| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| HP | 900 |
| Str | 115 |
| Mag | 91 |
| Skl | 118 |
| Spe | 171 |
| Lck | 75 |
| Def | 62 |
| Res | 159 |
Niles got dealt an unfortunate hand in terms of stats. He excels in Speed, which is by far the least important stat, and his Luck is atrocious, meaning his damage output will be quite a bit lower than his counterparts. He has quite good Resistance, but so does Sakura while also having vastly superior offenses.
After Promotion
Niles’s Bow: Winglsayer in 7th slot, True Power/Divine Favor in 8th
Lethality: Has (Luck/2)% chance of dealing 400% bonus damage on criticals.
Speed/Skill/Luck (+5 if A/A+, otherwise +3)
Note that the archer C1 charges by holding X.
C1: (0-2.9 seconds charged): The unit quickly shoots three arrows in a straight line, which do low damage. Pressing X repeatedly allows the unit to rapid-fire the arrows. This is a pretty hilarious move, especially with Astra. It’s not really optimal given its low damage, but as each hit stuns on hit, you can easily cheese officers with this move — it will just take a while.
C1 (3-5.9 seconds charged): The unit fires a green orb in a straight line, exposing a white stun gauge on all foes hit. Astra speeds up the charge, but you generally want to commit to the full charge for the bonus damage and yellow stun gauge.
C1 (6 seconds charged): The unit fires a large energy blast in an ‘X’ formation over a long distance, dealing a large amount damage and exposing a yellow stun gauge on all enemies hit. This attack is great if you have Armored Blow and Astra. Astra halves the charge time and Armored Blow prevents enemies from interrupting you. Use it from a long distance to set up a big critical strike, then rinse and repeat to your satisfaction. Just make sure you have the proper skills when using it, otherwise you will be a sitting duck.
C2: The unit uppercuts nearby enemies with their bow and slashes sideways. A pretty good launcher that combos very well with their naturally juggle-heavy regular string.
C3: The unit fires into the sky, calling down an arrow rain that does damage to all nearby enemies for about 3 seconds. This move is actually pretty decent. It can rack up some fairly significant damage on officers with good positioning.
C4: The unit jumps into the air and fires an arrow at the ground, unleashing a tornado that travels a long distance in front. This is a pretty neat long-range crowd clearer that also does moderate damage to officers in the path.
C5: The unit fires an orb of energy directly in front of them, which then rapid-fires arrows in three directions (forward and diagonally left and right). This combo absolutely decimates crowds and officer stun gauges. This is also your best option for increasing your warrior gauge quickly.
C6: The unit slices the area around them with wind, which then explodes outwards, damaging enemies in a moderate area around the unit. Compared to other C6s in the game, this one is a bit… underwhelming, in my opinion. Still, it does do a lot of damage to officers, so it has that going for it.
My choices in bold, locked skills in italics.
Strong I is a powerful skill and worth boosting. Armor Strike is strongly recommended, as you should be running Armored Blow anyway. However, if you prefer a lower risk playstyle, use a second combo skill instead. Choose the slayer skill you like the best. Plateslayer has an edge over the other two due to the high defense of armored enemies, but it is ultimately your choice. Choose a breaker skill, ideally one that does not overlap too heavily with your chosen slayer. Critical Focus is a great skill that allows Niles to break stun gauges easier. Finally, choose a 5k skill, with Pair Up+ being the most optimal choice.
| Skill | Hero | PC | AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astra | Ryoma | M | M |
| Luna | Chrom | M | M |
| Trample | Camilla | M | M |
| Luck +20* | Celica | M | M |
| Armored Blow | Tiki | S | – |
| Pass | Lyn | O | – |
| Lethality | Niles | S | – |
| Solidarity | Robin | O | S |
| Awakening | Lucina | O | – |
| Quick Wit | Linde | O | – |
| Dracoshield | Corrin | – | S |
| Live To Serve | Lianna | O | O |
Astra (Ryoma), Luna (Chrom), Trample (Camilla), Luck +20 (Celica)
Armored Blow (Tiki), Pass (Lyn), Lethality (Niles), Solidarity (Robin), Awakening (Lucina), Quick Wit (Linde)
C1.Solidarity (Robin), Dracoshield (Corrin), Live to Serve (Lianna)
Unfortunately, Niles is just straight-up outclassed by the other three archers. None of his stats stand out (aside from Speed, which is mostly useless), Takumi and Sakura already have legendary bows, and his own personal skill is leagues better on the three of them. Sakura in particular shares his niche of a high Resistance staff weilding archer but doesn’t sacrifice offensive power for it. With all that aside, if Niles is your favorite archer, by all means use him — he will certainly get the job done. If you’re strictly looking for the best archer, though, you’re better off with any of the other ones.