Introduction
Matrices are attachments for weapons that you have in-game. This guide won't be an introduction to the system but rather a list of what I'd recommend raising or, at the very least, a list of matrices that have qualities that align with my rating system. Like my other tier lists, this won't be aligned with any future content in mind or knowledge of CN content, but rather what's good at the current content. Due to tier lists' inability to signify everything, I'll be putting forth my reasoning for each respective rating and some caveats if a matrix can be considered niche.
Below are some metrics and general aspects I'll consider regarding Matrices' rating. Due to the nature of Matrices having 2-piece and 4-piece variants as well, I will put most of the consideration upon which is the BiS rather than their rating combined; however, depending on the circumstance, I'll put more notes if both are rather good. To keep clear of the clutter, I will be excluding ALL R ratings and below matrices. The ordering within their respective tier is not perfect, and I would reason to say, especially in C, you can consider them all within the same pile, so don't consider where I put them within their respective tier.
- Versatility (How many units can benefit)
- Strength (Relative damage increase or utility)
- Strictness (How restrictive the set is or not)
The scaling for the Tiers goes something like the following
| Tier | Reason |
|---|---|
| S Tier | BiS for many characters must raise, does a great amount of utility. |
| A Tier | BiS for a decent amount of characters, raise after the must-raise matrices. |
| B Tier | Universal good or BiS for a few characters. |
| C Tier | Land of the average, maybe BiS for one character or have some utility but a bit restrictive. |
| D Tier | Just not good or so restrictive that you shouldn't. |
| F Tier | Horrible, you're actively gimping yourself. |
Tier list
Explained
S Tiers
Samir (Rational Liberation)
2 Piece: Incredible for Main DPS as it's a straight damage increase with no real cons other than the need for you to maintain your main DPS on the field. Since it's a 2-piece, you can combine it with another 2-piece set such as Crow's (Fanatical Pursuit).
4 Piece: Strictly only for Samir, this piece, and all things considered, is not that great. It has the restriction of being only a part of her kit that the damage increase occurs, and the other issue is that the damage increase of another 2-piece set such as crow.
Shiro (Poem of Departure)
2 Piece: Easily one of the most versatile 2-piece sets in the game currently. Mainly for shield breakers but also has some application for main DPS due to more damage. It's a good stat stick, and the restriction of 50% HP isn't that restrictive, all things considered, if you're using it on shield breakers.
4 Piece: Shiro's 4-piece set is decent, all things considered, though its DPS increase and restriction do not warrant its usage over a double 2-piece set.
Crow (Fanatical Pursuit)
2 Piece: Occupies the same tier as the others, S tier for a reason as its straight DPS increase is incredible. However, remember that this one is much more gear-based than the others, as it assumes you have some crit rate. The restriction here does not, as this is main DPS equipment.
4 Piece: Decent but not something I would consider using compared to other double-piece options, as the combination of 2-piece and 2-piece is much better.
King (Advocate of Violence)
2 Piece: Great damage increase. The damage increase persists even after a character switch. What this means is that It's pretty universal for any shield-breaking units.
4 Piece: Healing when you deal damage, not as good as a double 2-piece set. There may be some utility, but I don't consider it great utility when you can have a healing unit like a nemesis. The shield-breaking potential of a 2-piece Shiro as well, I find, is better than this 4-piece set.
A Tier
Cocoritter (Proof of Trust)
2 Piece: Simple healing increase, nothing complicated to understand, but it has great percentages and no restrictions other than the obvious of needing a healer.
4 Piece: Damage increases when healed; reasonably good if you want a simple damage buff for healers though it's not perfect for every healer.
Thanks to both of these pieces, I think it is at the top of A tier. The only thing restricting it is its importance relative to the other matrices that buff damage. So it doesn't go up to S tier, sadly.
B Tier
Sobek (Swamp Shadow)
3 Piece: Incredibly universal set, you can get an unreasonable amount of damage increase considering it's an SR, and the restriction of having enemies nearby is hardly very restrictive. Barring boss encounters, you'll have a good damage increase despite it being a 3 set. The only thing that stops it from being A tier or higher is that it's a 3 set, so you can't add another set.
Nemesis ( Life Bridging)
2 Piece: Volt damage increases, incredibly restrictive if you think about it though you should have a Main DPS volt if you're abusing Nemesis' resonance. The set seems restrictive to only Nemesis, even if it's rather good at its 2-piece.
4 Piece: It's relatively decent, but Nemesis' primary role is not DPS, so I would recommend other sets. If possible, I would recommend finding another 2-piece set as the amount you have to spend to get this set Is a bit unreasonable.
C Tier
Huma (Slightly Awakened)
2 Piece: Only suitable for dash attack spammers, i.e., Huma and Tsubasa, for the current moment. It does a decent amount of damage, especially on Huma dodge N1 in ax mode. But I'm not too impressed by the damage for other characters that somewhat dash spam.
4 Piece: A damage reduction set is one of the few that does this, but I'm not too fond of this 4-piece. I would not recommend using it.
Tsubasa (Eye of Wind)
2 Piece: Damage increase is nice; however, the issue here is distance restriction. On bosses and other types, it's not horrible until you consider a lot of the dodge skills that gain you full charge need you to be close to the enemy. There will also be circumstances where your main DPS can't be a far enough distance on instances where DPS characters are not built to be in a more extended range. The pool of characters is relatively tiny where this piece is optimal, which is why it lands reasonably far down.
4 Piece: Only for Tsubasa, which means it's somewhat restrictive, and the damage increase. While nice, it's only for her skill. You would gain more of an overall damage increase if you used another 2-piece set instead of this 4-piece.
Robarg (Devourer)
3 Piece: The set has an okay amount of damage upon shield break, It's not as good as the other sets, but it's not all restrictive and decent for any shield breakers as it's some free damage. This set's advantage is instantly switching to your main DPS as it's poison damage. The damage is a bit low, and no increase of damage to your main DPS like King, but It's a decent piece till you can get a king piece.
Barbarosasa (Double Nightmares)
3 Piece:: Damage reflection and damage boost. Good in theory, but the amount of time you have for the reflection and the damage boost is so low that you'll have to be a bit precise to maximize its usage. A good piece overall, but nothing I would say is universally good. It's good on supports and the like, who you don't switch too often, but otherwise not an impressive piece but not bad.
Zero (Incredible Connection)
2 Piece: You gain a shield similar to overhealing in this case. The shield stays on for an okay amount of time, but you'll only be putting this piece on a character you'll discharge with often.
4 Piece: Good-ish, It's similar to Coco's though I argue the 2-piece set which comes with this is just a lot worse than Coco, so I can't see it having a significant amount of usage if you already have a Coco set.
Nonstop
3 Piece: A simple and decent 3-piece set. It increases the speed at which you charge your weapon, with nothing complicated or restrictions. Suitable for weapons where discharge spam is best for them.
Uproot
3 Piece: Simple weapon charges increase when switching to the weapon holding the set. Cheap, good, and has a desirable effect. With how universal it is, you'll find it clawing itself into the C tier though its effect is not incredibly desirable relative to the above ones.
D Tier
Internal Struggle
3 Piece: Barely making it into the D tier is an internal struggle 3-piece. It's effectively a damage increase, but you'll have to possibly modify your gameplay to either intentionally take damage or not heal as much. The increase can be relatively good, but to achieve it, you'd have to play a dangerous game of 20% hp, which isn't worth it.
Deadly Lock
3 piece: Your enemies have to be the sword icon for you to have extra damage for those who don't understand how this set works. Restrictive since you won't know what enemies you're fighting unless you're specifically prepared for said enemy. The percentages aren't significant, so I would not recommend investing.
Pure White Guardian
2 Piece: Easily the worst SSR set in the game right now. Why is it too restrictive to be under 30% to have an effect? The shield at least lasts for a while and is an alright amount of effective hp but remember it'll disappear in 10 seconds. I'm not sure who this is for since shield breakers shouldn't find themselves in this situation, it doesn't make sense for healers either, so it's somewhat confusing.
4 Piece: Not good. It's a further extension to the 2 piece, which restores HP, but I would rather have more damage, so it's hard to see this having any actual use currently in the game.
The only saving grace of this set is that it's an SSR; therefore, you can 2 piece it with something else.
Extreme Zero
3 Piece: Horrible, another one where you need to gimp your gameplay to low hp to gain any effect. This one makes a bit more sense, as its effect only deploys when you switch the current weapon with the hp threshold. It's a lot more of an "oh no, I'm really low hp, save me" button than Meryls, but if you don't need it in the first place, this is a waste.
It's held back by it being 3 peice, so you can't at least supplement it with an actual set.
Overload
3 Piece: A damage increase, but it's only applicable on attacks that aren't auto attacks and have a rather rough cooldown. It's not necessarily bad but not good either due to that restriction.
