Exploring Potential Abilities for Columbina of Nod Krai

Video of Version Luna, Courtesy of miHoYo

With the exception of Mavuika (and to a lesser extent Ei), all the other Archons have been either Sub DPS or Support. On the other hand, all of the Harbingers up till now have been Main DPS Hypercarries. In other words, Columbina’s 2 identities are on opposite ends of the gameplay spectrum. The question is, which one will she play towards?

If she is more Archon-like, it’s likely that her Skill will be a persistent effect with high Hydro application. Since Columbina is strongly tied to music, it will mostly be an aura-type ability (e.g., Nilou or Barbara) in which she “sings”. They could even take a leaf out of ZZZ’s book and have her “On-Field” but not targetable, like Astra. As for her Burst, it would probably be some sort of steroid.

On the other hand, Columbina takes after her Harbinger side; her Skill is most likely to be a Stance Change or Self-Buff. This would give her increased Normal Attack DMG. Given her floaty nature, she might even hover slightly while attacking (though that’s mostly just speculation). Her Burst, in keeping with her fellow Harbingers, would probably just be a massive nuke of damage.

Bipolar Duality

Of course, there is always the possibility that Columbina will be able to walk both paths, DPS and Support, by having different Stances. Since Blue and Red poles are already introduced into the game as an exploration mechanic, and the flowers around Columbina change color in response to her “mood” it’s not too far-fetched to conclude that she could have a “Red Stance” and “Blue Stance”.

Red would be the DPS side, while Blue would be Support. In fact, if you incorporated this change into her Charged Attack (a la Furina), it could open up the potential for her to have 2 different sets of Skills, giving her more flexibility.

Columbina the Explorer

In keeping with the idea of giving her Red and Blue stances, if Columbina is truly supposed to be the Archon of the region, she should, in theory, have an exploration mechanic that is related to the region. After all, the other archons do (except for Ei the homebody).

Given her powers in lore and the exploration mechanics of the Nod Krai, the best option for such an ability would be that, when she uses her Skill, she will be considered to be a Kuuhenki. That should allow you to use Kuuvahki anywhere. And, if she does have Red and Blue Stances, she can switch to the appropriate color depending on the situation.

Role in the Meta

Admittedly, the ideas above for Columbina do bear a remarkable resemblance to Furina. However, that’s where passive and other effects come in. While Furina is a universal DMG Buffer, Columbina will most likely be a Lunar-reaction Buffer. What’s more, Furina is a HP-draining character, whereas Columbina has the potential to be a Healer. Or, she could just ignore HP altogether.

While there are similarities, that’s mostly down to the regions they hail from having similarities in their exploration mechanics. Arkhe is very similar to Kuuvahki, after all. That said, Furin and Columbina should both have very clear lanes in the meta which, while not exclusionary, shouldn’t overlap too much. That said, there’s still a high probability that Columbina will scale off HP, so make sure to keep that in mind when farming for artifacts.