[You Don't Need It] Building a Gem-Free Team: Let's Talk About Celes
#Table of Contents
[You Don't Need It]
#Let's Talk about Celes (Uh Oh)
I wasn't planning on posting this, but u/skuldnoshinpu just had to go and proselytize in his post and tout the benefits of Celes' SSB, so I feel I must present the counterargument against Celes's SSB once more. I must admit though I kinda resent him (a little) for forcing me to do this. (Please don't quote me out of context on that btw).
[This whole preface should be taken with a big grain of /s. ;)]
#Mitigation So this is the main benefit that gets touted, and I don't deny that when the Grand Cross effect does come into play it will help save you on damage (I did say it has the potential to entirely cripple a boss's arsenal after all), but between Wall, Shellga, Full Break, Magic Breakdown, and possibly a third layer like Agrias' Cleansing Strike, you should ask yourself, how much damage will you actually be saving? Honestly, in some cases I'd rather get hit for 500-800 HP points and get the SB gauge boost than absorb the already heavily mitigated damage. This is even more the case if you find your White Mage not having much HP to heal otherwise, or if you're running a source of Major Regen that will passively make up that HP loss.
#Skillset
Until Celes gets her Knt 5 buff, this is a major weak point for Celes. The problem is that her skillset is splitting focus between magic and physical and ends up not being great in either. She has Blk 4, so she makes a passable mage since she can fling -ja spells, although her MAG stat is on the lower Quistis/Reno end of the spectrum. As a physical character though, Celes' skillset (currently) leaves a lot to be desired. She only has Spl 5 and Cmb 3. Spellblade is only good when hitting weakness and even then will be capping at 9999. And while there's a stretch of elem-weak bosses coming up in IV and III events, there are more Ultimate bosses that don't have weaknesses than do. And I don't consider Tornado Strike a skill that should be honed, if and when we do get it. Few characters can use it, it compares poorly to other 5* skills, and it takes precious MPOs and MWOs that will hamper the skills you need (Saint Cross, Thief's Raid, Full Charge, Chainstarter) to succeed in Cid's Missions. So really, if there's no weakness, then Celes can run...Drain Strike...and...a Break? You'll have to wait a long time for Celes to be able to use Saint Cross and a hard-to-hone 6* Spellblade.
For you diehard Celes fans, I'm sorry, but this isn't because I hate Celes. I'm just being objective about her current skillset. Blame DeNA for making it so crappy.
#Ability Restore
With enough hones, this benefit should be moot. For instance, in the far future when Celes can bring an R3 Saint Cross, if you need more than 6 casts of Saint Cross, you're likely doing something wrong.
#Alternatives
Don't forget Lureflect and Carbuncle as options if you need to deflect single-target spells. Sure, they may be clunkier, but once we pass B.C.M. and Cid's Missions get into full gear, then for most realms, you'll have to rely on these alternatives anyways.
#Exdeath
Sure, Exdeath doesn't get his MC2 until later. But he does get Dark Zone way earlier than Celes does Saint Cross. So from Kuja's event onward, Exdeath will have the better DPS of the two, until Celes' Knt 5 buff. But that covers the latter half of B.C.M. for Exdeath while Celes will be stuck with a 9999 cap at best until well into A.C.M. Yes, her SSB will do much more damage than Exdeath's SB, but she won't be spamming it that frequently, and Dark Zone will do more consistent higher damage until she gets Saint Cross.
Also, if you have Soul Sabre for Celes' old Runic, that's still perfectly adequate. In fact, it's what I used (with Celes as a mage) to master U+ Cagnazzo.
#Mako Might
Something else that shouldn't be overlooked is Celes' (and Exdeath's) lack of Lifesiphon. If you want to Grand Cross from the start of the battle, then you'll have to stick Mako Might on her. This might not be a problem, but it also might be if you need those Mako Might/Mog's Teachings on more important SBs.
#Celes SSB vs. Beatrix SSB: Battle of the Babes
I think this is an apt comparison because Magic Blink and Runic both serve as forms of magic mitigation. And it's safe to say Beatrix's Magic Blink SSB wins by a wide margin. It will be much more useful in a majority of Ultimate battles. She can Lifesiphon to spam it, and Magic Blink covers AoE magic attacks as well as single-target ones, and not just those listed as BLK or WHT. Even when Celes gets her much needed Knt 5 buff making her an actual knight with an actual 5* DPS option, she still doesn't have Cmb 4 for Lifesiphon or Wht 4 until you can record dive it.
#Conclusion
Is it useful? Sure, it can be, given the right boss, and if you're a diehard Celes fan, no one's stopping you from pulling Excalibur (besides DeNA) and using her on your team. But if you don't have any preference for Celes, or, if like me, you don't let your favoritism get in the way of recognizing the FFRK version of Celes' flaws (I blame my objective approach to party-building on DeNA making Edge so terrible), then I don't recommend that you spend mythril chasing her SSB on this banner. (If you still want it, wait until W-Burst Fest or "Maria" Banner 2, which both feature it at 2% on much better banners.)
Posted Apr 18, 2016, 7:00 AM UTC · edited