Standard Banner: Rosa & Ch'en
The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:
Featured Operators:
| Rarity | Operator |
| 6★ |  Rosa - Heavyweight Sniper
 Ch'en - Dualstrike Guard
|
| 5★ |  Provence - Close-Range Sniper
 Astesia - Arts Guard
 April - Anti-Air Sniper
|
- Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Ch'en and Astesia
- 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★
Should You Pull?
Probably not.
Rosa and April are both good Operators, but somewhat gimmicky. Ch’en and Astesia have been left behind by powercreep. And while Provence has always had high DPS, her RNG-dependent nature has never been preferable in comparison to other, more reliable bosskillers.
That being said, 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.
Quick Overview
+ Prioritizes heavy enemies and is able to ignore a large portion of DEF when attacking enemies above a certain weight class
+ S2 attacks multiple targets and lasts or a long time, giving her great sustained DPS
+ S3 charges very quickly, does great burst damage, and Binds multiple enemies for several seconds
= Wide and unique attack range, but the “blind spot” directly around her can be troublesome
- Much less effective on enemies that are too lightweight to trigger her Talent
- Slow attack speed reduces her overall DPS
+ Talent 1 regularly generates SP for allies with the [Attacking Enemy] and [Getting Hit] SP charge types
+ S2 is a strong AoE burst damage strike that does both Arts and Physical damage and can hit aerial enemies as well. At M3, it has full SP on deploy, allowing Ch’en to use it immediately upon deployment.
+ S3 is good for assassinating multiple weak enemies or one strong enemy
= As is typical for the archetype, Ch’en’s attacks hit twice, but she has lower ATK to compensate; this makes her strong against low-DEF enemies but is a drawback against high-DEF enemies
= Although her attacks hit twice, they still only charge 1 SP for her [Attacking Enemy] Skills
= Her burst damage potential is very high thanks to her Skills, but her sustained damage is less impressive
- Even with her Talent, her [Attacking Enemy] Skills can take a while to charge
+ When her Talent and Skills combine at the right time, her damage potential is insane
+ One of the few physical damage Snipers who has a chance of punching through high-DEF targets
- Her damage is highly conditional and can be tricky to maximize reliably
- Does NOT prioritize flying targets
- High DP Cost, short attack range, and slightly slower Attack Speed than an Anti-Air Sniper
+ As a melee Arts unit, she’s good for Challenge stages and Contingency Contract events
+ Very survivable; both her Skills increase her DEF, and as an Arts Guard she has innate RES
+ Turns into an AoE Arts Guard while her S2 is active
- Typical Arts Guard weaknesses: mediocre base ATK and unimpressive ATK multipliers on her Skills
- Can be inefficient on stages where her niche of melee Arts damage isn’t important
- Vastly outclassed by 6-star Arts Guard Surtr, who is widely available on friend support
+ Usual benefits of archetype: low DP cost, high ASPD, prioritizes aerial units
+ Talent reduces her redeployment time (and, at E2, her DP cost), making her almost a Fast-Redeploy Sniper
+ S2 gives her an ATK buff and Camouflage for several seconds after deploying, protecting her from incoming attacks while she shoots enemies down
- Has to be redeployed to reactivate her S2 after it wears off
- Has a longer redeploy timer and a higher DP cost than a true Fast-Redeploy Operator
Rosa
Rosa noticed how much trouble other Snipers were having with high-DEF targets, and she decided she was going to do something about that. Her solution is her Talent, Bone Piercer, which allows Rosa to ignore a large percentage of her target’s DEF as long as her target is above a certain weight class. Combined with her S2, it allows for sustained multi-target damage; combined with her S3, it becomes a burst of painful, long-lasting crowd-control. But no matter what, it makes Rosa a force to be reckoned with.
Many high-DEF enemies are also heavy, and many Contingency Contract effects involve increasing the weight of nasty enemies so they’re harder to push away with Specialists. Rosa is perfectly built to take advantage of these factors, giving her an easily identifiable niche on the battlefield. Outside of her niche, however, she loses her luster; due to low ASPD, her damage is unimpressive if she isn’t taking advantage of Bone Piercer. At least her S3’s crowd control is useful against any enemy composition, giving her some much-needed flexibility.
I don’t recommend pulling for Rosa, but she’s well worth raising if you pull her.
Ch'en
Ch’en is a very popular character, and she’s also very fun to use. Her regular attacks strike twice; she generates SP for all allies who have [When Attacking] or [Getting Hit] Skills; and her Skills are big, flashy strikes that dish out massive burst damage to your unwitting foes. In particular, she’s known for her S2—at full mastery, her S2 has maximum SP as soon as Ch’en is deployed, allowing her to nuke multiple targets at a moment’s notice.
In certain team compositions and against certain enemy compositions, Ch’en can be quite powerful. However, the double-hit nature of her attacks is a disadvantage against high-DEF enemies, and her sustained DPS isn’t as impressive as the burst from her Skills. Early in Arknights, Ch’en is an overwhelming force, but in high-level content, it can be difficult to unleash her full potential.
I don’t recommend pulling for Ch’en.
Provence
Provence excels at hunting down weakened opponents and making sure they never come back to bother you. Her S1 passively increases her damage the lower her target’s HP falls, and her S2 gives her a massive ATK boost but causes her to only target enemies who have less than 80% HP remaining. Her Talent gives her attacks a chance to crit, and the chance increases dramatically when her target is at point-blank range in front of her. If you can dam enemies in the square in front of Provence, her precise shots will decimate just about any target.
The main problem with Provence is that her DPS is very finicky. Enemies have to be positioned in the right place and be softened up by the right amount before Provence can really cut loose, and even then she still relies on RNG to activate her Talent for maximum damage. When everything is exactly to her liking, Provence punches through enemies like paper, but plenty of other units can pull off similar feats more reliably and with a lot less setup.
I don’t recommend pulling for Provence.
Astesia
Astesia fills her elegant rapier with the power of the stars, striking down her enemies with melee Arts damage attacks rather than physical. Melee Arts damage is not usually necessary in regular stages (although it is often still helpful), but it’s a godsend in CC challenges that ban Casters or Supporters.
Astesia used to be particularly good for this niche thanks to her sturdy base defenses and her useful Skills (her S2 basically turns her into an AoE Guard). However, 6* Arts Guard Surtr is so unimaginably powerful that Astesia can barely hold a candle in comparison. To add insult to injury, because Surtr is so popular, she’s easily found as a support unit, further reducing Astesia’s opportunities to be helpful on the battlefield.
I don’t recommend pulling for Astesia.
April
April is trying the experimental role of Fast-Redeploy Anti-Air Sniper, and she seems to be doing pretty well at it. Her Talent reduces her redeploy time and DP cost, and her S2 causes her to deploy with bonus ATK and a Camouflage buff that prevents enemies from targeting her. April can swing by, shower arrows on some unsuspecting foes, then tap out before she becomes vulnerable to their retaliation. And in less than a minute, she’ll be ready to do it again.
Any time you see a bunch of pre-deployed enemies on a map—especially those damn enemy Casters—April is a terrific solution. Her S2 gives her several seconds to open fire on them without needing protection or healing, safely thinning their numbers. She’s also great for taking out big waves of ranged enemies that would kill any other ranged unit who got within range. (Be careful if they’re the AoE Casters, though; Camouflage prevents April from being targeted, but it doesn’t protect her from splash damage. This also means she needs to deploy far away from exploding spiders and similar enemies, too.)
The rest of the time, April’s usefulness is not as pronounced. Her S2 is great, but because it only triggers on deployment, you want to retreat and redeploy her once its duration runs out. And despite her Talent, April’s redeploy time and DP cost are still pretty big obstacles—certainly much bigger than for a true Fast-Redeploy unit. In situations where you’re not using her specifically for her Camouflage-redeploy purposes, she’s probably not the most efficient Anti-Air Sniper for the job.
I don’t recommend pulling for April, but she can be worth raising if you pull her.
