Kotaro/Strategy
(This page is for Kotaro strategy guide. For the standard Kotaro page, click here.)
Overview
☆3/☆5 Kotaro
Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Overview is sufficiently modified.
It needs to be stressed enough that 
Kotaro's 3☆ is far more self-sufficient than 5☆ due to the fact that LB3 applies to him even if it doesn’t affect his allies, which 5☆ does. Past that, he has the very nice boon of becoming incredibly sturdy past the first hit thanks to LB2, taking at most 2-digit damage due to Evasion being kind of a broken defensive buff, which he can also get by moving through Default, though getting it through LB2 is way more appealing. LB1 Crit on hit exponentially increases his damage, which along with LB3 (as 3☆) lets him deliver a lot of damage very quickly, Attack Up also stacks easily with other offensive buffs, allowing him to deal even more damage than his 5☆ version could. Past that there’s not much else to say, if only 5☆ has had LB3 to himself as well, then it’d be far better, though is certainly not worse than 3☆, just a bit different.
☆4 Beachside Kotaro
He can reliably delete the board with his insane 
Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff)-boosted CS damage coupled with evasion penetration and ability to shrug off debuffs with 
Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff). He can get his charge up every 5 turns independent of any help from other CP sources. Besides having an incredible charge, his ability to bestow 
EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) (and 
TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff)) at a near-guaranteed rate from the safe position of behind the receiving unit gives him a second powerful role that isn't mutually exclusive from his first as a board wiper.
Highlights
☆3/☆5 Kotaro
Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Highlights is sufficiently modified.
Class: Bruiser, Offensive Support
Gameplay role:
Pros
+ Default Evasion through movement can prove very useful to almost completely nullify incoming damage.
+ LB1 Crit on hit exponentially increases his damage, which along with LB3 as 3☆ further pushes his damage to fantastic levels.
+ LB2 allows him to negate most damage taken past the first hit, which if Default failed to do, this serves as a great backup.
+ LB3 as 5☆ shares a nice offensive buff to his party, which can stack with other offensive buffs.
Cons
- Despite amazing effects, Default has a very mediocre proc rate, it’s often better to move others around, who may offer better effects than he can get.
- Has no way around burst damage on the first hit he takes, he must be handled a bit meticulously in order to reach his absurd durability.
- For some unexplained reason, 5☆ features no buff to himself compared to 3☆, who then doesn’t share said buff with his allies.
- Charge is pretty underwhelming past possible damage as 3☆ due to LB3.
☆4 Beachside Kotaro
Gameplay Role: Charge Spammer, Board Wiper, Evasion Upkeep, Game Start Positioner
Pros
+ Lethal at All range
+ Extremely reliable Evasion bestow at a safe position
Cons
- All range still has a massive weapon range penalty; going for massive damage on a single boss would better suit a different unit
- Evasion on self is unreliable
- Does not do anything if he isn't charging or moving
Gameplay Role
☆4 Beachside Kotaro
Charge Spammer
Kotaro builds his charge every 5 turns without any CP help. Waiting this period out can be made easier with a stalling/defensive team. It just so happens that Kotaro is able to stall with his Evasion and Tenacity bestow, so it should be no problem to have him build his charge repeatedly safely.
Board Wiper
Even at SALv1 Kotaro can deal 5K damage to every square. Considering that most high-level mobs fall around the 6K to 15K, Kotaro can reliable clear the board if his SALv was any bit higher and/or if he had some additional buffs. As a Board Wiper and Charge Spammer, he is ideal to bring in Dungeons, which has many phases and many enemies.
Evasion Upkeep
He is able to keep Evasion up in the square in front of him at a whopping 80% rate unseeded. In the situations where it fails, his Tenacity bestow will still reduce damage by a good amount. He can rotate between allies to place in front.
Stats and Seed Usage
| Unit | (Effective) HP | Base ATK | ATK per square | CS ATK per square (SALV1) | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | ||
   |
6300 | 8301 | 3571 | 5143 | 1607 | 2314 | 2000 | 2880 | - |
  |
7655 | 9533 | 5025 | 6637 | 2261 | 2986 | 5628 | 7433 | - |
    |
7016 | 8973 | 4176 | 5780 | 0 | 0 | 4218 | 5838 | Status Lv1 Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff) on charge factored in |
|
7016 | 8973 | 4176 | 5780 | 0 | 0 | 15184 | 21017 | Status Lv1 Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff) on charge; Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff) and ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff) from Babalon (Jiangshi) |
Beachside Kotaro is a rare unit that is worth seeding in every aspect. His evasion bestow skill with an extremely high but not guaranteed activation rate would greatly benefit from skill seeding, his insane damage output would benefit from Lv and ATK seeding, and his surviveability would benefit from Lv and HP seeding.
Team Synergy
CP Batteries
His charge is too good to be restricted to every 5 turns. There are certain ways to get Kotaro not only to have his charge up on the first turn, but to have it up on every turn. The general combination for turn 1 charge is using a 
NETHER} unit with the skill Ruler (limited to 
Licht, 
Lucifuge, and 
Nether Baron) equipped with 
Oath of Pioneer, and having Kotaro equip The Dog's Battlefield. Having his charge up every turn assumes a board wipe every turn, and would additionally rely on 
Babalon (Jiangshi). The fourth member would also boost Kotaro's CP in the period between after he attacks up to and including the beginning of the next turn (using CP-boosting statuses, on-miss CP bestow, or turn start/phase start skill effects).
Damage Amplifiers
The above mentioned strategy assumes being able to wipe the board cleanly every phase to trigger the next phase start. Sometimes Kotaro isn't quite strong enough to do so, so he can benefit from more damage buffs to be sure he doesn't leave any survivors.
Healers
To deal with flat damage, Kotaro can bring healers with him such as 
Choji or 
Chernobog (Beachside)
Debuff Mitigators
Units that bestow 
Reflect DebuffReflect debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff), 
Nullify DebuffPrevent receiving debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff), or Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff) would negate dangerous movement-disabling and CP-depleting statuses, ensuring Kotaro can function as intended.
Checks and Counters
☆4 Beachside Kotaro
Flat Damage
Kotaro's defensive buffs are ignored by HP-depleting statuses, skill effects, and attacks bolstered with flat damage buffs.
Movement-disabling buffs
If he is unable to move, then Kotaro cannot bestow Tenacity and Evasion. He's still quite useful for his Charge in this case, however.
CP depletion
Without his charge, Kotaro loses half his utility. 
FearCannot move at will, -10CP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) is one of the worst debuff with which Kotaro could be inflicted, since it robs him both of his charge and his Evasion upkeep.
Teambuilding Options
This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.
Sacrificial Shield
| Sacrificial Shield (submitted by Arathun) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost: ≥34 | |||||
This team works best in tall 3×6 maps.
The core of this team is Kotaro (Beachside) and a Ghost. Kotaro can bestow Evasion to the allied unit ahead of him at a very high rate, Tenacity in the squares surrounding him, and Dazzle to enemy cards in 
Shot range. This grants fantastic protection to the unit directly ahead of him. However, all of these activate only on move. Ghosts can inflict Dazzle and Curse when struck, which further attenuates incoming damage from the enemy. He also bestows a good chunk of CP to adjacent units when struck. Placing the Ghost in the front will ensure that the enemy receives the damage debuffs first before they can hit allies behind the Ghost. Thus, this team relies on constantly moving Kotaro directly behind Ghost every turn.
This duo can be countered by disabling Kotaro's move or skills, so 
Leib can bestow Nullify Debuff and Remove Debuff to Kotaro cover this blindspot. He's also immune to all skill-locking abilities, and doesn't need to move in this particular formation (he can be ferried by Kotaro), so he can provide debuff protection indefinitely. A very welcome bonus is his skill to bestow Ardor every turn to units around him. This can make Kotaro's CS even more lethal, which is important since Kotaro is essentially the only source of good, reliable damage in this team. Thus, positionally, Leib should be adjacent to Kotaro while attacking someone as much as possible.
Lastly, 
Arc can keep enemy CP down and thus deny CSes, which are often troublesome for their damage and guaranteed CS effects (which can be numerous and deadly).
This team is particularly weak to flat damage, since Leib's healing is rather abysmal (Regeneration restricted to CS). It is also vulnerable to enemies that can penetrate through multiple defense buffs (anyone with Remove Buffs, or 
Eita (Set Sail)) or enemies that can shrug off debuffs (anyone with Remove Debuffs, or 
Avarga). In either case, the Ghost is likely the first unit to leave battle, so this team can benefit from having more Ghosts ready in the Sub Member slots.
Examples