Inheritable DC weapons

Fire Emblem Heroes FEH Discussion
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#1

This would have been ridiculous and completely OP when the game came out, but now DC weapons in the vein of dragon’s lightning breath don’t seem very problematic at all.
They would be relatively low might (hand axes/javelins, sitting between 12-14 might), and would have no additional effects or drawbacks.
Given how many units have a PRF they would almost assuredly prefer anyway, this would open up slots on older units to make them more viable. It could also make for interesting builds on newer units.

Anyway, I think that these wouldn’t be particularly overpowered in todays meta; what about you guys?

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#2

Maybe not OP but they would somewhat devalue the DC skill if they were readily available. DC is still a premium fodder skill (for me at least) and probably still a decent money maker.

Since the A slot has so much competition for amazing skills the inheritable DC weapon would likely still be better than the PRFs unless those PRFs have a ton of effects.

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#3

I don’t think they would devalue DC that much, because most units with a PRF (except for ones with bad refines) would almost all rather give up the A slot than their PRF, since PRF’s tend to do so much more. Almost no new units would want to give up a PRF (and even some refines).

This would mostly benefit budget and older units, which would help address the balance issues the game so obviously has.

Edit: plus it would just be replacing one premium skill with another. No DC, but now you need a weapon and a premium A slot. In that respect this is technically a more expensive build.

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#4

Is that really true though? Sure, the newest units tend to have a ton of effects on their weapon, but also A slot skills become better and better. Take atk/res unity for example. It is hard for any weapon to compete with that. Some of the best units in the game have DC (or CC in case of Shinon) already built into their weapon which gives them a free A slot.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to have inheritable DC weapons. I just don’t believe it will happen…
I could see it happen if the weapon were on some kind of single 5* exclusive hero like it is the case with Deadeye and Shinon. That way also the DC weapon would still be premium.

#5

That’s kinda my point though; almost all new units have PRFs they would never want to give up. This would really only benefit units probably between gen 1-3, and a few specific ones higher than that.

I don’t even really think it would change the meta that much, just open new build options. Plus, nothing is devalued if you are just switching one premium A slot for another. DC would still be relevant if you wanted a slaying effect for instance, which is not available on skills.

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#6

I think there are two issues really.

One is that, while most units come with prf weapons, commons don’t. They’re left in the dust a lot of times, and an inheritable DC weapon does free up the A-slot as suggested. IS wants DC to retain its value as an inheritable skill, and isn’t likely to make its access prolific. Despite additional effects, they still clearly value built-in DC. Say’ri was only half a year ago and got slapped with a negative condition for having a DC slaying weapon. They still clearly think DC is a big deal.

Second is the issue of lightning breath. While you could argue the value of any DC weapon just needing lower might and slowed cooldown to be balanced, I’d argue that’s not the issue. The issue is dragons aren’t good in the meta anymore. Lightning Breath would still be scary if dragons weren’t so universally countered. In their heyday, that freed A-slot allowed for one of the most powerful skill combinations the game could muster, thanks to Breath skills. It was so strong that most dragons would give up their prfs just for that combo. And now those are outdated with even stronger options. It’s not that Lightning Breath got nerfed. It’s that dragons got nerfed, and as a result, their DC weapon doesn’t strike the same level of fear.

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#7

I think the problem is more forced artificial rarity rather than balance. I think you are correct that IS wants DC to remain highly valuable, despite the fact that it would not interrupt the meta much (if at all, since most players and whales especially can grab DC fodder if they want it, plus one is available via paper). As a result I do think DC weapons are highly unlikely/unrealistic, but not very problematic from a purely gameplay perspective.

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#8

I think that’s a valid stance, though I’m not entirely sure I agree. DC is still sought after because it’s so good. While there are alternative A-slot options that can be better for specific uses, they universally have to contend with DC for the slot. Only a few options get to pack both, and those options tend to be really strong because of their versatility. Again, there may be an argument for lower might and slowed cooldown, but I do think the dragon meta of Book 2 shows just how ridiculous a DC weapon can be if the unit type using it doesn’t have serious counterplay.

And personally? I’d rather not have them implement it and then find out it was too good and go ham nerfing the entire unit type. Dragons didn’t deserve how bad things got for them.

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#9

Its just all about money
There’s a reason why IS didn’t gave us DC weapons but instead started giving us DC with stats in it
More skills to sell > DC weapons that can be refined into whatchu want
I’m wont be surprised if IS starts giving us DC with Atk/Spd or Spd/Def or something like that in the future
It just sells better

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#10

I swear every dragon in existence was running Lightning breath…

What I would like to see is a Counter Strike seal that grants counter regardless of range if units hp=100%

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