Loretta

Loretta as an evasion tank in Part 2 on Hard

Loretta can serve as an evasion frontline unit in Part 2 on Hard. Combine her full-HP ability, an Avoid weapon, and favorable terrain. She can block attacks some armored units struggle to survive, but position according to enemy Hit. Let her hold enemies while other damage dealers defeat bosses.

At level 47, her Avoid still needs terrain#

This run used a level 47 Armored Ornius Rider with Whirlwind Blade and Phantom Ring, showing 68 Avoid on the status screen. Steadfast and Peak Form+ each added 10 in combat, bringing her to 88. Enemy Hit at this stage ranged from roughly 90 to 130. Even 88 Avoid leaves some enemies able to hit her, so her displayed stats alone do not justify sending her into any enemy formation by herself.

Her five equipped ability slots were Swords Lv. 3, Read the Winds, Knightly Senses, Peak Form+ and Sense Threat. Her personal ability Steadfast and mount ability Paired Stealth were separate and did not occupy those five slots. The screenshot showed six inventory items: Whirlwind Blade, Levin Sword+1, Greatsword+1, Phantom Ring, Concoction and Antitoxin. She mainly held enemies off with Whirlwind Blade, switching to Levin Sword when damage was insufficient.

Obtain the weapons and accessory, learn the abilities, and complete mastery before assembling this setup.

Stack each condition at full HP#

Steadfast requires at least half HP and grants Avoid +10. Peak Form+ requires full HP and grants Attack +3 and Avoid +10. The former gives her a personal foundation for evasion tanking, while the latter makes maintaining full health central to the setup. After taking damage, she loses the full-HP bonus even if she remains above half HP. Reassess enemy Hit rather than using the previous forecast.

Swords Lv. 3 provides baseline Hit and Avoid while wielding a sword. Archers often have high Hit, so Read the Winds specifically improves Avoid against bows. Knightly Senses improves Avoid against spears; its individual benefit is modest, but it stacks with the other conditions. Sense Threat, the mastery ability for Armored Ornius Rider, increases Avoid against effective attacks. In this run, it improved her matchup against spears while riding an ornius. The mount ability Paired Stealth in Cai's story combines with favorable terrain to make positioning even more rewarding.

Healing therefore does more than restore her margin for error: it restores the full set of evasion conditions for her next engagement. Fill her HP first, then check the enemy's weapon type and whether it deals effective damage to determine which of her five equipped abilities will activate.

Thickets make counterattacks more reliable#

Early Part 2 has plenty of thickets, letting her bait enemies from tiles that increase Avoid. In one battle, a Dragoon wielding Silver Axe had 0 Hit against Loretta in a thicket. With terrain support, she could switch to the lower-Avoid Levin Sword and still counterattack reliably to defeat armored units.

Favorable terrain becomes scarcer in the middle of Part 2, making the setup noticeably harder to use. The Avoid she built earlier has not suddenly stopped working; she has lost the final modifier that suppressed the enemy's remaining Hit. When a map lacks a suitable position, bait fewer enemies at once and engage according to the actual combat forecast.

Healing tiles and defensive formations return later, giving the evasion frontliner room to work again. In combat on a defensive formation, even an enemy wielding Bolganone had 0 Hit. Against mixed groups of golems, mages and archers, use these positions to counterattack gradually and take offensive pressure off your allies.

Build Speed with a Wild Ornius in Cai's story#

The animal system in Cai's story is useful if you want to build Speed first. This run paired Ornius Rider with a Wild Ornius, reaching 75% Speed growth from her personal 55%, the class's 10% and the mount's 10%. Gaining 20 percentage points beyond her personal growth around level 10 makes early ornius training appealing.

This setup was adjusted partway through play. First obtain Ornius-riding certification and a mount, raise its bond, then put later level-ups into the mounted stage.

Fist combat is a possible later experiment: develop Speed through riding, then raise Avoid with Dodge Gauntlets and fist-class evasion abilities. Fist classes do not easily provide Speed growth at the same time, so connect the Speed-training stage to the final defensive class. The fist approach remains untested; the Part 2 clear used swords.

Hold enemies with Whirlwind Blade and fight armor with Levin Sword#

Whirlwind Blade offers more than damage: its Avoid +10 makes it part of her defensive setup. The trade-off is low damage, so Levin Sword serves a different purpose against high-Defense targets that need to be killed. Levin Sword sacrifices some Avoid, but on favorable terrain, the Loretta in this run still retained enough Avoid to counterattack Armored Knight with magic damage.

Phantom Ring lists Avoid +5 and Weight 3. Equipping it in this example raised actual Avoid by only 4. Weight also affects combat performance, so check the actual change on other characters.

An evasion gauntlet serving a similar purpose to Whirlwind Blade was also obtained during play, prompting consideration of a later fist build. No complete fist build was demonstrated in combat. The currently reproducible setup still combines a sword, ring, full HP, and terrain.

Blocking reinforcements and defeating bosses are separate jobs#

Some enemies are manageable without favorable terrain. In one battle, a Dragoon wielding a low-Hit throwing axe still displayed 0 Hit against Loretta on open ground, allowing her to hold reinforcements alone. Check the enemy’s current weapon and Hit before leaving her alone; other Dragoon enemies may differ.

Boss fights can expose insufficient damage. Dagda’s normal attack and Smash were both reduced to 0 Hit, but Whirlwind Blade also dealt no damage and could not even break the barrier. The evasion unit had done its job of absorbing attacks; other attackers still needed to break barriers and secure the kill. Switching to an axe for Might remains an idea, with Weight and ability compatibility untested.

Another late boss fight also allowed terrain to reduce enemy Hit to 0, while her own attack showed 100 Hit but 0 damage. She could crack the barrier, but the enemy also had automatic healing, so she still could not finish the battle alone. Successful evasion cannot replace meaningful damage, which is why her weapons need to retain two distinct roles.

She can also exhaust limited long-range spell and emplacement uses to ease the advance. Luring still depends on whether enemies choose to attack that position; they may stay away after you form up. When later Part 2 axe enemies hit harder and armored units struggle, this terrain-based evasion role supplies another defensive option.

Site guides

Build damage before relying on full-HP Avoid

Use Brigand to improve Strength first, then choose ground swords or Celestial Trooper. Avoid is reliable at high HP; teammates need to restore her to full promptly.

At level 35, full HP is required for the complete Avoid and Attack benefits. Both Strength and Magic need development, and Sword training remains useful. Celestial Trooper is a Part 3 option.

Class progression by stage#

Part 1: Choose physical or magic#

Build damage first. For physical offense, take Brigand at level 20 and Sword or Axe C to improve Strength. Keep training Sword for either a sword endpoint or a return to flight. Leveling only in winged classes for Speed can leave damage behind.

Alternative: Pugilist improves Strength and Speed together. Take Pugilist at level 20 and Gauntlet C. Master Attack, Get Back for Avoid +10 in the combat where you use an art. It contributes in the twenties, and you can stay in Pugilist at level 35; the cost is extra Gauntlet training.

Alternative: train magic directly. Take Shaman at level 20 and Black Magic C to develop Magic and Speed. Early black-magic uses are limited, so attack alongside teammates until spell uses and proficiency catch up. Train Sword C separately if you want a Levin Sword.

Equipment at this stage: Physical builds use a practical sword or gauntlets. Magic builds keep spells and prepare a Levin Sword as a later choice. Prepare equipment separately for each of the three routes.

Part 2: Complete the Avoid bonuses at level 35#

Avoid benefits change with level and HP

Avoid +10Initial Steadfast: active at half HP or higher; inactive below half HP

Attack +3Peak Form at level 20: active at full HP, with no extra 10 Avoid yet

Attack +3, Avoid +10Peak Form+ at level 35: active at full HP; together with Steadfast, full-HP Avoid totals +20

A physical fist route wanting swords and anti-flying bows can take Ranger at level 35 with Sword or Bow B after its unlock, preparing Sword S for Part 3 along the way. Without Ranger qualification, stay in Pugilist. Ranger does not automatically open at level 35 on every protagonist's route. Check the class page for its unlock.

For more Speed growth on a magic route, stay in Shaman at level 35 instead of switching to Ovate yet.

Arrange ranged healing on either route. Remove enemies that can hit her, then restore full HP before the next round. Recalculate Avoid after taking damage.

Part 3: Flight or ground fists and white magic#

Physical flight: At level 45, Flying C, and Sword or Spear A, take Celestial Trooper after clearing the first segment. Lightning Reflexes mastery supports consecutive initiating attacks, but its own activation conditions still apply; full HP alone is not enough. Use physical swords for ordinary enemies, Levin Sword for high Defense, and Cleansing Blade for netherfiends, checking the forecast before switching.

Alternative: ground fists. At level 45, Gauntlet B, White Magic D, and the War Monk unlock, use War Monk. It emphasizes gauntlets and white magic and cannot use both black and white magic. Check whether you can keep using Levin Sword before switching. A magic-trained build needs different damage tools.

To keep black magic and Levin Sword, stay in a suitable magic class; choose War Monk if you want to emphasize Avoid instead. Another option is Dancer, using high Speed and Avoid for a refresh role. This changes her team role to support rather than main offense.

Divine classes add optional power. After Sword S, rotate through The Blade for Divine Insight (Speed +10) and The Eternal for Divine Might (Strength +10), using qualification items from Part 3's fourth segment. Free the slots afterward. Add these after the main route is functional.

Heal before taking the next round#

Draw attacks from within healing coverage, checking enemy Hit and damage first. Recheck whether skills remain active after losing HP: Engage at full HP, heal to full, then take the next round. In flight, avoid or remove archers and high-accuracy enemies first.

Recruitment details#

Reserve 3 Iron Swords early. Build the support needed on your route, then negotiate at its Renown threshold. Requirements differ by route. See the Loretta recruitment page.

Choose one of swords, fists, or magic first#

• Full-HP Avoid +20 arrives at level 35. Level 20 Peak Form only adds Attack.
• Build damage early. Choose either improving Strength or switching to magic.
• Train Sword, Gauntlet, Black Magic, and Flying on separate branches. Choose subjects for the final role.
• War Monk cannot use black magic. Equip weapons and spells according to the new class's permissions.