Francine: The Shocking Therapist Who Cleaned Up (In 2020)

Overview

Francine, the "Monstress" of the Morlovia family, burst onto the scene in Halloween 2020 as a fast-mana Nature Rogue. Back then, she was a breath of fresh air—or perhaps a jolt of fresh electricity—offering a unique recurring cleanse mechanic that made her a staple in many rosters.

This review focuses on her base version. While she has received a costume that significantly alters her power level (which we'll discuss later), we're here to see if the original model still holds a charge in today's high-voltage meta. Spoiler alert: She might need a jump start.

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Hero Art & Visuals

Francine's design is a delightful homage to the classic Bride of Frankenstein, but with a "medical chic" twist. She sports the iconic streaked hair and stitches, but trades the wedding gown for bandages and a pair of menacing scissors. It's a clean, sharp look that screams "I'm going to fix you, whether you like it or not." Compared to her Mafia-themed costume, the base art feels more rooted in classic horror, which purists might prefer—even if her stats are scarier than her face these days.

General Info

Hero Stats

Let's be blunt: Francine's base stats are severely outdated. With a base power of around 795 (and ~951 even when Limit Broken twice), she is miles behind modern heroes who regularly push past 1250 base power and 1500+ when fully maxed. Her attack and defense values, which were once considered "solid," now look like 4-star stats in a 5-star world. She is extremely fragile by 2026 standards and will struggle to survive even a glancing blow from modern snipers.

Special Skill: Electric Cut

Analysis: The core of Francine's kit is her speed and her cleanse. At Fast mana, hitting three enemies for 225% damage is... okay. It wasn't earth-shattering in 2020, and today it's essentially a "tickle" to modern tanks.

The real meat on these bones is the cleanse. Unlike a standard one-time cleanse, Francine applies a buff that cleanses all allies at the end of each turn for 3 turns. This is fantastic against damage-over-time (DoT) dealers or ailment-heavy teams, as it effectively "scrubs" your team clean repeatedly. However, on the base version, this buff is dispellable. In an era where dispel is common and buffs are stolen constantly, this limits her reliability.

The extra damage against Ice is a nice flavor text that makes her hit slightly harder against Blue enemies, but given her low base attack stat, don't expect her to one-shot anyone.

By the Numbers

Let's crunch the data to see what we're really working with.

• Mana Speed: Fast. She needs 8 tiles to charge. With a level 29 mana troop or a combination of 23 mana troop + emblem node, she can drop to 7 tiles. The Morlovia family bonus (up to +12% mana) helps, but without the costume bonus, she's harder to break into the 6-tile "Very Fast" threshold than her costumed counterpart.
• Damage Calculation: 225% of 780 Attack is roughly 1755 damage potential (before defense). Modern heroes often deal 400%+ to all enemies with attack stats over 1300. You do the math—she's dealing about 30-40% of the damage of a modern hitter.
• Passives: The Steal Buff passive (65% chance) is her saving grace. Stealing a powerful buff like a Taunt or Dodge can swing a match, but it's RNG-dependent.

Family Bonus, Passives, Aether Power & Unique Abilities

Family Bonus

The Morlovia family bonus offers a Mana Generation boost (+5%/+12%). This is excellent for ensuring your team fires faster, but you need to run her with other Halloween heroes (like Alucard or Miriam & Midnight) to get the most out of it.

Passives

Steal Buff: This was added later in her lifecycle and is arguably her best feature now. A 65% chance to steal a dispellable buff is strong utility. If there are no buffs to steal, she deals a little extra damage (150% to all), which helps pad her low damage output.

Aether Power

Attack Up: A flat boost to attack for the first 6 turns. While helpful, it doesn't solve her fundamental issue of low base stats.

Legacy & Modern Relevance

• Historical Context: In late 2020, Francine was a top-tier flank. Her recurring cleanse was a hard counter to the "GTV" (Gravemaker, Telluria, Vela) meta that relied heavily on DoT.
• Power Creep Analysis: Power creep has hit her like a truck. Her stats are simply too low to be competitive in Diamond arena raids or top-tier wars. She will die before she fires, and when she does fire, the damage is negligible.
• Modern Viability Verdict: Obsolete. The base version of Francine is largely a relic. She might find use in War Clean-up teams or mid-level tournaments, but she cannot compete with modern 5-stars.

Costume & Costume Bonus

This is where the story gets tragic for Base Francine. Her Costume is superior in every single way.

• Stats: The costume has massively updated stats (jumping from ~795 to ~1140 base power).
• Skill: The costume's cleanse is undispellable, which is a massive upgrade. She also applies Elemental Defense Down (EDD) to Ice enemies, making her a Titan specialist.
• Class: Costume switches to Sorcerer, which is generally preferred for the mana node.
• Recommendation: If you have the costume, never use the base version. The costume is faster, stronger, and more useful.

Emblem Path Analysis

If you are forced to use Base Francine (perhaps due to class quest restrictions), you need to keep her alive.

The Survivalist

• Path: Defense > Health > Attack
• Pros: Maximizes her survivability, giving her a chance to fire her cleanse at least once.
• Cons: Her damage becomes even more laughable.

Final Recommendation

Go Defense/Health. Her role is utility (cleanse/dispel via passive), not damage. She needs to survive to do her job.

Strengths

• Recurring Cleanse: Cleanses at the end of 3 turns, keeping your team ailment-free against DoT spammers.
• Fast Speed: 8 tiles is still a good benchmark.
• Buff Steal Passive: A 65% chance to steal a buff is excellent utility.

Weaknesses

• Abysmal Stats: Her defense and HP are paper-thin by modern standards.
• Low Damage: 225% to 3 targets barely scratches modern heroes.
• Dispellable Cleanse: Unlike her costume, her cleanse buff can be wiped away by any dispeller.

Best Game Modes

• War Clean-ups: When facing weakened teams where her speed can finish off low-HP enemies.
• PvE / Farming: Her fast speed and cleanse make auto-farming smoother.
• Buff Booster Tournaments: Her passive allows her to steal buffs, which counts towards the tournament bonus.

Advanced Strategy & Team Compositions

If you must run her, pair her with heroes who can keep her alive or capitalize on her speed.

Sample Team Ideas

• The "Green Speed" Stack: Francine - Almur - Elkanen. Use Almur for EDD, then Francine and Elkanen to sweep. (Note: This is a very 2021 strategy).
• The "Cleanse & Heal" Support: Francine - Mother North - Heimdall. She keeps the slow revivers clean from mana blocks or silences so they can fire.

Counters & Anti-Synergies

• Dispellers: Sabina, Melendor, or any modern dispeller will wipe her cleanse buff immediately.
• Snipers: Any modern sniper (e.g., Jwala, Turundh) will likely one-shot her.

Advice for New Players

If you pulled Francine early in your journey, congrats! She will serve you well through the map stages and lower-level raids. Her cleanse is a mechanic that teaches you the importance of timing. However, do not over-invest in her limit breaks unless you have her costume.

Advice for Veterans

She is a Bench Warmer. Without the costume, she has no place in a veteran's roster. Even with the costume, she is a niche Titan hero or specific counter. Do not waste Alpha Aethers on the base version.

Community Corner: Hot Takes & History

• "A green GM or Clarissa with better damage skill multiplier... I look forward to this hero." - A hopeful player in 2020.
• "Frigg is 100% better." - The community correctly identifying the true green queen of 2020.
• "She is a top tier hero with huge stats." - A quote that has aged poorly, showing just how fast the game moves.

Final Thoughts

Base Francine is a reminder of simpler times. She was a good therapist for our rosters back when a little recurring cleanse was all we needed to feel better. Today, she's sadly retired. If you have her costume, she puts on a new suit and gets back to work. If not, she's best left enjoying her retirement on your bench.

Verdict: Bench (unless Costumed).