Arknights: New Operator Spotlight - Blaze

Blaze is a very popular Operator who is sometimes referred to as one of the "mascots" of Arknights. Considering how her sporty, peppy design contrasts with the ginormous chainsaw-on-a-stick she carts around as her weapon, it’s no surprise she’s a favorite among the Arknights cast.

However, looks only take an Operator so far. Since Blaze is about to become available on Global servers, Doctors who aren’t immediately won over by Blaze’s design are probably wondering, “Is Blaze worth it?” Let’s take a closer look at Blaze here so you can decide for yourself whether you’re interested in what might be Arknights’ most violent mascot.

Special Thanks to YouTuber Dreamy for assistance with this article.

Blaze is not a limited Operator. (So far, the only truly limited Operators in Arknights are Nian and a very special guest.) Blaze is being added as part of the [Enthusiasm – Expansion – Explosion] banner, and once that banner ends, she will be added to the Standard Pool for summoning.

That being said, Blaze has yet to be available in the Gold Certificate shop on CN. It is likely that she will be purchasable at some point in the future, but if you want to buy Blaze with Gold Certificates rather than trying to pull her, you may be waiting for a long time.

Blaze is a 6★ AoE Guard who boasts a little bit of key survivability and a whole lot of over-the-top DPS. To learn more about her stats, Traits, Talents, Skills, and other details, take a look at her Operator page.

Though she does have a few survival tools, Blaze’s main focus is OFFENSE, OFFENSE, OFFENSE! Her survival measures exist to help her keep outputting that sweet DPS until every last opponent lies crushed beneath her boots. 

Blaze is probably best known for her S2, Chainsaw Extension Module. Not only is the DPS on this Skill absolutely insane, but it extends Blaze’s attack range, allowing her to pull off crazy strategies by attacking through walls and other obstacles. At present, no other melee Operator in the game can replicate this Skill and the unique niche it gives Blaze, which is why she has earned the meme nickname of “Wallhacker.”

• AoE Guards are perfect counters to “swarms” (large numbers of small, weak enemies) and Blaze is no exception. She’ll reap them like wheat.
• Blaze has very well-rounded base stats, with high marks in HP, ATK, and DEF. Like other AoE Guards, her attack speed is rather quick and she can Block-3 after E2-promotion--in fact, AoE Guards are the only Operators outside the Defender class that can Block-3. (Watch out for her high DP cost, though.)
• Blaze’s E1 Talent, Emergency Defibrillator, is a great “oh sh**” ability that allows her to survive a lot of damage coming her way. In the best case it gives your team long enough to save Blaze’s skin, and in the worst case it at least allows her to get in a few more good saws. 
• Blaze’s E2 Talent, Harsh Training, grants her the Resistance buff after she’s been deployed for a certain amount of time. Resistance halves the duration of Stun, Snare, and Freeze debuffs, so Blaze can be a good counter to enemies who use these debuffs.
• You should never pull a 6* Operator just for their RIIC Base Skill, but Blaze’s E1 RIIC Skill increases the byproduct rate by 80% (the highest rate possible) when making Base materials in the Workshop. Enhancing Base materials is fairly rare and very useful, making Blaze that much nicer to have around.

All three of Blaze’s Skills excel at dealing tremendous damage in slightly different circumstances. (Gifs were created from Dreamy's Operator Guide video.)

• S1 charges very quickly and deals a lot of damage when it triggers, making it perfect for short, violent encounters.

• S2 takes a long time to charge but offers enormous benefits when it activates, including bonus DEF and a longer attack range. Use it when there is enough time for it to be activated and utilized, or when the extended range can be leveraged.

• S3 is a nuclear bomb that should be used when her normal multi-target attacks aren’t enough to get the job done. It charges quickly and allows Blaze to damage everything in her range at once. Then she explodes. (No, really.)

Blaze is currently the only 6★ AoE Guard in the game, so let’s compare her to her closest competitors: 5★ AoE Guards Specter, Broca, and Savage.

Blaze versus Specter

• Offense: Specter’s S2 offers a huge ATK boost, but it also Stuns her when it expires, reducing her DPS and causing potential Blocking issues. Blaze’s ATK stat is slightly higher, her Skills are equally strong, and her biggest drawback is damaging herself with her S3, which is easier to deal with than Specter’s Stun. Blaze wins here.
• Defense: Blaze has slightly higher HP and DEF, and she can survive potentially lethal blows once per battle with her E1 Talent. In contrast, Specter can survive literally anything for almost twice as long whenever her low-cost S2 is available, potentially multiple times per battle. It’s pretty obvious who wins here (spoilers, it’s Specter).
• Conclusion: Blaze clearly beats Specter in terms of DPS, but you can’t beat the undead shark nun when it comes to staying alive. In most situations, Blaze performs better than Specter, but on maps where you need Specter’s ability to laugh repeatedly in the face of death, the win is Specter’s, hands down.

Blaze versus Broca

(Broca is not available yet in Global. He should be arriving on the Drillelectric banner.)

• Offense: Broca is one of the few Operators who can compare to Blaze’s offense. His ATK is higher than hers, his Talent further boosts it, and both of his Skills turn his attacks into Arts damage. However, his S2 comes with a self-Stun, like Specter, and he can’t quite compare to the uniqueness of Blaze’s attack range increase. Of course, even Blaze can struggle with some high-DEF targets, while Broca’s Arts damage will shred them. Blaze probably wins this because of the hax she can pull off with her attack range, but it’s pretty close.
• Defense: Broca has no survival tools other than a small DEF boost from his Talent, and Blaze has much better HP and DEF stats. There’s no question that Blaze wins here.
• Conclusion: Against the majority of enemies, Blaze is superior offensively and roundly schools Broca defensively, making her a better general-purpose AoE Guard. However, even Blaze’s huge ATK and multipliers can struggle against certain enemies with sky-high DEF. These enemies really demand Arts damage to break through their defenses, which gives Broca a niche even with Blaze’s many advantages.

Blaze versus Savage

• Offense: Blaze and Savage have almost the same S1, except Blaze’s charges faster and does more damage. Blaze also has higher ATK (even taking Savage’s Talent into account) and a lot more damage (and even a little utility) packed into her S2 and S3, beating out Savage’s S2. This win goes to Blaze.
• Defense: Savage is primarily an offensive Operator; her only defensive tool is a small DEF boost from her Talent. Blaze’s get-out-of-death-free Talent and Resistance buff, combined with better base HP and DEF, give her the win here as well.
• Conclusion: Blaze is better than Savage in every way, and that’s not because Savage is bad—it’s because Blaze is that good.

Blaze is worth it.

Blaze is one of the strongest DPS Operators on the game, perhaps on par with the legendary SilverAsh in strength. The attack range expansion of her S2 is what really gives her a unique niche from other DPS units, and it makes her hard to beat. She doesn’t completely invalidate her competition (especially Specter, who has a very different niche from her) and she’s not absolutely necessary for clearing difficult content, but she certainly is worth the hype.

If you’re going to be pulling for Blaze on the “Enthusiasm – Expansion – Explosion” banner, we at GamePress wish you the best of luck!