#artist: 82330096

[300iqprower]

Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 86-88: Rama

Charisma B -> Kosala Battlecry B+

Increase ATK for all allies (3 turns).^ Apply Special DEF [Demonic] for all allies (3 turns). Decrease Debuff Resist for a single enemy (3 turns). Decrease DEF for a single [Demonic] enemy (3 turns). [Attack Up scaling increased to 10-20%, Special DEF scales from 10-30%, Debuff Res Down scales from 15-35%, DEF Down scales from 10-30%]

Gameplay wise the general idea here it to provide one aoe buff and one single target debuff, with an additional effect of each kind being provided against Demonic foes. I was initially considering an ATK down debuff, but lots of SR sabers already have that in their kit, plus Special DEF is more fun I find, and the debuff res down isn't anything insanely high, but high enough to synergize incredibly well with his peers, whether it be cancelling out passive resistance for someone like Yagyu or increasing the chance of Suzuka's charm to 100% and beyond.

Flavor wise this is probably my fav of the three! It's based on when Rama confronted Ravana's sons outside their father's lair, and how after Rama killed them, his men cheered so loudly that Ravana didn't even need to look outside to know his sons were dead and began mourning on the spot. Likewise, Rama's battlecry will break the spirit of any demonic foe and rally his allies against them in turn.

Curse of Separation A -> Devoted to Reunion EX

Apply Guts to self (1 time, 3 turns).^ Recover own HP.^ [1500-3500] Apply Charm Immune to self (3 times, 6 turns). Apply [Sita’s Guidance] buff to self (6 turns). Apply Delayed Buff (6 turns) [Activates upon Guts Usage]: - Remove [Sita’s Guidance] buff from self. - Decrease your Skill Cooldowns by 1 turn. - Remove own Debuffs. [Sita’s Guidance]: If Guts is active on self, Ignore Class Disadvantage when taking damage. [Guts scaling increased to 1000-6000HP, Heal increased to 1500-3500HP

So obvious lore is obvious but gameplay wise, there's a reason for that massive total HP recovery. The inherent issue with a Guts + Heal is that when the guts is only 3 turns, a heal can be pretty counterintuitive. To that end, we're keeping it at 3 turns, and we're actually buffing the heal further, but in exchange the Guts remains 3 turns on a 9/8/7 cooldown with it having a MASSIVE amount of recovery in exchange, so much that it's almost like a hard defense against noble phantasms. What's more, if that Guts DOES get activated, you get a turn immediately ticked off from the cooldown as well as a debuff cleanse, which while not likely to be enough for Rama to survive until the next Guts on his own, is definitely enough if he has some support. This means that while there's a lot of potential gain, you have to make sure you land a sweet spot of taking enough damage fast enough to trigger the guts, while also not being in a position where that high amount of damage means Rama will just get wasted immediately after regardless.

All of that isn't even getting into the unique effect that makes it so you might not even want the guts to be triggered, since it will remove Sita's Guidance, the spirit of Sita and her wisdom providing Rama with immunity to her class's normal advantage over Sabers like him (as well as Berserker and Pretender bosses!). This means you also cant rely on Berserkers as an easy way to get Rama's health whittled down fast.

Another important detail is that, while Rama's guts is 3 turns, Sita's Guidance and the delayed buff are twice that in duration. This means that while it'll normally only be active for that 3 turn window, the length of Sita's class nullification or opportunity to get the cooldown reduction + cleanse can be extended through guts CEs or support from someone like Boudica.

Lastly is the Charm Immune. Like Odysseus, Rama's devotion to his cause manifests as the ability to shrug off charm effects. Unlike Oddy, Rama er....wasn't ENTIRELY faithful. 3 times his faith in Sita was tested, and he ultimately failed in his fidelity, as such he has 3 charges of immunity. He'll be able to deal with normal charm skills easily, but if there's a dedicated gimmick for charm spam, he's by no means safe in the long run.

EX:

Blessing of Martial Arts A -> Mastery of The Astra A++

Increase own Critical Star Gather Rate (1 turn).^ Increase own Critical Strength (1 turn). Increase own NP Overcharge Level by 2 (1 turn). Gain Class Affinity advantage against [Saber], [Archer], and [Alter Ego] classes (1 turn). [Star Gather scaling massively increased to 500-5000%.]

No it's not strictly necessay but A. it completes the other side of the "Screw Class Affinity" coin, and B. The opportunity for flavor was too strong to resist. Rama's claim to fame is not his journey with Hanuman, his separation from Sita, the slaying of Ravana, or even his love of bananas - it's the sheer bloody number of Astras he possesses! Arjuna may have had quality, but Rama had him beat in spades when it comes to quantity, with Rama possessing more than any other hindu hero, full stop. This manifests as a series of burst effects that on a 4 turn cooldown (and with his potential cooldown reduction via Guts) can be used without restraint. This Astra Mastery buffs his NP proficiency, increasing its anti demonic qualities, it grants him immense critical potential by heightening his gather to that of a true demigod's glory, and of course those weapons of the gods grants him a variety of affinities, turning the tables on any of the Knight classes as well as creating a sort of conceptual weakness against composite beings, much like the ones found throughout hindu myth, thus granting him an anti-alter-ego niche as well.

So, in summary!

Rama's S3 become a sort of back and forth between immense survival potential and incredible utility, and the rest of his kit highlights his role as a low-downtime burst unit with an anti-demonic niche that, unlike Tsuna's unparalleled burst damage, focuses much more on team survival, and can easily be used in conjunction with a niche for bypassing class-weaknesses, bursting down the always tricky-to-deal-with Alter Egoa, and even turning the tables on servants whose class would render them a poor target for other anti-demonic sabers.