Gharnef Builds and Best IVs

This is a ranking page for the hero Gharnef - Dark Pontifex from the game Fire Emblem Heroes (FEH). Read on to learn the best IVs (Individual Values), best builds (Inherit Skill), weapon refinement, stats at Lv 40, and more for Gharnef.

Gharnef Rating and Basic Information

Overall Rating	8.5/10
Reroll Ranking (excluding Inherit Skill)	N/A (▶Reroll Ranking)
Ranking (including Inherit Skill)	C (▶FEH Tier List)

Gharnef - Dark Pontifex: Basic Information

Color / Weapon Type / Move Type	Red / Red Tome / Infantry
Rarity	4 Star 3 Star
What Kind of Character Are They?	・Can only be obtained as a reward from a Grand Hero Battle ・Can prevent all non-magic foes from counterattacking on the 3rd turn ・Lowers the Atk of the foe with the highest Atk

Gharnef Skills at 5★

Imhullu Might: 14　 Range: 2 Grants Res +3. At the start of turn 3, deals 5 damage to non-magic foes within 5 columns centered on unit, and inflicts status on those foes preventing counterattacks through their next actions.

Ignis Cooldown Count = 4 Boosts damage dealt by 80% of unit’s Def.

Mirror Stance 2 Grants Atk/Res +4 during combat if foe initiates combat.

Chill Atk 3 At the start of each turn, inflicts Atk -7 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.

Gharnef Best IVs

Recommended IVs

Stat	Superboon/Superbane	IV Recommendation
HP (16)		★★★☆☆
Atk (22)		★★★★★
Spd (10)		★★★★☆
Def (5)		★★★☆☆
Res (9)		★★☆☆☆

◯ = Stat gains +4 with a superboon, ✕= Stat goes down by -4 with a superbane, - = No assets or flaws

See the IV Checker for All Units

Trait Fruits—How to Change IVs

When using an Ascendant Floret, we recommend getting the next superboon if it fits the hero. If not, consider what stat your hero needs most.

Neutral IVs by default!

As a hero obtainable only through Grand Hero Battle, Gharnef will always have neutral IVs by default. The only way to access IVs for this unit is through using Trait Fruits.

+Atk/-Res

The best IVs for Gharnef are+Atk and -Res. This IV maximizes the damage Gharnef can deal. With his weapon skill effect, he can take out a lot of enemies when the AoE nuke comes off. His Res is of less importance so it can be safely taken as a bane.

+Spd for a +10 Merge

We recommend a +Spd IV when merging Gharnef to 10. At +10 Merges, Gharnef's Atk will reach such high levels that pushing it up higher is a waste, considering he has access to Mirror Stance 2 and Imhullu. At this point, it would be better to opt with a +Spd IV instead to help him take less follow-up attacks and allow him to make some follow-up attacks on his own. With it he will reach 41 Spd which is at a range where he can score lots of follow-up attacks if he gets support buffs.

Gharnef Best Builds

Res Tank Gharnef

HOT
： Imhullu ： Reposition ： Moonbow ： -	： Mirror Stance 3 ： Lull Atk/Res 3 ： Pulse Smoke 3 ： Mirror Stance 2 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This is a build for Gharnef that makes him a tank against magic users. Pulse Smoke 3 slows enemy Specials, while stacking Mirror Stance will boost his Atk and Res so he can tank better.

Budget Gharnef

： Imhullu ： Draw Back ： Ignis ： -

： Mirror Stance 2 ： Chill Atk 3 ： Res Smoke 3 ： Distant Def 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This is a budget build for Gharnef with minimal Skill Inheritance. Res Smoke will debuff enemy units, while Distant Def 3 will pair well with Mirror Stance in boosting his defenses when attacked.

Refined- Premium Gharnef

HOT
： Imhullu ： Reposition ： Moonbow ： -	： Atk/Spd Push 4 ： Lull Spd/Res 3 ： Atk/Spd Menace ： Swift Sparrow 2 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This premium build takes advantage of Imhullu's refine effect which prevents non-magic foes from counterattacking. It also focuses on building up Gharnef's speed and damage even further.

Source Heroes for All Skills

Gharnef Best Weapon Refine

Effect of Gharnef's Refined Weapon

Exclusive Weapon Effect from Refining (Special Effect Type)
Imhullu	SP: 400
Might: 14　Range: 2　HP: Grants Res+3. At the start of turn 3, deals 7 damage to non-magic foes within 5 columns centered on unit and inflicts status on those foes preventing counterattacks through their next actions. If unit initiates combat or unit is not adjacent to an ally, grants Atk/Spd+5 to unit during combat. At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd+5 to unit during combat, and also, if foe is non-magic, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by 30% and foe cannot counterattack. ：500　：200

We recommend the Special Effect Refine for Imhullu

Refined Imhullu grants additional Atk/Spd and grants 30% damage reduction and a sweep effect against non-magic foes.

This refine gives Gharnef a great niche against non-magic foes by allowing safe attacks and dealing chip damage as well.

Gharnef Stats

Stat Rankings

Neutral Stats at Lv. 40 (5★)
152
HP	38	Rank: 714/1089
Atk	30	Rank: 882/1089
Spd	34	Rank: 491/1089
Def	27	Rank: 530/1089
Res	23	Rank: 687/1089

Stat Values

Lv 40+10 Stats (5★)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
+10 Merges W/ Skill Bonuses	43	49	39	31	30	192
Lv.40 +10	43	35	39	31	27	175

Stats at Lv 40

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★- Adjusted for Skills	38	44	34	27	26	169
5★ Lv.40	38	30	34	27	23	152
4★ Lv.40	35	28	32	24	21	140
3★ Lv.40	34	26	30	23	20	133

Initial Stats (with Skills)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★ Lv.1	16	22	10	5	9	62
4★ Lv.1	15	17	10	4	5	51
3★ Lv.1	15	13	9	4	5	46

Stat Comparison of Similar Heroes

Hero	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
Nabata Tormod	40	43	45	25	30	183
Young Robin (M)	40	46	45	36	16	183
Hayato	39	43	45	24	31	182
Sage Nino	38	41	46	20	32	177
Rearmed Ophelia	39	44	36	25	32	176
Hugh	40	38	42	27	24	171
Pelleas	43	40	36	21	31	171
Salem	41	38	36	18	38	171
Ewan	38	37	33	23	35	166
Azelle	41	37	39	26	23	166
Miranda	38	36	35	21	36	166
Nyx	36	42	40	19	28	165
Brave Lysithea	40	40	39	21	25	165
Erk	45	35	39	19	27	165
Gharnef	38	30	34	27	23	152
Bridal Tharja	39	35	35	21	21	151
Morgan (M)	37	33	34	20	26	150
Tharja	39	32	34	23	20	148
Arvis	33	34	31	17	33	148
Katarina	34	32	34	15	32	147

Note: Stats bonuses from skills are not taken into account.

Gharnef Roles, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Gharnef Roles

Gharnef - Dark Pontifex Roles
Close-Physical	Ranged-Physical	Close-Magic	Ranged-Magic
Physical Wall	Magic Wall	Effective Weapon	Movement Assist
Exclusive Skill	All-Range Counter	Recovery	Refresher
Legendary	Mythic	Duo / Harmonized	Resplendent

Gharnef is a ranged magic attacker (range = 2). Therefore, when not accounting for the Weapon Triangle, the amount of damage he deals will be equivalent to her Atk minus the foe's Res stat.

Gharnef Strengths

Disables Counterattacks for a turn

Imuhullu's AoE nuke at the third-turn deals 5 damage to all non-magic foes in 5 columns centered around him. That is a wide area and most maps are almost completely covered by this AoE. Additionally and more importantly, it disables enemy counterattacks until their next action. That is a great strategic advantage especially against units that are geared towards the enemy phase like Sothis and L!Ike.

Atk/Res Buff When Attacked

Gharnef's Mirror Stance grants him Atk/Res +6 when he is attacked by an enemy. It also inflicts -1 special cooldown charge on foe per attack. It gives Gharnef a bit more defense and counterattack power when it comes to squaring-up with magic units in the enemy phase.

Debuff a Strong Offensive Unit on Enemy Team

Chill Atk 3 inflicts -7 Atk on the enemy unit with the highest Atk stat. This is very important as it decreases the damage of one of the most powerful attackers on the opposite team. However, the debuff only lasts until their next action, so if they are granted another action through Galeforce or a refresher-assist skill, the debuff will cease and they can attack without the -7 Atk.

Another quirk of Chill Atk 3 is that it affects the enemy unit regardless of where Gharnef is.

Gharnef Weaknesses

Weapon Effect Activates in the 3rd Turn Only

Imhullu's AoE damage and status only kicks in at the start of the third turn only. This means that to take advantage of the damage and anti-counterattack status, you must be well-positioned starting in the 2nd turn as the damage can be easily made up for using heals and the anti-counterattack only lasts until foes' next action. This is especially tricky in Aether Raids where every turn counts.

Should you Unlock Potential?

Should You Unlock Potential for this Hero?

We Recommend Unlocking Potential for Gharnef - Dark Pontifex!

We recommend that you use Unlock Potential to bring Gharnef - Dark Pontifex from 4 Stars to 5 Stars. Gharnef - Dark Pontifex is very useful as a Red Tome-wielding attacker, so you may find using Unlock Potential on Gharnef - Dark Pontifex helpful if your team lacks a party member with this role.

Unlock Potential Tier List

Gharnef - List of Skills

Weapons

Skill Name	Might	Range	Effect	Learned At
Flux	4	2	No Effect	3★
Ruin	6	2	No Effect	3★
Fenrir	9	2	No Effect	3★
Imhullu	14	2	Grants Res +3. At the start of turn 3, deals 5 damage to non-magic foes within 5 columns centered on unit, and inflicts status on those foes preventing counterattacks through their next actions.	5★

Assists

This Hero has no Assist skills that can be learned.

Specials

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
Glowing Ember	(Cooldown Count = 4) Boosts damage dealt by 50% of unit’s Def.	3★
Ignis	(Cooldown Count = 4) Boosts damage dealt by 80% of unit’s Def.	4★

Passives

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
Warding Stance 1	If foe initiates combat, grants Res+2 during combat.	3★
Mirror Stance 1	Grants Atk/Res +2 during combat if foe initiates combat.	3★
Mirror Stance 2	Grants Atk/Res +4 during combat if foe initiates combat.	4★
Chill Atk 1	At the start of each turn, inflicts Atk -3 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.	3★
Chill Atk 2	At the start of each turn, inflicts Atk -5 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.	4★
Chill Atk 3	At the start of each turn, inflicts Atk -7 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.	5★

Gharnef as a Source Hero

Value of Skills	★★★☆☆

Inheriting Chill Atk 3

Gharnef can be used to inherit the skill Chill Atk 3. Take note that you can only get Gharnef from Grand Hero Battles or from using Heroic Grails. This means that the number of Gharnefs you can get is limited so please think carefully before fodderring him off!

• List of Source Heroes
• The Best Fodder Units

How to Get Gharnef / Illustrations / Voice Actor / Quotes

How to Get Gharnef

Obtain through a Grand Hero Battle

Gharnef is a Hero who, for a limited time, can be obtained through completing a Grand Hero Battle for the first time. They do not appear in regular summons. After the event has ended, they can be obtained by using Heroic Grails.

Voice Actor and Illustrator Information

Voice Actor (English)	DC Douglas
Illustrator	HACCAN
Appears In	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and New Mystery of the Emblem

Illustration

Quotes: Special Triggered

Special Triggered Quotes are voice lines that play upon activating a Special attack.

Lv 40 5★ Dialogue

Lv 40 5★ Dialogue become available when a hero attains Lv. 40 at 5★ rarity.

FEH: Related Guides

See All Red Heroes

▶︎Return to the Red Heroes Page

All Types of Red Weapons

Close-Range	Ranged
Sword	Red Tome
Red Breath	Red Dagger
Red Beast	Red Bow