Hey guys! Welcome to the latest New Unit Analysis! Today we'll be having a look at Zelban, the earth element rainbow leader who recently received his 6* evolution.

He's a defensively oriented unit so we'll be looking to see how he compares to some other units of a similar nature as then we'll take a look at his current place in the metagame and how he fares in the future.

Let's get started, shall we?

Disclaimer: As always, I try to keep these as objective as possible, but they're ultimately my opinion and yours may differ. Please read them with an open mind and a view to make your own decisions. :>

Blade Emperor Zelban vs. Lance, Edea, Elimo, Tesla

Zelban's Stats:

Lord: HP 5524 ATK 1501 DEF 1829 REC 2000

Max Imp Bonuses: HP 750 ATK 400 DEF 200 REC 300

LS: 50% boost to ATK of all units when 5 or more elements are present and 10% boost to DEF/REC

Hit count: 7 (drop check count 2/hit)

BB: Greatly boost DEF of all allies for 3 turns and adds Earth element attribute to attacks of all allies for 3 turns (18BC to fill, DEF 110%)

SBB: 12 hit multiple target Earth elemental damage, greatly boost DEF of all allies for 3 turns and adds Earth element attribute to attacks of all allies for 3 turns (33BC to fill, DEF 115%, damage modifier 350%)

• As you can see from his stat distribution, Zelban's definitely a defensively focused unit. His ATK stat is pretty pathetic for a 6* unit, sitting at 1.5k (I mean, Tesla's 6* form beats him in this department by a significant margin) and his HP is average but his DEF is really high, second only to Duel-SGX from the same batch at the moment while his probably too high REC makes him extremely sustainable. His Leader Skill is probably on par with Michele's, though admittedly HP probably scales better than DEF in most situations for surviviability, but the REC boost is nice but both of them lose to Lodin. His hit count is pretty average at 7, not bad enough to comment on but not good enough either. Zelban, like the rest of his batch has the distinction of boasting the single strongest stat buff in his area of expertise, in his case, DEF and assigns his element to the rest of the party which removes elemental resistance for non-earth units and heavily punishes thunder type enemies. His SBB gains a multiple target attack in conjunction with the effects of his BB which means he can now generate BC while bestowing his buffs, but his weak ATK stat hinders him from contributing offensively.

• First up for comparison, we have Lance, the Earth type starter who boasts the most directly comparable SBB to Zelban. Compared to our walking forest, Zelban has better HP ( 250), DEF ( 225) and REC ( 990) but loses out in ATK (-155). Man, 1.5k ATK isn't even good for a 5* unit, let alone a 6* one and Lance demonstrates this for us nicely, being a starter and therefore having a pretty bad stat total yet STILL beating Zelban in ATK comfortably. However, that said, Zelban does make up for it in his other attributes, winning with significant margins in bulk and having a HUGE REC difference, which definitely make him the stronger unit statistically overall. Lance's 5 hit combo isn't doing him any favour, losing to Zelban's 7. Comparing their SBBs (no point in comparing their BBs since they're completley different), Zelban has more hits and a stronger DEF buff as well as a faster fill time and while I'm not sure about the numbers on the damage multipliers, I doubt Lance has one that is large enough that it will sway this analysis in his favour. Zelban's definitely the superior unit overall unless you're specifically looking for a mono-earth leader.

• Next up is Edea, another defensively focused earth unit. Compared to the Palmyna hero, Zelban has better DEF ( 15) and REC ( 455) but less HP (-55) and ATK (-305). They come up about even bulk wise with negligible differences in both DEF and HP so it's Edea's significant ATK advantage vs. Zelban's significant REC advantage and I think Edea probably wins out overall. Even though Zelban and Edea are defensively oriented, they both have the capability to also deal out offence at the same time so having a decent ATK stat is relatively important. Meanwhile, while the REC difference here is large, 1.5k REC is plenty for Edea's purposes and 2k REC for Zelban is most definitely overkill. Edea wins statistically. Edea also wins in normal hit count which gives her the advantage in BC generation there. Comparing their SBBs, Edea's is much better for single target bosses, actually able to do significant damage, while Zelban can contribute to BC generation better against multiple targets but fares poorly when there's only one. Edea also has the distinction of being able to inflict poison, a very useful status when it lands and comparing their defensive buffs, Zelban's 115% DEF buff is powerful, but doesn't scale well against hard hitting enemies because of the way DEF works in the damage formula (Damage reduction = 0.3 x DEF), meanwhile, Edea's damage mitigation buff flat out shaves off 25% of incoming damage making it probably the more potent buff in most situations. They DO stack though so there's nothing stopping you from using both at once. Overall though, I do think Edea comes out on top, damage mitigation is just the better defensive buff.

• Now we come to Elimo who gets a comparison even though she's a healer because she's a defensively oriented unit. Compared to the genius, Zelban has better HP ( 185), ATK ( 180) and DEF ( 305) but loses in REC (-185). We're talking about 2k REC here, so Elimo could have like 5000 REC and it still wouldn't be all that significant (#exaggeration) so 185 certainly isn't a big difference and Zelban wins in every other stat so he definitely wins statistically overall, which isn't surprising given that Elimo is a healer and healers are always saddled with poorer stats. Comparing their SBBs, Elimo also boasts a DEF boost, though it's much weaker in comparison (30% vs. Zelban's 115%), however she also has the damage mitigation buff like Edea does which as I've mentioned already probably outscales Zelban's DEF boost overall in terms of damage mitigation particularly against stronger enemies (which is when you'd want a defensive unit anyway), plus let's not forget that she's a capable healer as well. What does Zelban offer in return? He offers some mediocre offensive support in the form of his MT attack, but more importantly he offers pretty good BC generation at the same time as he bestows the buff particularly against multiple enemies and he bestows the earth element attribute which is always nice for removing elemental resistance and he has better stats which isn't terribly important in the grand scheme of things. Overall, if you're looking purely for a defensive unit, Elimo's the unit you'd choose. It's difficult to justify using Zelban if you have her available from a defensive perspective.

• And lastly we have Tesla, probably the ultimate defensive unit in the game until we get Dalvanshel even in his 5* form. Copmared to the castle, Zelban has better ATK ( 125), DEF ( 115) and REC ( 1020) but less HP (-165). They're probably about comparable in bulk (which is pretty impresive on Tesla's part since he's currently an evolution tier down) and ATK isn't terribly important on a defensive unit, more important for Zelban since his SBB actually does damage and thankfully he wins here...for now, but the real kicker in Zelban's favour is that Tesla has terribad REC so Zelban's much more sustainable, which is the main reason he wins the statistical comparison. Neither unit has a particularly good hit count for BB generation but Zelban wins here 7 to 5. Comparing their BBs, Zelban can contribute to damage and BC generation with is SBB, but Tesla basically has no competition in terms of reducing incoming damage with his fantastic ability to halve incoming damage for 1 turn. If you want to survive the truly strong attacks of the future, there's no real substitute for that kind of defensive power so as a defensive unit, Tesla wins handily even in his 5* form.

• Zelban's a capable rainbow leader with a good rainbow leader skill and his DEF buff is the most powerful of its kind in the game while his earth attribute buff is also very useful. However his utility as a defensive character is tempered by the existence and power of the damage mitigation buff which makes it difficult to justify using him over some of the true defensive juggernauts if you have access to them. That said, he's not a bad unit, and a capable rainbow leader if you've summoned him so don't be too discouraged.

Zelban: Indepth Look

• Like the rest of his batch, Zelban doesn't have particularly good stats. His DEF and REC are phenomenal, but his HP is average and his ATK is really bad.

• While being bulky is important for later game content, not having a useable ATK stat is a hindrance for any unit that isn't purely for defence (Tesla) or healing (Elimo), and Zelban isn't a purely defensive unit. Plus having a REC stat that high with only an average HP stat is pretty unfortunate.

• Unfortunately, unlike Michele, Melchio and Duel-SGX who have phenomenal buffs and SBBs to make up for their relatively low stats, Zelban sort of falls short in this area as well.

• Zelban does boast the largest DEF buff in the game, like the rest of his bretherin in their own departments. Unfortunately, he fails to have the largest damage mitigation buff in the game which is the practical application of his buff. You raise your DEF so you take less damage, and Zelban is outclassed in the damage reduction department by the likes of Elimo, Edea and especially Tesla.

• And in isolation, the DEF buff is actually kind of weak in the grand scheme of things because of the way DEF works (only 0.3 of your DEF actually translates to actual damage reduction). In early to mid content, it might seem quite powerful, reducing the damage you take signficantly, but chances are you wouldn't have had much trouble surviving those attacks even without the buff. And in harder content when defensive support is necessary, even Zelban's 115% buff doesn't cut it. You really need to carry damage mitigation.

• Zelban carries an attack with his DEF buff, but his low ATK stat keeps him from doing much damage with it, leaving some extra BC generation as its only use.

• So Zelban is terrible then? Well I don't think that's quite fair on him either. Outclassed =/= bad. Zelban's definitely a useable unit.

• First of all, his Leader Skill is very good. From an offensive perspective it loses outright to Lodin's (and Dia's in the future) but it's certainly quite useable if you want to run a Rainbow squad. 10% DEF and REC is probably almost on par with Michele's 10% HP so he's definitely viable.

• In addition, the earth attribute buff is as useful as the respective buffs of the rest of his teammates, ensuring all non-earth units do at least neutral damage and punishing thunder enemies heavily. This in conjunction with the fact that his DEF buff 'stacks' with Edea's damage mitigation buff might make them a good duo to consider taking with you to tackle the Eze legend dungeon.

• In terms of future prospects, things don't get much better for poor Zelban. Tesla evolves and becomes an even better defensive unit and to add insult to injury, has better ATK than Zelban and Dia's batch releases a bunch of powerful rainbow leaders looking to take that niche away from Zelban too, particularly Bran who also has a DEF buff on his BB/SBB (though not as potent) and Lukina who also boasts the earth element attribute buff. Much later on, Dalvanshel will take the crown as the best defensive unit in the game, and by that time Zelban's probably well and truly obsolete for end-game play.

• Basically, Zelban's not going to be a must have unit. If you do have him, it's important to remember that while he's not top tier by any means, he's not BAD either and he'll certainly be good for most of your early to mid game adventuring.

Typing Discussion

• As always, the most important thing to note here is that if typing is the only thing holding you back from using a unit, you should definitely just go ahead and use them. Please don't discard units because their typing isn't 'optimal'.

• Anima's definitely his best typing. His REC stat is sky high and his HP is only average and this way you're not hurting his already bad ATK stat any further while increasing his survivability more so than the Guardian typing would.

• I like Lord for him next. Guardian drops his ATK down to unuseable levels and 1.8k DEF is honestly plenty, particularly in current content. Plus he's got the most powerful DEF buff in the game, he really doesn't need Guardian.

• I in fact like Breaker better than Guardian for Zelban. With this typing, he reaches an actually respectable 1.7k ATK which is helpful when he uses his SBB and still has 1.6k DEF which is easily patched up by his own massive DEF buff which puts him in the 3.6k DEF range even with this typing.

• I do like Guardian better than Oracle though since at least this way Zelban's actually getting something out of the stat trade off.

• Lastly Oracle since Zelban just has no need for anymore REC!

That's it for today, hope you enjoyed the read!

As always, I welcome your comments/criticims/encouragements. If you found this helpful please leave an upvote on your way out, I'd really appreciate the support. <3

Until next time!

Links to previous Analyses