Bhima

“I am a prince, but I’m not one for ceremonial behaviors. I may speak crudely, but that does not mean I’m not paying any respect. You better get used to it.”

Bhima is the second of the legendary Pandava brothers, or third if one counts Karna. As the son of the god of wind, Vayu, Bhima boasts the mightiest physical strength amongst the brothers, which is reflected in his gameplay as a hard-hitting Single-Target Buster Damage Dealer.

Bhima’s most unique aspect is his Noble Phantasm. Marti Vayuputra B is a Single Target Buster attack that removes all buffs from the target before dealing damage, and increases Bhima’s Critical Damage for 50% over 3 turns. Unlike any other Noble Phantasm in the game, when used at higher Overcharge Level, this Noble Phantasm will have an additional hit, starting at 200% multiplier at Overcharge Level 2 to 500% at Overcharge Level 5.

Vasuki’s Medicine A is Bhima’s first skill, mixing a bit of survivability in the form of Guts and Debuff cleanse, and a modest 30% NP Gauge charge at max level. Cudgel Techniques A (Bhima) is one of Bhima’s main offensive buffs. It gives him Buster card effectiveness, Critical Damage boost, and a Critical Star bomb. Hanuman Howling EX is Bhima’s most interesting skill. Aside from a sizable Attack buff, this skill gives him two other buffs: one that increases his Critical Damage before he uses his Quick cards, and the other gives him 5 Critical Stars when he uses Buster cards.

Mechanically, Bhima is rather simple and purely leans toward dealing as much single-target damage as possible. His damage comes from both his Noble Phantasm, which scales well with any form of Overcharge support, and his high Critical Damage boost from his kit. In terms of utility, Bhima has Guts, Debuff Cleanse and Buff Removal, all are powerful effects for high-difficulty quests.

Outside of a vacuum, Bhima’s problems come mainly from two things: his lack of a distinct niche and his competitors. Single Target Damage Dealers with high Critical Damage are dime a dozen at the time of his release. Within his class alone, there are already Enkidu and Scathach, both with highly coveted anti-trait damage bonuses and better NP Gauge economy. The lack of anti-trait damage is quite a notable weak spot that is hard to overcome, as Challenge Quests often devolve into matching the right Servant to the right opponent in the end game. Furthermore, despite looking quite simple, Bhima needs a good setup to reach his damage ceiling, namely teammates that can give him Overcharge, NP Gauge, and a steady stream of Critical Stars, compared to relatively simpler Damage Dealers who only need to access their Noble Phantasm regularly.

All in all, Bhima is a solid damage dealer with good Challenge Quest applications, but does not cover a role that is not already well covered by many other Servants, making him more or less a redundant pull for a developed roster.

Strong Single Target Damage Ceiling

Bhima’s damage ceiling is quite notable. Not only does his Noble Phantasm hit hard, especially when amplified with Overcharge, but his Critical hits, when set up, can devastate any target, thanks to the huge amount of Critical Damage boost from his two skills and Noble Phantasm.

Good Challenge Quest Utility

Bhima has several impactful effects that can make a difference in a hard situation. Debuff Cleanse and Buff Removal are highly valuable against many bosses, and Guts helps improve his durability. Bhima also has a very situationally useful passive that grants him Poison Immunity that can help against certain enemies.

Lack Of A Distinguishing Niche Compared To His Competitors

Despite his solid kit, Bhima lacks a distinguishing factor that can make him stand out compared to his competitors. While the Overcharge scaling aspect of his Noble Phantasm is unique and does give him a decent ceiling against everything, in general, having a specific anti-trait bonus or an area where few other Servants possess is more valuable for a Challenge Quest specialist like Bhima.

All of Bhima's skills are worth leveling if one wants to invest in him. It is worth noting that Bhima’s skills are not as impactful as many other modern Damage Dealers or Supports, so even 6/6/6 would be a good place to stop if resources are low.

• Vasuki’s Medicine A - Since a majority of Bhima’s damage comes from his ability to use his Noble Phantasm repeatedly, this skill should be maxed first amongst the three skills as it allows him to utilize the Double Koyanskaya & Oberon system to do 3 Noble Phantasms with Second Skill Append.

• Cudgel Techniques A (Bhima) – In terms of impact, both this skill and his third skill are relatively the same and serve the same function as his damage booster. This skill scales a little bit better with level, as all three of its effects increase with level.

• Hanuman Howling EX – Only the Attack boost scales with level, so this skill has the lowest priority of all three skills.

Bhima can do Buster looping with Double Koyanskaya, Oberon, and Second Skill Append with any 50% NP Gauge Craft Essence, so Starting NP Gauge should always be one of his priority stats to look for from Craft Essence. Beyond that, NP Overcharge, Buster Performance, NP Damage, and Attack are all acceptable stats to improve his damage output. Critical Damage is also a decent option to improve his sustained damage.

• First Day of Filming / Aerial Drive / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament: These Craft Essences are Event Craft Essences that grant 50% NP Gauge and strong offensive stats that Bhima can take advantage of and will be more than good enough in 90% of the scenarios that Master would use Bhima in.

• Shasmatis / Apex / Flames of Applause / Devilish Bodhisattva / Love’s Curse: These Craft Essences have both Starting NP Gauge and NP Overcharge effect, which is very suitable for any battle where Masters want Bhima to unleash strong upfront damage with his Noble Phantasm, such as in event with Raid Quests or against bosses that need to be defeated quickly.