She has a 30% Water Strength buff as her S1.



Final Verdict: Yes.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Alright, alright, I know you expect more than that. To elucidate...

While at first glance Gala Elisanne looks to be the most busted thing since Gleo, a more careful look will show that she’s simply strong but not broken thanks to a number of factors, which we’ll dive into.

First off, Gala Elisanne does indeed offer that juicy 30% Water Strength buff a la Noelle or Emma. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll see that Holy Accord costs about 500 more SP than OG Elisanne's Brave Bastion. This means that it will take Elisanne just that much longer to get to her S1, especially considering Axe SP gains. We’ll talk more about weapon types later, but for now know that the increased SP costs mean that Elisanne will have a harder time keeping her buff active, especially without a Buff Time passive. She can make up for this a bit with Wyrmprints like Beach Battle, but she can’t quite reach the levels that her original version can. Still, her buff is 50% more potent than her base form's which helps ease the wait between uptime.

Next, Gala Elisanne’s S2. Its effects are considerable, with a wall of text that would make even Fjorm proud back in FEH. Unfortunately, Celestial Ascent has an absolutely massive SP cost, and slowly fills over time. Thankfully it’s not nearly as bad as Gala Euden’s S2, and you can reliably get off Elisanne’s S2 after about 30 seconds (with H!Maritimus). Celestial Ascent does respectable damage, though less than expected from such a low uptime skill. It does, however, offer 25% Flame Res and a 20% HP shield which does make the large charge time worth it to a degree.

Now let’s talk about Axes. There are some upsides and downsides to Gala Elisanne wielding an Axe. A huge upside is that it’s a sidegrade to a Lance’s co-ability. Most mHBH/eHBH groups are going to need that extra survivability for the opening blast, assuming G!Elisanne is replacing OG Elisanne as the buffer. Which leads into the second point about Axes. Unlike Wands and Lances, you will be in baiting range, up close and personal. That means that your movement patterns will be radically different from someone hanging back. You might not be taking over baiting duties from S!Celliera or Orsem, but it does mean you’ll have to adjust to shorter DPS windows as you dodge breaths, volcanoes, and Hellfires that you could have kept attacking through with Lance range. Axes SP gains are also much slower compared to other weapons. Their swing speed is sluggish and their SP gains don't spike for finishing a combo, which can be jarring if you're not accustomed to them.

All in all, Gala Elisanne is an exciting and powerful buffer option. She could potentially be used as a replacement for her earlier incarnation, but she could also be a supplement, only time will tell. Still, buffers like this have consistently proven to be powerful enough that summoning for Gala Elisanne is highly recommended.

The Real Final Verdict: Yes. Gala Elisanne is a powerful option, but not the second coming of Gleo.