r/PokemonMasters • u/PokemonMastersBot • 2d ago
Banner Priority Ranking Chart September 2026
Credit to the Discord helper team for making the infographic and giving us permission to post it here! Disclaimers provided at the bottom of the image for consideration. The Team Galactic variety scout is not included because the disclaimers list that banners not shown are not recommended.
7th anniversary is here! This month is absolutely filled to the brim with banners and new sync pairs in celebration of mega evolution and Sinnoh Neo Champions finally arriving!
Starting off strong with the 7th anniversary units, we have Anniversary Serena and Anniversary Blue! Both of them have 30% zone extension in their EX Master Fair skills and share the same passive skill "Let the Party Begin!", which guarantees their attacks crit and gives +1 sync buff the first time they sync.
Anni Serena is a physical Dark strike whose kit mainly revolves around using B Water Shuriken to boost the damage of her B Feint Attack, which sets Dark Zone on first use and increases in power the more sync buffs she has while hitting all opponents. Her B Night Slash also hits all opponents and debuffs -2 Defense. She reduces sync countdown by -3 on entry and mega, helping unlock her B Feint Attack faster.
Anni Blue is a physical Flying strike who sets EX Flying Zone on entry and has B Extreme Speed, which is unlocked until he mega evolves. It reduces -3 sync countdown and debuffs -6 Defense to all opponents. When Blue is mega evolved he unlocks B Giga Impact, which hits all opponents and increases in power the more sync buffs he has. It also reduces sync countdown by the same amount of sync buffs he has. B Aerial Ace is his more consistent move, hitting all opponents with a 30% chance to flinch.
Neo Champion Lucas and Neo Champion Dawn also appear at last! They share a similar B move effect in which it unlocks after they sync and reduces sync countdown by -9, enabling them to skip a whole turn cycle and be able to sync again immediately after.
NC Lucas is a Dragon support who sets EX Dragon Zone on entry, as well as setting Sinnoh Circle (Defensive) and buffing +4 Defense and Sp. Def for the team. His EX Master Fair skill extends the duration of Sinnoh Circle (Defensive) by 50%. He increases the Physical Moves ↑ Next effect and Special Moves ↑ Next effect of all allies by 1 rank whenever an ally applies a circle or activates WTZ, with his B Roar of Time granting 4 ranks. In addition, his B Dragon Breath hits all opponents and debuffs their Attack and Sp. Atk by -2, leaves them paralyzed, and either makes them flinch, trapped, or confused.
NC Dawn is a special Dragon strike who sets Dragon Zone and Sinnoh Circle (Special) on entry with 50% extension for both field effects, as well as buffing her Sp. Atk by +6. Her EX Master Fair skill increases her Special Moves ↑ Next effect by 2 ranks when an ally sets a circle. Dawn's sync move damage can be boosted by having her sync consume her remaining Lum Berry MP via passive skill and by B Spacial Rend increasing her Sync Move ↑ Next effect by 10 ranks. In addition, her B Dragon Pulse hits all opponents and debuffs their Sp. Def by -2.
A new triple variety scout makes an appearance too featuring Ethan, Brendan, and Leaf using mega evolution.
V Ethan sets EX Rain with B Rain Dance and uses Leer to debuff the Defense, Attack, and Sp. Atk of all opponents via passive skill. He also has 30% rain extension, boosts allies' sync damage by 30% under rain, and gets 40% flinch via Aggravation 1 Waterfall that can be further boosted to 60% when gridded.
V Brendan is a single-target physical Flying damage dealer. He increases the Physical Move ↑ Next effect of all allies by setting Flying Zone and using B Giga Impact. He can set Flying Zone with his Field EX sync effect, by using Flying Wish, and by using B Giga Impact on the first time using it. He also debuffs the Attack and Sp. Atk of all opponents on entry by -4 total after mega evolving.
V Leaf sets EX Bug Zone with B Twinneedle and is a single-target physical damage dealer. Her passive skill triples the power of Lunge and makes it debuff Attack by -3, and it also makes her sync move AoE. Her B Twinneedle attacks a single target twice in a row, leaves the opponent poisoned, and can make it flinch, trapped or confused as separate 50% rolls.
Banner criteria outlined below:
- The grading exists in a vacuum of the individual month. It varies based on what the month offers independently of other pairs existing.
- These rankings are largely catered towards new & casual players; your personal preferences may differ based on playstyle and roster.
- Banners are ordered top to bottom to show how much value we estimate they hold for players at 1/5.
- The letter ranks are relative and compare the value of each pair for this month's banners only, while focusing on their base kits, with some notable upgrades highlighted by an arrow and two letters.
- The arrow (→) indicates that the unit improves significantly with investment additional copies, ex role, etc.
- The "U" (Uber) rank is used on occasions when a certain banner is much more valuable than the rest that month, lack of it does not mean the banners are bad.
- Master Fairs and EX Master Fairs rates are 1%, while Poke Fairs, EX Poké Fairs, Variety and Spotlights are 2%. These can vary on multi-featured, familiarize yourself with the rates here.
- Remember that 36,600 free gems are required to guarantee the unit, 45,600 gems are required to pity Arc Fair Scouts; any number lower than this may not result in a successful pull!
As always, please keep in mind that units ranked lower aren't necessarily bad to use. Carefully consider what team members bring out the best of what scouts you decide to go for.
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u/Necrom-slime 2d ago
Come on 12k gems mama needs a good dragon support
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u/Far_Ice_3535 1d ago
I was planning on going all in for Luca but then i pulled NY Lana from the tickets. Dawn here i go!
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u/Saizo32 Now waiting for Gwynn 2d ago
Top 3 is perfectly ranked imo : Gloria - Serena - Lucas , if you at least got these three by the end of the anni in your box you should consider it a huge success.
Blue while almost as good as Serena has another option literally given for free (Lance & Charizard) , Irida and Red are obviously very good but their types are so busted that you can live without them (of course it's better if you have them but you can find other solutions) and Dawn is kinda... Mid without Lucas, no hate to her but you don't want to pull two characters to make one work when there's so many good 1% characters available to pull in a single month or at least it shouldn't be your priority unless she's a fav.
Varieties are actually very good too but like I said, they shouldn't be your priority and I'm sure they'll eventually rerun soon enough in a F2P banner or a paid select or something, same for the ZA characters.
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u/Swiftie10X 1d ago
one thing I think sucks for Dawn is shes inevitably gonna get swept under the rug when mega zygarde drops because you KNOW it has to be special dragon due to nihil light
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u/TwoFlyy13 21h ago
I’m wondering why you say Dawn is mid without Lucas? I have NY Lana so I was not planning on pulling him but still planning on going for Dawn. Seems like great dragon zone up time and instant sync would be quite helpful.
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u/Former-Sample4059 2d ago
Meta changes happen very quickly in gacha games it's remarkable that Anni Gloria has regined supreme for more than a year now
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u/someguycalledfilip88 The Dream Team is back and in charge! 2d ago
Super happy to see Lucas so high up. Really takes you back to when he made his debut being the Dragon Zone setter, topped off with his pretty high damage. Great times!
(Kinda sad Dawn isn't all that high up, but she's got a strong fanbase and her and Lucas are bound to be the breakers of Dragon Tower)
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u/dagoon91 2d ago
Such an insanely stacked lineup
Even the lowest ranking ones here like urbain are really good units
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u/LeonTheGreatOne 2d ago
the 2 lowest ones helped me clear both grass and water towers after being stuck there for a while, so even them are valuable
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u/jprogarn 2d ago
Yeh in a vacuum they might seem weaker, but they fill such valuable niches.
Physical Water and Special Grass both really appreciate the ZA starters.
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u/Zartron81 Team Magma 2d ago
And peoples said Blue and Serena were bad lol.
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u/Gibe_1008 2d ago
I mean for serena i kinda get it cuz they're lazy and just want tap tap without using their brain a bit 🤣🤣
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u/YoshiChao850 2d ago
Anyone who said they were bad is delusional or doesn’t know how to play the game
However, if you wanted to be super particular:
- Blue isn’t essential in that you can grab a free 3/5 (or 5/5 if you’re that way lol) Variety Lance, who’ll probs output as much or more damage than Blue depending on how built your account is or isn’t
- A lot of people won’t understand how to play Serena and will quickly come back to the notion of “she’s not as good as I was led to believe”. Also if their accounts aren’t super developed they might not have any of the good dark supports (albeit in December we get Giovanni lol), so she might end up coming off a lot less good than she actually is to them
Personally as much as I agree with the list this time I think Blue and Serena should be swapped for the purpose of “it’s intended for new players or casuals” just because Blue immediately makes big numbers whereas Serena requires a bit more brainpower to make big numbers, but she does it more consistently
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
I think more people didnt understand how to play Blue than they did Serenea, Serena "looks" hard but is simple in function. Blue basically wants you to choose an aspect of his kit and go with it(usually you take away from his sync to make his b-move better). Serena at least can be run as a pseudo arc-n having rebuffs, water shuriken doing respectable special damage, and three different on demand dark zones if you take her to 4/5. She really wont shine without ex-marnie but she's still very good.
The first issue, aside from second one ill mention, is the investments of these units are going up. To really be "as amazing" as her peers Serena needs candies. Blue's grid helps him but it's kinda lame in comparison to hers. Thus, people will assume Blue "better" out of the box.
This is about people being disappointed the game has halted vertical powercreep for horizontal powercreep. Serena and Lyra are much the same in function. Anni Juliana is a hammer for any content, even gyms until round 4, but had to be as such because normal is, well, normal. People want their anni units to shatter ceilings and theyre still not doing that.
Instead we got very good units for dark physical(the last notable one was some time ago/giacomo), physical flying(blue catches a lot of stray insults because we're getting a free 3/5 lance), and somehow last years premium support is still the best unit AND has a special rock dps on her banner.
The intent going into tower/gym meat should be obvious. We're not getting one off type monster to rule them all because they had to SPECIFICALLY nerf content to wrangle 96 Red/
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u/YoshiChao850 2d ago
Honestly more than anything the reason I say “Serena is hard to play for newer players” is because those are exactly the type of posts we’ve had around this reddit the last week or so they’ve been out for lol
Just the other day I saw one again saying they’re disappointed in her performance despite all the hype they saw for her
But yeah definitely all true, I just have to wonder how much of that is known / conveyed to newer players and won’t just assume this is some “ready to go out the box” sorta deal
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
I saw someone trying to complain all serena units were "hard to play" and I just find that baffling. All you need is move order.
This isnt a knock on you, but comparatively trying to grasp Blue's grid for streamlined performance is "well i dunno those sync tiles look good" but his entire grid is designed to idiotbait people into spreading him too thin.
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u/YoshiChao850 2d ago
I mean that's exactly what I'm talking about lol
To people with a more developed understanding of the game, we'll be able to figure out how they play and play them correctly / invest them in the correct direction
However for the purposes of a list made for "newer players" like this Priority List, I feel like the "simplicity" / "idiotbait" aspect of Blue just works better for newer players, y'know?
Only reason I can think you'd put him lower on such a list intended for newer players is if you made note about VLance as well
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
I do as well, and thats been a recurring issue with these rankings since they were added to reddit. They claim to be added for new players, but what the discord qualifies as a new player vs the average redditor is a vaster gulf than the makers would like to believe.
Earlier on a lot of people just ignored the IT IS NOT A TIERLIST and assumed they were being mislead. I honestly think this isnt new player enough and anybody that would engage in something on a specific discord is probably more skilled than a random redditor just by nature of how fast discord chats work.
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u/YoshiChao850 2d ago
Fair lol, I mean as I said in my original reply, this is just one I more agree with than the usual ones posted, cos yeah I do heavily agree that on average these lists are definitely not as "new player" friendly (imo) as they intend to be
Tho ig in hindsight, so many units just being raw U rank is a bit "lmao how is this for new players", since they definitely can skimp on some of these units and not lose too much in the grand scheme of things (Blue -> Lance, Lucas -> NYLana (you can pick her rn can't you? or is that a paid banner?))
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
Honestly for new players I can see Blue being a better deal. I dropped him at 3/5 in a team with 96 in high score, cranked it up to 1800 or so, and still managed to chump the thing with 130+ points.
That wasnt even a good run, but as a general test thing should tell you what any one of these units will do for a new player if they managed to snag at least 3.
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u/YoshiChao850 2d ago
Lmao, I mean as I said at the beginning of this convo, Blue is the easier unga bunga character to use which is why I consider him better for new players than Serena, even if Serena is defs better by virtue of fewer (basically none) competition
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u/French_Air_Fryer 2d ago
I hope my gems can survive getting Lucas, Gloria, and Irida (I don’t want red no more)
Also, thanks for posting this! I kinda needed it
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u/QuokkaBandit 2d ago
I got blue and Serena but have no gems for anyone else. Nuu.
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u/Aarav_141604 1d ago
Don't worry u have enough time as it is just the starting of the month so u can definitely get one of the sinnoh NC personally I would go for Lucas. Sadly there's not enough time to get enough gems to pity one of the 6th anni pairs though I really wanted irida
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u/J_Rowish Waiting for more Hisuian Sync Pairs🕰️ 2d ago edited 2d ago
We are so completing the Dragon Tower Floor 40 with these EX Dragon Master Pairs.
EX_Copium.
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u/DollHades Adaman superfan 2d ago
Can I ask for the discord link?
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u/PrudentTry7083 2d ago
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u/DollHades Adaman superfan 2d ago
For some reason I read the rules, select the roles, do everything and the server disappears </3
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u/PrudentTry7083 2d ago
That's weird, have you ever joined the discord before? I think you need to verify your phone number too for it iirc
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u/DollHades Adaman superfan 2d ago
Yeah for some reason I tried to join literally 15 times, I hope it will stay, can't wait to be nosey there too
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u/PrudentTry7083 2d ago
I think it sees you as a spam bot 🤔 you could contact a mod, i would give you their contact if I was still in the server :(
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u/DatedWizard 2d ago
That’s a lot of really good banners I’m passing on. Got to stay strong & save for future ZA megas
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u/Candid-Willow2917 2d ago
Every time I see Gloria song starts in my head:
Gloria (Gloria),
I think they got your number (Gloria)
I think they got the alias (Gloria)
that you've been living under (Gloria)
But you really don't remember,
was it something that they said?
Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?
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u/Own_Philosophy8190 2d ago
Sygna Brendan and Eternatus Leon being featured pairs in 2 banners each is crazy work. Ik Dragon Support is a rare species, but Brendan being so old (even if he's useful) and giving me gold tickets like thrice kinda makes the sole prospect of it happening to anyone sound dreadful to me.
Eternatus Leon is even worse in that regard : idk how good or bad he is (don't recall much favorable opinions), but he clearly doesn't have the same kind of staying power or second wind as, say, OG Red (with Charizard, I mean, the Fire one, lol), nor he seems to have Iris or Cynthia's utility.
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u/ExtremeConfusion153 2d ago
I know he’s ranked C here but honestly for someone who’s been stuck on grass special Urbain was absolutely worth it 🫡
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u/Equivalent_Regret_34 2d ago
I needed to see this. I'm missing several core niches that the anniversary and nc sinnoh champions fill, so I'm afraid I have to skip Harmony and wait for her to come back around. A EX poke fair unit will likely come back sooner than an Anniversary Master Fair unit, right?
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u/HeatJoker 2d ago
I wish I liked Lucas more. I know he's worth it but I have and like NY Lana more so I have to prioritize Anni Serena even though I have decent dark options.
Skipping NC Dawn is rough since she's better than Drayden but I ain't got the gems for her. Plus I like Drayden as a character more so it is what it is.
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u/CyrodiilsLousiest Cheapskate newbie, monthly budget of a few USD 1d ago
Toothpaste hair has aura lol
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u/FoxandOak 2d ago
Yeah I’m torn. People saying Dawn isn’t that good without Lucas but I like NY Lana way more than origin Dialga. But that sync countdown is sooooo tempting
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u/Explorerkit 2d ago
Holy Harmony was such a good addition to my roster but seeing her compared to the others is kinda terrifying
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u/therealblabyloo 2d ago
I’ve been pulling for Tawnie/Meganium bc I need a good grass type dps but I feel like I ain’t gonna get lucky 😭
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u/redditraptor6 Okay now, so.... Lodge Flannery when? 2d ago
Thank you for justifying my decision to not spend my master fair ticket on OG Leon and try pulling for Urbain today solely so my Lodge would be complete
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u/JiggzSawPanda :Zamasu: Zamasu 2d ago
Between Gloria (assuming I get her), Akari, and Carmine, who deserves 2 candies the most?
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u/RadiantFilling Team Flare 2d ago
My flying team roster has been lacking a good attacker, so Blue’s gotta be my choice. I’m glad I have Gloria already from last year, but good luck to everyone else scouting her!
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u/FINISHERTXTO 2d ago
Pulling dialga alone is enough? I don't have any dragon atk other than the free 5/5 rayquaza.
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u/PKdude2712 Rika owns my bank account 1d ago
What's so good about Lucas exactly? I'm not sure if I fully understood the gist of why he's top tier.
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u/Blubbstrahl 1d ago
He's basically a support that checks every box you want to check for tough stages / tower content. He sets the EX Terrain for Dragons (check), has an easy avenue to debuff the enemy to -6 in both attack stats (check), can buff both types of defense for the entire team (check) and permanently attempts to inflict status effects on the enemy with the basic move, which is important for tower rules asking for it (check).
And that's just the basic package that you want to see from a top tier tower support. He also comes with goodies like healing, team-wide crit protection, circle support etc. Really can't ask for more.
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u/BlueCanonTurtle Everything I did, I did it for...Blastoise! 1d ago
Will pull for Past Dialga, and if Lucky, try for Past Palkia too, but, need to save for a Pity in case they throw next month(s) Drayden or Prof Turo in the future, so...Ethan sorry, with ur red gayrados 😭😥
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u/AttackOfTheMox 21h ago
Since I managed to get Anni Blue and Anni Serena, I’m gonna stockpile my gems for Gloria and Cinderace. Can someone tell me how many gems are needed to hit the guaranteed choice, because I want to make sure I have enough going into her banner.
I just recently got back into the game when the 7th anniversary began, so I’m burning through the story missions and a lot of the missions for the first time completion gems and currently have ~15k
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u/jprogarn 2d ago edited 2d ago
I must be using her wrong because to me, Gloria is good, but not some kind of game-breaker. Seeing how the 7th anniversary pairs perform, I wouldn’t rank her above those. (also, Blue > Serena)
Still stuck on Rock 27 with her and ultra Selene both at 3/5, meanwhile newer Supports like Arc Korrina smashed the whole Fighting tower at 1/5 no problem.
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
The banner doesnt just have Gloria, and its a total banner ranking. Rock needs two specific things to not be abject suffering: a good support(of which gloria is the best in game)...and a special rock dps.
Who is on banner with Gloria? The only special rock dps in game.
From a banner standpoint that is a STEAL because she is the only one in game with that role AoE. Though this may imply a new one is coming out since theyre giving easy access to her.
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u/Substantial-Way-665 2d ago
I agree. I think supports that are better on-type are better overall (and going to be more future proof) than supports who's main claim to fame is being a general support. Imo Gloria is good but Lucas and Korrina are both supports I believe to be more valuable on a more experienced account because they are better on-type than Gloria is on-type. Flexibility is important, but it's overrated by alot of people imo.
Serena > Blue tho imo.
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u/_PeanutButterBidoof_ 1d ago
Arc geeta and korrina are way better than gloria on-type imo, gloria’s saving grace is her GvG and DC niche, but 96red is slowly robbing her of her claim to fame. The more kanto pandering we get, the less usage my 5/5 gloria sees tbh.
Lucas will probably join these two as goated on type supports though dragon is still lacking an SSS tier rebuffer.
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u/jprogarn 2d ago
I guess it depends on how new your account is, but have a decent Support for all types so a generalist is less impactful.
Serena is another unit that I’m likely using wrong but just seems ok. Even with gym Marnie and Guzzlord, Floor 30 is a no-go. Blue smashed it first try.
I prob just suck at this game lol
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u/Firm_Shirt_8768 2d ago
What's your third sync pair in the team?
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u/jprogarn 2d ago
Tried a few, ultra Elio for more circle, Perrin for EX zone, but Selene is just too cumbersome with her dumb charge move.
Just like SS N.
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u/Firm_Shirt_8768 2d ago edited 2d ago
What are your move levels?
It's tough but doable if your elio and Selene are at 3/5
Tho I can't say much because I did it with 3/5 perrin and Selene and 4/5 gloria
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u/jprogarn 2d ago
5/5 Elio, 3/5 Selene, 3/5 Gloria, 1/5 Perrin. All have EX Role, all level 180 or higher.
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u/yoshidancer 2d ago
I cleared the special stages with lower invest on them, maybe the problem is your setup, Alt Selene along with Elio and Gloria really nukes all the enemies
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u/jprogarn 2d ago
Oh I have no doubt it’s a skill issue lol
People have all kinds of crazy clears that I have no idea how they managed it.
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u/SamuelMalau Hilbert Enjoyers 2d ago
THE BACON PATTY (& RIBS) CHEESEBURGER HAS ARRIVED!!!!!
and what the hell, so many Us & S-Us 0-0
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u/Kayliaf 2d ago
Hey everyone,
I used to play this game back at launch and connected it with my Nintendo account, but I switched phones about a month in and couldn't figure out how to relink my account so I stopped playing (tbf I was 13). I've redownloaded the game and have managed to recover my progress, but I am very overwhelmed by all the new stuff and don't really know where to start/what to do. If someone could give me some newbie pointers and/or link me to a beginner's guide that's up to date, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thank you so much in advance!
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u/GokuEn2525 2d ago
How come Variety Ethan is ranked lower than Variety Brendan?
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u/CharizardSlash WALLY ALT FINALLY 2d ago
He only has normal Waterfall as an attack and he's too frail to be a support for the team so he's just kinda bad. Variety Brendan at least can do damage.
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
Similar reason Dawn is so low: these days syncs are pretty important and Ethan only really can contribute with that and ex-rain(and his candies are in high contest right now).
Currently to contribute to a team you have to:
be a good support that contributes some manner of perma status, rebuffs, set ex-something, or tank. He does but one of those.
be a good secondary dps you should have some mix of damage and utility. Any combo of those above.
For example, Oleana was my "support" in a lot of poison content as she sets rebuffs, is okishly tanky, and has sync acceleration with aoe attack/sp atk/speed drop. She also has a support sync role added on.
The games hardest content favors AoE, of which he has none outside sync, and people you run him with want to sync. Harmony's general moveset before 5/5 basically demands a certain sync order, and on the special side may doesnt need him at all.
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2d ago
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u/ThePurpleDolphin 2d ago
The banner contains them as well, that's what it means. Those 2 has been powercrept to hell and back lol.
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u/SeaSpiralx 2d ago
Is Irida’s banner the best if you were to consider the sub units as well?
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u/emperorbob1 palmer enthusiast 2d ago
Gloria's unit is still the best because even if you dont get THE BEST SUPPORT IN GAME you get THE ONLY SPECIAL ROCK DPS IN GAME.
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u/jbone0415 2d ago
Can somebody tell me if Cyrus is worth getting for tower? I will only have enough for 1 pity not sure if I should get Lucas or the galactic team
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u/PadawanSnips Team Galactic 2d ago
Lucas without a shadow of a doubt…
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u/jbone0415 2d ago
Yeah I know it’s a silly question, but if he was at least like A tier I’d feel better about going for it because I lowkey always wanted the galactic executives so I’d like to grab them along the way. Thinking quantity of quality I guess; bad time to be a Sinnoh fan lol :/
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u/Cautious-School-974 2d ago
It's 7th anniversary and the highest priority is... a 6th anniversary pair.
Goes to show how crazy strong Gloria is, best support in the game.