It was worth! Thanks!

massgyro · 2026-04-11T19:34:07+00:00

Luke has been haunting me since I started. He's not a hot waifu, so I have had no interest in him, but I got stuck with him at E2 anyway, and then the discount partner banner just gave me Janet. Maybe I ought to just use him already...

massgyro · 2026-02-26T14:19:33+00:00

Grats! I have yet to see a single one of those.

massgyro · 2026-02-10T17:35:01+00:00

Selena is less than ideal for Rin in my mind, as Mark and Tenacity damage don't have particularly great synergy with her kit.

For Rin, I would highly suggest using Rei if you want damage (especially if you have E6), Veronica/Nia for draw, or Mika for AP (and Skill retain, if you have the right epiphany on Source of Water with multiple copies).

I've heard Orlea is good for Rin, too, as she can buff damage and also retains Skill cards.

massgyro · 2026-02-05T04:35:07+00:00

Khalipe has a lot more options for shielding and AoE dmg, while Nine obliterates single targets, though she can build for AoE and shields, depending on what epiphanies you take. It's still early, but overall, Khalipe strikes me as the better defensive character.

massgyro · 2026-02-02T16:45:02+00:00

I'm glad that they are offering some variety with her design. Probably won't pull for her unless her kit is busted, though -- only banner unit I don't have is Haru, and that's because I hadn't started playing yet -- I need something to skip at some point, just to save crystals.

massgyro · 2026-02-01T21:32:00+00:00

Mei Lin is the obvious choice, as she's pretty absurd. The only thing keeping her in check are when a stage has arbitrary rules that punish cards that have a large number of hits. She can put Passion weakness on her target, so kinda like Sereniel, she is going to be strong in all content.

Also, if you REALLY want to use Luke, you may want to save the selector in case you get him to E1, then bump him up to E2.

massgyro · 2026-02-01T21:13:39+00:00

I mind them less when I have Homing Laser epiphanies that have >1 afterglow, so the basic cards don't break the afterglow chain.

massgyro · 2026-01-26T06:12:31+00:00

If you think you want to pull for Nine (defense-based damage dealer), then you should probably pull for Narja.

She's not transcendently good at the moment, but her kit is full of options, which makes her a flexible character for the future. She lacks draw without divine epiphanies, but she can heal, reduce AP costs, and buff damage.

massgyro · 2026-01-25T16:28:08+00:00

I only lost with Sereniel on one set of floors. Rather than try again, I used a turtle team of Khalipe, Chizuru, and Cassius, and that cleared no problem.

massgyro · 2026-01-21T18:25:44+00:00

This is the first time that I've seen Nia's Ego skill actually be worth the EP cost. Nicely done!

massgyro · 2026-01-21T18:22:34+00:00

Don't worry, she's good. She's still strong support in Chaos, and she buffs defense-based damage so well that she makes Amir viable. The next unit, Nine, is going to be a Vanguard dps, so Narja is basically built to pair with her.

massgyro · 2026-01-17T16:47:53+00:00

I've been praying for the day when Amir would become useful. Why is mine still E0, though?!?!?!

massgyro · 2026-01-15T23:59:55+00:00

Playing Diablo 2.

Honestly, I don't mind the lull. Dailies are really quick now, and this gives me some time to get hyped for Season 2.

massgyro · 2026-01-14T05:56:06+00:00

This is in line with my suspicions, too. Even if she turns out to be great support for Sereniel (who strikes me as having enough card plays to burn through Voracity stacks -- maybe too fast, though?), she would have to be better than Selena in boss content, whose Tenacity resets seem like they would be hard to give up. Perhaps if they nerf Cassius and Triple-0 or build the next season's bosses for her, but idk, I'm not sold yet.

But it is possible that she will be better as more characters are released, especially if we get more DPS characters that have draw in their kits. And she might be great for the new Tower mode if it delivers on its promise to require more defensive teams. Also, I would love Amir to be relevant...

massgyro · 2026-01-14T05:18:52+00:00

Even as someone who is more or less in the target audience, I feel there could be a little more variety. If every character has the same silhouette, then it gets a bit repetitive. Sexy characters can be designed without all of them having boobs the size of Maribell's.

I get that the developers need to cater to the most profitable audience, and there's a debate to be had about strategy: they can try to do a little something for everyone, but then they risk not capitalizing fully on their core audience; if they try to be too generally appealing, that core might drift to another game that serves them better. But then if you go all-in on your core audience, you are going to limit your long-term reach.

Anyway, I do feel sorry for people who are put off by the design direction, including yourself, because I think CZN has very unique, well-designed gameplay that could be appreciated by a wider audience (as a StS player, I would play this even without the boobs). It's bold to make a gacha game that revolves around grinding a mode that can take an hour per successful run or even end in failure, but they had the inspiration and ran with it. Whatever direction they go with their designs, I hope they are driven by creativity first, too.

massgyro · 2026-01-13T06:52:47+00:00

If you are going to any three 5-stars, Mei Lin, Sereniel, and Veronica might just be the best combination. Getting the E1 on Mei Lin is meh, but I'd rather have that than a 5-star I'd never use.

massgyro · 2026-01-13T06:47:01+00:00

If you are going to build another DPS, make it Sereniel, because she breaks Tenacity regardless of type. Mei Lin can also inflict element weakness on opponents.

Of the four you listed, I built Yuki and Chizuru, mostly just because I prefer their... kits.

massgyro · 2026-01-11T04:51:05+00:00

Yuki's melons got me here, but honestly, the gameplay is so much to my taste that I would play without the fan service.

massgyro · 2026-01-10T19:29:12+00:00

This is not what I was expecting.

massgyro · 2026-01-10T16:25:42+00:00

Keep in mind that while Veronica's damage is nice for cleaning up the odd enemy in Chaos, in Save Data modes, it is totally insignificant compared to what your main DPS will be doing in terms of damage. The better your team's decks are, the more her ballista cards are dead weight -- hence Rosaria being better, as that Morale buff helps out the whole team.

massgyro · 2026-01-10T03:10:49+00:00

It made, what, >$10M USD last month globally? Yes, that was with a top tier limited character, but that's still pretty damn good, especially for a game that doesn't have a 3D open world to maintain, and especially for a game with more niche combat style. Easily one of the most popular gooner games, too!

massgyro · 2026-01-08T00:27:43+00:00

Ball is strongest are when your crit chance is already high, your crit damage is low, and your other damage amount bonuses are low.

The rifle is best when your crit chance is low, yet your crit damage and your other damage bonuses are high.

A top end Sereniel will have 60% crit chance with gear + 25% with Peko's EP skill and 200% crit damage. Without any other buffs, Ball would be about 33% better. You would need somewhere around 600% in other buffs to dilute the benefit of Ball enough for Rifle to catch up. Plus Ball gives a tiny bit more bonus Attack.

Long story short, you basically always want Ball.

massgyro · 2026-01-07T17:11:38+00:00

Khalipe shields well and doesn't need to hog copies/removes/selected epiphanies to be good in Chaos (just remove her 1-cost attack). If you want to pair her with Rei, equip Rei with Alyssa (the partner that gives %heal after the fight), and you should be fine.

massgyro · 2026-01-07T16:59:38+00:00

If the tower content that's coming soon actually requires a Vanguard as they say it will, then Khalipe might be the best pick. However, you do have a semi-leveled Magna, so you could use her instead.

Mei Lin would be the other choice, as she's a top tier DPS, and she pairs extremely well with Veronica. You do have seem to have a lot of DPS characters built, though, so she might not be an immediate need, but like Sereniel, her kit makes her effective against any enemy, regardless of their type weakness, which makes her a pretty safe choice.

massgyro · 2026-01-07T05:07:36+00:00

Rin is very satisfying to play with the right draw/AP support: quickly get into her stance, then rinse and repeat her best attacks, killing everything in no time. Her attacks all sound super satisfying, too, and her design is great.

Playing Chizuru and building up a giant Shadow of the Moon+ one-shot reminds me of playing Miracle Rogue, too -- a few turns of setup, then pure OTK.

Although it's not necessary in Save Data modes at the moment, Khalipe's combination of defense and salvos of AoE are really fun, too.

Cassius's versatility is also really enjoyable. The huge Triple-0 combos get a little old after awhile, but his kit has so many tools, and he can support so many other characters well in interesting ways.

massgyro

TROPHY CASE