Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Saria & Ifrit

The new standard banner features the following operators: 

Featured Operators:

Rarity	Operator
6★ Rate Up	Ifrit Saria * Available in Store
5★ Rate Up	Franka Firewatch * Available in Store Platinum

• Saria is available for purchase in the Distinction store for 180 Certificates. Firewatch can be purchased for 45.
• 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★

Maybe, but I would wait until at least the 8th to see if a new banner drops first, so you can make a more informed decision. There's a possibility that a new operator banner (for example, Schwarz or Hellagur) could start on the 8th when the current Magallan banner ends.

Saria is worth getting. She's useful in nearly all maps, even necessary in some. While she may not be your immediate priority, she is worth pulling eventually. Ifrit is fine to pull if you're... more financially free to pull. She tends to be more of a niche operator due to her DP cost and unique range. She's not an optimal choice for every map and for some she's not usable at all. Platinum, Firewatch, and Franka are all good units, but they're not units you need immediately, and have decent lower rarity alternatives to fill in for them early and mid game.

Healing Defender

+ Useful almost everywhere
+ Provides assistance to (or replaces) your Medics. (Great for challenges that ban Medics or ranged operators entirely)
+ SP battery and other support capabilities

- Lower defensive capabilities than her counterparts that specialize in defending
- Low damage output on her own

The Burninator (AOE Caster)

+ High damage
+ Ability to reduce enemy defense and MR

- Second highest deployment cost in the game
- Unique attack range can limit her usage

Single Target (Anti-Air) Sniper

+ S2 extends her range further than a typical ST Anti-Air Sniper
+ Less affected by attack speed slows due to her Talent

- Low damage before S2 activation
- Does not have the option to deal burst damage

Unique Sniper - Nuker

+ Highest instantaneous burst in the game
+ Long range
+ S1 offers great protection

- Slow attack speed
- S2 targets are random

Single Target Guard

+ High damage
+ Can ignore defense

- Chance based talents can cause inconsistency
- Single Target Guards can be challenging for newer players due to their block count of 1
- S2 reduces her defense

Saria is the only 6★ Healing Defender in the game, and is great for the following reasons:

1) Suitable for general usage.
2) Can assist/replace Medics.
3) Can be a primary solution when a map lacks ranged tiles.
4) Can be a primary solution when the map outright bans medics or ranged units.
5) Can heal tiles that your Medics might not be able to cover without compromising on your overall formation.
6) Is a luxury for maps that deal constant damage, because she provides both healing and block count early in the map when DP is scarce.

While she has lower defensive capabilities than defensive oriented Defenders, there aren't any situations in the current global endgame she can't survive in. She also doesn't suffer from the traditional problems of Healing Defenders, having a substantial HP pool and high Defense, especially when considering her Talent. Her SP boosts and other bonuses provided by her S3 is another thing to consider, but keep in mind that it only regenerates SP when HP is actually healed. Players will find S1 or S2 more suitable for general use.

Saria sees use nearly everywhere, and has no true downsides in the current endgame. I recommend pulling for her.

Ifrit is a unique 6★ Caster.  Here are some things to consider when thinking about her:

1) High AOE Arts Damage.
2) Can debuff enemy Defense and Resistance.

An issue that affects all AOE casters, including Ifrit, is that situations with surges of high Defense enemies are rare, and units like Eyjafjalla or Angelina can typically handle them at a fraction of the DP cost, while being much better for general use. Her unique range can also make her inconvenient to deploy. Due to these drawbacks, many players won't find themselves bringing her to every map unless they want to clear the map using Ifrit specifically.

An interesting note about Ifrit is that her S3 doesn't hit aerial enemies.

While Ifrit can do a lot of damage in some situations, she doesn't often make-or-break runs and isn't the best for general use.

I do not recommend pulling for Ifrit.

Platinum's S2 gives her a range advantage over typical ST Snipers: 5x3 instead of the usual 4x3. Also, due to her Talent, she is not affected by attack speed slows in the same way most other units are. Platinum also has the second highest HP of any Single Target Sniper. This is more useful later when ranged units take more damage.

Platinum's downside comes from her low damage before her S2 activates. Also, her counterpart, Blue Poison, does much more damage when dealing with more than a single target, but in exchange Blue Poison has much lower health. Platinum is a very good ST Sniper, and you will want 2 for general use between Exusiai, Platinum, and Blue Poison.

Unless you already have both of the others, I recommend pulling for Platinum.

Five elite enemies are running towards your base, and you can only block three of them. What do you do? You call upon Firewatch and Watch her burst down enemies in Fire! She can also play survival hide-and-seek with her S1, and her multiplicative attack bonuses can create some wicked damage stacking effects.

Firewatch's S2 boasts the highest burst damage in the game, and being a damage multiplier, can be boosted significantly by additional damage buffs.  However, her low DPS, moderate deploy cost, and the fact that she doesn't prioritize drones means players should not pull her to fill the role of a typical ST Anti-Air Sniper. Despite the random nature of her flashy S2, a smart player can figure out ways to make her bombs consistently land where they want. I advise players not to avoid chance based Operators, as some of them are among the best Operators in the game.

I recommend pulling for Firewatch if you've already pulled a solid team of generalists.

With very high HP and Attack, good damage buffing Skills on low initial cooldowns, and a moderate deployment cost, Franka is a great single target guard. On top of having high DPS, her Defense piercing capabilities make her a good choice for high-Defense enemies.

While Franka is a good unit, single target snipers and casters serve the role of supplementing DPS while being able to do other tasks as well. Global just doesn't currently require higher rarity Single Target Guards.

I do not recommend pulling specifically for Franka.