You shiver from the chill of the wind as it attacks your fingers and ears like tiny needles. After hiding from a seemingly short-lived Valentines apocalypse, it came to your attention that your supplies are low. And so you slipped on the layers of cloth and fur before trucking out into the frigid white wilderness. How long has it been since you last left the house? Its been too long to even try and remember.

In the pack slung over your shoulder rests the mysterious leather journal. Over the last few weeks, it has slowly been revealing more and more of its secrets to you about what is to come. They grow more and more frightful every day. Secrets within secrets, plans within plans. Somewhere, somewhen, things went very wrong in the future. Dark and terrible things known only as "The Great Pulling". Details are still scarce but hopefully you will be able to learn more soon

You are interrupted from your thoughts by a sudden blinding light. A great beam of sun has parted the clouds and a soft, heavenly music is filling your mind. Two beings decent from the part in the sky on golden wings. They gently land in front of your mesmerized face without making the slightest dent in the snow. The woman steps forward first and softly cups your cold cheeks in her hands. Her hands are as warm and soft as a blanket and she smiles softly while her golden hair shines radiantly. 'My dearest Player, I am so sorry. I know you are waiting for something great. Our coming interrupted that.'

'Yeah, I guess I'm sorry too' The while-haired male says behind her, his pale arms crossed as he frowns. 'I can't believe Gumi made me so bad. I mean, they are the kings of heave-'

'Art!' The woman cuts him off. 'Watch your words.' Ignoring his grumbling, she smiles at you once again. 'We bring a gift, my dear child. Hopefully, these allies will bring you to victory' She softly kisses you on the forehead before gently rising into the sky. You let our a cry of protest, not wanting her to leave, but she simply waves before turning and vanishing back into the hole in the clouds. You are left alone in the snow with only a burning warmth in your cheeks and a small smile on your face.

Welcome, once again, to our Should You Pull bonanza! I'm excited for this one because constantly saying everything is trash really weighs down on your....uh...whats it called again? Oh, thats right! Conscience! That thing we all totally have....yeah.

Anyways, I actually think this banner isn't entirely bad. Sorry its so late though. I feel like I'm never not in some midterm or another. And so, without much further delay, this is the Should You Pull for Final Fantasy 2 - Electric Boogaloo.

Emperor

^{*5 /6 is the total of base stats, maximum pots, and all non-conditional passives at maximum rarity.}

Global Party Rating: 8/10

OUR EMPEROR ARISES! GLORY BE TO HIS NAME! Well.....mostly anyways. Emperor is our newest 5* base mage and comes with a bunch of the things required to Make Mages Great Again.^tm

His stats are fairly solid, with a very good amount of Magic and MP for a damage dealer. 149 is in line with what we would expect from a 5* mage, with Dark Fina having a base of 150 and Ace of 147. He also has a 30% Magic passive to add him to contention at 193. His Mana is good, with 30 more at 6* then Ace and just lightly under Dark Fina and Exdeath. He bolsters this with a 20% Mana passive to a respectable 220 without pots, and 298 with maximum pots. Like most mages, his defensive stats are a bit weak but he has ways to mitigate that.

For gear, its the standard Staves and Rods for weapons with Hats, Clothes, and Robes for wearables. Nothing exciting here.

Now, for the spicy bits. Abilities. First and foremost, our new lord and master comes with the most important mage ability of all: Dualcast. This bread-and-butter mage ability lets you cast spells twice a turn. Sadly, a lot of what makes Emperor very interesting is some of his abilities. Gumi why do you do this every time.

Thankfully, Emperor will not go unrecognized. To compliment his magnificence, he comes with 4 "-Aga" magics. Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and the far less common Aeroga all do 1.8x Aoe for their respective elements. While Aeroga is less common, some number of "Aga"s is standard fare for mages. He also has Flare, which is a respectable 2.3x Single Target nuke that reduces the enemy's water resist. Sadly, Emperor has no way to take advantage of this himself.

For non-dualcastable Abilities, he doesn't lack either. There isn't a whole lot of damage to be had here but you certainly get the bang-for-your-lapis with his utility suite.

• Time Stopper is a 30% chance Aoe Stop ability. This won't have any realistic use in PvE but in PvP it can be killer if you get it off.

• Fire From Below is similar to Dark Fina's Dystopia in how it works. Consecutive casts increase the power more and more. A few key differences though, in that Dark Fina's is Dark AoE while Emperor chooses to use Single Target and Fire. But his maximum bonus is much much higher (10x vs 3x for Fina). This can be relevant against big bosses who you just want to spam DPS on.

• INSOLENT FOOLS, when not being an excellent taunt, keeps Emperor alive by reducing his chance of being targeted by 75%. If I knew that yelling insults at people would keep them away I probably would have been bullied less in Middle School. Ah well.

• I'll Never Die is 10% mana/turn back. An Auto-Refresh function is always good on your mage.

• Lastly, Present Your Offering does 1/2 Hp damage to an ally in exchange for 100 MP to Emperor. Its a bit gimmicky in my opinion, as doing 1/2 of someones health is rarely worth it, but he does lack Osmose so sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Emperor also comes with two more SPR-related abilities. He can break all enemies SPR by 40% for 3 turns and increase his own by 60% for 5 turns. He can also reduce all his Allies SPR by 20% for 3 turns to buff his own Mag by 100% for 5 turns. The first one is all upside and fairly unique amongst mages. The latter is great vs Physical fights but dangerous and should be used cautiously. Either way, nothing says good leadership like stepping on people in order to take power. 10/10 for flavour.

Japanese Altema Rating: 93/100.

Global TMR Rating: Mateus's Malice - Atk 19 Mag 129 HP 10% Rod - 9/10 The best rod in Global and for many moons to come, we got a buff! Huzzah! The extra 20 Magic for Global really pushes this up in the rankings. If you ever plan to use Mages and have Emperor this is a must have. Also, 10% HP is nice, cause why not.

Japanese TM Rating (Altema.jp): SS Tier (Note, thiers is 109 Magic not 129)

Who does this Unit compare to? Other mages! Shocking, I'm sure. The big three I'm gonna compare him to are Exdeath, Dark Fina, and my homeboy Ace.

• Dark Fina: Both have very similar base and potted base Magic, both have dualcast, similar mana pools, ect. They're fairly on par. The difference is D Fina has innate spells really worth dualcasting (Ultima) while Emperor does not. Her ideal modifier maxes out sooner (Dualcast Ultima, 746% or Dystopia over several turns, 760%) but in the long long fights the EMPEROR REIGNS SUPREME with Fire From Below at a maximum 2000% Modifier. Sadly, this requires a large amount of mana and several turns but in a long fight with a mana battery (Ling, Bartz) this will really build up to some massive DPS.

• Exdeath: A very similar story to Dark Fina. Similar base stats, dualcast, and similar argument. Exdeath's dualcast Meteor (666%) is as high as he gets, while Emperor needs a 4th consecutive cast of Fire from Below to beat it with 800%. Both have large mana commitments to be optimal.

• Ace: Ace is a fairly different kind of beast. He doesn't have Dual Cast and his primary damage comes from Abilities anyways. With his Global Exclusive ability Wild Card, he benefits from Dual Wield and Killer passives which seperates him from normal mages but requires him to do single target. A 2.5 Modifier by itself isn't a whole lot higher then the first Fires, but with Killers and dualwield it really kicks in. Nevertheless, Emperor will overtake him in about 4 or 5 consecutive attacks depending on Killer passives and rods equipped. Ace beats him out in personal sustain though, as he doesn't need to kill his friend to be great. And thats all that really matters, right? Also Ace is part of team Chocobo which makes him a winner in my book.

Why would you want Emperor? He's a 5* base Mage who is hard to hit and hits hard back. He is in the same tierage as Dark Fina or Exdeath but comes with that hefty 5* base price tag. He's great in long fights (if no fire Resist) and IMO is pretty great with Bartz.

6*? Enhancements? He comes 6* capable out of the box, and has several enhancements in Japan. He comes even harder to kill by adding Hp/turn and eventually a chance to ignore fatal hits when above 40% HP. Fire From Below gets a 25% Fire Debuff and a better multiplier (these increase his damage a LOT). His Magic Buff lasts longer and then debuffs enemy SPR as well as your teams.

Firion

^{*5 /6 is the total of base stats, maximum pots, and all non-conditional passives at maximum rarity.}

Global Party Rating: 8/10

Firion finally got his 6* upgrade! Our hero hit the gym for his New Years Resolution, did the impossible and KEPT his resolution, and clearly has the gains. He's a physical damage dealer that takes advantage of weapon-collector style passives and makes use of many Killer passives to strike where his enemies are weakest.

For gear, he has access to everything EXCEPT Robes, Heavy Armour, Heavy Shields. Including every weapon this side of Tinbuktu.

For stats, he's bad. He's bad for a good reason, but they're still bad. 132 Base Atk at 6* is fairly weak, and even with his Maximum Pots and his innate 10% ATk passive, he reaches a meager 173 Atk. Thats only 31 higher then EMPEROR, who is a mage. He also has a nice 10% Def and 20% HP which make him a bit harder to kill. You see these on a lot of the 3/4 to 6 units.

"But Letsdothisbro! His attack is so bad!" Yes, it is. Fortunately, Firion really likes shiny things. So much so that they imbue him with the power to get better shiny things! Firion has his own series of weapon-collector passives to buff his stats.

• With Staff/Rod/Harp/Mace: He gets 30% Mag/Spr (Spoilers: Never use this one)

• With Bow/Whip/Throwing/Gun: He gets 25% ATk/Spr

• With Axe/Hammer/Spear/Fist: He gets 30% Atk

• With Dagger/Sword/Greatsword/Katana: He gets 20% Atk/Def

So Firion has a lot more then 10% in Attack passives. Realistically, if you're going for optimal weapons, you will give him a Fist/Hammer/Spear and a Katana (Cause Blade Mastery is OP) with Dual Wield or Genji Glove. That is a bonus 50% Atk and 20% Def Passives to boost our Man of the Hour. 60% Atk in Passives is above average for what we expect from a 3/4-6 Unit and makes up a bit for his bad base attack. You won't get Noctis/Gilgamesh levels yet but he holds his own. He also has a slew of Killer passives, cause Firion is very very prejudiced.

For Regular old Killers (50% Bonus) he has Bird, Plant, Bug, Dragon, Demon, Beast. He also has some special Killers that add an ADDITIONAL 75% to each of those types, leaving him with 125% Bonus damage to those six. Despite the obvious Human Supremacist issues, this leaves Firion very versatile againsta wide range of mobs, bosses, and trials. These also should all stack with Killers that come from Espers, Weapons, and Materia as they are different sources so he has the potential to do even more.

For actual skills, he lacks a bit. All that Speciesism takes up a lot of room! He has Blade Bash (0.8x, 30% Paralyze), Blade Blitz (1.4x Aoe), Lance for MP and HP steal, and the skill you'll actually use: Fin Briar, a 1.8x, Ignore 25% Def, single target skill (Norm: 2.3x). This skill is his primary damage source and is best used to finish big chains versus one of the six creatures types Firion hates.

Japanese Altema Rating: 91/100 (Pre enhancements)

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Equip Heavy Armour - Allows Unit to Equip Heavy Armour (Obviously) - 1/10

This wasn't that good before and it still isn't that good now. Healers and Mages get more out of Robes and its not worth the slot on Physical DPS as you're trying to maximize passives or abilities.

Japanese TM Rating (Altema.jp) A Tier

Who does this Unit compare to?

Firion is comparable to those 3/4-6* Physical DPS.

• Chizuru: Chizuru is a 4* base who hits hard. Her base Atk is better then Firion's both pre and post pots, but when you start adding their weapon specific passives he gets and additional 25%-50% compared to just 25% off of Chizuru. She is a much better chainer in duplicates but Firion is a WAY better chain finisher. If you're a veteran they probably fulfill different roles but if you're new and have a choice then Chizuru will do more damage to Humans and doesn't require Dual-Wield to be great, while Firion is great against his chosen types but requires a bit more TM investment to be really amazing.

• Cloud of Darkness: This one is easy. Both have fairly low Base Atk but really hate on certain creature types. CoD goes after Humans with a rage while Firion is more diverse with his Killers. They're both angry people, ok? CoD has WAY more utility and overall is better in a team, while Firion is a great chain finisher. If you're fighting Humans, Cod takes the cake. If not, decide if you need her Utility over Firion's better DPS.

Why would you want Firion? He's a very good damage dealer who is a 3* base. Thats a lot easier to come by then some of the 5*s. He certainly lacks against the very common Humans but against any of the 6 types listed he excels. If you have Dual Wield you can really take advantage of those weapon-collector passives. Otherwise, he holds his own but isn't top tier. A good unit if you're later in the game or new and looking for a good damage dealer.

6*? Enhancements? He now comes new-and-improved with his own 6* upgrade! Huzzah! In Japan, he has enhancements that improve Fin Briar's Ratio and Mitigated Damage, his Killers get expanded to do more and hit harder, and he oddly gets an upgrade to Lance for some reason to make it drain a little more MP and HP

Leon

^{*5 /6 is the total of base stats, maximum pots, and all non-conditional passives at maximum rarity.}

Global Party Rating: 4.5/10

Leon is a 4-5* Physical DPS who does OK for himself. He has an acceptable 113 Base Atk for a 5* Max, and while he wont make it in a big 6* world he is a fine unit for a new player to use in the interim.

For Gear, Leon can use Daggers, Swords, Bows, Axes, and Spears. He can use Light and Heavy Shields, Light and Heavy Armour, Hats, and Helms. This is fairly diverse and gives him room to gear up, but he is encouraged towards wielding a Sword over anything else.

For Passives, he has 20% Atk, 20% Def, and 10% Hp. Fairly run of the mill for his rarity and nothing too special to be seen. Like most 5* max units, he is constrained by his rarity.

He also gets a bonus 30% Atk/Def when equipped with a Sword. This isn't too hard to do and there are several good swords available to newer players, primarily Enhancer.

For abilities, Leon can do either Aoe or Single Target Dark damage, has the still good Barrage, the fairly useful Maverick (1.6x, buff Atk by 50%) and Phantom (3.2x, Aoe).

Japanese Altema Rating: 80/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Dark Knights Soul - 30% Atk w/ Sword, 20% Atk w/ Heavy Armour - 8/10 (Note: Does not stack)

This is the biggest reason anybody who isnt new is going to pull for Leonhart. The Heavy Armour restriction rules out maximum efficiency for some units, but even with just a Sword a 30% Atk passive is good. This is best on units like Gilgamesh who have an incentive for equipping these Equipment types already.

Japanese TM Rating (Altema.jp) SS Tier

Who does this Unit compare to? Leon is similar to most of the 4-5* Physical DPS units out there but loses to his own banner's 3*

• Agrias: Leon beats out this cutie right now with a higher base Atk and better passives, as well as a better move pool, but the power of Full Break is not to be underestimated. Barrage is .2x better then Cleansing Strike but Agrias is better in the future when she gets her 6*.

• Firion: If we're talking new players getting units, we have to discuss the 3* base on the same banner. As usual, the good guy wins in the end and Firion wipes the floor with Leon by getting his 6* and the amazing perks that come with him. If you are new and considering leveling a unit, prioritize Firion for sure.

• Chizuru: Also a 4* base who wipes the floor with Leon. Its hard being a 5* nowadays but Chizu's 6* gives her a lot more damage, utility, and potential then poor Leonhart.

Why would you want Leon? You're new and just pulled him for your Physical DPS, or you want his TM. If the first, there are still many better choices that are reasonable, such as Firion, Chizuru, Xiao, ect, but if you end up with Leon and nobody else then its not the end of the world. Otherwise, you want him for his very good Trust Mastery.

6*? Enhancements? Nope and yup. His Phantom gets a better ratio, and his Sword buff gives him ? 30% and Auto-Regen. Not enough to make him good but every little bit helps.....right?

Guy

^{*5 /6 is the total of base stats, maximum pots, and all non-conditional passives at maximum rarity.}

Global Party Rating: 1/10 (3.5/10 if you need Full Break)

The rating says it all to be honest, but we'll go through the motions. Guy is some guy who would like to do damage but doesn't. His only upsides are Full Break and his increased chance to be targeted so an actually good unit doesnt have to be.

For equipment, he can use Light Shields, Hats, Helms, Clothes, and Light Armour. For Weapons, he has access to Daggers, Swords, Axes, Hammers, Spears and Fists. These are all good though he lacks the big two in Greatswords and Katanas, and has no weapon specific passives to justify any of the others.

For Passives, he has 10% HP, 10% Atk, and 20% Def. Overall not too impressive but good enough for a 3-5*. His stats aren't really high enough to make use of these but they're all a 10-20ish increase. For abilities, he has Full Force for an AoE 1.6x, Kick Off for a single target 2x, and the actually useful Full Break (1.6x and decrease ATK/DEF/MAG/SPR by 30% for 3 turns, Single Target). Oh, and he has the ever useless HP Stroll. You probably care about that as little as I do. Lets move on.

He has the odd combination of Draw Attacks ( 50% chance to be targeted) and Latent Potential ( 50% Atk/Def when below 50% Hp). I'm sure some developer thought they were being very clever here but it just makes a bad unit die faster. If you're newer and fighting the lower levels, this can be somewhat useful to keep your healer/real dps alive and give Guy a boost in the meanwhile, but in general the only unit you want to be targeted is your tank. Guy can also cure himself of Poison, Blind, and Silence. Why on earth he can cure his own Silencing when he has literally zero Magic and Abilities aren't stopped by Silence.....ah, screw it. Guy is bad unless you don't have a fullbreaker in which case he is still bad but you're probably gonna have to stomach it if you're new and you don't need it that much if you're further on.

Japanese Altema Rating: 76/100

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Hill Digger - HP 30%, Atk 10% - 6.5/10

I guess this is a strict upgrade on Amarant, but 10% Atk isn't that useful on the people who most want 30% HP (Tanks). Its good enough and if you get him I guess you do it before Amarant but I wouldn't pull FOR it specifically.

Japanese TM Rating (Altema.jp) A Tier

Who does this Unit compare to?

Guy basically compares to all the other Full Breakers, and loses each time.

• Agrias: Shes way cuter, has better overall stats, a better future, and does more damage with Cleansing Strike. She can also add a bit of healing for what thats worth.

• Vaan: Vaan brings Focus which puts him ahead of Guy, and also eventually gets 6*.

• Literally every other Full Breaker: Has some manner of better utility or DPS then Guy. He really sucks guys.

• Noctis: ........

Why would you want Guy? You're new and don't have any Full Breakers or you're so far into TM Farming that you were gonna do Amarant anyways. Even then, for both of these, I'm not sure its worth pulling for Guy. Its more of if he falls into your lap, you sorta groan to yourself and then sigh with a shrug.

6*? Enhancements? Nope and nope. Stop trying to make Guy happen. He's not going to happen.

Should You Pull? As usual, its a maybe but this one is more leaned towards a yes. If you don't have Firion, I'd consider picking him up unless you're all 5* bases for DPS anyways. If you TM farm, you want Leon. If you're a Whale, Emperor is one of the best mages with one of the best Rods for the long foreseeable future. And If you hate yourself, Guy is the unit for you. Good luck and may you have no 30% HP 10% Atk by the end of this banner.

EDIT: The supposed Gatcha announcement changes things a little. STRONGLY CONSIDER saving your resources until the Rarity fix and just doing dalies as they are far better used in a world where Golds are 4* base and Rainbows cant troll you. Rejoice, for absolution hath come!

You look back up to the sky with a grimace. What is with these bad 3s?!* You yell at the sky bitterly, while silently acknowledging that Firion is actually pretty neat. You continue to trudge towards the local village, grumbling under your breath about conspiracy theories and shitty Rainbow trolls and where you'd like to shove Guy's axe if you could. You can't get the angelic Luna out of your mind but thankfully the road is changing. There are a few Aspen trees in the distance that indicate you are getting closer to the town. You can tell that they are Aspen trees because of the way they are.

After what feels like forever, you finally trudge into town cold and wet from the snow. Everyone is gathered around the central plaza so you skedaddle over to see what all the fuss is about. After some pushing and shoving you finally get to the middle only to be greeted by a somewhat familiar face. He looks a lot less idiotic when not covered in ash and soot but you can't help but question his choice in hats. "Its you! The time traveler!" You cry, and he turns quickly to look.

"Oh....have we met? I can't always figure this thing out. Time travel, you know? Everything gets out of place" He does look a bit younger, now that you really take the time. His face has less wrinkles. Fewer frown lines and less crease on his forehead. "Oh, but if we've met then this is perfect. I've come to give you all some marvelous advice from the future, but maybe you already know! A unit will come soon who will carry the laurels of the Heavens themselves! He is beyond amazing and outshines all else! I talk, of course, about your saviour and mine, the one true god of Gatcha, the Holiest of all men, Orlandeau!'