Arknights: Should You Pull and New Unit Reviews - The Rides to Lake Silberneherze

This is a doozy of a patch.  On CN, power is getting out of control.  We've had a few tastes of it already, but this patch is really the first one where that power comes into focus.  Degenbrecher is the first of many crazy good units up ahead of us.  On the bright side, though, she’s so good that she makes this article at least easier to write than the Zwiggy one.  Let's dive in!

Yes.  Degenbrecher is one of the best units in the game.  In fact, until Walter who only just came out on CN and is still 6-7 months away, she was THE best unit ahead of us.  Degenbrecher is a fast burst unit.  She has absurdly good damage on a short and reliable cycle time, high DEF-ignore, and unique crowd-control that few enemies are immune to.  It’s difficult to overstate just how good she is!

Degenbrecher is one of the best units in the game across all game modes, and anyone who rolls or plays for meta will want to have her. She is *the* best IS starter and her burst is so powerful that she is key in high risk CC (at least when Guards aren't banned).  As a solo rate-up she has much better odds than most meta units as well, which tend to share their rate-up on limited banners.  This is an extremely powerful banner and the vast majority of players will want to pull here.

So, that said, why might you *not* want to pull here?  There aren't many reasons, but there are a couple worth at least discussing.  First, of the upcoming units in that "Must Pull"-tier, Degenbrecher is the only one who isn't limited or on a limited banner.  Objectively speaking, I try not to give this too much weight.  Power is power, and limiteds prey on FOMO, resulting in less than ideal decision making.  However, missing a limited unit, especially a powerful one, matters to many people.  Unlike units like Shu, Ela, or Wiš'adel, you can theoretically get Degenbrecher down the road.  She'll be on the selector ticket in a year, can spook you, etc., etc.

Second, and related to the first, is that Degenbrecher is comparatively easy to use as a support unit, thanks particularly to IS.  Again, this is an argument I try not to lean on.  You can only borrow one unit from support so if you lean on this idea too much, you end up with unfillable holes on your team.  Further, in IS you can only borrow supports at the start.  As it happens though, Degenbrecher is the best starting unit in IS which makes her relatively easy to borrow from supports when compared to the likes of Virtuosa or Shu.

If those reasons sound like a stretch... well, that's because they are.  The bottom line here is that Degenbrecher is the best unit in the next six months and as a solo rate-up, she has better odds than everyone but Ela.  Skip Degenbrecher at your own peril.

Degenbrecher

Degenbrecher is a crazy good unit.  Activate her S3 every 30 seconds.  Everything on the map dies and you win the game.  That's it.  That's the writeup.  See you next patch!

...

OK, I'm joking there, but only a little bit.  Read on if you want some more detail, but Degenbrecher shines in her simplicity.  At time of writing, she is the single best short-burst operator in the game.

The first thing to note with Degenbrecher, aside from her insane damage, is that she is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the powercreep in the last six months.  She is a Swordmaster Guard, a class whose skills have traditionally used Offensive Recovery as opposed to the more typical Auto Recovery.  Offensive Recovery is usually a pretty big drawback. It acts as a counterbalance to the powerful burst effects the archetype is also known for, since it hurts their effective cycle time a lot. With Degenbrecher, HG literally just removed that downside and the difference is massive. Unlike every other Swordmaster, Degenbrecher is incredibly consistent.

The second thing to note is Degenbrecher's percentage-based DEF-ignore.  DEF-ignore isn't new to the archetype, but it typically comes in flat values.  Tough enemies are still tough!  However, Degenbrecher's DEF-ignore is proportional, so she actually gets better against tough enemies.  There are very few enemies in the game that Degenbrecher can't do meaningful damage to.

Next is her crowd-control.  Degenbrecher gets a brand new status effect called Tremble which prevents the target from attacking when they're blocked.  This is a very powerful crowd-control effect, but is especially notable for being new.   When new control effects are added, enemies have to be coded to be specifically immune to it.  HG seems to tend to give favor to these new effects and immunities are far less common than with older effects like Stun.  Relatively few enemies are immune to Tremble, meaning Degenbrecher's control is especially potent compared to other options.

And finally is just her raw damage which is just flat-out incredible.  Like I teased in the open to this write-up, every 30 seconds you can activate her S3 and basically delete everything in range.  There are few enemies that don't just outright die to her burst, and almost none that aren't at least severely crippled by it.  Degenbrecher is one of the most powerful units in the game, with very little downside and she is a must-have for anyone who likes to play at the peak of the meta.

Her other skills aren't really worth consideration.  They suffer from the more typical Offensive Recovery on top of having less dramatic effects.  However, Degenbrecher is a long anticipated NPC and if you like her for more than just a delete button, both S1 and S2 do have use.  S1 is a strong AFK skill with good, consistent DPS, while S2 has a reliable Tremble trigger on a shorter cooldown than S3.  However, they're just outshined by her absurdly overtuned S3.

Also be aware that her Module is quite powerful.  It's not the sort to make a fundamental change to her kit, but the base and upgrade effects are significant improvements to her DPS.  They are relatively high priority upgrades, although her DPS is so insane to begin with that delaying it isn’t the end of the world if you can't afford it immediately.

Лето / Leto

Leto is another long-awaited NPC.  She isn't a bad unit, strictly speaking, but she is a frustrating one that highlights many of the design flaws endemic to modern 5★ units.

Leto is a Lord Guard and her damage is purely Physical which is relatively unique.  Only SilverAsh and Luo Xiaohei are similarly purely Physical (ignoring SA’s eventual Module, anyways).  While that is often viewed as a negative, in the modern game where high-RES enemies are fairly common, it's actually a relative benefit.  At around 1600 ATK when fully maxed out, she can puncture a decent amount of DEF, so Leto is at the very least a serviceable unit.

However, that's about where the upside ends and the rest of her kit mostly leaves question marks.  For example, her tribal buff is possibly the worst stat that could be buffed among the USSG girls.  Zima and Gummy aren't DPS units; Istina doesn't need the help to perma-Slow; and Rosa's main skill, her S3, has a fixed interval.  The only skill that does meaningfully benefit is Rosa's S2!  And for some reason, this terrible buff has a baked-in drawback! Even without the drawback, she would still be the worst of the 5★ Lords.  Drawbacks are something that HG seems to consistently add to modern 5★s and is completely unnecessary.  It only makes the rarity more frustrating to use!  Finally, she lacks any meaningful utility, which ultimately puts her far behind Lappland.

To be clear, since it's a question that comes up often, the aspect of Leto's skill that automatically activates other USSG skills is strictly a drawback and has NO upside.  It does not allow skills to be activated early and only forces you into activation when you might not want it.

As far as skills go, her S1 is a generic Swift Strike skill which means it's basically valueless.  Her S2 is strictly better in nearly all situations, especially since she deals Physical damage and is reliant on a high ATK stat.

Ultimately, Leto is an "alright" unit.  The USSG girls are a popular faction, and Leto makes a reasonable addition to the crew if that's what strikes your fancy.  However, she isn’t a great unit in the bigger picture.  She's inferior to many common options and only niche players will get regular use out of her.

This unit is NOT available in the gacha.  Harold is the welfare unit for this event.  Although this unit should not affect your pull decisions, I have included his summary here for those that are interested.

Harold

Harold is the welfare from this event.  His kit is solid, if a bit basic, but he is an unusual inclusion.  There are already two very good 5★ Wandering Medics, one who is available in the certificate shop, plus an extremely busted 6★.  It's not a team role that often requires multiples, so while Harold is certainly not a bad unit, he is one that will have a tough time finding space in most teams.  If you already have Eyja, Mulberry, or Honeyberry, there's very little meta reason to promote Harold.  His kit feels like it should have been the first Wandering Medic, rather than the fifth.

Nevertheless, Harold is a good 5★ and one who could have value for newer players since Honeyberry still costs a very expensive 600 red certificates.  One reason that Honeyberry and Mulberry are so good is their powerful S1s have very strong and consistent healing (both regular and Elemental).  Harold has no such skill and is instead reliant on more typical skill cycles to get his job done.  His numbers are quite good when his S2 is up, however the Berries tend to surpass him in places the archetype is used.  And this isn’t even counting Eyja, who breaks the whole discussion.

Long-time readers of mine may note that I tend to favor burst skills over consistent skills, which is the opposite of what I'm saying here.  That is true.  Burst skills are usually better.  However, there are exceptions to that rule of thumb, and in this case, Honeyberry and Mulberry have some of the best consistent skills at the rarity.  In comparison, Harold with his S2 up barely beats out Mulberry's S1 in regular healing and only beats out Honeyberry's S1's Elemental healing when meeting the 50% threshold.  Instead, he is a bit more "balanced" since he has both good regular and Elemental healing. Unfortunately, that's not really what you want out of the archetype either.

All that said, if you are a newer player, the best 5★ Wandering Medic is the one that costs you the least to obtain.  There are differences between Honeyberry, Mulberry, and Harold.  But the differences are relatively small for what you get out of the archetype.  In other words, if you don't have Eyja or Mulberry from the gacha, Harold looks pretty appealing since Honeyberry costs so much more to obtain!

As far as skills go, his S2 is the only real choice.  It has better regular healing and elemental healing than his S1, even before the 50% threshold.  The only benefit his generic S1 has is cycle time, but the differences are so minor that S2 is still the significantly better skill.

NOTE:  This section will not preview every single upcoming unit.  That would take too much space and time.  Instead, this section will call out special notes or updates, rather than rewriting the whole thing every patch.

NOTE:  These suggestions only account for meta value.  They do not give weight to ancillary value such as niche value, support possibilities, or limited FOMO.

Must Pull:  Wiš'adel (limited), Ela (limited), Logos, Shu (limited)

Strong Pulls:  Ulpianus, Zuo Le, Reed2 (rerun), Ray

Probably Pass:  Ascalon, Ash (rerun)

A few quick notes.

Wiš'adel - Wiš'adel isn’t just powercreep. She actually represents a whole new level of power in the game.  She is absolutely ridiculous, featuring a triple-threat of attack multipliers, a crazy range, massive splash radius (with no damage drop off), instantly available invulnerability, and summon supports to cover her off cycle.  She is so good that she breaks pretty much every existing rating system because she would have to be at least a full tier above everyone else.  I don’t even know how to begin to account for her!  Along with a very powerful costar in Logos, her banner is the most valuable one in the history of the game.

Logos - It took five years, but Logos finally definitively dethroned Eyjafjalla from that top Caster spot.  His kit is extremely broad and covers the best parts of ST Casters, AoE Casters, Ritualists, and Primal Casters all in one.  His RES shred is a touch low, but his damage is so high that he can proc Necrosis on nearly any target regardless, after which a big chunk of his damage becomes effectively True Damage.  It’s a pretty ridiculous combo and makes Logos one of the top units in the game.

Ray - Unfortunately, Wiš'adel pushes Ray down in priority before she’s even released on global.  To be fair, Wiš'adel lowers the priority of every single Sniper in the game.  Ray just has the misfortune of not being released yet.  Ray is still incredibly powerful though.  Her long range, strong control, and massive DPH still have really good value in the meta.  It’s just that Wiš'adel has blown the top off the game, and with limited pull resources, Ray is one of the easier units to optimize out of pull plans.

NOTE:  Dates here are an estimate.  Please do not take them as gospel.  We rarely know the exact dates until the banners are here and re-ordering is fairly common.  The further out they are, the more likely they are to be inaccurate.

NOTE:  Standard and Kernel Banners are not predictable.  This section only covers non-Standard banners.

NOTE:  Be very careful with Joint Operation Banners.  They can be appealing if you don't have any of the units, but if you own even one, then the odds are likely much worse than you probably think.  The open pool of units is much more valuable compared to a guaranteed dupe.  The solo-rateup new unit banners are far more valuable.

To Bloom from a Dim Flame RERUN - Reed the Flame Shadow, Harmonie

Type:  Normal (rerun)

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  High

Expected:  June

Celebrate and Recollect (Kernel)

Type:  Separate pity.  First 6★ is a kernel unit you don't already own.

Will Be Rerun?:  Usually run once a year.

Priority:  Low

Expected:  Difficult to say, but sometime around Shu's banner.

Celebrate and Recollect (Standard)

Type:  Separate pity.  First 6★ is a standard unit you don't already own.

Will Be Rerun?:  Usually run once a year.

Priority:  Low

Expected:  Difficult to say, but sometime around Shu's banner.

Ray of Light - Ray, Warmy

Type:  Normal

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  Medium

Expected:  early-July

Comment:  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Ray has to be dropped in priority.  Powercreep is running so fast that Ray is pushed out of her spot months before she even makes it to global.  Ela alone put her in a tougher spot, but now Wiš'adel makes things even worse.  Ray is still an extremely powerful unit, though, and her flexible range and huge DPH should still see meta usage.  Us bunny lovers will still get tons and tons of value out of Ray.  However, with so many meta (and limited) units ahead, Ray looks to be one of the easier cuts in priority.

Reap of Millenia - Shu, Zuo Le, Grain Buds

Type:  Limited

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  MUST PULL (Shu)

Expected:  late July (note this banner acts as the global half anniversary, so the date is relatively definite)

Comments:  Shu is the best unit on the banner, but Zuo Le is also a high-tier unit so this banner is especially valuable.

TN#4 Joint Operation - Mountain, Swire the Elegant Wit, Qiubai, Mlynar

Type:  Normal pity, but no off-banners

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  Low

Expected:  After Shu banner

Storm-Reinforce-Missions Cycle - Ela, Iana, Doc

Type:  Collab Limited, Ela is guarnteed on the 120th pull.

Will Be Rerun?:  No*

Priority:  MUST PULL

Expected:  September

Comments:  This banner is incredibly good value.  Not only is Ela one of the best units in the game, but we get 20 free pulls meaning only 100 are needed to guarantee her.

* Note that there is a good chance this banner will be rerun someday since the Ash banner was rerun.  However, we have no idea when or if.  It took nearly four years for Ash to rerun, so it is best to plan as if Ela will not be rerun.

Attack-Defence Tactical Collide RERUN - Ash, Blitz, Frost

Type:  Collab Limited, Ash is guarnteed on the 120th pull.

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  Low

Expected:  After Ela banner

Comments:  We do NOT get the free 20 pulls with this rerun banner.  You will need all 120 to guarantee Ash.

CCBP#2 Joint Operation - Pozemka, Mudrock, Jessica the Liberated, Passenger

Type:  Normal pity, but no off-banners

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  Low

Expected:  October

The Front That Was 4 - Stainless, Hoederer, Ines

Type:  Normal pity, but no off-banners

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  Low

Expected:  Late October

Comments:  Although Ines is a meta unit and the odds of her are technically higher than a Standard banner, Stainless and Hoederer, along with no off-banners, bring the overall value of the banner way down.

Like Ending, Like Death - Ascalon, Aroma, Lutonada

Type:  Normal pity

Will Be Rerun?:  Yes

Priority:  Low

Expected:  Late October

Comments:  Ascalon’s perception has improved a bit since her release.  She’s far from a bad unit and has pretty good damage on top of very good control.  It’s reasonable to pull for her, should you like her or her playstyle.  However, coming right before the Wiš'adel is a huge problem for Ascalon.  There’s not much meta reason to spend pulls on Ascalon with such a strong banner right after.

Our Kind - Wiš'adel, Logos, Fang the Fire-sharpened

Type:  Limited

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  MUST PULL++

Expected:  November

Comments:  To date, this is the strongest banner in the history of the game.  Wiš'adel is a quantum leap of power.  She’s so good that she breaks practically every rating system ever used.  Then she’s joined by Logos who is also a top-tier unit himself.  And if that weren’t enough, the spark system changes with this banner as well, allowing you to guarantee Wiš'adel at 300 pulls (if you don’t get her sooner) and spend the spark on someone else.  This is the most must-pull of the must-pulls if you value meta.

Co-Op Joint Operation Banner - Kal'tsit, Reed the Flame Shadow, Qiubai, Typhon

Type:  Normal pity, but no off-banners

Will Be Rerun?:  No

Priority:  Medium

Expected:  November

Comments:  I generally advise against rolling on Joint Operation banners.  Odds-wise, they tend to be traps.  However, all four units on this one are great.  If you don’t own any of them, then this banner can be an appealing one to pull one 6★ on.  However, keep in mind that owning even one of them drastically lowers the banner value, and it comes right after the uber-powerful Wiš'adel banner.  This is a good banner as far as JO banners go, but most people will want to skip it regardless.

Anchor in the Deep - Ulpianus, Lucilla, Grain Buds

Type:  Normal pity

Will Be Rerun?:  Yes

Priority:  High

Expected:  December

Comments:  Ulpianus is pretty new as I write this, but early reviews are positive.  The "movement" on his S3 is a very flexible thing that lets him act as a sort-of FRD with Guard levels of damage.  He is a high priority pull target, but as always with non-Limited units, it will be a tough sell for those that value FOMO.