Not too long ago, I got Ares from the Genealogy banner as a 5* unit. Now, he appears as a 4* and 5* rarities. Is Ares any good? Here’s my Ares:
Ares Review
I decently lucky with my Ares as his IV is +Atk and -Def. That’s not ideal with the -Def, but +Atk is really nice.
I used this build with Ares throughout the Tempest Trials, and he works really well. With this build, if he’s in Vantage range, he is able to proc his special every single encounter. I kept his default special since my Ares is -Def, and changing it to Bonfire is not as efficient as keeping Draconic Aura. I went with the Atk+3 seal instead of the Atk/Def 2 Seal because I thought that the 1 extra Atk would be more helpful since he almost never gets hit. He only gets hit on the first encounter. I put him on my horse emblem team to increase his chances of one-hit-KOing enemies.
Pros
- Unique weapon Dark Mystletainn is amazing as it gives Cooldown-1 to specials, which means his Draconic Aura is now a 2-turn cooldown, and after combat, it gives Cooldown-2, which means after Ares OHKO’s an enemy, his special is recharged again and ready for combat.
- Dark Mystletainn Description: Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). If Special triggers before or during combat, grants Special cooldown count-2 after combat.
- Comes with Brazen Atk/Def which is an amazing skill in itself. However, I didn’t really use it since I used distant counter.
- Really high Atk. Mine has 55 Atk without any buffs. With the Atk+3 Seal and the Horse Emblem Buffs, he’s able to reach 64 Atk, and with the Tempest Trials boost or the Arena boost, he’s able to reach 68 Atk, which is just amazing. When my Ares is attacked by the green dragon robin, Ares is able to OHKO him with Draconic Aura active.
- Pretty good Defense, if you don’t have -Def
Cons
- Has really low res. However, he’s able to OHKO many mages, if in vantage range and has his special ready (and you inherited distant counter)
- Seal Def/Res 2 is just not that good.
- Speed of 30 is pretty low, however, he may be able to OHKO the attacker if in vantage range and has his special ready.
Skills to Inherit
- Obviously, a positioning skill. Either Draw Back or Reposition
- Bonfire, if yours is +Def. You want a 3-turn cooldown special for optimal usage of his weapon.
- Vantage 3 – This works well with his Brazen Atk/Def 3. You may want to also equip the Atk/Def 2 Seal. Get rid of that terrible Seal Def/Res 2 default B-skill.
- Hone/Fortify Cavalry depending on your horse emblem team’s needs. If not on a horse emblem team, then I would recommend Threaten Def 3, as this will help him OHKO more people.
Conclusion
Ares is a pretty good unit when built correctly. If you want to stick with his Brazen Atk/Def A-skill, go ahead. If you want to switch to Distant Counter, also go ahead. It completely depends on your playstyle and how you enjoy playing with horse units. He is better than Sword Cavalier Xander with having a much higher base Atk. However, his weapon does not have distant counter built into it, which makes him more vulnerable to mages, if he’s not in vantage range. He’s a pretty good offensive unit, and a pretty good defensive unit if he’s built with distant counter and vantage.
For an offensive build, use Brazen Atk/Def and Vantage, but for an offensive/defensive build use Distant Counter and Vantage.
Ares is a solid unit.
Update:
I finally finished building my Ares. He’s a very good unit. Here he is!
I chose to use Draconic Aura over Bonfire for one main reason. With Brazen Atk/Def active, Ares’ defense goes up to 45, meaning Bonfire will do 22 additional damage. However, his attack is also 67, which means that Draconic Aura will do 22 additional damage. Since the damage is identical, I chose to use Draconic Aura because most of my Horse Emblem uses Hone Cavalry rather than Fortify Cavalry, so I will rarely benefit from additional defense to boost Bonfire.