Hey guys, welcome to the latest New Unit Analysis! Today we'll be having a look at Exvehl, the thunder unit from the latest batch.

We'll be comparing Exvehl to other status curing units since that's his main niche before seeing how he fits in to 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. :>

Beast God Exvehl vs. Melchio, Lunaris, Dean, Altri

Exvehl's stats:

Lord: HP 5983 ATK 1965 DEF 1777 REC 2161

Max imp bonuses: HP 750 ATK 200 DEF 400 REC 300

LS: 30% boost to HP of all units and restores a small amount of HP each turn

Hit count: 9 (drop check count 2/hit)

BB: All status ailments removed and nullified for all allies for 3 turns (10BC to fill)

SBB: 24 hit multiple target Thunder damage and all status ailments removed and nullified for all allies for 3 turns (40BC to fill, damage modifier 400%)

• Out of all the units from his batch, Exvehl probably has the 'worst' stat distribution in that it's REC focused. What does this mean in practice? Very little, he still has excellent stats. None of his stats are bad, but his HP, ATK and DEF dip just slightly compared to his batch mates. His REC is sky high though. His imps patch up his DEF nicely but his ATK cap is lower than average. Exvehl's leader skill is the first of its kind, boasting a large boost to HP (probably the more important of the two defensive stats) and also restoring a small amount of HP each turn. Unfortunately for Exvehl, his normal attack isn't very good with only an average total drop check count and his non-offensive BB means he's a pretty awful arena unit without some extremely specific set-ups. His BB and SBB are centred around status removal and prevention, which can be a very useful niche. In addition Exvehl's SBB carries 24 total drop checks which is fantastic and has a decent damage modifier to boot.

• The first unit up for comparison today is Melchio. Compared to Lizeria's most feared figure, Exvehl has better HP ( 470), ATK ( 195) and REC ( 350) but loses in DEF (-40). The DEF difference is basically negligible here while the differences in the other stats is rather large so Exvehl definitely comes out the better unit statistically. Comparing their BBs/SBBs, these two units function very similarly. Both units have a 10BC BB that does no damage and protects your units from status for 3 turns. The differences between the two are that Exvehl can remove status effects already inflicted on a unit while Melchio can't but Melchio gives the Light Attribute buff. From a status removal point of view, being able to actively REMOVE status ailments is actually really impotant in a lot of important fights (e.g. Maxwell) so from a status prevention point of view, Exvehl wins. Comparing their SBBs, it's similar, Exvehl is the superior unit at actually keeping your party status free due to his ability to remove existing status ailments, while Melchio gets his light buff. In addition, Melchio gains a 5 element MT attack with pretty decent BC generation but with a weak damage modifier. Exvehl actually has better BC generation with his 24 hit SBB (compared to Melchio's 15) and a better damage modifier ( 400% vs. Melchio's 300%) better base ATK, but only hits for the thunder element and requires more BC to fill (40BC vs. Melchio's 30BC). Overall though, if you're not using Melchio for his Light elemental buff, Exvehl's ability to purge status is too valuable to justify using Melchio over him so Exvehl wins this comparison overall. I will point out that Melchio has that Lilly Matah glitch currently active in his favour, but I wouldn't count on it being around for too much longer.

• Next up for comparison is Lunaris. Compared to the motherly Guardian, Exvehl has better HP ( 80), and REC ( 685) but less ATK (-100) and DEF (-170). So Lunaris actually has really impressive stats as well. She has slightly better overall bulk with that DEF advantage outscaling the small HP win that Exvehl has and hits a bit harder as well. Exvehl's REC is WAY better, but as most of you are aware, there comes a point where REC becomes a bit excessive. The difference here is pretty significant, but overall, Lunaris actually probably wins statistically by a small margin. Comparing their SBBs, both units are capable of preventing status for 3 turns as well as purging existing status ailments. Lunaris does slightly more damage with her higher damage modifier ( 430% vs. 400%) and her higher base ATK, but the thing that hinders her the most in this comparison is that she only has 15 drop checks on her SBB to Exvehl's 24 and her SBB costs 52BC to fill compared to Exvehl's 40BC. Exvehl's status immunity is significantly easier to upkeep which is pretty important. In addition while removing status, Lunaris has to complete her attack animation before the effects are gone, while Exvehl removes them pretty much instantly. This makes Exvehl much better in situations where you're paralysed/cursed since you don't lose the sparking potential from Exvehl because you had to wait for the attack animation to end to act. If you want status removal, Exvehl's probably the better choice.

• Our third unit for comparison today is Dean. Compared to the crass priest, Exvehl has better HP ( 225), ATK ( 240), DEF ( 135) and REC ( 400). Easy comparison, Exvehl wins in every stat so he wins the statistical comparison overall by a pretty wide margin. These two units differ in their function somewhat. Both units are capable of removing status with their SBBs (Exvehl with his BB as well), while Dean doesn't prevent status infliction like Exvehl can, he does provide quite a nice heal at the cost of also dealing no damage and generating no BC. On the whole, Dean is more a healer than a damaging unit. His BB, being only a BB has a weak damage modifier, with no added effect. It's okay at taking out trash mobs but don't count on it doing real damage against a boss. Unfortunately, only having a heal available on his SBB hurts Dean a little since because of the BC cost (even though it's only 5 more than his BB), it makes upkeep very difficult so Dean functions as a sort of pseudo-healer who can't deal damage as he heals but can purge status. Exvehl in contrast is actually a very good BB-spam and offensive unit alongside his status prevention capabilities. In most circumstances, I would definitely take Exvehl over Dean, however if you don't have an Altri, and would like a little bit of healing support along with your status removal, Dean is an okay choice.

• Lastly for today, we have Altri. Compared to the gigantic talking landmass, Exvehl has better ATK ( 660), DEF ( 70) and REC ( 840) but loses in HP (-100). I mean, it's fairly obvious that Exvehl is going to be the superior unit statistically given how old Altri is as a unit, but Altri's defences are solid, he matches and probably even slightly beats Exvehl in bulk so well done to the Tree, he's not meant to be an offensive unit anyway. Comparing their function, again both status removal and prevention units. Exvehl doubles as an offensive unit with excellent BB-spam abilities and decent damage output while Altri is obviously a healer. Which one you take really depends on the sort of battle you're about to face. For any truly difficult battle that requires a healer, you might as well take Altri with you to fill both healing and status prevention roles and trade in Exvehl for a unit with other buffs to bring to the table. If you don't have an Altri and have other healers instead, Exvehl as an adjunct to prevent status is perfect though. In addition, for general purpose use, Exvehl's very easy to bring on quests and the like because he's just a really solid squad member besides his defensive abilities and finally in short fights where status is a problem, but you don't expect a healer to be strictly necessary, Exvehl's obviously the better choice as well. Overall, for truly difficult content, it's hard to go past the trusty Tree who is truly a unit who has had a long lifespan of usefulness, but for general purpose use, Exvehl is excellent.

• Status prevention, when it's useful, is REALLY useful and Exvehl is one of the best providers of the buff in the game. Definitely a valuable unit to have around.

Exvehl: Indepth Look

• If you compare his stats to the rest of his batch he's slightly lacking but in the grand scheme of things, his stats are still excellent.

• His problem isn't so much his stat total which is quite high, it's that much of it is diverted into REC which is probably the least valuable stat to have at high levels. Still the take him message about stats is that they matter probably the least out of all factors when analysing a unit so long as they're adequate and Exvehl definitely has more than adequate stats.

• His imp caps shore up his defences (which were solid but not particularly stand-out) with an above average DEF cap, but his ATK cap is a bit below average which is a bit disappointing, but nothing to be too concerned about.

• His Leader skill is really interesting. It's currently the first and only of its kind but once Kula gets to Global, she'll have a replica. Still very rare though.

• It increases HP by 30% which is actually a really great defensive attribute. I haven't run the numbers, but it's arguably slightly better than Grah's 20% HP/DEF defensively though obviously lacks the ATK/REC boost that Grah boasts.

• In addition it gives a small heal every turn (200-400 /- 0.1*REC - which translates to about 400-600 healed every turn). It's not really sustainable as a main source of healing by any means, but it can be used to supplement pseudo-healing or heal over time healers nicely.

• In addition, it allows you to heal passively while guarding which is a pretty unique application.

• All in all, it's a great defensive leader skill that you should consider using in situations where you would normally default to Grah or Oulu.

• Exvehl's normal attack gives only 18 total drop checks, which isn't particularly impressive. And this in conjunction with his fast filling, but entirely non-damaging (not even indirectly through an offensive buff) BB means that Exvehl's absolutely atrocious in the Arena.

• Even Melchio performs better here because he actually has an amazing normal attack for BC generation and with the right setup, has low enough SBB fill cost to achieve SBB in the arena, though honestly, he's probably not a great choice either.

• Exvehl's main role is as a status preventer, as you all probably know from his BB and SBB descriptions.

• If you didn't get this picture from my comparisons where I literally compared him to every status remover in the game at the moment, he's excellent at his job.

• Unlike Melchio, he can actually purge status, which is fantastic. Unlike Lunaris, he doesn't have to wait for his attack animation to end before he purges status and has much better BC generation and a better fill cost.

• Altri gives him a little bit of competition in that he also fulfils the healing role very competently so for harder content where you need a healer anyway, you might just defer to Altri for a 2 in 1 unit over Exvehl who would still necessitate a healer being used alongside him.

• Not everyone has a Tree though, and if you're in that kind of situation, Exvehl another Healer is an excellent substitute in those difficult fights.

• Exvehl himself excels at being able to prevent status, as well as maintaining a pretty good offensive presence ( 400% damage modifier isn't bad at all) and also with his 24 drop checks and excellent attack animation, makes a great member of a general purpose BB-spam team.

• So he's got two main roles. He's good for status prevention and removal for general questing and even if you don't need him to remove status, his 24 drop checks, good damage modifier and animation and relatively low fill cost make him an excellent general BB-spam squad member.

• Exvehl pairs really well with any member of a BB-spam squad, so the likes of Uda, Phee, Zellha, Zelnite, Douglas, Luther, Elza, Serin, Deemo even units like Dilma, Hogar etc. are great teammates for Exvehl as he provides either a good background of hits to spark as well as excellent BC generation and status prevention.

• His status prevention is universally useful for any squad planning to take on a dungeon where status will be a problem so he's easily slotted into most squads particularly since he's a good unit on top of being able to prevent status.

• His main future competition at the moment is probably Ulkina who can remove status and has an offensive SBB, as well as the option of switching to her regular healing BB (doesn't have quite as good a BC generation profile though). She might not be a direct upgrade since her BC generation capability is inferior, but she's a very strong side grade who offers a lot of versatility.

In addition Narza from the next batch is a damage mitigation unit that can also prevent status so he's fierce competition in those tough battles too, though like Altri, he has no offensive presence.

• Overall, Exvehl's a great unit though and you should be happy you pulled him.

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 up there for Exvehl with that sky high REC and sub 6k Lord HP.

• I probably like Lord second best, though I wouldn't object if you prefer Breaker or Guardian up here.

• Exvehl's defences are very acceptable so I think Breaker is an excellent typing for him to give him a bit more of an offensive kick (particularly because his DEF imp cap is above average), but his supportive ability is defensive so Guardian is reasonable too.

• Finally, he has way too much REC for Oracle to be an optimal typing, but typing matters very little in the long run.

That's it guys, hope you enjoyed the read!

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

Until next time!

Links to previous Analyses