Zwei Association South Section 5 Rodion – Analysis

Skills Overview

Careful Obstruction

Skill 1: A Wrath skill that isn't notable at all in clash prowess. Instead, it serves the purpose of giving Rodion more Poise. It's not a lot of Poise, but it's there to help fuel her Passive. At Uptie IV, she will gain Poise whether she wins or loses a clash, as she gains Poise on losing a clash or hitting an enemy.

Focused Defense

Skill 2: A Sloth skill that gives a small amount of Poise. It does have better clashing prowess compared to her skill 1, but not by much, especially when compared to other clashing skills that other Identities have. At Uptie IV, it gives Rodion more Poise and gives Rodion Aggro to entice enemies to target her, making it a skill that gets decently buffed at max uptie levels.

Subdue Threat

Skill 3: A Gloom skill with 3 coins that can potentially hit 17 coin power, which seems good on paper. The problem is the requirements: Getting 15 Shield is no easy feat, especially when you consider that Zwei Rodya would need to have at least 8 Poise Count on her to even get her Passive to give her the amount of Shield she needs for the special effect of her Skill 3 to activate.

It might work if you're trying out a solo build for her or get enough Poise EGO gifts in Mirror Dungeon runs, but if she's running alongside other IDs with only 1 skill slot to her name, she won't be doing much with this skill, especially if you consider that without the special effect activating, it's even worse than her skill 2 for clashing.


Defense (Guard): A simple Block skill. at Uptie IV, its gives Wrath EGO resources and gives Zwei Rodion Aggro. Otherwise, there's nothing special about this defense skill.


Passive (Defensive Breathing, 3 Owned Wrath): ”At the start of the combat phase, gain 2 Shield per 1 Poise Count. (Max 20)”

A good Passive for giving Rodion better tanking capabilities. Its biggest importance, however, comes from the Shield it gives buffing her skill 3 if she has enough Shield on her. 15 Shield is a bit of a challenge to obtain, however, as Rodion does not give herself too much Poise.


Support (Designated Protection, 3 Resonance Wrath): “At the start of the combat phase, 1 ally with the lowest HP percentage gains 1 Shield per 1 Poise Count next turn. (Max 10)“

A Support Passive that helps Poise allies tank more if they have enough Wrath skills to spare in a turn. It's decent in helping them tank more hits, but can be inconsistent to activate.


Strengths

  • Decent tank, especially thanks to Uptie IV giving her decent shield according to her Poise.

Weaknesses

  • Weak overall clash prowess.
  • Skill 3 is weaker than skill 2 unless the requirements for its coin power boost are met.
  • Even at Uptie IV, Rodion does not give herself enough Poise to get her skill 3 to activate under normal circumstances.

Potential Sinner Synergies

Yi Sang - Blade Lineage Salsu

Analysis

Another Zwei Identity that seemed good on paper, but ended up squandered. It seems that Zwei Rodion was meant to be a hybrid of sorts, wherein she would give herself Poise with her skill 1 and 2 to fuel her Shield-giving Passive. Once she gives herself enough Poise, she can let loose with her skill 3.

The biggest problem is her Poise gain. Even at Uptie IV, her Poise gain is still meager, making it difficult for her Passive to give her enough Shield to give the boost that her Skill 3 needs to actually make her clash and damage prowess respectable.

All that said, she is at the very least a decent tank, since she gives herself Shield whenever she has Poise. It's usually not enough, but every bit helps when trying to tank enemy hits.

She does not synergize with the other Zwei IDs at all, as Sinclair is Tremor-focused while Gregor and Faust give everyone Defense Up buffs. For other IDs, she works better with her support passive since her passive focuses on Poise allies to make them tankier.

All in all, not that good of an Identity without any outside help to buff her Poise gain. In Mirror Dungeon, she may be able to work if you gain enough Poise EGO gifts.