Alfyn (5★ Apothecary)

Table of Contents

octopath traveler champions of the continent cotc alfyn guide

When you think of the best units in the game, you generally think of the heavy hitting fan favorites: A2, Therion, Cyrus, Odette…

These units are the absolute best at doing certain physical or elemental damage without needing support.

So imagine how busted they become when they receive support.

In walks our boy Alfyn.

He protec. He attac. But most importantly, he gives pomegranate snacc.

Tier List Overview of Alfyn #

In my tier list of all units by roles, Alfyn scores S+ in the Buffer category. One of the only other unit (at time of writing) with  S+ in that category are Lynette.

Whereas Lynette has multiple party buffs, Alfyn quite literally only has one “buff”.

And this buff of providing BP to the team is so damn strong that it catapults him to S+ rank.

Alfyn scores S as a Breaker and Healer. He has two 4-hit single target skills, and front row regen with +1 turn duration buff.

Finally, Alfyn is tankier than average due to his sturdy passive.

Stats #

Alfyn has the 2nd highest PDEF in the game; however PDEF/EDEF is mostly a useless stat.
 
From testing, a unit’s PDEF/EDEF really only mitigates damage from enemy Bleed/Poison.
 
Grade from your armor is the main source of damage mitigation.
 
Alfyn’s most important stat is also his lowest… EATK.
 
HP Regen healing amount is based on the receiver’s max HP and the caster’s total displayed Elem Atk stat.
 
This includes EATK From base stats + equipment + some % variance.
 
So Alfyn won’t be healing as hard as some Theo or Soleil for now; this problem is a non-issue once we get EATK axes. 
 

Unit Kit #

Passives

  1. Extend duration of augmenting effect granted by self by 1 turn (Does not stack).
    • All of his regen last an extra turn
    • Fire/Ice Res buff from regen +1 turn
    • Immunity to certain ailments buff +1 turn
  2. Survive with 1 HP remaining once per battle.
    • This passive synergizes with his Last Stand skill and ultimate, where he can do 2x more damage when HP is less than 10%

Best Skills

  • 2* skill: Restore BP of Entire Front Row (amount: 1-4 based on Boost Lv.), but delay actions during turn. Can be used 2 times per battle.
    • THE skill that Alfyn is famous for (AKA Pomegranate Panacea).
    • See Cheese Strats section below for more info.
  • 2* skill: Grant Entire Front Row HP Regen (potency: 150) and raise Fire Res. and Ice Res. by 20% (turns: 2-5 based on Boost Lv.).
    • You’ll almost always be using this skill in tough boss fights to heal up the team.
  • 3* & 4* skill: 4-hit Axe or Ice to single enemy.
    • Fantastic at shaving shields and not random targetted
  • 5* skill: Revive a fallen ally (recovery amount: 25%-100% of max HP based on Boost Lv.). Can be used 3 times per battle.).
    • Nice to have in tough fights where losing a unit breaks a run.

Generally you’ll want to pick:

  1. Regen
  2. Pomegranate Panacea
  3. 4-hit Axe or Ice based on enemy weakness
  4. Revive

Ultimate Skill

  • 1-hit single target axe nuke, dealing double damage when HP is 10% or less.
    • Skill with the highest possible potency in the game… at 1200. 
    • Difficult to use/time properly due to Regen being active most of the time.
Awakening 4 Accessory
  • 40PATK, 40 PDEF, 600 HP
  • Axe DMG +15%
  • When HP is 75% or less: PATK +15%

This is an A+ rank accessory that provides a large amount of HP and good amount of PATK. A2 would LOVE this accessory as her berserk mode makes easy use of the accessory’s HP threshold.

Best Accessories #

  • Flat HP/HP Regen/SP Regen for survival
  • If survival is no issue, give him raw EATK stat accessories to increase Regen

Skill Damage Rankings #

I assume all units at A4, Lv 100, with Origin IV weapons.

Unit passives are generally active unless otherwise specified.

Click here to view the full skill firepower table and an explanation of how it’s made.

Top 25 damaging skills


So Alfyn isn’t meant to have a DPS role.

But should you master the art of living life on the edge, you can nuke the enemy HARD with his single target axe nukes.

Top 20 Axe skills
Alfyn’s axe damage without having low HP is pretty mediocre. At least he’s the only one that has a 4-hit single target skill without any set up.
 
Top 20 Ice skills
Alfyn barely makes the cut on this list with his ice skills. He still has the advantage of being the only unit with 4-hit Ice to single target.
 

Cheese Strats #

It’s called a cheese strat because it’s possible to take down some of the toughest bosses in the game fast with an optimized set up.

The Simple Boss Cheese Strat

The easiest combo to pull off with Alfyn:

  1. Every unit use their skill at max boost. Enemy becomes broken.
  2. Alfyn uses pomegranate panacea to give everyone, including himself up to 4 BP.
  3. On the next turn, every unit use their best DPS skill at max boost on the broken enemy.

The Precise Boss Cheese Strat

This maximizes total damage during an enemy break:

  1. Every unit use their skill at max boost. The first unit to attack the Enemy ends up breaking them.
  2. Alfyn uses pomegranate panacea to give everyone, including himself up to 4 BP.
  3. On the next turn, every unit use their best DPS skill at max boost on the broken enemy. Alfyn switches row with someone like Lynette for 10% ATK buff, or a DPS that can hit the enemy’s weakness.

Unit Synergy #

There are a couple of units that need max BP to unlock the full potential of their skills. They are:

  • Therion: requires max boost to use his skills a second time for free.
  • 2B: requires max boost to guarantee Sword/Axe nuke crit.
  • Adelle: requires max boost to guarantee Dagger nuke crit.
  • Yan Long: 2-5 hits Staff based on boost; staff damage is rare and Yan Long is our best staff DPS by a mile.
  • Olberic: Can reduce all damage taken by 60% and take cover damage for allies when used at max boost.
  • Lars/Molu: Act first when using skills at max boost; fantastic for breaking.

Then there are units that want BP for their special skills.

  • A2: Activating berserk mode at max boost makes it last 9 turns instead of 6.
  • W’ludai: 1-hit Spear to all foes at the beginning of every turn, up to 5 turns at max boost (INCREDIBLE FOR BREAKING).
  • Tithi: Unlocks all sort of bonus effects when her skills are used at max boost.
  • Lynette/Primrose/Glossom/Lianna: Increase duration of their AoE buffs or debuffs.
  • Ri’tu: Her strongest nuke prevents her from gaining any BP for 3 turns; Alfyn’s pomegranate snacc bypasses this limitation.
  • Viola: Max boost PATK/EATK and PDEF/EDEF debuffs for 6 turns.
  • Agnes: Regen affects front row at max boost; although you probably wouldn’t have her and Alfyn on the same team.
  • Find other companions via the Buff/Debuff finder tool
  • Another useful resource is the recruitable allies table for multi-hit shield shaving and buffs
 

End Game Content Usage #

One could argue he’s useful in ANY Arena cup or Lv 100 NPC battle because of Regen and Pomegranate Panacea.
 
  • Glossom Cup (Axe weakness)
  • Varkyn Cup (Varkyn and one add weak to Ice)
  • Ri’tu Cup (One add weak to Ice)
  • Yunnie Cup (Yunnie and multiple adds weak to Axe)
  • Yan Long Cup (Two adds weak to Axe)
  • Lv 100 NPC: Once-famous Actress (Axe, Ice)
  • The cup after Yan Long (spoiler)
  • One add in the 2nd cup after Yan Long (spoiler)
  • Apothecary Job Tower (spoiler)