Standard Banner: Passenger & Bagpipe
The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:
Featured Operators:
| Rarity | Operator |
| 6★ |  Passenger - Caster [Chain]
 Bagpipe - Vanguard [DP-On-Kill / Charger]
|
| 5★ |  Hung - Defender [Healing / Guardian]
 Mayer - Supporter [Summoner]
 Istina - Supporter [Slower / Decel Binder]
|
- Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Bagpipe and Mayer
- 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?
Did you get everybody you wanted off the Alter Ch’en banner? Then a very, very tentative maybe.
But why? Passenger is meme-levels of bad, isn’t he? Well, on Global servers he’s still not that great (although he did get buffed slightly in the last patch). However, on the CN servers where he has received his Module, Passenger has actually become decent. If you didn’t roll on Passenger the first time he came around, now might be a good time to reconsider your opinion, especially since he’s paired with the almighty Bagpipe on this banner.
Let’s be clear: even after his buffs, Passenger is still NOT a must-have unit in CN, so it is better to buy Bagpipe with Gold Certificates rather than pulling for her if she is your goal. However, if you want Passenger, don’t have enough Gold Certs to buy Bagpipe, and still have Orundum left over from Holiday Stars (somehow), then this may not be a bad Standard Banner for you.
As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? Probably not. Mayer is powerful but can be hard to use, while Istina and Hung are outclassed by both higher- and lower-rarity options in their archetypes.
Quick Overview
+ Usual archetype strengths: Has “chain lightning” attacks that can jump through multiple targets if enemies are arranged correctly
+ S2 gives him good sustained damage and Slowing at long range
+ S3 quickly rains multiple attacks on random enemies within a huge AoE, doing increased damage and Slowing with each shot; excellent tool for clearing large waves
= Usual archetype dilemma: Better than a ST Caster when enemies are close together, and better than an AoE Caster when enemies are spread out, but worse when the opposite is true
= Recently buffed and has a Module coming in the future that noticeably increases his usability
- Usual archetype weaknesses: High DP cost; low base ATK and slow ASPD greatly reduces potential DPS
- High SP costs
- S3 is very impressive but can be clunky to use, thanks to high SP cost, low number of charges, and random targeting of the attacks
+ Has great consistent DPS (S2) or burst damage (S3), both of which are useful for getting kills and generating DP
+ Can attack multiple targets (E1 Talent)
+ E2 Talent gives all allied Vanguards extra Initial SP (meta-defining when used with Standard Bearer Vanguards)
+ S3 greatly increases her DPS and her durability, gives her Block +1, and charges pretty quickly
+ Can act as a good heli-drop assassin
= The effect of her Pot 4 Talent improvement can be noticable, 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)
+ Can be a better damage soak than some other Healing Defenders because his S2 actually mitigates damage (it gives him a DEF buff)
+ S2 provides a lot of team healing and also generates SP for healed allies
= Skills charge when [Getting Hit]; they can charge very quickly during a wave, but they don’t charge at all in between waves
- Can output a lot of healing, but needs to be constantly taking damage to do so (because of the [Getting Hit] SP charge type), so his healing is, on average, less reliable than other members of his archetype
- Not as durable as a Normal Defender, so can’t tank really nasty enemies, even with his S2
+ Usual archetype strengths: Great for “Limited to a smaller Squad of Operators” Challenge Modes, Contracts in CC events, or the “Integrated Strategies” roguelike event
+ Can deploy multiple mechanical minions called Meeboos to block and attack enemies
+ Massive Arts damage potential with well-timed S2 activations
+ S2 recycles her Meeboos, allowing her to redeploy them in new spots with full health
- Usual archetype weaknesses: Monopolizes DP and deployment slots to deploy her Meeboos
- Cannot recover Meeboos that are killed by enemies unless she retreats and redeploys
+ Usual archetype strengths: 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 consistent Slower
+ S2 is very powerful: multi-target capability, wide range, and a nice ATK buff
- Usual archetype weaknesses: Low DPS
- Her Talent lowers her DEF, making her extremely fragile
- Uptime for S2 is pretty low
Passenger
Passenger harnesses thunderstorms as weapons via his complicated array of homemade machinery. He has much in common with these storms: both are beautiful to look at, but dangerous to be around. His chain lightning attacks flicker across the field to strike unsuspecting foes at great distance, and his S3 rains awe-inspiring bolts of lightning that Slow any target they don’t instantly slay.
On Global servers, Passenger is in the middle of a long and interesting journey. Upon release, he was one of the most derided 6★ units, rightfully ridiculed for his high SP costs, low damage output, and clunky mechanics. The Dossoles Holiday event quietly buffed his chain lightning attacks, making him slightly more usable. Meanwhile, looking ahead on CN servers, he’s been buffed again by the release of his Module and now boasts some of the highest Skill-based DPS in the entire Caster archetype. Passenger is still a meme-lord on both servers, but the atmosphere of the meme is changing, slowly going from derogatory to admiration. Are you ready to come along for the ride?
I don’t exactly recommend pulling for Passenger, but he may be worth raising if you pull him, considering how much stronger he’s going to become in the future.
Bagpipe
Bagpipe is meta-defining. Usually, when you think of Vanguards, you think of units that generate DP—providing fuel for the rest of your squad. Bagpipe is a unit who provides fuel to her fellow Vanguards just by being a member of the squad. 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 it’s literally a gamechanger. 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 DPS is off the charts, and her E1 Talent gives her a chance to spread her damage onto multiple targets. Her charge-based S2 is a workhorse for dishing out consistent DPS, and her S3 is a monster, combining an ATK buff, a DEF buff, and Block count +1 with the ability to hit three times in one attack.
I definitely recommend buying or pulling for Bagpipe.
Hung
Hung is one of the rare Healing Defenders with a Skill that increases his DEF, making him a more effective damage soak than some members of his archetype (looking at you, Nearl!) His S2 increases his ATK and his DEF, heals adjacent allies, and grants SP to every ally healed.
The downside? The SP charge type for his Skills is [Getting Hit], so if Hung isn’t taking damage, he’s not healing anybody.
If Hung is able to sit around and tank multiple weak enemies for a while, he builds SP very quickly and outputs a lot of healing to nearby allies. However, Hung isn’t sturdy enough to tank really nasty enemies, yet he also can’t function without being drip-fed some kind of damage to charge his Skills. As such, he’s usually either unnecessary (because the enemies are weak and you don’t need his healing) or unable to function (because the enemies are too strong for him to charge his Skills).
I don’t recommend pulling for Hung.
Mayer
Mayer is literally a one-woman army, bringing her host of robotic otters—the Meeboos—to cover every avenue of the battlefield with one squad slot. The Meeboos are simple Block-1 ground units, but like any good mad scientist, Mayer has programmed them to self-destruct! When Mayer activates her S2, all deployed Meeboos explode and retreat, dealing colossal Arts damage around them and returning to Mayer’s hand to be redeployed fresh. Used intelligently, Mayer can solo entire battlefields with her Meeboos (as long as there aren’t too many flying enemies, that is!)
I recommend pulling for Mayer, but only if you are very sure that you like Summoner Supporters and want to raise her.
Istina
Istina has a very one-track mind. Off the battlefield, she’s only interested in books, and on the battlefield, she’s only interested in using those books to kill people. Her Talent, Explorer, gives her increased ASPD in exchange for DEF, allowing her to Slow enemies with great consistency. Normally she can only Slow one target at a time, though, which is why she uses Literature Storm as her S2: an ability that buffs her ATK and allows her to shoot several bolts of magic over an increased attack range, inflicting her Slow upon multiple victims at once. I mean, “opponents.” Actually, no, “victims” sounds about right.
Istina is pretty strong, but she’s actually one of the weaker options in her archetype at this point. Not only does she have Angelina and Suzuran outclassing her at the 6★ level, but she also has Podenco’s incredible efficiency to compete with at the 4★ level. In a vacuum, Istina is still a useful unit, but her 5★ price point does her no favors compared to other Slower Supporter options.
I don’t recommend pulling for Istina.
