Who to raise?(most return in investment)

[Bakyura]

just started the game like 3 days ago and I have 3 6 stars, silver ash, shining and magallan

but can’t promote them rn, I think I can promote silver ash later, just thinking what class should I realy need to have a high lvl? I’m think a sniper is a must? so I basicaly lvld Jessica, I heard that My 6 stars get realy good when promoted should I promote silver ash? and what should my playstyle look like? should I be carried by my 6 stars or does it just vary per situation, pls give tips to this noob

[Bakyura]

here’s what my op’s look like

[Dazz_Antoni]

In general, I find the order of importance for leveling operators to be DPS > vanguards > defenders > medics. Though if possible you want to try to keep them roughly equal in level, when you’re still limited in resources that’s how you’ll want to go.

You’ve done pretty good that you have your snipers at a good level, Amiya, a pair of defenders and a vanguard at E1. From what you have at the moment, I might suggest promoting Texas next to have a solid pair of vanguards (which is especially useful if you start adding some promoted 6* operators–the DP costs can ramp up fast). Gitano is also a good one–AoE casters can be a great help, especially in the early stages (my first E1 max operator was actually Lava). And don’t underestimate Vigna–she’s quite the little killer, can often take over for Melantha’s role while getting you some DP and being a full refund when you bring her back.

As far as your 6*s go, Silverash is great, though until you’re able to get him to E2 (don’t worry about that for a while) he’s not too much better than other guards. Shining will help your front line be a bit more sturdy–though you’ll usually get more immediate mileage out of leveling DPS to kill the enemies faster, but she can be a big help with some later stuff. Magallan can be tricky to use–I don’t normally recommend Summoners for new players, but once you get the hang of her she can make a lot of challenging maps a lot easier. I’d save her for later, but definitely try her out at some point.

[ArcanaApocalypse]

6*s

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SA is definitely the best pick here for E2 Promotion and Masteries, S3 is a glorified delete button that’ll make clearing out tough waves really easy

Shining can reliably perform her role as Healer/Def Buffer at E1 LV50 for most of the game’s content, not sure about how much of a boost Magallan gets from E2 tho

Still the latter can be considered difficult to use by most new players, so you’ll have to decide whether her playstyle as a Summoner is one you enjoy

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5*s

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Texas, Specter and Amiya are all good OPs to invest in

Texas is a good Vanguard with high Atk Stat, and an AoE Stun on her S2 that can also hit flying enemies. Her biggest weakness however is her fragility, as she’s somewhat of a glass cannon. Still her ability to enable fast starts to maps - especially when paired up with other Vanguards like Myrtle/Bagpipe/Elysium - as well as her niche and good stats make her a premiere Vanguard useful on many Squads

Specter meanwhile runs on the opposite end, her S2 making her literally unkillable for a short period of time while also giving her a considerable attack boost to shred through foes. At E2 she has gains a further health boost to her talent, and a passive regen which helps her survival even more. Of course Specter is not without weakness, as the stun on her S2 can potentially ruin a run depending on her placement and the timing of the skill, as she does not block enemies while stunned

Amiya, while generally considered outclassed by the overwhelming power of Eyjafjalla, is still a powerful ST Caster all on her own. Her E2 Talent lets her regen more SP when she is attacking/killing an enemy, and she is one of the few OPs capable of dealing True Damage via her S3, albeit a niche for some very specfic fights

S1 allows for consistent ST DPS, and combined with her E2 Talent lets her spam the skill pretty well. S2 is a powerful Burst Skill that leaves her stunned for a while, but is well worth it for the damage it deals

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4*

• Vigna (High Atk, like REALLY high, like melt your face with a pitchfork high)
• Jessica (Somewhat outclassed by Kroos Pre-E2, but gains an edge over her afterwards)
• Gitano (A bit niche in her role, hindered by her own Archetype’s weaknesses, used in some strats to wave clear High Def Mobs)

[wheatking]

Any playstyle can work and every operator is viable so if you like someone you can use them.

In terms of value of who to raise of course Silver Ash would have biggest roi, as one of the bests units in the game rushing E2 for him is always worth it.

Shining is also a fine operator that is very useful on some maps so leveling her is a good choice, the thing with medics is that the 4 top tier healers are almost on the same level but have very different expertise.

Magallan is a tricky one, she is really versatile and very powerful if you know how to use her and what skill you should bring. Also as a summoner as close to max level she is the better. So should you invest on Magallan? Well if you really like how she plays and get a good grasp of what she can do go invest a lot on her. With a high level one and great knowledge of the game you will be able to clear maps with only 2-4 operators.

For your snipers Kroos and Jessica are decent placeholders you can level them up to E1max but its better to save resources for the better AA snipers(Exu, BP, Plat, Greythroat).

On vanguards Texas will serve you well for the entirety of the game and Vigna is a decent on kill vanguard. The only better ones you can get are Bagpipe, Siege, Myrtle and Elysium.

Casters are fine for now, hope you can get the more powerful ones down the line.

Specter is really powerful operator but must be E2 to really shine because she needs that +1 block. No need to rush her but will be really helpful when you have a decently leveled team already.

Just level your team to about E150 - E1max then rush E2 on Silver Ash and he will really carry on a lot of content.

[MastroGillord]

First of all I would say go with who you like the most character-wise. There are no bad operators really, just bad doctors. But that said, there are better operators than others. Usually look at their number of stars of course. It’s not always the case, but I can assure you almost all my 6 stars are upgraded to E2. Almost every 6 star is worth it imo. If you want some names I would say SilverAsh, Shining and Texas are your top 3 ops in your roster

[BadWolfVindici]

At E2 she has gains a further health boost to her talent, and a passive regen which helps her survival even more

To add to this, at E2 Specter will also be able to block 3 enemies instead of two (like any guard of her archetype - Blaze, Broca, Savage, Estelle). So at one point, you should consider leveling her and promoting to E2.

[MastroGillord]

P.s. Magallan is very good, but I would leave her for later. Her playstyle isn’t so straightforward like other ops and her true potential unlocks only after E2

[Moop]

Jessica because she’s rich and will give you money in the future.

[Dazz_Antoni]

Oh yeah, I did forget you asked for playstyle advice too…
While it’ll vary depending on the map–especially the later on you go–the general advice is 2 vanguards, 2 defenders, 2 snipers, 2 casters, 2 medics (1 ST and 1 AoE–I don’t see any AoEs for you though if Perfumer is off the screen she’s a good beginner one), 1 guard and 1 to change around depending on the map.

It looks to me like you’ve been following that so far, so some advice for switching things around to expand your playstyle options:

Defenders can often be swapped out for a 2- or 3-block Guard–especially AoE guards like Specter. This works best when the spot you’re putting them in gets a high volume of weaker enemies, so they can kill things faster so you don’t leak just because of sheer numbers. Silverash can also hold most lines that don’t have heavy, high-damage enemies, especially if you have him at E1 with his second skill on (though you’ll probably never use it again once you have his S3).

A high leveled Healing Defender (I don’t see any on your list, but Gummy, Nearl and Saria are the prime examples) can sometimes hold a line without needing a Medic to back them up, giving you room for more DPS. Edit: Cardigan can sometimes do this, but you have to be extra careful since her skill has a relatively long cooldown for a self-heal.

That “1 guard” spot can often be filled with a DP-on-kill Vanguard, like Vigna. Like guards they tend to be very high damage, and since you get all the DP back when you retreat them they make great assassins, especially early in a stage (I’m looking at you, 4-7…)

As some side advice, once you get stuck on any story missions, I would make it a priority to farm materials to get as many operators promoted as you use on any regular basis. The second skill and trait that operators get on the first promotion is usually what makes that individual unique compared to others of their archetype, and so before then you’ll only get a feel for what that archetype is rather than that specific operator. While it might slow down your story progression a little bit in the short term, it’ll give you a lot more options to play around with when you’re having difficulty somewhere.

[KaiserV]

Here’s the basic team you need:
2 Anti-Air Snipers (Kroos and Jessica)
1 AoE Sniper (Get Shirayuki)
1 Single Target Caster (Amiya)
1 AoE Caster (Gitano would suffice for now)
2 Vanguards (Texas and Courier/Chaive)
1 Pure Defender (Beagle would suffice for now)
1 Healing Defender (Cardigan would suffice for now)
2 Medics (Shining is great, but try to get Perfumer or Ptilosis as the 2nd Medic)
2 Assassins (Melantha and Vigna)
1 Bait/Stall (Get Gravel)
1 Nuker (SilverAsh)
Utility Units (Shaw, Rope/Cliffheart, Orchid/Magallan)
Add’l DPS (Specter/Magallan)

Try to build these units to around E1L40 SL7, except your utility units, who will normally suffice at E0L1 SL4 (unless you need the extra level to make them survive from enemy attacks).

Magallan can act as replacement for Orchid, but she is not as reliable as a slower compared to the latter. Not to mention that her being a Summoner requires some game knowledge to make her shine. Although I listed her as a utility unit, she is a very good E2 priority as long as you know how to effectively utilize her.

For best ROI, E2 units who gains a very powerful S3 (like SilverAsh) and/or very helpful E2 talent (like Ptilosis). Specter is also a very high priority candidate for E2 since she gets additional block count at E2 as well as passive regen which can allow her to solo a low pressure lane on her own.

Lastly, before/while rushing to E2 SilverAsh, try to set up a 2-5-2 base as soon as you can. A well-built base will help you cover the LMD and EXP cost to promote your units.

[KaiserV]

As for playstyle, you may check my write-up on a team-building question a while back: I Need Help Team Building

I tried to explain the different roles of units in this game, and in the process, gave some insight on who should be deployed first and who should be deployed next. Lastly, a single overpowered unit cannot carry a very underleveled squad in most situations. Try to get them to around the same level, leveling your DPS first, then your Vanguards, then your tanks and your supports last (just like what the one above me said).

[Bakyura]

I’ve brought a new update, just wanted to say thanks for answering you’ve all been a great help, this is how they look now, still grinding mats to make them stronger

[BadWolfVindici]

Are you doing the event btw? Because it’s the last chance up to date to get the welfare. And since it’s a rerun of the first event that came to the game, level requirements aren’t that bad. You can manage to snatch yourself an interesting DP-on-kill vanguard.

[Bakyura]

got the first copy+1 token, dont know if i can get all(probably not) I spent all the bounty coins on materials and money(forgot what they were called)

[Dazz_Antoni]

Yeah, unless you’ve got some sanity potions saved up, are still going for some first time bonuses on some of the stages, or have about 2000 bounty coins sitting on you, you probably won’t be able to get all of her tokens. That said, it might be worth going for at least the third token to get a second DP cost down.
I started playing during the original event and didn’t get any of her potential tokens, and I ended up never using her because she has such high DP cost for a vanguard by default. Now that I’ve got her maxed potential and trying her out, she can be pretty cool–especially with that second skill at E1.
That said, while she’s interesting, I wouldn’t say she’s necessary. So if you’ve got everything else you want from the event and would rather be progressing through the story or other early-game stuff, it should be fine. Always make sure you’re having fun before all else

[Shainel]

i would max out the 3* operators first considering they’re all already decent to clear most if not all beginner maps from Episode 0 -3

For E2 Priorities i would suggest SilverAsh first considering it seems you don’t really have other ranged guards (do you have Midnight or Frostleaf? or Lappland or Ayerscarpe?)

Next you need an AOE Sniper like Shirayuki or Meteorite or Firewatch

Do you have supporters? Orchid, Istina, Earthspirit are the example

Specter is a fine AOE guard until you get Blaze

Perfumer is a really good Healer with global regen passives that bypasses Hellagur’s and Vulcan’s inability to be healed by operators until a better healer that carries the same passive arrives

[Bakyura]

for Aoe snipers I have shirayuki, still haven’t lvld her up though (mainly because I haven’t run into a situation that I need her lvld up, I assume that wouldn’t be the case in the future)

for supporters I have earth spirit and orchid, no one else

here’s what they look like rn

[Dazz_Antoni]

AoE snipers do see some good use mid- to late-game, and can be very handy once you’re working on Annihilation 3. It’ll be good to have one up once the rest of your team is around E1:40

The Slowing supporters are good on maps with heavy-hitting, slow-moving enemies so that you have a better chance of killing them before they start pounding on your Defenders. They can often be ignored (for story missions anyways) if you have well-leveled defenders and healers, if you prefer to just take the hits rather than avoid them. For high-end content like some high-risk CC runs though, a slower or two is essential. I would probably wait and see if you get any of the 5 or 6* supporters, but if you haven’t gotten any of them by the time the rest of your team is all set up, Earthspirit will do.

Put simply, at some point you will definitely want to have at least one of every archetype leveled to a useable point, but some are able to wait a bit longer than others.

On a related note, I imagine you’re probably at the point that Pushers (Shaw, FEater) and Puller (Rope, Cliffheart) specialists are being used every now and then. It’s important to get them to skill level 4, but they’re rarely in a position that they’ll be taking hits or that their damage will matter, so leveling them can be put off for a bit.

[Bakyura]

I’ve lvld up shaw’s skill to lvl 4 since I used it on chernobog anihilation(managed to clear 400/400)
as for other specialists haven’t touched them yet