Hatsuchiri
Archetype: Attack
Role: Assassin/DPS
Relative Power:★★★★★
Utility: :★★★★★
Special Niche: Assassin with built-in resets
Usage Difficulty:
Usage Tips & In-Depth Analysis:
Hatsuchiri is a new warrior who released with the Divine Heresy event that runs from 12/28/2022 to 1/24/2023. Her banner releases 1 week after De Lacey's. (Players who can only afford to pull one of the two units should definitely prioritize Hatsuchiri over De Lacey, as Hatsuchiri is far more flexible and self-sufficient.)
Hatsuchiri's skillset is that of a slippery backline assassin with built-in resets on enemy takedown that also provide her with untargetability. Hatsuchiri's passive gives her default backline access in every single fight, including on maps without built-in Teleport tiles, and frees up your tactical skill points for use elsewhere since you won't need to waste 8 points teleporting her to the enemies. (The knockup will often cause enemies hit by Hatsuchiri's [Dive] to retarget her instead, which can be good or bad depending on the situation.)While Hatsuchiri's skill descriptions might be long, she's very simple to use - just put her into an appropriate team and she will generally autopilot her way to victory, as long as you remember how her [Dive] works for initial target selection (farthest enemy).
Because Hatsuchiri's utility and DPS are excellent, she fits well into any ATK-based team, whether based on warriors like Aki/Betty or snipers like Lam/Simo. Keep in mind that you do need an actual frontline (since Hatsuchiri isn't going to be tanking damage due to her constant [Dive] activations).
[Prowl] is also automatically triggered at the start of battle.
[Prowl]: Moves to an empty tile near the enemy unit farthest away. After a brief delay, appears from underground and sends all surrounding enemies within 1 tile airborne for 1 seconds, dealing Physical Damage equal to 100 % ATK. Hatsuchiri cannot be targeted or selected during Prowl's movement period.
Evaluation
The [Dive] status gives Hatsuchiri a built-in teleport available at the start of every fight, solidifying her position as a potent backline Assassin. On the flip side, it also means she's not going to be doing much tanking since she'll always teleport to the enemy backline - so you'll want to pair her with either a strong Guard or another warrior who can serve as a meat shield.
The auto-revive passive lets Hatsuchiri escape from danger if she ever ends up in a sticky situation, mitigating the downside of her mandatory teleport.
Evaluation
A fairly straightforward DPS skill. Note that even though it has an AoE component, it's not as good of an AoE as things like Chelsea's auto-skill (since the AoE part is derivative damage and thus doesn't proc functions).
The main utility of this auto-skill is its ability to provide Hatsuchiri with a reset of her passive [Dive], allowing her to jump to the next target. This can be helped along by another DPS doll, since Hatsuchiri doesn't need to strike the finishing blow to trigger the reset.
Evaluation
Hatsuchiri's ultimate deals excellent single-target damage and also resets her Auto Skill, which can allow her to reset her passive if the combo kills the target. A very simple yet well-designed ultimate that synergizes with the rest of her kit, allowing Hatsuchiri to effectively play the role of a slippery backline assassin.
Addendum
Hatsuchiri actually has the same problem as Sol where their Auto Skill animations take so long, they lose DPS in certain situations because they're not attacking as often as they otherwise could be. Unlike Sol, however, Hatsuchiri's Auto Skill actually does something useful...
