Hey guys, welcome to the latest New Unit Analysis! Today we'll be having a look at Darvan (not to be confused with Darvanshel), the latest Earthern Rainbow Leader.

We'll be having a look at how he compares to some fellow earth units, and a few other units he has similar characteristics too. We'll then have a look at how he fares in the current metagame and his future prospects.

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. :>

Impenetrable Darvan vs. Luly, Lira, Rickel, Tiara

Darvan's Stats:

Lord: HP 6291 ATK 1789 DEF 1789 REC 1564

Max Imp Bonuses: HP 750 ATK 240 DEF 240 REC 420

LS: 50% boost to ATK of all units when 5 or more elements are present and increase HP of all units by 10%

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

BB: 11 hit multiple target Earth damage and adds Water element to attacks of all units for 3 turns (25BC to fill, damage modifier 220%)

SBB: 16 hit single target Earth damage, adds Water element to attacks of all units for 3 turns and chance to inflict Injury and Paralysis (35BC to fill, Injury 90%, Paralysis 90%, damage modifier 600%)

• Very impressive HP, particularly for this batch of units. It's actually really rare to find a unit with over 6.2k HP so Darvan can definitely be considered top tier in this particular stat. The rest of his stats aren't quite so nice but he's still fairly solid in most of them. His DEF sits pretty nicely at 1789 which is definitely enough to ensure that Darvan is a very bulky unit overall. His ATK is okay, but not breaking 1.8k means he's not really not going to be destined for greatness in this stat. His REC is a bit low, but still definitely enough to get by and when imps come they'll fix everything in that regard. His Leader Skill is the same as Michele's which makes him a pretty effective rainbow leader. Probably the best one defensively but if you have Dia/Lodin around you'll probably err with them instead. His normal attack isn't great at only 14 total drop checks. His BB/SBB are pretty unusual in that they're reversed from the norm, having a weaker multiple target BB and a powerful single target SBB. Darvan has access to the rare water attribute buff which makes him pretty valuable, and he inflicts some very powerful statuses with his SBB at high probability.

• First up for comparison today is Luly. Compared to the chaotic guardian, Darvan has better HP ( 385) and DEF ( 285) but less ATK (-135) and REC (-535). As you can see, Darvan's considerably bulkier with superior defensive stats, but he's a bit worse off offensively and there's a rather large REC difference. Overall, the REC difference probably doesn't matter very much in practice and the offensive difference isn't large enough to warrant much concern so Darvan's superior bulk probably pulls him through as the superior unit statistically. Comparing their BBs/SBBs. Luly's clearly the superior unit in terms of multi-target offence since Darvan's fairly weak multiple target BB isn't really going to be able to compete. Luly also has a powerful HC drop rate buff and the Earth ATK buff under her belt to provide support to the party. Darvan however isn't without his own merits. his BB is solid against most of the weaker enemies throughout regular dungeons and his SBB have a very large damage modifier and thus he's able to inflict very good damage against bosses (with a high chance of a crippling status if they should be susceptible) should the need call for it particularly because the fill rate from his regular BB is very quick. In addition, his water attribute buff is pretty rare, only found on one other unit and is probably one of the most important supportive buffs for a mono-earth team, far outstripping Luly's relatively weak Earth ATK buff. Overall, two quite different units who can be used together quite effectively since they don't have any clashing buffs. For a mono-earth team, Darvan's water attribute buff is very good so I'd definitely slot him in though and the same goes for any team looking to exploit the weakness of a Fire typed enemy.

• Second unit up for comparison today is Lira. Compared to the one who feasts upon Gods, Darvan has better HP ( 440) but loses out in the other stats: ATK (-150), DEF (-5) and REC (-230). This is pretty similar to the previous comparison. While Lira's DEF isn't quite as bad as Luly's was, the HP difference here is more evident so Darvan still wins pretty significantly in bulk, and again, the ATK and REC advantages Lira have probably don't quite outscale it though it's pretty close. Darvan probably edges Lira out overall though statistically. Comparing their BB/SBBs, they're pretty similar. Both have weak multiple target BBs and stronger single target SBBs. Comparing their BBs first, Lira's is clearly suited for the Arena, being very weak ( 160% damage modifier vs. Darvan's 220%) with no added effect vs. Darvan's water attribute buff, though obviously being faster filling (15BC vs. Darvan's 25BC). Inside the Arena this is important, but outside the Arena, the fill rate difference matters little and Darvan's BB is clearly superior. As for their SBBs, this time they have the same damage modifier meaning Lira does more damage due to her superior ATK but the fill rate isn't drastically different (30BC for Lira vs. 35BC for Darvan) and Darvan's comes with some pretty potent status effects as well as the water attribute buff. And being a single target attack, Lira's SBB isn't suited for the Arena either so Darvan's SBB is just flat out superior. Overall it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Darvan's the much better non-arena unit. No real contest here.

• Rickel's third up to bat today. Compared to our gun slinging cowgirl, Darvan has better HP ( 725) and DEF ( 465) but less ATK (-210) and REC (-675). So the defensive difference here is pretty huge. Darvan's MUCH bulkier than the frail Rickel but definitely doesn't hit as hard either. The REC difference is also large but does little to overcome that loss in bulk. Overall it's pretty easy to say that Darvan probably has the better stat distribution overall but it's also important to note that for Rickel's role as an offensive unit, her stat distribution is pretty good she just doesn't quite hard hit hard enough in comparison to justify giving the statistical advantage to her. Comparing their SBBs, Rickel's got quite a few advantages, she has the better damage modifier ( 680% vs. 600%) which combined with her superior base ATK means she's got much more damage dealing potential. She has a better fill rate (28BC total vs. Darvan's 35BC) and she generates more BC (20 total drop checks vs. Darvan's 16). Both units inflict Paralysis, but Darvan has a slightly better chance at 90% vs. Rickel's 80% but Rickel can inflict Poison which can be a key status against certain enemies. Injury is a nice status that Darvan possesses but it's probably not as key overall as Poison is so I'd argue that Rickel has the better status ailment profile. Darvan however has his water attribute buff which gives him a very important offensive support role in some team set ups. Overall if you want pure single target damage and poison, Rickel's your girl, but if you're in need for the water attribute buff, Darvan's your man.

• The last unit up for comparison today is Tiara. Compared to the masochistic half-breed, Darvan has better HP ( 855), ATK ( 230) and DEF ( 20) but less REC (-670). Huge bulk difference again, that HP difference is almost insurmountable and with Tiara only almost equalling Darvan's DEF, he definitely wins defensively. Plus he hits harder to boot, and that REC difference, although large, isn't going to be enough to swing it in Tiara's favour. Darvan definitely wins statistically. It's a bit of a strange comparison this one since Tiara's obviously a healer while Darvan is not, but these two units are your only option for providing the water attribute buff so I though it was worth discussing them in relation to one another. Offensively, Darvan is by far the better unit, Tiara's multiple target offense isn't actually that bad with a damage modifier of 350%, which is higher than Darvan's 220%, however her low base ATK really hold her damage potential back and after a few ATK buffs, Darvan's BB probably actually does similar damage. The real difference in offensive potential comes into play against single target opponents though. Darvan's massive 600% damage modifier and useful statuses means he's definitely the one to use for dealing damage to single target opponents. Tiara has her own merits though. While she can't really contribute all that much offensively, she's a healer, so that's not surprising. Heal over time isn't a healing style that many people like, but you can't deny that Tiara is GOOD at it. She heals a large amount of HP every turn for 3 turns. She fills the role of Healer and Water Attribute buffer at the same time which is a pretty valuable niche. Plus the fact that she has a multiple target attack on her SBB may not mean a whole lot for damage, but it means she can generate some BC while healing which is always a plus. Overall though, I do think Darvan probably edges out Tiara (though I do think she's fantastic as well) since the water attribute buff will probably mostly be used on Maxwell led teams and they generally focus on ending fights before healing is even necessary so Darvan's offensive presence will be appreciated.

• As is quite a common theme amongst this batch, Darvan's a unit that's best appreciated for his rare elemental buff, if you want someone able to make fire enemies cower in fear who isn't a healer, Darvan's the one for you.

Darvan: Indepth Look

• Pretty good stat distribution! Darvan's really making the most of his mediocre stat total. He's one of the few units that breaks the 6.1-6.2k HP mark which pretty much automatically means he's got pretty decent overall bulk and his almost 1.8k DEF ensures that Darvan's not likely to be KO'd before many of your other units.

• His REC isn't amazing but easily fixed once imps are released.

• More pressingly his ATK is a bit mediocre as well which has implications for Darvan in particular because other than his water attribute buff, he's very much a purely offensive unit with high damage modifiers that would have liked a higher base ATK to well...modify.

• I quite like his Leader Skill, one of the better rainbow leaders, but probably still pales overall compared to Lodin/Dia and faces competition from Lilith and Logan, though I wouldn't consider them outright better.

• His normal attack is pretty bad. 14 total drop checks isn't very good at all and he doesn't have anything nifty like a damage distribution bonus or anything to make him stand out.

• This is a bit of a pity since his BB is multiple target and has a relatively low fill cost of 25BC so a good normal attack might have given him a niche in the Arena but alas.

• His BB isn't particularly powerful in the grand scheme of things, but I think how Alim was intending Darvan to be used was to use his BB to clear the fodder in general questing and when you encounter the powerful boss, switch to his more potent single target SBB.

• Will probably work out just fine in general questing, exactly as planned. But only manually as there's no real way to use Darvan like this with auto-battle (without compromising the rest of your party), which is a bit of a let down.

• His SBB has a very large damage modifier (though not quite as large as the premiere single target damage dealers) and also carries with it a very high chance of inflicting Paralysis and Injury, two very powerful statuses.

• Pretty sure 90% is as close as you can get to guaranteed Paralysis and Injury so Darvan's very consistent at inflicting these statuses as long as the target in question isn't immune which is pretty awesome.

• The other thing Darvan provides is the Water Attribute buff, being one of the only 2 possessors of this powerful offensive buff (remember, as I've said in the other analyses, elemental weakness is at worst, the second most powerful offensive buff in the game) and the only user who actually has an offensive presence.

• Whether you choose to use Darvan or Tiara depends on your team composition though, and both are perfectly good options to provide this buff. Keep in mind that defensively, Darvan's worse off as a user of this buff as he's weak against fire, the element you're using this buff against. So make sure you kill them quickly!

• Being earth element with a water attribute buff means Darvan's probably a staple of any mono-earth team though, since he effectively neutralises that team's major weakness.

• Overall Darvan's main niches probably revolve around his water attribute buff so he's best used on either Maxwell/Mare led teams or mono-earth teams. However his potent status infliction is something to keep in mind and may be another reason you want Darvan on your team.

• In terms of future prospects, Darvan's water attribute buff is pretty safe, no unit released thus far possesses this buff other than Tiara. His Paralysis and Injury chances are unmatched as well. If you're using Darvan other than for these attributes, there's probably already a more optimal unit though.

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'.

• Warning: opinions may have changed.

• I'll put Anima and Breaker together. Anima's REC problems get fixed up nicely by imps, but it's still an issue so I'm not sure it's his BEST type. Darvan's bulky enough to handle Breaker and it helps patch up his offensive issues which is important for Darvan.

• Lord is nice too, his natural stat distribution is pretty good.

• I'll put Guardian and Oracle equal since sacrificing his offence isn't ideal and his REC is low enough that he gets some pretty good mileage out of the Oracle typing. All types are viable though, as always.

That's it guys! Thought I'd post this since it's done. The Nalmika review isn't ready yet, and I'm not going to have time tomorrow, but it'll be next up on the list so be patient for me! <3

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

Until next time!

Links to previous Analyses