IMPORTANT! This was written before any potential buffs/changes occurred. If changes occurred and this notice is still here, then it means I haven't retested her yet.
TLDR: Probably not worth pulling meta wise. She certainly does her job well, but it's a job that other DPS can accomplish as well (notably the cheaper to dupe Jenkin, who can also pump out great AOE damage output). She's certainly quite fun to use and like many part 2 characters she gets significantly more value with dupe investment, but it's hard to recommend her over upcoming limited reruns. E1 is the bare minimum investment level to make her functional; E3 is preferred for the damage upgrade and ability to actually stack Fiamma (this effect should really be base kit...). Overexalt makes her Exalt do actual damage and accelerate her Combust stacking, but this level of investment is a bit much for an ultimately skippable character. Her E1 does make it much easier to actually use Overexalt without needing a dedicated Aliemus battery at least.
At initial glance, Kathigu-Ra looks like an AOE Doresain, even down to the funny STR bonuses he has. Her main gimmick is her Fiamma/Combust buff, which enhances her Command Card's values and upon reaching 10 transforms her Solarflare to Hyperflare, a massive AOE nuke with X Arithmetica cost with an absurd amount of STR scaling based on the amount of Combust stacks she has. While Hyperflare needs 10 stacks of Combust to become usable, she can technically overcap to 12 stacks by playing a 3 stack Fiamma card at 9 stacks. Because her primary source of nuking comes from an X cost Command Card (barring OE investment), she's effectively glued to Horla, who gives her the best damage up possible via Arithmetica holdover (150% STR bonus per Arithmetica spent is a LOT). The main issue is finding good sources of STR gain in Chaos and Ultra without compromising your other teams, while also having a 4th character who can keep you alive in extremely difficult content. Hameln, Clementine, and Ogier come to immediate mind as reliable sources of STR gain, while Castor, Nautila, and Ogier (again) can help with keeping you alive. Depending on your roster, it may be difficult sparing Horla, Hameln, and/or Castor to her over more meta options.
For new players who need more DPS options and either can't or aren't willing to roll on the Standard Banner, Kathigu-Ra has some value and should function well at clearing most normal story content (possibly only swapping out against single target focused boss battles). However, she does require a decent amount of investment in dupes to push harder content, so new players should consider this fact before deciding to commit to her. For players with a fairly wide roster, you may benefit from pulling her if you're looking to use her for extra D-Tide waves on weeks where Chaos is "uprated" or if AOE damage is in high demand across multiple zones. Still, there's a lot of characters you can choose from to fill these needs, making this more of a luxury pull decision at best. For most people, I recommend skipping from a meta perspective. The upcoming triple rerun banner includes Horla (1 copy is mandatory for every account, and she's fully functional at E0 with E1 being a decent bonus), Hameln (in contention for being the best support in the game, who again is perfectly functional at E0 although like many characters prefers E2), and Corposant (a VERY powerful Aequor sub DPS/tank who scales very well with dupes like most part 2 characters and is a worthy choice of high investment if you're looking to pull. This is especially true for new players since she's an Aequor character, meaning you can also potentially get powerful standard characters and their dupes like Caecus, Goliath, and Celeste. Plus, Sanga and Faros are both still very usable in their particular niche).
Key Partners
As a MAIN DPS
- Arithmetica carryover allows her Hyperflare to deal an absurd amount of additional damage. She also functions as an Aliemus battery, and doesn't require much Arithmetica to function. Her natural tendency to stack Death Resistance can also assist in keeping her alive long enough for her to scale up and nuke the boss.
- The best STR buffer in Chaos, with a bit of draw power and Arithmetica gain from the Inspires he creates. Hameln can also dope her Hyperflare to deal obscene amounts of AOE damage.
- Since you're somewhat stuck in Ultra via Horla, your options are fairly restricted. Thankfully, Clementine happens to be a good source of reliable STR gain every turn via her Quasar. Since Horla only needs to Leap once to do her job, Clementine can hog the rest of your Leaps while providing a decent amount of generic utility and Keyflare. Bear in mind her somewhat high investment cost before deciding to pull for her, though. Also, don't run her with Castor, as both want access to Quasar every turn.
- While Castor would likely prefer being on his own dedicated team, he does function well as a shield generator and damage enhancer via his Black Feathers. While Kathigu-Ra lacks the sheer number of hits a more optimal DPS teammate would have (IE Jenkin), she does tend to play a decent amount of cards on her nuke turn anyway. Don't run him if you're also running Clementine, as both want access to Quasar every turn.
- A Chaos sub DPS that provides team wide Crit buffs and even a bit of STR gain. He also has very high base stats, which can help with survival. Ryker's draw power can also assist Kathigu-Ra with cycling more Fiamma/Combust, assuming you have the Arithmetica to use all of it.
- A budget friendly option that provides dual value with decent STR gain and acceptable Shields. Tends to fall off against extremely difficult content, but still a decent option.
- Can't believe this character finally has a use case. Casiah's ability to shuffle cards (note that cards with Fiamma will maintain however many stacks it had even if they return to the deck), mulligan, build a decent amount of STR with OE, and manipulate your Ultra turn make her a surprisingly effective partner. She's also not contested by any other character, so she's great for filling a slot for D-Tide.
If you must run her without Horla, it's best to consider her more as a sub DPS rather than a main DPS.
As a SUB DPS
- Both of them want to stack high amounts of STR, and both can build a decent amount themselves. Doresain's AOE damage isn't terrible at E3, but depending on the fight you may prefer to AOE them down with Kathigu instead.
- provides everything Kathigu-Ra could ever want. For effectively the same reason that Thai is good with Doresain apply here since Kathigu and Doresain are fairly similar.
- I wouldn't recommend Aequor for her, but Corposant sort of functions like a mix between Casiah and Castor. Her Exalt functions like a mulligan, all while building up a decent amount of STR. She can also build up a decent amount of Shields, especially when combined with Tranquil Sea stance. That being said, Corposant tends to be on other teams (IE discard/aftershock teams) so chances are she's already taken.
