"Coffee" is the opposite of "nobility" to Machias, son of the Heimdallr governor and member of the original Class VII. He joins the team with the Keeper master quartz, which reduces damage taken as HP is lost and grows to supplement break damage and critical hit chance. His Brave Order Sigma Operation cuts delay time after turns and boosts strength and defense a significant amount. For a weapon, Machias has a shotgun that has both excellent distance and an area of effect.
The orbment layout for Machias's ARCUS II has two lines. Two earth and one mirage slot are locked in; one earth being on line 2 while the others are on line 1. For a ranged unit, Machias has incredibly high defense. His strength, HP, and arts defenses are pretty decent, but his arts strength is low and base speed is very poor.
Machias's craft kit is suited to stopping enemies and accelerating his teammates.
Mail Breaker carries decent damage and very high break impact along a straight line. When upgraded, width of effect and impact improve.
Petrification Shell has good odds of petrifying enemies, rendering them benign for the remainder of the fight. It also has decent unbalancing odds. When upgraded, can cause Balance Down.
Burst Drive moves allies' turn order to follow immediately after Machias. When upgraded, also restores EP.
Justice Bullet is an extra-large area powerful attack that causes a random status abnormality.
Build 1: Breaker
You're not going anywhere
Mail Breaker has an extremely low cost for the amount of break damage it deals and the area it covers, making Machias a fantastic candidate to be the designated breaker for the team. His time skills also enable the team to get ahead of break recovery to clean up.
Master Quartz:
Main: Emblem, Keeper, Scorpio
Sub: Skuld
Line 1:
[Rakan Gem/Break 2]
Skanda Gem/Chrono Burst SR
[Odin Gem/Fenrir Gem/Dragon Vision/EP 3]
Nohval Gem/Action 3
Line 1:
[Break 3]
Seraph/Deus Gem/EP Cut 3
Carnelia Gem/Attack 3
This build can go a number of ways depending on need. For item farming, the EP-bearing quartz are recommended to go with Emblem to get the most out of Chrono Burst when trying to get extra drops out of tougher foes like bosses. This will ensure without fail that Machias can get items before anyone incidentally steals the break. Scorpio is recommended for dishing out raw damage to broken enemies, while Keeper in the main slot will improve Machias's overall break damage if item farming is not a concern with needing a breaker.
Scorpio also grants Saintly Force, which is a big benefit for maximizing strength if not using Odin Gem. Any of these things in addition to the Carnelia Gem is crucial for Machias to be able to deal HP damage with a break configuration. He also needs the speed yields of Skanda Gem and Nohval Gem to properly support the party with his Accelerate skill.
Blast Gloves is a preferred accessory for this setup, while Gold Winged Lion Medal has a balanced spread and Rider Gloves also offers the needed break damage. Victory Belt is a must when running Deus Gem or EP Cut 3 instead of Seraph.
Machias groups excellently with Juna for Sledgehammer/War Hammer against strong enemies to conserve some resources, but can do without the order on typical mobs. If not optimizing for EP, then an ally with Auto-Charge will help Machias maintain his turn long enough to break everything.