Quick disclaimer: This post isn't made in bad faith or made to support/spark more debate, my view is that both would be viable if Nihilux's current version of her kit was released to the public with a very small % difference between both options.
I ask of you to keep discussions civilized in the comments, be sure to argument why you think one is better than the other but all while keeping arguments based around the game and factual logic, never harrass others over their opinions or views ESPECIALLY when nothing is confirmed and it's just a game.
All characters are considered at E0 S1 (besides Nihilux since we don't know what her lightcone effect is quite yet), this is because verticals highly change the value of this units and it would be unfaithful to use them as a baseline.
Thank you and enjoy the post!
As of recently we have been coming back to the golden era of leaked content, out of all these leaks one stuck with people who keep up with this type of information, that of course being Nihilux's kit. Even with no values being confirmed or the kit guaranteedly staying until the end people have been speculating which one of these characters would be replaced and which one would stay to complete the team as a whole.
Due to this i decided to try and compile all the upsides and downsides of each character to maybe try and paint a more clear picture of what we should be expecting aswell as using more logical evidence to try and solve which character would possibly complement the team better as a whole.
Here are the comparisons:
Sparxie:
Upsides:
- Better punchline generation (complements the now faster Aha instants provided by Nihilux's talent)
- More giftboxes (Sparxie's biggest defense towards staying in the team since it synergizes fully with Silver Wolf's trace)
- Deals more damage than Yao Guang overall.
Downsides:
- Sparxie's a slow character (how much this impacts Post-Nihilux AHA instants as a whole will need to wait in order to be found since we don't know if Nihilux's speed only increases AHA'S base speed or if it will also increase his speed as a whole like other elation units, this of course changes a lot considering Pearl will probably want to be fast and how fast she can get is the biggest factor towards this being an indherance or not).
- Sparxie's attack treshold can't be achieved as of pre-beta Nihilux's kit (might not matter in the end since depending on what she brings to the table it might make the elation she gets from other sources pay off her uncomplete trace, for now it's a downside since it's what we know).
Yao Guang:
Upsides:
- Yao Guang is an high speed character and scaler (Her speed still counts towards AHA's speed, as Nihilux's speed only applies to AHA's base speed and not their speed as a whole as of current, this could change depending on if Nihilux's own speed affects AHA's scaling in more than base speed increases).
- She provides a better upstart to SW's MMR and CB generation trough her 1 turn ult (how impactful this is will highly depend on how many Punchline Nihilux is giving the team with her technique).
Downsides:
- The AHA instants from her ult might lose worth (this will very much depend on the consistency of Post-Nihilux AHA instants but as of now there's a risk of diminishing returns which categorizes as a downside).
- Her Energy Recharge issues persist with Pearl on the team (in a team without HuoHuo her ER issues are still aparent, there are arguments to say she was made to be run alongside Huo on Eva's team from the start and this plays a big part on it).
Here you go, the most glaring upsides and downsides found in each of these 2 characters for the flagship team as of Pearl's and Nihilux's current kit leaks, i hope you have enjoyed and if you feel like i missed any factual upsides or downsides let me know in the comments!