Standard Banner: Blaze & Exusiai
The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:
Featured Operators:
Blaze
Exusiai
Glaucus
Cliffheart
Executor- Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Exusiai and Cliffheart
- 6★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 6★
- 5★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 5★
Should You Pull?
Maybe. This could be a tough decision for many players, because both 6★ Operators are quite good.
Blaze is an extremely reliable lane-holder with extended range and consistent DPS. Her stock has fallen with the release of even stronger lane-holders (Mudrock, Mountain, etc.), but she is still a strong Operator, especially for players who don’t have these alternatives. Exusiai, of course, is famous as one of the better Physical DPS Operators in Arknights. Although high-DEF enemies can give her some trouble, both her burst and sustained DPS are some of the strongest in the game (especially when supported with buffs or debuffs).
Two good 6★ Operators makes this a very tempting banner, especially for players that don’t have either Operator. However, a limited unit is preparing to make her debut very soon. This limited unit is not necessarily significantly stronger in the meta, but they are more difficult to acquire, so players that are interested in the limited unit should make sure they have a comfortable reserve of pulls saved up before going in on this banner.
As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? Definitely not. Cliffheart is given to new players for free, Executor is not a significant improvement over 4★ equivalent Pinecone, and while Glaucus has an interesting niche as an anti-air Supporter, she isn’t particularly impactful and is usually easily replaceable.
Quick Overview
+ Very consistent damage
+ Once-per-battle “survive anything” card with her Emergency Defibrillator Talent
+ A melee Operator who can extend her attack range permanently with S2
+ S3 gives her an option for AoE burst damage
- Lacks the self sustain and survivability of some other strong lane-holders
- Needs to be E2-promoted for Block-3 in order to unleash her full power
+ Usual archetype strengths: Low DP cost, fast ASPD
+ Devours low-DEF enemies faster than she eats apple pie
+ Wildly effective when buffed by other Operators (i.e., Sora, Warfarin)
+ S3 offers great burst damage
- Requires buffs to be effective against enemies with high DEF (which are increasingly common in high-end content)
- S3 triggers automatically, so requires precise deployment timing if needed at specific times
Slower/ Decel Binder Supporter
+ Currently the only Arts damage unit who targets aerial enemies first; great when Snipers are banned or when facing high-DEF drones
+ Good crowd-control with her Slow Trait and her Skill 2
+ Can nuke drones very effectively with her Skill 2 (and Stun them if they survive)
= As a Supporter, she has a different attack range from any currently existing Sniper
- Has a hard time dealing damage to Drones with high RES
- Lower ATK and slower ATK speed than equal-rarity Anti-Air Snipers (or fellow not-really-a-Sniper Arene)
- Reduced damage and crowd-control output against ground-based enemies
+ Pulls enemies, resulting in instant death, movement pattern changes, etc.
+ Skills can do ranged Arts/ True damage, so she hits harder than you might expect
+ Can be deployed on ground or ranged grids
- More expensive to level than lower-rarity Pull Specialists, but not significantly better in most situations to compensate
- Given to new players for free and, like most Operators, doesn’t benefit much from Potential boosts
- Welfare 6* Puller Gladiia (from the Under Tides event) can Pull as well as Cliffheart but also has better utility for non-Pulling maps
Boomstick/ Spreadshooter Sniper
+ Deals tremendous AoE physical damage
+ Can do respectable damage to high-DEF targets because he has some DEF Ignore
- Usual archetype weaknesses: Short attack range, slow attack speed, high DP cost
- S2 has a high SP cost and low uptime
- Not good enough in comparison to lower-rarity alternatives to justify his investment cost
Blaze
Blaze is the only 6* AoE Guard currently in Arknights, and she’s debatably the strongest example of what is already a strong archetype. She hits multiple targets at a time, her DPS is terrific, she can permanently increase her attack range, and she comes with a free “Get Out of Dying Once” card up her sleeve.
For a while, Blaze dominated the Arknights meta, but the arrival of other strong landholding Operators reduced Blaze’s allure a little.. Blaze deals a lot of AoE damage and survives lethal damage; Don’t count this fiery Feline out of the running just yet though. Having Block-3 andpermanent S2 make Blaze a great “set it and forget it” unit that can often hold a lane more or less single-handedly (sometimes two lanes if they’re close enough together!). After all, somebody’s gotta hold the line, and Blaze is a perfect unit for the task.
I recommend pulling for Blaze if you don’t have two or three strong lane holders already.
Exusiai
Do you have enemies? Do you want those enemies to be filled with bullets? Then look no further than Exusiai, the apple-pie-obsessed angel with more bullets than her gun knows what to do with.
Exusiai absolutely terrorizes any content where enemies have low DEF. Her cheap DP cost and enormous DPS output make her a convenient artillery cannon for just about any stage. As enemy DEF increases, Exusiai’s damage potential falls off sharply. However, her multiple-hitting attacks also mean that she benefits more from ATK buffs than just about any other Operator. Bolstered by the buffs of Operators like Warfarin and Skadi the Corrupted Heart, Exusiai can tear a hole in the fabric of space/time itself.
I recommend pulling for (or buying!) Exusiai.
Glaucus
Glaucus is a Supporter who moonlights as a Sniper. She targets aerial enemies first (and does bonus damage to them) and her S2 is the antithesis of any Drone-type opponent. A lot of her power and utility is reduced when targeting non-flying enemies, though.
Glaucus is ideal for Drone-heavy Challenge stages where Snipers are banned, and the long-lasting Stun/ Bind of her S2 is useful when you want to hold enemies in place, but she doesn’t see a lot of use beyond that. That being said, she can be a godsend in those specific situations and she’s still a serviceable crowd-control unit against ground targets.
I don’t recommend pulling for Glaucus unless you are very interested in her niche.
Cliffheart
Cliffheart is a Pull Specialist, able to grab her enemies and yank them into deadly pits or other obstacles for one-hit-K.O.s. On any stage where such deadly pits exist, Cliffheart can be a powerful ally. Unfortunately, on stages without these pits, Cliffheart becomes much less useful, and in most cases the lower-rarity Rope can perform Pulling duties just as well as Cliffheart can.
I don’t recommend pulling for or buying Cliffheart.
Executor
Executor ignores a flat amount of enemy DEF with his shotgun blasts and targets all enemies within his (admittedly short-range) attack area, giving him tremendous AoE damage potential. His damage is amped up even higher on adjacent enemies thanks to his Trait. Positioned well, Executor shreds his enemies as easily as he shreds his junk mail.
Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as “place Executor, kill everything.” Between high DP cost, slow ASPD, and limited attack range, Executor can’t always pull his weight. It’s a testimony to the strength of his Trait and Talent that Executor is usable at all, considering the way slow ASPD usually nerfs a unit’s DPS.
I don’t recommend pulling for Executor.
