Should You Pull (Jun 16, 2017)

Original Post / Discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/FFBraveExvius/comments/6jzqpy/defianthermits_should_you_pull_final_fantasy_x/ DefiantHermit's Should You Pull? Brave Frontier Banner 2 - June 16]

Hey guys, it's /u/DefiantHermit here once again, now with a slightly late SYP due to GL exclusive shenanigans.

I thought it would be no problem holding the banner for a few days, but damn, anticipation really sucks and people lack a common hub to discuss characters. In any case, I still think it's the right call, as Vargas' rating changed considerably and I know you guys prefer to read the "final" spoiler: not actually final version of the analysis.

I'll also be plugging in the Global Rating system on every other banner, as people have been constantly asking for it, so I hope you don't mind!

Without further ado, here's my analysis for the 2nd Brave Frontier Collab Banner!

Vargas
Vargas is a unit that had everything lined up to be something amazing, but ends up falling short compared to the big guys due to a weird choice on his offensive skillset when released in JPN. On GL, Gumi gave him a very desirable boost. He comes with excellent base 150 ATK (+30 with pots) and a fantastic +70% ATK from passives (when wielding a Greatsword), bringing it to a total of 306 ATK, which is amongst the highest available.

Equipment selection is also out-of-the-park, being able to wield Daggers, Swords, Katanas and Greatswords and wear Clothes, Light and Heavy Armour, Hats and Helms. Basically, all of the current major weapon types and a fantastic armour selection.

His skillset is pretty concise and straightforward: Undying Flame (Recover 5% MP per Turn) is basically Auto-Refresh, Fierce Battle Vow (80% Chance Ignore up to 1 Fatal Attacks when HP above 10%) offers some KO protection and there's even Guardian of the Black Flame (Self 3 Turn Auto-Revive with 80% HP) to act as a great self Auto-Revive if you need it.

Relevant offensive skills include Sacred Bravery (250% AoE Physical Attack & AoE 3 Turn +60% ATK), which offers a great AoE ATK boost alongside an acceptable modifier and Flare Raid+ (200% AoE 5 Hit Fire Physical Attack), which allows him to be a chainer with another Vargas (only, unfortunately, due to uncommon hit frames), but has a very underwhelming modifier and innate element.

You can, and should, also build him as a finisher with Supreme Blaze (250% AoE 1 Hit Fire Physical Attack + Ignore 50% DEF - normalized to 500%), which has a fantastic GL boosted modifier of 500%, giving him one of the strongest raw modifiers in the game for a finisher.

Compared to the major chainers, Vargas has half the standard modifier (of 400%), no elemental Imperils, locked innate element and fewer amount of hits, with uncommon frames that don't allow him to chain with anyone else other than himself. As a finisher, he's significantly better, as he's on par with Olive in terms of modifiers, but comes with an innate element and no forms of Imperil, which might be a major detriment depending on who your chainers are and what you are up against.

Japanese Altema Rating: 90/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Dandelga - +130 ATK, Fire Element - Greatsword - 9.2/10 Very strong greatsword which also brings the Fire element to the greatsword table.

Japanese TM Rating (altema.jp): S Rank

Why would you want Vargas?: Because he got a hard hitting finishing skill on his GL upgrade. Supreme Blaze at 500% modifier, coupled with his excellent ATK and great equipment selection allows him to deal substantial damage when capping chains.

Aside from that, though, he's extremely linked to the Fire element but provides no Imperils for it, which might be a downfall and his chaining kit is a lacklustre. He can also boost your party's ATK a bit more than Embolden, but the rest of his skillset is meh.

What about the future? Vargas hasn't received his enhancements yet, so there's still hope he can be further boosted. He's very likely getting an upgrade to both his chainer and finisher, so just be on the lookout for those!

Elza
Elza is back for another snow filled adventure! Wait.. wrong gal.. Aaaaanyways, she comes with great base 146 ATK (+34 with pots) and an excellent +70% ATK from passives, for a grand total of 306 ATK, which is amongst the highest available.

Unfortunately, equipment selection is quite underwhelming, as she's only able to wield Spears and wear Clothes, Light Armour and Hats. There's no Spear Mastery yet (it comes with Wind Veritas down the line), so her BiS ATK is going to be rather underwhelming.

Skillset is pretty good, with Lance (80% ST 1 Hit Physical Attack w/ 20% HP Drain & 30% 1 Hit Physical Attack w/ 10% MP Drain) as sustain and MP drain and Dark Prayer (Self Cure All Status Ailments & Self 4 Turn +50% All Stats) as self esuna and buffer, which isn't very relevant given the widespread 40~50% AoE buffs.

There's also Dark Favor (Self 3 Turn 90% HP Auto-Revive) as a nuke assurance and the duo of Man-Eater (+50% Physical Damage vs Humans) and Demon Killer (+50% Physical Damage vs Demons), alongside the always great Auto-Refresh (Recover 5% MP per Turn).

Her offensive skills are Ravaging Blow (200% ST 1 Hit Physical Attack & 3 Turn -50% DEF/SPR Debuff), which has a pretty mediocre modifier, but comes with a very strong offensive break and Madness Rush (x3 140% RT 4 Hit Physical Attack & Self 3 Turn +100% LB Fill Rate) as an unfortunate RT skill (so virtually unchainable and improper as a finisher) that comes with a fantastic LB rate booster.

Her LB is a strong (270% -> 390% AoE 10 Hit Dark Physical Attack) that can be chained with another copy for some sweet damage. You definitely rely on Madness Rush to keep it going, as she has no other form of LB rate booster aside from her exclusive materia.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Demon Scythe - +120 ATK, Dark Element - Spear - 9/10

Very strong spear that brings Dark element to the table for the upcoming dark chains.

Why would you want Elza?: Unenhanced, because of her break and looks, I guess? Even though many Elza users swear by her, on today's standards, she's a rather underwhelming. Her equipment selection is laughable, her only chainable skill is her LB, which relies heavily on the usage of another skill, which is Random Target, to provide Fill Rate bonus and her finisher has a crappy modifier.

The only thing she has going for her are her looks and the fantastic offensive break, which is only matched by enhanced Delita. However, the jump from the 45% breaks (on Ling and WoL) to the unenhanced 50% break only means a 10% increase in damage. Aside from that, going forward, defensive breaks become significantly more relevant than offensive ones.

What about the future? All that said about out-of-the-box Elza, she's just gotten her enhancements, which you can check on this week's Should You Enhance?. They are very relevant, but whether she's worth a spot on your team, it's up to you to decide.

Tilith
Tilith is baaaaaack! Due to her unique healing kit, the only stat that really matter is MP (SPR/DEF/HP are all important for survival still!) and you'll see that everything she does is completely centered on her MP pool, much more so than other healers. She comes with a respectable base 182 MP (+65 with pots), but with only a +20% MP passive to back it up, for a total of 296 MP.

Equipment selection is… basically non-existent. Tilith can't equip weapons (unless you give her an Equip X materia), and her wardrobe is limited to Robes, Clothes and Hats.

As I mentioned, her unique skillset is comprised entirely of abilities, so nothing to dual cast. Some great passives include Prismatic Light of Eternity (Recover 10% MP per Turn) as a greatly upgraded Auto-Refresh and Inviolability (Decrease Target Chance 1.75x) offering excellent reduced target chance.

Her support set consists of Celestial Light (AoE 2 Turn +40% ATK/DEF/MAG/SPR) providing some decent stat buffs (basically Focus+Cheer) albeit for a short duration, Rainbow Veil (AoE 3 Turn +40% Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water/Wind/Earth/Light Resist) offering great all-around elemental resistances and Aura of Charity (3 AoE Turn +100% Stat Debuff Resist) which prevents stat debuffs if you ever need it.

Tilith also has access to Goddess' Miracle (AoE ~1000 HP Heal w/ 3.4x Mod & AoE Cure Poison, Blind, Sleep, Silence, Paralyze, Confuse) which is basically Curaga + “Esunaga” and God of Light (AoE Stat Buff Removal) is basically AoE Dispel.

However, the main skills you'll be using with her are: Prism Heal (AoE except Self Recover 2500 HP, 50 MP), which provides excellent MP recovery for the rest of your party at the cost of a weaker heal; Radiant Light (AoE 100% HP Recovery) as the first released AoE full-heal and Miracle of the Holy Goddess (AoE Revive with 100% HP) as the first released AoE full-raise.

So yeah, not only can Tilith buff your party, debuff the enemies, raise elemental and ailment protection, but she can also full heal everyone, full raise everyone and recovery a bunch of MP for everyone else. I believe this makes it clear for anyone that didn't already know why Tilith is so coveted. She outperforms pretty much all other healers currently released.

That's not to say she's perfect. Far from it, actually. Her main issue is that she's locked to one action per turn. This means she's unable to Raise+Heal, Cure Ailments+Heal, Buff+Heal, etc. While this may seem like a massive downside, with proper support from your team, she can overcome this obstacle just fine.

Another issue is that most of her abilities are extremely MP heavy: Prism Heal costs a whopping 99 MP, Radiant Light costs 45 and Miracle of the Holy Goddess costs 70. With just her version of Auto-Refresh, you'll be getting ~30 MP per turn, which is obviously not enough for longer battles.

With this in mind, to properly use Tilith on longer trials and battles, the idea is to stack her with MP recovery materia and equipment so she can get ~100 MP per turn. Currently released MP recovery items: Fat Chocobo (Materia - 5%), Cupid Luna (Accessory - 5%), Aiden (Robes - 3%), King (Materia - 7%), Soze (Materia - 3%). Future recovery masteries: Helena (Accessory - 5%), Ayaka (Materia - 10%), Nyx (Materia - 5%).

Japanese Altema Rating: 96/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Goddess's Protection - Immunity to All Status Ailments - Materia - 9/10

Carbon copy of Seven's TMR, and the materia alternative to Kefka's Ribbon. Fantastic all around to have, but slightly worse than Ribbon since it takes a valuable materia slot.

Japanese TM Rating (altema.jp): S Rank

Why would you want Tilith?: Really? Okay… because she's a fantastic healer that's going to serve you extremely well given that you provide her the proper support. AoE Full Heal, AoE Full Raise, AoE Heal+MP recovery, Stat buffs, Ailment cleansers, Dispels, Elemental Resists, etc. The only thing Tilith is missing from a healer's kit is Auto-Revive.

It's extremely important to reiterate that she's not perfect and her downfalls are severe. Being locked to 1 action per turn means you need to have other units prepared to give her the proper support when needed (like reviving a fallen ally so Tilith can AoE Full Heal everyone). Being extremely MP heavy means you need to build her right for her to truly shine on longer battles.

What about the future? Tilith hasn't received her enhancements yet, but she's not wearing the healing crown in JPN anymore. Ayaka (and more recently CG Fina) have taken that spot because they have overcome Tilith's main issues. In any case, that's months away and Tilith will be an amazing healer if you treat her right.

Seria
Seria is back on a second banner and she's still the same disappointing base that's a  max. She has a decent base 106 ATK (+20 with pots), but only a measly +10% ATK passive to back it up, for a pretty bad total of 138 ATK.

Equipment selection is pretty good, being able to wield Daggers, Swords, Katanas and Greatswords and wear Light and Heavy Armour and Hats. So basically all of the major weapon types and a good selection of armour.

Skillset is underwhelming. Aside from the great Bird and Demon Killers (50% Physical Damage vs Bird & Demon, respectively), there's a random EVO MAG +20% (Increase Summon Damage 20%).

Her main skills are Heart Blaze (190% AoE 1 Hit Fire Physical Attack), which boasts a poor modifier for a finisher and Champion's Surge (AoE 3 Turn +40% DEF/SPR) which is basically Protectga+Shellga in an ability. These skills get both enhanced so you can check my analysis on them on this week's Should You Enhance?.

Finally, her LB provides a great offensive break, if fully levelled, as it's a (250% -> 345% AoE 4 Hit Fire Physical Attack & AoE 3 Turn -30% -> -49% DEF/SPR Debuff). I doubt it's worth the effort and pots, though.

Japanese Altema Rating: 79/100 (After Enhancements)

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Seal of Protection - +20% DEF/SPR, +10% HP - Materia - 8/10

Good defensive materia, offering a boost for both defensive stats and HP. It's not super huge, though, so whether this is worth farming or not depends on your list of priority.

Japanese TM Rating (altema.jp): A Rank

Why would you want Seria?: You don't, really. She's stuck as a troll that can't get to, has a poor skillset and mediocre mastery. Even her enhancements don't save her...

What about the future? Seria is getting her enhancements this week too and while they're pretty good for a max, they don't really make you want to reserve a spot on your team. Regardless, the complete analysis can be found on this week's Should You Enhance?.

Karl
Karl suffers from the same things as Seria, as an unfortunate troll gold that only goes to. Regardless, base 114 ATK (+24 with pots) is pretty good, and there's an okay +20% ATK passive to back it up, for a great total of 165 ATK (relative to other s).

Equipment selection takes a hit, though, as he's only able to wield Daggers, Swords, Axes and Spears and wear Light and Heavy Armour and Helms. Loss of GS and Katana hurts him, but Axe and Spear mastery should not take long to come. Armour selection is pretty good.

Skillset is about the same as Seria, with notable passives being Beast and Demon Killers (50% Physical Damage vs Beast and Demon, respectively) and the same random EVO MAG +20% (Increase Summon Damage 20%).

Karl's notable skills are Gleaming Cleave (3x 80% RT Physical Attack), which is basically a worse Barrage and Call to Arms (AoE 3 Turn +40% ATK/MAG) which is the offensive part of Focus+Cheer. Both these skills get enhancements and you can check my analysis on this week's Should You Enhance?.

Finally, his LB is Seria's mirror, providing a decent defensive break (250% -> 345% AoE 6 Hit Ice Physical Attack & AoE 3 Turn -30% -> 49% ATK/MAG Debuff).

Japanese Altema Rating: 79/100 (After Enhancements)

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Seal of Destruction - +20% ATK/MAG, +10% HP - Materia - 7/10

Offensive version of Seria's mastery, this is, not significantly stronger than what we normally get during events and just a slightly upgrade to Thancred's. Low priority and likely shouldn't be farmed.

Japanese TM Rating (altema.jp): A Rank

Why would you want Karl?: You also don't. Troll gold with mediocre skillset and unimpressive mastery.

What about the future? Karl has also gotten his enhancements and while they're definitely nice, they likely won't make you want to reserve a spot on your team for him. As always, you can check the enhancements on this week's Should You Enhance?.

Bonus: Maxwell
Lady Maxwell is back for those who didn't get her the last time and now with a shiny ! Since she's free, this analysis is mainly meant to give you a rough idea if she's worth awakening and using. She comes with a strong base 154 ATK (+34 with pots), but unfortunately only a +30% ATK passive, for a mediocre total of 244 ATK.

Equipment selection is just horrible. She's able to wield only Spears and wear Clothes, Light Armour and Hats. There's not even an innate Spear mastery, so her end-game ATK is going to be incredibly low.

What about her skillset? Useful passives include Overseer of Reincarnation (Recover 5% MP per Turn & LB Fill Rate +150%) as Auto-Refresh bundled with High-Tide, which is super useful for spamming her LB and Man-Eater (50% Physical Damage vs Humans) provides extra damage against puny mortals. Goddess' Majesty (+50% Light Resist) provides some Light Resist and Reincarnation (Cast ST ~1800 HP Heal w/ 1x Mod per Turn) provides some passive healing.

Her active set is Light themed: Rune (210% AoE 1 Hit Light Physical Attack & AoE Stat Buff Removal) is Dispelga attached to a mediocre hit and Genesis (180% AoE 1 Hit Light Physical Attack & 30% Blind/Virus) provides some status ailments attached to an even worse hit. Maxwell also has access to Sacred Song (Self 3 Turn +80% ATK/DEF & Self 3 Turn Auto-Revive with 80% HP), which provides a respectable self-buff alongside a great self Auto-Revive.

Two of her new toys are Breath of Genesis (AoE Cure All Ailments & 1 Turn AoE +100% All Ailments Resist), which is Esunaga+Ailment Protection bundled up on a pretty good skill and Destiny (200% ST 1 Hit Light Physical Attack + Ignore 50% DEF - normalized to 400%) which is a pretty good finisher, albeit locked to Light.

Maxwell's LB is still one of her main attractions, as a (270% -> 390% AoE 33 Hit Light Magic Attack). It has so many hits that it's able to build the largest chain available on GL, at 65-hits when coupled with a friend Maxwell. One of its main selling point is that it gives you a lot of room to fit your finishers on capped modifiers (any time after the 10th hit is capped if both Maxwells aren't sharing another element through their weapons) and can even be chained alongside Orlandeau's Divine Ruination, but the obvious drawback is that it's not available on demand.

Japanese Altema Rating: 88/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Power of Creation - +30% ATK/MAG - Materia - 9/10

Excellent offensive materia, offering the second best ATK/MAG increase and with the bonus of being able to be used on physical and magic units alike. And hey, Maxwell is free, so there's no reason not to farm this!

Japanese TM Rating (altema.jp): S Rank

Why would you want Maxwell?: Because she's a very respectable finisher and an excellent chainer, with excellent synergy on Light chains. Destiny is a very good finisher at 400% modifier and her LB is an amazing chainer at 33 hits. Her downsides is that her equipment selection is extremely limited, so her final ATK won't be anything out of the ordinary and even with an innate High-Tide, her LB is not coming out every turn unless you give her some support. To get her full potential as a chainer, you have your friend unit locked to another Maxwell, but her frames are good enough to chain with other prominent chainers too!

What about the future? There's been no enhancements for Maxwell in JPN, so you should be on the lookout for them. Expect some added High-Tides in there to get her LB out more consistently!

Should You Pull?
Weirdly enough, that's a very tough question to answer. Aside from Tilith, this banner is horrible for non-whales. There are no 3★s and the slot is shared between three units, two of which are completely useless. Not only that, but this is a time-limited banner, Anniversary is around the corner and, if we are roughly following JPN's schedule, the next few banners have Rikku and Ashe, two extremely desirable s.

That said, putting her workable downsides aside, Tilith is the healer to chase for non-whales, as she's only really surpassed by Ayaka (and more recently CG Fina), which are extremely far away and both locked behind rainbows. The other s are permanent additions to the pool, so you can draw them at any time.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is definitely pull for Tilith because she really is worth it, but be aware of your total resources and, most importantly, that her pull rate is an atrocious 1.5%. If you have been saving for her, I'd personally do dailies and go down on quite a few tickets on the last day if you didn't get her, but I wouldn't burn everything. She's not necessary for any content and you can clear future content with a DC healer, given that your team is well geared and prepared.

I know this is lengthy already, but I really want to make it clear for everyone that's going to pull for Tilith what her odds really are so you have your expectations set straight. These are the expected number of pulls to get 1 Tilith at:


 * 50% chance: 46 pulls
 * 60% chance: 60 pulls
 * 70% chance: 80 pulls
 * 80% chance: 107 pulls
 * 90% chance: 153 pulls
 * 95% chance: 199 pulls
 * 99% chance: 305 pulls

If you're a whale, Vargas is a decent finisher if Fire is not a problem, but he's rather unexciting. Elza's enhancements are excellent, but she's more of a standalone attacker than a team girl (aside from her break and Imperil, that is).

If you're not a whale and pulled Vargas or Elza, let it go yay!

If you're gonna pull for Tilith may the Force be with you good luck, my friend.