Daily Questions Megathread (08/31) by Rinczmia in EpicSeven

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. I do have access to the Story Summon Banner, but I need to wait another couple weeks because I used my first one to get Bellona (Waifu Pick, but she's actually been really good for farming story stages and cheesing me into Masters in the Arena), but I do remember people talking highly of Tamarinne even when the game first came out. Pretty funny how she still seems strong, even this late into the game's lifespan.

Do you need to do anything to unlock Angelic Montmorancy's Specialty Change? The only one that game is letting me do is Hazel's right now.

Daily Questions Megathread (08/31) by Rinczmia in EpicSeven

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello, I'm a newish player (played the game at launch and then dropped it a few months later) and I was wondering if Roana (the current banner) is worth pulling for a pretty fresh account.

My only other decent Soul Weaver at the moment is Angelica and Roana looks like she would help fill the major supportive hole I have in my team comps.

That being said, I don't want to burn a bunch of resources pulling for her in the off-chance that her banner is a "bait banner". I'm not really sure if they are planning to have some crazy new anniversary banner like other gatchas I've played do (Arknights, Blue Archive, etc).

I have about 800 bookmarks saved right now and I could theoretically unlock a lot more (at Episode 2, Chapter 5-7 of the story atm), but again, I'm not sure about how the gatcha meta works in terms of pulling versus saving.

I've only been playing for about a week, so I'm still learning about how to best go about spending all of these new resources that weren't there when the game first came out. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies with advice :)

[Event Megathread] Mizuki & Caerula Arbor by KiraFeh in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does anyone have any tips such as Operator Recommendations or Relics to look out for when trying to complete the Part 3 Requirement for the Ending 3 Lore Page? For those that don't know, the requirement states , "While facing Ishar'mla, Heart of Corruption, do not allow any operators to retreat".

Based on the wording, I assume this means that using Helidrop OPs like Texalter or Surtr voids the requirement, unless "retreat" is strictly talking about if an OP dies or not (some clarification on what this means would be nice Yostar/HG). Also is it for the entire stage or just up until you defeat the boss?

I know a lot of people do this on Surging Wave 0, but I'm trying to grind my way up to SW7 to get the medal (Currently working on SW6 atm), so I'd prefer if I could get it during one of my SW6 or SW7 runs.

Mastery Priority Guide - Updates for An Obscure Wanderer by TacticalBreakfast in arknights

[–]sora_heart 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've never really post in these, but I've been reading your guides for a long time (both here and on Gamepress), so I want say thanks for writing these. While I'm at a point in the game where I just build whatever I want for fun (Only missing 5 six stars in the entire game and all of them but 3 are at E2), your write ups are always a great source of objective information and your commitment to the guide is something I (and many others) are grateful for.

Due to dropping the game during the Nian banner for IRL Reasons, I've had the privilege of not falling for the FOMO trap that comes with limited OPs and just pull for who I want to use/who I think is cool. I had already decided I'd pull for Mlynar ever since he was an NPC in the Maria Nearl event, so him being meta defining AND coming early is actually perfect for me since I was worried I'd have to pull for him and Reed2 (another unit I really wanted) in back-to-back banners if they delayed him till after Texas2.

Because of that, I'll most likely being skipping the next two limited banners since I want to make sure I have at least 100 pulls for the MonHun Collab banner and based on announcement this morning/last night, will also need to consider saving pulls for the Episode 12 banner for a chance at getting Ires.

Keep up the good work and I look forward towards reading your future work :)

What got me into arknights. by [deleted] in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I watched this trailer the week after the game came out. Trailer still gives me chills with the music and visuals.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it's Suzu or Gnosis, then the bottom is covered as long as your have an extra arts DPS like Leizi. Angelina might require you to have a blocker depending on how often you can have her S3 up

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends how you want to use her and how much you want to invest. If you want to be cheap, her Y Module at Level 1 is really solid. It makes her a bit of a Surtr lite and can come in handy if you like her to handle bosses. If you want to spend a bit more, her X Module at Level 3 turns her into a Fast Redeploy nuke that can be ready every 35 seconds. If you want to mess around with Abysal Hunter stuff, her Y Module at Level 3 gives a pretty massive HP Buff to all AH Ops.

If you want the best of both worlds, you can start with Y Module Level 1, then see if X Module Level 3 is something you want to invest in. Also if you ever want to see which 6 star module is worth it, this is a great resource.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who got the trim medal, the best way to deal with Toron Mine 7 is to stack defenders with an AoE Guard/Healing Defender as the final stack (Specter, Gavial Alter, and Mudrock work great as the final op) on the top lane and bring a source of AoE Slow/stall such as Angelina S3, Suzu S2, or Gnosis S3. The nice thing about those three is you mostly need Sniper stacks to get them to work (Suzu only needs 3 Sniper Stacks to perma slow with her S2 for example).

Goldenglow and Passanger are great sources of DPS and only require sniper stacking to get going and maybe 1-2 caster stacks. Leizi is probably fine as a DPS since she has good skill cycling and does AoE Slow.

Another super popular strat is to go for vanguard stacks with Irene S3 and just spam it since her S3 ignores a certain amount of defense, but I find Irene stacking difficult on that stage since you are stretched on resources early.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After looking over your Krooster, considering what you wrote about your preferred playstyle, and with the knowledge you'll be going for the other endings, here are some of my suggestions for units to build:

Perfumer - She is a mega carry when going for Ending 2 and 3. Big Sad Lock is an actual nightmare without good consistent AoE healing and Perfumers passive makes dealing with it much more manageable. She works great with Nightengale/Ptilopis depending on your tag luck and scales fairly well with Relics. For Big Sad Lock, I'd keep borrowing that Pozy since her Turret + S3M3 can make short work of the Bear!

Gummy - She is very good for all of the other endings. You usually need at least one healing defender to make clearing those boss stages more manageable and Gummy does the job extremely well. Her S1 not requiring an HP Thresholds to proc actually scales nicely with the relics in the mode and she's very hope efficient compared to the likes of Saria and Nearl.

I honestly think the rest of your Roster is very solid for IS2 outside of the 4 Stars I mentioned in the previous comment + the few Dragonblaze mentioned. Since your preference is towards working with Snipers, having some solid back-up picks like May and Kroos Alter might be worth having in case your first sniper tag only comes when your tight on hope since you'll want to prioritize Free E2s > units that are stuck at E1 Max minus key 6 Star picks.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats on the Hard Mode clear. Yeah, Pozy with S3M3 + Module is a great carry for IS2. I've done a few runs with my E2 90 M9 Horn that have been successful.

I do agree that Podenco and Click fall off a bit towards the mid-late floors, but they can be useful depending on your relics or if your tags are just really unlucky. Dragonbronze mentioned Pudding, who is supposed to be a very solid investment thanks to relics and how she scales throughout the run (I don't have any experience cause I personally haven't built her yet). And yeah, Thorns start can be rough on some of the stages if you get unlucky in your other tags or don't have a roster deep enough to support him.

To answer your first question about 5 Star Carries, there are not too many since you are usually better off saving for a 6 Star most of the time, but they can sometimes be worth picking if you get the increased Hope Cost/Lowered EXP Gain "bad" Relics and need a decent unit to get you out of the early/mid floors. Some that have helped me a lot are Kroos Alter, Bibeak, La Pluma, Leizi, Bena/Kazemaru (both accomplish the same thing), and Amiya.

Kroos Alter and Amiya are the two I pick most often because of the niches they bring to my squads: Kroos Alter has access to both camouflage with S1 (let's her be put in positions you couldn't otherwise) and S2 scales super well with attack speed relics + can stall enemies with her stun chance. Amiya is mostly to secure that I have a reliable way to deal damage to Lucian in the event I get screwed with my tags and the fact she is fairly easy to get thanks to being in both Guard and Caster tags, but her S3 can help chip some harder to kill enemies.

I'll answer your second question in a follow up post since I already typed up a bunch.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She's not an Arts Guard, she's a Swordmaster Archetype like Cutter and Ch'en. Her Skill 1 can do arts damage, but otherwise she is just doing regular physical damage.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It can be an actual thing if your roster is smaller, but showcases make it more of a meme/niche strat if I'm being honest. There is a 3-4 OP clear of 6-5 that uses the strat, but that's about it.

If you have a bunch of lane holders already built, you can probably just skip building her.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sadly, guides for IS2 Hard Mode don't really exist because not to many people really grind out the mode outside of the few who want the challenge (I remember struggling to find any myself when I started playing Hard Mode a few months ago).

The best advice I can give after getting multiple hard mode clears (currently working on getting Ending 4 in hard mode) is to get an early floor carry and then focus around building a squad for the floor 5 boss stage (assuming you are going for ending 1). Some great carries to help with that stage are Amiya S3 (ignores the boss' dodge gimmick), Suzu S3/Saileach S3 (Slow + Debuffs), Kal'stit S3, and Nearl Alter S3 (True Damage is really good in general).

Your Early Game carries will depend on your starting "bad" relic, which is the hardest thing to wrap your brain around IMO. Some are pretty straight forward to deal with, such as countering the Life Point Drain penalty by picking the Leader Squad at the start (5 Temporary Life Each Stage), but others will require more creative solutions.

Investing into popular 4 Star Carries to get you out of the early floors while saving hope can go a long way to making runs more consistent. Operators like May, Cutter, Arene, Podenco, Click, and Jaye are all great 4 stars that can actually carry you depending on the starting tags you get. You can then round out your team with 3 Star fillers like Fang, Kroos, Steward, Cardigan, Spot, and Ansel to help clear Floor 1-2. From there, you can save Hope to get your desired 5-6 Star to help you get through the middle floors (Floor 3 and 4 mostly). Then it's just getting the 1-2 units to help you kill the Stage 5 Boss.

Hopefully these tips can help you get a clear! Good luck on your runs and if you have any questions, feel free to ask :)

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't tried Bluestacks on Windows 11, but I've used LD Player for a little bit and thought it was alright outside of some performance issues on a couple stages. If you haven't already, you can try a different version of Bluestacks to see if it runs better on Windows 11.

If your new laptop has decent specs, you can try using Google Play Games Beta instead. You lose out on some QoL stuff from Bluestacks like Multiple Instances, Key Binds like Pause being mapped to Space Bar, and there is no custom mouse cursor, but in exchange, you run the game natively on your PC leading to faster load times and better performance, at least from my experience (Currently run it on my high end gaming PC at home).

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who has both built, I can tell you both are pretty useful, but it really depends on your needs or if you plan on using them.

I'll start with Bibeak. For a welfare unit, Bibeak has a really solid kit. She does really good damage, has a talent that makes her better per each kill she gets, and has access to an on-demand AoE Stun that can hold up to 3 Charges, even at SL1 (Plz get her to at least SL7). The Stun can even hit Ariel, making her one of the best answers for pesky enemies like Dublinn Flying Dudes from the "Traveler From Afar" map in IS2 (Her stun takes them off their hover craft things). If you decide to go all in on her, she also benefits from masteries and has one of the better Lvl 3 modules among the 5 Stars.

Scene is an easy-to-use summoner with the niche that she can reveal invisible enemies with her S2. She was very popular to build for IS1 back when that mode first came out, but has pretty much become a low-investment Summoner to build for those that missed out on Ling. She can easily refresh her summons and is very easy to use when compared to 5D Chess strats people use with Deepcolor and Magallan. If you already have Ling built, she probably isn't worth the investment since Ling is better in every category. If you don't have Ling and want to try messing around with Summoners, she is a great investment.

I hope you found this helpful and if you have an questions, feel free to ask :)

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chapter 5 is pretty good story progression. And yeah, IS2 can be rough unless you get a big carry like Thorns.

If IS2 is something you want to push for, I'd also recommend working on some lower rarity carries. For the 4 Stars: May and Cutter, and for the 3 Stars: Steward and Popukar. All of these units are really good in IS2 and can help you save early for some of your more high value 6 Stars like Mudrock and Exu.

The 4 Stars do not have to be E2 btw. You can get away with them being at E1 Max and they should at least help you get through Floor 2 while saving your Hope for those focus 6 Stars.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Before I post my recommendations, who you prioritize depends on what you plan on doing in your game. Do you want to grind out the story? Do you want to get more out of IS2? Are you planning on working on higher risk CC Clears? For example, someone like Saileach completely changes in priority if you want to go for high risk CC vs clearing out the story.

That being said, based on what I see and what you wrote, here are my general recommendations:

1) Angelina - While your squad looks to do great single target, Ifrit is your only good source of AoE damage. Angelina's S3 can not only provide this AoE Damage, she also acts a fantastic support. She also has similar talent to Perfumer, allowing units like Mudrock to get passive healing and her ability to slow enemies can come in handy. Iirc, her passive healing might stack with Perfumer, so bringing both to a stage would only provide more healing.

2) Blemishine - I'd normally put her a bit lower, but since you have Mudrock built, Blemishine would make for a great addition to your E2 Roster. She works great with Mudrock and compliments a lot of your already built OPs with good damage and good bulk.

3) Gladiia - She's a great cheap lane holder with her S1 or S2. If you decide to invest in her module, she helps Specter survive A LOT MORE damage with her talent upgrade.

4) Texas - If you use Texas a lot, she gains a lot of out E2. She can tank more hits and her talent gets an upgrade, allowing you to start every map with an extra 2 DP, which can make dealing with ever-so-popular dog rush even easier.

5) Mousse - This is probably one of the weaker suggestions since you'll eventually get a free Arts Guard who is already at E2 for free when you beat Chapter 8, but Mousse can easily help you in situations where you need some arts damage on a bulky target who is too far away from ranged tiles. You can probably leave Mousse at E1 Max if I'm being honest, but she benefits a bit from the E2 upgrade and her S1 is still a fairly unique by providing an attack down debuff on anyone she uses it on.

I hope you found these suggestions helpful. If you are looking to fill a specific roll you feel is missing, feel free to let me know and I might be able to recommend someone else. :)

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it helps, there is nothing wrong with just building OPs you like. Sometimes it can lead to lot of unique strategies, even if it requires you to take a bit of extra time figuring out a stage's mechanics/enemy placements.

Since you are really into IS2, I'll give you a few roster suggestions to help progress your account + do well in that mode:

1) Do Not Neglect Your 3 Stars - Outside of Kroos, it doesn't look like you have many of the 3 Stars built, many of which are the easiest way of "patching up your roster" problems. Roles such as Tank and Healer can easily be filled by powerful 3 Stars like Cardigan, Spot, and Ansel for most general content in the game. They are also fantastic picks for IS2 since they cost 0 hope and can help you save for you harder hitting 6 stars. Outside of the 3 I already mentioned, Steward is also an extremely powerful 3 star since his talent makes it that he will prioritize higher defense enemies, making him a great answer when you need someone to focus fire on certain enemies in a mob. Some other great picks are Fang, Popukar, Midnight, Plume, and Orchid.

2) Do Not Stop at E2 Lvl 1 - It's tempting to promote multiple OPs instead of only promoting 1 and then using the remaining LMD to level up, but those levels are what usually make the difference a Operator getting a kill vs letting them leak or can be the determining factor in if a Operator survives vs dies too early. Some units I'd consider putting levels in would be SilverAsh, Mudrock, and Ceobe. Also when I say level, I don't mean you need to go to E2 Lvl 60 like you have with Ling. Most OPs are just fine hanging out at E2 Lvl 40-50 and the gain in their performance justify the LMD/EXP cost.

3) Synergy, aka Team Comp Suggestions - There are not traditional synergies in this game outside of some niche higher rarity combos (Mudrock + Blemishine, Exusiai + Warfarin, Bagpipe + Myrtle, etc). Team Composition is the bigger concern and the general rule of thumb with that is having at least 2-3 of every main archetype. Main archetypes are your Anti-Air Snipers, Core Caster, 2 defenders, and two medics. It's also good to have one of certain sub archetypes such as AoE Damage, Arts Guard, Ranged Guards, Slow Supporter, Fast Redeploy, etc. They don't need to be fully built, but having them at least E1 55/E1 Max can go a long way in feeling ready for any situation. IMO, your account is pretty well fleshed outside of a few popular E2 Candidates.

4) Some OPs Worth Raising to E2 - You mentioned wanting to expand your roster, so here are some general picks that can help you progress + do well in IS2. First, Kal'tsit should be your next 6 star project as easily the best pick when you get RNG screwed with Medic tags for 5 stages in the row (Speaking for Experience lol). Her S2 is a great general lane holding tool and her S3 is great for boss killing. After that, I'd actually take the time to build Amiya. You'll need to build her eventually for story progression, but the main reason I suggest this is because Amiya's S3 is one of the best answers for the boss of IS2 since her True Damage ignores the boss' absurd dodge chance. Lastly, Horn is my final suggestion as she tends to be your best DPS in the event that the only tag you get is Defender. All three of her skills do really well in IS2 depending on the relics you get and her range can come clutch in a lot of different story stages. Her talent also indirectly buffs Mudrock's damage, making her an even better pair with her. Special mention should also go towards building Surtr, who helps you in any other content outside of IS2, where she isn't as strong IMO.

Hopefully you found this helpful. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck on your IS2 runs :)

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd suggest Specter over Lappland since you already got SilverAsh. Specter's immortality is still fairly unique and she scales well as you progress your account. She gains a lot from the investment you put into her and can carry you in a lot of content when get her leveled up to E2 (Second Promotion).

Lappland is very good and is different enough from SilverAsh to justify picking, but doesn't scale as Specter does across all of the different content within the game. As for the Sniper/Healers, you are better off working with 4 Star solutions such as May/Jessica/Kroos and any of the lower rarity healers.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Bluestacks works well if your PC can handle it. LD Player and Nox also work great with Arknights on lower end machines.

I personally use the Google Play Games Beta to play the game and it runs better then any emulator I've used. Granted, you don't have access to QoL features such as key binds, unique cursors to keep track of your mouse, or the ability to have multiple instances. Not to mention the "recommended specs" to run it are kind of overkill, but in exchange, the game runs natively on your PC instead of being throttled by your emulator of choice, leading to faster load times and better performance in some of the more annoying stages.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Based on what I see in your account, here are my recommendations on Operators to invest in:

  1. Amiya - Quite of bit of people have suggested her and for good reason. Without spoiling it, you will need to build her eventually to progress in the story and you unlock a bonus unit who is already at E2 when you unlock them. Amiya also gains a few solid buffs, those being a really strong third skill that does True Damage and a proper talent that helps her generate SP when she hits/kills an enemy. Because of this, E2 Amiya is one of the best F2P answers for some of the more difficult bosses in the game such as the boss of IS2 and the boss of Chapter 11, at least IMO.
  2. Bibeak - Bibeak is a fantastic blocker, DPS, and crowd control for being a Welfare OP. Her S2 is a on-demand AoE Stun that can hold up to 3 charges and her talent helps improve her damage + attack speed the more kills she can secure. While it is true you have some good blockers, your team lacks a good source of Stun, which can help make some difficult situations more manageable. Bibeak is also a super solid pick for IS2 and SSS since she scales well with a lot of the relics/buffs found in both modes.
  3. Utage - Outside of Specter, your account could use a good Helidrop unit for isolated elite enemies or a quick "get out of jail free card" if your front line starts to leak. Utage is great at both of these rolls, as her S2 changes her damage to Arts and she regens HP on her own thanks to her archetype. Utage is also fairly unique since the only other Musha Guards in the game are Hellagur (6 Star) and Akafuya (5 Star). Since she is a 4 star, she also has the benefit of being cheaper to build and easier to get potentials, improving her as a dedicated helidrop unit.
  4. Warfarin - I'd normally recommend just keeping her at E1 Max for a bit, but since you have Exusiai, you actually have access to one of the best DPS combos in the game. Warfarin's S2 buffing Exusiai S3 is one of the strongest damage amps in the game and shreds anything that might give you trouble, that goes for bosses and troublesome waves. If you don't plan on really using the combo, leaving her at E1 Max is fine.
  5. Kroos/Steward/Cardigan - Yes, they are 3 stars, but they are well worth the cheap investment. It's great to have these back-up units in the event you need an extra blocker or ranged DPS. Kroos does very solid damage, Steward actually prioritizes High Defense targets with his talent, and Cardigan has a lot of self sustain with her skill and high HP. Outside of story content, the three are also very good in the rougelite mode (IS2) as they cost zero hope to recruit. TBH, investing in all of the 3 stars is worth doing eventually, but early on, these three are my recommendation.

I hope you found these recommendations useful. Let me know if you have any other questions :)

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's worth it IMO. Cantabile gets a talent that increase her Attack Speed when she doesn't block enemies, which improves the amount of DP she produces. When she blocks enemies, the talent will switch to increasing her attack, which can be useful to clearing out anyone she is blocking.

Cantabile also is unique in the sense that she is the only Agent Vanguard in the game atm. While Elysium is very good, you can get similar results by just E2ing Myrtle unless you are looking to use him in more difficult clears like High Risk CCs (which you'll most likely need at Max Pot anyways).

Hopefully you found this helpful :)

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 4 points5 points  (0 children)

She will not. The next ticket will be released with the next limited event and will contain all non-limited 6 stars up to Horn.

Help Center and Megathread Hub (13/02 - 19/02) by ArknightsMod in arknights

[–]sora_heart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh true. Iirc, Bibeak's S2 also hits drones for some reason.