Arknights: Mastery Priority Guide - Stultifera Navis Update

It seems like just yesterday I was putting the finishing touches on a way-too-long update for Chapter 10. And now here I am again with another way-too-long update for Stultiferis Navis. This is a fun banner though, and I think you’ll find it interesting!

This article specifically covers the new units from the Stultifera Navis 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

Q:  Should I pull?

A:  An extremely soft yes.  This isn't a very strong limited banner, but it isn't bad either.  The 6★s here are good, but not essential or meta-defining.  Specter is an especially tricky one since she requires extra investment; she’s not any better than her 5★ without  costly module upgrades.  And the 5★ on the banner is one of the worst to date, which only makes the value worse.

This is in stark contrast to the next limited banner after this one (Ideal City, expected in January), which is absolutely monstrous. Ideal city features two very meta 6★s and an equally meta 5★ (check the look-ahead section below).  Ideal City is a much more secure slam-dunk, plus Mlynar, who is the single best unit ahead of us, is right after.  It's very reasonable to skip this banner if neither 6★ particularly interests you.

It sounds like I'm talking a lot of crap, so I do want to clarify that Irene and Specter (with a fully leveled module) are not bad units.  They are both well above average with Irene making high risk CC appearances and Specter being a top IS#3 Specialist pick, among other noteworthy things.  But the power of the game is also increasing drastically lately, and unless you're a whale, you will get more bang for your orundum by saving it for the Gavial banner.

As always, though, it can be quite valuable to break pity at least once on the final day.  We get 24 free pulls which makes breaking pity much cheaper than usual.  Spending only an additional 35-ish pulls for a good chance at a very useful 6★ is quite efficient!

Q:  What's the deal with Specter the Unchained?  Why was she considered so bad, and what changed?

A:  On her release, Specter the Unchained (Splatter or Spec2) was lauded as the worst 6★ to date.  Not just the worst limited, but the worst 6★ period.  There was an amusing tier list shortly after her release that had her well below even the moody blues.  That was, of course, an incredibly dramatic overreaction.  She wasn't *that* bad.  But her base kit is undeniably subpar.

As I see it, there are two core problems with her base kit.  The first is that the most valuable niche it has was only a side grade to her 5★ version (which you can grab for free from the selector in this very same event).  The second is that she makes poor use of the Dollkeeper archetype, while her base version is a brilliant use of the Centurion archetype.  There wasn't any reason to use Specter the Unchained over plain ol’ Specter.  You lost regen, 3-block, cycle-time, and AoE attacks, and didn’t get much in return but a small increase to up-time.  Her doll was comically weak and her S3 removed her niche without adding relevant damage.

In short, her kit isn't bad, but the opportunity cost of running her over the original, free, low investment base unit is too high. Which s damning even before you considering one is a limited 6★ and the other is a launch 5★ who’s been available on multiple free selectors.

So what changed?  Well, someone at HG must have realized their fuck-up, because the very next major patch introduced the Module leveling system, and Splatter got one of the best upgrades.  Specter’s first module upgrade fixed two of her biggest issues, her weak doll and her poor uptime.  And then she got a second module that was just as good.  And THEN Gladiia got a really good module that gave Splatter back her regen too!

All that said, I am still somewhat lukewarm despite all the improvement.  Even though Splatter moves well past her 5★ version, the invulnerability niche can still be accomplished by the much cheaper 5★ in most scenarios.  She is a strong laneholder with first module, but there’s plenty of those, and again, her 5★ version is also pretty good at it.  And the DPS niche requires a *lot* of investment across two units to do what can be accomplished by a dozen other units individually.  I have a hard time really recommending Specter the Unchained.  She just costs so much in pulls and resources when you can get by with the cheaper version and put those resources elsewhere (like the upcoming Gavial/Pozy banner).

Q:  Which module upgrades should I get for Specter?  Should I go out of my way to raise Gladiia as well?

A:  Before answering, it’s worth mentioning again that Specter’s first module that comes out with this patch is not what is important.  What is important is the module upgrade system that comes with the next major patch, Lingering Echoes, in about a month.  This discussion refers specifically to her level 3 modules, which are not yet available.

PUM-X is her first module.  Although its base stage is included in this patch, level 3 will be released with Lingering Echoes.  It improves her doll and grants SP when recovering from doll form.  PUM-Y is her second module.  It will be released with Ideal City, expected sometime after the New Year.  PUM-Y improves the HP and SP regen of all Abyssal Hunter operators (including herself).  Finally, Gladiia’s module, HOK-X, is also released in Ideal City and grants damage reduction and regeneration to all Abyssal Hunters.

Both of Specter's modules are very good, but you'll want to go with the first one (PUM-X) most of the time.  It helps Specter survive longer and recover faster, which gives her more flexibility in what she does best.  It also opens up a new role to her in being a viable lane holder, something her base kit just doesn’t do effectively.

The second one (PUM-Y) has most of its value in supporting the Abyssal Hunter tribal (and more specifically, Gladiia), which gets to be ridiculously powerful.  It isn't required to build Gladiia to make effective use of Specter though.  It's probably not even a good idea if you're in the early going and stretched for resources. Building both with module 3 is a very expensive proposition, lots of units have good modules, and you can only build so many.  However, with Gladiia and HOK-X, Specter can reach another level.  Gladiia's damage reduction makes Specter a much more viable DPS unit with her S3.  Since she takes less damage and isn’t getting insta-killed by S2, the doll buff is less relevant, and PUM-Y’s SP gain gives her a massive boost to skill uptime.

Q:  Where does Irene fit into the meta?

A:  Irene is the best unit on the banner and rates pretty highly in the meta, though she doesn't quite make it into the top cut due to a few shortcomings. However, the top has gotten pretty ludicrous, so that isn't a huge knock against her.  Her kit can seem complicated at first glance, and it is a pain to calculate exact damage totals, but the end effect and usage is pretty simple.  Her S3 is one of the best burst skills in the game. It dishes out a massive chunk of damage in just a few short seconds. It's also very receptive to buffing, so she’s good at both wriggling out of tough spots in short order and bursting hard in more pre-planned set-ups.

Finally, it seems Hypergryph learned a lot about the flaws in Ch'en's kit (more on Ch'en when the new modules come out) because they gave Irene enough utility to make up for a lot of the short-comings that Swordmasters tend to have.  She has some CC, good DEF ignore (a huge weakness in the archetype), and does her damage in an AoE, giving her more effective targeting and broader usability.

Her kit isn't without some flaws though.  Although her S3 has range, the enemies need to be clustered or the damage ends up far less concentrated, greatly reducing the total damage.  If she cannot take advantage of her Levitate effect she also loses some effectiveness (though she still does plenty of damage), and many bosses after her release are now Levitate-immune (though most before her release are not).  And there is the ever-present problem of being Attack Recovery on a fairly high SP skill.

For a unit of her power, those flaws tend to be closer to the 'nitpick' variety, which is just unfortunately something that must be done when there are almost 250 units and only 12 team slots.  So should you pull her (and there's nothing wrong with chasing her), she will be well worth raising and using, but she doesn't quite make the increasingly narrow 'must pull' classification either.

Q:  Is Lumen worth it?  How does he compare to the Berries?

A:  Yes, Lumen is worth it, but restraint is recommended if you're in a situation where you're asking this question.  You will get more lifetime value out of raising Honeyberry or Mulberry first, and you should almost always be prioritizing DPS over healing.  Lumen is a fantastic unit, don't get me wrong, but he is an expensive investment for what he brings.

Supposing you can afford his S3 wind-up, he has some pretty insane healing numbers.  His status removal is a unique thing that has a lot of creative uses beyond just overcoming annoying mechanics.  And oftentimes the instant removal is an easier way around things than trying to keep up with elemental healing.  But not all elemental effects are stuns either, so unless you're already running a heavily meta team, you'll still frequently get better value out of a more preventative Berry instead.  The Wandering Medic range also tends to be more useful than the Therapist Range since the former lets you 'reach out' further from your main line.

Q:  Why is Windflit so bad?

A:  Windflit demonstrates all of the weaknesses of the Artificer archetype while showing off none of its strengths.  His devices are far too gimmicky to use for a buff that is very weak even at its maximum.  His cycle time is atrocious, you lose devices in the long run, and if that weren't bad enough, his devices can only be used on two classes (Casters and Supporters) that don't traditionally make good buff targets.  He doesn't even make a good body-blocker with his S1: it has weak damage, long charge times for a skill of its type, and incredibly weak (and non-replenishable) utility.

I try not to trash too hard on many units.  I know a lot of people out there have favorites (myself included) and it's never nice to hear how much they suck.  But Windflit's kit is a travesty of design and a waste of one of the more interesting archetypes in the game.  This banner would be significantly better if there were no rate-up 5★s at all.  He effectively wastes 4% of the banner by being virtually unusable.

Q:  Does the announcement of the removal of the alter restrictions change anything?

A:  For those unaware, HG just announced in the CN livestream for the 3.5 Anniversary that the restriction against using alters along with their base forms will be lifted.  The relevance to this patch is that 5★ Specter can will be able to be used alongside her new 6★ Specter the Unchained form, instead of having to pick one or the other.  This change should come sometime in late April for global.

The main issue is now I have to go through and make a whole bunch of last minute changes to the guide that I thought was already done ;_;  Thanks Hypergryph.

Jokes aside, I don’t think it’s *that* big of a change as far as the decisions with Spec2 go.  It’s a big change to the broader game, and the Abyssal Hunter tribal looks even more ridiculous than it already was.  It definitely favors more creative types, with new possibilities like juggling or stacking invulnerability.  But I suspect that if any of the above interests you, you were already going to roll for her.  In other words, I don’t think this change makes Spec2 a must-pull.  It just makes her more appealing to those that already found her appealing.

The biggest winner otherwise is probably Guard Ch’en (with an honorable mention for Kroos), but I’ll wait for the Lingering Echoes update to write at length on Ch’en.

Q:  Any other thoughts on the new Siracuse event?

A:  Lots, but I’ll save them for the next update.  The new units won’t even be out before this article is published.  From the previews though, it looks quite strong, though I'll be surprised if it ends up as strong as the Gavial banner.

Q:  With Lingering Echoes on the horizon, will you be publishing a module guide?

A:  I will not be making a separate module guide, no.  The Mastery guide already takes up a lot of my time, and the Modules tend to be pretty nuanced with how I like to write.  It would not be a small project (for how I do things anyway).  I do plan to write a bit on the topic come the event itself, and will may make a rough priority list, but not a full guide.

You can find Azure's module guide here which I've given a fair amount of feedback to.

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Edits provided by fourmana (Discord: fourmana#0477) of Team BethelFrankel, the team behind premier Alchemy Stars Tier List.  Thanks!

Specter the Unchained

Irene

Windflit

Lumen

Story vs Advanced vs Roguelike

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 three, 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.

Roguelike - These grades are specific to the Integrated Strategies game mode (aka, the Roguelike mode or IS#2).  These grades are slightly different compared to the Story vs Advanced delineation since the same sort of pressures apply in the mode regardless of the type of player you are.  These grades tend to be more "meta" focused than the others.  For a lengthier discussion on why this is, please check out the main Roguelike mastery guide linked below.  I've excluded most of the discussion from the main guide, simply because this guide is already long enough as it is.

Additionally, please check out the main Roguelike guide for more in-depth operator specific discussions specific to that mode.  Although I have updated most write-ups in this guide to reflect all of the grades, some of the nuance on the best picks won't come across as well here, and the main Roguelike guide will provide a better analysis of who is a strong pick.

The Grades

S - These Masteries are the cream of the crop. They are Masteries that everyone with the unit should do and give a high priority to. Units with S tier Masteries get an outsized value from them, either because the skill is incredibly powerful or because it changes how the unit is used.  For the Roguelike mode, S-tier grades are reserved for the best skills on the most meta of units (whereas meta value is not necessarily a requirement in other mode grades).

A - These Masteries are powerful Skills that most players who have the unit should do. These are among the most powerful Masteries in the game, but less overtly overpowered than the S-tier Masteries.

B - These Masteries 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 Masteries 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 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.

NG or None - Not a true grade, but these are sometimes used for Skills which are noteworthy but not worth Mastery.  Either the skill or unit is not worth using, or the Mastery has very poor Mastery gains.  NG stands for "No Grade".

Please remember all rankings here are considered independent of E2 priority, but do consider overall unit strength.  And most importantly, these grades should be treated as guidelines rather than absolute requirements.

No Siracuse units yet since they aren't out yet, but enjoy the full writeups of the mostly terrible Chapter 11 units I guess...