Understanding Papasha

[tidal charm]

Hello there commander. Hope you are well and welcome to another Girls’ Frontline 2 post.

One of the things I love in a video game is having a character that can summon or has a companion that they can bring into battle. Often times, the summon will do the fighting for the summoner, while the summoner eats a popcorn and just watch the show from the sidelines.

And then we have Papasha who is very interesting. She is a summoner that fights too. She is also the most enigmatic Doll for me because whenever I see her, it just makes me curious and wonder how she plays out in a battle. I check out her skill descriptions and imagine the skill effects on my head, it is just not enough. Sometimes, you just need to experience using the skills personally in battle. So, I have decided to learn about Papasha.

Not to prolong the intro any longer, let’s get to know her.

1. Overview
   -- Papasha is a cute Doll and wears my favorite color: Blue.
   -- She is a Sentinel-type Doll. Which means she deals a lot of damage and offends you a lot.
   -- Her gameplay is about Single-target Burst and Summon.
   -- She has a mobility of 5 tiles. Just 1 tile mobility difference compared with the Rifle Dolls.
   -- Papasha uses an SMG and light-ammo bullets. Good against squishy ELIDs.
   -- I do not have any fortification and neural helix fixed keys activated yet, but we will talk about them later.
   -- Let’s check out her gun.

2. Gun
   -- Papasha uses a sub-machine gun as her primary weapon and sub-machine gun bullets are light ammo attribute. She breaks enemies like Bellator 212, Paradeus Units 47 and 39.
   -- She uses the uncalibrated Svarog, a gun that you can buy from the Platoon Shop and it is really good for her. I recommend buying it for Papasha.
   -- The Svarog increases the City Warden’s damage by 15% and increases the crit rate of either Papasha’s or City Warden’s next attack by 10 up to 30%.
   -- It also comes with an additional stat, attack boost, trait of ignoring 20% defense of the enemy if it has 4 debuffs and increases damage dealt against PMC and Large Targets by 2.5%. Very good weapon for Papasha.
   -- I use Ballistic Boost set on Papasha’s gun to get that sweet bonus 20% physical damage.
   -- Let’s check out her skills.

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3. Papasha’s Skills

3.1. Warning Shot
-- Warning Shot is Papasha’s basic targeted attack. It targets an enemy within 6 tiles and deals 60% of attack.
-- It deals 3 stability damage.
-- Nothing special about it other than the City Warden will also do a follow-up attack, after Papasha did a Warning Shot to the enemy.

3.2. Honor Guard
-- Honor Guard is a little AoE physical attack. She targets one enemy, throws a grenade to deal 80% attack to the target, AND other enemies within 1 tile of the targeted enemy.
-- It also deals 2 stability damage.
-- It also gives a 30% damage increase to the City Warden’s attack skill for 3 turns if the stability of the target is not broken after using Honor Guard.
-- It is the 1st skill you use during Papasha’s turn, because yo u want to buff the City Warden. But you have to target and attack an enemy whose stability will not break.
-- After Papasha uses an Honor Guard, the City Warden will also do a follow-up attack.
-- You can still use Honor Guard if the City Warden is in Self-Repair.
-- It costs 2 Confectance Index.

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3.3. Joint Breakthrough
-- Joint Breakthrough is a bit of a tricky skill to use. You basically target an empty tile within 6 tiles of Papasha to reposition the City Warden. After the City Warden has repositioned, it will attack the enemy that is closest to Papasha. Take note, CLOSEST to Papasha.
-- It deals 3 stability damage.
-- It will also remove 2 debuffs on Papasha and any debuffs on City Warden that prevents him from moving.
-- It deals 150% of attack as physical damage to the enemy. An additional 50% damage is also inflicted if the attacked enemy is a large target. After the City Warden attacked, it will not move and stay on its tile for that turn.
-- You cannot use Joint Breakthrough if the City Warden is in Self-Repair, as the skill is entirely reliant on the City Warden.
-- Basically, to use this skill, move Papasha near the enemy you want to attack, target the safest tile to reposition the City Warden and watch City Warden shoots the enemy.
-- If there is a 2nd enemy near the primary target that has the same distance to Papasha, take out that 2nd enemy first before moving Papasha in. Because if you don’t, the City Warden might attack the wrong target.
-- I recommend using the Joint Breakthrough after either using Honor Guard, Heart of Protection, or both, to maximize the amount of damage you can deal with Joint Breakthrough boosted by the attack buffs.
-- It costs 4 Confectance Index too, pretty expensive skill to use.

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3.4. Heart of Protection
-- Heart of Protection is Papasha’s ultimate skill and has light-ammo attribute.
-- She targets 1 enemy within her 6 tiles, deals physical damage to the enemy, and the City Warden gains an attack buff, “Tenacity to Withstand” for 2 turns.
-- It deals 3 stability damage.
-- “Tenacity to Withstand” basically increases the City Warden’s damage according to the target’s remaining HP. The damage increase is at 60% maximum and the buff cannot be cleansed.
-- Before Papasha attacks the enemy, the City Warden gains 1 or 2 attack buffs for 2 turns if Papasha has at least 1 or two buffs. After that, the City Warden does a follow-up attack with all of the buffs it has against the enemy.
-- I recommend to use “Heart of Protection” as the 2nd skill after the Honor Guard, as the “Tenacity to Withstand” buff lasts only for 2 turns compared to the “Courage to Endure” buff, which lasts for 3 turns. That is still up to you though.
-- It does not cost any Confectance Index, but it has a cooldown of 2 turns. Not bad.

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3.5. Passive Skill: United Guards
-- Papasha’s passive skill is called “United Guards”.
-- She summons a City Warden besides her at start of the battle.
-- She gains 1 Confectance Index if she attacks, 2 Confectance Index if both she and the City Warden attacks a target.
-- If Papasha lands a critical hit against the enemy, the City Warden will have additional 20% crit rate on its next attack.
-- Same goes for the other way around. If the City Warden lands a critical hit against the enemy, Papasha will have additional 20% crit rate on her next attack.
-- Pretty straightforward passive skill.
-- Let’s talk about the City Warden skillset. Yes, it has 2 skills but you cannot view them in the Refitting Room, even in Papasha’s overview. Let’s check it out.

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4. City Warden’s Skills

4.1. Counter Terrorism Support
-- Counter Terrorism Support is the City Warden’s attack skill and considered a passive skill.
-- The City Warden uses this skill on the same enemy that Papasha targeted and attacked. By default, the Counter Terrorism Support deals 80% of City Warden’s attack to the enemy as physical damage.
-- It deals 3 stability damage.
-- It has a global range so do not worry on how far you can reposition the City Warden, when you want to use Papasha’s Joint Breakthrough.
-- Next!

4.2. Explosion Prevention Measures
-- Explosion Prevention Measures is another passive skill of the City Warden.
-- The City Warden automatically moves to a nearby cover after Papasha’s turn.
-- This skill will not move the City Warden if Papasha uses Joint Breakthrough.
-- It cannot also receive direct healing and shield from the Support Dolls.
-- The City Warden gets healed by 10% of its max HP if Papasha gets healed.
-- If the HP of City Warden drops to 0, it will enter a Self-Repair state for 2 turns. In which it cannot do anything, and you will have to wait for the City Warden finish Self-Repair to get back into the fight.
-- Basically, City Warden moves to a nearby cover after Papasha’s turn, it cannot be healed directly, regenerates 10% of its max HP when Papasha gets healed, and if Warden’s HP drops to 0; it cannot act for 2 turns and then gets revived after.

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5. Notes about the City Warden
   -- Some notes about the City Warden.
   -- It shares the same weakness with Papasha. Both are weak against Shotgun Ammo and Corrosion element.
   -- The City Warden inherits the attack and defense stats of Papasha. So, whatever is the amount of Papasha’s attack and defense stats are, the City Warden also has the same.
   -- You cannot control the City Warden directly. You can select on it to view its skills and stats, but you cannot issue any orders. The only way for it to move is after Papasha’s turn.
   -- The City Warden’s support attack range is global, so it does not really matter how far it is from the enemy. Its line of fire can still be blocked by a wall, so be careful when repositioning it using “Joint Breakthrough.”
   -- City Warden does not get the attachment set bonus Papasha has. So, only Papasha benefits from the attachment set bonus. Attack and Attack Boost stats are the ways to increase the City Warden’s firepower.
   -- It also has less HP than Papasha.
   -- If Papasha dies, the City Warden dies as well.
   -- Alright, I think that’s all I can share notes about the City Warden. Let’s proceed to Papasha’s Neural Helix.

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6. Neural Helix

6.1. Glory with Us
-- This fixed key of “Glory With Us” buffs Papasha’s “Honor Guard” and City Warden’s “Counter Terrorism Support” skills
-- The damage of “Honor Guard” is increased by 20% if used against a Large Target.
-- It also increases the stability damage dealt by the City Warden’s “Counter Terrorism Support” by 2 points, making it from 3 to 5 stability damage instead.
-- This key is really good even just for the stability damage buff for the City Warden’s skill.
-- I think I will use this one for Papasha when I unlock it.

6.2. Vow to Defend
-- “Vow to Defend” key basically buffs all damage Papasha deals against the enemy by 20%.
-- The key only works if the City Warden is in Self-Repair state.
-- I don’t think it is bad, but it is a very situational fixed key to use. The damage buff seems nice though.

6.3. Unwavering Conviction
-- The “Unwavering Conviction” key deactivates the independent map movement of the City Warden, but it increases the Warden’s attack by 10%.
-- This key is good if you don’t really need the City Warden moving around the map and getting the attention of your enemies.
-- You can reposition the City Warden using Papasha’s “Joint Breakthrough” when she has 4 Confectance Index.
-- Not a bad fixed key. I may use this at some point.

6.4. Final Assault
-- Final Assault key buffs Papasha’s “Joint Breakthrough”.
-- It increases the damage dealt of the “Joint Breakthrough” by 10%, if the City Warden in its new position has no enemies within 3 tiles.
-- This key is also good since you don’t really need the City Warden to be near the enemy.
-- It is a good combo too with the “Unwavering Conviction” key since it synergizes together.

6.5. I’ll Learn It
-- “I’ll Learn It” key gives Papasha 1 random buff, if she has none or 1 buff that can be cleansed.
-- One look at this fixed key and it might seem like not useful, but not really.
-- This key works good with Papasha’s Ultimate Skill, “Heart of Protection” since it will always guarantee 1 attack buff for the City Warden, and Papasha never loses a single buff.
-- It also works with another fixed key, which is called “Strength in Unity”.

6.6. Strength in Unity
-- “Strength in Unity” key grants the buff “Accolade’s Brilliance” to the target who has the lower attack stat between Papasha and the City Warden.
-- If Papasha has a lower attack stat than the City Warden, then Papasha gets the “Accolade’s Brilliance” buff.
-- If the City Warden has a lower attack stat than Papasha, then the City Warden gets the buff instead.
-- It would be ideal if Papasha gets the buff so that, when Papasha uses the “Heart of Protection” skill, it will guarantee 1 attack buff for the City Warden.
-- In my opinion, the keys that I will be using are most likely “Glory With Us”, “I’ll Learn It” and “Strength in Unity”.
-- That is all for the Neural Helix fixed keys. Let’s move on to the Fortification.

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7. Fortification

7.1. Segment – One
-- Segment One is a huge buff to Papasha.
-- It reduces the Self-Repair state of the City Warden from 2 turns to 1 turn. This makes it less inconvenient to have the City Warden becomes incapacitated. You can also abuse this segment and lure the enemies out of hiding, by having the City Warden go front.
-- It also increases the amount of HP regenerated by the City Warden from 10% to 20%, when Papasha gets healed.
-- Another great buff the segment brings, is it removes the stability requirement of the Honor Guard to buff the City Warden with “Courage to Endure”.
-- And the effects of “Courage to Endure” gets buffed with an additional ignores 30% defense of the large targets.
-- This segment is just not a necessary fortification, but a must-have. I might actually go save up Reputation now to get Papasha’s Segment-One.

7.2. Segment – Two
-- Segment Two enhances Papasha’s 2nd active skill, “Joint Breakthrough”.
-- It changes the cast range of “Joint Breakthrough” from 6 tiles to global range.
-- It also guarantees the City Warden’s attack will be a critical hit.
-- AND! The City Warden will do another attack by shooting at the nearest enemy to the City Warden, instead of the enemy near Papasha.
-- Not a bad segment. The global cast range buff is awesome though since I can use “Joint Breakthrough” to also have the City Warden bait out some enemies.

7.3. Segment – Three
-- Segment Three enhances Papasha’s passive skill “United Guards”, which is also a critical upgrade to the City Warden.
-- Basically, it increases the critical rate by 30% and critical damage by 20% for the City Warden. Hot damn.
-- It also gives Papasha a new buff called “Power of Unity”, and it comes in 3 stacks.
-- The “Power of Unity” buff, increases both Papasha and City Warden’s targeted damage by 10% and has a maximum of 3 stacks which can be a total of 30% damage increase. Plus, the buff cannot be cleansed, but the description says “All stacks are removed before a new attack target is selected.”
-- It is weirdly worded, but I’m just going to assume that Papasha loses the stacks if she targets a different enemy on her next turn. She regains 1 stack of “Power of Unity” buff at the end of her turn, so that is nice.
-- One of Papasha’s great segments for Fortification.

7.4. Segment – Four
-- Segment Four enhances the buff “Tenacity to Withstand” by Papasha’s “Heart of Protection”.
-- It increases the additional damage taken by City Warden’s target according to remaining HP from 60 to 80%.
-- It also says the potency of the random attack buffs given to City Warden are amplified, but in my opinion, this is vague but better attack buffs are welcome.
-- It also increases the amount of attack buffs that can be granted to the City Warden from 2 to 3 buffs.
-- “Power of Unity” stacks are considered buffs too from the Segment Three.
-- Segment Four is basically, buff overload for the City Warden.

7.5. Segment – Five
-- Segment Five is another City Warden buff.
-- City Warden has a new passive called “Security Monitoring”.
-- “Security Monitoring” is basically the City Warden’s counter-attack which is “Surveillance” and it can be used once per out-of-turn. It triggers when the enemy does basic or active attack to an allied unit.
-- City Warden deals 40% of its attack to the enemy during its “Surveillance”.
-- I’m guessing also that the “Surveillance” will not trigger if the enemy is out of line-of-fire for the City Warden.
-- Straight to the point Segment, I say.
-- Let’s check out the last Segment.

7.6. Segment – Six
-- Alright, Segment Six.
-- This is another huge buff for the City Warden as it gets the “Tenacity to Withstand” buff permanently.
-- It also adds a new buff granted by Papasha’s ultimate “Heart of Protection”, called “Resolve to Defend”.
-- The new buff basically allows the City Warden to counter-attack twice with “Surveillance” and increases its damage by 5% to an enemy.
-- The “Resolve to Defend” buff cannot be cleansed.
-- Segment Six is a massive upgrade for the City Warden and you combine that with all of the previous segments, the City Warden becomes the ultimate assist and guardian.

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8. Weaknesses
   -- Now we talked about everything what Papasha and the City Warden do, the skill descriptions, neural helix and fortification upgrades, basically the strengths. Let’s also talk about the weaknesses of Papasha and the City Warden.
   -- Papasha does not have a healing skill even just for herself. It is not exactly a major weakness for her skillset.
   -- But this also means you will need a Support Doll to heal Papasha, in order to heal the City Warden when it needs fixing.
   -- At some point when your Papasha is so strong now, you will not need a healer just for Papasha and the City Warden anymore. Honestly, if they gave her a healing skill, she would be overpowered.
   -- Being unable to control the City Warden directly means, it will randomly move during your player turn.
   -- This may result to either something good or something bad. Like positioning, it may hide in a very good spot, or take the fire of every enemy in the map.
   -- By default, or with no Fortification, Papasha takes many turns before she can activate all of the buffs, the City Warden needs.
   -- She will need to use “Honor Guard” and “Heart of Protection” first, before you want her to use “Joint Breakthrough”. It just takes a lot of work to get her going, but that does not mean she is bad.
   -- Papasha’s skills become pointless to use if the City Warden is down. All of Papasha’s active skills involve the City Warden, so be careful not to let the City Warden die carelessly.
   -- I think that’s all for the weaknesses I can think of Papasha and the City Warden.

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Conclusion:
Phew… After reading all of the information regarding Papasha and the City Warden, and after testing their mechanics, we are finally here on the conclusion. Papasha is a cool tactical Doll, as her gameplay revolves mostly around her City Warden. And the City Warden is really powerful when all of its buffs are activated. Basically, she turns on all of the Warden’s switches and the Warden goes super-duper omegajudeca gigachad ultimate combat mode.

My apologies if this post is long to make as I was trying to outline every important detail about Papasha and her City Warden. I think you should give Papasha a try. She is a unique Doll that relies on her summon to give back-up whenever she attacks. Not to mention, she works really well against Large Targets due to that damage boost her 2nd active skill gets. Plus, you give the enemy another target to shoot at, lessening the pressure on your Dolls sometimes.

To add on that, Papasha is a free Elite Doll too. And everyone can upgrade her up to Segment – Six Fortification, as her neural archives can just be bought in the Platoon Shop. Same goes for her main gun, Svarog which can be maximum calibrated. So, really there is nothing holding you back, other than your limited resources.

Well, I think it’s about time I wrap it up. Thank you so much for reading this and dropping by on this post. I appreciate you and I also hope you are having a lovely nice day, fellow commander.