QSH worth it without native Merlin (for maybe a long time)?

Fate/Grand Order FGO Q&A
#1

So I’ve been thinking about it for a few days and I’d like an expert opinion on this: would QSH be worth pulling the trigger on with this kind of roster and no Merlin? I know he has banner next year and you bet your ass I’m rolling for him but there’s no guarantee I’ll get him with my sh*tty F- luck so if anyone who has used QSH can maybe help me decide if he’s worth it if I can’t run his ideal double Merlin setup or how well he’d work with like Merlin+Waver or something.

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I wasn’t even considering rolling for him as I was focusing on Tamamo but now I think maybe QSH would be the more valuable pick here since I’ve been told he can solo really well so he could possibly just be my plan B for any difficult content. cough LB4 & 5 cough For some context, I don’t have anything like 2020 to support him with crit stars or Golden Sumo to really make him pack some big boy damage, which just makes me even more unsure in whether he’d be worth it or not.

Appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

#2

Double Merlin is not necessary to enjoy QSH; he’s not the # 1 speed clear option, anyway, so you can run with whatever fits. Just Lan Ling and an NP charge gets the job done. Tamamo, Hans, CasGil, and many others can also work.

E.g. I’ve done some QSH runs at the core node to break up the 3T monotony, and Lan Ling + Skadi is still effortless if not always fast.

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#3

Appreciate the input. I’ll mull it over some more as I don’t wanna waste any SQ now since there’s so many good units next year lol.

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#4

I’m not sure why you would need Merlin… Emperor here stands out the most as a solo Servant. I’m assuming consistent crits are your concern, in which case you aren’t limited to Merlin and/or 2030. You can use a dedicated star generator like Cursed Arm Hassan, or other various Assassins, if you’re willing to give up a team slot for one. Helena has a small star regent that you can use, and her Quick card gives a decent boost to stars on the turn that you get it.
Personally I don’t think something like Golden Sumo is even needed, you can instead get some 50% starting CEs with effects like NP gain, or card effectiveness up, and still have strong damage output after using your NP. With how versatile he is with CE options, he’s certainly not held back because you’re missing a select few.

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#5

I’m not sure why you would need Merlin

Well, I’ve read about how people say QSH + double Merlin stall/crit comp just absolutely trivializes and invalidates everything the game has to offer in terms of challenge. And if I’ve learned anything about stall, its that you need literally every piece of the puzzle or its gonna pretty janky so I just operated under the assumption that I wouldn’t have my own and I wasn’t sure how much that would affect the comp.

#6

On the other hand, it doesn’t take much to trivialize 99% of the content. Just a QSH alone technically does the job most of the time.

Some of the other stall comps are more restrictive because they deal so little damage that you have to go many, many turns without making mistakes. QSH has definite damage windows that help keep you from falling asleep.

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#7

Well, let me pose a question for you. Say you did have the option of QSH + double Merlin, and it worked exactly how it’s hyped up to be. Would you really want to use it for everything? I can imagine myself getting bored with the same exact team for all content.
Personally I don’t think this setup can truly trivialize everything, buff removal gets more common as we proceed and it absolutely wrecks your shit in this setup. Plus the assortment of forced supports in story chapters/event main quests, you’re not always able to do a double support setup as you would want.

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#8

Personally I don’t really care if I did have to use it every single time. As long as it works, that’s usually what I’ll default to and having something like that as a backup plan would just be nice to rely on. Forced supports and gimmicks like buff removal just make me even more concerned on rolling for him, like if I can’t run the strat then maybe I would’ve been better off not having QSH in the first place.

#9

QSH is best as a solo servant imo

So yeah, no Merlin necessary

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#10

I think the takeaway here is that there is no truly universal method that can be played successfully exactly the same way for all encounters…but QSH comes close.

Not trying to push QSH (I basically impulse whaled them), but that’s where your team comp and CE selections come in.

Buff removal does screw them over, so you use either a more direct NP damage approach or modify your QSH team to help defend against the mechanic (e.g. Semiramis’ NP strengthening will grant the party 1T buff removal resist - tricky timing, but possible).

Use QSH solo, with a team, with pizza on a bagel, whatever. You have a lot of freedom as long as you aren’t expecting everything to be fast.

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#11

Well, thanks for the insight. I would honestly like to have him just for his sheer versatility also. Would just solve a lot of problems having him around.
I did do a 30 pull to just test the waters so to speak. Got Mordred and Valk. Dunno if I should keep going or just take this as my last win for 2020 and call it lol.

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#12

Mordred is a nice addition to your Chaldea so at least you didn’t have E rank luck. You can potentially use her for the Lancer node for next lotto if you aren’t able to 3T with a Skadi set up.

Depends how many SQ’s you have& if you’re 100% f2p and struggle to level bonds (since that is a good way to accumulate SQ as a F2P).

If you really like QSH, I’d say go for it, but if you have a lot of targets next year. Wait.

#13

Just keep in mind you could always rely on a friend Shi Huang Di to solo content if all you want is a back-up plan. You do not necessarily need to own him for that. You only need him for double Merlin comps, which are obviously more stable. But it largely depends on how much you are struggling with the current content and how opposed you are to using a revive. Because if you are fine with revive, you can do just about anything and it works. If your goal is to clear everything without it, well, he is one of the best servants in the game. So, you know, he is more of an asset than just about anyone besides the usual suspects.

If you are rolling for gameplay, it literally does not get much better. If you are rolling for a backup plan, I think you should hard pass and go for a more budget friendly back up plan.

#14

Just keep in mind you could always rely on a friend Shi Huang Di to solo content

Well, unless they force a support on you, which I’ve heard they’ll do incessantly in the upcoming LBs so I’m SOL there.

#15

Lostbelt four doesn’t come out until June and the only forced support is against the second Arjuna Alter fight and a non-whale QSH isn’t beating AA.

By the time lostbelt five part one comes out in December you’ll likey have your own Merlin, if you focus on him, and you can wait until the new years campaign to roll for QSH is you really want to.