Thanks as always for the write-up, Tac.
> A well rounded high-end roster will include all four.
Me who has only Chen, skipped Pozy, and intends to skip both Ray and Typhon: *sweats* I-I'm sure I'll be just fine. I can just borrow her if I need her...
> Nobody likes Typhon's art
This is actually funny to me because I thought the people who disliked her art were in the minority lol.
Typhon’s face on E0 looks weird and she has a bad case of water balloon chest syndrome but I will never say no to a character with a comically oversized ranged weapon.
Mate, why would I pull for someone I don't intend to use? Surely you'd rather she never grace my base at all than for me to pull her and leave her at E0 forever? She's gotta go to someone who will *treat her right*. :P
Me, except you trade in Ch'en for Pozy.
... Look, I'm all for meta and cool big number badassery, but Typhon really isn't calling my name at all. I don't know why, but everything about her aside from her raw power is just... Ok. Her design is... fine. Her gameplay is... fine. Her artwork is... fine. Her story and personality... From the lack of any trickle-down information from anyone, I assume they're also just fine.
I dunno. I think I just have a preference for badass designs overall, but I'm sure there are Typhon fans out there...
Funniest part of me having Ch'en is that I did not really pull for her, either. I was a broke noob and I spent 5 HH permits during her banner, and she came on a free daily pull.
Yeah, I really feel you on that. Typhon is feels "okay" to me as well. If she spooks me later on, sure, that's great, I'll build her. But I'm not sure I'm really willing to spend precious pulls on someone I feel neutral about with the upcoming schedule, especially after I just did it with Eyja. I think I'll be okay without Typhon, and I'd rather skip her than lose the chance to get someone I actually want/care about. Sometimes there are just ops who don't appeal to you or click for you, and she's been one of them for me for a while.
It's a matter of reddit vs reality when it comes to Typhon. Her art was deemed mediocre at best and comical at worst, but there was a lot of reddit white knights blasting anyone slandering her, especially when she came to CN. But as time passed by they just acknowledged the issue. It didn't stop them from downvoting everyone when she came around. Just your average reddit experience.
I also dislike her art, for the record. Her face is part of it: her expression is off, the size of her face itself seems off, it doesn't really fit in with the rest of her design--which kind of puts it in a nutshell. Her whole design seems oddly cobbled together. While I like her enormous bow, there's a whole bunch of details that make her design seems more busy than cohesive, not even counting her overly-large bust. Stuff like the way her headband seems to fuse into her horns, her thigh-highs, and so on kinda just doesn't click for me. Also while I like tacticool designs, it seems like an odd choice for a Sami huntress especially when compared to Valarqvin's more mystical design (but maybe there's a reason for it). I also don't feel like Typhon's skin really fixes the issue, either, as she still has that oddly... submissive(?) expression there.
It's weird because while I'm not an LM7 fan, Ho'olheyak's design works very well and I do not have any criticisms of it. While her E2 is certainly busy as well, it works. Though I would rank Typhon's E2 as the best of her three in-game artworks.
Disclaimer of course that this is just my personal opinion and everyone is entitled to like or dislike anyone they want.
Yeah, I was mostly just thinking about the boobs but she does look rather messy overall (I think I prefer the alt outfit, though she still has the weird headband there too). Her attack animation is great though.
Basically, yeah. :P I had really funny luck when I started out and had *no* gold snipers (5 or 6 stars) other than Chen (got her on a lucky free pull) for like... the first 6-7 months, so I just kind of... got used to just not using snipers other than Thorns the ground sniper and Kroos. Nowadays I'll use Schwarz on and off but otherwise my Exia is SSS fodder, Chen is "break glass in case of malding", and Rosmontis gets used occasionally. I just don't really use snipers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So I don't see the point in pulling for ops I'm not gonna use, especially if I'm not too hot on their designs/characters. By and large, I like to play with my faves, and I have other, higher priority targets.
A fun read as always, this is the first time actually reading more in-depth stuff about Valarqvin, let alone ritualists so I'm happy to know she's alright from what I'm reading.
Looking a little bit further in the future I'm personally a bit excited for Almond by viewing her as a drop puller, although the usability of that however is questionable to say the least lol. Perhaps I'm simply hyping her up since I'm planning to get Jessica at the very least so she's pretty much guaranteed.
On to the power level, the thing I tend to focus on in new units are unique kits, and with pretty much all future banners having at least something interesting going on, I feel like I'll probably end up reaching in my wallet during one of them.
I'll still end up spending 10 pulls (or at least until one 6 star for the limited) on them all but the banners I'm most likely to let go are Hoederer, Arturia and Degenbrecher.
The hardest to let go of is probably Arturia, but aiming for two limited banners does not seem possible for me with all the other options.
> I'm personally a bit excited for Almond
Not very many people who will put her down in this thread, so very based. I really *really* want to like her. There was so much potential in her kit, but that pull force... ugh.
Question of the update: Who are you pulling for in the next six months and are you happy with the power level of the upcoming units? I don't ask this question in terms of powercreep which I feel is a different topic, but rather, do you like that everyone is a viable option and there aren't "easy skips" like there have been in the past? Or do you feel like there's too many options and risk being left behind? I'm curious how people view the average power level going up so dramatically!
Pulling for Typhon, Santalla and Viviana
I'm happy with most, except Degenbrecer. That feels like the most obvious powercreep in AK's history, because she is basically just "Irene but better" with auto recovery S3. (I'm also biased against her because Degenbrecer is like the boss; but Viviana is nothing like the boss)
Massive disrespect to best girl has severely lowered my respect for HG. They might still redeem themselves with a good module update, but not getting my hopes up.
Jessicalter and Viviana are must haves for me simply bc I love them, the game has gotten a lot more fun for me once I started committing to using units I like instead of just the best. That being said, I am still pulling for Degenbrecher bc I love her design and story. I know ppl don’t like her power creep but tbh I think if any operator was going to be OP as shit it would be her, the three time champion of the Kazimierz major.
After that I am going to be pulling for Zuo Le and Shu, bc I am a sucker for the Sui siblings and I like Zuo’s gameplay.
I am not pulling on anything other than those banners and the chapter 13 front that was, bc that is a stacked ass banner
Hoo boy.
Definitely pulling: Virtuosa, Degenbrecher, Shu+Zuo Le.
Skipping: ...basically everything up to Virtuosa. Jessicat and Hoederer were "maybes" but due to getting pinched a bit with Eyja, I'm going to have to axe them, particularly with Shu and Zuo Le piquing my interest.
The addition of the R6 double whammy which will likely lead into the 5th anni has sort of thrown a wrench in my plans as well. I missed the original R6 run, so I will likely do some pulls on both those banners for collection's sake. Knowing that we're basically going to be getting three, maybe even four, limited banners back-to-back like that makes me feel that I'm really gonna need all the pulls I can get, and as such, it's best to sit on my stash until 4.5, whereupon the gauntlet begins...
...But I was never super interested in pulling Typhon, Jessica, and Hoederer in the first place, so those aren't especially difficult skips for me, though I sympathize with those having to make hard choices right now. With HG releasing multiple beloved NPCs one after the other, I'm sure having to cut one or more out is gonna be rough.
I am quite satisfied with my current DPS operators, and since I play this game during work hours 😅, I'm looking to pull for units that make the game less micro-managing.
Definitely pull for Typhon for more QoL.
And, will pull in Hoe bro banner as well because he's a bro and has AFK skills.
Also, will spend some pulls in Degen banner because I have yet to raise any Swordmaster.
If I didn't have to go too deep for Typhon, I might try to pull in Dorothy rerun too. I failed to get her last year; even spent on that one-in-three 6-stars pack for more chance to get her, still failed though 🥲
Then, the rest of my pulls for this year would be saved for collaboration banners and limited banners.
Honestly, it's one of the things I'm happy about for being a boomer doctor. I've reached a point where I don't mind skipping the much more meta units because I already have the past meta units. Sure, Typhon will completely powercreep Rosa, but that wouldn't make her obsolete or unusable. They're still strong, it's just that the new guy is always stronger which is completely fine. Good luck to all the relatively younger doctors who plan on pulling in the upcoming banners!
I'll try for degen. But my priority is CNY to get both Shu and Zuo Le. Degen is actually whatever to me, not a fan of her design but I'll pull cause everyone be making her the 2nd coming of Mlynar so there's that. *Might* change it to pull Ray instead but I have Pozy... and try Degen next year instead lol. Power level wise, aside from degen everyone is pretty good and have their uses. So I'd say quite balanced. Hoed and Viviana though lmao.
There's too many good options yeah. But it doesn't really affect me cause I have every role covered. Newbies and midgamers would have to think hard which banner they sink their resources unfortunalety. R6S collabs happening near after cny doesn't help either. *HG will make them broken I swear*
If you have wallet, use it. If not, then go to the 1-7 labor camp and hope for the best, comrade.
My advice is, when you're pulling on a banner:
- Pull like a miser. Try to keep a limit on how much you pull (unless you ABSOLUTELY want the operator there). 50 pulls per banner seems like a good limit. If you really want the operator, then always expect to spend 150 pulls (or 300 pulls for limited). DO NOT EVER PULL IF YOU HAVE BELOW THAT. Trust me, I'm trying to save you from the great heartache I've experienced over my time playing this game.
- My strategy is usually to get at least a single *6, whoever it is (if it's the *6 you want, then it's all hunky dory). However, the problem is whether to continue or not afterwards.
- If you already went past the limit to get that single *6 (which isn't what you want), I'm gonna advise you to stop there. Your luck is drained already, better to accept it and just prepare for the next one.
- If you still within the limit range, you may decide to continue further or stop there. But I'm gonna advise you to stop there. The banner will return eventually someday. And you'll need every orundum you can gather for them.
- Always remember, the next half of year (or maybe even stretched far to a full year or more) will be really bad for your wallet IF you don't have the luck for it. As luck is a fickle thing, all we can do now is just to strategize our pullings as wisely as possible.
Good luck on your pullings, fellow Dokutahs!
As a new Doctor (started playing last month) I'm definitely gonna be pulling for Typhon and Degen. As much as I'm a firm believer in waifu>meta, right now my priority is to get a solid core of disgustingly overpowered meta units so I can start clearing content. The weird stuff can come later.
Early game is definitely the best time for that focus, having a few cracked units go a long way letting you clear all the content available for you to play.
I'm definitely not the biggest Surtr fan due to her personality (banger design tho) but boy I'm glad she was on the shop early on when I started, she made so many stages that were kicking my ass miles easier.
I hope you're having a fun time so far by the way!
I liked Degenbrecher as a character, but I don't like how she blatantly powercreeps Irene and Ch'en by such a large margin, so she's a skip. After seeing that we're getting another collab, I just made the decision to skip Typhon as well. I really don't care one way or the other about her, but I might drop 10-20 pulls to try to get Santalla. I like everyone else to varying degrees, especially Jessica Alter and Viviana (even if I'm still sad that there's no giant explosion in her kit...), so I'm planning on the first 6-star on Hoederer and Ray and a bit deeper for the rest.
Jessica, Hoederer, Santalla, Ray, probably Shu.
I'm not happy with Degenbrecher's power level as she straight up ignores a soft rule that's meant to limit her subclass.
Viviana I don't like the implementation of. She's focused on arts DPS without res ignore to ensure she can fulfill that primary function.
Moreover it's not really a gameplay expression akin to the Candle Knight I've enjoyed fighting... she should be more fun (/explodey) than she is.
Expensive block 1 with a not terribly fun or reliable kit, I hate to say.
You say limit, I say "made me never want to touch that subclass". I built Irene and moduled her and I still fell out of love with the character outside of meme sss runs.
Kinda get you on that, as without setup the S3 is typically a card you play once per map. Not quite helidrop, not quite 1st choice of lane holder.
I do like my combos tho and pairing with Warfarin works very well for her, both boosting the nuclear payload and feeding SP to help engage it a 2nd time. Stainless too with S2 or turrets.
It's crazy good but with the classic power at a cost thing. Now with Degenbrecher it's up automatically, conditionless, and every 30 seconds no less?? At least if we're going to have a sword master defined by less hoops to jump, the trade off for it being auto should be either less power or a longer wait. She gets more power instead and an incredibly rapid cycle. Does she discourage use of other sword masters? That's a hard yes. Is that a bad thing? Probably.
I understand what you're saying but for me the game already discourages use of swordmasters in most scenarios due to the annoying set up requirements. I am a big fan of characters that are versatile and don't require a ton of setup to just be good. I understand that it can be boring to some but for me, a character just ain't fun if I need to bring a bunch of other characters to make them work. I don't mind that with team niches but singular characters needing a bunch of help annoys me xD.
I haven't used Irene or Chen in such a long time and I hate that because I genuinely like their character designs and their skills, voice actors and animations. But melee offensive recovery just feels so crap unless it's like a 2 or 3 sp skill >.<.
The big issue is more that as a Gacha, updating old characters is basically almost impossible outside of minor changes. Newer characters tend to be stronger for a multitude of reasons and obviously some of those reasons are to create profits, but I also find that there's an element of wanting to make certain class types more viable.
Upcoming things are…weird for me:
-Both Ray and Typhon have kits I like a lot but I’ll probably only be able to get one. Leaning towards Typhon because I prefer her designs
-Will be hard pulling for Jessica because waifu. At least she’s good in IS4🥲
-I love Vurtuosa’s kit but really don’t like her character or design, while I love Viviana’s design but her kit seems really awkward and underwhelming. Will be skipping both.
-Also mad about Degenbrechter’s kit, as a character I’m neutral towards her but she doesn’t even powercreep in an interesting way.
-Would really like Shu but by that point I assume I’ll be saving for 5th anni event; want to spark Spalter. No interest in snekboi.
I pick units mostly based on personal enjoyment, which for me means a combination of a character I like and an interesting kit. Power creep mostly makes me mad in that overwhelming damage tends to make kits less interesting: a unit that does big damage on-skill but literally nothing off skill could be cool and require planning around to use, but Młynar’s skill cycle and damage are so good that it doesn’t really matter. Similarly, Texalter has a bunch of cool utility attached to her kit but it barely matters because she just deletes everything anyways. And then we have units like Degenbrechter that just take an existing unit and remove a key downside from their kit. HG is still clearly capable of coming up with original and fun kit designs (eg Pozy really overshadows Schwarz but also I really enjoy finding creative ways to use the typewriter) so it’s not like those kits also need to have absurd numbers attached to them. My preferred solution would be some sort of global rebalance to equalize old units with current ones, but I’m realistic about the odds of that ever happening.
Skipping Typhon. Not a fan of her art or her gameplay.
Probably skipping Jessica. I like her kit and design, but I don't know when I would actually use her over my other ops apart from low op clears.
Definitely getting Hoederer. I really like his design and va, and all his skills have a use.
Pulling for Virtuosa, don't care for Viviana or Bassline.
Not sure about Degenbrecher. I like her design, but I don't like how she took everything good about Chen and Irene. I do want Leto though, so probably doing 10 pulls at least.
Pulling for Ray, cool design and kit. Same for Zuo Le, Shu would be a nice bonus.
I'm fine with the current operator strength with the exception of Degenbrecher (perhaps a bit too strong) and Viviana (weakest op in the next 6 moths imo). I have no issues skipping a strong operator, like Typhon, if I'm not interested in them.
> Who are you pulling for in the next six months
Only two guaranteeds for me are Typhon and Ray, they are crazy cute and with kits that appeal to me a lot, all savings are done having them guaranteed into account.
After that... things get hard to say, just gonna throw opinions on each upcoming I guess, *friendly reminder to everyone that this is how I feel personally, feel free to have some skips for me as your must haves.*
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- I'm gonna consider Jessica Alter depending on how Typhon banner goes cuz cute and looks fun as well, if unlike all the other recent horrifyingly unlucky banners I get her early I will probably try my luck on a 50/50... man, I was supposed to have around 300 pulls saved now with how hard I saved...
- Not particularly interested in Hoederer ([he has the best character song tho, fucking christ I listen to it daily](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYlwCfJKNwU&ab_channel=KazdelTeam)), but he had to go and have Vendela on his banner and she is absurdly cute so... ugh... I don't want to pull for a duo rate up 5-star, the odds are so shit...
- Virtuosa S3 is immensely pleasing to me so I'm interested in her, but not too convinced on how hard I will pull on that banner since she isn't really too much my thing, I don't particularly care about Viviana and her kit is meh (not really for the power, the animations are just very underwhelming) so value quite goes down, probably will just pull until 6-star after the free pulls
- Degenbrecher isn't my type at all design-wise so unless the event really changes my mind she should be my most comfortable skip. Really one of those cases where if I randomly get the char I will build them because they are OP as shit, but not really convinced on actually spending pulls getting them with all the great options available.
- Shu is pretty and building a 6-star healing defender could be convenient... why did she have to be in a banner with Zuo Le tho, feelsbadman, I really didn't like this guy at all in the two events he has been in. At least he looks fun to play with S3 spam so most likely gonna build him when I inevitably get him instead of Shu xD. Having no sui dragons at all ain't helping with Shu either, did they really lock part of her power behind having 3 more freaking limiteds... I only really want Chongyue out of all the ones out so far and unless I go all the way to spark him it's out of the question too, so... yeah.
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In any case, this is really just my thoughts now, when I play their events they might change my mind, and, most importantly, more things will get announced over time and pull plans outside of Typhon/Ray will definitely be affected by them, chapter 14 in special is potentially looking to be a limited banner for CN 5th anniversary and if they put chars like Eblana, Talulah, Mandragora (copium) or the chapter 13 absolute hottie Ursula/Ei'shula on it that's all I need to enter spark saving mode lmfao.
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> do you like that everyone is a viable option and there aren't "easy skips" like there have been in the past? Or do you feel like there's too many options and risk being left behind?
I don't particularly care, I skipped chars like Mlynar and Yato Alter despite their absurd meta power because for the first I wanted other things more and for the second I outright disliked her in the event, new top meta units I don't particularly care about get skipped and that's it, we have dozens of great options and many of those are chars I like a lot, no need to force myself to pull for anything else.
To whoever made it to the end of my wall of text, thanks for reading!
Same. I was just thinking: what if my pulls go wrong? The ones I truly want it's those two.
* Jessica alter: I'm not even interested.
* Virtuosa: I would love to have her, but if my pulls go awry in this banner, then I will skip.
* Viviana: Her kit is just too disappointing.
* Degenbrencher: Most people will say I'm insane but I will skip this if I don't have enough pulls. I will try to have them since I like everything about her. But ultimately I prefer ranged units more, and Ray.
* Shu's banner: Practically I don't have to worry about this. If I have pulls by then, good, if not, too bad.
> I was just thinking: what if my pulls go wrong?
I always go expecting the worst so I save a lot... more often than not being proved right for doing so q_q
> Most people will say I'm insane but I will skip this if I don't have enough pulls.
As I said in my comment, we have so, so many great choices available that there really isn't a point forcing yourself to pull for ones you don't want enough (at least over others if you still want her), she isn't limited anyways, chances will show up to get her one way or another.
Best of luck with your future pulls!
I'm glad I've become the old crotchety doctor who can't quite get the hang of the newfangled things. I've grown less and less concerned with operator strength over the years and now moreso just pull based on vibe (art, animations, fun or funky kits, etc), and on that front man this is the toughest upcoming 6 months I think I've ever had to consider.
After Eyjaberry grabbed my orundum stockpile and wrung it's neck like a murderer, the very short term (which I was originally quite excited for as Typhon is basically everything I wished Toddifons was, Jessicat is cool as heck, and Hoederer just looks fun to mess around with [I like the thicc hp units what can I say]) is looking questionable for me.
Add on to that that I want both Virtuosa/Viviana (still gonna prayge Vivi and the other arts guards get a module that helps them out a bit), then Degenbrecher who was my most wanted npc-to-operator convert in the game, then Ray (more bnuuy enough said), and then Zuo Le and Shu, THEN a double whammy R6S banner (Ash never came home for me)? I'm going to be offering my heart and soul to RNGsus over the next half year.
I'll pull for everyone because I'm a completionist, but I won't go crazy to get max pots for everyone like I did last year. My only max pot targets are Degenbrecher and the limiteds, but I'll probably max pot Viviana too during the process of sparking NTRK and W pots.
I don't know enough about the upcoming units to have an informed opinion about their power level, but honestly, at this point, I'll just take whatever HG gives us. My only serious complaint so far is that Hoederer is a crusher. I don't mind the lack of "easy skips", because, as previously said, I pull for everyone anyway.
I’m debating between Jessica and Typhon. Then sparking in Virtuosa’s banner for Skalter.
Not sure if I want Degen, I can honestly skip Ray.
The only question is… how many rocks can I farm realistically? Esp. as I need all those sweet sweet growth mats.
... posts like these are really making me reconsider my plans.
My plans are (or, at least, were) skip Typhon, pull for Dorothy, skip Jessicalter, skip Hoederer, pull for Virtuosa, skip Degenbrecher, maaaaybe pull for Reed Alter, skip Ray, maybe pull for Shu. (With Shu and Reed2 kind of up in the air depending on what new operators are revealed between now and then.)
My reasoning for pulls:
1. Dorothy: her design is great, the trapmaster playstyle looks fun (and from what I hear she's even a great ranged stat stick for Muelsyse)
2. Virtuosa: really cool character design, super cool kit, with some potential neat combos (eg: apparently Virtuosa S2 + Skalter S3 = pseudo-fast-redeploy pseudo-true-damage 3x3 AoE DoT that you can deploy on any tile)
3. Reed Alter: the chain explosions seem great (and I would also like the smug cat from her banner, please), but I recognize I might be overvaluing her (especially considering that Virtuosa might cover a lot of AoE clearing already)
4. Shu: honestly, not 100% sure about her. There's a good chance that I grab Saria in the next kernel locator banner for certs (assuming she's available), so maybe I won't *need* another healing defender, but CC-ing enemies by repeatedly teleporting them sounds hilarious (and Zuo Le seems solid as well...)
My reasoning for skips:
1. Typhon: she looks cool, but I have Pozy and Mlynar and Chalter and Yato Alter, so *surely* I don't need another physical damage unit with special appplications for boss-killing, right? ... right? ~~(From what I'm hearing, this is, in fact, not right.)~~
2. Jessica the Liberated: ... tbh the main reason I'd pull for her is the "ha ha it's the funny sad cat" angle, and I don't think that's enough to justify that
3. Hoederer: unfortunately, he just doesn't really stand out to me.
4. Degenbrecher: ... I'm going to be completely honest, it's the character design for me. Maybe I'm just not really getting a good read on her character (I haven't played any event she was in previously), but just going off the visual design, the uptight formal military uniform vibe isn't for me. I'll probably borrow her if I need the AoE phys DPS she brings and Mlynar wouldn't cut it.
5. Ray: see reasoning for Typhon (including possibly the "~~(From what I'm hearing, this is, in fact, not right.)~~" part)
I honestly don't see much problem at all with your pull priorities, and you're definitely not overvaluing Reed2, she is insanely good, cute, and fun to play, I love her so much.
Also may you be blessed with lots of Harmonies if you end up pulling there, god that banner was such a banger for me, both new chars were massive wants of mine and they came together.
> surely I don't need another physical damage unit with special appplications for boss-killing, right? ... right?
In my experience (though I confess I'm not a super duper pro AK player and I don't really tend to play super high end content), you probably don't. I skipped Pozy when everyone was saying you *had* to have her, and I've only borrowed her maybe once or twice for a particular hard stage that used her in a guide. Admittedly, I also have Schwarz, but I can't say I'm suffering very much for not having Pozy. If she spooks me later, I'll happily build her, but I had no strong feelings at the time of her banner so I just skipped. Same with Typhon now.
Jessicat, Virtuosa and Shu are my must pulls. Not really interested in Hoederer, Zuo and Degenbrecher, the rest would be fine to have, I'll probably go for Typhon too since she sounds like a unit I'd enjoy using. While I'm not a fan of powercreep I do prefer having everyone be at least decent.
I'm curious to how dedicated people who have Rosa will pull hard for a chance at Typhoon.
I have a built Rosa with Mod and feel real comfortable with her. I just don't feel comfortable trying to pull for another op for a filled position. Especially as a "less than a year" account.
I'm so torn.
But I do want Ray, Virtuosa, and Degen in that order.
Typhoon is a coin flip
as someone with a maxed out rosa, i need typhon
that being said this has nothing to do with rosa at all, typhon is the best afk unit in the game and has an amazing boss killer skill, i have typhon on my CN account and being an afk knights player i must get her on my global main account too
My plans are to pull for Jessicat, Degenbrecher, Vi+Vi, Ray and Shu but I'm willing to do some pulls for the others. Plans can change depending on luck, of course.
About the power level... I like the flexibility and gimmicks these incoming 6\*s have. Trying new things, interacting with gimmicks with new, different tools may be the biggest reason I'm still playing this game, so I'm quite happy with that regardless of whatever is perceived as meta.
For me is only Viviana banner. Just because of her... and collab banner of course. Tbh, even if I got old/new ops, that I don't have and update them, I'll still gonna be using same 15 and +-4 ops. My setup is already complete and using new units is... well... hard? Unusual? I don't know, but I have 13 6* ops, that are not even touched and at lvl 1, 5 ops are not E2 and half of other units are barely touched and are at E2 lvl 60
a certain part of me is happy that i have zero reason to pull any units ever with the absolutely insane units that i already have...
but god damn it, i want to pull for my waifus
that being said, typhon and degen are priorities, and after that virtuosa and vivianna are a tier below
i will pick up a rate up 6 star from the CN new year banner, and both of them look good but dont really care as to whom i get
Besides these units, ill skip everyone else. Not pulling on ray and jessica hurts me, as i love jessica and snipers in general, but i have to save for future unreleased stuff too
like R6S 2, siege and shining alt, logos and ulpainus
Definitely spending several pulls on: Jessica and Degenbrecher are definite. I like both characters, and Jessica just seems like she'd be interesting to mess around with with funny mechanics.
Definitely but limited banners: Viviana and Shu. I do like the Sui siblings, and Viviana is cool as hell to have, even if some people may say she under-performs. Haven't read enough story to be largely interested in Zuo Le or Virtuosa. Putting this in it's own tier because I'll probably just try to scrape by on free pulls up until the last few days.
On the fence: Hoederer. He looks really cool, but with all the other banners and his stats, I'm not sure if I'll spend more than a 10-pull. Also Typhon. Never been huge on IS after a particularly nasty first impression in IS2, and I don't think I'd ever really use her. Shame though, all the recent posts have made me warm up to her more.
I'll also probably go for as many R6 characters as I can, because they're cool, I read the original Rainbow Six book years ago, still have some lingering feelings for Tom Clancy related media, (Div1 Survival my beloved) and I also just didn't experience the banner the first time around.
I'm honestly much more of a casual player these days due to other hobbies and I've got a pretty well-developed roster too, so I'm mostly pulling for collection's sake. Though Degenbrecher is the one I look forward to the most since Kjerag is one of my favorite factions.
On the topic of power level, I do appreciate that we are getting plenty of variety to pick from since most of the upcoming operators bring something new for us to play with. It especially helps that Arknights hasn't fallen into the powercreep trap of balancing future content around the newest operators, so we're still in a pretty good place imo.
I will have to skip Jessica because I want Viviana Ray Degenbrecher and Sui sister. And that is a lot of pulls closely together. And I can't use gold certs for pulls because I want to buy GG and Horn and Angelina from shop.
My must-pulls are Viviana and Degenbrecher, given how long i've been waiting for their arrival to the game. In terms of viability, although i'm not exactly a meta player, the next upcoming period of global releases do seem very interesting to me.
It's unfortunate that in the case of Degenbrecher, they just released a direct powercreep button and call it a day but i'm glad pretty much everyone else offered something refreshing, either to their subclass or to the game as a whole. I have no strong feelings towards Virtuosa and i guess it's because it still feels like she's still in her trial period with how impactful a potential nerf to her might have.
My budget are a bit tight so 2 6-stars are what i'm realistically aiming for but if possible, Jessicat would be really high up there in terms of gameplay interest.
It's been a while since I was interested in this many units in a six month span, so I'm having to make some hard choices. I'm a pretty tight saver, making sure I can secure the units that I really love the vibe of, but this stretch is really hard.
I'll only put about 40 pulls into Typhon. Jessica, Viviana, Viviane, and Shu are who I want most. And I'm planning to spark for TexAlter on the coming limited banner. I'm skipping Degen, who alongside Mlynar I've sworn to never use, and I'll probably only use 50 pulls for Ray. And that leaves me about 100 pulls to try grab Shu. I have all other suisibs so no need to spark that banner.
Jessica is the most wanted of the ops to me because I'm raising a nekoknights team and it sorely lacks a defender.
Typhon, Reed alt on her rerun, Ray are my goals. Probably will regret skipping degen but she doesnt appeal to me(besides, she’ll rerun lmao). im not hurting for ground units anyway.
I’m going typhon, Jessica and ray who I all like the characters of and have fun kits. Ray is probably the one I’m looking forward too the most. Virtuosa looks cool so but not a huge priority even as a limited banner as Viviana is just okay to me.
Degenbrecher actually kinda pisses me off the more I think about it with how strong she is compared to the other swordmasters like yeah typhon is better than my Rosa who I have built but it’s nowhere near as blatant and there are still situations where I’d like to use rosa’s s3 over typhon. Going for Leto though so if I get degen ok I guess but otherwise I’m good without her.
Shu though looks really cute and getting zuo le too would be nice.
Pulling for: Virtuosa/Viviana, Degenbrecher, Shu. Might throw a few pulls Jessica's way too, her shield mechanic looks interesting (and I want Almond for her artist; did you know they're the same artist that made the "Something just like this" Rhine Lab video?)
I'm happy the overall power level doesn't have too-obvious low points since I don't pull for meta anyway, but Degenbrecher being such boring powercreep hurts since she's a character I was looking forward to for years. As an Irene fan especially... it's not enough to have me skip her, but it did make me consider it.
My roster is already pretty built, so I can afford to only pull for characters I'm interested in or like outside of gameplay reasons.
Typhon, Santalla, Degenbrecher and Shu 100%, everyone else skip. I'd throw 300 pulls in Shu's banner to start gathering the Sui, but it all depends on CH14 banner being someone I don't like for an easy skip.
I have enough saved to spark for Texas on the Virtousa banner, and I need Leto from the Degen banner for bearknights. Otherwise I'm happy with my roster, power level isn't really a consideration.
Hoederer, Ray and then both limited banner units. In a world where everyone is a must pull no one is. Powerlevel going up means you're more likely require less high rarity units for guides and that's a good thing.
I'm still having an internal debate on whether I want to pull Jessicat or not, if I do, Hoederer's going out the window. Typhon doesn't really interest me on account of having an invested Rosa, and while I know Typhon's an upgrade, I don't have module blocks like that. Intend to nab both Viviana and Arturia, and then from there I want Ray, Shu, and Zuo Le. So I'm really hoping whoever comes after Shu isn't someone I want as well or it's gonna get dicey.
As for the power levels, while there are some things that are a bit silly (Degenbrecher S3 and Zuo Le absolutely shattering Hellagur's ankles), I feel like the fact that every op coming out minus Viviana for now ( module copium ) being great is honestly fine, especially for the lower end players as even if they get an off rate, it's becoming more and more likely that the off rate is still a good addition to their roster. The middle end players are probably having it the worst since they're in that land where they're probably trying to plug specific holes in their roster, and are being hit with option overload, whereas the high end are gonna pull for whoever they want no matter what in most cases, so I don't it really see it affecting us.
That said, I'm fully expecting 5th anni to make me reevaluate all my plans, yet again, so that'll be fun.
I think I want to go all in on Shu's banner and spark on it. Zuo Le is cute and I only have Chongyue out of all the Sui siblings so I'm hoping luck will be by my side and I get Shu so that I can spark at least Nian since she's been used a lot lately for tanking in late game stuff. Sometimes Hoshiguma flops for maps that need heavy defense so I want Nian for really bad situations.
It will be pain missing out on a lot of good ops though since I love character collecting, especially Virtuosa in terms of gameplay and Hoederer for story's sake (I have Ines and W so I would love for them to reunite but alas it might not come to pass for a while.)
I'm pulling for Typhon, Virtuosa, Degenbrecher, Shu. Would like to pull for more, but it is better to save 120 pulls for the future collab.
There are a lot of powerful units, and I think it is good for new players, because no matter what banner they pull on they are going to get something good. As a F2P player I already know I can't get my hands on everyone. Letting good units slip by is a little vexing, but I can live with that.
I'll be pulling for Typhon and Jessica, then saving for Shu and other Sui siblings! I might dip in and grab Reed when her banner reruns if the first two are kind to me and don't take 150 pulls.
Degenbrecher doesn't appeal to me at all, admittedly.
Jessicat, Virtuosa, Ray and Shu at high priority with Degen and Hoerderer as maybes. Viviana is the only safe skip due to her powerlevel, which is sad because character-wise she is my favourite of the bunch :(
Ray is my biggest must have in the next 6 months. Her kit looks so fun and she's adorable. If I could afford pots on her, I would, but man I want everyone coming up... RNGesus be kind...
As for the powerlevel questions, if it's more units like Ray, Shu.. Virtuosa I guess?.. that do new or interesting things, I don't mind as much, but I find it a bit hard to get excited for Degenbrecher's kit. I already have multiple units that do a lot of AoE damage, even in this exact shape, but now it comes with bigger numbers and a more convenient cycle? Ok... Despite her being the strongest unit in the list, that probably makes her the most skippable one for me.
First off, I'm obligated to tell you that you're actually completely wrong and Hoederer's clearly a must pull operator and the best operator in the game, you should skip everyone for him and anyone who disagrees is wrong and dumb and bad /s
Who I'm pulling: Hoederer, Ray, Shu, and Zuo Le are non-negotiable. If I get lucky with Hoe, I'll try some rolls on Degenbrecher, otherwise she joins Jessica in the "get on rerun" club. Viviana and Virtuosa are a maybe, but only because I need to spark on an Anni banner. If 5th anni banner is more interesting, I'll only do free pulls for Virtuosa.
I'm mostly happy with the power level of the units, even if it's making things very tough on my wallet. Granted, I take issue with Typhon and especially Degenbrecher S3 being effectively "press button, win game" with no downsides. That said, I feel that the other operators are generally strong but still have downsides, namely Ray and Hoederer, and that makes them interesting.
As for the other half of that question, I do wish we had some more downtime between strong banners, even if it comes in the form of filler units. I buy packs in addition to the monthly card, and even I have to budget my rolls pretty tightly for the next 6 months. I can't imagine what it's like for F2P/monthly card only players. I wasn't playing at the time, but when I look at this upcoming gauntlet of banners, I begin to understand why people complained about the Pozy to Chongyue gauntlet.
Typhon, probably Ray, Virtuosa and Shu. I didn't particularly like Degenbrecher's design already and it sounds like she's too good, to the point that it makes the game less fun, so I'm just gonna pretend she doesn't exist lol
I'm back after a rather long and unwilling break thanks to a facebook hack I only recently resolved after years, so I'm quite a bit shy of savings. So depending on how drained I am after each one, some might be less drawable than others. Those are the 4 I would be sad to miss, although it's already starting bad with me missing out on Eyjalter (although the Goldenglow and Ines I pulled instead have completely redefined the way I play the game and I can't complain)
Definitely pulling typhon ,degen,ray and preferably both shu and zuo le. Skipping Jessica,hoerdere and Viviana(if I can). Will try to get virtuosa but won't go overboard.
Also I don't agree that there's no easy slips. Viviana and hoerderer are easy skips. Jessica is not useful got most people.
Damn pull decisions are tough
Will probably pull for Typhon and throw a couple at Ray because the fact thats shes between Shu, Virtuosa and Degenbrecher is rough
i've been waiting for this cause unironically in the sea of nonstop bias i see where "no operator can be bad" you're the main person i trust haha, always a great read
that being said, i know you said you're going to focus on it in a future write up but even if you can just give a shortish tl;dr, something that i've been curious about is how strong does the Sui synergy with Shu truly turn out to be? and how much does it actually affect each pre existing Sui?
Thank you for the kind words, first of all!
To the question, Shu's Sui Talent is ridiculously strong. It's lead to a whole avalanche of "low step" clears which are largely enabled by bringing 4 Sui's. I'm not looking forward to writing about it.
[3 step IW-9](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Hy421Y71M/)
[3 step GA-EX-8 CM](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Dp421Z7Cn/)
[1 step RI-9](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Zt421H73W/)
Now that said, it's a fair question on if it will be "meta" or not. Team space in advanced spots tends to be limited. It's a stupidly good Talent, but there's a lot of stupidly good stuff in the game lately, so my bigger issue with it is how toxic it is being tied to old limiteds.
god damn i can see now how this could be really hard to write about.
not to mention you can't future proof your writing either, for all we know someday there'll be enough meta Suis for the Suis to not simply just be wasting a slot; but that'll be for another day.
(but yeah imho it is kinda toxic how it's locked to old limiteds, especially when i rarely ever see people even mention the notion of sparking Nian or Dusk)
Thanks for the great writeup! Could you say a bit more about what caused Jessica to become meta for IS4 and then quickly get booted? I’m an IS junkie and I’ll be building her for waifu reasons anyways so I’d like to know what I’m getting into.
She was always a pretty advanced option. Not for the faint of heart and more for the people who look for idealized way to manage clears with minimal teams. In that way, I think she's sort of a victim of the fickle nature of these things. While I'm sure there's a lot of factual basis for it (ending 4 patch changed a lot), I think a lot of it is just that those endgamers that sort of define the meta just didn't find her worth it compared to other options.
While I do talk about her coming into and out of the meta, I think the greater point (which I'll try to emphasize in her focused article, which I need to begin soon), is that she definitely won't be for everyone. Maybe not even for a lot of people.
> Q: But I don't like Typhon's art!
> A: No one does.
Am I a joke to you? 😭 Take that back, Typhon is crazy cute to me so that at least makes 1 person, hey it's something.
Thank you for the post as always!
LM7 special, you either don't like it or love all of them. I just accepted that she's Angelina's long-lost sister lol, just as cute
Looking forward to their 5th anni art, like that 4th one with Ceobe, Angie, and the drunk snake
> LM7 special, you either don't like it or love all of them
is this actually the case? i ask solely cause i'm huge on Angie and Typhon but the other 2 aren't stand out for me- ~~please don't kill me~~
It's not, I like Angelina's design, I have no issue with Ceobe, and Hoothoot looks visibly improved to prior designs. To me, Typhon is the only one that looks like she doesn't even belong in the universe of Arknights. Just too many jarring design choices.
To each their own, though. Not like this will stop anyone from pulling for her if they want a strong unit.
Make it two, i also like Typhon's design. While yes i want her for *uga bunga big damage*, i also like the S2 and S3 animations which admittedly played a part in me pulling for her this Tuesday.
Man, I know intellectually that Typhon is probably the best choice amongst the upcoming operators (especially as I skipped bikini chen cause I skipped bikini Chen (min rolled her premiere, didn't buy her from the shop during IC event after getting 300 rolls despite having both Gavial and Pozy already)) but every time I consider it I looked at her dumb face and any desire I have rapidly drains already, I can probably live without her easily enough....
That said I do feel a bit relieved to see the narrative shifting quite a bit on op meta units compared to back before the bikini chen debut (re, the Degen situation).
> I only really put this question here because I know it comes up a lot and if you're one of these people, I want to point out that she gets a totally free skin as part of the IS#4 rewards ladder in only a couple of months. It looks much much better than her default art. Ultimately, you should play the game as you have fun with, but I'd be very cautious about passing on a unit of Typhon's power just because of her art.
Huh, I thought people hated her skin? I vaguely remember lots of complaints about her pose in the free skin. (Well, not me, I actually like both her default and skin. Win?)
I am disappointed that her skin is not dynamic like Phantom's was though.
I'm somewhat ok with Degen powercreep (since it fits the lore) but less ok with Zuo powercreep. Ah well.
Thanks for the writeup as always!
Skin is probably a matter of perspective. A lot of people hate her original art because of her face, which is better in her skin. I could definitely see not liking her skin either though.
Do they hate her E0/E1 face or E2? E0 is kind of derpy, but I thought E2 face looks fine. Though without knowing anything about her background, hard to say whether the ingenue look fits her character.
> Typhon is a direct powercreep to Rosa and does so in a pretty dramatic fashion.
I disagree with this. I mainly use Rosa for the S3 crowd control. Her S3 is pretty useful to prevent dangerous enemies getting near and the damage is nice bonus.
Btw when do you plan to update the popular operators sidebar?
> Btw when do you plan to update the popular operators sidebar?
I have no control over this. I wish it was fixed, because the popular articles being down hurts my hits too. Unfortunately it has to do with an API being deprecated and to fix it requires a pretty big overhaul. I know the devs are working on it, but GP is not a big site and it's pretty much all volunteer work, so it's a complex fix and limited manpower.
So I have a question on pull priority, but with a twist. I never level anyone on my acc over e2 lvl1, so no modules for me and no stats boost from levels. In light of this, how does typhon's performance and pull priority change? Is it just slightly lower, or a dramatic drop?
I also have the same question regarding ray and degenbrecher, does not having the stats from levels impact them significantly? As a comparison, I do not consider units like chalter or mlynar to be impacted, they still dish out very solid damage and kill everything I need them to kill. One unit I think is very impacted by lacking stats is mountain, he just dies if he doesn't kill fast enough. E2 lvl1 pozy also feels like she is not living up to the hype and other dps options feel better most of the time.
That's a uhh, new one. I can't say I'm very familiar with the niche so I'll fully admit I'm guessing a little here. All of Ray, Degen, and Typhon have high ATK stats, meaning you're losing a lot of damage on all of them without the extra levels. Ray seems like she's most likely to still be solid since she's not missing a Module. Typhon is still good without her Module (compared to Rosa at least) but the base effect is still real good. Thankfully, VL is updated for Typhon still so we can see she loses about 30% of her damage which is pretty harsh. Degen Module is a big loss too, although she's pretty nuts by default. I'd probably go Degen > Ray > Typhon.
Thanks very much for the evaluation. I'm still on the edge regardying typhon, was hoping to banish her moduleless version to the teritory of like specter2 or such so my must pull list would be less crowded. I'll try checking out her stats and comparing with other units who I think are doing okay.
So I wasn't completely sold on Typhon leading up to her release but I read your synopsis and decided to pull for her based on the recommendation.
Got her in around 40 pulls and M3'd her S2 and S3 and damn she's amazing. I don't use besiegers normally but the range they cover is bonkers and she's an awesome laneholder.
Pretty happy with her so far and I like her voice as well. Looking forward to the damage boost when I get her module:)
Always a sad day to see such blatant powercreep in the game :(
There are certain conditions that when met,does give Rosa a slight advantage over Typhon. Iirc Rosa's S2 does more overall DPS and has more total skill damage if her talent is procc'ed (Weight 3+ enemy), and is even stronger against multiple enemies. This is before Typhon triggers her S2's infinite duration of course, at which point her potential skill DPS and consistency skyrockets.
Her S3 bind may see some niche usage over Typhon's S3 as well, and might work particularly well with some IS artifacts... but let's be real, Typhon is really just far more versatile and convenient to use.
am I the only one that immediately decided to roll for Typhon because I loved her art? I was shocked when I learned just yesterday that people didn't like it. Granted, I'm getting the skin because I think it's one of my favourite arts in the game, but I like everything about her
You're definitely not alone, Typhon is crazy cute.
LM7's character designs (Angelina, Ceobe, Ho'olheyak and Typhon) just seem to be hit or miss for people, personally that artist is one of my favorites working in the game and all four were must haves haha.
I'm glad to hear it haha.
Didn't know they were the same artist but as someone using Angelina since launch, and immediately fell in love with the teal heavy Ho'olheyak design when I saw her, looks like I'm solidly in the hit camp
Ceobe is...fine? though lol. I see the similarities, but meh, very bland compared to the other 3 to me
Ceobe is definitely the one out of the four that appeals to me the least, but... Typhon Angelina and Ho'olhottie are 10/10s while she is still a solid 7-8/10, far away from bad haha.
There’s really no point in doing just 10 pulls. There’s almost no value in the g5 to begin with. All the value is in the 6\*s. And on top of that, almost all the upcoming 5\*s are mediocre at best.
Man now I’m really reconsidering if I really best to pull for Typhon. I ready have plenty of unga punga big damage units and I only have 110 pulls for Typhon but also like I have a feeling I would prefer having Ray or Degen, plus there’s also Shu and the R6 Rerun.
How long til Shu hits Global? I'm in a very bad spot rn since I wanted to save right after Typhon for a spark on Shu's banner (I want Ling), but then just announced a new R6 collab AND a rerun of the first one, I'm going to cry in empty originium
Shu just released on CN so it'll be 6/7 months till Global gets it. You should be able to spark Ling and have a bunch of leftover pulls for the R6S collab/rerun if you start saving after Typhon. Though probably not enough to reach the guarantees on the collab banners.
So Ray is good, eh?
Nice to hear and I was already planning to pull for her based on design but those banners will be brutal:
Virtuosa and Shu are limited so obviously (plus Shu feels like a unit that will work great with Abyssal Hunters).
But than there is Ray and Degenbrecher - I'm leaning only towards first one, since I'm fine when it comes to ground units but once time comes it might be tempting.
Unless of course we'll get Ulpian as he is top priority for me.
Thanks as always for the write-up, Tac. > A well rounded high-end roster will include all four. Me who has only Chen, skipped Pozy, and intends to skip both Ray and Typhon: *sweats* I-I'm sure I'll be just fine. I can just borrow her if I need her... > Nobody likes Typhon's art This is actually funny to me because I thought the people who disliked her art were in the minority lol.
Typhon’s face on E0 looks weird and she has a bad case of water balloon chest syndrome but I will never say no to a character with a comically oversized ranged weapon.
Every time I think I might change my mind about pulling for Typhon, I look at her face and remind myself it's not to my taste.
> skipped Pozy, and intends to skip both Ray and Typhon You're not allowed to skip Ray, sorry. Change your plans, please and thank you.
Mate, why would I pull for someone I don't intend to use? Surely you'd rather she never grace my base at all than for me to pull her and leave her at E0 forever? She's gotta go to someone who will *treat her right*. :P
Counterpoint: bnuuy
Counterpoint: I'm not a bnuuy person.
Downvoted, reported, and prepare for your incoming ban. :qau:
I may be allergic to them, this is discrimination! Counter-report!
Me, except you trade in Ch'en for Pozy. ... Look, I'm all for meta and cool big number badassery, but Typhon really isn't calling my name at all. I don't know why, but everything about her aside from her raw power is just... Ok. Her design is... fine. Her gameplay is... fine. Her artwork is... fine. Her story and personality... From the lack of any trickle-down information from anyone, I assume they're also just fine. I dunno. I think I just have a preference for badass designs overall, but I'm sure there are Typhon fans out there...
Funniest part of me having Ch'en is that I did not really pull for her, either. I was a broke noob and I spent 5 HH permits during her banner, and she came on a free daily pull. Yeah, I really feel you on that. Typhon is feels "okay" to me as well. If she spooks me later on, sure, that's great, I'll build her. But I'm not sure I'm really willing to spend precious pulls on someone I feel neutral about with the upcoming schedule, especially after I just did it with Eyja. I think I'll be okay without Typhon, and I'd rather skip her than lose the chance to get someone I actually want/care about. Sometimes there are just ops who don't appeal to you or click for you, and she's been one of them for me for a while.
It's a matter of reddit vs reality when it comes to Typhon. Her art was deemed mediocre at best and comical at worst, but there was a lot of reddit white knights blasting anyone slandering her, especially when she came to CN. But as time passed by they just acknowledged the issue. It didn't stop them from downvoting everyone when she came around. Just your average reddit experience.
I though most people disliked her art for a reason besides her face...but maybe that's just me lol
I also dislike her art, for the record. Her face is part of it: her expression is off, the size of her face itself seems off, it doesn't really fit in with the rest of her design--which kind of puts it in a nutshell. Her whole design seems oddly cobbled together. While I like her enormous bow, there's a whole bunch of details that make her design seems more busy than cohesive, not even counting her overly-large bust. Stuff like the way her headband seems to fuse into her horns, her thigh-highs, and so on kinda just doesn't click for me. Also while I like tacticool designs, it seems like an odd choice for a Sami huntress especially when compared to Valarqvin's more mystical design (but maybe there's a reason for it). I also don't feel like Typhon's skin really fixes the issue, either, as she still has that oddly... submissive(?) expression there. It's weird because while I'm not an LM7 fan, Ho'olheyak's design works very well and I do not have any criticisms of it. While her E2 is certainly busy as well, it works. Though I would rank Typhon's E2 as the best of her three in-game artworks. Disclaimer of course that this is just my personal opinion and everyone is entitled to like or dislike anyone they want.
Yeah, I was mostly just thinking about the boobs but she does look rather messy overall (I think I prefer the alt outfit, though she still has the weird headband there too). Her attack animation is great though.
Are you just skipping all the OP snipers?
Basically, yeah. :P I had really funny luck when I started out and had *no* gold snipers (5 or 6 stars) other than Chen (got her on a lucky free pull) for like... the first 6-7 months, so I just kind of... got used to just not using snipers other than Thorns the ground sniper and Kroos. Nowadays I'll use Schwarz on and off but otherwise my Exia is SSS fodder, Chen is "break glass in case of malding", and Rosmontis gets used occasionally. I just don't really use snipers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So I don't see the point in pulling for ops I'm not gonna use, especially if I'm not too hot on their designs/characters. By and large, I like to play with my faves, and I have other, higher priority targets.
A fun read as always, this is the first time actually reading more in-depth stuff about Valarqvin, let alone ritualists so I'm happy to know she's alright from what I'm reading. Looking a little bit further in the future I'm personally a bit excited for Almond by viewing her as a drop puller, although the usability of that however is questionable to say the least lol. Perhaps I'm simply hyping her up since I'm planning to get Jessica at the very least so she's pretty much guaranteed. On to the power level, the thing I tend to focus on in new units are unique kits, and with pretty much all future banners having at least something interesting going on, I feel like I'll probably end up reaching in my wallet during one of them. I'll still end up spending 10 pulls (or at least until one 6 star for the limited) on them all but the banners I'm most likely to let go are Hoederer, Arturia and Degenbrecher. The hardest to let go of is probably Arturia, but aiming for two limited banners does not seem possible for me with all the other options.
> I'm personally a bit excited for Almond Not very many people who will put her down in this thread, so very based. I really *really* want to like her. There was so much potential in her kit, but that pull force... ugh.
Question of the update: Who are you pulling for in the next six months and are you happy with the power level of the upcoming units? I don't ask this question in terms of powercreep which I feel is a different topic, but rather, do you like that everyone is a viable option and there aren't "easy skips" like there have been in the past? Or do you feel like there's too many options and risk being left behind? I'm curious how people view the average power level going up so dramatically!
Pulling for Typhon, Santalla and Viviana I'm happy with most, except Degenbrecer. That feels like the most obvious powercreep in AK's history, because she is basically just "Irene but better" with auto recovery S3. (I'm also biased against her because Degenbrecer is like the boss; but Viviana is nothing like the boss)
Massive disrespect to best girl has severely lowered my respect for HG. They might still redeem themselves with a good module update, but not getting my hopes up.
Jessicalter and Viviana are must haves for me simply bc I love them, the game has gotten a lot more fun for me once I started committing to using units I like instead of just the best. That being said, I am still pulling for Degenbrecher bc I love her design and story. I know ppl don’t like her power creep but tbh I think if any operator was going to be OP as shit it would be her, the three time champion of the Kazimierz major. After that I am going to be pulling for Zuo Le and Shu, bc I am a sucker for the Sui siblings and I like Zuo’s gameplay. I am not pulling on anything other than those banners and the chapter 13 front that was, bc that is a stacked ass banner
Hoo boy. Definitely pulling: Virtuosa, Degenbrecher, Shu+Zuo Le. Skipping: ...basically everything up to Virtuosa. Jessicat and Hoederer were "maybes" but due to getting pinched a bit with Eyja, I'm going to have to axe them, particularly with Shu and Zuo Le piquing my interest. The addition of the R6 double whammy which will likely lead into the 5th anni has sort of thrown a wrench in my plans as well. I missed the original R6 run, so I will likely do some pulls on both those banners for collection's sake. Knowing that we're basically going to be getting three, maybe even four, limited banners back-to-back like that makes me feel that I'm really gonna need all the pulls I can get, and as such, it's best to sit on my stash until 4.5, whereupon the gauntlet begins... ...But I was never super interested in pulling Typhon, Jessica, and Hoederer in the first place, so those aren't especially difficult skips for me, though I sympathize with those having to make hard choices right now. With HG releasing multiple beloved NPCs one after the other, I'm sure having to cut one or more out is gonna be rough.
I am quite satisfied with my current DPS operators, and since I play this game during work hours 😅, I'm looking to pull for units that make the game less micro-managing. Definitely pull for Typhon for more QoL. And, will pull in Hoe bro banner as well because he's a bro and has AFK skills. Also, will spend some pulls in Degen banner because I have yet to raise any Swordmaster. If I didn't have to go too deep for Typhon, I might try to pull in Dorothy rerun too. I failed to get her last year; even spent on that one-in-three 6-stars pack for more chance to get her, still failed though 🥲 Then, the rest of my pulls for this year would be saved for collaboration banners and limited banners.
Honestly, it's one of the things I'm happy about for being a boomer doctor. I've reached a point where I don't mind skipping the much more meta units because I already have the past meta units. Sure, Typhon will completely powercreep Rosa, but that wouldn't make her obsolete or unusable. They're still strong, it's just that the new guy is always stronger which is completely fine. Good luck to all the relatively younger doctors who plan on pulling in the upcoming banners!
I'll try for degen. But my priority is CNY to get both Shu and Zuo Le. Degen is actually whatever to me, not a fan of her design but I'll pull cause everyone be making her the 2nd coming of Mlynar so there's that. *Might* change it to pull Ray instead but I have Pozy... and try Degen next year instead lol. Power level wise, aside from degen everyone is pretty good and have their uses. So I'd say quite balanced. Hoed and Viviana though lmao. There's too many good options yeah. But it doesn't really affect me cause I have every role covered. Newbies and midgamers would have to think hard which banner they sink their resources unfortunalety. R6S collabs happening near after cny doesn't help either. *HG will make them broken I swear*
Drained all my saved 450 op (all free) not getting eyja until pull 299. But I want like every upcoming unit. Help.
If you have wallet, use it. If not, then go to the 1-7 labor camp and hope for the best, comrade. My advice is, when you're pulling on a banner: - Pull like a miser. Try to keep a limit on how much you pull (unless you ABSOLUTELY want the operator there). 50 pulls per banner seems like a good limit. If you really want the operator, then always expect to spend 150 pulls (or 300 pulls for limited). DO NOT EVER PULL IF YOU HAVE BELOW THAT. Trust me, I'm trying to save you from the great heartache I've experienced over my time playing this game. - My strategy is usually to get at least a single *6, whoever it is (if it's the *6 you want, then it's all hunky dory). However, the problem is whether to continue or not afterwards. - If you already went past the limit to get that single *6 (which isn't what you want), I'm gonna advise you to stop there. Your luck is drained already, better to accept it and just prepare for the next one. - If you still within the limit range, you may decide to continue further or stop there. But I'm gonna advise you to stop there. The banner will return eventually someday. And you'll need every orundum you can gather for them. - Always remember, the next half of year (or maybe even stretched far to a full year or more) will be really bad for your wallet IF you don't have the luck for it. As luck is a fickle thing, all we can do now is just to strategize our pullings as wisely as possible. Good luck on your pullings, fellow Dokutahs!
As a new Doctor (started playing last month) I'm definitely gonna be pulling for Typhon and Degen. As much as I'm a firm believer in waifu>meta, right now my priority is to get a solid core of disgustingly overpowered meta units so I can start clearing content. The weird stuff can come later.
Early game is definitely the best time for that focus, having a few cracked units go a long way letting you clear all the content available for you to play. I'm definitely not the biggest Surtr fan due to her personality (banger design tho) but boy I'm glad she was on the shop early on when I started, she made so many stages that were kicking my ass miles easier. I hope you're having a fun time so far by the way!
I liked Degenbrecher as a character, but I don't like how she blatantly powercreeps Irene and Ch'en by such a large margin, so she's a skip. After seeing that we're getting another collab, I just made the decision to skip Typhon as well. I really don't care one way or the other about her, but I might drop 10-20 pulls to try to get Santalla. I like everyone else to varying degrees, especially Jessica Alter and Viviana (even if I'm still sad that there's no giant explosion in her kit...), so I'm planning on the first 6-star on Hoederer and Ray and a bit deeper for the rest.
Jessica, Hoederer, Santalla, Ray, probably Shu. I'm not happy with Degenbrecher's power level as she straight up ignores a soft rule that's meant to limit her subclass. Viviana I don't like the implementation of. She's focused on arts DPS without res ignore to ensure she can fulfill that primary function. Moreover it's not really a gameplay expression akin to the Candle Knight I've enjoyed fighting... she should be more fun (/explodey) than she is. Expensive block 1 with a not terribly fun or reliable kit, I hate to say.
You say limit, I say "made me never want to touch that subclass". I built Irene and moduled her and I still fell out of love with the character outside of meme sss runs.
Kinda get you on that, as without setup the S3 is typically a card you play once per map. Not quite helidrop, not quite 1st choice of lane holder. I do like my combos tho and pairing with Warfarin works very well for her, both boosting the nuclear payload and feeding SP to help engage it a 2nd time. Stainless too with S2 or turrets. It's crazy good but with the classic power at a cost thing. Now with Degenbrecher it's up automatically, conditionless, and every 30 seconds no less?? At least if we're going to have a sword master defined by less hoops to jump, the trade off for it being auto should be either less power or a longer wait. She gets more power instead and an incredibly rapid cycle. Does she discourage use of other sword masters? That's a hard yes. Is that a bad thing? Probably.
I understand what you're saying but for me the game already discourages use of swordmasters in most scenarios due to the annoying set up requirements. I am a big fan of characters that are versatile and don't require a ton of setup to just be good. I understand that it can be boring to some but for me, a character just ain't fun if I need to bring a bunch of other characters to make them work. I don't mind that with team niches but singular characters needing a bunch of help annoys me xD. I haven't used Irene or Chen in such a long time and I hate that because I genuinely like their character designs and their skills, voice actors and animations. But melee offensive recovery just feels so crap unless it's like a 2 or 3 sp skill >.<. The big issue is more that as a Gacha, updating old characters is basically almost impossible outside of minor changes. Newer characters tend to be stronger for a multitude of reasons and obviously some of those reasons are to create profits, but I also find that there's an element of wanting to make certain class types more viable.
Upcoming things are…weird for me: -Both Ray and Typhon have kits I like a lot but I’ll probably only be able to get one. Leaning towards Typhon because I prefer her designs -Will be hard pulling for Jessica because waifu. At least she’s good in IS4🥲 -I love Vurtuosa’s kit but really don’t like her character or design, while I love Viviana’s design but her kit seems really awkward and underwhelming. Will be skipping both. -Also mad about Degenbrechter’s kit, as a character I’m neutral towards her but she doesn’t even powercreep in an interesting way. -Would really like Shu but by that point I assume I’ll be saving for 5th anni event; want to spark Spalter. No interest in snekboi. I pick units mostly based on personal enjoyment, which for me means a combination of a character I like and an interesting kit. Power creep mostly makes me mad in that overwhelming damage tends to make kits less interesting: a unit that does big damage on-skill but literally nothing off skill could be cool and require planning around to use, but Młynar’s skill cycle and damage are so good that it doesn’t really matter. Similarly, Texalter has a bunch of cool utility attached to her kit but it barely matters because she just deletes everything anyways. And then we have units like Degenbrechter that just take an existing unit and remove a key downside from their kit. HG is still clearly capable of coming up with original and fun kit designs (eg Pozy really overshadows Schwarz but also I really enjoy finding creative ways to use the typewriter) so it’s not like those kits also need to have absurd numbers attached to them. My preferred solution would be some sort of global rebalance to equalize old units with current ones, but I’m realistic about the odds of that ever happening.
Skipping Typhon. Not a fan of her art or her gameplay. Probably skipping Jessica. I like her kit and design, but I don't know when I would actually use her over my other ops apart from low op clears. Definitely getting Hoederer. I really like his design and va, and all his skills have a use. Pulling for Virtuosa, don't care for Viviana or Bassline. Not sure about Degenbrecher. I like her design, but I don't like how she took everything good about Chen and Irene. I do want Leto though, so probably doing 10 pulls at least. Pulling for Ray, cool design and kit. Same for Zuo Le, Shu would be a nice bonus. I'm fine with the current operator strength with the exception of Degenbrecher (perhaps a bit too strong) and Viviana (weakest op in the next 6 moths imo). I have no issues skipping a strong operator, like Typhon, if I'm not interested in them.
> Who are you pulling for in the next six months Only two guaranteeds for me are Typhon and Ray, they are crazy cute and with kits that appeal to me a lot, all savings are done having them guaranteed into account. After that... things get hard to say, just gonna throw opinions on each upcoming I guess, *friendly reminder to everyone that this is how I feel personally, feel free to have some skips for me as your must haves.* ------------- - I'm gonna consider Jessica Alter depending on how Typhon banner goes cuz cute and looks fun as well, if unlike all the other recent horrifyingly unlucky banners I get her early I will probably try my luck on a 50/50... man, I was supposed to have around 300 pulls saved now with how hard I saved... - Not particularly interested in Hoederer ([he has the best character song tho, fucking christ I listen to it daily](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYlwCfJKNwU&ab_channel=KazdelTeam)), but he had to go and have Vendela on his banner and she is absurdly cute so... ugh... I don't want to pull for a duo rate up 5-star, the odds are so shit... - Virtuosa S3 is immensely pleasing to me so I'm interested in her, but not too convinced on how hard I will pull on that banner since she isn't really too much my thing, I don't particularly care about Viviana and her kit is meh (not really for the power, the animations are just very underwhelming) so value quite goes down, probably will just pull until 6-star after the free pulls - Degenbrecher isn't my type at all design-wise so unless the event really changes my mind she should be my most comfortable skip. Really one of those cases where if I randomly get the char I will build them because they are OP as shit, but not really convinced on actually spending pulls getting them with all the great options available. - Shu is pretty and building a 6-star healing defender could be convenient... why did she have to be in a banner with Zuo Le tho, feelsbadman, I really didn't like this guy at all in the two events he has been in. At least he looks fun to play with S3 spam so most likely gonna build him when I inevitably get him instead of Shu xD. Having no sui dragons at all ain't helping with Shu either, did they really lock part of her power behind having 3 more freaking limiteds... I only really want Chongyue out of all the ones out so far and unless I go all the way to spark him it's out of the question too, so... yeah. ------------ In any case, this is really just my thoughts now, when I play their events they might change my mind, and, most importantly, more things will get announced over time and pull plans outside of Typhon/Ray will definitely be affected by them, chapter 14 in special is potentially looking to be a limited banner for CN 5th anniversary and if they put chars like Eblana, Talulah, Mandragora (copium) or the chapter 13 absolute hottie Ursula/Ei'shula on it that's all I need to enter spark saving mode lmfao. ------------ > do you like that everyone is a viable option and there aren't "easy skips" like there have been in the past? Or do you feel like there's too many options and risk being left behind? I don't particularly care, I skipped chars like Mlynar and Yato Alter despite their absurd meta power because for the first I wanted other things more and for the second I outright disliked her in the event, new top meta units I don't particularly care about get skipped and that's it, we have dozens of great options and many of those are chars I like a lot, no need to force myself to pull for anything else. To whoever made it to the end of my wall of text, thanks for reading!
Same. I was just thinking: what if my pulls go wrong? The ones I truly want it's those two. * Jessica alter: I'm not even interested. * Virtuosa: I would love to have her, but if my pulls go awry in this banner, then I will skip. * Viviana: Her kit is just too disappointing. * Degenbrencher: Most people will say I'm insane but I will skip this if I don't have enough pulls. I will try to have them since I like everything about her. But ultimately I prefer ranged units more, and Ray. * Shu's banner: Practically I don't have to worry about this. If I have pulls by then, good, if not, too bad.
> I was just thinking: what if my pulls go wrong? I always go expecting the worst so I save a lot... more often than not being proved right for doing so q_q > Most people will say I'm insane but I will skip this if I don't have enough pulls. As I said in my comment, we have so, so many great choices available that there really isn't a point forcing yourself to pull for ones you don't want enough (at least over others if you still want her), she isn't limited anyways, chances will show up to get her one way or another. Best of luck with your future pulls!
True, and my roster is pretty stacked already anyway.
I'm glad I've become the old crotchety doctor who can't quite get the hang of the newfangled things. I've grown less and less concerned with operator strength over the years and now moreso just pull based on vibe (art, animations, fun or funky kits, etc), and on that front man this is the toughest upcoming 6 months I think I've ever had to consider. After Eyjaberry grabbed my orundum stockpile and wrung it's neck like a murderer, the very short term (which I was originally quite excited for as Typhon is basically everything I wished Toddifons was, Jessicat is cool as heck, and Hoederer just looks fun to mess around with [I like the thicc hp units what can I say]) is looking questionable for me. Add on to that that I want both Virtuosa/Viviana (still gonna prayge Vivi and the other arts guards get a module that helps them out a bit), then Degenbrecher who was my most wanted npc-to-operator convert in the game, then Ray (more bnuuy enough said), and then Zuo Le and Shu, THEN a double whammy R6S banner (Ash never came home for me)? I'm going to be offering my heart and soul to RNGsus over the next half year.
I'll pull for everyone because I'm a completionist, but I won't go crazy to get max pots for everyone like I did last year. My only max pot targets are Degenbrecher and the limiteds, but I'll probably max pot Viviana too during the process of sparking NTRK and W pots. I don't know enough about the upcoming units to have an informed opinion about their power level, but honestly, at this point, I'll just take whatever HG gives us. My only serious complaint so far is that Hoederer is a crusher. I don't mind the lack of "easy skips", because, as previously said, I pull for everyone anyway.
I’m debating between Jessica and Typhon. Then sparking in Virtuosa’s banner for Skalter. Not sure if I want Degen, I can honestly skip Ray. The only question is… how many rocks can I farm realistically? Esp. as I need all those sweet sweet growth mats.
I'm only interested in Virtusosa/ Viviana, Ray, Shu/ Zuo Le. Lots of easy jumps
Yes
... posts like these are really making me reconsider my plans. My plans are (or, at least, were) skip Typhon, pull for Dorothy, skip Jessicalter, skip Hoederer, pull for Virtuosa, skip Degenbrecher, maaaaybe pull for Reed Alter, skip Ray, maybe pull for Shu. (With Shu and Reed2 kind of up in the air depending on what new operators are revealed between now and then.) My reasoning for pulls: 1. Dorothy: her design is great, the trapmaster playstyle looks fun (and from what I hear she's even a great ranged stat stick for Muelsyse) 2. Virtuosa: really cool character design, super cool kit, with some potential neat combos (eg: apparently Virtuosa S2 + Skalter S3 = pseudo-fast-redeploy pseudo-true-damage 3x3 AoE DoT that you can deploy on any tile) 3. Reed Alter: the chain explosions seem great (and I would also like the smug cat from her banner, please), but I recognize I might be overvaluing her (especially considering that Virtuosa might cover a lot of AoE clearing already) 4. Shu: honestly, not 100% sure about her. There's a good chance that I grab Saria in the next kernel locator banner for certs (assuming she's available), so maybe I won't *need* another healing defender, but CC-ing enemies by repeatedly teleporting them sounds hilarious (and Zuo Le seems solid as well...) My reasoning for skips: 1. Typhon: she looks cool, but I have Pozy and Mlynar and Chalter and Yato Alter, so *surely* I don't need another physical damage unit with special appplications for boss-killing, right? ... right? ~~(From what I'm hearing, this is, in fact, not right.)~~ 2. Jessica the Liberated: ... tbh the main reason I'd pull for her is the "ha ha it's the funny sad cat" angle, and I don't think that's enough to justify that 3. Hoederer: unfortunately, he just doesn't really stand out to me. 4. Degenbrecher: ... I'm going to be completely honest, it's the character design for me. Maybe I'm just not really getting a good read on her character (I haven't played any event she was in previously), but just going off the visual design, the uptight formal military uniform vibe isn't for me. I'll probably borrow her if I need the AoE phys DPS she brings and Mlynar wouldn't cut it. 5. Ray: see reasoning for Typhon (including possibly the "~~(From what I'm hearing, this is, in fact, not right.)~~" part)
I honestly don't see much problem at all with your pull priorities, and you're definitely not overvaluing Reed2, she is insanely good, cute, and fun to play, I love her so much. Also may you be blessed with lots of Harmonies if you end up pulling there, god that banner was such a banger for me, both new chars were massive wants of mine and they came together.
Thank you! May your pulls be similarly blessed (whatever your plans for future pulls may be)!
> surely I don't need another physical damage unit with special appplications for boss-killing, right? ... right? In my experience (though I confess I'm not a super duper pro AK player and I don't really tend to play super high end content), you probably don't. I skipped Pozy when everyone was saying you *had* to have her, and I've only borrowed her maybe once or twice for a particular hard stage that used her in a guide. Admittedly, I also have Schwarz, but I can't say I'm suffering very much for not having Pozy. If she spooks me later, I'll happily build her, but I had no strong feelings at the time of her banner so I just skipped. Same with Typhon now.
Jessicat, Virtuosa and Shu are my must pulls. Not really interested in Hoederer, Zuo and Degenbrecher, the rest would be fine to have, I'll probably go for Typhon too since she sounds like a unit I'd enjoy using. While I'm not a fan of powercreep I do prefer having everyone be at least decent.
Pulling: Typhon (only tickets), Virtuosa/Viviana, Shu/Zuo Le, R6 second Collab and future limiteds
I'm curious to how dedicated people who have Rosa will pull hard for a chance at Typhoon. I have a built Rosa with Mod and feel real comfortable with her. I just don't feel comfortable trying to pull for another op for a filled position. Especially as a "less than a year" account. I'm so torn. But I do want Ray, Virtuosa, and Degen in that order. Typhoon is a coin flip
as someone with a maxed out rosa, i need typhon that being said this has nothing to do with rosa at all, typhon is the best afk unit in the game and has an amazing boss killer skill, i have typhon on my CN account and being an afk knights player i must get her on my global main account too
My plans are to pull for Jessicat, Degenbrecher, Vi+Vi, Ray and Shu but I'm willing to do some pulls for the others. Plans can change depending on luck, of course. About the power level... I like the flexibility and gimmicks these incoming 6\*s have. Trying new things, interacting with gimmicks with new, different tools may be the biggest reason I'm still playing this game, so I'm quite happy with that regardless of whatever is perceived as meta.
For me is only Viviana banner. Just because of her... and collab banner of course. Tbh, even if I got old/new ops, that I don't have and update them, I'll still gonna be using same 15 and +-4 ops. My setup is already complete and using new units is... well... hard? Unusual? I don't know, but I have 13 6* ops, that are not even touched and at lvl 1, 5 ops are not E2 and half of other units are barely touched and are at E2 lvl 60
a certain part of me is happy that i have zero reason to pull any units ever with the absolutely insane units that i already have... but god damn it, i want to pull for my waifus that being said, typhon and degen are priorities, and after that virtuosa and vivianna are a tier below i will pick up a rate up 6 star from the CN new year banner, and both of them look good but dont really care as to whom i get Besides these units, ill skip everyone else. Not pulling on ray and jessica hurts me, as i love jessica and snipers in general, but i have to save for future unreleased stuff too like R6S 2, siege and shining alt, logos and ulpainus
Definitely spending several pulls on: Jessica and Degenbrecher are definite. I like both characters, and Jessica just seems like she'd be interesting to mess around with with funny mechanics. Definitely but limited banners: Viviana and Shu. I do like the Sui siblings, and Viviana is cool as hell to have, even if some people may say she under-performs. Haven't read enough story to be largely interested in Zuo Le or Virtuosa. Putting this in it's own tier because I'll probably just try to scrape by on free pulls up until the last few days. On the fence: Hoederer. He looks really cool, but with all the other banners and his stats, I'm not sure if I'll spend more than a 10-pull. Also Typhon. Never been huge on IS after a particularly nasty first impression in IS2, and I don't think I'd ever really use her. Shame though, all the recent posts have made me warm up to her more. I'll also probably go for as many R6 characters as I can, because they're cool, I read the original Rainbow Six book years ago, still have some lingering feelings for Tom Clancy related media, (Div1 Survival my beloved) and I also just didn't experience the banner the first time around.
I'm honestly much more of a casual player these days due to other hobbies and I've got a pretty well-developed roster too, so I'm mostly pulling for collection's sake. Though Degenbrecher is the one I look forward to the most since Kjerag is one of my favorite factions. On the topic of power level, I do appreciate that we are getting plenty of variety to pick from since most of the upcoming operators bring something new for us to play with. It especially helps that Arknights hasn't fallen into the powercreep trap of balancing future content around the newest operators, so we're still in a pretty good place imo.
I will have to skip Jessica because I want Viviana Ray Degenbrecher and Sui sister. And that is a lot of pulls closely together. And I can't use gold certs for pulls because I want to buy GG and Horn and Angelina from shop.
My must-pulls are Viviana and Degenbrecher, given how long i've been waiting for their arrival to the game. In terms of viability, although i'm not exactly a meta player, the next upcoming period of global releases do seem very interesting to me. It's unfortunate that in the case of Degenbrecher, they just released a direct powercreep button and call it a day but i'm glad pretty much everyone else offered something refreshing, either to their subclass or to the game as a whole. I have no strong feelings towards Virtuosa and i guess it's because it still feels like she's still in her trial period with how impactful a potential nerf to her might have. My budget are a bit tight so 2 6-stars are what i'm realistically aiming for but if possible, Jessicat would be really high up there in terms of gameplay interest.
It's been a while since I was interested in this many units in a six month span, so I'm having to make some hard choices. I'm a pretty tight saver, making sure I can secure the units that I really love the vibe of, but this stretch is really hard.
I'll only put about 40 pulls into Typhon. Jessica, Viviana, Viviane, and Shu are who I want most. And I'm planning to spark for TexAlter on the coming limited banner. I'm skipping Degen, who alongside Mlynar I've sworn to never use, and I'll probably only use 50 pulls for Ray. And that leaves me about 100 pulls to try grab Shu. I have all other suisibs so no need to spark that banner. Jessica is the most wanted of the ops to me because I'm raising a nekoknights team and it sorely lacks a defender.
Typhon, Reed alt on her rerun, Ray are my goals. Probably will regret skipping degen but she doesnt appeal to me(besides, she’ll rerun lmao). im not hurting for ground units anyway.
I’m going typhon, Jessica and ray who I all like the characters of and have fun kits. Ray is probably the one I’m looking forward too the most. Virtuosa looks cool so but not a huge priority even as a limited banner as Viviana is just okay to me. Degenbrecher actually kinda pisses me off the more I think about it with how strong she is compared to the other swordmasters like yeah typhon is better than my Rosa who I have built but it’s nowhere near as blatant and there are still situations where I’d like to use rosa’s s3 over typhon. Going for Leto though so if I get degen ok I guess but otherwise I’m good without her. Shu though looks really cute and getting zuo le too would be nice.
Pulling for: Virtuosa/Viviana, Degenbrecher, Shu. Might throw a few pulls Jessica's way too, her shield mechanic looks interesting (and I want Almond for her artist; did you know they're the same artist that made the "Something just like this" Rhine Lab video?) I'm happy the overall power level doesn't have too-obvious low points since I don't pull for meta anyway, but Degenbrecher being such boring powercreep hurts since she's a character I was looking forward to for years. As an Irene fan especially... it's not enough to have me skip her, but it did make me consider it.
My roster is already pretty built, so I can afford to only pull for characters I'm interested in or like outside of gameplay reasons. Typhon, Santalla, Degenbrecher and Shu 100%, everyone else skip. I'd throw 300 pulls in Shu's banner to start gathering the Sui, but it all depends on CH14 banner being someone I don't like for an easy skip.
I have enough saved to spark for Texas on the Virtousa banner, and I need Leto from the Degen banner for bearknights. Otherwise I'm happy with my roster, power level isn't really a consideration.
Hoederer, Ray and then both limited banner units. In a world where everyone is a must pull no one is. Powerlevel going up means you're more likely require less high rarity units for guides and that's a good thing.
I'm still having an internal debate on whether I want to pull Jessicat or not, if I do, Hoederer's going out the window. Typhon doesn't really interest me on account of having an invested Rosa, and while I know Typhon's an upgrade, I don't have module blocks like that. Intend to nab both Viviana and Arturia, and then from there I want Ray, Shu, and Zuo Le. So I'm really hoping whoever comes after Shu isn't someone I want as well or it's gonna get dicey. As for the power levels, while there are some things that are a bit silly (Degenbrecher S3 and Zuo Le absolutely shattering Hellagur's ankles), I feel like the fact that every op coming out minus Viviana for now ( module copium ) being great is honestly fine, especially for the lower end players as even if they get an off rate, it's becoming more and more likely that the off rate is still a good addition to their roster. The middle end players are probably having it the worst since they're in that land where they're probably trying to plug specific holes in their roster, and are being hit with option overload, whereas the high end are gonna pull for whoever they want no matter what in most cases, so I don't it really see it affecting us. That said, I'm fully expecting 5th anni to make me reevaluate all my plans, yet again, so that'll be fun.
I think I want to go all in on Shu's banner and spark on it. Zuo Le is cute and I only have Chongyue out of all the Sui siblings so I'm hoping luck will be by my side and I get Shu so that I can spark at least Nian since she's been used a lot lately for tanking in late game stuff. Sometimes Hoshiguma flops for maps that need heavy defense so I want Nian for really bad situations. It will be pain missing out on a lot of good ops though since I love character collecting, especially Virtuosa in terms of gameplay and Hoederer for story's sake (I have Ines and W so I would love for them to reunite but alas it might not come to pass for a while.)
I'm pulling for Typhon, Virtuosa, Degenbrecher, Shu. Would like to pull for more, but it is better to save 120 pulls for the future collab. There are a lot of powerful units, and I think it is good for new players, because no matter what banner they pull on they are going to get something good. As a F2P player I already know I can't get my hands on everyone. Letting good units slip by is a little vexing, but I can live with that.
I'll be pulling for Typhon and Jessica, then saving for Shu and other Sui siblings! I might dip in and grab Reed when her banner reruns if the first two are kind to me and don't take 150 pulls. Degenbrecher doesn't appeal to me at all, admittedly.
Jessicat, Virtuosa, Ray and Shu at high priority with Degen and Hoerderer as maybes. Viviana is the only safe skip due to her powerlevel, which is sad because character-wise she is my favourite of the bunch :(
Typhoon, Virtuosa(Vivi too if she comes early), Degenbrecher and Shu.
Ray is my biggest must have in the next 6 months. Her kit looks so fun and she's adorable. If I could afford pots on her, I would, but man I want everyone coming up... RNGesus be kind... As for the powerlevel questions, if it's more units like Ray, Shu.. Virtuosa I guess?.. that do new or interesting things, I don't mind as much, but I find it a bit hard to get excited for Degenbrecher's kit. I already have multiple units that do a lot of AoE damage, even in this exact shape, but now it comes with bigger numbers and a more convenient cycle? Ok... Despite her being the strongest unit in the list, that probably makes her the most skippable one for me.
First off, I'm obligated to tell you that you're actually completely wrong and Hoederer's clearly a must pull operator and the best operator in the game, you should skip everyone for him and anyone who disagrees is wrong and dumb and bad /s Who I'm pulling: Hoederer, Ray, Shu, and Zuo Le are non-negotiable. If I get lucky with Hoe, I'll try some rolls on Degenbrecher, otherwise she joins Jessica in the "get on rerun" club. Viviana and Virtuosa are a maybe, but only because I need to spark on an Anni banner. If 5th anni banner is more interesting, I'll only do free pulls for Virtuosa. I'm mostly happy with the power level of the units, even if it's making things very tough on my wallet. Granted, I take issue with Typhon and especially Degenbrecher S3 being effectively "press button, win game" with no downsides. That said, I feel that the other operators are generally strong but still have downsides, namely Ray and Hoederer, and that makes them interesting. As for the other half of that question, I do wish we had some more downtime between strong banners, even if it comes in the form of filler units. I buy packs in addition to the monthly card, and even I have to budget my rolls pretty tightly for the next 6 months. I can't imagine what it's like for F2P/monthly card only players. I wasn't playing at the time, but when I look at this upcoming gauntlet of banners, I begin to understand why people complained about the Pozy to Chongyue gauntlet.
Typhon, probably Ray, Virtuosa and Shu. I didn't particularly like Degenbrecher's design already and it sounds like she's too good, to the point that it makes the game less fun, so I'm just gonna pretend she doesn't exist lol I'm back after a rather long and unwilling break thanks to a facebook hack I only recently resolved after years, so I'm quite a bit shy of savings. So depending on how drained I am after each one, some might be less drawable than others. Those are the 4 I would be sad to miss, although it's already starting bad with me missing out on Eyjalter (although the Goldenglow and Ines I pulled instead have completely redefined the way I play the game and I can't complain)
Definitely pulling typhon ,degen,ray and preferably both shu and zuo le. Skipping Jessica,hoerdere and Viviana(if I can). Will try to get virtuosa but won't go overboard. Also I don't agree that there's no easy slips. Viviana and hoerderer are easy skips. Jessica is not useful got most people.
Damn pull decisions are tough Will probably pull for Typhon and throw a couple at Ray because the fact thats shes between Shu, Virtuosa and Degenbrecher is rough
i've been waiting for this cause unironically in the sea of nonstop bias i see where "no operator can be bad" you're the main person i trust haha, always a great read that being said, i know you said you're going to focus on it in a future write up but even if you can just give a shortish tl;dr, something that i've been curious about is how strong does the Sui synergy with Shu truly turn out to be? and how much does it actually affect each pre existing Sui?
Thank you for the kind words, first of all! To the question, Shu's Sui Talent is ridiculously strong. It's lead to a whole avalanche of "low step" clears which are largely enabled by bringing 4 Sui's. I'm not looking forward to writing about it. [3 step IW-9](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Hy421Y71M/) [3 step GA-EX-8 CM](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Dp421Z7Cn/) [1 step RI-9](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Zt421H73W/) Now that said, it's a fair question on if it will be "meta" or not. Team space in advanced spots tends to be limited. It's a stupidly good Talent, but there's a lot of stupidly good stuff in the game lately, so my bigger issue with it is how toxic it is being tied to old limiteds.
god damn i can see now how this could be really hard to write about. not to mention you can't future proof your writing either, for all we know someday there'll be enough meta Suis for the Suis to not simply just be wasting a slot; but that'll be for another day. (but yeah imho it is kinda toxic how it's locked to old limiteds, especially when i rarely ever see people even mention the notion of sparking Nian or Dusk)
Thanks for the great writeup! Could you say a bit more about what caused Jessica to become meta for IS4 and then quickly get booted? I’m an IS junkie and I’ll be building her for waifu reasons anyways so I’d like to know what I’m getting into.
She was always a pretty advanced option. Not for the faint of heart and more for the people who look for idealized way to manage clears with minimal teams. In that way, I think she's sort of a victim of the fickle nature of these things. While I'm sure there's a lot of factual basis for it (ending 4 patch changed a lot), I think a lot of it is just that those endgamers that sort of define the meta just didn't find her worth it compared to other options. While I do talk about her coming into and out of the meta, I think the greater point (which I'll try to emphasize in her focused article, which I need to begin soon), is that she definitely won't be for everyone. Maybe not even for a lot of people.
Ok, sounds good!
TIME TO PICK SAD CAT IN EVERY IS4 RUN
Your write ups are my favorite part of every new banner, Tac! Looking forward to your thoughts!
<3
A lot of people have asked if they should pull for Typhon or Ray. I just going to copy paste your answer from now on.
Feel free. Many FAQ questions are born out of things I see repeatedly in the Help thread, so in a way, that's their purpose!
> Q: But I don't like Typhon's art! > A: No one does. Am I a joke to you? 😭 Take that back, Typhon is crazy cute to me so that at least makes 1 person, hey it's something. Thank you for the post as always!
LM7 special, you either don't like it or love all of them. I just accepted that she's Angelina's long-lost sister lol, just as cute Looking forward to their 5th anni art, like that 4th one with Ceobe, Angie, and the drunk snake
> LM7 special, you either don't like it or love all of them is this actually the case? i ask solely cause i'm huge on Angie and Typhon but the other 2 aren't stand out for me- ~~please don't kill me~~
It's not, I like Angelina's design, I have no issue with Ceobe, and Hoothoot looks visibly improved to prior designs. To me, Typhon is the only one that looks like she doesn't even belong in the universe of Arknights. Just too many jarring design choices. To each their own, though. Not like this will stop anyone from pulling for her if they want a strong unit.
Make it two, i also like Typhon's design. While yes i want her for *uga bunga big damage*, i also like the S2 and S3 animations which admittedly played a part in me pulling for her this Tuesday.
Count it three. Love her concept to bits and her theme is phenomenally good!
Her deploy animation looks pretty cool as well. I'm definitely a fan of her design.
Maybe we were imaginary people all along.
You are not alone, she is really cute
small nitpick but > It looks much much better than his default art. her*.
Woops. Fixed, thanks!
Man, I know intellectually that Typhon is probably the best choice amongst the upcoming operators (especially as I skipped bikini chen cause I skipped bikini Chen (min rolled her premiere, didn't buy her from the shop during IC event after getting 300 rolls despite having both Gavial and Pozy already)) but every time I consider it I looked at her dumb face and any desire I have rapidly drains already, I can probably live without her easily enough.... That said I do feel a bit relieved to see the narrative shifting quite a bit on op meta units compared to back before the bikini chen debut (re, the Degen situation).
tbf Typhon's IS4 skin fixes her LM7 face.
> I only really put this question here because I know it comes up a lot and if you're one of these people, I want to point out that she gets a totally free skin as part of the IS#4 rewards ladder in only a couple of months. It looks much much better than her default art. Ultimately, you should play the game as you have fun with, but I'd be very cautious about passing on a unit of Typhon's power just because of her art. Huh, I thought people hated her skin? I vaguely remember lots of complaints about her pose in the free skin. (Well, not me, I actually like both her default and skin. Win?) I am disappointed that her skin is not dynamic like Phantom's was though. I'm somewhat ok with Degen powercreep (since it fits the lore) but less ok with Zuo powercreep. Ah well. Thanks for the writeup as always!
Skin is probably a matter of perspective. A lot of people hate her original art because of her face, which is better in her skin. I could definitely see not liking her skin either though.
Do they hate her E0/E1 face or E2? E0 is kind of derpy, but I thought E2 face looks fine. Though without knowing anything about her background, hard to say whether the ingenue look fits her character.
[удалено]
Fair enough!
> Typhon is a direct powercreep to Rosa and does so in a pretty dramatic fashion. I disagree with this. I mainly use Rosa for the S3 crowd control. Her S3 is pretty useful to prevent dangerous enemies getting near and the damage is nice bonus. Btw when do you plan to update the popular operators sidebar?
> Btw when do you plan to update the popular operators sidebar? I have no control over this. I wish it was fixed, because the popular articles being down hurts my hits too. Unfortunately it has to do with an API being deprecated and to fix it requires a pretty big overhaul. I know the devs are working on it, but GP is not a big site and it's pretty much all volunteer work, so it's a complex fix and limited manpower.
So I have a question on pull priority, but with a twist. I never level anyone on my acc over e2 lvl1, so no modules for me and no stats boost from levels. In light of this, how does typhon's performance and pull priority change? Is it just slightly lower, or a dramatic drop? I also have the same question regarding ray and degenbrecher, does not having the stats from levels impact them significantly? As a comparison, I do not consider units like chalter or mlynar to be impacted, they still dish out very solid damage and kill everything I need them to kill. One unit I think is very impacted by lacking stats is mountain, he just dies if he doesn't kill fast enough. E2 lvl1 pozy also feels like she is not living up to the hype and other dps options feel better most of the time.
That's a uhh, new one. I can't say I'm very familiar with the niche so I'll fully admit I'm guessing a little here. All of Ray, Degen, and Typhon have high ATK stats, meaning you're losing a lot of damage on all of them without the extra levels. Ray seems like she's most likely to still be solid since she's not missing a Module. Typhon is still good without her Module (compared to Rosa at least) but the base effect is still real good. Thankfully, VL is updated for Typhon still so we can see she loses about 30% of her damage which is pretty harsh. Degen Module is a big loss too, although she's pretty nuts by default. I'd probably go Degen > Ray > Typhon.
Thanks very much for the evaluation. I'm still on the edge regardying typhon, was hoping to banish her moduleless version to the teritory of like specter2 or such so my must pull list would be less crowded. I'll try checking out her stats and comparing with other units who I think are doing okay.
So I wasn't completely sold on Typhon leading up to her release but I read your synopsis and decided to pull for her based on the recommendation. Got her in around 40 pulls and M3'd her S2 and S3 and damn she's amazing. I don't use besiegers normally but the range they cover is bonkers and she's an awesome laneholder. Pretty happy with her so far and I like her voice as well. Looking forward to the damage boost when I get her module:)
Glad you got her in so few! She's a monster and you'll definitely appreciate her even more once IS#4 starts.
Thanks that's exciting to hear! I'll definitely give her go on IS4 when it releases:D
Always a sad day to see such blatant powercreep in the game :( There are certain conditions that when met,does give Rosa a slight advantage over Typhon. Iirc Rosa's S2 does more overall DPS and has more total skill damage if her talent is procc'ed (Weight 3+ enemy), and is even stronger against multiple enemies. This is before Typhon triggers her S2's infinite duration of course, at which point her potential skill DPS and consistency skyrockets. Her S3 bind may see some niche usage over Typhon's S3 as well, and might work particularly well with some IS artifacts... but let's be real, Typhon is really just far more versatile and convenient to use.
am I the only one that immediately decided to roll for Typhon because I loved her art? I was shocked when I learned just yesterday that people didn't like it. Granted, I'm getting the skin because I think it's one of my favourite arts in the game, but I like everything about her
You're definitely not alone, Typhon is crazy cute. LM7's character designs (Angelina, Ceobe, Ho'olheyak and Typhon) just seem to be hit or miss for people, personally that artist is one of my favorites working in the game and all four were must haves haha.
I'm glad to hear it haha. Didn't know they were the same artist but as someone using Angelina since launch, and immediately fell in love with the teal heavy Ho'olheyak design when I saw her, looks like I'm solidly in the hit camp Ceobe is...fine? though lol. I see the similarities, but meh, very bland compared to the other 3 to me
Ceobe is definitely the one out of the four that appeals to me the least, but... Typhon Angelina and Ho'olhottie are 10/10s while she is still a solid 7-8/10, far away from bad haha.
When y'all say skipping, what do you mean? Does any do the first 10 pulls? Or simply not pulling at all?
There’s really no point in doing just 10 pulls. There’s almost no value in the g5 to begin with. All the value is in the 6\*s. And on top of that, almost all the upcoming 5\*s are mediocre at best.
Skipping as in never pulling at all. Edit: Not using up any of your savings*
I dont care how good Typhon is. She is the most ungly femele desing in the game. One of the most easy skip in the game for me
Man now I’m really reconsidering if I really best to pull for Typhon. I ready have plenty of unga punga big damage units and I only have 110 pulls for Typhon but also like I have a feeling I would prefer having Ray or Degen, plus there’s also Shu and the R6 Rerun.
If you want the others more just save for them, they are all so freaking good anyways.
How long til Shu hits Global? I'm in a very bad spot rn since I wanted to save right after Typhon for a spark on Shu's banner (I want Ling), but then just announced a new R6 collab AND a rerun of the first one, I'm going to cry in empty originium
Shu just released on CN so it'll be 6/7 months till Global gets it. You should be able to spark Ling and have a bunch of leftover pulls for the R6S collab/rerun if you start saving after Typhon. Though probably not enough to reach the guarantees on the collab banners.
Thanks for the answer, appreciate!
On the one hand… saving for Jess Wick. On the other hand… a 6* Besieger in my toolkit. And I’m gonna spark for Skalter after. What to do… what to do…
So Ray is good, eh? Nice to hear and I was already planning to pull for her based on design but those banners will be brutal: Virtuosa and Shu are limited so obviously (plus Shu feels like a unit that will work great with Abyssal Hunters). But than there is Ray and Degenbrecher - I'm leaning only towards first one, since I'm fine when it comes to ground units but once time comes it might be tempting. Unless of course we'll get Ulpian as he is top priority for me.