Vaan
Infographic (June 2023)
Vaan's Imperil
When he attacks, he lowers enemy resistance to elements and since his comes from an LD board passive it ends up working with imperil debuffs/auras that exist on the field
Refresher on the stages of elemental resist: https://www.tonberrytroupe.com/beginners/glossary#h.lh7icrffd759
Removable Passives
NOTE: Passives should generally only be removed if you lack CP space. There are very rare occasions where a character has a bad passive that disrupts their optimal gameplay.Spite (worst passive in the game)
BRV Attack+ BRV Attack++ Up (never used)
HP Attack+ HP Attack++ Up (never used)
Character Notes & Recommendations
Have updates or suggestions? Contact us via Reddit or Discord, find our info Behind the Scenes!Summon Board Passive selections:
Ifrit choose 3 / 4 / 7
Shiva choose 3 / 4 / 7
Pandemonium choose 3 / 4 / 6
Alexander choose 3 / 5 / 6
Odin choose 4 / 6 / 7
Bahamut choose 3 / 4 / 6
Usuals:
Ramuh, Brothers 4 / 5 / 7
Leviathan, Diabolos 4 / 5 / 6
For more details and help with summons, check Summon Hub!
Additional Weapons
Lila Edge: ATK & mBRV +20% for 5T after breaking an enemy
Acquire through Item Exchange > Power Token Exchange
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
A Spheres - Very straight forward - ATK / BRV DMG is best, MATK +15% is also great, can also go Noel, Cloud
E Spheres - Avoid spheres that give more generic debuffs, Vaan needs ATK and mBRV. Kefka, Yuffie, Emperor are all great - Paine provides an aura which is pretty interesting!
How-To-Play Notes
TLDR: Press buttons and watch HP damage numbers and the FR bonus fly! Vaan innately imperils enemies with his attacks so that he he always hits for weakness if not absorbed. His BRV gains also mean he will do HP damage even with little BRV damage dealt.
Red Spiral (S1) vs single target fights, White Whorl (S2) vs 2+ target fights!
Red Spiral (S1) gives ATK up buff, and is preferred vs single target due to more HP attacks on the target. On 2 target fights, it's on par with White Whorl, however if using many guaranteed launches stick with Red Spiral for the extra wall damage.
White Whorl (S2) gives mBRV up buff, and is preferred vs AoE due to the splash.
Both Red Spiral and White Whorl gain additional HP attacks after 1 use
Pyroclasm++ (EX) is now a very strong skill to use between LD buffs so don't shy away from using it! However it can't have a free skill use which means he can't get much FR HP DMG Bonus from it on his own Force Time.
Your AA, BRV Up Attack Advance, can be useful if you're not capped on BRV before wanting to use skills! Make sure it's used before a big damage phase (Force Time, Burst Phase, LD usage)
Earthen Eruption (LD) can be used right away or after getting skills to their enhanced versions as it provides Vaan with free skill uses and buffs!
Calamitous Orb (BT) grants the party decent buffs including an mBRV floor. This means that while it's active, party members cannot go below 20% of their mBRV stat which protects them from ALL BREAKS!
Rapid Chase (FR) is a strong single target attack that grants Vaan his LD buff and grants allies 2 free skill uses. It's force time asks for:
Acting member to stay above 20% mBRV after their turn +20%
Acting member uses a free ability use +40% (60% if Vaan does it)
These are upgraded with his FR boards (+30%, +50%/70%) which are very rewarding to those who can take advantage of it. Vaan can FR and quickly BT phase to raise the FR HP DMG Bonus very high to end the fight with FR echoes.
As usual, FR conditions that favor the owner means you want the owner to go as often as possible which for Vaan means his BT phase. Allies can take a couple turns after going into Vaan's force time thankfully thanks to the free skill uses he granted them. Vaan will not always get the most HP DMG bonus due to having to use LD at some point in BT phase.
Pair him with strong supports or linked attackers to capitalize on his BT phase. Selphie ally/friend unit or Raines LDCA to enable launches on enemies who can be yeeted.
Thanks to the party free skill uses, units with non-attacking skills can help raise the FR HP DMG Bonus quickly before Vaan's BT phase such as: Aerith, Yuna*, Y'shtola*, Ramza, Galuf, Hope*, etc.