GFVerse.info - General Liu

Overview

General Liu's (Liu) Skill summons 3 sets of 3-linked reinforcements behind the Echelon at the start of combat, with the reinforcements having stats based on Liu's equal to 35% Damage, 60% RoF and 40% Accuracy.

Her Skill also comes with a toggleable stance, allowing her to swap between backline and frontline targeting. There are also some minor debuffs and buffs to RoF and Damage based on stances, but this is mostly irrelevant as the targeting is the important bit. For most fights, simply leaving her on backline targeting (which is the default) is best, as backline targeting is already part of why RFs are so strong, but having the option to change this when needed is great.

It is also important to point out that Liu does not lock on to targets like normal G&K Dolls, instead having real-time targeting like Coalition units. This means that if a new target walks into range behind what she's currently shooting, she will immediately change target.

If Liu is retreated, her reinforcements will also immediately retreat.

Pros

Frontline and Backline Targeting

Liu can toggle between frontline and backline targeting at will, making her great if you happen to need frontline targeting for only a portion of the fight(s).

Great Generalist with a Unique Skill

Liu's reinforcements are a great passive DPS buff, while also helping deal with both corpse whipping and link protection.

Real-Time Targeting

Liu has real-time targeting, not locking on to enemies.

Cons

Real-Time Targeting

Liu has real-time targeting, not locking on to enemies.

Reinforcements Can be Killed

As Liu's reinforcements only have 5 HP per link, they will die to almost anything that actually hits them, such as Coeus random targeting or AoE attacks.

Reinforcements are Unaffected by Certain Buffs

Liu’s reinforcements are outside the normal Echelon area and are not classified as RFs. As such, any buff that hits specific areas (such as columns from P22's Skill) or specific classes (like K5 buffing Damage of RFs and ARs) will not work on them.

Full analysis

Shared Vengeance is a skill with two parts. First, her passive summons 3 squads of 3-linked reinforcement Dolls that stand behind the back column during the start of battle. These three squadrons do not occupy the main three columns and thus are not targeted by attacks that target tiles. At Skill Level 10, each link will have 35% of Liu’s damage, 60% of her rate of fire, and 40% of her accuracy. Further, each link has 5 HP, bringing each squadron to 15 total HP. At max level and default mode from her active skill, this converts to 58 FP, 21 RoF, 35 ACC, and 5HP for each link. Now add this to her base stats, and you’ll begin to see why Liu is considered a fantastic RF. But that’s not all. Her Active skill allows her to change her targeting mode which alters her and her reinforcements’ performance.

Liu’s active skill is a toggle between her default Normal Mode and Automatic Mode. Because of this, you should keep her skill set to manual. During Normal Mode, her RoF is decreased by 10% while her FP is increased by 20%. This brings up her base stats to 166 FP and 36 RoF, quite a considerable amount of damage with middle-of-the-road RoF. Furthermore, Normal Mode prioritizes the most distant enemy unit. Liu’s reinforcement squadrons are based on her stats from her current firing mode, so her reinforcement links during this mode have 58 FP, 21 RoF, and 35 ACC.

During Automatic Mode, her FP is decreased by 10% while her RoF is increased by 20%. This changes her base stats to 125 FP and 48 RoF, making her a very fast-firing RF with the trade-off of lowering her base damage. Opposed to Normal Mode, Automatic Mode will prioritize the closest enemy unit. Activating this mode removes the need to manually reset targeting in most instances, as long as you’re okay with the performance changes. Liu’s squadrons during Automatic Mode have 43 FP, 28 RoF, and 35 ACC.

Taking all of this into account, it’s no surprise that General Liu is an outstanding RF with a skill like no other. Her strengths far outweigh her weaknesses, and she’ll be a solid addition to your echelons. Not to mention, the bonus of her being farmable in a Dual Randomness farming map means she’ll be available to all players.