Table of Contents
Overview
| PVE Story | PVP | Fiend Hunt (all) |
| S | B | S |
| Last Night | Tower of Pride | Tower of Salvation |
| C | B | S |
＋ Unique AOE damage amplification for physical units
＋ Big 3x3 AOE
＋ Rafina now has 3 costumes, allowing her to cycle through costumes without any down time
＋ Rafina has great tanking stats and a versatile kit across her costumes (barrier removal, DEF reduction, and now damage amplification)
－ High SP cost, and SP reduction requires 2 Tears to access
－ Rafina has low offensive base stats, making her a weak choice for a main damage dealer
Does Rafina amplify her own damage?
Answer: Yes, but only after the first hit.
The test below demonstrates this. GC.Rafina+1's first hit did 1816 damage, and the third hit did 3268.
1816 x 1.5 (Rafina amplification) x 1.2 (chain damage) = 3268.8.
Therefore, at +5 full potential, GC.Rafina's effective damage (including chain damage) is:
- First hit: 140%
- Second hit: 140% x 2 x 1.1 = 308%
- Third hit: 140% x 2 x 1.2 = 336%
- TOTAL: 784%
That is a very high damage multiplier. Unfortunately though, it is let down by Rafina's relatively low offensive stats. Rafina's base attack is only 220 ATK. Compare this to Justia, Eleaneer, Liatris, Rubia, and Sylvia who each have the "normal" 352 base ATK.
Rafina's ATK stat can be improved with bonding potential stats, but it still would not be as good as other attackers. Bonding with Game Club only adds up to 22 ATK, Steel Engine adds up to 80 ATK, and Code Name A adds up to 52%.
Therefore, Rafina is not recommended as a main damage dealer. She can deal some decent damage, but her main role is as a supporter.
Rafina as a damage buffer
For max damage in PVE, the most common set up for PVE battles is 3x buffers + 1 nuker + 1 flex slot for utility (e.g. for knock backs, def reduction, buff removal etc). For this kind of team, assuming that one of those buffers is AOTU.Diana, that leaves you with only two remaining team slots for buffers.
The question is whether Rafina is good enough to justify one of those precious team slots.
The answer is yes. As a buffer, Rafina is good.
Firstly, Rafina's damage amplification multiplies the effect of all other buffs. In contrast, two ATK boosting buffs used together would only add to each other, but not multiply. The calculations below show how this works.
Secondly, Rafina hits 3 times. This means 3 chain stacks, which adds another 30% to the next nuke attack (i.e. x1.3).
Thirdly, Rafina is versatile and has access to the Code Name A costume which allows her to reduce DEF. If you need a DEF shredder in your team, bringing Rafina fills the DEF shredder role and the attack buffer role, which frees up a valuable team slot.
Putting aside Diana (who is basically a staple who cannot be substituted), below is a table summarizing the damage output of some of the possible "two buffer combos" for physical teams:
| Two buffers (+5, max potential) | Player Turn 1 damage | Player Turn 2 damage |
| H.Lathel + Arines | 100%+130%+70% = 300% | 100%+80%+70% = 250% |
| H.Lathel + MC.Teresse | 100%+130%+120% = 350% | 100%+80%+120% = 300% |
| H.Lathel + GC.Rafina | (100%+130%)x200%x130% = 598% | (100%+80%)x200%x130% = 468% |
| MC.Teresse + GC Rafina | (100%+120%)x200%x130% = 572% | (100%+120%)x200%x130% = 572% |
| MC.Teresse + Celia (Bunny/Curse) | (100%+120%) x 160% = 352% | (100%+120%) x 240% = 528% |
| Celia (Bunny/Curse) + GC.Rafina | 190% x 210% = 380% | 270% x 210% = 540% |
As you can see, the best "two buffer combo" for max physical damage is GC.Rafina paired with H.Lathel or MC.Teresse. When GC.Rafina is paired with an ATK buffer, the total damage output increases by a lot.
This makes GC.Rafina ideal for Fiend Hunts and any PVE battles where high damage output is required. She is also good for Tower of Salvation, to boost your main attacker's damage.
Rafina for PVP
GC.Rafina works well in a physical team. She has a huge 3x3 AOE with skip targeting, making it very hard to stay safe from. The damage is good enough to take out weak low-DEF enemies hiding in the back row.
However to make effective use of GC.Rafina in PVP, she really needs the SP reduction potential upgrade, which takes 2 Tears to access. The difference between 3 SP and 4 SP is huge in PVP.
Still, Rafina's biggest drawback is her low base damage. Even with potential upgrades and costume bonding, she struggles to deal with tanky units unless buffed by H.Lathel or Samay. Her "balanced" stats mean that she sits somewhere between a tank and a damage dealer, whilst not really excelling at either role.
Conclusion
In previous costume sets, the third and final costume of each set has usually been the least impactful one (e.g. Ventana from the Comeback Idol set, Nartas from the Tales of Sword Set, Diana from the Nightmare Winter set). Rafina has broken that trend by providing us with a high impact attacker and buffer, despite being the last in the School Crisis set.
Rafina is recommended as she offers an impactful boost to your overall damage. In addition, you do not need any of Rafina's other costumes to make Game Club worth playing.
