Falco (5★ Thief)

Table of Contents
  • The thief class arguably has the most over powered units in Octopath Traveler: COTC.
  • Fastest units with guaranteed multi-hit shield breaking skills
  • The best single target debuffers
  • DPS like nobody’s business 

Currently, we have Therion, who can deal the most amount of physical damage at max boost, break 6 shields in one turn, or 4 shields to all enemies with a high chance of paralysis.

His AoE fire attack also has one of the highest fire DPS in the future once we get better elemental attack weapons.

In the future, we’ll get A2 from the Nier collab. Her gimmick is that during Berserk mode, she can hit with the same skill twice. She’ll crush sword/axe/dagger damage numbers.

And Bargello, who has the single largest but most expensive nuke in the game, breaking the damage cap.

Further down the road, we get Auguste/Sonia and even Levina (to a lesser extent) that’ll benefit from Falco.

None of the units mentioned have their dagger damage passive capped (30%).

This is where our goodest boy Falco comes in.

Tier List Overview of Falco #

In my tier list of all units by roles, Falco scores S in 3 categories, as a dagger damage dealer, buffer and debuffer. 

His buffs were made for thief teams, bringing their damage to the next level. 

His debuffs allow him fit in nearly any team comp.

Falco is therefore an extremely versatile unit that brings damage and utility to the field.

Stats #

Falco doesn’t excel in any particular stat, but his overall stats are high enough that he has the 9th highest weighted average stats amongst all units, and the highest stats for Thieves.
 
His max speed of 410 is a cause for concern, as you’d want him to act before your other Thief units. 
Therion has a max speed of 445, Viola 435, Adelle 425, A2 435, and Sonia at 430. Bargello’s speed is 380. 
 
Fortunately, King Chomper Vest (+38 speed) exists, as well as other accessories that can boost SPD.
 

Unit Kit #

Passives

  1. Raise damage dealt to broken foes by 20%
    • Easy to use passive that raises Falco’s damage towards a broken enemy
  2. At full HP: Raise Dagger damage of All Allies by 15%
    • This buff caps at 10% for Falco himself when he attacks a Broken enemy
    •  Every current and future 5* Thief/Dagger unit will benefit fully or partially from this passive
    • As full HP is required, you may want to give Falco HP regen accessories

Best Skills

  • 5* skill: 1-hit Dagger to single enemy, dealing 50% more damage if target is broken.
    • Currently the 6th strongest damaging skill in the game without a tough requirement
  • 5* skill: 1-hit Dagger to single enemy, inflicting 20% Phys. Atk Down and granting self 20% Phys. Atk Up.
    • This is such a versatile skill, checking multiple boxes with a single attack
  • Initial skill: Inflict 20% Phys. Def and Elem Def down
    • Almost the same potency as Viola’s (25%)
  • Shield break skills: 3-hit Ice to single enemy and 2-hit Dagger to all enemies

Ultimate Skill

  • 1-hit single target dagger nuke that can grant front row 10% dagger damage up.
    • This is the only ultimate skill in the game that can raise front row dagger damage
    • Falco is slower than most other Thief units, so you should give him some SPD gear to act first
    • Prioritize Awakening 1 over Lv 10 Ultimate. Then prioritize Lv 10 Ultimate over rest of the awakening.
Awakening 4 Accessory
  • 60 PATK, 40 PDEF, 40 EDEF 
  • Raise Dagger damage dealt by 15% 
  • Grant automatic HP recovery (amount: 500)
This A4 accessory is fantastic and without surprise, BIS for Falco. 
 

Skill Damage Rankings #

I assume all units 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 20 damaging skills
Falco’s strongest skill is his 5* nuke. It does a respectable amount of damage when the enemy is broken.

Top 20 Dagger skills
Falco is generally 3rd for dagger DPS, behind Therion and Adelle. Once A2 and Bargello comes out, he’ll drop to 5th.
 
Top 20 Ice skills
Falco’s Ice damage is pretty average. At least his Ice attack guarantees shield break.
 

Team Comps #

  • TherionGOD, who lacks any dagger damage passive. With the 15% passive from Falco, you can give Therion Kota’s Glove (30% PATK) + one 15% dagger damage accessory to reach the cap on both buffs.
  • Any existing and future 5* Thief, including the likes of A2, Auguste, Bargello, Sonia, Canary… etc
  • Falco can slot into any physical team (though not as well as Viola) or Ice team comps as a debuffer and shield breaker
  • Find other companions via the Buff/Debuff finder tool
  • Another useful resource is the recruitable allies table for multi-hit shield shaving

End Game Content Usage #

  • Gertrude Cup (Dagger weakness)
  • Varkyn Cup (Varkyn and one add weak to Ice)
  • Lv 100 NPC: Muttering Codger (Dagger), Once-famous Actress (Ice)
  • The cup after Yan Long (spoiler)
  • Thief Job Tower (spoiler)

Should You Pull? #

Solid yes if Therion is a key part of your team comps. 

Yes if you’re saving for A2/Bargello. Yes if you don’t have Viola.

Maybe if you don’t have any strong Thieves (Therion/Adelle/Viola).

No if you’d like to chance it to RNG to get him from the general pool someday.

Only 2.4k free gems to pity him at 4.5*. You have a ~70% to pull at least one copy of him before reaching pity.

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