Unit Analysis by Team BethelFrankel
Class
Detonator with a powerful ATK buff and piercing Normals.
Overall
S
(S+ (T))
Advantages
+The Highest 2x2 Damage Ceiling amongst her rarity
+Powerful
+% ATK buff
+Extreme multi-tile scaling
Disadvantages
-Extremely reliant on normal attacks; hungry for powerful converters
-Theoretical ceiling does not reflect her practical use-cases
-Off-turn debuff can be dangerous at lower investment
-Poor single-tile performance
-Extremely stiff competition in her element, and usually underperforms them without sufficient contact points
Explanation
Areia is comically strong for a 5-star; it was a long-running community meme that Forest's 6-star DPSes were all worse. While units like Minos and Jeriah have changed that, Areia is still probably the first serious end-game unit you can reasonably be expected to build. If you're new, make sure you pick her using your early game selector!
Areia's strength is a product of the AS damage formula, and how powerful ATK% is. Because ATK buffs are the only buffs that are calculated before enemy DEF, they scale significantly harder than their printed values suggest. In Areia's case, her 20-25% ATK buff is closer to a 30-40% increase to final final output. The result is a free unit that is so efficient at boss-killing that every new Forest release to this day has to compete with her. However, there are several caveats to Areia. Areia is notably worse in low end teams compared to her 6-star competitors, who generally have better quality of life features. She very much relies on strong conversion, and many of the units that usually combos with her are better off with other teammates. Above all else, though, is the fact that all she excels in is 2x2 damage; both her mobbing and 1x1 performance is paltry compared to units like Balter and Lenore, while her 2x2 performance is outclassed by Leo and Jeriah. Still her ceiling on 2x2 simply cannot be ignored, and she will serve very well on any account, new or old.