Cecil (Paladin)
Character Notes & Recommendations
Have updates or suggestions? Contact us via Reddit or Discord, find our info Behind the Scenes!Summon Board Passive selections:
Numbers listed below refer to the 7 passives to select for each Ultimate Summon Board for the character. Top is 1, bottom is 7.Alexander choose 3 / 5 / 6
Odin choose 3 / 6 / 7
Bahamut choose 4 / 5 / 6
Usuals:
Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Brothers 4 / 5 / 7
Leviathan, Pandemonium, Diabolos 4 / 5 / 6
For more details and help with summons, check Summon Hub!
Additional Weapons
Manikin Weapon: Adds S1 & S2 BRV DMG +10%
Acquire by finishing Act 2, Chapter 5 and going to Chapter 5.8
Acquire through Item Exchange > Power Token Exchange
Sphere Recommendations
NOTE: The sphere letters below are hyperlinked to our Sphere Hub which lists all available spheres sorted by effect!A Sphere - Focus on boosting his BRV DMG the most. ATK is a great alternative. Note that he can reliably trigger spheres that have weakness conditions. mBRV is a mediocre alternative, but it will minutely improve his battery/BRV gains (we’re talking < 100 BRV difference).
B Sphere - Not many good options here since Cecil doesn’t have a Lock debuff, nor evasion. Celes is the best for him, but her sphere is better suited on others (like Aphmau for example). Check out other characters that you might want to sphere that also have B slots and see if any are better suited for Celes’ sphere than Paladin Cecil. As alternatives, Gabranth (or refined Gabranth) is best of the rest, with Kimahri & WoL also having reasonable choices.
C Sphere - His sphere is one of the most useful in the game - specifically for characters with Encouragement Keystone OR to satisfy battery Force Conditions.
Since Cecil is Unity Keystone, you’ll want to opt for another sphere, such as Alphinaud, Maria or Llyud to augment his auras. Any others are slight steps down.
Farm a couple dozen if you really want these for your Encouragement armor & C slot havers as there is no easy way to get refined spheres than hoping they show up in a coop.
Here's a video overview of why this sphere is amazing with Encouragment Armor, by Black Nero!
How-To-Play Notes
Cecil starts with some of his buffs already and EX charged so you can use EX right away just for the damage or LD to use AA his following turn on the free skill use to get his enchant up.
Saint’s Fall for single target BRV shaving & strong ally battery
Holy Flame for AoE shaving, burst healing for the party, & smaller ally battery. This skill has high turn rate, so you can jump his turn up if need be.
Paladin Force charges quite fast. 2 skills will do it, or 1 skill and 1 Luminous Blast, unless the skill is Holy Flame, then it will take 2 Luminous Blasts.
Luminous Shard should be used to upkeep his overhead effect, and also to get free use Light Enchant All effects when needed.
Light Slash is a great defensive option, to battery the party and jump his turn up when needed. Don’t be afraid to check on it.
Team Synergy
Cecil is very flexible, and can work with most characters in the game very well. It’s just worth calling out that his BRV & HP DMG up, coupled with his enchant effect will provide a significant boost in BRV damage across the board. This boost is *most* appreciated by primary damage dealers that rely on their BRV dmage with little way to sustain their BRV (BRV gains or BRV retain)