Table of Contents
Pros
- Huge 3x3 skip AOE like Liatris and Celia, with decent damage
- Unique AOE damage amplification for physical units
- 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)
- Past Rafina costumes have recently received good potential upgrades, improving the power of Rafina overall
Cons
- High SP cost, hard to use in PVP without SP reduction potential upgrade (requires 2 Tears to access)
- Rafina's offensive base stats are on the low side unless bonded to Code Name A's potential upgrades
- Competes with a lot of other good supporters in PVE
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%.
Further, the bonus stat on Rafina's unique UR gear is only +67 ATK, which still leaves her on the relatively weak side for attack power.
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 Evil Castle (water floors), Last Night, Fiend Hunts and any other PVE battles where high damage is required.
Rafina for PVP
Now that Rafina has access to the potential system, she is a force to be reckoned with in Mirror Wars.
GC.Rafina works very well in a physical team. It has a huge 3x3 AOE with skip targeting, making it very hard to stay safe from. The damage is good enough to take out most low DEF enemies hiding in the back row. The damage amplification also helps compensate for other "big AOE low damage" physical attackers on your team, such as BG.Justia or Liatris.
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.
It's also worth noting that her previous costumes have received very impactful potential upgrades. Steel Engine now has access to the same range as Nightmare Bunny Eclipse. Code Name A now reduces cost to 3 SP, making it much more accessible for play on your first or second turn. This makes very hard to play around, as GC.Rafina and Code Name A punish 3 column "X" formations whereas Steel Engine Rafina punishes 2 column "straight line" formations.
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 for physical teams in both PVE and PVP, she offers a pretty impactful boost to your overall damage. In addition, you do not need any of Rafina's other costumes to make Game Club worth playing.
