Arknights: Should You Pull? Joint Operation 3

Featured Operators:

Rarity	Operator
6★ Rate Up	Aak Hoshiguma Ceobe Bagpipe
5★ Rate Up	Broca Asbestos Blue Poison Warfarin Istina Astesia

• The listed operators will be the only units available for their respective rarity
• Operator Feature Banners do not add Operators to the Distinction shop

Unless you desperately need Bagpipe, probably not.

It’s always a shame when a Joint Operation banner features an underwhelming pool, and this is sadly one of those situations. Most of these Operators are not bad, but many of them not named Bagpipe are either very niche or generally outclassed by other existing options. The Joint Operation mechanics make it easy to pull units from its pool, but hard to pull a specific unit, so a pool of “one great unit with a lot of mediocre ones” is a really bad setup for players.

Even though the pool isn’t that impressive, it’s not a bad idea to do Headhunt x1 until you pull a 5★ or higher Operator, since one is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls.

Normal Defender

+ Excellent Defender with high defensive stats and high DPS through her S3

+ E1 Talent has a chance to resist incoming Physical or Arts damage

+ E2 Talent buffs DEF of other Defenders

+ S2 reflects damage (can be used to counter invisible enemies, especially ranged ones)

+ S3 has very high AoE DPS and also increases Hoshiguma’s DEF for the duration; it also has decent uptime for such a powerful Skill

- Vulnerable to Arts damage; she has 0 base RES and none of her Skills mitigate Arts damage (though her Talent does help)

- Lacks extra utility or team support (other than her E2 Talent)

Sacrificial Specialist

+ Functions as ranged Physical DPS while providing powerful buffs and (erratic) crowd control

+ Talent causes random useful effects when attacking (heals Aak, deals critical damage to target, Stuns target, or Slows target)

+ S2 and S3 buff Aak as well as the closest ally in front of Aak (two buffs for the price of one!)

+ S2: Powerful defensive buff

+ S3: Powerful offensive buff (a lot stronger than it sounds due to the ASPD increase)

+ Even if he kills an ally with S2 or S3, at least he still gets the buff.

= …wait, what??

- When he applies his S2 or S3 to an ally, he does it by SHOOTING THEM FIFTEEN TIMES, and a lot of Operators (especially ranged Operators) can’t actually survive this!

- The random nature of his Talent means you can’t depend on its effects

- Constantly loses HP as part of his Trait; his Talent can heal him, but you may still need a dedicated healer to keep him alive (and watch out where you place that healer, if you want him to be using his S2 or S3!)

ST Caster

+ E1 Talent combined with S2/ S3 make her an incredibly effective boss-killer

+ Great utility debuffs (S1 causes Bind, S3 seals special abilities)

+ Can change her target prioritization by using different Skills

+ Deals physical damage with S3, allowing her to nuke high-RES low-DEF enemies (especially useful for Challenges/ CC events)

+ S2 and S3 have surprisingly long durations

= Can be a better boss-killer and has more utility than Eyjafjalla, but lacks Eyja’s AoE damage

= E2 Talent is a nice damage boost, but the positioning requirements can’t always be met easily

- Has to choose between damage (S2) and utility (S1 or S3)

- S3 has a high SP cost

DP-on-Kill Vanguard

+ Her DPS is through the roof

+ Can attack multiple targets (E1 Talent)

+ Has great burst damage, which is useful for getting kills and generating DP

+ S3 greatly increases her DPS and her durability, gives her Block +1, and charges pretty quickly

+ E2 Talent gives all allied Vanguards extra Initial SP (amazing when paired with Skill-DP-Recovery or Utility Vanguards)

= The effect of her Pot 4 Talent improvement can be huge, but that means pulling multiple copies of her

- Technically suffers the flaws of her archetype: Block-1 (though S3 helps with this) and unreliable DP generation (though the benefit of her E2 Talent outweighs this)

Anti-Air Sniper

+ Usual archetype strengths: low DP cost, fast ASPD, and prioritizes aerial enemies

+ Both of her Skills deal high damage to multiple targets; she’s good at killing single targets as well as small groups

+ S1 charges extremely quickly at M3, dealing high damage to multiple targets at a machine-gun pace

+ S2 causes her attacks to strike multiple targets multiple times, absolutely destroying groups of enemies

= The Arts damage from her Talent gives her a little extra oomph against high-DEF enemies, but their DEF still blunts her direct damage so heavily that it doesn’t count for much

- Extremely squishy, so placing her can be difficult on some maps, especially ones with

ranged enemies or automatic crossbows

ST Medic

+ Talent gives SP to Warfarin and a random ally for each enemy that dies within Warfarin’s healing range

+ S1 gives a BIG boost to Warfarin’s healing that synergizes beautifully with bulky units like Defenders

+ S2 grants a large ATK buff to Warfarin and one random ally within her healing range

- Maximizing her Talent/ S2 effects requires careful positioning, which can impede her healing coverage

Slower Supporter

+ The usual advantages of her archetype: Arts damage attacks in a different range from Caster archetypes, low DP cost, and passive Slow debuffs on her attacks

+ Talent increases her ASPD, making her a pretty reliable Slower

+ S2 is very powerful: multi-target capability, wide range, and a nice ATK buff

= Has much lower damage output than 6* Supporter Angelina, but can be a more consistent Slower because of the way Angelina’s S2 and S3 stop her from attacking

- Usual Slower Supporter weaknesses: low DPS

- Her Talent lowers her DEF, making her extremely fragile

- Uptime for S2 is pretty low

Arts Guard

+ As a melee Arts unit, she’s good for Challenge stages and the Contingency Contract event

+ Very survivable; both her Skills increase her DEF, and 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 as a Support unit at present

AoE Guard

+ Usual archetype strengths: attacks a number of enemies equal to his Block count

+ An AoE Guard with easy access to Arts damage (both S1 and S2)

+ Increases his attack range and Slows enemies with S2

= Usual archetype caveat: he gains Block-3 when promoted to E2, but he has to be promoted to E2 before he really shines

= Skills have large potential ATK boosts (especially his S2, with 190% at M3!) but they have to be M3’d before they become impressive. Also, his S2 makes his attacks slightly slower, reducing the effect of the ATK buff.

- Comparatively squishy for an AoE Guard because he lacks strong defensive options (he can get a small DEF boost from his Talent, but that’s about it)

- S2 has to be carefully timed, because it Stuns him after completion

Arts DPS Defender

+ Ultimate anti-Arts damage Defender

+ Gains bonus SP when hit by Arts damage

+ Does Arts damage herself when her Skills are active

+ S2 is a big offensive and defensive buff with the added benefits of dealing Arts damage, increasing attack range, and causing splash damage

- Not nearly as resistant to Physical damage as she is to Arts damage (S1, in particular, offers no physical damage mitigation whatsoever)

- Loses out on her bonus SP gain if she isn’t getting hit with Arts damage

Hoshiguma is sometimes called “the meat grinder” due to the murderous damage potential of her S3, which deals buffed AoE damage to all enemies in front of her. She’s pretty simple as far as Defenders go: she Blocks-3, randomly resists incoming damage, and blitzes enemies into bite-sized chunks when her S3 is activated. Direct, dependable, and deadly: what’s not to love about Hoshiguma?

If you don’t already have at least two strong Defenders, it may be worth pulling for Hoshiguma. However, keep in mind that 4-star Defender Cuora is very comparable to Hoshiguma in most content and is a lot more accessible. If you haven’t already, consider raising Cuora for your second Defender rather than spending resources on Hoshiguma.

Aak has a reputation in Arknights. (The reputation is for shooting his allies in the head.) He dispenses potent offensive and defensive buffs to his allies, but his methods for delivering these buffs leaves something to be desired. (The something is safety.) His Skills are too rough to be safely used on many ranged Operators, but they’re a massive steroid boost for sturdy powerhouses like Hoshiguma, Mudrock, or Surtr.

It’s also worth remembering that Aak is a decent ranged DPS and crowd control unit in his own right, especially with S1. This comes in especially handy on Challenges or CC stages where Snipers are banned but you still have a bunch of drones to kill, or when Supporters are banned but you still need crowd control.

I don’t recommend pulling for Aak unless you A) like to min-max your buff usage or B) have ridiculous, off-the-wall strategies in mind for him.

Ceobe likes to turn the status quo on its head. She’s a Caster who packs more bladed weaponry than most of Arknights’ Guards. She turns enemies’ armor against them by dealing bonus damage based on her target’s DEF, tearing through high-DEF targets like tissue paper. She deals Arts damage most of the time, but her S3 turns her damage into Physical so she can still nuke enemies with high RES. When you need an Operator to punch through a hefty boss or elite target, Ceobe is the Cerberus for the job.

Ceobe plays to her strengths very well, but she doesn’t do it quite well enough to surpass the stiff competition for Arts DPS. With Eyjafjalla and Surtr dominating the playing field, Ceobe tends to fall off most people’s radars. Don’t underestimate this ditzy dog, however. Thanks to her strong Talent and versatile Skills, Ceobe can still pull her weight.

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

Bagpipe is meta-defining. Her E2 Talent gives all Vanguards a boost to their initial SP, allowing them to activate their Skills several seconds earlier in a battle. This may not sound like much, but being able to get DP from units like Myrtle or Texas earlier in a fight jumpstarts any and every strategy. It means getting your units down on the field faster so they can start charging their own Skills and decimating the enemy team that much more quickly.

Even if that was all Bagpipe did, she’d be great, but on top of that, she’s a terrifyingly good fighter. Her charge-based S2 is a workhorse for dishing out consistent DPS, and her S3 turns her into a monster, combining an ATK buff, a DEF buff, and Block count +1 with the ability to hit three times in one attack.

I recommend pulling for Bagpipe, although possibly not on this banner.

Blue Poison sprays arrows and corrosive venom everywhere she goes, striking multiple targets with multiple arrows that deal multiple ticks of Arts damage long after the initial arrow damage has been dealt. With her quick ASPD and fast-charging S1, Blue Poison is a constant fountain of toxins, rapidly wearing down her opponents from the inside out.

The main thing holding Blue Poison back is her shockingly bad durability. She suffers from one of the lowest HP totals in Arknights and very unimpressive DEF to back it up. This can make her hard to deploy on some stages, especially where there are ranged enemies or environmental hazards putting her at risk.

I recommend pulling for Blue Poison if you don’t have two or more strong Anti-Air Snipers already.

Warfarin is one of the relatively small pool of Operators that can massively amplify another Operator’s damage. Her S2 grants a terrific ATK buff, and her Talent generates SP every time an enemy dies within her attack range. When she focuses her attention on a suitable Operator (Exusiai is particularly popular for this), the map quickly becomes bathed in blood. Just the way this vampire likes it.

Unfortunately, applying Warfarin’s powers to the correct Operator can be tricky, because her Talent and her S2 affect random Operators within her range. The ideal situation is to have only one Operator within Warfarin’s range, so you can guarantee who she buffs, but this also means she can only heal that one target, creating a tradeoff between how much Warfarin can heal your team versus how much she can buff your DPS.

I recommend pulling for or buying Warfarin. Placing her correctly to maximize her effectiveness can take some effort, but the benefits are worth it.

Istina is a competent Slower Supporter with a very powerful S2, but she’s got big shoes to fill between 6-star Slowers Angelina (who does more damage than Istina) and Suzuran (who is better at Slowing than Istina). Istina strikes a middle ground between the two, but the low uptime on her potent S2 limits her overall effectiveness.

If you don’t have Angelina or Suzuran, Istina is an excellent Operator to have around. Even if you do have one of the two, Istina can still find a niche: she does more damage than Suzuran and she doesn’t have the same periods of downtime as Angelina. However, she’s by no means a must-have unit for most Doctors.

I don’t recommend pulling specifically for Istina, but she’s worth raising if you don’t have Angelina or Suzuran.

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 also boasts sturdy base defenses and a fast-charging S2 that basically turns her into an AoE Guard, deleting one wave and then recharging in time for the next to arrive.

That being said, I don’t recommend pulling for Astesia, because Surtr and Guard Amiya exist.

Broca is a good Operator in a vacuum, but sadly, he tends to be overshadowed by other members of his archetype. AoE Guards tend to be some of the more powerful and versatile units in Arknights, in particular 6-star Blaze and 5-star Specter. Broca doesn’t have the outlandish DPS of Blaze or the death defiance of Specter, so he typically falls by the wayside in comparison.

I don’t recommend pulling for Broca.

Asbestos is designed to make Arts damage enemies wish they had never been born. Her Talent increases her base RES and grants her SP when she gets hit by Arts damage, and her S1 is an effective Arts damage soak. Her S2 doesn’t have anything to do with Arts defense, though. It just boils her enemies alive en masse.

When you’re up against a lot of Arts DPS enemies, Asbestos is an absolute ace in the hole. She’s one of the best Defenders to soak Arts damage, and her S2 gives her some noticeable offensive presence as well. However, there are a lot more Physical enemies than Arts ones, and Asbestos loses a lot of her luster when she isn’t benefiting from her RES or getting bonus SP from her Talent.

I don’t recommend pulling for Asbestos, but she may be worth raising if you pull her. She’s situational, but every Doctor should have some kind of answer to Arts enemies.