The recruitment for the new swimsuit variation of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, Dorothy: Serendipity (hereinafter referred to as Swimsuit Dorothy), is currently live. As the very first swimsuit-clad Pilgrim limited to a specific period since the launch of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, the character has predictably set the community ablaze. More importantly, arriving as a rare shotgun-wielding main DPS, the character delivers performance that is nothing short of overwhelming. Following the buffs to Tove's personal items, this character is now being hailed as the vital piece needed to push shotgun decks to their theoretical ceiling. KookminTree has dissected the kit and optimal loadouts of this powerhouse.

Is this a shotgun or a sniper rifle?

Swimsuit Dorothy comes equipped with almost every utility a shotgun-wielding NIKKE could dream of: attack power, accuracy, attack speed, pellet count increase, and piercing ability. It is no exaggeration to call the character the alpha and omega of the shotgun meta. The fact that the character serves as a Water-code main DPS—a role with notoriously few viable options—only sweetens the deal.

Let's peel back the layers of the skill effects. The first skill, 'Flash,' scales based on the number of pellet hits. Pellets are the projectiles fired per round. Upon hitting 80 pellets, the character maintains 'pierce specialization, increased accuracy, and increased attack damage' for 3 rounds, though the pellet count is fixed at one per shot.

If you look closely at the crosshair of Swimsuit Dorothy, you will see pink sword icons gradually filling up on the right. Once fully activated, the character fires three enhanced rounds. Upon hitting 160 pellets, the piercing range expands. At level 10, the stats sit at 98.18% accuracy, 72% attack damage, and 200% piercing range. These are frankly transcendent numbers; the accuracy buff effectively turns the shotgun’s usual wild pellet spread into something akin to a sniper rifle. Rest assured, while the pellet count per shot is reduced during this state, the total damage output remains untouched.

The second skill, 'Light Wings,' is a passive that splits its effects between 'start of battle' and 'full burst duration.' At the start of the battle, pierce damage increases, ensuring the enhanced rounds from the first skill hit like a truck. During a full burst, the character gains attack power and accuracy buffs. At level 10, these stand at 75.24% and 40.68%, respectively. Combined with the first skill, the total output is a staggering 138.86%, which is, quite frankly, over-tuned. Note that these buffs apply during the full burst window, so it doesn't matter if Swimsuit Dorothy isn't the one triggering the burst.

The burst, 'Salvation,' is a straightforward self-buff. The core effects are increased attack speed, attack power, and a flat 5-pellet increase for 15 seconds. Note that the pellet count increase is fixed at 5 regardless of the skill level. At level 10, attack speed jumps by 65% and attack power by 88.12%. The 15-second duration, being 5 seconds longer than the standard 10-second full burst, is likely a deliberate design choice with Soda: Twinkling Bunny (hereinafter referred to as Bunny Soda) in mind.

Swimsuit Dorothy possesses the most refined skill set among all shotgun DPS units released to date. Because the first and second skills do not rely on teammates to function, the character raises their own power level independently. Combined with the naturally high scaling of shotguns, the standard attacks are lethal, and the added three piercing shots make this unit a monster against bosses with multiple parts or massive hitboxes.

The recommended team composition is 'Tove - Blanc or Leona - Swimsuit Dorothy - Bunny Soda - Drake or Noir.' If you haven't built the personal item version of Drake yet, use Blanc and Noir. Even without Tove’s personal items, the firepower of Swimsuit Dorothy is exceptionally high; Tove simply guarantees the baseline. Leona boosts pellet count, effective range, and critical damage/rate. However, unlike Blanc, Leona lacks debuffing or healing capabilities, which can make survivability a bit shaky.

Shotgun composition: A relentless damage dealer for Water-code weaknesses

Let's look at the experimental data. We tested in the Union Shooting Range against 3-minute bosses with Water-code and Iron-code weaknesses. The Swimsuit Dorothy used was base-level with a Rank R Phase 1 collection item, skills at 8/8/9, and Overload gear options of 47.12% elemental damage and 23.46% attack power. The comparison unit, Bunny Soda, was at 2-star promotion with a Rank SR Phase 5 collection item, skills at 7/7/7, and Overload gear of 44.05% elemental damage and 13.76% attack power. We utilized the two team compositions mentioned earlier, with Drake equipped with a personal item and Tove with a standard collection item.

The results? Swimsuit Dorothy crushed Bunny Soda against Water-code targets and fell only slightly behind against Iron-code targets. In neutral elemental matchups, the performance was on par with Bunny Soda. This serves as proof that Swimsuit Dorothy’s base stats are top-tier. The minor damage gap between compositions favored the version with Leona, largely because Swimsuit Dorothy’s skill effects scale based on pellet hit counts.

So, how useful is the character in Water-code weak content? We ran comparative tests in the Solo Raid against Harvester. Using the same lineup and swapping in Brid and Quincy: Escape Queen, the team cleared at least stage 7 with ease. It is more than capable of securing maximum rewards. While it wasn't the absolute highest-performing among the three combinations, it remains fantastic news for players stuck at lower stages of Solo Raid.

The true potential lies in the Solo Raid

To wrap up, Swimsuit Dorothy is a limited-time Firepower-type Pilgrim. You must pull for at least one copy. With no guarantee of a rerun and such exceptional performance, this is a must-have NIKKE. The character easily pulls their own weight and has clear utility in Harvester strategies.

Finally, the Solo Raid 'Phantom Kraken,' running from July 24 to July 31, features a shotgun-recommended, Water-code weak boss. It's practically an open invitation to use this unit. Investing in Swimsuit Dorothy for high-score runs is a wise move. However, limit breaking is not particularly efficient, as the buffs are simple attack power increases that don't scale aggressively. I suggest holding off on pulls until you've checked out the recruitment for Elegg: Boom and Shock next week.