Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Lee and Mostima

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

No.

Lee is fun to use and has a few niche cases where he performs exceptionally well, such as killing the Mortars on AP-5. His bizarre toolbox may come in useful at some point in the future, since few Operators do exactly what he does, but enough Operators are “close enough” to what he does that he has yet to really stand out in the meta. Meanwhile, Mostima has been underwhelming since release. On the plus side, her upcoming Module upgrades will give her a bit more utility, which is much appreciated for anybody who is a Mostima fan. However, her unique niches have so far proven to be easily replaceable (much like Lee’s), so it’s probably still not worth trying to pull her. Taken together, it’s not a great banner for pulls.

As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? Probably not. Nightmare and Pramanix are simply not worth the pulls or the upgrade costs. April, on the other hand, is excellent… and thankfully is also the 5★ in the Gold Cert store, so buy her if you’re interested rather than pulling for her.

DP-Drain/ Merchant Specialist

+ Usual archetype strengths: Good stats, very low DP cost, quick redeploy timer

+ E1 Talent increases his ASPD and reduces the ASPD of whichever enemy Lee is Blocking; great for dueling

+ E2 Talent consumes DP when Lee would be targeted by a Stun or Freeze effect in order to negate that effect and Stun the inflictor

+ S1 is a permanent Skill that gives Lee bonus ATK and Arts Evasion; can be helpful around Arts DPS enemies

+ S2 is a DPS Skill that passively gives Lee bonus ASPD and manually applies a Taunt + an AoE explosion to the target

+ S3 is a permanent Skill that gives Lee a ton of dueling buffs (attack range, ATK, DEF, Taunt, and Physical/ Arts Evasion against attacks coming from outside his attack range) and causes him to Push away all enemies within range except his target when attacking

= Usual archetype dilemma: Can only Block-1 (although S3’s Push means lightweight enemies aren’t getting past him regardless of his Block count)

= His E2 Talent’s Stun negation can be useful, but it also uses up even more DP than his archetype already consumes; this Talent can really eat through your DP pool if it keeps getting triggered

= S2’s Taunt can be helpful, but it can also distract allies from other important targets if used carelessly

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Constantly consumes DP, essentially negating passive DP gain (although his Module reduces the amount consumed, which is very helpful)

- A lot of his utility (inflicting Taunt, self-Taunt, long-distance Evasion, AoE Pushing, etc.) can be gimmicky more often than it is useful

- S3’s Push strength never increases, regardless of Skill Level, so the list of enemies he can actually Push away is rather limited

AoE/ Splash Caster

+ E1 Talent increases rate of SP gain for allied Casters

+ E2 Talent passively Slows enemies within her attack range

+ S2 Stuns all enemies within her attack range for several seconds and deals damage over time

+ S3 massively increases her damage, range, and crowd-control for the duration

+ Her upcoming Module upgrades give her a small global Slow effect and give her S3 the strongest Slow currently existing in the game

- Usual archetype weaknesses: High DP cost, slow ASPD

- Long Skill cooldowns and short durations, leading to terrible Skill cycling and uptime (her SP-gain Talent helps this a little, at least)

- Even for an AoE Caster and even for an AoE Caster focused on utility, her DPS is very bad

ST/ Core Caster

+ Surprisingly durable when equipped with her S1; she gets Physical and Arts Dodge from her Talent and can heal herself when S1 is active

+ Can heal multiple allies within her attack range using her S1

+ S2 inflicts the unique Nightmare debuff, which reduces enemy movement speed and stacks with effects like Slow -- perfect for Slow-centric or 0-Block strategies

= The Nightmare debuff inflicts True damage on its victims based on how far they move; however, since the debuff also reduces movement speed, enemies don’t move as far while it’s active 

- Niche abilities; rarely required to complete a stage

- Requires substantial investment to reach her full potential, which is asking a lot for such a niche Operator

- Long cooldown on S1 and automatic activation on S2

Anti-Air/ Marksman Sniper

+ Usual archetype strengths: Low DP cost, high ASPD, prioritizes aerial units

+ Talent reduces her redeployment time (and, at E2, her DP cost), making her almost a Fast-Redeploy Sniper

+ S2 gives her an ATK buff and Camouflage for several seconds after deploying, protecting her from incoming attacks while she shoots enemies down

- Has to be redeployed to reactivate her S2 after it wears off

- Has a longer redeploy timer and a higher DP cost than a true Fast-Redeploy Operator

Debuffer/ Hexer Supporter

+ Usual archetype strengths: wide attack range, high base RES, cheap DP cost

+ Deals Arts damage (and targets two enemies at a time after E2 promotion)

+ Talent inflicts Fragile, increasing the damage taken by nearby enemies when they are low on HP

+ S1 lowers enemy ASPD (a relatively rare debuff)

+ S2 lowers enemy DEF/ RES (a great offensive tool)

- Usual archetype weaknesses: her direct DPS is so low that she is sometimes less effective than fielding another DPS unit (especially in the early game)

- Has to choose between reducing enemy offense or enemy survivability with her Skills

Lee, the lee-der of Lee’s Detective Agency, has final-lee taken to the field to support his e-lee-te agents Aak, Hung, and Waai Fu. Between his Stun-negating Talent and the multiple forms of Evasion he gains through his Skills, this savvy duelist has a lot of lee-way in combat, but he doesn’t extend the same lee-se on life to his foes. No lightweight enemy will ever lee-k again once the Pushing force of S3 is underway!

Okay, enough “Lee” puns. Lee is a Merchant Specialist, so he demands a constant stream of DP in exchange for his dueling potential. And what a dueling potential it is! Lee attacks quickly, he debuffs his target, he reflects Stuns and Freezes back on his enemies, and he can either draw your other Operators to his target for major damage or expand his attack range and add a Pushing effect around him when he attacks. With his quick ASPD, Lee can generally hold an entire army of light enemies at bay while he dispatches them one by one.

The key word there is “light.” Lee’s Pushing is always locked at the weakest level of Push, no matter how high you increase his Skill Level, so he can’t replace a dedicated Push Specialist. In a way, this is the question with Lee: what does he replace on your team? He’s a good duelist, but he can’t stand up to the likes of Mountain or Nearl the Radiant Knight… or debatably even Jaye, his lower-rarity counterpart who boasts free, infinite healing.

Lee can be effective just about anywhere, but he’s rarely going to be the best choice for the job unless the more off-the-wall parts of his kit are coming into play, such as reflecting Stuns back on enemy crossbowmen or using his increased attack range to cover hard-to-reach spots on a map. The more creative you are, the more fun you can have with Lee—and if you’re really good, you might even get him to pull his weight! (He hates that. He’ll have to charge you extra for that later.)

I don’t recommend pulling for Lee, but he can be worth raising if you pull him.

Mostima uses her Originium Arts to control time itself: speeding up the SP gain of allied Casters, slowing down the movement speed of enemies, stopping enemies dead in their tracks, or even rewinding their movements back across the field. However, in addition to being her greatest weapon, time is also her greatest enemy, as she’s held back by low ASPD and long Skill charge times.

When it comes to crowd control, Mostima brings a lot to the table: Slows, Stuns, and Knockback all help impede enemies as they try to move forward. However, high SP costs and short durations on her Skills means that her CC won’t be available as much as you’d like, and having to pick between a Stun (S2) or everything else (S3) further limits her usefulness. It doesn’t help that Mostima’s damage is absolutely terrible, between low ASPD and low Skill uptime.

In theory, her upcoming Module upgrades help with these issues. The upgrades give Mostima a global Slow effect and crank the Slow on her S3 to a ludicrous 99% effectiveness at max. These are cool effects, but the problem is that they are rarely needed. With spammable Stuns, AoE Freeze, and damage-boosting Slows already in the game—often with much less investment than Mostima requires—there hasn’t been much use for Mostima’s unique added utility yet.

I don’t recommend pulling for Mostima.

The dual-natured Gloria—codename Nightmare—is a bundle of contradictions, on and off the battlefield. Her Talent changes depending on her Skill, making her more durable if equipped with S1 and more dangerous if equipped with S2. Aside from her Talent, her Skills are so different that they completely change her role: S1 heals allies when she attacks for the duration, and S2 inflicts a unique Nightmare ailment that greatly slows enemy movement speed and does Pure damage as they move.

Nightmare looks pretty good on paper, but she’s a little too generalist for the amount of resources she demands. In particular, because she has to pick between her two Skills before entering a battle, she’s actually less versatile than she sounds. Her Skills are powerful but take a long time to charge, S2’s auto-trigger is inconvenient, and both Skills need to be at least M1 (preferably M3) to show their true power, which is an expensive prospect.

If you put the resources into her, Nightmare can actually be quite potent. However, few Doctors are likely to get a return that is worth the investment, especially in comparison to other “hybrid” Operators like Podenco.

I don’t recommend pulling for Nightmare.

April has taken on the role of Fast-Redeploy Anti-Air Sniper, and she seems to be doing pretty well at it. Her Talent reduces her redeploy time and DP cost, and her S2 causes her to deploy with bonus ATK and a Camouflage buff that prevents enemies from targeting her. April can swing by, shower arrows on some unsuspecting foes, then tap out before she becomes vulnerable to their retaliation. And in less than a minute, she’ll be ready to do it again.

Any time you see a bunch of pre-deployed enemies on a map—especially those damn enemy Casters—or large waves of ranged enemies coming your way, April is a terrific solution. Her S2 gives her several seconds to open fire on them without needing protection or healing, safely thinning their numbers.

The rest of the time, April’s usefulness is shakier. Her S2 is great, but because it only triggers on deployment, you want to retreat and redeploy her once its duration runs out. And despite her Talent, April’s redeploy time and DP cost are still pretty big obstacles—certainly much bigger than for a true Fast-Redeploy unit. If you’re not utilizing her Camouflage-redeploy combo, she’s probably not the most efficient Anti-Air Sniper for the job.  

I don’t recommend pulling for April on this banner, but she is certainly worth buying from the shop.

Pramanix: she’s fluffy, she’s elegant, she’s the Karlan Saintess, and she’s… a major slacker. (What is it with Arknights and religious figures who just want to take a nap?) Considering how lax Pramanix likes to be, it’s no surprise that her powers work subtly in the background, applying debuffs that strip away the DEF and RES of her opponents. That way, her allies can do the hard work of actually finishing the job for her. Uh—that is—the gods work in mysterious ways, don’t they? Hohoho!

Pramanix (and the Hexer Supporter archetype in general) occupies an interesting spot in the Arknights roster. Trash enemies usually have such low DEF and RES that Pramanix’s percentage-based debuffs have little effect, and enemies that are too powerful may still be too strong to defeat even with Pramanix in the mix. Pramanix shines in edge cases, where your units are almost strong enough to survive a particular enemy or kill a particular target, but not quite.

The problem is that there are a lot of utility units now who swing the scale in your favor better than Pramanix does. Debuffers like Suzuran and Gnosis are more potent than Pramanix is, and buffs from Skadi the Corrupting Heart or Heidi are likely to have a greater effect on a battle’s outcome. Pramanix can stack with some of these effects when you need just a little more oomph, but at this point, doing so is unlikely to be more efficient than fielding a DPS unit in her place.

I don’t recommend pulling for Pramanix.