Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Overview

  • Great solo support Nikke, second only to Crown and beating the bunny duos offensive buffs more often than not combined when paired with pierce Nikkes (Depending on Ammo Requirements of Nikkes Buffed)
  • Can be used as a Sub buffer in Campaign for Pierce Teams as more than half of her buffs are not tied to her burst.
  • Lack of defensive utility would led to most teams needing a healer against campaign boss battles/Solo Raids

Newbie/Incomplete Box Section

As a seasoned Arknights player with countless hours poured into strategizing and optimizing my team compositions, I can confidently say that Mari is undoubtedly one of the most versatile and powerful Commanders in the game. Her role as an exceptional DPS buffer makes her a staple in almost any team composition, barring the rare instances against fart Raptures.


Mari excels as a Burst II Buffer, significantly increasing attack damage by 82% (both Pierce Damage and Attack Damage boost). Additionally, she offers a 31% attack enhancement for about half the time. A valuable asset in Campaigns, she also possesses a screen-wiping ability.

Although Nikke’s gear primarily focuses on countering Pierce attacks, her burst is so powerful that it outshines most single buffer units, with only Crown being an exception.

In the majority of battles and stages, it’s simple to activate her Pierce damage boost. However, there may be occasions where this could pose a challenge for bosses that have fewer vital HP components (like Special Intercept Modernia, Solo Raid Bosses, or those with concealed cores such as Alteisein). For these tricky situations, it’s suggested to take manual control to achieve the maximum damage.

Basic Information

  • Skill 1: Precision Sniping
  • Skill 2: Full Focus
  • Burst: GPS Guided Missile
  • Cooldown: 20s
  • Rarity: SSR
  • Burst: II
  • Weapon: SR
  • Class: Supporter
  • Element: Electric
  • Manufacturer: Abnormal
  • Squad: NERV
  • Weapon Name: Long-range Precision Rifle

Skills

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Skill 1: Precision Sniping

Triggers upon delivering a fully charged attack or striking an enemy’s core. Boosts the damage dealt to shields by approximately 100.09% for 3 seconds, affecting all allies. Additionally, triggers when hitting the target’s core and increases piercing damage by around 40.99% for a duration of 10 seconds, also benefiting all allies. (Please note that this only affects the damage dealt to shields, not the Rapture itself.)

Shield Damage

Few Raptors possess the capability to create protective shields, primarily showcasing this ability in solo raids. Yet, there are some instances of Shield-wielding Raptors in campaign battles, where their utility is somewhat beneficial.

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play
Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

I’m sorry to report that the buff I’m using doesn’t seem to penetrate the protective shields embedded in Elite Glasses. The same applies to all collaborative characters who share this exact buff.

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Target Core

From a dedicated Nikke enthusiast’s perspective, this buff is almost always active for me. Yet, there are unusual situations where I need to intervene manually to ensure the cores stay intact if they’re vulnerable to destruction. Certain bosses hide their cores, and only piercing Nikkes can reach them. To guarantee her continuous pierce damage bonus, I should aim at these areas every 10 seconds if they wouldn’t be targeted using regular auto-aiming, as this ensures full uptime on the buff.

Skill 2: Full Focus

Boosts the character’s own attack by 30.78% for 5 seconds.

Here’s one way of paraphrasing the given text:

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

Burst: GPS Guided Missile

Impacts all adversaries:

Screen Wipe

At first, it appears that her Screen Wipe is quite powerful, but unfortunately, it’s not as potent as it seems. Her Attack Damage increases only after the initial burst damage has been inflicted, so her buff doesn’t impact her Screen Wipe. However, it remains a valuable asset for assisting the main DPS in clearing remaining mobs effectively.

Attack Damage ▲

In a simpler, more conversational style: Among all campaign strategies, Mari stands out as exceptional. Her buff, which enhances her damage output, outperforms most other buffs in virtually every situation because it lasts throughout all waves, unlike some that only affect one enemy wave. When considering her skill 2 and burst damage, she offers the second highest value in the game, surpassed only by Crown’s abilities.

Campaign

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve got to admit, Mari truly shines in campaign mode, often outperforming other units, landing her in the second or third spot in most scenarios. This superiority will soon be officially recognized, as she’s likely to drop a tier on the upcoming tier list. Pairing Mari with pierce Nikkes is gold, but even when teamed up with non-piercing units, she still dishes out impressive offensive bonuses.

In the game Campaign, Mari can serve as an additional buffer as well. This is because her ability to increase Pierce Damage doesn’t rely on her burst, allowing for flexibility in strategy. Additionally, her temporary self-buff that increases piercing damage can make her effective at generating bursts when necessary.

Her only “Downside” is that Mari can’t be paired with Naga. Mari does not Proc shields, which means Naga is unable to give core damage buffs, which is a extremely powerful buff for all the current Meta Nikkes in campaign as of now. This Unit synergy not being available to her keeps her in SS tier.

Pierce Damage Team

Liter,Mari,Alice,Asuka,Modernia

Summary, 8.5/10 Campaign Clearing, Strong in Mono Fire Content

A team that smoothly manages multiple steps, except for a problem when confronting flatulent raptors since they lack healing capabilities. This challenge arises only when dealing with numerous flatulent raptors or battling them while significantly behind, but otherwise, they can easily be defeated using Alice Burst or Asuka Burst.

I’m all set to amplify my team’s power with a balanced core enhancement, making it easier for Modernia to mow down hordes with her burst, while Alice deals even heavier blows. As the Commander, I can switch up our burst abilities based on the situation at hand.

Roles And Replacements

Main Nikke

Cool Down Reduction

  • Liter – Cool down Reduction, ATK buff, cover repair, Other Offensive Buffs

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Modernia – Crowd Control, Sub-DPS
  • Asuka – Burst Damage, Pierce
  • Alice (High Investment, Manual Play Heavy) – Single Target Damage, wave clear, burst generator

Offensive Supports (B2’s)

  • Mari – Multitude of ATK buffs.

Replacements

Cool Down Reduction

  • Volume, Dorothy, D: Killer Wife

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Red Hood – Single Target Damage, Wave Clear, Burst Generator
  • Preferred Recommended DPS’s such as: Scarlet, Scarlet: Black Shadow, Maxwell, Ein, Emilia, A2, Privaty: Unkind Maid

Offensive Supports (B2)

  • None
Skill Investments / Heavy Investment / Doll Priority

Assume All skills of team members are at least 5/5/5.

  • Mid Game: Alice 10/5/10 -> Mari 7/5/7 -> Modernia 7/5/5 -> Asuka 7/7/7 -> Liter 7/5/7
  • Late Game: Alice 10/4/10 -> Mari 10/7/10 -> Modernia 10/10/7 -> Asuka 10/10/10 -> Liter 10/5/10

Doll Priority

Alice -> Modernia -> Asuka -> Mari (Not Recommended) -> Liter (Not Recommended)

Sub-Buffer Role

Liter,Crown,Alice,Asuka,Mari

Summary, 7.5/10 Campaign Clearing, Strong in Mono Fire Content

In this setup, Mari is assigned the role of a “substitute Naga” for piercing teams. While her Skill 1 activates upon a core hit and her Skill 2 is time-based, she functions similarly to Naga in this context. However, compared to Naga, this team may not be as potent, but it still possesses impressive burst damage capabilities for swiftly defeating boss waves.

A shocker in this team is, the player can choose between Crown burst and Mari burst as Crown’s ATK buff and reload buff is based on full burst.

In simpler terms, Mari inflicts more powerful instant damage by around 4%, and she can also clear the screen. On the other hand, Crown extends the duration of Mari’s attack boost by approximately 5 seconds.

Roles And Replacements

Main Nikke

Cool Down Reduction

  • Liter – Cool down Reduction, ATK buff, cover repair, Other Offensive Buffs

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Asuka – Burst Damage, Pierce
  • Alice (High Investment, Manual Play Heavy) – Single Target Damage, wave clear, burst generator

Offensive Supports (B2’s)

  • Mari – Multitude of ATK buffs.
  • Crown – Multitude of Offensive buffs, Best in slot B2 in almost every team

Replacements

Cool Down Reduction

  • Volume, Dorothy, D: Killer Wife

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Red Hood – Single Target Damage, Wave Clear, Burst Generator
  • Modernia – Screen Clear, Sub-DPS
  • Preferred Recommended DPS’s such as: Scarlet, Scarlet: Black Shadow, Maxwell, Ein, Emilia, A2, Privaty: Unkind Maid

Offensive Supports (B2)

  • None
Skill Investments / Heavy Investment / Doll Priority

Assume All skills of team members are at least 5/5/5.

  • Mid Game: Alice 10/5/10 -> Crown 7/7/7 -> Mari 7/5/7 -> Asuka 7/7/7 -> Liter 7/5/7
  • Late Game: Alice 10/5/10 -> Crown 10/10/10 -> Mari 10/7/10 -> Asuka 10/10/10 -> Liter 10/5/10

Doll Priority

Alice -> Asuka -> Crown -> Mari (Not Recommended) -> Liter (Not Recommended)

Red Hood Solo B1 Variant

Red hood,Mari,Alice,Asuka,Attacker

Summary, 8.5/10 Campaign Clearing + Gameplay Tutorial

As a devoted fan, I find myself drawn to a versatile team setup where I can either deploy a Sub-buffer role or boost damage output. Instead of relying on a Cooldown Reduction Nikke, I prefer using Red Hood as my solo burst in the role of Nikke.

A bit harder to play but will outperform Liter in stages where this team can be used comfortably.

Although this locks Red hood out from bursting as a Burst III.

Roles And Replacements

Main Nikke

Cool Down Reduction

  • Liter – Cool down Reduction, ATK buff, cover repair, Other Offensive Buffs

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Asuka – Burst Damage, Pierce
  • Alice (High Investment, Manual Play Heavy) – Single Target Damage, wave clear, burst generator

Offensive Supports (B2’s)

  • Mari – Multitude of ATK buffs.

Replacements

Cool Down Reduction

  • Volume, Dorothy, D: Killer Wife

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Modernia – Screen Clear, Sub-DPS

Offensive Supports (B2)

  • None

Flex Slots

  • Preferred Sub-DPS’s such as Modernia, Scarlet, Rei, Christmas Ludmilla, etc
  • Crown
Skill Investments / Heavy Investment / Doll Priority

Assume All skills of team members are at least 5/5/5.

  • Mid Game: Alice 10/5/10 -> Mari 7/5/7 -> Asuka 7/7/7 -> Flex -> x/x/x (Refer to Skill Priority Guide) -> Liter 7/5/7
  • Late Game: Alice 10/5/10 -> Mari 10/7/10 -> Asuka 10/10/10 -> Flex x/x/x -> Liter 10/5/10

Doll Priority

Alice -> Asuka -> Flex -> Mari (Not Recommended) -> Liter (Not Recommended)

Snow White Team

Liter,Mari,Snow white,Red Hood,Modernia

Summary, 7.5/10 Campaign Clearing, Strong in Iron Content

A team that assists Snow White in inflicting heavy damage on a large number of bosses, although it may be difficult to utilize, is less dependent on equipment that is overloaded with power for this purpose.

Gameplay below doesn’t have the same team but should share the same concept on how to play.

Roles And Replacements

Main Nikke

Cool Down Reduction

  • Liter – Cool down Reduction, ATK buff, cover repair, Other Offensive Buffs

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Modernia – Crowd Control, Sub-DPS
  • Snow White – Boss Killer
  • Red Hood – Wave Clearer

Offensive Supports (B2’s)

  • Mari – Multitude of ATK buffs.

Replacements

Cool Down Reduction

  • Volume, Dorothy, D: Killer Wife

DPS’s (B3’s)

  • Scarlet – Sub-DPS

Offensive Supports (B2)

  • None
Skill Investments / Medium Investment / Doll Priority

Assume All skills of team members are at least 5/5/5.

  • Mid Game: Snow White 5/7/10 -> Mari 7/5/7 -> Red Hood 7/7/7 Modernia 7/5/5 -> Liter 7/5/7
  • Late Game: Snow White 5/10/10 -> Mari 10/7/10 -> Red Hood 10/10/10 -> Modernia 10/7/5 -> Liter 10/5/10

Doll Priority

Snow White -> Red Hood -> Modernia -> Mari (Not Recommended) -> Liter (Not Recommended)

Generalist Team

liter,mari,scarlet,Modernia,Attacker

Classic Campaign team. Commander can just slot in any of their preferred DPS’s and Mari will do her work as she’s a rather “universal” buffer outside pierce teams. Since Pierce DPS Nikkes are rather rare, it’s hard to make teams that doesn’t include Alice, Asuka or Red hood. Any teams outside of that would basically just revolve around just using any of your best DPS’s. This would include characters such as Scarlet: Black Shadow, Maxwell, Snow white, Emilia, Christmas Ludmilla, Ein, Rei, Privaty:Unkind Maid, Harran and etc

Arena

In terms of rapid firepower, she’s more like a precision marksman rifle, not producing high burst rates. Yet, she possesses an area-of-effect damage skill that’s quite potent, which may not be sufficient to obliterate opponent Nikkes but can certainly weaken their defense or significantly reduce their health.

She’s also able to buff the next wave of damage via Burst III, wiping most stall teams that don’t rely on invulnerability.

In contrast to her, other characters like Nikkes (Blanc) have similar interactions but also boast additional abilities, including temporary healing and invincibility for a duration of ten seconds, making them incredibly potent.

Special Interception | Solo Raid | Union Raid

Special Interception

Mari excels at defeating Special Interception bosses because about 60% of these bosses (marked EX) don’t require much healing. Given that her offensive abilities are on par with Crown, conquering each special intercept boss should feel like a breeze.

Anomaly

In a different turn of events, anomaly isn’t equipped with any kind of endurance or defensive capabilities. Regrettably, Mari lacks these traits. However, if a player is skillful enough to manage cover effectively, it appears that cover is exceptionally durable compared to Nikke’s HP (at level 400). This aspect can be overlooked until stage 5. Fortunately, the boss character Kraken, which provides our primary source of custom modules (Rocks), can be bypassed entirely when it comes to survivability.

Solo Raid | Union Raid

If Mari possessed any defensive capabilities akin to Crown, she might have been considered an incomplete character. Yet, she lacks such features, making her an unsuitable choice for several teams or challenging situations that require healing.

Pierce Team (No Healer)

Liter,Mari,Red hood,Maxwell,Ludmilla: Winter Owner

A team dedicated to enhancing the abilities of Red Hood, simultaneously absorbing significant damage for Ludmilla (or another character when healing is required).

Pierce Team 2

Liter,Mari,Alice,Scarlet: Black Shadow,Supporter

The group that works on enhancing Alice’s abilities, but Scarlet won’t get piercing damage buffs from Mari. Use this team when Crown isn’t accessible and healing isn’t essential. If additional healing is required, characters like Rapunzel or Alice: Wonderland Bunny would be effective healers for this team.

If you possess the characters Crown, Alice, Scarlet, and Liter/Volume (Naga/Privacy), use them together as they work exceptionally well in unison when you have a complete roster, due to their mutual synergies.

Collab Trio

Liter,Mari,Asuka,Rei Ayanami,Modernia

The group that unites all Collab characters. This isn’t a weak team, especially since Asuka and Rei possess certain survival abilities. However, their defensive capabilities might fall short when facing most solo raid bosses alone.

Snow White Team (No Healer)

Miranda,Mari,Snow White,Maxwell,Dolla

Our most formidable “Snow White” squad yet. While “Snow White” teams may seem specialised, they’re capable of dealing massive damage when the boss is aligned with their strengths.

Replace Miranda with Volume/Liter and Dolla with Helm/Yulha if healing is needed.

Generalist Team

Because Mari functions as a buffer, feel free to slot in your top Damage Per Second (DPS) characters, and if necessary, include a passive healer. Ideally, she performs best when paired with Pierce Nikkes, but she’s also capable of providing buffs effectively outside of that team composition.

Strengths

  • Very strong offensive Solo Burst II Nikke, second only to Crown. Can even be equal to Crown in some cases.
  • Easy to Proc Skill one passive, Which allows her to be a sub-buffer for pierce teams
  • Can be a strong burst generator in campaign due to pierce properties and relatively low reload time for a sniper rifle
  • Leona Costume Inspiration

Weaknesses

  • Mari Has no defensive utility, which can dampen DPS by a bit due to needing a healer more often than not in boss battles.

Notes: (Solo Raid Focused)

In essence, Mari isn’t exactly weak, but she often finds herself in a slightly disadvantaged position compared to Crown and Naga/Tia due to a lack of synergy in defensive capabilities. This predicament is awkward for her because she possesses strong buffing abilities, yet the incompatibility weakens her overall effectiveness. In most cases, Crown and Tia/Naga take the lead when it comes to piercing Nikkes, leaving Mari with fewer opportunities. This limitation forces Mari into teams that lack pierce, restricting her access to nearly half of her buffs. However, future powerful Pierce Nikkes could potentially address this issue.

Recommended Harmony Cubes

Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play
Mari Makinami Best Builds, Teams, and How to Play

A team that has advantages in reloading speed tends to prioritize increasing their reload speed. If there’s no such advantage, it’s best to use the higher-level cube between Resilience and Bastion.

Temporary Rating

CategoryRating
Overall (PvE)9.35
Story9.3
Bosses9.4
Arena8.1

Note: Dropped Blanc/Noir and Summer Rosanna a tier. Will be dropping other burst II buffers if needed to accommodate the changes.

Mari is generally preferred among the three options, except for instances where she goes up against Fart Raptures. In such cases, her damage output usually surpasses her healing abilities more often than not.

Skill Priority

NikkeBudget Skill InvestmentsRecommended Skill InvestmentsSkill PriorityNotesInvestment Priority
MariSkill 1: 7
Skill 2 : 7
Burst : 7
Skill 1: 10
Skill 2 : 7
Burst : 10
S1 => S2Skill 1 and Burst have the same damage brackets. This means that they “dilute” each other in value. This makes leveling skill 2 almost of equal value despite the higher scaling of skill 1.

However, The Commander will most likely be running an ATK buffer/Self ATK buff DPS, which means that skill 1 will be more valuable in most cases anyways.

High

Doll Priority

Mari isn’t our first choice when selecting dolls. We’ll consider her only after each DPS has their specific SR doll.

Overload Gear Priority

Typically, Support units don’t handle excessive workloads, but given that Mari is an exceptional Campaign Unit, she can handle more tasks if the player lacks the Crown and intends to utilize her for a boost in the Campaign.

Attribute (Sub-Stat)PriorityRecommendedNotes
Increase Element Damage Dealt★★★★★4xCP PADDING ✨
(Gives 1.2x~ more CP than other rolls)
Increase Hit Rate☆☆☆☆☆0x
Increase Max Ammunition Capacity★★★★★4xMore bullets for burst generation/Bullet Spamming
Increase ATK★★★★★4xMore ATK is always good.
(Doesn’t affect her Skill 2)
Increase Charge Damage☆☆☆☆☆0x
Increase Charge Speed☆☆☆☆☆0x
Increase Critical Rate★☆☆☆☆0x
Increase Critical Damage★☆☆☆☆0x
Increase DEF☆☆☆☆☆0x

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2024-09-09 21:05

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