#anyway I love this mode truly I can’t wait for is4 😂

[hypaalicious]

IS3 thoughts

Aiight so once again, no one asked for this so ofc I’m gonna share my opinions (story spoiler free) on the newest Integrated Strategies incarnation!

I’ve completed every ending with every squad and gotten all the collectibles already, which went MUCH faster than IS2. But as I continue to play through all the difficulty levels (yes I’m a masochist) I expect some of these thoughts to change.

OKAY LEGGO:

Best Rejection - Concentration Disorder

As a proud AFKnights kind of Doctor, I willingly subject my entire squad to this so I don’t have to think 😂

Worst Rejection - Metastatic Aberration

This can be a run-ender if it hits your cornerstone Operators 😩

Best Enlightenment - Leithanien’s Elegance

It was a toss up between this and Victoria’s Honor but since ranged units are always squishy this one gives a higher advantage

Worst Enlightenment - Columbia’s Inspiration

What am I supposed to do with a funky lil 70 bonus exp on one battle only?? 😒

Best Starting Squad - People-Oriented Squad

Having everyone cost one less Hope to recruit is kinda OP, ngl

Worst Starting Squad - Spearhead Squad

Fuck this squad forever. 🤬 The stat bonuses aren’t good enough to subject yourself to the pain of losing light on default every time you battle

Best Call of We Many - Echoes: Predation

Okay so, I am one of the few that loved Survivalist hallucinations in IS2 so yeah the ASPD boost will always win for me even if your Medics be healing like 27 HP at a time… but you don’t need to heal if you murk everything fast enough!

Worst Call of We Many - Echoes: Adaptation

When you tryna get a certain Encounter or Battle but you can’t fucking see the nodes in front of you is PEAK annoyance

Best good relic - Chivalric Commandments - New Addition

Nothing is beating the ASPD boost endorphins, sorry 🤷🏽‍♀️

Worst good relic - Sui’s Wrath

If you disagree you have never had this relic and attempted to complete Ubi bona somnia 🥲

Easiest 3rd floor boss - Course Correction

Just get you some carpet bomber DPS or a reaper guard to stall this mfkr and his lil minions; when you beat him all the hellspawns die and you are left with easy stage completion

Worst 3rd floor boss - Eternal Wrath

Saint Iberia only has one shot, but he will wipe your entire party if you don’t murk him before he comes around the bend, especially if you don’t have a fast redeploy to get rid of the radar people

Hardest battle node - Out of Control (Emergency)

Straight cancer. 😭 You gotta park everyone up at the blue boxes and pray you somehow survive the first half of the stage with all them running enraged Sarkaz fucks. Honorable mention - Ubi bona somnia (Emergency) cause WHYYYY are there two Origitant mutants here???

Easiest endgame node - Curse of Cognition

Very straightforward stage, especially if you can stun the boss to where it falls down and your melee Operators can curb stomp it

Hardest endgame node - Fate’s Favored Child

I guess since BSL in IS2 happened, the 2nd ending boss is always gonna be terribly fucking annoying. Freezing Operators each attack they do??? Straight up running to the exit in second phase and can only be hit by ranged units??? The mobs?? FUCK YOU

Hardest Encounter Battle - Business Empire?

Ngl I have not reliably beat this stage yet without major leaks because holy shit I wasn’t prepared to fight all three side characters at once! It also pops up very rarely for me due to RNG so I don’t get much practice either

Hardest relic to get - Last Refrain

Don’t talk to me about this stupid thing; I have done over 100 runs I swear and I only got this Encounter ONCE and that was after I had already gotten all endings multiple times over and my light was at like 10 or something on the run

Best improvement over IS2 - easier to unlock different ending events

There were SO MANY runs I did in IS2 that didn’t pan out because I only got one encounter out of the two I needed to open up the 3rd or 4th endings. This does not happen to me in IS3

Worst “improvement” over IS2 - not enough Encounter nodes

It’s cool to have Wonderland stuff or Dispatches or Tulip Commissions but I think the ratio is kinda off. If you’re tryna get all the relics this can be annoying cause you’ll only have a handful of Encounter modes to aim for per run

What I miss from IS2 that ain’t make it into IS3 - Shadow relic

I absolutely loved getting this relic and trying to build a squad full of nothing but temp recruitments, cause it’s not only a way to try out Operators you may not own, it makes it fun to figure out strats with the most random but maxed out group of Operators ever

Goated Operators (very subjective and general):

Goldenglow (nothing is beating her global range and relic synergy)

Horn (just her s1 alone will clear maps)

Flametail (synergy with relics that increase attack upon dodge)

Texas the Ometerosa (she trivializes most of this content especially with relics)

Pozemyoka (want to beat the 3rd ending boss in 8 seconds right from stage start? She’s your girl)

Gnosis (freezing flying Seaborn will ground them and it’s so funny to watch)

Lappland (her silence is goated, we learned this during the Stultivera Navis event)

Whisperain & Lumen (you are gonna need that status resistance especially if you are fighting The Last Knight)

Mulberry (she has higher elemental damage recovery than Honeyberry who was the MVP of IS2)

Blue Poison (her S1, especially if mastered, is unmatched. Even better than Exu)

Jaye (you will not fear the Water & Fire Union stage if you have him)

Thorns (ironically I don’t choose him UNLESS I can quickly E2 him because he’s mid without access to his S3)

Highmore (she doesn’t beat La Pluma in anything EXCEPT IS3, and I always start a run with her cause her 3-block is delicious)

#also you know what’s hard? keeping the last knight alive through your whole fucking run #cause don’t let the damn bear show up and you can’t beat him before he punches TLK out #or you gotta do a stage with Pompeii in it and it’s just spewing lava on everyone #just everything about that boss and his stage is not very fun LOL #also damn truly why is IS3 this depressing?? 😭 #none of the files are happy like???? #this up there with Children of Ursus type depression idk #also fuck that crying dog from SSS #why they put him in here? the insta stun and camoflauge combo irks me #anyway I love this mode truly I can’t wait for is4 😂 #arknights #integrated strategies