Y’shtola Rhul recently got buffed, and I felt like it’s a good a time as any to have another look at her and provide people who aren’t familiar with her insight to what she was and what she’s become.
Let’s Begin.
Table of Contents
Character Introduction
Y’shtola Rhul
“A Miqo’te conjurer and a Scion of the Seventh Dawn who is not only capable of advanced magic but also well-versed in ancient language and lore. Wise and mysterious, she is an expert in conjury – the art of healing. She is a woman of strong convictions, but that’s also what makes her stubborn from time to time.”
- Main Game: Final Fantasy XIV
- Crystal Color: Yellow
- Class Function: BRV Battery, BRV Shaver, Debuffer
- Weapon Type: Staff
- Damage Type: Magical, Earth
Why is she in the Bench List?
Y’shtola Rhul was a problematic character in GL, while she was highly praised in JP due to her being the first character to have a 15CP weapon, GL did not get that same opportunity to use her in the early stage of the game. She was a simple character that provided support in the form of a BRV Battery and Crowd Control via Stone.
While Y’shtola was not a bad character per se, Global has opted to buff a number of characters, including some characters with the ability to BRV Battery; as such it made Y’shtola look like a mediocre character in comparison.
On top of that, her simple kit was incredibly simple, but also incredibly difficult, particularly in Co-op, as having Y’shtola in a party, requires cooperation wow who would have thought you need to co-operate in co-op. It required players to play a different way, which a number do not wish to do.
Finally, she had problems fully utilizing her kit to perfection. In order to bring out the best out of her, she required to be in MAX BRV, and to reach the peak MAX BRV, it had to come during a summon, which after using a summon, she needed to attack once or twice first in order to hit her new MAX BRV, given that her damage was very low, it was not turn efficient and made it so that she was undesirable to the general player base.
Character Details
- HP: 4/5
- ATK: 2/5
- INT BRV: 5/5
- SPD: 4/5
- MAX BRV: 2/5
- DEF: 3/5
Abilities
| Ability | Visual Guide | Type | Uses | Effect | Potency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone | Stone | Magical BRV Attack, Earth Element, Turn Knock-back | 6 | 1 – Hit Magical Earth elemental Attack with 1 turn Knock-back. Inflicts a 30% Def Down for one turn. | 120% (+50% from crystal passive) |
| Medica II | Medica II | BRV Battery | 4 | Increases Max BRV by 20% for 5 turns. Increases current BRV by 20% and then grants 80% of current BRV to the party. | N/A |
Ability Effect is assumed to have weapon passives.
For Details on her Crystal Passives click [here]
Y’shtola had a number of problems during release, she could not do enough damage to reach MAX BRV to effectively use Medica II fast enough, and her MBRV was quite low. Now that her 35CP arrived during the Lion Event, and her buffs arrived during the Lost Chapter Part 3, she’s grown to be quite stronger, and not to be underestimated, providing a solution to the problems she had during the initial release.
Points of Interest / Buffs
Increased Stone uses from 4 to 6
Y’shtola Rhul had a problem of being too shorthanded in fights; she basically did not last very long, and was ultimately sidelined because she runs out of steam quickly. The increase to her ability uses not only provided her with a much needed longevity, but it also gave her a means to reach MAX BRV more often, and provided the party more support via Knockback and DEF Down. (Now she can throw even more stones than Ramza)
Increased effect of BRV Damage boost to Stone to 50%
This is a large increase if I do say so myself, this turns, Y’shtola’s Stone from a measly 120% to 170%, which is a pretty large number for a character who is more of a support role.
Y’shtola previously also had issues with reaching MAX BRV because of her damage output, increasing the Potency of Stone makes it almost a non-issue. A Simple Stone now hits hard enough to get BRV to half, top that off with a Break BRV or another BRV and you’ll be reaching 80%~100% BRV quite easily.
Y’shtola’s Stone Damage Output with the new Damage Buff
Medica II now grants Y’shtola Rhul an additional 20% current BRV to herself before applying her BRV to others.
This right here; is what makes her such a beast. The biggest issue with Y’shtola of the past was that she was unable to hit MAX BRV fast enough, and during Summon Phases, she was forced to use attacks to reach that newfound boosted MAX BRV. With the addition of 20% BRV it allows Y’shtola to use Medica II off the bat without wasting a turn.
With the additional boost of 20% BRV to herself, this opens doors for Y’shtola to shine more, the biggest draw from this new buff is that it allows her to hit the mark for a Medica II much sooner, instead of having to go all the way up to 100% MAX BRV before applying the BRV Battery, she only needs to reach 80% and Medica II can handle the rest.
Recommended Artifact Passives
- MAX BRV + 330
- ATK + 108
- Mighty Stone **
Y’shtola Rhul artifacts are pretty straightforward, her kit is based on her MAX BRV, so it’s pretty cut and clear that you need more MAX BRV to gain more. Providing a boost to damage with ATK & Mighty Stone makes reaching that peak a lot easier; however, the downside to having more MAX BRV is that there needs to be a balancing act. Having too much MAX BRV might prove detrimental turn wise, as it’ll take you longer to reach the sweet spot of 80%, on the flip side, if you focus on ATK or Mighty Stone, your MAX BRV might not be as spectacular. The best course of action is having a mix of both MAX BRV and ATK/Mighty Stone.
Srengths
- Stone deals a lot of damage on top of applying a Debuff and Knock-Back.
- Medica II at MAX BRV grants an insane amount of BRV.
- Works well with a lot of characters.
Weaknesses
- Medica II has a limited amount of uses.
- Medica II requires Y’shtola to be close to MAX BRV to be efficient.
- DEF Down only last a single turn.
- Lacks a quick way to dump BRV.
- Purely Single Target.
What is her place in the Meta
Now that I’ve enumerate her abilities, the changes made to her and her strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to find out where she currently stands in the current state of the game (September 2018 for those reading this in the future). I’ve thought long and hard, and I figured the best way to do that is to show off her strengths in comparison to other characters.
Head to Head
Given that Y’shtola Rhul is a Burst type BRV Battery, I figured it was best to compare her to a character highly regarded by many as the best BRV Battery in the game, Eiko.
Buffs & Debuffs
| Y’shtola | Vs | Eiko |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Turn of 30% DEF Down | Winner: Y’shtola | N/A |
| N/A | Winner: Eiko | 12 Turns of Party-wide HP Regen (8% of MAX HP), 10% ATK & MBRV UP |
| 1 Turn Knock-back | TIE | SPD UP (M) |
In terms of Buffs and Debuffs, Eiko wins hands down. Her buffs are much longer than Y’shtola’s Debuff and not to mention, her SPD UP to herself, in a way, is a pseudo knockback, as Eiko moves herself forward in turn orders instead, which effectively is “pushing back” the enemy’s turn.
Now let’s have a look at their offensive kit.
BRV Battery (Seriously look at the gifs)
| Y’shtola Rhul | VS | Eiko |
|---|---|---|
| Medica II | TIE | [Smite] (https://gfycat.com/ImperfectWaterloggedBadger) |
| [Medica II during Summon Phase] (https://gfycat.com/DisloyalGeneralJackal ) | Winner: Y’shtola | [Smite during Summon Phase] (https://gfycat.com/ImperfectWaterloggedBadger) |
| [Medica II during Summon Phase + Sazh Buffs] (https://gfycat.com/DifficultGiantCusimanse ) | Winner: Y’shtola | [Smite during Summon Phase + Sazh Buffs] (https://gfycat.com/AllCandidLeonberger ) |
| [Medica II Optimal Conditions] (https://gfycat.com/ArcticUnimportantGrasshopper) | TIE | [Smite Optimal Conditions] (https://gfycat.com/ScalyVigorousAquaticleech ) |
When it comes to pure numbers, Y’shtola wins the BRV Battery department by a landslide. Y’shtola ability to a BURST BRV Battery is second to none; the buffs made completely changed her being, and have proven to make her a force to be reckoned with.
While the numbers favor Y’shtola in a big way, it is only fair to point out one crucial fact. Medica II only has 4 uses while Eiko has 6 uses in Smite. The number of ability points come into play now and in the overall picture, Eiko is definitely the better character for longer lasting fights as she has more sustain power despite her ability to put out large amounts of damage.
Head to Head Conclusion
Overall I’d say the winner is Y’shtola because she’s waifu, and no one beats my waifus, nobody, I mean, if you we’re to pick between a hot and sexy catg…. Miqo’te, versus a little girl, obviously the winner of the fight is none other than Y’shtola or as I’d like to call her, Miqu’tie
Overall, the winner of the bout is Eiko. Her lasting power with buffs on top of a powerful BRV Battery beats out what Y’shtola can do in the long run.
While Eiko may be the better support in the overall picture, it is not to say that she won handily, it’s far from it. Y’shtola’s buffs have awarded her a means to give Eiko a good run for her money, as it provides her the ability to challenge Eiko as top support. It may be true that Y’shtola failed to dethrone her, but there is the absolute fact given the evidence, Eiko is the better overall support, BUT Y’shtola is the strongest BRV Battery in the current state of the game.
With that in mind, I can say this objectively: in Lost Chapters or long battles, Eiko is obviously the better choice if you have both as options, with the exception of Synergy going in favor of Y’shtola Rhul. On the flipside, when it comes to CO-OP contentor content that are relatively short, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that Y’shtola Rhul is the better choice and that I’d rather have her as my BRV Battery compared to having Eiko, with only one exception which is content with Holy Weakness; which are few and far between.
Solo Conclusion
Y’shtola’s buffs have changed the way she plays, no longer is she a detriment to one’s roster but a gift; a gem hidden in a valley of stones. (hehe) She is more than capable of providing the player with what they need when it comes to BRV and turn control.
With the level 60 awakening drawing near, Y’shtola has a time to shine bright now, while also having time to shine even brighter in the near future, as she is among the first batch to receive this gift.
The following section will now focus on what Y’shtola can provide in a team scenario, this includes summons and friend support.
Team Synergy
Y’shtola’s buffs have provided her with what she needed to supplement her kit. However, there are more ways to further improve on that. The great thing about Y’shtola is that her kit is very basic, which opens the doors for her to team up with a large number of the cast.
To find a team suited for Y’shtola Rhul, we have to look at her once again as an individual and fill up the holes in her kit.
Weaknesses
Medica II has a limited amount of uses.
Medica II having a limited number of uses poses a challenge, we do however have a solution, while it make be true that having limited uses is a large problem when tackling long and difficult content, choosing the right party for the right team members provide ways to counter balance that.
A simple solution to this problem is to provide Y’shtola Rhul with team mates that have long lasting power. This alleviate Y’shtola’s problem of having limited uses as having team mates with longevity takes off the pressure of having Y’shtola Rhul to use her abilities.
Medica II requires Y’shtola Rhul to be close to MAX BRV to be efficient.
While Y’shtola’s buffs have reduced this problem by giving you a means to do significantly more damage in a single turn, it’s still not enough to get 80~100% of your MAX BRV. One of Y’shtola’s downside is that she doesn’t provide herself with buffs other than her MAX BRV, so her offensive potential is limited.
There’s a number of ways to reach MAX BRV faster, one way it to boost her attack, so having someone to provide that can be critical to making her more turn efficient. Another is surprisingly a BRV Battery; while this suggestion is tricky, it is an incredibly viable option. Having another BRV Battery might just be able to push her to that sweet spot she requires, there is a catch though, the BRV Battery must ideally be more of a sustain type BRV Battery over Y’sthola’s burst, and the third member of the party must be incredibly offensive opposite to the other two’s more defensive style. So in summary, she wants someone who boost ATK and provides a small battery.
DEF Down only last a single turn.
Her DEF Down being one turn makes it difficult for her teammates to take advantage of her powerful debuff. One turn usually means her teammates get to attack with a slightly boosted damage potential only once, making it difficult to fully utilize it to its maximum potential.
Having a High SPD type character can bring out the best in this one turn. Being able to perform multiple attacks before the enemy gets to make a move is best way to utilize this one short turn of DEF Down.
Lacks a quick way to dump BRV.
A number of characters get rated badly due to their lack of BRV + HP attack , taking two turns to attack instead of one is why a lot of characters get benched never to be used again.
While it may seem like having an immediate way to dump BRV is the way to go, it’s not always the case. Having a launcher not only solves this problem, but it actually turns the weakness into strength, due to the nature of launches doing bonus damage.
Here’s a sample of what Y’shtola and a Launcher looks like.
Purely Single Target
Being single target can be detrimental to the overall picture, as such it’s a wise decision to either have an AoE centric character to help with situations where AoE might be a benefit.
Recommended Teams
I’m some of you reading this may have had a character come to mind when reading all this, so let’s see if we have the same idea. I’m not going to be including Sazh in this list, given that he’s already in a large number of people’s teams. Let’s look at other options.
Team 1: Y’shtola, Ramza and Papalymo
Y’shtola Rhul needs both ATK and a small battery; Ramza provides both of that with his 30% ATK UP and his BRV Battery from initial ability use and his BRV Regen, this makes him a prime candidate to elevate Y’shtola to greater heights.
Papalymo is another great candidate as he has a lot of lasting power with his 12 ability uses. His abilities dropping him to 0 makes him prime and ready to receive Y’shtola’s Medica II. To top of it all off, he gains full benefits from Ramza’s ATK Boost, and Ramza’s BRV Regen stacks with Papalymo’s Umbral Ice BRV Regen.
Team 2: Y’shtola, Prishe and Layle
Y’shtola’s DEF Down has the shortest time span, so having Prishe who’s incredibly fast, takes full advantage of that single enemy turn. Prishe’s SPD is among the very best and ability to do AoE damage covers Y’shtola’s lack of it in fights where there are numerous amounts of enemies.
Layle’s ability to Launch is quite unique, given that he’s the only one who can perform a Launch with a BRV + HP attack. This is probably the best scenario for Y’shtola Medica II as it has the strongest burst in the game. Having the ability to perform full launches with the highest amounts of BRV is a short period makes them a team to be reckoned with.
Preferred Summon
There are really only two good options here. Brothers for the boost in MAX BRV further increasing her ability to supply BRV. Ifrit to boost her damage output allowing her to reach MAX BRV sooner.
Ideal Friend Support
Given the Y’shtola limited ability, it’s best to actually replace her for a friend support. Having a friend support that brings out a lot of DPS potential is crucial to counter Y’shtola’s lack of it so my personal suggestion is Vaan, Kuja and Kain, or Papalymo for Elemental Weaknesses.
Team Conclusion
Y’shtola has a lot of options when it comes to team compositions, one should always strive to find a perfect balance of building on the strengths of the characters, while also covering the weaknesses of one another. I’ve said this numerous times before, a good team that works very well together, can outmatch three strong individuals. Building a good team is the key to success in this game, and being able to form ones of your own is a great experience.
Overall Conclusion
Y’shtola Rhul is a very good character now; with her buffs she’s keeping up with the best of them and standing her ground. Y’shtola is also a strong character in the very near future; with awakening right around the corner and Y’shtola being among the first to receive it, it’ll only make her even stronger than she is now. Y’shtola is an even stronger character in the far future; wherein, she recently received buffs in the JP version in the game, and this in turn has made her the [best BRV Battery in the game yet again].
With all that information, one thing is clear. Y’shtola Rhul is among the strongest picks when it comes to choosing a character to invest in. She’s good in the present, the near future and the far future, providing one with a safety net when it comes to her use.
Y’shtola Rhul has had a lot of trouble in both versions of the game, and both times those troubles were fixed via buffs, and gave Y’shtola the means to be a very good character who give the best characters a run for their money.
Final Words
I do hope you enjoyed this Evaluation of Y’shtola Rhul and provided you with some insight on how to best play this wonderful character. I also hope those who benched her give her another shot as her buffs are really really good, and she’ll only get better.
Special credit: Decrith
