| Hinata, despite his low speed and awful resistance, can function as an effective red tank due to his acceptable attack stat, amazing defense and above-average HP. This build will take advantage of those traits while not requiring any heroes unavailable at 3* to be used in the process.
IVs: +Atk amplifies Hinata's already acceptable attack start to be more threatening, while +Def boosts his survivability and renders his specials attacks even more powerful. -Spd is used because Hinata's speed is beyond redemption, and Hinata can either nullify doubles with Swordbreaker 3, or allowing himself more with Quick Riposte 1. Be wary of -Res, as while it a complete possibility as is merely sacrifices a dump stat, it also leaves him more vulnerable to mages than before.
Weapon: Ruby Sword+ is his default weapon, and grants him a further increased advantage against green units, allowing him to survive green mages instead of dying through the triangle advantage and 1-shot them in return. it also allows him to hard-wall axes, rarely if ever taking more than 5 damage from them and likely killing them in 2 hits, in large part to his attack and defense stats.
Killing Edge is another option, inheritable from 3* Fir and Lon'qu, that allows him to make use of Ignis, a special that adds a staggering 29 damage to his attacks. This forces him to be very wary of all mages however, as any with 5 or more speed than him will likely kill him in 1 round of combat, irrespective of color. Yes, even Cecilia can kill you if you have a -Spd bane, though not -Res.
Assist: As a tank, Swap lets Hinata reach the frontlines in more situations than Reposition, while losing less ground (for better or worse), allowing him to solidify better positioning most of the time. If your team however is one full of Brave or Desperation asassins that prefer to peel themselves as faraway as possible from enemies after each kill, than it is much more useful to the team for Hinata to carry Reposition as is causes them to be further back from the fight.
It is entirely possible to give Hinata both skills and use Reposition in more situational teams, though Swap is easier to get as it can be gotten from the free or summoned versions of Stahl and Subaki, alongside 4* Seth and 3* Arthur, while Reposition is slightly more exclusive to 3* Barst, 3* Selena and three 5* units (2 of them limited units, the other Olwen).
Special: Bonfire is your Staple option, adding 18 damage to a hit on Neutral Hinata. Swordbreaker allows you to end a round against a Sword with it charged, while Quick Riposte 1 allows you to get doubled and unleash it on an enemy.
Ignis can be used with Killing Edge builds, and adds 29 damage instead, at the cost of the Ruby Sword effect forcing you to be more careful around even Green Mages. Ignis however is more 4* exclusive, coming from 4* Boey and Leon, and from promoting Henry from 3* to 4*. Meanwhile, Bonfire is easier to get, coming from promoting 3* Robin (M) and Tiki (A) to 4*.
'A Skill: Fury 3 is an amazing skill coming from Hinata himself that provides effective all-round bonuses to Hinata, boosting all his stats to avoid OHKOs. Because his speed stat is still low, the recoil damage is balanced out by the reduced damage taken since Hinata's is likely making use of the boosted Def and Res twice, not to mention that the recoil damage cannot quantify the effects of the Atk boost either. No other easy-to-get skill goes as well on Hinata, except arguably Trinagle Adept 3, provided you have a superior weapon to Ruby Sword +.
B Skill: Swordbreaker 3 allows Hinata to duel and double enemy sword units, dealing large amounts of damage to them in addition to his usual anti-green duties. It simply grants him more versatility both on Player and Enemy Phase against his usual targets. Quick Riposte 1, on the other hand, is meant to turn the tide of a battle once only and against any character by doubling them after getting doubled to activate Bonfire and eliminate a threat with no extra effort. However, a lack of Distant Counter to battle mages or Steady Breath to allow the use of Aether/Ignis simple renders Quick Riposte generally inferior to Swordbreaker 3 on this build, though still a sufficient and effective pick.
Should Red Tomes become more commonplace in Arena, R Tomebreaker 3 can be useful for surviving at least 1 round with a mage, especially useful on teams weak to magic, G Tomebreaker is a niche skill for surviving all Green Mages without the use of a Triangle Adept 3 effect.
C Skill: As usual in non-emblem teams, the C Skill is mostly flexible. Options exist like Hone Spd 3 and Hone Atk 3 for buff utility, as well as Panic Ploy 2 from the limited 4* Valter to cripple Blade tome mages. Note that Hinata due to his poor Res not just suffers against other Ploy skills, but cannot make use of their massive stage prescence as well.
Sacred Seal: Hinata's large HP stat can abuse Panic Ploy to cripple emblem teams and blade tome users, bolstering his tankiness against units that could otherwise 1-shot him through the weapon triangle. Deflect Magic 3 is amazing on Hinata due to his tendency to constantly get doubled and thus appreciate the second blow being massively blunted.
Overall, Hinata is a slow yet sturdy bruiser built to sustain several rounds of melee attacks. He's no armored unit, but with his statline, he sure can be just as tough as one. |
Optimal
All-purpose
Very high investment
High investment
Alternative
Medium investment
Infantry
