A guide for new players written by 魔法少女翻翻 from NGA.[1] It is oriented towards new players joining during the game's anniversary, who will not be lacking black daruma, and can easily find stronger players to help them. The shikigami introduced in the guide will continue being useful even entering late game.
Shikigami unavailable in the GL version of the game will be italicized.
Your First Grade 6[]
Your choices will be Tamamo no Mae, Ibaraki, Ootengu, and Ubume.
Tamamo and Ibaraki are the best farmers, and the most optimal choices for farming Souls 10 (without teaming with random people), they can be useful in early game or late game.
Ootengu and Ubume are the most common Seductress AOE shikigami, they're not the most efficient choices for advanced players, but they are still acceptable when teaming with random people for Souls 10.
Sixing Tamamo or Ibaraki first lets you achieve a second grade 6 shikigami faster, while sixing Ubume or Ootengu first lets you farm for souls easier.
Notes[]
- Tamamo, Ibaraki, and Ootengu need to have their skills leveled, Ubume does not, you can just feed copies of her if you happen to get them
- It is crucial for Tamamo to have skills leveled, it is crucial for Ibaraki to have a good set of souls
- If your Tamamo has maxed 3rd skill, six him. If your Ibaraki has a usable Shadow set, six him. Else, you can only six Ootengu or Ubume
- Seductress shikigami have more uses than Shadow shikigami in instances like Kirin, never use Shadow shikigami in Kraken
- New players can start teaming in Souls 10 by around level 30, but it will take much longer until they are strong enough to team for difficult versions explorations
- If you don't have Ubume, get her shards from Demon Parade and beg for shards from guild. You'll get her in no time
- If you have absolutely no other choices, you can still consider using Umibozu or Itsumade, they just won't be as efficient as the ones mentioned above
- While you are trying to get Ubume, you can also consider using Kuro Mujo, Momiji, and Jorogumo, using Shadow sets
Healers[]
For drawn out battles healers are needed.
The recommended ones are Ebisu and Kacho Fugetsu. Why? Ebisu's Souls requirements are low, just a slot 2 speed, and slot 4 and 6 health, if you can't make a 4-set combo then 2-set combos are fine as well, the only caveat is that the rest of your shikigami can't be too slow, or they can't be healed.
Kacho Fugetsu, regardless of axe, has heal over time and her AI is decent, meaning she won't randomly heal or stop healing, she can be used as a team with Shozu, using the countering soul. She can also have slot 2 speed and slots 4 and 6 health, which can be transitioned into a crit set. However, her skills demands are very high.
What about other healers? Healers that heal based on attack, while still needing speed, are naturally less tanky. Kacho can also attack, so she seems to be better than them. If you really need the extra attack, you can consider using Umibozu.
Momo is irreplaceable in that she can revive, but she needs full crit, which is difficult for a new player. You can consider raising her after you raise your attacker.
Sakura's mechanism is rather unfriendly, and not really recommended.
If you have none of the above, Hotarugusa and Dojo are still perfectly fine options until you get Ebisu.
Other Supports[]
Shozu[]
Basically needed from beginner to late game to prevent dying from single target attacks, and a grade 6 Shozu can also be used as a heal. Highly recommended.
Heiyo[]
Forms a iron triangle with Shozu and Ebisu. His base control rate is not bad, meaning you can control the monsters in the instances quite easily, and there aren't as many requirements compared to Hooka and Yumekui, not to mention that he is R rarity making getting and raising him easy. Using him to auto instances may be slow, but hard to fail.
Heiyo can also be used in PVP.
Yamausagi/Zashiki Warashi[]
Pullers and orb providers are critical. Nothing else needs to be said.
Progressing[]
{This part describes skin instances, which have high requirements and you are not in a rush to complete. So I will skip this.}
On SSRs[]
So, a lot of players want to raise their SSRs first, however:
Arakawa and Shishio are pure PVP shikigami, not recommended for beginners
Enma and Higanbana are only useful if you evo them and get them some souls, solely for the sake of realm raid.
Aoandon and Yuki Doji are somewhat irrelevant in the current meta
Yotohime is usable in Souls 10 and Kraken and that's about it, raise her only if you don't have enough single target damage
Susabi is a late game shikigami and hard to raise for a beginner, for starters, you need maxed skills.
One More Thing[]
It really depends on you.
A shikigami is only as strong as the meta, while actually liking them is what lasts. Raising your favourites is a happy thing.