Translation Credits: Jetroyz of the RIHQ Discord and Lauli
"From the Pinus Sylvestris, 'Ashlock', Granati. Thank you, Rhodes Island, for your acceptance."
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Ladies and gentlemen, please don't get hasty, a new knight will soon take the stage! She hails from south of Kazimierz, and was once a noble knight's daughter. But fate is a trickster, she contracted Oripathy and was exiled by her family. With her skills and determination, she fought from the underground arena all the way to the Major tournament.
Her defense is impenetrable. Her firecannon roars like thunder. No matter if she wins or loses, she'll bring you a spectacular performance! Let us welcome, Pinus Sylvestris, Ashlock—Granati!
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Ashlock is a 5★ Fortress Defender, a new offense-oriented Defender Archetype that uses ranged AoE Physical attacks when not blocking.
Talents and Skills
Archetype: Fortress Defender
Trait: When not blocking enemies, uses ranged AoE Physical attacks
Talent 1: Increase ATK; If the 4 surrounding tiles are ground tiles, further increase ATK
Skill 1: Increase ATK
Skill 2: Reduce Block Count to 0 and only carry out ranged attacks. Reduce Attack Interval, increase ATK
First Impressions
Note: These are first impressions and based on conjecture since we don’t know the exact details.
The [Fortress] Archetype is the newest addition of an offense-oriented Defender. This is nothing new, considering the likes of Eunectes, Hoshiguma, Mudrock, Liskarm, Blitz, Asbestos, etc all have offensive leans in their kits, this is the first attempt at giving them a truly extended "ranged Operator" type range. This is their non-blocking range at E0:
and we won't know their E1/E2 range until they are released. The range has a Heavyweight Sniper vibe, where they cannot attack the nearest grids (though their gap is larger than the heavyweights).
The most obvious concern with Ashlock specifically is her bland kit that focuses solely on offense and offers no additional utility. Her offensive output and range advantage will have to be strong enough to make up for this lack if she is going to have impact on the field over other options.