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Blue Archive Beginner’s Guide (Global) – March 2024

This is a Blue Archive beginner’s guide made by Logi (Logi#1796 on Discord). Massive thanks to them for putting this together! It’s designed to get you ready for global release so that you know exactly what to do on launch day.

If you’re interested in more Blue Archive content, we have a Blue Archive Tier List guide that rates every unit in the game. You might also be interested in our Blue Archive Coupon Codes page for free pyroxenes to spend!

Blue Archive Beginner's Guide

Welcome Global Sensei! Congrats on the launch of Global!

I’d like to welcome you to Kivitos, a vibrant and exciting academy city. This guide is assuming Blue Archive Global is starting with the same roster that JP started with.

Alright, I’m tired of the formalities. Time to meme. 

Also just a warning: I don’t know how to reroll since I didn’t do it myself, so I would advise you to look up a guide on how to reroll especially since it might be different for the Global version. 

Blue Archive Beginner's Guide

The Beginning

So after completing the tutorial mission, you will be forced to play through Half of stage 1-1. This is when the first 10 pull occurs (as of the time writing this it is unknown whether or not this pull will come with a guaranteed 3-star) in this pull you are guaranteed a 3-star unit which is the highest *base rarity. 

I’m gonna mention the characters I think are notable enough to warrant a reroll. THIS ONLY MATTERS FOR 3-STARS

Oh yeah, in Blue Archive there are two types of characters: 

Strikers and Specials

Essentially, Strikers are the characters you actually see running around during gameplay, if they die, you die

While Specials are the characters who aren’t visible but provide different supportive characteristics to the Strikers. 

Teams are divided into 4 Strikers and 2 Specials.*For the remainder of this guide I will point to Strikers with red arrows and blue for specials.

Blue Archive Beginner's Guide

Reroll Priority

Yeah okay, but who is good???

Well let’s go by rarity here:

3-stars: 

Iori

Easily one of the best in a majority of endgame content. If you were to give her a rating out of 5 stars how she performs overall? Easily a 5 outta 5.

Haruna

So in the base game of Blue Archive there are like 3(4?) strikers that do Blue damage, and Haruna is one of them. Holy is she good, High damage and high damage and more high damage. She’s just crazy.

Shun

She has an ability which gives ability energy so characters can begin to use their EX skills faster. This is awesome for PVP, she’s mostly in this list for PVP lovers but she is just generally good and does awesome in PVE.

Hibiki

Someone thought that giving this dog a mortar would be a good idea. But after some consideration I actually agree. EX skill does bussin damage, and her other skills are also fire.

2-Stars

Tsubaki

Easily the best tank in the game, she is the only tank who also has the most skills akin to a traditional tanking character, Damage Reduction + Heals + Taunt. You wanna make her 3-star asap to get her main damage reduction skill.

Akari

She has one of the dumbest kits, she has two of the same skill. Which are both damage steroids. She just does damage, I can’t say much more.

Serika

Another great damage dealer. Works better in places where she can sit still more since her EX skill is a main ATK buff for her. Also she’s a sad cat so if you like sad cats, then she’s perfect for you.

Akane

She’s a main debuffer for some content. She’s not gonna be doing amazing damage but she will help others do very good damage. Her EX skill is an Armour Break, simple as that.

Chise

Gonna be a main want for Blue damage, but is another unit who will be okay until you get her 3-star wherein she becomes good. Her final skill is a DOT that helps her damage a decent amount.

1-stars

Serina

Okay, Serina is the best special healer in the game due to low cost EX skill, along with a passive heal every so often. She is important to not overlook. She looks hella generic, so it’s understandable why you would.

Kotama

She is the only specialist who is purely based around buffing your team. Her EX is an ATK boost, and her passive is also an ATK buff for allies.

Fina

She essentially sees use in one place. She’s not worth fretting over, but do not ignore her. She has amazing DPS but requires investment, luckily she has a decent amount of Hard Stages you can farm.

Honorable Mentions

No descriptions, just know that they are good.

Hero

What about the Starting 4?

3 out of 4 of them are good.

Hasumi: She is good, but there are just better options out there. Mostly a budget/waifu pick. Not bad by any means. Hits hard and does her job, has a semi-weird kit.

Yuuka: A solid tank, relies on being more of a run and gun kinda person. Essentially a cheap solid unit. Her final skill heals her when she takes cover, which is cool.

Chinatsu: She has a very strong single-target heal. She’s a healer, I don’t know what else to say. She suffers from needing investment to become stronger, which is the case for most of the 1-stars.

Suzumi: Ahhh, well, I mean she’s got a flashbang. She also is inclined to throw said flashbangs at innocent people in public. Just has a weird kit and suffers from that weird kit not being particularly useful in any scenario currently in the game.

Daily Routine

This is just a list of what I try to do every reset OR when I wake up in the morning since reset is actually at noon for me.

Wake up 7:00am-

  • Open Cafe and claim affection
  • If energy storage is 100% claim it, if not let it sit
  • Use stamina if at cap
  • >if double drops are active in something farm that
  • >if an event is out farm that
  • >>if I still need to do event stage challenges do those
  • >Use PVP runs if they are still available AND I feel like trying out SnM for a bit.

Usually by this time it will be around noon, if I’m out of energy I usually just close the game until after reset. 

  • >Open cafe and claim affection/energy (if energy is around 80% or higher)

*affection on characters in cafe is claimable every 3 hours~

  • >complete Scheduling for the day (Affection for Characters)
  • >complete Wanted runs for the day (Skill books/materials)
  • >If a raid is around do the 3 daily runs
  • >IF you really want to, and I mean IF you can do your PVP.

*side note: if you haven’t done PVP at all before or just unlocked it; Do it. You get free pyroxene for your first time climbing the ladder.

  • >if there is nothing you need to do specifically (you’ve completed an event/cleared the store out, or done all your runs for the day) Hard modes are a good way to quickly get rid of Energy and have a chance at granting character shards.

Cafe

Welcome to the Cafe! It’s a place for the students to come hang out and relax. Look at their little cute chibis! Ah かわいいね!

Scheduling

You’re a Sensei now, and that means you have sensei-responsibilities a.k.a Scheduling. This is essentially just a way to get more affection as well as a chance at skill books/CDs.

PVP

Remember to Always do 5 PVP runs for the day, even if you lose and even if it feels like a slug. There is a reward for doing “x PVP matches in a day”

Roles, Guns & Types

But Logi? What are you talking about? I’m talking about the different traits of the Characters. Such as……

Armour and Damage Type, Gun Type, Role, and Tendency (some characters will actively seek out cover vs. some who stay in open).

Damage and Armour

Armour and Damage Type refer to the type (colour) of a character’s Damage or armour. 

This changes how they: 

  • A. receive damage in the case of armour 
  • B. deal damage in the case of damage
  • Red damage is called Explosive
  • Yellow damage is called Piercing/Penetration
  • Blue damage is called Mythic

There are two extra damage types and one extra armor type

Normal damage is the name for damage without a colour coding, this is the damage type that most enemies will deal in PVE.

THIS MEANS YOU ONLY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT ARMOUR TYPE IN PVE SINCE ENEMIES WON’T DEAL INCREASED DAMAGE TO YOUR CHARACTERS

And finally there is something called Terrain it has its own separate armour type which resists all other colours of damage.

Based on that, thinking about terrain currently is pointless. 

Armor types follow the same coding, minus the normal and terrain type. 

  • Red armour is called Light Armour
  • Yellow armour is called Heavy Armour
  • Blue armour is called Unarmoured

PVE enemies only have an armour type so all you have to do is match the Damage colour of your characters to the armour type of the enemies.

So…

When an enemy has:

  • Light Armour > you use characters who do Explosive damage
  • Heavy Armour > you use characters who do Piercing damage
  • Unarmoured > you use characters who do Mythic damage

Simple right? Yeah, it is.

Matching the Types causes the damage to do a +30%

Whereas using a damage type against the armour which resists it lowers the damage to -30%

Using it against the armour which neither resists or weak causes it to do nothing.

Damage v. Armour Chart

Gun Types

The different Gun types behave differently in this game and determine somewhat how the characters behave.

AR

  • The generalists
  • A balance of mobility, damage, and utility.
  • They don’t take long to start shooting, since they don’t have to set up their weapon like an MG 

SMG

  • Low damage overall
  • Faster reload time
  • “If I don’t get hit I won’t take damage”
  • Rely on their high evasion to avoid damage.
  • Tsubaki is the best one.

MG

SR

  • The middle ground between MG and AR
  • High damage
  • But not as mobile
  • Plus they usually need to be in cover to shoot.

RF

  • More akin to AR but the fire slower since It’s usually either semi-auto or a bolt action.

SG

  • Shotguns are the opposite of SMGs
  • Instead of avoiding the damage, they have the durability to take it.
  • High health and high Defense.
  • Lower evasion
  • Usually low damage

GL

  • High damage
  • There are only two GL users so far.
  • One fire a single time, then reloads.
  • The other can fire multiple shots before needing to reload.
  • One is Blue damage, the other Yellow.

RG (Railgun)

  • One person has one of these.
  • It’s Alice.
  • She’s aight.

ML (Mortar)

  • It’s Hibiki.

HG

  • Overall “weakest” gun type.
  • They are support characters.
  • Kayoko has a kit based around Fears and CC
  • Akane has Armour Break as her EX

The Specials might have weapons assigned to them but it doesn’t really matter since you never see them.

**except in the case of people like Hibiki, Karin, Mashiro who interact with the Strikers by using their weapons.

Roles

Each character has a “role” which somewhat describes the way they’re intended to be used.

  • Attacker
  • Healer
  • Support
  • Tank

>Tactical Support: *there is only one so far, but this seems to be people who can summon vehicles or armaments. Since S.Hifumi can summon a Tank.

Position

Refers to where a student will tend to stand:

  • Front is usually the tanks or Tanky-Attackers (Sumire)
  • Middle is usually the ARs and GLs
  • Back is Snipers and MGs

Terrain Preferences

Certain students prefer certain terrain.

  • Indoor
  • Urban
  • Outdoors

Students can range from

  • Excellent = S: +20% Damage, 60% Shield Block rate
  • Good = A: +10% Damage, 45% Block rate
  • Neutral = B: 30% Block rate
  • Bad = C: -10% Damage, 15% Block rate
  • Terrible = D -20% Damage, 0% Block rate

If a student goes into a stage with BOTH Damage advantage (Red vs Red armour) and Excellent Terrain rating, they will have a total of +50% Damage.

Schools

It’s an academy city after all. Think of it as one major city (Kivitos), with different minor cities within it. So each school is both a School and its own ‘city’ in a sense.

Abydos

This is the first school we meet in the story as a Sensei, they are also in all the marketing and Shiroko is the mascot of the game. This school and the city area within its reaches are literally turning into a desert, this is why there are only 5 students remaining in the school. These 5 students are trying to save the school from shutting down. They look the most basic.

Millennium

This is the school of nerds. They are all incredibly smart. It’s a science school. From engineers, to game developers.

Gehena

This is your typical ‘evil’ looking school, though they aren’t actually horrible people. You could say they are rougher than the other schools.

 

Trinity

This is supposed to be a school for ladies. They all have angel motifs and like 4 of the 7 healers come from Trinity. So…… Yeah.

Hyakkiyako

This is like a rural school but themed in Japanese mythology.

 

Shanhaijing

This is another ‘rural’ school but based on Chinese mythology instead.

Red Winter

A Russian-themed school. Their whole first event was about a ‘civil war’ that should be everything you need to know.

Valkyrie

A police academy. Apparently, they struggle with actually controlling situations, so yeah.


*There is another school named Arius Branch School, but I know nothing about them and they so far only show up in lore/cutscenes. Since I can’t fully read the story I have no idea what they are about. 

Tier List for Launch Blue Archive Roster

*Healers are in their own tier because they all are good. They each perform differently and serve different roles. Koharu is the only exception since she’s amazing and can solo sustain a team when geared well.

I highly recommend following the official social channels for Blue Archive to keep up to date with the latest game updates and announcements.

SankaShiro

Tuesday 23rd of November 2021

Can't thank you enough, this was so helpful! Now I understand every aspect and problem I encountered so far. Tysm

Myn

Monday 8th of November 2021

Tysm