Arknights: Should You Pull? Joint Operation 5

The “Joint Operation 4” Banner released alongside the “Contingency Contract: Spectrum” event works a little differently from other banners:

• The listed operators will be the only units available for their respective rarity
• Operator Feature Banners do not add Operators to the Distinction shop

If you don’t own any of the 6★ units on this banner, then Yes. This is one of the better Joint Operation banners, and it guarantees that you will get one of four 6★s that range in impact from “good” to “gamebreaking”. Surtr is still ridiculously broken, and the other 6★ units are all very strong. 

However, if you own even one of these 6★ Ops, the appeal drops sharply. Remember that the mechanics of Joint Operation banners make it easy to pull units on the banner, but hard to pull a specific unit. It is not worth pulling for the specific one you’re missing, as the odds are too low.

Like with normal banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? Probably not. April can be great and fills a unique niche, but the other options are less exciting. Meteorite, Ayerscarpe, and Beeswax have potential use, but are not exceptional. Iris and Flint are not very meta units, but at least they’re fun to watch in action.

Close-Range/ Heavyshooter Sniper

+ High ATK, large multipliers, and critical damage give her incredible burst DPS

+ Buffs the ATK of allied Snipers while deployed

+ From E1 onward, she debuffs the DEF of her target when she triggers a critical hit

+ One of the best Snipers for killing mid- to high-DEF enemies

- High DP cost

- Her normal attack range and S3 attack range can be a little tricky to position

Fast-Redeploy/ Executor Specialist

+ He gives you two Fast-Redeploy units for the cost of one Squad spot (him and his clone)

+ Versatile Skills allow him to provide damage avoidance/ soaking, burst DPS, or AoE crowd-control

+ Has the highest DPS of Fast-Redeploy Specialists, making him the best Fast-Redeploy assassin (especially if you can drop his clone on the same target)

- Typical archetype weaknesses: stats are unimpressive compared to other 6★ Operators

- He and his clone both cost DP, so he can burn through your DP quickly if used repeatedly

Arts Fighter Guard

+ One of the best sources of Arts burst damage currently in the game with S3, making her ideal for destroying lone bosses or groups of tough enemies within a short span of time

+ Ignores a flat amount of enemy RES when attacking (Talent 1)

+ When she takes fatal damage, she remains on the field for a few more seconds before retreating (Talent 2)

+ S1 absolutely destroys weak enemies, since the Skill refreshes immediately if it kills the target

+ S2 gives her an option for consistent ST or multi-target damage throughout a map if desired

+ S3 is Armageddon in a cup, dramatically increasing Surtr’s ATK, attack range, and target count while also giving her +5000 HP (!)

+ Combining S3 with her "stay on the field past fatal damage" Talent 2 allows her to stand toe-to-toe with the nastiest foes in Arknights, which usually ends with her destroying them utterly due to S3's unbelievable damage output

+ Skills have VERY quick charge times

= S3 is PERMANENT once activated and cannot be turned off (you'll see why this is a problem in a minute)

- Archetype weaknesses: Block-1, high DP cost

- S3 constantly damages Surtr, up to 20% of her max HP per second, forcing her to retreat sooner or later (copious amounts of healing CAN keep her on the field, but it's usually not worth the effort) and locking her into a helidrop playstyle

- If using S3 multiple times in a battle, Surtr’s increasing DP cost can become very expensive

Skill-DP/ Pioneer Vanguard

+ Talent 1 puts the "Critically Wounded" status on enemies that Saga would have killed, reducing them to 1 HP and making them impossible to block; the Wounded enemy will move through Saga and can be killed by a nearby ally; when a Wounded enemy is killed, the Operator who dealt the final blow gains SP

+ Talent 2 gives Saga some healing and Physical Dodge the first time she drops below 40% HP

+ S1 is the usual DP generation Skill of all 5★ and above Pioneer Vanguards

+ S2 deals damage to enemies in a cross pattern from Saga’s position and executes Wounded enemies (this is the only way Saga can kill Wounded enemies by herself); the Skill immediately generates DP and can hold multiple charges

+ S3 massively increases Saga’s damage, allows her to perform bonus attacks on low-health targets (making it easy for her to Wound them), and generates DP over the duration

- If Saga is placed too close to an exit, a fast-moving enemy (i.e., Wolves) might be able to get past her and enter your base, even while Critically Wounded

- S3 has low uptime

AoE/ Artilleryman Sniper

+ Massive attack range and enormous damage potential with crit-chance Talent

+ Can debuff enemy DEF with her S2

- Slow attack speed

- Can struggle against high-DEF targets, even with her S2

Ranged/ Lord Guard

+ Talent increases the ASPD of nearby allies

+ A melee Physical attacker who can do Arts damage to multiple targets with his Skills, which can be useful in some situations

+ S1 is a relatively rare melee Slow option and is multi-target

- S2 requires enemies to be blocked to be dealt bonus damage, but heavy blocking strategies are not common in the current meta, especially for high-level content

- Faces stiff competition from other members of his archetype, i.e., Lappland and Arene

Modal/ Phalanx Caster

+ Usual archetype strengths: Gains DEF +200% and RES +20 while Skills are not active, and attacks all enemies within range while Skills are active

+ Talent gives her HP regen, making her even more of a brick wall

+ S2 summons a Block-3 obelisk to a square within her range, absorbing damage and Stunning enemies upon creation

= Has faster ASPD than an AoE Caster and targets all units within her range rather than dealing splash damage, but cannot attack while her Skills aren’t active

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Loses her massive survivability bonuses when using her Skills, but can’t attack unless her Skills are active

- Limited duration of the S2 obelisk means it usually can’t replace a dedicated Blocker

Brawler/ Fighter Guard

+ Usual archetype strengths: High ASPD

+ Talent greatly increases the damage Flint deals to enemies she is not Blocking

+ S1 pushes enemies back and Slows them

+ S2 gives Flint Block-0, buffs her ATK and ASPD, and causes her attacks to Slow enemies; combined with her Talent, this Skill seriously amps up Flint’s DPS

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Low ATK, Block-1 limits ability to hold a lane solo

- S2 has low uptime

- Much less powerful and useful than Mountain, even when accounting for their rarity difference

Anti-Air/ Marksman Sniper

+ Usual archetype strengths: Low DP cost, high ASPD, prioritizes aerial units

+ Talent reduces her redeployment time (and, at E2, her DP cost), making her almost a Fast-Redeploy Sniper

+ S2 gives her an ATK buff and Camouflage for several seconds after deploying, protecting her from incoming attacks while she shoots enemies down

- Has to be redeployed to reactivate her S2 after it wears off

- Has a longer redeploy timer and a higher DP cost than a true Fast-Redeploy Operator

Charge/ Mystic Caster

+ Usual archetype strengths: Unusual attack range for a Caster, extremely high base ATK, “charges up” when not attacking to unleash a stronger hit later

+ Relatively low SP costs for her Skills

+ S1 is a quirky Skill that can be used to hit distant targets, attack quickly for a few seconds, or rapidly amass a full charge (since her ASPD determines her charge speed)

+ S2 puts 2 enemies in her range to Sleep and deals AoE Arts damage when they wake up; the Sleep also gives Iris time to “charge up,” so she disables enemies for a while and then releases massive burst damage on them afterwards

= Sleep can be a double-edged sword for most team compositions

- Usual archetype weaknesses:

• VERY slow ASPD, dramatically reducing her actual damage potential
• Amassing a charge counts as an “attack,” causing delays in her ability to actually attack if enemies walk into her range while she’s charging, further slowing her actual DPS
• It’s easy for her to waste charges on overkilling weak enemies, since she can’t “save” them for strong targets

- S1 has a VERY short duration and can reduce the damage of a full-charged attack if timed incorrectly

Schwarz is a straight-up delete button for anything stupid enough to walk in front of her. Her Talent gives her a chance to crit and reduce her target’s DEF, and the chance becomes 100% while her S3 is active. Her S3 also gives a massive buff to ATK—considering how high Schwarz’s base ATK is, this turns each critical hit into an armor-piercing grenade.

That being said, Schwarz tends to be a bit limited in her application. Yes, she generally deletes any target during her S3, but so do units like SilverAsh and Eyjafjalla. Schwarz does add a little team utility with the DEF debuff she applies with her critical hits, but she’s first and foremost a DPS unit, and there are other 6* units who can fill her role fairly easily. (We’re looking at you, Surtr.)

I recommend pulling for Schwarz if you’re lacking other good boss-killing options.

Phantom is an inversion of the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera. While Erik the Phantom was terrible to look upon but had the voice of an angel, Rhodes Island’s Phantom is a debonair bishounen whose Originium-warped voice inspires madness in those who hear it. After being deployed, Phantom can craft a clone of himself that deploys with the same Skill that Phantom is currently using. Enemies don’t just have one stalling, Stunning, assassinating Phantom spiriting across the field: they have to deal with two.

Phantom occupies an odd niche in Arknights. In terms of Fast-Redeploy units, Gravel is better at stalling, and Projekt-Red’s Stun debuff has no element of randomness attached. Phantom’s strength is his burst damage, but there are many other units (i.e., DP-on-Kill Vanguards) that can fill the same role. However, they lack Phantom’s Fast-Redeploy time. When you need to assassinate enemies on different parts of the battlefield (i.e., any map that has predeployed enemy Casters), Phantom and his clone can do the job like nobody else.

I recommend pulling for Phantom.

Surtr is a woman who takes the difficulty curve of Arknights and snaps it over her knee. Then she sets it on fire.

As an Arts Guard, she already deals a boatload of damage to most enemies; with her RES-reducing Talent, she does even more. Her Skills make that damage potential explode-nentially stronger. In fact, she may be one of the hardest-hitting Operators yet released in Arknights. Surtr can kill anything!—including, unfortunately, herself, since her S3 deals constant damage to her that virtually guarantees an eventual retreat. However, first it’ll trigger her E2 Talent, which keeps her on the field at 1 HP for several seconds no matter how much damage she’s taking. It gives her time to incinerate the last few targets before she heads to the bench to cool down.

I absolutely recommend pulling for Surtr. (Nobody is surprised.)

Saga’s weapons are relentless cheerfulness, a huge naginata, and the “Critically Wounded” status ailment, which turns enemies into SP batteries for Saga’s allies. With her S2, Saga can execute her SP batteries—sorry, I mean “her enemies”— by herself; with her S3, Saga amplifies her offensive prowess so she can Wound incoming targets even more effectively.

Vanguards are essential for just about any strategy on just about any map, but sometimes they can feel like deadweight once you’ve gotten all the DP you need to deploy your Operators. This is never a problem for Saga. Not only does she Block-2 and hit hard, but she brings one of the most valuable utility functions to the field: bonus SP for her allies. As long as there’s something for Saga to kill, she’s an outstanding utility character, even once your DP needs have been filled for the map.

I recommend pulling for Saga, but not on this particular banner unless you are also interested in the other 6★ options.

Meteorite is very simple to understand. Point at enemies. Watch enemies go boom.

This isn’t a bad thing, either. Between her crit-chance Talent and her automatic S1, Meteorite is beautifully low-maintenance and terrifyingly effective. She has a little utility with her S2, which leaves a powerful DEF debuff on targets, but Meteorite is really all about damage in the best way possible.

Meteorite’s only issues are those inherent to the AoE Sniper archetype: high DP cost and very slow ASPD. The slow ASPD severely impedes her overall DPS and makes it generally inefficient to use her against tough solo enemies and bosses. When swarms appear, however, Meteorite is one of the best in the business for taking them out.

I don’t recommend pulling for Meteorite, but she can be worth raising if you pull her.

Ayerscarpe has a gun and a bunch of swords. An ordinary person would probably use the gun for ranged attacks and the sword for melee attacks. Not Ayerscarpe: he uses the gun to fire the swords and the swords to fire electricity. His fellow Operators are confused.

Ayerscarpe can be quite the asset, between his multi-target Arts damage and the ASPD buff he brings to the table. However, this usually isn’t enough to stand out in comparison to other units in his archetype. There are a lot of extremely strong Ranged Guards, and Ayerscarpe’s narrow utility and awkward S2 have trouble standing out from the crowd. The S2 is his real issue: successfully Blocking enemies in high-level content can be very difficult, and its effects aren’t really worth the effort to make it work. In a vacuum, Ayerscarpe can perform admirably, but in practice, there are usually better Operators to bring to the field.

I don’t recommend pulling for Ayerscarpe.

Beeswax debuted the Phalanx Caster archetype, an unusual unit that switches back and forth between two “modes” depending on Skill usage. When Beeswax does not have a Skill active, she does not attack, but she gains colossal defensive buffs that make her almost as sturdy as a high-tier Defender. When she does activate a Skill, she loses those defensive bonuses, but she begins inflicting Arts damage on all enemies within her range. Her S2 has the added benefit of building a massive Block-3 obelisk on the field, Stunning enemies and halting their advance.

Phalanx Casters are strange units that can be hard to use well. Since they’re ranged units, they can’t Block, so they’re best used to absorb the attacks of ranged enemies. However, since they lose their defensive bonuses when they activate a Skill, absorbing ranged attacks often means the Phalanx Caster must play passively for a large part of the map. In many cases, using a Defender and an intelligent deployment order can be more effective than a Phalanx Caster.

On the other hand, some maps have awkward layouts that force your ranged Operators to be put in harm’s way. In these cases, Beeswax can shrug off the damage and give you breathing space to focus on other problems. Beeswax’s Skills also charge fairly quickly and can be used to keep waves of weak enemies under control—and don’t forget about her S2 obelisk, which is a great decoy target for burst-damage-happy opponents (i.e., Lancers).

I don’t recommend pulling for Beeswax, but she can be worth raising if you pull her.

Flint is a Brawler Guard, and Brawler Guards have been in a bit of a rough spot up until now. Their damage suffers against high-DEF enemies, and their low survivability makes them a weak link on the battlefield. Flint tackles these troubles in a fascinating way: she uses her S2 to obtain Block-0 so she can’t be hit by melee enemies, then uses her Talent to deal huge bonus damage to enemies she isn’t Blocking. Who says meatheads can’t think (or punch) outside the box?

Unfortunately, while the Brawler Guard archetype has a very strong 6★ representative in Mountain, lower-rarity Brawler Guards like Flint have not been so lucky. Flint’s “temporary Block-0” idea is interesting, but it’s rarely if ever going to be more effective than committing to either a Blocking or no-Blocking strategy, and even with her bonus damage she can struggle to scratch high-DEF targets.

I don’t recommend pulling for Flint.

April is trying the experimental role of Fast-Redeploy Anti-Air Sniper, and she seems to be doing pretty well at it. Her Talent reduces her redeploy time and DP cost, and her S2 causes her to deploy with bonus ATK and a Camouflage buff that prevents enemies from targeting her. April can swing by, shower arrows on some unsuspecting foes, then tap out before she becomes vulnerable to their retaliation. And in less than a minute, she’ll be ready to do it again.

Any time you see a bunch of pre-deployed enemies on a map—especially those damn enemy Casters—or large waves of ranged enemies coming your way, April is a terrific solution. Her S2 gives her several seconds to open fire on them without needing protection or healing, safely thinning their numbers.

The rest of the time, April’s usefulness is shakier. Her S2 is great, but because it only triggers on deployment, you want to retreat and redeploy her once its duration runs out. And despite her Talent, April’s redeploy time and DP cost are still pretty big obstacles—certainly much bigger than for a true Fast-Redeploy unit. If you’re not utilizing her Camouflage-redeploy combo, she’s probably not the most efficient Anti-Air Sniper for the job.  

I don’t recommend pulling for April unless you’re very interested in her niche, but she is very worth raising if you pull her.

Iris walked out of a literal fairy tale to return a radio to a Rhodes Island Operator who had left it with her as a child. How is it that Iris hasn’t aged since she first took that radio decades ago? Magic? Dreams? Iris isn’t talking. But she certainly is contributing, bringing one of the highest ATK in all of Arknights, a special damage-charging Trait, and the power of the Sleep ailment to bear against those who would threaten the children of the world.

It’s hugely satisfying when Iris has the time to build up a fully charged blast and fling it out for massive damage. However, it takes her so long to build up a full charge that she’ll rarely get to do this, and even when she does, she may waste it on small fry just before the boss comes into her range. Her Skills can also be awkward: S1 can greatly speed up her charge time but can also neuter the damage of the charged attack, and S2 involves Sleep, which is always a tricky ailment to work with.

I don’t recommend pulling for Iris.