Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Blaze and Schwarz

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

Featured Operators:

Rarity	Operator
6★	Blaze - AoE Guard Schwarz - Close-Range Sniper
5★	Ptilopsis - AoE Medic Glaucus - Slower Supporter Flint - Brawler Guard

• Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Schwarz and Glaucus.
• 6★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 6★
• 5★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 5★

If you have pulls to spare, then yes.

Despite powercreep, Blaze and Schwarz are still strong DPS Operators and Ptilopsis is one of the best AoE Medics in Arknights. Glaucus and Flint are much more niche, but Glaucus can be useful for CC content and Flint is fun (if very outclassed by Mountain).

Even if you’re low on resources, it may be worth doing Headhunt x1 on this banner until you pull a 5★ or higher Operator, since one is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls.

AoE Guard

+ Enormous damage

+ Once-per-battle “survive anything” card with her Emergency Defibrillator Talent

+ Enormous damage

+ A melee Operator who can extend her attack range permanently

+ Still does enormous damage you guys

- Needs to be E2-promoted for Block-3 in order to unleash her full power

Close-Range Sniper

+ High ATK, critical damage, and large multipliers give her incredible burst DPS

+ Buffs the ATK of allied Snipers while deployed

+ From E1 onward, she debuffs the DEF of her target when she triggers a critical hit

+ One of the best Snipers for killing mid- to high-DEF enemies

- High DP cost

- Her normal attack range and S3 attack range can be a little tricky to position

AoE Medic

+ As an AoE Medic, heals up to three friendly units at a time

+ Passively increases SP-per-second regeneration for all allies on the field

+ Incredibly powerful S2, granting rapid-fire healing to allies within an increased range

+ The preferred AoE Medic for many Doctors in situations where there are no Arts-DPS enemies on the field

- S2 has a very long cooldown, so use it carefully

Slower Supporter

+ Currently the only Arts damage unit who targets aerial enemies first; great when Snipers are banned or when facing high-DEF drones

+ Good crowd-control with her Slow Trait and her Skill 2

+ Can nuke drones very effectively with her Skill 2 (and Stun them if they survive)

= As a Supporter, she has a different attack range from any currently existing Sniper

- Has a hard time dealing damage to Drones with high RES

- Lower ATK and slower ATK speed than equal-rarity Anti-Air Snipers (or fellow not-really-a-Sniper Arene)

- Reduced damage and crowd-control output against ground-based enemies

Brawler Guard

+ Usual benefit of Brawler Guards: high ASPD

+ Talent greatly increases the damage Flint deals to enemies she is not Blocking

+ S1 pushes enemies back and Slows them

+ S2 gives Flint Block-0, buffs her ATK and ASPD, and causes her attacks to Slow enemies; combined with her Talent, this Skill seriously amps up Flint’s DPS

- Usual downsides of Brawler Guards: low ATK, Block-1

- S2 has low uptime

- Much less powerful and useful than Mountain, even when accounting for their rarity difference

Blaze is the only 6* AoE Guard currently in Arknights, and she’s the strongest example of what is already a strong archetype. She hits multiple targets at a time, her DPS is through the roof, she can permanently increase her attack range, and she comes with a free “Get Out of Dying Once” card up her sleeve.

I definitely recommend pulling for Blaze.

Schwarz is a straight-up delete button for anything stupid enough to walk in front of her. Her Talent gives her a chance to crit and reduce her target’s DEF, and the chance becomes 100% while her S3 is active. Her S3 also gives a massive buff to ATK—considering how high Schwarz’s base ATK is, this turns each critical hit into an armor-piercing grenade. The burst damage Schwarz outputs during her S3 is phenomenal, and she’s no slouch the rest of the time either.

That being said, Schwarz tends to be a bit limited in her application. Yes, she generally deletes any target during her S3, but so do units like SilverAsh and Eyjafjalla. Schwarz does add a little team utility with her Sniper ATK buff and the DEF debuff she applies with her critical hits, but she’s first and foremost a DPS unit, and there are other 6* units who can fill her role fairly easily. (We’re looking at you, Surtr.)

I don’t recommend pulling for Schwarz, but she’s worth raising if you pull her.

Ptilopsis is one of the most popular Medics in Arknights due to her Talent, which increases the rate of [Per Second] SP gain for all Operators while she is on the field. Allowing your Operators to use their Skills more quickly and more often would be powerful enough on its own, but Ptilopsis also brings all the healing power of an AoE Medic to the field, making her one of Rhodes Island’s most reliably useful support units.

I recommend pulling for Ptilopsis.

Glaucus is a Supporter who moonlights as a Sniper. She targets aerial enemies first (and does bonus damage to them) and her Skill 2 is the antithesis of any Drone-type opponent. A lot of her power and utility is reduced when targeting non-flying enemies, though.

Glaucus is ideal for Drone-heavy Challenge stages where Snipers are banned, and the long-lasting Stun/ Bind of her S2 is useful when you want to hold enemies in place, but she doesn’t see a lot of use beyond that. That being said, she’s a godsend in those specific situations (Contingency Contract, anybody?) and she’s still a serviceable crowd-control unit against ground targets.

I don’t recommend pulling for or buying Glaucus unless you are very interested in her niche.

Flint is a Brawler Guard, and Brawler Guards have been in a bit of a rough spot up until now. Their damage suffers against high-DEF enemies, and their low survivability makes them a weak link on the battlefield. Flint tackles these troubles in a fascinating new way: she uses her S2 to obtain Block-0 so she can’t be hit by melee enemies, then uses her Talent to deal huge bonus damage to enemies she isn’t Blocking. Who says meatheads can’t think (or punch) outside the box?

Unfortunately, Flint chose a very bad time to come back into the banner pool. Mountain, the 6* Brawler Guard who’s currently on the Jail Tiger Unleashed banner, blows Flint out of the water in basically every regard. Her one advantage is being able to achieve Block-0 temporarily with her S2 and thus avoid being targeted by melee enemies. But this is rarely going to be more useful than Mountain’s better stats, higher DPS, better general survivability, and ability to Block-2 permanently with his own S2.

I don’t recommend pulling for Flint.