The Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Solo Raid 'Only One' is in full swing, and it seems every water-code Nikke has jumped into the fray. Commanders are currently sweating over their tactics, all chasing that elusive top 3% spot. Amidst this chaos, the new recruit Snow White: Heavy Arms (let's call her 'Snow White: Heavy Arms' for brevity) has hit a 100% pick rate. We’ve also seen some surprising appearances from water-code units and buffers that usually don't get a look-in; let's dive into the details.

Solo Raid Top 50 Ranker Nikke Pick Rate

※ Based on squad data from the 'Solo Raid (Only One)' running from January 8 to January 15.
※ Please note that this may differ slightly from current live ranker decks.

For the current 'Only One' top 50, the pick rates are quite telling. In Burst 1, 'Little Mermaid - Liter - Tove - Rapi: Red Hood (let's call her 'Awakened Rapi') - Soline: Frost Ticket (let's call her 'Frost Soline')' all hit 100%. For Burst 2, 'Mast: Romantic Maid (let's call her 'Maid Mast') - Anchor: Innocent Maid (let's call her 'Maid Anchor') - Crown - Nayuta' achieved the same perfect attendance.

Burst 3 is dominated by 'Helm: A.S. - Drake: A.S. - Ludmilla: Winter Owner - Quency: Escape Queen (let's call her 'Thief Quency') - Libber.E - Brady - Dorothy: Serendipity (let's call her 'Water Dorothy') - Elegg: Boom & Shock (let's call her 'Water Elegg') - Snow White: Heavy Arms'. Aside from Libber.E and Drake, everyone else is rocking the water code.

Interestingly, some rankers are digging deep into the archives. Nobel and Guillotine: Winter Slayer are making rare appearances. Nobel, once a staple for defense reduction and damage intake buffs in the game's early days, had been pushed aside by more versatile units like Blanc. Yet, two rankers managed to crack the top 50 using her. It’ll be fascinating to see if they can hold their ground until the final bell.

The 'Only One' boss is a long-range nightmare that only exposes its core at specific intervals. Its main tricks include slow-moving projectiles, targeted beam attacks, and absorbing the power of the 'Four Beasts'. Mastering the Four Beast summoning sequence is the key to victory: 'Sea Beast - Earth Beast - Sky Beast'.

The Sea Beast appears as a tentacle on the left; focus your fire here, as it's destructible. The Earth Beast requires a cancellation pattern—two spawn in Phase 1 and three in Phase 2. Fail to act, and you'll be hit with an armor-piercing attack that really stings. As for the Sky Beast, hide behind cover to avoid damage, or prepare to lose 60-70% of your HP. Don't be a hero; use that cover.

Keep a close eye on the transition between Phase 1 and 2, where three cancellation patterns hit at once. Consult the provided images and attack only the red circles; hitting the grey ones triggers an instant-death mechanic. In Phase 2, the beasts return, but if you handle the Earth Beast quickly, you should be fine. Pro-tip: use 'piercing' attacks to hit both the beast and the boss simultaneously.

The heavy hitters are currently running these squads: 'Snow White: Heavy Arms - Rouge - Clay: B.D. - Blanc - Miranda: A.S.', 'Tove - Nayuta - Water Dorothy - Frost Soline - Drake: A.S.', 'Crown - Liter - Helm: A.S. - Ludmilla: Winter Owner - Water Elegg', 'Little Mermaid - Brady - Libber.E - Maid Mast - Maid Anchor', and 'Grave - Cinderella - Thief Quency - Awakened Rapi - Mihara: Bonding Chain'.

The Snow White: Heavy Arms composition is the undisputed tier-one choice for this raid, allowing for the optimal 'piercing' strategies mentioned earlier. Shotgun decks have finally reached maturity thanks to Frost Soline. Expect future shotgun metas to simply swap in element-advantage units in the slot currently occupied by Water Dorothy. If you're still grinding, these compositions are the gold standard.

Champion Arena Top 8 Ranker Nikke Pick Rate

※ Based on 40 squad profiles from the Champion Arena running from January 1 to January 14.
※ Note that the aggregation groups change every season.

In the Champion Arena Season 20, 11 units were universal picks among the top 8: 'Jackal - Noise - Noah - Blanc - Trony - Biscuit - Bay: A.S. - Scarlet - Helm: A.S. - Libber.E - Vesti: Tactical Up (let's call her 'TacVesti')'. Additionally, four rankers fielded Snow White: Heavy Arms, proving that even in PvP, she's establishing a foothold just as quickly as other Pilgrims. Shotgun squads are currently being led by Soda: Twinkling Bunny and Drake: A.S., with Water Dorothy appearing with increasing frequency.

Let's look at the champion, '赫爾薇特'. They are a seasoned Commander who has now secured their 6th total Champion Arena victory. There are only five other players in the game who have reached this level of success.

赫爾薇特 employed two distinct shotgun compositions: 'Sugar - Nayuta - Soda: Twinkling Bunny - Noir - Rosanna' and 'Helm: A.S. - Drake: A.S. - Frost Soline - Water Dorothy - Noah'. It’s the first time we’ve seen a ranker successfully double-down on shotgun squads, ending with a solid record of 2-1 and 1-2 through the playoffs.

Sugar is a blast from the past, especially with new powerhouses like Water Dorothy and Soda taking the spotlight. Her kit, which focuses solely on her own damage, struggles in the current meta. A word of warning: these rankers have maxed-out gear and high limit breaks, so don't expect the same results without the proper investment. Test them for yourself before committing.

Solo Raid Meta Analysis

Where will the in-3% cut-off land?

Solo Raid rewards are tiered at 3%, 10%, and 30%. While the actual prizes are mostly cosmetic borders and some extra gems, players are pushing themselves to the brink to secure that 3% badge. With only two days left in 'Only One', the pressure is mounting.

The entry bar on the Korean server keeps climbing, with players joking that it might reach 20 billion before long. Current estimates suggest a cut-off between 17 and 19 billion. We'll know for sure when the event ends, but keep your game face on until the very last minute.

User Poll - Which story would you like to see next?

In our last poll regarding the most memorable character from recent story events, Snow White took the top spot. As the narrator of her own trauma, her descent into her current form was truly heart-wrenching. She was followed by Lilith, the Goddess Squad Commander, Oswald, and Pinne. Each of these characters brought immense weight to our anniversary and flashback events. The reveal of the Commander's identity was particularly explosive—if you missed it, go back and re-read the archives.

Goddess of Victory: NIKKE continues to weave a compelling narrative around its diverse cast. However, with main story updates and anniversary events often being half a year apart, the thirst for more content is real. What story topics are you dying to see? Cast your vote, and we’ll reveal the results in next week’s Meca Ranking.