Introduction
What better way to celebrate a story steeped in overly verbose poetic Chinese philosophy than with a hunky husband who recites you poetry non-stop? At least until he gets neutered in a few weeks (if he isn't already). Ahh well, the memes are fun while they last. This is a tricky patch with some tough pull choices, so lets get going, shall we?
I'd also like to take this spot to give a shoutout to my editor, Fourmana. He has been helping me out over the last year (for free!) and the guide has greatly improved thanks to his contributions. Unfortunately, he's off to grad school and won't have time to pitch in anymore. If you'd like to support him, consider checking out his little blog on obscure manga.
This article specifically covers the new units from the Where Vernal Winds Will Never Blow 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
FAQ and Banner Discussion
Q: Should I pull?
A: Yes, but it's a soft-ish yes, which may come as a surprise. The units here are strong with a lot of potential, and if they appeal to you, don't let my little article talk you off of them. However, when you start to nitpick at the details, neither of them reach the peak of the meta and they don't look quite as appealing as other options in the near future. For many, that won't matter, but for many others with limited pull budgets, it will. The power of the game has accelerated and there's just too many good units to choose between.
To be clear, this is a strong banner. If you like the units and/or the FOMO of the Limited unit matters to you, go ahead and pull. You probably won't regret it. There are just a lot of other upcoming units that will likely be better, depending on your team, preferences, and goals.
Now, for the nitpicking.
Lin needs an expensive Module to be decent. That Module doesn't come out until Chapter 12 (three-ish months from now), and even then she’s still relatively niche compared to the top end meta. If she can't take advantage of her niche as a ranged tank, she is just a more expensive alternative to better Casters. That Module is essential too. Without it, she ranks towards the bottom of the meta due to long cycle times and poor damage. With the brutal and limited costs of upgraded Modules, Lin can seem a dubious pull target.
Chongyue is harder to nitpick, but he has a few flaws too. He treads a dangerous line between cornerstone (e.g. Thorns, Mountain, etc) and mainline DPS. The nuance of that can be difficult to appreciate, and for many who are happy with more mundane Story clears, it doesn’t really matter either. However, that line is ultimately why he is not at the top of the meta despite his insane damage. He lacks the sustain and solo potential of the former, and his wind-up and reliance on Skadi the Corrupting Heart hampers the potential of the latter, ultimately resulting in a unit who is fairly replaceable.
Given the relatively poor odds of the Limited banner and the fact the MH collab banner (very powerful, and very limited) is on the near horizon as well as other powerful options, it is reasonable to not pull too hard here. Chongyue is amazing, especially if you're newer and may lack those core "carry" options, but this banner will not make or break your roster.
Q: Reed’s banner is still up at the time of this post’s publication. How does she look in IS#4? Does the pull advice from the last update change?
A: It is still very early in IS#4, so the meta is still settling, but I felt this was important enough to bring up while Reed’s banner is still active.
In IS#4, enemy RES getting out of control isn’t the concern it is in IS#3. Reed the Flame Shadow is extremely good in IS#4 even at high Ascension and she is one of the top picks. So if you are a Roguelike-focused player and have so far skipped Reed, you might wanna reconsider and pull for her while her banner is still up. Other top picks in IS#4 so far that are still ahead of us are Kirin X Yato, Ines, and the brand new Typhon.
Q: What's the deal with Chongyue and Skadi the Corrupting Heart? Why are they so commonly paired? Is Chongyue still good without Skadi?
A: If you were unaware, Chongyue synergizes really well with Skadi the Corrupting Heart. Unit combos are typically pretty low value in the meta, but Chongyue benefits from Skadi in a way that bucks that trend. It's probably the best two unit combo in the game.
Skadi's effects on Chongyue are two fold. The most obvious is her crazy regen. That isn't really a combo per se since it’s something everyone benefits from, but it does make up for one of Chongyue's biggest drawbacks — his lack of sustain.
Much more powerful, and much tougher to appreciate if you're unfamiliar with the deeper mechanics of Arknights, is Skadi's influence on Chongyue's damage output. I'll avoid getting too detailed here for the sake of avoiding math in an article that's supposed to be about Masteries. Note how Chongyue's skills all say "Deals X% damage". This is in contrast to the more common "Increases ATK by X%". They may effectively seem the same at first glance (and, in fact, often are), however there is a subtle difference. Skills like Chongyue's multiply the final ATK value instead of affecting it directly, and because Skadi's Inspiration buff is applied last in the ATK calculation, it gets multiplied by Chongyue's skills while normally it would just be added!
This leads to Chongyue having a multiplicative benefit from Skadi's Inspiration buff while most other units get a simple additive buff. To give some numbers, a max level S3M3 pot1 Chongyue will hit for 4075 on a crit proc. An S2M3 pot1 max level Skadi grants an Inspire buff of 266 ATK. With this, the same Chongyue now hits for 5756 on a crit proc, a whopping 41% increase. To compare, Mountain who has a more typical +ATK% on his S2 "only" gains about 22% from Skadi.
All that said, Chongyue is still very good at baseline. Even without her, his ramped up DPS is insane. However, knowing just how valuable Skadi is may recontextualize many highlight clears you've seen. It's difficult to be as critical of this combo as I usually am since Skadi is such a broken general purpose unit (and indeed, I'll be making a similar argument for Qiu Bai and Suzuran next update). However, it is still a drawback and a very expensive one at that given that both are Limited and Skadi is available only via sparking. Still, I wouldn't let Skadi influence your pull decision too much. Chongyue is a helluva unit.
Q: That's a lot of text to just say Chongyue is still good.
A: Yeah, it is, and I'm sorry for that. Chongyue is just kind of weird, where watching videos of him looks really insane, but he just doesn't end up where you think he would in the meta. Tier lists tend to place him more akin to Mountain or Thorns caliber units. That is still very good, but ultimately all this nitpicking I wrote here does matter when you're talking about the top-end of the game. With units like Mlynar and Texas the Omertosa now out, the bar by which we have to judge units has changed, and Chongyue is "just" another carry Guard these days. Almost everyone is usable in Arknights, so we have to judge units relative to each other in order for articles like this to be useful, whether we want to or not.
While upcoming units like Ines and Kirin X Yato will extend what players can accomplish in the end-game (such as CC/POO or high difficulty IS), Chongyue really won't. He is ultimately a QoL unit for Story-tier content, albeit an extremely good one.
Q: What's the deal with Lin and her Module?
A: Baseline Lin is just not that great. She has low damage on a long cycle. She did bring something new to the archetype in her shield, but it was just too under-tuned to be that useful.
Fortunately, we know thanks to our global delay from CN that Lin gets a very good Module which comes with the Chapter 12 event. It's a unique situation where we, as global players, get info on a unit that drastically changes the pull value of an upcoming banner. Lucky us!
The base effect of the Module is already great (for all Phalanxes, not just Lin). Their design has typically focused on their skill effects to counter the drop in bulk, such as Beeswax's pillar, but now that vulnerability is much less of a worry. This interacts particularly well with Lin due to her shield. With her Module she is effectively invulnerable to a good 95%+ of ranged attacks in the game (both on- and off-skill). Then on top of that the upgrade effects also address her bad cycle time.
Lin still has a few flaws. Her DPS depends on shattering her shields, so she does better in crowds than against single targets, and her cycle depends on her taking shots which makes her relatively situational compared to other Casters.
Still, with her Module she is a vastly improved unit who allows for extremely aggressive placement against dangerous enemies. You can even make the argument that post-Module Lin has more value in the top end meta than Chongyue does. Of course, taken in isolation, Chongyue is much better. However what Chongyue does is ultimately replaceable, while Lin’s raw ranged tank invulnerability is not.
Q: Any Module thoughts this patch?
A: Global - Where Vernal Winds Will Never Blow - The Core Caster modules here are quite good. They are all good if you use the unit (Tomimi especially), but the standouts here meta-wise are Ceobe mod3, Eyja mod1, and Amiya mod2.
- Eyjafjalla mod1 - 10 RES-ignore on a powerful DPS unit. Pretty straight forward and good! Her upgrades aren't bad either, but costly for the boost.
- Amiya mod2 - The main meta value will be the improvement to the charge time of her all-important S3. It's an incredibly powerful skill, but her SP cost is brutal. She is reliant on the gain from her Talent to get anywhere and the improvements it gets at Mod2 are significant. Mod3 can help as well, especially if you like to use Amiya’s other skills too, but the influence is much more minor.
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Ceobe mod3 - The real winner of this patch. Ceobe gets one of the best Modules in the game as far as improving the base unit goes. She’s still not quite top-tier meta due to being ST and only effective against high-DEF low(ish)-RES enemies; likewise the fact that she shares a lot of overlap with Rosa (who also just got a very powerful module in a similar niche) hurts. Still, she can deal some ludicrous damage totals with her S2 and CCR-X Mod3.
As far as the guide goes, Ceobe will not see a major grade improvement. Before her Module she was probably overgraded and would likely be slated for demotion. Instead her Module rescues her from that. Her write-up in the main guide has been updated to reflect this. Her grades have also been tweaked slightly for more consistency with the rest of the guide.
CN (lookahead) - Skógrinn Svartr Vill Einn Draumr - Nothing crazy here. The Flagbearer’s mod1 effect is quite nice. All three have good Talents too, but the upgrades are relatively small and thus of questionable value.
Q: I haven't gotten Rosa's upgraded Module yet. Any update on the Rosa vs Typhon debate from last update?
A: Yes, Typhon is better. Check the lookahead down below for more details. Rosa is still great if you like her, but if you plan to pull for Typhon, there isn't much reason to spend the resources on Rosa's Module.
Q: Will there be more Paper Thin Songs coming?
A: (I had this in the last update, but I'm including it again because I like to shill myself and this article will get more traffic than the Reed update did)
Yes! The second chapter is plotted out and I'm excited to start writing a bulk of it. But, I am a busy oldie with a lot on my plate right now. Summer is my busiest time of year, and my process isn't fast to begin with. Fingers crossed I can get chapter 2 out before the end of the summer, but no promises.
If you missed it last update, I published my first fictional work. You can find the clean version of it over on AO3 here.
Where Vernal Winds Will Never Blow - Solitude Universal
Chongyue
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S3M3 | S++ | S+ | S+ |
Chongyue's primary skill is his S3. When fully ramped up, he's tough to beat in sustained DPS and his unique and large range will make you look at stages in a whole new way. While there are some drawbacks to his kit that tend to suppress his value in the high-end meta, he still has a top Mastery grade on his primary skill. He is a powerful unit and his Masteries are *essential* to his usability. The upgrades from SL7 to M3 grant a triple threat of oversized value. First, his damage per activation bumps an above average ~25%. Second, his all critical ramp-up reduces by ~20%. Third, once he is fully ramped up, he activates those already harder punches ~20% more frequently!
Keep in mind that his drawbacks (wind-up, scaling vs DEF, lack of sustain) tend to be exacerbated in high-end gameplay. Chongyue will blow away most Story content, but Advanced and Roguelike players will find him to be a relative luxury.
Most can stop at the simple S3M3, although those who find Chongyue personally appealing may find some niche value in his other skills, particularly S2. Both S1 and S2 are decent skills in isolation and both have similarly valuable Masteries to S3, however it's a situation where his S3 is just better. S1 in particular has few places it shines compared to S3, except for a few one-punch IS gimmicks, leaving S2 as the primary secondary Mastery. S2 has an incredible total damage multiplier, on top of a short cooldown and stylish animation, which makes it a fun alternative.
Lin
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S3M3 | A- | B | B |
Lin is unique when it comes to upgrade priorities. She is not the first mediocre unit to get a great Module, however she is the first since the OG Specter2 that got the Module within our global window of clairvoyance. Without knowledge of her Module, this writeup on Lin's Masteries (and many other write-ups) would be scathing. Instead, we get to look ahead and see her future value and make decisions based on that instead. The delay from CN isn't all bad!
For now though, Lin is still very mediocre. Her grades here reflect her current value (with no Module). They will be upgraded when Chapter 12 comes out, likely around the S- tier for Story and Advanced content, but lower for the Roguelike where Caster value is muted (although she looks to be quite viable in IS#4).
Regardless of Module, Lin's main skill is her S3 and it is the only one worth Mastering. It has by far the greatest damage potential thanks to the extra shield shatters and expanded range. The damage gains are a touch above average too, especially since the +ATK influences the shatter damage as well. However, like all Phalanx Casters, she is subpar if there is nothing to tank; she’s ultimately more situational than other Casters.
Her other two skills are not worth investment. They did have some debatable utility pre-Module, but only to cover flaws in an already weak kit. S1's modal switch covered her frailty, and S2 covered her cycle time, but the damage potential on both is far lower so they would be ungraded regardless of her Module. However, her Module also addresses most of the "make up" utility, further lessening their value. Investing into her other skills would only be an expensive and minimal short term "solution" to her kits flaws. It is best to just save for her Module and upgrades.
Firewhistle
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S2M3 | A- | B+ | B+ |
FireWhistle can feel worse compared to the other Fortresses due poor burst and a long attack interval. While Horn has overpowering damage, and Ashlock has a super short cycle and reduced interval, Firewhistle only attacks, with no multiplier, a grand total of 6 times during an S2M3 activation, with 40 seconds down after. However, the extended burn creates good total AoE Arts damage while making use of the Fortress strengths. It makes Firewhistle a solid 5★ that will find a good home on many teams, although like Ashlock, not quite up to the meta standard of the 6★s either.
S2 is the better Mastery for this adorable pyromaniac, and it gets a grade slightly greater than her overall value thanks to very strong damage gains. If you intend to use her, you will definitely want to pursue her Masteries which add almost 26% more damage to that total burn. Most players can pass on her S1. Some diehards may find use in its consistency due to S2's long cycle, and it has similarly good damage gains, however her total DPS is quite a bit lower with S1. S2 is also better when she is forced to block. S1 only ignites the enemy hit, which is single-target when blocking while her S2 ignites the tiles for AoE damage regardless.
Jieyun
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S2M3 | B+ | B | B- |
Jieyun is a solid 5★ with respectable uptime, utility, and damage for the rarity. However a non-essential archetype and the fact that Shirayuki covers all of those at half the price still leaves Jieyun as a fairly expensive luxury promotion. She's more likely to find use in niche teams such as Welfare-only or 5★-only teams where her utility is more unique, but most general purpose players won't find her worth the cost.
Still, she is perfectly usable if she appeals to you, and her S2 has solid enough gains to warrant Mastery consideration. The skill damage gain is actually a touch below average, but the improvements to her uptime are vital to comfortably using her. Since her S2 is Attack Recovery and her attack interval is long, the difference between SL7 and S2M3 is huge. Pass on her S1. It has no special application and the only benefit over S2 is Auto-Recovery.
Ceobe
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S2M3 | S+ * | S- * | A+ * |
Ceobe is not available as a rate-up on this banner. However, her grades and write-up have been updated in the main guide as a result of her new Module with this patch. That update is also included here for reference.
* Note that this skill is graded assuming the unit has her CCR-X Module level 3 ("Very Dry Bread"). If you do NOT plan to get this unit's upgraded Module, treat the priority of this skill lower.
While Ceobe has always had a solid niche thanks to her good ST DPS, her value in the meta has declined over time as stronger DPS options with more utility have come along. However, Ceobe is one of the lucky old units who got a meaningful buff from her Module. While her niche remains the same, and thus limits her meta value in the age of wide sweeping heavy DPS, the raw boost to her damage that her CCR-X Module brings warrants a second look at Ceobe.
Ceobe's main skill is her S2 since it synergizes so well with her Talent. Against high DEF enemies, each rapid fire attack adds large amounts of damage, compounding into very solid totals. Both Mastery and Module are very important to reaching those damage potentials. Her S2 Masteries provide a well above average amount of additional DPS, adding close to 33% or more DPS (depending on enemy DEF), compared to a more typical 10-20% gain on other units.
Her S1 and S3 will have various niche usages for Ceobe adherents and Nicheknights players, but ultimately their damage is way too low to consider. They don't synergize with her Talent nearly as well, resulting in subpar performance.
Be cautious of Ceobe in Integrated Strategies. While her DPS still warrants a decent grade here, she has nowhere near the value of the other 6★ Casters who are already low value. Unfortunately the gimmicks of the various boss enemies in both IS#2 and IS#3 work against her, made worse by increasing RES at higher difficulties. She is generally not worth the Hope cost.
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 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.
Mastery Look Ahead
Typhon and Santalla have been added this update. However, I have not yet added Valarqvin. I'm not too sure what to make of her yet since she's so unique, although she is far less important to IS#4 than Highmore is to IS#3.
| A Death in Chunfen | ||
| Wind Chimes | Gacha | When Quartz was released, many were curious as to what the higher rarities of the Crusher archetype would bring. Turns out the first 5★ attempt is... really bad. Her primary gimmick is just too weak and her cycle time is just too long. Even if her S2’s SP cost was halved, she wouldn’t be good – but it isn’t, and she has a perplexing 30 second cycle for a paltry amount of damage. Wind Chimes is a unit to avoid, but if you were intent on raising her anyway I'd actually consider S1 instead despite the fact that it’s a generic Attack Up skill. The power on S2 is just so anemic that only two hits from S1 will out damage it (in less time than the 5 second wind-up), but even then she's quite a bit worse than the commonly available Centurions. |
| Qiu Bai | Gacha | Qiu Bai is a difficult unit to rank, and she has caused quite a bit of discussion. I suppose that means she's actually well balanced compared to the hyper-meta state of many recent units. Qiu Bai has some significant drawbacks such as an RNG factor, a lack of RES shred, and an unusually long downtime. However, her range, control, and strong multi-target DPS still give her a ton of potential. S3 is likely to be her "meta" skill when she appears in high end gameplay due to its extremely high DPS, but S2 will often be the better "every-day" skill due to its much shorter cycle. S1 may be appealing, too, since it is her most consistent control skill, though I am unsure if it will garner a grade. Regardless of how you intend to use her, S3 should be your highest priority target. It has some of the most extreme gains over Mastery of any skill in the game; Mastery will be essential to using it at all. |
| Leaves Chasing Fire | ||
| Rathalos S Noir Corne | Collab Gacha | Noir Corne is an interesting iteration on the Musha archetype. While the shortcomings are still there, his kit comes together better in total, and he brings enough burst and utility to make him something to consider, though far from mandatory or meta. His Mastery selection will be similar to his counterpart, Akafuyu, but will be graded higher. Both skills are strong, but have differing uses, so you will likely want to pursue both. If you only did one it's really a matter of preference, but I would start with S1. It handles both trash due to its reset and elites thanks to its block, plus the Offensive Recovery plays better to the archetype. |
| Kirin X Yato | Collab Gacha | Yet another super strong Limited Fast-Redeploy. Thanks HG, very cool. Yato isn’t quite as busted as Texas the Omertosa, but that’s hardly an insult. There is certainly room for both. For Masteries, Yato will range anywhere from a simple M3 all the way to M9 depending on your preferences. For many players, just Mastering S2 will suffice. It is the easiest skill to use and does so much damage that it covers the majority of use cases. S3 is also quite powerful, but it requires more planning and map knowledge to effectively use. While a strong skill and Mastery, not everyone will get as much use out of it. Finally, her S1 is a fringe consideration. It has extremely long uptime for an FRD and is buff receptive (think of Exusiai’s S3); however, it is much harder to use effectively and her other skills will be more than enough most of the time. |
| Episode 12 - All Quiet Under the Thunder | ||
| Morgan | Welfare | Morgan is the best non-Siege member of the Siege gang (maybe better than Siege too, depending who you ask), but that wasn't a terribly high bar. Dreadnoughts without the raw power of the 6★ options have pretty limited value, but Morgan does make fairly good use of the archetype thanks to a very strong attack scale that works well with her large HP pool. While she will need healer support, Morgan’s S1 can pack a big punch on a good cycle which should let her pick up a grade (albeit a low one). Unfortunately, her S2 isn't worth much. The Barrier decays too fast to be useful, especially for how short of wind-up S1 has. S2 ultimately makes her much more fragile on a much longer effective cycle time for similar damage. |
| Humus | Gacha | The bones of the Reaper archetype are good, which natively makes Humus decent. However, since Highmore is freely available to everyone and so valuable in IS#3, it puts Humus in a bad spot regardless of how good he is. His kit does come together pretty nicely, however he has no niche above Highmore or La Pluma, and he will potentially be ungraded due to poor Mastery gains. Both skills will be usable, but S1 does not get the SP reduction that the 5*s do. Start with S2 instead, but even then the gains are well below average in even ideal circumstances. |
| Cement | Gacha | Cement was memed to death even before we knew her kit (and to be fair they are good memes, CONK CREET BAY BEE). Unfortunately though, her kit is pretty poor and she will be ungraded. She can have an insane amount of bulk with S2, but it's very specific to one-target, slow-attacking, and Physical enemies. Since most mechanics don't favor blocking in the first place and she has the Duelist's restrictive one-block, that just isn't valuable, and the bulk rapidly decays with a tough cycle time. If you were to promote her anyway, I would go with S1 for Masteries which at least has some decent damage output in a true AoE. However, the archetype's Trait restriction will make the relatively high SP cost (compared to similar skills) very limiting. |
| Ines | Gacha | Ines is a curious unit to discuss. She is a good unit, but not one that has lived up to impossible expectations which has muddied the discussion around her. Her damage is lower than people were expecting (given that Yato2 and Texas2 both came out recently and do more damage on faster redeploys). The situation is reminiscent of Saileach on her release; a powerful unit but an open question on if she is worth the cost compared to the more common and lower rarity options. Given that she is sandwiched between a collab and the anniversary limited, it should make the pull discussions when she comes to global very… spirited, let’s say. For the record, I am a big fan of her kit, but we’ll need some time to see how her kit fits into whatever new meta arises from the revamped CC and IS#4. Both S2 and S3 will have good grades, but right now I lean towards S2 first. Don’t bother with S1. It should be a nice AFK option, but the gains aren’t worth the investment. |
| Lone Trail | ||
| Silence the Paradigmatic | Welfare | Silence's alter form may be about as good as Abjurer's can get while staying true to the archetype, but it still comes short of the value that damage buffers like Gnosis or Suzuran have. Her ability to turn anyone into Surtr will no doubt find some usage in high end content over time, but in general, it just doesn't make up for smart play. Proper placement and strategy will come out ahead most of the time. Still, her S3 is a fun skill with a lot of potential and will be a middle-tier graded support skill. Her S2 could have value as well for those who want more regular use out of her. It is much more replaceable, being more akin to a typical healing skill. It gives good bulk on a flexible range and cycle which will at least make it a reasonable alternative to consider. |
| Melanite | Gacha | Melanite is a pretty typical “modern” 5★. That is, decent enough to be usable with some niche value, but also nothing special meta-wise. She is the only non-6★, and only AoE, with dodge ignore (via her Module) which will make her appealing to many niche players. S2 will be her main skill with the high damage multiplier and piercing range both being very appealing for her rarity. However, true to her archetype, that S2 damage falls off quickly with range so she isn't the easiest unit to use. Her S2 will probably edge out a low grade due to that niche value and some very nice gains. Pass on her S1, which is just a poor skill all around. |
| Ho'olheyak | Gacha | While the big tiddy snek mommy has proven to be very popular among the hornier members of the community, she is a pretty poor unit in terms of meta. She is a higher rarity version of Qanipalaat, but while Qani gets some benefit of the doubt by only being a 5★, more is expected of the 6★, and the numbers are just not there with Ho'olheyak. Her control features are really nice, and she combos well with Dorothy, but ultimately her DPS is low and her cycle time is atrocious. S3 will be her main skill and the one to go for Mastery if you only do one since it mixes good control and range. However, the 60 SP cost is killer, so her other skills may be worth a look if you plan to make regular use out of her. S2 is likely the one you should go for as it has much better total DPS, though the double layer of RNG may be unpalatable depending on your tastes. Unfortunately for S1, its SP cost is higher than it should be so it ends up significantly inferior to comparable skills. |
| Muelsyse | Gacha Limited | I love and hate Muelsyse. She's one of the most interesting designed units we've ever had, but in the same vein she is very hard to write about! There's just so much going on in her kit; far more than I can cover in a one paragraph write-up, but I will try. It's easy to forget Muelsyse is a Vanguard since she doesn't seem like one, nor does her kit play like one. This is a good thing, given just how tight the “Vanguard meta” is, and how that affects units like Ines. Instead, Muelsyse is an extremely flexible unit that can cover a lot of ground in terms of damage, bait, and control... all while incidentally producing DP. While Muelsyse is powerful, it's a good question as to what exactly her meta value will be since "indirect" solutions don't tend to fare well; however, it’s likely that she will have high tier grades for Mastery. She will be a well graded M6 with both S2 and S3 worth pursuing. The DP, ATK buff, and cycle are all identical between them, but the clone effects differ and will be useful in different places, and flexibility is her strength. S1 may be worth considering at the very low end for melee clones, but for range clones it is inferior to the other skills. |
| Hortus De Escapismo | ||
| Insider | Welfare | Insider has gone well under the radar. Aside from looking like he's from a different game, the lion's share of the talk has, of course, gone to Executor and Spuria. However, Insider is a shockingly good 5★ Marksmen, sporting the highest ATK during skill among them, plus a quick downtime, the powerful ammo mechanic, and a modest niche that allows for more aggressive placement. Kroos is still the better welfare Marksmen option thanks to her extreme total damage and stun utility, but Insider will be a very viable option if you missed Kroos (keep in mind IW will rerun before Insider’s event) or just like him better. S2 will be his go to skill and should be graded similar to GreyThroat. S1's damage scale is nice, but he isn't a great buff target, and the Attack Recovery is inferior here despite the low cost since S2's SP cost is so cheap. |
| Spuria | Gacha | Spuria is the most "WTF" operator we've had in a long time. These days, it isn't easy to be so bad that you're in the running for worst 5★, yet here we are. She honestly makes me mad with how bad she is. HG either didn't playtest her, or purposefully decided it just didn't matter that a 5★ was this bad. Imagine Windflit, but even more restrictive, with a worse buff, and doesn't even work as a basic body-blocker. Do not raise her for any reason but memes, and if you're doing that, you don't need my advice for Masteries. |
| Executor the Ex Foedere | Gacha | The least surprising alter in quite a while, Executor2 appears to be pretty well balanced, which of course means the discussion around him ranges from "absolute shit" to "absolute god". He personally reminds me of Penance - capable of some truly insane things in low-op clears, but inferior to other options in a full team comp. There's just so many laneholders that it’s tough to call him a must pull, but he will be extremely good for those who do pull. S3 is the standout skill and its Masteries are extremely important. An RNG Talent and ramp-up are large flaws, but his biggest drawback is the fairly high Attack Recovery cost. The 24 SP at S3M3 is a significant issue, but it's a massive improvement over the 30 SP at SL7. S1 and S2 are likely to have decent amounts of niche usage, but the damage output is so much lower compared to S3 that they will likely only be luxury considerations. |
| Skógrinn Svartr Vill Einn Draumr | ||
| Santalla | Gacha | Santalla is a unit who isn't quite there. The effects, in principle, are nice. Freeze is a powerful effect, and a rare one at that. However, poor uptime and a strong RNG component really hinder her usability. The icicles actually aren't completely RNG, falling in a pattern of left column, right column, center column. This *can* mitigate some of the RNG (but not all), however this just adds a layer of complexity to maximize an already subpar unit. For most, Santalla will just not be worth the effort and frustration she requires, especially considering how many quality 4 and 5★ Casters there are. Still, she has good utility, and will likely pull out a low grade on her S2. |
| Typhon | Gacha | At first glance, Typhon may look like a side-grade or a debatable and incremental upgrade to Rosa, however the early going has shown Typhon to be a more "complete" unit. She is designed better from the ground up, rather than having a Module tacked on to an undertuned base. Modules can only fix so much. Typhon's primary boss killing skill (S3) is much more potent, while her secondary (S2) skill covers the general use scenarios much better. The result is a high damage unit with a big range that can be both a boss killer and a general DPS in one. This dual-value has made her a top IS#4 pick in the early going. Typhon will be a more highly graded M6 compared to Rosa. In Rosa's case, her S2 tends to "make up" for some of the flaws in her S3, while Typhon has two clear and powerful roles between her skills. Plan for the M6 (S2 and S3) with Typhon, but her S3 should be first, however, due to being her more unique role. Also be aware that Typhon still needs her Module too, although she is a little less reliant on the upgrades than Rosa is. |
