Banner Guide – Thorn of the Desert Rubia

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Official Patch Notes

Exclusive Weapon
Base stats (Lv 100) Max stats (after engraving and awakening)

Overview

PVE PVP Fiend Hunt/Guild Raid
B B B
Last Night Tower of Pride Tower of Salvation
C B B

＋ Rubia’s other costumes are fairly good in PVP.

＋ Has a small amount of synergy with Maid Rubia.

＋ Burn damage adds up over time.

－ Damage, range and cost are unremarkable

－ There are many other fire attackers with better AOE and better damage

－ Does not really excel in any game mode

Rubia for PVE

Unfortunately, Rubia isn’t particularly outstanding as a PVE (Player vs Environment) character, especially when you consider her performance against other fire-based attackers.

As a dedicated gamer, I can’t ignore the might of the Fire element in our game. It’s packed with powerful attackers who dish out some serious damage, especially when it comes to their skills. Characters like Maid.Liatris, EA.Eris, LH.Loen, and NJ.Levia are known for their incredible offensive base stats and skill damage that soars past 700%.

When it comes to tackling end game content, the duo of Levia + Loen is often seen as unbeatable. Levia’s skill multiplies all magic damage, while Loen’s skill boosts her own damage output. Together, they form a formidable force that’s hard to beat.

On the other hand, Rubia is not bad, but she struggles to find her own niche in PVE.

The Sea Emperor Rubia is primarily employed to assemble chains and lower an opponent’s defense, but it lacks substantial attacking power. When fully upgraded at level +5, Empress Rubia can only dish out a maximum of 6 times 57%, which amounts to approximately 427.5% damage (including chain multiplier).

Maid character named C Rubia is primarily valued for her dodging abilities, which are more crucial in Player versus Player (PVP) scenarios than in Player versus Environment (PVE). However, it’s essential to note that she isn’t a formidable attacker. With a +5 full potential upgrade, Maid Rubia can only dish out 220% of her attack twice, following a modest 50% boost to her attack power.

In the realm of Rubia’s wardrobe, Thorn Desert is the unique choice for dishing out substantial harm. Known as Thorn Rubia, this character deals an initial blow that’s triple the standard (3×110%) and then inflicts a Burn effect dealing 265% damage every turn for 3 consecutive turns. This accumulates to a grand total of 1,125% over these three rounds (taking chain damage into account). If you strategically position Maid Rubia beforehand, you can amplify the damage output by an additional 50% using Maid Rubia’s ATK boost.

As a passionate fan, I can’t help but notice that Thorn Rubia appears to deal substantial damage. However, despite this, she falls short of securing a top-tier spot among fire attackers in PVE.

Initially, as Thorn Rubia’s cooldown lasts for 5 turns, she can be utilized only once every 3 rounds played by players. During this cooldown period, the alternate costumes inflict comparatively lower damage.

In the second place, let’s talk about Rubia’s costumes not having strong compatibility. To illustrate, Luvencia’s costumes boast high chain stacks across all of them, making her an excellent fit for high chain teams that include Refi and Liberta supporters. However, Rubia only has high chains on her Empress costume, not the others. Another problem is the area-of-effect (AOE) on her attacks: except for Liatris, Levia, and Loen who all have consistent large AOEs across their costumes, Rubia’s AOE varies across hers. This means she may struggle to hit weak points consistently during fiend hunts, guild raids, or when the enemy forms in a V-shape.

Thirdly, aside from pursuing fiends and guild battles, it’s generally best to eliminate your opponents swiftly. The downside of persistent burn damage is that it allows your enemies to utilize potent abilities against you before the burn has a chance to inflict harm.

Rubia for PVP

Rubia is quite popular in PVP, but not because of her Thorn costume.

In the context of an opening move for assault squads, opting for Rubia in her Maid outfit on the first turn can be advantageous. The Maid outfit comes at a minimal cost of just 2 SP and offers her increased evasion, significantly boosting her resilience. If you’re considering Rubia for Player versus Player (PVP) battles, it would be beneficial to have a high-level Maid version of Rubia in your rotation of outfits.

In a simpler and more conversational manner: Using Empress Rubia as a secondary skill or opening a defense team is highly effective due to her extensive area of effect (AOE). This allows her to easily trap at least two enemies, even those sneaky ones hidden in the middle or in unconventional positions. While her damage for Player vs Environment (PVE) might seem low initially, it’s quite decent with top-tier equipment, and her defense reduction compensates for her lower damage multiplier.

Moreover, Rubia boasts a substantial critical hit rate of 20% (twice the standard base crit of 10%), enabling her to compensate for her lower damage multiplier through critical hits. Critical hit rates are more advantageous in Player versus Player (PVP) scenarios than Player versus Environment (PVE). With appropriate equipment and boosters like RH.Rou, it’s not challenging for Rubia to achieve a high critical hit rate.

Thorn Rubia’s performance in Player versus Player (PVP) falls slightly below the norm. Her Skill Points (SP) cost of 3 is decent but not exceptional, her range is also average, and her initial damage output is rather low. However, Thorn excels at allowing players to swiftly switch between her three outfits without any cooldown periods, which can be a strategic advantage in gameplay.

It’s advisable not to focus on Player versus Player (PVP) with Rubia at this time, given her disadvantageous matchups against commonly used tank characters like Glacia and Morphea in the current game environment.

Conclusion

Initially, the character known as Thorn of the Desert Rubia came as a starting costume when the game initially launched. At her debut, Thorn Rubia wasn’t considered top-notch, but as the game progressed, stronger characters have emerged, making better options for fire attackers in terms of damage output and area of effect (AOE).

The recommendation is to save your tickets for the next banner!

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2025-04-25 16:08