Arknights: Mastery Priority Guide - Episode 12 - All Quiet Under the Thunder Update

RIP in pieces to Contingency Contract. You will be missed. On one hand, it does feel pretty bad knowing the replacements (POO and DOS) are so poor in comparison, but on the other I'll sure be glad to not deal with ATK down tag daily-maps anymore. Regardless, time marches on, and now we enter a fairly interesting period of content. Let's dive in.

This article specifically covers the new units from the Episode 12 - All Quiet Under the Thunder event, You can find the full version of the guide here, or on the banner below which covers all of the other noteworthy Masteries in the game

Q:  Should I pull?

A:  Yes.  While Ines is not quite as insane as the recent Yato alter, she is by far the best new unit until Typhon.  Unless Limited FOMO (fear of missing out) matters to you, which it will for many given Muelsye's popularity, there is little reason to skip Ines.  She is a key part of the endgame meta, and even if that doesn't appeal to you, she is by far the best Vanguard pick in IS as well which is especially valuable since Vanguard tickets tend to be bad picks otherwise.  Meta-wise, there is no reason to skip this banner.

Q:  Why is Ines so special?  Flagpipe has been the meta for years, so what changed?

A:  Ines can be a little difficult to appreciate, and I am guilty of it myself as my early lookahead illustrated.  We've just concluded a period of extremely overpowered DPS units, and when compared to the likes of Yato and Texas, she can seem a bit underwhelming.  After all, her damage output is similar to that of Phantom and didn't we just get done talking about how badly powercrept he is?  Instead, Ines' power largely comes from her team role, bringing together nearly everything you could want out of a Vanguard slot, roles which were previously spread out over a smattering of often subpar units.

Much of it is self-evident such as the utility of her reduced deployment time or her strong damage (for a fast redeploying Vanguard).  However, some of it is more subtle and easy to overlook.  Her Bind can seem underwhelming at first since it's only applied once, however the fact it's applied on first attack is a tremendous asset.  Along with her range and damage, it helps her with early holds that are often a war of attrition.  She lasts much longer than any other Vanguard, who would all be forced to block or require outside help, and she continues to hold that value throughout the entire stage.  The new Steal aspect is also incredibly powerful.  It's easy to overlook that the effective impact is double the displayed number.  She doesn't only apply a debuff, but applies a buff to herself too, and the base 90 value of the ATK Steal is more than 10% even on many elites.  

To put it another way, she effectively has 400 DEF and 720 ATK *base*, plus 5 seconds of free attacking.  All in a FRD package.  Then on top of all of that she has expanded range, persistent snare, persistent invis reveal, ASPD steal, invisibility (the invulnerable kind), a flying dagger... the list just goes on and on.

Simply put, Ines in total is a tremendous team asset thanks to just how many roles she covers.

Now, I can already hear some people saying, "But Flagbearers have lots of utility too!"  However, if you look at them a bit closer they tend to be quite specific.  All three have good utility, but it's all circumstantial.  Myrtle only heals other Vanguards which may or may not be useful. Elysium primarily works with Snipers or against Invisible enemies, and while Saileach's damage amp is useful against everyone, it isn't as good as actually doing the damage in the first place.  Hopefully you can readily see how Ines' utility tends to be more generally applicable, which only really leaves DP generation as the advantage for Flagbearers.  

Of course, DP generation is a big advantage, but it's also an overkill one in most content and Ines is competitive even in that regard.  Ines' S2 is actually comparable DP generation to a Flagbearer's S1, with the main difference being reliability in the Flagbearer's favor (since Agents need a target to attack), while Ines' S3 has a similar comparison to most Pioneer's.  That reliability difference can and does matter.  It's not as if Flagbearers are suddenly bad (common default Vanguard team component is Bagpipe + Ines + 1 Flag), but hopefully you can see how, mixed with the utility, Ines' ceiling is much higher than any Vanguard we've had before.

Q:  I already have Cantabile raised.  Should I still pull for and raise Ines?  Is this situation the same as Saileach was with Myrtle/Elysium?

A:  Some background for the newer players, when Saileach came out, many people, myself included in this very article series, cautioned against overreacting.  She represented only a modest improvement over Myrtle and Elysium, and an extremely costly one at that.  That is not the case here.  Ines is a significant and worthwhile improvement over Cantabile.

If you have already used Cantabile then you probably have a good sense of how powerful Agents are already.  Now take that, double the damage and greatly improve the utility.  Compare that to Saileach and Elysium, where Saileach had identical DP gen and arguably only different utility rather than better.  Cantabile is still a good unit.  You can never have too many FRDs.  But Ines is significantly better in nearly every way.  The only edge Cantabile still holds is her ammo mechanic that can let her retain her stealth, but otherwise Ines is a very big upgrade.

Q:  Should I pull for Ines potentials?

A:  This is mercifully the last time I have to include this question for a while.  If you've been reading my articles the last couple months you already know the answer.  No.  They just aren't worth the cost.  Of course, Ines does have pretty good potentials as all FRD-adjacent units do.   However, in Ines' case they matter a little less than normal since her S2 cycle is already so short.  The difference in redeployment times just doesn't matter as much in Ines' case as it does with Texas or Yato, although her pot4 is notable since it allows for an extra attack per skill cycle.

Q:  With the main EX banners now behind us, what is the suggested pull order ahead?

A:  Fortunately, pull pressure ahead of us isn't quite as bad as it's been in the last six months.  There are some good units ahead of us, but nothing to the degree that Mlynar/Texas/Reed/Yato were.  Ines, Typhon, and Eyjafjalla the Hvit Askr are the top meta targets.  After those three, things are much more open.  While some are stronger than others, no one else is really essential, so there's a lot of flexibility in preferences.  Executor and Muelsyse are the strongest of the pile, Jessica the Liberated is a step below, while Ho'olheyak and Swire bring up the rear.  Although be aware that despite being a bad general unit, Ho'olheyak seems to crop up in Advanced scenarios on occasion due to her utility.

For the 4 and 5★s, we are entering a period of frustrating and intense mediocrity.  There are a couple that border on usable, but the only one that can remotely be described as good is Insider, who is a welfare.

Note that the above suggestions do not account for the brand new Chapter 13 banner.  However, my first impressions of Hoederer are cautious so I don’t think too much will change.

Also be aware that there is a good chance Typhon comes AFTER Eyjafjalla, rather than before.  This is because Typhon's event is the lead in for IS#4, however the last IS#3 update is in January which is when Eyja's event will run due to the anniversary.  So odds are Typhon will be delayed until February to lead into IS#4 in March.

Q:  Any Module thoughts this patch?

A:  Global - All Quiet Under the Thunder - This patch on global is a pretty good one Module-wise, featuring two highly anticipated archetypes.

• Phalanx Casters and Lin - The Phalanx Modules are great across the board and if they are regulars on your team, all four are easily justifiable.  However, as I noted in the Vernal Winds update, Lin's is the special one.  The universal effect of maintaining their bulk is a huge boon to the archetype, but Lin gets a double whammy effect since it inflates the threshold of her shield, rendering her nigh invulnerable.  Then, if that wasn't enough, the upgrade effects help her awful cycle too.  While her damage still won't blow you away, Lin with her Module is one of the most useful and versatile Casters in the current game.  As promised, her grades and write-up have been updated to reflect this.  They are included below in this update as well as on her operator page and the main guide.
   
• Trapmasters and Dorothy - Although not quite as good as the Phalanx Modules, the Trapmaster set is still a solid set of Modules that are justifiable on all three.  As typical, the 6★ Dorothy is the standout, and her Module extends what she's capable of.  However, unlike Lin, Dorothy's Module doesn't really change her as a unit so her grades will be unchanged.  Her S1 does become a bit more appealing since its higher multiplier benefits from the crit mines more, however I've opted to leave it ungraded since it's still an expensive fringe thing.  Her write-up has been slightly updated to at least note the interaction though.
   
• Nian and Ceobe - Neither of their second Modules are bad exactly, but for both Nian and Ceobe, their first Modules are the preferred ones.  For Nian, her first Module gives more bulk with the only benefit of the second being the extra block.  For Ceobe, her first just does more damage overall.

CN (lookahead) - Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures

Abjurers are not a good class, and the Modules here don't change anything, however Quercus' Module is surprisingly good and it raises an interesting question I'll have to answer in the next update.  There was already a stark difference in usability among the 5★ Abjurer's since Quercus' Shelter talent is actually useful, and the Modules further exacerbate this difference as well as playing to Quercus' off-Medic healing niche.  She is a shocking good off-Medic, hitting some of the highest effective ST HPS available between her Shelter and Healing.

Some have even said she's better than Silence the Paradigmatic now, and while I won't quite go that far, it raises an interesting question for this guide.  Quercus' S1 is currently ungraded.  Supposing we take Quercus and Silence2's value to be roughly the same (there isn't a perfect comparison between their skills), that implies either Quercus' S1 should be graded, OR Silence should not be graded.

The only ungraded 6★ in the guide is Vigil, and I'm of the camp that Silence2 is somewhat underrated.  This leans me towards the idea that Quercus' S1 will get a grade promotion in the future, rather than leave Silence2 ungraded.  I'm not ready to commit to either as of this writing, but since Lone Trail is next, I guess I'll have to decide pretty soon.

tl;dr Quercus' Module is pretty good, but no Abjurer justifies the cost yet.

CN (lookahead) - Episode 13

I'll save the longer review for the Lone Trail patch.  In addition to this patch being quite wordy, whatever is announced in the CN livestream soon has a good chance to affect how I discuss Ebenholz' third Module.  That said, the Fortress Modules are quite good!

Q:  "The shilling myself question"

A:  If you missed it in the previous updates, I published my first fictional work.  You can find the clean version of it over on AO3 here.

Ines

Cement

Humus

Morgan

Lin

Story vs Advanced vs Roguelike

There are very few absolute answers when it comes to prioritizing upgrades. A major determining factor is what exactly your goals are. Now, there are actually many more types of players than these three, but the most obvious delineation as far as which Masteries to think about comes down to the type of content you're most interested in clearing. If you only find value in first time story clears and risk 18 CC, then your goals will be different for someone looking to reach high-risk (25+) in CC.

Story - A story player is a player who is only interest in rewarded content.  This means all normal stages and challenge modes (without added personal challenges), risk 8 on CC daily stages, risk 18 on CC permanent stages, and the SSS game mode.

Advanced - An advanced player here is any player interested in non-reward topics such as higher risk CC and more min-maxed gameplay or specialty clears.

A note on the topic of the Advanced grades is that these grades should not be taken as specific advice for a specific CC. There may be an occasional specific note to provide some context or example, but the intention here is to be more general than a particular event and prioritize skills that will be broadly useful in multiple scenarios. A skill appearing once in a high-risk CC is not enough for inclusion here as CCs tend to lend themselves to niche scenarios that can't really be planned for. Further still, Advanced grades encompass all min/maxed gameplay and do not, strictly speaking, have to be about CCs.

Roguelike - These grades are specific to the Integrated Strategies game mode (aka, the Roguelike mode or IS#2 or IS#3).  These grades are slightly different compared to the Story vs Advanced delineation since the same sort of pressures apply in the mode regardless of the type of player you are.  These grades tend to be more "meta" focused than the others.  For IS#3, only up to Ascension 7 (trimmed medal) is considered for grades, however write-ups may include suggestions for higher Ascensions.

The Grades

S - These Masteries are the cream of the crop. They are Masteries that everyone with the unit should do and give a high priority to. Units with S tier Masteries get an outsized value from them, either because the skill is incredibly powerful or because it changes how the unit is used.  For the Roguelike mode, S-tier grades are reserved for the best skills on the most meta of units (whereas meta value is not necessarily a requirement in other mode grades).

A - These Masteries are powerful Skills that most players who have the unit should do. These are among the most powerful Masteries in the game, but less overtly overpowered than the S-tier Masteries.

B - These Masteries are reasonably powerful and worthy of consideration, but have a factor which hold them back. The impact may be relatively small for the cost, the unit may not be especially powerful already, the unit may not fit well into the meta, or there may be a better version available, among other examples.

C - These Masteries are strong enough to be noted, but should only be done by the most end game of players with nothing else to do. There's value in them, but most players will have something better to be doing.

Breakpoint - Not a true grade, but a designator given to an M1 that gives an unusually large benefit. In most cases, these should be prioritized immediately after the E2, thanks to their low cost and high value. Note that there are many M2 and M3 breakpoints but they are not considered breakpoints for this purpose as the cost is much more expensive. Also note that some breakpoints on valueless skills are excluded as well.

NG or None - Not a true grade, but these are sometimes used for Skills which are noteworthy but not worth Mastery.  Either the skill or unit is not worth using, or the Mastery has very poor Mastery gains.  NG stands for "No Grade".

Please remember all rankings here are considered independent of E2 priority, but do consider overall unit strength.  And most importantly, these grades should be treated as guidelines rather than absolute requirements.

No Chapter 13 lookahead yet. Even Lone Trail might be too close for a proper assessment though, so be patient. It’s a pretty interesting patch unit-wise with some pretty wide polarization on if Hoederer is any good or not. I will say I’m taking a much more cautious stance on Hoederer than most though. I worry people are overlooking some serious flaws in favor of ideal circumstance highlights.