After launching the game’s Dirty Backyard update, SHIFT UP prepares a new Tetra Nikke, Moran, to accompany Goddess of Victory: NIKKE‘s latest event. Today, we will discuss Moran’s in-depth guide, focusing on her skills and team synergies. Let’s begin.
After several hours of maintenance, the Dirty Backyard update commenced on January 25, 2024. Goddess of Victory: NIKKE is available on Windows, Android, and iOS.
Looking for more Goddess of Victory: NIKKE content? Be sure to check out other articles that you can visit on our site through the links below:
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Scarlet: Black Shadow Character Guide
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Ludmilla: Winter Owner Guide
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Tove Character Guide
- Goddess of Victory: NIKKE Red Hood Character Guide
Moran Combat Overview
Let’s look at Moran’s Nikke Skills to start the guide. As a Supporter Nikke, she has a set of skills that allows her to Taunt her enemies while restoring her HP continuously. While on paper this might seem a great combination of Skills, in reality, however, things are not as bright as they appear.
To understand why I said that, let’s look at Moran’s Skills. For starters, her Skill 1, Bring It On! allows Moran to increase her DEF stat whenever her HP drops down every 1%. Additionally, during the Burst mode, her fifth attack will deal bonus damage based on her final ATK stat. These seem promising, but remember that the first effect requires you to purposely drop Moran’s HP a lot to maximize its DEF stat bonus. Meanwhile, the second effect of her Skill 1 is relatively unimportant in terms of damage scale.
Moving on to her Skill 2, Leave It To Me!, is where one of her Taunting abilities comes from. Whenever Moran fires her last bullet, she Taunts 3 enemies with the highest ATK. It’s very useful, yet the way it works makes Moran unable to use Increase Max Ammunition sub-stats on her Overload Gears. In addition to the Taunting ability, Moran can continuously restore her HP whenever her HP drops below 20% by increasing her Max HP stat.
Lastly, her Burst Skill, Fair and Square!, is her most important Skill, as this will switch up her weapon and her overall gameplay mechanism. First, Moran’s weapon will change into a special one, dealing 14.7% of her final ATK per shot, instead of Moran’s regular ATK per shot. Second, during this Burst mode, she will heal herself by 36.14% of her attack damage for 10 seconds, while also Taunting all enemies during that same time frame. However, during this Burst mode, Moran is unable to take cover, like Laplace, making her have to race between which is stronger: her defensive capabilities or the Raptures’ onslaught.
In addition to those effects, Moran’s Burst Skill grants her allies bonus DEF stat and reduces Damage Taken by them for 10 seconds, allowing them to launch attacks while Moran tanks everything during this time frame.
Overall, Moran is heavily reliant on her Burst Skill to have any presence within your team, as her Skill 2’s requirements are quite high and make her unable to pair with certain Nikkes and Overload Gears’ sub-stats.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As with every Nikkes in Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, Moran also has her strengths and weaknesses against different content types within the game, as we have curated in the next part of this guide:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Moran shines the best in an environment where she can tank and Taunt effectively, with the PvP Arena being the prime example of where she can play her strengths against her opponents | Moran’s Skill 2’s requirements mean that her Taunt is not as constant as Noise’s Taunting ability, as Moran is not a Rocket Launcher Nikke, but an Assault Rifle one, therefore trying to land that last bullet can be tricky, especially if you’re thinking of pairing her with Blanc and Noir |
| Taunting all enemies for 10 seconds during her Burst Skill is massive, giving her allies a time frame of uninterrupted damage | |
| Moran’s DEF bonus is only noticeable after you manage to drop her HP below a certain point, making her a relatively risky Nikke to field | |
| Moran gets more resilient the less HP she has, and she can even enhance her allies’ survival capabilities by doing so | Moran’s inability to take cover during her Burst mode might turn into a double-edged sword, as there is a chance that the Raptures or other team’s damage output far exceeds her defensive capabilities |
Skills Priority
Now that you know Moran’s Skills, it’s time to move on to her Skills Priority. As she is a Defender Nikke, here is the hierarchy of what you should upgrade first (in descending order):
- Fair and Square!: Moran’s main source of Taunt and defensive capabilities. There are so many things going on with this Skill, that it eclipses her other two Skills by a mile. Prioritize maximizing Moran’s Burst Skill before moving on to other Skills.
- Leave It To Me!: The next Skill to prioritize is her Skill 2, Leave It To Me! Although the requirement for the Taunt ability is relatively high (last bullet on an Assault Rifle), the second effect balances it out as it makes Moran very tanky when she reaches 20% HP left.
- Bring It On!: Skill 1 has the lowest priority among the three simply because it is not that impactful when you look at Moran’s Burst Skill and Skill 2. The best stopgap for this Skill is to level it up until level 5~7.
Moran’s Skills.
Best Equipment Substats
Moran is a Defender-Class Nikke, so she can only use the corresponding equipment designated for that Class. Moran is one of the Defender units in the game that rarely ever needs Overload Gears, however, if you have spare Manufacturer Gears, then having Moran equip them is also a viable option.
As for the recommended sub-stats, I recommend you to look out for Increase DEF, Increase Element Damage Dealt, and Increase Critical Rate/Damage sub-stats for optimal uptime and bonus defensive capabilities for Moran.
Moran’s Potential Team Composition
As for her potential teammates, Moran is unfortunately pretty hard to slot into most meta team compositions, as her Skills are practically only fit for PvP Arena. For this Goddess of Victory: NIKKE guide, we will jot down only one potential lineup for Moran that can showcase her strength, particularly for PvP Arena.
Tanky Moran Team
For this team, we recommend using Noise, Moran, Rapunzel, Biscuit, and Anis: Sparkling Summer.
This team is the absolute best team you can field with Moran. As she is potent in PvP Arena, having the other Nikkes mentioned in this team means that this team will more likely than not outlast your opponents’ team, as Rapunzel will act as the resident Healer Nikke for the team, while Noise and Moran can Taunt their enemies, making Anis: Sparkling Summer free to dish out damage to her enemies uninterrupted.
Who Dares to Mock the Underworld Queen?
Moran’s Overall Power Rank
Now that we’ve gone through Moran’s Skills and her Team potential, it’s time to talk about her usability in every content within the game. In Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, there are many challenges that players must face, such as Interception, Arena, and Tribe Towers.
As stated before, Moran is a reliable Defender Nikke who can Taunt her enemies while providing defensive capabilities for herself and her allies. However, her overall kit beyond that is underwhelming, so there is not much wiggling room for her usage.
And so, to close off this Moran Nikke guide, we will provide a table that includes her usability against all game contents, including Interception and PvP Arena, to provide insight into what types of content she’s strong in and which are the ones you should avoid using her.
Power Rank Table
| Type of Content |
Usability Rank (E – SS) |
Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Stages (Early) | B | If you’re still in the Early Campaign Stages (Chapters 1 – 16), Moran is more than enough to act as the main Defender Nikke since her Taunting abilities allow her allies to dish damage toward the Raptures unharmed. |
| Campaign Stages (Late) | C | Starting in Campaign Stages Chapter 17+, Moran’s usability drops down significantly, as there are now multiple new Raptures that can disrupt her Skills, particularly Silencers, so it is not advisable to use Moran if you’re currently at Chapter 17 and above. |
| PvP Arena | SS | PvP Arena is undoubtedly Moran’s best stage to shine. Her Taunting abilities, combined with her defensive capabilities from her Skill 1, Skill 2, and Burst Skill, make her a formidable foe, especially if you can pair her with Noise, Noah, Rapunzel, and Anis: Sparkling Summer. |
| Interception | C | Interception is where Moran’s usage is minimal, as her Skills do not fare well against singular enemies such as the Interception Bosses. |
| Tribe Tower | C | Tetra Tower is relatively easy, as there are plenty of Nikkes within this faction that you can reliably use to climb up the Tower. With that in mind, Moran’s presence for the Tribe Tower is tricky: she’s usable if you don’t have the Duo Bunny (Blanc and Noir), however, if you have them, then Moran falls out of grace, as her Skills can’t overtake the Duo Bunny’s usefulness. |
Should You Pull for Moran?
It is undeniable that the landscape of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE is ever-expanding, with many new Nikkes coming out every few weeks. The latest ones were Scarlet: Black Shadow, Tove, and now it’s Moran’s time to shine. However, when it comes to her Skills, Moran is lagging when you compare her with someone like Centi, Noah, or Noise. So, it does beg the question: Is Moran worth it? Should you pull for her, or wait out for other Nikkes after her?
To answer the question, no, Moran is not a must-pull Nikke, however, having her in your Nikkes collection might prove worthwhile to use in PvP Arena. While she might not be the strongest Nikke there is, the fact that she can Taunt all enemies at once during her Burst Skill is enough to balance out her shortcomings, making her a great Defender Nikke if you still don’t have the original Ludmilla or Noise, or if you wish to pair Moran with them.
Therefore, we place Moran as a B-Tier Nikke as our final verdict.
Moran trying to uncover the truth alongside Sugar.
And that’s the character guide for Moran for Goddess of Victory: NIKKE.
