Hozoin Inshun

→ Sub-Singularity III: Shimousanokuni

Hozoin Inshun is currently unavailable on the EN ver.

Rating: 7.5 / 10

Inshun provides a very interesting take on damage. Instead of dealing damage through NP, he instead focuses on hitting with his normal cards. With our track record on these kinds of damagers, it seems rather unsavory to have another one, much less a Quick-based one at that. If Buster Servants like Hyde, Gilles, and Caligula couldn’t do it, what would a Quick-based Lancer with 6.8k stats do?

Surprisingly enough, Inshun not only performs well, he also can perform independently and even more reliably. He also has a great potential for his burst damage, which makes him a rather interesting and fun Servant to use.

• NP gives a 50% ATK up and 100% Crit damage up, countering his low ATK.
• NP gives a 100% Stargen up, enabling him to create a great amount of stars.
• Good NP gain allows him to charge his NP well.
• Sure-hit NP seal on 3rd skill.

• Low ATK and Quick deck makes his non-crits weak.
• Lack of star absorb can make him susceptible to RNG.
• His role depends on having his cards appear at the right time, which is almost uncontrollable in battle.

Inshun’s general playstyle revolves around frequently using his NP to buff his crit damage. With his NP, deck, hitcount, and NP gain, Inshun is able to use his NP at least twice within 3 turns, which lets him deal very strong crits.

The flow of his gameplay generally goes like this: generate stars, charge gauge, use NP and crit, rinse and repeat. In the best circumstances, if Inshun is able to stack his NP consecutively for 3 turns, he would be able to achieve a 300% boost in crit damage, and a 150% ATK up unleashed through an NPQQ. This lets him deal incredible amounts of damage through his crits, even through his Quick cards. And with his deck he can keep this process going continuously, as long as he’s under the best circumstances.

Sadly, Inshun’s best circumstances are very difficult to achieve, as it relies on RNG. To both deal damage and charge his NP, Inshun would have to rely on doing his attacks, which of course depends on whether his cards appear. Not to mention competition like Jaguar Man can deal damage through her NP in a more straightforward manner. Inshun also has no star absorb on his kit, which can further make him susceptible to RNG’s screw ups. Even if his cards appear, there’s a slight chance he might not get enough stars either.

Inshun also scales rather slowly with external buffs. Since he has a card up, ATK up, and Crit damage up, it would mean that any other possible buff for him would only add to his own, instead of multiplying.

But still, the potential is there. With only his NP and skills, Inshun is able to deal 80-90k damage on his BQQ, which is quite a number, considering that it’s not even against Archers. If one considers his potential on using his NP frequently, this damage can go even further. Inshun may not be the most practical damager but he can definitely deal damage and offers a rather fun playstyle as well.

Inshun’s Noble Phantasm grants him a flat 100% CRIT dmg up buff, and at NP5 it also grants him a 50% ATK up. This is what allows Inshun to deal powerful crits in spite of his deck and stats, and since his NP is Arts, it also grants an NP gain bonus to the rest of his cards in a chain. This lets him recharge his NP well, giving him the capacity to use his NP at least twice within three turns, allowing him to stack its effects.

It also grants him a 100% boost in stargen, which scales through overcharge. This gives him the ability to generate a lot of stars, which he uses to crit with.

Finally, as icing to the cake, he also receives a 1-hit dodge and immunity to Instakills for a turn. The dodge is very useful as a survival function, but the immunity to instakill can be rather gimmicky, and is only useful for a few fights.

An increase in Quick performance would increase Inshun’s NP gain, which can work well to his benefit in spamming his NP. It’s also rather useful all around as an extra multiplier, since his Quick up lasts for only a turn.

An increase in NP gain would prove Inshun’s chances in using his NP more frequently, and would also multiply with his Quick up buff.

Such a CE might be useful in countering Inshun’s lack of a star absorb skill. It’s reliable to ensure Inshun gets the stars he generates, and can be vital in teams where he is paired with classes like Riders or Assassins.

Increase your ATK (3 turns) & [Overcharge] C. Star Drop Rate (3 turns) & Critical Strength (3 turns), and apply Evade (1 time) & Immune to Death (1 turn) for yourself

Skill Priority: 2 > 3 > 1

• Sense of Subtle Elegance B

  A rather weak skill, and perhaps Inshun’s most ignorable skill on his kit. Granted the sure-hit buff is a useful utility to have, but it’s rarely applicable in most fights. The increase in stargen is also rather mediocre at 30%, and it doesn’t visibly boost his overall generation either.

• Seeking the Truth of Martial Arts B

  A great skill that can amplify Inshun’s damage notably. It scales for a great 50% increase at max, which multiplies with his NP’s buffs. It also boosts his NP gain on Quicks considerably, which allows him to recharge more of his gauge on his NPQQ crits. Sadly it only lasts for a turn, which means it must be used wisely for full damage potential. The increase in Mental debuff resistance is ignorable for the most part, but it does come at a flat 100% increase, which means that in the rare occurrence that you do need it, it’s very reliable.

• Sen no Sen B+

  An NP seal that doesn’t rely on chance is a fairly useful skill, which can be vital for some stall setups. The decrease in DEF is also very nice, as stacks with Inshun’s own ATK up on his NP.

Available from the start
Apply Sure-Hit (Evade-Ignoring) for yourself (3 turns)
Increase your C. Star Drop Rate

(The Truth of Martial Arts B)

Unlocks after 1st Ascension
Increase your Quick Card effectiveness (1 turn) & Mental Debuff Resist by 100% (3 turns)

(Saki no Saki B+)

Unlocks after 3rd Ascension
Inflict NP-Seal (1 turn) to a single enemy
Decrease DEF for a single enemy

It’s hard to say what deck would have been perfect for Inshun, but nevertheless his QQQAB deck does him a lot of good. He has good base gain, which translates very well to his 3-hit Quick and 2-hit Arts. Not to mention that with his NP’s stargen buff, Inshun is able to generate at 43-47 stars with his Quick Brave chains, which makes up for his lack of a star absorb skill.

While his NPQQ or NPQA crit chains don’t recharge his gauge to 100% immediately, they still give him great amounts of NP, going from at least 70% to 80%. Since Lancers have a base defensive gain of 4%, Inshun can usually recharge back the remaining amount to 100% by getting hit.

Rashoumon event (Ibaraki Douji event)

Murder at the Kogetsukan

Inheritance of Glory