Hako Shoujo

Hako Shoujo (release May 16, 2018) – 匣中少女

Stat Rating

Max Stat

Soul

Position 2/4/6: SPD or HP/HP or Effect RES/HP or Crit

Discussion:

Hako Shoujo is clearly a defensive support so her Souls should be chosen with that in mind.  As expected, she’ll do well with the common defensive Souls.

Sea Sprite – This is a signature Soul for slow teams to counter fast ones.  Surviving the first wave is the key to counter and Sea Sprite is the solution for that.  With such a high amount of HP, Hako Shoujo’s shield is of course extra thick.  Once Sea Sprite’s shield is over, Hako Shoujo’s shield should start to kick in.

Jizo Statue – Another popular Soul for defensive teams.  Jizo is very effective against multi-hit AOE attackers.  Though usually, enemies don’t target Hako Shoujo since she has so much HP, the Soul may not be too effective on her if the enemy uses ST DPS.

Soul Edge – Another solid choice for Hako Shoujo since her massive HP would make a good human shield against ST DPSs.  Since multiple Soul Edge would not stack activation probability, I would use something else on her if your team has another Shikigami using this Soul, say Ebisu or Hitotsume.

Mirror Lady – This Soul adds HP bonus to Hako Shoujo but I would be concern about chances to trigger, similar to Jizo Statue, since enemies usually avoid high HP targets at the beginning.

Soultaker – This Soul is for when you want to focus on her special attack for revival rather than her shield.  While Soultaker can help with the special attack’s cooldown, it lacks the HP bonus for her shield.  In addition, you may need Effect RES as well to ensure she’s able to use the special attack.  Therefore, the lack of HP stat may render her shield irrelevant.

In terms of stats, it really comes down to the common SPD, HP, and Crit for shield Shikigamis.  In Hako Shoujo’s case, I would argue HP is most important.  She does not cast shields actively so SPD is not much of an issue.  SPD is still relevant for her to shake off status effects and if you are to use her special attack for revival.  Crit is good to have since shield takes Crit % and Crit DMG into account.  I would say to try to have 2 HP main stats if you are focusing on her shield.  Crit doesn’t make too much of a difference so HP is probably easier to build.  Effect RES can be a focus for sub-stats.

If you are more for her revival special attack, things are a bit tricky since you want to consider SPD and Effect RES.  You want her to be fast to cast the revival in time.  She also has to worry more about status effects than before.  The main enemies of her passive are really Seals, which can be dispelled by Ame Onna.  Her special attack, though, can be affected by so many status effects that you may want Effect RES as one of her main stats.

In my opinion, HP and Crit should be the easiest to build and use.

Rating

Glittering Light

Glittering Shield

Retrace

Sample Team

Ame Onna, Shouzu, Doujo, Kuro, Hako Shoujo, with Kagura

Hako Shoujo is a very good protector for the team with her shield.  Naturally, she’ll fit into teams that need more protection.  The fast double puller team is prone to counter if the enemy survives the first round of fire.  Hako Shoujo’s passive would cast a shield on allies once they acted.  Although shielding is not 100%, this should greatly mitigate the risk of not being able to come back once the enemy has a chance to counter.  With fast teams, you would want to watch out for gaps in between shields.

Of course, Hako Shoujo is a favourite to the slower counter/turtle teams.  For example, Kuro would benefit quite a bit from shields as his HP decreases and prepares for the final strikes.  In addition, Hako Shoujo’s revival is a piece of mind for Kuro if he ever gets taken out.  Relying solely on Hako Shoujo is still not wise since she can be out of commission with the number of controls out there.  Having Ame Onna can help against many of the control effects.  Shouzu may seem a bit redundant here but she can help in case Hako Shoujo’s shield doesn’t proc on Kuro

PvP

She offers a pretty nice shield with no orb consumption.  She’s commonly used as a counter to fast teams by equipping Sea Sprite.  As opposed to many defensive supports, she can be used in fast teams as more of an insurance.  This is because she cast shields using her passive so she does not need to SPD to catch up with the rest of the team.  Depending on your team composition, you may want to use her special attack for revival.  For that, you’ll need to adjust the Soul set up.

PVE

She’s very effective in long fights against many of the PVE enemies.  With enough orbs, she can spam HP recovery/revival to ensure the team’s survivability.  Though, you’ll probably need to max her skill to deal with the cooldowns.  In a way, she has similar functionality to Shouzu in this role.

Shikigami Comparison

Ichimokuren – Considered the icon of Shield Shikigamis, Ichimokuren is widely sought after since his release.  In terms of shield strength, it is without a doubt that Ichimokuren’s shield is the hardest.  Ichimokuren’s very existence is to cast shields on the team.  Though at a hefty orb cost.  One big difference is that Hako Shoujo’s shield is dispellable while Ichimokuren’s is not.  Hako Shoujo is also offering shields for free.  In addition, her shield is more dependent on ally’s SPD, which has its goods and bads.  Most importantly, Hako Shoujo’s shield can be used without skill upgrade, which is a huge plus compared to Ichimokuren.  Overall, I would say Hako Shoujo would be more useful with the low skill threshold.

Koi – When comparing with Koi, Hako Shoujo would have the advantage in the shield category.  This is because of her higher HP and lower maintenance skill.  Though, Koi is not that far behind with her shield having higher multiplier and guarantee shielding to allies.  What sets them apart is their additional support abilities.  Koi is known for her bubble traps that seal enemies for 2 turns.  This is hugely effective against unprepared enemies with one core Shikigami.  Hako Shoujo, on the other hand, acts as a healing support that can also revive.  This skill is more or less overshadowed by her shielding abilities due to the skill and soul requirements.

Acquisition

Wanted Quest

Verdict

A few notes on her skills:

Glittering Shield – Shields can be dispelled.  Hako no Naka can still activate this passive under status effects, except for being sealed.  Pseudo turns (such as Scarlet) can activate shields.  Even summoned units can get this shield.

Retrace – This is not exactly a healing effect so the HP amount recovered is fixed.   This is also not a revival so all the status and action bar position would remain unchanged.  The reminisce cannot be dispelled.  The main character can benefit from reminiscence but not the summoned units.  Oguna cannot benefit from this effect when committing suicide.  The effect is still active even when Hako Shoujo died.  A multi-hit attack can still kill the unit if it’s reminisced then killed in the same attack.  Debuffs are the stat debuffs such as decrease speed, attack, etc., not the status effects, so the debuffs are all dispellable.  Shouzu’s Water Circuit can activate the effect.  Debuffs are activated upon receiving damage. Shields maintains itself as the fight goes on but the increase in ATK bonus would make them increasingly vulnerable.

Farming (0.0/5.0)

Not much to say here since I wouldn’t use a Support Shikigami to carry fodders.

Duel/Raid (4.0/5.0)

She would be common in many teams especially in slower teams trying to counter fast ones.  With no orb consumption for shields, the team can support other heavy orb users such as some of the prominent control and DPSs.  Shields maintains itself as the fight goes on but the increase in ATK bonus would make them increasingly vulnerable.

Boss Battles (4.5/5.0)

She’ll have a solid place in many Boss fights with her ability to keep the team function.  PvE environment is also more predictable than PvP so her use would be more straightforward.  In many cases, she is an option to replace Shouzu.  As we have seen, shields are starting to have more impact than before.

Soul (1.5/5.0)

No need to bring her on your Soul runs but she can be helpful to help you beat the Soul stages for the first time.

I would say she is the best Shield Shikigami so far.  In compared to others, she’s very user-friendly requiring no skill upgrade and no orb consumption.  She’ll be able to fit into many teams.  With the many Shield Shikigami releases recently, I would suggest reviewing your current team and see if any changes needed.  For example, if you are relying on Soul to control, now you have a problem since Soul control effects do not go through the shield.  If you are DPS heavy, you may find your Shikigamis having a harder time taking down enemies than before.  The best way to adjust to the ever-changing meta is to have more variety of Shikigamis leveled up but this comes with time.