Table of Contents
Welcome to our PvP Focus review series! Here, we hope to deliver PvP focused content and news for any new Nikkes released that may have proper PvP use. Keep in mind that a lot of common PvP terms/slang will be used in this guide, which can be clarified in this guide:
Let’s now dive right into Rei Ayanami: (Tentative Name)’s new abilities! That name is a mouthful, I’ll tell you that.
Thumbnail inspired by our Lord and Saviour: Revolver Ocelot:
TLDR
Rei Ayanami: (Tentative Name)’s, which we will refer to as Rei or ReiTN from now on to save my fingers, is a very simple unit when it comes to PvP. Her job is very simple, in that she is a B3 nuker, and is a very similar unit to Quency: Escape Queen, Rei Ayanami (EVA 1.0 version), and other similar nukers. We have seen time and time again how these units can effectively replace Scarlet in several team compositions. The problems associated with them are usually Low Burst Generation (which is still true here), and high rate of feed into Jackal and Scarlet (also true here)… : (
Hence, ReiTN is yet another unit who can deal a higher damage Nuke than Scarlet, can deal higher damage per shot (on average), but since she does not have Scarlet’s notorious reflect (Scarlet’s Skill 2), she cannot be an SSS tier unit. Her AoE, however, is indeed very strong, albeit not Cinderella level. At max investments she can prove to be a very suitable unit to use. Her normal attacks also make her quite a force of nature, since she hits ~50% more with her normal attacks than Scarlet would.
Using her as a main B3 is quite realistic, and it seems like she is indeed a unit to have for PvP due to her raw nuke strength. With just one buffer, ReiTN is a threat for your opponents.
Step-by-step Analysis
Burst generation
Rei Ayanami: (Tentative Name)’s Burst Generation is nothing special by any standard, but it is not totally hopeless. She has higher Burst Generation than most AR and SR units, and has Burst Gen slightly higher than that of Snow White and Red Hood.
This allows her to activate more teams, and can reduce pressure of using higher Burst Gen units like multiple ClipRLs to form 3RL team comps.
Source: Kosmiu’s Burst Generation Calculator
DPS Output and Comparisons
We can discuss this very briefly in 3 parts: Before Full burst, at the start of full burst and during full burst.
Before full burst, Rei doesn’t deal any special damage. She is a basic AR unit and her skills have not been activated yet since they need her to be in Full Burst. Unlike Scarlet, who starts ramping up her damage instantly, gaining an ATK buff stack every second, Rei needs to patiently wait for Full Burst. During this time, Rei is pretty much irrelevant in her DPS.
At the start of full burst, ReiTN deals devastating damage with her nuke. On higher syncs (around sync 400), this damage is not enough to kill enemy Nikkes. Hence, she needs the help of 1-2 buffers to kill-confirm the enemy units. 2 buffs should always be a kill unless or until her nuke is blocked by a hard counter like Noah or Bay. 1 buff should be enough to practically kill any unit that is weak to her element, or is an Attacker unit. This is the strongest part of Rei’s DPS output. Her damage is higher than any other Nuker here except for Cinderella.
During full burst, she has high Single Target (ST) DPS. She can hit stronger than Scarlet by at least ~50% thanks to her self buffs + additional damage procs every second or so. This allows her to provide strong frontline pressure and adds to her usability. If she fails to kill using her Burst skill, her normals should be enough to follow up and kill enemy units with whatever HP they have left provided that she has enough sustain to live through the enemy team’s damage.
The last point is that ReiTN is a Wind Element unit, which is strong against Iron units. Iron element tankers are quite rarely seen in P1. However, they are still quite commonly used in PvP. Units like Jackal, Centi, Rapunzel, Anis, and Red Hood are considered as staple units. Elemental Damage on OL means that a fast Rei can actually swipe these units off the arena with the help of Elemental Damage on OL gear! This is a very important point since this means Rei has possibly solid use in cleaving relatively slower teams. If the player has enough charge speed on OL, a 2RL ReiTN team can probably beat a 3RL team with a key iron unit that has to burst for the opponent, stopping their ability to reach Full Burst and easily getting a win.
Synergies and Weaknesses
Rei does not have any special synergies. She is a simple B3 unit whose job is to kill enemy units with her nuke, if possible. Units like Blanc, xAnne, Red Hood’s B1, Mari, or any sub meta buffers like Liter, Grave or Crown are often going to be used to enable ReiTN. Some ATK and ELE on OL can assist her to kill enemy units, and upgraded favorite items can boost her stats to allow her to kill with more ease. That’s about it as far as synergies go.
In Weaknesses, the biggest threat to her is Noah. Every single Nuker DPS fears this name, and ReiTN is no different. Noah’s invincibility should be able to completely nullify ReiTN’s damage output, and if Biscuit is put alongside Noah, the follow up damage that Rei deals should also turn to poof.
Another key counter to ReiTN is none other than our hot and sweaty cheerleader: Bay! Bay is an excellent choice against ReiTN since her cover should be able to tank the whole nuke. Pair Biscuit up alongside her and then Rei’s normal attacks again get nullified! A very troublesome situation for her, but she can get out of it if Rei is paired up with Mari. Mari should be able to kill Bay’s cover by her “pre-nuke”, making an opening for Rei to kill everyone else. Noise and Anchor are soft counters to ReiTN, and need the help of Noah or Bay to properly survive through the onslaught.
Impact on current meta
Tier List Rating: S – 8.7
Rei Ayanami: (Tentative Name) provides no significant improvement in the current meta. She is yet another option for attacking strategies, making defenses even weaker than they already are. However, she does provide some substance in the form of raw strength of her Nuke and follow up damage. She also does not feed into Jackal as much as other units like Rapi: Red Hood.
Overall, she can be a solid pick for main B3 over 5 teams in the upcoming Champions Arena, and is expected to stay in S tier for the foreseeable future. As more Burst Gen units are released, she should be able to solidify her place in PvP more, as fast team nukes are quite decent in the current expected meta.
Team Examples
All teams can be used for Attack or Defence. Positioning is very important, try to copy the positions as is.
The Blanc Jackal special
Simple, safe, single buff 3RL nuke team that provides sustain for Rei.
Centi and Jackal replacements:
- Anis
- Emilia
- Rumani
Note: Jackal is the only B1 unit in this team. Only Rumani can replace her.
2RL Bomb Squad
Go fast, go crazy, go stupid! The fastest team Rei can be in. Super expensive so be careful!
Blanc Replacement:
- xAnne
- Mari
- Crown
- Grave
- Liter
Centi Replacements:
- Emilia
- xMaiden
- Laplace Treasure
- ClipSG
Jackal replacement:
- Rumani
Make sure to still have a B1 and B2 in the team after all changes.
A Nuke upon Nuke
An idea to have Rosanna deal a high damage nuke on 2 nikkes, followed up by a ReiTN nuke. Emilia softens up P1/P2/P3 meanwhile, waiting for a swift finish to come.
Double the buffs, Double the fun!
Same ideas as before, but Red Hood enters the arena to buff up ReiTN.
Extreme Survivability
The notorious god comp. Just hope you don’t come across Scarlet or S.Anis or SBS since they may be better because of their ability to deal damage through means other than their nuke and basic attacks.
Budget Meta Team Compositions
You miss Anchor PvP review, she is actually usefull