Introduction
- Regular Attack
- Physical Damage
- Position
- Melee
Tequila is a Liberator Guard boasting high defensive stats and damage output. His kit makes the most of the branch’s trait, and is intuitive to use, making him a good introduction to how the branch works. He’s also one of the better 5-stars in the game, despite being a welfare.
Operator Stats
- Health
- 3987
- Attack Power
- 352
- Defense
- 501
- Attack Speed
- 1.2 sec
- Arts Resistance
- 15%
- Block
- 3
- Redeploy Time
- 80 sec
- DP Cost
- 13
- Range
Y1 Y2 X1 active cell empty cell X2 operator cell active cell X3 active cell empty cell
Tequila’s low DP cost makes him easy to deploy at any time. He has very high HP and good DEF, giving him good survivability even under high pressure. This also helps him make use of his first talent. His 3-block at E2 further reinforces the idea of him being able to handle multiple enemies. The characteristically low ATK is not an issue due to his trait and skill multipliers, meaning his actual damage output will be higher than the stats suggest. You can identify his trait being fully charged by the orange effect on his sword.
Strengths
- High survivability and damage output
- Low cost makes placement easy at any point in a mission
- Talent allows for some passive damage against ranged enemies while inactive
Weaknesses
- Poor helidrop capability due to 0-block off-skill, skill costs, and needing to charge up trait
- Damage output heavily reliant on charging trait as much as possible
Talents
Waiting Game
When skill is inactive, deals 20% of Tequila's ATK as Arts damage to the attacker when Tequila is attacked
Fairly simple talent that scales alongside his trait. All it provides is a little bit of damage against any enemies that attack Tequila while he’s inactive, which is primarily going to be ranged enemies. This encourages making use of his high survivability and placing him last on the frontlines to act as the main sponge for ranged enemy attacks.
Skills
Decisive Action
Per Second RecoveryManual Trigger- Initial SP
- 0
- SP Cost
- 20
- Duration
- 20 sec
ASPD +50 and every attack deals 170% of ATK as Physical damage
This skill provides single-target damage output and nothing else. It is fairly consistent and easy to use, but lacks the additional benefits and damage ceiling of his second skill. His second skill will thus be better unless you’re planning on using him for single-target damage very often.
Skill Mastery
- Recommended Rank
- None
- Priority
- --
It’s a skill that doesn’t gain anything besides more damage. While S1 is better with single-target output, there’s many other operators that can more consistently deal strong single-target damage, so Tequila’s S1 ends up too unremarkable to really recommend investing into.
Esoteric Bladework
Per Second RecoveryManual Trigger- Initial SP
- 12
- SP Cost
- 20
- Duration
- 15 sec
Attack Range expands and attacks 2 enemies simultaneously. Every attack deals 230% of ATK as Physical damage. Charged effect: Changes to attacking 3 enemies simultaneously and skill duration is extended to 30 seconds
Can manually deactivate skill (skill can be deactivated at will)
| Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| X1 | active cell | active cell | empty cell |
| X2 | operator cell | active cell | active cell |
| X3 | active cell | active cell | empty cell |
Both strong and plays into the branch trait. The skill has the same SP cost as S1, but has an overcharge effect and some initial SP that makes its first use quicker in a pinch, making him a viable opener. Its damage output is great, especially given it’s multi-target, and the additional range helps make use of that. The multi-target aspect and duration are further improved if you let the skill overcharge, which makes a noticeable impact. If the extra duration is unnecessary, you can still manually deactivate the skill to start charging up for the next time you really need it, which gives a good degree of control with this skill that S1 doesn’t have. The additional range also allows him to help out multiple lanes. This is useful when two neighboring lanes have constant pressure and he can make use of his ability to hit multiple targets.
One nice quality of this skill is that it takes 40 seconds to charge twice from 0 assuming his rate of SP generation doesn’t change. This lines up perfectly with the trait’s scaling ATK. It's simple, but makes it noticeably easier to get used to the branch trait timings.
Skill Mastery
- Recommended Rank
- Mastery 1
- Priority
- Medium
This skill functions very well at just SL7 already, and gains at every level are almost all the same. Since the increase is a multiplier, it’ll be a fairly significant increase with his scaling ATK stat. If you enjoy Tequila and this skill, getting at least M1 on this skill is both a cheap and a nice upgrade. If you end up really liking it, then further masteries still have good returns.
Synergy
Pallas
Pallas should be placed behind allies to best make use of her trait and Vigor talent. She handles weaker enemies with ease, but may struggle to keep them up against some tougher enemies. Tequila can be activated to help temporarily tank while also dishing out damage. If Palls is using S3, he can make good use of the additional ATK (since Tequila has decent multipliers on his skills), additional DEF for tanking, and an extra block to handle even more enemies at once with the additional survivability. They’re simple and have kits that both work and rotate well together.
Warfarin
Warfarin can allow you to play a more spammy Tequila. While SP batteries can be rather mediocre for Tequila due to him needing to charge his trait in the first place, Warfarin helps in that regard by being able to give him a nice ATK buff to make up for this. Assuming Tequila has just charged his S2 once he will be at +100% ATK from his trait while also only lasting 15 seconds. Warfarin can provide him with an additional +90%, just under the +200% with the trait maxed, while her buff also only lasts 15 seconds. This means her buff won’t be wasted due to his skill lasting less, and the skill also deals significantly more damage together. This way she ends up being the most viable SP battery for Tequila.