Snowbreak: Containment Zone Meta Report – Anniversary Edition

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As a seasoned operative in the world of Snowbreak, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions as I gaze upon this latest tier list. It’s been a long road, filled with high-stakes battles and strategic maneuvers, but it seems even the mightiest of us have fallen victim to the relentless pace of new releases.

Greetings, greetings! Originally, I had a different introduction prepared for this article. However, due to unexpected events like the anniversary news cycle and an increased workload on Wuthering Waves content, I had to postpone it for about four weeks. This delay, combined with my boss’s demands, turned this article into something of a production challenge. New sections were added to keep up with recent content releases, and several sections needed to be rewritten more than once. While I understand this isn’t an ideal situation, it sometimes happens. I apologize for the delay. To make amends, I’ve included my “Quick Thoughts” article about the current Suspense in Skytopia event as a bonus. Given the extensive coverage, we’ll dive right in while I try to refresh myself with some water after gulping down Red Bull.

Introduced in this meta report for the first time is an accompanying spreadsheet with intricate calculations and figures from this article, along with calculators for setup optimization for both Lyfe – Infinite Sight and Fenny – Starshine. You can access it here. I’m unsure if I will continue creating these as they consume an excessive amount of my time and mental energy, but for the game’s anniversary, I decided to put in that extra effort.

Charging to the Top

After the final chapter of “Realm of Illusions,” there won’t be any major updates for Siris – Ksana for some time. This gives us an opportunity to reflect on her influence within the game. At first, she was generally well-received, though not exceptionally so. She filled a solid role as a sort of “Cherno” alternative, performing similarly and proving quite capable. Overall, Siris found herself in a favorable position, one that many other operatives aspire to achieve.

And then she got buffed.

Following an enhancement to her gacha weapon, increasing her damage output, and an improvement in her standard skill that extends her ultimate’s availability, it can be argued that Siris has significantly enhanced her power. This boost didn’t alter her role, but it certainly made her more effective at it. Now, with the ability to repeatedly use ults, similar to the temporary Discordance setup, and simultaneously benefiting from her preferred weapons, she comfortably ranks among the top Damage Per Second (DPS) units available.

Although Siris doesn’t quite match the performance level of the Orphan Crusher 9000, or Cherno – Enigma, it is clear that Siris excels compared to most characters within the DPS pool. Seasun demonstrates the ability to field more than one powerful damage-dealing character, suggesting that they may have overpowered abilities.

By the way, she’s fantastic when using Gigalink – it makes her push opponents aside and monopolize the damage output in a match, leaving others nearly helpless. I regret to say, Haru, your return is missed. I hadn’t realized just how valuable you were to our team.

Insight for Lyfe

As a veteran gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the New Hentiro team has outdone themselves with their latest creation, Lyfe – Infinite Sight. Having attended countless gaming events and played numerous characters from various games, it’s safe to say that Lyfe stands out as a highly mobile operative with an impressive kit.

Initially, let’s delve into the topic of Deiwos’ passive skill, which essentially functions as a fourth active ability. Could we call it Deiwos’ active skill instead? In essence, attacking enemies causes a circular meter to fill on your screen. Once full, your next dodge will unleash a burst of ten critical shots. This is often referred to as a ‘dodge shot’. It’s important to note that unlike regular dodges, it doesn’t provide invincibility, but it does offer CC resistance and damage reduction, which makes it generally acceptable. There’s also the downside that it consumes ammo, which seems reasonable given that you’re firing your weapons to activate it. If you run out of ammo, you can still perform a dodge attack, but it will only deal half of the normal damage. Once again, this appears to be a fair trade-off.

Regarding your primary means of inflicting harm, this specific weapon serves as your key damaging asset. It significantly boosts your regular gun damage and activates another major source of damage that we’ll discuss later. Additionally, it has an impressive Alignment Index scaling – for every 100 points in AI, the base damage multiplier increases by an additional 10%. Previously, the in-game description may have led to a common misunderstanding, stating that it increased “final damage” by 10%, but fortunately, this has been clarified for better understanding. Thanks for your time, Seasun.

As a seasoned gamer, let me share my take on Lyfe’s primary kit, focusing on her default ability. Contrary to the incredible power of Lyfe’s dodge shot, this skill doesn’t deal much direct damage. However, it’s not all gloom and doom! This ability instead tags enemies with Insight marks. These marks have a couple of key functions. Firstly, firing an enemy with a mark accelerates the charge of your dodge shot, which is always beneficial. Moreover, when you successfully hit an enemy with marked targets during your dodge shot, they explode to inflict skill damage. This extra damage can impact all ten hits of Lyfe’s dodge shot, as the explosion doesn’t deplete the mark. This results in a massive burst of damage, giving Lyfe an unexpectedly balanced ballistic/skill damage output, ranging from 60% ballistic/40% skill to nearly 50/50! Furthermore, utilizing your default skill completely charges up your dodge shot, creating a thrilling standard ability-dodge shot combo.

Her primary ability is a striking move that temporarily incapacitates opponents. Not much else to add, let’s proceed.

Finally, there’s the impressive ultimate move, primarily utilized for eliminating clusters of common enemies. While it doesn’t deal less damage than your dodge shot (though it does), its main drawback lies in the lack of Insight mark detonations. This results in a significant reduction of your single-target DPS by half or more. However, you do appear quite stylish while performing it, and an interesting aspect is that in solo mode, the extended cast animation pauses time, allowing your standard ability cooldown to continue decreasing. Effectively, this means you gain an extra ability cast that you can utilize immediately upon canceling the ultimate. Unfortunately, this trick can only be used once per instance as the animation stops after the first use. Additionally, the brightness of the cast animation should be noted to avoid blinding yourself.

In summary, this kit is enjoyable and well-organized, enabling Lyfe to deliver powerful attacks consistently even during long fights. Although her damage output might not reach the impressive levels of Cherno, she still deals enough high-impact shots to inflict a swift, persistent damage and secure a top position.

Manifests

Life begins with a robust initial performance in her first manifest, enhancing final damage from dodge shots by 20%. This boost is particularly beneficial. Her M2 accelerates your playstyle by restoring one-third of your dodge shot energy whenever it’s activated, making it a valuable asset, and likely the ideal stopping point for many players. However, as you progress to her M3, the overall benefit begins to diminish. Although a 12% minimum bonus ballistic damage to marked enemies seems appealing, it adds to the dilution of buffs when combined with other sources like Nova Squad’s massive 75% boost. The same observation applies to her final manifest, making extensive investment more suitable for heavy spenders or dedicated enthusiasts.

Logistics

Season has stopped producing intriguing logistics sets, but here’s Nova Squad, which is fantastic solely for its unique appeal as it increases damage figures without any conditions attached.

Sigh.

She significantly amplifies any rival’s challenge by enormously increasing the power of her dodge shot, Insight mark explosions, and ultimate move to an almost unbelievable extent. Yet, her regular ability doesn’t receive the same enhancement, which makes sense given its insignificant impact as a sole damage source.

In our approach for substats, we focus on enhancing the damage of Lyfe’s evasion shots and Insight mark explosions as top priorities. Bonuses from attacks positively impact both, making them a straightforward first choice. Once that’s addressed, no other factors influence Insight damage (except for the Kinetic damage bonus from the third stat, which is desirable). Now, let’s concentrate on Lyfe’s evasion shot, which offers three potential ways to improve it.

As a seasoned gamer with countless hours spent honing my skills in various games, I can confidently say that Alignment Index is hands down the most efficient stat for maximizing damage output in the game, especially when it comes to the dodge shot ability. This stat directly amplifies the damage multiplier of the dodge shot, making it a no-brainer for any serious player looking to excel in combat.

Skill cooldown reduction, often called ability haste, can be unpredictable because it doesn’t boost your stats directly, but instead allows you to use your main ability more frequently. This results in more dodge attacks. However, since your rotations rely on landing shots, they can become unreliable and inconsistent due to missed shots causing delays in the rotation sequence. It’s less a matter of science and more an art form. In competitive play, where every second counts, reducing cooldowns by even a small amount can significantly save time. But in casual settings, these differences might not be as noticeable.

If you’re looking to optimize your personal logistics system or decide which part to focus on next, feel free to use the logistics calculator I’ve created by following this link.

Weapons

It’s been quite some time since Eatchel and Rock Python were launched, so I no longer need to emphasize that the current shop gun is fully functional. To be honest, Revolving Glow, a free item from the event shop, is quite good. Frankly, you don’t have many options when it comes to dual SMGs, so let’s compare it to Lyfe’s premium gacha option. Let’s examine their weapon skills; Nightborne Crown is at T1, while Revolving Glow is at T5:

  • Nightborne Crown
    Increases Kinetic damage by 18%.
    After a skill hits, the target takes 14.4% more ballistic damage from the equipped operative for 3s. After a shot or ultimate ability hits, the target takes 14.4% more skill damage from the equipped operative for 3s. These effects are doubled when both are active on the target
  • Revolving Glow
    After a shot hits, standard ability damage increases by 25% for 3s. After a skill hits, ballistic damage increases by 25% for 3s. These effects are doubled when both are active.

It seems quite alike, doesn’t it? The Nightborne Crown adds a Kinetic damage bonus, but the figures on the Revolving Glow suggest that it might deal even more damage and offer the same function. This implies that it could be quite competitive, potentially even superior, correct?

Spoiler alert: no.

Although they appear alike, these items enhance damage in distinct manners. The Revolving Glow enhances the active character (Lyfe) through buffs, while the Nightborne Crown impacts enemy targets via debuffs when using weapon skills. In essence, each item influences unique aspects of the overall damage calculation.

  • Revolving Glow’s buffs are counted as “damage%” buffs, which is already a very diluted stat on Lyfe due to this particular buff bucket already being full of other sources like the 24% Kinetic boost and 75% boost to Insight Ray and dodge shot damage from Nova Squad. Hello diminishing returns, my old friend.
  • On the other hand, Nightborne Crown’s debuffs count towards the “%damage taken” portion of the damage equation, a completely different multiplier and actually quite rare. There is no other source of this in Lyfe’s kit, which means that it gains the full benefit.

As a passionate enthusiast, I can’t help but express my astonishment when comparing the T1 Nightborne Crown with the free alternative. The difference in stats is staggering, with the Crown performing more than 30% better! The T2 option just adds to the amazement, boasting percentage gains in the mid-50s to low-60s compared to the shop gun. Incredibly, the shop gun gave its best shot, but it simply couldn’t keep up.

Full calculations are available in the companion spreadsheet.

Star Power

Growing weary of Lyfe constantly being in the limelight, I, Fenny, decided to make a stylishly late appearance. As I stride in, I can’t help but show off my arsenal – yeah, you heard it right! Ammo is my thing, and I’m not shy about it. Now, don’t get too curious about the reason behind this, as even I don’t know what’s going on there. But what I can tell you is that my readiness to share ammo makes me an exceptional support in any team. I’m all about keeping the game gunning towards a more action-packed direction.

To start off, let’s delve into Fenny’s fundamental ability, which will give you a glimpse of how her support function operates. When you activate this skill, Fenny will speed off in a direction, releasing a series of stylish bullets that differ based on the direction she dashed. Forward dashes produce slower-firing explosive shots, left or right dashes increase Kinetic damage, and retreating dash grants bullets an S-Energy replenishment effect upon impact. Essentially, it’s a blend of Tess – The Magician’s and Eatchel – The Cub’s standard skills, but significantly more effective. Once neuros are unlocked, this skill becomes instantaneous, opening up unexpectedly strong DPS potential for a support character. Although Fenny might not pose a serious threat in the meta, she promises to be a blast in more relaxed game modes like Gigalink and Paradoxical Labyrinth.

Although her basic talent is impressive, we both understand that’s not the main reason we’re here. You might have witnessed videos of Fenny appearing and generously supplying your DPS character with an oversized quantity of extra ammo, or perhaps you’ve tried it yourself. The ammunition supplied scales according to the active operative’s weapon capacity as well as Fenny’s own firearm, meaning a six-round revolver will receive fewer bullets compared to Lyfe’s (the newcomer) dual SMG with 100 rounds. So, what’s the point of these features? Well, firing the bonus ammo enhances the active operative’s attack power, proportional to Fenny’s own attack stats. It may not be flashy, but additional damage is always beneficial, and of course, not having to reload is a definite advantage. With neuronics activated, you can prepare up to three instances of this skill, and decrease its cooldown when you crit or hit a weak spot while it’s inactive, enabling an excessive rate of ammo expenditure. To top it off, the active operative doesn’t have their actions interrupted due to Fenny personally delivering the ammunition. In summary, it’s a fantastic support ability. I absolutely adore it.

After going over the two skills that grant extra ammunition, here are some technical points to keep in mind:

To conclude, Fenny’s unique skill resembles the Care Bear Stare of Hush, yet it persists for a while even when you perform other actions, making her occasionally useful as a quick substitute for burst damage dealers. As a support character, her ability is quite effective, but not particularly extraordinary.

The cherry on top of this already very appealing package is Fenny’s Deiwos passive, which is literally just a free ballistic damage boost. No gimmicks, no catches. Just put her in your team, and every gun now does more damage. It’s good, no notes.

Comparing Fenny and Acacia-Redacted, both are free characters who prove surprisingly effective in dealing damage for their type, and even early in the game, Acacia’s dagger attacks still pack a punch. However, they also offer robust support skills that outlast their combat abilities. Fenny, in particular, is so powerful in her supporting role that she becomes a must-have, with capabilities comparable to the best characters in this regard.

Manifests

From the start, Fenny introduces an unexpected twist with her initial ability. This skill offers special advantages to characters through bonus bullets that are influenced by their weapon type, even for Fenny herself! Sniper rifles, pistols, and crossbows receive a 15% increase in damage on critical hits, which is beneficial and at long last gives Katya players a valid reason to aim precisely. Shotgun users gain an additional pellet per shot, resulting in increased damage as well as a speed-up in breaking parts, U-Energy production, and for Coronet, the generation of extra Mercy stacks for quicker build-up and less maintenance. Assault rifles and SMGs (whether single or dual) receive the most intricate bonus – a 12% chance for each shot to release an extra bullet. This definitely increases DPS, but due to its random nature, the practical application may differ, potentially leading to challenging situations. However, it’s always advantageous to have this feature rather than not, and the affordable cost makes it a worthwhile acquisition.

As a seasoned player with countless hours spent honing my skills in this game, I find myself questioning the utility of investing further into Fenny’s manifests, particularly Manifests 2 and 3. From my perspective, these upgrades primarily serve to enhance the uptime of Fenny’s support skill, either by providing more ammo or reducing its cooldown. However, I’ve found that with neuros unlocked, Fenny can already provide a surplus of bonus ammo before even encountering a cooldown, effectively taking care of most threats before they become a problem.

Logistics

Reflecting on the Reverie Squad leaves me puzzled, not about its functions, as those are quite straightforward. When any member of this squad has additional ammunition due to Fenny’s support ability, they inflict a 40% boost in ballistic damage. Similarly, Fenny will increase her own ballistic damage by 20% when firing bonus ammo with her standard skill. This powerful effect seamlessly complements Fenny’s overall abilities.

Hey there! I’m scratching my head over this one – why does the logistics set only boost Fenny’s abilities when it’s equipped on her, specifically? The range of what that set can do is already limited, so I don’t get why there’s a restriction in place to start with. I brainstormed possible ways to exploit this without the restriction, but all I could come up with was putting the logistics set onto a support character to provide Fenny with a 20% damage bonus while she uses Amano-Iwato for double the fun. But that setup’s more of a joke, right? Still, every gamer needs a break and have some fun every now and then. Let’s just focus on the substats analysis for now.

In simpler terms, Substats are easy to understand, and Seasun hits the mark again with the complimentary bundle. Additional attack will make her strikes more forceful and amplify the damage enhancement from her support ability’s extra ammo, while Alignment Index will augment the ballistic damage boost that her Deiwos offers. If you prefer not to venture into the logistics stat gambling den, then it’s perfectly acceptable to stay with the free bundle, and honestly, I don’t plan on taking any chances myself.

Weapons

Assessing the worth of support items can sometimes be challenging because they don’t inflict damage directly. Instead, their value should be determined by considering the DPS (Damage Per Second) that they help sustain. Here, we have three candidates – Strawberry Shortcake, Pixel Age, and Heart Hunter – competing for Fenny’s possession. To understand their worth, let’s analyze each one to see how they compare.

At first glance, Strawberry Shortcake appears to be an excellent strategy for bypassing the farming requirements and utilizing something you likely already possess. Its attack stat is larger than Pixel Age’s, and when paired with Fenny’s support skill, it receives a significant boost in attack power. However, it’s essential to note that Strawberry Shortcake is a Thermal weapon. This implies that it no longer benefits from the passive ballistic damage boost provided by Fenny’s Deiwos or gains the advantages of her M1.

In the meantime, you can find Pixel Age in the event store, ready for your purchase. Despite having less overall power, it offers a miniature version of Heart Hunter’s advanced weapon skill. This translates to a 12.5% increase in ballistic damage when using bonus ammo, which then doubles to 25% if Fenny is not present on the battlefield. Additionally, it belongs to the correct element, granting it additional benefits that Shortcake does not receive.

Ultimately, we arrive at Heart Hunter, clearly the frontrunner among the trio. With the highest attack value and an additional ballistic damage enhancement (a slight 5% at tier 1, yet significant), it offers a unique advantage. As you fire extra ammunition with your DPS, these shots will bypass 12% of the enemy’s resistances. This is quite substantial, as only Acacia – Kaguya among supports provides a similar ability. Consequently, this damage modifier stands out remarkably in its niche compared to more widespread attack percentage and damage percentage, where it could have had a less dramatic effect. Additionally, the ballistic boost and resistance ignore enhancements grow stronger at tier 2, further amplifying its supportive abilities.

Instead of prolonging the conversation, let’s delve into some numerical data. I’ve devised three different situations to give you a clear comparison of the performance of these weapons. In all cases, Fenny is at level 80 and Manifest 1, with a Reverie Squad enhanced +15 (without any substats), and all neuronics unlocked. For those who wish to explore the numbers in detail, a comprehensive analysis can be found in the accompanying spreadsheet.

Lyfe – Infinite Sight: Dodge Shot

Life has reached level 80, and there’s no Manifest Level yet, but it does have a +15 Nova Squad (without specific stats), carrying a Tier 1 Nightborne Crown. All neuronic abilities have been unlocked.

Unbuffed Damage 64%
Strawberry Shortcake T5 100%
Pixel Age T5 100%
Heart Hunter T1 117%
Heart Hunter T2 133%

Initially, it might appear that Strawberry Shortcake performs similarly to Pixel Age, but upon closer inspection, there are subtle differences in their performance that aren’t immediately obvious from raw statistics. In particular, Fenny’s M1 offers a 12% chance of firing an additional bullet when using dual SMGs with a Kinetic weapon, which Strawberry Shortcake does not benefit from. As a result, Lyfe will take more time to charge her dodge shot, slowing down the pace at which she can deal damage and thus reducing her overall DPS. This is one area where Shortcake falls short compared to Pixel Age, and the other advantages of Fenny’s M1 are also evident when comparing their damage output.

Chenxing – Ethereal Cloud: Shooting

In simpler terms, Chenxing has reached level 80 and possesses Ability 2, along with a +15 Amano-Iwato Squad (without specific substatistics). They are equipped with a Tier 2 Anti-Evil Ward. All of their neuronics have been unlocked. At the moment, Chenxing is targeting and firing at a vulnerable area on an enemy.

Unbuffed Damage 56%
Strawberry Shortcake T5 86%
Pixel Age T5 100%
Heart Hunter T1 117%
Heart Hunter T2 133%

Hey there! I noticed Shortcake took a dive – what’s going on? It appears that Fenny’s M1 offers an impressive 15% final damage boost for assault rifle users when they hit weak spots, which seems like Chenxing is doing here. If you aren’t using Strawberry Shortcake, then you’re passing up on this bonus damage!

Fenny – Coronet – Shooting

As a devoted fan, I’m excited to share that my Fenny character has reached level 80 and activated Manifest 3. She’s equipped with a +15 Amano-Iwato Squad (no specific substats), and she brandishes the Tier 1 Sunny Payback weapon. Every neuronic upgrade is in place, and her standard skill is currently active. Fenny benefits from the bonus pellets generated by both her Deiwos passive ability and Sunny Payback.

Unbuffed Damage 56%
Strawberry Shortcake T5 92%
Pixel Age T5 100%
Heart Hunter T1 117%
Heart Hunter T2 134%

Again, Shortcake finds it challenging to match Pixel Age’s pace, and this difficulty can be traced back to Fenny (Starshine). In Fenny (Starshine)’s M1, having a Kinetic weapon equipped results in an additional pellet for every shot fired by shotgun users. This means more damage is inflicted, making it the optimal situation given that Fenny (Coronet) already receives two extra pellets, which lessens the advantage of a third. However, when this doesn’t occur, the significance of Starshine’s bonus pellet and the performance gap between Shortcake and Pixel Age will only widen.

One thing that remains quite steady is the boost in performance Heart Hunter offers compared to Pixel Age. It delivers nearly 20% more damage at T1 and at least 30% more at T2, placing it on par with other signature weapons. I personally lean towards support weapons for their added flexibility in team composition, but ultimately the choice is yours.

Meta Changes

Fenny Game

The appearance of Starshine has made a significant and widespread difference. As a versatile shield for ballistic damage, she enhances the effectiveness of every gun DPS to some extent. However, it’s important to note that not all ballistic damage specialists reap the same benefits, potentially leaving some out in the cold.

Strong Synergies

Without needing to reload, Chenxing is able to maximize her regular ability by rapidly deploying multiple enhanced slip detonations (keep in mind, increased gun damage also boosts slip detonation impact!).

Game – Savage Pursuit: Although it’s particularly beneficial for underdeveloped Savage Pursuits, the additional ammunition is always useful in keeping the frequent use of its primary ability consistent, even when fully upgraded.

As a gamer, I’m thrilled about the upgrade for Fenny – Coronet! Now, she can reload faster, something she’s longed for since the very beginning. And guess who’s behind this? None other than her own team! This change effectively quadruples the number of shots she can fire before needing to reload, almost eliminating one of her main disadvantages. Plus, with more ammo at her disposal, tackling her second weakness – limited range – becomes a much more enticing challenge.

In the revised version, Fenny – Lionheart: Although her upgraded SSR form isn’t as ravenous for ammunition as before, providing an additional boost (coupled with a generous supply of shotgun shells) significantly enhances her ability to eliminate targets that are not instantly defeated by her unique dodge-and-fire combo.

In these challenging circumstances, I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the remaining five players who choose Marian as their DPS. More ammunition could certainly be beneficial for you all during gameplay.

100 Battle Veteran: Indeed, I’m referring to the weapon itself. Since the extra ammunition provided by Fenny doesn’t get included in the initial magazine’s count, you can keep one round in the 100BV’s real magazine before summoning Fenny. This way, you can fully utilize the weapon’s damage increase due to low ammo without the drawback of completely emptying the magazine.

Mizuho’s Elite Team: Now, Mizuho has the capability to uninterruptedly dish out ballistic damage over extended periods, enabling it to apply its top-tier 60% ballistic damage enhancement in practical situations. However, the downside is that this powerful asset is only available for purchase in the Jotun Tunnel shop, making it challenging to secure desirable additional attributes.

As a devoted fan, I’ve got to say, while Amano-Iwato outshines Mingyi Squad in sheer buff numbers, the latter has certainly stepped up its game with enhanced uptime.

Not So Much

As an avid fan, I can’t help but appreciate the idea of extra ammo boosting Swift’s combo length. However, her abilities are still held back by restrictive cooldowns, making it challenging for me to fully leverage this additional firepower effectively.

As a devoted fan: I’ve noticed that boosting Fenny’s ultimate bullets isn’t allowed, but the fact that you get extra ammo anyway effectively neutralizes Space Cowboy’s weapon skill. This means that even though I might initially see an advantage, it ends up causing more hassle than it’s worth because his unique ability essentially becomes redundant.

It seems that even though you’re using Katya’s regular abilities, firing Fenny’s additional ammunition will still consume S-Energy. I’m curious, why bother?

As a devoted fan, I’ve noticed an intriguing dilemma: Fenny’s bonus ammo doesn’t align with Fritia’s Aptitude skill. This mismatch makes it challenging for Fritia to fully shine in certain team setups because her support ability becomes less effective or even excluded altogether.

If your team isn’t winning, it means you’re losing. When ballistic damage DPS units become more powerful, it makes skill damage characters seem less effective in comparison. This change affects characters like Cherno – Enigma, Siris, Ksana, and Fritia – Hush.

Tier List Changes

You can find the full tier list here.

New “Tier 5” Added

I must admit, it’s painful but inevitable – the latest versions of Cherno – Enigma, Siris – Ksana, and Lyfe – Infinite Sight (now collectively known as the “three-headed monster”) outperform the original T0 DPS roster in a league of their own. Seasun, you’ve brought forth something extraordinary upon us!

New Additions

Siris – Ksana Rated at Tier 0

Although she may not surpass the stronger Cherno – Enigma, being so close to the pinnacle still places you quite high in the ranks.

Lyfe – Infinite Sight Rated at Tier 0

As a devoted admirer, I’d express it this way: Unleashing potent blows that keep coming, Lyfe transforms into her peak power, challenging Cherno fiercely in the race for highest DPS. If not dethroning her altogether, she certainly gives Cherno a run for her money.

Fenny – Starshine Rated at Tier 0

Did you find it truly unexpected, given that Fenny, boasting enhanced abilities and an overabundance of extra ammunition, practically shines as an indispensable support character – one that every player acquires effortlessly?

Obituaries to a Dead Meta

More recent DPS (Damage Per Second) releases haven’t been particularly favorable in comparison to their predecessors. Therefore, as we move forward into a fresh phase of the Snowbreak meta, let’s take a moment to honor and acknowledge the pioneering top-tier units.

Chenxing – Ethereal Cloud Lowered From Tier 0 to Tier 0.5

Chenxing, being the initial Defense Playable Character launched post-game release, enjoyed a substantial time frame to establish her influence within the game. She undeniably possessed notable skills (a formidable Hela shredder), but it was her adaptability and effectiveness in various scenarios that truly proved profitable, making her one of the most worthwhile choices during that period.

It feels like even the most exceptional things have their time, and it appears that’s the case with Chenxing in the Brave Squad. The arrival of Katya left me struggling to keep up as she outshone my abilities in many aspects. To make matters worse, characters like Cherno, with their powerful DPS releases, were dealing more damage and could sustain longer than I could. This has significantly reduced my competitive edge within the team, underscoring just how far Chenxing, our once MVP, has seemingly fallen from grace.

Katya – Blue Bolt Lowered From Tier 0 to Tier 0.5

Reflecting on the past, I believe Katya didn’t receive the recognition she deserved. While she did surpass Chenxing in many instances, making her a top choice, and having infinite ammo as a unique feature was undeniably impressive. However, the excitement about how overpowered she seemed was excessive, lasting only for two events. The introduction of Realm of Illusion and Cherno changed the game, with their 300-stack orb pop capabilities producing staggering numbers that Snowbreak had never witnessed before. In the following two DPS releases, it became evident that Katya was no longer competitive, having fallen significantly behind without a means to regain her edge.

It’s likely that Katya’s significance will persist due to various factors. Even though she may have lost her competitive edge, she can find comfort knowing that her other appealing qualities will endure for some time yet.

Yao – Winter Solstice Lowered From Tier 0 to Tier 0.5

Initially, it seemed unlikely that Yao would maintain her dominant position at the top. She was significantly weakened during the Closed Beta Test phase before Snowbreak was officially launched. Chenxing – Ethereal Cloud dealt more consistent damage, Haru – Absconditus had superior mobbing abilities, and even Katya – Blue Bolt didn’t need to reload.

Despite his exceptional ability to quickly defeat enemies, even outpacing others, Yao’s performance didn’t seem to make a difference in the end. This was because Cherno raised the bar higher than what Yao could attain. The games Siris and Lyfe further reinforced this heightened standard. As the last of the SSR releases succumbs to power creep, one can’t help but question if the introduction of those high DPS operatives was truly worth the chaos they caused in the game meta.

The old queen is dead. And with her, an entire era of Snowbreak.

Multiple Tier 0.5 Operatives Lowered to Tier 1

It’s quite amusing how Lyfe, in a way, outperforms herself. One can’t help but wonder about the mysterious wish granted by a mythical artifact when a player asked for Lyfe to become a highly sought-after damage dealer.

Marian – Swift (High Investment): What’s the point of using Marian instead of Lyfe – Infinite Sight, given that it performs similar functions as Swift but more effectively and for a longer duration? It appears to be a role replacement at its finest. At least, Swift had the chance to depart with a final grand performance, as it became a strong competitor once again with the introduction of Katya – Frostcap in Neural Simulation. The majority of other operatives did not receive such an honorable farewell.

Haru – Hidden: As fresh DPS releases can manage hordes of monsters with equal ease as they take down bosses, the usefulness of a specific monster-focused character becomes even more dubious than it already was.

Fritia – Hush (High Investment): After weighing up the hard work and strategic thinking needed for Hush to yield strong competition results, you might find yourself questioning its worth due to newer releases that can obliterate things at an astonishing pace with minimal mental exertion.

Most Tier 1 Operatives Lowered to Tier 2

In simpler terms, Fenny is still known as Lionheart, Acacia has been kept secret (Redacted), and Eatchel continues to be referred to as The Cub. These characters haven’t advanced or dropped in their status, and you can find more details about this under “Notably Unchanged Ratings”.

All Previous Tier 2 And Lower Operatives Shifted Down

Assigned Agents: Yao (Stealthy Departure), Lyfe (Hump Day), Siris (Goldfish Memory), Cherno (Double Trouble), Nita (Skilled Hands), Fritia (Keep Silent), Enya (Elder Sister), Haru (Ace Player)

Holdouts and Promotions

It’s not all doom and gloom.

Enya – Exuvia Raised from Tier 0.5 to Tier 0

Despite the fact that her sub-Damage Per Second trick hasn’t proven particularly valuable in critical situations, it’s nevertheless beneficial to receive a substantial skill damage increase without any real cost. Additionally, being invulnerable to crowd control effects within the safety circle is an added bonus, as more and more bosses attempt to disrupt your balance.

Notably Unchanged Ratings

Sometimes, just one additional component can make all the difference, and for Coronet, it’s the surplus ammo her alternate form offers. This extra ammo allows her to consistently fill up Mercy’s stack, making her a significant threat again, capable of delivering a rapid burst of damage that leaves enemies bewildered by the amount of lead they’re receiving. Although she may not return to Tier 0 with the introduction of new DPS characters, it’s at least reassuring that she maintains her rating while her peers are demoted.

Fenny – Lionheart (Tier 1): It seems that neither of the Fennys will be demoted, as Lionheart has been commended for her exceptional performance across a variety of content, demonstrating a strength and quality that surpasses what might be expected.

Acacia – Redacted (Tier 1): Offensive supports are generally more resistant to powercreep than DPS characters, and the universal value that Slow still provides means that Acacia keeps her spot. Fritia – Little Sunshine notably does not enjoy this benefit as her support skill has direct anti-synergy with the bonus ammo from Fenny – Starshine, an arguably superior support.

Eatchel – The Cub (Tier 1): Due to the latest bosses being created for extended battle durations (though just slightly), Eatchel gets a chance to fully charge up and effectively dispense superior attack boosts among the best in her class.

Addendum

It’s amazing how quickly a year has flown by since Snowbreak made its official debut! We have a lot to reminisce about, and we’re working on a retrospective that will highlight the best moments. However, I’m eager to hear your thoughts as well. What were some of your favorite memories? Did you have a preferred character at first, and has that changed over time? To share your answers and ask any questions you might have, I’ve created a survey. As a token of appreciation for participating, you’ll be entered into a draw for a Snowbreak redemption code. Even if I can’t remember exactly what it includes, who doesn’t love free stuff?

Take the survey here – it closes on August 13 at 4:00PM EST.

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2024-07-31 03:40