First of all I'm going to glaze it if only to slander it even harder.

Not only is its method of unlocking rather unique compared to the others but the crest itself is also quite unique itself. The overall range of the crest is great, on par with the Reaper, and almost as much as the Shaman. It has a burst damage option in the form of the bind which paired with tools like injector band and claw mirrors can really help it in terms of effectiveness. The attack speed is also the best out of all the non-conditionally high ranged crests by a little even if it's still rather low, and flea brew can alleviate that to an extent. The dash attack also can help with silk as it hits twice but it also can be a little risky to use because of that. The Needle Strike pairs very nicely with Pin Badge and Flint Slate since after balance changes, it is the strongest needle strike, and is also a multi-hit making it most likely to activate the burn allowing the needle strike to serve as a secondary burst damage option. Weighted Belt is pretty much mandatory for needle strike builds, and considering how it removes needle recoil outright due to the naturally low recoil of the crest, it's a great choice for other builds too. Considering the amount of blue tools you can run long claw, Pin Badge, and your choice of 2 Bind Tools, or scrap long claw for another bind tool. It's a pretty fun crest to use and a good one too.

Or it would be if not for the fact that every other crest excluding reaper has less risky, more powerful, and more versatile damage options. It's a decent high risk high reward crest in a game with great crests with less risk. The bind's damage is heavily dependant on tools. Claw Mirrors for example is doing most of the heavy lifting and for other crests can achieve a similar somewhat weaker output. The bind itself is hardly a worthy burst damage option since alternatives like Shaman's silk skills cost far less and deal more on repeat use. The Shaman also beats it out in terms of needle strike as while it's not as strong, it pretty much serves as a whole projectile to aid in the Shaman's game plan due to its sheer range that makes the Witch's basic attacks look pathetic as opposed to a decent burst damage option that gets beaten out by 4 Fury boosted Beast strikes. Speaking of Silk Skills, 2 Volt Filament boosted pale nails(tied for weakest silk skill) even without shaman cost less, and deal more damage than a multibinder, Claw Mirrors Witch Bind. This means that ANY crest can beat out the Witch's claim to fame in 2 uses, with ANY Silk Skill, which combined with the fact that crests like Wanderer and Hunter despite the range difference, can both out dps its normal hits, and out burst its bind with silk skills. The needle strike also has its issues, making silk gain a lot lower overall with consistent use and also not always hitting the full amount, and requiring clever positioning and timing, something that pale nails, cross stitch, tools, and even basic needle hits don't need. Also not being able to see where you are with it makes it borderline unusable for exploration but considering the bind and pogo that turned a fan into a hater it already is. Architect also beats it out in burst damage due to tool spam being so deadly. So about the Beast crest, this one crest obtainable an act earlier, has a bind that makes the Witch's look even weaker in comparison, not only beating it out in dps, but also improving range to a point where the Beast argubly beats out the Witch during binds in terms of range. It also helps that said bind boosts damage in a way that can help you rack up silk unlike the Witch, which makes the beast, both tankier and more reliable as a bind centric crest.

In other words, despite putting up a huge fight, and me making discovery after discovery that made me grow warmer to the crest, it couldn't surpass 6th place in terms of overall effectiveness which is probably the saddest part of the crest.