Short answer for most players: skip E.H., save for the 3.5 Anniversary. E.H. (Elemental Hunter) is a B-tier Wind Burst III landing March 5–19, 2026. Interesting kit, real ceiling problem. Snow White: Heavy Arms is SSS-tier across every mode — but her banner closed in January. Here's how to navigate both units and what to do with your gems right now.
March 2026 Banner Overview
E.H. is the only active limited banner this month. Snow White: Heavy Arms ran January 1–22, 2026, and is gone. Know this before spending a single Gem.
E.H. Banner Details
Opens March 5, 2026 at 11:00 UTC+9 (post-maintenance). Closes March 19, 2026 at 4:59:59 UTC+9. Fourteen days — standard for NIKKE limited banners.
Gold Mileage Tickets carry over indefinitely between banners. If you're sitting on 120 tickets already, you only need 80 more pulls — 24,000 Gems — to guarantee E.H. Check your count before March 5.
Snow White: Heavy Arms — Already Gone
Her Special Recruit ran January 1–22, 2026. Closed. She's Pilgrim faction, which means rerun gaps are long — the original Snow White went over a year between appearances. If you missed January, the only realistic path is patience.
Limited vs. Permanent: Rerun Expectations
Neither unit enters the standard recruitment pool. E.H. as an Elysion unit will likely rerun faster than Pilgrim units. Don't expect SW:HA back anytime soon.
E.H. — Full Unit Analysis
Creative kit. Genuine ceiling problem. B-tier across Story, Boss Interception, and Union Raid.
Kit Breakdown
E.H. is an SSR Burst III Wind Attacker (Elysion) with a Submachine Gun called Heavenward that transforms into a rocket launcher during Burst. Her entire identity revolves around a Scrap resource system.
Skill 1 — Homemade Magazine: Converts up to 10 Scrap into magazines (max 4). Each magazine grants +7.5% ATK and +1 Burst ammo.
Skill 2 — Scrap Hunt: Starts each battle at the Scrap cap (+10). Gains +1 Scrap per projectile or ally destroyed, +5 per enemy part destroyed, +2 per kill. On any Scrap gain: +16.36% Elemental Advantage DMG for 15 seconds. Community testing confirms S2 should be leveled first — target Lv7 before anything else.
Burst — Heavenbound (40s CD): Charges in 0.4 seconds (250% at full charge). Fires rockets equal to magazine count (1–4), each hitting for 61% final ATK. Active buff: +430.05% ATK for 10 seconds. The 4-rocket ceiling is the problem — her Burst output is capped regardless of excess Scrap.
Skill Priority: S2 Lv7 → S1 Lv4 → Burst Lv10. Don't dump resources into Burst early.
Team Compositions
Critical warning: don't run E.H. with Alice or any infinite-ammo unit. Infinite-ammo mechanics prevent the reload cycle that refreshes her Scrap stacks, locking her at roughly 70% of her cycling potential. Community testing has confirmed this kills her sustained output. Most guides skip this — it matters.
Performance by Mode
That D-tier Arena rating is damning. If PvP matters to your account, E.H. offers nothing.
Hidden Mechanic Most Guides Miss
E.H.'s S2 Elemental Advantage DMG buff procs on any Scrap gain event — not on a cooldown. In boss fights with multiple destructible parts, she gains +5 Scrap per part destroyed, firing the buff repeatedly. Overlapping procs just refresh the 15-second timer rather than stack, but the result is near-constant uptime in part-heavy content.
This means her Boss Interception performance sits at the high end of B-tier, not the low end. It doesn't change her overall placement, but players running her in Interception will see better results than her tier suggests on paper. In Arena, where there are no parts to destroy and kill counts are low, Scrap generation is minimal — that's the mechanical reason for her D-tier PvP rating.
Verdict on E.H.
Skip unless you have a specific Wind team gap and 25,000+ Gems to spare after Anniversary savings. B-tier across PvE means she improves your roster without transforming it. MLB (3 copies) costs up to 180,000 Gems worst-case — absurd for a B-tier unit. Pull her if she genuinely excites you and your reserves are healthy. Don't pull chasing meta gains.
Snow White: Heavy Arms — Full Unit Analysis
Everything E.H. isn't. SSS-tier across Story, Bosses, Union Raid, and Arena. The problem: her banner is closed.
Kit Breakdown
SSR Burst III Water Attacker (Pilgrim), Sniper Rifle called Seven Dwarves I+II. Built around charge mechanics, pierce, and lock-on targeting.
Skill 1 (Lv10): Every 0.2 seconds of charging, locks onto 5 targets. Grants DEF +42.24% to self, increases enemy Damage Taken by +4.2% for 4 seconds, deals 41.9% final ATK to all targets plus 105.59% to lock-on targets.
Skill 2 (Lv10): Fixed 1.2-second charge. Activates pierce for 5 seconds, ATK +46.84%, Parts DMG +62.64%, ATK +73.92% for 10 seconds. Charge damage becomes +528% with sequential hits at +158.4% for one round. This skill is why she dominates boss fights with destructible parts.
Burst (Lv10, 40s CD): Team-wide ATK DMG +84.48% for 10 seconds. Charge time extends to 3.2 seconds, lock-on and ammo increase to 15, fires 2 projectiles at 41.9% final ATK each.
Skill Priority: S1 Lv10 → S2 Lv10 → Burst Lv7. Recommended cubes: Resilience, Bastion, or Piercing depending on content.
SW:HA vs. Original Snow White
Most guides stay surface-level here. The differences are substantial.
Original Snow White is a single-target nuke — one massive Burst hit is her identity. SW:HA shifts entirely toward sustained charge-based DPS with pierce and multi-target lock-on. They're not redundant; they excel in different contexts.
SW:HA outperforms the original in: bosses with multiple destructible parts (Material-H, Storm Bringer stages 9–10 specifically), multi-target pierce scenarios, and fights where sustained DPS over a full Burst window beats a single nuke moment. Her Parts DMG +62.64% from S2 is the key differentiator — original Snow White has no equivalent. In pure single-target burst scenarios, original Snow White can still compete. Own both? They're complementary.
Best Teams
Liter + Crown + SW:HA is the gold standard. One practical note: community data shows a 15–25% DPS loss on auto vs. manual play. Her charge mechanics reward active input. Auto-only players will see lower real-world performance than her theoretical ceiling.
Performance by Mode
SSS across the board is genuinely rare. She earns it.
Verdict on SW:HA
Must-pull — but the banner is closed. Don't spend gems on standard banners hoping she appears. She won't. Wait for a Pilgrim rerun announcement and save accordingly.
Pity System Explained
Soft Pity
Community testing consistently observes SSR rates increasing noticeably between 60–100 pulls. Treat 60 pulls as the point where your odds meaningfully improve. Average community data suggests E.H. costs approximately 50 pulls (~15,000 Gems) accounting for soft pity.
Hard Pity and Spark
Hard pity on Special Recruit banners: 200 pulls, guaranteed. At 200 Gold Mileage Tickets, you exchange directly for E.H. regardless of luck. Worst-case math: 200 × 300 Gems = 60,000 Gems.
Does Pity Transfer?
Gold Mileage Tickets carry over indefinitely — skipping E.H. costs you nothing from a pity perspective. The SSR rate counter (soft pity progress) does reset between banners. Your ticket count does not.
Realistic Gem Costs
Gem Budget & Resource Planning
F2P players realistically generate 8,000–12,000 Gems per month. Hitting 15,000–25,000 for Anniversary savings requires discipline starting now.
March 2026 Gem Sources
Daily missions: 80 Gems/day × 14 days (banner window) = 1,120 Gems
Union Raid: March 6–12 (Union Level 3 required) — variable rewards
Coordinated Op: March 13–15 — additional variable rewards
Active CDK codes: PUNYQUEEN (10 Advanced Vouchers), NIKKECHRISTMASPARTY (10), NIKKESTELLARBLADE (5), 3YEARSWITHNIKKE (10) — 35 total vouchers, worth 2,000+ Gems equivalent
Redeem codes: Notice → Event Notice → CD-Key Portal (available after completing tutorial stages 1–4).
Mold and Ticket Strategy
Standard Molds pull from the general SSR pool — they won't give you E.H. or SW:HA. Don't burn Molds chasing limited units. Recruitment Tickets don't apply to Special Recruit banners either.
Spending Tiers
F2P: Hard skip E.H. Save everything for 3.5 Anniversary. Your budget doesn't support chasing a B-tier unit when T0 units are weeks away.
Dolphin: One Step-Up pull (6,600 Gems, 31 pulls) on E.H. is defensible only if you already own Crown and Rapi: Red Hood AND have 25,000+ Gems remaining after. One Step-Up won't guarantee her, but it's a reasonable gamble if you're flush.
Whale: Pull freely — but even whales should weigh MLB on a B-tier unit (up to 180,000 Gems worst-case for 3 copies) against saving for Anniversary T0 units.
Topping Up Efficiently
If you're building reserves for Anniversary or considering the E.H. banner, getting the best value on Gem purchases matters. For Goddess of Victory NIKKE cheap gems recharge March 2026, BitTopup offers competitive rates with fast delivery — worth checking before committing to in-app purchases at full price.
Pull, Skip, or Save? Decision Framework
Pull E.H. If…
You have 25,000+ Gems and can still hit 15,000–25,000 for Anniversary after pulling
You already own Crown and Rapi: Red Hood
You have a genuine Wind team gap
You play manually (her Scrap system rewards active input)
You're a dolphin or whale with flexible resources
Pull Snow White: Heavy Arms If…
Her banner is closed. Wait for a rerun. Don't spend gems on standard banners — she won't appear there.
Save Everything If…
You're F2P or near-F2P with under 20,000 Gems banked
You don't own Crown — without her best B2 partner, E.H.'s output drops significantly
You're targeting Crown and Rapi: Red Hood at the 3.5 Anniversary (confirmed community consensus for the March–April 2026 window)
Arena ranking matters to you — E.H. is D-tier PvP, zero return there
F2P priority ladder from community consensus: Crown > Rapi: Red Hood > Nayuta > Little Mermaid > Cinderella > Helm > SW:HA > E.H. E.H. sits at the bottom for a reason.
Split Resources: Ever Worth It?
Almost never for F2P. 15,000 Gems on E.H. is 15,000 Gems not available for Crown or Rapi: Red Hood. For dolphins with 40,000+ Gems, one Step-Up on E.H. before pivoting entirely to Anniversary is defensible. For everyone else, splitting dilutes your ability to spark either unit.
F2P Survival: Three Concrete Actions Right Now
Redeem all active CDK codes immediately — 35 Advanced Vouchers is free currency sitting unclaimed
Complete Union Raid (March 6–12) — requires Union Level 3; gem rewards are meaningful
Check your Gold Mileage count — at 150+ tickets, the E.H. calculus changes; 50 pulls to spark is far more F2P-friendly than 200
Looking Ahead: April 2026 and the Bigger Roadmap
What's Coming After March
Community consensus is strong that the 3.5 Anniversary (March–April 2026) brings elevated free Gem distributions and banners for Crown and Rapi: Red Hood — both confirmed T0 units. Crown is the Burst II support who dramatically amplifies any Burst III DPS, including E.H. herself. Rapi: Red Hood is a T0 Burst III DPS. These are account-defining pulls. E.H. is not.
Anniversary periods also typically bring elevated login bonuses, event Gems, and potentially free SSR selectors — all of which lower the effective gem-per-unit cost significantly.
When Do E.H. and SW:HA Return?
E.H. as an Elysion unit: expect a rerun within 6–12 months. Snow White: Heavy Arms as a Pilgrim unit: considerably longer. Pilgrim reruns are historically sparse. Save aggressively and be patient.
60–90 Day Roadmap
March 5–19: Skip E.H. (unless dolphin with 40k+ Gems and Crown already owned)
March–April: Anniversary window — spend on Crown and/or Rapi: Red Hood
Post-Anniversary: Evaluate roster gaps; E.H. rerun is a reasonable target if Wind team is your next priority
For players planning a larger Anniversary spend, the Goddess of Victory NIKKE top up discount for E.H. banner at BitTopup can help stretch your budget further.
FAQ
Is E.H. worth pulling for F2P players? No, for the vast majority. B-tier PvE, D-tier Arena. The one exception: F2P players with 120+ existing Gold Mileage Tickets who can spark E.H. for ~24,000 Gems and still maintain 15,000+ in reserve for Anniversary.
Does Snow White: Heavy Arms replace the original Snow White? Not exactly. SW:HA is sustained charge DPS with pierce and parts damage; original Snow White is a single-target nuke. SW:HA wins in multi-part boss fights and pierce scenarios. Original Snow White can still compete in pure single-target burst windows. They're complementary — if you own both, run both where appropriate.
What happens to my pity if I skip E.H.? Gold Mileage Tickets carry over indefinitely. Skipping costs you nothing. The SSR rate counter resets between banners, but your ticket count doesn't.
Should I use Molds during March 2026? Standard Molds don't pull from limited pools — no E.H., no SW:HA. Use Molds based on general roster needs, not in response to limited banners.
How long is the E.H. banner? March 5, 2026 (11:00 UTC+9) to March 19, 2026 (4:59:59 UTC+9). Exactly 14 days, no extension announced.
Is the Step-Up worth using? 6,600 Gems for 31 pulls is slightly better value per pull than standard 10-pulls. For dolphins considering a single E.H. investment, it's the most efficient entry point. It won't guarantee her, but 31 pulls puts you solidly into soft pity territory.
Final Verdict
E.H. is well-designed with a hard ceiling. Snow White: Heavy Arms is account-defining and unavailable. March 2026 is, for most players, a save window — not a spending window.
Bank your Gems. Redeem your CDK codes. Complete Union Raid. Show up to the 3.5 Anniversary with 15,000–25,000 Gems ready for units that will still matter a year from now.