Should You Summon? Violet and Violet's Talisman Edition

Today we’re covering Violet, the apple-munching narcissist and the recent focus of some story chapters.

The normal banner mechanics apply:

• No other 5* Heroes can be pulled on his banner

• 121 pulls guarantees you a Violet, regardless of the rates

• Your actual chance to pull him before you reach the pity summon timer of 121 pulls is ABOUT 61.9% (this is no guarantee, just the odds of getting there in 120 summons or fewer)

• There IS an artifact rate up on this banner - Violet’s Talisman

Violet is a non-limited Earth Thief with the highest non-dispellable Evasion buff in the game. He counters on all enemy misses and has the ability to remove his own debuffs with his S2. He also possesses some very strong focus-based scaling on his S3, doling out up to 75% more damage depending on his focus stacks. Lastly, his S1 applies Attack Down at a very high rate, making it hard to deal even chip damage to him after he has used his Evasion Up. Also, despite having one of the lowest DEF values in the game, he has one of the highest HP values, making him rather durable for a thief.

PROS (reasons to pull)

1. Such Dodge

2. Very Counter

3. No debuffs Wow; apple evade bonus can’t be dispelled

4. MLDB/Violet Talisman provide even more doge dodge

5. 75% ATK Break chance on counter

6. Potential for high damage on S3 and built-in reset

7. Husbando

CONS (reasons NOT to pull)

1. Dodge can be unreliable, leading to unforeseen deaths

2. Vulnerable to being outsped and killed first

3. No S3 CD reset when AI uses it

4. Reducing S2’s cooldown is a double-edged sword (his evasion uptime is 1 turn worse with S2 upgrade for a negligible heal/CC removal increase)

In addition, there are the following things to consider at this specific time -

• Violet is a very beginner-friendly hero, as he utilizes all the early sets well (but specifically Gaveleet’s, which can ease a newer player into endgame)

• You have Assassin Cartuja, who has excellent synergy with Violet

• You’re somehow afraid that SC Wanda will be seen on a lot more teams

• Diene (sigh) rerun still incoming

Violet’s Talisman

Violet’s Talisman is a very strong Thief artifact, especially on thieves who possess Extra Turn or other such abilities, as this will immediately grant 2 stacks of the buff. It’s worth getting at least 1 copy of, though it shouldn’t be a deciding factor on whether to pull or not on this banner. Just remember that Violet’s Talisman has less use in PvP, since the initial dodge rating isn’t very high (5-10% only on first turn), and the ATK value is lower unless you have ATK buff already.

It faces competition for its niche in Dreamblade, which provides higher values out of the gate, and Shepherds of Chaos, which offers more survivability in the long-run (though not by much).

Build Advice

If you DO pull Violet, here’s a short recommended build for him

Sets - Lifesteal, CritC, or Lifesteal, HP

Subs - CDamage, ATK, Speed

Artifacts - Moonlight Dreamblade (PvP) or Violet's Talisman (PvE)

Violet needs Speed subs to eat his apple early - without it, he can't dodge very well, and he won't counter-attack even if he dodges due to Dreamblade/Talisman - he MUST have eaten the apple. After all, a man can't fight on an empty stomach. He also appreciates ATK and CritDamage subs due to his surprisingly high output.

Violet fills a strong niche as an elusive counterattacker and can be classed as a bruiser. He is uniquely frustrating to deal with on offense and still has strong value in GW as a hero who fills a lot of boots. He can do a little of the debuffer role, the damage role, and even the defender role, and he’s probably the hero most suited to killing Dizzy, due to his debuff cure. He also serves as a cleave deterrent with Assassin Cartuja, making enemies think several times before AoEing willy-nilly.

Also, those apples look fantastic. Go bag yourself the new Cosmic Crisp apple today!