Standard Banner: Skadi & Siege
The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:
Featured Operators:
| Rarity | Operator |
| 6★ |  Skadi
 Siege
|
| 5★ |  Specter
 Provence
 Texas
|
- Siege is available for purchase in the Distinction store for 180 Certificates. Provence 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★
Should You Pull?
Are you interested in Siege, Specter, or Texas? If you are, go ahead and pull, especially with the Contingency Contract #0 event around the corner.
If you have Siege, Specter, and Texas already or don’t intend to use them, you can probably skip this banner.
This is a good banner to pull on if you really want some of these units, just because all of the options are pretty decent. Provence is probably the “worst” Operator on the banner, and she’s still an underappreciated Sniper with hefty DPS potential. However, all of these Operators have been on multiple banners by now, so you may already have the ones you want.
On the other hand, even if you do have these Operators already, it might be a good idea to do Headhunt x1 until you pull a 5★ or higher Operator, since one is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls.
Quick Overview
+ Very high ATK and HP stats
+ S2 provides a massive ATK buff on deployment, ideal for assassinating nasty enemies
+ S3 turns Skadi into a god for its duration
+ E2 Talent reduces her redeployment time, helping her helidrop multiple times in a fight
= As a Duelist Guard, she has Block-1 (good for assassinating, bad for swarms)
= Her Skills are great, but because they only deal damage, she can usually be replaced by other DPS units
- Low DEF
- She has to be retreated and redeployed to use S2 multiple times, but her DP cost is high
- S3 has good Initial SP and a long duration, but also a very long cooldown
+ Great stats all around and has Block-2; almost as much a Guard as a Vanguard
+ E1 Talent buffs stats of all Vanguards, including herself
+ Has strong, spammable AoE physical damage from her S2
+ E2 Talent recovers SP when enemies dies adjacent to her, making her S2 even more spammable
= S3 inflicts very high single target damage and Stun, but does NOT generate DP
- On paper, her DP cost doesn’t seem high, but sometimes she can’t be placed first on maps because her DP cost is prohibitive
- S2 requires her to attack to generate DP, which can hamper her DP generation in some situations; however, without S2, her DPS and uniqueness suffer dramatically, as her S1 is the same Skill that 5 Star Skill-DP Vanguards have, and S3 doesn’t create DP at all
+ When promoted to E2, she gains Block-3, putting her on a level with Defenders and also increasing the number of enemies she can attack at once
+ At E2, her Talent regenerates her HP over time (great for healing herself after using her S2)
+ Extremely high damage potential, especially across multiple targets
+ S2 combines a massive ATK boost with “HP cannot drop below 1,” making her literally immortal for the duration
=- When her S2 ends, she self-Stuns, leaving her unable to attack or Block enemies, but also giving her a chance to heal and survive
- High DP Cost
+ When her Talent and Skills combine at the right time, her damage potential is insane
+ One of the few physical damage Snipers who has a chance of punching through high-DEF targets
- Her damage is highly conditional and can be tricky to maximize reliably
- Does NOT prioritize flying targets
- High DP Cost, short attack range, and slightly slower Attack Speed than an Anti-Air Sniper
+ Respectable damage output
+ The bonus initial DP from her Talent is perfect for maps with fast start requirements
+ S2 combines DP generation, AoE Arts damage, and crowd control
= Her S2 can force tough choices when you need DP but there aren’t many enemies around; do you use it anyway and risk not having it later, or hold onto it and hope you can manage without the DP?
- Lower DEF means she dies fairly easily vs stronger enemies
Skadi
Skadi’s story-based reputation as a deadly assassin is definitely borne out by her performance in-game. Her S2 comes crashing down on enemies like a ton of bricks, and her S3 might as well read, “Delete anything without consequence.”
Skadi’s strengths are outweighed less by her flaws and more by her competition. In a vacuum, Skadi is an incredibly powerful and useful unit. However, there are a lot of other Operators who are even more impressive, either by virtue of having even more DPS than she does, spreading it across multiple targets, and/or contributing a ton of teamwide utility.
I don’t recommend pulling for Skadi, but she’s worth investing in if you pull her.
Siege
Siege was one of the most-used units for the upcoming Contingency Contract #0 event on CN servers, and it’s not hard to see why. She’s got great stats for a Skill-DP-Recovery Vanguard, further accented by consistent AoE damage and respectable DP generation. Her S3 gives her an additional niche as a hard-hitting, Stun-locking duelist who can help keep troublesome enemies under control (as long as your other Vanguards can pick up the DP generation without her).
I recommend pulling for Siege (or buying her in the shop if you can). She’s a strong, reliable frontliner for basically any content, and she’ll be especially useful for CC#0.
Specter
Specter regenerates her own HP, attacks multiple enemies at once, Blocks-3 at E2, and gives herself a massive ATK buff on a fairly low cooldown. And yet all of that pales in comparison to the fact that her S2 makes her literally immortal.
At present, Specter is the only Operator in the game who can soak infinite amounts of damage multiple times per map, making her uniquely able to stand toe-to-toe with enemies whose DPS will destroy any other unit. (Blaze can also do it, but Blaze's version triggers automatically and only once per map.) Using this Skill requires careful timing, because afterwards Specter will Stun herself and become unable to attack or Block for a short time. However, the flexibility and margin for error Specter offers with this ability more than makes up for that.
I recommend pulling for Specter.
Provence
Provence excels at hunting down the weak and making sure they never come back to bother you. Her S1 passively increases her damage the lower her target’s HP falls, and her S2 gives her a massive ATK boost but causes her to only target enemies who have less than 80% HP remaining. Her Talent gives her attacks a chance to crit, and the chance increases dramatically when her target is at point-blank range in front of her. If you can dam enemies in the square in front of Provence, her precise shots will decimate just about any target.
The main problem with Provence is that her DPS is very finicky. Enemies have to be positioned in the right place and be softened up by the right amount before Provence can really cut loose, and even then she still relies on RNG to activate her Talent for maximum damage. When everything is exactly to her liking, Provence punches through enemies like paper, but plenty of other units can pull off similar feats more reliably and with a lot less setup.
I don’t recommend pulling for Provence.
Texas
Texas is a very popular Vanguard for a lot of different reasons, but one of the bigger reasons is her potent S2, which rains magic energy swords down in a wide area around her. This Skill deals Arts damage, Stuns enemies, and generates DP, making it a one-stop shop for all your wartime needs. Combined with Block-2 from her archetype and a valuable initial DP boost from her Talent, Texas is a steady presence you can rely on in the heat of battle.
That being said, while Texas’ S2 has been excellent ever since Arknights began, it has a lot more competition now than it used to. Old standbys like Siege and Vigna and new standouts like Myrtle and upcoming Operator Bagpipe can be more appealing than Texas, particularly in combination with one another. If you’ve made it this far without Texas, chances are good she isn’t going to change your game too much at this point.
I don’t recommend pulling for Texas unless you need more strong Vanguards (or unless she’s your waifu, of course), but she’s worth investing in if you pull her, especially if you’re a relatively new player.
