Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Kal’tsit and Shining

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

Featured Operators:

Rarity	Operator
6★	Kal'tsit - Medic [ST / Medic] Shining - Medic [ST / Medic]
5★	Toddifons - Sniper [Heavyweight / Besieger] Sesa - Sniper [AOE / Artilleryman] Reed - Vanguard [DP-On-Kill / Charger]

• Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Shining and Sesa
• 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★

If you really, really want Kal’tsit, then sure. Kal’tsit is a great unit, able to throw down a Block-3 murder machine of a minion (Mon3tr) at will. Since she first appeared on a limited banner, she will never receive a solo rate-up, so there will never be a higher rate-up chance than the 25% this banner represents.

Unfortunately, the other options on this banner are pretty disappointing. Shining is a very strong healer when her strengths matter, but her utility usually doesn’t affect the map as strongly as other healers like Nightingale or Warfarin (though their niches are, of course, different). The 5★s are even worse off, all being rather unimpressive members of their archetypes. For this reason, it may be better to wait for Kal’tsit to come back around on a stronger overall banner rather than trying to pull her on this one… though of course there are no guarantees about when she’ll come again or that her bannermates will be any better.

As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? No. Reed, Sesa, and Toddifons have interesting quirks, but none of them have the numbers or the utility to make a noticeable effect on the meta at present.

ST Medic

+ Has a longer attack range than any other currently existing ST Medic

+ Can summon Mon3tr, a fast-redeploying Block-3 bruiser of a unit

+ At E2, Mon3tr inflicts True damage and Stun on all nearby enemies when defeated

+ Skills have low SP costs

+ S1 makes Kal’tsit and Mon3tr very tanky for a short duration, with DEF increases for both and Physical Dodge for Kal’tsit

+ S2 turns Mon3tr into an AoE Guard and dramatically increases Kal’tsit’s healing speed for the duration

+ S3 gives Mon3tr a huge DEF buff and a decaying ATK buff and turns its attacks into True damage; currently, this is the best source of True damage in Arknights

= If Mon3tr is deployed outside of Kal’tsit’s attack range, it has 0 DEF (sometimes inconvenient, sometimes helpful if you’re specifically using its death explosion to Stun enemies)

- Kal’tsit herself has very low ATK and prioritizes healing herself and Mon3tr over any other ally, so she’s not a good Medic for healing purposes

- You have to deploy Kal’tsit before deploying Mon3tr, and both cost DP, so she can be a bit slow to get up and running. Also, both of them count toward the deploy limit, so she takes up 2 Operator spots.

- S2 and S3 cannot be used unless Mon3tr is deployed and they automatically end if Mon3tr dies; Kal’tsit will not even gain SP for these Skills unless Mon3tr is on the field

- If Mon3tr doesn’t kill at least one enemy during S3, it takes half its max HP as damage when the Skill ends

ST Medic

+ Strong healer who mitigates incoming physical damage for her allies

+ Talent 1 increases the DEF of all allies within her range

+ Talent 2 increases her ASPD, allowing her to heal more quickly

+ S2 holds multiple charges; each charge automatically generates a shield on an ally that increases DEF and absorbs a certain amount of damage (physical, Arts, or True damage are all absorbed)

+ S3 increases Shining’s healing power and massively increases the DEF of all allies in her range, making allies almost invincible to all but the hardest-hitting physical enemies

= S3 has a very high SP cost, but also very high Initial SP and a long duration

- Her utility is purely defensive; if you don’t need her protection to survive or can’t survive incoming damage even with her, then Shining may not be as useful as Medics with offensive utility, i.e., Warfarin or Ptilopsis

- The charges of S2 are used automatically, so they can be used up against small fry before the big bosses start swinging

DP-on-Kill Vanguard

+ High RES due to her Talent, which helps her survive Arts damage or assassinate enemy Casters

+ Doubles her DP gain with S2

= Deals Physical and Arts damage with S2; unfortunately, this also means her S2’s damage is reduced by both DEF and RES

- Typical Archetype weaknesses: Block-1, has to land a killing blow to earn DP

- DPS output is not particularly high compared to Bagpipe (at 6*) or Vigna (at 4*)

AoE Sniper

+ Usual archetype strengths: huge attack range, attacks deal splash damage

+ Increases the Physical damage dealt to all blocked enemies on the field from all Operators (Talent)

+ One of the few Operators who can debuff enemy ASPD (S2), which is a great way to reduce enemy DPS

- Usual archetype weaknesses: high DP cost, slow ASPD, reduced effectiveness against single targets or high-DEF targets, needs to be promoted to E2 for maximum attack range

- Notably lower DPS than fellow AoE Sniper Meteorite; inferior version of W, whom many Doctors pulled for heavily (because she is a limited Operator)

- Particularly fast enemies can run right past his slow-to-detonate S2 shots and avoid the damage/ debuff

Heavyweight Sniper

+ Usual archetype strengths: Wide attack range, high base ATK, prioritizes heavy enemies

+ Does bonus damage to Sarkaz enemies (Talent)

+ S1 reduces the target’s DEF and increases their aggro, causing allied Operators within range to prioritize that target

+ S2 does AoE damage and is good for thinning out crowds

= The “taunt” from S1 can be very effective for redirecting other Operators to target a specific enemy, but it can also pull Operators away from attacking other important targets if used thoughtlessly

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Slow attack speed reduces her overall DPS

- S1 only affects one enemy with each use

- S2’s damage is spread across two hits and it has no DEF-lowering properties, so the damage is greatly reduced against enemies with high DEF (and since heavier enemies tend to have higher DEF, she will usually target high-DEF enemies over more vulnerable targets)

Kal’tsit has been a fan favorite for a long time, and there’s no shortage of Doctors who have been waiting for her to take the frontline role she's clearly capable of. And oh boy, she does not disappoint! In sync with her monstrous assistant Mon3tr, Kal’tsit can take any enemy formation—from a mob of small fry to a massive boss—and tear them up like junk mail. What’s that? A Medic should be “helping others”? Look, if you can’t take care of yourself, don’t expect Kal’tsit to do it for you.

If you’re expecting Kal’tsit to take care of healing needs on your team, you’ve got another think coming. Yes, Kal’tsit has an increased healing range compared to other ST Medics, but she also has surprisingly low base ATK and unusual targeting: she will always prioritize healing herself and Mon3tr over anybody else in her range. Kal’tsit is perfectly happy to heal off scratch damage on Mon3tr while the rest of her allies bleed out next to her.

If, on the other hand, you need somebody to drop a Block-3 ball of HP and DEF that shreds multiple targets (S2), breathes True damage (S3), explodes when killed (Talent), and can be Fast-Redeployed at a ridiculously low cost, then Kal’tsit might be exactly what the doctor ordered.

I recommend pulling for Kal’tsit, though possibly not on this banner.

Shining is the premier defensive Medic, combining her healing powers with an aura of bonus DEF and Skills that dramatically increase the lifespan of your Operators. Her S2 generates barriers that can absorb any kind of damage that comes your way, and her S3 grants a huge DEF buff to all allies in her range. She’s an interesting counterpoint to Nightingale, the RES-focused AoE Medic, and her presence on the field can help your Operators survive opponents that would otherwise spell their doom.

Shining isn’t always the most popular of Medics because her utility is purely defensive. Some of the most powerful enemies in Arknights can’t be tanked even with Shining’s help, and if Shining’s defensive powers aren’t being utilized, she’s not much better than other, lower-rarity Medics. Many Doctors prefer the offensive buffs of Warfarin or the added range of Silence and her Medical Drone for this reason. Don’t misunderstand, however: Shining’s damage mitigation can help your Operators punch above their weight class, and she’s an extremely powerful Medic with terrific healing potential.

I don’t recommend pulling for Shining, but she might be worth raising if you pull her.

Reed was overshadowed pretty quickly after her release by 6* DP-on-Kill Vanguard Bagpipe, who is well-known to be ridiculously powerful. This is understandable, but is it fair? Well, Reed has terrific RES due to her Talent, so she’s good for dueling Arts-DPS enemies, and her S3 causes her to gain an extra DP every time she gets a kill, so her DP recovery potential is unmatched among her Archetype. Gaining 2 DP per kill (or 3, if Zima is also on the field!) is a massive boon at the start of a map.

Unfortunately, Reed’s big downside is her DPS, which isn’t very high at all. In fact, it’s fairly comparable to 4* DP-on-Kill Vigna. Considering that Bagpipe is a loose cannon who has more DPS than she knows what to do with, and considering that Vigna is cheaper to deploy, level, and increase in Potential, it’s difficult to rationalize raising Reed instead. After all, her high DP recovery potential doesn’t matter much if she doesn’t get the kills she needs to activate it.

I don’t recommend pulling for Reed.

Sesa is one of those units who looks fine in a vacuum. He’s a pretty textbook example of his archetype: he benefits from a massive attack range and high base ATK, but he suffers from his high DP cost and slow ASPD. He’s great for wiping out hordes of weak enemies that might otherwise overrun your defenses, and he even brings some tasty utility to the team with his S2, which adds an ASPD debuff to his attacks for the duration. Debuffing ASPD is a great way to reduce enemy damage output, especially since it stacks with ATK debuffs like Shamare’s Cursed Doll.

The problem is that Sesa is part of a relatively weak archetype that still manages to have two Operators who are much stronger than he is. Fellow 5* Meteorite has higher DPS thanks to her crit chance Talent, and her S1 expands the radius of her splash damage, which makes her better at the whole “AoE” thing. Meanwhile, 6* AoE Sniper W is hugely popular and also a limited unit, meaning lots of Doctors pulled on her when given the chance. As a 6*, she is of course stronger than Sesa, which means any Doctor who successfully pulled W probably doesn’t have much reason to pull for Sesa now.

If AoE Snipers as an archetype were more widely used, there would be a compelling argument for raising Sesa in addition to Meteorite and/or W. However, since AoE Snipers are a fairly niche group in the first place, it’s hard to justify raising Sesa if you already have one of his superiors.

I don’t recommend pulling for Sesa.

Considering her outfit, Toddifons doesn’t look like she’s ready for battle… until you see the colossal arbalest she carts around with her. Of course, if you can see the arbalest, it’s probably too late for you already: Toddifons is either firing a Signal Arrow that calls the attention of all of her friends, or Portable Fortcracker Arrows that do massive damage and then explode in an AoE to do even more.

Unfortunately, Toddifons’ decision to wear a skin-tight dress and high heels to the battlefield might explain why her actual fighting performance… isn’t that great. Between slow ASPD, a Talent that only affects one kind of enemy, and surprisingly small-scale Skills, Toddifons doesn’t often pull her weight in a fight. Her S1 only affects one enemy per use and her S2’s damage is split across two hits, greatly reducing her effectiveness against enemies with high DEF—especially since, unlike 6★ Rosa, Toddifons doesn’t ignore part of her enemy’s DEF.

I don’t recommend pulling for Toddifons.