Fate/Grand Order General

[Water Mage]

DW: Hypes up LB4
also DW: Puts up ANOTHER event before releasing LB4

Interesting how the star of the event is Jeanne Alter. It’s like they deliberately used one of the most popular Servants so the fans wouldn’t be pissed off.

[Alexmender]

Grinding for EXP/Bond for like 25 servants really takes a toll Stupid Darius and your 10k+ bond points to reach bond 2 but now I'm done with that.

Now the only thing left is the Interlewd fest to get the SQ for a last 10 roll.

Anyways, so JP is getting an Avenger (Endgame) event. It looks cool Jalter is being chuuni as always and it looks like a good time to get NP5 Salieri. Considering I'm NA exclusive that means I'll wait 2 years for it, and that banner would probably be a skip because Kama's banner wasn't that long ago.

[Jingle Jangle]

What are the changes that Jalter gets a strengthening to keep with the other offensive servants?

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

40 minutes ago, Jingle Jangle said:

What are the changes that Jalter gets a strengthening to keep with the other offensive servants?

huh?

 

I didnt hear about Jalter buff, only an event with her banner

 

 

Honestly they can't really make Jalter keep up with the meta without outright breaking her. She's still the best ST servant and ST servant havent been fantastic at all lately

[redlight]

Kind of funny how this new servant looks like Shinji

[Alexmender]

Welp, that last 10 roll didn't work so no choice but save for either New Years (yeah right, Eresh is going to empty my savings beforhand) or the CCC re-run. At least I got the Another Ending CE which will go pretty nicely on Saberlot and BB.

[Water Mage]

18 minutes ago, redlight said:

Kind of funny how this new servant looks like Shinji

Really? I don’t see it. I heard people comparing the two but I think it’s a bit of a stretch.

Changing the subject, your user picture reminded me: 

I got Melt today! On the very last day of the banner! Now I have both Melt and Lip! My girls are together at last! 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Water Mage

[redlight]

9 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

Really? I don’t see it. I heard people comparing the two but I think it’s a bit of a stretch.

Changing the subject, your user picture reminded me: 

I got Melt today! On the very last day of the banner! Now I have both Melt and Lip!

The hairstyle looks similar, but he's definitely no pseudo-servant. He might be Bartholomew Roberts, but he's from Wales. Then again, he might have gotten a tan from the area in which he spent his pirating days.

Damn. You've got me tempting to roll on SSRs with what I've seen on your support setup.

[Shiki]

As promised updates to my list according to the new Rank-Up Quests.

Changelog (02.06.19):

Spoiler

Renamed S-Tier to EX-Tier because it's Fate and stuff.

EDIT (02.06.19): Introduced a new tier, redistributing Servants accordingly

Euryale A -> EX

Fuuma Kotarou A -> B

Arash B -> A

Boudica C -> B

Charles-Henri Sanson D -> C

 

Spoiler

EX:

These Servants are the best of the best in the F2P pool. All of them can fit in many team compositions and will bring great results whenever they are deployed. Even if you already have a selection of SR or SSR Servants consider raising these Servants as they will serve you well and may even provide uses that you can't find elsewhere.

Mash Kyrielight

Spoiler

Mash has a strong focus on defense and support. Her entire skillset is designed to give her party longevity, starting from a basic party-wide defense buff to a Taunt skill and targetable Invulnerability. Adding to that her NP further reinforces the party's defense while providing a sizeable Atk buff after her ascension to a SR Servant. She is the only 0 cost Servant in the game and if you have struggles to be within your cost requirements, Mashu is always a great pick as a filler for the 6th spot and will be a great asset to have. Best kouhai indeed.

Robin Hood

Spoiler

Robin Hood is best known for his NP, Yew Bow. It has incredible scaling on its bonus effect, allowing him to reach staggering numbers on poisoned targets, especially if he gets a couple of Overcharges through NP chains. Aside from that he doesn't offer much utility besides a meager Atk debuff. If his Sabotage skill misses his NP won't deal a lot of damage which can be an issue against enemies with high Magic Resistance. Still, his NP makes him absolutely worth it and once he gets some dedicated support from his team, he is an unstoppable force.

Euryale

Spoiler

Euryale is an excellent Archer, capable of using her NP in quick succession of each other thanks to her great NP gain, Vampirism and Arts focus.
But she truly shines against male enemies. Between a Charm skill and her NP that also applies Charm she can lock them out indefinetly while quickly dispatching them with repeated NP usage. Even against normal enemies the Atk debuff will come in handy to prolong battles in your favour.
There aren't many faults with Euryale and being of the best anti-male Servants makes her a must-have in your roster.

Cu Chulainn (Stay Night)

Spoiler

Cu Chulainn, in contrast to his tendency for early deaths in other works, has ironically enough the best longevity in the game. He is nigh indestrucible thanks to Protection from Arrows and even has Battle Continuation for a potential fail-safe. Disengage rounds out his kit with a small heal and, more importantly, debuff removal on a short cooldown. His NP deals decent damage with an added defense debuff, an always welcome effect.
While Lancer doesn't have any outstanding traits elsewhere this makes him one of the best insurances for challenge quests, allowing you to win even if everyone else died.

Cu Chulainn (Prototype)

Spoiler

Compared to his FSN counterpart Proto Cu sacrifices some of the legendary longevity but still retains most of it through Protection from Arrows. In exchange he focuses more on Crits, giving him a more offensive purpose. Having a Gather Rate and sizeable Crit Dmg boost means he has no trouble to reliably land Crits though he will need someone who supplies him with the necessary Stars.
He has another niche as a Beast slayer but almost no Servant has that trait and it's mostly helpful against mobs like Chimeras. Still, it's a nice extra to have and something to keep in mind if you're fighting some non-Servant bosses that fall under that category.

Leonidas

Spoiler

Leonidas provides a rare utility that isn't commonly found in other Servants; the ability to tank. His Taunt skill only lasts 1 turn but provides a hefty buff to his NP Gain which in turn fuels his NP, the centerpiece of his tank role. This NP not only grants him another form of Taunt lasting 3 turns but a massive Def buff as well. Having this on a NP means that Leonidas can potentially loop it, allowing him to stack the defense buffs on it and become outright indestructible (just look up the Leonidas loop, it's a form of art). On top of that every use generates a great amount of Stars and coupled with his party-wide Buster buff he can double as an offensive support for any Buster-oriented Servant.
He is harder to use than Georgios in most teams but the reward he offers is arguably greater in the select teams that can use him at his full potential.

Georgios

Spoiler

Georgios is the traditional Tank between him and Leonidas. His skill, Guardian Knight, provides a 3 turn Taunt buff coupled with a strong Def buff on top of it. Backing this up are Battle Continuation and Martyr's Soul, providing Guts and a small heal respectively. Coupled with his good HP pool for a 2* Servant Georgios has no trouble to take hits for the party and being able live to tell the tale.
The trade-off comes from his underwhelming offense. He has very low Atk and his NP doesn't have an useful trait that would compensate the lack of strength. There is some meme potential with Siegfried, if you have him, but otherwise it is best to avoid using Georgios' card and focus solely on tanking with him.
Another issue arises with his class. Rider tend to draw Stars to themselves, meaning without appropriate skills or setup he will be an obstacle for teams around Crits.

Medea

Spoiler

Medea has the rare niche of being able to remove buffs with her NP. This makes her incredibly useful for certain fights in which Servants tend to spam their buffs, a common sight in high-level challenges. While her NP damage output is much lower compared to the average Servant she can use it far more often as a trade-off which compliments her niche very well and still allow her to decimate Assassins in short time. Her 3rd skill, Teachings of Circe, allows her to remove Debuffs from her team and gives anyone a sizeable buff to their NP gain, adding another valuable niche.
So all in all Medea caters towards niches that are highly useful for challenge quests and will be a huge asset to clear them.

Hans Christian Andersen

Spoiler

Hans is, simply put, the best F2P Support (that isn't Mash).
His greatest asset is his NP. While being chance-based is annoying it's still excellent due to providing 3 essential buffs that all Servants can profit from. With Rapid Casting giving him fast access to it this would already be enough to make him an excellent Servant.
But there's more. With a party-wide Crit Dmg buff and being able to generate Stars it's easy to build on that to enable Crit setups. That's a lot of advantages you get from a single Servant and the only true downside to him is his bad durability, especially when Innocent Monster is active.
There is very little reason to not raise Hans. Sure, the existence of Zhuge Liang or the other Support Casters do distract from him but

 

A:

This tier includes mostly Servants that are either outstanding in specific situation, can provide good support or have other defined roles that can be useful for more challenging content. They do have some smaller drawbacks but they are still reliable picks for most teams and it is recommended to have them around.

Gaius Julius Caesar

Spoiler

Caesar features several offensive party buffs to improve the party's offense. Between Charisma and a targetable Crit buff he can raise your party's offensive a sizeable amount. His ST NP is capable of dealing a good amount of damage, too, if you require such uses. He doesn't have any particular weakness aside from lacking a skill for hard survival which ultimately doesn't hamper his utility that much.
Always a good choice for a generalist Saber, be it for damage or Support.

Bedivere

Spoiler

Bedivere is the strongest 3* Saber that a F2P player has access to. He has strong base stats and a very powerful NP that can rip enemies to shreds. While his skills do not seem impressive they support his NP usage and Oath of Protection in particular can be a very useful tool if used in conjunction with other defense buffs to block out all damage.
Keep in mind that he is story-locked so unless you spent Saint Quartz/Tickets on his rate-ups his damage output will be limited due to being stuck with NP1. Nevertheless an excellent Servant you get from clearing Camelot.

David

Spoiler

David leans towards Support, having Charisma and the highly-valued Harp of Healing which grants the entire party a 1 time Evade. Besides his support capabilites he has a really good Atk stat and his NP has some rare uses in form of Skill Seal. Unfortunately his deck doesn't match with his NP rendering him unable to perform Buster chains with it, limiting his overall damage output.
Still, David is a very strong Servant with many strengths, making him a worthwhile investment.

Billy the Kid

Spoiler

Billy the Kid probably wrote the book on Critical hits. He gets the highest Crit Dmg multiplier in the game, allowing him to reach outrageous numbers once he gets some Stars on his cards. If that doesn't do the job he can fire off his NP which he has fast access to thanks to his Quick Draw skill. The only problem is that he is not able to provide the necessary Stars by himself and his best buff only lasts a single turn, leaving him rather wanting during the cooldown.
Nonetheless he is a force to be reckon with and shouldn't be ignored.

Arash

Spoiler

Arash is an unique Servant, literally killing himself when he uses his NP. This might seem an odd if not detrimental niche to have but it's very much worth it.
One, his NP damage is deceptively powerful. He rivals even 5* Servants and with a NP battery in tow he is a very cheap but effective method to clear out a wave.
Second, him leaving the frontline means another Servant can take his place. This can open up a variety of plays like allowing another Servant to pile up another batch of buffs or filling up an NP gauge. It also solves his problem being a 1* Servant, not sticking around to become deadweight after using his NP.
With him being a 1* Servant Arash can easily fit in any team, being a very efficient option for almost any content in the game.

Jaguar Warrior

Spoiler

Don't let her looks fool you; Jaguar Warrior is capable of unspeakable devastation and another superb free Servant. ... provided you can play to her strengths.
Her NP damage output is really good, no small thanks to Jaguar Punch which adds a 2-time Evasion buff and doubles as an Intuition skill. Speaking of which this pairs well with Jaguar Eye that allows her to setup a Crit chain with ease.
The biggest problem lies in her unreasonably long cooldown of her 1st skill and reliance on Forest maps. Jaguar Punch's 10-turn cooldown cannot be offset by the Evasion buff alone and locks her out one of her Buster buff for a long time. Her other problem causes her to lose her Crit setup and being a map-related condition makes it rather hard to see consistent use of it.
Nonetheless Taiga is still a very strong choice for a Lancer and can be valuable in most situations while being outstanding in battles with forests.

Ushiwakamaru

Spoiler

Ushiwakamaru is similar to Caesar having multiple party-wide buffs in her disposal. What sets her apart from him is the access to an Evade skill and the stupidly high multiplier on her NP, allowing her to outright delete Casters from the game and stomp most bosses.
She is another well-rounded Servant, having a good balance of offense, Support and survivability without having any drawbacks.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Spoiler

Mozart only exists for 1 purpose; Arts Crit support. For 1 turn. That's pretty much it. His stats are bad, his NP doesn't do any damage and Artistic Aesthetic might be the worst skill to have in the game. Yet he excels in his speciality like no other. Protection of Muse offers a strong Arts boost for the entire party and his NP applies respectable debuffs if a bit unreliable akin to Hans. His 3rd skill, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, pratically guarantees that every card will crit, regardless of what Servant it belongs to.
While you have to be a bit mindful how you use him, Mozart offers incredible burst potential for an Arts team that can use his talents. Especially with the Combat Suit there are some interesting plays you can pull off.

Lu Bu Fengxian

Spoiler

Lu Bu is often dubbed as discount Heracles and rightfully so (it's a compliment). He has the highest attack of any 3* Servant and features 3 Buster cards alongside a ST Buster NP that can reach outrageous numbers with his buffs. He has no trouble to tear enemies apart and will do it faster than most other Servants. However, he is quite frail and his defense buff alone isn't sufficient enough to keep him alive, meaning he requires support for prolonged battles.

Asterios

Spoiler

Asterios is an unique Berserker. His NP doesn't deal any damage but instead provides hefty debuffs on all of your enemies which lasts double the turns than most effects in the game. This can be exploited to make the enemy deal zero damage permanently while taking double the damage from your party. His skills are solid as well, with Natural Demon providing him some sustainability which he appreciates as a Berserker and Monstrous Strength is a solid Atk boost. Labrys of the Abyss allows him to deal significant damage with his Buster Brave Chains, especially if he crits, making up his lack of a damage-dealing NP.
But he is heavily dependent on Grails to do all of this. His low stats as a 1* Servant makes it hard for him to perform reliably without them as even a single crit might spell death for him. If you don't mind spending your Grails (especially if you're not interested in reaching lvl. 100 with your Servants), he will be able to impress in many challenging fights but if you don't you might find yourself wanting for someone else.

 

B:

Servants from B-Tier are solid but most of them aren't performing well enough to be viable for harder content. Instead most of this tier excels at farming, being able to clear out waves quite efficiently. This is still an important utility as most fights have several waves of mobs to clear before you face the real challenge, so you shouldn't neglect these options.
Some others have niches that aren't common enough to warrant a higher placement.

Gilgamesh (Kid Gil)

Spoiler

Kid Gil has some solid skills to his disposal, including Charisma at its highest level. This gives him some value as offensive Support but he further backs it up with his good base stats. The only downside to him is his NP which side effects are too mediocre to compensate the lack of damage. That makes him mediocre in comparision to other 3* Archers and you probably won't find much use for him outside of farming.

Medusa

Spoiler

Among the B-Tier Servants Medusa follows the definition to the letter. Aside from her Stun skill she doesn't have anything that helps her during challenge quests which limits her usefulness in them. Instead she focuses on spamming her NP over and over again with the help of Blood Fort Andromeda that charges her NP and increases NP gain by a decent amount.
If you need someone cheap for Door farming she is the best choice for that purpose.

Boudica

Spoiler

Boudica tries to be a Support Servant in the Rider class. That already proves to be difficult as they tend to take all the Stars away from their party members but most of her skills do no cater to her role at all. Her 1st skill is so specific that it might as well not matter and Battle Continuation only benefits her as a means of survival.
Despite this her NP makes up a lot of her faults. Similarly to Hans she provides buffs to Atk & Def and they will always apply. It also adds an additional Def buff for a single turn which can be used to block out damage through stacking other Def buffs on top of it. Her 3rd skill is a nice bonus to have and helps her to be more appealing for Arts-based Servants.
While she is inferior to other Support options Boudica has some merit being a more robust choice overall but her flaws limit her usefulness for general usage.

Alexander

Spoiler

Similar to Medusa Alexander has an AoE NP but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Omen of the Conqueror coupled with Charisma makes him valuable for Quick Servants, making him a decent choice to support Quick teams. If you are using such teams it might be worthwhile to have him and his buffs around.

William Shakespeare

Spoiler

The famous playwright is a welcome sight for any Berserker or other Buster-oriented Servant. Between his sizeable party-wide Buster buff and targetable NP battery skill he can provide good Support to a Buster team and even live to repeat that tale thanks to Self-Preservation.
However, his low stats and atrocious NP hold him back, so he is only useful for those specific teams and his utility only lasts for a single turn, making him rather useless if his skills are on cooldown.

Hassan of the Hundred Personas

Spoiler

Hundred Personas are in a strange place. Despite being Arts-based they are pretty good at generating Stars thanks to Librarian of Knowledge and a high rank in Presence Concealment. Their NP Gain seem lacklustre at first but it is actually pretty good when their skill is active and their NP has a high hit count, granting a good amount of refund after each use.
But their damage output is inconsistent due to their chance-based 2nd skill and their NP doesn't have an useful effect to make it useful outside of dealing damage. The 3rd skill can be situationally useful but most of the time you don't want to use it because removing your buffs is never a good idea.
Despite their lack of damage they are still the best pick for a F2P Arts Assassin and will get better in the future.

Fuuma Kotarou

Spoiler

Fuuma is another excellent Support Servant combining many different niches. His ability to produce Stars is only 2nd to Jack, making it one of the highest in the game. Between that and his Ninjutsu skill Kotaro can provide a substantial amount of stars and survivability to a party at the same time. Paranoia is another excellent skill, practically guaranteeing that your debuffs will stick.
His overall damage output is pretty weak though but his utility makes up for it and especially for Crit teams he will not disappoint in supplying his party with Stars. Still without a Servant that can capitalize on his 3rd skill he can be a bit situational.

Hassan of the Cursed Arm

Spoiler

True Assassin was dubbed as the king of Crit Stars before the release of Fuuma. Similar to Cu Hassan has a broken defensive skill in form of "Protection from Winds", giving him great sustain and bolsters his Crit Star Drop Rate to a level where only few can hope to match him. The downside of using CA Hassan is his low Atk and mediocre NP, making him unsuitable as your primary damage dealer, even with accounting Self-Modification.

Sasaki Kojirou

Spoiler

While Kojiro lacks the ability to generate a lot of Stars using his cards, his NP and Vitrify generate great amounts of them at once, meaning you are less reliant on using his cards to a steady Star supply. He is no slouch as a fighter, however, possessing an incredible skillset for that purpose though he is held back by his low stats as a 1* Servant. He requires Grails to fully realize his role as a damage dealer and compared to other options like Asterios this is a less appealing due to the low base Atk multiplier Assassins have.

Spartacus

Spoiler

Spartacus is one of the best choices for a cheap farming Servant. While he is a 1* Servant with terribly distributed stats he compensates his weakness with a sizeable Buster buff from both his EX Rank in Madness Enhancement and 3rd skill. He also has a NP charge skill that allows him to bypass the common Berserker problem of having bad NP gain, giving him instant access to it if coupled with an appropriate CE and Support. Aside from that his entire kit is focused in keeping him alive with healing though you shouldn't rely on it alone for survival.

 

C:

Servants from C-Tier are mediocre, usually having a superior alternative.

Fergus Mac Róich

Spoiler

Fergus is a Saber that essentially copied Lu Bu and learned a thing or two about surviving battles. Compared to him he trades damage for better durability, having Mind's Eye to dodge NPs and lacking the Berserker class, taking only regular damage from most sources which plays well with his Defiant skill. While he performs quite decently in a vacuum he pales in comparision to Caesar and Bedivere who can not only provide some support to the team but also have ST NPs to deal better with tougher enemies. He doesn't have any outstanding traits, his entire kit is pretty basic and while his NP has a nice Def debuff, the sheer amount of AoE Sabers in the higher rarities makes him rather forgettable.

Tawara Touta

Spoiler

Touta is weird. Based on his skills alone one might think he would be an excellent Archer but his poor stats and bad NP hold him back a lot. Especially the latter is disappointing, giving him only bonus damage against Demon-type enemies which isn't a common trait. He is still serviceable enough but compared to the other Archers he is not amazing and Kid Gil or Arash are generally better for farming purposes if you're looking for an AoE NP.

Romulus

Spoiler

Romulus is unimpressive. While Imperial Privilege is a nice skill to have it is unreliable by itself and requires a source of Buff Success Rate to make it work. Seven Hills while being a good targetable buff suffers from an insufferably long cooldown. His NP is also mediocre, only giving your entiry party a small Atk boost.
For all intents and purposes Hektor is the superior choice for an AoE Lancer, unless you use Ozymandias to guarantee the success of Imperial Privilege. Even with that ind mind Romulus lacks a niche to distinguish himself and is largely overshadowed by other 3* Lancers.

Hektor

Spoiler

Hektor has an AoE NP that can apply a sizeable defense debuff on top of being able to ignore defense buffs. That's about it, really. Proof of Friendship can be used as a failsafe with its NP drain and Stun chance but it isn't exaclty reliable. Disengage isn't that useful for him as he lacks other skills to pair it up with.
He is overall unimpressive outside of farming but among the 3* Lancers he is the most reliable choice for that purpose.

Edward Teach

Spoiler

Blackbeard might seem underwhelming when Medusa and Alexander exist but he has several buffs to offset his low stats, reaching similar damage values for a cheaper deployment cost. That being said he is still a 2* Servant so he doesn't do much besides using his NP.

Cú Chulainn (Caster)

Spoiler

Caster Cu has Protection from Arrows which he shares with his Lancer counterparts, giving him a lot of sustainability. However his AoE NP is very weak and none of his skills boost his NP. It doesn't help that he is story-locked meaning it is not possible to raise his NP levels without spending Saint Quartz.
He is durable than his peers but the lack of any other qualities makes him overall an undesirable choice though he has the advantage of a NP battery over his competition.

Mephistopheles

Spoiler

Mephisto is a Servant with an unique use and doesn't offer much else. Buff prevention is a very rare debuff to carry and can make certain challenge quests much easier. Beyond that his skills are all over the place, having little synergy between them and it results him lacking a meaningful purpose outside of his 3rd skill. His NP is also disappointing, lacking in damage due to the absence of a damage buff on his kit further taking away from usefulness.

Charles Babbage

Spoiler

Babbage is generally known for having the worst Atk of all 3* Servants and he is even comparable to his 2* peers. That being said he is pretty adept at using his NP. Between solid NP gain and several buffs he can be a decent choice to deal with multiple Assassins as class advantage tends to cover up his faults. But outside of that there are so many better options to choose from.

Paracelsus von Hohenheim

Spoiler

Paracelsus has some Support utility with his Arts buff and targetable Guts skill but he is held back by his lower-than-average multipler on his NP. It's so bad that he has some trouble to clear out Assassins with it and that's already a red flag. Combined with the long cooldown on all of his skills he is simply not good enough and usually there are better options than him in all of his niches.

Jing Ke

Spoiler

Jing Ke has good offensive stats for an Assassin and a strong ST NP to match it with.. Among the 3* or lower Assassins she has the highest NP damage output which can make her useful against high HP Rider enemies. However she suffers from low hit counts which conflicts heavily with the usual role for Assassins of producing Stars for your team and due to the class' low damage multiplier she performs worse against enemies with neutral affinity.

Hassan of Serenity

Spoiler

Serenity is similar to Hundred Personas that she is an Arts-based Assassin. Compared to them she focuses more on stalling out enemy Servants. Her NP applies several effects including a NP seal that can reliably stick on an enemy thanks to her 3rd skill. She also has an NP drain but if suffers from having a longer-than-average cooldown compared to similar skills.
Besides that she shares the same problem as her brethrens. Her damage output is underwhelming, especially since she lacks any kind of damage boost for her NP and her focus on Instant Death might as well be useless due to its unreliable nature. Coupled with underwhelming Star gen Serenity is a very mediocre Assassin.

Darius III

Spoiler

Darius has nothing special about him besides his NP. In theory Golden Rule should give him fast access to it but being a Berserker with 3 Buster cards destroys any hope him being able to build up his gauge. His other skills do not help him in that regard or are unable to fix his inherent durability problems as a Berserker.
He is the definition of mediocrity and can't really distinguish himself.

Kiyohime

Spoiler

Kiyohime is a strange Berserker because she forsakes her Atk stat for more HP. Needless to say this is not a good trade for someone in her class. Nonetheless her NP deals solid amounts of damage once her 3rd skill is accounted for and even has a chance to stun an entire enemy wave. Thanks to Morph and her aforementiond HP pool she is not as frail as other Berserkers and her "Stalking" skill can be used to soften up tougher targets but one should be mindful of the demerit.

Eric Bloodaxe

Spoiler

In a similar vein to Kiyohime Eric has some uses as a debuffer thanks to Support Spell which applies a massive defense debuff, coupled with a decent Atk debuff as a nice bonus. There aren't even repercussions for using it. However his low stats hold him back and his NP is literally suicidal which doesn't bode well for his overall performance in longer fights.

 

D:

D-Tier inhabits Servants that are overall underwhelming. If you're comtemplating about using those you should probably look elsewhere in the higher tiers first. Some of them have redeeming qualities but most of the time it doesn't outweight their negatives.

Gilles de Rais (Saber)

Spoiler

Looking at Gilles; this man doesn't make any sense, does he? His NP is detrimental to use because it provides a long lasting defense debuff that will get him killed in a fight. He has two skills that increase his NP damage but his NP doesn't deal any damage in the first place. He is only saved by the fact that his 3rd skill gives him a virtually permanent boost to his Buster cards, allowing him to deal some hefty damage with them and he can boost them even further with his questionable NP.
But you are still better off looking for other Sabers. Gilles is never a good choice and requires heavy team building around him to make him remotely useable.

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne

Spoiler

Diarmuid is really bad. Not only does he suffer from really awful stats but his skills are equally terrible. Debuffing only females for a single turn doesn't help him to carve out a niche against them and his low hit counts makes the Star generation buff from Knight's Strategy meaningless. His only redeeming quality is the buff removal on his NP which can situationally be useful but others perform in that niche far better than him due to not being hold back by bad NP gain.
Unless you like him you shouldn't use Diarmuid over the other Lancers.

Henry Jekyll & Hyde

Spoiler

Jekyll can't utilize his full potential due to his gimmick. Said gimmick robs him of an useful NP and his deck doesn't even allow him to perform Buster Brave Chains, limiting his overall damage output a lot. It doesn't help that his Berserker form can't really use the Crit Dmg buff from his 3rd skill due to his low innate Star weight, further gimping his offense. His Assassin form is faring even worse, having only downgraded skills and his interals hardly resemble an Assassin to begin with.
There are just much better and easier-to-use options if you want a Berserker.

Charles-Henri Sanson

Spoiler

Sanson is not a good Assassin. He has low hitcounts, bad stats and his 3rd skill is very limited in applications because it doesn't include Servants.
That being said he has a pretty good NP that inflicts a strong Def debuff and it will deal respectable damage against Evil Servants. He also has a targetable Heal with a Debuff cleanse, giving another, albeit small, niche.

Mata Hari

Spoiler

Mata Hari is mostly limited to being a huge damage amplifier against male enemies. She can inflict a Def debuff up to 60% to a single target and 40% for all other enemies which is a major damage boost for your other Servants.
Outside of that she is utterly worthless as her base stats are atrocious and her entire kit is tailored for that singular purpose, making her only viable against male-centric fights. 

Caligula

Spoiler

Caligula offers a lot of damage potential but ultimately is too unreliable to use. While all of his skills give him a massive damage increase they have severe demerits to them. Imperial Privilege is always a gamble without the use of Ozymandias or other Buff Sucess Rate skills and Sadist gives him a hefty Defense debuff which makes him even more frail. He also has the worst NP in the game. It deals no damage and none of its effects actually compensate this huge flaw.

 

E:

Let's keep it simple. Don't bother with these. They are the worst Servants in the game and no amount of effort will make them salvageable. If you still want to torture yourself with these, be free to do so.

Musashibou Benkei

Geronimo

The Phantom of the Opera

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Magus of Memery

[Magical Glace]

Man, the wait on a Diarmuid Lancer buff is so frustrating...

He needs help so badly.  His third skill is useless, and his second is insanely situational.  His hitcounts are awful, and the only thing carrying his damage is interluded NP.

FIX HIM ALREADY DW!  MY 10/10/10 LEVEL 80 DIARMUID IS WAITING!  HE'S A GOOD BOY, PLEASE GIVE HIM SOMETHING...

[Silverly]

@Magus of Memery What about COOOOOOOL Gilles? Or... did you omit him because he requires no explanation lol?

[Magical Glace]

2 minutes ago, Silverly said:

@Magus of Memery What about COOOOOOOL Gilles? Or... did you omit him because he requires no explanation lol?

Probably because he's not really FTP.  Story locked and never given for free.

[Shiki]

23 minutes ago, Glaceon Mage said:

Man, the wait on a Diarmuid Lancer buff is so frustrating...

He needs help so badly.  His third skill is useless, and his second is insanely situational.  His hitcounts are awful, and the only thing carrying his damage is interluded NP.

FIX HIM ALREADY DW!  MY 10/10/10 LEVEL 80 DIARMUID IS WAITING!  HE'S A GOOD BOY, PLEASE GIVE HIM SOMETHING...

I dunno about you but fixing Diarmuid is going to take more than a single Strengthening Quest.
Just find solace in Saber Diarmuid (who is actually good).

@Alexmender
RIP. So I guess you're betraying Musashi then?

2 minutes ago, Silverly said:

@Magus of Memery What about COOOOOOOL Gilles? Or... did you omit him because he requires no explanation lol?

Didn't I say something about this but I guess I can answer this once more:
Is Caster Gilles F2P?
*sees the story lock*
*glances at Caster Cu, Bedivere, Taiga*
I don't think so, no.

Looking at the Rank-Up Quest I just realized that I have to ask @JSND Alter Dragon Boner a question:
Dragon Boner?

 

[Silverly]

4 minutes ago, Magus of Memery said:

Didn't I say something about this but I guess I can answer this once more:
Is Caster Gilles F2P?
*sees the story lock*
*glances at Caster Cu, Bedivere, Taiga*
I don't think so, no.

I wasn’t aware there was a high emphasis on f2p so that explains it. Still feels weird to exclude a single servant  for that but it’s not my list. :P

Edited May 15, 2019 by Silverly

[Magical Glace]

1 minute ago, Magus of Memery said:

I dunno about you but fixing Diarmuid is going to take more than a single Strengthening Quest.
Just find solace in Saber Diarmuid (who is actually good).

I'd say he needs two, probably.  First one to make Knight's Strategy not completely worthless (a Quick buff at minimum, but something like Musashi's first skill would be amazing).  Second to make Love Spot less niche, maybe by throwing a second debuff on it (like a defense down) or throwing in a buff for female allies.  

[Alexmender]

12 minutes ago, Magus of Memery said:

@Alexmender
RIP. So I guess you're betraying Musashi then?

I wouldn't say betrayal, it's just a banner rescheduling. I need to keep the Rin face collection going

Right now I'm at 0 and I don't think I'll have enough quartz/tickets to comfortably summon on the Shimosa banner so I'll probably go Christmas->New Years.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

4 hours ago, Magus of Memery said:

I dunno about you but fixing Diarmuid is going to take more than a single Strengthening Quest.
Just find solace in Saber Diarmuid (who is actually good).

@Alexmender
RIP. So I guess you're betraying Musashi then?

Didn't I say something about this but I guess I can answer this once more:
Is Caster Gilles F2P?
*sees the story lock*
*glances at Caster Cu, Bedivere, Taiga*
I don't think so, no.

Looking at the Rank-Up Quest I just realized that I have to ask @JSND Alter Dragon Boner a question:
Dragon Boner?

 

NP4 GANG REPORTING

[Sire]

Ishtar Rate-Up, so you know that that means!

* * * * *

For reference, this were my attempts before this banner.
-- [Reference Data] Sire's Summoning Ishtar Attempts: 128 (~28 Tickets, ~ 271 Quartz)

Got the Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and Illya's 4* CEs in a single pull, which was pretty cool. Doesn't actually help me any though...
Got a NP3 Tamamo Cat.
...Got Stheno, who may become a Rare Prism (I have one already).
Got Beowulf, who is new.
...
...
Still no Ishtar, and I didn't even get a 5-Star CE. All my saved Quartz and Tickets have been spent. Then to think I only started getting the 4* Servants after 50 summons in...

If I recall correctly, the entire attempts for Ishtar haven't netted me a 5* character at all. I don't remember if I got 4* Heroes or a 5* CE on the last round, but it seems Ishtar just brings me bad luck.

[New Totals] Sire's Summoning Ishtar Attempts: 204 (~37 Tickets, ~ 472 Quartz)
-- 9 Tickets (9 Attempts)
-- 180 Quartz (60 Attempts)
-- 21 Quartz (7 Attempts)

* * * * *

I'm a sad man now. At least I got a new SSD to replace my failing HDD, so my laptop works again. I could blitz through EoR 1 for the Quartz and Story and do the usual Interlude and Rank Up quest clears, but I remember last time I tried clearing out Camelot and how my efforts were "rewarded." RNG is RNG, I suppose.

rateup is a lie. patience is not rewarded. ishtarwhyyounocomehome.

[EDITED New Totals] Sire's Summoning Ishtar Attempts: 208 (~38 Tickets, ~ 481 Quartz)

Edited May 17, 2019 by Sire

[Silverly]

Welp, good news and bad news.

Bad news is I didn’t get Rin, not even with nearly 500 quartz. Huge bummer and another bust to add alongside Okita Souji. At least I get another chance this November, but it’ll be do or die then since she’ll not get another rate up from then on. 

Good news (at least for me) is I got not one, not two, but three copies of Gorgon and Medulily. I’m aware both aren’t thought highly of, but as a fan of Medusa I’m pretty happy that I got so many copies. Especially the former because she’s storylocked. Finally someone to replace Cu on the my support list. There was Lobo who came out of nowhere. Okay. I also got my first copies of Prisma Cosmos, Heavens Feel, and Before Awakening as well as a fair number of extra copies of SSR CEs such as Black Grail, Devilish Bodshiva, Limited Zero and a couple others. Formal Craft and Kaleidoscope evade me still which bums me out, but 500 Year Obsession can continue to fuck off. Even better, no Stheno! 

All in all, disappointing that I failed to get my target, but I’m pleased with the consolation for what it’s worth. 

@Sire Oof, guess that makes two of us, though from what it looks like you ended up way worse than I did. My condolences. :(

Edited May 16, 2019 by Silverly

[Sire]

Decided to go back into the past and check on my previous Ishtar rolls. Probably wasn't a good idea. For reference, I quoted my posts in the spoiler below.

Spoiler

On 12/5/2018 at 10:28 PM, Sire said:

Congrats on all the people who got what they wanted from Jeanne d'Arc Santa Lily, be it from the gacha or farming presents.

For boxes, I finished 21 with some leftover on 22. I got burnt out early, but that may be because I did not have a 3 turn setup available (or never figured one out).

For the gacha, I decided to try getting some Quartz from leftover singularity quests (Camelot), as well as some from interludes. The following are my results:

  Hide contents

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Total Summons: 95 (~25 Tickets, ~210 Quartz)
- No Ishtar
- No 4* Servant
- 1 Moment of False Tranquility (5* CE)
- 5 Christmas Wavers (Yay!...)
- "x" Georgios Invitations

So... yeah. My last summon gave me the last Christmas Waver CE as a consolation prize.

What really sucked was putting in the effort to clear out Camelot again for Quartz, only to get basically nothing. RNG is RNG, I suppose. Maybe this failure is due to me getting Rama in October while I got Scathach and Lancelot in November...

Now I will cry in a corner. Good day sir.

 

On 1/4/2019 at 10:43 PM, Sire said:

Ishtar's up again, so of course I have to give it another try. 3 Tickets and my leftover 49 Quartz did not grant me an Ishtar, but I did get 2 First Sunrise CEs (+15% Buster, 40% Starting NP Charge). Starry Nights in December of this year is probably better, but it's something.

I'm gonna keep track of how many tries it takes for me to summon Ishtar. This also counts my attempts at summoning her before Babylonia.

Sire's Summoning Ishtar Attempts: 124 (~28 Tickets, ~ 259 Quartz)
* * * * * * * * * *
I'm probably going to be Quartz-drained in January trying to get Ishtar and King Hassan. February I may try a 10-roll or two for MHX (Alter), but after that I need to start saving Quartz for Ishtar in May. Should that fail, I'm probably screwed since there's plenty of desired Servants coming in the 2nd half of the year.

Watch as I roll Ishtar somehow before her banner expires by doing Interludes and Rank Up Quests.

* * * * * Edit * * * * *

Welp, it's official. I'm gonna have to play the long game and try to save up Quartz. All currently available f2P Quartz (Interludes, Rank Ups, and Free Quests) have been spent. I think Ishtar has been the most draining for me, and it still sorta sucks that I haven't summoned her.

At least there's another chance later in the year. However, I'll likely be running on empty due to King Hassan appearing soon. March and April will likely be the only safe months before May as I would like to try for MHX Alter. Maybe by then fortune will smile upon me and I be able to whale and obtain all the Mapo Tofus. Spend responsibility, folks!

[Updated] Sire's Summoning Ishtar Attempts: 128 (~28 Tickets, ~ 271 Quartz)

Yeah, I got screwed on the Ishtar banners. No 4* Servants in the first or second batch, although I did get some 5* CEs here and there. No 5* Servant at all though.

Thing is, I did a get 5* character beforehand (Scathach before Ishtar's first summon, Melt before Ishtar's third summon [the current one]). While I did really want Scathach, Melt was more of a bonus because of how she was portrayed in the story.

Given how Ishtar is avoiding me, I'm sure Eresh and King Hassan will end up avoiding me as well. I don't know if I'll try to save up for Merlin or not either...

[Silverly]

Holy cow that is awful. You weren’t kidding when you said you came out empty handed. Hopefully you don’t get burned once more when she comes back near the end of the year and myself for that matter. Plus we get more tickets, so there’s still a chance.

After this, it’s pretty much waiting until summer since I don’t care for anyone on Rashomon, Onigashima, or Agartha (lul). 

[Water Mage]

I think I’m gonna save my summon tickets for Tamano. She’s getting two days of rate up in the Kintoki Rider event isn’t she? And another during the Shinoma debut, so I got plenty of chances for her this year.

 

[YotsuMaboroshi]

1 hour ago, Water Mage said:

I think I’m gonna save my summon tickets for Tamano. She’s getting two days of rate up in the Kintoki Rider event isn’t she? And another during the Shinoma debut, so I got plenty of chances for her this year.

 

Tamamo isn't part of Shimosa.  Her next rate-up after Onigashima is the New Year banner (or Thanksgiving, depending on how they handle Thanksgiving this year).

[Water Mage]

1 hour ago, YotsuMaboroshi said:

Tamamo isn't part of Shimosa.  Her next rate-up after Onigashima is the New Year banner (or Thanksgiving, depending on how they handle Thanksgiving this year).

 Dammit, really? Gonna have to try my luck with Onigashima then.

[YotsuMaboroshi]

20 minutes ago, Water Mage said:

 Dammit, really? Gonna have to try my luck with Onigashima then.

You may have somehow gotten Tamamo and Raikou mixed up, as Raikou is the only 5* servant on both Onigashima and Shimosa.  For the other two 5*s, Shuten's rate up is Rashomon, not Onigashima, and Musashi was our New Year servant this year.  Koutarou is a rate up for both, but he's only a 3*, and all other servants on the Shimosa banners are new.

I assume there's something else you want around New Year's though, as the extra 2-3 months of saving might be helpful otherwise.