[Weapon Guide - Seven Thunders of Retribution: Narukami]

Hi! This time we are looking at Mei's new toy: Seven Thunders of Retribution Narukami (7T). Indeed, with the v5.8 patch a new Divine Key is introduced for the Herrscher of Thunder and it's a nice update for the battlesuit.

Let's jump right into it~!

My other v5.8 Guides

Griseo Starry Impression - Battlesuit

Griseo Starry Impression - PRI Weapon

Griseo Starry Impression - Elysian Realm

Fervent Tempo Δ - Elysian Realm

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Skills presentation

=> Base ATK Lv. 65

=> Weapon Active

=> Passive 1

=> Passive 2

3. Gameplay changes

4. How to build HoT with 7T?

=> Stigmata

=> Teams

5. Conclusion

Introduction

As we know Herrscher of Thunder (HoT) is a PSY type battlesuit and her primary role is to be a Lightning Damage Dealer.

She used to be extremely dominant in the meta and even if it's already been two years since her release, the Valkyrie remains a solid pick among the competitive landscape.

HoT with her new outfit and the 7T equipped.

The addition of the new weapon gives HoT a second wind to make her even stronger (yes it's possible) in order to feel updated as a 2022 modern Valkyrie.

To see the implication of the Divine Key on HoT's gameplay we need to understand the changes.

Skills presentation

7T rotating

Base Stats Lv. 65

Its base stats are strong for an elemental DPS weapon.

The CRT is low but it's not a stats that Lightning battlesuits are using so it's not an issue.

The 452 ATK can be considered high.

To have a better picture of the numbers, her previous signature Domain of Sanction is 447 ATK and the Herrscher of Flamescion (HoF) signature's Domain of Incandescence is 443 ATK.

With that weapon, Mei won't lack of ATK.

Weapon Active

An important change concerning HoT gameplay appears here, since now she has two different cast: one in non-Herrscher mode and when in Herrscher mode (on Kurikara).

Casting 7T in non-Herrscher Mode.

Casting 7T in Herrscher Mode.

That second cast in Herrscher mode is important since as we can see it allows to directly cast the Finisher ATK in order to provide high damage within a short window.

Also, the fact it triggers Ultimate Evasion Skill is nice to reduce the amount of actions and do a quick rotation.

Do note that the 10 SP recovery from active only applies for the non-Herrscher cast.

Passive 1

The first line is making HoT an even better MECH slayer. She was always great at it, it's strengthened.

As we can see from the previous section, the Valkyrie is able to cast the weapon active twice in a row because the Ultimate activation resets the skill cooldown.

Another key change, Kurikara won't leave the field even after Finisher. Kurikara will stay on field as a summoned entity to deal damage.

Kurikara on field bombarding after the Finisher.

Last but not least, the HoT's Ultimate has now access to one of the strongest mechanic implemented in the game: all skills timers and stages timers are paused.

It was something that held back the Valkyrie recently.

What does this change imply? Basically, she won't waste Buffs and Debuffs durations when casting her Ultimate. In abyss she'll save around 20 score per cast, which is quite a lot for extended battles.

Passive 2

Connected to the previous Passive, here it's all about Kurikara dealing damage while staying on field after the Finisher.

It's also a great added damage for HoT rotation.

Gameplay changes

At that point we can ask ourselves the actual implication of the Divine on HoT gameplay.

First, we have mentioned once again that all skills timers and stages timers are paused when casting the Ultimate. It's a massive buff for the battlesuit since pressing that button means no time loss in Memorial Arena and no score loss in Abyss.

Then when it comes to the changes in terms of how to play HoT, in a nutshell: she relies even more on Ultimate.

But it's not an issue since she can get more SP with that weapon and the teams/stigmata are adjusted for this (covered later in the guide).

At the end of the day, HoT will now quickly rotate to land her Ultimate and then switch back to supports.

The rotation should look like this:

QTE > Weapon Active > Combo > Ultimate > Weapon Active > Finisher > Com**

**nsidering it can be done within a short window it's dynamic and feels like if HoT was released very recently.

So what's the purpose of 7T?

HoT can now become way better in Abyss since she saves around 20 score per Ultimate cast which is a lot if we add several casts during an entire stage duration.

For Memorial Arena, it's important to note that Domain of Sanction can remain a top performer (maybe better than 7T for some specific SS bosses strategies without Ultimate cast). However when it comes to SSS bosses, the Divine Key is unmatched by the previous Domain of Sanction: more damage and less time loss.

It will be smoother to connect between the supports since we basically remove a lot of the non-Herrscher mode gameplay to directly rotate with supports and Ultimate.

How to build HoT with 7T?

Stigmata

The logical questioning now concerns the way to build that "new HoT".

Well, it's quite interesting because the Valkyrie is actually not relying on a specific stigmata combination.

BenaresTMB is her signature gear since release and it remains a solid option, especially considering the fact HoT is more Ultimate focused than ever.

It's also pretty good for people who already own the set and can't or don't want to invest into different stigmata.

HandelTMB appeared previously in v5.7 and we can find two advantages: it's farmable since it's a G4 stigmata from Foundry and it's actually the one that provides the best damage results for HoT.

The B piece is also providing some SP recovery, something highly appreciated due to the need to gather 125 SP for her Ultimate.

BenaresT HandelMB can also be a thing for people who lack the T piece of Handel don't plan to go for it.

The damages remains pretty high and similar to the previous combinations.

ZhenyiT can also be used as T stigmata and it's extremely useful for fast SP recovery, even if you have the entire Handel set, switching the T can be beneficial if there is an important need of SP.

ZhenyiTB setups (M can be either Handel or Mei Beach Party)

This is probably a combination that will remain great for specific rotations: essentially for SS Memorial Arena with fast rotations that don't include Ultimate.

AvogadroTM NewtonB can be used for specific SS Memorial strategies when we want fast kills while making use of the paused stages timers from Ultimate.

With these stigmata it's possible to have enough SP to quickly cast the Ultimate.

Teams

Concerning the teams it's both simple and complex at the same time.

Indeed, unlike other elements the Lightning supports are numerous and we can be flexible with the way we use them.

Fischl and Eden

That's generally the best duo for most of the content, a lot of synergies and damage for both themselves (at SSS rank) and HoT.

The advantage is Eden uses Margrave full set ideally. So that team only needs Fischl's signature gear, Zhenyi, as a gacha set.

Fischl and Fallen Rosemary (FR)

The good old duo, Eden is slightly better than Rita in general but if this team is already geared it's absolutely not a bad one.

If FR is at SSS rank and Eden not ranked up yet, Rita is preferred.

Also useful for Abyss Andrius where a melee Valkyrie is needed to parry during transition.

Fischl and Azure Empyrea (AE)

This team and Eden team use the same gear.

Basically the only advantage to pick AE over Eden (outside of specific rank-ups) is to provide elemental breach and gathering. The former is very useful in Nirvana abyss.

Like Fallen Rosemary, Azure Empyrea is also useful for Abyss Andrius where a melee Valkyrie is needed to parry during transition.

Reverist Calico (RC)

Do note that it's possible to pick Reverist Calico too.

She can be close or even match other supports depending on the situation.

In case people are missing a proper Lightning support, if RC is already upgraded and has a TurgenevTB available it can be beneficial to use her in order to save resources and time.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, HoT was already a strong Valkyrie for the competitive content. She used to be extremely dominant during her era (after her release almost two years ago).

The successive addition of new mechanics made HoT less oppressive and she ended up as a great battlesuit among the rest but with clear weaknesses.

The v5.8 releases the new Divine Key: Seven Thunders of Retribution Narukami (7T), an excellent weapon that Mei gladly welcome.

Thanks to it, she now feels more like a modern dynamic design.

HoT can easily have access to quick rotations like the recent most competitive battlesuits

Not only that but a last, HoT can now be used with pause timers on Ultimate.

She's once again ready to slay MECHs enemies and more.

The thunder will strike in 2022~!