Hello again!
Winter sure is ruthless, or should we say merciful this year with another new addition for Ice Valkyries~
Not only that, this stigmata set happens to be FARMABLE, albeit at a rather high price
That's right, it is the new willows set! A G4 Ice Stigmata set that will prove useful for our roster of Valkyries
Let's dive in to the content~
Contents
1. Bonuses and Effects
2. Importance Ranking
3. Users
4. Alternatives
5. Affixing
6. Acquisition
7. Final Thoughts
[1. Bonuses and Effects]
Top
Stats - [362 HP] + [116 ATK] + [66 DEF]
Ice damage +60%
Total incoming damage -20%
Middle
Stats - [483 HP] + [188 DEF] + [9 CRT]
- Ice damage +20%
Total damage +20%
- When weapon active skill hits increases the user’s Ice Damage by 35% for 10 seconds,
this excludes Cross users; not that we have one atm anyways.
-Reactivating this effect will refresh the duration.
Bottom
Stats - [396 HP] + [62 ATK] + [79 DEF] + [11 CRT]
- Attack speed +20%
- When the user is on the field, all enemies take 10% more Ice Damage.
-When landing a charged attack, increase the vulnerability effect to 15% for 5 seconds.
Can be refreshed and is lost when the user exits the field.
2 Set Effect
Upon entering the field or burst mode gain 6 stacks of LOOMING SHADOWS.
Landing a WEAPON ACTIVE, CHARGED or COMBO ATTACK will regenerate 1 SP, and provide a 20% Ice Damage buff for 3 seconds.
There is an internal cool-down of 1 second between each stack consumption and reactivations will renew the 3 second duration
3 Set Effect
Enemies receive 5% more Ice Damage from the user, and cannot stack. Spending over 100 SP at once brings this up to 15% for 15 seconds with subsequent procs refreshing the 15 second duration.
2. Importance Ranking
Unlike most modern sets where having 2 pieces is sufficient, Willows requires the full set, no more no less, to beat Ana. However, if you wish to get Willows and level it up, you're more than welcome to do so, as long as you've got the resources to spare.
Moreover, getting 2 set WIllows for avoiding the range restriction on Ana is another possibility you might want to consider when going for this set.
3. Users
Herrscher of Reason
Along with her new BEST IN SLOT weapon, the Star of Eden: Anti Entropy or its Pri-Arm, HoR is back on the road to competitive racing with this set. She fully benefits from all the bonuses Willow provides, more so than its predecessor, Ana.
Herrscher of Human: Ego
As a charged attack and burst mode Valkyrie, HoH:E can reap the benefits of Willows, albeit, her signature set is still generations ahead. It does however, beat Ana, and given her ranged playstyle, Willows provides more comfort in scenarios where hugging the boss is difficult.
Argent Knight Artemis
Argent Knight Artemis will not be able to utilise the 3 set effect since her ultimate doesn’t not instantly cost 100 to activate, replacing the middle price with something like Welt or Mei Beach Party would yield somewhat similar results to Ana.
Starchasm Nyx
As with Argent Knight Artemis, Nyx’s ultimate only costs 75 SP to activate. Unlike AKA, however, her best in slot is Verne, hence Willows is more of a transitional set rather than the end goal.
Li Sushang
For a DPS build on Li Sushang, Willows is a viable choice, even compared to her signature set.
She has no trouble maintaining the stigmata's durational buffs and meeting the SP requirement under most cir***stances.
Cat-Veats - Pardofelis
Pardo mainly uses combo attacks, making her less suited for this set compared to even Ana.
That said, since this set is less for Pardo and more for damage dealers, she can still use it in scenarios where Bastet isn't mandatory. These include Elysian Realm and Events.
4. Alternatives
Predecessor to be precise - Ana Schariac
110% Ice damage
70% Total damage
400% ATK of Ice damage every 10 seconds
Main con**tion for this set is to stay within FIVE METRES of the target or else the multipliers will drop
I would suggest tran****ing Ana into Willows once all three pieces are within reach as that is the bare minimum to best Ana.
Predecessor of the Predecessor - Robert Peary
50% Ice damage
69% Total damage
20% Attack Speed
Peary's main flaw is requiring a 60 combo count to get an average damage buff
Welt Yang for the Herrschers
110% Ice damage
35% Total damage
10% Ice damage Vulnerability
Ultimate and Charged attacks pull in nearby enemies for 3 seconds every 4 seconds
Available in the exchange house
Summarized Version + Stat Summary
Now, for Herrscher of Reason and Argent Knight Artemis, this set is superior to Ana due to having far less restrictions, especially HoR who has ranged attacks. Since Damage vulnerability is generally less saturated, the net damage boost is higher than having 50% Total Damage. More so with supports like Pardofelis
Every other character still prefers their signature set, with Elysia Pristine being an example.
5. Affixing
Precaution
Be wary of SP reduction lines, in case the ultimate does not meet the 100 SP cost requirement. While no Valkyries are affected much by this atm, if any future Ice Valkyries are, please be mindful.
Ideal Lines
The arugably best lines would be a double Heavy and Scythe ATK since this boosts HoR, AKA and Nyx’s ATK values. For HoH:E, her best in slot is still her signature set, going out of your way (yes) for Ely is not needed on a transition set.
Herrscher of Reason and Memento Exclusive
If you do not use AKA and Nyx, however, going for a combination of MECH and Heavy/Scythe is also fine, because getting specific lines can be rather expensive.
6. Acquisition
As a Universal Mirage set Generation 4 set, Willows is available in the universal respective at a fixed cost for each piece.
Each piece requires the corresponding Ana piece along with 140 G4 ICE shards and 200 Convectrons and 1100 ETHER FUEL. Making the total cost
420 G4 Shards
600 Spatial Convectrons
3300 ETHER FUEL
This set is speculated to be featured alongside HoR’s new weapon: Star of Eden: Anti-Entropy. If you’re aiming to get that, I would suggest chasing it first before crafting to maximize resource efficiency.
7. Final Thoughts
While Willows provides a substantial damage bonus over Ana for most Valkyries, the cost si rather exorbitant, despite being a farmable set. In terms of priorities, I would get it only if other universal mirage sets i.e. Elysia, Handel and Fu Hua Margrave are either completed or unnecessary for your Valkyrie roster.
In terms of priority, Handel should be higher than Willows due to its versatility, Elysia performs better than Dirac, while being less restrictive. Whereas Willows is mostly a damage upgrade over Ana with a few QoL improvements for ranged Valkyries. Though of course, you're more than welcome to get Willows if you'd like to show your HoR some affection <3
As always, good luck with your 6.1 Gacha Endeavors and thank you for reading!!
By UID: 11903619
