Hilstara

A mercenary who once fought alongside Simon during the later stages of the war with the Incubus King. Despite her occupation she is a noble soul who is willing to do the right thing without pay so long as it helps people both in the short and long term.

Aside from succubi, Hilstara is one of the most notably bisexual characters in the cast. She actively expresses interest in other women in the harem, including Aka, Megail, and Carina. She also plays the field a bit in Eustrin with Galvia. As expected of her personality, however, she isn't pushy about this, giving Carina space when the idea made her uncomfortable.

Story
As a young officer, she fought in Zirantia during the final phase of the war with The Incubus King where she met Simon. Disenchanted with the whole Chosen of Ivala system, she joined the Redlight Mercenaries:

She joins the party in Stineford, after some chat with her in the Noble District Pub. To recruit her, you have to talk with her again and accept her proposal. Meet her at the mine to induct her into the party. Try to do that before you take part in any fights to maximize the experience that she is able to receive.

She kept a cautious, professional relationship with Simon for many years, but he says to Robin that he trusts her, and given that it's coming from Simon it is high praise indeed. In the Devil's Pass, she confesses her feelings to Simon, that back in her youth:

Skills
Synergy skills can be used in battle only if both Hilstara and the specified character are present in the active party.

Starting equipment
Weapon: Steel Axe.
 * Axes

Off-hand: Iron Shield.
 * Shields

Headgear: Iron Helm.
 * Helms

Bodygear: Iron Armor.
 * Armor

Accessory: Gauntlets.
 * Common accessories
 * Anti-sexual accessories

Tactics
The clear tank of the game: she's blessed to start with a Steel Axe because honestly her attack growth is abysmal. Her choice of weapon means that she is also more likely to miss than the others. Both her stats and her equipment provoke that her actions happen very near the end of the turn. Shieldwall makes most enemies attack her and she has multiple party wide buffs that double as minor healing spells. She compensates her defects (to a certain degree at least) with her AoE buffer skills: Hold the line! is twice as effective as Tactical eye for clarity not to mention the delicious defensive buffs. She's got two utility skills for synergy, Encourage which allows her to increase the damage from another physical attacker (Aka/Varia probably), and Bash which is the only way to apply confusion until you get Robin and Qum's Synergy skill Disrupt and can also stun. Honestly, her attack on average is barely stronger than mages so she is pretty much a full on support character. A highly specialized one at that.

One use for Hilstara is as a shield wall. With Mammoth Plate armor, a Mammoth Shield and Hilstara's Helm, her AGI will be 1 (so she will always be going last), but most melee attacks will literally bounce off her and do no damage. Even bosses can't do much more than scratch her armor's paint, and with Shieldwall up, they are very likely to target her (the defense boost makes her even stronger). Also, since the 0.28.x versions this skill is activated before any enemy attacks, so the rest of the party members are protected in turn 1, too. The only problem is that her magical defense isn't nearly as high, and most bosses have some form of magic attack - or worse, an AoE attack that ignores Provoke.

Another option that can work is to lean into her Bash skill, which provides extremely good crowd control against the right enemies. The key to making it work is that she has to act early enough to apply it before the monster has already had its turn, which means choosing equipment to maximize her AGI at the cost of ATK and DEF. She'll never match Aka for speed, but she doesn't have to -- many monsters are quite slow.

Depending on the enemies and your playing style, you'd rather have a strong damage dealer instead of Hilstara's anemic offense (for comparison at least). But that doesn't mean that she can get the job done, even in solo actions.

Much later in the game, Hilstara obtains the skill Aegis Assault, giving her a powerful offensive attack that scales off her defense. With usage of defense buffs, the mammoth set, and her custom helmet, this skill will easily inflict several thousands of damage.

Relationship points
Maximum affection is 100, at which you can have a conversation with the harem girl that will lock her affection there.

Though Hilstara tends to like "good" choices, for the most part she's an easy relationship. Just pay attention to her and her quests, and have sex with her when you get the chance. Hilstara seems to favor military investments, since that's her specialty.

Base value: 25. Maximum legit value: 100 (+101 leeway).
 * Up to from Yarra's efforts in Devil's Pass.
 * bathing with her after Yhilin coup sequence.
 * hiring at least one mercenary company.
 * investing in Premium Steel.
 * from having Megail convert ProN to Sx. (pre-reunion)
 * Unmissable from Chapter 2 start.
 * waiting to fuck Altina.
 * dominating Varia after allowing Varia's rape, OR dominating Varia after saving Varia from rape, OR  reshaping Varia after allowing Varia's rape, OR  reshaping Varia after saving Varia from rape.
 * killing the Impaler.
 * doing well enough in battle to get the victory orgy scene with Orcent.
 * talking to her before any other harem girl when reuniting after Simon's route.
 * Unmissable from Reunion Orgy.
 * becoming a partner in Premium Steel IF you didn't invest before.
 * ordering Hilstara's Helm custom-made from Premium Steel post-reunion, OR in Chapter 3.
 * having threesome with Megail at Janine's retreat (requires 110 combined affection and having left the retreat once).
 * voting NO to war with the Incubus King, OR voting YES.
 * promising Aram to vote NO to war then voting NO, OR promising Aram to vote NO to war then voting YES.
 * promising Darghelon to vote YES on Unpeople then voting YES, OR promising Darghelon to vote YES on Unpeople then voting NO.
 * promising Zirantia to vote for a then-unspecified defense pact upgrade in exchange for NO on Unpeople (you cannot keep your promise).
 * War Vaults opened.
 * buying Vinario for 1,500,000 ProN, OR for 2,000,000 ProN, OR  for 3,000,000 ProN.
 * getting all 4 Ardford threesome scenes and thus the Ardford Orgy scene.
 * telling Nalili "Train with Hilstara", OR telling Nalili "Train with Hilstara" after "Train with me".
 * if Battle of Yhilin chaos "remarkably contained", OR "ugly, but the situation isn't unworkable" and Merchant Quarter NOT shutdown, OR  Merchant Quarter shutdown and "It will take time for every layer of society to recover", OR  Merchant Quarter shutdown and "It will take a great deal of time for every layer of society to recover."
 * Hilstara x Lynine scene (in tunnels).
 * funding huge infrastructure petition.
 * funding countryside mercenary regulation petition.
 * funding city mercenary regulation petition.
 * Yuanon confrontation outside plaza slums bar IF you have saner-Altina.
 * for at least 15 Zirantia investigation score.
 * Yarra + Hilstara sex scene (in royal baths by Hilstara; requires 180 combined affection and having been to Zirantia).
 * conversation in royal baths leading to drinks at the bar.
 * on transforming Orcent if Balia says "This is excellent!", OR "This is great!", OR  "can't wait to see where we go", OR  "can see all kinds of ways to go", OR  "need to think about what didn't go well".
 * copying Aramite rapist soldiers.
 * investing in Yhilin outskirts mercenary offices.
 * conversation between Orcent and Hilstara at The Crimson Cape bar in Stineford.
 * funding HQ armory.
 * funding Givini war monument.
 * reaching the Incubus King Pin chest without leaving the Ancient Ruin.
 * copying the Givini king's aide (guy east of his throne).
 * massage scene, after the Ardan succession section.
 * if after the Tak'Kan Hall of Order voting Grubbak says "The results are overwhelming", OR if "That is substantially more than the simple majority required."
 * conversation between Hilstara and Wynn in HQ.
 * at Council of Gawnfall if succubi are accepted, OR if succubi form new religion, OR  if Church diverges.
 * first visit to Orri's Restaurant in Ardford.
 * if Tanurak doesn't affect the Erosian orgy.
 * capturing the slaver during the Gilded Lily quest.
 * giving her a divine shard.
 * for getting either of the following comments from Riala when arriving on Mithyn's island during Incubus War: "Given the chaos of the battle, I don't see how we could have done better. We're relatively near and we have solid knowledge of her shields.", or "Our position could be worse. We'll have to fight our way in, but we have some knowledge of her shields." OR if comment is "Our position isn't strong, but we've at least learned a little about her shields."

Minimum legit value: 15

Affection titles

 * 0 Uncertain Ally
 * 25 Old Friend
 * 50 Committed Ally
 * 75 Loyal Ally
 * 100 Beloved Ally

Relationships
Megail: Though they aren't on good terms at first, Hilstara and Megail grow to have strong relationship. On their trip while the party is split up, they have multiple conversations and gain more respect for each other. A less important conversation leads them to have a threesome scene with Simon, where Megail is receptive to Hilstara's advances. It is unknown if Hilstara knows the truth about Megail's past, but based on what she has said, it would only increase her respect for her.

Aka: The two of them are good friends, having many common topics to bond over. Hilstara is interested in Aka sexually and Aka is at least willing to experiment with her. They don't seem to have been involved much since that scene, but it doesn't seem to have harmed their friendship in any way.

Yarra: Though Hilstara doesn't particularly dislike Yarra, being pretty laid-back about things, she also keeps her distance due to her old habits about succubi. Much later in the game, Hilstara seems to have overcome this bias and they have a good conversation and a threesome scene together.

Carina: Hilstara is supportive of Carina, even though they two of them don't agree on theology. Though Hilstara has some interest in Carina, when Carina refuses Hilstara backs off. The two of them seem to be on generally good terms and often have similar perspectives as human Ardans.

Lynine: Shortly after joining the harem, Lynine goes to Hilstara for advice about dealing with succubi. Hilstara provides it and they also have a scene that proves Lynine is just sensitive to everything. Aside from this, the two of them seem to be on good terms but haven't interacted much.

Galvia: While the party is in Eustrin, these two catch each other's eyes and they have a brief fling. Both being older, experienced women, they aren't head-over-heels, just enjoying each other. They seem to part on very good terms.

Special notes

 * Her favorite color is violet.
 * In function of your preparations, decisions and choices, you can lose her as a party member temporarily or, in the worst case, for good. Check the Third Arclent War guide for more details.

Scenes

 * Hilstara First Time - Necessity makes old friends new lovers. Unmissable. In the tunnels of Devil's Pass.
 * Bathing with Hilstara - Simon meets her in the bath for some good "clean" fun. Talk to her in the baths of the Yhilin Palace after foiling the coup.
 * Aka + Hilstara - Sparring makes the warrior women hot and bothered and they decide to share some fun with Simon. Return to the Yhilin Palace after rescuing Megail. Requires a combined affection of 80.
 * Megail + Hilstara - They remember their previous conversation about titjobs... After the reunion, leave Janine's retreat once and return. Requires a combined affection of 110.
 * Hilstara + Carina - Carina tries to have Simon for herself in the Ardford hot springs, but he is not as alone as he appears. Reserve an entire side of the baths in the Gardens of Steam.
 * Ardford Orgy - Well, that's one way to make travel by carriage less tedious. On leaving the summit, if you got all the threesome scenes in Ardford.
 * Hilstara x Succubi - A number of her lusty troops are really impressed with Hilstara's leadership during the Battle of Yhilin. Unmissable. After Simon deals with the immediate aftermath of the battle.
 * Hilstara x Lynine - Lynine tries to seduce Hilstara with some complaints/doubts about the succubi. After walking away from Ginasta after the conversation with Aka.
 * Yarra + Hilstara - Yarra and Hilstara decide to have some fun with some taste of Simon. In Yhilin palace royal baths. Requires a combined affection of 180 and having visited Zirantia.
 * Hilstara x Galvia - She and Galvia decide to becoming better acquainted. Talk to Galvia at Eustrin's bar.
 * Fuckety Fuck - Like almost everything involving Qum, burning off the effects of her bomb is a whole lot of fun. Requires approving Qum's research after visiting Zirantia.
 * Hilstara Massage - Hilstara enlists Simon to get some kinks out. After the Ardan succession in the Headquarters.
 * Titfucking Tips - Wendis gives Hilstara some direction in how to give Simon titjobs. After returning from the deep Tower talk to Hilstara.
 * Ravaging Conqueror - Trin suggests Simon refill the lust reserves with an orgy including Aka, Yarra, Qum, Nalili, Hilstara, Varia, Lynine, Balia, and Trin. Accept Trin's proposal during the Second Gathering.

On-demand:
 * Doggie - At 50 affection and above.
 * Sixty-nine - At 75 affection and above.
 * Missionary - At 100 affection.