Maiden: Ice Rose – PvP Focus Review – Analysis, Guide and Best Teams
As a seasoned Arknights player, I’ve seen my fair share of operators come and go, but none have left quite the impression that Maiden: Ice Rose has. With her unique abilities and versatile playstyle, she’s become a staple in many players’ rosters, myself included.
In today’s third PvP-centric review, we bypassed Flora and RPG as they didn’t seem to have significant value in PvP. Therefore, please note that future PvP Focus Reviews might not cover units with limited PvP utility. Now, let’s dive into our regular introduction! Our goal here is to provide PvP-oriented content and updates for any fresh Nikkes that could potentially excel in PvP. As a reminder, we’ll be using some common PvP terminology/jargon throughout this guide. If you come across any terms that need clarification, feel free to refer back to our guide for explanations.
https://nikke.gg/arena-mechanics/embed/#
Let’s dive straight right into Maiden: Ice Rose’s abilities!
TLDR
The Ice Rose character is quite beneficial in the current game format, being effective in both Speed Arena and the upcoming Champions Arena. She offers a significant Burst Generation of 18.2 in 2 rounds and 27.3 in 3 rounds. Essentially, her Burst Generation is slightly higher than that of Clip SGs. One key advantage she has over Clip SGs is that she doesn’t consume resources since she is a Real-Life unit (RL). This makes her an excellent pick for player versus player (PvP) matches, and often, Laplace (Treasure version) is chosen over Clip SGs, even though Laplace has slightly lower burst generation than Clip SGs.
Feeding in PvP
In PvP combat, a unit’s action can lead to disadvantages for your team, often by dealing excessive damage in quick succession (like MGs firing rapidly or SGs releasing numerous pellets) or repeatedly activating passive abilities (such as Scarlet’s Black Shadow). This can generate burst damage for the opponent (as seen when Jackal is hit) and allow them to retaliate with counterattacks (as demonstrated by Scarlet’s Skill 2). This situation is typically unfavorable, especially in defensive teams.
Maiden has a few more surprises up her sleeve yet. As a durable character, she’s an ideal unit for slot 5, capable of withstanding basic or one-buff Area of Effect (AoE) attacks from units like Scarlet or Rei Ayanami. She can also work well with Biscuit to absorb some damage, or endure for a while as her team deals their own. Maiden has an added advantage: her basic attacks are quite powerful, boosted by her Skill 2 which adds approximately 547.62% extra damage on top of her regular damage, though this bonus damage only applies to one out of the two units she strikes. This makes her a potent force on the frontline, particularly useful in a shotgun team during defense or an Alice/RH team during attack as they target opposite ends of the enemy team (Maiden focuses P1 and SR in ATK / SG in DEF focus P5).
Step-by-step Analysis
Burst generation
As is tradition, we will first have a look at Maiden’s Burst Generation, and why it is so high.
As a devoted fan, I’d like to share some exciting insights about my favorite character, the Maiden. Her base burst generation per hit is 1.82. In a 2-round battle (2RL), she would theoretically generate 14.56 burst with two shots hitting four targets (two Nikkes and two covers). However, thanks to her Skill 2’s extra damage on fully charged shots, she actually gets an additional hit per shot, boosting her burst generation by a substantial 25%! This means her actual burst generation in 2RL skyrockets to an impressive 18.2, and an even more astonishing 27.3 in 3-round battles (3RL)! This places her slightly ahead of Clip SGs and just shy of Pascal. Given that Maiden is an SSR unit, she’s highly relevant for use and upgrading, making her a safer choice, especially when considering Combat Power.
As you can see in the image below, Maiden has the highest Burst gen among normal RL units.
DPS Output and Comparisons
This can be measured in 2 ways. Firstly, we will discuss Maiden as a main B3 (i.e. the B3 who bursts in a PvP team). Maiden’s DPS output is not that high or relevant when compared to high tier main B3 units such as Scarlet, Emilia, Scarlet: Black Shadow, etc. As a main B3, she can primarily be compared to units who are now thought to be sub-meta or old-meta units, specifically Power or Alice. Power as a main B3 works very similarly to how Maiden: Ice Rose works. A high damage single target nuke, followed up with somewhat strong basic shots. Straight up, Maiden power-creeps Power in both value of the single target nuke as well as the damage output during her burst from her basic attacks. Maiden gains an immense ATK buff when she bursts, which allows her to strengthen her already strong basic attacks and deal immense damage, similar to how Alice or Red Hood work, as a single target focus damage dealer! Hence, Maiden as a main B3 is a single target nuker on whoever she was shooting at, and then deals high single target focus damage dealer, who is able to clear units 1 by 1 like how Alice or Red Hood do.
Because she’s a Defender unit, she’s immune to attacks from Rosanna, making her an excellent choice as the main B3 character to thwart some tricky Rosanna strategies! In the clip below, you’ll see her powerful single-target nuke poses a significant risk to any Jackal-linked Nikkes. However, to fully leverage this ability, players must be skilled at rapidly forming Maiden teams to burst the opponent’s team before they do. Essentially, this is an attacking strategy that kara07837 shared in the video linked below.
Another way we can analyze Maiden’s Damage Per Second (DPS) is by categorizing her as an off-burst unit, where she truly shines. A suitable comparison here would be with Laplace (Treasure). It’s worth mentioning that Maiden has an extra damage proc, dealing a massive 547% of damage at level 10 Skill 2. In contrast, Laplace (Treasure) delivers approximately 300% of an Attacker’s ATK with her powerful basic attacks. However, Maiden deals approximately 462% of an Attacker’s ATK with her incredibly strong basic attacks (since a Defender’s base ATK is 66% that of an Attacker’s ATK). Although Laplace hits two units with 300%, and Maiden hits one with 462%, this is still very impactful! This makes Maiden capable of applying significant pressure to the frontline. When combined with SG units like Anis: Sparkling Summer on defensive teams, or SR units like Red Hood or Alice on attacking teams, she becomes a formidable threat and a headache for defenders. Consequently, Maiden is an excellent choice for the filler spot!
Supporting Output and Comparisons
A Maiden has three methods to aid her team: She can dish out damage as an off-burst Damage Per Second (DPS), she boasts significant durability thanks to being a Defender unit, and she offers support to electric units (although this is somewhat specialized given the nature of her buffs). Let’s discuss her toughness now, since we already covered her DPS output.
Because she’s an Electric defender unit, she can endure non-buffed Area of Effect (AoE) attacks or one-buff AoE assaults from opponents like Scarlet. Furthermore, in P5, she can withstand greater damage when facing SG units due to her base HP statistics being higher than most others. In many ways, she functions similarly to ClipRL units such as Centi or Rumani, but with a distinct twist because of her Electric element compared to their Iron and Fire elements respectively. As a result, she is powerful against various adversaries, yet vulnerable against different ones. This enables the player to strategize their offensive and defensive teams accordingly.
In simpler terms, Maiden contributes to the team’s success by working effectively with electric units. More information about this aspect will be provided in the following section.
Synergies and Weaknesses
Maiden has two significant advantages, particularly with regard to Biscuit, which proves very potent in Player versus Player (PvP) scenarios. Notably, Biscuit’s skill 2 offers a substantial boost for Defender units. By granting invincibility to these units for up to ten seconds individually or splitting it among two or five units, Biscuit has demonstrated her immense power since her introduction in 2023. This ability has remained just as effective today as it was back then, ensuring Biscuit’s status as a formidable character. In essence, Biscuit grants Maiden a protective shield that allows her to act freely without fear of harm from AoE teams, as demonstrated in the video below where Maiden survives an AoE nuke thanks to Biscuit and goes on to defeat the opposing team with her powerful basic attacks.
Video:
As a gamer, I’ve found that the second synergy isn’t too impactful: Maiden amplifies electric units, but only if she doesn’t unleash her ultimate. When she doesn’t, she bestows a massive elemental damage boost. Any water Nikkes, apart from Emilia, are in deep trouble unless Blanc steps in to save them. In PvP, there aren’t many water element Nikkes other than Emilia, so don’t count on this buff delivering much. She also increases the attack power of casters, but since she is a Defender, the actual boost isn’t too high. However, a boost is a boost, and she still lends a hand in dealing more damage.
Regarding potential drawbacks, she doesn’t exhibit any obvious weaknesses when functioning as an off-burst unit. She’s versatile, easily adaptable to various situations without causing concern. Her B3 ranking might seem disappointing since it means she must be strategically positioned on the right of the preferred burst unit. However, this could also work to her advantage, enabling us to position taunters like Noise or Noah in P5 if the P1 slot is taken, thus preventing the opponent team from generating excess burst power compared to if they were placed in other slots. The only threat she may face is high-damage Iron DPS units with strong elemental attacks, such as Laplace (Treasure) and Soda: Twinkling Bunny.
As a devoted fan, I must admit that when Maiden serves as the main B3 unit, she encounters similar drawbacks experienced by characters like SBS, Alice, and RH. A Defender taunter such as Nero or Noah, combined with Biscuit, can effectively curb Maiden’s offensive capabilities. All her damage is focused in one area, rendering her powerless for a full 10 seconds. During this time, she shoots at an invincible barrier. A well-structured team like the god comp (Noise Noah Biscuit) can handle Maiden’s damage output effectively. Her single-target nuke can also be thwarted by strategically using units such as xAnne or Rapunzel.
Impact on current meta
Tier List Rating: SS
If you’re into Player vs Player battles, this character is an absolute must-have for your team. Maiden surpasses every Clip SG unit in terms of power because she doesn’t require feeding and delivers blows with equal force. It seems that the developers have a talent for creating characters excel in PvP, doesn’t it?
Maiden is an excellent choice for PvP battles, offering a robust performance. She has a high burst generation, maintains a strong presence following a burst, boasts Defender HP, and can effectively counter Rosanna’s tricks. She poses a threat to Jackal’s link, demonstrates strong synergy with Biscuit, and serves as a niche support for all electric allies. In the updated tier list consisting of 5 teams, Maiden is likely to remain in the top SS tier or slide slightly into the high S tier. Either way, she will continue to be a significant player in the 5 team meta for some time.
Team Examples
Every team is versatile, capable of both offense and defense. If a player has sufficient assets for additional teams, they can utilize them defensively as well. Positioning is crucial; strive to mimic the positions you see.
Maiden: Ice Rose as a Main B3
Note: Laplace with Treasure
2RL swift single-target nuke, featuring follow-up damage. Instead of Blanc, you could use Biscuit. Jackal, Anis, or a single clip sg may replace one of the three burst generation fillers among LapTreasure, Centi, or Rumani. Blanc or Biscuit are crucial for Maiden’s survival, allowing her to swiftly eliminate a unit in round 1. Teams with Blanc or Noise in round 1 can be vulnerable to this setup.
Note: Laplace with Treasure
In simpler terms, among the characters Laplace (Treasure), Emilia, and Maiden, one of them could potentially be replaced with A2. This team is known for applying intense pressure upfront, leveraging Emilia, Laplace, and Maiden’s high basic attack damage output.
Maiden: Ice Rose as an off burst unit
A robust team, skilled in both defense and offense. The vanguard, Maiden, applies pressure upfront, while Anis covers the rear, firing from an opposing position.
Previously, Centi Anis and Rumani were often employed as key components for forming a 3RL team. Employing an SG unit was typically avoided due to feeding issues. Now, however, xMaiden can take up the role, making it a straightforward nuking team with no additional complexities involved.
A technical team. 3RL speed. Biscuit ensures Blanc’s and Jackal’s survival, so only the B3 needs to live now. While Maiden may be acting as an off-burst unit, this team deserves a shout out in both the main B3 section and this section. This is because Maiden here is acting as a backup B3. In case Scarlet dies, she will be able to burst herself, nuke one unit and then provide immense follow up damage. She is placed in P4 to make it hard to be targeted by any shenanigans, be it from Rosanna, Emilia or A2. She can only be targeted by an AoE unit. As we discussed before, she has defender HP. Hence, she will be able to survive a nuke from an opponent (unless of course, it is Cinderella’s nuke or a double buffed nuke). At super high investments (SR15 doll, Lvl7 tempering/vigor cubes, high core level investment), she can even survive some double buffed nukes! Hence, even if Scarlet dies here, do not be afraid! Maiden is here to save the day! Would be sad if the opposing nuker crit their burst tho.. (Maiden dies if they crit :/)
Budget Meta Team Compositions
This part could potentially involve less-than-optimal teams, but they’re suitable for squads with limited options. In essence, any team that utilized ClipSGs or LaplaceTreasure can be swapped out directly for xMaiden, except in the case of Pepper or Viper; xMaiden can take their place instead. These teams are adaptable for both offense and defense, provided the player has sufficient resources for other squads as well. Proper positioning is crucial, so please replicate the positions exactly.
Note: Laplace with Treasure
Note: Laplace with Treasure
Note: All ClipSGs are replaceable with other ClipSGs with the exception of Pepper
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2024-12-09 16:04