Boy that CC was a tough one, wasn't it? But we made it through, and onwards and forwards to the next event. I've personally been looking forward to this one, though it's also a tricky one, so proceed with some caution!

This article specifically covers the new units from the Guiding Ahead event, You can find the full version of the guide here , or on the banner below which covers all of the other noteworthy Masteries in the game

A:  That's the tricky part, but in short, probably not.  The thing is that Fiammetta is actually a pretty good unit.  She has very good damage and generally rates as a bit above average.  Relative to the rest of the game, that's pretty good!  However she falls in between several other *very* good units, and under the assumption that most players don't have the resources to roll for everyone, someone has to be skipped.  Unfortunately for Fia, she ends up being the obvious first cut.

If you personally like her, you should absolutely roll.  Fiammetta is a good unit and Kazemaru is decent one too.  But just know she isn't as good as Horn or Irene (or even post-module Spec2) and the next easy skip isn't until Ebenholz, so if meta is what matters to you more (and it will for many players), you'll have to cut someone or count on some hefty luck...

Q:  Why isn't Fia that meta?

A:  Fairly simple, Fia has strong damage but that's about all she has.  She otherwise has high costs and an irritating talent that requires other units to maximize her (though she synergizes very well with Skalter).  She also doesn't have any utility outside of her range.  Her damage also tends to end up restricted to certain tiles and she is highly dependent on positioning.  For her S2 it's the line in front of her while her S3 is at the impact point.  When things line up for Fia, she's great, but when they don't, she can end up being underwhelming and inconsistent

Fiammetta is lucky she is a 6★ , because her 6★ stats keep her damage up enough that she can actually be an above average unit.  Were she a 5★ though, the tone of this article would no doubt be different.

Q:  Should I raise Enforcer?

A:  If you were unaware, Enforcer has two unique traits among Pushers which are not immediately obvious.  For one, his skills deal no damage, meaning he can move enemies that would otherwise trigger on damage like the Sarkaz Sentinels.  For two, he shifts in the direction he is facing rather than the direction the enemy came from.  This means he can shift through himself as well as shift enemies he blocks from behind, such as into a hole he is directly in front of!  None of the others can do this and makes him fairly unique among his contemporaries.

That said though, Shifters generally fall into the 'if you have to ask' sort of category and Enforcer is really no exception to that despite his unique traits.  Enforcer can be very powerful to a certain type of player and useless to other types.  Some more helpful advice though is that he isn't necessarily better than FEater (the other 5★ pusher), just different, so if you have raised and found FEater to be a fun or useful unit, then you'll likely find the same from Enforcer.  But if you haven't found any reason to raise FEater or Cliffheart (similar idea even if she's a Puller), then Enforcer probably isn't going to change your mind.  What he brings is a really cool niche, but with how AK stages are designed, it will never be required or even optimal.

Q:  Should I raise Kazemaru?

A:  I would lean towards yes, though it isn't a slam dunk, especially if you're early on in your Arknights career.  I'm personally a big fan of her so my bias might be showing, but she has a fairly powerful kit that's a lot easier to make use of over Bena.  Summoning her doll on-demand is really useful as bait plus a tacked on powerful arts nuke.  Being a Specialist with solid stats at a lower Hope cost makes her appealing for IS as well.  Though of course your core DPS units should still take priority and her Mastery gains shy towards being a bit unimpressive, so for a lot of players full investment isn't even necessary to make use of her.

Q:  Any thoughts on the new boss-rush mode on CN?  Will it affect grades?

A:  I think the mode is pretty neat and I love the mechanical interaction of the moving map.  I look forward to seeing what they can do with it in the future.  As far as the guide goes though, there will be no changes.  For one, the mode isn't that difficult.  But it also doesn't have a lot of replayability right now and the 'meta' for it (if there is one) is the same as Story mode.  So like SSS, it will just be rolled into the Story grades, though unlike SSS, I don't expect any adjustments at all to account for the mode.

Q:  Although asked before, powerful modules continue to come out.  Will there be any grade changes as a result, especially for the Abyssal Hunters?

A:  Generally the answer is still no since the modules don't really make or break which skills are the best or not.  Not to say that modules aren't worthwhile or don't vastly improve units, but on a relative power scale, few things drastically change.  However I bring the topic up again because the Abyssal Hunters (Gladiia, Specter, Skadi, and Andreana) continue to get very powerful and self feeding "tribal" type modules , in addition to some of the strongest base effects .  For example, Gladiia's recent module reduces damage taken by a whopping 30% for all Abyssal Hunters.

I could write an entire article on the nuances they bring to each other (and possibly will, could be a fun one), but that's well beyond the scope of this update, so for now I'll keep it brief and general.  This makes a situation where all four Abyssal Hunter's are likely to see adjustments up to their grades or write-ups.  Although much of it will be contingent on raising the others and spending on modules, the AHs are a situation where new considerations are warranted as they continue to improve.

Expect to see Andreana S2 graded, Spec2's S2 and S3 higher than expected, Skadi1's S2 and S3 improved, and Gladiia's S2 improved.

There are very few absolute answers when it comes to prioritizing upgrades. A major determining factor is what exactly your goals are. Now, there are actually many more types of players than these three, but the most obvious delineation as far as which Masteries to think about comes down to the type of content you're most interested in clearing. If you only find value in first time story clears and risk 18 CC, then your goals will be different for someone looking to reach high-risk (25+) in CC.

Story - A story player is a player who is only interest in rewarded content.  This means all normal stages and challenge modes (without added personal challenges), risk 8 on CC daily stages, and risk 18 on CC permanent stages

Advanced - An advanced player here is any player interested in non-reward topics such as higher risk CC and more min-maxed gameplay or specialty clears.

A note on the topic of the Advanced grades is that these grades should not be taken as specific advice for a specific CC. There may be an occasional specific note to provide some context or example, but the intention here is to be more general than a particular event and prioritize skills that will be broadly useful in multiple scenarios. A skill appearing once in a high-risk CC is not enough for inclusion here as CCs tend to lend themselves to niche scenarios that can't really be planned for. Further still, Advanced grades encompass all min/maxed gameplay and do not, strictly speaking, have to be about CCs.

Roguelike - These grades are specific to the Integrated Strategies game mode (aka, the Roguelike mode or IS#2).  These grades are slightly different compared to the Story vs Advanced delineation since the same sort of pressures apply in the mode regardless of the type of player you are.  These grades tend to be more "meta" focused than the others.  For a lengthier discussion on why this is, please check out the main Roguelike mastery guide linked below.  I've excluded most of the discussion from the main guide, simply because this guide is already long enough as it is.

Additionally, please check out the main Roguelike guide for more in-depth operator specific discussions specific to that mode.  Although I have updated most write-ups in this guide to reflect all of the grades, some of the nuance on the best picks won't come across as well here, and the main Roguelike guide will provide a better analysis of who is a strong pick.

S - These Masteries are the cream of the crop. They are Masteries that everyone with the unit should do and give a high priority to. Units with S tier Masteries get an outsized value from them, either because the skill is incredibly powerful or because it changes how the unit is used.  For the Roguelike mode, S-tier grades are reserved for the best skills on the most meta of units (whereas meta value is not necessarily a requirement in other mode grades).

A - These Masteries are powerful Skills that most players who have the unit should do. These are among the most powerful Masteries in the game, but less overtly overpowered than the S-tier Masteries.

B - These Masteries are reasonably powerful and worthy of consideration, but have a factor which hold them back. The impact may be relatively small for the cost, the unit may not be especially powerful already, the unit may not fit well into the meta, or there may be a better version available, among other examples.

C - These Masteries are strong enough to be noted, but should only be done by the most end game of players with nothing else to do. There's value in them, but most players will have something better to be doing.

Breakpoint - Not a true grade, but a designator given to an M1 that gives an unusually large benefit. In most cases, these should be prioritized immediately after the E2, thanks to their low cost and high value. Note that there are many M2 and M3 breakpoints but they are not considered breakpoints for this purpose as the cost is much more expensive. Also note that some breakpoints on valueless skills are excluded as well.

NG or None - Not a true grade, but these are sometimes used for Skills which are noteworthy but not worth Mastery.  Either the skill or unit is not worth using, or the Mastery has very poor Mastery gains.  NG stands for "No Grade".

Please remember all rankings here are considered independent of E2 priority, but do consider overall unit strength.  And most importantly, these grades should be treated as guidelines rather than absolute requirements.

Mlynar and Proviso are not included in the look ahead as they are brand new as I write this. However Mlynar looks to be a really ridiculous unit and a near direct powercreep to SilverAsh. Proviso is a better Podenco and should be a decent unit, especially for NicheKnights, though not meta and with 5★ cost being a major concern for the role.

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