Boss Killers Don't Exist | Arknights Analysis

[@soloprimogeniture4678]

Okay then instead of saying "Boss Killer", let's say "Patriot Killer" "FrostNova Killer" "Talulah Killer" "That Flower Thing from Under Tides Killer"

[@jonaslechat9472]

tehnically speaking with the appropriate squad you can use only yato to DPS patriot, so I guess she is a patriot killer (if you have 30 mins of your life to waste)

[@Thesupremeone34]

@@jonaslechat9472 holy fuck did someone actually do this

[@yuurina5092]

Why people are even crying about what boss killers are

[@sorcierenoire8651]

@@yuurina5092 because they're sensitive that's what. Pay them no heed as it is all in vain under the might of Ursus.

[@datnoob4394]

Saying Boss killers don't exist is like saying DP generators don't exist because Myrtle doesn't generate DP when stunned by a defense crusher.

[@ShuraCS]

Myrtle can be a boss killer

[@wigglyjiggly4583]

Making Murtle my main dps was the best decision ever

[@patrickolmedo3936]

lmao. i dont want to see myrtle dying. please no

[@RuminasVall]

she can tho, i hyper bufff her to kill phase one patriot a few time.

[@OldeCat]

She can if you bring aak, skadi alt, and warfarin

[@hope-tn1oz]

Specially with her skills. Just buff her with warfarin and she will melt ANY BOSS!

[@vynnvincero]

In my opinion, Boss Killer is a role given on a single map, not an embedded permanent tittle to each operator. I mean if u want your strategy to use exusiai to deal most damages to boss, then exusiai is your boss killer on that single stage. Another example is on OD Ex boss, I use Rosa and Silverash to be the boss killer while Surtr's role in this stage is as a wave clearer to counter the clone guy. Kinda like formation in football I think, Christiano Ronaldo can be a Winger in some matches but he can also be a midfielders or Forward in some other matches.

[@yuurina5092]

Boss killer is litterally just high and fast burst dps why people are even crying about this? Surtr sa eyja and kaltsit are boss killers even if you cry about it sadly

[@vynnvincero]

@@yuurina5092 if surtr is a boss killer can she kill or deal high damage on r6s boss? Or can kal'tsit stop patriot march by herself? If you say they are boss killer why can they kill those bosses? That's my point in previous comment, they can be boss killer in some stages but they can also be lane holder or wave clearer in some other stages. That's why I said boss killer is a role in stages not embedded to an operator permanently

[@wickeddave5148]

​@@yuurina5092It's not that deep bro

[@LotusPicker]

Can we talk about how much I love the little pauses featuring Yii's everyday life with Amiya? It's wholesome.

[@kasagrim7215]

That’s what I thought to. Like although he’s explaining some stuff. We get little cutscenes like this. I like it

[@omniscientcommenter3271]

Ebenholz(with some buffs) can literally one shot bosses.😅

[@TheEmperorGulcasa]

I feel like the title argument is being a bit pedantic. It’s not like people can’t comprehend a gradient scale. Surtur might be considered the top end of boss killing for being extremely reliable at killing most anything you run into and can typically do it with less additional resources or shenanigans. Whereas Exu can kill bosses that Surtr might struggle with but she will do so less frequently and often require more planning/additional units to do so. Still, there’s no getting around that huge bursts of damage are often the simplest and sometimes the only way to overcome the hardest challenges in the game and only a certain subset of operators is well suited to doing that job.

[@cryomancer2768]

He already contradicted himself by stating the meaning he gave boss killer that "alone" but he includes warfarin in the equation lmao

[@holo-ge9lr]

I thought people have agreed on this long ago but i guess it's just the minority and my circle

[@benedict6962]

Yeah, a bosskiller is just anyone who can reliably damage a boss. That covers Schwarz, since she outranges most bosses and doesn't have to worry about her range because there's only 1 target to hit. Jaye, because he damages, keeps himself alive, and if the boss is too tanky for both of those he's still a fast redeploy. Mousse, because she debuffs atk on the only enemy that needs to deal less damage. And of course, Surtr, because no matter how much a boss hurts, 8 seconds of pain is good value.

[@Phantom-el6oe]

For me it felt like pointless ass dragging to make a video. Boss killers simply have a kit that allows them to deal with troublesome enemies like shieldguards or bosses. Schwarz come with damage, pre packed debuff, and good range at M3. Surtr has survivability and ignores a lot of RES. Amiya and Kal'tsit are boss killers too because their S3 provides pure damage, and they can safely take out the enemy Apple Pie counters all low DEF enemies, and it just happened that some bosses have DEF low enough. It's like trying to forcefully compare Ifrit with standard AOE casters, which doesn't make a sense. Also even Yato can take on the Patrion when buffed enough, so his point is pointless

[@sando3293]

I think this also comes from the fact that bosses and enemies in general are getting additional mechanics added to the to keep up with our evolving roster of stronger operator kits. Compare something like say a release op like SA who reduces redeploy timings and nulls stealth which on release was very very strong along with his SCHWING SCHWING To more current operators Nowadays operator kits be like: for 25 seconds this operator does your laundry, taxes, deletes enemies and will cook you breakfast at M3, so it makes sense that enemies become more problematic to deal with that, as we see going from something like Skullshatterer to Patriot. It's more the game encouraging the use of buffers and other types of operators rather than certain ops being "pure" boss killers, but there are ops whose kits are better suited to dealing with bosses than others as has been said in this comment chain

[@nekorisakirisame1323]

Eunectes: *Vanish* some character do made to kill bosses, euc can solo any bosses but isnt that usefull vs any regular content enemy (atleast in comparison to the usual lane holders). with buff anyone can be a boss killer if you try hard enough, but there are operators dedicated to beat down heavy enemies. (Edit: fuck emperors blade)

[@varellep2712]

yes, eunectes gaming

[@markopusic8258]

Emperor's Blade? *Laughs in Schwarz*

[@XynRemained]

Technically, eunectes is duelist, which is role that seemingly made to deal against problematic enemies (including hella-gramps, jaye, amiyapog, skadi, etc) so are they boss killer? technically..... but a lot of "bosses" doesn't need to be 1v1'd. Some comes with annoying mobs, can revive, high resistance, annoying gimmicks. While most of the case boss-killer are those that can burst down boss's HP quickly, there's plenty of case that boss-killer are those that have suitable kit to mitigate bosses, even if they're subpar in general content. Thus Yii's argument of "boss-killer doesn't exist". Not completely true, but there's a point in it.

[@kedarwaychal3854]

Boss killers I guess is used for high innate dps against the tankiest of enemies. The innate part clarifies grey areas, but doesn't out ops that aren't conventional "boss killers" from pumping out insane levels of dps under buff/debuff. But yeah, your points do make hella sense.

[@Vasharan]

That's the thing, though. Bosses in Arknights aren't simply 'enemy with highest DEF, RES and HP'. Crownslayer can slip past blockers, but has low weight and can be pushed into a hole. Does that make Shaw a boss-killer? Patriot has high DEF but middling HP and his multi-hit attacks can be used against him, e.g. Aak S2 and Shining S3 buffing Bubble. Does that make Bubble a boss-killer? Essence of Evolution has global explosion attacks but will die on its own, so if you can outheal his damage, you win. Does that make Perfumer a boss-killer? Emperor's Blade debuffs and insta-kills high ATK Operators but can be stalled indefinitely by Gummy. Does that make Gummy a boss-killer? I'd say in all those specific examples above, the answer can be 'yes'. Bosses in Arknights don't fit into a single category, so the definition of a 'boss-killer' is also not singular. If anything, the _real_ boss in Arknights is the player's preconceptions, and the true enemy we must defeat is our own lack of understanding and creativity.

[@scissors7996]

@@Vasharan I guess that's the difference between boss killers and a boss killer. Surtr, SA and Eyja can handle most bosses but Shaw, Bubbles and Gummy are for more niche scenarios.

[@vickjordantevalens9286]

I think the "Boss Killer" concept is more towards tactics, not the ops themself. For Ex : Exu will deal massive dps if she's getting buff. So she isn't the boss killer herself, but it is a combination between her and some buffer. In the end, it comes back to us, what tactics we want to use, what buffer is better for exu, is it warfarin, skalter, or both, Is it better to add some debuffer, etc.

[@ohlookitisacat7404]

What if the boss Only has ONE HP but has a special 100 hp shield that reduces all dmg to 1 for each hits? See? what you describe Bosskiller as is not the Boss killer in this case. Exusial, who is not a boss killer, becomes the shining powerhouse against them.

[@EmiyaIsHere]

Boss killer issue Difference in boss killing

[@adg1754]

:WDance:

[@nihility9996]

Yii finally makes a good Analysis and formed a good opinion on a once-a-decade video?! yes if I buff Blaze with Swire/Aak/Suzuran and Warf. I will definitely kill Patriot 2 phase

[@HiImYii]

thank you renowned arknights player Nihility Arknights

[@cryomancer2768]

He screwed the pooch he defined boss killer as alone the moment you put a Operator+buffer/debuffer that's already a big contradiction to the definition of being "alone".

[@abura2980]

Me: Surtr and Shwarz are my favorite boss killers Yii: *there are no boss killers* Me: *there are no boss killers*

[@indcraft3454]

Long paragraph lol I think what the masses common understanding of the term "boss-killer" is "being able to handle majority of bosses with little to no support.". That being stated, it is worth to acknowledge that the term it self can be further classified into much more detailed categories. It's actually quite interesting if we delve into the topic much, much deeper.

[@VivaLaReverend]

Everyone is a boss killer (with enough youtube guides) Edit: fun fact: the goldfish memory thing is a myth. They actually have decent memories. I think it was up to ten months? So yay for us goldfishes!

[@johnmeme2857]

there are only 3 things in arknights - damage dealers thorns thorns but in high tile - supports skalter pramanix - stall/blockers cuora rosa

[@nyyko3268]

The thing is the "boss-killer" word is used as a term when an operator stand-alone performance can deals significant single-target dps to bosses. Exusiai alone doesn't deal that much dmg due to most bosses because of their resistances but ofc with buffs and debuffs she can. This also means anyone can deals a significant dmg to bosses with enough support anyway, so if that's what you say then ofc there would be no boss killers. I think there ARE "boss-killers" in AK, and the term should still be used here. The devs designed certain characters like Surtr, Schwarz or Kal'tsit to be in that role, it's their identity as an unit, it's what they are best at, they can kill bosses with little or no help from other sources, it's the individual performance that defines an unit a boss killer or not.

[@littlejohn8435]

So Melantha is a boss killer.

[@nicholasjacobs6605]

@@littlejohn8435 I would say Mel's more of a general duelist who can 1v1 difficult enemies (due to high hp and atk), but not quite boss enemies as she does not have the burst capabilities or healing/survivability to hold up against most bosses (ignoring early story bosses like Crownslayer and W) on her own.

[@bakublader1999]

I felt like Yii's argument was honestly super pedantic. In groups that focus on clearing high risk content the term boss killer is used for units that standalone have enough damage output to either kill or heavily damage bosses. Exusiai scales insanely well with buffers because they make good use of exusiai's high damage frequency. That's it, that's the entire argument gone. Boss killer is a perfectly fine term, just like how saying that exusiai is a strong scaler is also a perfectly fine term.

[@3takoyakis]

only hellagur is a boss killer type built _specifically_ to 1v1 any operator but hes hella old that he isnt that useful anymore theres surtr having massive atk and survivability

[@BloodReaper95]

@@bakublader1999 Like, if Exusia had the same attack speed as Shwarz or Surtr she wouldn't be very good, but if you give Surtr or Shwarz the same attack speed as Exusia then the argument falls apart. Exusias attack speed is her saving grace when paired with buffs.

[@tolzavoneinzbern]

yii underestimating me with my attention span of a goldfish in math while i already forgot everything in the video. Though thanks for clarifying that "boss killers" don't exist, kinda tiring that people keep on saying that X operator is a boss killer while X operator is not

[@Istreakilaz]

I'm sorry to do this to you tolza but, Maths doesn't exist. You've just been in a coma for too long

[@markopusic8258]

Yeah the term "boss killer" can't be given a proper definition. That happens because the power level of an operator is defined by 2 very different variables : Versatility and specialty. By specialty I mean, what is an operator designed to do and how well can he do it? For example, how good is a rapid fire sniper like Blue Poison at rapidly killing weak enemies? By versatility I mean, in how many situations will an operator prove to be useful? If I take Blue Poison again, how good is she at dealing with armoured enemies? Is she interesting to buff? How many lanes can she hold on her own? How good is she against high hp enemies? If anything specialty is nothing more than a specific thing in the versatility pool of things but magnified for the operator we're talking about. So, what could a boss killer be? Anything that can take down a boss is the real answer, but if I use the concepts of "specialty" and "versatility" I can draw a spectrum of units more or less designed specifically to take down bosses. First let's apply "specialty". Schwarz is commonly referred to as a boss killer because her S3 is highly specialized in dealing heavy single target damage to highly resistant enemies, and she's far from optimal at doing anything else with that skill, thus further emphasizing her "boss killing" aspect and putting her on the edge of the spectrum. As a complete opposite, we have units like Lava The Purgatory, who is designed to deal moderate damage to multiple targets at once, which isn't at all what's commonly required to take down a boss, hence why I've never seen anyone do boss killing with Lava Alter. She would end on the other edge of the spectrum, easily. That's cool and all, but I'm merely talking about "specialty" and I'm pretty confident that's why people use the term "boss killer" like they do. Which units can single handedly kill bosses? But if we apply both "specialty" and "versatility" to draw the spectrum, a lot of units will move compared to a "specialty" only spectrum. Schwarz for example would go down a bit because it's hard to meaningfully increase her dps further other than buffing her attack speed (Elysium S2 is quite the perfect buddy for Schwarz S3 trust me). Meanwhile, units like Exusiai can rocket jump from garbage to decent boss killers because of how well they fare with buffs, and in a different way, units like Jaye can become boss killers in certain situations, fighting animal bosses in his case. And to be even more specific, the best boss killer against the Emperor's Blade might just be Frost, because she can literally one shot the boss with a little help and thus completely negate the fog he uses to one shot your operators. Really the only way to accurately describe a true boss killer is case by case and I already forgot how I started this comment. I've been rambling haven't I?

[@Wishuponapancake]

wait wtf can you explain that frost strat to me? sounds wild

[@thejuggernight1406]

I would argue that specific skills exist that do fulfil the single role of boss killing, think Amiya skill 3, literally the only time you are bringing consistent true damage on a single target is to kill a boss or a boss like enemy. though I do think the term is way to vague for a lot of DPS operators in the game, I would argue that they do exist just none of the commonly thought of ones are "boss killers". There is a difference between high DPS on a boss and an actual boss killer. that being said Amiya has other skills (and another form) so I would say that she is not a boss killer. I think of duelist guards such as skadi and such when it comes to boss killers mainly because they are designed to deal a shit ton of damage to a single enemy.

[@alyxquinncases]

Let's simply frame the third topic in another cathegory. "Is this operator able to kill the general high hp and defense bosses when you use them?". Boss killer is an apt term for operators that are always used when killing the boss. Ofcourse there's always exceptions, but that's really it, an exception

[@lancergt1000]

1:43 never forget Bananaore's JP Pyrite R27 where they buffed Magallan S2 drone, what a GOAT

[@ordinaryweeb1264]

7:59 LMAO yeah we (probably) think like that

[@HiImYii]

im good at the game i swear

[@littlejohn8435]

So by definition, Rope is a boss killer because she pulled Crownslayer in a hole.

[@hungerquest7862]

Yii: boss killer dont exist Ebenholz: Let me introduce myself.

[@reminasashes6930]

You kinda said a whole lot of nothing in this video. It can be shortened to:if you put a defender in front of an enemy, you have more time to kill it; if you do the math, exu has a lot of raw dps so ,she works better with buffs than other operators; and exu is a boss killer, but only in this undefinable mystic zone of: when enemy have low defense relative to her attack( not so grey after all). Of course boss killers exist, why Exu cant kill Patriot is the same reason you wont use Eyja to kill stuff in chapter 9, because the respective enemies have high damage resistance.

[@CloudStrife0896]

I killed Patriot's first life with Exu by buffing her atk speed with Elysium's S2, the vid is on my channel lol

[@gaswe9236]

Exactly. I am surprised this video has so many likes. It really overexplained simple stuff and ended up being confusing clickbait

[@84themonth]

Yii: Boss Killers Don't Exist! *1 Year Later* HG: *Releases Ebenholz*

[@Zeni-th.]

Frfr, S3 makes hima boss killer

[@Revoltine]

I highly agree over what one comment said about this video: the issue of pedantry. For example, the one major statement I take issue with is the suggestion of building buffers/debuffers after building a balanced slate of DPS. While I agree that you shouldn't build way too many DPS, I'd rather suggest players, especially the uninitiated about Arknights meta, to fill necessary niches in their lineup whose operator they have but not necessarily built up within the general level of their built operators. However, to do this, we must first remove the wrong and very ignorant definition of "niche" being the opposite of "meta" known by the general playerbase. META is actually the shorthand for "most effective tactics available". Niche, on the other hand, is akin to a more specific and definitive function that they are able to fulfill, which includes their generalized role. For example, S2 Mountain's niche is being a very cheap but powerful pseudo-AoE Guard capable of wave-clearing, self-sustaining, and lane-holding. He's meta in maps and strategies where the most effective option is fulfilled by said niche. Using CC#3 Risk 18 meta for example, the middle lane does not require a buffer/debuffer. The primary roles needed there is at least 1 ground operator able to survive the Bladeweavers and a DPS unit that is able to prevent leaks, while at the same time, provide the necessary damage within a set period of time. Secondary roles include additional DPS and a form of damage mitigation like healing. In the background video and in most clears, the primary roles are usually fulfilled by healing defenders not named Spot, whose niche of being beefy against arts dps enemies, having block-3, and the secondary role of damage mitigation via healing perfectly fits, while the sample background video used Specter whose niche fulfills both required primary roles AND damage mitigation via immortality. Buffs/debuffs, if present, is just the gravy but not necessary at all since you could set up midlane with just E1 max Gummy, E1 max Haze, and a combination of two medics or two DPS. The same can be said for the rest of the lineup. Primary roles include a block-2 or block-3 operator who can wave clear, damage mitigation for the lane holder (can be as crude of a niche as "anyone who can block the lancers so the lane holder doesn't die"), and a way to deal with the Grudgebearers and the hammer guy. Secondary roles needed are operators who will wake up the inactive Sarkaz for better management, and damage mitigation for those dealing with the Grudgebearers/hammer guy. Buffers/debuffers help but they're not necessary enough to clear and trying to slot in one in a not-so-ideal squad when there's likely a more effective and efficient option without wasting a squad slot AND deployment slot, also likely bolstering your lineups for general content and not just for endgame, where buffers/debuffers are all the more unnecessary, IMO. CC#4 Risk 18 meta makes this more obvious which slaps you in the face for not having built ranged arts dps operators if you're going for the "very easy" strategy. No buffers/debuffers needed. Haze/Click/Absinthe can be your primary dps, a high DEF/high HP operator that can survive as bait for the ranged enemies, and a staller not named Greyy or May. The rest of your squad can be filled with fast-redeploy operators (S1 Kafka, S2 Projekt Red, S1/S3 Phantom, S1 Gravel, Jaye) and cheap fodders (Yato, DP-on-kill Vanguards) for stalling. THRM-EX, S3 Saria, and Suzuran helps a lot but they're not necessary for clearing. They are, however, both very effective and efficient and will, in no way, be detrimental in terms of squad slots and deployment slots unlike CC#3. Going back to the idea of a boss killer, notice that in these two scenarios, there are operators that do fall under that category. It's the premise of the given definition of a "boss killer" that's lacking as it clashes with the community-perceived definition of one. You can't go around and claim that the term does not apply in the context of Arknights when, in the context of the game, the community defines a boss killer as any operator who is able to deal massive amounts of damage to a boss, with or without any external help. Yes, this would include an excruciatingly long run of WD-EX-8 where the boss is stalled to death by defenders with Shining's aid. By your definition, no one in this scenario is a boss killer. However, in reality, the boss was killed by defenders, which makes these defenders a true boss killer.

[@yuurina5092]

Why people this video even exists like everyone with a digit of iq would know that people are referring to high and fast burst dps when saying boss killer and they infact kill bosses

[@XynRemained]

@@yuurina5092 by that logic, all ops that can deal huge amount of dmg are "boss killers"

[@kiel_doesntplay]

Me: have a problem with bosses? *DROP A SURTR* DONT HAVE A SURTR *USE SUPPORT SURTR*

[@swift-pawedteif386]

Tho I get what you are saying I don’t necessarily agree. Most operators fill a niche in this game… further explanation would just be me playing into you hands…

[@beefystu559]

I think this would be more appropriate as an argument over choosing the right DPS op, rather than whether the term a boss-killer is true in Arknights or not. The whole boss-killing or DPS in general is, in basic level, baby puzzle stuff; you choose the which DPS fits the boss stats and mechanics. Low armor? then pick phys DPS like Exu or SA. Low res? Eyja. Low res, high armor? Ceobe. High res and high armor? Schwarz. Or just Surtr because she can handle everything other than flying mobs lmao. Things however get more complex when debuffers and buffers are needed and on the field. More variables to think about. That said, thanks for the video. Always appreciate any content that cover things below the surface level.

[@Zafang]

squirtin facts bro im tired of seeing people call ash and exu bosskillers then go into arguments on how ash cant stun bosses amd exu cant scratch bosses a lot of the comments seem to be irked by the semantics of it all but i feel like it's just easier to remove the word from our vocabulary entirely. i frequent help channels and i've seen the term "bosskiller" go from skadig s3 to surtr s3. the term is too expansive to be of any value in discussions to me

[@HiImYii]

i definitely couldve worded the argument and examples better but at this point im not gonna reply to argue with 200 people in the comment section lol

[@RawbeardX]

Scissors don't exist in Rock-Paper-Scissors because they can't beat rock.

[@DetectiveRackham]

Boss killer is an operator on a specific map who can deal significant effective damage without assistance. In other words, boss killer is an operator who has a high damage-per-deployment-limit ratio in that map. If your deployment limit is capped to 6 and you can only use a single operator to dedicate to attacking the boss, then that operator will be a boss killer.

[@jprimal5947]

"There are no boss killers, only boss debuffers, operator buffers and dps units" -Doctor, the art of war

[@sarhang1755]

Everyone is a boss killer with enough setup

[@setsunakiritsune1297]

Claiming that Boss Killer doesn't exist sounds really wrong to me, but I don't have enough brain and sanity to make any argument.

[@TeamWnJ]

Dumb. This video is assuming non boss killers can't kill bosses. You say that a buffed non boss killer performs better than the boss killer and that's "contradictory". Contradictory to what? You literally laid out the definition in 5:55, "an operator that can perform large amounts of burst damage alone on at least one target". How is adding buffing contradictory to that definition, that definition literally says "alone". . The whole grey area thing is dumb. Exu is a boss killer as fits the definition of boss killer: High burst DPS alone. Why doesn't she put a dent in Patriot? Because Patriot has high defense. That doesn't change anything about the definition as the definition doesn't account for "against enemies with high defense". Even SilverAsh can't put a dent in Patriot's first life. If the definition changes then things get shifted around, but I agree with the definition that you brought up. So why add some weird gray area instead of using the established definition? . I don't know why you completely ignored the definition that YOU YOURSELF PUT IN THIS VIDEO at 7:01 and said "the purpose of the term boss killer is to apply a general category of operators that can do a substantial amount of DPS". That's not what you said at 5:55. Why are you suddenly ignoring the definition and adding your own interpretation of the term here? What happened to "burst damage" and "alone"? . If you're gonna make a video about whether something exists or not, please stick to your own established definition. The definition can be argued, some people may not agree with 5:55. But to establish something and then argue about something completely different to prove the established definition wrong is just a waste of time.

[@cryomancer2768]

Exactly, this is just one of the most ridiculous takes ever. Should have just titled it as why buffers and debuffers are underrated/important. You just can't give a definition and then just contradict it the next moment to prove a point lmao.

[@yosi2142]

I always love the little skits on your vids

[@Kaes.R]

Same thought man The thing i like about Arknights is simply its easier to gain knowledge about strategies lile why and how People be like "why he uses this ops and why he proc the skills early when i can use that ops and proc the skills at the right timing" Its actually quite hurt knowing that sometimes im that dumb but after a quick analysis of why now i can understand why exactly

[@pikusek2550]

Came dor the cute amiya, i'll stay for this bangin shit. Bro do more, can't wait for more content from you. Damn best ak youtuber

[@CyTic5]

Thank you for this. Love it.

[@luckykitty1740]

The best way to learn is by trial and error. I only trained up operators of high rarity and that looked cool, because of that I hit a pretty big roadblock. Guide videos only showcased strategies with low rarity operators, the operators I abandoned as soon as I got higher rarity, better looking ones. Things looked depressing because it felt like progressing was impossible, neither in story or the ressource stages. My way out of the slump was repeating the stage over and over until I learned the pattern of the enemies and which operator to deploy at what time to maximize efficiency. I won't change how I design my teams, It's always waifu over meta for me. But in my learning process I've come to appreciate what lower rarity operators have to offer. I am now also giving attention to how operators could cover weak spots in my team and I am building up reserve units that could be helpful in specialized scenarios.

[@nrishiee5231]

i dont think its fair to compare warf shwarz and warf exu on tentacle boss. it's clear that exu is going to win because the boss suits her. iirc tentacle boye has some of the lowest def out of all bosses. thats why warf is enough to pull exu over the damage threshold. shwarz specializes in taking down high def high res enemies. on a boss with such little def by boss standards, it's clear that her talent is not going to have too big an impact. a counter argument can be made here. if exu is so good at bossing, why isn't she used in CC? i'm sure with enough buffs and debuffs, she'd be able to outperform. that's why i think it's important to note that boss killers must be able to perform on their own. players dont use exu because there's too much setup needed. especially considering dp, squad and deploy reduction tags. it's why shwarz is used in high risk CC and not exu, for if one operator can perform the duty of multiple, she would be the better op for bossing. obviously tentacle boye is an exception, and exusiai will forever outgun pretty much every sniper, but i still would not consider her a boss killer over shwarz.

[@cryomancer2768]

He effed up already you can't have a definition that clearly states that an operator should be alone to classify a boss killer and then put a buffer/debuffer in to the mix to prove his point.

[@Still_Cold]

Really like your Arknights Analysis series man, keep it up, this is really well done

[@shini181]

Yii: *Boss killers don't exist* Typhon: *Let me introduce myself*

[@chiyokme8159]

Boss killers are units used that by them selves can dish out dmg that kill bosses. Exsu without warferin or any other buffers probably won’t do as much dmg as some of the big boss killers like surtr, silverass and others. At least that’s how I picture it but then again I do have big monke brain so this might totally be incorrect

[@himeko297]

Chen Alter: Yeah boss killer don't exist Also Chen Alter: *killing boss without buffs*

[@yearslate9349]

Given the context that the phrase 'boss killer' keeps getting used in, perhaps referring to them as 'tank killers' would be better. Their ability to pierce past or just altogether overpower the high defense that is *typically* associated with bosses is very much worthy of recognition still. I'd partly grasped the other gameplay concepts before but this video definitely helped me better understand what I'm doing to clear some of the harder maps. So thanks.

[@longsteinpufferbatch4949]

And the reverse engineering part is very true. Not just for arknights but anything you're learning, math, physics, sciences or anything. Memorization doesn't get you anywhere but understanding the concept behind how ppl approach something is what matters more.

[@flambango9710]

Some operators are specialized in killing high health / high defense / high resistance enemies, these often being elites and bosses (this is usually at the cost of consistent uptime). Some of these operators have certain conditions that must be fulfilled to get their full damage, and all of them benefit from their stats being buffed or enemy stats being debuffed. "But exu can't kill Patriot alone, so she isn't a boss killer!" No, it just means she needs atk buffs to reach her full potential. Sometimes this is viable for a stage, sometimes it's not. Compare with myrtle, cuora, or gravel, all of whom cannot possibly kill Patriot no matter how many buffs or debuffs they benefit from. Just because your designated "boss killer" changes on each stage does not mean that boss killers don't exist. If they have the ability to, with our without buffs, eliminate a stage's boss in an efficient or convenient manner, that makes them your boss killer.

[@kurukuru2518]

Yii School Arc Pog

[@jukatara8267]

Important topic: “SHAR MAHR” “SHAR ME RA” Or “SHAR ME”

[@thaqifkhirudin6610]

sha-ma-REEEEEE

[@theodorbelfast2106]

SHUH MAH RAY

[@highoverseer9323]

@@theodorbelfast2106 Is that really how it's pronounced? i always assumed it was SHAR-MARE pronounced similar to nightmare due to her freaky doll shenanigans

[@theodorbelfast2106]

@@highoverseer9323 Yes it is. Believe me, this is a trivial matter. I can't believe you guys can't pronounce Shamare's name. While I assume you are western, this should be the clearest way to help you know how to pronounce her name.

[@highoverseer9323]

@@theodorbelfast2106 i wasn't questioning or ragging on you mate, i genuinely didn't know that's how it's pronounced so thanks for telling me, i don't tend to play with the sound on so i don't really ever hear the recruitment lines. I hope we get an operator record for her, the backstory with the island sounds interesting.

[@darkdude1996ify]

Personally a "boss" is generally an enemy with high def and a moderate amount of arts resistance, and a "boss killer" is an operator who can deal reliable damage to such an enemy without needing anything else to enable them. Although it sounds kind of weird, I don't think you need a "boss killer" to "kill" a "boss" per se. Exu is not a boss killer, but she might be able to kill a boss. Schwarz is a boss killer, but it's not like she can't kill anything else. The terms might be confusing to some people, but it's not like an operator can't fulfill any role outside of what they're categorized as.

[@blacklusternolegs]

While I can get the reason the comment was made, I don't think it entirely works as a argument. 1) I agree that how DPS Is used in AK is more case by case. However this alone does not invalidate Boss Killers. A Boss Killer is anyone able to take out high profile threats (Usually Singular, but can be Multiple as we see with the Dual Knights in Kazimeriz Major) to your mission successes. So anyone who is capable of taking out a target like that, should be able to be called a Boss killer. I would argue even Exu fits that bill, but the next point is why she isnt usually used to refer to this category 2) The Case By Case Basis For Boss killers in general, its a lot more of a "Can you still do something vs any Boss" rather than "Are you only good against X boss". (And Usually its mostly considered like a "By themself" thing) For someone like Surtr, Kal and Schwarz to name a few, they can still do sizeable amounts of damage vs most of the bosses in the game. For Surtr its due to having Res Ignore, High values on S3 and being Arts. For Kal its just having solid values and True damage on Mon3tr. And For Schwarz its High DPS + Her talent and lowering Defense. Compare that to someone like Exu, who has great DPS but due to her DPS being more "Attacks a lot of times with relatively low power than each hit being big damage", she fairs worse against Armor (As you covered). This while it isnt a problem for the early game, by the time you reach Patriot and Talulah makes her much harder to use as a Boss killer. This does not mean she CANT Be one as Under Tides has shown us, it just means that she is now much more limited in scope as to where she can use. 3) Regarding usage of Buffers/ Debuffers. This is a area where its hard to really talk about anything. Because then you open up the can of worms that is - "What about X other operator using buffers?". This is the part where I can see some merit to the comment of "There are no Boss Killers". However then we have the argument that "Technically everyone can be a Boss Killer" 🤔. As you yourself covered however, some characters are excellent with buffers and can indeed become threats. Exu is actually a VERY Strong argument in general because not only does she appear for Under Tides as a Boss Killer after she was laughed out of being one ever since Patriot Dropped, but she also appears for Risk 31 for CC5 (Albeit I do wanna say that CC5 PROBABLY has the Bladehelms being the actual boss compared to the actual Knights 😆). But yeah Buffers/Debuffers is one location where this argument can work but I feel that once you start involving the rest of the team into discussions on how an operator performs/ their purpose, you will see more resistance to the idea from individuals who prefer giving operators role based on just their own performance. (Phantom and Shamare Best Boss Killing Duo Dont @ Me thanks) TL;DR I Dont think "Boss Killer" as a term should not be used, or to more accurate put it "Dont exist". I believe that it is usually used to denote a group of operators that without help can for the most part inflict considerable damage on many of the high end threats one may experience in terms of bosses. However I can somewhat see the argument that as you build your account, with the help of your other ops in your team, you can indeed turn other operators who are not deemed to be "Boss Killers" into ones that can kill bosses. (If I made any errors in any comments I have made here, please let me know)

[@Shoishe]

Maybe the true boss killers were the Chalters we made along the way

[@ayanu8962]

What I learned today: If you have buffers any operator that has good dmg is a boss killer. Now HG give me shamare dammit.

[@jackiesharp018]

... maybe the real boss killer was us all along

[@josefbriar4876]

* writing a long paragraphs* telling you. That you're right. Im lazy giV mE a BReAk i just finished Ex stages.

[@XenithShadow]

Boss killers are units that can be dropped into play or in some cases predroped to charge skills and will kill a boss mostly unassisted, generally a boss killer is the character that will be listed as "core Operator" in low rarity guides. So sutur, eyja, silver ashe. You can't borrow a exsuia to kill a boss unless you already had the suport units, you can borrow actual boss killers for killing a boss.

[@COZYTW]

"Always try to handhold you instead of giving you tips" My friend, I am the counterexample.

[@KoiNamiOnly]

as someone who's been really getting into arknights a lot more, your videos are actually pretty sick. ive been watching other people do runs after i do my clears (or wiping a lot hehe last talulah stage :))) ) and kept asking myself sometimes why they'd pull an op before a skill finished or use another skill (like i totally forgot saria's S3 can low res). teach a man how to fish vs giving him the fish sorta deal here and im glad to see a video reinforcing the "question everything" sort of mentality more or less. kudos my dude

[@KarurosuSoaresu]

I guess the real boss killer is the friends we made along the way And surtr

[@fishecake2794]

I really love watching videos of high level clears as they give me ideas on how to make unique clears using my own roster of scuffed rag-tag gangs. I remember in Pyrite where i had to use a strategy using may, SA, borrowed suzuran, and ethan and ethan came to my squad when i saw Silvergun's clear of pyrite with 4*s. This game is stupidly in depth i love it

[@cefrinaldi8060]

I once saw a video where buff army Myrtle solo kill Patriot. Since then i believe that every operator can kill any boss with enough buff.

[@soulburner1860]

I needed this. Thank you.

[@iang257]

Whenever an operator is regarded as a boss killer, they are always favored. But when I'm a boss killer im "under arrest" and to "get out of the building."

[@CJdoesntlikehandles]

why is everyone giving a full paragraph for this? all you really need to say is that some operators absolutely dont have kits to hurt bosses (or sometimes do damage at all)

[@Dyzygy]

Imho, “Boss Killers” are characterized by their consistency Surtr, SA, Eyja, Kay, and Schwarz are “Boss Killers” because they can deal with Bulkies and Squishy bosses adequately well w/o much support Ash & Exusiai have a higher damage ceiling, but they often need a Buff Army squad comp to reach their ceiling. As someone who didn’t have Shamare until spooked a week ago, using Exu to Boss Kill just wasn’t always practical Also this is just a Play-style preference, but imo Exu+Sora/Skalter>>Exu+Warf. Positioning Warf is a pain and Ranged units shouldn’t need active healing anyway. I’d rather have Warf pocket a Guard like Amiya or Blaze. They appreciate the heals and it’s easier for a Guard to take advantage of her SP Battery talent w/o worrying about whiffing her skill on the wrong target

[@tyaty]

Boss killers are operators who can deal high enough damage to bosses reasonably quickly.

[@NextoNev]

Thank you for the informational video

[@waridrifansyah182]

boss killer(can solo) - semi boss killer (need buff) - non boss killer

[@mangojuicexd6115]

1:55 bibeak being the best operator in max cc4 combined with liskarm

[@tlst9999]

You forget the AFKnights strategy. Where the guidemaker aims to clear the stage with the minimum moves, ideally AFK.

[@byeguyssry]

I think that boss killer is a term that describes the POSSIBILITY of being used to kill a boss effectively. So both Exu is a boss killer due to her high return on investment, hence buffs or debuffs when paired alongside exu has increased effectiveness. Surtr is a boss killer because she singlehandedly deals a lot of damage and does not need external buffs, making her very effective due to being self-reliant. Eunectes is hence also a boss killer, because she has high survivability, long skill duration, and great DPS while the skill is active, for those bosses that deal a lot of damage and may not be burst-able, but she's worse at being a boss killer. I'd say that we can plot it on a 3-d graph, with one axis being investment needed or how hard it is to achieve peak potential (Exu and Eunectes are high, Surtr is low), another being potential damage (Surtr is medium-high, Exu is high, Eunectes is medium-medium-high), and the last being either survivability or burst (all of them being very high), though burst is generally preferred; but if you finish the boss off in 5s VS in 60s, if both only require one operator, the only real difference is needing an extra operator slot for more time. Potential damage needs to be at least above medium is my benchmark for being a boss killer, but the other two can be made up with another of the other two. Hence, how well someone is at being a boss killer would depend on all three factors. So while Penance during Skill 3 is theoretically a boss killer, she's not as good as even Eunectes. Her survivability scales with investment, and she at least needs to take hits to build up her Skill 3, and for all that her damage is only kinda better than mid.

[@GertHuber]

I agree on there being no 'Bosskiller' operator, since there is no operator that can kill/delete every boss even with buff/debuff. There are OP/Meme operators though. XD I love this entire explanation for the beginners it surely will get them on the right path. ^^

[@mrplimbles7803]

I break my operators down into: Horde Ops, Leader Ops, Healer/Buff Ops, Line Holder Ops. Think I need to work on my buff ops at the moment, think I have a nice mix of healers, DPS and lineholders. I'd say Leader Ops is close to boss killers, like I view them as not the ones who will kill the boss, but the Ops I pick to dedicate toward taking out the boss, my current go to's are Viviana and Kirin R Yato and Eyjafjalla. And seen as though I use Silence as a healer, I can use her ability to mitigate the boss damage. I wouldn't say its good to claim an Op is a "Boss Killer" in all regards, each have their own strength, but its generally not the best to go 1-v-1

[@markchia2683]

me whos entire chapter 7 and 8 strat revolved around exu killing everything once i threw down a shamare doll

[@atmosdwagon4656]

6:55 Well, no. It's not contradictory for a general descriptor to have exceptions; that's why it's called "general" and not "absolute". Schwartz doesn't need Warfarin pumping her up to do that job in a timely manner; Exusiai does. Surtr is so busted because she just kinda helidrops in, blasts the crap out of whatever the problem is, and then leaves without needing much if any support vs the overwhelming majority of missions where you encounter bosses in. It's only in high end CC content, where even the most common enemy is basically a mini-boss courtesy of the absurd compounded stat inflation, that you see a need for more consistent strategies (especially stall) besides what single operators can offer emerge to deal with these threats. I could (and in fact, did) use Exusiai+Warfarin+Skalter (despite not existing) to shred the mutant sea flower thing at the end of Undertides...OR I could just call in Surtr (at most, twice) and call it a day.

[@jcdejesus2296]

Me: Just use Surtr Yii: Boss killer dont exist Me: Have u use Surtr?

[@SimplyNexy]

Just split the term into Solo-Boss Killer and Squad-Boss Killer and all problems disappear

[@rizamboi2776]

i actually get laughed at when i talk about these 2 things : the OG six star is now pretty hard to use and you better off even without them to certain extent(excluding SA, Saria and Eyja) and you have to build some debuffer and buffer in your squadron also try to get used to use them like how normal rpg work

[@zbz5505]

Idk how many 6* were released initially but I do think there are quite a few of them that are still used decently often. Eg shining and nightingale might be rather niche but that niche does show up now and then (these exploding things in under tides rn deal arts dmg for example). That would be 5 out of Idk what already.

[@rizamboi2776]

@@zbz5505 tru tru but still when you're being offered Ptil and Silence a *5 which generally more easier to E2 than the sarkaz gal, I would honestly gonna advice you to use the Rhines healer

[@nicholasjacobs6605]

The only OG six stars that I would argue aren't great ops to raise (assuming you'll get better options) anymore are Siege, Ch'en and Hoshi (and its not that Hoshi's bad, but that as a 6* she's expensive and only a marginal upgrade over someone like Cuora). Siege is outdone by Saga and Bagpipe as offensive dp generators and Ch'en's main gimmick just isn't as powerful as it once was, due to its mixed arts and physical dmg. In the end, there was only so many OG 6* ops and most of them are still relevant. Ange, Exu, Ifrit as well as the healers (who while less useful, as mentioned have their niches in certain content, especially NG in Ch. 8) all get lots of use to this day. Exu does need buffers if you want her to be a boss-killer, but she still gets hella usage in regular content. Ange I usually only use for Crowd control scenarios, but she's still useful in other scenarios and Ifrit is just amazing dps, so good that HG has to make maps specifically to nerf her capabilities.

[@Zapatote]

Exia is a god in hard stages but you might have to use practice mode a bit to get the best timing right possible

[@patrickH206]

Goldfish? Huh, what an insult to goldfishes!

[@lanceknightmare]

Something which comes to mind when you talk about the difference between a good and great player. I remember playing with some extremely good players in a Tower Defense called Gem Td back in the 2000s. The absolute top tier players included the creator of the game along with a very short list. I was a passable player back then. Years later I practiced for hours a day for several months. I eventually became a great player but still not on the S tier like the creator and those select few was. That is one factor of being a great player. Time is not always what separates a good from great player. I am fairly new at Archknights with just over a week under my belt so I can not draw a solid conclusion there.

[@chicken1696]

i just watch multiple videos and go " hey i have this character so lets use her.". approach.

[@f.b.lagent1113]

Maybe the real boss killers is the friends we made along the way

[@pouiverfaim3073]

My man what was the website you used around the 3:40 mark? Looks interesting

[@wickjone]

Yeah, i somehow can't google it

[@Exath8630]

Jargonistic terms such as boss killer are there to simplify things so it doesn't necessarily need to be "true" in every single scenario because in the end, it's just there to make things more convenient.

[@Exath8630]

It's way easier to say "Surtr is a boss killer because of her high dps and ignore RES and immortality talent" rather that "Surtr has a high arts dps. She's effective against low to mid RES enemies, sometimes high RES enemies too because of her ignore RES talent. She also has immortality for sometime after receiving fatal damage, meaning you can use her to stall for a little bit while keep doing damage for some time. Unfortunately, she's not effective against bosses with high ass HP because her HP will be reduced more and more overtime while using her burst and she will die before killing the boss. When facing enemies with low-mid DEF and high RES, SA is more effective because......................................................................................................................................................................... . . . , therefore Surtr can kill bosses and elite enemies but not every of them." It's fairly obvious when you analyze it, there's no "cure" for all bosses so yeah, "boss killer" is there just to make things more simple and convenient. It's not like Exusiai is never called a boss killer. When Exu with buffs and debuffs can kill bosses way more effectively, people will say, "dang, Exu is a boss killer/ beast/ whatever you want to call someone that melts boss"

[@myatthu7165]

Buddy,I love your videos but I kinda miss the point on this video.You said the boss killers don't exist but all those ops with big bursts and short durations,What are they supposed to do then? What's the role of eutenes then,given that she cannot absolutely hold a lane.What's the role of schwarz then,given that she can't handle shit against drone waves then.Boss killer are simply that,ops with kits design to dish out huge amount of dmg in a short time to quickly get rid of an enemy/enemies that are significantly more dangerous than the others.You used exu a lot on this video but you forgot that she also falles into boss killer catagory,just not against one with high def.

[@flokeyable]

Kinda agree on some point, but i do believe there are boss killer role in the game. Sure, Warfarin + Exu can kill boss faster than Warfarin + Schwarz due to the much faster SPD. However, if we put Warfarin buff out of the equation, Schwarz would be the much better boss killer. IMO every DPS ops can be boss killer, but some required less resource than others.

[@ykura_7122]

Let us say boss killers dont exist, but "boss killer squads" make more sense.

[@Safir-dl9xr]

yii really understands us

[@ivy4360]

Woah, deltarune music? I see you’re a man of culture as well Yii!

[@satan7481]

The boss killers were the Ops we made along the way

[@kubiishere]

thinking lore wise, the Doctor makes up the strategies. the Doctor assigns the operators to fulfill certain needs, so if someone is chosen to take out the boss then there's your "boss killer". it's a tower defense game but the world has depth, it's pretty fun to imagine that they are actually fighting. I look forward to the anime

[@redbone9553]

Ebenholz: Well darn

[@wilder6408]

You are confused. Warfarin + Exu is a boss killing *setup*. There are many different setups, like single Surtr or Surtr + Skalter. For each different boss, there are different boss killing setups.

[@Monub_8206]

Why did i get this recommended during cc10 I don't regret watching it tho

[@Hergotzer]

After seeing a video of Myrtle demolishing Patriot using like every buff in the game, I'm inclined to agree.

[@oriba7815]

Keep buying fumos , Amiya

[@keinkanal7382]

Under the right circumstance any operator can become a bosskiller. But that doesn't make them a bosskillers in my eyes. In my eyes a bosskiller is an operator whose kit is geared to dealing high amounts of damage against enemies in a relatively short amount of time. Whether they're successful at it is a different question. For example a very unsuccessful boss killer is skadi.

[@kew8796]

Cardigan is my favourite boss killer in WD-8