Introduction
Who knew that after all this time, it would be our loveable 4★ sadcat who discovered the tactical breakthrough known as "turning around"? What a wild world Terra is! Also this is a rather sad patch for me personally. This marks the patch at which one of the most useful tools in the history of Arknights, Viktorlab's DPS calculator, stopped updating. That means a whole lot more math by hand for me. Pain. Maybe Jessica and I can go cry together..
This article specifically covers the new units from the Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures 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: Probably not. As I noted in the last writeup, pull decisions are going to get pretty tough. There aren't many "easy skip" banners. I hesitate to be as harsh to Jessica the Liberated as to call her an easy skip, but unfortunately, when compared to some of the meta units ahead of us, she is. Jessica2 is a flexible unit who is a sort of jack-of-all-trades Defender. She can cover a lot of ground from a single team slot. However, that just isn't really of special value in Arknights. Defenders as a whole tend to fall a bit low in general priority since the 4★s are usually "good enough" and there is just no place where what Jessica2 brings is required, especially when compared to other top-tier Defenders like Shu (still upcoming) or Horn.
That all said, Jessica is relatively popular as an upgraded alter of a fan favorite launch unit, and while she may not be a top meta unit, she is far from bad. Among the "easy skips" ahead of us, she has the most upside and has enough flexibility that you'll probably have no problem integrating her into your teams. If she appeals to you, by all means, roll for her. Just keep in mind the other powerful units ahead that rolling might cost you.
Q: What's the deal with Jessica and IS#4? I'm struggling in IS#4, will Jessica help me?
A: You may have seen this come up in any of a number of places. It's been a topic of conversation before, and it's something I brought up in my own lookaheads. I'll take a moment to address it here.
There's two things here, her basic usage and her advanced usage.
Her basic usage is pretty straight forward. Big bulk Defenders are relatively valuable in IS#4. While this role often goes to the bulkiest Protectors (Nian and Hoshiguma), Defenders who mix some utility along with their bulk are also viable options. Saria is a good traditional example of this, and Jessica2 is similar in role. While she is not usually "the best" Defender pick, her solid mix of DPS, bulk, and utility make her a very viable general pick.
However, Jessica2 got some additional highlights as a brief stint among the top of the IS#4 meta. There's a bit of paradox here with her usage in extremely high-end IS. She is certainly viable in the mode, and a significant step up over many lower end 6★s. However, she isn't viable in a way that will really help many people. For people currently struggling, what she brings is usually too complex and low-impact to be effective. For people not struggling, she is just one of many options rather than something unique and irreplaceable.
Jessica2's mix of damage, bulk, and utility means she can be an option for "maximized" clears. Essentially that means when trying to construct a way to reliably clear many IS stages without relying on specific relics (i.e. luck), Jessica the Liberated often finds herself in that mix. She has enough bulk along with her shield to not immediately die, she has enough damage to take care of decently tough enemies, she can hit air so stray drones don't leak, her shield adds some pseudo-self sustainment, and other things of that nature. However, the path to realizing those clears is a complex one. She is not a simple unit to effectively use by any means. Those maximized clears are often the result of hundreds of tries and experiments. She is a different sort of unit than the Texas2s and Degenbrechers of the game, and a lot of players may end up using her only to wonder what the hell these other people are talking about.
If your only goal is an IS#4 carry, look elsewhere, and proceed with caution if you aren't already a reasonably knowledgeable player.
Q: Is there any value in either Coldshot or Almond?
A: Almond suffers because of her archetype. Gladiia and Cliffheart are both completely free to obtain and significantly better. Even Snowsant, who is also completely free, is better. It's also not a core role so even Rope looks more appealing due to much lower costs of Mastery for that extra pull Force. While she does a few unique things, it's hard for even niche players to find value in her. She isn't really "awful" in the same sense that many of the other bottom barrel 5★s are. However, she is just so replaceable that she still ranks towards the bottom of the rarity.
Coldshot is better, but still not good. She has a massive DPH and alright DPS. However, she similarly doesn't compare well to her contemporaries. She is the first Hunter so it isn't the same apples-to-apples comparison that Almond is, but simply put, she's just out done by many other common options at the same rarity. For just two examples, both Firewatch (S1) and Erato (S2) have better DPS than Coldshot, along with better ranges, cycle times, and utilities. Her only advantage over them is her high DPH, but even for niche players, that's just not terribly useful on a low-DPS unit with no utility. Coldshot doesn't take advantage of her new archetype in a particularly compelling way. There's potential in it, as we see with Ray, but Coldshot is just a poor introduction to it. And all that is before we get into the frustration of a 4 second attack interval!
Q: How do Hunter's work? How does that interact with Coldshot's kit?
A: In standard HG fashion, the explanation for Hunter's isn't terribly clear. Hunters have a pool of ammo. This is a different ammo from the "ammo skill" like Ch'en the Holungday's S3 (yay more ambiguity). Hunters ammo is tracked by a different UI element that looks like a white box next to their character. At E2, Hunters start with 8 shots.
While Hunters have ammo, they attack as normal. Each attack consumes one ammo. However, once the Hunter runs out of ammo they must "reload" before they can fire again. They reload once, then fire once. The reload takes the same amount of time as their default attack interval. In other words, their attack interval doubles after their first 8 attacks. They may also continue to reload any time they aren't attacking.
For Coldshot, the Hunter gimmick comes into play with her Talent. Her Talent increases her damage dealt any time she hasn't attacked for 2 seconds. Her normal attack interval is 1.6 seconds. So, while she has ammo and is attacking normally, her Talent is not triggered. However, once she runs out of ammo she must reload before firing again. This reload takes an additional 1.6 seconds, so each attack now takes 3.2 seconds. This is long enough to trigger her Talent, increasing her damage.
In practical effect, when Coldshot runs out of ammo, her Damage-Per-Hit goes up, allowing her to deal with higher enemy DEF, but her total Damage-Per-Second does go down due to her longer interval.
In the future, the 6★ Hunter, Ray, will have a more complex interaction with the Hunter mechanics, but that's a topic for another day.
Note that the reload interval is not affected by ASPD buffs or debuffs.
Q: Any Module thoughts this patch?
A: EN - Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures
The Abjurer base Module is really great. It's a huge boost to overall Healing output that the archetype desperately needed. Unfortunately, with only one exception, the archetype is so bad already that it doesn't really matter. If you're crazy enough to use Tsukinogi or Nine-Colored Deer, then yea their Modules are great, but only Quercus' and Silence the Paradigmatic's (kinda) are worth truly considering.
- Quercus - Relative to rarity, Quercus has always been the best Abjurer. It only took three tries to piece together something usable! She has an actually useful Talent and both of her skills are viable, with her infinite duration S1 giving her a modest niche as a high-HPS off-Medic. The gap between her and the others only grows with her Module and Quercus actually ends up as one of the highest effective-HPS in the game. She's still relatively fringe since the best true Medics tend to bring some sort of ancillary support value that Quercus still lacks, however her Module makes her something to at least consider. Her write-up and Mastery grades in the main guide have been updated to reflect this.
- Silence the Paradigmatic - I wrote quite a bit about Silence in her release update and that's all still mostly true despite her Module so I won't go too in-depth on her here. Her Module is decent and worth a look if you use her already. As said, the base effect is a big boost, and her boost to the regen is very sizable. It's not as transformative as Quercus' Module is. Silence is still a bit unreliable as a healer due to her skill cycles (compared to infinite duration), but if you're using Silence the Paradigmatic then her Module is fairly valuable.
CN (lookahead) - Operation Lucent Arrowhead
While the Lucent Arrowhead patch is extremely new as I write this, I think that the Sentinel Modules are pretty straight forward. They're also extremely relevant given it coincides with Jessica2's release on global, so I'll take the chance to address them in this update. Fingers crossed I don't regret doing this early.
- Jessica the Liberated - The base invis reveal effect is quite nice on Jessica since she has all sorts of flexibility to her range. Her shield lets her rotate and both S2 and S3 have range expansions associated with them, which makes her one of the better options for the task along with Ines. Her upgrades aren't too special though. The stat upgrades are nice and have meaningful values. However, her own stats are mostly front loaded into the base Module and her shield buffs are largely unnecessary since it's already quite durable and long lasting. It's fine to upgrade if you really like Jessica, however, most people won't get enough value from of her upgrades to justify the cost. Definitely grab the base Module though.
- Liskarm - I really like Liskarm's Module. The base effect isn't as good on her as it is on Jessica since her range is relatively limited, however her upgrades are really good for Liskarm's viability. The 60% chance to double her own SP gain effectively drops the cost of her S1 to around 6-7 SP, down from 9, which is a sizable gain. And it cuts a 4 SP off her S2. While Liskarm has mostly been known in the meta for abusing her Talent, she can be quite bulky herself, with the main problem being her unreliable skill activation costs. Her Module goes a long way to improving that. Liskarm still isn't a must raise these days, but if you use her at all, her Module is a big gain to her general usability. edit: Had some bad math here originally, but it's now fixed.
- Blitz - Blitz's S2 is a skill I've constantly debated if I'm underrating. In the Mastery guide, it's barely been a foot-note but it actually deals quite a bit of damage for a Defender. That's mostly useful in niche clears rather than general purpose though. That might change with his Module. Like Liskarm, the base effect isn't too special, but the upgrades are very nice. While the damage increase doesn't look too special at first glance, it actually results in a huge difference to his DPS output. If you use Blitz with any regularity, it's definitely a Module worth grabbing. I don't think it'll be enough to pick up a grade in this guide, but it'll almost certainly result in at least an updated writeup.
- Ash - I need some more time to marinate on Ash's Module, so I'll address it again in the next update. However, her original upgrades are quite poor so her new one has a lot more DPS and is almost certainly the better one to pursue in general play. That said, Ela does Ash's job but significantly better, so meta-wise there isn't much purpose in Ash's second Module.
- Other R6 units - Too new. I'll address them in the next update if there's anything special among them.
Q: Jessica the Liberated Module was just revealed before her release. Does it affect the pull decisions for global at all?
A: Not really. See the above question for a full rundown. Short version though, the invis reveal is a nice bit of utility on an already flexible unit. The upgrades are pretty underwhelming though. Ultimately the Module doesn’t change the fundamental evaluation of her as a unit.
Q: Any other updates for this go-around?
A: I'm glad you asked! I've opted to promote Croissant, Cuora, and Bubble to the main guide. Additionally, Nian and Hoshiguma both have their grades upped across the board. Their original low grades weren't a mistake. When this guide was first made, tanking was an afterthought. The common line of thinking was they had very little value on any reasonably developed roster. However, this guide is quite old at this point now, and one of the gradual shifts in the meta over that time has been with blocking. This is probably a consequence of how dramatically the DPS options have gone up. Many enemies are more dangerous as a result. The addition of IS#4 sees their value go up even further, so it makes a nice catalyst to finally address that shortcoming. You can find the updated writeups in the main guide.
To be clear, for any newer players reading this, Arknights is still a DPS first game. The thing with raw tanking is it usually can be done at lower investment levels. For example, it is commonly suggested to NOT E2 Cuora, despite everyone using her regularly through the start of the game. You just don't need it so it's better to spend the resources elsewhere! That's still largely true, despite this update. Instead, this update should be more a thought to place towards rounding out an already developed roster. It's a topic you should think about after your core DPS units are already promoted and Mastered.
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.
I also recently published a new article which dives into all the gory details of Elemental Damage, which you can find linked below.
Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures - Clank Liberty
Jessica the Liberated
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S3M3 | A+ | S- | S- |
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S2M3 | B+ | B | A+ |
Jessica the Liberated is one of the more flexible units in the game. She has a well rounded kit that is sufficient at covering an awful lot of scenarios. As with a lot of flexible generalists, her total Mastery grades are fairly high which reflects the broad investment needed to cover a broad variety of roles. In other words, the gap between her primary and secondary skills is very low. However, keep in mind her individual skill grades are a touch low since Arknights is both a DPS first game, and has a meta which favors the "best" specialists in any given scenario.
Her Primary skills are S2 and S3, with S3 coming out ahead in general usage. They are quite different, and as said, you want flexible options in a unit built around flexibility. In fact, the differences are too many and too wide ranging to cover here without this write-up becoming a full article of its own. However, that said, her S3 is usually more impactful. S2 has higher DPS, but often struggles against armor, while S3 has a very high DPH and a long stun that's easy to time which allows her to tackle a wider variety of enemies.
With special note to the Roguelike mode, you really want the full M6 if you intend to use Jessica the Liberated there. She is a decent option thanks to her flexibility and wide range of roles she can cover, and there's a fairly even split in situations that each skill is useful in.
Her S1 may be worth a look if you really like Jessica or AFK skills. Mastery drops the wind-up time by a whopping 20 seconds which is badly needed if you plan to use the skill. However, her S2 and S3 are much more impactful and have pretty forgiving cycle times, so there isn't a lot of space for her S1 to be particularly useful.
Almond
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S1M3 | None | ||
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S2M3 | None | ||
There isn't a lot of reason to invest resources into Almond's Masteries. Unfortunately for her, the Hookmaster archetype is a crowded one, and she comes dead last in value among them even before considering that all of her competition is given out for free. If you particularly like Almond, for whatever reason, or fancy yourself one of those extreme niche players, then both of Almond's skills are viable options, and you will likely want to invest in the full M6 despite her otherwise poor performance.
Her S1 has the most potential if you're aiming for a niche that doesn't include Gladiia. Charge based Shift skills (such as Gladiia's similar S1) are potentially very powerful, and at S1M3 along with her Talent, Almond can have as many as four charges immediately available. Unfortunately, she's stuck at a basic Force level of 1 with no upgrade via Mastery that most other Shift skills get. This really limits where it can be used and Hookmaster's are already quite situational. Gladiia's S1 is just straightup better because of this.
Note that while her S1 does not get a Shift increase at M3, it does get a reduction in SP cost on a charge-based skill, so it's still valuable if you're planning to use Almond.
S2 is unfortunately rather awkward. It's pretty significantly inferior to either Cliffheart's or Snowsant's S2, which both can catch multiple enemies and have much lower SP costs. Catching only one target is a huge usability problem, and she will often not hook who you want on top of far lower availability. The Bind uptime is pretty negligible as well for being single-target on such a long cycle. The one upside potential it has is the triple pull. This potentially can give it a leg up, but situations that's useful in are quite rare due to how pulling works. The net distance an enemy moves when pulled actually decreases with how close the enemy gets, so the total distance pulled is not a simple 3x like you might expect. Mastery will still be worth a look if you plan to use Almond due to the Force increase, but the average player should strongly consider any of the other Hookmasters instead.
Coldshot
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S2M3 | None | ||
Coldshot is a unit who is outperformed by most other hard-hitting 5★ Snipers, so there isn't much reason to invest in her Masteries outside of personal desire. If you do particularly like her, then her S2 is the clear choice for Mastery. She hits very hard with it and Mastery helps with that all important DPH, which is the only thing that sets her apart. Unfortunately, there is little other upside. Unusually, Mastery doesn't affect anything except her damage, so if you don't enjoy her performance at SL 7, Mastery probably won't change your mind.
While not directly related to Mastery, it's worth noting that her S2 also has an excruciatingly long attack interval when she runs out of ammo. A Hunter's reload interval is the same as their attack interval, so once Coldshot spends her existing ammo, her total interval becomes 1.6 + 1.6 + 0.8 = 4 seconds!
Her S1 is a generic skill with no upside and worse numbers, so despite the flaws of her S2, the Mastery choice is very clear with Coldshot.
Quercus
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S1M3 | B- * | C * | C+ * |
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S2M3 | None | ||
Be aware Quercus is not included in this banner. Her updated writeup is included here due to her new Module.
* Note that this skill is graded assuming the unit has at least her base BLS-X Module, and preferably her upgraded Module. If you do NOT plan to get this unit's upgraded Module, treat the priority of this skill slightly lower.
The base Abjurer Module effect has a great impact on Quercus. It removes the reduction to her healing, which mixes extremely well with Quercus' infinite duration S1 and Shelter Talent. With her Module and S1 active, Quercus has some of the highest effective-Healing-per-Second in the game, which makes her a remarkably good off-Medic and a viable 5★.
A few points of caution are worth discussing before you spend all of your resources, however. First, she still lacks the utility that other top of the line Medics tend to have. It's rarely pure healing that makes a Medic truly good. Second, her wind-up time can be a really big issue compared to DPS oriented infinite duration skills. There isn't much way to make up for the loss of early sustain without a second Medic already. Finally, her S1 Masteries are relatively low in value. They only increase her healing output by around 7% which is a very poor number among Masteries.
Her S2 may be worth a look as well due to its SP charging potential, which this guide previously suggested, however it is quite hard to make optimal use out of. It might be something to consider if you are looking for some extremely Advanced sorts of situations, but her value these days is almost entirely in her S1.
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
No new lookaheads this patch. The new R6 Lucent Arrowhead units are brand new as I write this and the Shu patch units were added last update. I know a lot of people are interested though, so I’ll give some quick snap judgements. Just keep in mind they’re subject to change. Fuze is awful. Doc is bad but not as bad as the other Instructors. Iana is solid for a 5★ and brings some good utility to boot, although Kazemaru is still better. Ela is extremely good. She’s basically a modern Marksman, but is also a Trapmaster with a ton of utility. It’s a combo that makes her pretty insane. I’ll be curious how she fits into the meta.
| Episode 13 - The Whirlpool That Is Passion | ||
| Delphine | Welfare | Delphine is surprisingly decent given how bad the recent 5★s and story welfares have been. She is another well designed Mystic Caster like Harmonie, and can output some pretty decent total damage, especially with the Arts DoT attached to her S2. Of course, 5★ Casters have a tough time justifying investment costs and that remains true here. Delphine is certainly a marked improvement relative to the recent lower rarities, but she will still be a fringe option. There’s a chance she picks up a grade, but if she does it will be lower than either Harmonie or Indigo due to a lack of utility.
tl;dr Leaning ungraded. Favor S2, as with other 4-5★ Mystic Casters. |
| Verdant | Gacha | Verdant is a somewhat similar situation to Humus, but much worse. He has the same fundamental problem of being worse than a freely available welfare unit (Bena, available from Record Restore), however unlike Humus and despite being a good archetype, Verdant isn't a particularly good take on the Dollkeepers. The Achilles heel of the Dollkeepers (and why Specter2 was so bad on release) is their effective cycle time since they can't generate SP in doll form. That flaw is on full display with Verdant, which is especially egregious since his S2 is already a bad DPS skill. Then to grind some salt into the wounds, his doll does essentially nothing in the meantime. Go with S2 if you do want to Master a skill. A bad DPS skill is better than no DPS skill and he doesn’t have the stats to tank with S1.
tl;dr Ungraded. Both skills are bad options. |
| Vendela | Gacha | Generally, Vendela is worse than the already ungraded Hibiscus the Purifier, so she is unlikely to pick up a grade. However, she is at least usable which is a step up from many recent 5★s. The unique value of her kit is in her S2, and abusing the taunt and reflect is the key to any niche she has above Hibiscus, however that is ultimately very situational and in most cases Vendela will just seem underwhelming. Her fairly mundane S1 may actually be the better daily driver given it has higher uptime and damage potential (before accounting for the reflect), although again Vendela's S1 is inferior to Hibiscus' S1 and Hibiscus doesn't have the reliance on it to begin with.
tl;dr Ungraded. Both skills are notable but likely lean S2. |
| Hoederer | Gacha | Hoederer is a tricky unit to evaluate. The damage is certainly there but in general people are getting carried away by highlight reels, which tend to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses. For example, he can solo 7-18 which is impressive.... but Executor2 could do it pre-Module on CM and he isn't top-tier meta either. Those Crusher weaknesses are potentially harsh too. The archetype frailty is here, S3 can be draining without a steady flow of enemies, and the cycle time is.... weird to say the least, among other issues. To be clear, he is good, especially relative to expectations of the archetype, but he is also probably not the new Surtr (which yes, I have seen someone say). We'll need some time to really assess just how good he is, but regardless his S3 should be well graded as his main skill. His S2 will pick up a grade also due to the stunlock potential on longer-windup enemies, however Mastery doesn't influence that use-case. S1 may be graded as well due to how much it heals on a short SP cost, but its uses will probably be crowded out by S3 and S2.
tl;dr All skills are potential options. |
| Zwillingstürme im Herbst | ||
| Caper | Red Certs | While recent non-6★ of new archetypes have been very undertuned, Caper is an exception who makes for a pretty nice low-rarity DPS unit. She has a good stat spread, strong DPS, a unique range, and doesn't seem to be as impacted by ASPD debuffs as other units. On the other hand, she has little utility, and meta-chasers won't find any value in what she brings. Still, niche players will find her to be a quite nice addition, and she's probably even good enough to justify the cert cost for newer players. S2 will be the skill for Mastery. It has far better damage thanks to the extra projectile. S1 doesn't do anything special and doesn't have good damage numbers for an Offensive Recovery skill of its nature.
tl;dr S2 modestly graded. Pass on S1. |
| Diamante | Red Certs | Diamante has gone pretty well under the radar, and that's largely because he's probably the least interesting unit in the patch. He's awkwardly set up to do most of his damage to units already under Elemental fallout, but the units best at applying Elemental fallout (Virtuosa and Ebenholz) don't need his help. He also isn't great at applying Necrosis himself, and even in the best case scenarios, his damage isn't particularly noteworthy. Add on a 600 red cert cost and you get a unit that’s not really worth the cost. That said, I wouldn't be too shocked if he shows up in some niche clears as a source of pseudo-True Damage, but even that will depend on if other Elemental damage dealers line-up with the niche theme. In such rare cases, either skill might have potential. His S1 is probably best in an isolated vacuum since it's the skill that can actually apply Necrosis, but S2 will out damage it if paired with other Elemental units.
tl;dr Likely ungraded, but both skills may be options. |
| Lessing | Welfare | After a strong start, the 6★ Welfares really fell off a cliff and that trend continues with Lessing. He's in a natively bad archetype and has meaningless utility, resulting in a unit with no good place on a roster. Self status removal seems an odd choice to design a unit around given that Lumen (another welfare) can already do it for everyone. There's a decent chance Lessing becomes the second ungraded 6★ after Vigil. If he does pick up a grade, it will be on his S3 which is the most impactful in total. Husbando and Welfare players will probably want his S2 as well, but for the general player, the effective cycle is far too long to be useful.
tl;dr Potentially ungraded. Lean S3, if desired. |
| Bassline | Gacha | Bassline is the best gacha 5★ in quite a while. He fills a strong basic role with plenty of niche value that makes him a pretty appealing consideration. His S1 is identical to Nearl (Defender) but he overall trades some healing effectiveness for bulk. Although like Nearl, the choice to invest in him rather than the much cheaper (and great in IS) Gummy is a fair question. His S2 adds some unexpectedly great additional niche value as well. It is the single best no-damage-stall skill currently available (think the UT gas cans / eggs or flowers) with a full 60 second uptime (20 seconds more than Nearl's S2), and the external Arts mitigation is also rare. To be clear, that niche will rarely see practical use. But it’s still worth nothing that he’s the increasingly rare kind of 5★ with the potential to appear in advanced end-game content.
tl;dr S1 well graded, similar to Nearl S1. S2 is a good Advanced stall option, but probably ungraded like other similar skills. |
| Viviana | Gacha | It's not really fair to compare Viviana to Surtr, who is one of the best units in the game. However, it's rather inevitable. It's also useful, I think, to show why Viviana is a below average 6★. Viviana lacks everything that makes Surtr so good, resulting in an ultimately subpar unit with little upside. She does cap out at some very high Arts DPS from a melee tile, which is natively a pretty strong niche to have, but the upside ends there. She has a long wind-up, no RES-shred, heavy RNG, a focus on "dueling", and no self-sustain. Whereas Surtr is brain-dead drop and delete, Viviana is quite a bit harder to use for usually far worse results. S3 will be her main, and probably only, skill for Mastery. It has the highest DPS and limits the RNG to her shields rather than her damage. There won't be much need to invest beyond that. S2 is decent enough, taken alone, but in places where it's better than S3, you should probably be using a different unit instead. The extra block will often result in her shields getting eaten up by trash hits.
tl;dr S3 likely the only graded skill, with mid-tier grades. |
| Virtuosa | Gacha Limited | Virtuosa (a.k.a. Arturia) is a remarkably unique unit. While most "unique" units end up being quite niche or gimmicky, Virtuosa is very powerful as she is the first unit to truly exploit the potential of friendly Elemental Damage. I do not have the space here to give a full write-up of the Necrosis effects, but the important part is that, when triggered, it effectively deals 12k True Damage. This is more than enough to kill most basic mobs and many elites, and Arturia can often trigger it on large groups with her Talent alone! She is currently the best "sweeper" in most situations, while also being similarly effective against bosses.
S3 will be her primary graded skill, with S1 somewhere behind. S3 triggers the Necrosis Fallout incredibly fast on all targets in a wide area. S1 will be more situational, but at S1M3 she begins with a full 3 charges which allows her to heli-drop the Necrosis Fallout effect against even bosses. Her S2 will probably be a pass. It's still good, but she's so good with her other skills there's rarely reason to bring another unit into the fold. Lest I oversell her, there are two drawbacks to keep in mind. First, enemies can have both resistance to the Elemental Damage itself and to the resulting damage. Only enemies from her initial event currently have either resistance, which is why she is so powerful, but like normal RES with Casters, if it becomes more common, it will severely limit her. Second, her DPS isn't actually that high. As HP pools bloat in difficult content, she will become less and less effective compared to more traditional DPS options. tl;dr S3 top-tier graded. S1 next and also high-graded. S2 possibly low-graded. |
| The Rides to Lake Silberneherze | ||
| Harold | Welfare | One has to wonder why Harold exists (As a unit, not as a character. As a character, he’s fantastic). There are already two 5★ Wandering Medics who are both good, and now a 6★ one as well, who is broken, so the design space is already pretty crowded. Harold straddles the line somewhere between the two Berries. He has better regular healing than Honeyberry S1, but a better cycle than Mulberry’s S2. That’s useful, especially if Harold fits into your niche or preferences, but anyone with either Berry or Eyja already raised won’t find him useful. His S2 will be graded similar to the Berries. The numbers between S1 and S2 are very comparable, but S2 has the additional Elemental Healing, which doesn’t leave much benefit for S1.
tl;dr S2 graded similar to Honeyberry/Mulberry S1. |
| Leto / Лето | Gacha | A Physical based Guard isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Being Physical is why SilverAsh is so good, for example. However, Leto just doesn’t hit hard enough and has no other real benefit to compensate. At max she tops out at around 1.6k ATK which is enough to punch through some basic DEF, but not tough DEF. She doesn’t bring much else to the table either. Aside from her DPS, she has almost no utility. Only Rosa’s S2 really benefits from her buff, and she has an awkward and unnecessary drawback. Overall, she is functional enough that she may find use in various niche clears but not much else. Leto will be ungraded, but go with S2 if you plan to raise her anyway. It has the higher ATK which she needs to puncture armor as well as the usual Lord benefits.
tl;dr Likely ungraded. Strongly favor S2, if desired. |
| Degenbrecher | Gacha | There’s an angry rant brewing, come Degenbrecher’s global release. I don’t get too fussed by powercreep in general, but Degenbrecher does it by tossing out one of the basic design principles of her archetype. She has Auto Recovery on her S3 instead of Offensive Recovery, which every other Swordmaster skill before this has had. And, shockingly (/s), it makes her really good. Her S3 is quite literally Irene’s S3 but better. AAAAAAAAAAA- ahem. Anyway, Degenbrecher teeters on the EX-tier with very strong burst damage on a competitive cycle. She also brings a new keyword, Tremble, which like previous new keywords will have to have specific coded immunities on enemies which gives her a leg up versus other forms of control. Her S3 will be among the highest graded skills in the guide. As mentioned, the Auto Recovery gives it a huge advantage and it also happens to be her best damage too. Only S3 is necessary for Mastery, but both S1 and S2 can make justifiable secondaries. S1 for AFK memes, but S2 otherwise with its shorter potential cycle and a reliable Tremble trigger.
tl;dr S3 is an easy S++ skill. S1 and S2 may get moderate grades as well, but neither compares to S3. |
| To The Grinning Valley | ||
| Warmy | Gacha | Releasing the 5★ Primal Caster for Burn before any Burn Ritualist is such a Hypergryph thing to do. Ugh. Regardless of who is released down the road though, I wouldn't expect any assessment of Warmy to change. Primal Casters are in a bad spot by default since they are reliant on another unit and are mediocre at applying the Elemental effect themselves. That's true for Diamante, and Warmy's kit is nearly a copy paste of his so the assessment ends up the same. She does enough damage to be usable if you want, but there just won't be any good meta justification, especially among the vast oceans of 5★ Caster options. As with Diamante, the skill selection is a pick your poison. S1 will allow her to inflict Burn, but is not very good at it. S2 relies on someone else to inflict Burn, but will do more damage in that case.
tl;dr Likely ungraded, but both skills may be options. |
| Ray | Gacha | Guards get a lot of flak lately (rightly so tbf) but what about Snipers? With Ray there are now four hyper-meta Snipers that tread the EX line. Ray is a single target specialist who hits extremely hard with a ton of flexibility and range. She's well designed too, showing how a kit can make use of the Hunter Trait, which Coldshot failed to do. Despite some stiff competition, Ray shows a ton of potential. Ch'en remains the go to Sniper for area sweeping, but Ray seems to show a higher ceiling than Pozemka or Typhon for single target DPS. She stole the crown of top Sniper pick from Typhon in the most recent CN IS#4 tournament for example! However, she is a very high skill ceiling unit and many people will prefer Typhon's simplicity compared to micromanaging Ray's pet. As for Masteries, S3 is the clear winner and will be another S++ graded skill. The secondary skill is harder to suss out and Ray could end up a graded M9, although both S1 and S2 will be comparatively low priority. I favor S1 for the really fun tech it enables. With her pet she can Shift at angles that more classical Shifters can't hit. S2 meanwhile may appear as an AFK skill but actually requires a lot of micromanagement to work with her ammo mechanic. It's a good skill, but seems to have a fairly small niche over S3.
tl;dr S3 top-tier grades. S1 and S2 possible lower-end grades. |
| Here a People Sow | ||
| Wanqing | Welfare | Hey, a good 5★! It only took being added on to an already good archetype. Much like Harold, Wangqing exists in a pretty crowded space. It's good by default which makes him notable, but you only need so many Vanguards. Although largely redundant, Wanqing brings some new and viable utility which should make him an option to consider. His DP generation and uptime are identical to Elysium so he should be graded similar to him, with the difference mostly coming down to the utility the situation calls for. New players and Advanced players will find him quite nice for a welfare, although Story players will mostly find him to be just another option among a sea of many, especially with Agents being in the fray as well.
tl;dr Both skills should be well graded options, similar to other Flagbearers. Favor S2 first with S1 being a more advanced luxury. |
| Grain Buds | Gacha | A rather average 5★ which, given recent trends, I suppose is better than normal. Grain Buds is really nothing special. She isn't really bad but doesn't really do anything special either. Just sort of filler that's difficult to find much to say about. She’s a modern replacement to Istina who was pretty fringe herself. If she appeals to you or you play any low rarity niche, then S2 is the target since she can reach 100% Slow uptime for the skill duration on a pretty good cycle. However, neither her DPS or utility has much general value.
tl;dr Ungraded, but favor S2, if desired. |
| Zuo Le | Gacha | Another busted Guard. At least Shu is broken in an interesting way. Zuo Le is just the latest entrant in the ever growing power spike. He's quite comparable to Executor the Ex Foedere in his gameplay, although he relies more on rapid skill activations. This makes him quite adept at low operator clears since he can keep up with even heavy rushes. I ultimately think he falls a bit under Executor and other recent Guards though. His DPH isn't especially high and he requires quite a bit more micromanagement and planning to use. That is nitpicking though, which is necessary given the recent powercreep. Zuo Le is extremely good and will be well graded. He's likely to be an M6 consideration, with S3 probably being the better graded. The instant duration and burst of his S3 plays better into his skill spam niche since S2 ends up with a longer skill cycle, although the reliable Barrier and extra block on S2 make it worth a solid look as well. His S1 might have some value as an AFK skill, but with no way to control his HP or Barrier, it falls more into the classic Musha problems.
tl;dr Strong M6. Top graded S3. Same grade or slightly lower for S2. |
| Shu | Gacha Limited | Oh boy. Shu is... difficult to assess. She is the most broken operator we've ever gotten, although I don't mean that in the way it's typically used. She isn't the "strongest" but rather she quite literally breaks the game in places. On top of that, her Sui Talent is incredibly powerful (and frustratingly toxic since it's locked behind Limiteds). It makes her painful to assess in write-ups like this. Is she a must pull or is she a pass among a sea of busted DPS? Honestly, it's hard to say. Attempting to look beyond that weirdness, she is a very solid Guardian with incredible healing numbers and stall potential that should see her with regular use. S3 will be the first target for Mastery which has some pretty serious gains for her core use. S1 will be well graded behind it, likely with the same grade as Saria's S1 (they're identical except in name). Her S2 is the final choice which is her best raw healing skill, although that usage trails a little behind the other two.
tl;dr At least M6, S3 > S1. S2 a consideration as well. |
| Reclamation Algorithm 2 | ||
| Kestrel | Welfare | Kestrel fills a hole at the rarity which has been missing since launch. The offensive oriented 5★ Pioneers focus more on burst rather than fighting prowess so Kestrel fills a gap between Scavenger and Siege. Too bad she came out in year five of the game instead of year one then. Pioneer value has been in the toilet for years now and she comes right on the heels of a much better welfare at the same rarity, Wanqing. Niche players may be able to extract some value out of her, but in general, Pioneers just have no role in the current metagame. Even brand new players won't be able to benefit from her since she's locked behind the RA2 shop (although that may change if we also get the compensation currency that CN got)!
tl;dr Ungraded, but S2 is the better option. |
