Every 3 Star! | A Mediocre Arknights Operator Guide

Welp, that's a lot of operators.
Every 3 Star's stats and data are taken from aceship.github.io

[@flower7671]

popukar also has the distinction of currently being the only 3* op without an EN voice actor 🥲

[@sharkyferret]

Sad times 🥲

[@VioletKFY]

Still no EN VA 🥲🥲🥲

[@flower7671]

I'll build Popukar when they give her an EN voice!!

[@hendrisrodriguez1366]

Now she have 🎉

[@NikkiTheViolist]

I ended up building them all because they're really cheap to build like, seriously, it's cheaper to max out every single 3-star, 2-star, and 1-star than it is to max out a single 6-star, and now you can actually follow the low-op clear tutorials

[@sharkyferret]

It really is, just having the option is great!

[@ak_nora]

The low op guide in question: starts using exclusively 4* ops because the stage is that ass

[@kosmosXcannon]

Main reason why I suggest to people to actually level them up. I actually made it a point to level all of them before IS1. Before that I had most of them leveled up for the low op clear tutorials.

[@Therestrial205]

I only max out Melantha, Stewart and Lava

[@sharkyferret]

If this channel ever somehow rises to fame, the first thing I'm doing is hiring an editor because after the sheer volume of things I had to edit in, I have a new appreciation for the work that they do and wondering how they do these sort of things so fast.

[@isaacgeorgebeisnerlumbang2707]

That's the way to do it. Grow your channel as you grow viewers.

[@Ziselaer]

Your videos are entertaining so I'm sure you'll rise to fame.

[@AquaticIdealist]

3 stars tend to have decent base skills. It's a bigger perk than it sounds

[@sharkyferret]

Yes! I may have forgotten to mention that! Base slaves!!!

[@phabidz]

@@sharkyferret make part 2

[@zusukoriotomo]

2:27 "if you don't like the glasses she has a cool bloodline of combat skin" bro I've been waiting for 3 years for HG to have it return 😭 not like I dislike her glasses though she's just my favourite character

[@dalgona4819]

I agree I wish they rerun some of the skins bc I've missed out on a number of them T^T

[@zusukoriotomo]

@@dalgona4819 funnily enough I was just thinking about Beagle when you sent this

[@zusukoriotomo]

I'm also in the same sort of situation I have missed out on a lot of the stuff from before but I'm mostly bummed about not being able to get the limited event skins

[@burningsamrai3681]

I built them all, and kroos is shockingly Deadly for a 3 Star, Sure Four and Five and Six Stars do outperform her eventually, but she is a staple unit and will carry to mid game after awhile.

[@Snackout]

Come for the reviews, stay for the Kokodayo~

[@amel_lemouri]

Kokodayo best 3*, even fights against some 4 stars

[@sharkyferret]

Here I am~!! -EN Kroos

[@ikyiAlter]

Midnight needs an alter. I guess Specialist or Dreadnaught.

[@NikkiTheViolist]

maybe a Bard he shows up, flirts with all the ladies, and buffs them

[@albertagungbillisupangkat6584]

half a year played arknights, only learnt about adnachiel today from this vid

[@sharkyferret]

That's better than my 2 years hahaha!

[@marielcarey4288]

Trashnachiel played a strong part of why I dropped my husbandoknights account so early 💀

[@kjriwoutube]

You forgot to say use Melantha Skill Here xd

[@sharkyferret]

Whoops XD

[@ardent8463]

idk why im watching this when i have played this game for 3 years now but hey your video is entertaining!

[@ikyiAlter]

I would put Cardigan higher simply for that one boss that hits like a truck and even some 6* defenders have trouble just because they don't have high enough hp.

[@AquaticIdealist]

Cardigan is also a champ at distracting UFOs and surviving their attacks

[@sharkyferret]

I was going to keep Cardigan higher up, but knowing I have a bias towards her (I use her plenty), I reluctantly bumped her down slightly to balance that. Then again, the guide is one big opinion piece 🤣

[@hansdiep2029]

thank you for the tier list! i'm trying to think of some good 3stars for IS and looks like i got almost all of them except Orchid

[@sharkyferret]

You’re welcome! Like I said in the video, if you need a specific 3 star, they’re low investment enough to do it on a whim.

[@AmilGaoulKris]

Im gonna add that the Robots and Yato are decent too.

[@bloodred255]

OK. If I am to talk about 3 stars. VG raise fang, don't Vanilla and plume. theres a few LS stages that want more vanguards but courier, vigna, are just leagues better. Medics, Raise ansel, not hibiscus. ansel's occasional double heal and range make him useful even with other options, wheras hibiscus is just underwhelming. Defenders. Cardigan Has HP, Beagle...has defense, spot can heal others. IS, I would recommend using a gummy instead if you are lacking medic vouchers. I sorta prefer cardigan of the 3 because HP pools are still valid in a variety of situations. whereas spots use is when you want to stall so you can just stop attacking. which is useful in some situations. but if you are using him as a source of heals? use jaye or gummy or podenco. or a medic Supporters. just orchid. she functions. Snipers. Kroos. the other two...? no. go for 4 stars or higher. Guards. uh. I mean, we got arene who is better than midnight by alot (and frostleaf is worse but...) 4 star Centurion would be estelle which ability to e2 would go leagues. do we have a 4 star melantha? I guess melantha is good. the other two you won't have a use for. Casters. steward's special targeting make him clutch. Lava?I wouldn't bother with, use pudding if you need AOE arts.

[@frds_skce]

>Do we have a 4 stars Melantha? We do. And her name is Matoimaru.

[@paperIrori]

"Do we have a 4 star Melantha?" grabs pitchfork

[@als.8327]

I didn't know spot gives dodge chance before this video

[@Zack_Zander]

I wonder if there is gonna be a 4* video, although it'll most likely take 2-3 parts

[@cubonador]

Awesome guide, really help my 2 days account

[@sharkyferret]

Glad to be of use with my mediocre guide!

[@peaveejay2700]

Sheesh, never thought Beagle is that tanky

[@marielcarey4288]

I strongly doubt Adnachiel deserves to be on the same tier as Steward or Ansel, he sucks. Probably bump up Ansel and Steward, or bump down Adnachiel and Beagle. Consistently low damage really isnt good, especially on a 3 star, and he cant do the single job of an anti air sniper right either. Midnight seems alright, Beagle i might just not be using enough but shes extremely outclassed by Cuora, who's a free defender, and not much pricier to range with a way better s2 to boot. Or is she still free? I do not remember. I also believe youre underrating how good Fang and Cardigan are. For Cardigan, the self healing comes in handy. For Fang, the dp recovery is respectable, she blocks, and is relatively tanky. Also i remember Plume being pretty good for newer players, thanks to her low dp cost and sub class, she's quite important for the early game where you actually have to think about dp. The abundance of slugs and weaker enemies really helps her too.

[@AlbRomano]

While Cuora is no longer free, her 4* status makes her quite common anyways. And to be fair to beagle, Cuora still outclasses the 5* ops, and even Hoshiguma, on occasion. When it comes to defenders, new players also get a guaranteed Dur-nar, giving them a more offensive option. That same hand pits Hibiscus against Gavial and Fang against Courier. The recruitment system used to dish out Spot and Popukar's upgrades in Gummy and Estelle, but after more ops were added to the pool they became much more rare. Kroos is still the GOAT.

[@tsukiapple8144]

Ngl i really like these videos. I think its more fun to watch more mediocre characters instead of more op characters

[@sharkyferret]

Thanks for the compliment! Though it's a coincidence that I have covered many lesser-tiered operators, the mediocre bit actually comes from the fact that these guides are simple (no data graphs, comparisons, etc), just a quick, (hopefully light-hearted) how-to sort of thing.

[@whitemagus2000]

Yeah, half of my IS runs i only get spot or podenco for healing. Like I'm supposed to be greatful for getting a medic better than ansel or something.

[@iforgetiamacat8348]

KOKODAYO! 🐰

[@sharkyferret]

KO~KO~DA~YO!!!!!

[@annieouellette]

My 3 stars either got maxed immediately because I loved them (Kroos and Fang. Specifically) or I intentionally avoided building them until I was trying to follow a guide with my higher level units and despite my efforts my better operators were either too expensive or just didn't do the same job from the guide I was following (I'm looking at you, Midnight)

[@Area_GnC]

I wish they made a 3-star version of every archetype in the type, that will allow us to see how low the archetype can really go.

[@Calvados656]

Even if you dont do it immediately you should absolutely build every 3*. While it may not be cheap to build when you first start they will become cheap pretty quickly as you progress and as the video points out they all lean into their roles particularly well and are cheap to deploy. I built out and max pot all mine fairly early (though I didnt realize how good Malantha was and she ended up being one of my last to hit E1, 55 I also got a Franka early so there is that) and never regretted it. If you intend to use low end guides when you inevitably get stuck you are likely going to have to build them up anyway unless you get lucky on pulls so you might as well get it out of the way early if you can.

[@Calvados656]

If you get any if the following you can likely put off on building the 3* equivalent though just be aware the cost in both LMD and materials will increase exponentially should you do so: [Vanguards] Texas 5* and Scavenger 4* is a direct upgrade over Vanilla Zima 5* and Courier 4* is a direct upgrade over Fang Reed 5* and Vigna 4* is a direct upgrade over Plume [Guards] Franka 5* and Matoinaru 4* are direct upgrades over Malantha Lappland 5* and Arene 4* is a direct upgrade over Midnight Specter 5* and Estelle 4* are direct upgrades over Popukar [Defenders] Cuora 4* is a direct upgrade over Beagle Nearl 5* and Gummy 4* are direct upgrades over Spot Cardigan doesnt really have an obvious upgrade as she is a bit unique but Matterhorn 4* is probably the closest thing to a direct upgrade. [Snipers] Greythroat 5* and Meteor 4* are direct upgrades over Kroos (though Kroos will always be viable even with upgrades available, shes just that good) Adnachiels talent just makes him too unique to have a true direct upgrade Meteorite 5* could sort of be considered a direct upgrade over Catapult but Meteorite cant replicate Catapults 30 seconds of doubled AoE size. [Casters] Gitano 4* could be considered a direct upgrade over Lava but cant replicate her helidrop potential quite as well. Steward like his friend Adnachiel has a unique talent that makes it hard to give him a direct upgrade [Medics] Folinic 5* can increase her range by 1 tile and Myrrh 4* can heal extra allies more consistently but Ansel can increase range by 2 tiles and passivly heal extra allies without relying on skill activation (though the extra heal is RNG dependent as a trade-off) Hibiscus... Pick any single target medic. Literally any. Probably the easiest 3* to pass on if you want. [Supporters] Most decel binder supporters can be considered an upgrade over Orchid (unless their name is Earthspirit) but because of how fast Orchid can attack and thus slow targets you wont see a true direct upgrade to her until 6* Angelina with her S1 and DEC-Y module at stage 1.

[@novatopaz9880]

I'll just say to this, while I'm here: The template for upgrades is about right, though I'd say Matoinaru doesn't really feel like an upgrade to Malantha simply because her skill options are ones which *reduces her defense*, when their minor defense is sometimes the only thing keeping them alive, and the other is just... A *cardigan style heal*. It's effectively a malantha for casters, when Malantha can already do for cheaper. Though, I guess that's personal opinion engrained from knowing the mechanics of the game, and how *bad* 0 defense is for that. You have to give me something more than +120% attack to make me consider building it worthwhile, lol. Like Franka's defense ignore talent getting buffed. That, and Steward technically does have a upgrade: It just so happens it's unfair, because it's a 6 star which has the option to do so as her S2. I, of course, speak of Coebe. But well... It's a skill. Not a talent. But it's the only "true upgrade", you could say, of steward. But otherwise, yeah, not really fair to say anyone is a direct upgrade of him otherwise.

[@shinobuoshino5066]

Except that one furry that doesn't belong in the game.

[@lingerlights]

Ko ko da yo best girl

[@user-be2bq3ze3o]

Build them all to max just to get the 200 orundums

[@wagz781]

Man, poor stewart. He has a niche, but it's filled by amiya for the entirety of the time you'd use him. Also worth mentioning: Cardigan is the only 3* operator you can't get from recruiting, which is really unfortunate because I greatly prefer her over beagle for a decent chunk of the early game. Never really understood popukar. She always seemed way too squishy for me to use, without enough damage to feel worth it, and you can get quartz (I know what you're going to say, I find her durable enough for the comparison, shush) for free using red certs. Any chance you'd be willing to make a similar list for no-gacha units?

[@sharkyferret]

Not too sure, I definitely could if I can explain myself properly.

[@shinobuoshino5066]

This game makes me feel like every other gacha preceding it came back from future then decided to make arknights but as bad as possible, I mean in almost every other gacha 3*'s are completely worthless unless you spend even more time than you would on 6* to build them up with ingame mechanics that turn them into like equivalent 5* lol.

[@SpectreTen]

Well, after the wait I was kinda expecting more than just 8 minutes, like 10 times longer bruh... But I jest. I still like your funny vids, ferret man. Also I guess something about 3 stars, well, I always loved plume the most and I never disliked Arleta(catapult)

[@sharkyferret]

Thanks for the kind words! Life does tend to get in the way of my making videos. Combined with the fact that I am slow and unknowledged in the art of video making makes for a slow speed I wish I could be faster at.

[@SpectreTen]

@@sharkyferret life's a bitch, eh? But well, things get better with time and so does one's skills (As an AK related example I would say "not all of us started as Kyostinvs") so keep at it, King. I look forward to your future stuff.

[@einsUNDcolt]

Plume is best girl

[@CoochieSlosher]

very good vidya, 10/10

[@susukiran]

👁️ Ansel

[@Fexoisa]

Nice

[@monikasthighs7587]

Lessgooo finally I've been waiting