Full analysis
Alright, full analysis. First, lets cover some boring trivia about XM3 Mod nobody wants to hear:
During Skill 1, XM3 Mod always retargets to the lowest current HP enemy, even if the previous target is not dead.
- Current HP, not max HP or HP%.
- Ignores taunts in favor of skill 1 targeting priority.
- Each activation of skill 1 refreshes the “first attack,” letting XM3 Mod re-activate her skill 2 on enemies she already used it on.
- Due to spaghetti, XM3 Mod always activates her skill 2 for every shot on bosses during her skill 1’s activation, not just the first shot.
- Skill 2’s critical damage increase is additive. (i.e. 150% crit damage -> 170% crit damage) It’s calculated after multiplicative buffs like fairy aura and Px4 Storm’s buff. So it’s a lot weaker than you might expect.
- The sure-hit portion of skill 2 is not restricted to night time, unlike the critical damage.
- Her SPEQ is actually a downgrade to Sniper Ammo if the enemy has low enough armor.
Just from a raw DPS standpoint, XM3 Mod is genuinely very strong. Her base stats, while barely changed by her mod, are acceptably high. Her skill multiplier out-scales the main 5* RFs by quite a bit. The lowered initial cooldown to 6 seconds absolutely makes her actually useful, because now her skills synchronize with HG skills and she can use it before the fight’s over. The bonus critical damage and sure-hits are icing on the cake. Bullet cake? Gunpowder flour? Whatever.
XM3 Mod’s mod SPEQ only gives +6 FP compared to sniper ammo’s +10. So sniper ammo is superior against lower armor.
Utilitywise, XM3 Mod has a couple interesting applications.
Her priority of the enemy with the lowest HP can let her finish off the more dangerous enemies instead of the tanky enemies, even when the enemy has a taunt to distract. Enemies like gladiators or smashers. This can also backfire if the most dangerous enemies aren’t the lowest HP ones of course, like strelets mixed with gunners.
Her sure-hit on the first shot can deal with more evasive enemies more easily, but since she’s not a firepower self-buffer, it more likely than not won’t be the killing blow.
Since her skill 2 bonus never wears off on bosses while her skill 1 is up, XM3 Mod transforms into a lean, mean, boss-killing machine once all the boss’s squishier escorts are dead. A permanent flat 20% crit damage bonus and she never misses, because every shot activates her skill 2. If the boss is relying on their evasion and it being night time, sucks to be them.