Balthus Builds and Best IVs

This is a ranking page for the hero Balthus - King of Grappling 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 Balthus.

Balthus Rating and Basic Information

Overall Rating	8.5/10
Reroll Ranking (excluding Inherit Skill)	Unranked (▶Reroll Ranking)
Ranking (including Inherit Skill)	B (▶FEH Tier List)

Balthus - King of Grappling: Basic Information

Color / Weapon Type / Move Type	Green / Axe / Infantry
Rarity	4 Star 3 Star
What Kind of Character Are They?	・Weapon buffs his Atk and Def and prevents enemy units from making a follow-up attack

Balthus Skills at 5★

Instant Axe+ Might: 14　 Range: 1 If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def+4 during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

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

Brazen Atk/Def 3 If unit’s HP ≤ 80% at start of combat, grants Atk/Def +7 during combat.

Close Guard 3 Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+4 during combat."

Balthus Best IVs

Recommended IVs

Stat	Superboon/Superbane	IV Recommendation
HP (19)		★★★★★
Atk (12)		★★★★★
Spd (5)		★★☆☆☆
Def (11)		★★★★☆
Res (7)		★★★☆☆

◯ = 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.

+Atk/-Spd

We recommend a +Atk/-Spd IV for Balthus.

His Atk is a superboon and he will benefit greatly from the increased stat for his one-shot potential.

Balthus' Spd is a superbane and is not important for his combat potential, so it's safe to take as a bane.

+Atk for a +10 Merge

We recommend taking +Atk as your boon of choice when building a +10 merged Balthus.

His extremely high Atk makes him a powerhouse that and makes him a good tank that can also pack a punch.

Balthus Best Builds

Physical Tank Balthus

HOT
： Steadfast Axe+ ： Reposition ： Bonfire ： -	： Atk/Def Solo 4 ： Quick Riposte 3 ： Atk/Def Menace ： Atk/Def Solo 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This build maximizes Balthus' Atk and Def to make him a formidable physical wall.

General Use / Budget Balthus

： Instant Axe+ ： Reposition ： Bonfire ： -

： Brazen Atk/Def 3 ： Chill Atk 3 ： Close Guard 3 ： Brazen Atk/Def 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This build uses most of Balthus' base kit together with some budget skills to maximize his purpose as a physical tank.

Source Heroes for All Skills

Balthus Stats

Stat Rankings

Neutral Stats at Lv. 40 (5★)
181
HP	47	Rank: 42/1171
Atk	42	Rank: 279/1171
Spd	24	Rank: 980/1171
Def	37	Rank: 156/1171
Res	31	Rank: 337/1171

Stat Values

Lv 40+10 Stats (5★)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
+10 Merges W/ Skill Bonuses	52	61	28	42	35	218
Lv.40 +10	52	47	28	42	35	204

Stats at Lv 40

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★- Adjusted for Skills	47	56	24	37	31	195
5★ Lv.40	47	42	24	37	31	181
4★ Lv.40	44	40	22	35	28	169
3★ Lv.40	43	38	21	33	27	162

Initial Stats (with Skills)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★ Lv.1	19	26	5	11	7	68
4★ Lv.1	18	22	4	11	6	61
3★ Lv.1	18	19	4	10	6	57

Stat Comparison of Similar Heroes

Hero	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
Ninja Diamant	40	48	38	48	25	199
Wind Tribe Fuga	42	46	30	45	30	193
Fargus	43	47	31	40	32	193
Nabata Altina	42	47	16	42	46	193
Young Lissa	40	47	17	47	42	193
Summer Dedue	45	46	20	47	35	193
Summer Donnel	46	45	31	40	30	192
Summer Vaike	46	47	33	42	24	192
Basilio	48	43	33	36	21	181
Balthus	47	42	24	37	31	181
Summer Caspar	46	41	36	30	23	176
Vyland	47	41	30	36	19	173
Groom Hinata	47	37	27	40	21	172
Barst	46	33	32	30	17	158
Arthur (Fates)	43	32	29	30	24	158
Bartre	49	36	25	33	13	156

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

Balthus Roles, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Balthus Roles

Balthus - King of Grappling 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

Balthus is a close physical attacker (range = 1). Therefore, when not accounting for the Weapon Triangle, the amount of damage he deals will be equivalent to his Atk minus the foe's Def stat.

Balthus Strengths

Instant Axe+ blocks follow-up attacks and grants stat bonuses in the player phase

Balthus' Instant Axe+ buffs are shown when he intiates combat with Maria.

If Balthus initiates combat, Instant Lance+ grants him Atk/Def+4 and prevents an enemy unit's follow-up attacks.

This improves his matchups against physical units and counters skills like Quick Riposte 3.

Brazen Atk/Def buffs his Atk and Def even more when he's damaged

When Balthus' HP is ≤ 80%, he gets Atk/Def+7.

This means that coupled with Instant Axe+, he'll have Atk/Def+11, which is a huge boost that will allow him to potentially one-shot units.

Balthus Weaknesses

Does not have a strong sense of uniqueness

Though Balthus debuts with Instant Axe+ and has decent stats, he seems like just another axe infantry unit out of several that are in the game.

Without a Prf weapon, he doesn't stand out from the rest of the other units and he lacks a sense of uniqueness.

We also recommend getting merges whenever possible.

Balthus is available in any new Heroes Summoning pool moving forward as of the Abyss & Múspell banner.

Should you Unlock Potential?

Should You Unlock Potential for this Hero?

We Recommend You Unlock Potential for Balthus - King of Grappling!

We recommend that you use Unlock Potential to bring Balthus - King of Grappling from 4 Stars to 5 Stars. Balthus - King of Grappling is a very useful physical tank axe, so we recommend you Unlock Potential for Balthus - King of Grappling if your team lacks a strong physical tank axe.

Unlock Potential Tier List

Balthus - List of Skills

Weapons

Skill Name	Might	Range	Effect	Learned At
Iron Axe	6	1	No Effect	3★
Steel Axe	8	1	No Effect	3★
Instant Axe	10	1	If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def+4 during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.	3★
Instant Axe+	14	1	If unit initiates combat, grants Atk/Def+4 during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.	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
Brazen Atk/Def 1	If unit’s HP ≤ 80% at start of combat, grants Atk/Def +3 during combat.	3★
Brazen Atk/Def 2	If unit’s HP ≤ 80% at start of combat, grants Atk/Def +5 during combat.	3★
Brazen Atk/Def 3	If unit’s HP ≤ 80% at start of combat, grants Atk/Def +7 during combat.	4★
Close Guard 1	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+2 during combat."	3★
Close Guard 2	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+3 during combat."	4★
Close Guard 3	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+4 during combat."	5★

Balthus as a Source Hero

Value of Skills	★★★★☆

All of Balthus' skills are inheritable!

1. Instant Axe+ is a powerful weapon for tanky axe units with high Atk and Def.
2. Ignis+ is a Special that again can be used for tanky physical damage units since the higher their Def, the more damage they deal.
3. Brazen Atk/Def 3 is good for tanky Vantage sweepers like Ares.
4. Close Guard 3 is a good support skill for melee teams.

• List of Source Heroes
• The Best Fodder Units

How to Get Balthus / Illustrations / Voice Actor / Quotes

How to Get Balthus

Obtain Through Regular Summon

Balthus 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)	Aaron Hedrick
Illustrator	Maji
Appears In	Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Illustration

FEH: Related Guides

See All Green Heroes

▶︎Return to the Green Heroes Page

All Types of Green Weapons

Close-Range	Ranged
Axe	Green Tome
Green Breath	Green Dagger
Green Beast	Green Bow