Welcome to Snowbreak's first proper half-anniversary slash Chinese New Year celebration. There's a whole bunch of free goodies and special offers to take advantage of, so keep this guide handy to make sure you don't miss out.

"Propitious Pathway" Login Event

• Limited operative banner ticket x 10
• Fenny - Lionheart outfit: Dazzling Roar

Log in seven times at any point during the event to claim all rewards.

"Glowing Promise" Login Event

• Limited weapon banner ticket x 10

Log in seven times at any point from February 6 (UTC+8) to the end of the event to claim all rewards.

Bonus Memory Chips and Stamina Refills

Per day:

• Memory Chip Bundle x 4
• Medium Baldr Inhibitor (60AP refill) x 2

Total per period:

• Memory Chip Bundle x 28
• Large Baldr Inhibitor (60AP refill) x 14 (840 AP total)

Log in every day during both campaign periods to get the above rewards per day. There's no leeway here, so if you miss a day you miss out on the rewards for that day.

• Period 1: January 23 to January 29 (UTC+8)
• Period 2: February 6 to February 12 (UTC+8)

Special Invitation: Yao - Nightglow

• SSR operative: Yao - Nightglow
• 1 set of Zephyr Squad logistics

Log in at any point between February 6 to March 6 (UTC+8) to get Yao - Nightglow and a Zephyr Squad logistics set for free through the corresponding event page. Dual operative releases have largely been very strong meta picks, so Yao - Nightglow will be quite likely a very big and very free boost to your combat power. The free Zephyr Squad logistics set will also be rigged to have pretty decent stat rolls, saving you a lot of logistics farming headaches. Sometimes you really can have your cake and eat it too.

Selectors and Reruns

SSR Operative Selector

This will be delivered to your in-game mailbox on January 28th (UTC+8), allowing you to obtain any operative released in v1.8 or earlier.

Rerun Selector Banners

The Fantasies of Yore special operative rerun and Durin's Masterwork special weapon rerun banners will be available for the duration of the event. You first choose two items from each banner to lock in as your pull targets. After that, the banner acts like any other limited banner with one of the two items you locked in as the rated-up item. You can swap between either of the two items you locked in at any point. As well, selections are independent of each other, ie. you do not have to choose Lyfe - Infinite Sight's signature weapon Nightborne Crown on the weapon rerun banner even if you chose Lyfe - Infinite Sight on the operative rerun banner.

What Do I Pick?

With both the SSR selector and customizable rerun banners, you can very quickly supercharge your account with powerful pickups, but you can also just as easily... not. Luckily for you, you can just keep reading to get my personal recommendations on who's really worth your New Year's windfall of wealth.

Available on Selector

These operatives and weapons were released in v1.8 or earlier, and as such are inherently a bit more appealing. This is because you can grab an operative with your SSR selector and then roll for their signature weapon on the rerun banner, getting you a weapon + character combo at less than half of the normal gacha price. Of course, just because something is great value doesn't mean that it's worth getting though.

There's no better argument for the lasting value of a good support in Snowbreak than the existence of Kaguya. Despite being the very first limited operative released all the way back at the game's launch, she remains an extremely competent damage enabler that can work in almost any situation. If you're just starting out, this is probably what you want to get.

The same unfortunately can't really be said for her signature weapon Pine Aurora, though. Even after it was buffed, it's still a luxury pickup that only really starts making a big impact at tier 2 or when used to support a Frost DPS. Ironically, it's the relative weakness of her signature weapon that makes Kaguya such a strong recommendation, as she's just that good even without it.

Verdict: Still as good as ever, but maybe pass on the gun unless you know what you're doing.

Chenxing's Ethereal Cloud variant has seen better days as the premier sustained DPS operative in the game, but has since been powercrept by more modern DPS options. She still rips apart bosses like Hela that cater to her parts-targeting niche, but her competitive edge quickly becomes limited elsewhere.

Chenxing's signature weapon Anti-Evil Ward doesn't have much if any universal usability, so there's not much reason to get it without her.

Verdict: Luxury tech option for veteran players.

Haru has always kind of been a solution looking for a problem, and it's only gotten worse over time as DPS releases have become stronger and stronger, reducing the value of her mobbing niche. When you consider how capable some of the operatives available on the selector rerun or even the SSR selector are, it quickly becomes clear that Haru doesn't have much going for her beyond character appeal.

16-Psyche is only really used with Haru, and in my opinion not even her best weapon choice (shoutout to Star Ocean). I wouldn't bother.

Verdict: Trophy waifu

At the time of writing, Njall is on the current Neural Simulation rotation and causing quite a bit of grief to players. A common theme I observed among those players were that they didn't have Mauxir - Shadow Ka or were unaware that they could use her support skill to completely bypass Njall's innate damage reduction, making the fight infinitely easier and faster. Mauxir's ability to trivialize fights like this and specifically designate one specific enemy to be taken out is still invaluable today, even with all the invulnerability-spamming bosses that have been added since her initial release. She's probably the second-best pick from anyone available on the selector, and becomes a very compelling alternative over Kaguya if you want to lean more heavily towards Neural Sim optimization.

As for her signature weapon Alloy Truth, allow me to reuse the image I made the last time I wrote one of these guides.

It's still arguably the best support weapon in the game, and abusable by any SMG operative with a remotely useful support skill. This thing has been poached by other SMG operatives more than a rhino in a wildlife reserve, and for very good reason.

Verdict: Whether it's Mauxir, her gun, or both, you can't really go wrong.

If you're looking to build out your Neural Simulation toolbox, then Tess is a must-have for her ability to shovel U-Energy in the hungry mouths of your DPS operatives, as well as provide high-impact damage buffs to finish fights as quickly as possible.

But if you just want to take it a bit more easy, then Tess might not be the pick for you. The downside to her accelerating the pace of the fight is that once her buffs run out, they aren't going to be back up for quite a while, making her much less valuable in general content.

Her signature weapon Eccentric Joker takes the benefits of her two next best options, Wasp (extra U-Energy generation) and Deep Sea's Call (damage buff) into one, which makes it a very worthwhile pickup if Tess is useful for you. The last time Joker was available on a rerun banner like this half a year ago, I recommended getting it like I am now. Despite that, I still haven't gotten around to picking it up. That was not my smartest decision.

Don't be like me.

Verdict: A Neural Simulation staple.

Katya is a great DPS, but not this one. While her Dawnwing variant is topping the damage charts, the original Blue Bolt suit has been decidedly powercrept. There's actually nothing wrong with her kit, she just doesn't do enough damage to be competitively viable in the current meta.

Blue Bolt is the only operative able to use crossbows, so her signature weapon Neptune Nova has nobody else to use it. This makes it extra tied to Blue Bolt's viability, and given the rough state of affairs she's in, I think you can come to a conclusion on whether this is worth it.

Verdict: The wrong Katya for the job.

A common line of thinking is that Eatchel is good for new players as the forgiving nature of her constant heals will be useful. While this isn't entirely wrong, I don't agree with the recommendation. At base form, Eatchel is just a health pack on legs, which while being a strong defensive tool, doesn't actually do much if anything to improve a player's damage potential. And while not dying is nice, I think you'd agree that killing things deader is a lot more fun. New players will also very quickly get access to Yao - Quiet Quitter, a more-than-competent, completely free healer that even comes with a free outfit to make her feel a bit shinier. I'd suggest that new players instead pick up a staple support like Acacia - Kaguya or Mauxir - Shadow Ka instead for much stronger upfront capabilities that will still be useful even as they progress through the game.

Speaking of progression, veteran players might be able to make better use of Eatchel as they'll be more likely to have the resources needed to invest into her to make her a proper offensive support and start taking advantage of the massive ATK buffs that she can provide.

And if you're looking to amp up the potency of those buffs, Blitzing Fangs will be high on your priority list. It converts her passive healing into constant damage buffs for even more oomph. While healer Eatchel players won't miss too much from skipping this, you really do want this weapon if you want her to be making a major contribution towards the combat effort.

Verdict: A crutch for beginners and a powerful tool for veterans.

Cherno was the first DPS release to really "break" the then-meta of Snowbreak, and is undoubtedly the best DPS you can get from the SSR selector. But if you're only looking for one new DPS, it might be worth it to instead look to the rerun banner and pick up Lyfe - Infinite Sight, a much stronger DPS operative. This isn't to discredit Cherno's power as those orbs still do be detonating for some very big numbers, but there have been a few question marks around her future competitive viability lately, which makes it hard to give Cherno the slam-dunk recommendation she got in the past.

If you end up deciding to get Cherno, you definitely do want her signature weapon Uninvited Adieu, though. This thing gives her a ridiculous amount of extra damage, and is the biggest performance jump between an event and gacha weapon to date.

Verdict: A slightly faded star, but one that's still burning bright. The best DPS available here if you aren't rolling for Lyfe - Infinite Sight.

Do you use skill DPS operatives?

Do you like doing more damage?

If your answer to those two questions was yes, Enya is going to be a great option for you. She's not quite as universal as Acacia - Kaguya and Mauxir - Shadow Ka, but she is unmatched in the skill damage support niche. Given the many souped-up skill DPS operatives running around these days, it's not a bad crown to wear. At least, it's better than the other option.

Compared to fellow handgun support Acacia - Kaguya, Enya's signature weapon Abyssal Light presents a much more compelling argument for paying its price tag. It's a noticeable difference over free options like Prismatic Igniter and Tribute of Rose, which makes it worth considering for the discerning Adjutant looking to max out their skill damage potential.

Verdict: As good as it currently gets for dedicated skill damage supports.

Siris is the third-best DPS making a return, but the gap between bronze and silver ends up being surprisingly steep. Her actual damage numbers certainly still hold up, but she takes quite a bit longer to get there, which has caused a gradual decline her competitive strength. The grown-up Goldfish is still as much of a bulldozer in general content as she always was, but mobbing competency has become an expectation and not a special feature for any aspiring DPS nowadays, making Siris a tough sell.

One nice thing that works in her favour however is the relative weakness of her signature weapon compared to farmable alternatives. It means that you can skip out on hitting the weapon banner and still get most of the damage. And when you consider her downward trend on the performance charts, investing more in a fading prospect starts to feel like not exactly the best long-term decision.

Verdict: A surprisingly distant third on your DPS priority list, but still decent enough.

Only Available In Rerun Selector

You'll have to spend your hard-earned pulls on these, which makes the value proposition a bit less favourable. That's not to say that it's never worth it, though.

I'm honestly really surprised they're letting you pick this. To make a long story short, Lyfe - Infinite Sight is a top two DPS in the game at the moment, and the only one you'll actually be able to roll for. With incredibly strong bossing power and braindead mobbing, Lyfe's combat prowess will not disappoint. Being a hybrid DPS makes her incredibly flexible with support options as well, ensuring that you'll always have someone you can put her with to deal with the problem at hand.

Given the dominance of Lyfe - Infinite Sight, also picking up her signature weapon should be a no-brainer for making the most of it, with the only real consideration against this being the possibility of the newly released Chenxing - Jade Arc being somehow even more broken.

Verdict: The best DPS on the rerun banner. Highly recommended.

Some simple logic for you to consider: shooting is good, and reloading is bad, so if you can not have to reload so you can shoot more, whatever lets you do that must be pretty good. There is naturally some nuance to this, but Fenny avoids any potential pitfalls to actually be that amazing, really. Did I mention that the special ammo she tosses over to your main DPS also makes their shots do more damage? At this point, you might as well just make your own rerun of the anniversary banner by picking both Fenny and Lyfe - Infinite sight to instantly get 2/3 of a top tier team.

Heart Hunter isn't the biggest boost over the event weapon alternative out there and it's only usable on Fenny, but given how absurdly good she is, I'd say she's worth it.

Verdict: "We have first anniversary rerun at home," except it's as good as the real thing.

Ah, geez. How do I say this.

Agave isn't... great. I'd even go so far as to call her "kinda bad." She does have her uses as a dedicated parts breaker for high-level Sim runs, but this is very much a luxury tech option if you have literally nothing else to go for. If you're more interested in doing other stuff on your second monitor while grinding through content in this game though, you'll be pleased to know that you can hold down E and then completely tune out to catch up on that true crime binge-watch as long as your crosshair is roughly in the direction of an enemy. Look, I don't judge (too much).

Regardless of which role you put her in, you can probably get away with skipping her signature weapon Snapshot Ace. The extra damage you get doesn't make you parts break faster, and it's not like you're paying attention to her damage numbers if you're instead making sure Netflix knows you're still watching anyways.

Verdict: Premium parts breaker and AFK quality-of-life.

Marian isn't on the special rerun selector, but is the regularly scheduled rerun instead. This is great because she doesn't take up one of your two precious rerun selector slots, but also not because you're still going to have to roll for her, and man have I mentioned that Enya - Exuvia exists? Unless you care about Marian's sub-DPS gimmick, Enya is a much better skill damage support that can be obtained for free from the SSR selector alongside several other more universal support operatives, as if to really rub salt in the wound.

The fact of the matter is that if you're taking full advantage of what the rerun banner has to offer, you're probably already pulling on up to four rerun banners on top of potentially going for Chenxing - Jade Arc and maybe even Yao - Nightglow's signature weapon. That's a lot of gacha, and unless you have some seriously deep pockets, Marian will most likely end up being a skip as a result.

As for weapons, Marian's damage is only either more than enough or completely irrelevant, and no weapon you equip is going to change that. So with that being said, the only notable benefit her signature weapon Abyssal Nymph provides is the team-wide skill damage buff. It's actually a pretty good weapon as it can be used by anyone and the shotgun pool doesn't have many support weapon options to begin with, but this is again yet another gacha banner for you to pull on. You'll probably have higher priorities, leaving it in the same boat as Marian herself, unfortunately.

Verdict: A victim of truly horrendous rerun timing.