that she can help her allies get out of danger, and let her take the brunt instead. And taking the brunt, she does quite well. Warding Breath is the star of this set. With this, she can charge up specials very quickly, and take magical hits even better. Quick Riposte 3 allows her to have a nasty enemy phase. It's not out of the ordinary for her to proc Aether during a round of combat, especially if the opponent doubles her. C passive is kind of flexible, as Drive Atk 2 is generally nice to have, and certainly well-appreciated, but if Fjorm wants to help herself, Def Ploy 3 can be considered. As for Fjorm's special, Aether is chosen here to bolster both her offense and defense, allowing her to regain the HP from the damage she's taken, and recover her Quick Riposte. Glacies is also another option if you want an onhand special that nukes harder than Aether, but will proc regardless of speed tiers. However, she won't have the same Quick Riposte flexibility as Aether as she won't gain health back. Her sacred seal is Distant Def 3, because it bolsters her magic-tanking capabilities even further. To put this into perspective, a +Res Fjorm with Warding Breath and Distant Def 3 seal is 47. Unsupported, and no Spur/Drive/Fortify buffs. That is 37.6 (before rounding down) glacies damage right there. Any mage that isn't green and doesn't have defense investment is getting removed by this. However, it is worth noting that with this current setup, if an enemy doubles her, Aether will proc, but if an enemy doesn't double her, Aether won't proc. (but will proc on the next turn) Glacies will proc no matter what, regardless, but she will likely need a Reciprocal Aid ally to help her regain her Quick Riposte if she goes this route. As such, Arvis makes for an invaluable green check *and* passive healer, as he can help her with Reciprocal Aid or Ardent Sacrifice, while also softening enemies with Valflame and Speed Ploy 3 for her to deal with quite handily. She's also a really good team mate of Brave Ike as he enjoys having red mages getting deleted so he can handle the battlefield.

Alternative All-purpose Medium investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reposition  Radiant Aether Traits: +Atk,+Spd,-HP,-Res  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 2  Def Tactic 3  Distant Def 3 / Close Def 3

A description has not been written for this build yet.

Optimal All-purpose High investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reposition / Draw Back  Radiant Aether / Ignis Traits: +Res/-Spd, -HP  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 3  Threaten Def 3 / Flexible  Distant Def 3

Click to show/hide build description  This build makes Ike a dual threat to melee and ranged users. His high defense and attack coupled with Quick Riposte 3 makes him hard for Axe and Sword users, as well as weaker Lance users to deal with during the enemy phase. If attacked he will always end up activating Radiant Aether or Ignis in any skirmish he gets into, provided he isn't OHKO'd or the enemy is running Guard 3. He is also a tough unit to face for Red and Green mages as well as Archers and Dagger users. In the enemy phase Ike's Def jumps up to 41 from his Distant Def 3 seal, making it very hard for archers and dagger users to deal much damage to him. Mages will also have a difficult time taking him down. He may only have 24 res with a res boon but with Distant Def 3 and Warding Breath he gains +10 Res giving him and effective 34 Res. If running Ignis his best bane is Spd as it's not an overly important stat due to Quick Riposte 3. If running with Radiant Aether, Ike can also have an HP bane as he will be healing himself almost every round. His C skill is entirely optional and can be replaced with just about anything to fit the needs of your team. Fast blue units like Linde, Delthea, Nephenee as well as tanky ones like Effie and Robin (Winter's Envoy) will also give Ike a hard time. Being a legendary hero any allies with earth blessing will also gain an additional +3 HP and +2 Atk. He is a great unit to have on the team and is more of an improved version of the original Ike being able to preform his duties and more.

Optimal All-purpose High investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reposition  Radiant Aether Traits: +Res, +Spd/-Def, -Hp  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 3  Def Tactic 3 / Flexible  Distant Def 3 / Speed +3

A description has not been written for this build yet.

Optimal All-purpose High investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reposition / Flexible  Radiant Aether Traits: +Atk/-HP  Warding Breath / Steady Breath  Special Spiral 3  Atk Smoke 3 / Flexible  Quick Riposte 3

Click to show/hide build description  This build attempts to maximize the power of Ike's enemy phase by making it so he can continuously activate Radiant Aether. The general idea is that after one battle in enemy phase, he'll activate his special, leaving Special Spiral 3 to activate and giving him a constant 2-charge Radiant Aether. This way, whenever he's attacked on subsequent enemy phases, Radiant Aether will always go off on his first attack, which will maximize the amount of HP he regains and hopefully KOing the enemy without another counter. Warding Breath is chosen over Steady because Ike will need all the mitigation he needs for his Res stat, but both are interchangeable and is just a matter of what you prefer. Attack Smoke 3 does an excellent job of debuffing large enemy groups, especially if Ike is thrown into a horde of them to tank. While it's primarily for sustainability, you can also choose to use Speed Smoke 3 so it minimizes the chances of Ike getting doubled.

Optimal All-purpose High investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Flexible  Radiant Aether Traits: Normalized  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 3  Flexible  Heavy Blade 3

Click to show/hide build description  This build has one job, and only one job: To make Ike Aether anything and everything during enemy phase. When he gets attacked, Warding Breath will shave off two from Radiant Aether's cooldown by default; then Ike will naturally counter anything via Ragnell being Ragnell. When he does, most circumstances will trigger Heavy Blade on the first strike for another two off Aether's CD, which Quick Riposte will then ensure a follow up, which will be Aether. Except against the tankiest of blues, this will almost always outright kill the unfortunate victim, and except for blue mages like Linde (whose attacks tend to leave Ike reeling because his Res is weak even with Warding Breath and/or a Res Boon), the heal from Aether will likely set Ike's health back to the level at which this chain will work all over again. The end result: Ike becomes an almost completely self sufficient murder machine.

Optimal All-purpose High investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reciprocal Aid  Radiant Aether Traits: Flexible  Warding Breath / Steady Breath  Special Spiral 3  Savage Blow 3 / Flexible  Flexible

A description has not been written for this build yet.

Optimal Arena High investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Rally Spd/Def / Rally Atk/Spd  Radiant Aether Traits: Any  Warding Breath / Steady Breath  Quick Riposte 3 / Wrath 3  Atk Tactic 3 / Def Tactic 3  Distant Def 3 / Close Def 3

A description has not been written for this build yet.

Optimal All-purpose Low investment Infantry Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reposition  Radiant Aether Traits: Neutral/Any  Warding Breath  Quick Riposte 2  Def Tactic 3 / Flexible  Flexible

A description has not been written for this build yet.

Optimal All-purpose Medium investment Ike: Vanguard Legend

Ragnell  Reposition  Radiant Aether Traits: +Res, -Def  Warding Breath  Wrath 3  Atk Tactic 3 / Flexible  Quick Riposte 3

Click to show/hide build description  This Ike is meant to survive in a way that may be considered unorthodox because this Ike survives by taking damage. I'm not talking about just taking hits (like most breath-based builds do), I'm talking about actual damage, but not to the point of dying. Ike already can survive physical damage with his naturally high DEF, but his RES stat is low, which is why I found Warding Breath appealing. With Warding Breath, his DEF and RES stats become closer together. He'll be able to survive green mages, green dragons, and physical attackers (eg. bows, swords, lances) which should be enough. Once he takes a hit from anyone, he'll take a decent amount of damage, and then retaliate with Quick Riposte and ALWAYS activate his special, Radiant Aether. Because Radiant Aether's charge is even, Ike's breath skill uses it efficiently (if it was odd, he'd only gain 1 charge from some attacks). Because he'll have taken a decent amount of damage, his Wrath skill should be viable. Upon activation of Radiant Aether, his Wrath skill will activate and increase damage, which will, at the same time, increase health recovered. This is why I have named this build "Radiant Aether Bot;" it is primarily focused on the cycle of 1. surviving a blow, 2. retaliating and recovering at the same time through Radiant Aether and its supporting skills. FYI: The C skill is really just flexible, but I have included Atk Tactic 3 as the skill because I generally pair up Ike with a glass range unit.

Other builds using this skill