Solo Raid is the cornerstone of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, serving as a monthly ritual that showers players with materials for Collectibles, Treasures, and Cube upgrades. This latest iteration is a rarity, marking the return of a 'Steel' code weakness for the first time in an entire year—since June 2024. The impact on the meta was seismic, with top-tier players who have been meticulously polishing their Steel-code NIKKEs hitting staggering high scores.

While the timing aligned with the Stellar Blade collaboration, necessitating the use of limited-time characters, the true catalyst for the shift in rankings was the ever-present legend of damage ceilings: Snow White. Let us dive into the compositions and elite settings that dominated this long-awaited Steel-weakness raid.

Solo Raid Top 50 NIKKE Pick Rate Ranking

※ Based on squad data from the 'Solo Raid (Providence)' held from July 3rd to July 10th.
※ Aggregation criteria is limited to squads that achieved over 3.5 billion in total damage.
※ Please note that there may be slight discrepancies with current ranker decks.

As noted, this was the first Steel-weakness Solo Raid in a year. The damage output from the Top 50 rankers was so astronomical that we had to adjust our reporting threshold to 3.5 billion. Consequently, several NIKKEs that usually languish in obscurity found their moment in the spotlight.

Helms: Aquamarine (hereinafter 'Summer Helm') and Rosanna: Chic Ocean (hereinafter 'Summer Rosanna') were the standouts. Summer Helm brings burst skill cooldown reduction, while Summer Rosanna offers sustained damage buffs. Previously, these two were rarely seen; Summer Helm struggled because most popular Burst 1 buffers already provided cooldown reduction—you simply do not need to double up on that utility. As for Summer Rosanna, while the buff numbers were decent, there were precious few main dealers who thrived on sustained damage.

The turn of the tide for these two was tactical. Summer Helm found synergy with Snow White, while Summer Rosanna paired with Mihara: Bonding Chain. In the Snow White composition, the Treasure-enhanced Miranda is used, but since Miranda lacks burst cooldown reduction, Summer Helm steps in to bridge that gap while serving as a secondary Steel-code dealer. Summer Rosanna, meanwhile, took the spot of a dedicated healer to act as a sustained damage multiplier.

The roster of main dealers included Rapi: Red Hood (hereinafter 'Awakened Rapi'), Treasure Helm, EVE, Maxwell, Red Hood, Raven, Cinderella, and Snow White. The majority of the heavy lifting was done by squads housing Snow White and Awakened Rapi. The damage figures reached heights that make previous raids look modest, highlighting just how ferocious the competition for the top 3% became. Snow White’s status, in particular, has never looked more untouchable.

The 1st place champion, Winter, posted a jaw-dropping 31,628,935,137 points. To put that into perspective, a single squad managed to break the 10 billion damage mark. Naturally, the Snow White deck was the star of this performance.

Looking closely at the primary squads, specifically the 1st and 4th, the 1st squad utilised Treasure Miranda, Snow White, Grave, Helm, and Summer Helm. The rotation requires precise control to ensure Miranda’s buffs align with the burst window. This setup netted 8,403,992,440 damage, ranking second across all squads. The inclusion of Summer Helm was a masterstroke; while Miranda received a Treasure, the lack of cooldown reduction necessitated a support that could also contribute as a Steel-code sub-dealer.

The 4th squad, which boasted the highest damage, featured collaboration character EVE alongside Awakened Rapi, Crown, Little Mermaid, and Mast: Romantic Maid. The combination of Awakened Rapi’s grenades and EVE’s prowess pushed this team to a historic 10-billion-point solo squad record. While the abundance of Steel-code synergy certainly helped, it served as a stark reminder that Awakened Rapi remains the definitive Burst 3 main dealer. It will be fascinating to see if EVE makes a comeback in future Steel raids.

Special Arena Ranker Defensive Deck NIKKE Pick Rate Ranking

※ Based on Top 10-40 ranker data from Special Arena (Servers 230-250) from July 2nd to July 15th.
※ Data is based on the 'defensive deck' set by individuals at the time of collection.
※ There may be slight discrepancies with current ranker defensive decks.

Noah’s 100% pick rate, which was reclaimed on May 28th, has been shattered. A ranker suddenly removed Noah from their lineup, leaving Scarlet as the sole occupant of the throne. The reason for this sudden shift remains a mystery, but we are keeping a close eye on the situation.

Several NIKKEs have once again vanished from the meta: Exia in Burst 1, Makima in Burst 2, and A2 in Burst 3. Since these were individual choices, we expect to see further experimentation. Despite high hopes for Helm, Drake, and Laplace following their Treasure updates, their pick rates remain stagnant—it is a calm sea for now. Some users suspect this is the calm before the storm as new Treasures are expected to drop soon.

We are highlighting the defensive deck of Beomgu, who held 4th place in the seasonal group. The setup features the classic, and often infuriating, Mukden/Nero deck frequently seen in the Champion Arena.

The 1st squad is a Summer Anis composition—a favourite among the elite. Summer Anis acts as the main dealer, with Maiden: Ice Rose (hereinafter 'Claidens') providing sub-damage and Electric-code buffs. As a Support-type, Summer Anis synergises perfectly with Biscuit’s invulnerability buffs.

The 2nd squad is centred around Scarlet. By pairing Scarlet with Rosanna, the team is built to dismantle mirror matches, stripping enemy buffs and accelerating burst generation when allies fall. With the introduction of Trony, Scarlet feels even more oppressive than before.

The 3rd squad is the aforementioned Mukden/Nero deck, the gold standard for Champion Arena 1st-team defences. While players usually include Rapunzel for sustain, Beomgu opted for Emilia to boost burst generation while serving as a secondary damage source.

Solo Raid Meta Analysis

The Return of the 'Death-Blow' Snow White

As mentioned, Snow White’s growth was the defining factor of this raid. Players obsessed over perfecting the 'one-shot' sniper timing, with some hits exceeding 100 million damage. Of course, this requires the absolute peak of investment to ensure Snow White’s stats dwarf the rest of the squad.

The crux of the matter is whether you can successfully funnel Miranda’s buffs onto Snow White. Miranda prioritises the unit with the highest attack, and with Treasure Helm’s inflated stats, it becomes a logistical nightmare to ensure Snow White receives the boost. Many players who tried to mimic the top-tier setups were tripped up here; even I struggled to reach half of the damage the rankers achieved.

The boss’s multi-part structure was a playground for Snow White, as the 'Pierce' effect on the burst skill allows for multi-hit damage when overlapping hitboxes are targeted. While Snow White was once the secret weapon of dedicated specialists, this raid has signaled the triumphant return of the sniper. If you are preparing for the next Steel-code raid, start investing in Snow White now.

NIKKE News

Do not forget the Nier Re-run Challenge Stage

Are you participating in the Nier: Automata collaboration re-run? These story events are goldmines for Core Dust, and missing a single day equates to a painful loss of resources. Typically, Goddess of Victory: NIKKE uses red dot notifications to remind players of pending tasks.

Currently, these notifications are broken for the Nier story and challenge stages. The developers have acknowledged the issue and are working on a fix. Until then, make sure to manually check your story and challenge stages daily.

User Poll - Which mini-game has been the most enjoyable so far?

Last week, we polled you on the most memorable story events. 'MIRACLE SNOW' took the top spot. Even without voice acting at its initial launch, the text alone was enough to break our hearts. When it was added to the Archives with full voice acting, the performances only deepened the emotional impact.

2nd place went to 'NEW YEAR, NEW SWORD', another case where voice acting added later brought Scarlet’s tragic backstory to life. 3rd was the 0.5-anniversary 'OVER ZONE', followed by a tie for 4th between the Stellar Blade collaboration 'MEMORIES TELLER' and the 2nd-anniversary 'OLD TALES', with the 1st-anniversary 'RED ASH' taking 6th. You can revisit all of these stories in the Archives.

Goddess of Victory: NIKKE often includes mini-games within these stories, but the quality is so high that players have dubbed them 'Big Games'. Some remain playable via the Arcade. What is your all-time favourite mini-game? Cast your vote, and we will reveal the results in next week’s Meca Ranking.