#f!berkut

Lvl 40 Stats (Flaw/Neutral/Asset)

HP: 36/40/43 Atk: 32/35/39 Spd: 13/17/20 Def: 32/35/38 Res: 26/30/33

Neutral BST: 157

Max Dragonflowers: 5

Skills

Weapon: Kriemhild (400 SP)

Mt: 16. Rng: 1. If foe using bow, magic, dagger or staff initiates combat and unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, unit can counterattack regardless of foe’s range and foe cannot make a follow-up attack. After combat however if unit was attacked, deals 20 damage to nearest ally.

Lance. Cannot be inherited. Cannot be refined.

Assist: None

Special: Reprisal (200 SP)

Boosts damage done to foe by 30% of damage dealt to unit.

Can be inherited. Cannot use: Staff.

A: Warding Stance 4 (300 SP)

If unit is attacked, grants +8 Res during combat and inflicts Special Cooldown -1 on foe per attack (does not stack).

Can be inherited. Cannot use: Staff.

B: None

C: Odd Res Wave 3 (240 SP)

At start of odd numbered turns, grant +6 Res to unit and any adjacent ally. Unit receives buff regardless if next to an ally or not. 

Can be inherited.

Analysis

Berkut reemerges this time around not as a GHB but as a summonable lance cavalry unit.  While he’s lost his sanity he’s gained a weapon with built in Distant Counter (under the right circumstances) and highly min/maxed stats. This sets Fallen Berkut apart from his GHB counterpart. 

What makes Fallen Berkut stand out from any other blue cavalry unit is Kriemhild. Fallen Berkut’s PRF weapon grants him a conditional Distant Counter if he is within 2 spaces of an ally in exchange for dealing 20 flat damage to his closest allies. This sustained damage can be used to a player’s advantage and explores a new sort of play style. Fallen Berkut as a result becomes best friends with hyper offensive units who need to get in Brazen or Desperation range without having to initiate combat. Units that rely on Distant/Close Counter plus Vantage along with dancers utilizing Escape Route also benefit greatly from this out of combat damage. Kriemhild also grants him the ability to deny follow-ups from ranged units making Berkut an excellent, hard hitting mage tank.

Compared to his original incarnation, Berkut has a more apparent min-maxed statline fitting for a tank with high Atk, unsalvageable Spd and high Def/Res. While his Res may seem low in comparison to his Def, his base kit can grant him up to +12 Res when in combat pushing his res up to 42 at neutral. It should be noted that with his high attack he has the option to run Brave Lance+ setups foregoing his ranged tank role.

Overall Fallen Berkut can be both a great ranged tank and the key for making his ally’s skills active making him quite valuable in mixed and Cavalry teams.

Berkut prefers an asset/boon in Atk, Def or Res and prefers a flaw/bane in Spd or HP.

Similar Units

Berkut: Prideful Prince (43/34/22/31/24)

Berkut: Purgatorial Prince (-3/+1/-5/+4/+6)

Note: Berkut: Purgatorial Prince has access to uninheritable skills and IVs making him indirectly comparable to his GHB counterpart.

Builds

Budget/Low Investment

Berkut already comes with an excellent base kit with little investment required to improve his performance.

While Warding Stance 4 improves his Res by granting him +8 Res if attacked he can also run Steady Stance 4 or Fortress Def/Res 3 as his A slot. In addition to an in combat Res buff Warding Stance 4 carries the Guard skill built in freeing his B slot skill. Chill skills such as Chill Atk can be used to further protect Berkut from hard hitting foes and make his foes weaker. Quick Riposte may be used to ensure that he almost always makes a follow-up attack. While Odd Res Wave adds a visible +6 Res buff on odd numbered turns and improves his magical bulk we swap it out for Atk Smoke 3 making Berkut capable of facing multiple foes in a single turn.

His recommended sacred seals are Atk+3, Def+3, Res+3, HP/Res 2, Quick Riposte, Distant/Close Defense, Stance skills and Chill Atk, 

Player Phase

With an Atk asset/boon, Berkut can reach a respectable 47 Atk with a Brave Lance equipped granting him an impressive player phase setup.

Berkut’s low speed comes as a great benefit for him in the following setup. Wanting to maximize his Atk we run Death Blow 3 as his A skill of choice. While skills such as Fury or Life and Death can be utilized they are generally discouraged against. Life and Death will sever his defensive bulk while Fury will chip away at his health after each round of combat which is less than beneficial. 

Chill Def is chosen as his B slot skill to secure kills against high defense units. This skill can easily be swapped out with Drag Back or Hit and Run to provide Berkut with a way out once he nabs his kill. 

While Heavy Blade on a 47 Atk unit may seem counterintuitive, However Berkut can reach a high 59 Atk thanks to Death Blow 3 and a Hone Cavalry buff allowing him to consistently proc Heavy Blade and activate Moonbow on his second hit.

Wherefore art thou Rinea (High Investment)

These builds aim to make Berkut an omni-tank pushing his mixed defenses to their upmost potential. 

Looking at the build on the left Kriemhild is kept in due to its built-in Distant Counter and the ability to negate follow-ups from ranged opponents. With the recent addition of Distant Def 4 Berkut has the ability to run both Dull Ranged and gain +8 Def/Res when attacked by a ranged unit at the same time. While he loses Warding Stance 4′s built in Guard he can always run Guard 3 as his B skill.