grandfates

[grandfates]

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO...

Hi all! With the upcoming NA release of Fate/Grand Order on June 25th, I thought I’d write up a beginner’s guide on how to get started! There’s a lot of things I wish I knew when starting the game, so I’ll compile some advice into this post!

This guide will assume that you have finished the tutorial and will have three parts:

1. Terminology - What Does X Mean? How Does It Affect Battles? 2. Powering Up - Craft Essences, Skills, Interludes, and Grailing 3. Team-Building - Picking a Team You Like, and Some Suggestions

If you want to peruse the information yourself, some helpful resources are below. I’ll do my best to keep this updated, so keep checking back on the original post.

-Fate/Grand Order Wikia (X) - Provides tons of guides and explanations for beginners. Acts as a database for Craft Essences, Servants, and more!

WARNING, THE BELOW SITES CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE GAME’S STORY AND FUTURE EVENTS.

-Cirnopedia (X) - A database for Craft Essences, Servants, and more! Provides guides for events. -Reddit (X) - The F/GO Subreddit thread. Usually provides helpful guides on events and Servants and whatnot. May be spoilers heavy.

Now, without further ado, let’s begin!

1. TERMINOLOGY In Fate/Grand Order, Servants have skills. Some of these skills buff or debuff things like “Star Absorption Rate” and “Debuff Resistance.” These are all referring to traits, some of which are hidden. Let’s use two examples: Hans Christian Andersen and Child Gilgamesh!

All Servants have Passive/Class Skills, which are visible on their profiles! (Don’t worry about the Japanese, if you’re playing the NA Version it’ll be in English.)

Passive/Class Skills typically give you boosts to damage, resistance against certain status effects, or increase the likelihood of casting a debuff on an enemy. The descriptions will generally be self-explanatory!

Hidden Stats are a little trickier. You have to go digging for these because they aren’t located on a Servant’s profile! But having a general understanding of them can help you make a good team.

Let’s compare Andersen and Child Gil. Using Cirnopedia or the F/GO Wikia, we bring up their hidden stats:

Whoa! There are some huge differences in those stats! But what do these numbers mean?

NP Gain (Attack/Defense): How quickly you fill up your NP bar when attacking or being attacked. The higher this is, the faster you can smack your enemy with your special move!

Star Weight: The rate at which you absorb critical stars. This is also affected by star absorption abilities. Each turn, your Servants can produce critical stars which are then distributed next turn, allowing you a chance of a critical hit! The higher this is, the more stars your Servant will absorb.

Star Rate: The rate at which you produce critical stars. The higher this is, the more stars you’ll create!

Death Rate: The lower this is, the lower your chances are of being insta-killed. This doesn’t come into play too often, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Traits/Attributes: Only comes into play with certain attacks or skills. Again, I wouldn’t worry about it too much unless you have a Servant targeting a specific one.

“Wait!!” You cry out! “I don’t want to pull up a wiki each time I make a team! That’s an absurd amount of work!”

Not to worry! You don’t have to memorize the actual numbers unless you want to play a little more hardcore. All classes possess a certain propensity for certain stats. In general...

Casters have the fastest NP Gain. Riders have the heaviest Star Weight, followed by Archers. Assassins have the highest Star Rate.

But I cannot emphasize enough that everything depends on the unit you use. For example, the Caster Irisivel has abhorrent NP Gain -- only 0.42% when attacking! Ouch!

Furthermore, skills and team set-up may mitigate some weaknesses. Putting a Rider and an Assassin together allows your Rider to make tons of critical hits while your Assassin makes it rain with stars! If you don’t want to look up the numbers, the best way to figure out which unit works for you is through trial-and-error. Think of it like Pokemon ;)

2. POWERING UP Now that you’ve received a crash course on Servant stats, let’s talk about how to make your Servants the best they can be. In the game, you may roll something called Craft Essences from the free or paid gacha!

Think of these as equipment for your Servants. All CEs confer an extra “skill” to your Servants while giving them a lil stat boost. They may boost your attack, boost your defense, allow you to heal more, and so much more! It’s all in the description, so this section will be fairly short ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

I cannot emphasize this enough: participate in events! Events typically have limited CEs that they give out for free or in the paid gacha. And a lot of these are super useful!

You’re also capable of doing something called Limit Breaking. This means you combine 4 copies of the CE in order to boost its effects. This also raises its level!

In regards to max leveling CEs - I don’t suggest it. It uses a lot of time and resources that you could be better spending on your Servants.

The rarest of all CEs are Max Bond CEs. These are only unlocked after you’ve achieved a full 10/10 Bond with your Servants. Depending on your Servant, they may possess powerful effects beyond normal CEs! The only downside is that they must be equipped to the Servant they’re attributed to. You can find them all on this page. 

Skills are abilities Servants can use in battle! You’re able to level up skills much the same way you can level up a Servant, through materials and QP. Since these are self-explanatory--and somewhat expensive to raise--my suggestion is to raise the skills you use the most. The difference between a Lv. 1 (10%) and a Lv. 6 skill (15%) may give you that edge you need to win!

Interludes and Strengthening Quests are a series of battles you can undergo in order to strengthen your Servant’s skill or NP! I highly suggest these since a) Interludes include a mini-scenario where you learn more about your Servant’s personality, b) you typically gain a Saint Quartz from completion, and c) it makes your Servant stronger in battle.

Finally, Grailing basically raises your level cap for your Servants. You receive a Grail each time you complete a chapter or participate in certain events. This is especially helpful for 3* and below Servants, whose survivability are often limited by their HP!

There is no right or wrong way to Grail. Some people use their Grails on only their most powerful 5* while some use their Grails on 2*. It’s wholly up to you and it depends on which Servant you love the most. The best thing about F/GO is that smart team building can often overcome the absence of a certain unit. There is no “one super powerful” Servant, so choose who you want to raise!

3. Team-Building As you play F/GO, you’ll find yourself changing your teams frequently. Some bosses require a different approach than others, so plan accordingly! And don’t be frustrated if something doesn’t work out. Some battles are a matter of trial-and-error.

Since everyone’s Servants will be different, here are some general tips:

1. How Am I Dealing Damage? Are you using a Berserker? Will you rely on NPs? How you build your team will depend on how you choose to beat up the enemy! If you want a Berserker/Buster-oriented team, choose Servants that can buff your main attacker or whose card set-up can create Buster chains. If you’re aiming for a critical-oriented team, don’t put multiple Riders on your frontline! All those stars will go willy-nilly and that’s asking for trouble.

2. Does the Enemy Have a Gimmick? Are they an Assassin whose NP gauge fills up rapidly? Is it a Demon Pillar, which makes it strong against Sabers, Archers, and Lancers? Do they have a dodge skill? You won’t always know what enemies have in store for you, but once you’ve had enough experience with certain maps you’ll have an idea of how to prepare.

3. Does My Team Synergize? “Well,” you say, “if it’s a matter of damage why don’t I just put ALL my 4 and 5 stars into the same--”

Stop right there!! Attack isn’t the only thing that matters in F/GO. If your team synergy is terrible, the fight won’t go smoothly for you. Furthermore, Servant costs add up very quickly if you’re relying solely on 5 stars.

The above team, while full of SSRs, doesn’t give much in the way of CE choice. Even if it does work, you’re relying primarily on brute force. Which, granted, isn’t a bad way to play but it can only get you so far. For one, almost none of these 5* skills aid each other. If your team needs a boost, they won’t get that increase needed for maximum damage.

Keeping Tamamo in our roster, we use her ability to boost Arts and combine her with some fellow Arts boosters! Since Robin and Kuro have powerful single-target Arts NP, the idea is to spam as much of their NP as possible. Caster Gilgamesh and Andersen are capable of providing stars, so this essentially creates a nifty Arts-Critical team meant to kill Saber bosses quickly.

And the cost is just right!

4. Get Yer Mystic Codes Get all of them as soon as you can! Different Mystic Codes allow you to cast different buffs on your Servants, which in turn allows you to diversify your team set-up.

And finally, the one question everyone wants to know: Which Servants should I roll for?

Keep in mind that a 5* rarity =/= a good Servant. I have several 5*s on my Japanese account which I don’t use because they’re extremely niche and don’t perform as well as my 4*s or even 3*s! I’ve listed some free gacha Servants my friends and I have found helpful, but this is by no means a solid guide.

1. Mashu (Shielder) - 3* Raise. Mashu. As much as you can. With 0 cost, invulnerability, defense up, AND a taunt that raises your NP bar, she’s one of the best Servants you’ll ever have. And you get her for free! Don’t neglect your kouhai. Love her.

2. Cu Chulainn (Lancer) - 3* There’s a reason why so many people use Cu even when they’ve gained higher star Servants. With Guts, Dodge, and Debuff removal, Cu is legendary for surviving almost any situation you throw him into. With the right support, this dog can outlast anything.

3. Hans Christian Andersen (Caster) - 2* A cheap and versatile healer. His NP provides ATK, DEF, and Star Gen up while also healing 1000 HP per turn. His skills also provides critical stars and increases critical damage.

4. Robin Hood (Archer) - 3* Easily one of the best Archers in game, and with his possible damage output, it’s easy to see why. Provide him with a good Arts support team and he’ll kill any Saber you point him at with ease.

5. David (Archer) - 3* With his group-wide Dodge Buff AND removal of debuffs--not to mention his ability to increase the party’s attack--David is an excellent support Archer who can fit on most any team.

6. Euryale (Archer) - 3* Euryale fits a specific niche: killing male enemies and doing it well. With her charm and powerful NP, she’s able to stall off the enemy’s NP and attacks while killing them with a smile.

7. Sasaki Kojirou (Assassin) - 1* If you need a cheap Assassin who can deal a huge amount of critical damage, Koujirou’s your man. There’s a reason why he’s called the Savior of France when the game first launched.

8. Any Event Servant - 4* In events, you sometimes gain a free Servant that’s fairly easy to level up and final ascend. Collect as many of these as you can. The developers themselves have said they intended these Servants to act as 4.5*s and they’re sometimes powerful enough to overshadow some 5*s in certain situations.

I can’t really speak for which paid gacha Servants (4*/5*) you should roll for. From my experience, the ones most people want:

Sabers: Lancelot, Nero Claudius, Altera Archers: Tristan, Artoria Pendragon, Ishtar Lancers: Elizabeth Bathory, Scathach Riders: Martha, Francis Drake, Anne Bonny & Mary Read, Ozymandias Casters: Zhuge Liang, Tamamo no Mae, Merlin Assassins: Carmilla, Jack the Ripper, Shuten Douji Berserkers: Hercules, Nightingale, Cu Chulainn [Alter], Ibaraki Douji Extra Class: Jeanne D’Arc, Jeanne D’Arc [Alter], Martha [Ruler]

Some Servants are story-locked, which means you’ll have to clear a certain chapter before you can roll for them. You can check this by looking up their page on a wiki.

Again! Keep in mind that rarity =/= usefulness. It all depends on what you need as a player.

And that should about wrap up my guide! Don’t forget, the most important thing is that you have fun. Fate/Grand Order is a unique experience in that it combines a visual novel with a gacha game. There’s so much to read for almost every character and I hope you find a character you love while playing this game. And, of course, that you enjoy the wonderful story that lies ahead of you :D

And if you’ve got any game-related questions, send me an ask at my main blog, @tackypies! I’d be more than happy to help!

#fgo #fate grand order #fsn #fate #my writing

[grandfates]

Rating: M Characters: William Shakespeare (Caster), Francis Drake (Rider) Summary: A captain and a writer get drunk and raunchy. Basically, PWP. 

"Its staying power is ten times beyond that of any normal human's. Nay, a hundred! The age of machines truly has blessed us with ripe fruits grown from decades of technological cultivation. Witness its sleek shape and how, with the flick of a finger, you can set it to do five minutes of work in the span of a few sec--" Drake snatched the pink contraption from his hands. "Is this what you want me to shove up your ass?"

#fgo #fate grand order #fateGO #william shakespeare #francis drake