Hey guys, welcome to the latest New Unit Analysis. Today we'll be having a look at Orwen, the latest 6* fire unit to be released in global waters.

We'll be looking at Orwen in comparison to some fellow units with similar buffs/statuses. We'll then look at his current niche 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. :>

God Emperor Orwen vs. Michele, Hogar, Raydn, Nalmika

Orwen's stats:

Lord: HP 6055 ATK 2142 DEF 1951 REC 1713

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

LS: Chance of BB gauge filling when attacking and chance of ignoring DEF when attacking (BB gauge fill chance 50%, BB gauge fill 5BC/attack, DEF ignore chance 15%)

Hit count: 6 (drop check count 3/hit)

BB: 10 hit multiple target Fire Damage and chance to inflict Poison and Sick (28BC to fill, Poison 45%, Sick 45%, damage modifier 260%)

SBB: 14 hit multiple target Fire Damage, boost ATK of all allies for 3 turns and ignores enemy's DEF for 2 turns (48BC to fill, ATK 70%, damage modifier 450%)

• For all the hate he gets, Orwen at least has very nice stats to call his own. His ATK is very good, particularly after his above average Imp buffs (...he actually beats Hogar's ATK stat after both units have max imps). His HP is fine and his DEF is pretty good too. His LS is similar to Karl's but performs slightly better on average and has a chance to DEF ignore as a bonus. His normal attack gives 18 drop checks which is about, maybe slightly above average. His BB is one of the few multiple target Poison options available which is pretty nice but being a BB its damage modifier obviously pales to most offensive SBBs. There's also Sick which I can say without a doubt is the most useless status in the game (watch someone think of a niche situation tailor made to prove me wrong though. :P) His SBB gives an ATK and DEF ignore boost, which is actually not a bad combo, particularly for bosses where DEF ignore is almost mandatory such as a lot of the optional content in the newer Global exclusive Vortex dungeons.

• Our first unit up for comparison today is Michele. Compared to the loud-mouthed axe-wielder, Orwen has better HP ( 525), ATK ( 215) and DEF ( 450) but less REC (-80). Looking at those numbers, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Orwen is the stronger unit statistically and this continues holding true even after imps. Comparing their SBBs, Orwen has a better damage modifier ( 450% vs. Michele's 350%) and the DEF ignore buff. Meanwhile Michele has a better fill rate (33BC vs. Orwen's 48BC), better BC generation (18 drop checks vs. Orwen's 14) and a better ATK buff ( 115% vs. Orwen's 70%) as well as the Fire attribute buff. Orwen also has the option of using his regular BB to inflict Poison if need be while Michele rarely finds use for her regular BB which is basically just an inferior version of her SBB. Overall I think if you're looking for an offensive support unit, you'll probably be leaning towards Michele. Even though, as I've mentioned in other analyses, ATK buffs aren't the most important buffs in the world, and 70% vs. 115% isn't a HUGE difference, when you apply that to the whole party, it adds up. Unlike in the Hogar analysis, Orwen himself is not quite so strong individually so Michele's stronger ATK buff probably wins in overall party damage. Running the calculation, Michele contributes more to the Party's damage if the total ATK of your other 5 units adds up to 5300, which every party can achieve easily. In addition the Fire attribute buff is obviously very nice against Earth units. Orwen does have DEF ignore but that's probably useful in rarer situations than the Fire attribute buff. Overall, Orwen's good if you need multiple target Poison or DEF ignore, but otherwise, Michele wins as an offensive support unit in most scenarios.

• Next up is Hogar. Compared to his manly batch mate, Orwen has better DEF ( 50) and REC ( 260) but less HP (-125) and ATK (-180). At a glance, they have roughly equivalent bulk (though Hogar probably still pulls just slightly ahead) and Hogar has better ATK, but after imps, Orwen hits harder by a tiny amount, but Hogar pulls further ahead in bulk due to his superior HP cap which means in the end, Hogar wins statistically. Comparing their SBBs, both units have the same ATK buff. Orwen has the additional DEF ignore buff under his belt but Hogar wins in pretty much every other way. Hogar has a better damage modifier ( 580% vs. Orwen's 450%), a better fill rate (40BC vs. 48BC), better BC generation (26 drop checks vs. 14), an innate crit buff, an innate BC drop rate buff, a better offensive element and easier full spark potential with only 2 hits. It's actually really sad how much better Hogar is. Overall there's no question that Hogar is probably the superior unit overall, but Orwen is definitely still viable, particularly if you also want to have the option of multiple target poison or if DEF ignore is needed. It should be emphasised that outclassed =/= bad and while Orwen is definitely outclassed, he's not actually bad.

• Thirdly we have Raydn. Compared to the watery Guardian, Orwen has better HP ( 35), ATK ( 230), DEF ( 40) and REC ( 35). Really impressive on Orwen's part to beat Raydn who is no slouch in every single department. After imps, Raydn pulls ahead in DEF, but drops further behind in ATK meaning Orwen still has the advantage statistically. Comparing their SBBs, both units possess DEF ignore and an additional offensive buff. Raydn's spark buff is one of the most powerful offensive buffs in the game while Orwen's ATK buff is a little less impressive. This is simply because Raydn's spark buff only has to stack additively with the base spark modifier and perhaps a leader skill/sphere while ATK buffs are dwarfed by the large SBB modifiers most units have. Orwen has slightly better fill rate (48BC vs. Raydn's 52BC) with equivalent BC generation and does slightly more damage as well but it's probably not enough to compensate for his inferior offensive buff. On paper I would say Raydn is the better unit overall, but if you already have a spark buffer, Orwen should definitely be considered over Raydn for a spot on the team.

• Finally, we have Nalmika. Compared to the nature loving Goddess, Orwen has better ATK ( 310) and DEF ( 220), equivalent HP ( 1) but loses in REC (-120). Orwen definitely wins statistically here being better both offensively and defensively, and after imps, this remains the case. These two units are pitted against eachother mostly because multiple target Poison is rare. Lemia, Orwen and Nalmika are really the only units with this ability under their belt. Unfortunately for Orwen, he definitely pales in comparison to Nalmika on the status infliction front. Nalmika only costs 36BC to reach her SBB which is only 8BC more than Orwen's regular BB, does a lot more damage when she inflicts status, has a slightly higher chance to inflict poison (50% vs. 45% for Orwen) with the option to switch to a more potent single target version if need be and can also inflict every other status under the sun while Orwen's stuck with the terrible Sick status. If you want multiple target poison, there's really no topping Nalmika so definitely use her if you have her. If you don't though, Orwen's actually not a bad option if you find Lemia's a bit lacking statistically, particularly because he can switch to his offensive support role after you land Poison. Nalmika's still the Goddess of status though.

• Orwen isn't a bad unit, he just doesn't really perform any of his roles exceptionally well and his roles themselves aren't important enough that he warrants use as a niche unit so he just ends up being outclassed by top tier units. That doesn't mean he's bad though.

Orwen: Indepth Look

• Orwen actually has great stats. Fantastic ATK after imps, great DEF and good HP with nice REC means that he's not weak in any stats and while he doesn't top the charts of any particular stat, he's well above average in pretty much all respects.

• His Leader skill is similar to Karl's but performs better on average. Karl's is more potent when it procs but it procs less often so Orwen ends up being a tad more consistent. He also comes with a DEF ignore chance which is marginally useful at the best of times, but still something.

• It's not a very useful LS overall, at a 50% chance to proc, it's unreliable and doesn't give enough reward to take the gamble. Arena is probably where it's most useful but even then, there are far better options to run if you want to fill your BB gauges in the arena.

• His normal attack is average at 18 total drop checks.

• His BB is actually quite rare in that it's one of the few attacks that can inflict Poison on multiple enemies. At 45%, Orwen's very comparable to Lemia for solely inflicting poison but loses to Nalmika outright.

• Poison is very nice to land on bosses susceptible to it and will be useful in Medal rush runs when raid challenges are released. If you have Nalmika, you should use her, but Orwen's someone to consider if you don't have her.

• Unfortunately his second status is terrible because Sick doesn't actually do anything to enemies since I believe even enemies that heal don't actually have a REC stat for Sick to cripple. Pretend this doesn't exist.

• Lemia, Nalmika and the halloween unit Semira are currently the only units that can replicate this. Nalmika does it better and Semira looks likely to do it better too when she gets her 6* form, but Orwen's a good substitute otherwise.

• He's pretty useable in the arena if you have halloween spheres, but I wouldn't call him great since his BB has a mediocre fill rate and his normal attack isn't stellar.

• His SBB is entirely different to his BB. Orwen becomes an offensive support unit with an ATK buff and a DEF ignore buff.

• Unfortunately, his ATK buff isn't particularly strong, only on par with Hogar and Leorone (Falma in the future) and outstripped by Michele, Kuhla, Ciara and Kuda.

• In addition, while DEF ignore is better than I might have given it credit in previous analyses mostly because newer global exclusive content is designed around making it important, in general use it's pretty limited in its scope as an offensive buff. Nice to have though.

• Unfortunately, the rest of the attributes of his SBB are lackluster, only having 14 drop checks (pretty mediocre in this day and age), having an average damage modifier (it's actually probably above average but it the gap between it and the higher tiers of damage modifier is very large) and nothing really else going for him.

• This means that Orwen is unfortunately overshadowed by a lot of units that also possess similar buffs. Hogar is just really strong, Leorone's other buffs are nice occasionally (though actually Orwen's comparable to the lion), Raydn's spark buff is really powerful, Dilma like Hogar, is just super strong with lots of hidden buffs.

• So basically Orwen doesn't stack up very well against top tier units in either his niche as an offensive support unit or his niche as a status inflictor.

• Does that mean he's bad? Well, no. He's nowhere near Thunderbird or even Eric level. Orwen is a very functional unit. Is he top tier? Definitely not. But he's far from the bottom. He has extremely good stats and both his BB and his SBB are actually useful if not top tier or best in slot.

• He's also got his own niche as a status inflictor that can switch to a different role (ATK buffer/DEF ignore provider) after his status has landed. Not a particularly strong niche, but it's there. Plus he actually looks pretty amazing, art-wise. Hate his lore though.

• As for his future prospects, Orwen's not really going to be a feature on many top tier squads since there are already a lot of units that outclass him and that list will increase in the future.

• EDIT: Upon reflecting a little bit after writing this up, I regret not comparing Orwen to units like Lemia. I should have tailored this a little better towards F2P/New players since they're most likely to get the most mileage out of Orwen. I'll leave it as is now, but that's something I'll think about and try to integrate into future analyses (that is, the idea that some units should be analysed for a different population than the upper echelon of players).

• In summary, if you have a lot of 'meta' units, you probably won't find a place for Orwen in your squads, but he's definitely a nice second/third line choice if you need multiple target Poison or an offensive buff and are missing the 'best-in-slot' options and he's VERY solid filler otherwise. F2P players or New players will probably appreciate what Orwen brings to the table more than 10000000 gem players.

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 nice as always, extra HP is good, and no one really cares if you lose a bit of REC.

• I think Orwen's bulky enough to run Breaker nicely too, the drop in DEF doesn't really affect bulk that severely and extra ATK is always helpful

• I like Lord third, but your mileage may vary. His natural stat distribution is nice though.

• Guardian's fine, but the ATK penalty hurts a little while the DEF gain isn't that significant. Orwen will still hit pretty hard though with this typing so it's definitely pretty good.

• Finally Orwen's REC is fine even as an Anima so he doesn't need any more and no one likes a drop in HP.

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