Fate/Grand Order - Are you my Master?

[Red Fel]

Lot of responses to you, Panda, so I'm sticking 'em in spoilers.

So far I have:

Mash (who seems to be story related and so is going to stay in my party for the moment).
Romulus *** Lancer
Elizabeth Balthroy **** Lancer
Artoria Pendragon "Lily" **** Saber
Ushiwakamaru *** Rider

Spoiler: Servants

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You're going to get a lot of Servants. A lot. While some are somewhat better than others, all of them serve a function. All of them. This includes the 1- and 2-star Servants you can get from the Friend gacha. (Have you been pulling on that? You should.) Of the ones you've mentioned so far:

• Mash is indeed story-related. And she's also legitimately decent - as a Shielder, she doesn't deal bonus damage to anybody, but she also doesn't take bonus damage, even from Berserkers, which means she can survive well. Her abilities are useful, particularly if you're using Berserkers in your party, and she can later be upgraded.
• Romulus is also a good survivable Servant. After his first Ascension (I'll explain that in a moment) he gains the Imperial Privilege EX skill, which heals him, and has a chance to increase his attack or defense or both, which means he's good at staying alive. Also, his Noble Phantasm is AoE, which is great for sweeping waves of enemies.
• Elizabeth is a force multiplier. Her Charisma ability is a great party attack buff, and after Ascension she gains a single-target defense debuff. Also, her Noble Phantasm is an AoE, like Romulus'. And because she's a 4-star, she has naturally higher stats.
• Lily is not Arturia. She's quasi-Arturia. She's semi-Arturia. She's the margarine of Arturia. She's the Diet Coke of Arturia - just one calorie, not quite Saber enough. Mind you, she's not terrible - she's still a 4-star Saber, a strong class with strong stats. But she doesn't really stand up to any comparable 4- or 5-star Saber. She's still good enough to keep in your party if you need her, but be aware that unless you're pitting her against Lancers, you're probably not going to be impressed with her performance. That said, she can help to generate critical stars for a crit-oriented team.
• Ushiwakamaru is another force multiplier. Her first ability increases NP generation for the party, which is great in an NP-oriented party. Her second boosts party attack, which is great for any party. A useful backup for strong characters.

So far I'm running around with Saber (lily) and Shielder (Mash) but the true hero is whoever I snag as a friend code because nothing I've faced can survive a light tap from a support servant.

That will be true for awhile. Until you do some solid leveling of your Servants, what they do will look like love taps compared to friends.

Also, take a moment to go to your Party Formation tab and adjust your own Support Servants. Basically, instead of everyone just having one Servant they share with friends, you can share one of each type, plus an "all" slot for your very best Servant. When selecting Servants, you can also switch between these options via the icons along the top. Useful tip, not really explained at all in-game.

Also - I've noticed that Elizabeth can grab "upgrade" materials but Lily can't - for the moment I'm hoarding everything since I don't know what I want to do with anything.

Spoiler: Materials

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Okay. There are different kinds of materials.

First, there are Servants and Servant enhancers. Do not throw away or feed duplicate Servants. Under "Noble Phantasms" on your Enhance tab, you can combine a Servant with the same Servant to increase the level of its Noble Phantasm. An orange number icon will show you if you have available duplicates. Try to keep one copy of every Servant, just in case. Only feed duplicate Servants if you've maxed their NPs.

In addition to Servants, there are various enhancers, which may either be class-specific (e.g. Lancer, Berserker) or "All," meaning anyone can use them. There are exp ones, which are the best way to level up Servants, and Fou ones, labeled with the adorable unholy abomination mascot of the game. Fou materials increase a card's attack or HP, so those are useful to hoard.

Short version? Use duplicate Servants to upgrade NPs. Drop exp materials on your best Servants. Hoard Fou materials until you get something pretty amazing.

Next, there are Craft Materials. These are basically equipment. They give boosts to attack or HP (or rarely both), and a special bonus (such as increased Friend Points, or a bonus to Buster Card damage). Craft Materials can be enhanced like characters - feed a duplicate to one to increase its level cap, but otherwise feed lower-star ones to higher-star ones to upgrade them.

Lastly, there are items. Items are used to increase skills or for Ascension. You can tell if you have Servants able to receive a skill-up or Ascension from the orange number icons on "Skills" and "Ascension," respectively, on the Enhance tab. Not all items enhance all characters, so you may have a ton of materials for, say, Saber characters, but nothing for Berserker. Increasing a skill increases its power and sometimes decreases its cooldown.

Spoiler: Ascension

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Ascension is something I've mentioned a few times. It doesn't increase rarity - sorry, but your 2-star Hans Christian Andersen will always be 2-star - but rather increases the level cap. It also gives you a new image and sprite for the character, grants access to new abilities, and unlocks side quests (called Interludes). You will have to prioritize who gets Ascended first, but it's good to try to Ascend your most used and useful characters.

My advice is to level your strong characters, upgrade Elizabeth's skills, and focus on Ascending her. That, and hoard new Servants as they come.

[Blackhawk748]

I have a slight addendum to Saber Lilly, she also has a skill that increases the damage of Buster Cards, so shes good for that as well.

[Red Fel]

I have a slight addendum to Saber Lilly, she also has a skill that increases the damage of Buster Cards, so shes good for that as well.

To be more accurate, it increases her own Buster Card performance for 1 turn. And she only has 2/5 Buster Cards. Assuming you have your full team, that's a 2/15 chance to draw one of Lily's Buster Cards; that's a 2/15 chance for that skill to be of any use.

It's not a bad skill, but it is terribly niche.

EDIT: And, of course, first fight after I type this my Lily pops up with both Buster cards at the ready. So, yeah, grain of salt.

[Blackhawk748]

To be more accurate, it increases her own Buster Card performance for 1 turn. And she only has 2/5 Buster Cards. Assuming you have your full team, that's a 2/15 chance to draw one of Lily's Buster Cards; that's a 2/15 chance for that skill to be of any use.

It's not a bad skill, but it is terribly niche.

EDIT: And, of course, first fight after I type this my Lily pops up with both Buster cards at the ready. So, yeah, grain of salt.

I do that a lot with her, so i figured i'd mention it. You save the skill until you have a full Buster hand and then pop it. Then watch the fireworks.

[Gastronomie]

Since you should level up at least one or two servants per class, if you don't have other Gold Sabers, there's nothing wrong with using Saber Lily.

You're going to get a lot of Servants. A lot. While some are somewhat better than others, all of them serve a function. All of them. This includes the 1- and 2-star Servants you can get from the Friend gacha. (Have you been pulling on that? You should.)

This. Especially Anderson (2-star Caster) and Hassan (2-star Assassin), they're powerful far more than their rarity shows.

Cu Chulainn (3-star Lancer) is another example of a non-Gold Servant that's still super-powerful. His second skill is totally broken.

Of course, if you manage to pull Gold (4-star or higher) servants, you should raise their level ASAP. But since it's difficult to get so many high-rarity Servants at the start of the game, leveling up low-rare yet powerful servants is the right thing to do.

Also, 3-star Servant which is of a class strong against the quest enemy > 5-star Servant which inflicts normal damage against the quest enemy.

[Anarion]

Cu Chulainn (3-star Lancer) is another example of a non-Gold Servant that's still super-powerful. His second skill is totally broken.

What's your opinion as between Cu Chulain and Cu Chulain (prototype)? I'm currently usuing Prototype because I got more of him so his Gae Bolg is higher level, but long term it seems like Prototype Cu has higher hp but a tad less attack, and while Guts is maybe better defensively, I like the bonus to crit damage on Prototype.

[Blackhawk748]

What's your opinion as between Cu Chulain and Cu Chulain (prototype)? I'm currently usuing Prototype because I got more of him so his Gae Bolg is higher level, but long term it seems like Prototype Cu has higher hp but a tad less attack, and while Guts is maybe better defensively, I like the bonus to crit damage on Prototype.

Personally, i've found Proto better than Guts Cu. Mostly i've been comparing this between two friends Cu's, cuz my non-proto Cu is only level 14 or something. I just find the Crit damage to mesh better with Cu's fighting style than Guts. Plus Evade helps him just not get to that point in the first place.

[Anarion]

Personally, i've found Proto better than Guts Cu. Mostly i've been comparing this between two friends Cu's, cuz my non-proto Cu is only level 14 or something. I just find the Crit damage to mesh better with Cu's fighting style than Guts. Plus Evade helps him just not get to that point in the first place.

I'm more interested in their late-game potential. Like, at least comparing them at level 50+ and when they get access to their third skill.

[Blackhawk748]

I'm more interested in their late-game potential. Like, at least comparing them at level 50+ and when they get access to their third skill.

Ah, ya i havent seen either one with all 3 of their skills. Id like to find out as well now.

[Red Fel]

What's your opinion as between Cu Chulain and Cu Chulain (prototype)? I'm currently usuing Prototype because I got more of him so his Gae Bolg is higher level, but long term it seems like Prototype Cu has higher hp but a tad less attack, and while Guts is maybe better defensively, I like the bonus to crit damage on Prototype.

Well, there are wikis. Here's Cu, here's Proto!Cu.

So, what's the difference? Well, both are 3-star Lancers. Both have the same passive abilities. Both get Protection From Arrows B. Both have Gae Bolg as a Noble Phantasm. Cu has a slightly higher attack, Proto!Cu has a slightly higher HP.

The big difference is one of function. Look at Proto!Cu. His big active is Beast Slayer. His Bond Craft boosts damage versus Beasts. You can see the design concept here.

Contrast that with Vanilla!Cu. In addition to Protection from Arrows B, he also has Battle Continuation A, for Guts, and Disengage C, to remove debuffs and recover HP. Although his health is lower than Proto!Cu's, it's clear that Vanilla!Cu is designed to be more survivable. Some strategies involve putting him at the end of the party, because between his actives and passives he's really hard to kill.

Unless you're a Saber.

[Yael]

[Red Fel]

Trying to tell us something, Yael?

Yes, an actual event event is coming. There will be three phases, each dropping medals as rewards, which can be traded for exp cards, skill up and Ascension materials, and the special prize, the Nightless Rose Craft Essence, which grants +500 HP and a once-per-battle Guts buff. There will also be a Pick Up Summon, with slightly increased chances at Nero Claudius, Attila, Gaius Julius Caesar, and Romulus.

About two of those should actually interest you. Nero Claudius is a 5-star Saber with some fantastic survivability (two skills that restore HP and one that grants Guts) and an AoE Noble Phantasm. Attila is a fan favorite, a 5-star Saber with great flexibility and an excellent NP, as well as some truly exceptional stats. Caesar is a 3-star Saber who works well on an NP or crit star team; although his Incite skill reduces an ally's defense, it generates some solid crit stars. And Romulus is a 3-star Lancer with good survivability and the ability to grant an ally Guts status - handy if you don't have invulnerability buttons ready.

So, yeah. If you missed out on Gilgamesh, get pumped to miss out on Nero Claudius, too.

[Gastronomie]

What's your opinion as between Cu Chulain and Cu Chulain (prototype)? I'm currently usuing Prototype because I got more of him so his Gae Bolg is higher level, but long term it seems like Prototype Cu has higher hp but a tad less attack, and while Guts is maybe better defensively, I like the bonus to crit damage on Prototype.

The two are completely different in usage.

Prototype's first skill is increased critical damage, while his third skill (after his interlude, though it requires his final ascention) has a star-focus effect, which mesh together quite nicely. Like other critical attacks, he does his job much better if you have someone else in the party who can create a lot of critical stars, but considering he's B2A1Q2, you could go for Q-chains by throwing in a Q3 deck Servant next to him.
His third skill also has an attack bonus against Beast-types, such as Chimeras. Blasting criticals into them would be quite some damage.
Do be aware that the original star focus of Lancers is about average, so until you get his third skill, you will need to support him with star-focus Crafts to make him critical-hit constantly, but doing so will probably mean you can't use his Noble Phantasm (since he doesn't have NP charge skills, and the NP he can obtain from attacks is generally not enough to get from 0% to 100% by round 3)... at least, unless you have Waver. Not that Waver's A3 deck is that synergetic with Lancers, but if you use Waver's Improved Critical on Prototype, his criticals become even more devastating.
Anyhow, Prototype needs help from friends (creating a lot of stars) to unleash his full potential. Thus it's better to place him at the frontlines and support him with synergetic servants.

Compared to this, SN Lancer does not rely on support members, and simply keeps on surviving by himself. He's got Guts, and his third skill removes his debuffs and heals his HP. He isn't the synergetic type, but he's good on his own, so it's better to place him at the very end of the party when the enemy is an Archer or a Berserker.

[Gastronomie]

Trying to tell us something, Yael?

Yes, an actual event event is coming. There will be three phases, each dropping medals as rewards, which can be traded for exp cards, skill up and Ascension materials, and the special prize, the Nightless Rose Craft Essence, which grants +500 HP and a once-per-battle Guts buff. There will also be a Pick Up Summon, with slightly increased chances at Nero Claudius, Attila, Gaius Julius Caesar, and Romulus.

About two of those should actually interest you. Nero Claudius is a 5-star Saber with some fantastic survivability (two skills that restore HP and one that grants Guts) and an AoE Noble Phantasm. Attila is a fan favorite, a 5-star Saber with great flexibility and an excellent NP, as well as some truly exceptional stats. Caesar is a 3-star Saber who works well on an NP or crit star team; although his Incite skill reduces an ally's defense, it generates some solid crit stars. And Romulus is a 3-star Lancer with good survivability and the ability to grant an ally Guts status - handy if you don't have invulnerability buttons ready.

So, yeah. If you missed out on Gilgamesh, get pumped to miss out on Nero Claudius, too.

If I recall correctly, Nero is a 4-star. Nero Bride is a 5-star though.

Also, a piece of advice: Whenever there is an event, you MUST trade ALL the skill-up materials and Craft Essences, with the exception of Class Pieces and Class Monuments (which can be obtained duing daily quests with not that much difficulty. Of course, if you really need lots of them, you could trade them, but consider them low-priority. QP is more important, for later game play when you're gonna raise Skill Levels).

Event-only Craft Essences are generally powerful. You'll never regret getting them.
Skill-up materials are difficult to obtain in large numbers outside of special events. You will need some for ascentions, and about a dozen times more for raising Skill Level.

[SuperPanda]

I've done my friend point pulls now (somehow started off with a bunch of them and then got a free 10 point pull from the friend pool today which was wonderful).

My full list of servants so far is:
Shielded: Mash

Lancers: Elizabeth ****, Romulus ***, Cu Chulainn ***, Leonidas I * (Of them Elizabeth seems the best though I think I'm partial to Cu Chulainn - once I've finished the quest where he's joining me as a caster NPC I'll probably use him as my main Lancer. I like the idea of Romulus but I hate that he's always doing a YMCA pose).

Riders: Ushiwakamaru *** - I'm not sure why she's dressed quite so fan-servicy but I like her animations. Georgios **

Casters: Mozart * - Aparently an alien elf - I'm tempted to use him because I like the idea of Arts overload charging NPs. Haven't actually tried him yet.

Saber: Lily - Very tempting to main but not sure yet.

Berserker: Sparticus * (got two so his NP is now level 2), Eric Bloodaxe **, Asterios *

Assasin: Mata Hari * (got two so her NP is now level 2)

Haven't used any experience mats yet - still trying to decide what my team is. I feel I should be using Mash since she's the story character so far and I've had Elizabeth with me since she seemed a bit better than Lily for now... going to play with team comp a bit later.

[Anarion]

Haven't used any experience mats yet - still trying to decide what my team is. I feel I should be using Mash since she's the story character so far and I've had Elizabeth with me since she seemed a bit better than Lily for now... going to play with team comp a bit later.

Elizabeth is quite strong. She's a little bit low on defense, but with her attack buff and enemy defense removal, and her just good overall stats as you level her, she can carry a party quite well. She also pairs really nicely with Mash, since you can buff the offense and defense of the whole party.

[SuperPanda]

So, if my experience trying out the daily quest dungeons was any indication - I'm better off trying to balance a team so that I have a strong finisher in the wings than front-loading it?

Also I seem to have the ability to choose 1 of 10 servants from a recruitment thing. Hercules and Fate/Stay archer are very attractive options (and since I only just got a 1 * Arash for Archer and Fate/Stay's archer was pretty cool I'm tempted to grab him). Is he a good choice?

[Gastronomie]

So, if my experience trying out the daily quest dungeons was any indication - I'm better off trying to balance a team so that I have a strong finisher in the wings than front-loading it?

Also I seem to have the ability to choose 1 of 10 servants from a recruitment thing. Hercules and Fate/Stay archer are very attractive options (and since I only just got a 1 * Arash for Archer and Fate/Stay's archer was pretty cool I'm tempted to grab him). Is he a good choice?

Hercules is overall the strongest - it's even stronger than a lot of the 5-star Servants. He's also a Berserker, meaning he's versatile. Power-wise Hercules is the best, but SN Archer is also pretty powerful, so you should just choose whoever you want.

[Red Fel]

So, if my experience trying out the daily quest dungeons was any indication - I'm better off trying to balance a team so that I have a strong finisher in the wings than front-loading it?

Short version, it depends on playstyle. If your method is high damage, high risk (e.g. liberal use of Berserkers) then it helps to have a strong, survivable unit in the back. If, on the other hand, you've got a carefully tailored team for the challenge, and are keeping in mind the rock-paper-scissors aspect of Classes, you can put a strong unit closer to the front and simply sweep stages. It depends.

Also I seem to have the ability to choose 1 of 10 servants from a recruitment thing. Hercules and Fate/Stay archer are very attractive options (and since I only just got a 1 * Arash for Archer and Fate/Stay's archer was pretty cool I'm tempted to grab him). Is he a good choice?

I'm with Gastro on this one. Heracles is a unit that remains powerful and effective throughout the game. He requires minimal strategy to deploy - just point him at something that needs to die. And the best teammate for him is someone you already have - Mash, who can do a great job of keeping him alive.

EMIYA, by contrast, is solidly good. Don't get me wrong, he's great, and when he shines it's literally explosive. (His Buster is a literal explosion.) But he does require more tactics to use, somewhat. He's a great Arts Servant with an awesome NP, and goes very well in an Arts team, but you need to figure out how to arrange that. Also, unlike Heracles, who takes on all comers, his shine dulls significantly when pitted against Lancers.

There's also the matter of competition. There are currently about a dozen Berserkers in the game, of which one is 5-star (Vlad) and three are 4-star (Heracles, Lancelot, Tamamo Cat). There are fewer than half that number of Archers, of which one is 5-star (Gilgamesh) and two are 4-star (EMIYA and Atalante). It's not hard to get a decent Berserker if you want one - you get Kiyohime for free as a story reward. Getting a good Archer is harder.

So that's something to keep in mind, too. Heracles is overall an incredibly powerful unit for whom you'll always find use, but EMIYA fills a terrific niche.

[SuperPanda]

Darn. I got great advice here, had decided I'd go for Emiya, then realized I didn't have that item (I do have the craft essence item and haven't made that choice yet, thinking of either Emiya's item or Gilgamesh's) - I some how thought I had the servant item but not the essence.

Currently working with:
Shielder: Mash - Team leader most of the time. She has her quasi NP from the Singularity F storyline
Archer: Arash - my only archer, he's actually pretty strong though I hate that his NP is a suicide attack.
Rider: Ushiwakamaru - pretty happy with her so far. Still haven't used her NP
Caster: Cu Cuchain - He seems much better than Mozart was. Used his NP alot when he was a guest NPC
Lancer: Cu Cuchain - I like his character better than Elizabeth even if she is a more powerful Servant. Haven't used him yet - didn't feel it was right to have him in the same party as caster Cu. Haven't seen Elizabeth's NP yet either and she's at 2/10 bond gems.
Berserker: Sparticus - Haven't seen his NP, he's often in the back of the group and rarely comes out to play so far.
Saber: Lily - Haven't been using her since 4* servants are cost prohibitive in party forming.
Assassin: Kojiro - My other assassin has a 1 star debuff NP that didn't seem as potent, and I like this guy's animations better. Haven't seen his NP yet.

I've used all my xp mats below *** rarity and have a team of ~ level 10s prioritizing these ones above others.

I'm considering a party of:

Mash (Shielder), Sparticus (Berzerker), Support, Koikiro (Assasin), Ushiwakamaru (Rider), Cu Cuchain (Lancer)
The idea here is that Berzerker's should put out a world of hurt, Assassin and Rider are both Quick hit focused so they'll build crit stars for the support and Mash to keep the battle flowing, and Lancer seems hard to kill between Guts and Evade, he seems to be a good one to pull up the end of the line. Also Mash didn't cost any points in Chapter 1 to have in my team.

I think I prefer Saber and Archer to Berzerker both thematically and in character design, so I might switch in my only Saber or my only Archer instead.


Edit2: I keep making little mistakes like the one above on mats here. I think my actual *** lancer is Cu Chulainn Prototype - the one time Berzker Rider (in The France story line) tore through my party he wasn't able to hold much ground - then again he was level 12. Saber (Lily) didn't fare any better.

I keep getting excited when I see an archer of the friend draw, but it's still just Arash (now with a level 3 NP - I'm happy with how powerful he can be but wish he didn't kill him self when using his NP). My Mata Hari has a level 5 debuff NP now but I find her very weak in a team.

I have ~ 96 saint quartz, little interest in Nero at the moment - should I make a pull or two?

[Red Fel]

I have ~ 96 saint quartz, little interest in Nero at the moment - should I make a pull or two?

Well, keep in mind that the special Nero pull isn't up yet. So if you're holding out for a (slightly) increased chance for her or Attila, keep holding out. Otherwise, though, feel free to blow one or two on the regular story pulls. Worst case, you're getting some solid Craft that you can equip eventually.

Right now, I've beaten Rome, so I'm just Ascending and raising Bond levels to access the various Interludes. Yet another reason to hold onto Servants - even if you never use them again, those Interludes are worth at least a Saint Quartz.

[Anarion]

We were so spoiled during the Gilgamesh event. Highest dailies for only 20 stamina was enough to level up continuously until around level 70, and still enough to get most of the way there and level up later in the day. With everything back to 40 stamina, gameplay is down to run a couple dailies and then take a break for 8-10 hours.

[Yael]

I'm with Gastro on this one. Heracles is a unit that remains powerful and effective throughout the game. He requires minimal strategy to deploy - just point him at something that needs to die. And the best teammate for him is someone you already have - Mash, who can do a great job of keeping him alive.

EMIYA, by contrast, is solidly good. Don't get me wrong, he's great, and when he shines it's literally explosive. (His Buster is a literal explosion.) But he does require more tactics to use, somewhat. He's a great Arts Servant with an awesome NP, and goes very well in an Arts team, but you need to figure out how to arrange that. Also, unlike Heracles, who takes on all comers, his shine dulls significantly when pitted against Lancers.

This is essencially true. EMIYA has its own way to fit into several strategies. His First ability gives him increased survivability with an Evasion and a defense buff, and his second ability increases critical stars drop, which isn't to be compared with Assassins, but his NP actually drops them, so it's pretty easy to quickly generate Critical stars. His deck has 3 Arts, which defines him as a self NP generator. His 10-Bond CE (which is honestly pretty far away to reach) is a beast, increasing his NP damage, fitting even more in a NP-based team, plus the 30% chance to drop 5 Crit stars per attack.

I'm actually trying a Altera, Ushiwakamaru, EMIYA team comp to increase NP generation, also Atila's NP helps with a global Defense debuff and her Tactics allows for even more NP damage. Ushi's abilities are top for this composition as she increases NP generation by a lot, and her Charisma further increases attack.

I've also had Heracles since the tutorial pull, and he has proven over and over to be useful to the very top. His damage output is just insane for single target non-Rulers, and if you get to use his Nine Lives, he bursts nearly whatever you point him to. Mash is amazing at babysitting Berserker, so does the Chaldera Mystic Code.

[Anarion]

His damage output is just insane for single target non-Rulers,

You are mistaken. His damage output is insane in all circumstances. Especially against rulers.

[SuperPanda]

I'm still getting a lot of mileage out of my one and two star servants. I've had Arash's NP doing almost 20,000 AoE a few times in Orleans battle (he's around level 14, my highest level is Mash at 23 - enemies were around level 18). It's a shame he dies when he uses it but it's one heck of a punch - I've had him opening many fights. (NP level 4)

In comparison I've yet to see Saber Lily's NP break 5,000. (NP level 1)

With all the dragons in the Orleans story Kojioro (Assassin **) has gotten a lot of showntime and unlike Mata Hari he's doing solid damage and bringing a strong NP with him. Hari's level 5 NP doesn't seem that strong so far. The debuff's seem to lack punch and the chance to stun (charm) is unreliable at best.

Did one 30 quartz draw (saving two for this event). No new 4 stars but a handful of new 3 stars. Giles saber and Ceaser saber. Darius Berzerker. A couple of Mephistopheles and an Ushi dupe (boosting her 8 boat leap). I'm more in need of xp materials than anything else right now. I'm keeping 5 of the 4 star "any" mats in reserve for a lucky pull but using everything else - no one is near ascension or interludes yet. I'm not dismissing any servants but any low stars who are dupes past getting their NP maxed are getting used as xoxo mats (this happened once to Mata Hari since she shows up a lot).

[Yael]

You are mistaken. His damage output is insane in all circumstances. Especially against rulers.

Oh, my bad. You're right. Since I had Basaka killed before I faced Jeanne Alter. I confused Shielder's vulnerabilities.

By the way, I successfully pulled a Nero >:D

[Kitten Champion]

I haven't been playing much, I increasingly find myself separated from my tablet over the course of the summer.

Regardless, I got an Atalanta today with my quartz draw, which made me rather happy. I only had enough Archer-based XP accumulated to drive her to around level 13, by throwing in an additional 4-star omni-XP cards I got at the beginning to move her to 15 and generally viable at this moment of the story I'm in. Her NP is quite good. Its initial damage is just okay, but equipped with a card increasing her CP star gain on top of her skill and her own enhanced critical attack damage -- the follow-up damage next turn is quite consequential.

I'm still deciding between my available Assassins, Casters, and Sabers which one - and to what degree - I'll invest in them. Caster's particularly hard because I've got at least 2-to-3 of every 3-Star and below Caster except Paracelsus, Geronimo, and Babbage.

[Nerd-o-rama]

The warrior of the Hun is now my one and only 5-star and Best Saber. She will be rewarded with me taking a break from the Arena event to grind Saber XP today and also my undying love. Paternally. Please eat something, child.

I'm debating doing another 10-pull to try and get Nero but I honestly don't trust my luck to go further than getting Altera, Alexander, and NP ups for three of my 3-stars on the same pull, and Cu Chullancer (OG) on a solo Friend roll just previous.

[Red Fel]

By the way, I successfully pulled a Nero >:D

Grats! Nothing of particular note from my pull, alas; just some Caesar and Romulus, and a few nice Crafts.

Somewhat annoyingly, I've become aware of just how much farming this event will require. I'm accustomed to games requiring some farming, and this one is no different in that regard, but this event in particular will require a fairly obscene amount. I mean, 200 medals? That's about 34 runs on hardest difficulty. 34. That's ludicrous. And that's just to get that one Craft.

EDIT: Speaking of that one Craft, apparently Nightless Rose has a chance to drop from the quests. I just got one from the Three Heroes of China fight. So... That happened.

[Anarion]

Does anyone know which difficulty level is the most efficient for farming? I've primarily been running the twenty stamina one since it can drop all three medal types and has good odds of getting them in sets of five. It mostly seems like gold should be the focus though since you need 1100 of those, compared to only 600 silver and 200 bronze.