Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Phantom and Rosa

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

No.

This banner is just a little too niche. Phantom and Rosa are very map-dependent units, which makes it difficult to justify spending resources on them at this time. If the 5★s were better, it might be worth it, since Phantom and Rosa can both be very good when the map favors their abilities. Unfortunately, only Kazemaru really justifies the lower-level pulls, so it would be better to save your Orundum (unless one of these 6★s is on your personal “must have at any cost” list).

As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? No. Kazemaru is by far the best 5★ of the three, and while she is both strong and fun, Dollkeepers tend to be tricky to use and easy to replace. Meanwhile, Waai Fu is lackluster and Swire is just terrible.

Fast-Redeploy/ Executor Specialist

+ He gives you two Fast-Redeploy units (him and his clone) for the cost of one Squad spot

+ His versatile Skills allow him to provide damage avoidance/ soaking, burst DPS, or AoE crowd-control

+ Has the highest DPS of existing Fast-Redeploy Specialists, making him the best Fast-Redeploy assassin (especially if you can drop his clone on the same target)

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Mediocre stats, Skills activate “On Deployment” only

- He and his clone both cost DP, so he can burn through your DP quickly if used repeatedly

- His clone has a longer redeployment timer than he does, so the clone isn’t always available when you want it

Heavyweight/ Besieger Sniper

+ 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 for a long time, giving her great sustained DPS

+ S3 charges very quickly, does great burst damage, and Binds multiple enemies for several seconds

= Usual archetype dilemma: 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

Support/ Instructor Guard

+ Usual archetype strengths: Block-2, increased attack range, fast ASPD, and low DP cost

+ Talent buffs ATK of all nearby melee Operators

+ S1 increases the range and strength of her Talent’s ATK buff

+ S2 increases the strength of her Talent’s ATK buff even more than S1 and also gives Swire herself a large ATK buff

- Her Talent only buffs Melee units, but placing several Melee units within her range can be difficult on some maps

- Without heavy investment, her Skills have very short durations

- S2 has the [Attacking Enemy] SP charge type and a ridiculously high SP cost to go with it, so it takes a VERY long time to charge; her Module helps by giving her SP recovery when there are Melee allies nearby, but it still takes much longer to charge than it should

Fast-Redeploy/ Executor Specialist

+ Can knockback enemies with her Talent

+ S1 is decent for assassinating squishy enemies

+ S2 deals instant AoE damage and seals enemy special abilities upon deployment

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Mediocre stats, Skills activate “On Deployment” only

- Many difficult enemies are immune to Silence

- Waai Fu can only Silence enemies upon deployment, so she can only Silence as much as her redeployment timer allows

- Her same-rarity Fast-Redeploy competitor, Projekt Red, has an AoE Stun that is more widely useful than Waai Fu’s equivalent Silence

Substitute/ Dollkeeper Specialist

+ Usual archetype strengths: Cheap DP cost, fast ASPD, difficult to kill because of the way the substitute works

+ Her substitute does AoE Arts damage around itself when summoned (Talent)

+ S1 has decent damage and a very low SP cost (even for an [Attacking Enemy] Skill), allowing it to be used soon after deployment OR after Kazemaru tags in for her substitute

+ S2 summons the substitute to a nearby ground tile (triggering her Talent) and gives Kazemaru and her substitute a large ATK buff for the duration

= Usual archetype dilemma: Kazemaru has Block-2 but the substitute has Block-0, which can result in leaks if Kazemaru switches to her substitute at a bad time

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Skills consume HP, Skills end when switching to the substitute and SP is only gained while Kazemaru is on the field

Phantom is an inversion of the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera. While Erik the Phantom was terrible to look upon but had the voice of an angel, Arknights' version is a debonair bishounen whose Originium-warped voice inspires madness in those who hear it. After being deployed, Phantom can craft a clone of himself that deploys with the same Skill that Phantom is currently using. Enemies don’t just have one stalling, Stunning, assassinating Phantom spiriting across the field: they have two.

It's a testament to the strength of the Fast-Redeploy archetype that Phantom doesn’t just invalidate all its other members. Gravel is still better at stalling and Projekt-Red’s Stun is more reliable than Phantom’s S3. In those niches, Phantom can’t compete.

True to his lore, Phantom’s strength is assassination. Not only is his S2 burst damage higher than any other existing Fast-Redeploy, he has the flexibility of his clone multiplying its effectiveness. Drop Phantom and his clone on the same target and his burst is doubled. Drop Phantom and his clone on opposite sides of the field and they tear apart two targets at the same time. Then, in less than a minute, they’re both ready to do it again. And again. And again….

I recommend pulling for Phantom, but not on this banner.

Rosa noticed that a lot of Snipers have trouble with high-DEF targets, and she decided to fix that. Her solution is her Talent, Bone Piercer, which allows Rosa to ignore a large percentage of her target’s DEF if 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. Either way, it makes Rosa a force to be reckoned with.

Many high-DEF enemies are also heavy, and Rosa is perfectly built to take advantage of that, which gives 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 can be useful regardless of enemy weight, giving her some much-needed flexibility.

I don’t recommend pulling for or buying Rosa, but she’s well worth raising if you pull her.

Swire is both fierce and fabulous, but unfortunately, she’s also a little flawed. Her Talent offers an ATK buff to nearby melee allies and her Skills increase the power of this Talent quite nicely, but the buff isn’t usually enough to compensate for Swire’s own low DPS. In cases where you really need to maximize the melee damage in a particular area, Swire can be useful, and her long attack range allows her to contribute from behind the units she wants to buff. However, in most cases, you’d probably be better off fielding another DPS unit instead of relying on Swire’s buffs.

I don’t recommend pulling for Swire.

Waai Fu’s claim to fame is her Seven-Styles Kick Skill, which instantly does AoE damage and inflicts Silence (sealing enemy special abilities) when Waai Fu is deployed. This Skill makes Waai Fu an excellent counter to enemies like exploding spiders, since she seals their major gimmick with her Silence.

In early- to mid-game content, Waai Fu can be a lifesaver, sealing away enemy special abilities so you don’t have to deal with them. Unfortunately, many enemies in higher-difficulty content are immune to Silence, and in cases where they aren’t (Stultifera Navis, anyone?) it is often more desirable to have consistent, repeated Silence like Lappland or Jaye rather than burst-Silence from Waai Fu. And other than Silence, Waai Fu doesn’t have a lot to offer.

I don’t recommend pulling for or buying Waai Fu.

Kazemaru has made a career out of using origami body doubles to literally be in two places at once. This ability comes in handy for information gathering, but it also has obvious uses on the battlefield. Like other brightly-colored ninja, Kazemaru duplicates herself with supernatural finesse, creating Arts-damage explosions in her wake and cutting the survivors down with her long ninjato.

Dollkeepers can be tricky, largely because of their shifting Block count. At base, Dollkeepers have Block-2. However, their substitutes have Block-0, which improves their survivability (since melee enemies will walk through them) but can allow leaks (because melee enemies will walk through them). Because Kazemaru switches back and forth between her “normal form” and her “doll form,” her Block count keeps changing, which can be dangerous if you’re not careful.

If you ARE careful, then Kazemaru is a good Physical unit with random bursts of AoE Arts damage and terrific survivability. She can conjure her doll in an adjacent square with her S2 even while she’s still alive, resulting in increased DPS and extended range. She is also excellent for soaking ranged damage because her doll makes her very difficult to kill and her shifting Block count doesn’t stop ranged enemies from targeting her.

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