Hibiki & Chikagi

“Sorry that someone like me ended up as your representative. I have a feeling I'll cause you a lot of trouble, but... well… I guess I'm looking forward to working with you from here on out!”

From the niches of FGO lore we get two girls who are downright adorable… and just so happen to be a Foreigner killer. As an AoE Quick Alter Ego they manage to not only serve as a counter for the only class in the game not covered by Berserkers, but also act as powerful loopers in their own right.

Hibiki and Chikagi thrive on near-water fields. Their Noble Phantasm, Sea-Parting Tidal Pearls A has a special effect on Near Water which boosts their NP Gain, and they also get a passive Protection of the Great Croc C that gives them a small extra boost per turn. Of course, near-water fields are rare, but their third skill, Tide-Flowing Pearl/Tide-Ebbing Pearl A guarantees it for them for three turns, which is pretty much the entire time for a loop. Boost that up with Gate of Wadatsumi A’s 50% charge and they have quite a bit of natural regeneration! But beyond that, they serve as a neat double-color booster, getting both boosts to Buster and Quick in their Noble Phantasm and their first skill, and special effects with their third skill to either lower defense or boost Critical damage. They also have some powerful support skills, capable of boosting both damage and NP generation for the entire party.

Hibiki and Chikagi’s main issue comes with their survivability, only having a 2-hit evade to survive with. They also suffer the natural issue of all Alter Egos in that they only get 1.5 times damage against Riders Assassins and Casters, making many other 2x damage options better. They also don’t have much in the way of Critical damage, with only passives and supports to boost their Criticals against enemies.

Hibiki and Chikagi fit in a niche which makes them highly effective against Foreigner enemies, although they are unfortunately AoE and most tough Foreigner fights are single target. That said, they are strong enough that they may serve well in a Master’s lineup to fight against them either way.

Hibiki and Chikagi’s third skill and final ascensions are locked by the event. They will be significantly weaker until finishing the event’s story.

NP Regen

Hibiki and Chikagi are beasts in terms of regen of the NP gauge. Beyond having a 50% charge skill (which conveniently also charges 20% of their supports) they also have numerous boosts such as a 20% NP regen rate gain on her first skill, a 20% NP regen rate gain on her Noble Phantasm on water fields, and a 5% per turn regen rate passively. Against Berserker enemies she gains 17% per enemy, comfortably clearing enough for 3/3/x fights with a double Skadi Ruler and Oberon or Skadi Caster support.

Utility

Hibiki and Chikagi have so many use cases. They are fairly decent as supports, since they can boost NP strength, Quick and Buster, NP gain rate, and give a 20% charge to all allies. They also are flexible, being able to take advantage of a Summer Skadi’s Buster Crit boosts, Quick Noble Phantasm boosts, and also give their choice of defense down or Critical up with their cards in their third skill.

Attribute Advantage

One of the most interesting things about these sisters is their ability to never lose in the Man-Earth-Sky triangle. In ascension one, they are Man, ascension two gives Earth type, and ascension four/final ascension are Star type. A Master simply needs to use their first ascension against Sky types, second against Man types, and fourth/final against Earth, and they will gain an extra 10-20% damage. Note that these are based off of the sprite used, not the card art.

Critical Hits

Hibiki and Chikagi don’t have much bonus to the Critical strengths innately, only having a small boost on Buster cards thanks to their third skill, and passives. However, they are most commonly paired with Skadi Ruler, who naturally boosts Buster crits, potentially covering this weakness.

Survival

Hibiki and Chikagi have one survival skill, a two-time evasion. While this does last three turns, it is on a long enough cooldown that it could be burst through in a turn and destroyed. She’s not meant to last long beyond her loops.

Alter Ego Classing

Being an Alter Ego is a blessing and a curse. Against Casters, Assassins, and Riders, there are usually better options with 2x advantage. However, Alter Egos are the only class with true class advantage against Foreigners, which are the one class that Berserkers are truly weak against. A Master wanting to field just a single strong Berserker for most all nodes needs an Alter Ego to cover this weakness, and these girls are perfect for it.

Hibiki and Chikagi’s skills are a melange which support both them and the entire party for multiple turns. Outside of Watatsumi Shrine Gate A, which Masters may want to strategically use sometime other than turn 1 for gauge purposes, all skills should be popped on the first turn as their effects will last the entire three-turn duration. Suggested leveling order is 2 -> 1 -> 3.

• Isora's Dance A is a near-rainbow skill, boosting Quick, Buster, and NP Gain for all allies, as well as giving Hibiki and Chikagi their 2-time evasion. This skill is a staple for looping, but its Buster boost is also important if using a Summer Skadi setup. As their Buster cards then get their critical damage boosted, this will only add to their damage. Level this second, but it could likely be left at level 9 if necessary.

• Gate of Wadatsumi A is a powerful charge skill with a bonus HP boost to the party. The girls themselves get 50% charge, while the rest of the party gets 20%, leading to the potential of multiple Noble Phantasms from the supports. As a charge skill, this is best leveled first and to the max.

• Tide-Flowing Pearl/Tide-Ebbing Pearl A will not be available upon release, but will when the main story of the event is complete. This skill is easily their most important as it grants the all important “Near Water” battlefield which both enables NP Gain boosts in their Noble Phantasm and also gives 5% NP charge and 5 stars per turn passively. Otherwise, it is a standard small party Noble Phantasm damage boost. It does have two card-hit skills. On Quick cards it decreases Defense, meaning a Master would want to use a Quick card before a Noble Phantasm if possible, and also gives a small Buster Critical boost to stack on top of Summer Skadi’s support.

Hibiki and Chikagi are damage dealers who serve multiple purposes, and their CE selection will depend on their use case. Noble Phantasm Damage Up cards will give the best Noble Phantasm looping results. On the flip side, Cards which boost their Critical Damage can help cover their lack of Critical strength for Buster cards. Third, Masters may wish to consider Mixed Starting Gauge / Damage CEs if trying to loop against non-3/3/x waves.

• The Black Grail: If a master is going against a 3/3/x node, this is the clear winner as it gives the most damage against the enemies.

• Bare Kings / Conversation on the Hot Sands / Victor of the Moon / Knight’s Dignity: Hibiki and Chikagi generally have strong enough Noble Phantasms, but lack the Critical damage to finish an enemy off. By adding a CE to boost them up, they will clear waves more easily.

• First Day of Filming / Aerial Drive / Partake with the King / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Dragon’s Meridian: If Hibiki and Chikagi are not facing 3/3/x enemies, they may have a bit of difficulty getting full gauges of refund with their supports. Giving them a Starting Gauge CE enables this.