Should You Summon? Luna

Today we’re covering the limited #1 most wanted waifu, Luna. Smilegate recently announced a re-run of her limited… limited banner. Actually, at this stage, since most limited units return, is it even really a limited banner? More on that later.

The normal banner mechanics apply to this banner:

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

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

• The new artifact, Draco Plate, is available but NOT guaranteed!

• Your actual chance to pull her 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)

That being said, let’s see what Luna's kit has to offer.

Luna is a LIMITED Libra Warrior with balanced stats across the board, which are boosted by her Crit%/ATK% granting S2, Dragon Knight’s Will, by up to 30%. She has a 100% 2-turn DEF break with elemental advantage on a 10-turn cooldown, with the cooldown further dictated at RANDOM due to her S1, which can hit for anywhere from 1-3x (for 70% - 210% of her ATK value). Each strike reduces her S3 cooldown by 1-3 depending on the number of hits.

In the worst-case scenario, where S1 only shaves off 1 turn of cooldown per use, you can end up in the unenviable position of not having a DEF break for several turns.

Luna can be a fairly feast-or-famine type Hero. When she does well, she does REALLY well, with a DEF break uptime matching the highest in the game and some amazing DPS as well. When she does poorly, however, her damage and DEF break reliability can fall through the floor. Her average is decidedly somewhat above the median, however, and with enough Speed, she can get enough turns to reach an average value.

Draco Plate, also available on this banner, is likewise a LIMITED artifact, much like Reingar's Special Drink, that can only be obtained during this event. As the value is quite high on this artifact, this may influence your decision to pull, as it is objectively one of the strongest Warrior artifacts, boasting high Critical Damage Up and critical damage reduction.

PROS (reasons to pull)

1. Big dragon waifu

2. NOT available in the general summon pool

3. Draco Plate is ONLY available during this event!

4. DEF Break has 100% hit chance due to elemental advantage

5. Medium-high average DPS

6. Very high damage ceiling

7. Easy to gear

8. Highly versatile and good for most content

9. BIGGEST dragon waifu

CONS (reasons NOT to pull)

1. You’re not into waifus

2. DEF break can be unreliable

3. Morale value is very low (limited use in raids)

4. Damage floor can be very low

5. She’s not a truly limited hero since her banner occasionally returns (unlike collab heroes, who have not returned to this date)

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• We might get a new Hero soon™ with the ongoing Halloween event (possibly another Limited hero; who knows?)

• Draco Plate is only available right now and will not come to the general pool. If you want multiple copies, you could consider pulling (keep in mind that you get a free copy from the event)

And now for a rather interesting discussion on Luna vs. the much-maligned Gunther, and how our dragon hero compares to this zero! Hint: they are actually somewhat similar

• Luna and Gunther both have 100% DEF breaks (but Gunther’s regular cooldown is faster than Luna’s average, and even has a stun attached)

• Luna and Gunther have significant ATK and defensive passives, with Luna’s ATK reaching ~1,342 with passive, and Gunther’s reaching ~1426. (Gunther’s cap is higher due to scaling)

• Similar bulk due to Gunther’s passive values being better, despite lower bulk stats. (He’s also stronger at lower HP, where Luna loses her ATK/Crit buffs)

• Similar...ish Speed

Of course, that’s just on the surface, and Luna is a better overall hero (with the ability to crit usually resulting in higher average damage, and higher spike damage). But hey, for a 3*, Gunther is pretty good and doesn’t drain your molagora reserves! (And the undisputed #1 ML Ken killer, ha! /s)

The lesson here was to not judge a book by its cover, and to offer a hilarious alternative for guys out there who don’t have Luna or other marquee heroes. It’s not the end of the world, guys. *sobs*

There are heroes who can perform both of Luna’s roles better individually, but Luna is an excellent compromise. As a pure DEF breaker, Furious can the job better and contributes more to the team effort, and he’s a Connections hero. As a DPS… well, there are innumerable pure DPS heroes out there. If you need an easy-to-gear DPS and DEF break combination, however, then Luna is your waifu.

OTOH!

Draco Plate is very strong and pretty much the best-in-slot artifact for any offensive warrior (outside of Gunther), so you may want to pull on that merit alone (even though you get a free copy from the event, it's only one copy).

Of course, you will also probably want to wait for the next summon preview, as things can always change. ̶L̶o̶o̶k̶i̶n̶'̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶,̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶-̶t̶o̶-̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶l̶i̶m̶i̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶a̶n̶n̶e̶r̶s̶.̶