Hey guys, welcome to the latest New Unit Analysis! Today we'll be having a look at Uda, the thunder representative from Luther's batch!

We'll be seeing how he compares to other thunder units, BB-spam units and arena units since those are his main niches and then we'll see how he functions in today's metagame and his future prospects.

Let's get started!

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. :>

Crusher God Uda vs. Ronel, Felneus, Dia, Farlon

Uda's stats:

Lord: HP 6032 ATK 1950 DEF 1950 REC 1702

Max imp bonuses: HP 750 ATK 300 DEF 300 REC 300

LS: Increases BB gauge fill rate (BB gauge fill rate 50%)

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

BB: 12 hit multiple target Thunder damage (15BC to fill, damage modifier 160%)

SBB: 15 hit multiple target Thunder damage and increase BC drop rate of all allies for 3 turns (43BC to fill, BC drop rate 25%, damage modifier 400%)

• Really solid stats all-round. Basically reminiscent of Raydn except slightly better in every area (though by negligible amounts each time). And Raydn was very solid statistically so this is fairly impressive. You can probably consider Uda to have above average stats in every category. Nothing particularly SKY high but everything is solid. His Imp stats are right on average in every single area so he'll inevitably end up with well balanced stats. His Leader skill is the famed Ares Excelsior Leader Skill and like Felneus, is paired with a BC drop rate buff on his SBB, so obviously fantastic for BB-spam teams. It should not be forgotten that in addition, Uda is Thunder's arena God. His normal attack is unfortunately not very good with a below average drop check count but his BB is the coveted, super low fill rate multiple target attack that is obviously useless outside the Arena.

• First up for comparison today is Ronel. Compared to the power-obsessed rebel, Uda has better ATK ( 70) and DEF ( 120), equivalent HP ( 0) but lower REC (-100). Since Uda's REC is plenty sufficient for his recovery needs, and he wins or equals Ronel in every other stat, he's definitely the winner of this statistical match up, but to Ronel's credit the differences are pretty minor on the whole. Imps change nothing since these two units have identical max imp bonuses. Comparing their SBBs, Uda and Ronel both have the BC drop rate buff at equivalent power ( 25%). However Ronel has an equivalently strong HC drop rate buff attached to her SBB as well. In addition her damage modifier is higher at 480% vs. Uda's 400%. However Uda has a few key advantages over Ronel as well. First off and probably most importantly, Uda has the Ares Leader skill which puts his BC drop rate buff to great use. Amazingly synergistic. Secondly, Uda's SBB fill rate is significantly better than Ronel's at 43BC vs. Ronel's 64BC. For most cases, Uda's probably a better unit since he's very well suited to BB-spam teams in general with his strong leader skill.

• Next is Felneus. Compared to the long standing king of BB-spam leaders, Uda has better stats in every category. Uda wins in HP ( 655), ATK ( 370), DEF ( 345) and REC ( 150). It's remarkably obvious that 6* stats have come a long way since Felneus' batch and unfortunately it shows. Uda absolutely crushes Felneus in pretty much every category and there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that he is the superior unit statistically. To make matters worse, Uda can gain an additional extra 100 points in imp bonus points in every stat except HP where Felneus makes up a little ground with 250 extra HP bonus points so imps don't change this picture much at all. They both have the Ares' leader skill which is why this comparison is relevant. Comparing their SBBs, Uda wins in drop check count (15 vs. Felneus' 10), damage modifier ( 400% vs. Felneus' 350%) and fill rate (43BC vs. Felneus' 46BC) but Felneus has the stronger BC drop rate buff at 30% vs. Uda's 25%, so it's not all bad news for Felneus. Unfortunately though, it's a very small advantage in the grand scheme of things that won't make too much difference since Uda is more than adequate in maintaining BC generation in pretty much any situation that Felneus would be used in. Everything else about Uda is better, he's even a good Arena unit to boot so he has a role other than being a BB-spam leader. It's also worth noting that Uda doesn't have Felneus' obnoxiously delayed attack animation either so that's another huge plus in Uda's favour. It's sad to say, but Felneus had a HUGELY long run as the premiere BB-spam leader but Uda definitely takes the throne from him no question at all.

• Dia is our other BB-spam unit up for comparison today. Compared to the provocatively dressed witch, Uda has better HP ( 390) and DEF ( 515) but less ATK (-240) and REC (-245). Dia hits a bit harder and has higher REC (but this is of questionable relevance), however Uda is significantly bulkier, having a large HP advantage and an even larger DEF advantage. In this case, Dia's probably a bit too frail in comparison to Uda for her ATK advantage to win out so this comparison goes to Uda overall statistically. Imps don't change anything here either since Dia just trades 100 points of her DEF deficit with 100 points of her ATK advantage so she probably actually comes off a bit worse after imps. Comparing their leader skills, Uda's definitely got the more potent Ares' buff but Dia has a 50% ATK buff associated with her's if you have the right units available. In situations where Dia's 30% fill rate is enough to sustain you, she's obviously more optimal, but she comes with a few caveats in that since she's a fire unit she makes it very difficult to use some very good units in the same squad while maintaining the ATK buff (e.g. Luther, Darvanshel, Aisha, Ulkina in the future etc.). Uda offers greater flexibility in squad choice. Comparing their SBBs, Uda's SBB is both stronger damage wise ( 400% modifier vs. 350% for Dia) and has a slightly better BC drop rate buff ( 25% vs. 22%) but these are too small differences to really matter and Dia's thunder attribute buff probably trumps them overall, particularly if you're exploiting the weakness of a water type enemy. Overall, Uda's probably the more solid BB-spam leader, but as a squad member, Dia brings utility with her thunder attribute buff. Use them accordingly!

• Finally, it's worth looking to see how Uda stacks up with his main competitor in the Arena, Farlon. Compared to the hot tempered Guardian, Uda has better ATK ( 150) and DEF ( 150) but loses in HP (-170) and REC (-90). So overall, Uda wins in the most important Arena stat (ATK) and while HP is probably the second most important arena stat, the deficit here is tempered by Uda's DEF advantage and REC is useless in the Arena so Uda definitely has the better stats overall. However, Farlon's normal attack is much better than Uda's weighing in at 24 total drop checks vs. Uda's 14 drop checks. This is relatively unimportant outside the Arena in most situations, but in the Arena, it becomes a very important consideration since it influences the first turn BC generation (and therefore how many units fill their BB gauge by turn 2) and Farlon definitely wins out here. Since their BBs are basically identical but in different elements, the only other thing to talk about is their element. Farlon's element means he's ill-suited for Dia led teams while Uda's precludes him from Lodin led teams. Farlon probably loses out more than Uda slightly here since I would probably argue that in optimal situations Dia's a better unit for the Arena than Lodin but either combination (Dia Uda or Lodin Farlon) is solid. I think the difference between these two units is probably minimal. In a straight up comparison, I'd probably argue that Farlon's better drop count outscales Uda's better stats (not by a huge margin though) but it really depends on who you prefer as your leader in the end.

• Uda's a great unit in the current metagame. His niches are strong and practical and he's just really solid all round. Enjoy his time in the limelight while you can!

Uda: Indepth Look

• As I've mentioned already, really solid stats. Nothing particularly stand out, but no areas of weakness either. He's basically a cardboard copy of Raydn except slightly improved in every area.

• 1950 ATK is definitely solid for now but with so many units with powerhouse ATK stats in the future it'll start to look a tad lacklustre. It'll never be bad though, don't worry. 1950 DEF is very solid though.

• Uda's LS is Ares' Excelsior, which is fairly well known to most of you, I'm sure. It increases the fill rate of the BB gauge by 50%, which is very potent indeed and has long been one of the landmark BB-spam leader skills in the game.

• Until recently the only unit that could boast to have both the Ares' Excelsior Leader Skill AND a BC drop rate buff together has been Felneus, and it is a testament to this combination's power that Felneus is still relevant in the metagame to this day.

• Uda is basically Felneus 2.0. He does everything Felneus does but is MUCH stronger. He does admittedly lose 5% off the BC drop rate buff, but honestly, that's pittance. If you have an Uda on hand, they should be replacing Felneus ASAP.

• Nowadays though, Ares' Excelsior is no longer the only viable BB-spam leader skill in the game. We have rainbow BB-spam leads like Dia and Lodin, spark based lead like Leorone, Luther and most importantly Deemo, BB gauge cost reducers like Zellha and Phee and jack of all trades leaders like Zelnite to add to the mix. Cardes will bring about the unique 'BB gauge retention' mechanic which is again, another form of BB-gauge maintenance. And finally Lilly Matah, the queen of passive BC generation is also a strong contender.

• In addition, with so many more high drop check count units in play like Michele's batch, Luther, Elza, Exvehl and Maxwell, Cardes, heck even Shida in the future joining the fray, having 50% to BB gauge fill is often times overkill unless you're trying to sustain on a single target (which is fairly difficult no matter what you do).

• Plus crit teams and the like are very popular team archetypes now which means BB-spam teams have reduced in popularity in relative terms.

• These changes in the metagame mean that Uda has a lot more competition to his role than Felneus used to. However, that doesn't change the fact that he's one of the best possible leaders for one of the strongest team archetypes in the game.

• BB-spam teams particularly shine in Frontier Hunter where maintaining your SBBs at all times is important in allowing you to clear the battles as well as generate lots of juicy points. So Uda is definitely a unit you'll want to keep in the back of your mind as a VERY good unit for FH.

• If you're still struggling with the Karl fight, Uda's also obviously a dominant unit there.

• Zelnite in the future and Elza in particular are units that will compete with Uda for the BB-spam leader role. Zelnite provides less overall BC fill potency, but gives a whole host of other benefits to make up for it, and Elza doesn't have a BC drop rate buffs, but has an absurd SBB drop check total and a powerful spark buff.

• If a BC drop nerf like is alleged (unconfirmed though as far as I know) to have occurred in JPBF, then Ares' Excelsior will drop in usefulness and units like Zellha/Phee/Lilly Matah/Cardes will probably be the go-to units for BB-spam. We'll worry about that when the time comes though.

• Good team mates for Uda obviously include any of the units I listed as having high drop checks as above, plus any I've missed (e.g. Dilma, Hogar etc.)

• Uda's other niche is his status as Thunder's resident Arena God. Uda has a 15BC fill, MT BB which makes him automatically a fantastic arena unit. I've already discussed most of this in Farlon's comparison above so I won't repeat myself too much. Instead I'll list Uda's Arena AI here:

• Check 1: Use BB on enemy with >50% HP (60%)

• Check 2: Use BB on random enemy (20%)

• Check 3: Attack random enemy (100%)

• This is the same AI as Farlon (forgot to mention that in the comparison, sorry!), so Uda functions better the earlier he acts in the Arena (as enemies are more likely to have >50% HP), so put him near the top of your squad!

• He has really good ATK for an Arena God which is lovely, but he's mostly hindered by his low drop check count on his normal ATK. You can try and get around this with spheres like the upcoming Lexida from Selena's dungeon or you can just live with it.

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 since the Batch Overview.

• Anima's probably my first choice for Uda. He has enough REC to field this type and more HP is always a good thing.

• Breaker's my second choice, his DEF is really solid and I don't think you lose significant enough survivability to really impact on your gameplay and like HP, extra damage is always appreciated. If you're only planning on using Uda in the Arena, this is probably his best type overall.

• Uda's natural stat distribution is very solid as I've already mentioned so Lord is definitely good on him.

• Guardian's fine too, he becomes very bulky with over 2.1k DEF, but his ATK suffers a little dropping to a pretty average 1.7k.

• Finally there's Oracle. With the REC levels we have now and imps on the horizon, it's just such a rare event for the REC gain to be worth the HP drop. However, honestly, the functional difference between any of these types is basically 0. Everything's useable.

That's it guys! We're slowly but surely catching up. Which means Gumi will probably accelerate releases even more to spite me. ;~;

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

Until next time!

Links to previous Analyses