Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Mudrock and Surtr

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

Probably.

Mudrock and Surtr are two of the best Operators you could have on a Standard banner, as both possess extremely reliable safety measures and massively over-the-top damage. With Abyss Corrosion already underway and a brief breather before our next limited banner, now is not a bad time to put some resources into getting one of these amazing 6★s if you don’t already have them. (Especially Surtr, who will be appearing in the shop.)

As with all banners, a 5★ or higher Operator is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Should you pull for that? Probably not. Broca is underrated and Kafka is quite unique, but neither is a must-have, and Aurora is not very good (especially on a banner without any other Chill-inflicting units).

Enmity/ Juggernaut Defender

+ Has very high base HP and ATK

+ Talent generates “shield charges” over time; each shield automatically negates one instance of damage and heals Mudrock for a percentage of her max HP when triggered

+ S2 does AoE damage to ground enemies around Mudrock, may Stun targets, and recovers a percentage of Mudrock’s max HP

+ S3 makes Mudrock temporarily invulnerable and Slows all nearby enemies; after a delay, it Stuns nearby ground enemies and increases Mudrock’s ATK/ DEF/ number of enemies attacked for the rest of the Skill’s duration

= Has somewhat low base DEF for a Defender, but this can be countered by the shields from her Talent and the invulnerability/ DEF boost from S3

- Usual archetype weaknesses: High DP cost, cannot be directly healed by allies (although regen does work)

- Shield charges are used automatically, so they may trigger to block scratch damage and not be around when you need them

- S2 has [Getting Hit] SP charge type, potentially negating the healing effect, and is not a reliable source of Stun

- The way that S3’s effects occur in two different stages can make it difficult to time correctly

Arts Fighter Guard

+ Ignores a flat amount of enemy RES when attacking (Talent 1)

+ When she takes fatal damage, she remains on the field for a few more seconds before retreating (Talent 2)

+ S1 massively increases the damage of her next attack and refreshes immediately if it kills the target; it absolutely destroys waves of weak enemies, since the Skill can refresh indefinitely

+ S2 increases ATK, attack range, and target count, with a further boost to ATK if hitting only one enemy, making it perfect for consistent ST or AOE damage

+ S3 is Armageddon in a cup, increasing Surtr’s ATK, attack range, and target count even more than S2 while also giving her +5000 HP (!)

+ Skills have VERY quick charge times

= S3 is PERMANENT once activated

- Archetype weaknesses: Block-1, high DP cost

- S3 constantly damages Surtr, up to 20% of her max HP per second, typically forcing her to retreat sooner or later

- If using S3 multiple times in a battle, Surtr’s increasing DP cost can become very expensive

AoE/ Centurion Guard

+ Usual archetype strengths: attacks a number of enemies equal to his Block count

+ An AoE Guard with easy access to Arts damage (both S1 and S2)

+ Increases his attack range and Slows enemies with S2

= Usual archetype caveat: he gains Block-3 when promoted to E2, but he has to be promoted to E2 before he really shines

= Skills have large potential ATK boosts but have to be M3’d before they become impressive

= S2 self-Stuns Broca upon completion, which can be advantageous or game-ruining

- Comparatively squishy for an AoE Guard because he lacks strong defensive options (he can get a small DEF boost from his Talent, but that’s about it)

- S2 has to be carefully timed, because it Stuns him after completion

Duelist Defender

+ Self-heals when Talent activates (when Skill is not active and SP is below half)

+ S1 gives her a massive DEF boost that makes her very survivable for the duration (as well as +2 Block and the Status Resistance buff)

+ S2 hits extremely hard once an opponent is Frozen, so it synergizes well with other Freezing Operators (i.e., Kjera, Gnosis)

+ S2 uses the ammo system, so it can extend across multiple waves if timed correctly

= S1 self-Stuns after the duration ends, which can be a tactical tool or a massive inconvenience (like other self-Stuns)

- Archetype weaknesses: Block-1, high DP cost, can only recover SP while blocking at least one enemy

- Talent stops her from attacking while active, potentially allowing enemies to pile up past her Block-1

- S2’s effectiveness drops sharply if enemies are immune to Freeze

- S2 really relies on having another ally who can Freeze to help Aurora maximize her DPS, but having nearby allies contributing DPS means she has less time to charge her Skills (since she only gets SP while Blocking, and DPS allies will quickly kill whatever she’s Blocking)

Fast-Redeploy/ Executor Specialist

+ Usual archetype strengths: Good for stalling or assassinating key enemy targets (although she satisfies both roles in unconventional ways)

+ The first Fast-Redeploy Specialist to deal Arts damage with her Skills

= Her Talent makes her very safe from damage when she is first deployed, but also makes it harder to use her as an emergency blocker or bait

= Sleep can be a double-edged sword

= The strange range on S2 can be either very useful or extremely annoying

- Usual archetype weaknesses: Low base stats compared to many other Operators

Mudrock was the big boss of the “Twilight of Wolumonde” event, where she was a colossal obstacle for unprepared players. Now Doctors can take revenge by leveraging Mudrock’s considerable power for themselves! As a Juggernaut Defender, Mudrock refuses to be directly healed by Rhodes Island’s Operators, relying instead on the regenerating shields of her Talent and outright invincibility from her S3 to soak damage and survive. And the longer she survives, the less likely it is that her enemies will do the same—Mudrock’s mighty hammerswings can crush any opponent into gravel.

The power of a Defender who can deflect just about any attack cannot be overstated. Yes, Mudrock is difficult to heal and her S3’s timing is tricky. So what? Her shields alone would still make her worthwhile, to say nothing of her enormous self-sustain and terrifying damage potential. Mudrock is every bit the unstoppable juggernaut that a former boss should be. (It’s almost like that’s her archetype name or something!)

I definitely recommend pulling for Mudrock.

Surtr is a woman who takes the difficulty curve of Arknights and snaps it over her knee. Then she sets it on fire.

As an Arts Fighter Guard, she already deals a boatload of damage to most enemies; with her RES-reducing Talent, she does even more. Her Skills make that damage potential explode-nentially stronger, allowing Surtr to kill anything!—including, unfortunately, herself, since her S3 deals constant damage to her that virtually guarantees an eventual retreat. However, first it’ll trigger her E2 Talent, which keeps her on the field at 1 HP for several seconds no matter how much damage she’s taking. It gives her time to incinerate the last few targets before she heads to the bench to cool down.

I absolutely recommend pulling for or, better yet, buying Surtr.

Broca is a good Operator in a vacuum, but sadly, he tends to be overshadowed by other members of his archetype. Broca doesn’t have the reliable DPS of Blaze or the death defiance of Specter, so he typically falls by the wayside in comparison.

That doesn’t mean he’s useless, however. This hunky husbando combines Block-3 (at E2) with multi-target attacks, easy access to Arts damage, and extended range, making him surprisingly effective. He’s particularly good for stages where Casters or ranged units are banned, as he’s a reliable source of Arts damage who is deployed on ground grids. Be careful with his S2, however, which self-Stuns once the duration is up and might allow enemies to leak past Broca.

If you’re going to invest in Broca, it’s important to realize that he’s not a cheap date. AoE Guards need to be promoted to E2 to become Block-3 units, and Broca in particular needs to M3 his Skills before his ATK buffs become particularly impressive.  

I don’t recommend pulling for or buying Broca. (Although if you’re interested in him for husbando reasons, you may also be interested to know this skin is coming up for him.)

Aurora really shouldn’t be involved in Rhodes Island’s drama. She was a perfectly ordinary civilian who only became Infected because of a freak accident. However, Aurora is determined to make the best of her new lot in life. She’s willing to live and let live if enemies don’t bother her, being a Duelist Defender who only charges SP when Blocking. However, if someone starts punching her, she’s going to punch back—with a giant iron piledriver that Freezes her enemies solid!

The other reason Aurora shouldn’t be involved in Rhodes Island’s drama is that, sadly, she’s not very good. She’s certainly not as bad as some other 5★ Operators—she can pull her weight when she’s deployed alongside other Cold-causing Operators and the enemies arrive at the right speed for her to handle them. Her damage output on a successful Artificial Snowfall usage is quite impressive, in fact.

However, Aurora is desperately reliant on her allies inflicting Freeze so she can trigger her massive potential damage on every hit of Artificial Snowfall. There aren’t that many Operators who cause Freeze yet, so her options for synergy are limited, and without tapping into that synergy Aurora is left in a bad place. She can’t gain SP without Blocking, she can only Block-1, she stops attacking when her SP is low, her S1 self-Stuns… the list goes on.

I don’t recommend pulling for Aurora.

Kafka is probably the most unusual Fast-Redeploy Specialist currently in Arknights. Like other Fast-Redeploys, her Skills activate automatically on deployment, and while they’re active she has Block-0 and the Camouflage buff. So unlike most Fast-Redeploys, she can’t be dropped down to do emergency blocking or to intercept a purple Faust shot.

So what does she do? Her S1 puts nearby enemies to Sleep and deals damage to them when they wake up. Meanwhile, her S2 inflicts multiple hits of Arts damage to enemies on the tile two spaces away from her over several seconds.

These Skills allow Kafka to do some bizarre tricks that other Fast-Redeploys usually can’t. She can’t Block, but she can stall multiple enemies at a time by putting them to Sleep. She can’t duel, but she can snipe down a stationary enemy at a distance—and since she can do it from a ground tile, she can get at targets that are sitting well out of the reach of ranged units.

Yet in the end, Kafka’s real charm point is how low maintenance she is. Between Block-0 and Camouflage, she’s usually very safe during her Skills, and she doesn’t need any investment to pull her weight—her Sleep is equally effective whether she’s E0 level 1 or E2 level 80. (Levels just increase the damage dealt when the targets wake up.) Yes, Sleep can be a double-edged sword and there are other units that can deal ranged Arts damage from a ground tile, but few units come out of the gacha as ready to go as Kafka does. It’s a weird niche, but hey—Kafka’s a weird girl.

I don’t recommend pulling for Kafka, but she can be fun to use and occasionally pretty helpful in her own right.