I got my NP5 max ascend shiki and cleared a lot of mats out... only thing I care about is the MPs left in there now.
And meanwhile I have two 5* sabers that need raised to 90. And... I impulsively raised Bride's attack boost to 10 because I could. But... +40% for 3 turns on a 6 turn cooldown?
Threw some silver embers at Da Vinci to finish out the last few mana prisms I needed and that's that. Mona Lisa CE attained, MLB'd, and slotted onto Support Drake who is due to be leveled after this event.
Because right now I'm in Parking Lot hell farming Black Cats on natural stamina for even more QP.
I've got nowhere near enough for Mona Lisa. And I'm not sure I'll finish this event either. I like the idea, but the amount of grinding versus the pitiful rewards (except for the few highlights gated behind mountains of trash) is very bad.
I didn't have to grind at all outside of the events and this is the first time I sold silver embers. All the events I've been part of, from Christmas onward, all had a substantial amount of mana prisms to gain. KnK even gave an additional 500 for two different missions.
Also KnK mission rewards are great. Free pieces, monuments, ascension items, and apples. All with easily-followable progression paths.
I don't think I ever bought prisms from the events because nothing in game ever told me what I'd need them for. Until recently. I'd always had hundreds if not thousands more than I could spend on tickets. I'd usually prioritize all the CEs and materials, then spend the leftovers on exp and Fous or whatever.
I don't think I ever bought prisms from the events because nothing in game ever told me what I'd need them for. Until recently. I'd always had hundreds if not thousands more than I could spend on tickets. I'd usually prioritize all the CEs and materials, then spend the leftovers on exp and Fous or whatever.
Mona Lisa was offered at the shop before Mana Prisims started showing up in the event shops. So yes, the game told you what you could buy with them.
So then I didn't think to buy them or focus on them because they'd never been offered before and prioritized the things that were offered in the other events? Works out the same way.
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StragintDo Not GiftAlways DeclinesRegistered Userregular
Now that I'm actually doing the event I realize how rough this is gonna be.
Gonna need all my apples and saint quartz to keep farming for Shiki. Wish I could get Saber Shiki too.
PSN: Reaper_Stragint, Steam: DoublePitstoChesty
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
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Gabriel_Pitt(effective against Russian warships)Registered Userregular
Dammit. 15k HP off being able to get Altria down before she NP'd. Oh well, still had a pretty easy time with her. Tesla, Waver, support Gil is actually pretty good at ST even though they're AOE NPs because they gain so much they could NP twice each in 5 turns after burning each of theirs on Turn 1/2 to open.
Event basically cleared. Some last minute farming to finish clearing Gold Berserker gems out and some lingering blues and that's it.
edit: no, wait, forgot I finished Golds. Just the last blues then and then figure out if I care to go back for the MPs.
Having David as my first back-up was an even better plan than I thought when fighting Altria. Her first NP caused my first and only casualty, and then when her second went off, David's mass evade meant everyone shrugged it off and then I wrapped the fight no sweat.
This has definitely been the best event in the game so far and I hope that others follow the pattern. It didn't feel as grindy as the previous ones (although it definitely helped I was using the optimal path guide, but I think the mission structure helped break it up in a more appealing way than the previous point counters) and with a net _gain_ of sixteen apples, I've completed the event and cleaned out the store of everything except some of the gems and secret gems, and still have days left to wrap up anything more I want. Coming right on the heels of the Valentine event and the grinding of that (I'm pretty sure I killed a lot more than 200 identical choco servants and it was a lot of the exact same mission over and over) this one was just amazing.
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Gabriel_Pitt(effective against Russian warships)Registered Userregular
Event complete! I nearly bought everything from the shop, a first for me by a long shot. I really enjoyed this event, outside of grinding the floor eight missions. Just a hair more dependent on RNG not killing off a necessary servant before the boss encounter.
Big thanks to the folks who posted guides, they were incredibly helpful.
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StragintDo Not GiftAlways DeclinesRegistered Userregular
Now that I'm actually doing the event I realize how rough this is gonna be.
Gonna need all my apples and saint quartz to keep farming for Shiki. Wish I could get Saber Shiki too.
I'd really recommend checking out this guide for the most AP efficient way to clear out the event.
On step 19 of 27 on this guide. Was doing it periodically throughout playing WoW and goofing off today. I feel like I should be good to go with getting Assassin Shiki permanently with this guide.
I also have like 38 golden apples so AP shouldn't be an issue at all either.
Stragint on
PSN: Reaper_Stragint, Steam: DoublePitstoChesty
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
Don't forget to get all of her ascension items. Getting the four of those is a whole lot more important than the extra copies of Shiki to raise her NP level.
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StragintDo Not GiftAlways DeclinesRegistered Userregular
I have her at level 60 so far. Permanent on the team and no NP increase yet. I have 52 missions complete. Just so much to do and farm. I really want to enjoy the story but then I wouldn't finish this on time.
What day exactly will this event no longer be available? I know sometimes the way the game updates is a bit weird.
PSN: Reaper_Stragint, Steam: DoublePitstoChesty
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
Pretty sure this is the first event I was able to finish without using any command seals! Pats self on the back
I'm also pretty close to clearing the shop except for mana prisms, which I know I really should, but I don't think I have the patience to grind out those cats.
Bought some quartz to give the KnK banner one last go, and got spooked by Jack. So everything went better than expected, I guess? Now I just need to save for a ten pull on Tesla...
Oh hey, new servants to evaluate. I'm awkwardly not at home, so I don't have my template for these, and I apparently can't get the BBCode from my old posts when that thread is closed. Here's hoping I don't miss anything, then!
4* Rider: Astolfo
A fan-favorite from Fate/Apocrypha. Let's be clear: Astolfo is a guy. There's nothing ambiguous here like with D'eon; Astolfo is a guy who just seems to enjoy looking like a girl. That being said, this game does treat him as being genderless for the purpose of things like charm effects.
Stats (Level 80): 8937 Attack, 11,172 HP Deck: QQQAB # of hits (Q/A/B/E): 2/2/1/4 NP Gain: 0.66% (Attack), 1% (Defense) Star Rate 9.0%
Astolfo's NP gain is like some kind of a sick joke. Don't expect that bar to go up from attacks under any circumstances. The other noteworthy thing is that he has an assassin-like deck, which is a little strange for a rider. So I guess you shouldn't count on arts chains, either.
First Skill: Increase own attack (8-28%) for 1 turn. Base cooldown: 7 turns Second Skill: Chance (60-90%) to stun an enemy. Base cooldown: 10 turns Third Skill: 65% chance each to do the following things for three turns each: Gain 5-10 crit stars per turn, increase own star rate (30-50%), and increase own crit strength (20-40%). In a future buff, this skill will also always generate 30-50% of his NP gauge. Base cooldown: 10 turns
So his first skill might as well not exist. On the other hand, his other skills have some potential. The stun may never be completely reliable, but it's still a strong effect. His third skill is also pretty far from being reliable, but it solves a lot of his issues when it works. Especially when it also fixes his NP gain problem. Shame about the extremely large cooldowns, though...
Noble Phantasm (Quick): Deal heavy damage to all enemies, apply evasion to self (evades 3 attacks), and gain 5-25 crit stars, based on overcharge.
"Heavy" damage in this case means that it's not much better than the likes of Martha or Marie, and certainly pales compared to Santa Alter. That being said, the extra effects on it are quite nice. 3 hits of evasion is a big deal, and almost makes me understand why his NP gain is so awful. Almost.
Overall: Alright, I'm going to level with you. Astolfo may be really popular, but he's pretty lackluster. You can make him work with enough effort, but don't expect to be impressed. When his third skill gets buffed, he at least becomes adequate for wave-clearing, so you could at least get some use out of him in dailies.
5* Ruler: Amakusa Shirou
Hey, it's been a while since we've seen a servant outside of the main seven classes, and Amakusa doesn't play very much like Jeanne. As a reminder, rulers take reduced damage against every class except berserkers, but doesn't get an advantage against any of them either. Also, as a heads-up: Rulers are at a disadvantage against Avengers. That just might become relevant soon.
Stats (Level 90): 10,972 Attack, 14,107 HP Deck: QAABB # of hits (Q/A/B/E): 3/2/1/4 NP Gain: 0.86% (Attack), 3% (Defense) Star Rate 10.0%
With more attack and an extra buster card, it's obvious off the bat that Amakusa is more aggressive than Jeanne. In exchange for his lost arts card, his NP gain is a bit better, but still only around average overall.
First Skill: Gain 3-9 crit stars per turn, for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns Second Skill: Reduce NP charge of an [Undead] or [Demon] enemy, and increase own NP gauge per turn (10-20%) for 5 turns. Base cooldown: 12 turns Third Skill: Chance (50-100%) to stun a [Servant] enemy. In a future buff, this will also increase his Buster card effectiveness (20-30%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns
If I had to say something negative about Amakusa's skill list, it's that all of his skills really beg to have their skill levels increased. At high skill levels, all three of these skills are quite strong. At lower levels, not so much. Still, that second skill is always going to have a massive cooldown, so don't expect it to pump out more than one NP.
Noble Phantasm (Buster): Remove all buffs from all enemies, and then deal heavy damage, decreasing their critical hit rate (30-70%, based on overcharge) for 1 turn. After its interlude buff, the crit debuff will last for 3 turns.
Given that he's a Ruler and has no means of boosting this NP until his third skill gets strengthened, this NP is merely adequate in power. That being said, anyone who's been using a lot of Jack or Medea should know that removing enemy buffs is kind of a big deal. And since this removes their buffs before attacking (unlike Medea), this NP effectively ignores defense buffs and evasion/invincibility. Don't forget this fact! It will become relevant when fighting against him in the future! Trust me!
Overall: If you just look at everything he does, it's obvious that Amakusa is quite good on paper, and indeed will be a good servant in pretty much any situation, thanks to being a Ruler. On the other hand, if you are fighting against a strong Archer, you will always be better off using a good Lancer rather than Amakusa. Thus, finding a place for him might be a bit awkward. Still, he's quite good with enough investment into his skills, and will always be worth taking along when you are up against a variety of classes.
Incidentally, while I didn't get very far into Apocrypha, I have to admit that I'm not much of a fan of either of these two. I try to stay objective in these evaluations, though, so I hope I did an alright job.
@AshtonDragon No write-up on our newest 3 Star Archer Shota Gil, who continues the trend of 3 Star Archers being really good?
Somehow I forgot that he wasn't already released! Will write up momentarily.
EDIT: 3* Archer: Gilgamesh (Child)
Often called Kid Gil or KoGil, this Gilgamesh is unsurprisingly pretty similar to his adult counterpart, but obviously toned down. That said, personality-wise, he feels quite a bit different.
Stats (Level 70): 7696 Attack, 8731 HP Deck: QAABB # of hits (Q/A/B/E): 3/3/3/3 NP Gain: 0.62% (Attack), 3% (Defense) Star Rate 7.9%
While he hits two times less than his adult counterpart on his regular cards, his NP gain is enough higher that it actually works out pretty well for him. On the other hand, he doesn't shit out nearly as many crit stars, and his extra card is normalized. Compared to some of the other 3* archers, he's roughly on par with their generation stats, and competes with David for having the highest base attack (and possibly made up for by his Divinity).
First Skill: Increase attack of all allies (10.5-21%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 7 turns Second Skill: Chance (45-75%) to inflict charm on [Humanoid] target. Base cooldown: 9 turns Third Skill: Increase own NP gain (20-50%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns
Charisma and Golden Rule are not exactly exciting skills, but nice ones to throw up at the start of battle and get some somewhat relevant bonuses, and his ranks in those skills are higher than David and Robin Hood. His second skill is more reliable than most, since it works on any humanoid rather than requiring opposite gender, but the chance is not guaranteed. Still, a fine skillset overall for a 3*.
Noble Phantasm (Buster): Deal heavy damage to all enemies, decreasing their NP strength (50-90%), critical strength (50-90%), and debuff resistance (20-40%), all for 1 turn and based on overcharge.
"Heavy" damage is always relative for AOE NPs. Still, this one's a buster, and his being a 3* means you will eventually get him to NP5, so it absolutely does the job. A solid wave-clearing NP.
Overall: Continuing the trend of archers being the best silver servants who aren't Cu Chulainn, Gilgamesh here is quite good. Decent stats, NP/star generation, a reasonable skillset, and a solid waveclear NP. He doesn't really have anything to complain about. So the problem then is entirely his competition: Robin Hood competes with 5* servants in single-target NP power, David can uniquely protect the entire team from an enemy NP with just the use of a skill, and Euryale is a solid servant who becomes extremely powerful against males. And even if you are looking for a wave-clearing Archer, then Gil also has to compete with Arash, the undisputed king of farming. And there's more competition on the way...
Oh hey, new servants to evaluate. I'm awkwardly not at home, so I don't have my template for these, and I apparently can't get the BBCode from my old posts when that thread is closed. Here's hoping I don't miss anything, then!
4* Rider: Astolfo
A fan-favorite from Fate/Apocrypha. Let's be clear: Astolfo is a guy. There's nothing ambiguous here like with D'eon; Astolfo is a guy who just seems to enjoy looking like a girl. That being said, this game does treat him as being genderless for the purpose of things like charm effects.
Stats (Level 80): 8937 Attack, 11,172 HP Deck: QQQAB # of hits (Q/A/B/E): 2/2/1/4 NP Gain: 0.66% (Attack), 1% (Defense) Star Rate 9.0%
Astolfo's NP gain is like some kind of a sick joke. Don't expect that bar to go up from attacks under any circumstances. The other noteworthy thing is that he has an assassin-like deck, which is a little strange for a rider. So I guess you shouldn't count on arts chains, either.
First Skill: Increase own attack (8-28%) for 1 turn. Base cooldown: 7 turns Second Skill: Chance (60-90%) to stun an enemy. Base cooldown: 10 turns Third Skill: 65% chance each to do the following things for three turns each: Gain 5-10 crit stars per turn, increase own star rate (30-50%), and increase own crit strength (20-40%). In a future buff, this skill will also always generate 30-50% of his NP gauge. Base cooldown: 10 turns
So his first skill might as well not exist. On the other hand, his other skills have some potential. The stun may never be completely reliable, but it's still a strong effect. His third skill is also pretty far from being reliable, but it solves a lot of his issues when it works. Especially when it also fixes his NP gain problem. Shame about the extremely large cooldowns, though...
Noble Phantasm (Quick): Deal heavy damage to all enemies, apply evasion to self (evades 3 attacks), and gain 5-25 crit stars, based on overcharge.
"Heavy" damage in this case means that it's not much better than the likes of Martha or Marie, and certainly pales compared to Santa Alter. That being said, the extra effects on it are quite nice. 3 hits of evasion is a big deal, and almost makes me understand why his NP gain is so awful. Almost.
Overall: Alright, I'm going to level with you. Astolfo may be really popular, but he's pretty lackluster. You can make him work with enough effort, but don't expect to be impressed. When his third skill gets buffed, he at least becomes adequate for wave-clearing, so you could at least get some use out of him in dailies.
5* Ruler: Amakusa Shirou
Hey, it's been a while since we've seen a servant outside of the main seven classes, and Amakusa doesn't play very much like Jeanne. As a reminder, rulers take reduced damage against every class except berserkers, but doesn't get an advantage against any of them either. Also, as a heads-up: Rulers are at a disadvantage against Avengers. That just might become relevant soon.
Stats (Level 90): 10,972 Attack, 14,107 HP Deck: QAABB # of hits (Q/A/B/E): 3/2/1/4 NP Gain: 0.86% (Attack), 3% (Defense) Star Rate 10.0%
With more attack and an extra buster card, it's obvious off the bat that Amakusa is more aggressive than Jeanne. In exchange for his lost arts card, his NP gain is a bit better, but still only around average overall.
First Skill: Gain 3-9 crit stars per turn, for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns Second Skill: Reduce NP charge of an [Undead] or [Demon] enemy, and increase own NP gauge per turn (10-20%) for 5 turns. Base cooldown: 12 turns Third Skill: Chance (50-100%) to stun a [Servant] enemy. In a future buff, this will also increase his Buster card effectiveness (20-30%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns
If I had to say something negative about Amakusa's skill list, it's that all of his skills really beg to have their skill levels increased. At high skill levels, all three of these skills are quite strong. At lower levels, not so much. Still, that second skill is always going to have a massive cooldown, so don't expect it to pump out more than one NP.
Noble Phantasm (Buster): Remove all buffs from all enemies, and then deal heavy damage, decreasing their critical hit rate (30-70%, based on overcharge) for 1 turn. After its interlude buff, the crit debuff will last for 3 turns.
Given that he's a Ruler and has no means of boosting this NP until his third skill gets strengthened, this NP is merely adequate in power. That being said, anyone who's been using a lot of Jack or Medea should know that removing enemy buffs is kind of a big deal. And since this removes their buffs before attacking (unlike Medea), this NP effectively ignores defense buffs and evasion/invincibility. Don't forget this fact! It will become relevant when fighting against him in the future! Trust me!
Overall: If you just look at everything he does, it's obvious that Amakusa is quite good on paper, and indeed will be a good servant in pretty much any situation, thanks to being a Ruler. On the other hand, if you are fighting against a strong Archer, you will always be better off using a good Lancer rather than Amakusa. Thus, finding a place for him might be a bit awkward. Still, he's quite good with enough investment into his skills, and will always be worth taking along when you are up against a variety of classes.
Incidentally, while I didn't get very far into Apocrypha, I have to admit that I'm not much of a fan of either of these two. I try to stay objective in these evaluations, though, so I hope I did an alright job.
Nobody has a problem withy you not liking Shirou. Not liking Astolfo is understandable but I think we have a fan(atic) around herr.
I've seen Kid Gil in a lot of challenge quests. Lowering NP damage up to 90% can be huge. Especially when you combine it with other defense buffs and the fact it's AoE.
David's one-turn dodge allows you to have the party survive one NP. Gil's damage reduction potentially allows you to survive multiple.
I've seen Kid Gil in a lot of challenge quests. Lowering NP damage up to 90% can be huge. Especially when you combine it with other defense buffs and the fact it's AoE.
David's one-turn dodge allows you to have the party survive one NP. Gil's damage reduction potentially allows you to survive multiple.
That's absolutely true, although I have some concerns about how much setup that would require to be worth it. Going over 200% overcharge isn't exactly common in normal gameplay.
Maybe when Babylon releases and we get that CE that boosts your overcharge level by 200% (although I think it only does that once).
I've seen Kid Gil in a lot of challenge quests. Lowering NP damage up to 90% can be huge. Especially when you combine it with other defense buffs and the fact it's AoE.
David's one-turn dodge allows you to have the party survive one NP. Gil's damage reduction potentially allows you to survive multiple.
That's absolutely true, although I have some concerns about how much setup that would require to be worth it. Going over 200% overcharge isn't exactly common in normal gameplay.
Maybe when Babylon releases and we get that CE that boosts your overcharge level by 200% (although I think it only does that once).
I don't remember if KoGil's NP debuff stacks.
He's one of the only servants out there, besides just doing NP drain, that can protect against Amakusa's completely unblockable NP.
One thing I've seen about Amakusa is that his NP is extremely useful for later challenge mode quests we'll be getting. Because bosses in those will start the fight with a smattering of buffs and his NP just erases those buffs before it actually hits. Though to be fair I'm pretty sure Jack can do the same debuffing on command with Information Erasure.
Also something about how Interludes make Amakusa fairly strong, but much much later in the game.
Posts
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
And meanwhile I have two 5* sabers that need raised to 90. And... I impulsively raised Bride's attack boost to 10 because I could. But... +40% for 3 turns on a 6 turn cooldown?
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
On the bright side, I finally have two lvl10 skills. First was Nero's Imperial Privilege EX. Second was Fox's Wedding.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Because right now I'm in Parking Lot hell farming Black Cats on natural stamina for even more QP.
Also KnK mission rewards are great. Free pieces, monuments, ascension items, and apples. All with easily-followable progression paths.
Mona Lisa was offered at the shop before Mana Prisims started showing up in the event shops. So yes, the game told you what you could buy with them.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Gonna need all my apples and saint quartz to keep farming for Shiki. Wish I could get Saber Shiki too.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
This has definitely been the best event in the game so far and I hope that others follow the pattern. It didn't feel as grindy as the previous ones (although it definitely helped I was using the optimal path guide, but I think the mission structure helped break it up in a more appealing way than the previous point counters) and with a net _gain_ of sixteen apples, I've completed the event and cleaned out the store of everything except some of the gems and secret gems, and still have days left to wrap up anything more I want. Coming right on the heels of the Valentine event and the grinding of that (I'm pretty sure I killed a lot more than 200 identical choco servants and it was a lot of the exact same mission over and over) this one was just amazing.
Damn, I'm not sure I can ascend Shiki up like that.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
The event shop gives you enough exp cards.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Cool, I am good to start then. I will get Assassin Shiki before the event ends.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
Big thanks to the folks who posted guides, they were incredibly helpful.
On step 19 of 27 on this guide. Was doing it periodically throughout playing WoW and goofing off today. I feel like I should be good to go with getting Assassin Shiki permanently with this guide.
I also have like 38 golden apples so AP shouldn't be an issue at all either.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
What day exactly will this event no longer be available? I know sometimes the way the game updates is a bit weird.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
So two days from now, roughly.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Okay that's pretty much a girl on the left right
This will be here until I receive an apology or Weedlordvegeta get any consequences for being a bully
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
He never really mentions the subject either way, iirc?
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Nah, he doesn't.
He does laugh hysterically at Jeanne's reaction when she finds out he's a man.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
I'm also pretty close to clearing the shop except for mana prisms, which I know I really should, but I don't think I have the patience to grind out those cats.
4* Rider: Astolfo
Stats (Level 80): 8937 Attack, 11,172 HP
Deck: QQQAB
# of hits (Q/A/B/E): 2/2/1/4
NP Gain: 0.66% (Attack), 1% (Defense)
Star Rate 9.0%
Astolfo's NP gain is like some kind of a sick joke. Don't expect that bar to go up from attacks under any circumstances. The other noteworthy thing is that he has an assassin-like deck, which is a little strange for a rider. So I guess you shouldn't count on arts chains, either.
First Skill: Increase own attack (8-28%) for 1 turn. Base cooldown: 7 turns
Second Skill: Chance (60-90%) to stun an enemy. Base cooldown: 10 turns
Third Skill: 65% chance each to do the following things for three turns each: Gain 5-10 crit stars per turn, increase own star rate (30-50%), and increase own crit strength (20-40%). In a future buff, this skill will also always generate 30-50% of his NP gauge. Base cooldown: 10 turns
So his first skill might as well not exist. On the other hand, his other skills have some potential. The stun may never be completely reliable, but it's still a strong effect. His third skill is also pretty far from being reliable, but it solves a lot of his issues when it works. Especially when it also fixes his NP gain problem. Shame about the extremely large cooldowns, though...
Noble Phantasm (Quick): Deal heavy damage to all enemies, apply evasion to self (evades 3 attacks), and gain 5-25 crit stars, based on overcharge.
"Heavy" damage in this case means that it's not much better than the likes of Martha or Marie, and certainly pales compared to Santa Alter. That being said, the extra effects on it are quite nice. 3 hits of evasion is a big deal, and almost makes me understand why his NP gain is so awful. Almost.
Overall: Alright, I'm going to level with you. Astolfo may be really popular, but he's pretty lackluster. You can make him work with enough effort, but don't expect to be impressed. When his third skill gets buffed, he at least becomes adequate for wave-clearing, so you could at least get some use out of him in dailies.
5* Ruler: Amakusa Shirou
Stats (Level 90): 10,972 Attack, 14,107 HP
Deck: QAABB
# of hits (Q/A/B/E): 3/2/1/4
NP Gain: 0.86% (Attack), 3% (Defense)
Star Rate 10.0%
With more attack and an extra buster card, it's obvious off the bat that Amakusa is more aggressive than Jeanne. In exchange for his lost arts card, his NP gain is a bit better, but still only around average overall.
First Skill: Gain 3-9 crit stars per turn, for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns
Second Skill: Reduce NP charge of an [Undead] or [Demon] enemy, and increase own NP gauge per turn (10-20%) for 5 turns. Base cooldown: 12 turns
Third Skill: Chance (50-100%) to stun a [Servant] enemy. In a future buff, this will also increase his Buster card effectiveness (20-30%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns
If I had to say something negative about Amakusa's skill list, it's that all of his skills really beg to have their skill levels increased. At high skill levels, all three of these skills are quite strong. At lower levels, not so much. Still, that second skill is always going to have a massive cooldown, so don't expect it to pump out more than one NP.
Noble Phantasm (Buster): Remove all buffs from all enemies, and then deal heavy damage, decreasing their critical hit rate (30-70%, based on overcharge) for 1 turn. After its interlude buff, the crit debuff will last for 3 turns.
Given that he's a Ruler and has no means of boosting this NP until his third skill gets strengthened, this NP is merely adequate in power. That being said, anyone who's been using a lot of Jack or Medea should know that removing enemy buffs is kind of a big deal. And since this removes their buffs before attacking (unlike Medea), this NP effectively ignores defense buffs and evasion/invincibility. Don't forget this fact! It will become relevant when fighting against him in the future! Trust me!
Overall: If you just look at everything he does, it's obvious that Amakusa is quite good on paper, and indeed will be a good servant in pretty much any situation, thanks to being a Ruler. On the other hand, if you are fighting against a strong Archer, you will always be better off using a good Lancer rather than Amakusa. Thus, finding a place for him might be a bit awkward. Still, he's quite good with enough investment into his skills, and will always be worth taking along when you are up against a variety of classes.
Incidentally, while I didn't get very far into Apocrypha, I have to admit that I'm not much of a fan of either of these two. I try to stay objective in these evaluations, though, so I hope I did an alright job.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Somehow I forgot that he wasn't already released! Will write up momentarily.
EDIT: 3* Archer: Gilgamesh (Child)
Stats (Level 70): 7696 Attack, 8731 HP
Deck: QAABB
# of hits (Q/A/B/E): 3/3/3/3
NP Gain: 0.62% (Attack), 3% (Defense)
Star Rate 7.9%
While he hits two times less than his adult counterpart on his regular cards, his NP gain is enough higher that it actually works out pretty well for him. On the other hand, he doesn't shit out nearly as many crit stars, and his extra card is normalized. Compared to some of the other 3* archers, he's roughly on par with their generation stats, and competes with David for having the highest base attack (and possibly made up for by his Divinity).
First Skill: Increase attack of all allies (10.5-21%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 7 turns
Second Skill: Chance (45-75%) to inflict charm on [Humanoid] target. Base cooldown: 9 turns
Third Skill: Increase own NP gain (20-50%) for 3 turns. Base cooldown: 8 turns
Charisma and Golden Rule are not exactly exciting skills, but nice ones to throw up at the start of battle and get some somewhat relevant bonuses, and his ranks in those skills are higher than David and Robin Hood. His second skill is more reliable than most, since it works on any humanoid rather than requiring opposite gender, but the chance is not guaranteed. Still, a fine skillset overall for a 3*.
Noble Phantasm (Buster): Deal heavy damage to all enemies, decreasing their NP strength (50-90%), critical strength (50-90%), and debuff resistance (20-40%), all for 1 turn and based on overcharge.
"Heavy" damage is always relative for AOE NPs. Still, this one's a buster, and his being a 3* means you will eventually get him to NP5, so it absolutely does the job. A solid wave-clearing NP.
Overall: Continuing the trend of archers being the best silver servants who aren't Cu Chulainn, Gilgamesh here is quite good. Decent stats, NP/star generation, a reasonable skillset, and a solid waveclear NP. He doesn't really have anything to complain about. So the problem then is entirely his competition: Robin Hood competes with 5* servants in single-target NP power, David can uniquely protect the entire team from an enemy NP with just the use of a skill, and Euryale is a solid servant who becomes extremely powerful against males. And even if you are looking for a wave-clearing Archer, then Gil also has to compete with Arash, the undisputed king of farming. And there's more competition on the way...
6* Perfect Pretty Pink Paladin: Astolfo
Except for his bad habit of hanging out with Sieg who is bad and also sucks
Nobody has a problem withy you not liking Shirou. Not liking Astolfo is understandable but I think we have a fan(atic) around herr.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
David's one-turn dodge allows you to have the party survive one NP. Gil's damage reduction potentially allows you to survive multiple.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
That's absolutely true, although I have some concerns about how much setup that would require to be worth it. Going over 200% overcharge isn't exactly common in normal gameplay.
Maybe when Babylon releases and we get that CE that boosts your overcharge level by 200% (although I think it only does that once).
I don't remember if KoGil's NP debuff stacks.
He's one of the only servants out there, besides just doing NP drain, that can protect against Amakusa's completely unblockable NP.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Also something about how Interludes make Amakusa fairly strong, but much much later in the game.
I liked MHX and Nobu.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //