Hey everyone.

I’m actually surprised we got the FMA collab at all after it being delayed for 2 months lol. Well, here we are with some very decent GL buffs to boot. But are these enough to get them to the top? The answer is sadly no but also yes, depending on what comparison you’re looking at. But let’s check out the basics first before we get to the math stuff! The biggest buff is the 600 Static ATK they gain from their passive. It’s the only saving grace for them, really.

Edward & Alphonse Elric Overview

In Base Form Edward & Alphonse Elric are just your generic Stardust Ray chainers with some pretty sweet buffs. Soul Transmutation is pretty good on themselves as it buffs 50% earth amp as well as 300% ATK/MAG to the party. Would’ve been cooler if they amped the whole party though. Via his activation buff, he also gains 200% LB damage, which I’ll take into account when calcing his damage later down the line. Other than that: He’s also got a 130% Earth Imperil, which makes him kind of a earth specialist. Combine him with Faisy or Melia and you’ve got yourselves a potent Earth team for trials as the former two can party amp earth.

In their Brave Shift Edward & Alphonse Elric have a one huge gimmick: Imbue removal while also imbuing with a specific element. On top of that they also amp the specific element (Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth) by 15% P/M. However, everything comes with a small downside: In the process of buffing, they also imperil themselves with the respective element by 50%. So keep that in mind when facing bosses that attack with said element. Sadly, in Brave Shift the Brothers are losing their 130% Earth Imperil and use a 120% Lightning Imperil instead, meaning they’re kind of useless for Water and Fire in general. Their Brave Shift LB clocks in at a 145x Mod, meaning it’s just as strong/weak as Lassgen’s LB.

TMR/STMR Evaluation

The TMR is coming a bit late for my liking. We just got 2 copies of Supreme Victor off of the GLEX event for King Behemy. This materia provides 75% Demon AND Human Killer alike, meaning Edward & Alphonse Elric’s TMR at 75% Demon Killer only is kind of … meh. We’re getting Avalanche Tifa in the near future who’ll benefit from the 30% ATK (Fist needed for that) but other than that? Ehhhh, kind of okay’ish. We’ve already gotten so much Demon Killer with just physical increase, it’s kind of a moot point. If it were P/M, the TMR would be plain awesome. If you’re missing Force Mysterion (Lunera STMR, 100% P/M Demon Killer) it’s good, nonetheless.

Their STMR is an Accessory with 45 ATK/SPR and 50% Resistances to the aforementioned elements, so Fire, Water, Lightning, and Earth. It also decreases MP used by 50% for the Brothers. The latter part is kind of whatever, while the resistances are pretty sweet for resistance tetris in Trials and DV alike. The ATK/SPR on the other hand kind of low but that’s the tradeoff you gotta make, I guess. Still a very good STMR in my book.

Vision Card Evaluation

Called “The Portal of Truth”, let’s be real here for a second and speak the truth. You’re not going to use their own VC. With their global buffs, all you need is 2x Ultima Blade and one more 50% LB materia to max their LB damage. In that case, you’re better off using Riku’s, Noctis’s or Ardyn’s VC with 110 ATK and more ATK% due to using Swords. The stats on the VC are good, nonetheless. 100 ATK, 60 ATK% (no restrictions) and 50% LB damage for FMA only makes it a good card but … you don’t want it. That’s the issue.

Potential Builds & Damage Calculations

Heads up! I’ll be looking at a best in slot build here. It’s easier to do and I can’t say what people have or don’t have. Rest assured that the result won’t significantly change when I give everyone equally good/bad budget gearing. With that out of the way, let’s do it.

Please take a look at this screenshot as it is important to understand where all these numbers are coming from. Just a small note: I had to use the not updated version of the builder, which means I had to use more LB materia than necessary (JP version has 50% passive LB, GL has 150% so I had to use a few more materia slots).If you wanna play around with the builder, you can follow this very link and set the equipment to what you got yourself. It’ll also – hopefully – include all the changes I used. The builder may or may not display the ATK correctly for and Noctis. If you’re seeing that the ATK is too low, press F12 on your keyboard, go to console and insert this handy code: “builds[1].unit.skills.push({atk:700})” – without the “”. Close the console. Once you change a single piece of equipment, the builder will automatically add 700 ATK. If you’re wearing 1 Ultima Blade, add 350 ATK. I also added 600 Static Attack to the Elric Brothers because that’s a GL buff, too.

A few assumptions:

• 90% DEF Break
• 300% ATK buff
• Total of 104% Amp for Edgar, Ardyn, Lassgen, and Elric Brothers (45% 25% from Bartz Faris and on top of it 20% from DV Wind Stage), and 74% for Noctis (45% 25%, 20% Light Amp)
• We’re facing a 22.5k DEF DV Boss with 50% passive DEF, 60% Ele Resistance
• 300% Killers, no additionall killer buff (just scales equally for everyone, so no point)
• 130% Imperil (125% actually for Noctis)
• Spear and Sword Imperil at 25%

Here are the results at EX 3 shown in millions:

If you’d like to see a screenshot with a few more details, here it is: Picture of it

Or in relative numbers:

The Elric Bros are 27.73% stronger than Lassgen on a DV Wind team. The difference is higher when you’re not on a wind team but Earth instead as the Bros have their own 50% amp. The comparison with our Dragoons may seem moot at first but keep in mind: You want the highest damage possible in Dark Visions. And that is certainly not coming from LB finishers currently. In fact, the only saving grace for the Bros is the 600 static ATK they gained from the Global Buff. Taking that away, they’d be only 8.29% stronger than Lassgen (850.09m damage for the Elric Brothers vs 784.97m Lassgen).

How do they fare in the meta?

Edward & Alphonse Elric are not bad by any means. It’s just that for DV, they’re heavily outclassed by our current Dragoons. And even Edgar at that. In terms of LB finishing, they’re the top dog around which is nice. When it comes to utility, they’re very very good and for trials they’ll be a staple unit that you want to bring. The latest trial, Erinyes, is a good example of where the Brothers would technically shine. The boss imbues your party with an element it is naturally immune to. Take it away from your team and imbue them with a better element – gg. Their elemental utility is what makes them good and may secure them a spot in a few DV bosses. If you don’t have Noctis or Ardyn for DV, you can and probably will make good use of them instead of or in combination with Lassgen.

Should you pull?

I think they’re still worth pulling for, all things considered. While we did get a better version of their TMR for free two weeks ago, it’s still a decent one. Their damage is low compared to Dragoons but Dragoons got the upside of hitting twice on hit so it is an unfair advantage so to speak. Their damage is top notch when you only consider LB finishers so they’ll love Zidane and his STMR that provides 300% LB boost to everyone. Now keep in mind this won’t make them surpass the Dragoons but it’s still more damage done. I personally pulled for them mainly due to their elemental flexibility and high, very high, sustained dps. I haven’t touched upon that in the review but yeah, their sustained is huge and they’ll be great for Trials.

Feedback is always appreciated!

Cheers

Livedili