Greetings and Happy New Year! Kicking off our first meta report for 2025, I can’t help but feel excited about the promising prospects ahead. Last year wrapped up on a high note for Snowbreak with the successful launch of Bubu – The Geomancer. With Seasun gearing up to unleash its major double-operative release v2.5 update, the anticipation is palpable!

Historically, double releases have been successful in the meta, with most operatives garnering impressive results. As we brace ourselves for another potential wave of powercreep, let’s take a moment to assess the current state of Snowbreak as it ventures into a brand-new year.

DPS Check

2024 was quite dynamic for DPS operatives, as there was nearly an entire leadership transition at the pinnacle. Established figures such as Yao – Winter Solstice, Chenxing – Ethereal Cloud, and Katya – Blue Bolt experienced their fall from power, being replaced by a fresh wave of forceful agents who excelled significantly:

In the first anniversary celebration at Snowbreak, Lyfe has consistently maintained her leading position impressively. Her role as a character with a high concentration of ballistic damage as a DPS means she doesn’t face intense competition for support roles among other popular meta picks, which are predominantly skill-damage based. Yet, Lyfe can also leverage skill damage support characters, providing exceptional team composition versatility. This flexibility results in her having a significant impact on the meta, often dominating one of the Sim bosses during game rotations, almost unchallenged.

At our summer gathering last year, Katya stood out by swiftly overtaking other proficient DPS operators. Although she demands some initial investment, her performance makes her an excellent buy and currently tops the charts in terms of skill-based damage output.

Originally one of the pioneering “second-gen” DPS agents, Siris was often chosen for her capability to dish out immense burst damage. However, this high damage comes with a prerequisite – Siris needs to charge her ultimate, both metaphorically and literally, which wasn’t much of an issue earlier but is now significant as faster DPS alternatives have emerged. Since Siris relies on her ult stacks to deal damage, she can’t exploit quicker damage sequences using Tess – The Magician like other skill-based damage agents such as Katya – Dawnwing and Cherno – Enigma do. This leaves her struggling to keep up with the competition. She is occasionally useful against certain bosses, but even her own boss, pi, has been usurped by Katya – Dawnwing, suggesting that her reign at the top has ended, at least for now.

Initially unrecognized, Cherno’s liberation initiated the transformation in DPS strategy that eventually culminated in our current state. Much like her pioneering counterpart Siris – Ksana, Cherno has witnessed the decline of her once-dominant reign at the hands of Katya – Dawnwing, the destructive force of summery skill damage. However, she has managed to maintain a stronger presence through her swift attack sequences. Although her prime is no longer as prominent, Cherno remains relevant enough to secure a respectable third position.

Arriving as the final character release of 2024, Bubu is a bit of an enigma. As a ballistic DPS, she steers clear of many support turf wars that commonly affect skill-based DPS characters, but her presence directly clashes with Lyfe – Infinite Sight in terms of preferred supports. However, being one of only two competitive second-generation ballistic DPS options (Lyfe being the other), Bubu finds herself in a similar advantageous position as Lyfe. The success of Chenxing – Jade Arc, who is expected to impact the meta with the upcoming Hearts in Harmony half-anniversary update, could potentially rearrange the ballistic damage hierarchy, possibly pushing Bubu down to third place and leaving her on the sidelines.

The Holdouts

In my opinion, as a fan, the DPS operatives from the past would grab any victory they can at this stage. The Fenny – Starshine’s ammo-hosing ability makes Chenxing – Ethereal Cloud incredibly effective at vaporizing either of the Helas, while simultaneously posing a threat to rogue targets in Lament of Yehrus. Similarly, Fenny – Coronet occasionally steps in when repairs are needed and also takes out the odd squishy boss here and there with its sniping skills.

For Yao, Winter Solstice, it’s not her usual self when it comes to dealing damage or engaging in combat these days. The delay in activating the damage spike hidden behind her ultimate ability, combined with a decrease in overall damage output, has left her struggling compared to her past performance. Katya, Blue Bolt, faces a similar predicament as her current damage numbers fall short. These two characters who were once at the top of their game are currently in a slump, and there seems to be no quick solution except for direct buffs. Perhaps the future will bring improvements.

Support Ticket

On the DPS front, there’s been a slight upheaval, but over in the support department, things have remained relatively calm. Snowbreak is yet to assemble a comprehensive team of top-tier supports. As a result, each SSR support released since Acacia – Kaguya at the game’s launch has become quite common in the Sim arena.

To put it simply, there’s only one character I’m not talking about when I say most aren’t at the top – it’s not Eatchel The Cub, who can actually be quite effective in battle given the right investment. Instead, I’m referring to Marian Riptide, who consistently plays second fiddle to Enya Exuvia. While Marian isn’t without her abilities, she’s often overshadowed due to being primarily useful for breaking parts and causing skill damage, a rather specific role. Enya, on the other hand, is not always accessible, leading to times when you’d still use her for more general purposes. Despite this, Marian tends to be quite specialized, relying heavily on the current boss rotation and her weapon type, which isn’t typical for a support character.

Based on the constrained resource pool we discussed earlier, I don’t think Yao – Nightglow will outshine any specific character. Instead, considering her role as a ballistic support, it seems she’ll mainly alleviate the excessive workload of Fenny – Starshine, who has been working an extraordinary amount. She could certainly use a well-deserved respite.

Meta Updates

Bubu tends not to cause significant shifts in the meta, giving a sense that something major is about to happen. This quiet period is likely preceding the powerful impact of the forthcoming Hearts in Harmony update, which will be released as a dual operation.

Tier List Changes

Bubu has left a profoundly good impact, yet I’m not quite ready to place her in the top tier just yet. I think she needs a bit more time to demonstrate further growth before considering a possible advancement.

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2025-01-22 02:59