Fate/Grand Order IV - Are you my Master? [Rerun - Lite]

[ImperatorV]

Oof, Angry Pupper, High School Girl, and Birb Caster are all choices. This'll be tough.

[NeoPhoenix0]

i think ima go with danzo, cause she's so cool. but then again nehza is also really cool, but on more rate up banners, archer of inferno is also pretty cool, but also on more rate up banners. probably going with danzo.

[Kitten Champion]

I think I'll go with Danzo as well. I was, eventually, going to get an Avenger - Gorgon, probably - at the next free 4-Star Ticket had I not drawn Jalter. That's not an issue anymore now, and I really do want an Assassin with an aoe NP for farming at the very least. Her last two skills are pretty boss too, especially with Carmilla. The added damage for Demonic enemies is a nice side benefit given how many monsters are classified as such.

The only problem is I'll need to grind for many, many more chains. Having Eresh and Abby, I half-regret levelling up Serenity's skills when I was flushed with them back in Nerofest. The world was a much different place then, though.

[NeoPhoenix0]

i spent my 10 roll on musashi banner... it gave me a 5 star saber... but it was an artoria. which wouldn't be too bad but it is the third artoria so i just decided to burn it and if i save up 10 more rare prisms i will spend them to mlb my nightless rose.

[Velaryon]

I failed my will save and bought SQ to chase Jalter. Thankfully I got her, and with plenty of quartz to spare. Heck, I've got enough paid quartz that I've basically prepaid for next time they do a GSSR banner, whenever that ends up being. And I'm not as angry at myself for spending the money as I thought I'd be, because I really DID want her. So that's good.

So, on to the 4* ticket coming up. I would have picked Gorgon, but now I really don't need her. I could use better Assassin options, but Shiki is coming back soon so I don't need to worry. So right now, it looks my options mostly boil down to:
1.Emiya, because I don't have an AoE Archer
2. Get Lalter to NP2
3. Get Heracles to NP3
4. Astolfo to help speed up QP farming runs
5.Saberlot or Berzerkalot just for fun.

Any thoughts?

[nightwyrm]

I failed my will save and bought SQ to chase Jalter. Thankfully I got her, and with plenty of quartz to spare. Heck, I've got enough paid quartz that I've basically prepaid for next time they do a GSSR banner, whenever that ends up being. And I'm not as angry at myself for spending the money as I thought I'd be, because I really DID want her. So that's good.

So, on to the 4* ticket coming up. I would have picked Gorgon, but now I really don't need her. I could use better Assassin options, but Shiki is coming back soon so I don't need to worry. So right now, it looks my options mostly boil down to:
1.Emiya, because I don't have an AoE Archer
2. Get Lalter to NP2
3. Get Heracles to NP3
4. Astolfo to help speed up QP farming runs
5.Saberlot or Berzerkalot just for fun.

Any thoughts?

Gratz on JAlter. For the SR Ticket, I would highly recommend a new servant over NP levels. You definitely don't need Herc at NP3.

Emiya and Saberlot are both excellent choices.

[Velaryon]

Gratz on JAlter. For the SR Ticket, I would highly recommend a new servant over NP levels. You definitely don't need Herc at NP3.

Emiya and Saberlot are both excellent choices.

Yeah, I mostly just listed Herc for the sake of completeness. If I were to get an extra copy of someone I'd be more likely to go with Lalter, but she seems plenty strong at NP1 already.

Saberlot's kit looks really good (though his face is very derpy; I wish he had a skin where he was wearing a helmet). I currently have Arthur prototype and summer Fran as my go-to Sabers, whereas for Archers I have Orion, Emiya Alter, summer Anne & Mary, and Euryale. While I have more Archers to choose from, they're all ST and so it can take awhile when I need to clear a bunch of Saber enemies.

So right now I'm leaning toward Emiya but I'm willing to be persuaded in other directions.

[Kitten Champion]

I'd say get an Emiya as well. Even outside of clearing waves, he can star-gen and crit very effectively after his many strengthening quests and interludes -- though he's pretty lacklustre without spending the time and AP to get those. Just a very well-rounded Servant.

Plus, on the rare occasion you need Ignore Defence - like, challenge missions with permanent buffs - UBW is great to have around.

[Red Fel]

So, on to the 4* ticket coming up. I would have picked Gorgon, but now I really don't need her. I could use better Assassin options, but Shiki is coming back soon so I don't need to worry. So right now, it looks my options mostly boil down to:
1.Emiya, because I don't have an AoE Archer
2. Get Lalter to NP2
3. Get Heracles to NP3
4. Astolfo to help speed up QP farming runs
5.Saberlot or Berzerkalot just for fun.

Any thoughts?

First, grats on Jalter.

Second, thoughts:

• EMIYA is totally worth it, although once you have him you're pretty much guaranteed that he'll spook you. Which is perfect, because NP2 on an AoE is a big help. Not to mention, he has two Interludes and two Strengthenings, meaning plenty of rewards (including 5 SQ). And if it takes you awhile to clear Sabers, well, here you go.
• As mentioned, NP2 on an AoE is a big help. And Lalter is a great farmer. And she's story-locked, so you're not getting spooked by her. And, like EMIYA, her NP ignores DEF-up. But that said, EMIYA tends to be a bonus Servant on a lot of events, and simply having him gives you a lot of flexible options. So between NP2 Lalter and EMIYA at all, I'd go with EMIYA.
• The jump from NP2 to NP3 is a lot less valuable than the jump from NP1 to NP2. So between the options so far, I'd say NP3 Herc is the lowest.
• Astolfo is excellent, actually. However, while he does have access to an awesome 50% MP charge, he will need supports or expensive CEs to reach his 3-turn solo farming potential, and his non-farming utility is somewhat limited. On the other hand, he does have a wardrobe available, if you like. And he has, like EMIYA, a DEF-up ignoring NP. I would personally recommend EMIYA over him, but it depends on your needs.
• Those two are very different. Neither is story-locked, so that's a mark against them. But Zerkalot is a farming machine if you can get him to NP2 - at NP1, he's good, but at higher NP levels he can actually almost spam, which is insane. Saberlot, on the other hand, is one of the best 4-star ST Sabers in the game, with an easy to use style that's super effective. Then again, if you're after a 4-star Arts ST Saber, Yagyu is also an option, is story-locked, and has Sitting EX. That said, you have Summer Fran, and while not an amazing ST Saber, she's effective and adorable, so you're kind of covered there.

Personally, I'd recommend EMIYA - he has a lot of utility in a lot of teams, a very effective NP, and is a bonus Servant in a lot of events. Astolfo would probably be my second choice under the circumstances, maybe followed by Zerkalot.

Side note, here's a great visual guide to the selection. You can sort by story-locked or general pool (or both), and they make recommendations and pro/con each Servant.

EDIT: Additional side note, consider the welfare Servants we'll be getting this year. In February, we get Shiki, the ST Arts Assassin. In March, we get Lily, AoE Buster Saber. May, we'll get Sieg, AoE Arts Caster, and Chacha, AoE Buster Berserker. July, we'll get Ishtar, AoE Quick Rider, and June we'll get Ryoma, ST Arts Rider. August we get Bunyan, AoE Buster Berserker, and Jalter, ST Buster Berserker. September we'll get Iri, support Arts Caster, and October we'll get another Mecha Eli-Chan. November and December we'll get more, but that stuff - and also Ryoma - is locked behind story events. (Source.)

Point is, a number of roles - ST Assassin and Berserker, and AoE Saber, Caster, Berserker, and Rider - will be filled to NP5 for free this year. So if that's a deciding factor for you, ask yourself if you're willing to wait. I would just point out that there's only one welfare Archer coming up this year, and she's ST, hint hint.

[Kitten Champion]

I got more QP I've ever had in the game, enough prisms to buy Parvati's dress code while still being able to buy from the next shop restock, and enough XP to raise two SR Servants to max.

I really want Summer BB now. Tiny niche in the game she may have, but fighting Jalter repeatedly was such a headache these last few days and every Avenger boss fight I've experienced has been arduous enough that the SQ seems worth it to me. I used the CE to get the decidedly easier to kill Jeanne as much as possible (plus the Prisms are more important than Friend Points) but it only worked 60% of the time maybe.

[Resileaf]

I went to ten full roulettes of each, didn't really feel like farming more. I don't really have the means to do those 3-turns clears anyway, so it's mostly a slog for the most part.

Next event is gonna be Setsubun, the 200-floor challenge dungeon where you can't use the same servant twice for several hours and don't have access to support servants. The name of the game is having a lot of different servants. And constant access to the game so you can do fights as soon as the servant cooldown is over.

I do not have that, I sure hope that the one week the event lasts will be enough for me to get through. At least I have a large quantity of servants to pull from, I'll be focusing on farming embers for the next week to get as many servants as possible ascended to the level 40s, since that appears to be the general level of the early quests.

[Red Fel]

I got so much QP from the lotto boxes. I think I got up to 14 each. So much QP.

Then I started skilling up my Servants. Especially Jalter and Jack.

Now I don't have so much QP.

I'm reconsidering my position on the Servant selection, though. While I love Tomoe and TamaCat, they're general pool and thus spookable. Moreover, they're somewhat redundant - I have plenty of ST Archers and AoE Berserkers. Know what I don't have? A support Archer. (You know, other than David.)

So I'm thinking I may go with Tristan, just because he's story-locked and to fill the niche, instead.

[Resileaf]

I got so much QP from the lotto boxes. I think I got up to 14 each. So much QP.

Then I started skilling up my Servants. Especially Jalter and Jack.

Now I don't have so much QP.

I'm reconsidering my position on the Servant selection, though. While I love Tomoe and TamaCat, they're general pool and thus spookable. Moreover, they're somewhat redundant - I have plenty of ST Archers and AoE Berserkers. Know what I don't have? A support Archer. (You know, other than David.)

So I'm thinking I may go with Tristan, just because he's story-locked and to fill the niche, instead.

He's most definitely a good choice. Removing buffs and teamwide evade (heal is too minor to matter) make him extremely effective.

[Saambell]

I also ended up with a ton of QP from opening 12 and 11 lottos. Burned ALL of it getting Waver from 7/7/8 to 10/10/10.

In Ticket news, I'm torn between Archer Inferno and Danzo. Danzo is the way I'm leaning as shes an AoE assassin with targeted evade and invincibility buffs. Shes also Story Locked so not spookable. But Inferno might be more usable, and I'm a little more interested in her design. Though I already have a lot of ST Archers, and her burn gimmick wont fully take off until New Years 2022 with Yang. And shes on Rate Up (HA!) in the upcoming event and I will admit to being tempted by Raikou and Kintoki being in the banners. So I am leaning Danzo in the end. Given how I only have Summer Shisou as an AoE assassin as well as Fuuma, I think Danzo will fit in well.

[Red Fel]

I also ended up with a ton of QP from opening 12 and 11 lottos. Burned ALL of it getting Waver from 7/7/8 to 10/10/10.

In Ticket news, I'm torn between Archer Inferno and Danzo. Danzo is the way I'm leaning as shes an AoE assassin with targeted evade and invincibility buffs. Shes also Story Locked so not spookable. But Inferno might be more usable, and I'm a little more interested in her design. Though I already have a lot of ST Archers, and her burn gimmick wont fully take off until New Years 2022 with Yang. And shes on Rate Up (HA!) in the upcoming event and I will admit to being tempted by Raikou and Kintoki being in the banners. So I am leaning Danzo in the end. Given how I only have Summer Shisou as an AoE assassin as well as Fuuma, I think Danzo will fit in well.

The general consensus on Inferno is that the only real reason to pick her is waifu. Yes, statwise, she has excellent offense overall, in terms of her ATK stat and passive boosts. In terms of her skillset, however, her Charisma buff is weak and the self-NP buff is so-so; her crit star buff is decent; but her third skill isn't very good as far as defensive abilities go. Her NP damage doesn't stand out, either - it's the same as Anne and Mary (Archer), and I don't know if you've noticed, but they don't receive rave reviews for their stats. Not to mention, again, the availability of superior ST Archer options as welfares. Beyond that, her niche is simply Burn damage, with an Increase Burn Damage bonus on top of that. So, yeah, in terms of performance, her niche is extremely sub-par. Good unit, bad skills, no niche.

She is adorable, though.

Danzo, on the other hand, does have a niche. It's a very narrow niche - AoE bonus damage to demonic Rider enemies - but it's a niche that not too many fill. She also has strategic value. Unlike Inferno, whose skills are primarily selfish - even her teamwide stargen buff is designed to funnel stars to her - two of Danzo's skills are targeted defensive buffs, allowing her to help your party soak damage. You're also correct that 4-star AoE Assassins are a relative rarity - I think it's currently just Danzo, Summer Shishou, and Summer Nito, one in each card flavor. So that's some coverage, too. Plus she's story-locked, so you're highly unlikely to be spooked by roboninja.

So, yeah, between the two of them, you're probably better off with Danzo.

... and dangit, now I'm reconsidering Tristan. Thanks.

[Resileaf]

... and dangit, now I'm reconsidering Tristan. Thanks.

I still recommend Tristan for you. His overall usefulness is higher just for the teamwide evade and the buff removal. Buff removal is probably one of the best utility skills you can use on challenge fights or against enemies that abuse buff stacking (Stop spaming crit buffs, you damn spriggan!).

[Saambell]

I forgot I had NP 2 Summer Nito.

Overall, I am missing: 3 of the sabers, 2 of the archers, 3 of the lancers, 3 of the assassins, 1 of the berserkers, and 1 of the avengers. Of those, Suzuka, Lancelot(Saber), Tomoe, Chiyomi, Danzo, Beowolf, and Lobo appeal to me. Of them, only Danzo is story locked. Unless there's someone in the mass of the Already Owned who would really like a NP Up, its really looking like Danzo, unless someone of the wanted list jumps out as more useful then her and the others I already have. I have gotten real lucky for a lot of these 4 stars. But I have been playing since August 2017, so I have had time to amass them.

[NeoPhoenix0]

I love how much love danzo is getting in this thread. I know part of it is that she is story locked but it's still beautiful. The others I want are Archer of inferno, nehza, and circi who are all general so danzo.i could use Lancelot but I already have np5 tamamo cat and an increasingly high no Fran. They aren't the same but eh. Good enough.

[Kitten Champion]

I have to ask, but what's the point of providing a free SR ticket for you only to be able to wait several days later to use it? Why not just provide the ticket and have it so you can exchange it at the same time?

Does it have to do with mitigating traffic or something?

[Resileaf]

I have to ask, but what's the point of providing a free SR ticket for you only to be able to wait several days later to use it? Why not just provide the ticket and have it so you can exchange it at the same time?

Does it have to do with mitigating traffic or something?

I personally thought that it was to make sure that whoever might not have read the news of the available servants would be able to make their choice after getting their ticket like that.

[Hunter Noventa]

I've settled on Danzo myself. She's story-locked, and cute. That's all the matters.

There were other strong contenders, but they can all spook anywhere. Nezha, Circe, Sheba, Parvati...all good, but all can spook. And they just might come summer, the next time I'll be able to afford multiple ten-pulls.

[Resileaf]

I've settled on Danzo myself. She's story-locked, and cute. That's all the matters.

There were other strong contenders, but they can all spook anywhere. Nezha, Circe, Sheba, Parvati...all good, but all can spook. And they just might come summer, the next time I'll be able to afford multiple ten-pulls.

I thought Sheba was also story-locked?

[Hunter Noventa]

I thought Sheba was also story-locked?

So she is. However, I have a glut of good casters, with the likes of Sanzang, Tamamo, Nitocris, CasGil and Nursery Rhyme, so I don't really need any more casters.

That and I like Danzo more anyway.

List of story-locked 4* servants in NA- Salter, Nero, Medea Lily, Lalter, Li Shuwen, Edison, Tristan, Gawain, Gorgon, EDGEMIYA, Yagyu, Danzo, Sheba.

Of which I have Salter, Nero, Medea Lily, Lalter, Li Shuwen, Gorgon and EDGEMIYA.

[Resileaf]

Huh. I had never realized Salter was story-locked.

[Yael]

Ticket Exchange time!

I went for Danzou, as I wasn't lacking in any specific class to be honest. I choose her because I recently played through the Shimosa story, and I just loved her as a character (also I'm thinking on maxing Koutaro).

[Red Fel]

Ticket Exchange time!

I went for Danzou, as I wasn't lacking in any specific class to be honest. I choose her because I recently played through the Shimosa story, and I just loved her as a character (also I'm thinking on maxing Koutaro).

One thing that's really fun about basically all of the ninja in this game - not Assassins generally, but ninja specifically - is how chuuni they all are. I mean, "Immortal Chaos Brigade?" "Curse the blood that courses through me?" A robot ninja mom who turns her arms into a super ninja fan? It's exactly what a middle schooler would think is cool and edgy. It's fantastic, I love it.

[NeoPhoenix0]

One thing that's really fun about basically all of the ninja in this game - not Assassins generally, but ninja specifically - is how chuuni they all are. I mean, "Immortal Chaos Brigade?" "Curse the blood that courses through me?" A robot ninja mom who turns her arms into a super ninja fan? It's exactly what a middle schooler would think is cool and edgy. It's fantastic, I love it.

I mean, isn't a robot ninja mom with arms that turn into a super ninja fan almost objectively cool?

[Kitten Champion]

I spun for Shuten Doji, and after exhausting half my available SQ I did get her, Astolfo, Banana, and a bunch of pretty good CEs -- sadly still not Kaleidoscope though. Less than I had hoped for but more than I expected. Now to go out into the wilderness to gather more SQ for the long summer.

I'm presently at the 30th floor fight. After burning through my entire roster of Servants, I'm happy I'll soon - in about 45 minutes - have the first event CE as it'll make soloing these intermediate missions easier as they escalate in HP.

[NeoPhoenix0]

this event definitely seems to favor veterans with a large number of leveled servants. never realized i was so lancer heavy. i also have a ton of casters though a lot of them are supports, and a ton of assassins, but i don't have many of the assassins leveled. the rider waves are the tightest for my servants. i swap between hotsprining my best servants and assassins. currently at floor 50, coulda been higher but i've been playing a lot of another game lately.

[Hunter Noventa]

Yeah it's definitely for veterans. But you'd be surprised at what a party of 30ish bronze servants can do at the same time. Though my having 2 Kaleidoscopes helps with that. I just hit floor 60 this morning, and we'll see how far I get during my lunch break.

I really wish you didn't have to bring 3 servants though, a lot of these floors can be cleared by a single servant, especially after you get your first event CE.