Archibald

"'Rusty! We are in the middle of a mission!'""— Archibald's constant reminder"

Colin Archibald, or simply Archibald, is a member of the 9th Regiment of Lambert's Regnant Knights. Archibald is the twenty-eighth head of the esteemed Archibald family, a fact and honor he is keen to state repeatedly. He has a very serious and honest personality.

He is very strict when it comes to discipline and honor, and is fiercely loyal to the Royal Family of Lambert, especially towards Queen Anastasia.

Personality
"''A member of the same regiment as Alto, Archibald is the twenty-eighth head of the esteemed Archibald family. He has a very serious and honest personality, and will often recklessly rush in headlong without a thought once he’s come to a decision.

He is very strict when it comes to discipline and honor, and holds a great loyalty to the Royal Family of Lambert." "— Archibald's profile on the official Stella Glow website"

Chapter 1 - The Royal Capital
Archibald is first introduced after Alto and Lisette are transported from Mithra to the Royal Capital of Lambert, having accompanied Klaus. He attempts to keep a restless Alto in check and welcomes Lisette, escorting the pair to meet Queen Anastasia and Regent Elmar. After the royal audience in the castle, Archibald is ordered by Klaus to prepare for the 9th Regiment's selection exam.

The next day, Archibald appears at the Knight Training Grounds, scolding Rusty for his boorish behavior. When Alto requests to participate in the selection exam spar, Archibald is critical of the youth and turns him away, though he later accepts at Klaus' insistence. Together with Rusty, the pair make short work of the other hopefuls and exhaust Alto. By the conclusion of the exam, Archibald considers Alto worthy of the 9th Regiment.

Chapter 8 - Let the Anthem Ring
As preparations begin for the Anthem, the Harbingers launch one last ditch assault in order to halt the proceedings. Archibald is first to report of the attack to Klaus in the Anthem Hall and is accompanied by Rusty, Ewan, Nonoka, and Keith to defend against the attack at the castle outskirts. Despite their success in defeating the remaining Harbinger forces, Hilda manages to surround the group with crystals in order to evade them and infiltrate the Anthem Hall.

Archibald and his group manage to escape and reach the Anthem Hall, just as Hilda and her subordinates have been subdued. Archibald bears witness to the Anthem being performed, but the celebrations are cut short as it triggers the Eclipse. As he and the 9th Regiment watch in horror as the Angels descend and raze the capital, Archibald looks to Klaus for orders.

When the duplicitous Klaus reveals himself to be the Forgotten King Xeno and fatally stabs Anastasia, Archibald is first to express his disbelief. As they descend from the Anthem Hall and escape the structurally unsound castle, Archibald, his knightly resolve having shattered from the revelation, finds himself unable to take action.

In Anastasia's final moments, Archibald sobs uncontrollably as the Queen blames herself for the tragedy that had unfolded. When Anastasia dies in Alto's arms, her death takes such a toll on Archibald that he briefly becomes unhinged, claiming that the events that had transpired thus far were nothing but a dream while laughing to himself. Rusty, infuriated with his comrade's fall into despair, assaults him with several blows, bringing the knight back to the shock of reality.

Chapter 9 - The End of the World
Having witnessed Lambert razed and his Queen die before him, Arcibald is rendered apathetic, having lost all sense of purpose. When the 9th Regiment visit Veronica and learn of the Eclipse and Mother Qualia's curse over humanity, Archibald sinks further into depression and decides to no longer fight.

When the Angels invade Lambert a second time under the command of a Seraphim, Archibald remains idle despite the forces mustered by Elmar mobilizing to defend the castle. Upon being urged by Elmar to act, Archibald dejectedly states his belief of there being nothing to fight for. Archibald is struck by the infuriated Regent numerous times who launches into a tirade, reminding the once proud knight of Anastasia's last words and that Lambert itself was worth defending in her memory. Silently spurred by Elmar's words, Archibald is left alone to collect his thoughts.

As Alto and Hilda defend Lambert from the invading Angels, the Seraphim launches the devastating Song of Deceit at Alto. Archibald, along with the rest 9th Regiment, arrives just in time to intercept the attack. Denouncing his prior attitude as pitiful, he fights alongside the reunited 9th Regiment with renewed vigor.

Shortly after the battle's end, Hilda and her two Harbinger subordinates join the newly formed Tuning Knights. Archibald is the one to show Dorothy to her living quarters in the barracks.

Archibald's Ending
One month after the events of the Eclipse, Alto and Lisette have returned to Mithra Village, the former having turned down the offer to become Lambert's King. Archibald, now Knight Grand Master after Alto, frequently visits Mithra in an attempt to persuade his former superior into reconsidering and signing the inauguration form. Having dropped by again, Archibald is invited to breakfast by Rosa, and Alto takes the opportunity to run away from the knight. Archibald pursues him, claiming that he would chase the youth to the "other side of the Moon" until he signed.

Combat
"'Archibald's strong body is well-suited for both high-damage attacks and high defense power. What he lacks in mobility, he makes up for in sturdiness. Also, he has the ability of Defender, which allows him to shield another ally. Archibald can be most effectively utilized as a shield for your party.'""— Archibald's unit introduction"

True to his bulky and armored stature, Archibald is the party tank. He is able to shield nearby allies from damage, soak up a lot of it himself, and deal large amounts of damage with high SP cost abilities. With high base HP and Physical Defense growths, as well as respectable Physical Attack capabilities, Archibald's main downsides are his low mobility and Agility, and average Magic Defence.

Archibald is an invaluable unit against single target ranged assaults and mass physical onslaughts, with his trademark Passive Ability Defender being able to completely nullify damage dealt to nearby allies should it activate. Ally abilities such as Counter still trigger even if they are not damaged, making Archibald an ideal cover for Counter users such as Alto and Rusty. However, Defender does not trigger on area of effect skills, limiting its use against enemy formations containing monsters such as Elementals.

Despite being what one would call a front line unit, Archibald's usefulness as a Land unit throughout the game is limited by his inability to reach the front quickly, especially in desert and snow maps. With the environment hampering his already abysmal base Leg Speed (tile movement) of 3, he also possesses a poor base Jump Power of 2 which makes ascending/descending elevated areas extremely tedious. As a result of Archibald's difficulty in traversing the battlefield, conflicts are typically over by the time he reaches the fray, making him a highly debatable choice in a party slot. This can be alleviated somewhat with Movement Ring accessories and significantly with Popo's Song Ride the Wind.

However, if the player takes the time to increase his Affinity, Archibald gains the Movement Up ability, granting him +2 Movement, bringing him more in line with the rest of the party. If equipped with Movement Rings alongside his Affinity-unlocked ability, Archibald reaches 6 Leg Speed, bringing him just behind Rusty and Nonoka's base Leg Speed of 6. With the sudden bolster to his movement, Archibald's march to the front becomes nigh unstoppable with his full capabilities of reaching allies and initiating the first strike on enemies shining through without his movement impediment.

Passive Abilities

 * Guardian: (Upon joining) Adjacent tiles are impassable by enemies.
 * Defender: (Upon joining) May negate damage dealt to an ally.
 * Vitality: (Affinity Rank 1) Take less damage when HP is down.
 * Guard Proficiency: (Affinity Rank 2) Increase range and rate of Defender activation.
 * Movement Up: (Affinity Rank Max) Increase movement by 2.