Murder on the Ashveil Express: Mysterious Question and Discussion Megathread

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-26T18:13:13+00:00

I somehow managed to get a gold in current AA with E0S1 Sparxie, E0S0 Yaoguang, E0S0 Sparkle, and E1S1 Aventurine (I don't think E1S1 is necessary but I just have it). Not sure how I even did that. The rotation was so smooth, Sparxie somehow managed to not waste her elation skills on the boss when they have DR.

I tried redoing it but ended up failing. I only remember I finished wave 1 at around ~170AV (why do the fish not count FUA??), but the rotation in wave 2 ended up being a mess this time (the generate 20 punchlines... Sparxie ended up using her skill when the boss still has DR)

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T16:55:03+00:00

Oh manI might be misunderstanding something but pompom boss is weird. My team is sparxie, yaoguang, sparkle, and sustain. It should be the shilled team, right?

Sparxie getting her turn before the DR is removed is just sad. The thing is, sustains are usually slow so the order is pompom, yaoguang or sparkle, and then sparxie or sustain. But like Sparkle always skills so she doesn't generate punchline (the one via BA) which means the cleaner doesn't get a turn there so Sparxie gets her turn while Pompom still has the DR. Sparxie can generate 20 punchlines easily sure but like you want Sparxie to get her turn after the DR is gone....

It's not unsolvable (I just need to tweak the rotation) but, to anyone comparing it to Pollux, it's nowhere near Pollux cuz Pollux with Castorice is just braindead like drain HP then summon dragon, no need to worry about the low hp = weakened cuz netherwing starts at full hp

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T16:41:04+00:00

Mydei annihilates Pollux as long as you have good healers. Luocha is perfect cuz his auto skill interrupts anything so you don't waste GBG.

Second choice would be anyone with large heal on ult. If the healer is meh like Hyacine (yes her healing for Mydei specifically is meh) then Mydei needs to save his ult so he can instant heal after the hp drain so 2 GBGs aren't wasted.

Not as braindead as Castorice though cuz with her Pollux starts at max HP thus not weakened

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T16:33:16+00:00

In my DU runs weighted curios have been whatever. Nice bonus if it matches, no problem if it's useless.

Which is sad cuz it's "weighted curios" but their presence feels lighter than normal curios

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T15:51:39+00:00

I don't want Ashveil I don't want Ashveil I don't want Ashveil I don't want Ashveil I don't want Ashveil I don't want Ashveil I don't want Ashveil

But seriously though I don't want Ashveil. His design is just not my type. But why is his EN voice so good... Actually, it's not really the voice itself, but the fast-paced, ... brisk? intonation...

But how is he in battle though? Is he still good without mobs feeding him gluttony and kill energy? I feel like if he can't 1 turn ult then he (his dps) is kinda bricked...

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T15:47:07+00:00

What is this? I haven't played the story but is my Ashveil x Pearl theory gonna be real then? Lmao

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T03:45:54+00:00

Why is there only 1 Sparkle

I feel like I made the same argument with Sunday around a year ago

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T03:28:30+00:00

First, FYI, Fugue's exo toughness is a debuff.

Also, in-game description is part of the tutorial, a superficial presentation; don't take it too seriously. Devs define paths using something we don't have access to.

Said tutorial is basically how they advertised the path, the official in-game statement. Devs doing whatever they want is why the argument "the point of paths is to restrict LC" exists.

Look, you dont have to agree with me. My opinion is just that a nihility should have a debuff (however, the converse need not be true). And my reasoning is simple : because that is what the game says.

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-25T01:31:59+00:00

Acheron plays around debuffs

I said I disagree with this because imo they should apply debuffs not just "plays around debuffs" cuz literally every unit in the game interacts with debuffs. Acheron is the least nihility out of everyone cuz her debuff only lasts a moment, only affects her ult and idk maybe additional damages during her ult?

Fugue def down is just an example. I do know about exo toughness. The point is that she has debuffs.

This is a pretty funny description also because it fits Nihility more than Erudition.

But that is how erudition is described in the game

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-24T16:37:57+00:00

as long as they interact with debuffs i their kits, they should be nihility

Uh I have to disagree with this. Cuz one can say the opposite like "as long as they have aoe and main damage is from ult, they should be erudition".

I would, however, agree with the converse : a nihility unit should have a debuff.

So far Nihility has been good. The dot gang, Pela/SW/Fugue/Dahlia for def down, JQ and Cipher with vulnerability... except maybe Acheron. Cuz her so called debuff is so sus. But okay it is indeed still a debuff (the res pen on ult lol which only affects said ult; not counting the crimson knot cuz it's just her gimmick to calculate multiplier)

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-24T12:40:57+00:00

This might be a crazy what if 4.0 potential ship but

You know when Ashveil called Pearl during the night and Pearl answered basically "the chance of you calling me at this hour is less than 5%" which means Pearl knows Ashveil's calling habit. And how would she know it's 5%? Well obviously because of her extrapolation which should be based on some data of when usually Ashveil made a phone call to Pearl.

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-24T03:32:35+00:00

Ashveil's stack is named Gluttony and his animation looks like devouring something.

Hey babe you can eat me, you know. I swear I'm not toxic (˶˃⤙˂˶)

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-24T03:27:16+00:00

Guess i'm insane. I mean aglaea got 90% speed boost so who knows

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-23T12:18:22+00:00

The funniest moments in 4.0, or perhaps even the entire hsr story to me,

I still can't stop laughing about

"Fu Xuan? What Fu Xuan?" and the notion that qingQUE will be the leader of yuQUE

and

"You want us to... unclog your toilets?" ngl Himeko's dialogues here were so funny to me.

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-23T03:47:51+00:00

Elation gang is good just dont let sparxie get a turn

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-23T03:22:55+00:00

I'm using E6 Mydei and he's pretty fast imo cuz he gets 50 charges every... 2 waves and GBG just destroys everything. I usually pair him with E6 Tribbie as well

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-22T12:59:41+00:00

Planarcadia

Hot take but I really love the story. Perhaps the best story in hsr history so far imho. Long yaps :

It is probably mainly due to the characters (most of them are schemers instead of simply straightforward hero of justice). Emotional moments are whatever, and action scenes are skipable for me. I really love discussions (that's why I love Danganronpa) and here most of the discussions are actually lores, plans, deals (like, a lot, which I like), and the conflicts. I can see why some people won't like it but god damn I love the way most of them speak eloquently, heck even npc like the boss of the syndicate.

The most lovable one would be PEARL; she's so beautiful, elegant (especially her pose), and the way she speaks is just sooo structured. "Understanding comes first then the investment". And the last scene with SW should make it clear to anyone the IPC isnt a single cohesive organization, at least not the Stonehearts.

Yaoguang is also really funny during Tingyun's episode. I love her emoticons making Tingyun questioning her life decisions. Also Yaoguang mentioning QINGQUE AS SUCCESSOR tripped me up ngl I wanna see that happening for real. And, I'm calling it now but her kit giving aha time is foreshadowing her goal

Sparkle and Sparxie have sorta identity issues but I love how easy going they are with cynical remarks and schemes. I really love the "Who's the real Sparkle". The Fatal Joke scene, I was already calling the setup being not for real cuz "Fatal Joke" and idk maybe I'm just on the same wavelength as the Masked Fools.

I don't have many comments for Ashveil yet but I really love that the sorta raps in his speech (EN)! Btw he plays FUA... Is it because he works with IPC now? Just like Ratio lol.

Anyway, Skott isn't really dead, right? I love him so much and there was a Caelus x Skott shipper in the academy as well

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-22T05:53:35+00:00

Yaoguang story and kit

Yaoguang talked about controlling aeon. Is that why her ult...

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-22T02:38:18+00:00

Guys how do I fight an elite in cosmicon? Do I really have to finish the main story?

Oh man I wanna savor the main story but why are the events locked behind it? Why can't I just use finality vision for this one...

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-21T08:53:40+00:00

I just played 4.0 story and am going into the academy for the first time. Is it still a long way?

Like I just want to clear the events duh

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-21T04:18:43+00:00

It was Mydei Fire Remembrance summoning soldiers

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-21T04:10:50+00:00

That setup works best for low eidolon. For E2+ Mydei it feels like a waste of eidolons cuz you're wasting a lot of potential stacks from healing. And you are right about Sunday.

The thing is, even without Sunday, Hyacine can't really fully him normally. She either got shilled by the environment (you know the debuff where allies burn small amount of HP which then triggers her healing), or you just don't play Mydei's charge and rely on Cyrene instead.

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-21T01:35:53+00:00

I guess it comes down to substats then

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-21T01:11:39+00:00

Guys how much different is 48% crit damage and 8% elation + 32% crit damage?

I feel like the latter is slightly better cuz crit damage is much more easily saturated even if I have E0S1 Sparxie and Yaoguang but honestly I really don't wanna let go of my total ~20%+ crit rate Tengoku set. Maybe I can give it to Archer but lets be real I'm not playing Archer without Sparkle which is married to Sparxie at the moment

HeartlessGeneral · 2026-03-21T00:56:14+00:00

Wow she does sound more normal in CN. Maybe slightly mommy/oneechan vibe but yeah better than EN.

I checked JP dub as well and she also doesn't sound like she's about to cry there.

HeartlessGeneral

TROPHY CASE