#if i gave belphegor a module it DEFINITELY wouldn't be the 'lowered deployment cost' module

[rimeiii]

What in Hell is Bad Demon Kings as Arknights Operators

(If you saw this before, it's because my Tumblr app glitched out and sent the draft before I was done orz)

So, funny story!

With every single WHB demon king already obtaining a playable version, I found myself thinking of the very hypothetical scenario of Asmodeus facing off against Mlynar, an AK Operator who also doesn't do normal attacks (he'd lose imo, our local jaded horse uncle salaryman Mlynar is OP for a reason yo). But this turned into thinking about every single demon lord in the context of them as AK Operators...

I also kinda need to appease the gacha gods by providing any sort of content, because Logos's banner drops on the 31st of October (which is tomorrow oh my god) and even though I may already have a spark ready for him (300 pulls) and enough materials to max him out day 1, I want as many copies as possible for the AK equivalent of his tea leaves.

I could've had more but I spent like 240 pulls in the past 6 months to grab several other 6* Operators, notably a guaranteed new Operator on the celebration banner (Penance in ~60), ~50 in Zuo Le's banner (got him), another 10 on Ascalon's banner (didn't get her), and a whopping 120 on Ela's banner (R6S collab, collab banners have hard pity at 120 pulls).

Update for those who care - yeah, it worked! 160 pulls for my first copy, immediately ran to fully upgrade him before pulling again, and got another two within the next 140. Welcome home husband ❤

Some ground rules before we get into the meat of the post, however:

I'll be using the Selfie cards as main inspiration, pulling in lore for any other adjustments.

Will also be putting down some skill info! Skills will assume 6* standards, meaning they have a total of three skills to choose from and two passive skills in total (Talents).

I won't be doing Modules, skill names, and skill numbers, to preserve my sanity.

Without further ado...

Satan

Satan's Selfie card has an insanely long range and strong single-target damage, but his skill deals AoE damage. That's why I think he could be a Deadeye Sniper. This, despite him apparently sharing the same seiyuu as Totter, a Besieger Sniper.

Deadeye Snipers have high Attack, a large range (extends in a triangular shape forward), and prioritizes attacking enemies with the lowest Defense. As a matter of fact, they have among the highest Attack in the entire game! This is why I picked the Deadeye Sniper subclass over Besieger Sniper for Satan - even though Besieger Snipers also have a long range, they have a blind spot in the row right in front of them, have lower attack than Deadeye Snipers, and prioritize attacking enemies with the highest weight.

First skill: a generic Attack buff.

Second skill: summons his blood scythe to attack everything in his range, dealing AoE Physical damage and inflicting Fragile (increases damage taken by all affected enemies) for a brief period of time. He can store up to 3 charges of this skill starting Mastery level 1 (normally he can only store 2 charges max), but its cooldown is slightly longer than Leonhardt's second skill, which has a similar effect.

Skill 3: an ammo skill that turns his regular attacks into AoE attacks. Increases his attack wind-up time, gives him a sizeable Attack buff, and inflicts Fragile on all affected enemies for a brief period of time. Because it's an ammo skill, this skill will continue until either he runs out of ammo or the player manually deactivates this skill.

Talent 1: increases damage dealt if there is only one enemy in his attack range.

Talent 2: all of his attacks ignore a set amount of enemy defense, this amount increases after being deployed for a set period of time until a certain cap is reached.

Mammon

Quite possibly the only tank in the entire lineup of demon kings while still being able to deal some damage, which is why I think he could feasibly be an Arts Protector Defender. Bonus points for him also sharing the same voice actor as Czerny, an Arts Protector Defender!

Arts Protector Defenders deal Arts damage when you use their skills, and they tend to be on the more offensive side while still boasting respectable defenses and blocking ability. The other offense-focused Defender subclass, Duelist Defenders, may have higher attack, but they're only able to block one enemy at a time, unlike the 3-block of other Defender subclasses.

Skill 1: a generic attack buff.

Skill 2: an attack speed buff and minor attack buff, coupled with the ability to attack all blocked enemies and lifesteal (heals a small percentage of damage dealt).

Skill 3: increases his range to attack the 8 tiles around him and summons his golden fists to attack an enemy at a time, dealing AoE damage where the target is and providing a small percentage chance to briefly stun all affected enemies while slowing down their movement speed for a brief period of time.

Talent 1: increases his max HP and defense.

Talent 2: upon skill use, grants him a shield based on a percentage of his max HP, this shield will decay over time.

Leviathan

Now, Leviathan shares the same voice actor as Shalem, another Arts Protector Defender. But Leviathan wouldn't be a Defender, I feel. Instead, I'd like to lean into his 'summoner of Eldritch beings' side a little bit more and have him be a Summoner Supporter.

Summoner Supporters deal Arts damage and are able to deploy their own summons, each with their own behaviors and stats. The summons' passive effects and behavior depends on the Summoner's set skill. Leviathan's summons would all have 1-block by default. These summons would be his Eldritch beings, but I'd like to think he'd have a particular focus on his tentacle monsters. A little bit like Deepcolor, a Summoner Supporter whose summons are tentacles, with her being of the fish race (Aegirs).

Skill 1: summons can be deployed on melee tiles and deals single-target physical damage. When Leviathan uses his skill, he and his summons gain a generic attack speed buff.

Skill 2: summons can be deployed on ranged tiles and deals single-target Arts damage. When Leviathan uses his skill, he and his summons gain Invisibility (prevents them from being targeted by all attacks until they are revealed, either by invisibility-revealing enemy skills or being blocked) and a significant attack buff, but slightly increases their attack wind-up time.

Skill 3: summons can be deployed on melee tiles and deals single-target physical damage. When Leviathan uses his skill, he and his summons gain both an attack speed and attack buff. His summons also gain +1 block count and attacks all blocked enemies.

Talent 1: Leviathan can have up to 5 summons at a time (can only deploy 3). These summons have different stats and skills based on Leviathan's equipped skill.

Talent 2: Leviathan and his summons have a minor HP regen by default, based on a percentage of their attack.

Beelzebub

I considered Instructor Guards for Beelzebub because of their tendency to have whip or whip-like weapons (some notable exceptions being Swire with a mace and Rainbow Six Siege's collaboration Operator Doc with a gun). But Instructor Guards are typically more support-oriented, which I feel kinda goes against Beelzebub's general personality, so...I decided on making him a Lord Guard.

Lord Guards have a larger range than even Instructor Guards and boast the ability to launch ranged attacks within their extended range, but these ranged attacks have lower attack power compared to their regular attacks. They deal single-target physical damage.

Skill 1: a generic attack buff.

Skill 2: drops light arrows at several spots within his attack range, prioritizing those closest to him. These arrows deal a single instance of AoE physical damage and inflicts all enemies hit with a damage over time debuff. Normally 2 spots are selected, increased to 3 spots at Mastery level 1.

Skill 3: changes his damage type to Arts, increases his range, allows him to target an additional two enemies with each attack, and gives himself an attack buff. Enemies hit by his attack suffers a damage over time debuff for a short period of time.

Talent 1: gains increased attack when no allies are in his immediate vicinity (the 8 tiles surrounding him).

Talent 2: his attacks have a small percentage chance to 'crit' and deal increased damage, this percentage chance increases as long as he hasn't dealt a crit damage instance, resetting after each crit.

Lucifer

I feel like this is the most no-brainer choice. In Arknights, there is only one subclass of Medics that have the ability to damage enemies, which is the Incantation Medic. Medics in Arknights typically don't do any damage apart from these Incantation Medics and two Single-Target Medic exceptions in Kal'tsit (has the Mon3tr summon, a DPS unit which is what she's mostly used for) and Folinic (only deals damage on her second skill).

Incantation Medics are unable to directly heal their allies, unlike all other Medics. Instead, they attack enemies that enter their range with single-target Arts damage, and subsequently heal an ally within their attack range with the lowest amount of HP based on the total damage they dealt onto the enemy.

Skill 1: increases attack speed and heal amount per attack.

Skill 2: heals everyone in his range after each attack, and gains an attack buff.

Skill 3: increases his attack and attack speed, attacks deal some splash damage on surrounding enemies. When no healing is needed, damage dealt is instead converted to a shield buff on a friendly unit, prioritizing an ally in his range currently being targeted by an enemy. Otherwise, default to the last-deployed Operator.

Talent 1: gains increased attack speed when an ally within his range has his HP dropped below half.

Talent 2: his attacks have a chance to lower enemy attack and attack speed by a certain amount.

Belphegor

The fact that he deals AoE damage with his normal attacks makes it a pretty cut-and-dry choice between two different classes, in my opinion - those two classes being Artilleryman Snipers and Splash Casters. I personally am biased towards Splash Casters, purely because Belphegor doesn't seem to be wielding any guns, which are typical for Artillerymen Snipers.

Splash Casters have high attack and deal AoE Arts damage with every attack in their range. They also have a slower attacking speed compared to most of the other classes to balance out their high base offenses.

Skill 1: a generic attack buff.

Skill 2: slightly increases his attack and attack speed, extends his range, and inflicts Slow (lowers movement speed) for a period of time on all enemies hit by his attacks.

Skill 3: increases his attack and attack wind-up time. Now attacks all enemies in his range, has a small percentage chance to Bind (causes the enemy to stop moving and attacking) the enemy for a brief period of time, and the effect of his second Talent will be increased.

Talent 1: stores up power the longer he goes without landing an attack on an enemy, up to a certain cap. This bonus resets every time he hits an enemy. Think Platinum's passive.

Talent 2: all his attacks ignore a specific amount of enemy resistance (reduces Arts damage by a percentage based on its number).

Asmodeus

Another one where I had to debate between two different classes that do not perform normal attacks - none of them being related to Flagbearer Vanguards, the class with the character that shares the same voice actor as Asmodeus, Elysium (even though Flagbearer Vanguards typically stop attacking normally when their skill is active). The first class is the Liberator Guards, who are far more offensive in nature (notably, this is the subclass Mlynar belongs in). The second class is the Phalanx Casters, who are much more defensive in nature. After some deliberation, I decided to go with Phalanx Casters for Asmodeus.

Phalanx Casters normally do not attack, but have greatly increased defensive stats while their skill isn't active. While their skill is active, however, they'll deal Arts damage to all enemies in their range and lose their boost to defensive stats.

Also, an important note for Asmodeus specifically. I will NOT be limiting how many times Asmodeus can use his skill, because most of the 'limited use' skills in Arknights are due to lore reasons (Guard Amiya S2 being capped at a single use in each stage as an imperfect copy of Guard Ch'en's S3, a good chunk of the Rainbow Six Siege collaboration Operators' skills having a per-deployment limit because of Rainbow Six Siege's mechanics).

Skill 1: retains a portion of his increased defense, gains an attack buff.

Skill 2: gains Invisibility, a sizeable HP regen, and both an attack and attack speed buff. Can manually deactivate this skill, reverting back to his state before using the skill.

Skill 3: increases his range and attack. Attacks will 'mark' the hit enemy and have a percentage chance to inflict Fear (enemies will scatter around and cannot be blocked). When his skill ends, every enemy marked is hit with a strong Arts damage instance. Can manually deactivate this skill, ending it instantly and reverting his state change to one before using his skill.

Talent 1: has an innate Sanctuary (cuts damage taken by a certain percentage amount), which increases the more HP he loses (up to a cap at 80% HP lost).

Talent 2: after being deployed for a period of time, gains Taunt (becomes a target priority for enemies). Reflects a portion of damage taken back at the enemy based on a percentage of his attack as Arts damage.