A guide for min/maxing individual units/squads. How to maximize the trait system and dial in unit affinity to crush your opponents. This guide does not contain spoilers. It is focused solely on game knowledge that will allow your squads to min/max throughout the run. This game is about your decisions. Knowing certain facts will make a big difference in how you recruit and train your units.
 

Introduction

Hi!
 
 
My name is Fae and I run QueerJunk! Twitch and YouTube channels. I played the game on the most difficult difficulty with permadeath enabled. I learned many things that I wish I knew at the beginning to make stronger squads and have a better time on the more difficult stages. This guide contains most of the Tips and Tricks that I learned during my first play-through.
 
 
 

Stat Growth

Affinity
 
The affinity system determines how a unit's stats will grow as it levels up through the game. It also affects hit/crit chances depending on the turns, which are random and therefore not worth considering.
 
 

 
 

Earth	Water	Lightning	Fire	Dark	Light
Tanks	Healers	Rogues	PhysicalDPS	Casters	Squad Leaders
Sentinel	Templar	Assassin	Champion	Dragons
Knight	Valkyrie	Ranger	Warbow	All Mages
Gun Units

 
There are many items that can be used to alter the affinity of any unit. These can be found in the marketplace and on the battlefield. These items are extremely valuable and should be bought whenever they are available. This allows you to modify the affinity of units that have multiple traits.
 
 
 

Stat Manipulation

You can also influence the growth of a unit's stats by influencing other factors. These are:
 
 

• Unit Class
• Items
• Capturing Objectives
• Base Value

 
 

 
[Unit Class]: How the stats develop will depend on which class a unit falls into. A unit will generally gain stats that are beneficial to the class it is associated with at a faster rate than other stats. Stat growth is more beneficial for classes at higher tiers so it's important to promote your units quickly. (at) To have the highest stat growth possible for the class you choose.
 
 
Some players recommend avoiding "professionalism", since units recruited at a higher level will have worse stats than units you train from a lower level.
 
 
Below is a table that outlines the stat-growth of classes and offers some suggestions for how to promote your starter units. It is better to make your archers fighters, since they prefer STR >SKL for damage calculations.
 
 

Fighter/Militia	Medic/Apprentice	Bowman
+STR	+MAG	+SKL
Archer	Acolyte	Rogue
Armored Units	Siren/Mages	Assasins/Rangers

 
[Items]: Some items allow you boost a specific stat for a unit. These items can be broken down into two categories.
 
 

• +LDR
• + STR/MAG/SKL
• Evidence of Merit

 
The Medal of Honor allows you to increase the LDR of one squad leader. LDR is not used to increase squad capacity or allow you to equip items. Therefore, you should only use it on squad leaders you will keep forever. Keep them safe for when you are required to use them on squads with decent leaders to add units or equip items, and to avoid wasting them on units without leadership traits.
 
 
Items that increase STR/MAG/SKL should be used on main characters and on units you plan to develop, such as dragons or units with strong traits.
 
 
With Proof Of Merit, you can make any unit that has reached the maximum CP in a late-game class "golden&quot. The stats of golden units are higher and more powerful than the rest. These units can be saved for units with exceptional stats and traits that will demolish your enemies.
 
 
Capturing Objectives The squad leader will gain +LDR for capturing objectives during battle. This bonus will always be shared by the Main Character(Lindly). To maximize LDR gain, you should avoid capturing objectives together.
 
 
Base Value While units start with different stats, those who have a higher base level and are also at lower levels of a desired statistic will be able gain more of it as they level up based on their class archetype.
 
 
 

Character Traits

There are two types of traits: Leader Traits and Unit Traits. Leader traits can affect an entire squad and reduce costs or give terrain-based advantages. Leader traits are not something that can be taught. New units must acquire them from the bazaar and marketplace. Squad leaders with traits will always be more successful than those without them, as LDR is a highly manipulable stat.
 
 
Using the items found throughout the game, you can teach one trait to any unit. This is important because some units have more traits than others. This means that one unit can have 5 traits while another has 1. It's a good idea to grab units with traits and use them to phase out units without traits.
 
 
This brings us to the last point about traits. Some are tied to a particular class and others change over time. The mercenary traits increases the cost of individual units and makes it more difficult for them to be fitted into squads with low levels of LDR. This trait will become more loyal over time, eventually reducing their capacity cost. It's worth it to acquire mercenaries with desirable traits and train them until they fit into the ideal squad. These are the traits that are specific to particular classes (Guerilla and Polearm Warrior, Guardian etc All units are possible, provided that they are of the correct class.
 
 

 
Unit Traits – Any unit can learn thievery. This trait is vital as it is the best way to generate gold that can be used to purchase better artifacts and mercenaries. To maximize the bonus gold from combat, prioritize units with high SKL.
 
 

 
Leader Traits Leader Traits DO NOT eat the trait learnable space of a unit. These traits can be used to stack onto units that are already capped on unit traits, but do not have a leader trait. Treasure hunter traits are vital for finding better artifacts in the game.
 
 
 

Squad Formation

Squad Classification
 
The strength of your squads depends on their squads' classification. They can allow you to create combat effects based upon the terrain, enable you to attack from a distance without repercussion, as well as control how your squad moves around the map. A squad is classified according to the number of units within it.
 
 
There are several ways to classify squads:
 

Infantry	Light Infantry	Calvalry	Calvalry Light	Flying
No bonus	Ambush	Charge	Ambush/Charge	Mobility

 
The bonus effects of squad classification can have major implications in battle. Understanding how the system works can help you to create some interesting compositions.
 
 

 
The majority of units determine the classification of a squad(with rare exceptions). This means that you can get the combat bonuses from one squad without having to have every unit possess it.
 
 
Calvalery Squads can gain bonus movement and move following an attack. This effect is only available to units that are on horses. Not all units. Even if a unit doesn't look like one, it can still have the same mobility as a horse-drawn unit, provided that the majority of squad members are on horses.
 
 
Light Squads have terrain-based advantages and a higher SKL rate, which increases their dodge chance. They can also ambush, which allows them attack without being attacked back. They also get a significant bonus dodge if attacked in an open field.
 
 
Flying literally breaks the game. You can fly over mountains and rivers, use tiles that are not available to grounded units, and so on. You can maintain your bonus by having a ground unit in a flying team, since classification is determined based on a majority. A flying squad can be grounded immediately by adding a horse unit or a gunner.
 
 

Unit Placement

 
Your units' placement within a squad impacts their ability to receive attacks. Many tanks classes have the guardian trait which reduces the damage of units behind them. It is possible to place units in between two tiles, rather than directly on top of one. This allows a single unit that can provide cover for two units.
 
 
Rogues and assassins always attack from the back. The center row is the best for healers and casters, as the units in front and behind will have to die before they can get hit.
 
 
You can play up to 20 squads simultaneously by the end of the game. Your squad leader will decide which sprite will be used during combat.
 
 

Threat Rating

 
The A.I. Squads will target the lowest threat unit whenever possible. This allows you to abuse the A.I. You can make tanky squads have lower threat scores than your DPS squads by making them tanky. Artifacts and the individual strength of each squad member can influence the threat rating.
 
 
 

Dragons

Dragons are the only flying units in the game and will be found in both the bazaar & marketplace. Although they start out very weak, they can become formidable powerhouses with incredible mobility once they are trained. You will get two dragons throughout the story, but you must recruit another dragon if you want a complete squad. (They can only fit 3 people in a squad). The tech tree can increase the chance of encountering a certain number of dragons in a given run. If you don't love dragons, there is no need to recruit more than 4 and form two full flying squads.
 
 
Dragons need not change their class to evolve into a higher form. They are a great source of CP codexes from the arena. Their STR and MAG influence the dragon's damage. Their stat growth affects the color of the dragon's evolution. Below is a table that explains the various types of dragons, their optimal affinities, and what they specialize in.
 
 

 
 

Red Dragon	Silver Dragon	Blue Dragon
MAG	STR	SKL
High DMG	Tanky	Well Rounded
Dark	Fire/Earth	Dark/Fire

 
You will need to do the necessary research in your tech tree to create dragon riders. It is important to note that a dragon cannot fly until it becomes a dragon rider, except Azure whom you receive through the campaign.
 
 
 

Thank You for Reading!

I am so glad you enjoyed the guide! It was a lot of fun to put it together! Please let me know if I missed anything in the comments! I stream almost every day on
https://www.twitch.tv/queerjunk – [twitch.tv]
 
Stop by to say hello! I play War of Symphony often and am always available to answer questions or theorycraft OP squads! You might also consider visiting my YouTube channel. It would be a huge help to me!
https://www.youtube.com/c/QueerJunk – [youtube.com]
 
– I hope to release some Symphony Of War content soon and am so close to reaching 1,000 subs! I wish you a wonderful day! God Bless!

 
 

 
 
Hope you enjoy the Guide about Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga – Unit Optimization Guide, if you think we should add extra information or forget something, please let us know via comment below, and we will do our best to fix or update as soon as possible!