HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELCOME TO 7.3!!
A new era of Honkai Impact 3 is rolling over and with it comes new Valkyries, new equipment and a new chapter! Today’s chapter will feature one of the new weapons Red Star Thunderbolt: Breaking Dawn for the long-anticipated Senadina!!
A warm welcome to the enigmatic yo-yo enthusiast!!
Due to some time constraints en route to Mars, we will only cover new equipment for this update, the quality for Valkyries and competitive play is likely to plummet and we'd find ourselves wandering in the solar system. Hopefully the in game tutorials and other reviews will provide enough insight into the new combat systems that 7.3 has provided!
Now without further delay, there is one last piece of info to keep note of before embarking on this exhilarating expedition~
Abbreviations and terms that will reoccur throughout this review
Senadina for herself (Deepspace Anchor: First Light)
RST:BD for Red Star Thunderbolt: Breaking Dawn
Drive Core - Senadina's Weapon Type
EXPEDITION CONTENTS:
1. SIGNATURE WEAPON
2. CRAFTING PREREQUISITES
3. SYNERGY+ ALTERNATIVES
4. SENADINA’S USAGE
5. ACQUISITION & NEW BANNER
6. SUMMARY
7. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
[1. SIGNATURE WEAPON]
Red Star Thunderbolt: Breaking Dawn - [444 ATK] + [18 CRT]
All Effects assume that Senadina is the user
Active Skill [SP Cost: 0] - Calendar of Finality // Cooldown: Variable
- With Domain Resonance, casting weapon active skill will increase her Lightning Damage by 35% for 6 seconds
- Thunder in Clear Skies and Lightning Flash Anchor (attacking skills) deal 800% ATK of additional Lightning Damage across 12 seconds over a 0.6-second interval
- During Stellar Outburst, the Cooldown is reset upon her first exit - This buff is obtainable after entering Stellar Outburst every time
Passive Skill 1 - Winter Solstice: 1838
- Outside of Stellar Outburst, enemies will take 15% more Lightning Damage from Senadina
- All enemies take 16% more Elemental Damage when Astral Ring is activated
Passive 2 - Summer Solstice 0923
- Outside of Stellar Outburst Weapon Skills, Ultimates and Burst Mode Attacks gain 20% Total Damage
- All team members deal 35% more Lightning Damage through Resonance during Stellar Outburst
Synergy (NEW Feature) - The First Light After 1 Billion Years
- Enemies take 4% more Total Damage from Weapon Skills - Unique Effect
- More on this in the Synergy section
Glossary and General Notes:
- Astral Ring - Replaces the ELF system, only accessible to Valkyries with AstralOP System
- Stellar Outburst - An enhanced state when Astral Ring skill is activated
- Resonance - Damage dealt from Domain Resonance attacks
- Domain Resonance - Activated from a resonance attack
- All effects should have 100% uptime when using Senadina's optimal rotation
[2. CRAFTING PREREQUISITES]
Crafting a yo-yo requires a meticulous process, and such a process is paramount for creating a durable yet spectacular yo-yo, where there are 3 stages to creating the Pri Arm. We will go over each stage to see how much it will cost to access a world-class yo-yo for Senadina to take to the stage!
STAGE 1 - Unlocking the blueprint: Red Star Thunderbolt
Like every Regular PRI-Arm, Captains must first have unlocked RST in their Gallery to access the crafting page:
As long as the Drive Core is registered in your Gallery (found under the player profile page), the following page becomes accessible in the foundry menu:
STAGE 2 - Choosing an inspiration (Base Weapon)
Next is choosing a GACHA EXCLUSIVE Drive Core at level 50 as a basis to Transmute into RST:BD
Since RST:BD is a direct upgrade to RST, and the fact that there is currently no other Gacha Drive Core, captains CAN ONLY use RST as the transmutation item - nothing is forgone from doing so thankfully
STAGE 3 - Finishing Touches to Ensure Competitive Compatibility
Like any normal PRI-ARM RST:BD becomes craftable at the following cost after selecting a maxed out RST
EXP Materials and coins can vary depending on how many level-up bonuses occur~
Extra Promotion - Crafting Cost Discount
Like every Pri-Arm, the costs are the same and since RST debuts this patch, players can enjoy a small reimbursement on SC Metals when raising it to level 55. Be sure to take advantage of this!!
[3. SYNERGY]
This new system takes inspiration from Genshin Impact's weapon Refinement system (and Star Rail's Superimposition)
Weapons from 7.3 and presumably onwards can increase their synergy level by choosing a duplicate BASE weapon similar to the system from both of the aforementioned games, effectively giving duplicate weapons a new purpose when they were weapon resonance fodder before
We recall that at Synergy level 1:
Enemies take 4% more Total Damage from Weapon Skills
Refining RST:DB will boost the multiplier from
- 4% -> 8% (Synergy 2)
- 8% -> 12% (Synery 3)
Whether or not this increase is worth going for INTENTIONALLY we will leave for captains to decide. Personally, it is best to avoid going for duplicates if other areas require attention - ELF and AstralOP and sometimes ranks are higher priority than getting refinements
Alternative Option
Value of Pi
Before we compare every weapon, it is clear that this weapon is 3.141593 times weaker than RST:DB from the values
Comparison Chart
[4. SENADINA’S USAGE]
- Given that there are no present Drive Core users, let's see how well this weapon stacks up against the alternative for Senadina using the chart from above
- Without RST:DB, the amount of multipliers that Senadina can get is quite limited, almost no Lightning Damage bonuses and abysmal total damage and vulnerability from even the predecessor
- Needless to say, RST:DB is Senadina's only ticket to the competitive stage. Without it, Captains would have to pray that the competitive is friendly enough to accept other yo-yo's into the fray
[5. ACQUISITION & NEW BANNER SYSTEM]
Bringing with it is a new Gacha system that only applies to 7.3 Valkyries and their equipment
- We’re guaranteed the weapon within 60 rolls - 16800 Crystals
- Pity for 4* Stigmata and Weapon is still 10 rolls
- Each roll still costs 280 Crystals
- Other 4* equipment can still drop
- Stigmata is craftable from the foundry using a new material
What this means:
- Getting multiple weapons for those alluring refinements is a lot more challenging than before. In fact, players can spend up to 200 rolls and see 0 weapons
- Getting Stigmata is easier, but upgrading them can become a time-gated commitment depending on resource availability in future updates
- Thankfully for most players, getting the weapon is already sufficient, and as such the new system is a big Win. We can save those precious crystals on other Valkyries
Whether this system will persist for future Valkyries is still up in the air, but if it is, captains with limited budgets can rejoice in this new era’s “Generosity”
[6. SUMMARY]
Red Star Thunderbolt: Breaking Dawn
- Only usable on Senadina since she’s the only Drive Core user!
- Senadina Viability does not fully depend on the weapon as the only other Stardust Valkyrie is Cosmic Expression, whose gear many of us may have skipped
- Material Refund on Debut patch!
Gacha
- Hard pity of 60 for the weapon, no pity for stigmata - doesn't carry over to subsequent banners
- Free from Gacha within 60 rolls (16800 Crystals)
- Rule ONLY applies for 7.3 Valkyries
Miscellaneous Notes:
- 7.3 Features a bountiful spending event - Make the most of this!
- Get RST at all cost to maximize Senadina's Potential
- ONLY go for refinements if there is nothing better to spend Crystals on (Even ELF's and collaborators are higher priority)
[7. HAPPY JOURNEYING CAPTAINS!]
With all the excitement surrounding 7.3, especially Chinese New Year festivities, this is a perfect time to celebrate yet another New Year on the Lunar calendar. Be sure to treat yourselves to something you think you deserve, of course, do spend wisely if possible, since the only equipment that requires gacha'ing realistically is the weapon
All the best for your Gacha endeavors, whether it's only for new weapons, Expa and Foca select, Elves or the new Collaborator!
Let us embrace this new era as we would the previous
