Introduction
Mercifully the pace is picking up! That presents a lot of work for me as I ramp up work on the roguelike guide, but fortunately this is one of the easiest updates I've written to date. I suppose it's just a lull before the massive Near Light update so I won't get used to it...
This article specifically covers the new units from the Pinus Sylvestris event, You can find the full version of the guide here, or on the banner below which covers all of the other noteworthy masteries in the game
FAQ and Banner Discussion
Q: Should I pull?
A: Probably not, though there have been worse banners too. This is definitely a banner that favors older players looking for something creative as opposed to raw carry power. Both Ashlock and Fartooth have a similar "thing" with them. They both have a really interesting niche that are fun to play around with, but given how the stages are currently designed, are never really necessary. It's the same sort of stick in the mud with Wandering Medics. The stages are balanced around lower rarity units, so the niches that these units bring is just one option of many, and ultimately never required, thus leaving them largely as a matter of preference.
Especially when you consider that we know the next banner is the Nearl limited banner which has two quite strong 6*s on it, it's fairly hard to justify pulls here for anything other than personal desire.
Q: When is the IS#2 / roguelike update coming?
A: Soon! I'm actively working on it now. My goal is to have it out a bit after the Near Light banner update, or about 3 weeks from now, possibly sooner depending how things pan out. I hope anyway…
Q: Only two questions (now three)? That's it?
A: Yup. Pretty easy banner for once!
Pinus Sylvestris - A Wanderer in the Wind
Fartooth
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S3M3 | A- | A+ | B |
Fartooth overlaps a lot with Schwarz, but does the main job of damage quite a bit worse, leading to an ultimately disappointing unit. Her range advantage niche is obvious, but the stages in Arknights are never designed where a specific solution is required, so the places she can really excel with that unlimited range are pretty small, and generally better resolved by other means, and her targeting talent often means wasted shots against weaker enemies that cross into the expansive range.
Worse, her S2 is an awkwardly designed skill. It lacks a damage multiplier, limiting the targets she can be effective against, and imposes a harsh requirement that no other global range unit has to deal with. It's ungraded here, though it's worth pointing out that it can be a valid mastery to pursue if you're aiming to make regular use of her. It can be used similarly to Schwarz' S2, that is, a high DPS skill without the range restriction of S3, since the blocking requirement is only for units outside of her normal range, and it has the much bigger Deadeye range.
To be clear, none of that is to say she's bad. She can actually be a very valuable asset to many teams and has pretty reasonable value in her S3 masteries. There's just very often better options out there and is quite costly for what is ultimately a narrow niche.
She is a poor pick in IS#2. Snipers are a crowded group full of lots of better choices for the Hope cost, and her talent becomes useless in some of the stages. All while having the same problem she has in the main game of limited places to apply her niche. Certainly she is usable, but is a sub-optimal pick.
Ashlock
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S2M3 | A- | A | A- |
Ashlock is an interesting unit. She has the longest range of any melee unit in the game, and has pretty high physical AoE damage to boot (many qualities in why SilverAsh is so good)! However she can be quite a hard unit to use and her range can be just as much of a hindrance as it is a help, making her the very definition of "niche". She can do some very impressive things, working around stage mechanics and clearing waves other units at her rarity struggle with. But for a lot of people, she just won't be worth the effort or resources (which are really really high compared to most other 5*s).
Now that said, if you do intend to use Ashlock, her S2 masteries are incredibly important. There's a huge jump in damage between M2 and M3, so don't skimp if you want her to be a regular on the team.
One final note, her Advanced grade is high because this is a skill that creative players will favor, but be aware it is certainly not a meta CC skill.
Manticore
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S1M3 | B | A+ |
Please note that Manticore is not a new operator but is a shared rateup on the banner, so her information is included here for reference. Roguelike grades are not yet included for Manticore, but she has no particular difference from her normal grades and is a quite weak pick overall.
There aren't many slows in the game with 100% uptime. This is one of them and it's very good. More story-centric players might not notice a massive difference though, especially as the cost increases sharply at M3.
The Grading System
Story vs Advanced
There are very few absolute answers when it comes to prioritizing upgrades. A major determining factor is what exactly your goals are. Now, there are actually many more types of players than these two, but the most obvious delineation as far as which masteries to think about comes down to the type of content you're most interested in clearing. If you only find value in first time story clears and risk 18 CC, then your goals will be different for someone looking to reach high-risk (25+) in CC.
Story - A story player is a player who is only interest in rewarded content. This means all normal stages and challenge modes (without added personal challenges), risk 8 on CC daily stages, and risk 18 on CC permanent stages
Advanced - An advanced player here is any player interested in non-reward topics such as higher risk CC and more min-maxed gameplay or specialty clears.
A note on the topic of the Advanced grades is that these grades should not be taken as specific advice for a specific CC. There may be an occasional specific note to provide some context or example, but the intention here is to be more general than a particular event and prioritize skills that will be broadly useful in multiple scenarios. A skill appearing once in a high-risk CC is not enough for inclusion here as CCs tend to lend themselves to niche scenarios that can't really be planned for. Further still, Advanced grades encompass all min/maxed gameplay and do not, strictly speaking, have to be about CCs.
The Grades
S - These skills are the cream of the crop. They are skills that everyone with the unit should do and give a high priority to. Units with S tier skills get an outsized value from them, either because the skill is incredibly powerful or because it changes how the unit is used.
A - These skills are powerful skills that most players who have the unit should do. These are among the most powerful skills in the game, but less overtly overpowered than the S-tier skills.
B - These skills are reasonably powerful and worthy of consideration, but have a factor which hold them back. The impact may be relatively small for the cost, the unit may not be especially powerful already, the unit may not fit well into the meta, or there may be a better version available, among other examples.
C - These skills are strong enough to be noted, but should only be done by the most end game of players with nothing else to do. There's value in them, but in the end of the day, most players will have something better to be doing.
Breakpoint - Not a true grade, but a designator given to an M1 that gives an unusually large benefit. In most cases, these should be prioritized immediately after the E2, thanks to their low cost and high value. Note that there are many M2 and M3 breakpoints but they are not considered breakpoints for this purpose as the cost is much more expensive. Also note that some breakpoints on valueless skills are excluded as well.
Please remember all rankings here are considered independent of E2 priority, but do consider overall unit strength. And most important, these grades should be treated as guidelines rather than absolute requirements.
Mastery Look Ahead
Some juicy looking Laterano units are new this time. Nothing for ch10 yet though but hopefully by the Near Light update...
A quick note, Honeyberry and Pudding DO NOT replace Ethan and Breeze. They are added to the red cert shop in addition rather than as a replacement. You can still buy Ethan and Breeze even after the new units come in so don't worry about rushing!
| Near Light | ||
| Pudding | Red Cert Shop | The Pinecone of her archtype. She isn't necessarily better than Leizi or Passenger, but she shows the strengths of the archtype in a much lower cost package with better general purpose viability. Both skills and masteries are decent with S1 better for control and S2 significantly better for damage. |
| Honeyberry | Red Cert Shop | I’ve previously said that Mulberry was better, but that’s something I’ll have to backtrack on a little bit. There’s been a lot of debate recently comparing the two and as I wrote in the FAQ above, there’s a lot of nuance between them. Like Mulberry, she is a potential M6 candidate. Thanks to a quirk in medic’s animations, her S1M3 allows her to activate it every other attack instead of every third which is very valuable. Her S2 is the better burst skill of course, but the gains on it are small which will keep her S2 grades low compared to Mulberry. |
| Wildmane | Welfare | Continues the streak of pretty good and interesting free units. S2 is her best skill since S1 just doesn't do enough damage and there are better helidrop Vanguard skills. S2 gives a real nice stall, but mastery gains are pretty small (no force upgrade) so it will probably be a low-graded luxury, if it's graded at all. |
| Corroserum | Gacha | My opinion on him has dropped as much as my opinion on Flametail has increased. His DPS is too low and his niche too narrow to bother with outside of personal desire. Masteries would be a matter of preference here since neither will be graded. S1 has better damage but S2 plays to his niche better (small as it is). I would lean towards S2. |
| Flametail | Gacha | My opinion on Flametail has improved quite a bit since initial release, although she's still a mid-tier unit overall. Her uptime is still painfully short, but her rapid cycle time, high survivability, and high damage gives her more long-term staying power than the other Pioneers. Her S3 masteries will be quite important for her role, so it is likely to end up being one of the highest rated Pioneer masteries (since Saga's S3 mastery gains are unimpressive). However we live in the meta of Flagpipe and cheap cornerstone guards which will limit her meta value, though she is the most popular Pioneer in recent CC clears. Pass on S2. It's a decent enough skill with an interesting niche, but inferior to S3 most of the time and with much worse mastery gains. |
| Nearl the Radiant Knight | Gacha Limited | Nearl isn't "nearl"y as busted as previous limiteds, though she's still extremely good. Meta-wise S2 will likely be the go to skill, though S3 will be the better general purpose skill. Both will be highly graded, though not quite top tier. Her S1 will be a nice consideration too, but probably left to waifu only. |
| Break the Ice | ||
| Kjera | Welfare | Don't be fooled by her low base attack. She joins Click as one of the very few good low rarity casters. She is marginally better than Click, though it's a bit tough to say if she's worth the extra cost, especially with how valuable the low cost Click is in IS#2. Either way, S2 is the obvious mastery choice here, though the gains are a touch anemic. |
| Aurora | Gacha | She's unlikely to be anything special because of her archtype and reliance on other freezers. I do however like her potential as an interesting fun unit with her absolutely ridiculous per hit potential and shorter SP cost than Eune. S2 will be the go to most likely. Don't be tricked by her recent CC appearance with S1 (unless you're aiming for max risk). It's a niche scenario unlikely to arise again. |
| Gnosis | Gacha | A more DPS oriented version of Suzuran with shorter cooldowns on his control. However he is dependent on units not being freeze immune and has comparatively poor uptime, which keeps Suzuran the preference at high risk CC. However he is frequently the better choice in story scenarios and the roguelike mode. Both S2 and S3 are important masteries for his functionality. S2 especially has very important masteries. |
| Crimson Solitare | ||
| Shalem | Welfare | He has high enough damage in an interesting niche to be a viable consideration, however he is ultimately nothing too special either which leaves him mostly as a unit of personal desire. S2 is the best mastery choice here. |
| Who is Real Rerun | ||
| Nine-Colored Deer | Welfare | Her gorgeous art aside, 9CD is not a very good unit. Abjurer's are a very weak archtype and she doesn't have a meaningful niche like Quercus does (or frankly even Tsukinogi, as small as that niche is). Her main value is in her base skill which doesn't even require E2 to use, so she just isn't worth raising outside of personal desire. |
| Invitation to Wine | ||
| Kroos the Keen Glint | Welfare | Alter Kroos is one of the best welfares we have ever gotten, and maybe the best in terms of broad applicability. She gives stiff competition to the existing set of 5* AA snipers, GreyThroat especially, though they all hold varying niches over her still. I personally think she is the best option among them with her high DPS, high total damage, built in crowd control, and camouflage utility that will remain long term relevant. Admittedly though that is a fairly controversial opinion and subject to a lot of debate. Like the other three though, the strength of the 6* options drastically limits her meta value so her main value will be for newer players who lack better options. S2 is her better skill for general purpose and has better mastery gains, but those with meta teams will likely find more value in S1 which has a stronger niche versus the higher rarity options. |
| Blacknight | Gacha | A long awaited higher rarity Beanstalk. And she does not disappoint. She requires a bit more finesse than the more bruteforce-ish Beanstalk, but brings good utility with a very high ceiling as a reward for the effort. Both of her skills are viable and will be graded, though S2 is the better choice overall. Mastery on it is a mixed bag however with an important increase to duration but modest gains elsewhere. |
| Lee | Gacha | Lee is one of those units that's really hard to rank. He has a lot of flexibility and utility and is capable of doing some really impressive things. But his archetype will always keep him out of the meta, and his most impressive showcases tend to be against content that has easier solutions. A lot of players will find him simply not worth the effort despite his potential. He is worth raising and using, especially if you're willing to put in some brain power, but he is not a "can't miss" sort of unit either. Both S2 and S3 are good skills, but perhaps unpopularly, I think S2 is his best mastery. S3 just does not need mastery to do what it does (no force upgrade), while mastery on S2 is quite important to his overall damage output. That said though a lot of people will prefer his S3 so the best mastery here mostly depends on how you intend to use him. |
| Ling | Gacha Limited | Oh what to say about Ling. Entire articles can be written on her, and surely will be. I'll keep it short here (for now). Ling is functionally a cornerstone unit (similar to Thorns or Mountain). She is so powerful that most people no longer consider Ling clears when it comes to "low OP clear records". She bucks the idea that summoners are for "big-brained" players only. The dragons have such high stats that even the worst of players can solo most of the game with her. Yet like most cornerstones, she can feel like unnecessary overkill after a certain point. S3 is by far her standout skill and will be among the highest priority masteries. S2 will be graded as well, though it is significantly lower priority than S3 is. |
| A Light Spark in Darkness | ||
| Quercus | Gacha | Unlike the other abjurers, Quercus actually has a pretty decent and useful niche in her S2 SP charging. It's still a bit of a gimmick though, and isn't usually worth giving up the team slot for. There's also an interesting question of if it's best to leave her at E1 Level 1 and pass on mastery which will affect her overall priority as well. |
| Goldenglow | Gacha | Our long awaited pink doggo (I know) is here at last and our patience is rewarded by a very solid caster. She doesn't surpass Eyja, especially in a CC context, but she pretty cleanly beats out Ceobe in all but a few niche circumstances. Her S3 is probably the highest priority option since her lack of an overriding targeting priority on a global range skill is a unique and very powerful niche. It deserves special note in the context of the upcoming roguelike mode where it is a tremendously valuable skill and plays well with commonly used relics. However her S1 is her highest DPS skill with very valuable mastery gains and the better choice when the global range is unnecessary. Her S2 is a decent skill, but is the odd one out for mastery consideration. It's niche is far smaller than S1 and S3 and the mastery gains on it are pretty bad. It's a safe skip unless waifu. |
| Guiding Ahead | ||
| Enforcer | Welfare | How many times can I say stroke in one paragraph? This stroker is a surprisingly interesting stroker. He strokes in a way the other strokers can't since he is able to stroke enemies through his tile, such as if they are being blocked from behind. Even better, his stroke skills don't deal damage, another unique trait among the strokers, further increasing his stroking niche. Like most strokers, he has big masteries upgrades thanks to a stroke force increase at M3. Both of his stroking skills will be good targets, though S2 will be graded higher thanks to its better stroke force. Seriously, who thought "Push Stroker" was a good name for this archtype? |
| Kazemaru | Gacha | One of my personal favorite upcoming units. Her kit plays to the strength of the archetype far better than Bena does, with her S1 being usable right off of respawn and her S2 providing really strong synergy with the whole doll gimmick. Both of her skills are good mastery options, though she’s still a luxury unit overall. I favor S2 here for the more impactful on-demand arts nuke. |
| Fiametta | Gacha | Her kit is a little bit awkward which will likely prevent her from ever being an end-game CC unit, however she does enough damage to be competent in the story, and is considered a well above average IS#2 unit. That’s largely due to her S2 which gives her a strong burst that’s spammable in fairly common conditions. Her S3 has its places too, though its overall DPS is not as impressive. |
