How to pick a Fate/Extella Link Servant for every situation

Fate/Extella Link is the sort of game with lots of options in front of the player. As someone goes through the adventure, they can eventually end up with 27 playable characters. It is a lot to take in. A newcomer might wonder which Servant might be most suitable for certain situations or best suit a person’s style. Fortunately, each one has a sort of niche they fill due to their class, and they also have active skills that can be changed to make them even more accommodating.

Which Fate/Extella Link Servants are best for beginners?

Every character in Fate/Extella Link is relatively easy to use. It is not like a fighting game where you have to remember specific inputs. It is more about picking one or two people to use often at the outset, based on their immediately available abilities.

The Saber class characters are great for beginners. Coincidentally, you get two right at the start! Charlemagne is one. He’s a standard sword user. You have access to two close-range skills, Eruption and Tornado, and one long-range skill, Pseudo Knight, Charge, almost immediately. Before long, you have a Pseudo Knight, Circle area attack that sends swords down. All of them are great for dealing damage around you quickly to a wide range of enemies. You don’t need to be precise; you just need to plant Charlemagne in the thick of it.

Nero Claudius, the other Saber who immediately comes to your aid, is just as handy. While she lacks an initial long-range attack, she has some other early skills that can be a big help. Tres Fontaine Tempeste is an area attack that stuns opponents around her, giving you a chance to regroup. You can briefly clear the area ahead with the Rosa Ichthys shock wave. Fervence Ardeo is one of her strongest early attacks, for a close-range explosion. You also can’t miss with the Tres Fontaine Claudeo area attack, which damages enemies nearby while healing her.

Which Servants get more technical?

Well, if someone has used Sabers for a while and may be ready to try using a fighter with more complicated moves, they might want to look into a Lancer or a Rider. These are warriors with movesets that focus on certain kinds of strategies. You need to think a bit differently when using them to make the most of their abilities. Not that they are difficult to use. Everyone is rather well balanced. They might just have movesets or movement speeds that can take some time to adjust to.

Let’s use Scathach, a Lancer, as an example. She is an incredibly speedy character and a lot of her moveset involves controlling the enemies around you. You could use her Rune of Origin (Flame) attack to make three pillars of fire show up and make certain areas of the battlefield very unpleasant for opponents. In comparison, Rune of Origin (Frost) freezes the are around you, damaging any enemies nearby. (Before you get that, Gae Bolg Alternative is a similar sort of area attack that can actually do more damage, but lacks the freezing effect.) If you have Pinning God Killer Thorns, you could use the spear to stun enemies around you. Her normal attacks are very fast, so you may have to be careful with positioning, but you can get a little more technical.

With a Rider, someone might want to consider Astolfo. He has a Hippogriff that can be called upon for the Hippogriff Rush rush attack, which can be difficult to control and has you running around among enemies, or the Hippogriff Tornado, which has it attack a small area briefly. But Astolfo is also known for a number of skills that buff him up or inflict negative statuses on enemies. Power Up! makes him even faster and stronger, while Luna Break Manual keeps enemies from doing damage while also having him automatically counter. La Black Luna can slow down enemies, while Touch it and Fall! will temporarily stun enemies. So while you might have to learn to keep up with his moves, he has a set of skills that helps you learn to adjust with auto-counters and status effects.

What if I don’t know what kind of Servant I want?

Well, Fate/Extella Link has a lot of ways to find your footing. Taking your time in maps is one way. Even if you have passed a day and unlocked a new day, you can go back and complete maps from previous days. It is a good way to work with other Servants, since you could use the Money is Power system to get them up to current levels and you already know what needs to be done to beat those maps. You can always head into the Extra Stage List in Extra Battle and go through cleared stages again to use different characters (for example, Scathach in "Duel!") and see how they work.

You also don’t want to forget about Mystic Codes. These are the equipment that the Master has for each battle. You start out with Starting Battle Gear that isn’t great. It just has two sorts heal skills, which would allow you to heal your Servant a total of five times. Ceremonial Sword is a much better starter Mystic Code, since it gives you four heal(16)s, off_up to add a minor increase to the Servant’s attack and off_range_up to briefly increase the range of attacks. But then, that only gives you three skills total. One of the better ones you should be able to earn without too much trouble is Ring of Inspiration. This gives you four heal(32) uses, four off_up(32) uses, four off_speed_up(16)s, to make a Servant attack faster, and two moon_drives, which allows a Moon Drive to be activated instantly.

If you don’t have a lot of Mystic Code recipes, replaying maps and levels is a good way to earn them. Clear a map in the campaign that you haven’t done before? You may have a new recipe. If you get an EX Clear Rank, you earn a new recipe. For example, Ring of Inspiration is great. But, going to the "Duel!" Extra Battle and beating with an EX Clear Rank can get you a slightly better Ring of Inspiration+.

Take you time. There’s no rush. Experiment with characters. Use Money is Power to bring ones whose looks or personalities appeal to you. You’ll find a good fit after a while.