Strong, courageous, a born leader with a keen sense of justice and fairness, and all this without being a complete dullard, Diamant embodies everything one would expect from the crown prince of a warrior nation. It comes as no surprise that his younger brother feels a great deal of pressure. Joining the story battle in Chapter 8, Diamant proves to be an exceptional front-line warrior right from the start. In this article, we will explore Diamant’s strengths and weaknesses, including his initial stats, maximum stats, and growth rates. We will also provide recommendations for the best classes and Emblem Rings for Diamant.
The Stats and Growth of Diamant
Diamant begins his journey as a Level 11 Lord, already primed and ready for advancement. His overall stats upon joining are quite impressive and may even exaggerate his true prowess. While his HP (75%) and DEF (40%) growth rates are impressive, his STR (30%), SPD (40%), and RES (25%) growth rates are somewhat lackluster. Despite this, none of these growth rates are low enough to become significant weaknesses. It is worth noting that Diamant will likely never excel in RES and is not the best candidate for AVO tanking. However, his exceptional strength, high HP, and DEF, along with the powerful class ability of his unique class, Successeur, make him a straightforward and formidable bruiser. In fact, his in-game reputation aligns quite well with his actual capabilities, which is truly commendable.
Optimal Classes for Diamant
Given Diamant’s average SPD, he is not well-suited for being an AVO tank. As a result, classes such as Wolf Knight and Griffin Knight are not recommended for him. Additionally, his low MAG growth makes him less suitable for casting classes. However, Diamant possesses a unique class, Successeur, which enhances his strengths and grants him the powerful class skill, Sol. If you choose not to utilize Diamant’s unique class, you might as well consider another character like Panette, who is capable of performing most of the tasks that Diamant can do, while also possessing a useful personal skill that grants her higher CRIT potential.
Successeur
Successeur represents Diamant’s advanced version of the Lord class, bestowing him with higher growth rates in HP (15%), STR (20%), DEX (10%), SPD (15%), DEF (15%), LCK (10%), and BLD (5%). Despite having a combined 55% SPD growth rate, he will only reach a similar speed to the fastest characters in the game, such as Chloé, Framme, and Lapis. These characters further benefit from their own class bonuses, which leave Diamant approximately 20% slower. While this may seem like a significant disadvantage, it is not insurmountable. Diamant will still possess a decent AVO score, although it may not be high enough to consistently evade attacks from the strongest enemies in the game, especially those wielding high-tier weapons like silver variants, resulting in HIT scores of 130+.
Diamant’s combined HP, SPD, and DEF make him sufficiently tanky against most adversaries, except for the swiftest and most potent spellcasters. While Successeur does not address his most evident weakness, low RES, it offers a remedy through its class skill, Sol. Sol provides a chance (dependent on DEX%) for Diamant to heal an amount equal to the damage he inflicts. Although his STR score is not exceptional, he is likely to recover a significant amount of HP whenever Sol activates. It is worth mentioning that Diamant’s DEX growth is not outstanding, possibly resulting in his DEX score remaining in the low to mid-20s even towards the end of the game. Consequently, Sol will only trigger around 20% to 25% of the time. It should be viewed as supplementary healing rather than a battle-changing ability.
Due to Diamant’s stat-dependence and potential variability, it may be necessary to adjust his loadout accordingly. If luck favors him and his DEX and DEF rolls high, equipping him with a Killer Sword and Killer Axe (Successeur is proficient in both, with a grade S and grade A, respectively) to increase critical hit chances could prove advantageous. If Diamant’s speed is lacking, a Brave Sword/Brave Axe might be necessary to ensure he can strike twice. Adding an Armor Slayer or Hammer to his arsenal will aid in dispatching armored foes. Enhancing his weapons with Emblems to bolster AVO or CRIT would be beneficial, and Diamant’s unusually high BLD score will counterbalance his modest SPD, allowing him to wield higher-damage weapons that faster characters may avoid.
Preeminent Emblem Rings for Diamant
Considering that Diamant is not an ideal AVO tank candidate, the usual choices such as Sigurd or Lyn can be disregarded. Instead, Diamant should focus on alternative means of survivability. As Sol’s activation depends on DEX and heals based on Diamant’s damage, priority should be given to boosting his STR and DEX.
Marth
Marth offers various boons that would greatly benefit Diamant. These include “Divine Speed” (increasing Diamant’s chances of activating Sol by providing an extra attack opportunity, even at partial damage) and “Break Defenses” (enabling Diamant to break through foes, granting an additional attack at 50% damage). While “Sword Agility” improves Diamant’s AVO, potentially providing an extra layer of protection when combined with Marth’s core AVO boosts, it could hinder a CRIT build for Diamant. Marth also provides decent boosts to STR, DEX, and SPD, which are all much-needed stats for Diamant.
Roy
The Emblem Ring that Diamant starts with is well-suited for him. “Hold Out” grants Diamant a decent chance of survival when his HP reaches 0, although it is arguably more effective for low HP units with a lower trigger threshold. “Lancereaver” allows Diamant to gain an advantage over lance-users without the need to switch to axes. “Advance” enables Diamant to strike from a distance, serving as a backup option if a Hand Axe is not available. Lastly, “Sword Power” increases damage output at the cost of AVO.
Edelgard
Beneficial for all warriors, Edelgard grants Diamant access to a range of weaponry and Gambits, along with a pure damage bonus from “Weapon Sync”. However, to take advantage of these benefits with any other Emblem besides Edelgard, Diamant would need to engage in combat. Additionally, “Bow Guard” is more suitable for an archer. While learning STR/DEX boost skills is an expensive endeavor, it would greatly benefit Diamant due to the synergy between those stats and Sol. Curiously, both Alcryst and Diamant require Emblem Edelgard to maximize their potential. Edelgard’s substantial boosts to STR and DEX make her the ideal candidate for enhancing Diamant’s Sol ability, both in terms of damage (leading to increased healing) and proc rate.
Optimal Skills for Diamant
In terms of skills, Diamant should initially learn and inherit the standard leveling skills: Lineage from Edelgard (substitutable with Mentorship from Byleth if needed) and Starsphere from Tiki. These skills can make the difference between Diamant being a good or excellent character, as they directly impact his STR, DEX, and SPD. As leveling becomes less of a priority, Diamant can benefit from Marth’s AVO+ or Sword Agility skills, which could potentially elevate him to the fringes of AVO tank status. However, unlike Chloé, Framme, Lapis, and Yunaka, Diamant should not be expected to dodge every attack. Nonetheless, evading approximately half of the incoming attacks is preferable to taking hits, especially from spells. If a more offensive approach is desired, learning Roy’s Sword Power and Edelgard’s STR/DEX+ abilities should be considered. The more damage Diamant deals, the more he heals through Sol, and the higher his DEX, the higher the chance of Sol activating.
Furthermore, Tiki’s Lifesphere provides an excellent passive healing option for Diamant. However, it may not be the best choice for him, as his primary strength lies in aggression rather than being an AVO tank. It might be more beneficial to save the Skill Points for other abilities and have a dedicated AVO tank in the form of a Griffin Knight accompanying or leading Diamant. This way, the Griffin Knight can utilize healing staves when Sol fails to provide adequate healing. Diamant’s impressive HP growth also synergizes well with Marth’s “Unyielding” skills, which come at a much lower cost than Lifesphere.
