Table of Contents
Overview
Pros
- Skill hits an entire column (4 squares), similar to Neon Stalker Liatris.
- Extremely high damage (850%) to physical type enemies
- 75% magic damage damage reduction is very high: paired with M.RES gear, he can be nearly impervious to magic damage.
Cons
- High SP cost
- 5 turn cooldown, no second costume skill available
- Low damage against Magic types
- Magic damage reduction buff can be removed by Schera etc
- Single hit attack is weak against dodge skills
Nartas for PvE
Nartas currently boasts the single highest damage multiplier in the game, at 850%. This makes him excellent for tough physical bosses and for high scoring in Evil Castle.
His reach also allows him to deal with particular kinds of unit formations, especially where you need to hit an enemy hiding in the very back row. It's very likely that Nartas' unique reach will come in handy for future fiend boss fights and other PVE content.
Nartas is the best for the current fire fiend boss, because he is the only unit who can hit both weak points at the same time (head and tail). Also, since the fire fiend deals physical type damage, Nartas can activate his bonus physical type damage.
Nartas for PvP
Nartas brings an interesting kit to PvE teams. Although he can potentially be very strong, it seems that he lacks the consistency to be top tier.
First of all, Nartas costs 5 SP. For PVE this is fine, but for a PVP offense team, he uses up ALL of your opening turn SP, leaving nothing for your other team members. If you're going to spend all of your SP on a single skill, the skill absolutely MUST have the impact to justify the cost.
Nartas' power lies in the fact that he hits the entire column and pierces straight through any tanks in the front line. The best case scenario is that you hit a full 4-unit stack of physical units and wipe them out. His 850% damage multiplier with UR gears focused on M.ATK will usually be enough to wipe out most physical attackers.
Even if you hit a magic unit and it survives, Nartas can act as a tank on the next turn with a 75% damage reduction buff.
The problem, however, is that magic tanks like Glacia and Sier exist. Glacia in particular remains ever popular in high tier PVE, and there is every chance that Nartas will hit nothing but a lone Glacia, dealing negligible damage against her high HP/M.RES and effectively wasting your first turn advantage.
At the end of the day, PVP is a numbers game. Even though Nartas can be great if you get lucky, and is probably fine for lower tier PVP, the risk of Nartas wasting all your SP on a lone Glacia means that Nartas is unfortunately not consistent enough for high tier PVP.
If you need a full column clear in PVP, the better choice is still Neon Stalker Liatris. Lia can also hit an entire row (most of the time), but only costs 3 SP at +5. This leaves you room to use supporters and/or follow up skills, so that you at least have a fighting chance if you happen to meet a lone Glacia. For example, in most cases, Homunculus Lathel + NS Liatris + SQ Sylvia would be more consistent than Nartas alone.
Conclusion
Right now, the main reason to pull for Nartas is to get a high score on the fire fiend boss. Even though he is a solid unit (his damage and his reach are great), there is an exciting new batch of units just around the corner. I would therefore suggest skipping Nartas and waiting to see what the next batch has to offer.
