Arknights: Module Priority Guide - Zwillingstürme im Herbst

Welcome to a new(ly revived) series on Modules in Arknights! I’m Mal and I’ll be taking over Arknights Module articles on Gamepress from Azure. This is my first foray into writing guides so while I feel like I have some good ideas on what I want to do, please bear with me as I might make some adjustments as we go along.

Modules are, generally, the pinnacle of investment for Operators. However; no amount of sanity spent will allow you to build them all, due to the scarcity of Module blocks. As a result, which Modules to build, which to upgrade, and which to skip, represents a significant opportunity cost for Arknights players.

Not all Modules are equal. Some are borderline mandatory for the Operator to function adequately, some introduce entirely new utility to ops, and others give only marginal improvements to the functionality of the Operator.

To sort through this indecision, I am beginning this series on Modules and their upgrades. I will immediately begin putting out overviews of the upcoming Modules with each event, starting with Zwillingstürme im Herbst, and I will gradually start working through the backlog of existing Modules. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future I will have relatively up-to-date evaluations of all Modules currently available on the Global Arknights server.

This event brings with it the Juggernaut Modules (Mudrock, Penance, and Vulcan), Bagpipe’s 2nd Module, Nearl The Radiant Knight’s 2nd Module, and two Modules for new characters - Bassline and Lessing.

The Juggernaut Modules are all pretty good. If you use these units then you will want to build their Modules. Penance and Mudrock especially are already staple units for general content whose function is improved substantially by their Modules.

Bagpipe and Nearl Alter’s 2nd Modules are both more specialized than their 1st, and will probably only appeal to advanced players.

Bassline’s Module will be of interest to those who want to use him, but he’s definitely a 5* many will not find much use for.

Lessing is a bad unit. Some people may build him out of spite for The Meta or because they like the character, but anyone who values their resources should steer clear of both him and his Module, which does nothing to address his flaws.

Any system of evaluation will be debatable, and impossible to encompass the broad variety of playstyles and philosophies that exist in the Arknights community. Therefore, I will set out to explain the criteria I’ll be using to evaluate Modules and their upgrades.

This guide will try to strike a balance between taking into account “meta” Operator value and judging the improvement to characters. Essentially, my approach is to assume that someone reading this guide is already interested in a character, whether they’re considering building them, currently building them, or already have them built. If a character is an overall poor investment then it will impact their Module’s evaluation, but outside of a handful of the worst ops I won’t discourage you from building them; I will merely discuss whether their Module significantly affects their impact.

Each base Module, and its upgrades will be given a rating of [YES], [MAYBE], or [NO].

[YES] - Modules/upgrades are true no-brainers. If you plan to use this Operator, then plan to build this Module at some point too. These Modules either significantly improve the Operator’s performance in their existing niches, or introduce powerful new niches to these Operators. This evaluation does not mean that the Operator themselves is a must-build, it should be used as a planning tool for if you are already considering using/building that Operator.

[MAYBE] - Modules/upgrades that are more murky. They might provide stat buffs that are noticeable, but not game-changing, or they might add a new niche, but it might be a rarely-used niche, or be clearly inferior to other options in that niche. Choosing whether to build these Modules is a judgment call, and if in doubt, skip them.

[NO] - Modules that are not worth the investment. Fans of the character or advanced players working with self-imposed restrictions might find some use in Modules with this grade, but for most people: “if you have to ask then the answer is no”.. These Modules either provide only marginal stat buffs, add new niches that aren’t useful, or are simply insufficient to save the most undertuned kits.

Mudrock

The most potent part of Mudrock’s kit is her Shields, and her Module makes them substantially stronger.

Each shield broken now restores more HP and now additionally provides SP as a new effect. Unfortunately for AFK gamers, the SP generation doesn’t help her S2 as much as one might expect due to the eccentricities of SP lockout. When Mudrock is being attacked quickly, by some combination of many or fast attacking enemies, she will be activating S2 very frequently, and therefore the SP generated by her shields will frequently go to waste as she is in the SP lockout state during her S2 spins. However, the Talent upgrade helps her more noticably when Mudrock is facing fewer, slow hitting enemies, exactly the sort of situations that her S2 is typically weaker against.

The benefit to Mudrock’s S3 is more impactful, and under ideal conditions her S3 can be ready considerably faster. Though again, do note that during her S3 uptime, Mudrock is in SP lockout and broken shields will not generate SP.

The trait upgrade provides a welcome 15% damage reduction, helping Mudrock survive hits that soar past her defense. Module level 2 to 3 results in the shield pop SP generation going from 1 to 2, so Module level 3 is very worthwhile to get the most out of Mudrock.

Penance

Penance’s Module does not fundamentally transform what she does, it simply makes her much more effective at doing it. Penance, when used with what is generally her main skill, S3, most frequently dies before the first activation of her skill. This Module increases the initial strength of her Barrier from 50% Max HP to 70% Max HP. This substantial increase is often exactly what she needs to survive long enough to activate S3 for the first time, after which she often might as well be immortal.

The Module doesn’t only increase her initial Barrier, it also increases the Barrier gain she receives via kills from 10% to 12% Max HP. This increase isn’t enormous but frequent Penance S1 and S2 users will appreciate the extra Barrier gain per kill since she doesn’t have the benefit of the instant max Barrier that she does when using S3.

The base trait is a simple yet potent 15% damage reduction. It doesn’t affect enemies Penance isn’t blocking, so it won’t upgrade her ability to kill enemies with retaliation damage from afar, but it can improve her survivability against high ATK melee enemies that greatly exceed her defense.

The numbers from Module level 2 to level 3 are not impressive looking, but even such small numbers can be the difference between Penance dying, and surviving the one extra hit needed to activate S3 and become functionally invincible.

Vulcan

Vulcan’s Module is a significant upgrade to her capabilities. Frequent Penance users know how valuable it is to be able to go from “nearly dead” to “very healthy” by activating her S3, and while Vulcan uses HP instead of Barrier, this Module allows her to enjoy the Penance S3 experience.

For the edification of those who do not frequently use Penance S3, while Vulcan’s HP regeneration pre-Module is certainly strong, a slightly mistimed skill cast or a nearly dead enemy can kill her before her HP regeneration can catch up with the damage she’s taking. However, with her Module, Vulcan can instantly be restored to at least 60% HP, giving her the chance to at the very least tank a couple more hits, if not kill the enemy damaging her.

The Trait upgrade is quite significant as well, 15% damage reduction not only works on Arts damage (though not on ranged arts damage, only against those Vulcan is blocking), but can also help Vulcan survive very high Physical damage that greatly exceeds her defense.

The Module level 3 upgrade is substantial. Her HP infusion on skill activation rockets up from 30% HP at Module level 2, to 60% HP at Module level 3 so it is probably not worth investing halfway.

Vulcan’s Module doesn’t do anything to improve her painful skill cycle, so she can still get overwhelmed during her long skill downtimes, but as long as she can last until the next skill activation, she is healed up and ready for more the moment her skill is activated.

Lessing

Lessing is an unwise investment. Even if a player, for some reason, insists upon using Lessing, his Module barely improves his performance. The trait upgrade ever so marginally improves his damage, and the talent upgrades from Module level 2 and level 3 help even less.

Bassline

Bassline is distinct from his fellow Guardians through his niche as an Arts damage tank. This niche is very rarely used, and even when it is, Module-less Bassline isn’t as good at it as others. However, upon getting his Module, not only does he function more competitively as an Arts tank (the Guardian trait upgrade, plus extra personal RES), but he gains an entirely new function – he provides RES to nearby allies. Nightingale, despite being a launch Operator, remains an indispensable asset to endgame players for one reason: RES is incredibly strong.

Bassline doesn’t provide as much RES as Nightingale’s talent (+5 to NG’s +15), and nowhere near as much as her S3, but he still represents another valuable option. Bassline (with Module) provides the rare utility of buffing allied RES, from a ground tile. +5 RES might not sound like much, but paired with his S2, he has the capability of acting as a discount Nightingale.

Module level 2 gives Bassline a new and rare niche as well as much more personal RES. Module level 3 increases the personal and allied RES (personal goes from +12 RES to +14 RES, allied goes from +4 RES to +5 RES). These gains are relatively small, but every bit can count with the % reduction RES provides.

Bagpipe

Bagpipe is an essential component of the typical vanguard setup for many players, comprising of Bagpipe plus one or more Flagbearers or Agents. While Bagpipe’s on-field capabilities are impressive, for many players, she is rarely deployed, and when she is, often to plug a quick hole and then rapidly retreated.

For these players, Bagpipe’s Mod Y is usually unnecessary. Bagpipe’s first Module, her Mod X allows her to do this job much better, with the DP refund upon retreat, increased DP generation, and improvement of her key initial SP boosting talent.

However, Bagpipe has long been known for her ability to deal massive damage using S3 to kill strong opponents most vanguards have no business trying to block, and her Mod Y raises the ceiling on this capability.

The flexibility of full DP refund upon retreat is not to be underestimated, so many players will still probably want to stick with her Mod X, but if Bagpipe needs to squeeze out every possible inch of damage, her Mod Y will be a good choice.

Nearl the Radiant Knight

Nearl Alter’s second Module is complicated. In many situations the experience of using Nearl Alter with Mod Y will be nearly identical to that of using her without a Module at all, while in others it can remarkably improve her performance. The key question is, would she ordinarily be defeated during her skill? If so, then her Mod Y’s revival trait can not only allow her to survive, but increase her DPS significantly, notably with S2 and S3. However, if Nearl is not defeated, the trait upgrade is useless and Mod X would have been better. Note that the expiration of Nearl Alter S2 is a forced retreat, not defeat, and will therefore not trigger this trait.

The talent upgrade is a very marginal improvement, adding more Kazimierez “synergy” to Nearl Alter’s kit. However, this synergy has always been inconvenient to take advantage of and this Module does nothing to change that. Outside of Nicheknights clears, the talent upgrades provide a small amount of on-deploy damage, and an extra second of stun. Advanced players might find situations where that is the margin between success and failure, but those who aren’t planning out advanced clears will usually get more mileage out of Nearl Alter’s Mod X.