Phalanx Caster

Caster branches
Core	Splash	Blast	Chain
Mech-Accord	Phalanx	Mystic	Primal

Phalanx
In Other Languages
Chinese	阵法术师
Japanese	方陣術師
Korean	진법 캐스터
General Information
Class	Caster
Role	Multi-target Arts damage dealer/Ranged tank
Position	Ranged
HP	Average-low
ATK	Average-high
DEF	Average-low
RES	Average
Redepl. time	70 ~ 80 sec.
DP cost	Average-high
Block count	1
Atk. interval	2 sec.
Operators	4

“	Normally does not attack, but has greatly increased DEF and RES; When skill is active, attacks deal AoE Arts damage.	”
	—Trait description

Phalanx Caster, colloquially known as Modal Caster, is a branch of the Caster class in Arknights.

Unlike other Casters, Phalanx Casters are only able to attack when their skill is active; they are disarmed otherwise. To compensate this drawback however, Phalanx Casters' attack hit all enemies within their range of the surrounding tiles initially or a radius of 2 tiles centered on them from Elite 1, and have their DEF tripled and RES increased by 20 when their skill is not active, allowing them to absorb more damage than other Casters could, coupled by their higher HP and defenses.

Operators

6★
5★

Operator Modules

Module	Information
PLX-X	Trait improved: Normally does not attack, but has greatly increased DEF and RES; when skill is active, retains some of the bonus and attacks deal AoE Arts damage
PLX-Y	New trait: Damage increases with number of enemies in the area (max increase 15%)
Addendum
The PHA-X Module further increases the DEF and RES buff while the Phalanx Caster's skill is not active to 215% and 25, respectively, and instead of disabled altogether, the buff is reduced to +100% DEF and +10 RES while the skill is active. The PHA-Y Module increases the Phalanx Caster's ATK by 3% for every enemy within their attack range, up to 5 (for a total of +15% ATK).

Strategies

• Phalanx Casters basically have two modes: tank and wide-range AoE DPS, with the former turning into the latter when their skill is activated. Knowledge of the enemy formations and when they will appear, as well as the Caster's skill cycles, is key to using them to their full potential.
• Because of their high durability in their passive state, Phalanx Casters is useful to bait and tank ranged attacks. This is particularly useful in stages that may not offer optimal melee tiles to place units like Defenders.
  • Note that Phalanx Casters will lose their increased defenses while their skill is active, which may prove detrimental if they were under heavy fire at the time of activation.
• Because their attack deals equal damage to all enemies in range, regardless of distance, they are more effective than Splash Caster in eliminating large groups of enemies.

Tips

• When using Phalanx Caster as a tank, remember to place them after the units you're trying to protect.
• SP batteries are recommended to hasten Phalanx Casters' skill cycle.
• Phalanx Casters' increase of DEF and RES is lost when their skills are active, Executor Specialists are recommended to bait the damage from them when under heavy fire.
• The increase of DEF and RES is applied after flat DEF buffs and RES buffs, hence these are recommended to further increase Phalanx Casters' defensive abilities.