Cai from Armored Ornius Rider to The CavalierMinor spoilers

Original video: Cai’s best classes and equipment | English video creator Jay Dunna

Cai follows a mounted hybrid path: begin with Armored Ornius Rider and Red Meganius, prioritize Dragoon mastery for accuracy at advanced tier or choose Caladrius, then enter master-class Orichaldia with The Cavalier as the destination. Attack mainly with lances, use Levin Sword and magic against high Defense, and use Blaze Arts for area damage and Underworld-flame terrain.

Dark magic works without becoming the main attack#

Cai has balanced personal growths: 45% Strength and 40% Magic, supporting physical and magical damage. But his dark spells are Fire, Thunder, Bolganone, and Thoron, without a standout high-tier centerpiece. Investing everything in pure dark magic underuses him. White magic offers Heal, Nosferatu, Seraphim, Recover, and Warp for broader utility.

Magic still matters. Underworld-flame abilities scale with it, and Levin Sword turns it into two-tile attacks. This mounted path uses physical weapons primarily and magical options for coverage, rather than treating Magic as useless.

Red Meganius develops Strength early#

I prefer early Armored Ornius Rider with Red Meganius. The mount adds 15 percentage points to Strength growth and 5 each to Dexterity and Defense, accumulating through levels. Compared with starting ordinary Light Cavalry and assigning Io’s horse later, this exploits Cai’s capture resources sooner.

Armored Ornius Rider also offers worthwhile mastery, Sense Threat: Avoid +20 in combat against attacks effective or super-effective against you. Ornius crosses walls for more flexible paths than ground cavalry. Growths, mastery, and obstacle crossing together justify staying in this mounted-bird line.

Another development option is to find extra Mini Bow and use Charioteer for doubled mount growths. That needs its own weapon and mount preparation and is not mandatory for this Armored Ornius path.

Learn Besieger from Dragoon first#

At advanced tier, prioritize Dragoon, at least until learning Besieger. Its Hit +20 against enemies on favorable terrain handles targets hiding in thickets. Once mastered, you can equip it in another class. The goal is lasting accuracy utility, not merely the current class’s stats.

Caladrius is another sound choice. It uses dark magic, adds 10 percentage points of Magic growth, and carries Levin Sword. Becoming Caladrius does not mean casting every attack. Keep using weapons while developing Magic for Blaze Arts and magic swords. You can also retain Red Meganius for Strength growth.

Cataphract looks suitable too. Armored Movement +2, personal Movement, and mount Movement together prevent it being simply immobile. But unlocking it requires Theodora’s story first, and it sacrifices Speed, Magic, and Resistance growths. It is less attractive for retaining Blaze Arts and hybrid offense.

Orichaldia leads to a cavalry divine class#

Several master classes fight well; the question is whether to retain lances. High Savant and Battlemaster lack lance access, so this plan uses Orichaldia before The Cavalier. Its mastery art, Fierce Spear, prevents enemy follow-ups during that art’s combat. This is a selected Combat Art effect, not a permanent passive.

Great Knight also has value: armored movement and Fierce Shield mastery, with a 50% chance to halve damage during combat you initiate. This build instead favors Orichaldia’s overall growths. The video compares total growth modifiers of 55 and 35; these totals are not bonuses to every stat individually.

For Dragoon-style flying mobility, continue into Bau Lord. This plan chooses cavalry for The Cavalier: Golden Ride removes cavalry effectiveness and super-effectiveness, Divine Dexterity mastery adds Dexterity +10, and high Movement suits Cai’s travel between fronts.

Cai's personal Movement bonus is normally +1 and becomes +2 during Overblaze. A Movement-boosting mount extends his reach further. The Cavalier's base Movement is 8; do not mistake a range already boosted by personal and mount effects for the class's base value.

Change horses to address weaknesses#

Once in horse cavalry, Ferghanan Horse improves Defense growth and Monoceros improves Resistance growth, each by 10 percentage points. Io’s Rocinan is another option, using Paired Run for mobility. I prefer extra Movement here rather than locking in one horse for Canto.

Separate this from early Red Meganius training: first build Strength with that mount, then change horses for your class and weaknesses. Orichaldia need not abandon Resistance entirely for higher physical Protection. If you want to survive another mage hit, prioritize a Resistance-growth mount.

Keep a Levin Sword alongside lances#

Star Spear’s Combat Art is expensive: about three consecutive uses require repairs. Theodora’s Battalions help obtain forging materials, but repair before deployment instead of finding an empty weapon at a crucial target.

Enough Magic for Levin Sword and Underworld flames does not guarantee one-hit kills on every armored enemy. Effective weapons give another answer when magical damage falls short. Switching for each enemy works better than carrying only the highest-might lance.

Keep Flamekeeper equipped#

Learned at level 35, Flamekeeper is one of Cai’s best abilities to retain. While he is deployed, all allies ignore Underworld flames, and allies attacked while standing in them take half damage. His flames therefore create durable frontline positions as well as damaging areas.

Later, retain Cavalry Move to reduce cavalry terrain costs and Besieger for accuracy against favorable-terrain targets. If Resistance is lacking, Aegis offers a 20% chance to halve magical damage. Do not plan engagements as though it always activates. Keep lance-related skills too.

Cai’s mount resources and personal mobility are exceptional; a dedicated pure-mage build disperses those advantages. Let mounting provide travel and main-weapon offense, Magic provide Levin Sword and Blaze Arts, and Flamekeeper help the whole team engage. Those are the roles this hybrid path preserves.