New Heroes Arrive! Book IV Midpoint (June 5th)

[Yexin]

so, scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh IntSys?

this banner is not Adrift-level for me, since these are all new units (aside from anna), but it's really close, i'm not even remotely interested in any of them
kinda wish vaike was in the banner instead of mustafa

Edited June 4, 2020 by Yexin

[silverserpent]

Thank you...this banner is a total skip for me! Depending on if that character is ninja addition, I'll do my free pulls on red/colorless and call it a day. I should have 300-400 orbs by next MHB which, if Mirabilis is the Mythic being debuted, I can more or less skip as well~ Now, I have to wait for the temptation of Summer to pass depending on their selection this year.

[Sayyyaka]

Easy skip (thank god), I never cared about Say'ri, I don't care about the fairies and Mustafa is one of the worst examples of Awakening's more...cheap "emotional" story bits.  I feel bad for fans of other Awakening characters.  But hey, Gangrel is here which is great.

[MagicCanonBalls]

Goodbye orbs stash. Freakin Anna, Sayri and Mustafa. Luckily I didn't spend any on Mila or Valentine banner.

[Vicious Sal]

Time to ally support Emmeryn and Kliff!

 

 

 

[Eltosian Kadath]

What a mixed bag. First a random OC put on the banner arbitrarily, and then a character so far out of left field that I kinda love it. The only thing that would have been better than Mustafa from Awakening would have been Cervantes's mustache.

[coldhand25]

This was the weirdest banner video I have ever seen, and I do believe I've seen all of them... Like, Say'ri speaks japanese, we get Mustafa and his kit is utter garbage, the whole thing starts very rushed without the part where it shows all the character (which by the way is a good thing, that they no longer do that, but it was really unexpected...), and we get a mythic 4 days after the mythic banner... Also, the teaser at the end was a big "what?" moment for me. 

Well anyways, as random as it was, I will probably skip this one. I don't really care for any of them other than Say'ri, but she shares colour so that's that.

[Vicious Sal]

2 hours ago, BigBandit said:

You are underestimating the flexibility Mirabilis can provide on a Defense team. Sure, in a vacuum she might be the worst of the anima units. But when taking into account the entire defense team, she is arguably one of the best.

Outside of L!Azura, there is not much improvement that can made in the dance slot on a defense team. However, that is not true for Lif, Duma, and debatably Thrasir. There are many units you could use that will significantly outperform them on a Defense team. These units will also get the bonus stats that the Anima mythics would not get.

Also, you can always just run normal Dance instead of her main assist.

IMO, Thrasir and Mirabilis is the best Anima combination because of the flexibility it gives you for the rest of your defense team.

Not at all, Mirabilis is just a strictly worse dancer to have than other dancers that are available. L!Azura still gives better mobility with Gray waves and is able to equip Silver goblet which is way better than Prayer wheel. Peony can grant extra mobility as well. Reyson is able to gain 3 move on specific defense teams. Silvia, Ninian and Tethys can use Infantry Pulse and be either great frontline units or nukes on their own. 

Mirabilis brings none of that. She debuffs the enemy, whereas sabotage atk can provide similar results, bright shrine exists. And her dance most likely debuffs your team since panic is easily applied. The best about her is her weapon and the fact that she grants Hp and Res. And she reduces lift loss. 

Mirabili does not offer more than that though, also not at high merges. Thrasir and Lif can become crazy nukes or a great frontline, offer IP support and also reduce lift loss without sacrifing mobility of the defense team. They also can do this at low merges.

Again, Mirabilis is not bad, but absolutely underwhelming compared to units that have the same role as her on a defense team. 

2 hours ago, XRay said:

 

There is absolutely no reason to throw Orbs at BIVM!Anna for fodder when better skill options exists. I can afford to throw Sacred Coins at Defiants for my AA Blade mages because there is not much left for me to upgrade. For a newer player though, throwing Sacred Coins on Defiants is a complete waste since there are so many better Sacred Seals to upgrade. In a vacuum, having a Defiant Sacred Seal is better than having no Sacred Seal, but when better options exist like Swift Sparrow and Brazen Atk/Spd, there is no reason to use nor upgrade Defiants.

I agree that there is no reason to go for Anna now fodder wise. But she is not a bad unit to have on a legendary banner because of her fodder. Rally+ skills still offer great scoring potential and it doesn't really matter which one you slap on your score bots since it's just for the SP cost. So as something sharing with what you want on a LHB or MHB it is perfectly fine.

2 hours ago, XRay said:

A cheap Rally will do in Aether Raids for Rally traps on defense. That is the only scenario where I can think of where Rallies matters in a performance scenario. In every other performance scenario, you want a positioning Assist. Although not universal, Dulls and Lulls are pretty common on super tanks, so running a more expensive Rally is not always going to be doing much.

This is false. Rally Up and Regular Rally behave very differently and should be considered when making your defense team. It changes position of rally and thus flow of events. And even then, you always want to take the lowest form of the rally, not a high form. So good defense maps take Rally up Res, and not Rally up Res+. A regular Rally Atk does the same as Rally Atk/Spd+ and costs less when you get panicked. But to say they are the same is just incorrect. 

2 hours ago, XRay said:

Ruses are crap because it uses an action, the area of effect is narrow, and it may require the player to be put into a less advantageous positioning just to use the skill. Dance/Sing also cannot be used to activate Ruses, so Tethys and other Dancers/Singers do not benefit from Ruses.

This is also just flat out wrong. Ruse, when applied correctly on a defense map, will cover two columns. And the dancer is the one that should have the rally equipped, or a front line unit. The rally bot rallies a frontline unit, Ruses two columns and then the dance happens. Ruses cripple carry units immensely because of the guard effect and are some of the best skills for AR-D to have.

2 hours ago, XRay said:

 Iago and Aversa can be obtained with Grails for free, and the first copy is only 100 Grails, which is about a week or two of AR play. Iago, Aversa, Sabotages, and Pulse Ties are automatic, meaning the debuffer can do something else important in the meantime like chipping enemies, destroying Aether Structures, or using a positioning Assist. They are also global, meaning that the debuffer does not have to fiddle with potentially bad positioning that may put themselves and their teammates in jeopardy; and the stat check and enemy positioning requirements are also pretty easy to fulfill since enemies tend to bunch up together.

A pure Rally bot is less effective than a Smite bot, and Mordecai exists. Even if you do not want to use Mordecai, a Smite bot with Link-Hone/Fortify/Tactic-Hone/Fortify/Tactic is more than sufficient for buffing and a Smite bot can position teammates.

Not much to add to this, it's true that tactic/link/smite is better for Offense. Just wanted to clarify that I do not disagree with this part since it's about offense. 

[Hilda]

2 hours ago, Humanoid said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Nice to have an alternative to Brady as a current-gen infantry healer. Brady himself needs to be foddered to all other healers for the Push skill, and Mercedes doesn't count because I can't stand her and her base kit does nothing for me. This is assuming Emmy goes into the 3-4* pool of course.

 

__

As for the banner units, some people care mostly about new characters. Others like me only care about new units, and don't care much about who they are, prioritising utility over representation. Looks like the banner has managed to unite the feuding factions in shared disappointment. 😛

Spoiler

watch her be on a seperate banner repeating the Ayra incident!!!

 

[Humanoid]

Just now, Hilda said:

  Reveal hidden contents

watch her be on a seperate banner repeating the Ayra incident!!!

 

Or have the late July banner be Awakening again.

 

I'd take it.

[Ice Dragon]

9 minutes ago, Vicious Sal said:

Mirabilis brings none of that. She debuffs the enemy, whereas sabotage atk can provide similar results, bright shrine exists. And her dance most likely debuffs your team since panic is easily applied. The best about her is her weapon and the fact that she grants Hp and Res. And she reduces lift loss. 

9 minutes ago, Vicious Sal said:

This is false. Rally Up and Regular Rally behave very differently and should be considered when making your defense team. It changes position of rally and thus flow of events. And even then, you always want to take the lowest form of the rally, not a high form. So good defense maps take Rally up Res, and not Rally up Res+. A regular Rally Atk does the same as Rally Atk/Spd+ and costs less when you get panicked. But to say they are the same is just incorrect. 

The best defense maps I've seen are virtually immune to Aversa and Sudden Panic, which are the only common sources of Panic on offense teams. They use a combination of Rally skills and teleportation skills to get units that are separated from each other at the beginning and possibly even all the way in the corner to suddenly be in the offense team's face.

Mirabilis would be perfect on these teams for the combination of providing Mythic Hero bonuses, applying buffs, and being able to use Guidance.

Additionally, as an Anima Mythic Hero, she doesn't share a season with Mila, meaning the only source of Isolation is Bride Fjorm, who is still rare on offense teams.

 

Just now, Humanoid said:

Or have the late July banner be Awakening again.

She wouldn't be on the character introductions page if she were not going to be released before the mid-June banner.

[Etrurian emperor]

Quote

Gangrel came from one of the poorest parts of Plegia. He lived with his mother, formerly a member of nobility, but she later died of an illness, leaving him alone.

Did Sharena just go ahead and secretly give Gangrel the backstory that Awakening never did? You go, girl!

[Diovani Bressan]

1 hour ago, Vicious Sal said:

... And the dancer is the one that should have the rally equipped...

I got confused in this part.If the dancer is the one with Rally equipped, that unit is not a dancer anymore.

[Zelgius]

Interesting, I have designs for the Joint Drive Speed skill.

[SuperNova125]

Easy skip, I don't care about any of the units gameplay wise. Mirabilis is interesting and will be an amazing debuffed however she is Anima which is full and doesn't truly need anything else as far as my defense is concerned. I don't understand why fill out all 4 Anima heroes while Astra has only two, one being Naga which has to be the worst mythic hero? She would have been very good as an offensive hero and an amazing replacement for the lackluster unit that Naga is. Anyway I will use only the tickets and the free summon in Red or Blue to hopefully get lucky and pull a Mirabilis to use or Anna/Say'ri to fodder. 

From what the meet the heroes page showcased Gangrel will most likely be a dagger unit wielding a levin dagger I guess. Does anyone know what's the weapon that Emmenym uses on her introduction?

Edited June 4, 2020 by SuperNova125

[Othin]

Okay, if Emmeryn's here I withdraw my objections to the weirdness and am officially happy with this. I don't even care how she's implemented, since we already have a free unit and a demote, so Mirabilis only stole a 5* slot.

We now have all four Anima stat bonuses, so the next Anima hero will have to either start a new cycle or do something different. I'm curious to see how that'll go.

[Humanoid]

9 minutes ago, SuperNova125 said:

From what the meet the heroes page showcased Gangrel will most likely be a dagger unit wielding a levin dagger I guess. Does anyone know what's the weapon that Emmenym uses on her introduction?

I'm no good at recognising weapons myself but according to the subreddit, Eminem wields Rehabilitate.

[Diovani Bressan]

26 minutes ago, SuperNova125 said:

From what the meet the heroes page showcased Gangrel will most likely be a dagger unit wielding a levin dagger I guess. Does anyone know what's the weapon that Emmenym uses on her introduction?

That staff the chibi sprite is holding is Rehabilitate, so this may be her healing assist skill.

The staff in her Art, however, is Recover... Which is also the staff she holds in her official Awakening art.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Diovani Bressan

[Mercakete]

Well. Other than the banner being primarily Awakening-themed, that was...really...unexpected. A mythic hero outside of a mythic banner? Mustafa, and not even on a banner that really makes much sense for him? Getting Gangrel AND Emmeryn sometime in the new future? Say'ri not having her English lines yet? This sure is chaotic... And that trailer at the end...

Edit: Ah, and that they chose to release the daydream fairy now instead of after the book is over or someone else. That was kind of random...

Edited June 4, 2020 by Mercakete

[Vicious Sal]

49 minutes ago, Diovani Bressan said:

I got confused in this part.If the dancer is the one with Rally equipped, that unit is not a dancer anymore.

Ruse* Sorry, got mixed up in the words apparently.

[Xenomata]

Just double checked, Apotheosis Anna, in the Apotheosis DLC at least, is...

~God tier stats (99 Hp, 60 Str, 70 Skl/Spd, 65 Luk, 55 Def/Res)
~Using forged Brave Lance and Spear (+8 might and +20 hit on top of each weapons base stats)
~Has a 65% chance of triggering Aether
~Has Vantage+, Dragonskin, and Counter

So yeah it makes sense to give her a metric shitton of Speed and Attack, but...

~Despite sharing the design of the Awakening Spear, it does not have any form of Distant Counter, and does not have any form of second attacks
~She does not seem to have all that high HP, and we currently don't know her defensive ability
~Does not have any form of Vantage
~Has an effect on her weapon that doesn't exist in any form in her original appearance

...is Anna holding back her true power, or does the Castle Apotheosis Outrealm do something to red-headed merchants...?

[Ice Dragon]

24 minutes ago, Diovani Bressan said:

That staff the chibi sprite is holding is Rehabilitate, so this may be her healing assist skill.

The staff in her Art, however, is Recover... Which is also the staff she holds in her official Awakening art.

It will be her Assist skill. Staff units that are not on Special Heroes banners do not have their weapon skill already learned when they are summoned, so their "default" battle sprites are always displayed with their Assist skill and not their weapon.

 

2 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

~Has an effect on her weapon that doesn't exist in any form in her original appearance

Heroes Anna is slowly assimilating the other Annas and giving them all Noatun. Just like Hector.

[Nébulya]

Mustafa is here.. I can't believe it. It was one of my favorite boss if Awakening with Cervantes. :3 next +10 project!

[XRay]

4 hours ago, Vicious Sal said:

This is false. Rally Up and Regular Rally behave very differently and should be considered when making your defense team. It changes position of rally and thus flow of events. And even then, you always want to take the lowest form of the rally, not a high form. So good defense maps take Rally up Res, and not Rally up Res+. A regular Rally Atk does the same as Rally Atk/Spd+ and costs less when you get panicked. But to say they are the same is just incorrect. 

So basically the "better" the Rally, the worse it actually is, so that means Rally Atk/Spd does not even have a place performance wise.

4 hours ago, Vicious Sal said:

This is also just flat out wrong. Ruse, when applied correctly on a defense map, will cover two columns. And the dancer is the one that should have the rally equipped, or a front line unit. The rally bot rallies a frontline unit, Ruses two columns and then the dance happens. Ruses cripple carry units immensely because of the guard effect and are some of the best skills for AR-D to have.

Guard effect is the least of a super tank's concern, especially when the super tank got BH!Lucina support or when they have so much stats that they can kill without needing a Special. Stat debuffs are more problematic, but with 2 stat manipulators, super tanks can still brute force through debuffs. Two M!Corrins with all Drives can provide all stat+12 to just overwhelm the debuff. And depending on how common DB!Ike and debuff reversal becomes, applying stat debuffs could be a pretty bad idea.

For Player Phase teams, debuffs in general are not going to be doing much when player can just Dance/Sing it off.

Defense units are just better off running something annoying like Vantage, Wings of Mercy, Null C-Disrupt, Null Follow-Up, or whatever else.

4 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Mirabilis would be perfect on these teams for the combination of providing Mythic Hero bonuses, applying buffs, and being able to use Guidance.

Stat boots and Guidance/Air Orders/Ground Orders/etc. are nice, but I do not think using bonus stat buffs outside the context of Rally traps is a good idea. And even for Rally traps, you want to use the weakest Rally possible. At best, bonus buffs does nothing against a super tank with Dull/Lull. At worst, the offense team can just Panic the buffed defense units and make things worse.

1 hour ago, Xenomata said:

Just double checked, Apotheosis Anna, in the Apotheosis DLC at least, is...

~God tier stats (99 Hp, 60 Str, 70 Skl/Spd, 65 Luk, 55 Def/Res)
~Using forged Brave Lance and Spear (+8 might and +20 hit on top of each weapons base stats)
~Has a 65% chance of triggering Aether
~Has Vantage+, Dragonskin, and Counter

So yeah it makes sense to give her a metric shitton of Speed and Attack, but...

~Despite sharing the design of the Awakening Spear, it does not have any form of Distant Counter, and does not have any form of second attacks
~She does not seem to have all that high HP, and we currently don't know her defensive ability
~Does not have any form of Vantage
~Has an effect on her weapon that doesn't exist in any form in her original appearance

...is Anna holding back her true power, or does the Castle Apotheosis Outrealm do something to red-headed merchants...?

99/60/70/55/55 would be pretty dope in Heroes. It would be nice to give her Meister-Aether-Distant Counter Lance, and a B skill that gives unconditional Vantage, 50% damage reduction, and a permanent Vengeance effect.

Edited June 4, 2020 by XRay

[BergelomeuSantos]

I'll be trying my Free on Anna, pull the rest on Mustafar and that's it.

Kinda of a pretty disappointing one. And is Say'ri really speaking japonese?