New character - Winter Shopper Rupee
XRupee kit has just been revealed on the official Twitter of NIKKE!
Here's her information card:
We already added her to the website, so if you want to check her skills and information in a more mobile-friendly format, please click here to open her profile.
First impressions
Winter Shopper Rupee is a Burst I Defender that wields an Assault Rifle. After getting two Burst III characters in a row, we finally are getting something different!
Let's go over XRupee skills first.
Winter Premium
■ Activates when the last bullet hits the target. Affects all allies.
DEF ▲ 19.02% for 5 sec.
While the Defense buff value isn't that high, it should be possible to keep it up at all times since XRupee uses an AR. Overall, Defense buffs in the current damage formula aren't that impactful, as they can't save you from the nightmares waiting in later Chapters.
VIP Gift
■ Affects all allies. Activates when any ally unit uses Burst Skills.
Shopping: DEF ▲ 1.33%, stacks up to 4 time(s) and lasts for 20 sec.
■ Affects all allies. Activates when the caster reaches max stacks of Shopping at the end of Full Burst.
Burst gauge loading speed ▲ 7.9% for 5 sec.
Even more Defense buffs! But here the value is even lower (keep in mind that those numbers are for level 10). Honestly, the Defense looks like a filler that's only there for the second part of the skill - the part that actually matters.
XRupee is the first character in the game that increases the speed of the Burst gauge filling, which translates to lower downtime between Full Bursts. 7.9% might not seem much, but it might make a huge difference in the upcoming PVP mode - if both sides survive the first Full Bursts phase, then whoever manages to reach the second one first, will most likely win the match.
In PVE, the value seems too low and we doubt that Harran or Rocket Launcher wielders (like Centi, Anis, or Laplace) will have to worry about losing their 'best burst generator' spots. Still, nothing is stopping you from using them in one team!
Shopaholic Date (20 seconds cooldown)
■ Affects self.
Attract: Taunt all enemies for 5 sec.
Recover 50.47% of attack damage as HP over 10 sec.
■ Affects all allies.
Reload Speed ▲ 63.17% for 10 sec.
Re-enter Burst Skill Stage 1.
Ah, now here's where the fun begins.
In a lot of rpg games, tanks that can selfheal usually place among the best in the game, and it seems Rupee might want to challenge that spot in NIKKE. Still, compared to Ludmilla who can keep taunting all enemies for 15 seconds straight (well, if she wasn't bugged that is), XRupee Taunt lasts only for 5 seconds. And do remember that Ludmilla's sustained damage buff is much much stronger than the Defense buffs that XRupee can give herself.
Let's go back to the selfhealing part of the skill. While it looks good on paper, we have to remember she is a Defender, so her ATK stat will be quite low which will translate to lower healing (and if she gets stunned, which is likely after Taunting the whole screen, she won't heal at all).
As for the second part of the skill, the massive Reload Speed buff makes her the perfect partner for characters that really need it, like the fan favorite Scarlet. Since the Reload Speed buff lasts for 10 seconds, it will massively increase her DPS.
But wait, there's more! Yes, XRupee has a really packed Burst skill. Let's discuss the last line of the skill.
What 'Re-entering the Burst Skill Stage 1' means is that XRupee is the first character that changes the rules of the game. Till now, you were forced to follow the chain when using Burst Skills (Burst I > Burst II > Burst III), but with XRupee you can sneak in a fourth Burst skill there.
With XRupee in your team, the burst chain would look like this instead: Burst I > Burst I > Burst II > Burst III. This is honestly really strong so of course, it comes with some restrictions that you have to be aware of.
If you want to use XRupee you are forced to run a 2-1-2 formation and XRupee must occupy the most-left spot on the team. Why? Because after she uses her Burst skill, instead of it 'moving' to Burst II characters like it currently does, you will have to ability for your other Burst I character to use her Burst Skill. After that, the chain will follow the normal way.
If you just run XRupee as your only Burst I, after she uses her Burst Skill, it will 'move back to her; and since her skill will be on cooldown, you won't be able to proceed further. Please note that this is an assumption and we must see her skill in action first.
Also, with the Burst Skill being on a 20 seconds cooldown, you can basically chain 4-man Full Bursts every time you reach the Burst phase (which she will help with, thanks to her S2 skill). Still, you must keep in mind that:
the other Burst I character needs to have 20s Burst skill,
the Burst II character needs to have 20s Burst skill.
If you won't fulfill those two conditions, you will make the team's performance much worse.
Here's an example team that would allow you to abuse XRupee's kit:
XRupee - Liter - Dolla - Harran - Scarlet
Liter and Dolla will decrease the Burst cooldown even further and Harran will help with filling the Burst bar faster, so you will release your Burst skills like a machine gun.
How XRupee will affect the meta?
For PVE, a lot of players are already using the 2-1-2 formation with either Rapunzel or Noise (Ludmilla would be used in that spot if she wasn't bugged. Let's hope they will fix her tomorrow):
Rapunzel gives tons of healing, burst gauge fill (as she is RL wielder) and she can resurrect on top of that,
Noise is currently bugged and she can selfheal + taunt for days, keeping your team safe (well, until she gets a suicide bomber in her face). Also, there's a high chance she will be fixed this week,
So XRupee will be competing with those two for the spot in the 2-1-2 formation because let's be honest - Liter is so far ahead of XRupee and any other Burst I character that she is beyond approach for now.
If you don't have either Rapunzel or Noise, XRupee might be a good choice for you if you want to start using 2-1-2. XRupee not only will make your team safer thanks to the Taunt, but she will also help a lot with the Reload Speed buff.
Still, we think that where XRupee will truly shine is the Arena.
During the first Full Burst, she will give a massive Reload Speed to your team and you will use 4 Burst skills, compared to the enemy only using 3. And if the enemy team survives that, XRupee will help you reach the second Burst phase before they do, so you can easily finish them off.
We will have to of course test that in action first, but we think it's not a coincidence that she is released together with the PVP mode.
Rating and should you pull
As we announced in a blog post some time ago, we abandoned the test server and won't be giving a proper review and rating for new characters. Instead, we will wait for 72h before adding her to the tier list and writing a proper review - what you can see above are just our first impressions of her kit.
Also, we suggest waiting a few days before you pull XRupee, because:
she might work way differently than we are assuming,
she might be bugged on release,
maybe you will like Miracle Fairy Anne kit more (and she will be released next week).
