Update
Notes:
We recently had an update to version 2.25 which you can see here. This post will cover the movements with regards to these changes.
This update nerfed a bunch of second forms that had important parts of the final form moveset.
Baby summon got a really interesting buff in this update that not only means they come with full stats but also with the bonus of the monster that created them and any stats buff (basically in PvE the enemies will make buffed babies). This generally makes the move far more effective and it’s definitely a viable option in battles now. The monsters affected are Plumesilisk, Ophidiator, Tortogeist and Zephyrin.
Plumesilisk = does a good job interrupting many more attacks
Ophidiator = the babies are reasonable enough SEs which one-shot non-tanky legendaries, generally making the union much easier
Tortogeist = the baby gets a turn quicker (with bonus) and takes reasonable effort to kill
Zephyrin = the baby gets a turn quicker and survives to it much better (far easier to stun burst)
Onyxia got fatal sting turned into an upgraded poison touch (130TU → 50TU) so it now fits in poison setups far better, it can rapidly deathmark enemies in a pinch and it can charge bloodfury in only 50TU now if an enemy is put onto low HP. Ultimately I do think this is a lot stronger but I hear conflicting opinions on the monster’s strength so I’m leaving it where it is for now.
Frozmaw’s new passive is a welcome addition but not quite enough to push it up a tier. I’m shifting SEs in PvP down in the next update (coming very soon) and Frozmaw isn’t lowering, so it’s comparatively going up.
Movements:
These are only with respect to the changes in version 2.25.
Plumesilisk moves from E → D in general, better at protecting the team now with baby summon.
Ophidiator moves from B → A in general, union is far easier to get going, making this easy to sweep and tank with.
Tyrfina moves from D → B in PvP, I personally love the design of this but it was a bit clunky… punish becoming only 30TU means this should now really a good job of halting the enemy team’s momentum and even when you don’t get a second kill with punish you’ll have a bloodcrush with good damage to follow up swiftly after the first. It’s hard to gauge this monster completely without seeing it in practice, but I’m hopeful it’s now pretty strong.
Blazerider moves from S → S+ in general, fighting spirit makes this a nice SE sweeper for tackling mythics.
Pyramid golem gaiamid moves from D → S- in general and C → A in PvP, finally getting the proper P.G. moveset this can add to the others and be a second Lavamid of sorts.
Santabeast moves from E → D in general, the Yuki are very nice to have and probably now the main use for this monster is literally to make them. However, it’s still fairly limited overall so has niche use in PvE and that’s it. Definitely a fun update to the moveset though!