Overview

Triela wields the M1897 and inherits all of the Trench Gun's stats, which would've been bad news if viability in Girls' Frontline was determined purely by stats.

Unlike her T-Doll counterpart, Triela is a far superior DPS Shotgun, able to leverage her high base Damage far more effectively thanks to her Puppet Trick Skill. While only having 4 shots before reloading is normally a bit of a downer, Triela's skill allows her to bypass that problem in certain situations, significantly augmenting her sustained DPS.

On the other hand, SG are typically used as tanks and not DPS options (as MG T-Dolls far surpass SGs in damage output, and even a good DPS SG doesn't close the gap appreciably). With a max Armor value of only 21 and an HP pool of only 1265 at level 100, Triela’s durability in her class's role falls behind even mid-tier SGs.

Puppet Trick

Triela's unique Skill, Puppet Trick, is an interesting Skill that somewhat fails to live up to its full potential, due to a poor interaction with Slug ammo (it doesn't work) and the need to move into melee range to utilize part of its passive effect.

At normal engagement range, Triela gains +1 targets hit, which essentially translates to a +33% DPS boost. This combined with her +80% Damage active propel her far above the over time DPS of other SGs like AA-12 (though start-of-battle burst is still dominated by USAS-12, as irrelevant as that niche is nowadays). 

When enemies are within a short distance (2 units) of Triela, she pulls out her Bayonet and effectively starts concentrating all of her DPS into a single target. This is a significant boon to her sustained Damage output, especially when coupled with the hefty boost to her "Rate of Fire".

Watching her repeatedly stab a Smasher in uncomfortable places is quite amusing, although using SGs to tank Smashers is not typically recommended.

The Damage boost from the active component of Puppet Trick is very significant and a welcome addition, and the movement speed lets Triela move as fast as an SMG if she has to move sideways to continue hitting enemies with her bayonet. While the vast majority of situations do not involve kiting with an SG (especially given its long ICD), if for some reason you need to, 12 movespeed is much more palatable than the SG base speed of 6. 

Since Triela can be acquired for free in the Gunslinger Girl Collaboration, players are highly recommended to do so, as she does perform far better than the free Type 97 Shotgun. Given the considerable expense of crafting SGs, the chance to earn one for free for any reason is not to be bypassed lightly. While Triela will eventually be eclipsed by other, stronger SGs as players acquire them, she is still a limited-edition collab doll that commanders won't have a second chance to get.