User blog:Linathan/Unit Spotlight: Ruinous Andaria

Ruinous Andaria
[Leader Skill] Guidance of the Sentinel ( Reduction in BB gauge required for BB, large reduction to amount of BB gauge used during BB & 20% boost to critical hit rate)

[Brave Burst] Violet Pain (25 combo powerful Earth attack to all foes, all statuses removed and negated & great chance of inflicting Paralysis and Poison ; Cost: 27 BC, DC: 25 BC)

[Super Brave Burst] Violet Redemption (28 combo powerful Earth attack to all foes, all statuses negated, boosts BB gauge fill rate & gradually recovers BB gauge over 3 turns ; Cost: 26 BC, DC: 28 BC)

[Ultimate Brave Burst] Spark Domination (35 combo massive Earth attack to all foes, all statuses removed and negated & massively recovers BB gauge over 3 turns ; Cost: 26 BC, DC: 35 BC)

[Extra Skill] Soul of the Watcher (40% boost to HP, Atk & adds slight BB boost when damaged effect to BB/SBB for 3 turns when Bow of Andaria is equipped)

About Scoring System
For my analyses, I enforce a scoring system. Each category is out of 10 points. The final score will be the average of all of the category scores. Note that my analyses are based on my opinion. You are free to agree or disagree with the points that I have here. The categories are listed below: Typing will be under stats.
 * Leader Skill
 * Brave Burst
 * Super Brave Burst (only for 6* units and above)
 * Ultimate Brave Burst (only for 7* units)
 * Extra Skill (only for 7* units)
 * Arena
 * Stats
 * Usefulness

Note: Scoring will be different for 7* units compared to 6* units due to the fact that 7* units have two more categories than 6* units. For example, a 6* unit with an 8.5 rating cannot be compared with a 7* unit with a 7.5 rating.

Summary
Were people disappointed with Andaria when she first came out? Yes. Were people disappointed with Andaria's 7* form? Sure? Yes? Let's find out!

Leader Skill
Score: 9/10

Andaria reduces the BC cost of all Brave Bursts by 20%, which boosts the BB gauge momentum of the squad. A 20% BC cost reduction effect equates to a 25% BB fill rate. It's nowhere near close to being the best BB fill rate boost in the game, but does make BB gauge fill effects more potent given the fact that BC cost is reduced. There's also the 15-20% BB gauge cashback when BB/SBB is used.

Let's take Elimo's SBB as an example. Her SBB requires a total of 40 BC to fully fill, ignoring her Extra Skill's BC cost reduction. With Andaria's Leader Skill active, the cost will be reduced down to 32 BC, making both BB and SBB gauges require 16 BC. Since BB gauge cashback only affects the BB gauge and not the SBB gauge, Bestie will only need a minimum of 12.8 BC and a maximum of 13.6 BC to fill the BB gauge. Therefore, the SBB gauge will require a total of 28.8-29.6 BC, or 29 BC rounded as average. This contributes to an average of around a 38% BB fill rate. This is just an average value due to the fact that higher BC costs yield higher effectiveness of BB gauge cashback.

Don't forget the innate 20% crit chance. That's like a Havoc Axe attached to all of your units. Therefore, the squad only requires a 40% crit chance buff to reach the critical rate cap.

Brave Burst
Score: 8/10

Andaria’s BB utilizes a 280% damage modifier, which is much lower than the average 280% damage modifier seen on most 7* units. Damage will be quite high given Andaria's high Atk stat when compared to other 7* units.

Andaria also serves as a very effective anti-debuffer thanks to her ability to heal and negate status ailments. This is one of the most essential buffs to have in a squad because status ailments are spread throughout the entire game.

Andaria also has a 50% chance of poisoning and a 70% chance of paralyzing enemies. While this may be good, there are quite a number of bosses that are immune to Poison and Paralysis, limiting the usage of this BB. Consider this as a nice bonus when it actually becomes useful.

Super Brave Burst
Score: 10/10

Andaria's SBB utilizes a 500% damage modifier, which is the average damage modifier that most 7* units utilize. Given Andaria's high Atk stat, Andaria's SBB will be dealing lots of damage.

Like Andaria's BB, Andaria fulfills her anti-debuffer role once again. However, this SBB lacks healing. It cannot cure status ailments. Instead, it just negates them. However, status nullifcation should be sufficient for the squad if the enemies don't buff wipe the squad often.

Andaria now holds the title of having the best BB gauge regen buff in the game: 7 BC. This is very awesome as this fills a huge portion of most BB gauges. Previously, Rineth and Grahdens had the best BB regen buffs at 6 BC, but Andaria trumps both of them. Very nice buff to have, especially with the fact that it's currently the best in the game on BB/SBB.

The 30% BB fill rate is really nice as this generates a very good BB gauge momentum. This replicates part of Quaid’s Leader Skill as his BB fill rate boost is 30%. Speaking of Quaid, when combining this BB fill rate buff with Andaria's Leader Skill, you can replicate Quaid's BB fill rate and BC cost on his Leader Skill. The 20% BC reduction is present on both Leader Skills and the 30% BB fill rate is present on this SBB and Quaid's Leader Skill. Neat, huh?

Ultimate Brave Burst
Score: 8/10

Andaria's UBB utilizes a 1200% damage modifier, which is higher than the average 500% damage modifier that most 7* units utilize. Given Andaria's high Atk stat, Andaria's SBB will be dealing lots of damage.

Like her BB, Andaria heals and nullifies status ailments. This can serve as a nice backup when Andaria’s UBB is ready to use.

Andaria also provides a 50 BC regen buff. However, this buff isn’t all too necessary if BB/SBB can easily be spammed with their respective buffs. There’s already enough BB utility provided by BB/SBB that can fill BB/SBB gauges to full.

Extra Skill
Score: 8/10

Andaria has some sweet effects on her Extra Skill. When Bow of Andaria is equipped, in total, Andaria receives some big boosts, especially in her Atk stat. Bow of Andaria boosts HP and Atk by 30% and this Extra Skill boosts HP and Atk by 40%. There might not be any boost to Rec, but Rec isn’t much of a significant stat, especially if there’s an active healer or HC buffer in the squad.

Andaria also provides a 2-3 BC fill buff when attacked. While this may be good, it’s not the best in the game. Why this matters is that this overwrites any BB fill buff that involves getting attacked.

Arena
Score: 8/10

Andaria has a 28 BC normal attack Drop Check, which is alright. It’s not bad, but not amazing. At least it’s above average.

However, what is really nice is the critical rate boost from Andaria's Leader Skill. Though, it relies a lot on luck, which can be quite detrimental if the squad is not dealing enough crits. Additionally, the 20% BC cost reduction isn’t too shabby either.

Andaria's Atk is very high to take advantage of in Arena, allowing his normal attacks to deal heavy amounts of damage in one turn.

Stats
Score: 9/10

Very, very high stats for a 7*, especially in the Atk department. Andaria is bound to deal tons of damage with the high Atk. Her HP and Def are quite high as well. Rec might look low, but it doesn’t serve much of an importance if HC generation and/or healing is sufficient.

In terms of typing, my type preference for Andaria is...

Anima > Guardian > Lord > Breaker > Oracle

Usefulness
Score: 9/10

Like other anti-debuffers, Andaria fulfills one of the most essential squad roles in the game. Status ailments are practically everywhere in the game, which makes it necessary to carry an anti-debuffer.

Andaria is also a very good BB spammer, carrying the BB fill rate buff and even the highest BB regen buff in the game. Though, having to switch back and forth between BB and SBB can be rather troublesome, especially against enemies that buff wipe. This is due to her BB being the only way of healing status ailments.

Sphere Recommendations

 * Bow of Andaria & Heresy Orb
 * Bow of Andaria & Fallacy Orb
 * Bow of Andaria & Impiety Orb
 * Bow of Andaria & Demon Striker
 * Bow of Andaria & Four Bonds
 * Bow of Andaria & Sacred Crystal
 * Bow of Andaria & Demon Core
 * Phantom Gizmo & Demon Core

Conclusion
Total Score: 8.6/10

Better than it looks? Needs more buffs? Guess you can’t satisfy everybody. Andaria or Zedus? Andaria! Zedus!

Comment below on what you think of Andaria! How do you use her in your squads? Do you think she needs a buff? Leave a comment below!

Check out my list of analyses in [http://bravefrontierglobal.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Linathan/Spotlights:_Table_of_Contents! Spotlights: Table of Contents!]

Check out my other Unit Spotlights:
 * Immortal Beast Sargavel
 * Inferno Rifle Bestie
 * Sealed God Lucius
 * Archangel Aurelia