Athena Builds and Best IVs

This is a ranking page for the hero Athena - Borderland Sword 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 Athena.

Athena Rating and Basic Information

Overall Rating	7.5/10
Reroll Ranking (excluding Inherit Skill)	Unranked (▶Reroll Ranking)
Ranking (including Inherit Skill)	C (▶FEH Tier List)

Athena - Borderland Sword: Basic Information

Color / Weapon Type / Move Type	Red / Sword / Infantry
Rarity	4 Star 3 Star
What Kind of Character Are They?	・Weapon increases damage from special ・High Spd stat ・Can raise her Atk/Def before initiating combat

Athena Skills at 5★

Concealed Blade Might: 16　 Range: 1 Deals +10 damage when Special triggers.

Moonbow Cooldown Count = 2 Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.

Sturdy Blow 2 If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def +4 during combat.

Sword Exp. 3 If unit survives, all sword users get 2x EXP. (If similar skill effects also used, only highest multiplier applied. )

Athena Best IVs

Recommended IVs

Stat	Superboon/Superbane	IV Recommendation
HP (17)		★★★☆☆
Atk (20)		★★★★☆
Spd (10)		★★★★★
Def (8)		★★★☆☆
Res (5)		★☆☆☆☆

◯ = 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.

+Spd/-Res

Athena's best IVs are +Spd and -Res. Athena's Spd stat is already quite impressive, so an increased Spd means she gains an almost certain follow-up attack, and can deal out specials without much cooldown. +Spd is very useful to ensure that she can always get a follow-up attack and subsequential special in every battle. Her Res is pretty low and is of less importance so you can safely take it as her bane.

+Spd for a +10 Merge

We recommend a +Spd IV when merging Athena to 10. This is for the same reasons as above. This will improve her rate of follow-up attacks and make her less susceptible to hostile follow-up attacks. This will allow her to stack tons of pure damage through Wo Dao+ or Concealed Blade as follow-up attacks make up for more frequent Special activations.

Athena Best Builds

Dao of Wrath Athena

： Concealed Blade ： Reposition ： Luna ： -

： Fury 4 ： Wrath 3 ： Joint Drive Atk ： Atk/Spd Solo 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This is a build based around Wrath. Wrath will enhance the effects of Wo Dao+ / Concealed Blade, which will add an additional 20 damage when her special triggers, dealing a ton of damage to her foes.

Pure Damage Athena

HOT
： Concealed Blade ： Reposition ： Ruptured Sky ： -	： Atk/Spd Solo 4 ： Null Follow-Up 3 ： Joint Drive Atk ： Atk/Spd Solo 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This build is based around boosting Athena's firepower. The aim is to max out her Atk capability and OHKO her foes. Wo Dao+ / Concealed Blade allows her to deal additional damage with her Special, while Null Follow-Up 3 neutralizes any effects that stop her from making any follow-up attacks.

Source Heroes for All Skills

Athena Best Weapon Refinement

Effect of Athena's Refined Weapon

Exclusive Weapon Effect from Refining (Special Effect Type)
Concealed Blade	SP: 400
Might: 16　Range: 1　HP: +3 Deals +10 damage when Special triggers. If unit's HP ≤ 75% and unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack. ：500　：200

We recommend the Special Effect Refine for Concealed Blade

The special effect refine grants a built-in Desperation effect that is perfect for Athena, a unit that is looking to land follow-up attacks on foes. This justifies the use of Wrath 3 as you will most likely be putting her in those mid-HP ranges.

Weapon Refinery Tier List

About the Weapon Refinery

Athena Stats

Stat Rankings

Neutral Stats at Lv. 40 (5★)
156
HP	36	Rank: 865/1089
Atk	31	Rank: 840/1089
Spd	38	Rank: 273/1089
Def	27	Rank: 530/1089
Res	24	Rank: 626/1089

Stat Values

Lv 40+10 Stats (5★)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
+10 Merges W/ Skill Bonuses	41	51	43	32	28	195
Lv.40 +10	41	35	43	32	28	179

Stats at Lv 40

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★- Adjusted for Skills	36	47	38	27	24	172
5★ Lv.40	36	31	38	27	24	156
4★ Lv.40	34	28	36	26	22	146
3★ Lv.40	33	27	34	24	21	139

Initial Stats (with Skills)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★ Lv.1	17	23	10	8	5	63
4★ Lv.1	16	15	10	8	4	53
3★ Lv.1	16	14	9	7	4	50

Stat Comparison of Similar Heroes

Hero	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
Fallen Celica	40	35	35	27	26	163
Mia	38	32	40	28	25	163
Ayra	41	33	37	31	21	163
Leif	40	32	38	30	23	163
Soleil	37	38	35	28	24	162
Hana	37	35	36	23	26	157
Athena	36	31	38	27	24	156

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

Athena Roles, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Athena Roles

Athena - Borderland Sword 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

Athena is a close ranged physical attacker. Therefore, when not accounting for the Weapon Triangle, the amount of damage she deals will be equivalent to her Atk minus the foe's Def stat. Additionally, her skills will grant her Atk and Def buffs whenever she initiates combat.

Athena's Strengths

High Speed Stat

Athena's biggest strength lies in her very high Spd stat. Her Spd is among the top of all units, allowing her to gain follow-up attacks over a large number of foes.

High Firepower with Wo Dao+ / Concealed Blade and Moonbow

Athena's bread and butter. A damage-boosted Moonbow.

Athena's weapon skills Wo Dao+ / Concealed Blade deals +10 damage when her special triggers. This works great with her low cooldown special Moonbow, which means +10 pure damage every time it triggers. This can stack a lot and deal massive total damage in a single map.

Atk and Def buffs from Sturdy Blow 2

Her default skill Sturdy Blow 2 gives her Atk/Def +4 when she initiates combat. Increasing her offensive and defensive capabilities lets her take down more foes and increases her own survivability.

Level up Sword Allies with Sword Exp.

Her C skill Sword Exp. is useful for training other units. As long as she survives, sword allies gain extra exp., meaning she can help you train allies more efficiently.

Athena's Weaknesses

Initally does not have much power

Athena's base Atk stat is rather average among sword users. It is important to make use of the additional damage inflicted through Wo Dao+ and Concealed Blade.

Low HP

Athena also has rather low HP for a close attacker. Her Spd is quite high meaning she can usually avoid getting doubled, but a foe with a skill like Swordbreaker 3 that grants a guaranteed follow-up can totally destroy her. Additionally, her Res stat is nothing special either, so it is not too difficult for a strong mage to come along and OHKO her.

Should you Unlock Potential?

Should You Unlock Potential for this Hero?

We Recommend Unlocking Potential for Athena - Borderland Sword!

We recommend that you use Unlock Potential to bring Athena - Borderland Sword from 4 Stars to 5 Stars. Athena - Borderland Sword is very useful as a Close-range attacker, so you may find using Unlock Potential on Athena - Borderland Sword helpful if your team lacks a party member with this role.

Unlock Potential Tier List

Athena - List of Skills

Weapons

Skill Name	Might	Range	Effect	Learned At
Iron Sword	6	1	No Effect	3★
Steel Sword	8	1	No Effect	3★
Wo Dao	9	1	Deals +10 damage when Special triggers.	3★
Wo Dao+	13	1	Deals +10 damage when Special triggers.	5★
Concealed Blade	16	1	Deals +10 damage when Special triggers.	5★

Assists

This Hero has no Assist skills that can be learned.

Specials

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
New Moon	(Cooldown Count = 3) Resolve combat as if foe suffered Def/Res -30%.	3★
Moonbow	(Cooldown Count = 2) Treats foe's Def/Res as if reduced by 30% during combat.	4★

Passives

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
Armored Blow 1	Grants Def +2 during combat if unit initiates the attack.	3★
Sturdy Blow 1	If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def +2 during combat.	4★
Sturdy Blow 2	If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def +4 during combat.	5★
Sword Exp. 1	If unit survives and uses a sword, unit gets 1. 5x EXP. (If similar skill effects also used, only highest multiplier applied. )	3★
Sword Exp. 2	If unit survives, all sword users get 1. 5x EXP. (If similar skill effects also used, only highest multiplier applied. )	3★
Sword Exp. 3	If unit survives, all sword users get 2x EXP. (If similar skill effects also used, only highest multiplier applied. )	4★

Athena as a Source Hero

Value of Skills	★★★★☆

Inherit Wo Dao+ and Moonbow

Athena possesses the highly valuable skills Wo Dao+, Moonbow and Sword Exp. 3. If you have no intention of developing your 4★ Athena, you should absolutely convert her into a Combat Manual to have these skills on standby.

Sturdy Blow 2 also has some inheritance value especially if you plan to inherit Sturdy Impact and another 3 piece skill from someone like Tibarn

e.g. having Sturdy Blow 2 beforehand will allow you to inherit both Sturdy Impact and Chill Atk 3 from Tibarn.

• List of Source Heroes
• The Best Fodder Units

How to Get Athena / Illustrations / Voice Actor / Quotes

How to Get Athena

Obtain Through Regular Summon

Athena is a Hero who can be pulled from any summon.

Note: Not currently a featured hero in any Summon events.

Current Focuses and Which You Should Pull From

Voice Actor and Illustrator Information

Voice Actor (English)	Cristina Valenzuela
Illustrator	Miyuu (深遊)
Appears In	Fire Emblem: 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