Kotaro/Strategy

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(This page is for Kotaro strategy guide. For the standard Kotaro page, click here.)

Overview

☆3/☆5 Kotaro

Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Overview is sufficiently modified.

It needs to be stressed enough that Kotaro's 3☆ is far more self-sufficient than 5☆ due to the fact that LB3 applies to him even if it doesn’t affect his allies, which 5☆ does. Past that, he has the very nice boon of becoming incredibly sturdy past the first hit thanks to LB2, taking at most 2-digit damage due to Evasion being kind of a broken defensive buff, which he can also get by moving through Default, though getting it through LB2 is way more appealing. LB1 Crit on hit exponentially increases his damage, which along with LB3 (as 3☆) lets him deliver a lot of damage very quickly, Attack Up also stacks easily with other offensive buffs, allowing him to deal even more damage than his 5☆ version could. Past that there’s not much else to say, if only 5☆ has had LB3 to himself as well, then it’d be far better, though is certainly not worse than 3☆, just a bit different.

☆4 Beachside Kotaro

He can reliably delete the board with his insane Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff)-boosted CS damage coupled with evasion penetration and ability to shrug off debuffs with Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff). He can get his charge up every 5 turns independent of any help from other CP sources. Besides having an incredible charge, his ability to bestow EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) (and TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff)) at a near-guaranteed rate from the safe position of behind the receiving unit gives him a second powerful role that isn't mutually exclusive from his first as a board wiper.

Highlights

☆3/☆5 Kotaro

Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Highlights is sufficiently modified.

Class: Bruiser, Offensive Support

Gameplay role:

Pros

+ Default Evasion through movement can prove very useful to almost completely nullify incoming damage.

+ LB1 Crit on hit exponentially increases his damage, which along with LB3 as 3☆ further pushes his damage to fantastic levels.

+ LB2 allows him to negate most damage taken past the first hit, which if Default failed to do, this serves as a great backup.

+ LB3 as 5☆ shares a nice offensive buff to his party, which can stack with other offensive buffs.

Cons

- Despite amazing effects, Default has a very mediocre proc rate, it’s often better to move others around, who may offer better effects than he can get.

- Has no way around burst damage on the first hit he takes, he must be handled a bit meticulously in order to reach his absurd durability.

- For some unexplained reason, 5☆ features no buff to himself compared to 3☆, who then doesn’t share said buff with his allies.

- Charge is pretty underwhelming past possible damage as 3☆ due to LB3.

☆4 Beachside Kotaro

Gameplay Role: Charge Spammer, Board Wiper, Evasion Upkeep, Game Start Positioner

Pros

+ Lethal at All range
+ Extremely reliable Evasion bestow at a safe position

Cons

- All range still has a massive weapon range penalty; going for massive damage on a single boss would better suit a different unit
- Evasion on self is unreliable
- Does not do anything if he isn't charging or moving

Gameplay Role

☆4 Beachside Kotaro

Charge Spammer

Kotaro builds his charge every 5 turns without any CP help. Waiting this period out can be made easier with a stalling/defensive team. It just so happens that Kotaro is able to stall with his Evasion and Tenacity bestow, so it should be no problem to have him build his charge repeatedly safely.

Board Wiper

Even at SALv1 Kotaro can deal 5K damage to every square. Considering that most high-level mobs fall around the 6K to 15K, Kotaro can reliable clear the board if his SALv was any bit higher and/or if he had some additional buffs. As a Board Wiper and Charge Spammer, he is ideal to bring in Dungeons, which has many phases and many enemies.

Evasion Upkeep

He is able to keep Evasion up in the square in front of him at a whopping 80% rate unseeded. In the situations where it fails, his Tenacity bestow will still reduce damage by a good amount. He can rotate between allies to place in front.

Stats and Seed Usage

Unit (Effective) HP Base ATK ATK per square CS ATK per square (SALV1) Notes
Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded
Icon frame rarity 3.pngFire element icon.pngShot weapon icon.png 6300 8301 3571 5143 1607 2314 2000 2880 -
Icon frame rarity 5.pngFire element icon.pngShot weapon icon.png 7655 9533 5025 6637 2261 2986 5628 7433 -
Icon frame rarity 4.pngWater element icon.pngNone weapon icon.png 7016 8973 4176 5780 0 0 4218 5838 Status Lv1 Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff) on charge factored in
Icon frame rarity 4.pngWater element icon.pngNone weapon icon.png 7016 8973 4176 5780 0 0 15184 21017 Status Lv1 Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff) on charge; Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) and ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff) from Babalon (Jiangshi)


Beachside Kotaro is a rare unit that is worth seeding in every aspect. His evasion bestow skill with an extremely high but not guaranteed activation rate would greatly benefit from skill seeding, his insane damage output would benefit from Lv and ATK seeding, and his surviveability would benefit from Lv and HP seeding.

Team Synergy

CP Batteries

His charge is too good to be restricted to every 5 turns. There are certain ways to get Kotaro not only to have his charge up on the first turn, but to have it up on every turn. The general combination for turn 1 charge is using a Element dark.pngNETHER} unit with the skill Ruler (limited to Licht, Lucifuge, and Nether Baron) equipped with Oath of Pioneer, and having Kotaro equip The Dog's Battlefield. Having his charge up every turn assumes a board wipe every turn, and would additionally rely on Babalon (Jiangshi). The fourth member would also boost Kotaro's CP in the period between after he attacks up to and including the beginning of the next turn (using CP-boosting statuses, on-miss CP bestow, or turn start/phase start skill effects).

Damage Amplifiers

The above mentioned strategy assumes being able to wipe the board cleanly every phase to trigger the next phase start. Sometimes Kotaro isn't quite strong enough to do so, so he can benefit from more damage buffs to be sure he doesn't leave any survivors.

Healers

To deal with flat damage, Kotaro can bring healers with him such as Choji or Chernobog (Beachside)

Debuff Mitigators

Units that bestow Reflect DebuffReflect debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff), Nullify DebuffPrevent receiving debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff), or Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff) would negate dangerous movement-disabling and CP-depleting statuses, ensuring Kotaro can function as intended.

Checks and Counters

☆4 Beachside Kotaro

Flat Damage

Kotaro's defensive buffs are ignored by HP-depleting statuses, skill effects, and attacks bolstered with flat damage buffs.

Movement-disabling buffs

If he is unable to move, then Kotaro cannot bestow Tenacity and Evasion. He's still quite useful for his Charge in this case, however.

CP depletion

Without his charge, Kotaro loses half his utility. FearCannot move at will, -10CP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) is one of the worst debuff with which Kotaro could be inflicted, since it robs him both of his charge and his Evasion upkeep.

Teambuilding Options

This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.

Sacrificial Shield

Sacrificial Shield (submitted by Arathun)
Unknown icon.png
Ghost
【Damage Attenuator, CP Battery】

Kotaro
【Damage Attenuator, Damage Dealer, CS Spammer, Repositioner】

Arc
【CP Depleter, CS Denier】

Leib
【Debuff Denier, Damage Buffer, Healer】

【Anyone / no one】

【Anyone / no one】
Cost: ≥34

This team works best in tall 3×6 maps.

The core of this team is Kotaro (Beachside) and a Ghost. Kotaro can bestow Evasion to the allied unit ahead of him at a very high rate, Tenacity in the squares surrounding him, and Dazzle to enemy cards in 0.45x ATK penaltyShot range. This grants fantastic protection to the unit directly ahead of him. However, all of these activate only on move. Ghosts can inflict Dazzle and Curse when struck, which further attenuates incoming damage from the enemy. He also bestows a good chunk of CP to adjacent units when struck. Placing the Ghost in the front will ensure that the enemy receives the damage debuffs first before they can hit allies behind the Ghost. Thus, this team relies on constantly moving Kotaro directly behind Ghost every turn.

This duo can be countered by disabling Kotaro's move or skills, so Leib can bestow Nullify Debuff and Remove Debuff to Kotaro cover this blindspot. He's also immune to all skill-locking abilities, and doesn't need to move in this particular formation (he can be ferried by Kotaro), so he can provide debuff protection indefinitely. A very welcome bonus is his skill to bestow Ardor every turn to units around him. This can make Kotaro's CS even more lethal, which is important since Kotaro is essentially the only source of good, reliable damage in this team. Thus, positionally, Leib should be adjacent to Kotaro while attacking someone as much as possible.

Lastly, Arc can keep enemy CP down and thus deny CSes, which are often troublesome for their damage and guaranteed CS effects (which can be numerous and deadly). This team is particularly weak to flat damage, since Leib's healing is rather abysmal (Regeneration restricted to CS). It is also vulnerable to enemies that can penetrate through multiple defense buffs (anyone with Remove Buffs, or Eita (Set Sail)) or enemies that can shrug off debuffs (anyone with Remove Debuffs, or Avarga). In either case, the Ghost is likely the first unit to leave battle, so this team can benefit from having more Ghosts ready in the Sub Member slots.

Examples