Fate/Grand Order III - Protecc those Smiles

[Velaryon]

Well, a friend bought me a Google Play gift card to cover the cost of the guaranteed 5* summon thingy as an early birthday present, so I guess I'm still in it for now. I've ended up with Arthur Pendragon (Prototype), so my dry spell is broken (however artificially), and I also finally have a Saber that's stronger than Julius Caesar. I suppose I have no room to complain for awhile.

...though I still think the rate on servant drops for 10x summons is lower than it ought to be.

[ellenate]

Well, a friend bought me a Google Play gift card to cover the cost of the guaranteed 5* summon thingy as an early birthday present, so I guess I'm still in it for now. I've ended up with Arthur Pendragon (Prototype), so my dry spell is broken (however artificially), and I also finally have a Saber that's stronger than Julius Caesar. I suppose I have no room to complain for awhile.

...though I still think the rate on servant drops for 10x summons is lower than it ought to be.

I always do singles, you should do singles.

[Saambell]

I always do singles, you should do singles.

One of the bigger FGO Youtube accounts did a study with a lot of math, and generally found that while the difference is there, its so minimal that you might as well make sure you get a gold with the ten roll then hope that singles gets you something at all. And the biggest draw of singles, that being "I got the thing I wanted in the first 3 draws, all the rest were unneeded" sometimes can be overridden by getting 2 good things in one, when you would have stopped way before the second good pull if you had done one at a time. Such as getting a NP 2 character in one 10 pull where you wouldn't have ever seen the second if you had done one at a time. Or getting 2 Rate Up characters on a single 10 Pull when you would have stopped at only one of them if singles.

In the end, Singles has such a little difference that if you want anything at all, 10 pulls at least get you something, and who knows? A good ten pull might even get you two somethings.

[Manticoran]

Alternatively, the difference between singles and ten pulls is so low you might as well do singles so you can pull more later.

[Saambell]

Alternatively, the difference between singles and ten pulls is so low you might as well do singles so you can pull more later.

In the context of getting anything at all, then it really doesn't matter which you do, you will have used all your SQ anyway and gotten the same nothing.

I know I wouldn't have wanted to have done Singles on Kiara's banner as with 10 Rolls I was able to get NP2 when if I had done singles I would have saved maybe 18SQ and only have gotten NP1.
This choice is so muddied due to the differences being minimal, and most "this was a good choice" statements can only be said in hindsight and not knowing what you missed out on by picking that particular way.

[ImperatorV]

It comes down to personal preference honestly. The differences in odds between single and multi-rolls is non-existent with the exception of 4* CEs, which you get better odds at in multi-rolls. So it comes down to what you prefer doing.

[ellenate]

One of the bigger FGO Youtube accounts did a study with a lot of math, and generally found that while the difference is there, its so minimal that you might as well make sure you get a gold with the ten roll then hope that singles gets you something at all. And the biggest draw of singles, that being "I got the thing I wanted in the first 3 draws, all the rest were unneeded" sometimes can be overridden by getting 2 good things in one, when you would have stopped way before the second good pull if you had done one at a time. Such as getting a NP 2 character in one 10 pull where you wouldn't have ever seen the second if you had done one at a time. Or getting 2 Rate Up characters on a single 10 Pull when you would have stopped at only one of them if singles.

In the end, Singles has such a little difference that if you want anything at all, 10 pulls at least get you something, and who knows? A good ten pull might even get you two somethings.

maybe my luck has just been really broken but i swear singles are better than multi pulls.

[nightwyrm]

Just for time's sake, I dont do single rolls when I'm planning to roll hundreds of SQs.

[Leecros]

Well, a friend bought me a Google Play gift card to cover the cost of the guaranteed 5* summon thingy as an early birthday present, so I guess I'm still in it for now. I've ended up with Arthur Pendragon (Prototype), so my dry spell is broken (however artificially), and I also finally have a Saber that's stronger than Julius Caesar. I suppose I have no room to complain for awhile.

That's awesome. Proto-Arthur is pretty good once you get some embers into him and levels into his skills.

Alternatively, the difference between singles and ten pulls is so low you might as well do singles so you can pull more later.

That's a good argument in theory, but in practice doing single pulls may sometimes end with you stopping slightly too soon. I would not have two Holmes if I had not done a 10x pull. There's an arugment for not really wanting to pull multiple copies of the same servant, but I've always been of the opinion that NP2 is enough of an upgrade that it's generally not something ot be upset by.

(I also wouldn't have two fionn's from the Merlin banner for whatever that's worth)

[Resileaf]

That's a good argument in theory, but in practice doing single pulls may sometimes end with you stopping slightly too soon. I would not have two Holmes if I had not done a 10x pull. There's an arugment for not really wanting to pull multiple copies of the same servant, but I've always been of the opinion that NP2 is enough of an upgrade that it's generally not something ot be upset by.

(I also wouldn't have two fionn's from the Merlin banner for whatever that's worth)

The NP2 upgrade is the best a servant can get though.

[ellenate]

Single. Pulls. Are. Broken. (having zero impulse control i spent what they just gave us)


she finally stopped ducking me... after np 3 kiyohime but whatever. lol

[Hunter Noventa]

Well I've built every building between the first run and this time. Now to farm farm farm farm farm farm farm farm farm farm farm.

[Nerocite]

Crab Battle! Double Waver+Mash stalled and cursed the demonic foes to death. Might try it again going the buster route.

[Resileaf]

I went for whatever servants I had that dealt damage effects. Had support Waver and Jalter (both curses) on my front line, with Tamamo as a healer, and in my back line, Elizabeth Saber (for burn), Gawain (also burn, and with a CE that increased his first NP use by 2 levels), and... I think Elizabeth caster for her own burn? I don't remember, I only went up to Gawain.

[NeoPhoenix0]

i used tamamo, waver, shuten, with a support shuten in the back that came out after the boss managad to use it's NP on my shuten, and then took a turn to beat her up some more, he then died then next turn to her last poison damage.

[ellenate]

Single. Pulls. Are. Broken. (having zero impulse control i spent what they just gave us)


she finally stopped ducking me... after np 3 kiyohime but whatever. lol

...it's really getting comical at this point.


anyhow


there's no point in getting dupe welfare servants is there? I've read you can maybe burn them for rare prisms with some future update (though i couldn't make out if it was a retroactive change or not) Even then, the ascension material would still be pointless.

It feels like a waste not to get her but i don't want to needlessly clutter my inventory.


This chip damage buff that enemies get has to be my most hated mechanic in the game.

[Resileaf]

The rare prisms for welfares won't be retroactive, but it doesn't cost any resources to get Scathach and her copies (unlike Ridertoki), so you can easily get them for no cost to yourself.

[Yael]

Welp, went on with a full DoT team, I like to believe Elizabeth (Halloween) was the MVP of the battle, but it was really the double Zhuge Liang with the Curse stack and NP Gauge removal. It wasn't easy-peacy, but still doable in the end, didn't get to spend any Command Spells for this CQ.

Next Challenge Quest will be a Boar Rush of 10 units between two battles, all 'zerkers, all do AoE damage, and they range from 200k HP all the way to 1M, so get those stall teams ready (or burst teams, that's also a good idea).

[ellenate]

The rare prisms for welfares won't be retroactive, but it doesn't cost any resources to get Scathach and her copies (unlike Ridertoki), so you can easily get them for no cost to yourself.

That sucks, but it's not like i'd been able to cash in on it that much.

[Velaryon]

This is probably a dumb question, but should you level up temporary Servants right away, or wait until they join your party permanently? In other words, can I start leveling Scathach now, or should I wait until I've completed part 2?

[Yael]

This is probably a dumb question, but should you level up temporary Servants right away, or wait until they join your party permanently? In other words, can I start leveling Scathach now, or should I wait until I've completed part 2?

Limited Servants keep their enhancements when upgraded to the permanent version, so if you're getting her by the end of the event, it is a good choice to level her up. She's fine and one of the few AoE , so she's a valuable asset in farming quests (plus her NP plus 3rd skill generates an insane amount of stars!)

Edit: By enhancements I mean EXP, Level, Fou, and Skill levels.

[Velaryon]

Thank you for the information. I suspected that was the case but didn't want to invest into her and then find out I was wrong.
Lord knows it's nice to have Assassin options other than Stheno.

[Resileaf]

Limited Servants keep their enhancements when upgraded to the permanent version, so if you're getting her by the end of the event, it is a good choice to level her up. She's fine and one of the few AoE , so she's a valuable asset in farming quests (plus her NP plus 3rd skill generates an insane amount of stars!)

Edit: By enhancements I mean EXP, Level, Fou, and Skill levels.

She also has some support uses, with a heal + damage cut skill, and a taunt skill to get enemies to focus her for a turn. She doesn't particularly fill any niche and does not hit particularly hard (and I feel like her NP gain is rather sub-par), she's more of an all-around welfare.

[HMS Invincible]

She also has some support uses, with a heal + damage cut skill, and a taunt skill to get enemies to focus her for a turn. She doesn't particularly fill any niche and does not hit particularly hard (and I feel like her NP gain is rather sub-par), she's more of an all-around welfare.

She's awful for anything that's not farming dailies with a kscope. This means she's only good for 2/3 of the dailies. To top it off, her animation takes forever. That said, Paul Bunyan & Arash is way better then her in that niche. I ended up dumping her into the second archive as soon as I found any replacement.

[NeoPhoenix0]

She's awful for anything that's not farming dailies with a kscope. This means she's only good for 2/3 of the dailies. To top it off, her animation takes forever. That said, Paul Bunyan & Arash is way better then her in that niche. I ended up dumping her into the second archive as soon as I found any replacement.

yeah but they don't fulfill the niche of being an AoE assassin that still produces a good amount of crit stars. this will only become a better niche as time goes on and bigger fights require more AoE NPs.

[nightwyrm]

I remember Scathach being quite useful for one of the farming nodes last xmas event. At the end of the day, there aren't many good AOE Assassin options outside of SSRs.

[Yael]

Scathach is, in fact, a bad servant in terms of a roll to fulfill, however there is a lack of low-rarity AoE Assassins as a whole (makes sense, since Assassins should be adept at target-elimination), so that makes her an option.

Of course, Shuten is way better, but she is limited and a higher rarity, meanwhile Assassin Scatty (nice if you get that reference) is way more accesible, other options (up to date in US Server) include Phantom of the Opera, Fuuma Koutaro, Cleopatra, and of course, Shuten Douji, yet still two of those are Limited, one is better as a support and the other is really underused (going backwards in the mentions).

Even in JP, the list grows a bit, and there is only one better Welfare Assassin, and she's coming two years from now. On the other options, two are unlockable, and three are Limited 4-5*, this doesn't make Summer Shishou better, but again, an option, since lots of quests include raids of Riders. She also has a Triple Quick deck and her Star Drop is great, plus her being an Assassin, her star weight is low, so she generates stars so others can use them.

[NeoPhoenix0]

Honestly right now, for 4 star assassins I think only shiki is really better overall. Carmilla might be a bit better than scathatch but has her own issues and emiya is strange. The new one, the empress is a support kinda but also needs help to work fully, and stheno and Shinjuku one are just kinda meh most of the time

[Red Fel]

Honestly right now, for 4 star assassins I think only shiki is really better overall. Carmilla might be a bit better than scathatch but has her own issues and emiya is strange. The new one, the empress is a support kinda but also needs help to work fully, and stheno and Shinjuku one are just kinda meh most of the time

Alright, I have to jump in on this. You can't compare Shiki and Summer!Shishou. One is an ST Arts Assassin with a synergistic kit, and the other is an AoE Quick Assassin with a multipurpose kit.

Here's a quick run-down of every Assassin of 4- or 5-star rank:

• Summer!Shishou: AoE Quick, mixed
• Wu: ST Quick, support
• Yan: ST Quick, crits
• Shiki: ST Arts, NP
• Sad Dad: ST Arts, crits
• Carmilla: ST Buster, NP
• Stheno: ST Buster, Anti-Male
• Gramps: ST Buster, damage
• Cleo: AoE Buster, survival
• Shuten-Douji: AoE Arts, support
• MHX: ST Quick, crits
• Jack: ST Quick, crits

So, the real question is, to whom can we compare Summer!Shishou? Well, we could compare her to Quick Assassins, like Jack, but that seems unfair because Jack is an adorable tiny blender. We could compare her to AoE Assassins, like Shuten and Cleo and that's literally it, but that's unfair, because Shuten has an excellent team support kit, and Cleo has solid survival skills and a freaking Stand. And everybody else has a kit that's focused around a theme - even Yan, who doesn't actually succeed at his design goal of crits, is at least designed for it.

The fact is that Summer!Shishou isn't bad. Her NP deals solid damage and generates decent stars. She has a taunt and an ST heal that are both useful. But her kit is disorganized - she doesn't have a particular niche. At best, you could point to the Quick button on her third skill. But in this game, specialization is key. With the exception of certain Servants who can function extremely well in multiple contexts (EMIYA comes to mind), you want Servants who do a particulra thing, be it DEF-ignoring, crit generating, NP spamming, or what-have-you. Summer!Shishou doesn't do that.

Shiki is, without question, a better 4-star Assassin. She has a highly synergistic kit, a near-spammable NP, and best of all, she's a freebie. But you could make the argument that there are still others who are better than Summer!Shishou. I heard some Carmilla-bashing, but the fact is she's a workhorse for those of us who don't have Jack. Her NP damage is solid, her NP gen is good, and her Vampirism skill helps ensure uptime on her NP. In addition, her third skill is surprisingly effective as a defensive measure, basically neutering an enemy's crit ability.

So, yeah. Summer!Shishou isn't bad, but she's hardly the best, either.

[Yael]

Now I'm obligated to share these.

Spoiler: these

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