Vortex Gaming

· HoYoverse has revealed Escopier and Skirk as the second-half character banners for Version 6.4.
· This video provides advice on whether to pull for these two characters, based on their current meta standing and performance in 'Stygian Onslaught'.
· Skirk, despite being released about 9 months ago, remains a powerful character.
· Skirk and Escopier appear simultaneously on the banner, and this video offers an honest evaluation of both characters, their value in the current meta, and investment priorities (constellations, signature weapons, etc.).

· Despite being released 9 months ago, Skirk remains one of the best DPS characters in the game.
· She is a powerful option, second only to premium Luna teams or Mavika.
· Skirk teams can be built relatively cheaply. Fiori is owned by most users, and there was ample time to save Primogems for Skirk's rerun.
· Despite many team composition restrictions, Skirk boasts amazing playstyle flexibility and feels like a modern DPS character.
· Unlike other Cryo characters like Ayaka, Skirk has a very high attack frequency, which helps counter certain enemy mechanics.
· In addition to normal or charged attack spam, she has options to deal Physical damage, which is surprisingly useful in some endgame battles.
· Her Elemental Burst deals massive AoE damage, covering a sufficiently wide area even without grouping characters like Kazuha or Venti.
· Her hybrid playstyle, chaining normal attacks after her Elemental Burst, offers flexibility that other Cryo DPS characters lack.
· Skirk is a character who overwhelms enemies with pure power, and this trait makes her a soft counter to many enemy mechanics in 'Stygian Onslaught'.
· Skirk requires no Elemental Energy for herself and generously provides Cryo particles to her teammates.
· As a Freeze DPS character, she can utilize the Freeze effect to disrupt certain enemy mechanics.
· Even with simple combos, Skirk's full potential can be unleashed, meaning there's less penalty for not using optimized combos like Mavika or Nefer.

· One of Skirk's biggest weaknesses is her team composition restriction, allowing only Hydro and Cryo characters in her team.
· This puts Skirk at a disadvantage in battles that require other elements like Pyro or Electro.
· Skirk can clear many battles even without her absolute best team, but the performance difference will be significantly felt depending on the presence of Escopier and Fiori.
· Most modern DPS characters require three premium 5-star characters to reach their full potential, so this can be seen as a new standard for team compositions.
· Skirk has complex and difficult-to-execute combos that can enhance her DPS. This can be both a strength and a weakness.
· Skirk is now considered an 'older' DPS character. Over time, DPS benchmarks are likely to continue moving further away.
· As a 9-month-old character, Skirk's 'age' is a concern, but it is somewhat offset by her performance in 'Stygian Onslaught'.

· The fact that 'Stygian Onslaught' battles are rerunning is positive for Skirk's future value.
· Skirk's premium team can handle most 'Stygian Onslaught' battles.
· Combining personal evaluation and usage rate data, a C0 Skirk premium team can comfortably clear about 10 out of 19 'Stygian Onslaught' battles.
· With additional investment such as a signature weapon or good artifacts, 5 more difficult battles can be cleared, but this requires significant effort and retries.
· It is not advisable to bring Skirk to 4 of the battles. These battles require elements other than Hydro and Cryo (e.g., Lava Dragon requires Pyro, Taco Truck requires Electro, Grass Crab requires Dendro).
· With minimal investment, Skirk can handle many existing battles, making her useful in the future. However, 3 out of the 4 recently released battles are very difficult for Skirk, and this trend may continue.
· Premium Skirk is a character who overwhelms enemies with raw power, and her unique strengths make her suitable for some of Genshin Impact's most challenging endgame battles.
· Skirk's usage rate is very similar to Mavika, one of the best characters in the game, which is an impressive achievement.
· Escopier's usage rate is slightly higher than Skirk's. This is because Escopier can fulfill more roles beyond just supporting Skirk.
· Both characters are in a very healthy position in the current meta and are expected to maintain solid performance for some time.

· Escopier is an amazing character and performs best in Freeze teams.
· She deals excellent damage, provides massive Cryo and Hydro RES reduction, and even has healing capabilities.
· She is an excellent support for Skirk, Ayaka, and Wriothesley, but Skirk's abilities are far superior in 'Stygian Onslaught'.
· Pulling for Escopier before Skirk is also a very reasonable choice.
· Escopier can also support Hydro characters like DPS Neuvillette and Cryo characters like Cryo Barka.
· While not every aspect of her kit can be fully utilized, she remains one of the best options for that playstyle.

· In the current meta, it is highly recommended to acquire both Skirk and Escopier. They form a very reliable core combination for clearing 'Stygian Onslaught'.
· Most users already have Fiori, so she can be used with them. The fourth slot is very flexible.
· However, with the emergence of characters like Hexarei Luna teams or Mavika, the meta is likely to gradually shift away from Skirk.
· The investment priority is to acquire the characters themselves first. After securing Skirk and Escopier, you should consider their constellations or signature weapons.
· This weapon banner is excellent. There's a 75% chance to get either Skirk's weapon or Escopier's weapon.
· While Skirk's weapon has a greater impact on the team, Escopier's weapon is also a great reward and can be used by characters like Chef Rouge.
· C0 Skirk can clear most battles marked as 'clearable' even without her signature weapon or excessive support investment.
· Battles marked as 'difficult' required her signature weapon and tight time management.
· Skirk using weapons like 'Finale of the Deep' also offers much utility, but she may struggle in difficult battles without additional investment.
· After acquiring the characters, Escopier's C1 is recommended. This has higher future value than Skirk's C1 and has a greater impact on the overall team's damage, including Escopier and Fiori.
· At high investment levels, Skirk is an excellent speedrun character, though not the fastest compared to Mavika or Nefer. However, she remains competitive and can be an option for one of the three battles.

· The 4-star characters on this banner are not particularly appealing.
· Dahlia can be used as a budget version of Mona.
· Candace, unfortunately, does not perform well.
· Charlotte can use 'Tales of the Dragon Slayers' even at C0, so additional constellations are not critically important.

· If you pull for both Skirk and Escopier, they will form a very solid core combination that will greatly benefit your account for a long time.
· However, if you only pull for one of them, or if you don't have Fiori, it's difficult to strongly recommend.