Hoshiguma banner

The older 6★ Protectors, Nian and Hoshiguma, are units that have a tough time justifying their costs. That isn't to say they are bad. Far from it, and at times that bulk blocking has been very valuable, and to be clear, they are better than the 4 and 5★ bulk blockers too. However, they aren't often "three times the cost" better. Then you add in considerations like growing powercreep and the drastic difference in Hope costs in IS and you get fairly low priority, despite them being otherwise decent units. That has always been true with them, but that value gap just continues to get bigger! In Hoshiguma's case, both her S2 and S3 can be considerations, with the difference mostly coming down to playstyle, but with neither being terribly good investments. For many players, her S2 is what they want. It's a simple and easy to use skill. You just use her and she gets bulkier, and a bit pricklier. The set and forget nature of it is what appeals about Hoshiguma to many people. However, with respect to Mastery consideration, the gains on it aren't terribly strong. The difference from SL7 to M3 is usually under 90 extra DEF, and that's assuming you're willing to invest a lot more into levels