Banner Guide – Homunculus Lathel (Rerun)

Official Patch Notes

Overview

Lathel compared with other ATK buffers

H.Lathel has a very strong ATK boost on the first turn, which then drops off on the second and third turns.

Lathel is a "must have" ATK buffer. The table below compares ATK buffs of the ATK buffers available in the game, at +5 full potential. Note Arines is assumed to have no potential (because it would be a waste to spend Tears on a 3-star).

As you can see, H.Lathel is by far the strongest for single turn battles.

Even for long battles like fiend hunts and guild raids, H.Lathel is usually the best ATK buffer, because there is often only one "nuke turn" where you do the most damage, and that's the turn on which you want to use H.Lathel. However if there are 2 "nuke turns", MC.Teresse may give comparable performance.

Note that Teresse has an advantage over H.Lathel in certain battles because Teresse has two buff costumes: MC.Teresse and BA.Teresse. For low-hit count teams (5 chain stacks or less), the combined effect of the two Teresse buffs will outclass H.Lathel's buff alone.

For taking on high level fiend hunts, having both H.Lathel and MC.Teresse is ideal (because you need buffers for multiple teams, so Lathel would be on one team and Teresse would be on the other).

How many copies do you need?

H Lathel is a costume that works well even at low levels.

At +2 (no potential), H.Lathel gives a turn 1 buff of 70%+50%. At +5 (no potential), the turn 1 buff is 80%+50%. As you can see, the vast majority of H.Lathel's turn 1 buff power is already unlocked at +2. This makes H.Lathel great value for relatively little investment.

At +3, H Lathel's cost halves to 1 SP. This SP reduction is not a big deal for PVE, but if you want to use Lathel in competitive PVP then you must have at least +3. Since your attacking team only starts with 5 SP in PVP, the difference between 1 SP and 2 SP cost is huge. A 2 SP ATK buff is not really worth the cost in PVP, whereas 1 SP is great value and can be easily slotted into any physical team formation.

At +4 and +5, the returns start to diminish. +4 only adds a 10% damage. +5 doesn't increase the headline damage at all, but only gives you one extra turn with boosted damage. This extra turn really only makes a difference for high level fiend hunts and guild raids, but it is largely a luxury elsewhere.

In summary, +2 is the minimum recommended for those on a budget. +3 is essential if you want to use him in PVP. After +3, the benefit-to-investment ratio is relatively small: +4 gives you an extra 10% ATK, and +5 gives you one more turn of buffs. Even so, since H.Lathel is such a staple ATK buffer, even a small improvement is pretty good value for a costume that you will constantly be using for late-game content.

Potential upgrades are strongly recommended. Each of the potential upgrades improves Lathel's buff power.

Conclusion

Homunculus Lathel is unparalleled when it comes to physical ATK buffs, and is a "must have" for all players. Most veteran players will already have him, but if you are a new player and don't have at least +2, now would be a very good time to invest.