Kouren is the second 5-star Warrior to be introduced to Octopath Traveler: COTC Global.
We now have 2 Warriors, 2 Dancers, 2 Scholars, 2 Merchants and 2 Thieves. This means a 5-star Hunter, Cleric, or Apothecary is coming next!
Tier List Overview of Kouren #
In my recently revamped role-based tier list of all units, Kouren scores a sweet double S rank for PDPS and as a Breaker.
His very high single target Sword damage and Light damage make him a formidable damage dealer that excels with support.
Weighted Average Stats #
Kouren has the 2nd lowest average stats out of all 5-star units in Global. #2 for PATK, #2 for CRIT, #3 for HP, and #5 for PDEF. His low SPD, SP, and EDEF plummet his overall stats ranking.
Sword weapons have the highest PATK stats out of any weapon, so he’ll still have the 2nd highest PATK after Fiore when geared up.
Best Skills #
Via the skill lookup table, Kouren’s best early skill is his 3★ Skill, nuking one enemy and gaining 1 BP.
He is the only unit that has a physical skill with 230 power unlockable almost immediately.
- Sofia is the only other unit that has a 3★ 230 power skill, but it’s elemental and doesn’t give BP
You can use his BP regeneration property in two ways.
- Use a boosted 3★ skill every turn to deal a medium amount of damage (power at different BP: 230/260/310/420)
- Save until you have max BP, then nuke at max potency twice while enemy is broken (420 x 2)
Past Lv 88, you’ll unlock his enhanced battle skills that boost power to every skill by 30.
This upgrade lets him outdamage Fiore late game against single foes.
Without confusing you with the math behind physical damage “firepower”…
- Kouren’s 3★ Skill has a firepower of 2061.4. Fiore’s best 5★ Skill has a firepower of 1974.9.
- Kouren’s 5★ Skill 2 has a max power of 500 and firepower of 2290.4.
- His ultimate DPS skill 5★ Skill 1, has a max power of 140 x 4 for a total firepower of 2565.2.
- The only unit in Global that has a higher total Firepower is Sofia’s 3-hit Ice skill at 2598.7.
Kouren is mathematically, the strongest single target physical DPS we have in the game right now.
As for his passives; they’re nice, both boosting his survivability in boss fights. Perhaps RNG is what you need to clear some of the toughest boss fights.
Finally let’s talk about his light damage.
We now know that the elemental attack formula favors units with high base PATK or EATK, and uses the higher of the two values in it’s calculation. This formula is less effective the further into the game you go, as weapon stats with higher EATK will surpass high base PATK units.
Kouren has really high PATK.
This means his light damage is going to be higher than Millard’s early to mid game.
He is currently the strongest Sword (single target) damage dealer and 3rd strongest light damage dealer late game.
Issues With Kouren #
“His SP pool too low and skills too expensive.”
I consider this a minor inconvenience.
- Heal up before a boss fight
- Dragon Scarf accessory to recover SP
- His Awaken4 Accessory is the BIS even for Fiore (40 ATK, 60 Crit, 40 SP, 15% Sword/Light Dmg Up)
- Future units that can recover his BP as paired ally
- Switch him out
- Substitute his 5★ skill for 3★ instead, the gain in BP is enough to offset firepower losses over 2 turns
“He’s too slow against X boss.”
Spend a turn to buff his SPD and ATK, or SPD buff from Primrose/Lynette’s Future Special, or debuff enemy SPD with Billy/Helga/Kurtz/Wingate. High level bosses 70+ have around 300/350SPD, so one buff or debuff is enough to outspeed them.
“He has no Sword AOE.”
Tis true. Fiore decisively beats Kouren in this category.
Kouren Vs Fiore #
- Kouren is better in single boss fights, Fiore is better for general farming, both are the top two sword damage dealers.
- Kouren offers no utility to the team, while Fiore can debuff enemy’s PDEF.
- Kouren needs more buff support from team than Fiore to achieve his max potential.
- Fiore might have great DPS passives, but Kouren has higher powered skills, higher hit counts, and BP recharge.
In short, neither replaces each other and both are key in future tough boss fights weak against Swords.
Job Points Priority #
Prioritize 1★ passive and 3★ Skill, taking the shortest route to get there.
I would then take the shortest route to unlock his two 5★ Skills, before backtracking and unlocking the other stats nodes.
His key stats are PATK, SP, and SPD.
Team Comps #
As a selfish damage dealer, you’ll want some heavy duty support to reach 5-figure damage.
Primrose is the #1 support unit for him, boosting PATK/EATK/SPD by 20%.
Lynette is a close 2nd, boosting PATK/EATK by 20% and switching rows to further boost ATK by 10%.
Sigrid’s passive inflicts 15% Swords res down to all foes for 3 turns.
Tahir as a paired ally with Kouren, boosting Sword DMG by 20% when switching.
Kurtz/Wingate/Helga/Menny’s skill reduce enemy SPD by 15%. Helga’s passive also reduce enemy’s PATK by 15%.
Viola’s skill for the absolute best in PDEF down (20%). She extends the duration of debuffs from herself and paired ally.
Future #
Kouren’s future special move is a 1-hit sword nuke and recover 2 BP. It’s best used on the turn of a Break, so you can follow up with a max BP skill.
It’s not worth waiting for. If you have a dupe – awaken away for that sweet 30% stat bonus.
The Tiliken Cup is also coming out soon.
The final boss – Tiliken, is weak to Bow, Fan and Light. The recommended units for that fight is going to be Scarecrow, Millard, Gilderoy, Theo, Viola, Lynette, Therese (for the two adds), and Kouren.
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