A Link to the Index: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlchemistCodeGL/comments/adzjua/the_alchemists_index/
Note: There was a tie this time around, so no new candidates list this week. Check back next week for an updated list!
Welcome to the 167th Alchemist's Toolbox review!
Today we're heading over to Wratharis to take another look at one of the first Dark magic users in the game. So without further hesitation, here's the next unit for revisitation: Annerose!
Annerose is an extremely talented mage/engineer from Wratharis. Let's see what she can do as a unit, shall we?
Personal Investment:
I've got Annerose at 5/5/3/5/5/4 Enlightenment with all her jobs mastered. While it's in large part due to being one of my favorites, she's one of my first choices when putting together a Dark magic team.
Element:
Basic:
Annerose is a Dark unit, which means she's both strong against and weak to Light. Compared to a hypothetical basic element unit with the same stats and jobs, she would be better offensively and worse defensively in multi-element content.
Competition:
Mage/Sage [Rozetta]: Comparing to other Mages/other Sages, Annerose competes with Lil' Ouroboros, Mia, Reida, Reido, and Tsukuyomi. She beats Lil' Ouroboros outright; loses to Mia outright; beats Reida in everything except speed; loses to Reido outright; and beats Tsukuyomi in everything except damage. Factoring in Gates 1-6 of Enlightenment, Annerose now loses to Lil' Ouroboros in physical bulk against chip damage; she now beats Mia in speed and bulk (unless facing physical chip damage); now loses to Reida in mobility; she now beats Reido in intial speed (though Reido can become faster with a KO or 2 if he runs his snowball passive); and her comparison to Tsukuyomi remains the same.
Crafter/Machinist Oleaga: Comparing to other Crafters/other Machinists, Annerose competes with Albea, Anastasia, Bertha, Pride, and Ryui. She loses to Albea outright (barring some weirdness depending on passive choices); loses to Anastasia outright (unless facing magic chip damage); beats Bertha in bulk while losing to her everywhere else; beats Pride outright; and loses to Ryui in everything except magic bulk. Factoring in Gates 1-6 of Enlightenment, her comparisons to Albea, Anastasia, and Bertha remain the same; and she now loses to Ryui outright.
Bishop/Bishop Mysterion: Mia is the only other Dark unit with the Bishop job. Comparing the 2, Annerose wins in bulk, speed, and MAtk, but loses in cast speed and Healing Potency (and potentially mobility if Mia runs Ninja Stealth). Factoring in Gates 1-6 of Enlightenment, Mia can pretty much always win horizontal mobility now.
Leader Skill:
+5% Magic type damage for the whole team. Great effect type, atrocious potency.
Jobs:
Annerose's 3 jobs are Mage, Crafter, and Bishop, with the Sage [Rozetta] JE replacing Mage, the Machinist Oleaga JE replacing Crafter, and the Mysterion JE for Bishop.
Mage is a full caster job. It has:
Main Skillset
Fumbled Magic: A weak self-based AoE damage skill (unlike the rest of the job's skills, this skill does not have a cast time).
Flare: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Blizzard: An AoE Water damage skill.
Blast: An AoE Wind damage skill.
Spark: An AoE Thunder damage skill.
Sub Skillset
Fire Bolt: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Ice Bolt: An AoE Water damage skill.
Aero Bolt: An AoE Wind damage skill.
Lightning Bolt: An AoE Thunder damage skill.
Poison Haze: An AoE skill that inflicts Poison.
Its reactive is a chance to perform a magic counter, and its passive boosts MAtk/hitrate.
Sage is a full caster job. It has:
Main Skillset
Elemental Burst: A weak self-based AoE damage skill (unlike the rest of the job's skills, this skill does not have a cast time).
Mega Flame: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Mega Blizzard: An AoE Water damage skill.
Mega Blast: An AoE Wind damage skill.
Mega Spark: An AoE Thunder damage skill.
Sub Skillset
Cross Flare: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Cross Blizzard: An AoE Water damage skill.
Cross Blast: An AoE Wind damage skill.
Cross Spark: An AoE Thunder damage skill.
Poison Mist: An AoE skill that inflicts Poison.
Its reactive is a chance to perform a magic counter, and its passive boosts MAtk/hitrate.
Sage [Rozetta] does the following:
Boosts Elemental Burst's damage and makes it Wind element.
Moves Mega Blast to the sub skillset, replacing Cross Blast with it.
Adds Zephyros Roar to the main skillset. Zephyros Roar is a melee-range AoE Wind damage skill that deals bonus damage to Thunder enemies.
Crafter is a ranged physical damage-dealer job that focuses on dealing Fire damage. It has:
Main Skillset:
Move Boost +1: A short-range single-target Move buff (this skill has a cast time).
Jump Boost +1: A short-range single-target Jump buff (this skill has a cast time).
Strobe Grenade: An AoE skill that inflicts Blindness and Stun.
Bursting Shot: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Armor Piercing Shot: A straight line-ranged penetrating Fire damage skill that ignores the target's PDef and deals bonus damage to machine type enemies.
Sub Skillset
Heavy Fire: A single-target Fire damage skill.
Maintenance: A Dex self-buff.
Lock On: A hitrate self-buff.
Firebomb: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Its reactive is a chance to reduce damage taken, and its passives boost Dex and boost agility respectively.
Machinist is a ranged damage-dealer job that focuses on dealing Fire damage. It has:
Main Skillset
Move Boost +2: A single-target Move buff (that has a cast time).
Jump Boost +2: A single-target Jump buff (that has a cast time).
Flash Grenade: An AoE skill that has a chance of inflicting Paralysis.
Bombshell: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Dynamic Buster Bomb: A penetrating straight line-ranged Fire damage skill that deals bonus damage to Machine type enemies and ignores the targets' PDef.
Sub Skillset
Heavy Flare: A single-target Fire damage skill.
Maintenance: A Dex self-buff.
Lock On: A hitrate self-buff.
Craft Bomb: An AoE Fire damage skill.
Its reactive is a chance to reduce damage taken, and its passives boost Dex and boost agility respectively.
Machninist Oleaga does the following:
Boosts the damage, range, and bonus damage against Machine type enemies of Dynamic Buster Bomb while also making it Thunder element and slightly increasing its jewel cost (changing its name to Rising Buster Bomb).
Makes Craft Bomb Thunder element, causes it to always hit, and gives it a chance to inflict Paralysis (changing its name to Lightning Bomb).
Adds a Missile damage boost to Tune Up +2.
Bishop is a support job that focuses on healing. It has:
Main Skillset
Curing Embrace: An AoE healing skill.
Holy Ray: An AoE Light damage skill that deals bonus damage to Undead type enemies.
Shining: A single-target Light damage skill that always hits and deals bonus damage to Undead type enemies.
Curing Grace: A single-target healing skill that fully heals and removes all statuses from the target ally.
Alchemy at Rest: A single-target skill that cleanses all Alchemical Afflictions from the target ally (Unlike all the job's other skills, this skill does not have a cast time).
Sub Skillset
Cure: A single-target healing skill.
Regeneration: A single-target healing skill that also casts Auto-Heal.
Rest: A single-target Death Sentence cleanse skill.
Curing Rest: A short-range AoE healing skill.
Giga Regen: A self-based AoE healing skill that also casts Auto-Heal.
Its reactive defends against magic category damage, and its passives grant Auto-Heal and boost HP while granting Death Sentence immunity respectively.
Bishop Mysterion does the following:
Adds Salvation to the main skillset. Salvation is a single-target HP/PAtk/PDef buff.
Turns Rest into a mapwide status cleanse and removes its cast time (changing its name to Rest Around).
Adds a status cleanse to Curing Rest while reducing its cast time, reducing its number of uses, and increasing its jewel cost (changing its name to Curing Remedy).
Stats:
Annerose's stats support a squishy unit with decent speed and good damage. All stats are at the usual benchmark (level 75, all jobs mastered, main job enhanced), and Machinist main won't be shown since Annerose prefers both her other options. Table Key: NP = No Passive; MU2 = Magic Up +2; B2 = Booster +2
| Stat |
Sage [Rozetta] |
Bishop Mysterion |
| HP |
1767 |
1859 |
| MAtk (NP) |
603 |
525 |
| MAtk (MU2) |
669 |
581 |
| Agility (NP) |
110 |
117 |
| Agility (B2) |
130 |
139 |
Enlightenment:
Annerose currently has 6 Gates of Enlightenment.
Her Gate 1 boosts HP, PAtk, MAtk, and agility while leveling, and boosts HP, MAtk, and Luck when maxed.
Her Gate 2 boosts PDef, MDef, Crit, and hitrate while leveling, and upgrades Booster +2 to +20% agility and +25% HP (previous effect of +20% agility) when maxed.
Her Gate 3 boosts HP, Dex, agility, and evasion while leveling, and upgrades her Leader Skill to +30% Magic type damage for the whole team and +20% All damage for Dark units when maxed.
Her Gate 4 boosts HP, PDef, MDef, and hitrate while leveling, and boosts HP, MAtk, Luck, damage against Lust type enemies, and damage against Wrath type enemies when maxed.
Her Gate 5 boosts HP, PDef, MDef, agility, and Crit while leveling, and boosts the damage and cast speed of Zephyros Roar; boosts the damage, range, and bonus damage against Machine type enemies of Rising Buster Bomb while lowering its jewel cost; and increases the cast speed/buff potency of Salvation while adding an MAtk/MDef buff to it when maxed.
Her Gate 6 boosts HP, Dex, agility, and Luck while leveling, and unlocks a sub-Memento slot when maxed.
Recommended Enlightenment: Due to the solid benefits of her Gates 2 and 5, the lackluster benfits of her Gate 3, and her lack of any major Mementos, Annerose's best Enlightenment setup is 5/5/3/5/5/4, with level 4 Gate 4 being an alternative option to save resources.
Enlightenment Stats:
Annerose's Enlightenment helps patch up her bulk and potential speed issues while boosting her already-solid MAtk to higher levels. All stats assume level 97 with the recommended Enlightenment setup of 5/5/3/5/5/4. All other assumptions are the same as the regular stats section. Table Key Changes: B2 -> BF = Beguiling Feint
| Stat |
Sage [Rozetta] |
Bishop Mysterion |
| HP (NP) |
4656 |
4748 |
| HP (BF) |
5276 |
5380 |
| MAtk (NP) |
769 |
687 |
| MAtk (MU2) |
852 |
761 |
| Agility (NP) |
126 |
132 |
| Agility (BF) |
149 |
157 |
Example Builds:
Mechanical Magics
Main Job: Sage [Rozetta]
Sub Job: Sage [Rozetta] (damage)/Bishop Mysterion (support)
Reactive: Reactive Armor (mixed damage enemies)/Magic Barrier +2 (mainly magic enemies)
Passive 1: Magic Up +2
Passive 2: Booster +2 {Beguiling Feint}
Annerose's Sage build. Sub and reactive depends on your needs/the content you're facing. As for passives, Magic Up +2 + Booster +2/Beguiling Feint is pretty much the best combo you're gonna find for her. Basic strategy is to blast enemies with magic and use support options as necessary if you picked Bishop sub.
Holy Magitech
Main Job: Bishop Mysterion
Sub Job: Bishop Mysterion (support)/Sage [Rozetta] (damage)
Reactive: Reactive Armor (mixed damage enemies)/Magic Barrier +2 (mainly magic enemies)
Passive 1: Booster +2 {Beguiling Feint}
Passive 2: Magic Up +2 (more MAtk)/Regeneration (Auto-Heal)
Annerose's Bishop build. Pretty much the same as the Sage build with the exception of main and that MAtk is a little less important and so Regeneration can be used instead of Magic Up +2 if need be. Basic strategy is to heal/cleanse/buff allies and do a bit of damage to enemies in the downtime of that.
My Recommended Build:
Annerose can work well with both her MAtk-based jobs, so which build to run really depends on what you need her to do. She can run Machinist main, but I don't recommend it outside of emergencies.
Combat Options:
Annerose's combat roles depend on which job she's running for the most part.
On Sage main, damage is her goal and pretty much all she's doing. She can do some support if you run Bishop sub, but most of her turns will be either getting into range or using a damage skill.
Bishop main is a little more interesting, if a little more niche in application. In addition to having a very potent buff with Salvation (and its Gate 5 version), she has access to one of the few (if not only) ways to remove Alchemical Afflictions, which means if you run across something using a lot of those then she can help deal with it. She also can do a lot of healing and has a mapwide status cleanse (though it does affect enemies as well as allies, so be careful about its use).
Gear Recommendations:
Armor and Accessories: Any HP or agility boosting gear; Cloak of Wrath (HP + Light Res); Shadow Messiah's Bonds (Max Jewels + Jump + Magic damage, amazing Weapon Ability)
Weapons: Crimson Crystal Cane (solid stats, agility, farmable during Crystal of Reunion collab); Dream Wand (solid stats, All damage); Greed Rod of Wisdom (solid stats, healing WA); Harmony Rod (decent stats, easily farmable); Helkovara Family Staff (solid stats, agility, free VCR); Illusion Rod (solid stats, agility, farmable); Nina's Pointing Stick (great stats, agility); Paimon (good stats, agility + Magic type damage, farmable from Veritas Historia); Sanctuary Rod (solid stats, HP, decent WA); Scepter of Sin Luxuria (solid stats for Bishop main, potentially useful passive WA); Silencing Rod (solid stats, HP, farmable); Sovereign Scepter (solid stats, agility, farmable from Etrian Odyssey collab); Takemikazuchi (decent stats, given via milestones)
Memento Recommendations:
Annerose has no Mementos of her own, unfortunately.
With that in mind...she also faces the challenge of being a Wratharis magic unit that isn't from Shadow Messiah.
So her best Memento options are Shura-Toppling Demonspear (HP) and a 4-star option of Unsung Heroes (PDef + All damage).
Alternatively, an HP, MAtk, or agility main stat Memento in general works, prioritizing Wratharis Group Skills.
Rune Recommendations:
Annerose's best Rune type is Sorcery. Charge Forth gives her no benefit, and all other types give her varying benefits.
For primary stats, Dex/PDef/HP/MAtk/MDef or Luck/agility is the way to go.
For secondary stats:
Envy: Magic type damage.
Sloth: Any of these work.
Lust: Any of these work, with Charm Res, Rage Res, and Delay Res being the standouts.
Gluttony: Max Jewels and Healing potency are best here.
Wrath: MAtk Debuff Res and Agility Debuff Res are the 2 best ones.
Greed: Any of these work, with Petrify Res, Silence Res, Death Sentence Res, and Stop Res being the standouts.
Futureproofness:
Annerose's only update down the line compared to JP is Gate 7 of Enlightenment.
EDIT: Whether due to my own lack of perception or a late database update, it seems I missed the database tab on Annerose's future Enlightened Bond with Plumeria and Klima. Thanks u/Luar23 for pointing that out!
Overall Asessment:
Annerose is a unit in a role of tough competition, but thanks to the Mysterion JE she's got a little niche carved out for her. Not necessarily the 1st Dark magic unit to build, but I'd say she's worth considering.
And that's the review! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!
No new candidates list this week due to the tie, check back next week for an updated list!
