Just read the Break Bar guide and didn't realize the break bars would have such impact on the game.(I thought it was just a way to nerf merling+jalter combo)
So which servant value changes the most due to break bar?
I think someone like Sakata Kintoki who isn't going to fire off 2 nps in a battle before getting killed is really going to suffer. But which servants shine the most due to break bar?
The break bar makes the following types of servants more useful at boss fights -
(1) NP spammers like Chloe, Saberlot that can break each bar with their NP as they come,
(2) NP star gen crit servants like Emiya, Zerkerlot that can break the first bar with their NP, then gather the stars and break the next bar with a crit brave chain
i would say servant who relay on single np burst but weak np gain, like scathach, kintoki, or mama raikou.
on the other side, servant like squirtoria who can fire their np back to back, or servant with extreamly hight survivability (like cu alter) will be better.
but i dont think this change will out right kill those "np nuke" servant. i belive you should treat this break bar like different weave of fight. you can save them for the last break bar and use the combat uniform for thet
Sustain and NP spam are the keys against break bar enemies, which is why many buster servants fell out of favor in JP, and why arts stall never goes out of style.
The key most of the time are good support servants like Hans, Mash, Waver, Merlin, Jeanne along with one or two DPS servants with good survival and NP gain, such as Archertoria, Kuro, Euryale, and David. Servants like Kintoki, Musashi, Illya and Jalter lose so much of their effectiveness because they're a "one and done" type of servant.
Gonna echo the above—one-and-done servants like Kintoki and Jalter are going to be less useful UNLESS you plugsuit them in on the last bar and treat it like it’s a turn 1 nuke. But having your support’s skills on cooldown and ready is pretty unlikely.
Arts stall and turtle teams have been the engine of this game since its release (Waver/Mash/Georgios/Hans/d’Eon/Jeanne, Tamamo and Mash’s upgrades followed soon thereafter) and they’re not going out of style anytime soon and they’re only getting better in JP despite the current Skadi fad that’s happening over there.
Invest in your supports—Hans, Mash, Georgios, Asterios, and David are REALLY GOOD and REALLY HELPFUL units for everyone. Ascend them and level their skills to at least 6. (And get Mash’s to 10.) You won’t regret having them on hand. Others, like Martha, d’Eon, and Caster Marie don’t get as much love as the others but they are specialized supports and they do come in handy.
If you can, try to roll for the 5* supports—Tamamo, Merlin, Waver, or Jeanne—next time they’re on rate-up. (Waver gets one in March and Tamamo gets one in late April.) They make challenge quests that much easier.
Or find a reliable (and bulky) DPS. Enkidu, Archer Artoria, Ozy, Robin Hood, Mordred, Cleo, Medb, Saberlot, Chloe, Okita, Ridetoki, Assassin Shiki, and Vlad can all be absolute np-spamming monsters under the right conditions. Their burst might feel underwhelming (except for Robin) but they’re not one-trick-ponies either.
There’s almost no servant that doesn’t shine with a maxed Tamamo and Merlin to help them NP spam, in my experience. Even Enkidu, with only one Arts card, loves the Fox’s Wedding boost and cooldown reduction from Tamamo (because Enkidu is immortal when you can spam Perfect Form every 6 turns.)
Sometimes, too, investing in a strong last-man standing can be a strategic path to a win. In this current challenge quest, you could eat Salter’s AOE NP on the final HP bar and let your Herc, CúZerker, Chloe, Squrtoria, or Robin Hood in to solo. The arts archers can all NP loop under the right conditions (everyone needs crits and Robin needs a maxed Golden Rule) so you can easily NP back-to-back and dodge NPs or nasty crits with skills or support from your mystic code.
Speaking of mystic codes, Plugsuit is good, but the mystic code with cooldown reduction, invincibility, and debuff cleanse is tailor-made for challenge quests. Level it to reduce those cooldowns—they’ll save you.
And remember—there’s no shame in using command seals or a quartz or 2. :) Many of the runs you see on YouTube (or talked about in FB groups) are the third, fifth, or tenth run that person did. Good luck!
Servants with high sustained damage and/or high NP gain like Lancelot (Saber), Artoria (Archer), Tamamo (Lancer), Carmilla, are much better in break bar fights.
Powerful multi-turn buffs with low cooldowns are also premium, like Merlin, Mash and Waver.
You also need to deal with the enemy's NP gague because there's no guarantee you'll kill them before they use it. Stuns, NP drains and party invul or party evade or taunt+single target evade effects are better. So David, Tristan, Mash, Tamamo (Caster), etc.
