I decided I would do reviews on new banners and that as this is likely the most controversial banner we'll see for a while, I might as well start here. Let me know if this seems helpful or if there's interest for more of these in the future. Global ratings are my own -- Japanese ratings are from altema.jp

LOTS OF TEXT - if you just want conclusions, scroll to the bottom.

There is a lot of ambiguity as to if Amarant and Lani are included in the 'Rate Up' portion of this banner (although both the group of people that think they will, and the group of people that think they will not, seem very passionate about their opinions!) but I do not think it overall changes if this banner is or is not worth pulling on.

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ZIDANE:

Rarity: 3* to 5*

Global Party Rating: 4/10

He has mediocre attack and no abilities to take advantage of it. He has the current highest success rate for stealing if you value that. Probably better than any 4* or less units you're using, but that's about it.

Japanese Character Rating (altema.jp): 65/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Dual Wield - 10/10

This allows you to equip two weapons and all attacks to hit twice. Easily the best TM we have access to in the game right now and stays top tier for the foreseeable future.

Japanese TM Rating (altema.jp): SSS Tier

Why would you want Zidane?: If you're willing to grind out his TM in Earth Shrine or save him for Trust Moogles in the future, his TM will be amazing on whatever strong physical unit you put it on. Yes, some units in Japan have Dual Wield built in, but they are base 5* units and it's highly unlikely you will get them. Zidane is your only reasonably attainable Dual Wield with no draw-backs.

Is he FUTURE-PROOF?: Yes. You're not pulling to use him in combat anyway, but his TM is definitely future proof. That being said, he is a main protagonist so he has a high probability of eventually getting a 6* upgrade but if/when that happens we don't know if it will be enough to make him any good.

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KUJA:

Rarity: 3* to 5*

Global Party Rating: 7/10 Kuja has a decent magic stat, but limited to only Gravity or Lightning spells. He is great for fights that are weak to lightning, out-classed by other mages (Exdeath, Kefka, Tellah) everywhere else. Also comes with Barthundera for high lightning damage fights, but that's craftable.

Japanese Character Rating (altema.jp): 75/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Flare 7/10

2.3x Magic Fire damage and lowers water resistance by 30% for 3 turns to one enemy. No one can really take advantage of that lowered water resistance at the moment, but this may be stronger in the future. Treat this as a stronger Firaga (1.8x fire damage) for single target fights.

Japanese TM rating (altema.jp): S Tier

Why would you want Kuja?: If you want a mage and missed out on Kefka, Golbez, and Tellah's recent rate ups, you could do worse than Kuja but he's not great.

Is he FUTURE-PROOF? No, but as a main antagonist he has a high probability of eventually getting a 6* upgrade but if/when that happens we don’t know if it will be enough to make him good.

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AMARANT:

Rarity: 3* to 5*

Global Party Rating: 8.5/10

If you are looking for a tank, Amarant is currently a better tank in Global than Cecil or Warrior of Light. Whether or not you need a tank currently is up for debate. As to if he'll stay a better tank than Cecil or Warrior of Light? He will not. Amarant has a 50% chance to be targeted vs Cecil or WoL's 30% to block an attack (Cecil and WoL do get a 50% DEF/SPR buff when blocking, mind you.) Amarant also brings a 60% chance to counter attack (and higher attack than Cecil or WoL) so he will contribute more personal damage than either of them. He also brings Revive (something only Tellah and Terra have so far in Global)

Japanese Character Rating (altema.jp): 85/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: 30% HP 8/10

More HP = less likely to be dead and always good

Japanese TM rating (altema.jp): S Tier

Why would you want Amarant? If you want a tank and don't have Cecil, WoL, or Leo (thanks /u/CeaseToHope) he's a decent tank -- you probably don't need a tank yet but who knows if there will be a rate up for Cecil in the future (and WoL being 4* base makes him hard to pull for.)

Is he FUTURE-PROOF? No. He is outclassed later and does not have a 6* upgrade. He is also not a main protagonist or antagonist so it's unlikely he'll get a 6* upgrade.

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VIVI:

Rarity: 3* to 4*

Global Party Rating: 6/10

Unfortunately, as a 4 star maximum character, Vivi is simply outclassed by any 5 star mage (for survivability if nothing else.) That being said, he has the highest single target burst damage potential of any mage in Global as of today with his Dual Black Magic combined with Comet, but he'll either die due to his low HP, DEF, and RES or run out of MP before a better mage would.

Japanese Character Rating (altema.jp): 55/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Firaga 6/10

Useful if you're running Kefka or Kuja on a boss weak to fire (as they do not natively have Firaga) but most mages will come with this or better built in.

Japanese TM rating (altema.jp): A Tier

Why would you want Vivi? You probably don't. He might be an upgrade if you're already using a 4* max (or less) unit in your party but otherwise you don't want him.

Is he FUTURE-PROOF? No. He may get a 5* upgrade in the future, but a 6* upgrade seems unlikely.

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LANI:

Rarity: 3* to 4*

Global Party Rating: 2/10

She's the new Penelo or Shadow. No redeeming characteristics. 4 star max with low attack and low magic. She only has magic abilities but can't even equip rods.

Japanese Character Rating (altema.jp): 50/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Equip Axe 2/10

This will never be worth farming or spending Trust Moogles on.

Japanese TM rating (altema.jp): Unranked.

Why would you want Lani? You make poor life choices or are really into axes.

Is she FUTURE-PROOF? lol

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SHOULD YOU PULL ON THIS BANNER?: Yes -- BUT wait about 5 days until the next banner is announced by Gumi. There are two FFIX characters missing from this banner (Garnet and Freya.) There is a decent chance the next banner will include Garnet and Freya with the possibility of including Zidane again (if I had to put money on it I'd guess he won't be included, but it's worth waiting to find out) and if so that banner might be overall better than this one.

Every character that comes with Dual Wield released to date in Japan are base 5* units (meaning, you likely will not pull one) and, unless Zidane appears on another banner, this is your best chance to get Dual Wield on a unit until Abel comes out many months from now (his TM is an 82 ATK dagger that gives Dual Wield -- this means one of your two weapon slots must be this 82 ATK dagger limiting your damage potential over Zidane's TM.)