GUDAGUDA 2022 Yamataikoku - Tier List Change Log

Tier A

Himiko, as a Ruler with a supportive Buster NP, has an interesting hybrid kit of both support and offense. Support-wise, she can provide up to 24 stars per turn, and ATK buffs to allies; via her NP, she provides Buster, Crit Damage, and NP Overcharge buffs to all allies. For herself, she has a 50% Gauge charger, Buster Damage, Crit, and Star gather buffs, anti-Demonic bonus damage, and Invincibility. She is particularly notable as a centerpiece in stall compositions along with Altria Caster, since her NP's overcharge +2 greatly improves Altria Caster's Anti-Enforcement defense skill. She also is capable of dealing impressive Buster Crit damage of her own, acting as the primary damage output in a team that otherwise contains only support. For Masters who enjoy stall compositions, Himiko provides an avenue to be nigh-unkillable in almost all scenarios, with very decent damage output as well.

Tier A

Saito Hajime joins the roster as another single target Arts Saber, and like other ST Arts Sabers of his rarity, his performance is impressive. His NP hitcount and refund are high, especially with Arts support. His kit consists primarily of selfish buffs: Arts, Buster, ATK, Crit Strength, and a burst of Stars. He also has decent defensive measures via an Evade and self DEF buff. His NP notably provides a 3-turn, stackable Arts Resist debuff on the enemy, which can further magnify damage dealt to that enemy on subsequent hits, and also provides a minor Crit Rate debuff on the enemy. His kit is relatively straight forward and offensively focused, and for those looking for an ST Arts Saber, he does the job well.

Tier B+

Nobukatsu joins as a new limited bronze Archer with a supportive Buster NP, and a slight obsession with his sister, Nobunaga. Nobukatsu is yet another bronze Servant in the roster whose NP results in their own death, which comes with its own benefits of making room for another Servant in the backline. His NP does not deal damage, but instead charges 20% NP for allies and provides Buster buffs (which are stronger for Nobunaga allies). Nobukatsu's skill set offers a variety of utility, including Skill Seal via Confusion, Taunt, and an on-death Heal. He also can support offensive performance of allies, decreasing Buster Resist for an enemy, gaining Stars each turn, and buffing Crit Damage for all allies (which also is greatly enhanced for Nobunaga allies). Nobukatsu sports one of the lowest ATK stats among all Servants, however, and won't be doing notable damage on his own. His value, putting it lightly, lies in him getting rid of himself as quickly as possible, while leaving multiple beneficial effects in his wake. He also is in need of NP Gauge support to access his NP sooner than later, since he lacks an NP charge of his own. However, he opens up many team composition possibilities through his NP's order change effect, especially at low cost, making him a welcome addition to the team.

Tier A > A

Okita's latest upgrade gives her Quick buff an additional bonus effect that provides her with a 20% ATK buff every time she normal attacks for a turn. Although an ATK buff is helpful, the buff only lasts a single turn (the same turn in which she is attacking), which means to maximize Noble Phantasm damage, she actually ends up wanting to do her normal attacks first to get up to 2 ATK stacks before her NP. This can end up sacrificing her NP refund after the NP hit, which makes this buff difficult to fully take advantage of without sacrificing her ability to NP consecutively. Overall, it was agreed that her ranking does not change with this upgrade.

Tier C > B

Hijikata Toshizo's upgrade finally gives him access to Guts, which revives him at 1 HP, and is stackable with other Guts granting effects. This synergizes very well with both his Crit Damage buff skill and his NP, both of which increase in potency the lower his HP is. Now Hijikata has a much more reliable way to maximize the value of his low-HP effects without having to rely on CEs, making it easier to reach his full potential (as well as boosting his survivability slightly). This upgrade was worth a tier bump, and his tier has been increased.

Tier B+ > B+

Scathach's upgrade during the Land of Shadows event provides her with a much needed 20% NP Gauge charge skill, which is targetable, along with increased Buff Success Rate for the ally as well (up to +20% success rate). This can be used to guarantee her Crit damage / gather rate buffs on her first skill, or help an ally who has non-guaranteed buffs. The NP Gauge skill also helps to alleviate Scathach's otherwise rather mediocre NP Gain, although the charge amount of 20% is somewhat modest and doesn't quite allow her to loop her NP. Although the buffs are extremely helpful to her kit, the general evaluation was that it doesn't quite solve her issues of being a single-turn burst boss killer with substantial down time without support, and that the buff doesn't quite push her into A tier. However, she remains one of the best boss killers in the roster, especially if her bonus damage traits come into play.