HodgkinInformation and Guide

Hodgkin is an S-rank Graveborn Warrior. He is an excellent Physical DPS counter as his skills reduce Physical Defense and he can gain immunity to any form of Physical DMG. Still, as the current meta favors Magic and True Damage DPS characters, he was released at the wrong time. His kit is full of synergy with Zoo compositions (teams that utilize multiple summons), especially those with Mikola, but his mechanics make him extremely awkward in those situations. Hodgkin summons are best when they die and trigger their effects, which goes against the standard Zoo playstyle that revolves around keeping multiple bodies on the board.

Perhaps the most notable shortcoming with him is his Ultimate, which takes a while to charge up. The most popular way to avoid this problem is with the Mauler Seasonal Talent, which launches him into the enemy backline allowing him  to charge up his Ultimate faster.

Performance in the Various Game Modes:

• Story and AFK/Talent Stages - He functions as a frontline - while not necessarily tanky but can do well against Physical DPS nonetheless. His ability to summon units that explode for extra damage when upgraded to M+ make him a situationally useful character. Pairing him with the Mauler Seasonal Talent to catapult him into the enemy formation can enhance his performance by quickly charging his Ultimate. This tactic allows him to leverage his full kit more effectively.

• Dream Realm - He is virtually unused. Despite his S+ upgrade reducing Physical Defense, other heroes like Kruger significantly outperform him in effectiveness at base. The current Dream Realm heavily favors Magic DPS characters which makes his Physical Defense Reduction being quite a bit less effective.

• PvP - He has some niche potential in Supreme Arena against Physical attackers - Harak, Lenya teams or Mauler teams that don't have Odie. Still, he has a hard time seeing relevance as his Ultimate charges too slowly, and the reward simply isn't worth it. For PVP Arena, he will not see any use at all as everyone is using Magic/True Damage compositions.

• Battle Drills - He doesn't hold up well in Battle Drills compared to other heroes who are far more suited for the mode. For this game mode, his conditional kit and slow ramp-up fail to justify taking him over more impactful options. Hence, you won't see him that much in the best setups for Battle Drills.

Conclusion

He is an interesting niche character who can shine in the right circumstances against Physical Damage compositions but gets instantly humbled by the True and Magic Damage meta of today. His reliance on certain methods, for example, buffing using Mauler tiles makes him somewhat inflexible. While he can do just alright in a few Story or AFK stages, he's outclassed by the vast majority of characters in most other modes, making him much more of a situational pick than a mainstay for most teams.

If you ever want to invest in Hodgkin, a good stopping point is M+ EX+10, although he would still benefit from more dupes as he is on the frontline.