Zephiel

Weapon: Carrot Cudgel+ (+Def)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Ignis

A Passive: Sturdy Stance 3 / Close Def (3 or 4)

B Passive: Vengeful Fighter / Crafty Fighter

C Passive: A/D Near Save / D/R Near Save

Sacred Seal: Close Def / Steady Breath

• Carrot Cudgel+ is most likely going to be the best option for Zephiel as it not only increases his most important stats, his Atk and Def by five points each, but also prevents any form of debuff to said stats. It doesn’t necessarily help that there is a lack of inheritable Sword options in general but Carrot Cudgel+ is more than enough to get by.
   
• Ignis is going to be the go-to Special for Zephiel since he’ll want to output as much damage as possible in each combat. Thanks to his stat allocation, he shouldn’t have an issue taking out foes with Ignis. However, it is important that the rest of the kit he uses allows him to trigger Ignis, whether that’s Vengeful Fighter with Close Def or Crafty Fighter with Steady Breath.
   
• Any skill that increases Zephiel’s overall Atk and Def is a solid option for him. One of the more notable options is Sturdy Stance 3 as it not only provides a great amount of Atk and Def but also inflicts Guard on the foe, allowing Zephiel to survive more combats. For more budget purposes, he can go with Close Def instead (either 3 or 4). Close Def is a good option too as it can help against Dragon foes.
   
• Depending on the weapon of choice, Zephiel will either want to opt for Vengeful Fighter or Crafty Fighter. Vengeful Fighter is a decent option for him, despite the 50% HP minimum threshold, as his HP is relatively high. Combine that with blessing boosts and he’ll have a harder time falling out of that threshold. Meanwhile, Crafty Fighter has a much laxer threshold at a minimum of 25% HP. That being said, it provides no additional cooldown, so he’ll be forced to run Steady Breath as his seal if he wishes to trigger Ignis during combat, which isn’t the worst requirement by any means.
   
• To take advantage of Zephiel’s combative abilities, he’ll want to run either of the Near Save options. A/D Near Save solely focuses on his most important stats. The additional Atk and Def he gains will secure more KOs during combat. Meanwhile, D/R Near Save can help him out against Dragons, and although he doesn’t gain Atk, he still gains Def which can be just enough to defeat foes.
   
• One of the most important seals we have for Near Save armors is Steady Breath. The Steady Breath seal allows units, such as Zephiel, to output significantly more damage in combination with skills such as Near Save and such as the acceleration received opens up the potential for 4-5 CD Specials that can be triggered in the same combat. So, for someone like Zephiel, Steady Breath, alongside his high Def, can allow him to output hard-hitting Ignis’ during combat. However, if Steady Breath isn’t an option, he can take Close Def instead, which can help with Dragon matchups every so often.

Weapon: Eckesachs (+Eff) / Barrier Blade+ (+Res)

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Ignis / Bonfire

A Passive: Distant Counter / Distant Ward

B Passive: Vengeful Fighter / Slick Fighter

C Passive: A/R Far Save / Atk Smoke

Sacred Seal: Distant Def / Mirror Stance

• Eckesachs isn’t necessarily the worst weapon by any means, as long as Zephiel has the ability to take advantage of it, and if he were to take advantage of it, he would want to enter some sort of mixed-phase role where can take on physical and magical foes alike. The only issue with the weapon is that it doesn’t work against Dragons whatsoever and while they aren’t the most common unless, in Arena / Arena Assault, he’ll still be prone to them. As such, a solid substitute would be Barrier Blade+ as it increases his Res stat so long as the foe initiates combat.
   
• If Zephiel is to take on a mixed-phase role, he’ll want to have the ability to counter against all foes. As such, his go-to option for his A Passive should be Distant Counter. However, he can also make use of Distant Ward as it can help him take on more magical foes. The only catch is that he won’t be able to counter Bows and Daggers, but since his Def is relatively high, he shouldn’t have to worry about taking too much damage from those foes.
   
• Being that he is an Armor unit, he has access to a plethora of options that can allow him to double. Two such options include Vengeful Fighter and Slick Fighter. The choice between these two will ultimately depend on what Special he uses, whether it’s Ignis or Bonfire, as the idea is to have synergy in his kit. If running Vengeful Fighter, the additional cooldown he gains from retaliations can allow him to trigger Ignis each combat, provided that the foe doubles him which should be easy to do. Meanwhile, Slick Fighter doesn’t provide any additional cooldown, but rather protects him from debuffs, so his best option would be to run Bonfire.
   
• A/R Far Save is going to be Zephiel’s best C Passive as it not only allows him to take more advantage of his PRF but also grants additional Atk and Res, making him even more tanky and offensive as a result. Of course, it’s understandable if you can’t / won’t give it to him, so the best alternative would be Atk Smoke as it can potentially increase his Def and Res by seven points.
   
• Anything that can patch up Zephiel’s lowish Res stat is a good option for him. One of the first options that come to mind is Distant Def, as it is built into his PRF. The Distant Def seal, combined with his PRF, will increase his overall Res stat by 12 points, which is fairly significant. Of course, he does lose out on some potential Atk, so if you are worried about his damage output, he can take Mirror Stance instead.