I got Summer Gaius right before tempest trials started. I didn’t use him because leveling him up to level 40 would take lots of stamina and I wanted to spend all of my stamina grinding the Tempest Trials. Is Summer Gaius any good?
Summer Gaius Review
My Summer Gaius has the IVs of +HP and -Res, which is ok, but still pretty bad. I’ve inherited Defiant Res 3 and I’m thinking of giving him Glaces later to compliment his res. I’m still working on leveling up his default Defense Ploy.
Pros:
- Summer Gaius has a nice high speed of 34/37/40 (same as Setsuna), which makes him faster than Bridal Cordelia (32/35/38).
- Also, Gaius has a higher attack than Setsuna
- Decent resistance
- Refreshing Bolt+ has a built-in Fury 1 skill.
- Comes with a rare Ploy skill: Defense Ploy 3
Cons:
- His weapon’s Fury 1 only activates when he has full health, which basically means it’s a one-time use unless there are healers on your team.
- Low defense
- HP is on the lower side
Skills to Inherit:
- As with all fast archers, inherit Brave Bow+ to get the Brave Bow+ build.
- Life and Death 3 counters the brave weapons’ Spd-5 penalty or Death Blow 3 helps gain more attack. Defiant Attack is also viable, but is more tricky to get into the defiant range.
- Desperation 3 helps quad-attack the enemy before they can counterattack.
- Reciprocal Aid or Ardent Sacrifice can help your Gaius get into his desperation range.
- As with all quad-attacking builds, Moonbow or Luna is recommended, as they will activate at least once in the quad-attack.
Teammates:
When playing with a quad-attacking archer, every attack buff you give to him will be multiplied by four, which means you want teammates with Rally Attack/Hone Attack and Spur Attack/Drive Attack, which means Sharena, Delthea, Ephraim, and Eirika will be good teammates. It’s also useful to buff his speed as well, so putting Rally Speed or Hone Speed on your teammates is also a good option.
Conclusion:
Summer Gaius is one of the best archers in the game currently. His high speed combined with his high attack makes him perfect for a quad-attack build. His high res allows him to be a good magic check, but he’s fragile when it comes to other archers, dagger users, and physical attackers.
Here is Summer Gaius’ Conversation upon reaching level 40.