Fate/Grand Order IV - Are you my Master? [Rerun - Lite]

[Red Fel]

It's also worth noting that JP has more or less abandoned the whole "this Servant's identity is a secret until you reach plot point" gimmick. I mean, it was definitely a neat little thing, at least if you rolled on new Servants on their first release, I guess the devs realized that they get more hype over teasing and then revealing a Servant's identity than if they just introduced Servants who refused to name themselves at first.

Also, yeah, they totally spoil Servant identities for NA. Not that I'm mad about that, mind you. Anticipating Assassin of Shinjuku was kind of neat, and I actually gave Assassin of Nightless City more attention than she deserved because I'm familiar with the actual person's history.

Point is, yeah, in most cases, I wouldn't say that revealing Servants necessarily counts as a spoiler. Revealing certain details about Servants, now, that may be different.

Might I suggest, as a rule of courtesy, that if it's new in JP we put it in spoiler tags? I mean, stuff that's a year old in JP is a year out for us, so there's a good chance most of us have caught a whiff, and it wouldn't hurt to plan for it, but if it just came out in JP, maybe we should tag it?

[Velaryon]

Might I suggest, as a rule of courtesy, that if it's new in JP we put it in spoiler tags? I mean, stuff that's a year old in JP is a year out for us, so there's a good chance most of us have caught a whiff, and it wouldn't hurt to plan for it, but if it just came out in JP, maybe we should tag it?

This sounds good to me. Although that's easy for me to say since I don't follow what's happening in JP and therefore am not going to be the one who has to be putting stuff in spoiler tags.

[Resileaf]

It's definitely not the identity of the servant that's a problem here.

It's the nature of certain things related to that servant that are.

[HMS Invincible]

Chaldea boys CE pick is upon us. Which CE did you guys pick? I haven't decided yet, but I cost is a factor now, I'll probably go for one of the 4 star CE

[ellenate]

Chaldea boys CE pick is upon us. Which CE did you guys pick? I haven't decided yet, but I cost is a factor now, I'll probably go for one of the 4 star CE

Star of camelot works disgustingly well with fragment 2030

[Red Fel]

Keep in mind that these CEs also drop from the gacha. So if you plan on rolling for Arthur, you might get them anyhow. That might determine which you choose.

It's why I'm holding off on picking until towards the end. Just in case there's one I'm missing, or I end up close to MLB.

[Kitten Champion]

I'm finally starting through Salem, but...

Spoiler

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The Carter character, that's H.P. Lovecraft right? Like, not literally him - I should specify since this is Fate - but a direct reference to him? His portrait art resembles him. Big jaw, prominent straight nose, very short brown hair.

[Saambell]

I'm finally starting through Salem, but...

Spoiler

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The Carter character, that's H.P. Lovecraft right? Like, not literally him - I should specify since this is Fate - but a direct reference to him? His portrait art resembles him. Big jaw, prominent straight nose, very short brown hair.

Spoiler: Spoilers

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Its not H. P. Lovecraft. Randolph Carter is a character from the Dream Cycle series, yes written by H. P. Lovecraft, but its not him. Sort of. Author Insert and all that. But its not H. P. Lovecraft.

Spoiler: More Spoilers maybe for Summer's Event

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Randolph Carter is most famous for talking to Nyarlathotep, one of the outer gods. Nyarlathotep gets a spotlight in Summer by fusing with one of the characters there, our trusty kouhai BB-chan. I doubt Randolph will make another appearance there, but who knows?

[Kitten Champion]

Spoiler: Spoilers

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Its not H. P. Lovecraft. Randolph Carter is a character from the Dream Cycle series, yes written by H. P. Lovecraft, but its not him. Sort of. Author Insert and all that. But its not H. P. Lovecraft.

Spoiler: More Spoilers maybe for Summer's Event

Show

Randolph Carter is most famous for talking to Nyarlathotep, one of the outer gods. Nyarlathotep gets a spotlight in Summer by fusing with one of the characters there, our trusty kouhai BB-chan. I doubt Randolph will make another appearance there, but who knows?

Spoiler

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As I said, I didn't think it's literally supposed to be him, but that the likeness is an intended reference.

I also vaguely remember Carter being the name of one of his protagonists, but I couldn't place from where since they all kind of blur together in my memory. I also didn't really want to Google him - even to look up his first name in the game - as I'm still pretty early into it and if he turns out to be the Demon Pillar or something I don't really want to know.

[Velaryon]

Chaldea boys CE pick is upon us. Which CE did you guys pick? I haven't decided yet, but I cost is a factor now, I'll probably go for one of the 4 star CE

I haven't picked yet. Not sure what I'll do.

Keep in mind that these CEs also drop from the gacha. So if you plan on rolling for Arthur, you might get them anyhow. That might determine which you choose.

It's why I'm holding off on picking until towards the end. Just in case there's one I'm missing, or I end up close to MLB.

I haven't dropped a single summon on this banner yet, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. I know Arthur is not regarded as one of the better sabers, but he's the only AoE saber I've got, and he and Fran have pretty much covered my needs thus far. I wouldn't mind having him at NP2, but I also know there's a lot of good stuff coming up that I should save for as well.

I'm at ~20 tickets and 80 SQ right now, which I know isn't enough to guarantee anything. But I'm sure even if I didn't get Arthur I'd get some of these CE's. Are any of them worth the opportunity cost?

[Saambell]

I say wait for a day with 2 characters you would like then drop a few tickets. Not all of them, but between 5 and 10. If you get lucky, great, but if you don't, then you aren't out too much.

[Kitten Champion]

While some of them are definitely okay, I don't think any of the CEs worth going hard for in themselves -- not with the low chance of MLBing anything but the 3-stars.

Though, there is a Waver banner coming tomorrow and if you don't have a him already it might behoove you to try.

[Velaryon]

I say wait for a day with 2 characters you would like then drop a few tickets. Not all of them, but between 5 and 10. If you get lucky, great, but if you don't, then you aren't out too much.

As it happens, that turned out to be tonight. When Karna replaced Arjuna on the rate up banner, I decided "hey, now there's two of them I could potentially get to NP2, that's worth a few tickets." I limited myself to spending only 10, and got another Arthur on my 10th and final ticket. In the process I also picked up NP2 Bedivere and 4 copies of a new 3* CE, so all in all not too bad.

Though, there is a Waver banner coming tomorrow and if you don't have a him already it might behoove you to try.

I have Merlin, but not Waver. How bad do I need him?

[Kitten Champion]

I have Merlin, but not Waver. How bad do I need him?

Need is relative, of course, but Waver is basically a bottled steroid for any and all farming-related activities. Merlin's the best for challenging quests in the game as a whole, but Waver can make the actual experience of playing FGO on a day-to-day basis and grinding through events much, much less tedious and is great within any team composition.

I summoned him at the tail end of Nerofest last November and I've already nearly got him to max bond.

...But since you already rolled, well, he'll always be there in the general pool and there will be more Waver banners to come later this year so the need isn't too pressing.

[Hunter Noventa]

I'm still hurting on SQ from Eresh and Onitower, so I'm saving up for summer.

[Red Fel]

I have Merlin, but not Waver. How bad do I need him?

Need is relative, of course, but Waver is basically a bottled steroid for any and all farming-related activities. Merlin's the best for challenging quests in the game as a whole, but Waver can make the actual experience of playing FGO on a day-to-day basis and grinding through events much, much less tedious and is great within any team composition.

I summoned him at the tail end of Nerofest last November and I've already nearly got him to max bond.

...But since you already rolled, well, he'll always be there in the general pool and there will be more Waver banners to come later this year so the need isn't too pressing.

Pretty much all this.

The fact is, there are certain Servants who are considered boosters to each card type - Merlin for Buster, Skadi for Quick, and Casko for Arts. Waver is more general than the rest, but that also means he fits into more team compositions. He's also ideal as a pocket NP charge, because of his active skills.

But as mentioned, he's in the general pool. He's never not available, and rate-up is a lie. So, yeah. "Need" is relative. Suffice to say, he's great to have and you will probably put him in every team composition if you get him, but if you don't, you're probably fine.

[Resileaf]

Pretty much all this.

The fact is, there are certain Servants who are considered boosters to each card type - Merlin for Buster, Skadi for Quick, and Casko for Arts. Waver is more general than the rest, but that also means he fits into more team compositions. He's also ideal as a pocket NP charge, because of his active skills.

But as mentioned, he's in the general pool. He's never not available, and rate-up is a lie. So, yeah. "Need" is relative. Suffice to say, he's great to have and you will probably put him in every team composition if you get him, but if you don't, you're probably fine.

Besides, it's not like you would play more than one Waver in battle, and he's pretty easy to find in support, so you're never going to need him since you can find him any time in support.

[Red Fel]

Besides, it's not like you would play more than one Waver in battle, and he's pretty easy to find in support, so you're never going to need him since you can find him any time in support.

This is also very true. Your friends list should certainly have multiple Wavers in it. And more than a few Merlins. And while double-Merlin is definitely a strategy, double-Waver definitely is not.

So, yeah. Helpful, not a necessity.

[Hunter Noventa]

This is also very true. Your friends list should certainly have multiple Wavers in it. And more than a few Merlins. And while double-Merlin is definitely a strategy, double-Waver definitely is not.

So, yeah. Helpful, not a necessity.

Despite being a gacha game, DW has done a damned fine job of keeping things relatively balanced. Some madlad in Japan has gone through the whole game using only Bronze servants, I hear.

[Resileaf]

Despite being a gacha game, DW has done a damned fine job of keeping things relatively balanced. Some madlad in Japan has gone through the whole game using only Bronze servants, I hear.

Indeed. FGO's gacha may have many flaws, but the usefulness of low star count servants isn't it. It's very rare to find a servant that is 100% useless. You can pretty much count them on the fingers of one hand, and only one of them is terrible by design.

[Kitten Champion]

Besides, it's not like you would play more than one Waver in battle, and he's pretty easy to find in support, so you're never going to need him since you can find him any time in support.

Though, having Waver - or Merlin, Tamamo, or Skadi for that matter - means you can use your support slot for that level 100 10/10/10 Gilgamesh or whatever.

[Friv]

Indeed. FGO's gacha may have many flaws, but the usefulness of low star count servants isn't it. It's very rare to find a servant that is 100% useless. You can pretty much count them on the fingers of one hand, and only one of them is terrible by design.

Wait, I need the backstory in this. Which Servant was terrible by design?

[Resileaf]

Wait, I need the backstory in this. Which Servant was terrible by design?

Angra Mainyu, the 0* servant that can only be gotten from the FP gacha.

[Saambell]

Angra Mainyu, the 0* servant that can only be gotten from the FP gacha.

And even he has a (minor) niche being an anti Beast servant if you grind his bond. Good for maybe 5 fights in the whole game so far? And even then, his stats are too low to matter to most of them. In numbers, he more works as a 2 star, so the 0 star is mostly just for show.

[Kitten Champion]

He's pretty scary to fight against as a boss encounter though, at least without knowing he's coming. As unlike Pokemon you don't have the option to ignore him while he's using Bide. Though the second time around you can slot in three Servants with non-damaging NPs and he's baby cake.

At least that's how it went for me during the Christmas event.

Really, he's a trophy Servant to show off your luck in the FP lotto and nothing else. Which I think is for the best, since if you really felt compelled to get him it would be kind of aggravating.

[Red Fel]

And even he has a (minor) niche being an anti Beast servant if you grind his bond. Good for maybe 5 fights in the whole game so far? And even then, his stats are too low to matter to most of them. In numbers, he more works as a 2 star, so the 0 star is mostly just for show.

Yeah, he has more of a Magikarp syndrome - you know, the useless Pokemon that turns into a really good Pokemon after way too much work - except Angra's Gyarados is pretty niche. Even grailed, his stats are so-so at best. But, if you get him to Bond 10, you do get his CE, with Anti-Beast and Guts. Also, you unlock his Interlude (not yet released) that tacks a Guts onto his third skill, bringing him back after self-destructing (if he hasn't died already).

But yeah. Even his NP is contingent on him taking damage and not dying from it, and when your max HP - when grailed - is on the low end, that's not a lot. The guts helps, but still, he's an extremely niche Servant.

Useful in his niche. But hard to use. Which actually describes a lot of Servants, come to think of it. Like Arthur. Anti-Giant is a really specific niche, and of giant enemies, there really aren't many that are Lancers, so... why? Just why?

But yeah. That's niches in this game for you.

[Saambell]

Which actually describes a lot of Servants, come to think of it. Like Arthur. Anti-Giant is a really specific niche, and of giant enemies, there really aren't many that are Lancers, so... why? Just why?

But yeah. That's niches in this game for you.

I'm pretty sure there were a decent number of Lancer Hydras in Shimosa, if I'm remembering correctly. Of course, I might be completely wrong and they were all Archers. Kind of like how Seigfried is anti-dragon, but most dragons are riders. Before his buffs, the joke was "if you take Seigfried to fight Elizabeth Bathroy, hitting both her being a lancer and her being a dragon, you will be doing almost as much damage as any other saber."

[Velaryon]

Really, he's a trophy Servant to show off your luck in the FP lotto and nothing else. Which I think is for the best, since if you really felt compelled to get him it would be kind of aggravating.

He's also able to ride the bench carrying an event CE without taking up too many points. That can help you maximize drops while still being able to save points in your team comp for other servants.

[Kitten Champion]

He's also able to ride the bench carrying an event CE without taking up too many points. That can help you maximize drops while still being able to save points in your team comp for other servants.

You can say the same about any 1-2 star Servant with a 3-4 cost though, and many of those - possibly all of them - are objectively stronger and have a much larger niche in the game as a whole.

I do believe Angra Mainyu functions as a 2-star despite the starless gimmick.

[nightwyrm]

Angra gives you 2 SQs per lv for bond lv 6-9, just like a 4 star. So he's great for a backline that never sees the light of day.