Category: [FoodSoul]

Name: Huangshan Maofeng Tea
Type: Magic
Rarity: UR
Availability: Event Summon Only
Best Preferred Fallen: Aizen
● Basic Skill: Maofeng deals 100% of Atk + 15 damage to closest foe, next 3 basic attacks are critical hits.
● Energy Skill: Maofeng deals 100% of Atk + 580 damage to closest foe, reduces their Def by 25% for 5 seconds.
● Linked Skill w/ Osmanthus Cake: Maofeng deals 120% of Atk + 696 damage to closest foe, reduces their Def by 30% for 5 seconds.
Activates the Linked Skill of: Osmanthus Cake

Basic Skill:
● Level 1: 100% of Atk + 15 damage and 3 guaranteed crits
● Level 21: 140% of Atk + 105 damage and 3 guaranteed crits

Energy Skill:
● Level 1: 100% of Atk + 580 damage and -25% Def for 5 seconds
● Level 21: 140% of Atk + 4060 damage and -25% Def for 5 seconds

Linked Skill:
● Level 1: 120% of Atk + 696 damage and -30% Def for 5 seconds
● Level 21: 170% of Atk + 4872 damage and -30% Def for 5 seconds

Strengths
● High single target damage
● Basic skill deals good damage, while making his basic attacks deal a lot more damage
● Energy skill causes all allies’ basic attacks to deal more damage to target, very effective against high Def foes

Weaknesses
● Very hard to ascend
● Only utility is in lowering foe’s Def for 5 seconds after using energy skill

Explanation

● Maofeng has the 3rd highest Atk in the game, lagging behind Pizza and Champagne, albeit only by a bit.
● He also has the highest Crit Damage stat in the game by a long shot, but his Crit Rate stat is very low.
● Maofeng’s basic skill deals less damage compared to Pizza and Champagne’s, but makes up for it by making his next 3 hits guaranteed critical hits, which works very well, considering the previous point.
● Maofeng’s energy skill reduces the foe’s Def by a significant amount, and is stronger than Champagne’s, in exchange for not dispelling the foe’s buffs.

● Maofeng can only be summoned during certain events, which makes him very hard to ascend. One will need to save their resources (embers, crystals or cash) to be able to gradually ascend him.
● Unlike the likes of Rum, Toso and Hotpot, Maofeng is unable to remove buffs or debuffs, and lacks the ability to give his team energy.
● He is also unable to reduce the Atk Spd of his foes, nor can he stun, silence or charm. He also cannot negate healing.
● However, most of these are disadvantages are shared by his competitors, and do not invalidate his power.

Using Huangshan Maofeng Tea

For DPS souls, most of their damage comes from the basic skill and basic attacks. Compared to Pizza and Champagne, Maofeng’s basic skill deals less “upfront” damage, but adds more damage to his basic attacks. As a whole, this means Maofeng’s skill damage is lower, while his basic attack damage is higher. This makes him weaker against enemies who are immune to basic attacks, such as Specter and Durga.

His energy skill’s Def reduction also only affects damage from basic attacks, which once again makes him weaker against those same enemies. In contrast, Maofeng is very useful against enemies who only take damage from basic attacks, or who have very high Def. This includes Spectra, and two (presently unreleased) Disaster bosses.

It can be seen that Maofeng has a niche, albeit a narrow one, unlike Pizza’s healing negation, or Turkey’s Atk Spd reduction and massive backline damage. Notably, Champagne doesn’t appear to have much of a niche, but makes up for it by having consistently high damage overall.

For players who don’t have Champagne or Pizza, Maofeng makes for a useful addition, and would be largely secure in one’s team as a 2★ up until level 80+. At 3 or 4★, Maofeng would likely be a mainstay in your team forever. However, getting him to even 3★ is very expensive, as he would need to be summoned 7 times. Therefore, as strong as he may be, do consider carefully whether you have the resources to invest in him.

As for Fallen Angels, while it may be tempting to build a Meticulous (Crit Damage) Fallen just for Maofeng, it is strongly not recommended. Crit Damage only affects critical attacks, whereas Atk also affects his non-critical basic attacks, as well as his skills. Atk Spd is also good, though it’s required in high amounts. With a high enough Atk Spd, Maofeng will be dishing out critical hits very, very often.

Verdict

Huangshan Maofeng Tea is very strong, but also very expensive to raise. At 2★, which only requires 3 total summons, he will offer more damage than any SR in the game.

His skills come in useful against certain bosses, but in most cases, he is but a simple DPS soul. In such cases, his usability comes down to his ★ level in comparison to other DPS souls.