Arknights: In-depth Review - Archetto

Archetto is the future 6★ AntiAir Sniper featured in the The Wheat And The Anthem banner, which will run alongside the Beyond Here mini-event, who specializes in multi-targeting drone killing. Is she good enough to hold a candle to Exusiai? Let’s find out!

Archetto is sadly burdened with the herculean task of having to be compared to the only other AntiAir Sniper of her same rarity, Exusiai, which by all means is a hard - if not impossible - mark to meet. If you’ve heard anything about Archetto, it’s probably that she misses that mark by a long shot, yet looking at her kit reveals something that most people tend to ignore altogether. 

Archetto is not trying to compete with Exusiai for the role of the quintessential single-target artillery, low-defense shredder lightweight sniper. Instead, she takes much more after another sniper one rarity below, that one being Blue Poison and her multi target skills. Indeed, looking at her kit makes it obvious that the Laterano sniper is shooting for a different niche. Still, as the game evolves and the need for AA snipers becomes less and less prevalent, it would seem like trading raw firepower for multi targeting skills is nothing but a mistake. But is this true? First, let’s take a look at her stats to figure it out.

Sadly, Archetto’s pretty good skillset is not backed by the numbers to keep her relevant. Her attack is the lowest of all 6★ AntiAir Snipers, meaning that, out of the gate, she already has a lower DPS than that of Exusiai. However, this difference is not that massive, so it comes down to her skills, which we will discuss in a while.

In regards to her other stats, she definitely has some more of a defensive presence than the others, boasting slightly higher defence and HP, but this isn’t really of much note, as she’s still part of one of the squishiest archetypes. As for all other stats, they are exactly the same as every other AA Sniper of the same rarity.

This talent is almost exactly the same as Chen’s first talent, with a slightly faster charge and limited to Offensive Recovery Snipers. Basically, all Offensive Recovery Skill Snipers will obtain one extra SP every two and a half seconds. Looks great, does it not? Simply looking at this number may lead to the conclusion that it is a great boost, but what snipers do use Offensive Recovery Skills, really?

• All of Archetto’s own skills, which she greatly benefits from.
• Exusiai, Schwarz, Rosmontis, April, Blue Poison, Jessica and May S1, by far their respective worst skills.
• GreyThroat S2.
• Meteorite S1.
• Both of Meteor’s skills.
• Kroos.

This talent simply grants Archetto a single, non-regenerating shield that blocks one instance of damage and gives her 7 SP when broken, which can happen while she’s on SP lockout, completely wasting the entire talent. This is basically a worse version of Eyjafjalla’s second talent, unless you want to consider blocking a single instance of damage for a ranged unit a big deal. Maybe because you want Archetto to tank Bombtails?

Archetto’s first skill is barely a step above a generic one. At maximum specialization level, every fourth arrow (third taking into account her talent, attack speed and drawback time) will deal 230% damage to the enemy hit, with a small splash with 180% damage to up to 3 enemies around it. Like most skills with such a generic effect, this skill is simply never worth using in comparison to her other skills.

One of Archetto’s two main skills, this one turns her into a wannabe Chain Caster. Every nine shots, she will gain one charge (up to a maximum of three) that can be manually activated to launch a ricocheting bolt with multiple different effects. This bolt will deal five consecutive instances of 140% damage to the first target hit and, if any enemies are nearby, ricochet up to four more times, each of these ricocheting shots dealing one less instance of damage than the previous one. If this is hard to comprehend, think of this attack connecting with a group of five slugs: The first one will be hit 5 times, the second 4, the third 3 and so on, until a fifth slug that will be hit with a single shot of 140% damage.

As with the previously mentioned Chain Caster’s regular attacks, this skill has the potential to hit way outside the unit’s own range, as the ricochet itself is not limited by the unit, but by enemy proximity. It’s in this quirk that Archetto’s second skill becomes a great one, scaling amazingly not with levels or any such things, but with the player’s own skill and judgement. The more enemies Archetto is able to catch with these powerful bolts, the better her potential damage scales. At two enemies hit per cast, her skill DPS is actually able to surpass Exusiai’s, scaling even better as the enemies pile up.

Still, it is imperative to note that this is multi-target DPS. Archetto simply cannot surpass Exusiai in downing single targets with this skill. Additionally, optimizing the usage of her skill to get the most out of her requires an attentive and resourceful player able to plan ahead.

The second of Archetto’s viable skills, this one completely forgoes the ricocheting mechanic  to become a strange mix of Exusiai S3 and Blue Poison S2, and even Platinum S2, in a bizarre way. This Frankenstein’s Monster of a skill has a 30/20 SP cost to duration and is, like all other of Archetto’s skills, an Offensive Recovery one. When cast, Archetto’s range is increased one tile further (Exactly like Platinum S2), hits two targets simultaneously at 130% of her attack (Almost a carbon copy of Blue Poison’s S2) and delivers 3 hits per shot (Falling shy of Exusiai’s monstrous 5). This skill, again, looks great on paper, but it can only hold a candle to Exusiai’s if it’s constantly attacking two targets, at which point she actually beats her in terms of DPS. Otherwise, she simply falls short.

So, should I roll for Archetto? Can she compliment, compare or even replace Exusiai? Is it worth investing into her? The answer is a disappointing DEPENDS which hinges on many different factors. While her kit is by no means bad, her numbers simply fall short of making her anything but a better Blue Poison. If what you're looking for is the best partner to Exusiai, blowing all the classic 5★ sub-snipers out of the water, you'll find no better unit than this one. If you're looking for your first 6★ AA Sniper, she's a good option as well. If you are pulling for future 6★ Inspire Supporter Skadi the Corrupting Heart, her numbers shoot up to such an extent that they stop being a problem completely. Otherwise, you're probably better off saving.