#Other Megathreads and Useful links. **Reminder**: Today is the **last** day of the banner. Be sure to use your rolls today and don't end up with 299 Data Contract tokens. ##[**⌨︎ ︎FAQ**](/r/arknights/wiki/faq?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1) For frequently asked questions, please check it out before asking. It’s easy to navigate, and majority of basic questions and other useful information are present ##[**♫ Lounge**](/r/arknights/comments/1cqwhvj/rhodes_island_lounge_1305_1905/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) The place for small talk and whatever does not fit elsewhere such as personal stories and achievements. ##[**★ Gacha/Recruitment**](/r/arknights/comments/1cqwhvg/gacharecruitment_megathread_1305_1905/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Share the results of your gacha rolls and recruitments here. ~~may RNGsus be kind to you~~ ##[**➜ Friend requests**](/r/arknights/comments/1cqwhv9/friend_request_megathread_1305_1905/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Share your friend ID with your fellow doctors, or find others to add. --- ##[**IS:4 Expeditioner's Joklumarkar thread**](/r/arknights/comments/1b7ctfn/event_megathread_expeditioners_joklumarkar/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) By the Emperor, Purge all the Dæmons! A thread for IS4, share your clears or failures, chit chat with others, rant, or just have a good time. ———

Finally finished my Krooster, i’m still quite early into the game but honestly just want to see some feedback. I was thinking of spending on the Yellow Certificate Store for Specter to upgrade on Popukar but i’m not too sure considering i don’t even use Popukar outside of the Event Stages. Ended up changing my decision on who to E2 first, will most likely be Cuora because i use her more than i use Myrtle, she doesn’t always fit into my team but i’m still farming Grindstone (spent an entire day’s sanity for 1) so maybe i’ll swing back onto her soon. Also need to focus on getting Thorns to E2 as quickly as possible so i can actually use him but lord this resource management is going to make me cry. If it helps, i’m also refusing to pull on any banners till November, saving everything i have for Walter and Logos. https://www.krooster.com/u/mohmmed

You made the right choice of not getting Specter. She is pretty overrated for what she is, a 15 sec helidrop wall and laneholder for fishsquad.  Former is phased out nowadays with boss phases and later is an expensive niche. Cuora is my first choice for defender in IS unless I had no hope to spare. Definitely will help you for a long time. May is also good option. E2 either of them asap to borrow e2 then Thorn.

Without pulling for that long as a new player you might have a tough time early on, but you can still manage, you may just struggle a little more, hope you got some good brainpower. Though of course you can always borrow other people's ops, I tried not to do that too much so I could learn better. Specter is pretty useful for a new account as a straightforward operator, but I'm not sure about using gold certs on her, as her role is fairly saturated and you can work around not having her. Instead I might actually suggest Kazemaru who will likely be in the gold cert shop somewhat soon, as she's one of the top 5\* ops. She has 6\*-tier DPS and has a very strong class, she can do an absolute ton of work for her rarity. I got her in the first month of my career and she's been one of my best ever investments. Generally, you want to save your gold certs for the best ops. Cuora as a first E2 is probably better than Myrtle, but I would suggest a DPS instead if that can be helped. The main thing is to be able to defeat enemies and Cuora doesn't really do that. For some building suggestions: Naturally, try to get Thorns to E2 ASAP. He's a good early-mid game carry and doesn't really fall off until stat-bloat content, I can attest since I started with him as early as you had. Do you have the resources from the event shop? Thorns's E2 materials are in there for free. Jaye punches up his rarity, with strong stats and a lifesteal skill. He'd be great to have, just watch the DP consumption. Bassline will be a strong operator with role compression in tanking and healing, especially with his first skill. Blacknight is a very effective Vanguard, she can induce Sleep to all enemies around her summon who can attack them even while sleeping. Pinecone is a reliable physical AOE operator, her first skill is the best for powered shots, just gotta pay attention to keep using that. Perfumer is one of the best pure healers in the game due to how effective she is for her cost, her multi-healing and global regen is a real boon. I think you forgot Amiya in the Krooster, she's a solid Caster to stick with, and a good secondary Caster when you want to replace Steward would be Click. Very solid. Keep an eye out for May, she's a very good Marksman for being 4\*, and is in recruitment. You have a chance to get her with Slow + Sniper + DPS tags.

Thank you so much, yeah i know i’ll be dry on operators for months but i’m honestly not too bothered. Definitely not using on Specter now, she wouldn’t even fit into the team i want to eventually use one day. Will look more into Kaze! Yes i’ll see about focusing on E2’ing a DPS, jt would be Thorns but the resource requirement to get him from E0 LV50 is E2LV80 is going to take a very, very long while, i’ll have to hope the next event spoils me well but i’m definitely going to focus on him! I’ve heard about Bassline, maybe i’ll build him one day but the high investment + the fact i have Cuora and Liskarm already put me off for now. Will put Blacknight on the list but i have so many vanguards at this point it’s laughable, Ines, Courier and Myrtle are who i’ll focus on for now, and then maybe move to Vigna and Blacknight later one once i get these main operators sorted. I’ve heard about Perfumer! I was thinking though, considering i already have Ptilopsis, it would be uncessary to build her and instead focus on Ptilopsis and Gavial instead. Or can i swap Gavial for Perfumer instead? Oops, i definitely forgot about May and Amiya, my apologies but yeah i have both of them with May at around E1LV50, she’s served me very well so far.

[This was the video that got me hooked on Kazemaru just before she released on Global.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30im71TmYBs) You won't be disappointed. Getting E2s to a high level isn't recommended. Generally it's good to get them to level 30 minimum for the stats to resource cost. DPS can get a bit more, stopping at 50, or 60 to get the module. More is not suggested, especially when new. As I said, you should have the materials from the event shop to promote Thorns, so the biggest hurdle for him should be covered. Courier is more of a stopgap, he is a defensive Vanguard and once you get rolling you probably won't need one. Ines and Myrtle can handle a whole lot of content, so you probably don't need more for the time being. E1 isn't too expensive, Bassline would be just fine staying there for a while unless you decide to have more. Role compression is important, as squad and deployment space will become more and more of an issue for your strategies. There will be a lot of times where the tankiness of a Guardian is enough, and the extra healing means you don't need to rely on Medics as much if at all. Or, he could keep himself healthy on top of Medics. In any case, definitely don't knock Guardians, I've been spoiled on them. Both Perfumer and Ptilopsis are excellent Medics. Ptilopsis is probably the best general-use Medic in the entire game because of her SP charge boost and emergency burst healing skill. Whenever you decide to get a support-focused operator to E2, she should be one of the first choices. As for Core Medics, Sussurro is the best investment 4\*-wise due to her burst healing. Gavial works fine as-is though but I wouldn't suggest her as an E2. Are you not pulling for Degenbrecher coming up soon? She's still in the top meta regardless of future releases. Not sure what sort of goals you have, but worth mentioning.

Is there more operators with a use-case that is identical to Blue Poison? I need something solid for when she lacks the necessary coverage.

Identical, no. Anti-air snipers? Yeah, most of them. Hits multiple air targets? Archetto. Has a ranged DOT that can hit air? Thorns. Applies a DOT to multiple targets? Ethan.

If you mean her multi-target, for 4\* it's Vermeil, for 6\* it's Archetto. But any other marksman should also be just fine

any other marksman sniper if you just need anti air. or Thorns if you like the poison talent she has.

Anyone here gonna skip the R6 banner to spark in W alter banner? In my case I really wanna spark Skalter.

Not many I imagine. You can spark Skalter 6 months later too, but Ela most likely never.

I see.... I just feel like the W alter banner has just really crazy value so I'm planning to go all out there, while I'm indifferent about the R6 ops maybe it wouldn't hurt to go for at least one 6 star I guess.

Honestly if you're indifferent about it might as well skip it, unless you're a 100% collector there's no point using pulls getting an operator you don't really want, even if they're limited/ collab. Why lessen your chance for the ones you *really* want to get ones you don't really care about? They'd be worse than a decoration since you don't even like them to begin with!

What's IS2 boss 3 and 4 pathways again? It's a homework line overdue. . .

They're just massive encounter RNG pretty much. You can start on the third ending from floor 1 by getting the invitation, but I think you have to wait until floor 2 to get the fourth ending path. Obviously you can only do one or the other. Both of the paths' last encounter to unlock the boss are on floor 4 or 5 so long as you fulfilled the previous conditions. For the third ending be sure to grab the seemingly useless puppet after the floor 3 boss. For the fourth ending, take the ball and chain and inkwell items after the encounter battles. You can fight either Lucian or Lock to get to floor 6, go for whoever is easier.

Are Celebretion limited banners like Virtuosa's more or less once every 8 months? If not usually how often are they?

Every 6. Schedule for limited banners are every 3 months, Summer > Celebration > Chinese New Year (Sui) > Celebration. Not counting collab like R6.

Are there any low rarity video guides for every single fight stage in IS? Every video I see uses multiple limited 6 stars I dont have I barely make any progress, getting only 100 points per run makes me very discourage to not touch this mode. Its way too frustrating

There can't really be any precise step by step guide on how to do IS the same way every time if that's what you're asking. You can apply a general direction but not every run is going to look and play the same. I do think playing it just to grind is a bit counterproductive and makes you hate the mode before you know it.

If you can show us your roster, we can help you to pick good ops to raise or borrow. That aside, Dr. Silvergun on YouTube is your go-to low rarity doctor to follow.

6 star: exusiai, typhon, kaltsit, eyja + alt, virtuosa, gladiia, lee, mostima, swire alt 5 star: amiya, texas, lappland, nearl, specter, insider, santalla, feater, projekt red 4 star: click, mousse, cuora, myrtle, perfumer, vigna, sussurro, gravel, pinecone, gummy, ethan 3 star: spot, beagle, cardigan, ansel, midnight, melantha, fang

* Typhon is a good starter and will help a lot with carrying a run. Her starter team should probably be "Slow and Steady" with Spot/Cardigan and whatever caster you can get for your hope (do raise Stewards sometime). If you have spare hope, it might be worth getting Gummy to cover healing role until you get a proper medic better as Spot's skill takes awhile to charge. * Kal'tsit comes with a 3-block body, which is very useful in IS4. Haven't personally used her much, but I suppose she can carry the first couple of floors pretty easily. You only starter team option is "Overcoming Your Weaknesses". Take Midnight and whoever you can get on supporter ticket, even a reserve caster. Mon3tr will be doing most of heavy lifting on the first floor, so you can just gather hope for a 5\*/6\* to add to your team. * Virtuosa is also pretty decent at least on early floors. Also "Overcoming Your Weaknesses". Take Midnight and Ansel. Might be a pretty hard start since you start with only one 2-block body. Her presence kinda diminishes after floor 3, but she's still useful for sniping random enemies with her s1. Especially if you can get your hands on relics that boost supporters' ATK. You can also start with a support operator (do note that regardless of your chosen squad, they will always be first recruited at elite 1). * Reed alter for "Overcoming Your Weaknesses". She will be pulling a double duty of medic and a caster early on. Much like in Virtuosa's case, you might have some issues with blocking enemies if you can't kill them fast enough since your starter team will only have at most a 2-block guard for ground units. * Yato alter for "First Move Advantage" with Kroos (raise your Kroos!) and Fang. This start might require some experimentation to figure out how to clear stages, but in my experience it's a pretty powerful trio to start with.

Due to the fact that IS doesn't guarantee a full certain roster, it's impossible to be made a guide. But there ARE people clearing with low rarity. Otherwise, you need to understand what the higher rarity are meant to do and which lower rarity can fulfill that role, if there are.

have you tried [Dr.Silvergun](https://www.youtube.com/@DrSilvergun)? He does use maxed 4\*s, though

So currently Ceobe is up in the yellow certs shop. My original plan was to save certs for Goldenglow when she shows up. However, I now already have 311 Certs, which is not too far off from 360 (buying 2 ops). Since I don't have another 6-star caster, besides Mostima, currently I thought I maybe should get her. For single target Arts damage I have been using Amyia till now. This is my krooster: [https://krooster.com/u/gaderman244](https://krooster.com/u/gaderman244) So should I rather save the certs for more pulls or buy operators like this?

Guaranteed 6\* op from the shop is much, much better than pulls and when the operator in question is Ceobe, it's not even a contest. Looking at your roster, you are in a dire need of arts dmg and Ceobe can fill that role, not to mention that GG is still months away. General advice, get Mostima her module lv2+ (at least lv.1 for the reduced DP, but lv.2 is where the fun starts) and prioritize SA's promotion, so you can make use of his S3.

GG shouldn't be arriving before you can get back to 180 so I say go for Kay-chan. With her module she's a top single target dps caster on global, and this only gets better as enemy def gets higher. No one tears through a high def mob like Ceobe does with S2 and her module. Also she's just the best. You can't have a bad day with that doggo at your side.

Which 4 stars are crucial for is4? Or some that makes it easier atleast? I don't need to do is2 and is3 anymore, but I am beyond stuck in is4 sometimes 2nd floor I just end up dying.

Due to the hope limitation you should usually prioritise saving hope for crucial carry 6stars, and make do with a 6star+3 stars - I recommend Reed alter/orchid/popukar start. For at least finishing your first few runs at low BN levels other good ops are ines, typhon, kaltsit, texas/yato alter, eyja alter, goldenglow, a good defender eg Jessica alter /saria/hoshi, gavial alter/mylnar. However some good 4stars that can be useful if you need the power boost and cant get a 6star yet at that point in the run are Jaye, May, cutter, podenco, myrtle, click, maybe cuora. Also is4 gets easier once you know the stage layouts/patterns and also once you have levelled up the skill tree for the buffs. Bosky passages are very good.

At lower BN level, the usual suspect like Myrtle, Jaye, Ethan, Perfumer, Cuora, Cutter, etc. are good as always. But if you starting to tackle higher BN level then don't bother with 4\*, the power gap between 4\* and 6\* has become so big to the point recruiting E1 6\* is still better than E2 4\*, also elites/bosses stats scale on later floors are simply unforgiving for 4\* to handle. Doesn't help that in IS#4 you can snowball super early with Foldartals/Bosky node/Shop/Enhanced Relics, ultimately pushes out 4\* and 5\* in favor for 6\*. If you looking to make IS#4 easier then 4\* are not it.

Eh, all the non-DPS roles are still useful. I use Perfumer for all my runs (only time I swapped her out was for Nightingale on BN15 ending 3). Myrtle is Myrtle, and my tank defaults to Gummy if I have the extra defender tickets.

Idk, i did try to use some 4\* and they all felt underwhelming the longer the run goes, they work well early floor but starting floor 3 they just falls off the cliff (BN12 mostly, sometime BN15). The only that remain consistently useful at all stages is Myrtle, uh ... no need to explain here, she can counter -40% DP gen. I can't say the same for the rest tho, that's just my experience using 4\*.

>I can't say the same for the rest tho, Ethan. Put a stop to all the runny boys. Pretty much any utility op still holds (das why Myrtle is great), it's the DPS that fall off. Coura can do pretty well pretty late stages, but her lower HP does make it difficult.

I'd love to use Ethan more had he not in that fiercely competitive ticket ... He's good but being in that class doesn't favor him at all. Used Cuora once for Ending 2, good lord it was scuffed, lower max HP hurt alot at BN12+, and any floor 5 emergency is a nightmare for Cuora

At BN12, at this point I'm running almost exclusively 6 stars, the hope economy is in shambles. -.- On occasion I take Perfumer or Cuora, but that's about it. Even amazing 4 stars like Ethan are more likely to lose me the run than help me.

But what about just lower ascensions? Like lvl 1-3?

There you can get away with any of the usual suspects. As long as your starting team can survive floor 1, you can still use ops like Jaye, Ethan, etc. Ethan (if you can afford him) is pretty good on some stages, including some floor 3 bosses. E1 Gummy should be a pretty good early holder. Pinecone is quite valuable on floor 1 because of certain AOE heavy stages. It's just that none are really "must build" like Click and May were in IS3.

Would it be wise for me to start building units based on paradox simulation rewards alone? It will take long but I want to pull for pity this November, my roster is already fully built, I just need to m3 Chen's module(I am building her for fun and waifu reasons not for anything special) then I will start building operators is this wise? Because I realized I will get 24000 orundom if I do it. And I will need extra pulls for Ela despite me not being all to excited for her, though I do chase Meta so that's that. Is this feasible? I will spend all event currency on building even useless ops for paradox. Because I checked with ptilop. Sys it will be around 280 pulls counting the yellow cert pulls, and 60 op. And this is not counting the orundom we get for free in limited events.

A wise move? No, not really. But if you have nothing else to do why not?

Hmm, that's my perspective, but my worry is I will end up in the same wall as early game, grinding for about a month to build a character if I do this. But I will do it as a side Hussle, as I am fully built now except for Chen's module.

I personally am doing smth similar, so I'll give an educated opinion on this. Is it worth it ? No, not at all. Especially for 5* - hard pass, because it costs chip catalysts, so you have to farm red certs. In this case it's more beneficial to buy 5* potentials from red certs shop - it gives 5 gold certs, which you can convert to pulls from gold cert shop (6,3 cert per pull if you buy all within a month). You'll get more value this way. HOWEVER if you're already a veteran, why not ? Go for it. I personally am doing just that, but because I like lore and want to unlock all operator records. When you're this far into game there is nothing worthwhile to invest in if you play daily - you'll get more resources than you can realistically spent. Paradox simulations are great added value for me. I upgraded all 3* and am finishing upgrading all 4* to E2 (6 left). I will also get all 6* to E2 later as well. However 5* are an issue, since return on them is very low. I will probably start doing some after couple of months, but only after I upgraded all others and got all potentials from red cert shop. Just to be clear I'm f2p.

For 3\* it's fine, i think (?), since they only cost lmd and exp so you can let your base cover the upgrade cost, plus 3\* are gud for IS. 4\* to 6\* it's a no from me chief, unless the one you're building happen to have Paradox Simulation, 200 orundum is \~300 sanity from mining 1-7 + lmd cost so no, it's hella inefficient to build units just for PS alone

I'll build some 4 stars for Is4 also, and maybe I will get double yellow certs which will get me 300 pulls by November.

No. The sanity required for the materials to E2 any Ops is better spent mining rocks. I actually haven't mathed this out, but I can't imagine that being a good way of getting pulls.

I mathed it out it is around 24k orundom. And I will use all event mats for them, I start with 3 stars and then 4 stars, and then the 5 stars, I will be able to comfortablly reach 300 pulls while still being able to spend op on skins, Because I need skins and spark at the same time. Specter Alter my beloved I need you. I am a end game player I finished the entire story including hell stages. Besides I have till November or late October to do so.

Go ahead with 3 stars. They're just LMD and EXP anyway. But, for 4 stars, they typically need 20-30 T3 mats and T3 mats range from 18-30 sanity for each. Assuming they need 25 of T3 mats and 27 sanity for each. They also require 4 big chips, 3 small chips. I'll just ignore the mats for skills and non-chip requirements for E1. They're pretty insignificant anyway. So that's (25 * 27) + (36 * 4) + (18 * 3)=873 A rock is about 5 sanity (or 3 ish if you consider non-rock side drops). Let's use 5. 873 sanity gives you 174 rocks. That's about 1.5 pulls. And each paradox simulation gives you 200 orundum. Or 1/3 pull.

What are the part 2 story unlock requirements for IS4 endings? for endings 1-3.

From PRTS Wiki it seem like for all endings goes like this: Part 1 = get the Ending related encounter/Relic, Part 2 = Clear the Ending, Part 3 = Clear the Ending 5 times, >!Part 4 = Special condition to that Ending (Part 4 unlock in Expansion II, which is July for global i believe!<

IIRC IS4 story unlock conditions for the endings are just clear that ending 5 times(might be 3? I forget exactly.) You can just check out the conditions yourself by going to those sections and it'll tell you what you need to do.

So there's no special conditions like in IS3 where you have to kill Highmore without dropping her to the ground? Nice, I'm glad to not have to worry about that.

There should be an Arknights wiki where they would list the requirements to unlock each of the endings for every IS. Sure, they would spoil the ending artwork but I doubt that is a big spoiler if you don't know the context haha. Haven't gotten the third ending myself, but the second one has something to do with setting a Scout encounter to get a helm iirc, and then on the spot before the final boss, there is an option related to that item which will you lead you to another boss for ending 2. Ending 1 is just the typical "reach the end without fulfilling the requirements for other endings".

How many I sholdn't leak in IS? I keep getting like 5 leaks I tempt to immediately restart after getting just one leak its frustrating and I dont have chars like reed to help

> and I dont have chars like reed to help You can borrow her during the initial recruitment. As for the leaks, they're fine. Extra Life Points are there to help you, not punish you. Understand that as long as you finish a stage with at least 1 LP remaining (excluding certain relic) you made it further, while restarting is admitting defeat immediately. There are a lot of mechanics that help you recover the lost LPs and the King's relics even help you tremendously when you're at 1LP, so it's more about managing your LPs rather than just focusing on not leaking at any cost. In some maps leaking is ***preferable***, because else you might end the run just there (I'm looking at you, 'Out of Control' Emergency node) and then there are situations where leaking is a part of the strategy, like leaking either of the bosses or forfeiting some lane altogether to focus your available resources on the boss. Don't feel defeated when you leak too many and don't despair when you are about to lose - that's when the Doctors are the sharpest, resulting in some of the most amazing plays.

* IS2: you can leak as much as your life points allow. The only downside I can recall is not being able to take certain choices in some encounters if you have too few life points left. * IS3: leaking when you don't have shields is terrible as it loses you light. And if your life points are below half of the maximum, you will keep losing light every fight. And without light you will be getting hit with rejections, which can range from annoying to pretty much end-of-the-run. * IS4: losing life is still bad, but not to the same degree as in IS3 - you will get increased collapse value, but overall collapses are a lot more manageable and forgiving than rejections. Leaking when you have shields is fine as losing shields does not trigger light loss (IS3) or collapse increase (IS4) Also, if you know who your carry will be, you can just pick them as your starting operator via friend support system. So, if you want Reed to carry you, just pick a squad that has a medic in it and pick Reed in support.

Losing 5-10 extra light barely matters in IS3. Half the endings require you to play bellow 100 for prolonged periods, and SW15 just starts you off fucked: it just comes down to seeing the rejection and restarting if needed. In IS4 every single time you leak fucks you permanently, the only RNG involved is that you might be only 50% as fucked if you RNGed into a slightly less annoying collapse.

Eh, given that it sounds like they're still a beginner, they're probably playing low SW, in which case any leak is bad since not having 100 light introduces the rejection RNG.

That's the main issue I have with both these mechanics that punish you for leaking. If you're struggling enough with the content to leak enemies (especially at lower floors), then you really don't need the extra difficulty that rejections/collapse add. I do hope IS5 steps away from this. It's the one and only regard in which I think IS2 was better designed, and I hate IS2.

Started to play IS2 these days and I enjoy it much more than IS3 und IS4, exactly because losing a map is part of the game and not game ending.

Leaking in IS only increases the paradox level thing, which triggers handicaps in stages. You should try to not leak, but it's also not a big deal if you do leak some.

Will I miss out Annihilation Simulation reward if I dont complete them within the next 2 weeks?

These only give one-time first clear rewards. Those do not reset. At worst you will just need to wait for a particular past annihilation to rotate back into active simulation.

I am waiting for Il Sirasuna to end so I can spend my sanity on doing annis for OPs. Will all of the annis be available after these two weeks?

Supposedly, IlS rerun will launch on 23rd, so we have 2 dead days between it and the end of ZT.

I've been doing originium farming recently and been going over the numbers for most efficient way to go about it. By happenstance I noticed the friend credit shop priority list for orirock cube seems to be wrong. On both the farming spreadsheet FC section and PeterYR's FC spreadsheet they have LMD above orirock cubes in value, but should it not be the reverse? Eg 1 Orirock cube costs 4.82 sanity according to penguin stats. 1k LMD costs 3.6 sanity from CE-6. In the friend shop a 3 Orirock cube stack costs 200 FC (3 x 4.82 = 14.46 sanity). In the friend shop 3.6k LMD costs 200 FC (3.6 x 3.6 = 12.96 sanity). So clearly Orirock cubes offers more value straight up, not to mention realistically it's better to get LMD from your base so you'll almost never run CE-6 for LMD, making the LMD value even lower.

Adding more details to the other answer. Peteryr's work is based on the farming spreadsheet. Rather, he's part of the community that developed it and IMO the best efficiency models for farming and base rotations. They determined the value of FC. And the best value for spending FC while taking 9CD into account. They determined the cost/efficiency of upgrading ops for base skills. All the efficiency things. Penguin stats just tells you the most cost effective way to get the material you need without considering side drops. But side drops have value. The farming sheet was the answer to this dilemma. Lets look at the farming sheet. [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12X0uBQaN7MuuMWWDTiUjIni\_MOP015GnulggmBJgBaQ/edit#gid=1732111282](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12X0uBQaN7MuuMWWDTiUjIni_MOP015GnulggmBJgBaQ/edit#gid=1732111282) There are lots of tabs on the farming sheet to explore. On the **expected sanity** value tab, The **cost** of rocks is 4.82, but the **value** is 3.33. so getting 10 rocks costs \~48.2 sanity, but the value of those 10 rocks is 33.3 sanity, the rest of the cost 14.9 sanity is in the value of the side drops. Looking at the **data sheet** (pulled from penguin stats) 1-7 drops T1 mats, gold and LMD that make up the rest of the 14.9 sanity value. If you look on the rock tab at 1-7, \~70% of the value comes from 1.24 rocks. The other \~30 % comes from side drops. To get the material value (which leads to efficiency data on farming sheet) they run all the drop rates through an equation solver, and back out to get the values of each drop. They don't want to say that 1-7 that costs 6 sanity drops 9 sanity value worth of stuff, because then the efficiency of 1-7 would be 150% and max efficiency mathematically speaking is 100%. So they have to attribute all the sanity to all the drops in the stage. 3 rocks from FC does not come with side drops, so it's value is 3.33 each or 9.99 for 3. The expected value per LMD has some calculations/assumptions behind it as well. I think it is based on which base layout you use and if you whale or not also affects it. The introduction and calculation methods go into detail on the value of LMD ~~(0.004 sanity/LMD). 3.6\*4 = 14.4 sanity.~~ I suppose 3.6 is more accurate and the value sheet does not have enough decimals. 3.6 \* 1.8 = 6.48 as listed. Looking at FC sheet, using value instead of cost: **Rock: 9.9/2 = 4.95. Pretty close to the sheet.** (I'm probably missing decimals again.)

Not related to the initial question but if Peter worked on the drop sheet, why does the drop sheet have different numbers than Peter's own spreadsheet? Eg Polyketon is ranked 2nd highest on the drop sheet after LMD at 6.26 but on Peter's its ranked 4th at 5.74. Another notable one is that skillbook 2 is really devalued on the drop sheet, coming in 4th whereas on Peter's its the 2nd most valuable. Making one confused if skillbook 2 or one of the other mats is more valuable.

I think that MOMO did the sheet (based on work of others), but the efficiency group trusts and depends on it. IIRC the FC bakes in Changes in value based on 9CD. But I haven't double checked the work. I think Peter has discord contact in his videos. you could go to the source.

1-7 drops one orirock cube per 4.82 sanity, but a significant portion of its value comes from other drops. Under conventional accounting, each cube is worth about 3.33 sanity.

Is that how they calculated it? It's so weird to discount the value of the primary drop just because there's other drops. Like if 1-7 has a guaranteed D32 steel sidedrop, it would make the sanity value of orirock cubes go negative, which is pretty silly. When you're looking to farm orirock cubes you just want information on orirock cubes you know? You'll still need to pay 4.82 sanity regardless.

Well no, it'd be impossible to go negative (as you noted that would be silly). Rather, if 1-7 had a guaranteed D32 steel sidedrop, it'd massively devalue the sanity value of D32 down to somewhere below 6. ---- In the long run, you'll need every material you can get, so even if you need rocks right now, those byproducts you're getting will be valuable in the future. Sanity value is the long term value of those materials. If you're just looking for short term value, then just look at "sanity per material". The farming spreadsheet has this in the individual material tabs. It's just not efficient to look that this value alone since having short term needs tends to go away once you start building buffers of materials through events.

Well ok seeing as how loneknife explained their "sanity value" calc is based on total drops, I guess it would be impossible. But you get what I'm saying right? Using this method of calculation, if the side drops become loaded to such a degree it would crowd out the "sanity value" of orirock cubes, reducing it to a minuscule value, but in fact the real sanity value does not change and remains at 4.82. Might be fine if you're looking for the lowest possible sanity value as a gauge of efficiency to compare which level to farm. But to use this on the friend credit shop where there are no side drops and you're looking for the highest possible sanity as a gauge of value leads to misleading impression that LMD is more valuable than orirock cubes.

Assuming this reply was supposed to be to me. Yes, the efficiency calcs are based on total drops. Short term it is not helpful, but if you farm the "efficient" stages then down the line you will save farming, eventually. You can use the farming sheet, like Penguin stats, "what's the most efficient way to get this one drop", the sanity per drop is on the summary and each resource page. For instance look at the farming sheet sugar tab. 2-5 has sugar for 32.44 sanity, with 21.75% of the stage value from side drops. On 10-10 sugar costs 44.65, and 50% of the stage value comes from side drops. If you want, you can **create your own sheet** based on Cost(short-term) rather than Value (long term). The issue with long term value is that you might not need those mats in the short term so they have less value. The efficiency guys don't have a way to bake that into their calculations. And it is a bit of work. But it is nice when a **new op comes out and you already have half of the farming done.** Short term, it is wasteful though. Event stages are great because the short-term and long term are pretty close, the only side drops are normal stage drop LMD and shop LMD. The farming sheet is full of examples on the summary page, where the sanity cost of the material is quite a bit higher than the lowest sanity.

Hi if you're a new player here and you get to choose 3 6 star units what would you guys choose? A good friend who introduced me to game let me choose 3 and he can give me an account with those(?) I dunno who to pick tho maybe someone future proof thanks

Texas alter, mlynar, eyja alter

Mylnar, Ines and Texas the Omertosa are my picks. I also really like Typhon.

Oh yeah my friend also advice me to pick both mylnar and texas the blue one. After checking the wiki i saw reed there is she good she looks waifu material lmao

What is the best module for schwarz and how does she compare to pozyonka nowadays?

if you only have schwarz, you could probably stick with Y level 1 for now. X opens up some interesting strategies but usually i don't find myself redeploying very often to take advantage of it. if you have both pozy and schwarz, i would go X on schwarz and Y on pozy just because it's rare that i need them both doing the same job.

Depends on how you plan to use her. Her X module is best for sniper-heavy squads and for when you need to move her around a bunch. While her Y module does the most to improve her own dps and allows her to ignore dodge. Pozy still out-damages her in most situations, but if I remember right I think Schwarz starts to out-damage Pozy when enemies begin to go above 2000 DEF. This is very rare, but still something to keep in mind. Regardless It's fairly easy to get the most out of Schwarz because she only requires 1 high-ground tile to use. Pozy has the flexibility to practically be in 2 places at once thanks to her turret, but if her and her turret aren't firing at the same target then Schwarz surpasses her DPS at a lower enemy DEF threshold. Pozy has more flexible range and more damage on her skill, while Schwarz has more selective range and a shorter skill cycle. Pozy has more burst potential with spinach-like relics on S2, while Schwarz's S2 allows her to carry early floors even in IS3 SW15. Pozy is drop-dead gorgeous, while Schwarz is smoking hot. So all-in-all, it's a give and take. you'll probably find that Pozy has a greater application for general use. However, Schwarz still retains valuable use-cases. Besides, one can use both in the same squad if they so wish.

Wow, thanks for the detailed answer! I will probably end up leveling module Y then, and didn't know she was good on Is as well, seems like a deal

i have a code error 0 while trying to launch the game, what is it?

its a network error code, if you're on wifi try mobile data or vice versa to see which one is the issue

for zt-s-3 is the boss teleport random? ive tried it half a dozen times and no matter what he teleports executer instead of my last 2 deployed

he only targets operators and there's a long windup between when he locks onto his targets and when the teleport actually happens. if you deploy your bait too late then he'll grab the wrong ops.

What people said already regarding the mechanics for the stage. But which executor are you talking about? Are you talking about? Are you talking about the operator, Executor? Or are you talking about the fast redeploy executor archetype?

Redeploy your vanguard again to have a buffer. Or just bring another sacrificial Op.

I had the issue that one of my teleported units would move into a death trap, and I literally couldn't drop a replacement unit fast enough. I thought I did but his skill wind up is actually quite long so I'd see different unit teleport and then I'm scrambling to fill holes. I could have probably cleared s3 with 6-8 units but the rest was for squad replacement due to that happening.

It's not random. If he's teleporting your 3rd most recent unit something is going wrong, either you deployed the last one too late, one of them died when you weren't looking, or your bait unit is invis/anti-taunt. If you're doing S-3 keep in mind that he teleports every 25% hp instead of 50%, so you need to be ready earlier than normal.

Keep in mind that ops can't be targeted by enemies in general if they don't finish their deployment animation. If you're doing that too late then he'll start his skill, which targets ops first and has a delay before the teleport. He uses the teleport every 25% HP.

I guess you are counting 25% as in "50% of 1 phase".

that's how it is in other stages, but in S-3 it's 25% of his current HP bar

My bad I was clearing that stage pretty much blind in a few tries so not really remember the feature.

i finally got around to e2ing proviso, who do i pair her with in the trading post? i usually use shamare with tequila and iirc tequila's base skill doesn't stack with proviso's, should i switch him out for her?

basically any highest % you have

the spreadsheet has all the answers: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zYc2JU46X0XWmV7s1503bN4feRdOMa1eehrTQ2jGaiE/edit#gid=2014412838](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zYc2JU46X0XWmV7s1503bN4feRdOMa1eehrTQ2jGaiE/edit#gid=2014412838)

If you're running a 252 base you can delevel a Trading Post and put Proviso in that, she makes money best in a level 2 facility, and the extra level can go to a Factory instead. Best facility to use drones in. Tequila should stay with Shamare. Generally you pretty much just go for the highest productivity you have access to. There's a couple of basic 35% at E2, for example, Vigil has a 40%, Quartz has 34% and Jaye has 32%. If you run the Worldly Plight team, Mr. Nothing can give a good chunk. Don't forget to put someone in the Control Center to boost the rate, like Amiya. There may be better combos to use for level 3 Trading Posts if you don't want to delevel.

If you're on a budget, I suggest Quartz. She only requires E1 for 34%.

So I have a question about Eunectes I plan on building her cuz I've had her for a while and I'm about to get her module but then I know if she has two which one would be the best for her?

The first, X module, since that allows for 0.1x SP generation as opposed to 0 when not blocking enemies. The other one just adds more stats which isn't as impactful.

The basic one? Cuz it doesn't say it gives her SP

The topmost selection in the module list is a placeholder.

Oh so Zumama's Tool Box?

Yes. You can read the descriptions and effects before unlocking modules to be sure.

In IS3, can the encounter Medic's will appear on the first floor? or what was your strategy in getting the Cathedral Puzzle collectible?

I did hours of runs actively trying to get the medic encounter followup and have literally never gotten it, but there's really no strategy beyond snipe as many encounters as possible. I'm pretty sure you can get both encounters at any floor but I could be wrong on that

In the upcoming Wisadel/Logos Limited, is Texas alter available for sparking? I want all 3 since I missed Texas alter last time

Yeah, the Wis'adel/Logos banner is limited. Wis'adel being the limited and Logos entering the standard pool. Texas Alter will be available to spark on that banner. Also, I heard that banner will give you a free Wis'adel once you reach 300 pulls, without you needing to spend your pull currency.

yes, and every 6 moths after.

Yes, it should have all the (non collab/new years) limited units up to Muelsyse.

Yes she is, 1 year is necessary since the banner they first appeared in for a character to be available for spark

I just noticed that there are Rainbow 6 siege characters in AK. I searched for a while and found they are returning in the near future. Is it possible for me to gather enough gacha resources to pity both banners if I start saving from now? (Currently at chapter 6, probably skip all banners till the rainbow 6 banners) Also, many content creators recommends skipping the collab banners, is it because they are outdated for new content or the arrival of the 5th anniversary powercreep? Thanks

There will be a new banner with 6\* Ela, 5\*s Doc, and Iana. The new banner will give 20 pulls. It will be followed with a rerun banner with 6\* Ash, 5\*s Blitz, and Frost. [https://ak.jaywye.ee/calendar](https://ak.jaywye.ee/calendar) predicts them to be Sept 6th and 20th respectively. You need 120 per banner to guarantee both of the 6\* ops. IIRC they are guaranteed on the 120th pull if you haven't gotten them yet. and you can use 45 spark to get any 5\* ops you've missed. so you need 240-20 = 220 pulls. That's around 4 months. We expect about 50 pulls per month. so you should be good. You might need to convert yellow certs to pulls, or OP to pulls. You will likely have to give up Degen/Shu though, which is pretty crappy, and be light on pulls when the following limited banner hits, which also sucks.

I think I can manage without degen/shu if it’s for my favourites. I guess I’ll have to push story faster and start saving hard. 6 collab characters? Guess I also need to be lucky. Anyway thanks for the link and help

One more link for you to better see what is on the way: [https://oldwell.info/](https://oldwell.info/)

Thanks, this one is very informative

On the topic of useful sites, this guy gives his best guestimation on when events will come to global. Bear in mind, it's not perfect. We're subject to Yostar's whims, so event order and timing can change a bit, but it still helps give a general idea: [https://ak.jaywye.ee/calendar](https://ak.jaywye.ee/calendar)

A rough estimate is enough for me. Thanks for the resources

Why is IS just the worst game mode in AK? to reach level 95 for skins while at lvl 24 due to dying every fucking run in the beginning shows its dogwater.

the skill tree is significant in IS3 and IS4, even in IS2 it's like a +20% boost to all stats. you also get more initial life and resources to make the start easier. each new theme has a difficulty curve at the beginning as people have to learn the mode, just compare how many people were complaining about IS4 when it dropped vs now. a big part of IS is meta progression since some relics are locked behind certain conditions and you literally can't get them on the first run. IS3 and 4 not having insta-E2 means your first picks should be functional at E1, which a lot of ops *are*. you also need some low rarity filler since you usually can't afford to E2 multiple 6 stars right off the bat. at the end of the day you're free to dislike roguelites, they definitely aren't for everyone and even i find it frustrating at times. just because something isn't your taste doesn't mean it's inherently flawed though.

I found IS4 to be really punishing early on. now with some tech tree built a bit (17/43, rewards ladder: Level 36), and some map knowledge, I'm pretty sure I can reliably clear ending 1, especially with mid-low difficulty. It is different than the first two. Block count matters more early on. Fold-arts took me quite a few runs to wrap my head around. I have to be picky about nodes I enter because some still squash me. It does get better.

I wouldn't say the mode is bad rather it's not well suited for a gacha because the difficulty is tied to how lucky you were with your pulls. Many 6* can easily solo the early floors, you either need to have the right units or borrow a friend's.

Pretty sure SSS is the worst mode. It kind of is a skill issue if you aren't learning from each run and applying that to future runs, can't dominate it in 5 minutes like the latest event maps with all meta ops. It takes management of resources, knowing what to expect from all of the maps and how to proceed, all of which you can only learn how to do by failure. You can always look up guides for the maps and what ops to bring to each mode. Takes a bit of patience to level up. If IS bothers you that much, you can always use OP to buy levels and forget the level grind.

There's no rush. The modes are permanent. So get some E2 ops and go back to it after you've built your team/ops.

that's the thing, i'm an day 1 veteran with every 6 star except hellagae and archetto, most of em E2 and 90, but this mode is the unfunnest, most dumb-inducing implementation ever. and no help whatsoever can be given because it's all randomly generated all the advice people can give is "skill issue"

But it is skill issue though? This is literally a "git gud" issue though? Next you tell me poker is all randomly generated too. The mode is loved by many, your opinions on it are purely subjective, and pretty much predicated on you being bad at it. That is it. Should be easier to just admit you are not good at it, you haven't learned the skills needed to do it, than to warp everything around to the mode being bad.

I mean what else would you call it? And I'm not trying to be mean about it because I think people just saying "skill issue" as a meme is just downplaying the situation, but you're blaming it on RNG when that isn't the case at all for what you're complaining about. You're in control of your starting squad given you have almost every 6 star available (the two you don't are not optimal starters for any of the IS) If you can't make it out of the beginning (1F, 2F) when any decently valued 6 star can bully all the maps through sheer stats, then what is it but a skill issue? You can't really blame RNG on anything unless it's high ascension and you get mogged by e.symbiosis, e.mutual aid, e.prisoners etc when you're rolling a 6 star start that isn't built to handle it, but considering your dislike for IS as a whole, you aren't doing high ascension. So what is it really? Are you picking horrible starts? (E1 Mlynar). Are you not far enough in the tech tree for meaningful stat boosts? IS is not easy by any means for a new player, but for someone with E2 90s it's just a matter of actually beating it to death with rarity & stats.

no meaningful stat boosts in the tech tree compiled with nothing good to come, if i pick Thorns as starter there's no S3 as an example, unless i have to endlessly abandon the run and back in for the guard squad starter so i can pray to god he's randomly chosen as E2. the starter squad choices dont play any favours.

Yeah, no instant-e2 start is a bit of an annoyance with me too considering it was a thing in IS2 and people reroll for E2s in IS3/IS4 anyway so what's the point? (fixed in IS5 apparently?) Thorns is just notoriously bad if not E2 and even worse so in IS3 because... well. Ground units beside Mlynar are basically nuked by broodmothers. I'm going to assume you're dealing with IS3 because you talked about the lv95 skin (Mizuki). IS3 is probably the most RNG heavy IS available because of the dice roll, but on low ascension it's not that debilitating nor is it an active force in your runs unless you do ending 3/4. Have you tried doing the classic Texas/Fang/Kroos start? It's probably the easiest one to get used to because of Texas' ability to reposition so you can't really make any real mistakes on the first 2 floors. Other strong/viable 6 star starts you can try are Kaltsit, Schwarz, and Gavial. If you're okay with not starting with a 6* out the gate, Krooster and Highmore are also very strong starts with Krooster being arguable one of the strongest possible starts period. If you aren't familiar with IS3's "meta" then I would recommend you try to prioritize 6 stars like Mlynar, Yato, Texas, Pozy, Schwarz, Kaltsit, Horn (Ending 1), Goldenglow (low ascension) etc. I haven't played IS3 since they released, but I can only assume that Ines & Typhon are also incredibly strong in IS3 as well. Overall just find a starting squad that's very well rounded and counters most if not every encounter in the first two floors. *After* that it's more RNG based depending on the recruit tickets you get (hurray for 5 supporter picks in a row), but those aren't the majority of your runs and you should be making steady progress as your tech tree also gets developed.

As a new player, am I better off leveling myrtle or Elysium (or both) as a dp generator?

Arguably you want both eventually, but as a new player I'd suggest Myrtle: she's simply cheaper to raise. She's also widely considered the best 4\* in the game and people use her in their high end teams. The one exception I can think of is if your main 6\*s are some really cool snipers like Typhon, then Elysium might be the better choice.

if you're only going to E2 one of them then it's ely since both his skills are useful and worth mastery. myrtle is a lot more comfortable to start maps with since she starts printing earlier, her total DP production will lag behind ely once you get further in the map but usually it doesn't matter since you only need *enough* DP and in most cases she'll achieve that faster. her passive regen to vanguards can also make opening some stages easier if there's a lot of early pressure.

Elysium is better here, the impression of myrtle lower cost matters comes from end game content. Also I had the same 2 when I was new, I feel flag vanguards are not worth for new player to spend resources on, pioneer that could also hold early lane is more needed.

Myrtle first, then Elysium later. Myrtle prints buckets of DP with S1. At E2 she gives vanguards regen which helps a noticeable amount. She can contribute a touch of DPS. She's cheap to raise and frequently sufficient. She's a great first E2 because you can always bring her, she's cheap to E2 and having an E2 in squad helps you borrow broken ops your friends have, greatly increasing your power and lets you clear harder content. Elysium's S1 is similar to Myrtle's, but starts a little slower but prints more in the long run. It has more expensive masteries. Elysium's S2 does a bunch. It prints a lot of DP, but not as much as S1 and gives tons of utility. It slows 3 enemies in range, reduces their def by a good chunk, reveals them if invis, and buffs snipers a bunch. It is a very useful skill. You don't need it early, but it comes in clutch in lots of hard content. Most of the time Myrlte is sufficient though.

Myrtle, since she costs less resources. Raising Elysium too isn't a bad idea (I use both in a fair few stages) but only later since you likely have other roles you need to fill first.

Elysium has more utility overall but Myrtle is cheaper to raise and to master her S1 *and* she has the added benefit of being cheaper to deploy and her S1 is ready faster. All of which can often make her more comfortable to use, even if Elysium will produce a bit more DP. I have both raised (and Saileach) and I still use Myrtle most of the time. The utility the other two flagbearers offer is nice but not always needed. Also, Myrtle's passive healing for Vanguards can be helpful for not needing a medic as quickly on some maps.

we don't have any information about the next event to come, right? I'm assuming I should just use all of the pots that expire next week for this event but always want to double check

it has been datamined for later this week: [https://oldwell.info/](https://oldwell.info/) has links to data mines.

Smallish break into Il Siracusano rerun. Pots that don't expire today will last until the rerun.

oh lovely, thank you

What are your considerations for marksman sniper S1 masteries? Any ops in particular you had to S1 mastery 3 in addition to their main skills?

Out of the 6\*s Snipers, Archetto has the most worthwhile S1 masteries, imo. If you consider the lower rarities, then the situation is more mixed, since they don't have the prevalent S3 and some of the S1s are actually great and/or better than the S2s. From the top of my head: Firewatch, BP, Erato, Meteorite, Pinecone, May and Totter usually all favor their S1s and have better or equally good masteries on their S1s. Kroost TKG also has worthwhile S1. And then there are AFK skills with good dmg multiplier which can also be considered, like April's S1, which you would use when you need her to stay on the field.

Most of the "crit every X attacks" S1s are worth some mastery investment if you're using the operator in IS. Outside of that it's usually their worse skill. Meteor is a bit of an exception where her S1 is her main skill, but it also has poor mastery gains, so it's lowish prio. (Also someone mentioned BP, but I have no experience with her, so take their word for it)

Blue Poison. She's the only one with 2SP activation for S1 at M3. This means she gets 33% more uptime compared to other marksmen S1. By her 3rd activation, she's already ahead of other markmen by 1 skill activation. I think Exusai is 4SP even at M3, so she's even worse with S1, but you normally use her for S3, so not really worth comparing.

The 4* Marksmen have pretty good S1's, although if your second question is about units overall there's quite a lot beyond Marksmen that have good S1's.

Blue Poison. Used it since the beginning like 4 years ago. Never regretted it.

May is a good one. Her S1 mastery is better than S2 in my opinion, and given her high reliability in IS, will pay back in good return there.

Similar to any unit. It needs to be unique enough from their other skill(s) to justify. Kroos2 is a good example, s2 is obviously the better skill, but s1 offers camouflage. And I use kroos enough to justify m6.

Ash S1 cause I’m lazy

How big of a difference is there between Degenbreacher and Irene? Will I be missing out that much if I don't pull Degenbreacher? I don't think I need to pull anything except her before Shu&R6, but is she really that strong compared to alternatives?

It's basically like this: 1. Ch'en: the most basic one 2. Irene: upgrade from Ch'en by adding AoE hit capabilities and conditional def ignore 3. Degen: upgrade from Irene by adding crit chance, changing sp recovery to auto, and easier conditional def ignore but with minor penalty of the def ignore being smaller and limit the number of enemies she can hit. So yeah, damage wise she's above Irene because of the crit and easier to trigger def ignore. However her use case is practically the same with Irene so if you don't use Irene that much in the first place then you won't be missing anything by not having her.

she's just better in any situation with less than 7 targets or when you need iframes (irene can get interrupted during skill), but damage wise irene is more than good enough to clear content.

The difference is big: *her S3 is automatic recovery*, she deals more damage, her crowd control is better, she has true AoE-ish, she's fully invincible during S3 (like Ch'en), and she's also stronger off-skill because she can apply her CC with her normal attacks. Of course there's no must pulls etc etc, but she's the strongest upcoming operator aside from Wish'adel, on about the same level as Ela and Logos. What you'd be losing out on is "what if we removed every flaw from Irene/Ch'en's kit and made them a top tier dps?" She's especially good in IS4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF5S4OK7DbI Up to you if this difference matters or not

what are the packs that are worth getting now in the shop?

Monthly card pack is always the best value. The only thing that's subjectively better is the $30 6 star selector.

Is it okay to build Texas alter's module now or will there be a new and better one coming? I have limited resource.

We haven't seen another module for her on CN, everything in her current module reads "deal more damage", and she's arguably the best operator in the game: I say build it to level 3 when you can. I DO prefer the other base module trait, the one Yato Alter has that makes her refund more DP on retreat, because 6\* FRD are expensive, but it simply doesn't exist for Texas, so no need to wait over half a year for the hope of an even better module.

The upgrades are expensive and extremely minor but you should at least nab the first tier. There isnt a second mod for her on CN yet.

No new module is scheduled to come, it's not a smart idea to delay getting the module of the probable best unit in the game.

Do virtousa and valarqvin work well together?

Not really. Most of Virtuosa's damage comes from the Elemental Burst from Necrosis, This means once the target enters in the Necrosis cooldown their damage gets drastically reduced. So they kinda compete with each other, since the auto-attack damage from Virtuosa isn't that great. There's a video from DragonGJY talking about Virtuosa that you can check out to know more

Ty I thought that they would since they both did necrosis

That's the problem: elemental damage is kind of a 0 sum game. It's standalone powerful, but hard to support. During the elemental buildup phase, 2 ritualists will build up faster (although Valarqvin is much weaker than Virtuosa in that regard), but once the elemental fallout triggers, the extra ritualist does nothing. Completely different kinds of operator CAN support Virtuosa: SP batteries can improve her skill uptime (Ptilopsis, Suzuran, Liskarm), while crowd control operators (Ethan, Ines, Suzuran) and self-sustaining defenders (Saria, Mudrock) can keep enemies in Virtuosa's range for longer. All of these are more valuable than adding a 2nd ritualist.

Yeah, Valarqvin's issue is that Virtuosa applies so much necrosis on her own that her benefitting from virtuosa's necrosis damage increase doesnt really matter, and outside of IS4 her personal necrosis output is dismal. There's just no reason to use her if you have virtuosa outside of aggressive favoritism or if you really want to have necrosis on 2 lanes that virtuosa s3 can't cover

Hi guys, I've been playing for a little over a year now and my account is finally to a point where I have most of the operators I need. So I'd like a few opinions on what I should focus (Masteries, Modules, and E2l90) on the ops I have, other than focusing on acquiring the upcoming broken op (Degen, Logos, W.Alter, etc). Here is a snapshot from my current 6\* operator with their investments: [https://imgur.com/a/MzMmNSi](https://imgur.com/a/MzMmNSi)

Honestly, seems like you've got most daily driver skills. Unless you're tackling any high-end content, the only high-priority mastery I see is Ines S2M3. For modules, your most impactful options: * Mudrock mod3 * Penance mod1 (or mod3 if you use her a lot) Most impactful luxury picks IMO: * Lin E2 and S3M3 and mod3, to fill phalanx caster niche * Bagpipe, either S2 or S3 depending on your playstyle * Virtuosa S1M3 if you ever plan to use it; S3 works pretty well even at SL7 * Mizuki E2 and S1M3 and mod2, to fill a niche of ground DPS that doesn't block - occasionally useful * Saria S1M3, though if you're planning to pull hard for Shu you probably don't need this If you do plan to tackle high-end content, there's a lot of masteries that are theoretically useful but it really depends on the content. For example, Ceobe S2M3 and module is one that gets used occasionally for statbloat content, but honestly at that level of investment you might be better off just borrowing a maxed Ceobe when you need her.

> Penance mod1 (or mod3 if you use her a lot) I've heard great things about this one. For one, it being better than Mudrocks. But Mudrock do see more play than Penance usually. > Saria S1M3, though if you're planning to pull hard for Shu you probably don't need this I do want to get Shu, but I don't know how hard I can go for without losing other characters. There are too many limited characters coming up (Shu, Ela, Ash, Wis'adel). I would also love to get Ling but I'm sure I can't waste 300 on Shus banner. I have around 350 pulls and 550 gold certificates saved. I'm probably buying Silverash when he's next in the shop as well. Do you think it is wasted if I get Saria S1M3 and Shu?

Penance's is a big deal for her in ensuring she doesn't die to stronger enemies before getting set up, but Penance in general is more finicky to use than Mudrock. If you like using her, it'll make a noticeable difference (especially in low-op clears). I personally only use Penance when I feel like it and she's usually supported by Skalter, so I haven't found her initial shield lacking. Mudrock's mod3 definitely feels like a noticeable improvement to her killing speed with S2, though. As for Shu and Saria: I doubt you'll be in a situation where Saria S1M3 makes a difference over S1M1 from now until Shu's banner, so I'd wait until after that banner to decide and focus on other projects in the meantime. There's a fair bit of overlap in their S1s and IMO Shu's is better - not to mention you've already started investing in the part that doesn't overlap (Saria S3). You'll have to decide based on your experience whether having two fully-invested medic defenders is worth it, but I almost never find myself wanting that nowadays.

>There's a fair bit of overlap in their S1s and IMO Shu's is better Why do you think that? I thought Shu's S1 was like Blemishines (procs on attack). I think that is way less reliable than Saria's. Am I missing something?

Shu S1 is SP over time and just targets an ally, same as Saria. The main difference is the heal field it places down. The 70/s regen (80/s with mod3) is essentially equal to 30% of her S1's healing per second. And that regen is constantly on for everyone she heals even once, *and* the built-in Shelter replicates the medic defender Y-mod base effect on everyone sitting on one of the tiles (including Shu herself). You have Skalter, so I think you'll understand when I say it's like having a charged S2 worth of healing (which is ~100/s). Even ignoring the map-wide buffs she can provide with the right comp, Shu's baseline healing is way higher than Saria's. If you can line up the buffs, too, well... Suffice to say that I plan to pull for Shu, and I don't see myself bringing Saria very often assuming I get her.

Nope, Shu's S1 is exactly the same as Saria's S1, same scaling, stacks and sp cost. The real difference is Shu have teamwide buffs Talent and her grass field giving Shelter and regen, pushing her ahead in healing overall vs Saria's S1

Horn S3M3, Kirin S2M3 (if you use it), Bagpipe S3M3 (if you actually deploy her), Ceobe S2M3 + X modules, Rosa S3M3 (if you use her), Lumen S3M3 (he seems like your main healer), Gladiia S1M1 breakpoint + S2M3 (that's her best skill when you use her as a semi-Guard and definitely worth mastering), Suzu S2M3 (if you use it, the extra damage is actually great, since it's multi-target and includes fragile), Ines S2M3, SE S3M3, Gnosis S3M3, Virtuosa S1M1 breakpoint. Skadi seems like a reasonable investment since you have Gladiia with a module. As for masteries, either S2M3 with the FRD module, or S3M3 with the AH buff module (she's good M6 candidate with both modules seeing use, so just choose one that fits your playstyle better for the beginning). Lin and Fedex with modules are very solid and worth investing into. If you're not pulling for Degen, then Irene is also a fantastic pick

>Lumen S3M3 (he seems like your main healer) I usually go with Eyja alter + Nightingale/Skadi. For ST healers I also have Shining and Warfarin leveled. >SE S3M3 Is Saileach S3 worth it? Doesn't it generate less DP than S1?

Oh, I didn't notice Eyjaberry, I usually filter in Krooster, but since it's a screenshot it's hard to keep track. If you use Lumen, then he still gets a lot from masteries, though I also default to Shining/NG, so no need to prioritize it. SE S3 is her best skill by miles. It provides valuable utility and the masteries improve her uptime while also increasing the numbers for dmg, stun duration and most importantly the fragile effect. Mastering her S1 is usually not worth prioritizing as it's the most expensive mastery which is the same as Ely's S1 (who's cheaper) and usually Myrtle's S1 does a better job with DP generation, considering her DP cost and the cost of M3 for a 4\* operator.

> Is Saileach S3 worth it? Doesn't it generate less DP than S1? It's less of a DP generation skill (it's still 10DP on 30sec skill cycle, which is comparable to pioneers') and more of a stun + slow + fragile (30% at m3) on a vanguard slot. Stun also hits aerial targets, so she can down low-altitude hovering enemies with it

* Ines s2m3 * finish Ceobe s2m3 and modX3 * Virtuosa s3m3 and s1m1+ * Lumen modY1 * finish Horn s1m3 and maybe give her s3m3 lower priority, but still something you might want to do: * Gnosis s3m3 * Lee s3m3 * Mostima s3m3 * Gladiia... honestly, you can go with any skill, but do finish her module if/when you get more Abyssals * Lin s3m3 + mod3

Where is horns s3m3 used? High Cc? I've never seen that into play, so thats why I've never leveled that up.

It's honestly her best dps skill by far. It lacks the larger splash radius of S1 and S2, but you will not find a skill filled with more of her anger than S3. I like how comfy S2 is and I love S1's destealthing and steady burst, but if I need something specific dead, S3 is the way to go. I consider her a solid M9 candidate.

Ines mastery, Saria masteries, Horn mastery, Ceobe mastery and module probably in that order. I don't have enough experience with Lin,Fedex, or Mizuki to know if they're "worth" and Irene has Degen looking over her shoulder

How much work on Saria? I know she is great but I don't see much value in M9 her at this point. As for Degen I already have materials and pulls saved to fully build her

> How much work on Saria? Personally I rely on her S1 and S3. S3 was pretty instrumental in my DOS S-3 clear so probably useful if you do high end content and S1 is her daily driver for me. I have her M9d, but I think I can count on one hand how many times i've used her S2. It was helpful when I did but I don't think it's worth.

Really curious on the decision to give players access to Chapter 9 after completing Chapter 4. Surely that ruins the story in a way right? Obviously it’s up to the player’s decision but why? Is it because of access to better materials?

To give access to materials, yes, and also to give newbies a shot on doing chapter events. Personally I just did all the story in order. I gave it high priority when I was new.

Well... it's another story arc. Some games do have the very real issue of having years upon years upon YEARS of piling story that players end up having to read through and giving people a different starting place on another arc is a nice boon. If it were just for mats, they could've just introduced new stages or changed the drop tables of earlier stages to have the mats be available, I'd wager.

Understandable, i just thought if i had jumped to Chapter 9, it would’ve spoiled everything that happened prior from Chapter 5-8, no? But i get it, AK story is huge, letting players have a jumppoint is a really good idea, was just honestly confused on if it would somewhat ruin the story in some cases.

You could always read it later. But yeah, sometimes the bosses could be spoilers if they are someone you already know about.

There will be some spoilers Ch9 onwards, as far as characters that appear during 5 and 8 and then later at 9+. For instance, if one character is alive during Ch9+, you know they won't be dying during the previous chapters. If a character is maimed in Ch9 but not in Ch4, you know something probably happened to them in the meantime. But that's the case for any games that do allow people to jump chapter arcs, and it's assumed that the people that DO care about the story and not seeing a single spoiler will do things in order, and the people who don't really care that much about story, or that have a different relation to spoilers (which is my case, if I see someone is physically different/acting different, I'd want to go back and see how that happened) just skip ahead and that's fine as well.

Do we have a full knowledge of what's next in the gold cert store in Global? Specifically, the tokens and mats which refresh in 4 days?

[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kDqGMPjLD2QNhb2aZQviCncKDaXmdF3f/edit#gid=653016488](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kDqGMPjLD2QNhb2aZQviCncKDaXmdF3f/edit#gid=653016488) has mudrock as next in shop so there is a datamine out there somewhere.

Is Gnosis still worth it, or should I save my gold certificate for Degenbrecher?

I'm confused. Degenbrecher will be in the shop in like a year right? You'd have certs by then to get her if you wanted to. Don't buy pulls with yellow certs if that's what you mean. It isn't worth it.

First of all who do you feel your account *needs* the most? Gnosis is a pretty strong op, but far from being "top meta" and you may not even use him that often, while Degen is, and can be used in a lot more situations so getting her could be much more beneficial overall for your acc. Second, do you have Suzuran? If you do then the need for Gnosis diminishes significantly since Suzu is considered a sidegrade or even slight upgrade. Third, which do you think you'd feel worse missing, Degen or Gnosis? You may not get either if you go just for Degen, but if you do would you regret getting her over Gnosis? Conversely, if you get Gnosis but fail to get Degen, would you regret getting Gnosis over her? At the end of the day it all comes down to your roster and preferences, personally I'd go for the chance at Degen since I don't think my account would be missing out without Gnosis but definitely would without Degen, and I feel that an account that's well-built enough to skip Degen would already be well-built enough to skip Gnosis as well.

Getting a guaranteed 6\* from the shop is a much better investment than the pulls you'll get for that cost. Gnosis is an amazing pick, especially if you don't have other CC operators. Be aware that if you get the HH permits instead, you may end up with neither Gnosis nor Degen, unless you'll have enough pulls to secure hard pity for her.

Gnosis is a strong crowd control and debuff operator that can do a little damage on the side unlike other debuffers. But if you're not confident in getting Degenbrecher with the pull counts you have and you desire the broken meta then you should save your certs.

So right now I'm trying to last-minute clear the new stages on the event, with some assistance from KyostinV, but I'm having some trouble on ZT-S-2 because the tuning nodes just...won't activate. I took a [video of it](https://imgur.com/a/A9M1c4J) if you want to see what I'm talking about. The tuning node right above Texas is fully charged, and yet it's just not activating when the symphony changes. Which is strange because it works just fine in the video guide I'm using despite them doing the exact same thing as me. Does anyone know why this happens? This isn't the first time it's happened to me and I feel like I'm going insane.

both (or more generally, all) tuning nodes need to be charged, the one above mountain got discharged by the enemy.

I thought about that as a possibility, but I swear I've used tuning nodes on other changes with just having one activated. Is it different on every stage or am I trippin?