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Honkai: Star Railhas officially announced that Castorice and Anaxa will be the two new characters who will be introduced to the game alongside version update 3.2. They will not only add to the Amphoreus roster but also play a significant role in the story.
As such, even though there has been a lot of hype, free-to-play players might not know who they should spend their hard-earned Stellar Jades on. If you’re unsure of whether to pull for Castorice or Anaxa, this guild will help point you in the right direction.
Everything you will read here is based on what was shown in the livestream for version 3.2. We haven’t used leaks regarding the characters and their kits.
Should You Pull For Castorice
Castorice is a5-star Quantum Remembrance unitand arguably one of the strongest characters that have been shown in a while. For starters,Castorice is an HP scaling characterwho will consume her health to deal damage.
Additionally,she summons a massive dragon called Netherwingwith her ultimate ability, which also consumes HP and deals devastating damage to enemies. While Netherwing is on the field, the arena is transformed with flowers and the moon is highlighted.
Castorice’s Unique Traits And Skills
Castorice, apart from dealing a lot of damage, alsoplays around her allies. For instance,Castorice’s enhanced skill allows her to consume her allies' HPand give it to Netherwing, who will continue to deal damage to enemies. ThisHP consumption increases the damage outputof both Castorice and Netherwing.
However, Netherwingprotects all party members from receiving a fatal blow. It’s still highly recommended to have a healer in the team when playing with Castorice, but as long as your party is alive, her damage will continue to rise, making endgame content easier.
If Castorice uses her Technique to start a battle, Netherwing is summoned directly onto the field. Otherwise, you will have to charge up Castorice’s stacks by either dealing damage to enemies, or through your allies losing their HP. Once the stacks are full, you can summon Netherwing onto the battlefield.
Finally, Castorice has one last trick, and it is also the most controversial one:she can revive allies when they take a fatal blow. What’s more, Castorice doesn’t always need to be at the party for this to work, since,as long as she is on your account, you will have a free revivefor any ally who receives a fatal blow in all kinds of content.
This pretty much makes Castorice a must-pull characterin a game where endgame content has been growing difficult with every successive patch. Since bosses keep getting stronger, the chances of your party receiving a fatal blow have become quite common.
Should You Pull For Anaxa
Anaxa is a Wind Erudition unit that inflicts weaknesson enemies. You can think ofhis skill similarly to what Silver Wolf can do, though Anaxa is significantly stronger with a lot of positives.
For starters, he can use hisnormal attacks to inflict a weakness on an enemy, which keeps increasing as he continues to attack. Additionally, he can use hisultimate ability to inflict all element weaknesses on enemies, and also stun them in place. The enemies will be able to move only if they have Control RES.
Anaxa’s Unique Traits And Skills
Implanting weaknesses on enemies is a powerful skill to have —Anaxa can run in all kinds of team compositionsand make several DPS units viable regardless of their element.It’s unclear right now how many turns the weaknesses will last, but simply judging by the description provided in the livestream, it looks strong.
Additionally, Anaxa is not just about weaknesses, ashe can also deal a lot of damage.His skills can bounce between targets, and the more they hit, the higher damage they inflict.
Anaxa’s Talent creates a state called Qualitative Disclosure when enemies are afflicted with a certain number of weaknesses. All enemies will receive additional damage when in this state. Also, Anaxa can trigger an additional Skill ability when attacking enemies in this state.
Finally, from a meta point of view, Anaxa will offer more value than Castorice, as he will open up a lot more options for you. His ability to inflict weaknesseswill come in handy not just in version 3.2, but also in the future as well. Not a lot of characters do high damage while working as a support unit.
Pull For Characters You Like
Both Castorice and Anaxa are extremely powerful unitsin their own right, and they will define the meta in the coming days. One of them is a powerful DPS who offers a free revive by just being present in your account, while the other can inflict all weaknesses on enemies, thereby making several teams viable.
However, as free-to-play players, you must alwaysthink of characters that you like rather than what is important for the meta. This is because, even though Castorice and Anaxa are strong now, they will not be strong forever. Eventually, other meta characters will replace them, similar to what happened with past units like Luocha, Firefly, and even Acheron to some extent.
On the contrary, if you pull for characters you like,you won’t have to worry about the metaor force yourself in clearing the end-game content, since you will have fun with the units that you enjoy.
In short,Stellar Jades are limited, and as free-to-play, you won’t be able to get everyone, which makes focusing on enjoyment a lot more valuable than chasing the meta.
