a menu screen with a blue-tinted young man's headshot in the middle of the screen. surrounding his image are nine emblems that each signify a different ability. some are shaded in gray, while others have been colored in blue. text at the top reads "Abilities"
Screenshot via Square Enix

The DioField Chronicle: How To Play As Andrias

Andrias might be The DioField Chronicles' stoic protagonist, but he's also one of the strongest and most versatile fighters in the game.

The DioField Chronicle is the latest strategy RPG from Square Enix, and it offers a new twist on traditional tactical combat. Each character fulfills a certain role on the battlefield, whether that’s dishing out damage to enemies or supporting allies with healing and buffs. Andrias, one of the game’s main characters, falls into the former camp, and he excels at taking enemies down quickly with quick, powerful strikes.

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How To Play As Andrias

Andrias is a Soldier-type unit, which means he likes to get up close and personal when he fights. He takes enemies down with quick dagger strikes, making him one of the strongest fighters in the game. Skills like Assassination and Dagger Blitz bring that powerful assassin fantasy to life, especially when triggering their bonus effects. Hit a group of enemies with Waltaquin’s Meteor Fall or Shivat’s Ice Missile, then follow up with Dagger Blitz for extra damage.  

Units deal bonus Ambush damage when attacking from behind, and Andrias is the master of using this to his advantage. He has a few skills, like Leaping Attack and Shadow Step, that make it easier for him to quickly slip past enemy defenses and strike where they’re most vulnerable. He can also reduce his cooldown with every Ambush strike courtesy of the Assassin’s Secret Technique ability.

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Andrias’ ability tree is similarly suited to his guerilla-style character class, with buffs to evasion and attack speed. Fast-Hitter increases his base attack speed, while Grit and Assassin provide temporary buffs during skill cooldowns and after defeating an enemy. Grit unfortunately doesn’t mesh well with the rest of Andrias’ character kit, as many of his other abilities are specifically designed to reduce cooldown.

Andrias does his best work when he’s not a target, so make sure to pair him off with a tank like Izelair or Donovar. While they draw enemy fire, position Andrias behind the enemy to score Ambush hits. Use Assassination to finish enemies off and instantly reset his cooldown while also activating Assassin, increasing his attack speed for the next minute. Just make sure to keep an eye on his energy points, as he doesn’t have the largest pool.

Skills

a battle menu with long menus on both sides of the screen. a character unit can be seen in the middle holding a dagger. the menu on the left shows a list of available attacks, while the box on the right demonstrates the select attack, titled Assassination. four character portraits with health bars line the bottom of the screen
Screenshot via Square Enix
Shield Wall (Class Ability) Erect a barrier of shields and inflict provoke on enemies in the target area.
AssassinationDeal damage to an enemy. Cooldown is reduced to 0 if the finishing blow is delivered.
Leaping Attack Move to a specified point and deal damage to enemies in the target area, knocking them back.
Shadow StepMove behind a target and deal damage to them. Enemies with a status effect take extra damage.
Dagger BlitzDeal damage to enemies in the target area, inflicting poison.
Avatar RushDeal damage to a target. Damage is doubled if their HP is at 25% or less.

Abilities

Fast-HitterIncreases attack speed.
Technique BoostIncreases technique.
Insult to Injury30% damage increase to targets with status effects.
FocusReduces cooldown time by 30%.
Sharpshooter KillerDeals 1.2x damage to sharpshooter unit type.
Evasion BoostIncreases evasion.
GritIncreases attack speed by 10% while in cooldown.
AssassinIncreases attack speed by 10% for 60 seconds upon dealing a final blow.
Assassins’ Secret TechniqueReduces cooldown time by 1 second(s) upon successful ambush attack.

The DioField Chronicle is available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

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Author
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Hayden Epstein
Hayden is an avid gamer, writer, fitness enthusiast, and fan of speaking in the third person. He dabbles in most game genres, but his heart belongs to JRPGs. When not gaming, Hayden can be found working out, reading, watching television, or getting into heated political arguments with bots on Twitter.