Nian 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! For Nian, her S2 is the only skill to really consider. It improves her own bulk and has a far better cycle than her S3. The extra block comes in handy too, not to mention the Silence and Arts based reflect, which tends to be more useful than Physical due to Protector's low ATK. But keep in mind that her gains are relatively poor too. Mastery does improve her DEF which matters, but it's not a large improvement, nor does it make a big difference to her cycle. The gains aren't nothing, but are more fuel to a relatively low priority. Her S3 meanwhile is one of those weird year 1 mistake skills. It do