Mythical beings and what to do with them
What's a shikigami?
You know... the free Mio, Yuki Onna, and Blue Imp you get from starting the game, and whoever you get in your 10 pull.
But no, that's not what I want to talk about.
What I want to explain is the types of shikigami you'll encounter in the game. Because not everyone will read every word I wrote in Game Terminology (nor I expect anyone to), I thought I'd break it down into a page, so newbies like you will understand what we meant by certain lingos. You might already understand the common game lingos (ie DPS), but there are others that you might not be familiar with.
But no, that's not what I want to talk about.
What I want to explain is the types of shikigami you'll encounter in the game. Because not everyone will read every word I wrote in Game Terminology (nor I expect anyone to), I thought I'd break it down into a page, so newbies like you will understand what we meant by certain lingos. You might already understand the common game lingos (ie DPS), but there are others that you might not be familiar with.
the dps type
As per other games, there are two types of DPS: AoE DPS and ST DPS. If you're not familiar with these terms, just Google or look into Game Terminology.
If you've seen my Beginner's Guide, I talked about the first DPS you should raise and G6 being AOE DPS. Just a refresher, examples of AoE DPSes are:
If you've seen my Beginner's Guide, I talked about the first DPS you should raise and G6 being AOE DPS. Just a refresher, examples of AoE DPSes are:
Now you might notice that these AoE DPSes are a bit different from each other: some do multiple hits in one skill (Ubume, Ootengu) while some only does one strong hit (Kuro Mujou, Tamamo-no-Mae).
This difference is important because they use different souls because of it. Multi-hit DPSes use Seductress while single-hit DPSes will do better with Shadow/Watcher (in s11, Kyokotsu becomes an option).
There are two different types of ST DPSes too: multi-hit and single-hit. For example, consider these two shikis:
This difference is important because they use different souls because of it. Multi-hit DPSes use Seductress while single-hit DPSes will do better with Shadow/Watcher (in s11, Kyokotsu becomes an option).
There are two different types of ST DPSes too: multi-hit and single-hit. For example, consider these two shikis:
(If you really don't know what they do, Onmyoji Wiki is your friend.)
Some newbies can misinterpret an ST DPS as an AoE DPS. It's usually with these two shikis:
Some newbies can misinterpret an ST DPS as an AoE DPS. It's usually with these two shikis:
They believe Iba and Oni are AoE DPS because they can do AoE damage. While they are not wrong, they forgot that
The difference between an AoE and ST DPS is the number of targets aimed when you initially cast the skill. You wouldn't call Ubume and Tamamo an ST DPS just because they have ST hits, right?
- Both Iba and Oni need to fulfill certain conditions before they can do AoE DMG (Iba: killing the target; Oni: target's HP below 60%)
- Their skill will only target one unit at the start
The difference between an AoE and ST DPS is the number of targets aimed when you initially cast the skill. You wouldn't call Ubume and Tamamo an ST DPS just because they have ST hits, right?
The healer type
As the name implies, they heal you and your shiki. In Onmyoji, heals can crit (but not Recover). Examples of healers are:
From the examples above, you can also note that:
There are healers who does more than just healing. Such examples are Hiyoribo and Momo, who can also revive you.
- There are AoE and ST healers (ST: Hiyoribo, Chocho; AoE: Kusa)
- Some healers give HoT (Chocho, Kusa)
- Some healers heal based on their ATK (there's only two units whose heals scales off ATK, which are Kusa and SP Kingyo)
- Some healers heal out of their turns (Hiyoribo)
There are healers who does more than just healing. Such examples are Hiyoribo and Momo, who can also revive you.
Hiyoribo is recommended for newbies because she's very defensive. She can heal out of turn (when enemy attacks) without orb cost and revive you - all without using skill. Plus, she's farmable, so it's easy to get her skill ups.
The puller/pusher type
Pullers, or accels/accelerators, increases your allies' speed and make them faster than your enemy (sometimes, depending on their speed). Bunny, the recommended unit for all newbies to keep, is one of them. A few others are:
Direct opposites of pullers, pushers push the opponent away, decreasing their speed (so your allies can move first). For example,
The orb providers
These units ensure your team can cast skills whenever possible. Without orbs, your units can't use skills and can't perform at their best. Zashiki is the best orber for a newbie because she's free and provides a lot of orbs when her passive is unlocked + maxed. Other common orbers are as follows:
Among the three, Oitsuki is a bit different than other orbers. If you read her skills, she pushes the orb bar instead of directly supplying orbs to you. What this means is, she fills the orb bar faster so you can get orbs from filling up the bar. If you're in a zone that reduces total orbs gained from filling up the orb bars, she'll be useless there. (Hint hint, Area Boss.)
The Indirect Damage type
If their skills leave a purple icon on their enemy/enemies' HP bar, these are indirect damage (IDR). According to the in-game text, IDR "doesn't trigger souls, cannot be shared, and guarantee to land critical hits when DEF is zero."
Sometimes shiki inflicting IDR also inflicts poison. These are indicated by the red icon with a skull. Poison reduces DEF. Remember, when DEF = 0, IDR = guarantee crit. We often pair them with high CDMG when we know we can drop DEF to zero.
Examples of IDR shikis are:
Sometimes shiki inflicting IDR also inflicts poison. These are indicated by the red icon with a skull. Poison reduces DEF. Remember, when DEF = 0, IDR = guarantee crit. We often pair them with high CDMG when we know we can drop DEF to zero.
Examples of IDR shikis are:
Now you might think, "Why is Menreiki an IDR DPS? Pretty sure she doesn't leave a purple mark on the enemy when she skills." She is actually an outlier among the IDR units precisely because she doesn't leave the purple mark, yet she still deals IDR damage.
The shielder type
As the name implies, these units creates shield to protect their allies. The thickness of the shield depends on the caster's HP and is affected by crit and CDMG. Examples being:
Healers equipped with the Pearl soul are somewhat considered as shielders.
There are two exceptions where I'd consider a shiki as a shielder but doesn't generate shields. They are Hakuzosu (aka Kohaku) and Kaoru, If you think about it, shielders are supposed to protect a unit from harm, right?
There are two exceptions where I'd consider a shiki as a shielder but doesn't generate shields. They are Hakuzosu (aka Kohaku) and Kaoru, If you think about it, shielders are supposed to protect a unit from harm, right?
These two units sacrifice their own life to protect a target. Even if they don't generate shields, they shield off damage from a shiki (albeit only a temporary measure).
The cc type
As the name implies, their main role in the game is to inflict CC. There are different types of CC that they have a separate note listing down every single one of them. I'm not going to list all kinds of CC available in the game, but I can give you examples of those units whose primary function is to inflict CC:
Note that their base hit is very high. Some CC units are AoE (Sam X, Yumekui) while some are ST (Komatsu, Enma).
You can also make a multi-hit AoE DPS as a CC unit by giving them CC souls. However, they cannot land CC when the opponent has a shield on. This is due to the requirement to landing CC from these souls are dealing damage to the target(s). Shield = not dealing damage.
When that happens, innate CC units have the upper hand because they can deal CC through the shield. (Unless it's Seimei's shield, then, well...)
You can also make a multi-hit AoE DPS as a CC unit by giving them CC souls. However, they cannot land CC when the opponent has a shield on. This is due to the requirement to landing CC from these souls are dealing damage to the target(s). Shield = not dealing damage.
When that happens, innate CC units have the upper hand because they can deal CC through the shield. (Unless it's Seimei's shield, then, well...)
The dispeller/remove type
To counter CC types, we also have dispellers/removers. What's the difference between dispel and remove, you may wonder? Dispel gets rid of most CC (we call it "soft CC") with the exception of Morph, Daze, Deep Freeze, and Provocation (the "hard CC"). Don't worry, you don't need to memorize.
Remove can literally remove all CC, however they usually have random targeting. (There is a unit that can select whose CC to Remove, but that unit doesn't exist in Global, so we don't talk about it.)
Example of dispellers:
Remove can literally remove all CC, however they usually have random targeting. (There is a unit that can select whose CC to Remove, but that unit doesn't exist in Global, so we don't talk about it.)
Example of dispellers:
Dispellers can remove either ally's debuffs or enemy's buffs. Ame Onna and Sakura dispels enemy's buffs, while Juzu and SP Miketsu removes soft CC from their allies.
Then, these are the shikis with Remove:
Then, these are the shikis with Remove:
As they remove CC from random units, sometimes it's more beneficial to have a dispeller in the team instead of one with Remove.
The ????? type
Last but not least, newer shiki releases have more complex skill descriptions. As such, reading their descriptions can induce headaches and confusion to the readers. We call these "hybrids" because they usually juggle more than one role. This also means that they are really valuable in PvP where every slot is precious and can make your team win or lose.
I'll give four as examples.
I'll give four as examples.
Don't worry, we've all been there when we read the skill descriptions.
In this case, how would you categorize these shiki? The answer is simple: focus on the primary role you want them to fill. For example, if I have Ungaikyo and I want him to be a puller, I'll build him as such. He has the option to be a DPS but I wouldn't focus on that. (Besides, they use two different stats.)
The shikis are usually better at one thing over another. I wouldn't prioritize using SP Shu as solely a Remove unit just because he has the option to Remove CC. He would be better built with the focus of a pusher or DPS. The Remove will come in handy when I'm in a pinch, but not something I should focus on.
In this case, how would you categorize these shiki? The answer is simple: focus on the primary role you want them to fill. For example, if I have Ungaikyo and I want him to be a puller, I'll build him as such. He has the option to be a DPS but I wouldn't focus on that. (Besides, they use two different stats.)
The shikis are usually better at one thing over another. I wouldn't prioritize using SP Shu as solely a Remove unit just because he has the option to Remove CC. He would be better built with the focus of a pusher or DPS. The Remove will come in handy when I'm in a pinch, but not something I should focus on.