Introduction
February has drawn to a close and with it comes a new iteration Last Month in Dragalia, a monthly retrospective on all the prominent events that occurred. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into all the content that dropped this past month.
Upgrades to Familiar Faces
Two new mana spirals were released in February via the new Surtr Trials of the Mighty raids. This time two galas had their turns, being Sarisse and Zena. Gala Mym would also see herself getting a mana spiral at the end of the month in the new Flame Legion Trial.
Our very first Gala adventurer in all of Dragalia Lost. After months of her later gala compatriots receiving spirals before her, many of us were wondering if she had been forgotten. But fear not! For Sarisse has returned with a wide set of new upgrades that certainly propels her beyond the bench she’s rested on the past few years. Here are the changes to Sarisse compared to her pre-spiral kit:
Skill 1: Brilliant Bolt
○ additional +376.5% damage
○ bonus attacks gain additional +10% damage (total skill damage from Brilliant Bolt at 7 buff maximum +446.5%)
○ inflicts burn
○ gains a dispel
Skill 2: Cheerful Assist
○ automatically readies Brilliant Bolt
○ skill shifted variant gains a team heal (heal does not consume energy)
Ability 1: Sylvan Strength
○ Skill 2 Cheerful assist grants a strength amp and defense amp (Max Team Amp Level: 3) with a 20 second cooldown
Ability 2: Woodland Blessing
○ upgraded resistance to Potent variant
Ability 3: The Crimson Star
○ gains +10% attack rate when a team strength amp is present
○ gains +20% skill damage when a team defense amp is present
Sarisse now possesses a substantial amount of utility thanks to her mana spiral. As of writing she is the only character capable of amping two different stats with a max team amp level 3. Not only does she offer a wider variety of amps but her amp cooldown is one of the shortest of the amps gains from Trials of the Mighty mana spirals. Sarisse’s access to team strength amp 3 and burn allows her to be a decent substitute for Gala Laxi in the common flame team of Kimono Elisanne, Gala Leonidas, Ayaha & Otoha, and Gala Laxi.
I AM ON FIRE! Luca is going to think twice before pulling pranks when I’m around now!
The release of the Sinister Dominion series marked a decline in the usage of Gala Zena since her launch around the second anniversary of Dragalia Lost. Zena has a higher degree of difficulty staving off the Corrosion debuff compared to other available light healers and the presence of Curse of Nihility has shifted popularity to healers that offer a greater deal of utility such as Vixel. Can a new mana spiral save our other worldly auspex from obsolescence? Let’s take a glimpse at the upgrades Gala Zena was given:
Skill 1: Glorious Sanctuary
○ additional +22% recovery potency on initial heal
○ gains a regenerative team heal over time
○ provides team overdamage
○ healing zone gains additional +6% (+3% in co-op) recovery potency
Skill 2: Holy Crown
○ additional +35% damage
○ additional +20% force strike charge rate
○ force strike charge rate buff tied to unique “Holy Faith” buff
○ “Holy Faith” confers an additional effect of knockback immunity
Ability 1: Hallowed Auspex
○ Skill 1 Glorious Sanctuary grants a defense amp (Max Team Amp Level: 3) with a 30 second cooldown
Ability 2: Sacred Shield
○ upgraded resistance to Potent variant
Ability 3: Auspex’s Prayer
○ gains +10% recovery potency when a defense amp is present
Overall Gala Zena’s spiral is just okay. With substantial upgrades to her healing output she certainly has less difficulty with corrosion than before, but in terms of non-healing utility her spiral was a bit lacking. Gala Zena would have fared much better had she received stronger team utility such as a team strength amp instead of the defense amp she got.
Overdamage is the most prominent addition to Gala Zena’s kit, as she is now the first and currently the only light healer with innate access to overdamage. However, overdamage isn’t really that much of a game changer in the grand scheme of things. In solo play, overdamage has fantastic synergy with combo based tools such as the powerful Combo = Shapeshift Prep chain co-abililty. The only problem is that the only source of the Combo = Shapeshift Prep chain co-ability is tied to Kimono Notte, which would mean running two healers at once. And in the case of co-op play, the wider pool of shared skills means running a healer with innate overdamage is less necessary. Speaking of shared skills, Gala Zena does offer overdamage on her shared skill at only 5 points compared to the typical 6. So Gala Zena’s spiral is actually quite valuable…just for other characters. At least Zena still remains unparalleled in terms of raw damage output amongst healers, a niche that seems to be benefiting her in Legend Iblis
I have seen many worlds and witnessed many possibilities. But I did not foresee the possibility that my mana spiral would be so...whelming.
After the balance changes in Version 2.0, Gala Mym skyrocketed into the queen of the flame element, but due to the strength buff-centric nature of her kit, her performance in Curse of Nihility content has been a bit lacking. Let’s see if her mana spiral can breathe new life into this ancient dragon:
Skill 1: Dragon Claw
○ additional +127.5% damage
○ gains a dispel
Skill 2: Flames of Passion
○ additional +90% damage
○ additional +172% damage during Ability effect
○ inflicts burn
Ability 1: Flamewyrm’s Nature
○ upgraded burn resistance to Potent variant
○ any skill grants a strength amp (Max Team Amp Level: 3) with a 30 second cooldown
Ability 2: Flamewyrm’s Defiance
○ gains sleep resistance
○ upgraded resistance to Potent variant
Ability 3: Dragon Time
○ gains +5% dragon time
Seeing as how Gala Mym is still quite a force to be reckoned with in buff-permissive content, it was expected for her spiral to specifically make her better suited for Curse of Nihility content. Instead we got more general increases. Gala Mym now offers some utility in the form of dispel and burn, great quality of life changes by getting access to both proper affliction resistances, as well as some fairly substantial modifier increases on her skills. Her upgraded shapeshift and upgraded variant for her second skill still remains unavailable in Curse of Nihility, but her spiral is still fairly solid none the less.
With this, I can better protect my darling!
The 4 affliction punisher dragons received a fifth unbind at the end of February with all receiving an increase of 5% strength as well receiving a Surge of Strength of 30%.
Left out of the affliction punisher party, the water dragon that received their fifth unbind in February was Styx. Styx received a 30% Surge of Strength and a 5 second reduction for each stack of Great Cascade (a full stack of Great Cascade now requires 40 seconds instead of a full minute). Additionally, Styx's Great Cascade skill damage buffs are no longer wiped by Curse of Nihility catapulting Styx from literal dead weight to just being another garbage dragon.
Event Compendium Updates
On February 3, 6 facility events were added to the event compendium:
○ A Dash of Disaster (Facility: The Hungerdome) - starring Valerio, Mitsuba, Nimis, and Pipple
○ Rhythmic Resolutions (Facility: Festival Stage) - starring Catherine, Eugene, and Styx
○ The Phantom’s Ransom (Facility: Opera House) - starring Lapis, Opera Karina, and Giovanni
○ Toll of the Deep (Facility: Abyssal Bell) - starring Summer Alex and Summer Mym
○ The Clockwork Heart (Facility: Dr. Schmidt’s Lab) - starring Halloween Laxi and Halloween Sylas
On February 27, two onslaught events were added to the event compendium:
○ Blessed Bloodline - starring Nino and Faeblessed Tobias
○ A Dazzling Defense - starring Humanoid Jupiter
The Abyssal Bell and Dr. Schmidt’s Lab also saw an increase in max facility level to 35.
The Blood That Binds / Gala Emile, Phares, Valyx & Michael
The first event of the month, the Blood That Binds took a little bit of a step back from focusing on Euden and instead shifted the spotlight onto the elder Alberian royal scions. It is revealed that while in service of the Progenitor, Phares created an imitation of the legendary founder king Alberius. As a result of the Progenitor’s reawakening, this knockoff goes on a rampage with the only ones capable of stopping him being the newly reunited royals.
The battle between the siblings and faux-Alberius serves as a staging ground for Phares and Valyx to reflect on the direction their lives have taken thus far. Phares confronts a monster of his own making and seeks to learn how he can move beyond his past crimes. Meanwhile Valyx must face off against a being that bears the visage of the one he idolizes most. At the conclusion of the duel, Valyx grapples with the spirit of true leadership and decides to forge a path of his own, no longer following in the shadow of his idealized Alberius.
The Blood That Binds was a nice narrative change of pace by shifting away from the main crew. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it was still just another usual reskinned Invasion event. On the bright side, three of the royal siblings—Emile, Phares, and Valyx—received their first playable iterations in the summon showcases tied to this event. Emile and Phares are both fairly potent team ampers. Meanwhile, Valyx is an above average non-shapeshift reliant damage dealer that can output a large quantity of afflictions, perfect for Iblis in solo play! You can read more about Gala Emile here, and Phares and Valyx here!
Iblis Time Attack
From February 13 to the 24th, the Time Attack Challenge for Iblis’ Surging Cascade occurred. In the solo rankings, the top spot was won by Frank who cleared in an impressive 30.9 seconds using a team of Akasha, Gala Leif, Yukata Lathna, and Dragonyule Xainfried.
For co-op, members of the 47 Skill Issues Gang alliance managed to clinch 1st place (and 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th) with a showstopping 8.6 second clear. Blink and you’ll miss it! The top co-op team was composed of Templar Hope, two Maribelles, and a Nina. In fact all of the top 25 fastest clears utilized Nina who was released during the duration of the Time Attack Challenge itself! Talk about making a big splash early on! Speaking of Nina…
Romance Under Siege Revival / Nina and Wind Focus
On February 13, love was in the air. To celebrate Valentine’s this year a rerun of last year’s Romance Under Siege onslaught event was held. But does something strike you as odd this year? Oh yeah, in a break from tradition, Dragalia Lost did not have any limited time Valentine’s exclusive characters this year. Instead we got the release of our favorite shop keep the very same day.
Supposedly after devouring all the contents of our poor poor wallets, Nina secured a big enough bag to grant her potent wind magic. Fortunately for us, she is using her new found wealth to heal our team. You can read more about how Nina fares here!
I’m glad Dragalia is just a fantasy game. Imagine if hoarded wealth could grant you wind magic in real life. I rather not live in a world where Jeff Bezos can call forth a category 5 hurricane.
Following the Gala Remix banner featuring Nina and Gala Reborn Zephyr was a Wind Focus summon showcase. Nothing special about this banner.
Nino? More like Nino way I’m using my wyrmite here. There’s a Midgardsormr Zero chance I will summon on this banner!
Main Campaign Chapter 23 - Part 1
The power of the five Primal Greatwyrms, the key to defeating the Progenitor, lies in the Dragon Necropolis housed in the fallen Kingdom of Lefkos—the kingdom once ruled by Gatov. On February 16, players witnessed the main party arrive in the former homeland of Gatov and Sheila. What they were met with was a barren wasteland ravaged by war and inhospitable to life. It was revealed that Lefkos was overpowered by a rival nation two decades ago, but not even the victor would enjoy the spoils as the kingdom was contemporaneously engulfed in a dark miasma and lost to the desert sands.
Two decades? That would make Sheila around her late thirties to early forties. First Beren, and now Sheila? These vessels of the Primal Mark sure are deceptively old.
It was revealed that the calamity that befell the land was caused by Sheila herself. The Lefkos princess opened a tear in the space between worlds in the hopes of weaponizing the black mana it produces to wipe out those invading her kingdom.
In other words, she tried using chemical weapons on her enemies.
Haha! Finally a comrade-in-arms!
Since that fateful day, her guilt-ridden soul remained in Lefkos, producing the black mana that continues to plague the land. Fortunately, Gatov manages to quell Sheila’s grief and by committing himself to supporting her while also finally respecting her agency. Sheila’s heart is put at ease and the hollow shell of her body is finally made full again. Sheila puts on some new drip and the gang continue on their way to the Dragon Necropolis.
My war criminal can't possibly be this cute!
Here's a brief rundown of a few of the violations of international law Sheila committed:
○ Article 36 of the 1st Protocol to the Geneva Conventions - did not seek evaluation of experimental black mana weaponry to see if it abides by international law before usage
○ Article 47 of the 1st Protocol to the Geneva Conventions - employed the usage of mercenaries (Gatov later on as the Blazewolf)
○ Article 54 of the 1st Protocol to the Geneva Conventions - destruction of materials indispensable for survival
○ Article 55 of the 1st Protocol to the Geneva Conventions - destroyed the natural environment
○ Environmental Modification Convention - dramatically altered the environment of Lefkos
○ Article 8 of the Rome Statute - destruction of cultural heritage
○ 4th Geneva Convention - committed violence against civilians
○ The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases - usage of black mana miasma warfare
○ Chemical Weapons Convention - usage of black mana miasma in warfare
○ Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol III on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the use of Incendiary Weapons - is a flame dagger
End of the Month & Closing Thoughts
February 27, the tail-end of the month, saw quite a few noteworthy events drop simultaneously.
The Time Attack Challenge just wasn’t enough to sate Iblis in February because he came back for round two with his Legend difficulty fight. This time Iblis has substantially upped his affliction counter mechanic, requiring 11 (solo, 15 in co-op) successful afflictions to prevent an instant wipe. Additionally, Iblis will also switch the required affliction immediately after one countdown has been successfully cleared.
I've had enough of this guy
The last event of the month, the Operation: At Your Service invasion event also dropped. In it Pia and a newly anthropomorphized Zodiark infiltrate Emile’s quarters to investigate a weird change of behavior that has befallen the prince.
As far as events go, this one has to be one of the silliest, and as a result, one of the most enjoyable ones. The dichotomy of Zodiark, the most sinister looking Greatwyrm, being thrust into doing mega adorable maid-stuff is surreal to say the least. Amongst the humanoid Greatwyrm events, I personally enjoyed Operation: At Your Service more than Jupiter's A Dazzling Defense, but Mercury's Elementary Escapades still sits in my top spot. I just love how ham-fistedly stupid the initial premise of that event was.
Introduction of the humanoid Greatwyrms:
Brunhilda: "I took the form of one of my dearest friends in the past who sacrificed herself for the ones she loved"
Midgardsormr: "I took this form to travel with one of my greatest companions, the legendary founder King himself"
Mercury: "Lemme get a side job and do something goofy"
Jupiter: "Lemme get a side job and do something goofy"
Zodiark: "Lemme get a side job and do something goofy"
Coinciding with the new event is a new Gala summon showcase featuring Humanoid Zodiark and the surprise release of Gala Elysium. Gala Elysium marks a unique moment in dragon kits as the ability he offers is dependent on what class of adventurer is being used.
Unfortunately some characters don’t belong in the class that would benefit them the most with Elysium, For example, Chitose being Defense and not Support or Ryszarda being Defense and not Attack.
In terms of damage output, it is yet uncertain how Elysium will perform. For Attack type adventurers, Elysium only offers 90% strength compared to Gala Chronos Nyx’s 100% and Gala Elysium also lacks a damaging dragon skill. Instead it appears that Elysium is putting a substantial amount of his chips into bulk as he increases the users HP and defense, as well as providing damage reduction and shields with his skill. It is possible that Elysium will have absolutely devastating attacks in shapeshift form to reach parity with Gala Chronos Nyx’s damage output, but that’s a hard feat to match. Only time will tell, so stay tuned for GamePress’ Should You Summon for Gala Elysium and Humanoid Zodiark in the coming days. At minimum, Gala Elysium looks fantastic for healers in solo content thanks to the HP/strength/skill haste increases as well as 50% shapeshift prep akin to Bahamut or Ramiel.
The month of February was pretty slow. There wasn’t much in the way of new events. And of the two new events we received were both generic invasion events. In March, expect the release of Housekeeper Pia, the Primal Brunhilda boss fight, as well as news on Dragalia Lost’s 3.5 year anniversary. Until then, farewell!
