Etheria Restart – Hoyan and Holden’s first impressions

Hoyan and Holden were added today to Etheria: Restart, and we have spent the last 12 hours testing them in both PVE and PVP scenarios. Read below to find out how good or bad they are! Also, we have updated the DPS Ranking to include both.

We won’t reveal their ratings yet, because we want to do more testing, but we will release them within 24 hours of posting this blog!

Holden

Early impressions

Holden is a Reason Animus and one of the few SSR DEF scalers in the game. His kit not only makes him a versatile teammate but also allows him to excel in multiple types of content.

Holden’s S1 is a high ST Damage ability, capable of inflicting [DEF-] over 3 hits, making him a fairly reliable [DEF-] spammer. The skill also features a passive component, which increases both his Counterattack rate and his Final Damage by up to 10% and 5% respectively (when S1 maxed), stacking up for every 500 DEF he possesses when entering battle, meaning it doesn’t take into account the in-fight buffs.

This passive is incredible in the later stages of the game; however, you’re unlikely to see a big damage increase early on, as you need both high DEF on his stat sheet from the correct gear sets, but also need to get this skill to level 5.

His S2 is simple yet devastating: a single target gets hit for a heavy amount of damage, then their Turn meter is pushed back by 100%! This effect effectively resets the enemy’s Turn meter, completely restarting their progress to get a turn. Keep in mind that some buffers can boost the Turn meter by 100%, so it’s not a perfect tool to deny an enemy’s turn.

The skill has another tremendous effect for PVP and certain PVE stages, as landing the attack without being resisted also fully maximizes the enemy’s CDs. That means that your enemy could not only be pushed so far back that they might never get a turn, but even if they do, none of their Active Skills other than the S1 will be available. This second effect does not work on any major PVE Boss, so assume that any enemy with a big HP bar at the top of the screen cannot be affected by it.

The S3 is what sets him apart as a Dispeller: Holden deals high AOE damage to all enemies in 2 hits, and each has a good base chance of Dispelling 1 Buff and applying crippling [ATK-] and [RES-]. If that wasn’t enough, each effect’s activation chance doubles for the hits that crit on the enemy.

This Dispel is amazing, as it’s an S3, meaning the AI is going to prioritize using it as an opener for the likes of Terrormaton and Aurora. Even better, the debuffs attached to it are both amazing for improving the survival and stability of the auto runs.

Overall, you can expect Holden to excel in every content where he is advantaged, and also be very strong in every content where he is neutral. His Damage potential in the late-game is top-notch, but he needs a [DEF+] buff to fully realize it, as it gives a 60% increase instead of the 40% [ATK+] that ATK scalers usually rely on. His Dispels and Debuffs have extremely high chances of landing, which alleviates the need for Effect ACC, and his DEF scaling makes him naturally tankier than most of the DPS.

In PVP, Holden is sure to fit into multiple strategies, thanks to each of his skills having powerful and game-changing effects when properly used. Note that his SPD isn’t that high, but it isn’t that low either, fitting in the middle of the pack, so it’s best never to rely on him as a pure opener. A more efficient way to exploit his kit can be to pair him with Lily, Mio, or Tsukiyo Mi, as they give him that Turn meter boost he may need to go before the enemy. Otherwise, it’s good to know that the sheer power of his Counters paired with the Bulwark set, can let him inflict severe damage to the faster, squishier enemies even as a slower Animus.

Pros

• S3 is a godsend for a wide range of stages, including most Bosses, offering crucial Dispels and stability.
• S1 Passive gives him very high damage potential, the more optimized his gear is.
• S2 can single out an enemy and make them utterly useless if they do not have powerful passive effects.
• A more supportive Holden does not need too many Skill levels to work well, as S2/S3 both get a lot more powerful at level 3.
• With Bramble set and late-game Stats, Holden almost reaches 100% Counterattack chance, making it very reliable, as long as he is hit.

Cons

• To maximize Holden’s damage and play him with a DPS focus, he must have S1 maxed to fully shine.
• Any mechanic that impacts Crit Rate handicaps his stability, both in terms of damage and debuff application.
• Half of S2 doesn’t work on most, if not all, PVE Challenges.

Build

If you want to know how to build Holden, check his profile.

Hoyan

Early impressions

Releasing alongside her twin brother Holden, Hoyan is a Hollow burst and revive specialist who struggles a bit to fully realize her potential in PVE; however, the threat that her revives pose to the enemy can make her difficult to confront in PvP, often destabilizing the opponent’s game plans.

Hoyan’s S1 is a straightforward 2-hit single target ability that inflicts okay damage and features a low chance to apply a 1-2 turn [Wound] with each hit. While the chance to land the Debuff is awfully low, [Wound] is an extremely powerful effect that is usually only applied for one turn. Raising this skill to level 5 makes the Wound last two turns, which in most cases is a death sentence to any Animus if they do not have access to Cleanse or abundant Shields.

Her S3 is a powerful 1-hit nuke that costs Hoyan half of her current HP whenever she casts it. In exchange, for every 10% of her missing Max HP, the attack deals 10% more damage up to 90%, skyrocketing its output and (with proper buffs – including her S2) gives her incredible Burst potential. Her S3 also has a very low cooldown and, thanks to her S2 (which we’ll cover next), also has a way to instantly trigger it for free at the maximum boost value of 90%. You can absolutely expect Hoyan to be using many, many ultimates in fights when fully geared.

Hoyan’s aforementioned S2 is where the complexity of her kit lies, summing it up, though it does three things:

• First, it allows her to cheat death once every four actions (when maxed), leaving her at 1 HP and also granting her Soul Ward for one turn (protection from death while active). After this cheat death triggers, Hoyan will also immediately use her S3 (at maximum DMG% boost thanks to being on 1% HP) regardless of its current cooldown.
• Second, it allows her to revive fallen allies whenever slaying an enemy; enemies slain by her are also banned from revival.
• Third, whenever either of the above occurs, she’ll gain a stacking ATK% boost which maxes out at 3 stacks.

Overall, Hoyan is a polarizing character; she’s either absurdly dominant, dealing tremendous damage in PVE with max passive stacks and frequent death prevention, while also being an absolute unkillable menace that snipes your team in PVP. Or she sits at zero stacks in PVE, dealing mediocre damage without any way to trigger her passive or for any allies to revive, while getting completely countered in PVP by characters like Massiah, Borgne, and Heinrich – which effectively render her passive and death prevention null.

In PVE, Hoyan’s damage potential is hard to fully unlock, as the most reliable way to gain stacks of her unique ATK+ is by having her survive killing blows repeatedly, and without it, her damage fails to take off. The ‘easiest’ way to gather stacks is by playing tankier allies while Hoyan becomes the sole glass cannon of the team. In this way, she is more likely to be targeted or to die from strong AOEs, and her allies can survive long enough to see her bloom into her ultimate form. Running her with CD reduction like Lily, Tsukiyo Mi, Beyontin, or Dorothy the Wisher (to name a few of the more offense-oriented Buffers) is a great way of cycling her S2 faster and capitalizing even more on the short CD of her S3. This remains a difficult setup to exploit properly, but the pay-off can be just as rewarding.

In PVP, Hoyan can be a monster, with a few ways of building her to very different effects:

• In general, a well-drafted glass cannon Hoyan is incredibly deadly, since without any counters to oppose her, she is guaranteed to take her turn or counter, removing an enemy from existence with every S3 or S2 activation. Drafting her late is a better way to go about it, but be careful that your opponent doesn’t secure her first!
• On the other hand, surprising the enemy with a more sturdy build that relies on slowly gaining the advantage by permanently killing an enemy and reviving an ally can give you an edge in stall matchups.

Beware of Celince, Massiah, Borgne, and Heinrich, to name some of the harder counters to her, as they can disable Passive effects or remove the [Soul Ward] and finish her off with Shell damage.

Also, here are some extra things to note about Hoyan’s unique interactions:

• Hoyan’s passive [Fleeting Glance] stacks are lost when Hoyan dies, which means she has to restart the process of stacking them if she gets revived by Sania, for example.
• Heinrich’s Buff block does not stop Hoyan from surviving on 1 HP, but will stop her from gaining Soul Ward, allowing her to be sniped by his teammates or an after-attack Shell he may have equipped (assuming he was targeting her).
• Borgne and Massiah S3 ignore passive effects on enemies, and they can kill Hoyan immediately – her passive cheat death will not trigger if the last hit is done by those abilities.
• Hoyan’s [Fleeting Glance] passive is gained after the S2 trigger of her ultimate, meaning it will not immediately benefit from the 40% boost.

Pros

• She has one of the highest burst potentials but requires extensive setup.
• Automatic [Soul Ward] on death is clutch in many situations.
• Can revive allies over and over in long fights when facing respawning enemies.
• 2 turn [Wound] is deceptively powerful.

Cons

• The stacks from her S2 are vital to her viability; failing to acquire them consistently makes her overall performance underwhelming.
• Higher skill levels are very impactful. Without invested S2, the stacks that are so important to make her good only provide 10% ATK per stack.
• Passive disable, multi-hit Dispels, and [Block] are very dangerous. They can nullify her S2 and kill her before she can counter.

Build

If you want to know how to build Hoyan, check her profile.