Overview

One of the first AR’s Commanders get access to, G3 is likely to be a Commander’s first Grenadier and offers a somewhat poor introduction to the archetype. While her Damage is through the roof, the remainder of her stats is average at best, with her RoF being amongst the worst of any AR. G3’s problems continue with her Tiles, which only buff the Doll directly above her, and are therefore functionally useless, as SMGs should not be in the backlines, and G3 should not be on the frontline. 

As a Grenadier, G3 shines against large groups of enemies, providing an unavoidable (provided targeting cooperates) burst of damage. While her low rarity and multiplier do restrict her slightly, her high base Damage helps slightly shore up this weakness. However, with M4 SOPMOD II coming for in 2-6 with free Dummy Links and partly leveled, G3 has only a brief window where she can provide value to even new Commanders, before being eclipsed by SOPMOD, who does everything G3 can do, but better. This is without getting into the shortfalls of the Grenadier class in general. 

At least she’s cute, right?

Overview

G3’s Neural Upgrade is something of a mixed bag. While it does provide boosts to all of her stats, including a slight boost to Rate of Fire, a massive boost of Accuracy, and, of course, even more Damage, G3 wanted more Rate of Fire and less Accuracy, and this already starts her off on an awkward foot. Her Tile Buffs get a nice boost, now actually applying to at least one Doll in the front row, and are useful for Direct Fire SMGs in situations where those are used. 

G3’s Grenade gets the boost to match her improved rarity, letting her deal even more Damage. While not a flashy boost, it is nonetheless a strong one. Her Second Skill takes the route of other grenadiers and doubles down on her grenade. Freezing Point of Courage is a strange hybrid of a Skill, that either Stuns everything that will be hit by the grenade over 50% health or increases the Damage if enemies are below 50%. If this seems counter-intuitive, that is because it is. G3 Mod would prefer to have the boosted Damage on enemies over 50% HP, but MICA did not design to provide her with such so we need to work with what we have. The Stun component is a bit quirky, applying at the start of the firing animation, instead of the impact. This rarely has any major effect but does keep enemies locked in place for the Grenade to hit. Worse, like a stun, this only affects some enemies (Hydras, Uhlans, Doppelsoldners, Bosses and more are unaffected), and it comes much later than Stun Grenade Skills at 8 seconds, and lasts for less than half as long, at 1.6 seconds. 

The extra Damage is a strong buff, pushing G3’s multiplier up to the same level as 416’s Neural Upgrade, but the limitation of hitting enemies at less than 50% HP effectively undercuts its value. Grenadiers are traditionally used to clear out large groups of enemies from full HP, where this Damage boost doesn’t apply.

In the end, G3 Mod suffers not from her own upgrade, but from the presence of stronger Neural Upgrades such as 416, and limited use for her niche. While a welcome upgrade for a subpar Doll, she remains unable to stand out from her peers, and you do get less for your Cores and Fragments, making her a low priority investment for all but the most dedicated of HK fans. 

She’s still cute though.