Am RFB

Overview

RFB focuses on raw damage numbers but neglects firing speed. This sort of stat distribution can usually be found in RFs rather than ARs, which makes RFB a bit of a black sheep alongside a vast majority of her class. Her Skill allows her to target the enemy backline first, which comes in handy in certain situations where the opposing vanguard is a little bit too tough – when combined with her incredibly potent shots, RFB can bring unparalleled utility to a team in the right situation.

RFB’s 80% Damage self-buff is nothing to scoff at either, and goes very well with her very high base Damage of 69. Perhaps a more hybrid approach of 65% Damage and 25% RoF like TAR-21’s to compensate for her abysmal RoF would have been more serviceable. Despite this, though, it’s important to note that RFB is a very capable AR, even if her backline focus is a bit situational. Overall, she’s a quite good unit and comes recommended.

Strengths

Skill Targets Backline First

RFB’s Skill overrides the usual AR target acquisition mechanics and instead makes her shoot the backline first. This can be immensely helpful against enemy teams with very strong vanguards.

Potent Damage buff

RFB’s 85% Damage self-buff synergizes very well with her high Damage stat of 69. It results in devastating shots rivalling that of RFs in power.

Weaknesses

Abysmal RoF

RFB’s 54 base RoF is by all means terrible for an AR. It is nearly 20 points under the average for the class, and barely over 10 points of M14’s RoF. This makes RFB prone to wasted shots and overkill.

Full Analysis

RFB has a rather mediocre stat spread that invests a little too much into Damage and too little into RoF. This creates an issue where RFB suffers from overkill and wasted shots, which are usually problems localized to RFs. Further adding to the RFB/RF comparison is her Skill, which when active also gives RFB the targeting priorities of an RF, causing her to focus the backline first. This unorthodox (for her class) targeting can and will lead to situations where RFB eliminates the enemy backline while the vanguard is still going strong, which in turns alleviates pressure in the frontline SMGs. It is worth noting, though, that because of her Skill’s initial CD of 6 seconds, this backline targeting will a lot of the time be redundant as it will activate when the enemy vanguard is already taken care of. This factor, combined with her low fire rate are what makes RFB a slightly situational unit, though by no means a bad one.

The second portion of RFB’s Skill gives her an 85% Damage self-buff to further increase her already high raw Damage output. This part of her Skill could be better by allocating some Damage for a RoF buff instead, but this is far from a detraction on what RFB can do. Her ability to consistently output insane Damage to the enemy backline is not be understated.

Due to RFB’s abysmal fire rate, it is recommended to boost it when possible. Ribeyrolles, who will buff RFB’s Damage and RoF with her Skill and tiles, SR-3MP, who will provide Crit Rate and RoF through her tiles while taking advantage of RFB’s Accuracy tile buff, and RO635 who is a very durable tank that buffs RoF, are all good choices of teammates. With these buffs to her RoF, RFB will not be as prone to wasted shots or overkill due to her faster target cycling.

Overall, albeit a bit situational, RFB can still shine in general purpose teams and will perform very well when used alongside Ribeyrolles and other RoF or hybrid buffers. While she requires some support, she’s still a recommended AR who will serve many Echelons well.

Team Options

Vector

SR-3MP

RO635

Ribeyrolles

Ribeyrolles

Ribeyrolles’ 25% RoF and Damage buff is incredibly handy and helps RFB’s DPS skyrocket.

RoF Buffers

Due to RFB’s abysmal RoF, in addition to Ribeyrolles, a further RoF buff can go a long way to help her spread out her damage more consistently and better. SMGs like Vector, SR-3MP and RO635 will shine here. One thing to note, though, is that since RFB has 6 second cooldown before she starts focusing the backline, HGs are not recommended for use with her since they cannot tank incoming fire very well.

Recommended Formations