Table of Contents
Overview
H Lathel's mechanics do not require much explanation: he boosts ATK and he does it well.
Pros
- Only 5-star physical damage supporter in the game (excluding AOU Diana who boosts property damage).
- A staple for clearing end game content with physical teams. Often used together with Arines.
- Only 1 SP cost at +3 onwards, making him extremely versatile in both PVE and PVP.
- Lathel is already a great unit, so adding this costume to his arsenal makes him even more versatile.
Cons
- Only works for physical teams.
- No crit boost.
- As an older unit, he is somewhat more susceptible to powercreep.
- There are great limited banners going on right now, whereas H Lathel is in permanent costume pool.
How many copies do you need?
H Lathel is a costume that works great at +0, and you get a lot of utility even with a single copy.
At +0, H Lathel effectively gives +85% physical damage on your first turn, and +60% on your second turn. His buffs stack with other supporters, and you can pair him with Arines (+70% ATK, +30% crit) to greatly boost the total power of your physical team.
At +1 you get an additional 25% turn 1 damage and at +2 you get an additional 20% turn 1 damage. These are worthwhile incremental improvements.
At +3, H Lathel's cost halves to 1 SP. This 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. 2 SP is not really worth the cost, whereas 1 SP is great value and can be easily slotted into a physical team formation.
Especially for newer players, H Lathel can greatly improve your attacking win rate in PVP, because he can help make up for your physical units that have unoptimized costume levels and gears. If you are finding that your physical attackers in PVP often miss lethal, then you will get a lot of value out of H Lathel at +3.
At +4 and +5, the returns start to diminish. +4 only adds an 10% damage. +5 doesn't increase the headline damage at all, but only gives you one extra turn with boosted damage (i.e. +80% on your turn 3). Personally, I stopped at +3, and I haven't encountered any battles to date where I really thought I needed that extra 10% or that third turn of boosted damage.
In summary, +0 to +2 is worth getting on a budget (depending on your budget), and +3 is essential if you want to use him in your PVP team. Getting +3 will be enough for most players. After +3, you can keep going if you want to, but the benefits are marginal.
Conclusion
Homunculus Lathel is unparalleled when it comes to physical ATK boost. Especially for newer players, if you are finding that you are stuck on any content, having him will help your physical team get past those walls. It's unlikely he'll be featured on a banner again any time in the near future, so if you want him, now's the time to pull him.
Having said this, it's a tough choice on whether to pull because the competing limited banner for Eclipse is also really good. In addition, since H Lathel is a re-release of an older unit, there's a real possibility that we will get better supporters in future banners will outclass H Lathel. For example, AOU Diana already gives much better damage overall for on-element attackers than H Lathel, and has already started replacing H Lathel in some PVE team compositions.
Overall, it would be worth pulling for one if you don't have him, and it would be worth trying for +3 if you already have him at +2 and missed out last round.
