Introduction
Alright, back from vacation and right out of the gate with a hot limited banner. I gotta shake off the rust! Thankfully, this update shouldn't be as long as the last few. This is a high powered banner, and high powered banners tend to be easier to write about. There's less nuance when there's a clearly right choice.
This article specifically covers the new units from the Ideal City 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
Banner Discussion
Q: Should I pull?
A: Overwhelming, yes. Although this banner does not have the single strongest unit ahead of us, it does have the most total value. All three units here are extremely good. Even if you want to aim for someone else further down the road like Texas, Mlynar, or Reed, I would not suggest skipping this banner entirely. It is one of the best banners we've ever had.
However, the pull decisions ahead of us are becoming extremely difficult. From a meta perspective there are only two "easy skip" banners, while there are three other "must pull" banners and several others worth considering. If you're a free2play or a low spender, you’re probably not going to get everyone, and there is no easy, absolute suggestion for how to divvy up your pulls.
Good luck.
Q: Should I pull on this banner or save for Il Siracusano?
A: I answered this in the previous update, but I'm including it here again since it's extremely relevant to the current discussion. The answer below is the same as it was in the LE update.
I would favor the Gavial/Pozy banner, as it's the stronger banner overall. While Texas is the strongest unit between the two banners, Pozy is a very top meta unit herself. There is not a particularly large difference in value between them. On the other hand, Gavial is quite a bit more valuable than Penance — see “Looking Ahead” below on why you should be cautious with Penance. The 5★s make a surprising difference as well. Despite her rarity, Cantabile is just as meta as Gavial and Pozy, while Lunacub is... not. Both banners are ridiculously good, but when you analyze them closely, the summer banner wins out.
Furthermore, there is the factor of opportunity cost. By skipping the summer banner entirely, you remove many of the best total outcomes (that is, obtaining everyone you want). A unit's initial release is far and away the best time to obtain them, and by skipping that initial release, you lose a lot of long term value. It makes more sense to roll on the first available (and stronger) banner.
All that said, the Texas banner is tremendous. It is reasonable to prioritize it over the summer banner. However I would be very hesitant to skip the summer banner entirely, and don’t forget about Mlynar either!
Q: What happened to Dorothy's Vision? I thought that was the next major event?
A: I mentioned this in the previous update, but it's been speculated for a while now that Yostar would switch up the event order so that the Summer limited banner would line up with the global anniversary. Several events had to be switched, so the schedule ahead will be a bit unpredictable. If you're like me and waiting for the American Science Rat, she should be coming sometime between mid-February to late-March depending on how they lay things out.
Q: Any drama this time?
A: Fun fact, my Dossoles Holiday update was by far the most viewed Mastery article since I've moved to GP. Drama sells clicks. I'm half tempted to make something up! However, no, there really isn't any drama this time. While there are power creep concerns and the eternal problem of predatory limited banners, those are known topics that have been discussed to death. Compared to DH, HG did a really good job with this patch.
If I did have one complaint it's that the skins pretty much have dropped all pretense of theme and are now just coomer-bait, but that doesn't seem worth getting into a fuss over.
Q: Why is Cantabile so good?
A: What if you could have the DP generation of a Flagbearer, the combat capability of a Pioneer, and the utility of an Executor (FRD), all in one? That's Cantabile. She does so much with very little downside. The only real drawback is that she needs to attack to generate DP, but that's rarely a problem, especially on stages that would require that level of generation.
Don’t be fooled by her rarity. Cantabile is just as meta as Pozy and Gavial.
Q: Is Pozëmka (Pozy) really that good? Does she power creep Schwarz?
A: Yes and yes. Technically speaking it isn't a complete power creep. Schwarz deals with high armor better than Pozy does, and she also only needs one tile while Pozy needs two in order to be effective. However, these are rare circumstances and Pozy does indeed power creep Schwarz for all practical purposes. Pozy and her typewriter more than double Schwarz's total damage output against most targets. Schwarz’ FRD Module is no help either, since the Typewriter has the same redeploy time, no initial windup, and can’t be harmed! Unfortunately, it really isn't all that close.
It's worth noting that the difficulty of the game hasn't appreciably increased even though recent units are exceedingly powerful. Just because she is powercrept does not suddenly make Schwarz a bad unit. If you like Schwarz better, by all means, continue to use her.
Q: How about Gavial the Invincible? Where does she fit into the meta?
A: There are four reasons why Gavial is good: Burst, Bulk, Uptime, and Mlynar.
The first three are pretty self-explanatory. She largely fits into the Cornerstone role (i.e. Blaze/Thorns/Mountain/Mudrock type units) but brings a lot more power, bulk, and flexibility than her rivals. Pretty straightforward.
The fourth reason is less obvious. If you are out of the loop, the upcoming unit Mlynar is widely considered to be the best unit in the game. He is the most "must-pull" upcoming unit. So what does that have to do with Gavial? Well, Mlynar does have one downside: He doesn't do much when his skill is down. Coincidentally, Gavial's notably high uptime S2 almost perfectly syncs with Mlynar's downtime. In other words, the two of them combine for a 100% uptime high-burst high-bulk map-murder combo.
I don't tend to give a lot of merit to unit combos in this game. They're often difficult to set up for results that are situational or better obtained elsewhere. However this combo is an exception, and the two of them working together is a key part of many IS runs and Advanced or Niche style clears.
Of course, this combo wouldn’t work if Gavial wasn’t already very strong. She may not be at the very zenith of the meta like Pozy, but she is still very strong on her own merits and worth pulling regardless of Mlynar.
Q: Any Module thoughts for this banner?
A: I don't plan to make Module discussions a regular part of these updates, but I did want to highlight three operators who are getting regraded based on modules.
First and second are Gladiia and Ethan, who I mentioned in the big Module discussion in the Lingering Echoes update. They are both getting grade improvements due to their extremely good Modules which come in this Ideal City patch. Their write-ups have been updated to reflect the changes, so check those out in the main guide or on their operator pages.
Third is Rosa, who recently got a similarly good Module. This one comes with What the Firelight Casts, so it didn't make the previous update. It adds a surprisingly huge amount of damage, so both her S2 and S3 will see improved grades when that patch drops on global (sometime in the mid to late summer).
Q: Any hopes for Arknights in 2023?
A: WHERE'S MY RIM BILLY EVENT HG? GIVE ME MY DAMN BUNNIES!
More serious answer, I hope to see an expansion of difficult content. I know it's not an easy thing to design and balance since most of their audience is more casual, however, the unit power creep has been extreme while the overall difficulty of the game hasn't changed. The only real challenge left is IS hard mode and the occasional CC. I'd really like to see some more regular extreme content so us older players have something more to do and newer players have something to aim for.
Q: Any thoughts on the CNY livestream?
A: THEY’RE ADDING A NEW RIM BILLITON OPERATOR BUT SHE’S A LIBERI INSTEAD OF A CAUTUS. WHY. AIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Other than rage, I’ll hold judgment on the rest until the patch. However, the previews aren’t particularly impressive.
Ideal City - Great Axe and Pen Nib
Gavial the Invincible
 |
S2M3 | S+ | S+ | S+ |
 |
S3M3 | S- | A+ | A- |
Gavial is a modestly strong M6 consideration, but if you can only afford one Mastery, start with her S2. S3 has significantly higher DPS, but Gavial is a relatively rare situation where the utility of her S2 more than makes up the difference. S2 still has very good damage, but also has range, control, a higher attack multiplier, and an absurdly high up-time. Mastery makes an especially large difference to that all-important up-time.
In addition to all of that utility, there is another reason to prioritize S2 first. It is extremely rare in this guide that another operator influences any suggestions. However, in this case, Gavial’s S2 uptime at M3 almost perfectly synchronizes with Mlynar’s S3 downtime. This allows for two very strong units to cover each other, and it is enabled by the improvements to uptime over Mastery. Combos in Arknights tend to be gimmicky and easy to overrate, but this specific interaction should not be ignored.
However, don’t forget about her S3. It has better raw damage, and the DPS gains on its Masteries are well above average. Since Gavial is a Centurion, that increased block count means more targets as well, which greatly improves her damage potential. It doesn't quite see as much use as S2 (especially in IS), but it is one of the more worthy secondary skills out there.
Last, her S1 garners a mention as a self-sustain option, but remains ungraded because the skill doesn’t play to her better role. Most players shouldn’t bother with it, but if you particularly like Gavial you may want to give it some consideration. The gains on it aren’t too impressive, though, so even then it will probably be fine without Mastery.
Pozyomka
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S3M3 | S+++ | S+++ | S+++ |
 |
S2M3 | B- | B+ | B- |
Pozëmka (Pozy) is one of the best DPS units in the game. There isn't a lot of nuance when it comes to that tier of unit. The best skill on one of the best units has one of the best ranks, and most people won't need to look beyond that. S3 has sizable Mastery gains too, with big improvements to damage, cycle time, and initial windup. How much more convincing do you need to make it a high priority upgrade?
Her S2 can be an appealing secondary Mastery. It is difficult to give up the damage that S3 brings, but S2 gives her quite a bit more flexibility. The M3 upgrade in particular drops the redeployment time on her typewriter by an additional 4 seconds and comes with a nice SP cost reduction, which makes it a huge upgrade in terms of flexibility. For a unit of Pozy's pedigree, it’s something worth considering once you're done with your team's primary upgrades. Keep in mind, however, that she cannot activate S2 if nothing is in her own range (not the typewriter’s range) which is pretty limiting compared to S3.
Finally, Pozy's S1 is ungraded since the niches it fills over S3 or S2 are miniscule. However, you might consider it as a luxury extra if you particularly like Pozy and find yourself using her a lot. Burst is almost always better in this game, but with S1 Pozy has some of the highest consistent DPS in the game.
Cantabile
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S2M3 | S+ | S++ | S+ |
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S1M3 | B | A | A+ |
Cantabile is a very powerful and flexible unit, and is very worthy of an M6 consideration, a rarity among 5★s.
Most people will want to start with her S2. It is the better skill and has very important Mastery gains. Notably, it can be instantly activated at M2 with Bagpipe (regardless of Bagpipe's potentials). Although that is a big point, you will want the full M3 due to ammo and ASPD gains.
If you do not have Bagpipe, you may want to consider starting with S1 Masteries instead. Without Bagpipe, S2 is quite a bit less appealing. The initial cost on S2 can be quite high for the role she fills so the instantly activated S1 can be more appealing. However, even if you do have Bagpipe, you should still consider S1 for Mastery in addition to S2, albeit with lower priority. It has the higher attack multiplier and produces more DP, and for a unit of Cantabile's power, that difference can matter.
Minimalist
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S2M2 | None | ||
Within the very crowded realm of 5★ Casters, Minimalist does have a niche. There are not many "consistent" Caster skills at the 4★ or 5★ rarity, such as with his S2. That does have *some* value, especially if you favor niche clears. However, it’s not enough for him to pick-up a grade. He ultimately has pretty low damage in an already crowded class of units and the Mech-Accord archetype is not well suited for that consistency role.
If you are raising him anyway, he has a rare breakpoint at S2M2 due to the reduced SP cost. The much more expensive M3 is only a small damage improvement.
The Grading System
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). 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 a lengthier discussion on why this is, please check out the main Roguelike mastery guide linked below. I've excluded most of the discussion from the main guide, simply because this guide is already long enough as it is.
Additionally, please check out the main Roguelike guide for more in-depth operator specific discussions specific to that mode. Although I have updated most write-ups in this guide to reflect all of the grades, some of the nuance on the best picks won't come across as well here, and the main Roguelike guide will provide a better analysis of who is a strong pick.
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.
Mastery Look Ahead
The CNY patch isn't even out yet so they are not included. Initial previews aren't too impressive, however.
| Dorothy's Vision | ||
| Astgenne | Welfare | As a 5★ that only does straight damage, she will always be limited in a meta context, but Astgenne is a pretty good unit among other 5★ Casters at least. She fixes a lot of the issues Leizi has with shorter cycles and stronger damage which makes her perfectly usable. However she takes a lot of investment between Masteries and Modules, plus lives in that unfortunate gulf of competing with the free, strong, and mandatory Amiya. That makes her a waifu option only, but at least a pretty good one. S2 is by far her better skill as S1 doesn't have enough damage on it to justify its use. |
| Greyy the Lightning Bearer | Gacha | Greyy grew up pretty nicely with his new alter form. Once a joke at the tail end of the 4★ rarity, he now has a fairly solid niche in his extended range control and solid area damage. Sniper players especially will find him very valuable but unfortunate RNG and 5★ stats will keep him out of the general meta still. His S2 is his best skill by quite a bit, though his S1 will have some small niche value as well with a more consistent slow for its duration. |
| Dorothy | Gacha | Dorothy is reminiscent of Ling in many ways, but without the baggage of bogging down your team slots. There is a lot of powerful potential with her kit, but like the 5★ trappers, it's a kit that requires a lot of investment, both in resources and in effort. She is certainly not an easy unit to get maximum value out of, so for many she may come across as more of a luxury then her potential would indicate. Like all trappers, her Masteries are valuable (near mandatory) since they reduce the cycle of her traps and all three of her skills have value. Her S3 is probably the best target with its superior damage, though her S1 and S2 both have very appealing niches. She'll be an M9 candidate for some players, though an M0-M3 for others. |
| An Obscure Wanderer | ||
| Provisio | Gacha | She is essentially the 5★ version of Podenco, which makes her pretty decent. However, Proviso lacks an important feature of Podenco in cost effectiveness. Proviso costs quite a bit more for what is ultimately a fairly minor upgrade, so she is unlikely to get a grade. Go with S2 if you want to do one anyway, which a lot of people will thanks to her base skill (but don't raise units only for base skills!) |
| Mlynar | Gacha | At the risk of starting a war in the comments, Mlynar is a direct powercreep to SilverAsh and anyone arguing otherwise is high on the copium. While SilverAsh most definitely does not become a bad unit and still holds some very important niches that will keep him long-term meta relevant, Mlynar is almost twice as good when it comes to damage. No amount of utility can make up for that. He is the single best unit ahead of us (Texas and Pozy are both close though) and almost everyone should aim to be pulling for him. His S3 will be among the highest graded Masteries in the game. His S2 might pick up a low grade, but it's a situation where his better skill is just too good to give up. |
| The Legend of Luo Xiaohei | ||
| Luo Xiaohei | Collab Welfare | There isn't a lot to say about this collab unit. He is fine, but nothing special, and you'll be better off just using Arene for your low rarity ranged Guard needs. That said he will definitely appeal to a lot of people and doesn't cost much, so go with S2 if you want to Master a skill which gets a decent increase to his damage output and is the more impactful skill. S1 is certainly a novel skill, but the low damage per hit means it just isn’t that useful for anything but cuteness. |
| Mizuki and the Caerula Arbor | ||
| Highmore | Welfare | Highmore is very similar to La Pluma to the point their S1 is literally identical. La Pluma is still the better unit in general since her ASPD talent is better for what the class does, but Highmore will still be a very viable alternative (or addition, double reaper go brrrr). This is especially true in IS#3 where she is the better pick with some big advantages thanks to her mode specific talent. There is a much bigger difference across their S2s however, with Highmore’s being far less valuable. The bulk that her S2 brings isn’t as useful and is much more niche in addition to some pretty poor gains. Stick with just her S1 for Mastery which makes her a very consistent and reliable option in IS#3. La Pluma will perform better elsewhere though. |
| Chapter 11 - Return to Mist | ||
| Dagda | Welfare | Brawlers have always been a bad archetype (the best Brawler only becomes good by turning into a Centurion instead), and Dagda doesn't change that. Her damage is subpar even with her skill active, and is comically bad when her skills are down. And she can only block 1. There is very little to like here. Even her Mastery gains are poor, which makes any suggestion difficult. Go with S2 if you insist on raising her. Who the hell thought Defensive Recovery on her S1 was a good idea? |
| Totter | Gacha | Totter is a pretty good unit for what he is. His niche is a helpful one, though not quite enough to put him into the top tiers of 4★s. Instead, he’s a solid unit that can be useful to have at times. He incidentally comes out at the same time as a new SSS stage that plays to his strengths extremely well. He's still unlikely to be graded, but both of his skills will have use if you want (favor S1 for SSS specifically). |
| Paprika | Gacha | One has to wonder why Paprika exists. She isn't bad in the absolute sense, but she serves no purpose in the broader game, competing directly with some very strong units while offering no special value herself. If you need the healing, there are plentiful other options that provide much better support or much lower costs (or both). She will be ungraded and you shouldn't be raising her, but go with S2 if you insist. It at least brings her healing up to a respectable total compared to her S1. |
| Stainless | Gacha | The only good unit from the Chapter 11 patch; however, Stainless is still pretty niche. He does have plenty of support use, so he is far from a bad unit, but the setup he requires puts him on the gimmicky side of things. He'll have pretty low Mastery grades. Without Mastery he can still be a pretty effective support unit, with neither his S1 or his S2 being exceptionally worth a Mastery; in particular, his S2 is a great skill, but it only needs SL 7). S3 will be his best Mastery option. The setup it requires can be a burden, but it has a huge attack multiplier with a lot of flexibility. If that DPS aspect doesn't interest you though, he can still be safely used at M0. Be wary of overvaluing his S1. Although the final number is good, it requires much more setup than other comparable buff skills. |
| Il Siracusano | ||
| Vigil | Welfare | Vigil looks to be the weakest 6★ of 2022. Even on paper, his kit isn’t very good. It has low DP gen, no ATK improvement, and no real utility. However, it's even worse than that. His wolves, which his skills are reliant on, are incredibly weak. They are statistically worse than Beanstalk's or Blacknight's pets, and the supposed benefits of them come nowhere close to making up the difference. If that weren't enough, there are many bizarre interactions in his kit, bordering on bugs, which remain unfixed as of this writing. There's too many to list here in this look ahead, but check this write-up by Boelthor over on Reddit for some more info. You'll get much better value raising Blacknight, or even Beanstalk. I hope this changes by his release on EN, but as it stands, he'll be among the lowest graded 6★s post-Module upgrades. |
| Lunacub | Gacha | Lunacub’s permanent stealth will certainly have some uses, but her DPS isn't high enough to justify the added investment. Her cycle time is perplexingly long for a year four unit, and the lack of attack multiplier on her S2 means she'll struggle more compared to her competition. She's a bit like Kirara in that regard: a nice idea hamstrung by poor damage and skill uptime. She'll be ungraded, but go with S2 if you particularly like her. |
| Penance | Gacha | If you relied only on the initial flurry of highlights, you could be forgiven for thinking that Penance is the hyper meta unit of this banner. She is a cautionary tale of not using only Youtube/Bilibili highlights to guide your opinion. Of course, she’s still a monster of a unit. She hits hard, has a mountain of bulk, and an absolutely incredible damage reflect. She is potentially the best solo lane holder in a lot of scenarios. However, for general purposes, Mudrock remains the go to choice, as Penance’s kit works poorly in a full team comp. Because she is reliant on having enemies to kill in order to maintain her bulk, she ends up rather inflexible compared to her competitors. S3 will be her main skill worth Mastery. Her other two skills are fine, and big Penance fans will find both of them useful, but her S3 is far and away the best option. They won't justify the investment cost for most. |
| Texas the Omertosa | Gacha Limited | Texas is the banner’s real winner and the latest to power creep an older unit (RIP in pieces Phantom). She is extremely powerful and is at the very tip-top of the meta. She has better ST Arts DPS than both Surtr and Eyja. Not only that, she also has a mountain of utility; her S2 has a strong RES debuff which makes her effective against nearly all enemies, her S3 has range, anti-air, and heavy crowd-control, and that's on top of the benefits of being a FRD. Both her S2 and S3 will receive top tier grades. She will be the highest graded M6 yet, so plan for both. |
| Quartz | Red Cert Shop | Quartz certainly has an eye-catching stat-line, but she isn't any better than other alternatives, even at her rarity. She mainly seems to be here to tease the ridiculous stats the eventual 6★ on the archetype will have. She'll be ungraded due to said alternatives. There just isn't much value in raising her beyond novelty. However, you'll want to prioritize S2 should that appeal to you. |
| Qanipalaat | Red Cert Shop | Qanipalaat is a fairly interesting unit with some unique aspects to his kit. He's pretty decent too, for his rarity, with good crowd control and reasonable damage. However the ever present problem with the 5★ Casters is present here. It's a crowded group and being just decent isn't enough to particularly standout. Ultimately he doesn't justify the investment, especially with the added red cert cost. The Mastery gains on his S2 are pretty good, so he may end up with a low grade, but he shouldn't be on most people's planners for any reason but personal desire. Pass on his S1 which is just a worse version of Amiya's S1. |
| What the Firelight Casts | ||
| Puzzle | Welfare | A lot of people, myself included, initially scoffed at Puzzle. He clearly isn't as good as Cantabile (who almost everyone has) and has fairly high SP costs for a Vanguard. However, he's proven himself to be a solid option, especially for a Welfare. To be clear, he is nowhere near as valuable as Cantabile. He is more DPS oriented, which is nice, but not really the purpose of the role. However, his DPS and utility are good enough that his S2 warrants moderate consideration. It charges surprisingly quickly and outputs a ton of damage on top of his flexible archetype. His S1 may be worth considering as well, but it only gains damage at M2 and M3 so odds are it will be ungraded aside from the M1 breakpoint. |
| Harmonie | Gacha | Within the realm of 5★ Casters, Harmonie is pretty decent. How many times have I said that before? It's a crowded group. Harmonie is still far from a must-raise, but she stands out as having a well designed kit. It has decent damage, good utility, and it all works well together. Niche players especially will find her quite nice. S2 will be the obvious choice for Masteries and will likely end up with a modest grade. Although she exists in a crowded space, her utility along with solid gains will make it something to consider on the lower end of priority. |
| Reed the Flame Shadow | Gacha | How do you improve the often subpar Caster class? By making them a Medic, of course. Makes total sense. Duh. Reed's alter form is just the most recent big meta unit. There's a lot of those lately and I only have so many adjectives to describe how busted these units tend to be. Reed is a tremendous unit. She features the highest Arts ST DPS in the game, alongside some of the highest HPS and extremely flashy mass crowd-clearing to boot. However there is some reason for caution. Certainly she will be an upper crust unit, but a few small usability quirks may keep her off the very top. Unlike units like Surtr or Ch’alter she has to choose between ST or AoE damage, she needs other units to deal full ST damage, and Arts Weakening isn’t as good as RES shred. She is extremely strong but we’ll need some time to judge just exactly *how* strong. Regardless, Reed will be a top graded M6. Plan for both S2 and S3. |
