Roland (5★ Merchant)

Table of Contents
octopath traveler champions of the continent roland review guide Roland is a limited time collab unit from Triangle Strategy, which is another turn-based game published by Square Enix. Octopath COTC Global buffed Roland’s kit to the extreme, making him go from an okay DPS unit to the God of Spear teams with insane team wide damage support. He is the best all-around Spear DPS & enabler.
  • 5-hit Spear AOE, 2-hit Spear Nuke ST
  • Every one of his damaging skill/attack/ultimate has a high chance of reducing enemy(s) Spear Res
  • God of Spear Res Debuffs: 15% Passive Debuff, 20% + 10% Active Debuff, 20% Ult Debuff
  • Can max debuff enemy PDEF and Spear Res by himself with two skills
  • Unique switching passive that may be a different combat style than what people are used to

Tier List Overview of Roland #

Roland tier list In my tier list of all units by roles, Roland scores S+ in the Debuffer category. He is future-proof for Spear DPS teams with his plethora of Spear Res/PDEF debuffs and damage. I can’t see him being powercrept even a year from now. His DPS is exceptional, and his 5-hit Spear AOE will make short work of enemy shields. Long term (e.g 6 months from now), Roland’s best role is your main debuffer for Spear DPS teams. Short term, Roland can juggle between main DPS and debuffer. Stats Comparison
Roland has the highest weighted average stat among all Merchants in the game, and by a fairly large margin. This is solely because Global increased his SPD by 50 to 350.
His higher base SPD is very good – too many end game enemies and bosses have speeds greater than 300.

Explanation of Passives and Skills #

Passives
  1. When switching to Front Row: Grant Self Phys. Atk. Up 15% and Opportune Attack (turns: 1).
    • Opportune Attack: Raise all damage dealt by 15% and raise attack count of some skills by 1
  2. When unleashing any attack, have a high chance (~75%) to lower enemies’ Spear Res. by 15% (turns: 2).
    • Any attack = basic attacks, spear and lightning skills that deal damage, and ultimate. Each individual hit has a high chance to proc Spear Res debuff. E.g a 4-hit Spear attack can theoretically debuff the enemy for 8 turns.
Best Skills
  • 5* skill: 4-hit Spear damage to All Foes. With Opportune Attack: Raise attack count by 1.
    • At max boost and with Opportune Attack, this skill hits 5×110 for 550 potency. It is the 2nd strongest damaging AOE spear attack, only behind Krauser, who requires a 1 turn setup to pull off.
    • This skill can debuff all enemies on the field for 9 turns of Spear Res down.
  • 5* skill: 1-hit Spear damage to Single Foe, 1 extra hit if Opportune Attack is active.
    • At max boost, this skill hits 2×450 for 900 potency. It is the 3rd strongest damaging skill in the game but the strongest skill with zero set up required.
    • This can easily ram the damage cap against an enemy weak to Spear and during Break.
  • 2* skill: 1-hit Spear to All Foes and lower Phys. Def. and Spear Res. by 10% (turns: 2). Afterwards, move to the Back Row (this does not proc Opportune Attack). With Opportune Attack: Raise attack count by 1.
    • This skill is so important for maintaining uptime on his Opportune Attack passive.
    • Is useful for debuffing multiple enemies (remember, his 15% Spear Res debuff passive can also proc here) and keeping him alive.
    • Has several unique synergies with row partner. This will be discussed in the Skill Rotation section.
  • 1* Skill: Impart Single Foe with Phys. Def. Down 20% and lower Spear Res. by 20% (turns: 2-5 based on Boost Lv.). *Can be used 3 times per battle. Cost 1 SP only.
    • Nothing like a 1* skill to solidify his status as the GOAT debuffer for Spear teams. Enables rest of the team to do so much F-ing damage.
Most people can only bring 3 skills to battle. Generally you’ll want to pick:
  1. 4/5-hit 5* Spear AOE ALWAYS
  2. Single target 1* PDEF/Spear Res debuff usually
  3. Your last skill is situational: Either 2* switch row or his 5* spear nuke skill
In what situation will you pick switch row or spear nuke skill? 2* switch row if Roland plays the role of debuffer because you have multiple Spear DPS (Krauser/W’ludai/Olberic). 5* Spear nuke if Roland is your main source of good spear DPS and you cannot reach the damage cap. Ultimate Skill
  • Lower Spear Res. of Single Foe by 15%→20% (turns: 2) and then deal 4-hit Spear (potency: 4×105→4×125).
    • This is the strongest source of Spear res debuff from ultimates in the game
    • Best used on a turn before a break or to initiate a break

Skill Rotations #

This section will talk about Roland’s skill rotations before and during an enemy Break. It is assumed you’re equipped with Kurtz’s A4 accessory (boost durations of debuffs casted by Self by 1 turn). It also assumes you only have access to 3 skills. Rotation 1 (Debuffer Role):
Any boost 1* Skill Debuff -> Ultimate (break) -> Max Boost 4-hit AOE
Roland’s most basic skill rotation involves using his 1* PDEF/Spear Res debuff skill at any boost level, then breaking the boss on the next turn with his Ultimate or that of someone elses. During the enemy boss break, he is unable to switch row because he used ultimate, so he uses a max boosted 4-hit AOE skill to have a near-guaranteed chance of further decreasing the enemy’s spear res. This is the most basic rotation for debuffer Roland, and is the way to go if you have multiple DPS units like Krauser, W’ludai, Olberic, or even Dorothy on the team. Rotation 2 (DPS Role):
Lv 2 Boost 1* Skill Debuff -> Ultimate -> 2* Switch Row (break) -> Max Boost 2-hit Nuke
This is a longer skill rotation where you take advantage of the debuff duration from Kurtz’s A4 to maximize damage dealt to the enemy by Roland. 2* skill (aka “Rush”) enables Roland to switch rows and ram the damage cap 2 x 99,999 on the following turn with all these debuffs. Rotation 3 (Row Partner):
Lv 2 Boost 1* Skill Debuff -> Ultimate -> Switch with Partner (break) -> Max Boost 2-hit Nuke
This rotation lets you bring in a partner, who’s job might be to break, provide support or auxiliary damage. Who are the top row partners for Roland in Rotation 3?
  • Alfyn: Switches in to provide BP to the rest of your team during initial enemy break turn. Then on the following turn, Roland + rest of your team comes in with Max Boosted nukes.
  • Tithi: Switches in to grant AOE PATK/EATK/Crit AND restore BP by 1. Similar story as Alfyn, in fact better with the right set up.
  • Lynette/Eleonora: Switches in to provide passive and active AOE PATK buffs to the rest of your team.
  • Hayes: He has the ultra rare PDEF debuff passive if he is the one breaking the enemy; assumes enemy is weak to Axe or Fire.
  • Solon: In the future, he is one of the best partner for Roland because he can switch in and break the enemy to apply several debuffs. Even better, if Solon has his ultimate ready, he should use this on your best multi-hit Spear DPS like Leon, and maybe W’ludai.
  • Other: Any speedy unit that can break the enemy.
Other Skill Rotations: There’s numerous variations of the 3 rotations that I’ve highlighted. Once you’re familiar with his skills and your team comp, you won’t need me telling you what to do 🙂
Awakening 4 Accessory
  • 100 PATK, 40 SPD
  • When switching to Front Row: Increase Phys. Atk. by 15% and Spear DMG by 15% (turns: 1)
This is an A rank accessory and compliments his switching passive. It is however, not at all necessary to use Roland to his fullest potential.

Best Accessories #

This section assumes you’re a F2p/Light Spender.
  • Kurtz’s A4: 1 extra turn debuff duration is immensely useful for Roland’s Ultimate skill and enables several powerful rotations
  • HP Regen, especially Helga’s A4: Kurtz’s A4 only activates when unit is at full HP
  • Yan Long’s A4: When breaking enemy, passive debuff 10% PDEF
  • Spear DMG accessories like Barrad’s A4

Best Weapon Set Up #

  • Fortune Weapon: Go full PATK.
  • Hell Weapon: Go full DMG to Hellfiends and PATK 2nd
  • Best Soul: 15% DMG Up on his 4-hit AOE skill.

Firepower #

Spear Firepower This table shows the top 20 standalone skill damage from Spear attacks at max level with perfect Fortune weapons. Krauser is at the top of the rankings, but keep in mind he takes one turn to set up. Roland, who is 3rd, requires no set up. In general, the firepower that Roland can dish out is world class.

Team Comps #

  • Pia can AOE active Spear Res debuff, complimenting Roland’s
  • Alfyn/Tithi for BP or buffs
  • Lynette/Eleonora for buffs
  • Richard for his Spear damage buffs from passive, skill and ultimate
  • Any Spear unit: Krauser, W’ludai, Olberic, Dorothy, Nona, Cardona
  • In the future, Solon and Leon
  • Find other companions via the Buff/Debuff finder tool
  • Another useful resource is the recruitable allies table for multi-hit shield shaving and attack buffs

End Game Content Usage #

The following end game content npcs are weak to Spear:
  • The 2 extras in the Tikilen fight
  • Yan Long
  • Glossom
  • Some part of the Largo fight
  • Bladed Wing Master
  • Hardy Dual Wielder
  • Merchant Job Tower
  Here’s a video by Primrose showing Roland’s power against the Hell’s Duo.

A1 vs U10? #

Assuming you’re F2p/Light Spender and is lucky enough to get a 2nd copy of him, you’ll want to U10 instead of A1. This is because his value as a debuffer and DPS enabler for spear team is more future proof than his role as a Spear DPS. But A1 isn’t a bad choice at all, especially if Roland is your main/only spear DPS.
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