Should You Pull (September 29, 2017)

Original Post / Discussion: [https://reddit.com/r/FFBraveExvius/comments/73b1ki/defianthermits_should_you_pull_festival_of_the/ DefiantHermit's Should You Pull? Festival of the Autumn Moon Banner - Sep 29]

Hello everyone, /u/DefiantHermit here, very glad to be back this week with a banner analysis, even if it's a mere filler one!

Only note here this week is that I'm already adopting the Curaga -> Curada, Curaja -> Curaga change, but I still might get those wrong from time to time.

As always, if you have any feedback regarding the units or the overall format, please do let me know and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

Without further ado, here's my analysis for the Festival of the Autumn Moon Banner!

Orlandeau
Ah, Orlandeau, the OG chainer is back on a filler banner to make up for FFXI's poor performance! Base 155 ATK (+34 with pots) is fantastic, with a hefty +70% ATK due to his Black Lion's Crest (+100% Blind/Sleep/Paralyze Resist & +40% ATK when equipped with Greatsword) passive to back it up.

Equipment selection is great for what he needs to do, as he's able to wield Swords, Greatswords and Katanas and wear All types of armour. Excalibur is the current go-to main hand, and the off-hand can support Sword builds with DKS or simpler Katana builds with Blade Mastery, therefore gearing him out is extremely straightforward.

Orlandeau's supporting skillset is lacklustre, being comprised of only Auto-Refresh (Recover 5% MP per Turn) for easier MP upkeep and Crush Weapon (190% ST 1 Hit Physical Attack & ST 3 Turn -40% ATK/MAG Debuff) as a pretty decent defensive break, but not on par with the ones easily available on Warrior of Light/Ling/9S.

There's also an innate High Tide on War Sense (LB Fill Rate +200%), but his LB is a lacklustre Swordplay: Raiden (270% -> 390% AoE 3 Hit Physical Attack), with lower modifiers than his standard chaining move, but with a neat AoE attached. If you really need it, Orlandeau also has access to a Stop inducing ability, Judgment Blade (210% ST 1 Hit Physical Attack & 30% Chance 3 Turn Stop) and an MP draining one, Duskblade (140% ST 1 Hit Physical Attack & ST 30% Attack w/ 30% MP Drain).

His most used skill by a very long margin, though, is Divine Ruination (200% ST 7 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 50% DEF & ST 3 Turn -50% Light Resist - normalized to 400%), with an excellent modifier, a fantastic Light Imperil and an almost consistent 7-frames between hits (70-7-5-7-7-7-7). Frame data means Orlandeau can very easily chain with another landu, Poorlandu (Agrias), Darklandu (Veritas of the Dark) and in the far future, Sephiroth.

When perfect chaining, his global chain modifier is a solid x3.41 and the Light Imperil gives him a significant damage boost alongside making it very easy to find a perfect partner to chain with. Divine Ruination not being locked to Light innately means Orlandeau is not completely dead against enemies that resist Light, as you can just swap your weapons and chain away.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: - +3 ATK, Grants Crush Accessory, Spirit Blade and Ultima Sword - Accessory - D Rank

Crush Accessory (190% ST Physical Attack & 3 Turn -30% All Elemental Resist Debuff) - 30% Imperils don't cut it on the current meta as you have plenty of other options and units to apply muuuch better ones. Spirit Blade (160% AoE Physical Attack + 220% AoE Magical Attack) - ~400% modifier hybrid attack that uses the unit's default attack animation. I don't need to tell you why this sucks, right? Ultima Sword (250% ST Physical Attack + Ignore 25% DEF - normalized to 333%) - This is the only noteworthy ability on this accessory and even then it's just a 333% finisher. When Firion/Randi didn't have their enhancements, it could be given to them to unlock a slightly better skill than what they had. No one else benefits from this. Veeeery niche accessory that sees barely if any use at all since Firion and Randi were enhanced, as they were basically used on those units alone. The granted skills are unnoteworthy and/or have completely outdated modifiers.

Why would you want Orlandeau?: I think everyone knows why. Even if he doesn't output the most damage compared to other rainbow chainers, it's waay more than enough to clear anything you'd like, he's super easy to perfect chain, extremely straightforward to gear and chaining partners and friend units are not drying up any time soon.

What about the future? Orlandeau has received his enhancements in JPN a while ago and they're not bad at all, even if weaker than most other rainbow chainers. Divine Ruination got its modifiers ramped to 520% (overall 30% damage boost), his Black Lion's Crest grants him some extra HP and Katana+Sword Masteries (40%), giving him more ATK and unlocking more diverse weapon options if you need to forgo the Light element. Finally, his Crush Weapon was updated to Warrior of Light levels (45%) and got its duration boosted to 5 turns.

Mercedes
Oh Mercedes, how far you've come and how far you've dropped in such a short amount of time. Base 146 ATK (+34 with pots) is fantastic for a unit and there's a solid +70% ATK due to her Axe Mastery (+50% ATK when equipped with Axe) passive, that can be further enhanced to a whopping +100% ATK instead.

Equipment options are overall pretty bad, though, as she's only able to wield Daggers, Swords, Axes and Hammers and wear Clothes, Light Armour, Hats and Helms. Swords without Heavy Armour means DKS is out and Axe Mastery is locked to a (that you'd 100% use instead of Mercedes as a finisher). So for now, you're “stuck” with Bowie + Viking's Axe which is… not that bad.

Aside from her only Aquan Killer (50% Physical Damage vs Aquans) passive, her skillset is extremely binary: Mercedes will either be buffing your party with Warcry (AoE 3 Turn +50% ATK), which can have its okay numbers enhanced to +100% or she'll be finishing chains with Sea King's Chop (270% ST 1 Hit Physical Attack & ST 3 Turn -20% Water Resist), which can also have its mediocre numbers enhanced to 350% modifiers and -75% Water Imperil.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: - +125 ATK, Water Element - Axe - A Rank

Very powerful axe, but also very niche. Axe Mastery is locked behind Veritas of the Flame which, once again, you'd rather use as a finisher instead of Mercedes, even if he may not actually use the mastery. Aside from that, axe wielders in general are rare and most units that can equip axe seldomly benefit from the water element and could likely just use another weapon type with an easy to grab mastery.

Why would you want Mercedes?: While Mercedes numbers aren't bad, we're getting into a meta where fitting a finisher on your party for harder content is getting increasingly difficult and that's basically all she does. Not only that, but on the finishing aspect of things, there are quite a few units that can pack a stronger punch.

That said, she has some merits for Tidus owners (or Fryevia going the Aqua Sword route), as she can apply a very strong -75% water imperil on-demand, while Tidus' Imperil is locked behind his LB. She also benefits from her own Imperil with her TMR and should be able to dish very respectable finishing damage. Alternatively… you can just wait 1~2 turns for Tidus' LB to fill up and apply a much better Imperil and save yourself a unit slot or just bring a unit like 9S or Tim that can apply good Imperils and also perform their roles as breakers.

What about the future? Mercedes' enhancements have already rolled out for us and this analysis is already including them. They made her one of the strongest finishers in the game when it was released, but powercreep and awkward element caught up with her too fast.

Luka
Luka just received her enhancements and she's already back at the spotlight, so let's see how she fares against other healers at this point! Base 149 SPR (+26 with pots) is just what you'd expect and there's a decent +30% SPR passive backing it up. The MP side is also great, at a base 182 MP (+85 with pots) and a +20% MP passive to support it, alongside an innate auto-refresh on Aqua Refresh (CastST ~60 HP Heal w/ 1.2x Mod per Turn & Recover 5% MP per Turn).

Equipment selection is your healer's standard, being able to wield Staves, Instruments and Maces and wear Robes, Clothes and Hats. Instruments are still not a relevant addition, as SPR heavy/defensive instruments are not here yet, but there's a +15% MP Instrument coming soonTM.

As far as the skillset goes, Luka is an ability heavy healer, with very few spell options: Curada (ST ~800 HP Heal w/ 3.4x Mod) as a mediocre ST heal and Raise (ST Revive with 30% HP) as her only innate Revival skill.

Her ability set is obviously better and can be enhanced for better numbers and effects. Priestess Miracle (AoE ~1000 HP Heal w/ 3.4x Mod & AoE Cure Poison, Blind, Sleep, Silence, Paralyze, Confuse) is literally Curaga + Esunaga, at the cost of not being DCable. It can be enhanced to become a (AoE ~2000 HP Heal w/ 5x Mod & AoE Cure All Status Ailments), healing ~3000 HP at 400 SPR (~Curaga and a half) and removing anything your team has been afflicted with.

To complement her healing, there's Regenerate (AoE ~1150 HP Heal w/ 8x Mod split over 3 Turns) recovering ~900 HP per Turn at 400 SPR, which can be further enhanced to become a monstrous (AoE ~20000 HP Heal w/ 53x Mod split over 20 Turns), healing ~1500 HP per turn at 400 SPR with an absurd duration.

Finally, there's some supporting skills on Water Barrier (AoE 3 Turn +70% Water Resist), providing great elemental resistance for your party if you can't bring Marie/Minfilia and Deep Blue (AoE 5 Turn +45% DEF/SPR) offering a defensive alternative to Embolden.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: - +25% SPR/MP & +20% Water Resist - Materia - B Rank

If this gave HP instead of MP, it'd be an absurd materia to get. At this state, it's a decent option for MP heavy units, but pales in comparison to other proper defensive materia available.

Why would you want Luka?: Because you don't have Tilith and are tired of using Refia/Y'shtola/Aria. Even though Luka's enhancements might seem nuts, her solo healing potential is still capped at ~4500 HP (compared to ~3500 from DC Curaga), while not having the flexibility of dual casting anything. Her supporting options are limited to ailment removing and on the resurrection front, she's extremely lacking.

That said, with a passive +30% HP from enhancements and a massive 10% Auto-Refresh, Luka is sturdier than the other healers and unlikely to face any MP problems. Her healing is still the strongest of the 4 (not counting Aria's LB), comes with free ailment cleansing and Regenerate does give her some breathing room to perform other actions when consistent 3k+ healing is not needed.

What about the future? Luka's enhancements have rolled out and they're very nice, solidifying her as an extremely viable ability based healer.

Exdeath
How the mighty have fallen, our lovely tree is back for like, its 4th (?) banner somehow and things still aren't looking good for him. Base 145 MAG (+26 with pots) is pretty good, but there's only a +30% MAG passive backing it up, while newer mages have upwards of +70% MAG.

Once again, equipment selection is a very mixed bag: Daggers, Swords, Rods, Staves and Maces for weapons and Light and Heavy Armours, Helms, Small and Large Shields for armour. Being able to equip swords allows for an excellent build, but the lack of robes and hats (if you didn't manage to grab  from Nier) definitely hurts his overall MAG stat.

His skillset is pretty old and most of you should be extremely familiar with it already. Firaga, Blizzaga and Thundaga (180% AoE 1 Hit Fire/Ice/Lightning Magic Attack) are now extremely outdated, even if they're DCable. His most used skill is still Meteor (250% AoE 1 Hit Magic Attack + Ignore -25% SPR - normalized to 333%), which can be dual cast for a nice nuke. It also received enhancements and they… suuuuuuuck on PvE. Even though the overall modifiers are ramped to 400%, it's split into 3 hits, which are not enough to generate any meaningful chain and destroy its ability to work as a clear finisher. It also costs a metric ton of gil and crysts.

Exdeath's ability list is comprised of the great Dual Black Magic (Use two Black Magic), allowing him to be a great budget damage dealer and Transcender (+30% Magic Damage vs Human, Bird, Beast, Plant, Insect), providing some valuable magic killers that can be further enhanced to +50% (underwhelming overall damage increase of 15% if no other killers are in effect).

There's two damaging abilities, but they're generally not used because the damage output is incredibly lower compared to DC -agas and Meteor: Earth Shaker (180% AoE 1 Hit Earth Magic Attack) is a worse Stonga and Wicked Light (280% AoE 1 Hit Light Magic Attack + Ignore -25% SPR - normalized to 373%) is an okay Light nuke that can be further boosted to 466% modifiers.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: - Grant (230% ST 1 Hit Light Magic Attack) - Materia - D Rank

Holy has always been an extremely niche materia and even the upcoming (soonTM) White Magic MAG -> SPR change isn't gonna shake it that much.

Why would you want Exdeath?: Because you want to have an OTK arena party on weeks where DC is not banned.

On PvE, Exdeath just can't compare to other mages with their versatility and even raw firepower. The lack of robes and hats currently hurts his final MAG stat and his only viable option in a party is to be a Meteor Nuker, which can't benefit from Imperils and has a very outdated finishing modifier.

What about the future? Exdeath's enhancements are already here and they're not good. Unless they start tweaking his numbers some other way, he's stuck in Arena parties for the future.

Should You Pull?
Unless you're severely lacking a healer (aka no Refia/Y'shtola/Aria/Rem/Tilith), no. Very unfortunate, but repeat answer for the last Orlandeau banner.

The 3★ here is a completely and totally outdated unit that is used solely for Arena purposes and has an extremely niche TMR.

The double s are a mix of great healer for people lacking one with Luka and a decent finisher in Mercedes. Luka is great with enhancements and definitely a solid main healer choice if you do enhance her, but she's still on the same level as the other gold healers and still has her own issues. Mercedes just can't keep up with other dedicated finishers and only servers a niche role as a Tidus/Water Fryevia Imperil applier and finisher. Even then...

The is the good ol' Oldmandeau, still packing a punch after all these rainbow chainers came to take the DPS throne. Very straightforward to gear, extremely consistent and high damaging chains, 2 current perfect chaining partners aside from a copy bringing great versatility in friend units and 10-man trials possibilities.

If you're not a whale and pulled Orlandeau, you're set!