Trying to prep the inventory for S3, but running low on space saving so many Dupe Z-Ranks. Hoping these are tradeable/sellable because I know people are missing them

This sub is growing, but still niche enough that I know word won't get out to the devs over it. But I figure I'd share my UI complaint, and hopefully get word out to express it in the next version Survey

The big thing is it doesn't preset your inventory; and if you don't have something, it doesn't auto-craft it for you - you still have to go craft.

The second is definitely that you can't delete/re-arrange them. Something nice would be just "auto-craft when missing" so essentially, it's always in your inventory if you have that preset saved and that setting turned on in the presets.

Hiya! Back at it again with another guide. I haven't made one in this sub before, and mostly do them for HSR, but I've been playing ZZZ since Day 1 and absolutely love Operation Bagel, so I figured this sub could use a good guide for newer players.

Source on Post Picture (PhantomArtGamer on X)

I'll leave a TL;DR at the bottom for those that like 'skip' buttons 😋

I do want to note, this will be the first of a couple guides - and this one will be the most general. I know many in this sub at the time of writing are already familiar with a lot of these; however, I do see some steam picking up in interest for ZZZ, as well as Bagel in particular; so, hopefully this offers some good baseline for newcomers, and maybe there's a gem or two for seasoned veterans.

I'm going to start this guide with the general assumption that players have gone to through the tutorial and understand the basics of extraction.

🥯Table of Contents🥯

Each section will be marked with 🥯 so you can scroll through and stop on a section or find what you need

• Before you start 🥯
  • Priorities and Progression
    • Currency, R&D, Blueprints and "Fool in a Barrel"
  • Comps and Inventory
• How Runs Work 🥯
  • Maps
  • Difficulty and betting (what's better and why)
  • Looting, Inventory, and Fights
• The Hound / Ulidim & Cacophony🥯
  • Corruption and Ulidim
    • Fighting vs Avoiding
• Achievements and Endgame 🥯
• Cheesy Strats 🥯
• TL;DR 🥯

Operation Bagel

🥯Before you start 🥯

Before you jump into $3 mil bets and attempts at 10 mil extract, your first goal should be just making your runs consistent. Operation Bagel snowballs pretty quickly once you get your permanent upgrades online, so pushing difficulty too early usually makes the mode feel harder than it actually is.

First and foremost is R&D

Pretty much all of your early resources should be going into this. Early on, you're able to upgrade R&D with the coins you get from any run. Use those coins to progress the ladder as your highest priority. Of course, if you need to get blueprints, upgrades, etc, you can do that in tandem.

The priorities should be the following:

• Permanent upgrades first
  • Put your early resources into R&D and the other permanent facilities before treating excess materials as spending money. Anything that improves survivability, inventory space, loot efficiency, or general run consistency pays for itself over every future run.
• Hematite for progression before profit (see pic below)
  • It should be noted that Hematite will show up in later high-risk runs. It will be used to upgrade the upper-echelons of the R&D Ladder
  • Early on, use it for upgrades. Once the relevant permanent progression is finished, excess Hematite becomes a primary source of coins (1 mil per 20 stack).

Hematite Shards

• Blueprints 'matter'
  • I put matter in quotes because it depends on
    • The level of run you're doing
    • How comfortable you are battling
    • Your team comps
  • We'll touch more on these later. For now, just note that some equipment upgrades are enormous QOL improvements, particularly anything that helps with corruption, survivability, or inventory management
    • In particular, anything in the "squad equipment" section of the Smart Workshop you want to be looking for the highest-rank version of - including Inventory, Blade of the Other, and the Anti-corruption Device (see picture below)

Highlighting Smart Workshop Squad Equipment

• Inventory Space is Progression
  • Carry more = more loot = higher extraction. Prioritize unlocking the extra safe slots and seasonal inventory slots in the store

Boojee's Store Inventory Upgrades

• You can obtain the season Coins Currency from the Phase achievements of each season, as well as the "Fool in a Barrel"

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FOOL IN A BARREL

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This seems to fit the "before your run" section, so let's just note it now.

This is just a late-game gear-coin sink. You feed it large amounts of gear coins to level it up, and periodically receive a “returning gift.” There are achievements tied to receiving one of these gifts, and upgrading the Fool to Lv. 3.

Do not prioritize this early.

There's an achievement, TYCOON:

https://preview.redd.it/8eqfys7q7zqh1.png?width=1086&format=png&auto=webp&s=f5d294cfcc801c34d24e05edd7efbdfd19a36117

Basically, you can sell valuables, accumulate coins, do whatever, bet on risk, but if you dump coins into fool, it takes away from your total depot-hub value. So get this first, then dump into fool, or level fool up a couple of times if there's a tracker for it, then save the rest till after you get tycoon.

Bottom line: Get your permanent upgrades handled, then work toward the 100M Depot Hub / Tycoon milestone before seriously leveling the Fool. Once you've secured that achievement, dump excess money into the barrel or just hold (to the moon).

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VALUABLES:

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Valuables Gif

Valuables can be obtained through exploring. They do not need to be saved for anything particular (with a caveat I'll address below) other than selling them. Your database gets updated the moment you extract with them - so if you find something you've never gotten before, it's worth putting in your safe.

I won't get into the intricacies of what valuables can be found on what map because I plan on doing follow-up guides to each map later; however, the majority of them can be found on both maps - and for a "before you start" section, your primary goal should just be grabbing what you can, getting used to rotations and fights, getting adjusted to runs and extraction, then worrying about completion. Realistically, the time it takes you to do all that will net you a large majority of the ones above.

The important thing here is the most FAQ about valuables - yes you can sell them; however!

• THE CAVEAT
  • It's been rumored that season 3 will introduce a trading hub. So it would probably be beneficial to save rare Z-rank (red) valuables that are not commonly found (Z-rank's are rare by themselves, however, some are rarer than others). Just keep this noted as a disclaimer.

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COMPS AND INVENTORY

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Inventory Loadouts

This is not what you're initially going to look like when you start off in Operation Bagel; however, it’s a good example of where your resources eventually become distributed. Everyone is going to have slightly different strategies, loadouts, and team comps (which we'll touch on next). Here are the primary rules:

• The less sure you are of your fighting ability, the more health and corruption-repairs you should bring
  • in this screenshot, I only have 1 health in my item slot - normally it would be 3 - I just didn't realize it until I was reviewing this draft.
• THRACIAN BREAK ETHERIC PHANTOM
  • This is the yellow one that looks like a house (to me lol). This is almost the only true non-negotiable in your runs - and if you don't have it yet - this is the one that will truly be the gamechanger from "Hard mode" or "High Risk no bet" to your 3m bet/10mil extraction runs.
  • I personally always carry six, but it can vary. I rarely, if ever, see CC's or others not have this in their inventory for high-risk 3M runs
• If you want looting speed, obviously Search bangboo is helpful. I usually bring 1, but sometimes 2 - it depends on the map and the run, as well as what I'm doing. If I'm doing a keyless High-risk (not looting vaults), then I don't bring any (this is when I'm hunting briefcases and trashcans).
• In general, your priority for Z-Rank Tactical prisms should be your DPS. A good example can be seen here where I've prioritized Miyabi and Nangong - Astra's support gear is actually better in this case for the DEF shred and increased Anomaly Damage (as opposed to her sig Z-Rank which is 60 AP).

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CHARACTERS

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This isn't totally supported by hard data; however, I would consider Sunna the undisputed support of Bagel due to the effects of her Tactical Prism:

Sunna Z-Rank Tactical Prism

Fret not for those that don't have Sunna (me) - she is absolutely not necessary to complete runs - I've just recognized that her Tactical Prism is extremely strong.

Beyond that, Shungus does very well in this mode as well; however, the most important thing you want in any given team is a fast character. One that traverses the POI's quickly either by default, or through combo-manipulation:

Speed Difference of Characters

Other notable characters that move fast are:

• Remielle
• Shungus
• Yi Xuan

I may be missing one (feel like I am), so feel free to let me know and I'll update.

Beyond that, your loadout and comp can vary. The important thing to note is that the combined amount of seconds you can shave off here-or-there add up to a better overall run and a smoother rotation in the long term - so keep that in mind when you build your comps.

Some additional things to note:

• WEngines are pretty much irrelevant
  • The tactical gear provides the bulk of your stat package
• Mindscapes are not required
  • While mindscapes can speed up fights, making the overall run smoother, without them you just need to prioritize fights and understand that mistakes are less forgiving (both in fighting and looting)
• Trial agents are perfectly viable
  • This goes along with mindscapes, but there are high-risk big-loot runs with trial characters. They're not breaking leaderboards, but they can hit 10mil

All-in-all, if you're on the fence about giving the harder runs a try, don't be. You'll gain experience from your mistakes, and your roster doesn't need to be top-tier to enjoy the mode.

🥯HOW RUNS WORK🥯

As of 9/21/2026, during Season 2 of OB, there are 2 primary maps: Janus Illusion and Suburbs Illusion

Operation Bagel Maps via @KelZero

Both maps generally follow the same broad structure: There is an upper section and a lower section.

The loot you get from either map is mostly the same (barring some exclusive valuables), but almost entirely RNG Dependent.

• There’s some anecdotal reporting that loot gets better the farther you travel from your starting point, but I wouldn't treat that as reliable.
  • I’ve personally had runs where the opening area was complete garbage, and others where I immediately found absurdly good loot (2-3x 20 stack Hematite's) only to get crumbs later.
• For a highly general rule, I recommend trying to finish the upper section at around the 10-minute mark, give or take ~1.5 minutes.
  • This is more true for Janus than it is for Suburbs. Suburbs Railways are highly efficient, meaning you can get around smoother on the lower section than something like janus, where your entire route is centered on the Basement exit; however, that is the biggest benefit of Janus - always the same exit - always the same boss.

^(One thing to note is SBIlly. For newcomers, there is an elevator on Suburbs that can be seen in the bottom left corner of the traversal-able map in Suburbs Illusion - denoted by a rectangle and 3 white lines. SBilly shows up on this elevator - but it is completely random when he does.)

^(As of this writing I have specifically been hunting Billy for the 3 valuables only he can drop, and I see no correlation between inventory amount or time I get on. Also, if he doesn't show up, it doesn't matter how many times you go up and down the elevator after, he won't show up that run. This could change, but I've done a ton of tests thus far. You cannot use your etheric phantoms here, so be on your A-game. It's a fun fight, and he (occasionally) drops very rare valuables.)

For now, think of the run flow as:

Upper map -> ~11 minutes remaining -> transition downward -> condensed loot/extraction phase

In Suburbs, you can actually spawn in the bottom right, so plan accordingly (that's my least favorite spawn).

Again, I'll cover actual routing, high-value areas, keycards, strongboxes, and map-specific tricks in separate guides for Suburbs and Janus.

----------------------------

DIFFICULTY AND BETTING

----------------------------

The short version: bigger bets do not automatically mean better loot.

At the low end, there is very little practical difference between 0 bet and 500k, which makes 500k a good place to get your feet wet once you're comfortable with High-Risk.

At the high end, the difference between 2.5M and 3M is also pretty minor. A 3M run can give you more heavily stacked Hematite when you actually hit a good roll, but whether that happens is still RNG. Because of that, 2.5M is generally considered the more comfortable option, while 3M is mostly for high-score chasing, achievements, or because you simply want the challenge.

For normal farming, around 2M is the sweet spot. It gives you strong loot potential without pushing the risk/cost as hard as the maximum bets.

You can also do what people call “free runs” or “no-cost runs.” There isn't one universal definition for this:

• Some people run no keycards and almost no gear.
• Some bring minimal gear + keycards.
• I personally like bringing at least 3 Thracian Breaks with otherwise minimal investment.

Experiment and find the version that feels safe for you.

One important thing: Z-Rank red valuables can appear on any-bet High-Risk run. You may get slightly better odds or better stacking with a bet, but you do not need to max bet just to see the best valuables.

So unless you're chasing a score, achievement, or personal challenge, there is very little reason to force 3M every run. If your fights are comfortable and you have enough funds that a failed run won't hurt, then there is also nothing wrong with doing it.

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LOOTING, INVENTORY, AND FIGHTS

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Here's a short (~1 min) video that can tie a handful of these concepts together

Looting, Fighting, Sentry Hound

So I regularly use my hotkeys (R to sort, F to grab). I can't speak for mobile, but I personally think it's just ease-of-use and personal choice. Aside from that, you notice that I've got my most valuable items (hematites) in the safe already. I'd make it a habit to put either new Z-ranks that you get, or hematites into the vault while you wait for it to load.

Before I move on to the general nature of loot, I also want to touch on some techniques and mistakes here:

• I'm about 7 min into the run, I had just recently fought the hound; however, as you saw, I didn't finish the hound sentry in time. Because of that, the real hound took over.
  • This is important to note - kill the sentries fast (normally just assist on them, but as you can see, i didn't get the prompt)
• Once that happened, I rushed over to Haytor, did an assassination, used thracian break - which also hit the hound - and then auto-finished Haytor.
• Now, I chained the other boss - Thracian (ironic) by having depleted some of their health earlier
  • But there's something to note here. If you deplete an enemies HP, and go too far away, their HP will return to 100%. So i couldn't go over to 6th street and hit the Play Store vault room and then come back
• You'll also notice that when i entered that area, it was normal, and by the time i finished, it was a Cacophony Zone. Thus, when I returned to fight Thracian, they had a Cacophony Shield. I'll address this more in the Hound Section

In terms of looting, you can see I dump what I don't want out before I push F to pick up. This is pretty common, but again, this is primarily for newcomers.

I'll talk more about cheesy strats later, but I wouldn't consider the assassination -> thracian break -> assist skill combo a cheese - it's just a generally good strat.

For looting, your primary focus is centered around Perilous Caches

https://preview.redd.it/6wa9b3erz0rh1.png?width=1640&format=png&auto=webp&s=7447b0356151e53e260c8645fa0fe350c9eb4079

Again, I won't get map specific, but some things to note:

• Electronic Strongboxes (the black ones with the red ring) and bosses are your go-to high priorities
  • This includes vault-rooms (key cards) and perilous caches
• Briefcases
  • These are what normally will have keycards - although you can get them from anywhere - but generally - briefcases
• Trash Cans
  • Very hit-or-miss. My general rule is if a trash can opens with 1-2 slots, i skip. I believe in cacophony zones, 3 slots also misses most of the time
• Mechanical Strongboxes (the brown rectangle ones)
  • These are almost always 3 slots = skip.
  • So if you open it and there's 3 loot slots, move on. You won't be getting anything there. I'd say this is so reliable, that if you wait for the 3 slots to load every time out of 100 strongboxes, you will almost never get anything, and the time adds up on a run.
    • To clarify, not like you're getting 100 on a run, i just mean over time (there's always someone)
• Gear Boxes (the white cases)
  • These are where blueprints are most commonly found. So if you're blueprint hunting, while they can show up elsewhere, they're often here

Operation Bagel: Different Loot-Resources

These aren't the definitive-only places to look (and I obviously left out reverbs), but these (mainly the top 3) should be your priority

🥯Ulidim (The Hound) & Cacophony🥯

Corruption is the primary pressure-mechanic in Bagel. As a run goes on, you’re balancing loot value against the increasing risk of staying inside the Hollow too long or taking unnecessary fights.

Your first major trigger to remember is:

• Ulidim can begin appearing once your carried inventory value reaches 400,000 Gear Coins.

Once you hit 400k, the game really begins.

• ^(Side note: The inventory you bring into the game does not count. I've seen some ask - you can't cheese the final value by bringing 10x Hematite stacks)
• ^(Additional Side note: the threshold appears to) ^(decrease as time passes, by roughly 100k every 5 minutes)^(. That means “400k” is better understood as the) ^(initial practical threshold)^(, not an immutable trigger. You can't keep the hound away indefinitely by never looting)

Let's look at an example video alongside the hound mechanics and different attacks. You can see at the start of this video I just breached the 400k mark, triggering his first spawn at ~22:40

https://reddit.com/link/1wn57un/video/r929ifla51rh1/player

So in general, I believe this video caught all of his different types of attacks, if you can learn them, it just makes it easy to counter.

Obviously, what I'm doing here is not optimal. I'm standing around wasting a ton of time; however, It's the first fight. What I would've been better off doing (this was obviously for this guide) would be to just ignore him and go loot. I don't want to waste early etheric phantoms on him, but if I could chain him together with another fight (i.e. the video above with Haytor), then of course I'm getting more "bang for my buck" in usage for my phantoms.

To summarize:

• Hound pressure is tied primarily to carried loot value + elapsed time, while Corruption is a parallel survival pressure that makes Hound encounters and late-run combat much more dangerous.

Corruption is separte. It steadily eats into your maximum HP and becomes another timer you have to manage. High corruption doesn’t appear to be the thing that summons Ulidim, but it makes dealing with him and everything else substantially more dangerous unless you're generally decent at fighting.

Cacophony areas: The previous video in the other section is a perfect example of the transition between normal and cacophony areas.

• When an area gets covered in the blue/purple haze, it's a corruption zone.
  • Simply spending time there increases your corruption, and opening/looting containers inside it spikes the buildup even faster.
• Enemies in affected areas can gain a Cacophony Shield.
  • This is where Thracian becomes very useful
• Certain stronger enemies / minibosses can become Sentry Hounds.
  • This is separate from the one I fought in the video in the other section. Some previous Zones that were bosses turn into Sentry Hounds instead

All-in-all, Think of Bagel as having three overlapping timers: the actual clock, corruption, and Hound pressure.

🥯ACHIEVEMENTS AND ENDGAME🥯

This is less about listing all the achievements and more about what changes or what you're goal should be to get there. Once you've got the R&D Ladder done, and the rest of your Depot maxed, you're really focusing on these priorities

• Sell excess Hematite and valuables
  • Once you no longer need them for meaningful permanent progression, they become your primary funding instead of something you need to hoard.
  • Again BIG CAVEAT ON SEASON 3 RUMORS ABOUT TRADING VALUABLES
    • Save some Z-Ranks
• Start treating runs as achievement-runs or score-runs instead of progression runs
  • This is where 3M bets, 10M+ extractions, and other challenge goals start making sense.
• Work toward the 100M Depot Hub value achievement before dumping too much into Fool in a Barrel
  • As mentioned, money spent there reduces the value sitting in your depot, so it can actively slow that grind.
• High-value runs become more about routing and consistency than account strength
  • By this point, you should already have the permanent tools; the next gains come from better routes, inventory discipline, knowing when to stash, and knowing when to leave.
  • Going to double-down on Mindscapes are not necessary - helpful - but not necessary
• Don’t feel forced into 3M bets
  • More of a reiteration than anything else: for most endgame farming, ~2M remains a very comfortable sweet spot. 3M is mainly for score chasing, achievements, or personal challenge.

🥯🧀THE CHEESY STRATS🧀🥯

QUICK DISCLAIMER: I view these strats as gameplay strats rather than gamebreaking exploits. I define the two into these categories (you can call this copium, I'm just stating my personal opinion)

• Cheesy / emergent gameplay:
  • stashing loot
  • manipulating where you spend time
  • using encounters to control Hound timing
  • baiting enemies
  • routing around dangerous areas.
• Exploit / bug abuse
  • things like force-closing/reloading the game to prevent a Hound spawn or intentionally breaking the game state.
    • I hesitate to even mention this, but will not be touching on it or discussing it here - I consider this a true exploit and not in line with proper gameplay. You're manipulating the actual game client, rather than utilizing tools at your disposal within the game.

One more thing - absolutely none of these are necessary for high PR clears.

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ASSASSINATION CHEESE

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Assassination Cheese

There are 2 mechanics at play here

1. The behind-the-back assassination - get close behind an enemy to trigger the prompt
   1. This doesn't waste an assist skill
2. The timer-pause when interacting with the elevator (or beacons)

I could've done this quicker, but I took it slow to highlight the prompts and I messed up on one of the exits

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BOX CHEESE STRAT

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I'll just preface this one. You can get close to some boxes without triggering the Doppleganger spawn. It is beneficial to fight the Dopplegangers; however, you can't fight everything, so for the boxes this is applicable for, you can test it out. (You can also get closer to the box than i did, but I was more concerned about the recording than perfectly getting close enough 🤭)

https://reddit.com/link/1wn57un/video/a0gb6znsa1rh1/player

I didn't really bring anything for these fights, and obviously the left is not a proper/real rotation - these were for the guide; however, it highlights that you can get far into another POI or loot/fight relative to having to fight

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THE BEACON CHEESE

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Essentially, while you interact with a beacon, you're invulnerable. For me, the reality of this is we're just using a game mechanic to our advantage. I've been around since before live-service; so when a game was sold "as is", you could figure out a way to manipulate the mechanics without people screaming "bannable" or "cheating". In this case, this is neither, and plenty of runners use this. You don't have to, and I rarely personally do; however, there are some beneficial times i.e. when I get a 20 bomb of Hematite on my first fight, and I can run out the hound and still be at 23:30 or something.

The bottom line is, timer doesn't go down - the hounds cooldown on it's cacophony does

Prohor242 YT

This clip comes from Prohor242: I'd consider them probably one of the top-tier runners. If for nothing else other than extreme consistency

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***THE LOOT CHEESE: "Safe Banking^(tm(lol))*"

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Unfortunately, I don't have a video for this one. Mainly because you'd need a whole run to see how it works. Here's the bottom line:

• Before Nightfall, Ulidim periodically leaves and later checks whether your carried loot value is high enough to justify returning.
  • It's either this, or a 3 minute return-window prior to nightfall
• The cheese is to stash your highest-tier valuables in a box before that return check. Because your carried inventory value is now below the Hound’s current threshold, you can continue looting without immediately triggering another pursuit.
• Near the end of the run, return to the Safe, pick everything back up, and head straight for extraction. Picking the loot back up will usually put you well over the Hound threshold and trigger him again; but at that point you’re already sprinting to the final-boss-exit, so it doesn’t matter.

Here are some CC's / Videos for this

• Prohor242
  • Probably one of my favorites alongside Kappaz
  • Here's a good video
    • This highlights both the fact that he uses trial characters (albeit a nice Rina) and utilizes Safe Banking - also on Suburbs, which is often a slightly more difficult map for routing
• KappazWengz
  • Also another one I like a lot
  • This is a good one
    • This also highlights Shungus being a powerhouse
• Glue Glue
  • I'm not totally familiar with them; however, they have some absolutely god-tier runs at 14 mil+, so worth checking out

Obligatory Wallpaper Tax

Art by: 寰宇诺亚

Danbooru Link

Artist Lofter Page

If I missed anything or am mistaken/misspoke, please let me know so I can correct. If you feel there should be additional info, please also let me know!

TL;DR

• Upgrade your R&D/permanent progressions first, prioritize inventory space, health, and squad equipment, and don’t stress about Mindscapes or W-Engines Bagel is very doable without.
• Learn your map pacing, aim to finish the upper section of any given map around ~10-11 minute mark, and treat loot quality as RNG rather than assuming farther areas are always better.
  • Also note, beyond 2m, Hematite is heavily RNG
• For betting, 0–500k is great for learning, ~2M is the general sweet spot, and 2.5M–3M is mostly for high-score chasing, achievements, or personal challenge rather than dramatically better loot.
• Once your core progression is done, sell excess Hematite and valuables, work toward the major Depot/achievement goals, and start optimizing around routing instead of raw account power.
  • Also note that season 3 is rumored to have Z-Rank Valuable Trading. So if you get a very rare one, may be best to save it

And that's it!

Thanks in advance!

Hoping to get lucky on some rolls, but if there's any other areas of improvement, advice is much appreciated!

Genuinely felt so good to see the 5* early, and was not disappointed at all when I lost for E1 Seele!

What's ironic is I specifically pulled Cery and Robikini for Seele!

Hope the flair is ok. More of a "roster build help" than specific Roxy build, but didn't think this fit "Discussion".

Current pull plans are:

• M0W1 Velina
• M2 YiXuan

I'd like another stunner, but I'm almost positive Nangong reruns in 3.2 as well. So trying to decide between the 2. Definitely like Roxy, but won't be planning on Claret.

Any help is appreciated!

I still have the Free 5* selector available, and I'm just looking for advice on what to look out for. Looks like Nangong Yu may be a viable option for Miyabi, but don't know when she'll rerun.

Everyone has their Wengines

Thanks in advance!

Long story "short", I'm a Seele main. Cery isn't absolutely necessary for her, but I love the little imperator. Her banner always fell on other units/reruns so I always opted out. Seele performed fine with Tingyun, RMC, Sparkle, etc, but I still always wanted Cery.

Anyways, been saving up some pulls and tracking leaks. I knew Cery's rerun was coming, but am also pulling Robin Summeretto for Seele Hyper and my Mono-Rem squad. I originally planned on E2S1 Robikini, but I know this Cery banner is probably the last one for awhile. I'm pretty good about patience and holding out, but I was torn about skipping Cery again in lieu of yet another unit.

I finally decided "Fuck it. My regret for missing out on her will be greater than my joy for E2 Robikini". Decided I'd pull till I hit, and if I lost 50/50, it wasn't meant to be. Was at 10 pity, 280 pulls, and won her at 75 pulls (soft-pity on-the-dot).

Couldn't be happier!

Re-upload because I forgot I had the hands on RMC

Source on the photo

Source via X

Let's actually just look at this objectively for a second:

SRobin legitimately is his Novaflare. We've primarily seen Nova's work in tandem with new or very-recently-released characters.

• HuoHuo Nova works with Elation
• Sparkle Nova honestly kicked Sunday out of Phainon teams, but also worked with Archer probably to set up new Fate banners
• Jing and OG Blade Nova's in order to work with Hyacine
• BlackSwan Nova to work more fluidly with DOT archetype and ''recent'' Hysilens release (emphasis on "recent")
  • Hysilens also reran right after this
• FF nova - just because she's CN and Hoyo's baby, but probably also to re-sell Dahlia on rerun
• Seele Nova pretty much the only true "1.x char and needed it"
• Welt Nova in prep for HimeNova

Sunday's slot has either already been taken by Sparkle, or is about to be taken by SRobin. His Nova would have to put him in an equal-or-better spot (better is probably pushing it, so at least equal).

Essentially, his Nova would take away from SRobin sales, and they're both filling similar spots.

• Quick tangent about this, I also think this is exactly why there's no Nova announcement for 4.6. This may be the only saving grace to the idea that he might get a Nova. If they dripped Sunday Nova in 4.6, no one owning or wanting Sunday would pull SRobin. Instead, Hoyo makes the playerbase believe he's not getting one, then players pull SRobin, Hoyo then announces 4.7 Nova's with Sunday.

But if we're not playing "Honkai: Future Rail", then even elsewhere, places Sunday could go (MDPS Saber, Seele, etc), those slots either don't exist (MDPS Saber is now Saber/Gil and SRobin is about to be BIS, with RMC currently filling, or MBlade/E1Tribbie), or he'd have to have better value than Sparkle (Hypercarry Seele, Archer), and he's not about to replace SP hungry teams that Sparkle occupies.

He also has a whole kit that's been powercrept, rather than needing minor tweaks to make him workable. Released in 2.x:

• 20% CR - at this point this just makes up for poor DPS builds
  • We have a myriad of ways to hit 100% CR nowadays
• CD - most modern DPS come with loads in their kit, and CD is a diminishing-return stat
• DMG - newer supports are giving loads of ATPR/DEF Shred/etc. Once-rare stats are now becoming more common

Meta archetypes are also getting locked-in

• Archer/Rin = pretty locked, either sustain gets replaced or a new SP support replaces Sparkle
• Saber/Gil = If Sunday gave the buff he does in CW he may work here (everyone get's energy). Otherwise, SRobin goes here and Sunday would have to be equal-or-better (not happening)
• Elation - no
• HimeNova - currently only good with E0S1 sustain HimeNova, otherwise, there are a variety of better options
• MonoRem - no
  • including MDPS E9
• Hypercarry Seele - Sparkle does it better, SRobin also going on this team
• FUA - definitely not, now locked with Feixiao Wheelchair on Ashblade, or just Waventurine
• Acheron - now has Mblade, was never really great here
• Phainon, maybe. But again, needs a full kit rework
• Break - obviously not
• DOT - same as break

All that leaves are still semi-viable, but lower tier DPS - Mydei, Agalea, Therta, Anaxa. And Sunday benefiting them (maybe Anaxa, but again Cerydra, Cyrene, SRobin all do it much better), doesn't really do anything i.e. it's not an incentive for Hoyo.

I genuinely hope he gets a Nova for Sunday mains, but I don't even see it happening.