Unbound Reflux: Thorns
Featured Operators:
| Rarity | Operator |
| 6★ Rate Up |  Thorns - Ranged Guard
|
| 5★ Rate Up |  Andreana - Long-Range Sniper
 Provence - Close Range Sniper
| 4★ Rate Up |  Jaye - DP-Drain Specialist
|
- 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★
- 4★ Rate-Ups have a 20% chance of appearing when pulling a 4★
- Operator Feature Banners do not add Operators to the Distinction shop
Should You Pull?
Probably. Sustained damage is very valuable in a lot of Arknights content, and Thorns is a particularly powerful source of it. Surprisingly, Jaye is also well worth your time, being one of the strongest 4★ Operators in the game. He boasts reliable, rapidfire sustain for himself and any adjacent allies, as well as ridiculous stats and a controversial Base Skill.
A lot of the very high difficulty content still relies on burst damage to take out tough enemies, and in this area Thorns falls short to burst powerhouses like Ch'en the Holungday, Surtr, Eyjafjalla, or SilverAsh, among others. On the other hand, if you're looking for an Operator to help you clear pretty much any other Arknights content, then Thorns is worth pulling for, especially if you plan on playing a lot of Integrated Strategies rogue-like mode, which will be coming permanently to global eventually.
As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? No. Andreana and Provence are both interesting Operators (especially together, as Andreana works best on enemies who are above a certain HP threshold and Provence works best on those below a certain HP threshold). However, they're usually not the best options, since there are so many other Operators who can bring comparable DPS with fewer caveats.
Quick Overview
+ E1 Talent does Arts damage over time to enemies that Thorns attacks (double the amount to ranged enemies)
+ E2 Talent regenerates Thorns’ HP when he has not attacked for 2 seconds
+ S2 has terrific uptime and great stat boosts
+ S3 increases attack range and greatly increases Thorns’ DPS, leading to very high consistent damage output
+ After using S3 twice, the effects become permanent for the rest of the fight!
= Can’t attack while S2 is active, but counterattacks with multi-target damage instead
- S3 has the [Attacking Enemy] SP charge type, so it can take a long time to charge if he doesn’t have a regular flow of enemies to attack
+ Usual benefits of Deadeye Snipers: huge attack range, prioritizes low-DEF enemies
+ Talent increases ASPD of Abyssal Hunter allies (i.e., Specter, Skadi)
+ S2 has decent uptime and an outrageously high ATK buff (+240% ATK at M3!)
- Usual downsides of Long-Range Snipers: very slow ASPD, does not prioritize aerial enemies
- While S2 is active, she does not attack enemies who have less than 50% health
+ When her Talent and Skills combine at the right time, her damage potential is insane
+ One of the few physical damage Snipers who can deal noticeable damage to high-DEF targets
- Her damage is highly conditional and can be tricky to maximize reliably
- For new players looking for Drone solutions, she does NOT prioritize flying targets
- High DP Cost, short attack range, and slightly slower Attack Speed than an Anti-Air Sniper
+ Has Fast-Redeploy redeployment time and very low DP cost
+ High HP, ATK, and DEF
+ Skills charge very quickly and have infinite duration once activated
+ S1 seals the special abilities of enemies that Jaye attacks
+ S2 heals a nearby ally every time Jaye attacks
- Consumes 3 DP every 3 seconds, essentially negating passive DP gain (and actively cutting into your DP pool on stages where DP regeneration is slowed)
- Has to be attacking an enemy in order to heal with S2, and will not heal for very much if attacking an enemy with high DEF (since his healing is based off the amount of damage he is doing)
Thorns
Thorns wields one of the most ornate swords in Arknights, and his fighting style is sheer poetry in motion. In contrast to fellow 6* Ranged Guard SilverAsh, Thorns focuses on sustained DPS rather than burst damage; his S3 offers a bevy of offensive buffs that become permanent once the S3 is used twice in the same battle. Thorns is also highly durable, boasting an HP-regenerating Talent and an S2 that sprays multi-target counterattacks when Thorns is attacked!
Andreana
Andreana only concerns herself with the heartiest of prey. Using her S2 and her trusty crossbow (yes, it’s a crossbow; no, we don’t get it either), she launches long-range nukes of impressive strength against her foes… but only ones that are above half health. Does this concern you? Never fear: Andreana’s S2 is so powerful that many enemies will skip right past “half health” and go straight to “dead” instead!
Provence
Provence is pretty much the polar opposite of Andreana. While Andreana is long-range, Provence is close-range. While Andreana’s specialty is dealing huge damage to enemies at high health, Provence’s specialty is dealing huge damage to enemies at low health. Combine their abilities and no enemy is safe from their arrows!
Jaye
Finball seller Jaye has a humble personality and a humble backstory, but his performance on the battlefield makes him a rock star. With terrific base stats, a cheap DP cost, and powerful, infinite-duration Skills, Jaye is the name on everybody’s lips! He does have the unfortunate downside of passively consuming DP while he’s deployed on the field. However, with his Fast Redeploy timer, you can pull him off the field when his services are no longer needed and redeploy him seconds later to cook up new strategies!
