Thorns

General overview

Thorns is a real monster of a unit for completely different reasons than his 6 star ranged guard predecessor, Silverash. He lacks burst capability, but in return, he got consistent DPS that was unprecedented when he was released. There have been more "cornerstone" units released after him, but he remains relevant because of his 3x4 attack range and ridiculously fast attack speed. His main drawback is that he can take a while to get set up on some maps, but once he gets going, you rarely have to worry about him afterwards.

E2? Yes, because skill 3 is his bread and butter skill. E2 also gives him the ability to heal himself.

Game modes

Thorns is good at... everything! He's a stat stick, which is often necessary in high risk CC, and he's good at killing buffed enemies before they can tear apart your frontline. He can also functionally replace a sniper in a lot of situations, which helps if snipers are banned or you need to cut down on team size. He's also a very strong IS unit at all stages of the game. He can easily carry the first two floors on his own while still scaling well into lategame, and that's without factoring in relics. His skill 2 also sees some niche uses. Finally, he can be a good choice for SSS because he can kill enemies very quickly, especially if you get a full stack of buffs on him.

Talents

Talent 1 - Nerve Corrosion

E1 Poisons the targets when attacking, dealing 65 (+15) Arts damage to them per second for 3 seconds (damage is doubled on ranged enemies)

E2 Poisons the targets when attacking, dealing 125 (+15) Arts damage to them per second for 3 seconds (damage is doubled on ranged enemies)

This is mostly just a nice bonus that can finish off enemies after they walk out of his range. The doubled damage can do a number on enemy ranged units as well.

Talent 2 - Echoes of Ancestral Waves

E2 If this unit hasn't attacked for 2 seconds, restores 3.5% (+0.5%) of max HP every second

This talent means you can leave Thorns to his own devices a lot of the time, though it's important to remember he can only heal himself when he's not attacking. If you need him to block strong enemies, he'll probably require healing support.

Skills

Skill 1 - ATK Up

Skill effect: ATK +60%/100%

Overview: Yeah, yeah, the generic attack buff, we've all heard of it

Skill 2 - Protective Spikes

Skill effect: Stops attacking; ATK +40%/60%, DEF +70%/110%; when attacked, launches long ranged spikes at up to 4 enemies in front (0.75/0.6 second cooldown)

Skill range:

Overview: Actually a pretty good skill that has the misfortune of coexisting with skill 3. He gets pretty tanky, and since his Uno reverse attacks don't count as normal attacks for talent 2, he can heal any damage he takes. The AOE damage is also quite good if he's getting hit a lot. In IS2, it's worth considering for a makeshift tank option if you need one.

M3? The gains are pretty good, but it's hard to recommend that you throw resources at M3 considering you probably never even touch this skill. But if you really want to push the envelope with it, sure.

Skill 3 - Destreza

Skill effect: Attack range expands; ATK +40%/60%; ASPD +16/25; ranged attacks no longer deal reduced damage. Upon the second activation of this skill, it gains unlimited duration with bonuses at twice the base amount.

Skill range:

Overview: Destreza is where all the money is. You probably knew that already. The damage is enormous, the range means you can put him basically anywhere, and he can kill many things before they become a problem. Another byproduct of the ASPD buff is that killing things faster means he has more time to heal himself with talent 2. The only downside is that you have to charge it once, wait 30 seconds, then charge it again before you can reap the benefits. Is it worth it? Absolutely. You probably knew that already.

M3? Obviously. Remember all the benefits from M3 are doubled.