Arjuna (Alter)

“The gears of the world have broken. Now is the time of purge, now is the time of eternity. My revolving sword shall sever evil.”

Chaldea’s Arjuna (Alter) is a different version of his omnipotent Lostbelt version, having regained his humanity through the severance of his connection to the gods. Even now, however, his combat capability still lives up to its reputation. Arjuna (Alter) is, essentially, a Buster glass cannon who best embodies the phrase ‘the best defense is a good offense’.

While Anti-Evil (Unique)’s Attack Up is already very solid on its own, the skill’s supereffective against enemies-with-Debuff part is very easy to activate thanks to Mahapralaya’s Buster Resistance Down (which activates before the NP deals damage, meaning that it also benefits from Anti-Evil’s full effect most of the time). These factors, combined with the further 12% Buster Performance Up from his Madness Enhancement EX, result in one of the highest amounts of self-buffs in the game, yet Clairvoyance (Transcendant) brings his damage potential to an even higher level with its Buster Card Star Gather Rate Up, which makes his Buster criticals very reliable. As the cherry on top, all the aforementioned skill effects last for 3 turns, and Clairvoyance (Transcendant) even charges his NP gauge (30% when maxed).

Being a Berserker, his survivability is on the low side of things, though he does fortunately have Soul’s Light’s Guts to fall back on in emergencies. He also has no utility to speak of, and will have to rely on Craft Essences or his allies to provide those when necessary.

Indeed, outside of his damage dealing capability, Arjuna (Alter) does not really have much else to offer… not that he needs to, at any rate, as the sheer magnitude of his offense makes it so that his weaknesses are hardly felt in most situations. With the Berserker advantage, a powerful AoE NP and reliable, powerful critical hits, Arjuna (Alter) is everything anyone could ask for in a Buster damage dealer, and more!

(Nearly) Universal ‘Super-Effective’

Above all else, the primary factor leading to Arjuna (Alter)’s offensive strength is the fact that the ‘supereffective’ part of Anti-Evil (Unique) is very easy to activate, the application of a debuff being something that is very much under the Chaldea side’s control. Even putting aside his NP’s debuff, other Servants, Craft Essences and even Mystic Codes can be used to apply various sorts of debuffs. Of course, debuffs can miss, and enemies with Debuff Immunity may even bring him down to the same playing field as his peers, but these occurrences are far and few in-between; the rest of the time, Arjuna (Alter) will be wreaking havoc with a supereffective consistency that beats even the likes of Gilgamesh. 

High AoE Damage

Despite Arjuna (Alter)’s lack of an NP upgrade, his AoE damage is nothing short of top tier thanks to his massive buffs and Berserker advantage; being comparable to a single-target NP in damage. To put things into perspective, even after Raikou’s NP upgrade, she is only able to slightly surpass Arjuna’s NP Damage with her own, decidedly less consistent supereffective in play.

Unparalleled Buster Criticals

All of Arjuna (Alter)’s offensive self-buffs also affect his normal command cards, and in extension, his criticals. With how much damage his un-upgraded NP is able to dish out, it is not difficult to imagine how monstrous his criticals can be when buffed by a strong support. Perhaps more importantly, Clairvoyance (Transcendant) helps focus available critical stars on his Buster cards, which he has three of as a Berserker, which makes him more consistent than nearly all other critical damage dealers.

Good Sustained Damage

The final component in Arjuna (Alter)’s recipe for success is the 3-turn duration on every single one of his offensive buffs (and debuffs). This means that enemies with Break do not hamper him as much as other damage dealers, and with the help of someone like BB (Summer) and three Buster cards, he can dish out some incredibly ridiculous damage during the 3-turn duration. 

NP Charge

Clairvoyance (Transcendant)’s 30% NP Charge allows Arjuna (Alter) more freedom in terms of Craft Essence choice. This works particularly well with event damage CEs, as he’s able to perform a 1st-turn NP with certain support combinations without using a Starting NP CE.

Poor Survivability

Berserkers are notoriously difficult to keep alive, and Arjuna (Alter) in this regard is no different from the rest. Although Soul’s Light’s Guts is very valuable in high-pressure situations and can potentially save a run, it still leaves him at low health after use, and while the skill also provides some semblance of HP Recovery, the amount it heals per turn is often not enough to let him survive a hit from harder-hitting bosses.

Lack of Utility

Arjuna (Alter)’s kit lacks any sort of utility, minor or otherwise. This means that he has to entirely rely on his supports and Craft Essence choice to deal with unexpected stage gimmicks. Fortunately, his high damage often allows him to shorten such fights that these gimmicks, in turn, become less troublesome.

It’s recommended to max out Arjuna (Alter)’s first two skills if possible. Soul’s Light, meanwhile, does not contribute to his offense and can be left at a lower skill level, though leveling it to some extent will help increase his chances of survival in crucial moments.

• As Arjuna (Alter)’s primary damage increasing skill, Anti-Evil (Unique) EX is the clear first choice in terms of leveling. Aside from the increase in raw buff magnitude, leveling the skill also reduces its cooldown by 2 turns, allowing Arjuna faster access to the skill if the first use isn’t enough to beat the stage.
• Clairvoyance (Transcendant) EX provides some NP Charge as well as a 3-turn Buster Star Gather Rate Up, the latter of which is crucial to Arjuna (Alter)’s single-target damage. As the amount of Star Gather Rate given is already decent enough at low skill level, it is of lesser importance compared to the first skill. Still, leveling it increases the amount of NP Charge and reduces reliance on RNG. With the cooldown reduction in mind as well, this skill should ideally be leveled second to keep the timing as close as possible to that of Anti-Evil (Unique).
• Soul’s Light EX is Arjuna (Alter)’s only survival-oriented skill, providing a 1-time Guts effect as well as a HP Recovery per Turn effect, with both effects lasting for 3 turns. The Guts effect lets him survive an otherwise-fatal attack, while the HP Recovery helps patch him back up afterwards. Overall, this skill should be leveled last, though it may be wise to put some levels into it to help prevent potential deaths from debuffs such as Poison or Burn after the Guts effect is used.

As with many damage dealers, Starting NP Gauge is Arjuna (Alter)’s preferred CE effect in most situations. In terms of offensive effects, Buster Performance Up and Attack Up are great choices, while NP Damage Up and Critical Damage Up are also beneficial, if slightly inferior compared to the first two effects.

• Kaleidoscope / The Imaginary Element (MLB): This category of CEs allows Arjuna (Alter) to perform a 1st turn NP without external aid (Imaginary Element needs Clairvoyance (Transcendant) at level 6, while Kaleido needs just level 1). With the help of NP Charge supports, he can even fire off his second NP in just a couple more turns, which works well for stages with multiple powerful waves (or, indeed, multiple bosses with the Break mechanic).
• Aerial Drive / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Holy Night Supper / Partake with the King / Starry Nights / Sweet Crystal: These CEs exchange some Starting NP for longer-term offensive or utility benefits. They are ideal in situations where a 1st turn NP is unnecessary, and/or if supports with NP Charge are brought along.
• The Black Grail: This CE grants the biggest increase to Arjuna (Alter)’s NP damage, allowing him to take out much more powerful enemy waves in a single hit. 
• Limited/Zero Over / Joint Recital / Hero Elly’s Adventure / Victor of the Moon / Verdant Sound of Destruction: These CEs eschew Starting NP altogether in favor of larger magnitude offensive buffs. In contrast to the Black Grail, these CEs provide lesser NP damage increase but also benefit Arjuna’s Critical hits, making for more a more balanced damage distribution.