Future Magi Review (Water 2 Stage)

Water Magi

キスラータカノン
Auros Cannon (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Materializes 3 spheres that automatically tracks the enemy and deals water damage
Stage 2: Materializes 6 larger acidic spheres, inflicts acidic burn on fire behemoths after the spheres disappear
❈Acidic burn works like burn on earth behemoths which deals damage over time scaling with behemoth's max HP

Comments:

This is our second 2 Stage water Magi, Auros Cannon. It is also the first water magi to inflict acidic burn, which is very useful for dealing with tanky fire behemoths.

The damage inflicted by just the spheres from Auros Cannon is actually significantly lower than Azure Torrent, a 2 stage magi that was released months ago. Even when including the acidic burn, the total damage from Auros Cannon is unable to surpass Azure Torrent's damage on level 600+ fire behemoths (assuming pre-rage and good passive magis). Additionally, it also takes Auros Cannon a long time to dish out all of its damage, with the acidic burn only activating after the spheres disappear. It is good to note that Auros Cannon actually does decent damage for a 2 stage magi (Azure Torrent was overpowered considering the time when it was released).

While Auros Cannon might seem to pale in comparison with Azure Torrent, it outshines Azure Torrent after rage, when magi damage is greatly diminished. The acidic burn effect also deals direct damage, which is useful against behemoths with dragon aegis. Lastly, it is a good idea to pull for Auros Cannon as the next 2 Stage water Magi is expected to be released 5 months after Auros Cannon.

*Technically a "future" magi since this magi is released tomorrow, haha

グレイシアメテオラ
Glacial Meteora (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Summons an ice block above the enemy to deal water damage, acidifies fire behemoths

Stage 2: Summons multiple ice blocks to deal massive water damage and staggers the behemoth as well

❈Acidic burn damage increases according to awakening level, up to the maximum of 50% (+10)

Comments:

This is our third 2 Stage water Magi and our second water magi that inflicts acidic burn. It is basically the water equivalent of this magi. Long range, fast cast, high burst damage, high damage-over-time (up to 50% more) and stagger utility makes it a top choice amongst water magis.

While it may not be as flexible as Azure Torrent without the elemental resistance reduction, it is the only water 2 stage magi with a stagger effect (other than Glacial Meteora, only this water hybrid magi staggers). In addition, its burst damage on fire behemoths is comparable to Azure Torrent's. With the upgradeable acidic burn damage added to the equation, Glacial Meteora is the highest damaging counter against fire behemoths.

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Future Magi Review (Dark 2 Stage)

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You can click on the Magi's Name to see the magi preview

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Dark Magi

カオスレギオ

Chaos Legio (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Spawns skeletons to deal dark damage

Stage 2: Summons a huge skull that swallows the enemy to deal dark damage, grants buff that nullifies and absorbs light damage for 10 seconds (like fire-ward) and lowers dark elemental resistance.

❈Invulnerability when casting

Comments:
There is a binding effect when the skeletons appear on cast, similar to Hade's Execution. However, Chaos Legio is far superior to the slow-cast Hade's Execution as the bind takes effect much faster and you are also invulnerable while casting the magi.

Chaos Legio is also the only dark elemental magi that decreases the enemy's dark elemental resistance. This effect makes Chaos Legio a very versatile magi choice as dark elemental weapons would be able to deal higher and more consistent damage against non-light behemoths, while also making quick work of light behemoths. This would be especially useful for beast tower for floors with varying elemental behemoths.

In addition, the invulnerability state while casting and the absorption of light damage for a short duration upon cast allows the user to ignore attacks while continuously dishing out damage. With the use of passive magis boosting magi charge rate such as darkness incarnations or Light and Dark Waltz, the invincible state against light behemoths can be maintained for a much larger proportion of time. As you get healed from damage taken while invincible, Chaos Legio is a huge step up compared to Schwartzlitter which merely nullifies the damage taken.

Overall, Chaos Legio is a top tier magi with many unique and powerful effects. The binding effect interrupts the behemoth, giving plenty of breathing space, the reduction in elemental resistance greatly increases damage and the short duration of invincibility gives an opportunity to spam attacks while healing from damage taken. However, the state of invincibility might be detrimental for weapon types requiring damage to be taken (burst SnS).

アギジオメテオラ

Aghigeo Meteora  (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Summon an energy sphere above enemy to deal dark damage, erodes light enemy

Stage 2: Summon multiple energy spheres and deal dark damage in a larger AOE, also stagger enemy

❈Erosion damage increase according to awakening, to the max +50% (+10)

Comments: 

This is the dark magi equivalent of this. Long range, fast cast, high damage, high damage-over-time and stagger utility makes this magi a great choice, especially against tanky light behemoths. It also outclasses Dragoon Lord Zenero for damage-over-time as erosion damage-over-time increases with awakening.

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Future Magi Review (Fire 2 stage)

Fire Magi

 ウェスタルメテオラ 

Vestal Meteora (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Summon a meteor above enemy to deal fire dmg, burn earth enemy

Stage 2: Summon multiple meteors and deal fire dmg in a larger AOE, also stagger enemy

❈Burn dmg increase according to awakening, to the max +50% (+10)

Comments: 

Vestal Meteora provides similar effects as Dahlia Ignis but is vastly superior in cast speed, burst damage and burn damage over time. Vestal Meteora is one of the fastest casting 2 stage magis, and staggers the behemoth upon the first hit. This makes it very valuable in interupting behemoths. The magi's damage also follows quickly shortly after the behemoth gets staggered, allowing all of its hits to land even against fast moving behemoths. In addition, Vestal Meteora also has a long range.

Vestal Meteora is the first 2 magis that deal more damage over time after awakening, up to 50% extra when fully awakened. With the recent update on awakening experience, using the same SS fodder will grant 10 times as much awakening experience. For the chart on awakening experience, click here. Dealing 2.25% of the behemoth's max HP per burn tick when fully awakened, Vestal Meteora quickly whittles down behemoths of any difficulty level.

Vestal Meteora's high burst damage, damage over time, fast cast, stagger utility and long range makes it a top choice amongst all fire magis.

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Future Magi Review (Lightning 2 stage)

Lightning Magi

 閃神破軍雷槌  

Heaven's Hammer Strike (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Takes out a large hammer and smash the ground to deal lightning dmg

Stage 2: Smash will stagger behemoth and throws 10 lightning at behemoth to deal lightning dmg and paralyze

Comments:
A huge step up from our first lightning 2 stage magi, Maalen Tempesta. Heaven's Hammer Strike does considerably higher damage and also provides additional utility like paralysis and staggers the behemoth. This magi is also alot more reliable as it does burst damage compared to damage over time from Maalen Tempesta, which relies on the behemoth not moving away from the tornados.

Staggering and paralysis is very useful for dealing with behemoths with tricky movesets and interrupts the behemoth while allowing you to land more hits. The paralysis effect from Thor's hammer is also very strong, being able to paralyse the behemoth back to back with multiple 2 stage casts. Unfortunately, the magi needs to be fully charged for the paralysis effects. Finally, this magi should only be casted safely or with stagger immunity due to its long cast time.

フィーバーディーバ 

 Dance Fever (2 Stage)

Stage 1: Summon lightning to dmg enemy

Stage 2: Summon a disco ball to dmg enemy, shock water enemies, grants lightning dmg +100% buff to allies for 20 sec

Comments: 

Instead of the paralysis effect found on many lightning magis, this magi has the shock effect instead, which does damage over time and staggers water behemoths repeatedly. For disrupting behemoths, shock is less effective as the behemoth can still move around and less flexible than paralysis as it only works on water behemoths. However, shock applies 100% of the time on water behemoths, which makes it a lot more consistent than paralysis which gets increasingly harder to apply after each use.

The 100% lightning dmg buff also applies on everyone in the party. Even though it is not as effective as Perendi's wrath or thunder cloak, it frees up the support slot for other defensive magis. Finally, while Dance Fever has a very long casting time, it appears to provide invincibility during the cast. 

Finally, Dance Fever does massive damage compared to its 2 stage predecessors. It is strongly recommended to upgrade and replacr previous 2 stage magis with Dance Fever as it will remain the best lightning magi for a long time after its release.

*English names and general effects of stage 1/2 obtained from Karyu's database

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Spear of Jigo Viras Series Magi Review - Part 3

Finally we have come to Escape Crown! Escape Crown is arguably the best magi this banner and also one of the best defensive support magi!

Escape Crown

Escape Crown prevents damage, restraints and gives immunity to all status effects up to 3 times.

Comments:

Preventing damage, restraints and giving immunity to status effects while able to move around, Escape Crown is the perfect marriage between Altair Sphere and Quad Aegis. Unfortunately, like Quad Aegis, you will be unable to charge Escape Crown while it is up. Thankfully, Escape Crown charges a little faster than Quad Aegis and Altair Sphere, needing 100 seconds of idle charge time.

Having a near instant cast and no damage cap per hit, Escape Crown's forte is in tanking hard-hitting behemoth ultimates. With a gradual shift to harder behemoths with more punishing movesets, Escape Crown fills that gap very nicely since defenses like Altair Sphere and Quad Aegis can get broken in a single hit. However, 3 hits is rather low and Escape Crown is less effective against fast hitting behemoths.

Here is a comparison between Escape Crown and other top tier defensive magi in a table format.

Overall Review of this Banner

4 Brand new magis this banner, Spear of Jigos Viras, Janus' Amulet, Reverse Grey and Escape Crown.

Spear of Jigos Viras is very niche and usually outclassed. Janus' Amulet is a good and flexible incarnation placeholder. Reverse Grey is interesting but usually inefficient. Escape Crown is a solid defensive support magi for difficult content.

Overall, this banner is excellent for newer players with lightning/earth sets and also important for those lacking a good defensive support magi. 

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Spear of Jigo Viras Series Magi Review - Part 2

Janus' Amulet

Janus' Amulet is a passive magi that gives 15% earth and lightning attack.

Comments:
Comparing with stances that provide 25% elemental attack and 200 elemental defense or incarnations with 20% elemental attack and 10% magi charge rate, the boost Janus' Amulet provides is significantly weaker than the other more optimal choices.

However, Janus' Amulet is more flexible as it gives both earth and lightning elemental attack. This makes it a solid placeholder magi for players lacking incarnations or stances. After all, 15% elemental attack is still far better than the physical attack on many passive magis, especially for weapons with high base elemental attack.

For more in-depth information on how % elemental attack works and how it compares to physical attack, click here (incarnations)

Reverse Grey

Reverse Grey is a support type magi that transfers its charge to the magi above it.

Comments:

Efficiency

Reverse Grey takes 200 seconds to charge and casts almost instantly. While it takes 200 seconds to charge, the amount of charge transferred is only 150* seconds of charge. When this magi is fully awakened, it costs 160 seconds to charge, which is still a little more than the charge it transfers.

Most magis take less than 150 seconds to charge and it would also be rare for the magi above Reverse Grey to charge in sync with it, resulting in a wastage of excess magi charge. In addition, it may not be wise to trade support charge for attack charge for players with multiple incarnation passives. (support magis charge slower compared to their rate boosted attack magis)

Survivability

As this magi charges the magi directly above it, this magi can play a very different role for different weapons. For weapons with a healing slot above their support slot, I do not recommend using Reverse Grey. There are many strong defensive support magis like quad aegis, altair sphere and escape crown. Not only do they charge faster than Reverse Grey, they can also provide additional utility like stagger immunity, extended max HP in the form of a shield and status effect immunity. These would would better complement the healing magi and improve survivability more than the ability to cast the same healing magi twice as often.

Damage & Attack slot utility

The support slot, being the most flexible magi slot, also has magis that increase damage, such as fury/cloak, which gives 180%/200% elemental damage and stagger immunity, which can be more effective than using Reverse Grey to supplement an attack magi for purely damage.

However, it does make sense to use Reverse Grey when:

1. Buff from cloak results in overkill (dealing with multiple weak behemoths)

2. Attack Magi has utility very beneficial and important to the fight

There are several scenarios where case 2 arises, such as wanting to control the behemoth with status effects like paralysis or freeze, or needing the burn/poison/shock from the attack magi when dealing with tanky behemoth.

Here's an example of controlling a Zangaleo with Cocytus Ice Barrage and Reverse Grey, taken from JP DP's twitter.


                                                                                                                                      Continue to Part 3

*Amount charged obtained from Karyu's Database

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Spear of Jigo Viras Series Magi Review - Part 1

Happy new year everyone! This is the first magi banner of 2019 and it contains 4 new magis! I shall be reviewing each magi and giving my overall evaluation on the banner!

Spear of Jigo Viras

Spear of Jigo Viras is an earth/lightning element, attack type magi that slams the ground with a dark trident, dealing both earth and lightning damage, inflicting poison and paralysis.

Spear of Jigo Viras	Damage	Charge speed	Cast speed	Utility	Overall
Rating	4	1	1.5	2.5	2.5

Damage: Damage dealt to the behemoth
Charge speed:  Rate at which the magi fills up
Cast speed: Time taken to cast magi, period of vulnerability
Utility: Additional effects, range of attack

Comments:
As a hybrid magi, it is no surprise I gave a 1/5 for its charge speed, as hybrid magis usually take 170 seconds of inactivity to charge. While Spear of Jigo Viras does deal high damage, it does not seem very impressive considering the time it takes to charge. It has a very long cast time which leaves plenty of room for the behemoth to interrupt. I would recommend preparing some form of stagger resistance or invulnerability while using it against an aggressive behemoth. Additionally, Spear of Jigo Viras has a good range of attack, but bow users should be wary as it does not seem to cover the entire map.

Spear of Jigo Viras seems utility packed on first glance. However, it is not very efficient in paralyzing nor inflicting poison. There are plenty of better alternatives when it comes to paralysis like Jupiter’s Descent/ Reaper’s Sentence. While there aren’t many choices for inflicting poison, Jack-o’-Lantern is a very strong option, having very high damage, charges and casts faster than Spear of Jigo Viras.

However, it is good to note that Spear of Jigo Viras finds a niche use against tanky water behemoths. Water behemoths are susceptible to both poison and paralysis. As a hybrid magi, you have the option of using a lightning set to deal more damage and paralyse the behemoth while also borrowing poison effect from the earth element to deal massive DoT which scales with the behemoth’s Max HP.

                                                                                                                                Click here for Part 2

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Deranged's Christmas Magi Series Review

Merry Christmas! With Christmas comes 2 new magis, Christmas Surprise and Merry Stompin’! This banner also comes with Champion's Vigor and Furious Flurry. Below shall by my analysis on the two new magis and my overall evaluation on the banner.

Christmas Surprise

Christmas Surprise is an earth element, attack type magi that summons a Christmas tree, which spins and does damage, whilst increasing the fatigue gauge of the behemoth.

Christmas Surprise	Damage	Charge speed	Cast speed	Utility	Overall
Rating	3/5	2/5	3/5	2/5	2.5/5

Damage: Damage dealt to the behemoth
Charge speed: Rate at which the magi fills up
Cast speed: Time taken to cast magi, period of vulnerability
Utility: Additional effects, range of attack

Comments:
This magi does decent damage for its charge speed. However, it takes a short while for the damage to sink in while the Christmas tree rotates, which fast moving behemoths might negate.

Additionally, it is a long-ranged magi, making it compatible with long-ranged weapons like bows.

While it increases the fatigue gauge of the behemoth, the increment is minimal and often insignificant. It also lacks the anti-paralysis effect or slow/weak effect that many other earth attack magis provide.

Merry Stompin’

Merry Stompin’ is a fire element, attack type magi that summons 3 giant socks that crashes on the enemy, inflicting burn damage on earth behemoths.

Merry Stompin'	Damage	Charge speed	Cast speed	Utility	Overall
Rating	3+1*/5	2/5	4/5	2/5	3/5

Damage: Damage dealt to the behemoth
Charge speed:  Rate at which the magi fills up
Cast speed: Time taken to cast magi, period of vulnerability
Utility: Additional effects, range of attack
*with burn damage

Comments:
This magi does decent damage and also inflicts the burn status on earth behemoths, being especially useful against high health behemoths. It also casts relatively quickly and is unlikely to be interrupted if used right.

Like Christmas Surprise, it is also a long-ranged magi and is compatible with all weapon types.

Overall Review of this Banner

The 2 new attack magis are weak-average with many superior alternatives for each element, such as Jack-O-Lantern Bomb/ Star of Baldr for earth and Heartstrike/ Eingram Star for fire. 

While Champion’s vigor is a decent magi for soul weapon types, there are also better alternatives like incarnations and stances. Additionally, soul weapon types have been mostly released, so it may not be suitable for newer players or players who do not have soul sets.

Furious flurry is an old magi with little use and is generally used as fodder for leveling other support magis. 

All in all, the banner has mediocre and weak magis, so its best to save your gems unless you wish to collect the seasonal exclusive magis (Christmas Surprise/ Merry Stompin')

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