So, I just got the 3* High Evolutionary from arena, and here are my overall thoughts
Things I like
- Damage: Though his damage isn't the absolute highest, he is still somewhat usable in short fights, provided that both are at equal ranks, or is punching down. No one in game currently is immune to Combo detonation, nor the extra dmg when inside the field, so that's pretty good. In longer fights, just repeat the SP1 SP2 loop several times.
- Utility: Similar to damage, High Evo doesn't have that much utility compared to other science attackers, he does still have the usual science stuff, such as heal reversal via despair, some power gain reduction via Wither and Exhaustion, plus some of his debuffs cannot be purified, which can be helpful vs certain nodes. He is also immune to buffs from Champions, so he does counter some tough mystics like Nico Minoru and Spider Man Supreme, who are known for placing buffs onto you.
- Defense and sustainability: His main defensive threats are his autoblock which cannot trigger Parry, and the combo detonation. To fight him, use alternating attacks, like when playing Spiral or going against Mix Master. I think anyone can take him, but skill champs with high combo count and multi hit combos can get past his combo detonation. High Evo does shut down true sense and undermine, but he doesn't shut off other True effects such as True Accuracy or True Strike, so champs who have those can also bypass his autoblock. His autoblock is also immune to AAR, so no using XBones or Falcon to shut that off. However, I do think that he's gonna be somewhat annoying with certain node combinations, such as Special focus 2, stun immunity, intercepting and knockdown nodes, but we'll see.
- Prestige: He has the highest prestige in game, so anyone who cares about prestige will want him and have him duped.
- Signature ability: Pretty helpful, the more sigs, the more effective this will be. Plus the higher sig increases his prestige
Things that I do not like and should be improved
- Flow and management: His rotation requires building up debuffs to inflict that combo detonation, using SP2 to place the Evolutionary Field, and detonating it using a Sp1. I have tested him out vs some defenders, and I feel that the field lasts too short for me to land 2 sp1s for max damage, so maybe it should last a bit longer? I also feel like his combo detonation should increase when you attack (similar to Beta Ray bill) and that it will make his rotation less stressful to manage.
Overall, I think he will be decent, but as of 2025, I don't think he'll be the best science champ of the year unfortunately (Spider Woman is still at the top this year). To me, the High Evolutionary is basically the
science Silver Surfer. Very high prestige, ok damage and utility, but his rotation can be a bit stressful at times to manage.
Thoughts?
