Asuka Shikinami Langley: Wille Guide & Review

Evangelion… again! They really need to push out new content and stop with so much repetition. Anyways, let’s get back on track. With some basic math, we can find that this Wind pair is actually even stronger than their previous Fire element clones - in terms of dealing damage. But how strong are they?! Let’s find out with our review for Asuka: WILLE!

Can you give a brief summary about this unit?

Asuka 2.0 is, in simple term, a DPS unit. Her job is to deal damage, and oh boy, is she good at that! Her skills are mostly tied to her burst, to the point that more than half of her kit does not activate outside Burst Skill. However, she still offers much more than just fair damage even without bursting. She does more damage than the all famous Off-Burst DPS Pilgrim: Modernia - but in the Wind element. One edge Asuka 2.0 has over Modernia is that she does not need a core to deal damage. Majority of her damage comes from skills that cannot core hit.

Her damage starts ramping up insanely hard whenever she uses her Burst Skill, which constitutes 50% the total damage she deals, despite the low 33% uptime. Nonetheless, it comes with a huge setback that can only be neutralized by Rei: Ayanami (tentative name), whom we will call Rei 2.0 in short.

If you want to receive a TL;DR of how stacked she is, Asuka 2.0 matches SBS in terms of DPS, core or not. At peak investment, SBS with Alice buff should deal slightly more damage than Asuka 2.0 with Rei 2.0 assisting her. Against Wind-weak boss, though, the EVA 2.0 duo will easily clap our current goated SBS + Alice duo for the reason that Rei 2.0 herself deals heavy damage due to elemental advantages. Not to mention, players more often than not don’t use Alice with her full potential due to extremely tedious clicking, which means that for the majority of the playerbase, if they find a way to add Burst Generation to the team, this Wind Asuka-Rei duo is simply better than SBS-Alice duo for at least 4 out of 5 elements (exception being fire).

Unlike other MGs, Asuka 2.0 packs quite a punch against mobs too, because her S1 will not hit one but two (and three if Rei 2.0 is with her) targets. We will discuss this trait more deeply down below, but to put it simply, Asuka 2.0 has unconventional mechanics that distinguish her from other Nikkes. Definitely a 2025 limited DPS!

Should I get this unit?

Easiest answer since Rapi:RH: Yes, pull Asuka: Wille. She’s definitely meta. She is extremely viable in 2 out of 3 of the major contents: Bossing and Campaign, and is a bossing specialist mainly. She suffers in PvP due to its locked 30 FPS, but that’s about it. Not to mention, Asuka 2.0 is a true limited, which means she won’t return unless Shift Up can sign another contract with EVA, which is not highly likely.

How about dupes? As will be mentioned later on, investments in her yield twice the value than usual. And since people will invest a lot in her equipment, she is likely to have tons of CP as well. What does this mean? While she might not be the right choice for all stages in high-deficit Campaign, the CP padding might make stages easier as that is basically equivalent to increasing the ATK of all units. There is also service in increased stat for other content.

Also, yes, she is definitely worth the golden mileage if you fail to get her with pulls. MLB is advised if you are competitive or a fan of EVA but she performs well without 6%* base stats up from MLB (or 4%* at 2 LB). Be mindful that after this collaboration, we are guaranteed to be milked again with Half Anniversary looming around in 2 months. Brace yourself—a new meta age is here where Shift Up has decided to release power creeps upon power creeps. We definitely recommend saving mileage after this banner till Half Anniversary.

As previously said, Asuka 2.0’s kit is very extreme in terms of what it activates.

• Without bursting, she activates only one part of her Skill 1 and nothing else.
• During her Burst, she dishes out tons of damage that embarrasses most of our current DPS.

Anti A.T Field

■ Activates after landing 50 normal attack(s). Affects the target(s).

Deals 471.86% of final ATK as additional damage.

■ Activates only when in Annihilation State status. Affects self.

Annihilation State's additional effect:

Target: Affects 2 enemy unit(s) within the attack range nearest to the crosshair every 10 shot(s).

Damage: Deals 15.62% of final ATK as damage.

Additional effect: Anti A.T. Field: Damage Taken ▲ 0.83% for 30 sec, stacks up to 30 time(s).

This skill has 2 parts.

Firstly, Asuka 2.0 deals a huge amount of bonus damage every 50 shots (roughly ~0.85s) against the target her 50th bullet hits.

This number, if we average it out per shot, will make her modifier 5.47% (can core hit) + 9.43% ATK. Compare this to Modernia whose modifier is 7.71% (can core hit) + 3.05% ATK.

• Asuka 2.0 on core hit = 5.47*2+9.43 = 20.37% ATK per bullet
• Modernia on core hit = 7.71*2+3.05 = 18.47% ATK per bullet

This means that, even without bursting, Asuka 2.0 deals at least 10% more damage than Modernia already.

But, it’s not the end. Skill 1 has additional parts that buff Asuka even more when she bursts:

• Small bonus damage every 10 shots
• Debuffs target so it takes more damage

Let’s talk about this bonus damage. Hits 2 targets, so if there’s only 1 target, it should deal 1 instance of damage only, right? Correct! This part works normally, up until we tested it against a target with multiple parts, for example A.I Kraken, Motherwhale, Nihilister etc… Each part is now considered a valid target to be hit by this skill!

What does this mean? It means if you hit the body, the “small” bonus damage will actually become 15.62% ATK x 2 (3 with Rei 2.0), contributing even more damage toward her own burst. This behavior is actually very strange (because Phantom doesn’t recognize parts as valid targets to constantly trigger her S2), but we will consider it a new “feature” for Asuka 2.0, till Shift Up announces something else.

On top of the huge multiplier Asuka has (she deals 35% more than Modernia on core at this point, or 85% more on non-core enemies), she also increases not just her own damage by up to 24.9% thanks to her Damage Taken debuff on enemies. This debuff is stacked every 10 shots, up to 30 stacks, which means Asuka 2.0 will need to ramp up her damage over the first 5s before she can unleash peak damage. With Rei 2.0, this ramp up is lowered to 3s only, helping Asuka 2.0 dish out even more DPS while also increasing everyone’s DPS too (because Damage Taken is a debuff on enemy, not a buff on a certain character).

GraGre But Better

■ Activates when entering Full Burst. Affects self when in Annihilation State status.

Attack Damage ▲ 30.97% for 10 sec.

■ Activates when using Annihilation. Affects self.

Emergency Repair: Function: Reduces MG heating up speed and clears ammo. Fixes recharge speed and restores HP based on the Max HP proportion continuously.

Effect 1: MG heating up speed ▼ 100% for 3 sec.

Effect 2: Clears 100% of ammo.

Effect 3: Constantly recovers 3.77% of caster's final Max HP every 1 sec over 3 sec.

Effect 4: Fixes the recharge speed with a 60% increase for 1 shot(s).

This S2 won’t exist if Asuka 2.0 doesn’t burst. If she does, it will:

• Give Asuka 2.0 a good amount of Attack Damage
• At the end of her burst, Asuka will do an awkward pause, which triggers the following:
• Deals damage to enemies affected by her S1.
• Heals herself over the next 3s.
• Forces a reload, but the reload time is only 0.932s (40% of her normal reload speed). This reload time is fixed, just like Exia’s Treasure version.
• Forces heating up her gun longer than other MGs.

It’s pretty much Grave’s S1 and quite simple - you unload a lethal barrage during your burst, so it is sensible to cool down for a while. Problem is, you don’t want her to stop shooting because her damage outside her Burst is also impressive. You can do that by pairing her with Rei 2.0 or try putting Ade/Clay in the team, who will remove this debuff but also other buffs too. (Don’t use Ade/Clay with her).

This kit has more depth than you think, because 0.932s reload is just enough to bypass normal MG cooling their gun down (cover more than 1s = wind up). This means that, with the help of Rei 2.0, Asuka 2.0 will never have to wind up after her FB (because she only reloads for less than 1s).

The heal part is just okay, not too impressive like Fire Asuka where she can tank everything with her lifesteal.

I’m Gonna Annihilate You

■ Affects self.

Annihilation State: Function: Reduces the normal attack damage while increasing attack capabilities.

Effect 1: Normal Attack Damage Multiplier ▼ 40% for 9 sec.

Effect 2: Reloads 21% magazine(s).

Effect 3: ATK ▲ 46.8% of caster's ATK for 9 sec.

Effect 4: Attack Damage ▲ 36% for 9 sec.

■ Affects the target(s) afflicted with Anti A.T. Field.

Annihilation:Function: After Annihilation State ends, fires powerful attacks at targets affected by Anti A.T. Field.

Deals 6.62% of final ATK as additional damage.

Mirrors the stack count of Anti A.T. Field for certain targets.

Anti A.T. Field status is removed after the effect is triggered.

The root of Asuka 2.0’s strength and also the reason why so many people gave up comprehending Asuka 2.0’s kit when Shift Up first introduced it. The kit is so angelically long that it looks like a thesis at this point, a cruel one if you get it ha ha.

Long story short, during her burst, Asuka 2.0 will have access to:

• A moderate amount of ATK buff.
• A moderate amount of Attack Damage (actually huge as it stacks with her S2).
• An immediate ammo refund (think of Noir).
• Lowered normal attack multiplier (-40%).

Yep, that’s a way to keep Asuka 2.0’s DPS within boundary. Her final damage distribution during her Burst will be like:

• 3.282% ATK that can core hit.
• 9.43% ATK from base S1.
• 1.562% ~ 4.686% ATK from S1 during her burst.

This means her normal auto attack will only contribute around max 46% against a core target without parts. It will be reduced to a mere 19% of total damage only against non-core 2-part target.

If we look at the kit overall, Asuka 2.0 deals a huge amount of damage with moderate–high amounts of buffs only. This means she will scale well with other meta supports right now, unlike her previous version who suffers from diluted effects.

Campaign (LD) - SS | Campaign (HD) - SS

Asuka 2.0 is a strong unit to use in Campaign, and competes heavily against HelmTreasure and Naga for the Off-Burst slot in the main campaign team. She simply deals too much damage. You can’t ever rate a DPS that is dealing this much damage lower than SS in story mode in regards to our current tier list rankings.

Not only does she deal higher damage than Modernia unconditionally, but she also kills mobs faster if one can aim well enough. She can be used as an in-burst B3 too, and does not brick (i.e lower) her DPS like Modernia if she bursts. Instead, it further amplifies her insanely high single target damage and also manages to hit multiple enemies every second. It is also probably time to accept that the days of Modernia as main B3 in Campaign is a thing of the past.

While the current meta is shifted a lot towards elemental meta, we do not expect Asuka 2.0 to be used at the same level as Rapi Hood, Red Hood or Alice. However, we believe she is a suitable option even for neutral elements, and is an insanely good option for wind weak stages alongside the current queen of Wind: Scarlet Black Shadow. We really do still need water DPS for campaign Shift Up, if you’re reading this.

Bossing - SSS

We will keep this short since we’ve already mentioned it at least 5 times that her DPS is super high. Definitely one of the strongest Wind DPS now overall, competing directly with SBS while also buffing her team's damage to another level. She’s so busted that we expect EVA 2.0 to become a staple team like Alice - SBS, Cindy funneling comp, or Fire Team. And when the boss has parts, she can even act like a splash MG. Mirror mirror on the wall, when will Shift Up release Skill Resets, release an iron weak raid, and stop releasing meta units every banner and give us a break???

PVP - C

As an MG, Asuka 2,0 automatically has a low rating in PVP as she suffers from extremely low burst gen and tendency to feed Jackal, not to mention the lower fire rate because of 30. Asuka is NOT a unit to be used for PvP.

Gear Investments

Asuka 2.0 scales pretty well with good OL lines, and gear should be prioritized over skills.

• Essential: 2× Max Ammo
• Ideal: 4× ELE, 4× ATK, 1-2× Max Ammo
• Passable: -
• Priority: Meta

Skill Investments

In contrast with other DPS, Asuka’s skill has a huge base but low scaling. This makes investing in her skills much more comfortable. You can save some resources for Rei 2.0, who should be a Scarlet 2.0 look-alike but slightly better.

• Skill 1: 7~10
• Simply the best skill to upgrade. Increases team buff and her DPS immensely, almost 10-fold more effective to upgrade this skill in comparison to Skill 2. Since this skill is of so high importance, aim to max it out.
• Skill 2: 4~7
• Unless or until you are a competitive player, you do not need this skill at 10. She serves her purpose completely fine at Lv. 4, and you can leave it at that. However, as you progress, we recommend upgrading this skill to 7 since it is worth it to increase Asuka’s damage. Besides, the cost till Lv. 7 is not considered high in late game. Eventually, it is a 10 if you have extra skill books lying around since after all it is a DPS increase.
• Burst Skill:7
• Some personal damage buffs and a small nuke. Asuka’s Burst Skill has the same relative problem as her Skill 2, where when it is compared to her Skill 1, the damage increase is comparatively low. However, it is still a DPS increase so we recommend getting it to 7 since meta units have high enough DPS that the material trade-off is acceptable. However, we do not recommend getting her Burst to 10 unless you are a competitive player or are looking to maximize her DPS.

Suggested Progression Path

 

PVE Investment

PVP Investment

Priority

Asuka Shikinami Langley: Wille

PVE investment

1/1/1 → 7/4/4 → 10/7/7 (→ 10/10/10)

PVP investment

1/1/1

Priority

Meta

Cube Investments

Bastion is definitely the 2nd if not best cube for her because it lowers the amount of ammo required by 42% (at lv 7). Resilience is quite irrelevant because after bursting, Asuka is forced to reload at 60% reload speed reduction, so having a cube or not makes no change. And if Rei 2.0 could remove wind up during the other burst, then we don’t even need a Resilience Cube for this unit at all.

What will be the best cube for her you may ask? Of course, it’s the new cube Destruction Cube (increases part damage by 30%). Remember, Asuka 2.0 can hit parts too and gain bonus damage from them. When the boss has strong parts, this cube will be the best on every character. Otherwise, select Bastion cube for this unit.

Doll Investments

The effect of MG Doll is pretty meh, but it gives Asuka a lot of raw stats, which are more than welcome. The damage reduction is very strong too (most people seem to overlook it), allowing some teams to run no healer on certain bosses (therefore Shift Up starts introducing heavy damage bosses again to sell their healers). You also want the CP boost from SR rarity doll too to help you push in Main Tower and Campaign if you plan to use Asuka there. SR 5 if you want to save materials. SR15 if you are looking to clear Kraken or are looking to squeeze more damage out of her during Raids…

Team #1: Asuka x Rei Team Up Again

Burst 2

Burst 1

Burst 3

Burst 3

Burst 3

The strongest no-core wind comp, featuring 2 EVA units. Liter Crown and Helm are the best supporters if you want to maximise Asuka and Rei’s damage. Since reload is quite irrelevant, you can switch between Grave and Crown depending on the situation (Crown is still GOAT against A.I Kraken though). RapiRH is the best if you are looking for just a single team comp and not for multiple teams. If Rei removes wind-up, Rapi and Modernia might be the staple alongside her even on Raids where multiple teams are required.

Both Raids or Wind-weak Campaign should fear this team. It can find itself being used outside Wind-weak Raids, but we will have to see how Rei practically performs first before giving you a 100% on that.

Team #2: Windy Campaign Menace

Burst 2

Burst 1

Burst 3

Burst 3

Burst 3

Wind element is in business now that they have another mega DPS unit to use. Asuka as an off-burst unit provides immense focus target pressure damage as SBS gobbles up everyone with her super high damage AOE. The perfect wombo-combo as SBS’s AoE and Asuka’s Single Target focus damage merge to form the ultimate death sentence for any Wind-weak stage!

Team #3: Tornado Bunnies

Burst 1

Burst 2

Burst 3

Burst 3

Burst 3

Bunnies in 2025? Well they still have their use, especially in running braindead MG comps. Noir being a Wind unit helps her cause as well. This comp provides a lot of healing amount, a lot of ammo for Rapi and Asuka to shoot (due to Noir’s + Asuka’s anmo refund). Bread and butter team, use it when you are too lazy to even think. Machine Guns love ammo and make Noir a very happy relevant unit.

No. Don’t use MG, especially MG DPS in PVP.