Bagpipe

General overview

Bagpipe's talent 2 on its own makes her an extremely valuable operator, but on top of it, she has monstrous DPS and can even play guard in many situations. She has better damage than the other charger vanguards, so in maps with a tough first wave of enemies, she can stall for DP for longer without being overwhelmed. (Don't forget she refunds her own DP cost!) No matter what you use her for, she carries a lot of weight, and it's well worth slotting her into a lot of teams.

E2? Strongly recommended because of her talent 2. She shouldn't be prioritized over core DPS (and you can always borrow her from supports if you need to), but having an E2 Bagpipe of your own frees up your support slot for other operators.

Game modes

Bagpipe is effectively the CC queen because of how often DP debuffs pop up in the contracts. Use her to jumpstart your vanguards and stall for DP, or keep her on the field as a laneholder or pseudo-guard instead. Either way, you almost never have to worry about wasting a team slot on her. She's also a great SSS pick, both for the vanguard buff and because she does really well as a short-term early mob clearer.

Talents

Talent 1 - Precise Reloading

E1 When attacking, has a 25% (+3%) chance to increase ATK to 110% and strike an additional target

E2 When attacking, has a 25% (+3%) chance to increase ATK to 130% and strike an additional target

The crit has pretty decent odds, and the extra target is nice. This talent synergizes well with her 2nd and 3rd skills because they hit multiple times, giving her extra chances to proc her talent.

Talent 2 - Martial Condition

E2 When this unit is in the squad, all vanguards gain +6 (+2) initial SP

To attach some numbers to this, Courier’s skill 1 would take 17 seconds to first charge, Myrtle’s skill 1 would take 9 seconds (and only 3 seconds at M3), and Saga’s skill 2 would be available immediately. Unless you're a whale or just really lucky, you probably won't get the upgrade from potentials because it doesn't come until pot 5. Fortunately, it's powerful enough for the vast majority of players without the upgrade.

Skills

Skill 1 - Swift Strike γ

Skill effect: ATK +34%/45%, ASPD +35/45

Overview: This skill would be alright if the other 2 didn't exist.

Skill 2 - High Impact Assault

Skill effect: Increases the ATK of the next attack to 160%/200% and strikes an additional time. Can store 2/3 charges.

Overview: Skill 2 is pretty strong and versatile. If you only need her on the field for a few seconds to stall for DP without leaking enemies, this skill can do that. If you only need her to take out relatively weak enemies at a consistent rate, this skill will also do that. If you just leaked an enemy and you need it dead fast, it can do that as well. However, it may fall short if you need her to do a bit more than clean trash.

M3? The extra charge actually kicks in at M2, so if you only want that, it's fine to stop there. The gain from M2 to M3 is fine, but many people can live without it. Skill 3 gets a more noticeable bump in performance at M3 than skill 2 does.

Skill 3 - Locked Breech Burst

Skill effect: Attack interval increases, block +1, ATK/DEF +90%/120%, and attacks hit 3 times in a row

Overview: Skill 3 turns Bagpipe into a guard for 20 seconds, giving her more DPS and increasing her block count. The increased block count means more vulnerability to hits, but she solves this problem by getting a massive spike in defense. The attack multiplier is already great on paper, made even better by the fact that she attacks 3 times in a row (which also synergizes well with her talent.) This skill is a great early wave clearer, but it also lets her take on pretty strong enemies if you leave her on the field.

M3? M3 more than doubles her attack, which is a massive DPS boost. Don't ignore the reduced windup time - with her talent, she effectively gets 31 initial SP, so you don't even need to wait 10 seconds before her first skill activation. While M3 shouldn't be a priority, it's a good later investment.

Module - Piledriver Spear Magazine

Level 1: Obtain 2 DP after this unit defeats an enemy. Refunds 100% of current DP cost upon retreat.

Level 2: Talent Upgrade: When this unit is in the squad, all vanguards gain +6 initial SP; this unit gains +2 extra initial SP upon deployment

Level 3: Talent Upgrade: When this unit is in the squad, all vanguards gain +6 initial SP; this unit gains +4 extra initial SP upon deployment

Overview: The terminology of her base module might be a little confusing. Charger vanguards only refund 100% of their base DP when retreated, so if you're deploying and retreating one multiple times, you won't be getting all your DP back. The module changes this by refunding current DP cost.

As a result, the module is really only worth it if you like to use Bagpipe as a helidrop. The upgrades are similar: they do nothing to improve her in-squad talent, so if you only use her to juice your vanguards, they're an easy pass.