In this patch, we are introduced to two new equipment sets, one of them being Palatinus Equinox's signature Equipment.

The Lance "Midnight Ataegina"(which is the PRI form of Midnight Eclipse), and The Equinoctical Wonder Set: Bianka Theatre.

So without any further delay, let's dive into the review and analysis of these new pieces of equipment.

PRI-ARM:

MIDNIGHT ATAEGINA

1. Introduction:

Description:

Life is a self-contradictory antimonic helix. Everyone carries their beliefs forward and strives to leave their unique mark on the world. The purpose of being a warrior is perhaps to continue the exploration of the wilderness where the footprints of those who came before end.

"People are like rivers rushing to the sea. The closer they run to the sea, the muddier they get. But only the sea can absorb the muddy rivers without losing itself."

Only by going beyond can life break free from the casual conflicts. And only by going beyond can humanity embrace a better tomorrow.

2. Overview and Skills:

*All values are based on lvl 65.

[ATK: 436 CRT: 23]

Active Skill: Point Quasar:

[SP: 0] [CD: 25s]

Launch a thrust attack, dealing 50% ATK of Physical DMG. If the thrust hits an enemy who is not in Invincibility or Iron Body state, it triggers a Throw ATK, controlling the target and dealing 90% + 1400% ATK of Physical DMG. While an enemy is executing certain moves, the wielder can unleash a Throw Counter unconditionally when the weapon skill button flashes, disabling the enemy and dealing 20% + 800% ATK of Physical DMG; this attack has no CD.

Palatinus Equinox equip bonus:

In Knight form, weapon skill becomes Throw ATK.

In Guardian form, it becomes Cannon Blast.

Tap [Weapon] to unleash Cannon Blast which reloads after 3 successive hits.

SEQ 1: 300% ATK of Physical DMG.

SEQ 2: 300% ATK of Physical DMG.

SEQ 3: 300% ATK of Physical DMG.

Tap [Weapon] after Special ATK to unleash Joint Cannon Blast:

SEQ 4 Joint Blast: 400% ATK of Physical DMG.

Shield Ram Joint Cannon Blast: 400% ATK of Physical DMG

Equinox Severance Joint Cannon Blast: 3 x 400% ATK of Physical DMG.

Passive Skill 1: Karma Cycle

Wielder's Crit Rate increases by 15%. Weapon skill deals 30% bonus Total DMG and 15% bonus Physical DMG.

Passive Skill 2: Daybreak Equinox

Wielder's Total DMG increases by 20%. Triggering Ultimate Evasion Skill reduces DMG taken from the rear by 35% for 12s. Triggering it again resets the duration.

3. Damage Comparison:

**Midnight Ataegina is the PRI-ARM version of Midnight Eclipse, the new lance introduced to us for Palatinus Equinox in v5.5.

But for the sake of End-game focused information, we will be mostly diving into the details for the PRI Version.

Now then, with the skill descriptions out of the way, let's determine how strong Midnight Ataegina is when put in the same field as some other physical lances in the game and how these match up to it.

As usual, we will be doing this by using the DPS check stage provided to us in the Beta Client.

[DISCLAIMER: The following test is just for a simple demonstration in equally similar situations. These results can vary quite a bit depending on enemies/weathers/team comps/playstyle etc. ]

As usual, we will be doing this comparison by doing a full burst rotation on a target 4-5 times (more runs to rule out possibilities of varying crit damage) with each weapon and recording the average damage observed out of the three runs.

This time around, we will be using the following Team setup:

The rotation followed is as follows:

HoS spear to activate SnS qte > SnS QTE + Charge Attack + Ultimate > HoS evade + chain combo + Ultimate > PE QTE > Evasion > Ultimate > Charge > Weapon skill > Switch to Guardian Form > Shield Ram into Equinox Severance + Cannon Blast/Weapon Active(2nd weapon active only applicable to Midnight Ataegina)

Enemy (Training Dummy):

(**Training Dummy has 2200 Physical DEF and 40% Elemental Resist)

RESULT:

- As expected, Midnight Ataegina performs the best.

- Hler's weapon active gives it a huge boost which Abyss flower misses out on as its Weapon active is significantly weaker than the rest when not equipped on Bright Knight.

- Abyss Flower works the best on Bright Knight: Excelsis, and is significantly lower in terms of damage when used by PE.

- Abyss and Endothermic lance are just there as fillers till you acquire a better option.

P.S.: It still doesn't mean that crafting Hler's Ataraxia just for the sake of PE is a good idea. If you don't have it already, just use AF PRI as a substitute till you can acquire Midnight Ataegina.

In case you do not possess any of the abovementioned lances, you can just go for any lance with the highest ATK stat for the time being.

4. Conclusion:

Midnight Ataegina is no doubt necessary if you plan to pull for Palatinus Equinox. The Signature Weapon being a necessity is something that is common to almost all the strong Valkyrie Battlesuits, and Palatinus Equinox is no exception to it.

So if you plan to roll for her, most definitely save up enough so that you can later invest in her equipment.

On another note, while being the best in slot weapon for Palatinus Equinox, Midnight Ataegina performs really poorly if used on Bright Knight: Excelsis. This is again because BK: E's signature Weapon, Abyss Flower is made in a way so that it fits into her playstyle, just like Midnight Ataegina for Palatinus Equinox.

STIGMA SET

EQUINOCTIAL WONDER SET

1. Overview:

**All values are based on lvl 50.

Bianka: Theatre (T)

[HP: 386 ATK: 113 DEF: 96]

- Unconditional Physical Dmg Bonus.

- Huge Crit DMG boost after hitting an enemy with charge attack 10 times.

Bianka: Theatre (M)

[HP: 411 ATK: 19 DEF: 221 CRT: 13]

- Unrestricted TDM Bonus

- Ultimate Evasion/Retaliation further boosts TDM by 20% for 15s (can be reset).

Bianka: Theatre (B)

[HP: 411 ATK: 86 DEF: 78 CRT: 15]

- Crit Rate boost

- Sp regen for Host whenever any team member activates time fracture

- When the host activates time fracture herself, her crit rate is boosted further by 5% for 15s (can be reset).

Set Effects:

2 set Effect:

- Unrestricted Total DMG Boost.

- When equipped by Palatinus Equinox, triggering any bonus from one of the stigmas automatically triggers all other bonuses from the other stigmas as well.

3 set Effect:

- Physical DMG Boost.

- Triggering 2 set effect boosts Physical Dmg of next Ultimate performed by host by 80% and restores HP.

2. Comparison With Other Sets:

We will now be testing Bianka: Theatre by putting it up against some other Stigma sets in the game.

The steps to be followed will be the same as the Weapon Damage comparison using the following Team setup:

The rotation to be followed also remains the same:

HoS spear to activate SnS qte > SnS QTE + Charge Attack + Ultimate > HoS evade + chain combo + Ultimate > PE QTE > Evasion > Ultimate > Charge > Weapon skill > Switch to Guardian Form > Shield Ram into Equinox Severance + Cannon Blast/Weapon Active(2nd weapon active only applicable to Midnight Ataegina)

Enemy (Training Dummy):

(**Training Dummy has 2200 Physical DEF and 40% Elemental Resist)

The following are the stigmata sets to be tested:

RESULT:

- As Expected, Bianka: Theatre performs the best out of all the sets, majorly because of its Palatinus Equinox Exclusive Buffs (especially the 2-set effect)

- Elysia TB Dante M comes really close to Bianka: Theatre and can be used as a very good alternative. Dante M can be replaced with some other stigma depending on what you have readily available.

- Columbus TM Elysia B sits at 3rd place, but as I said, farming Elysia is way simpler than trying to pull Columbus. Other than that, if you already have Columbus, you can use it until you work on farming Elysia or pull Bianka: Theatre.

- Dante TM Elysia B performs rather poorly on Palatinus Equinox, majorly because the stigmata is tailor-made for BK, and only a few other valkyries can make good use of it.

- Kafka TM Elysia B performs the worst and works as a last resort till you work on acquiring better options.

3. Conclusion:

Bianca: Theatre is no doubt the best option for Palatinus Equinox and players who decide to roll for her should try to acquire the set if possible.

But at the same time, I would first prioritize the weapon as it serves as the biggest damage boost for Palatinus Equinox and there are a few decent alternatives when it comes down to stigma sets.

With that said though, it all depends on RNG, so having a lot of crystals saved up is your best bet.[emoji]

Well, that's about it for this one as well.

Go check out my other posts here:

[v5.5 Beta Preview/Guide] New S-rank Valkyrie: Palatinus Equinox

[v5.5 Beta Preview/Guide] New S-rank Valkyrie: Spina Astera

[v5.5 Beta Preview/Guide] New PRI-ARM - Astral Divide: Pisces and Stigma Set: Ragna

[v5.5 Beta Preview/Guide- Masters Edition] New Weapons- Midnight Eclipse and Astral Rend: Dwarf

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I hope you found this guide helpful, and I wish you luck in your pulls- if you decide to go for it!

Red Dragon

UID: 200016842

(Eu Server)