Table of Contents
Overview
Pros:
- Kind of like Nightmare Bunny Eclipse 2.0: same "long cross" range, same SP, better damage, better M.RES shred.
- A menace in PVP, especially when paired with B.Helena.
- One of the few costumes with 50% M.RES shred.
- One of the best wind attackers for Tower of Pride.
Cons:
- No secondary costume, yet.
- Single hit skill is vulnerable to evasion.
- Front targeting is a little less reliable than skip targeting for hitting a full column.
Does Venaka's M.RES shred apply before or after her damage?
In BD2, many debuffs apply only after the first hit connects. However, our initial tests show that Venaka's M.RES shred applies before her damage connects. In the images below, Venaka has 1007 M.ATK, and the primary target is a water-type with 75% M.RES (which becomes 25% after Venaka's skill is applied). Season of Wind is active, so Venaka has 100% property damage (50% base + 50% Season of Wind bonus).
Her skill damage is therefore 1007 x 300% (skill damage) x 200% (property damage) x 75% (M.RES damage reduction) = 4532. This lines up with the tests results below, which shows 4530 damage. The minor difference is due to rounding on Venaka's M.ATK stat.
Since the M.RES reduction applies before Venaka's skill damage, this means that Venaka is very strong, especially in PVP.
Venaka for PVE
Venaka has great offensive stats, with 363 base M.ATK. This is not quite as high as Schera (385 M.ATK), but better than Eclipse (308 M.ATK) and Dalvi (352 M.ATK). Coupled with her high damage multiplier, her skill really packs a punch.
At +5 full potential, Venaka deals 700% damage in a single hit. This is the strongest wind single-hit available, which makes her great for Evil Castle Tower of Pride against water enemies. She is also very strong for water fiend hunts and other levels with high M.RES enemies.
Having said this, Venaka doesn't quite have mob-clearing utility of Summer Vacation Dalvi or Vanguard Gray, both of which are wind units with a 3x3 AOE. Since Summer Dalvi is also very good and will be distributed for free to +5 costume level, Venaka is nice to have, but not a must-have for a wind PVE team.
Note that Venaka's M.RES shred is a fairly unique skill. The only other 2 units with 50% M.RES shred are Lovely Lady Elise and Kind Liberator Samary (4-star). Of those units, Venaka's range is the best.
Venaka for PVP
Venaka is a great choice for PVP, because her M.RES shred and high base damage makes her an extremely effective attacker. When paired with B.Helena, she is near unstoppable. In the current meta, wind-type is also a favorable typing. There are currently no fire tanks that Venaka would struggle to overcome, and also, Glacia (one of the most popular tanks with high M.RES) is water-type and vulnerable to Venaka's attacks.
Venaka is therefore a strong candidate in PVP and a good alternative option to Nightmare Bunny Eclipse, who is presently one of the most dominant costumes in PVP. NB.Eclipse at +5 full potential is already very strong with 20% M.RES shred, 308 base M.ATK and 3x220% skill damage. Venaka tops that with 50% M.RES shred, 363 base M.ATK and 700% skill damage.
Despite Venaka's superior damage (after taking into account M.RES shred), there are a number of reasons that Eclipse still retains a competitive advantage (for now):
- Firstly, Eclipse has two costumes, which means she has no downtime when cycling between skills. Venaka, on the other hand, currently only has 1 costume, which means she has nothing to do on your second turn.
- Secondly, Eclipse comes with an SP drain ability, which can make a big difference in PVP (because it reduces the number of skills your opponent can use on their next turn, and increases the number of skills you can use on your next turn).
- Thirdly, Eclipse's skip targeting is a generally more reliable than Venaka's. For example, against a fully stacked column with 4 enemies, Eclipse would hit all 4 enemies, whereas Venaka would only reach the first 3.
Still, the fact that Venaka is pretty much on par with NB.Eclipse, one of the best PVP costumes in the game, just goes to show how good she is for PVP. If Venaka gets a second costume, she may well surpass Eclipse.
Conclusion
For PVE use, Venaka is nice to have but not a "must have", mainly because all players are getting Summer Dalvi +5 for free. Summer Dalvi will be a very powerful wind costume, similar to Liatris in that she hits in a 3x3 range with strong burn damage.
For PVP use, Venaka is very powerful. She has overall better damage than Nightmare Bunny Eclipse (one of the strongest PVP costumes in the game), but with less utility. Although she won't quite be at the top tier of PVP yet (due to the lack of a second costume), there's a very good chance she'll get there after she gets a second costume.
