Pavel

Damage Share Ignore

Pavel's marquee ability, Destructive Pursuit, ignores damage-sharing effects, which is a defensive utility carried by many tanks in PvP through Aurius. This makes him a specialist at taking out singular high-value targets who would otherwise hide themselves behind their tank's HP wall.

Very High Base Stats

Sporting very high base ATK and SPD for a ranger, Pavel has the potential to become a very good sustain DPS despite his kit favoring a more burst-heavy playstyle. Even when built as a burst DPS, Pavel can cycle turns relatively quickly compared to other burst DPS heroes.

Self ATK Buff

After awakening his S2, Storm Bullet, Pavel can grant himself an ATK Up buff for 2 turns before attacking, which works into his combo flawlessly, making him more flexible in terms of builds and team comps.

Low Damage Modifiers

The biggest issue with Pavel upon release is that, contrary to his introduction as the next Burst DPS, his damage modifiers are noticeably mediocre. Since a lot of utility and damage of his kit is sacrificed for the "Damage dealt increases proportional to the caster's Speed" tag, which is quite low and isn't worth the sacrifices made to the kit. In order to maximize his damage, Pavel's S2 and S3 should be maxed out through Skill Enhancement ASAP.

Underwhelming S2

Part of what makes Pavel a self-sufficient burst DPS is the ATK buff on his S2, which can be Soulburned for an extra turn, which then can activate S3 after softening a high priority enemy target. There are a few issues with the way this works, however:

• For one, this combo will require 20 Souls, which isn't so bad considering his natural synergies, but it puts a requirement on his builds nonetheless.
• Two, when attacking into meta favorites Martial Artist Ken or Charles, both of whom can reliably counterattack this skill, it becomes a liability since Pavel can easily die in the middle of his combo if countered.
• Lastly, only Pavel's S3 ignores damage-sharing effects. The damage from his S2 does not have this ability, thus drawing more damage away from the intended usage of the character.

Low to No Defensive Options

Since he does not stand out as a burst DPS, can he be supported as a sustained DPS option? While his base stats (high SPD and ATK) are compatible with this playstyle, he has no defensive options like the other premier sustain DPS heroes. Heroes such as Assassin Coli or Kayron can survive multiple turns while dishing heavy damage. Pavel lacks survivability, and so despite his base stats, he doesn't make a strong enough sustained DPS hero.