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Who to pick for double Merlin (or similar) team?

I'm trying to find a berserker to focus on leveling up (and grailing) to use for teams with two Merlins (or Merlin/Waver, Merlin/Mae, etc). I currently have Herc 80 NP2 10/6/5 and I'm wondering if any of these options could be better:

- Hyde. Cute boi, takes a bit of setup to get to 500% overcharge but afterward, turns into high-HP berserker with very high permanent buster buffs, and turns into buster crit monster for 3 out of 5 turns. But no NP and no survivability other than almost guaranteed stun every 6 turns, relatively low base attack even grailed to 100, and needs a star absorb CE to work well (limiting CE options).

- Asterios. Fluffy boi, decent survivability options, NP allows for support to do more damage while also increasing team survivability. But no offensive NP and still relatively low base attack after grail to 100 (but still better than Hyde).

- Lu Bu. Strong boi, better NP damage than Herc (comparing both at 100 / NP5). But two of three skills include demerits for self or team, and base attack is ok after grail.

I feel like these are my best options and the only other buster berserk I have that could be good is NP1 Beowulf but I feel like NP2 Herc mostly outclasses him. F2P so I don't really have the capability of just using a different 4 or 5 star, just 1-3 stars. And after grailing Astolfo and d'Eon, I don't have anyone else I really wanna grail until Lanling comes to NA, so saving the grails isn't too important for me.

Asked by magus575 years 2 months ago
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Hyde is fun but kinda weird. Without Devilish Boudavista, I think Hyde loses a lot of effectiveness. Otherwise, go for it.

I think Lu Bu is probably the best option if you don't have that CE. He doesn't have Herc's survivability but hits higher damage peaks on his NP even though he's a 3-star.

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by Tesuji 5 years 2 months ago

If you have to ask who you should grail to 100, the answer is 'no one'.

Grailing to 100 is never going to be worth it on a mechanical level; its purpose is solely because you love a particular character, want everyone to know it, and want to make that character the best they possibly can be (regardless of whether that's as good as other characters or not).

Of your options, none of them are going to be better for general purposes than an NP2 Herc (who's not a bad choice to grail to 90).

Lu Bu will give you one amazing turn vs. a boss, but lacks Herc's staying power. Asterios mainly exists to be a support debuffer in an Arts team, not a damage-dealer. Hyde should be only be used because you really enjoy the character, not because you care about damage.

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I mean I get that, but when I'm out of servants to grail for love, I might as well try for mechanical, especially since any of those servants could greatly benefit from the increased base stats.

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"Greatly" depends on your standards. Taking Lu Bu from 70 -> 80 costs two grails for a 11.7% damage increase. 80 -> 90 is another two grails for a 10.6% damage increase. 90 -> 100 is five grails for a 9.6% damage increase. Grailing to 100 is strictly for love, since the marginal returns are so low.

If you're grailing for mechanical benefit, go for 4* servants (best foundation) that are NP5 (because that'll magnify the increase the most) that you currently regularly use, and grail them to 90.

The "regularly use" one is important. Grails make a good servant slightly better; they're not going to make a servant you consider bad into a good one. If they're not your go-to servant right now, then they're not worth a grail.

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~30% from 70 to 100 seems pretty substantial.

But I see what you're saying.

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Double Merlin ---> Heracles. He can't get killed by a random crit or high normal damage (Double Merlin's cryptonite if you can't end the fight quickly).

Merlin+(Mash or Waver)---> Lu Bu can live most of the time. NP5, reliable star absorption, more damage overall

Memes ---> Hyde. He's weird, gimmicky and reminds me of Saber Gilles. If you use him, Respect.

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What no one has mentioned before, is the one thing Herc has over the others you listed-survivability. Even including other gold beserkers, I can't think of anyone that has an evade and a guts aside from Cu Alter, but he's story-locked. With double merlin, he has access to two extra ways to avoid damage, and Nine Lives gets a sick-huge boost. The extra crit boost (when the stars align and he does crit) is a bonus. He's a very popular grail candidate to boot.

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I also prefer herc since he has a high chance of getting his np Upgraded since hes just an SR...
My personal opinion is Herc with Golden Sumo CE + Double MEMErin + combat uniform + William shakesphere = SO MUCH DAMAGE! Sadly hes still NP 1 on my chaldea and im still waiting for that event for a Golden Sumo CE

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