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Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner ft. Exusiai and Siege

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Introducing an All-Original New Standard Banner!

With much confusion, joy, and crying (for some people who wanted Blue Poison in the shop), Yostar has gone beyond ye olde switcheroo and introduced an all-new Standard Banner never-before-seen in CN.

Rate Up Info

The Fifth Standard Pool Banner features 6-Star Operators Exusiai & Siege on rateup. This means there is a 2% chance of pulling a 6-Star Operator and, if a 6-Star is pulled, there is a 25% chance it will be Exusiai, 25% chance it will be Siege, and 50% chance of it being a different 6-star Operator.

5-Star Operators on rateup are Ptilopsis, Provence, and Nearl.

Disclaimer

First and Foremost - roll if you really like any of the Operators below.  Do not roll if it will freeze your bank account; please gacha responsibly. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here's the rundown for those straddling the fence.

Should You Pull?

Yes.  Unless you have Exusiai/Siege/Ptilopsis already.

Of the Operators on banner, Exusiai and Ptilopsis are most desired amongst veteran doctors for their unparalleled consistency at tackling content.  While Siege, Provence, and Nearl are by no means weak operators, Siege's core role of DP recovery is more easily covered by lower rarity units, Provence fulfills a niche that isn't very newbie-friendly, and Nearl's role can also be filled by her fellow Healing Defenders.  For consideration, Siege and Nearl have been on relatively recent banners.

Exusiai Info

+ Low Cost

+ High and consistent damage.  S2 is on demand, and s3 is automatic burst.

-  Less effective vs higher armor units due to lower base Attack and skills that focus on multi-hit.

Yes: As an ST Sniper who prioritizes aerial units, Exusiai hits a fantastic DP Cost vs damage point.  Her damage potential makes her relevant throughout all stages of the game. While she was available on the Tutorial Summon, Exusiai's banner appearances have been low on CN and she's never appeared in the shop as of writing this SYP.  If you didn't get her from the Tutorial summon, or somehow won the lottery on recruitment, Exusiai is definitely worth headhunting.

Siege Info

+ Highest Stat Vanguard

+ S2: Aerial Hammer has decent damage potential.

- S2 requires enemies to recover DP.  S3 doesn't recover DP.

- Expensive for Vanguard, replaceable for passive DP gain.

Maybe: Siege is the strongest Skill-DP-recovery Vanguard by nature of her 6* statline.  While her S2 is unique amongst Vanguards for its AoE damage potential, in most realistic scenarios her DP Gain isn't at must-have levels better than her peers.  Siege's high cost for a Vanguard can hinder her teammates' deployment as well, especially when a cheaper Vanguard can provide comparable DP gain done dirt cheap at a lower price.  As a launch 6*, Siege is in the Tutorial pool, occasionally available in the Certificate Shop, and for some enviably fortunate people, obtainable in recruitment.  Despite her relative availability, Siege is worth headhunting for those who want to upgrade their Vanguard squad.

Ptilopsis Info

Universal Basic (SP Gain) Income for all SP per Second Charge Type Skills

S2: Enkephalin adds even more range/ increases healing rate.

Long CD on S2.

Yes: Ptilopsis' passive map-wide SP gain acceleration can provide more safety/consistency for Operator Skills; rarely is this talent not useful.  This makes her a safe bet for going into most stages, except when Medics are banned. Although Ptilopsis is theoretically recruitable with the Healer/Support tags, she shares these tags with Warfarin.  Overall, Ptilopsis is a great AoE Healer and definitely worth headhunting.  

Provence

High Damage

Talent buff is multiplicative with skill buffs = bigger red numbers

+/- A Sniper that doesn’t prioritize Aerial Units

Short range/niche archetype.  

Maybe: Provence has the niche of doing high Physical damage in a short range.  Her Talent and skills complement and contribute to her high damage, especially her S2.  Although niche, she can make short work of certain bosses with the right team composition and setup.  Provence is available from Recruitment, though does not have a set of Tags that can guarantee her, so fans of the fluffiest tail in Rhodes Island and strategists who want high bossing damage should look towards headhunting Provence.  

Nearl

Talent buffs all direct healing when deployed.

S1 can hold up to 3 charges of healing, and only heals targets at < 50% health

Generally replaceable with other Heal-Tanks.  

Maybe: Nearl performs as a standard Heal-Tank, blocking up to 3 enemies while restoring HP to nearby teammates.  Her unique talent increases all direct healing when she is deployed, synergizing well with Medics and other heals, including her own.  While heal-tanks can be extremely slot-efficient deploys, without a significantly distinguishing ability Nearl has viable alternatives in both higher and lower rarities as a Healing Defender.  In terms of availability, Nearl was featured on the Skadi banner recently and is available very rarely from recruitment. For those who need a Heal-Tank, it will be relieving to have Nearl at your side.

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