A Gimmicky hard to use servant for ''brilliant'' Shirou to use? She might take out Lancer, tops if she has to watch his dense ass.
Rider was actually the strongest summoned servant in the 5th war. She also had the strongest Master in Sakura.
Between Bellephron, Andromeda and Cybele, she'd have literally eradicated anyone in her way if Sakura wasn't such a broken wall flower.
Hell, forget Bellephron and Andromeda, Cybele would have defeated every servant except for Caster since none of them had a Magic Rank over C, which means they would have all been almost immediately petrified.
Rider was actually the strongest summoned servant in the 5th war. She also had the strongest Master in Sakura. Between Bellephron, Andromeda and Cybele, she'd have literally eradicated anyone in her way if Sakura wasn't such a broken wall flower. Hell, forget Bellephron and Andromeda, Cybele would have defeated every servant except for Caster since none of them had a Magic Rank over C, which means they would have all been almost immediately petrified.
I'll take your word for it, since i can only follow the fate/zero anime and fate/stay night lore of the anime adaptations myself. Visual novel knowledge: none.
Of all harem protagonists, Shirou has the most credibility and actually manages to be faithful (for the most part) to one girl throughout the different routes.
Rider was actually the strongest summoned servant in the 5th war. She also had the strongest Master in Sakura.
Between Bellephron, Andromeda and Cybele, she'd have literally eradicated anyone in her way if Sakura wasn't such a broken wall flower.
Hell, forget Bellephron and Andromeda, Cybele would have defeated every servant except for Caster since none of them had a Magic Rank over C, which means they would have all been almost immediately petrified.
I doubt that Saber would be so easily petrified considering she has B rank Mana with A rank magic resistance and her luck let her dodge Gae Bolg. You're also forgetting Berserker who would ignore Cybele and Andromeda, tank Bellerophon and then crush her in melee combat once her mana's dry.
Hell, even Assassin might be able to stand up to her just because he'd be fighting her at Ryudoji Temple which weakens most servants down to his level.
Of all harem protagonists, Shirou has the most credibility and actually manages to be faithful (for the most part) to one girl throughout the different routes.
To be fair, alot of VN protagonist are faithful to their respective routes/paths. Its usually dating sims and Anime Harems that let the protagonist basically pimp out all the girls.
I doubt that Saber would be so easily petrified considering she has B rank Mana with A rank magic resistance and her luck let her dodge Gae Bolg. You're also forgetting Berserker who would ignore Cybele and Andromeda, tank Bellerophon and then crush her in melee combat once her mana's dry.
Hell, even Assassin might be able to stand up to her just because he'd be fighting her at Ryudoji Temple which weakens most servants down to his level.
Lancer and Archer might not fare so well though.
Those who possess Rank C or lower in Mana will be immediately petrified, while those with Rank B may or may not be affected depending of the conditions. Those with Rank A or higher won’t be petrified, but will sustain "pressure" from the Eyes and receive a one rank-down to all parameters. The entire body of the target will be affected, including clothing and weaponry, "killing them while alive" as they are turned to stone. The ability is viable in petrifying a group of enemies, but it would not be useful against an infinite number like the horde of shades spawned by Avenger. The amount of energy it uses is comparable to also fighting them off with her Noble Phantasms, so it would quickly drain her faster than simply fighting them off in melee combat.
When Archer, with Rank B Mana, is affected at close range, he instantly feels the effects. He is immediately is frozen in place, unable to close his eyes or cover them with his arms even if he wanted to do so due to being unable to move either in the slightest. He tries to charge at her afterward, but his legs are already petrified up to his knees at that point. He is petrified up to his waist only a moment later before the effect is canceled. Shirou and Rin feel the effects instantly when targeted further away, barely or unable to move as their blood starts thickening. It immediately starts solidifying the flow of Shirou's body and ceasing his senses. If he tries to run at her, his body is instantly turned to stone, and his mind swiftly follows. He is only saved when Sakura acting up causes Rider to cease her activity.
Those who possess Rank C or lower in Mana will be immediately petrified, while those with Rank B may or may not be affected depending of the conditions. Those with Rank A or higher won’t be petrified, but will sustain "pressure" from the Eyes and receive a one rank-down to all parameters. The entire body of the target will be affected, including clothing and weaponry, "killing them while alive" as they are turned to stone. The ability is viable in petrifying a group of enemies, but it would not be useful against an infinite number like the horde of shades spawned by Avenger. The amount of energy it uses is comparable to also fighting them off with her Noble Phantasms, so it would quickly drain her faster than simply fighting them off in melee combat.
When Archer, with Rank B Mana, is affected at close range, he instantly feels the effects. He is immediately is frozen in place, unable to close his eyes or cover them with his arms even if he wanted to do so due to being unable to move either in the slightest. He tries to charge at her afterward, but his legs are already petrified up to his knees at that point. He is petrified up to his waist only a moment later before the effect is canceled. Shirou and Rin feel the effects instantly when targeted further away, barely or unable to move as their blood starts thickening. It immediately starts solidifying the flow of Shirou's body and ceasing his senses. If he tries to run at her, his body is instantly turned to stone, and his mind swiftly follows. He is only saved when Sakura acting up causes Rider to cease her activity.
Actually, Nasu stated that Lancer has runes to negate the petrification. Not only that, Lancer is on par with her speed when she's at full power, has protection from arrows (projectile), and Gae Bolg will go through even if Lancer dies. Her only real chance is Bellerophon, and thats still pushing it considering he still has his other NP to handle her. Archer might go down when she uses her eyes in melee, but if she uses Bellerophon she's dead. That's still not saying much since her best bet at killing an archer is at melee, regardless of how badass he is at that. The assassins are dead against her but come on, its just the assassins.
She could tie against Caster, considering her magic resistance, speed and bellerophon. Then again, Caster teleports and beam spams. Fighting her at Ryuudou Temple is also an up hill battle for Rider.
Overall, Rider at full power is okay. She has some chance against the other servants. However, she has zero chance against Saber and Berserker. Contemplating on fighting Gil is contemplating on committing suicide.
I really should type out my 100 page self-insertion take on the Fate series. I called it Fate/Usurper since I usurped Rider and became her master. Other characters included Allison Crowley as Caster (genderswap of Alister Crowley), Behram the Thuggee as assassin, and Eric the Red as Berzerker among others. I gave my friend a look through the manuscript and he liked it a lot. Basically it was Fate/Stay Night if people were clever and behaved like normal humans.
Actually apparently her only really hard fight would be Lancer. Due to his runic magic which negates Andromeda and Cybele, and that he's recognized as a Monster Hunter, which means he's at an advantage against Pegasus and Medusa herself. Over all speed, Rider is faster then Lancer, but he's faster in the realm of burst momentum. since his advance and retreat speeds are faster then the human eye can follow. if he's forced to chase her, he'll lose and potentially get killed. But if he's in a fixed arena where he can move about as he pleased with defined barriers, he'd run all over her.
Hit or miss, her Eyes can potentially petrify Saber and Archer, will rank down both Berserker and Caster and well, she completely outclasses the assassins if she gets the drop on them, which I agree with.
And while he has protection from arrows, which negates light thrown or fired weapons, like assassin's throwing dirks, he still had to dodge Archer's Broken Phantasms, so there's a limit to what an "arrow" is. Medusa's nails are big enough and have a short enough range they might not count.
Actually apparently her only really hard fight would be Lancer. Due to his runic magic which negates Andromeda and Cybele, and that he's recognized as a Monster Hunter, which means he's at an advantage against Pegasus and Medusa herself. Over all speed, Rider is faster then Lancer, but he's faster in the realm of burst momentum. since his advance and retreat speeds are faster then the human eye can follow. if he's forced to chase her, he'll lose and potentially get killed. But if he's in a fixed arena where he can move about as he pleased with defined barriers, he'd run all over her.
Hit or miss, her Eyes can potentially petrify Saber and Archer, will rank down both Berserker and Caster and well, she completely outclasses the assassins if she gets the drop on them, which I agree with.
And while he has protection from arrows, which negates light thrown or fired weapons, like assassin's throwing dirks, he still had to dodge Archer's Broken Phantasms, so there's a limit to what an "arrow" is. Medusa's nails are big enough and have a short enough range they might not count.
Saber has enough mana to prevent petrification, and mana burst boosts all her stats by a lot. It really comes down to whether instincts will win against Rider's sneakiness. That's debatable considering that true assassin can't even sneak up on her.
Archer is definitely in trouble if in melee. However, that is Archer's weakest area in combat. If she was on Bellerophon however, she'd be completely vulnerable to a caladbolg to the face. I can see Archer losing to her.
Caster is a cake walk when it comes to combat and berserker would never lose to Rider even if she was at full power. She doesn't have any way of ending him permanently and berserker is still a juggernaut in terms of offensive prowess. At best, she can take a life with Bellerophon.
Archer's broken phantasms can level a graveyard. Ofc he'd have to dodge that. However, Rider's nails are not remotely comparable to a BP. She's still throwing those nails in combat, which does count as a projectile. He's able to dodge and deflect projectiles thrown by true assassin, and those were projectiles meant to not even be seen. Rider is not as stealthy as true assassin and those nails are just strong nails, like how true assasain's dirks are strong dirks, but nothing more.