SAO: Alicization Rising Steel - Ordinal Battle Vol 2

SAO:ARS Ordinal Battle Vol 2
  • PvP Season 2, Ordinal Battle Vol 2, is Now Live!
  • Listing of new rules and bonuses.
  • Brief analysis and tips.

Volume 2 of Ordinal Battle is Now Live!

PvP “Season 2” for SAO:ARS has now begun!  Hre are the major Rules for round 2:

  • HP increased by 50%

  • Damage vs weak element enemies increased by 30%.  For non-element, damage vs non-element enemies increased 30%.

  • Max 4 party characters.

  • No Switch Combination

There will be rotating bonuses as follows:

  • 12/18 - 12/25:  Wind and Earth 4* characters receive 10% less damage.

  • 12/25 - 1/1: Fire and Water 4* characters receive 10% less damage.

  • 1/1 - 1/8 : Light and Dark 4* characters deal 10% more damage

  • 1/8 - 1/15 : Non-Elemental 4* characters deal 10% more damage

Finally, there will be a bonus for characters wearing the equipment obtainable in the current Equipment Creation Event: 

  • Characters equipped with the Glittering Cloak will receive 10% less damage.

  • Characters equipped with the Daybreak Necklace will deal 10% more damage.

Analysis

It appears that the increase in HP and buff of on-element attackers is an attempt to dial back the massive advantage enjoyed by AoE characters in season 1, as well as encourage more strategic use of elemental counters.  Whether this actually changes anything or not, however, will depend on the relative damage (percentage of total health pool) that AoE users are able to inflict on the enemy. If the percentage is still high, not much will change in that regard.

Even though on-element will do more damage, the questions will be: 

  1. Is it enough to one shot? 

  2. Is it enough to take what would require a 3 hit kill down to a two hit kill?  

If either of those are answered as a yes, then we might see some changes.  Otherwise it will be more of the same.

Being small percentages, it is unlikely that the rotating or equipment bonuses will be making a major impact on strategy or shifting the meta.  That being said, bonuses are bonuses, so players should use them where they can.

Speed is still likely to be king in Ordinal.  Here is the speed ranking of all current 4*s (at lvl 100), their element, and whether they have an AoE Skill (not incarnate).

Please let us know if any of these values are incorrect!

Name Speed Element AOE Y/N
1. Eydis [KotA] 338 Dark Y
2. Leafa [MMS] 335 Wind N
2. Yuuki [EiS] 335 Dark N
3. Asuna [FF] 332 Non N
3. Ronie [BJ] 332 Light N
4. Alice [CM] 329 Light Y
5. Sortiliena [NA] 322 Water N
6. Kirito [AED] 319 Dark N
6. Asuna [UaWS] 319 Light N
7. Eugeo [BR] 318 Water N
8. Alice [OK] 316 Earth Y
9. Tiese [FD] 310 Fire N
9. Sortiliena [YSS] 310 Water Y
10. Eldrie [RGK] 306 Water Y
11. Alice [AKR] 304 Non N

Rewards

Volume 2 rewards will be similar to Volume 1, except with Alice[Childhood Memories] being replaced with an accessory item and more diamond cubes.  Total rank rewards include:

  • 400 crystals
  • 1 R3 accessory item
  • 1 rose
  • lots of books and shop currency.

The shop looks quite a bit different, as there are no Evolution Crystal Gemstones.  Shop rewards include:

  • 100 Almighty Evolution Crystal
  • 3 copies of an R3 accessory item
  • 1 Rose
  • books, bonus, and ascension items.

Tips

  • Shoot for 2 hit kills.  AoE works great to soften up enemies, with an on-element ST if possible to deliver the finishing blow.  If you are able to take out multiple people with multiple AoE, even better.

  • Focus on enemies that you can take out before they take their next turn.

  • Use delays to get your character turns back-to-back if there is an enemy healer in the middle.  This way you can take out a character without the heal forcing an extra attack.

  • Delay your own healers past enemy attackers if needed, especially for AoE.

  • Don't forget to equip the title "Climbing the Cathedral Vol. 1" on your PvP team if you have it, as it gives you 5% increased crit rate.

  • The same amount of shop currency crystals are awarded no matter what level your opponent (top, middle, or bottom). So for speed farming goals, it is often quickest to pick the enemy with the weakest Total Power.

  • Losing matches does not affect your ranking.  If you want to be a nice person, switch into a weak team before you leave the Ordinal screen.

  • When choosing which team to fight, keep an eye out for enemy characters with high speed and AoE.

Observations not yet 100% confirmed.  Input welcome.

  • The AI seems to prioritize break skills when you have a sufficiently high Incarnate Charge. (If anyone can confirm or provide a specific charge value, that would be great!)

  • It appears that Eydis does not use her aoe heal/damage if her team is at full health.

Got any additional tips for PvP?  Let me know so I can add them!

Other SAO:ARS Articles

Author(s)

IGN: Alyeska

Wanderer, Gamer, Eternal Student, and Weeb.

Lover of Language, Learning, Unique Humans, and Community.

Comments