Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Champion Arena Beta Season 13 has officially wrapped up. It was a nail-biter of a season, with the final victor only decided in the fifth round of the aggregate group. The talk of the town, however, is Vesti: Tactical Up (hereafter 'Tactical Vesti'), which boasted a 51.4% pick rate last week. By the time we hit the Top 8, every single ranked player had her in their squad. She’s clearly established herself as a cornerstone of the Champion Arena, right alongside Red Hood.

Champion Arena Top 8 Ranked Squad NIKKE Pick Rate

※ Based on data from 40 squads used by Top 8 ranked players during the 'Champion Arena' held from September 24th to October 7th.
※ Please note that the aggregate group changes every season.

Four NIKKEs per Burst category achieved a 100% pick rate among our Top 8 finalists. For Burst 1, we had Jackal, Rosanna, Maiden, and Rapunzel. Burst 2 saw Noah, Centi, Trony, and Biscuit, while Burst 3 featured Red Hood, Helm, Tactical Vesti, and Emilia. Tactical Vesti, having cleared the 50% threshold last week, saw a total adoption rate among the elite eight.

Looking further down the pick rates, we have to talk about Treasure Poli and Ade. Only two players dared to run Ade at the Round of 64, but one of them fought their way all the way to the Top 8. Though she was a niche pick, her contribution to that climb is undeniable.

Treasure Poli has been making waves as a pillar of shotgun decks thanks to her firepower and defensive utility. It has been over three months since the latest Treasures dropped, and we are seeing more players integrating them into their rosters. The runner-up we’re highlighting today relied on Treasure Poli to prove just how lethal that shotgun synergy can be.

Let's take a look at the runner-up, 'Meoim'. While the final score ended in a 3-2 defeat, Meoim staged a brilliant comeback, turning two consecutive losses into two straight wins. The first two rounds saw them fall to the shotgun composition of '赫爾薇特' and the Mihara: Bonding Chain/Cinderella combo. However, they roared back in the third and fourth rounds, crushing the Red Hood and Nero/Maiden squads to level the playing field.

This set the stage for a tense fifth and final round: Tactical Vesti versus the shotgun squad. Ultimately, the raw firepower of Tactical Vesti proved too much, wiping out the entire shotgun team and closing the season. It’s a slightly bittersweet result given the matchmaking luck, but considering Meoim finished in the Round of 64 last season, climbing to runner-up is a stellar achievement. We look forward to seeing what they bring to the table next season.

Solo Raid Meta Analysis

Who is the top-tier dealer this time?

The 'Cold Judge' Solo Raid, which kicked off on October 9th, features a variation of the 2.5-anniversary boss, Gluttony. Its weakness is the Electric code, and it possesses a pattern that significantly boosts its defense at specific intervals. Naturally, Electric code units and those with defense-piercing capabilities are set to dominate this raid.

The trio of Ein, Jill, and Ade are the primary candidates for Electric-coded defense-piercing roles. Other notable heavy hitters include Cinderella, Anis: Sparkling Summer, Privaty: Unkind Maid, and Isabel. It will be interesting to see what high scores the defense-piercing units can achieve. Alternatively, will the established 'Cinderella - Rouge - Anis: Sparkling Summer - Mari - Maiden: Icy Rose' Electric deck maintain its status as the top-tier meta? Let’s keep watching.

NIKKE News

3rd Anniversary Special Broadcast Announced for October 25th

On October 8th, the 3rd-anniversary broadcast schedule and key visual were revealed. Fans were understandably whipped into a frenzy by the art featuring all the Counters and Pilgrim NIKKEs. With the anniversary just around the corner, theories about the new NIKKEs are already running rampant—some users are even performing deep-dives into the illustration for clues. We’ll get the full scoop during the official broadcast on October 25th at 7:00 PM.

User Poll - What are you most looking forward to for the NIKKE 3rd Anniversary?

We previously ran a poll on the mini-game scores. The results showed that the majority of players hit the '700k to 800k' mark, likely buoyed by the arrival of the second playable character, Clare. Second place was '900k to 1M', followed by '500k to 600k', and '1M+'. Even without extra rewards for high scores, the community clearly finds the gameplay engaging enough to keep chasing the peak.

As mentioned, all the juicy details are dropping on Saturday, October 25th, at 7:00 PM. Given the game’s history of setting new bars every anniversary, the anticipation for the new story and NIKKEs is palpable. What are you most excited to see for the 3rd anniversary? Cast your vote, and we’ll reveal the results in next week’s Meca Ranking.