P226

Overview

P226 is an HG who was awarded as the 7-day login reward for the Neural Upgrade launch event. She finds herself optimally placed squarely in position 4 to buff her allies’ Damage and Accuracy. As Assault Suppression is a fairly niche Skill that does not benefit ARSMG/RFHG team compositions as much as DPS buffs or Precision Suppression, P226 primarily finds use in MGSG teams where she fulfills a similar role to Spitfire.

Like Spitfire, P226 works best on 2MG Echelons due to her tile layout, although Spitfire’s tile buff is considerably stronger. While P226’s forward tile can provide support for the DPS output of a second HG in position 5, that 20% extra Damage to a HG does not fully offset the reduction of 10% Damage to two MGs, and she will contribute somewhat less to Echelon damage than Spitfire would. Nevertheless, P226 remains a strong position 4 support HG for MGSG Echelons due to her valuable tile buff. She can substitute fairly well for common picks like SAA when the Commander is stretched thin on HG buffers, freeing the more generalist HG buffers for use in other Echelons.

Strengths

Good Buff Tiles

P226’s buff tiles make her placement in the formation very intuitive, and she buffs two stats that are very attractive to DPS units: Damage and Accuracy.

Decent Skill

Assault Suppression is a conditionally useful debuff for SGs in long fights, as Firepower Suppression will have no effect when SGs only take 1 damage. 

Weaknesses

Outclassed in Her Niche

Assault Suppression is already a fairly niche Skill that does not see much use due to the generally stronger effects of Firepower Suppression and Precision Suppression for MGSG and ARSMG/RFHG teams, respectively. As the same Skill is available from the 4★ Spitfire and 5★ NZ75 who both outperform P226, there will rarely be a situation where P226 is the best T-Doll available for the job. 

Limited Availability

As P226 is a one-time reward from the Neural Upgrade Log-In Event, players who missed the chance to get her will need to wait for some time before she can be obtained again. 

Full Analysis

P226 is a position 4 HG who finds herself competing with Spitfire for a place in an MGSG Echelon. Both HGs provide buffs to Damage and Accuracy: P226 provides a 50% bonus to Accuracy and a 20% bonus to Damage, while Spitfire provides 40% Accuracy and 30% Damage. This extra 10% Accuracy is fairly negligible in most situations, meaning that P226 falls slightly behind Spitfire in her ability to buff the MGs directly above and below her.

P226’s forward-facing buff tile can buff a second HG, as there is typically one placed in position 5 to provide a second set of buffs to the MGs. This can somewhat offset the lower Damage buff on P226’s tiles, especially when the buff tile is given to GSh-18, although it does not quite match the DPS increase conferred by Spitfire’s stronger tile buff to the MGs’ Damage in a 2MG Echelon. For the most part, this is relevant in fights where HGs can clean up a few stragglers during MG reload after their initial burst, which is not a particularly common scenario.

P226’s primary benefit over Spitfire and other higher rarity HGs is her low cost of training. A 3★ like herself only costs three cores per Dummy Link instead of the nine or fifteen required by 4★/5★ T-Dolls, which is a boon to core-conscious Commanders who can use her as an extra MGSG buffer.

One downside of P226’s 3★ rarity is the lower multiplier on her Assault Suppression Skill compared to Spitfire and NZ75. P226’s Assault Suppression debuffs the enemy’s Rate of Fire by 25%, while Spitfire and NZ75 apply a 28%/30% debuff respectively. Fortunately, as Assault Suppression is not typically trained to a high level due to its weak effect, this difference does not affect P226’s general usability, especially when considering the fact that MGSG Echelons typically end battles before 6 seconds have elapsed.

P226’s stats are overall average for her class, although her role as a HG buffer means that she is not particularly concerned with them. HGs find themselves unreliant on their stats in many cases, since the majority of HGs are dedicated support units who are out of the line of fire. P226 continues this trend, with both her stats and her buff tiles suggesting for her to stay tucked behind the Echelon’s tanks.

In the end, P226 is a great support for 2MG Echelons who on the surface appears to just be a budget Spitfire. P226’s ability to buff a second DPS oriented HG lets an Echelon get as much out of their 2MGs as possible while still maintaining an effective front line tank with an SG.

Team Options

M2HB

LWMMG

PK

MP-446 (Viking)

Gr Mk23

Gr MG5

Gr HK45

PKP

Contender

GSh-18

Alma Armas

Damage-buffing HGs

MGSG Echelons benefit most from HGs that can offer a Damage buff, and a T-Doll who can do so from position 5 will pair well with P226. The standard picks of Mk23 and Contender work well as always, with GSh-18, HK45, and MP446 being useful budget options that can work well alongside P226. 

High DPS MGs

With only 2MGs in the formation, P226 is best paired with MGs who can make the most of the Damage buffs she gives. The Big 4 options of PKP, PK, MG5, and M2HB are excellent choices, though Hunting Impulse MGs such as LWMMG or MGs with good base stats and Armor buffs like Alma can perform well here too.

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