Nanally vs Hotori: Who Should F2P Pull on May 13?

The May 13 Banner Crossroads

Neverness to Everness’ May 13 update marks a critical moment for F2P players: Nanally’s limited banner ends, and Hotori arrives with her reality-warping mechanic. If you have guaranteed pulls to spend, this decision shapes your next 3–4 months of gameplay.

The short answer? 90% of F2P players should still pull Nanally if you don’t own her. But Hotori is the second-strongest pick for specific team compositions. Let’s dig into why.

Why Nanally Remains F2P Priority #1

Nanally is the single most impact-per-pull character in NTE. Here’s the math:

Metric	Nanally	Hotori	Tier Difference
DPS Role	Primary	Control/Support	Nanally owns damage floor
Ease of Team Building	B (works with 3 elements)	A (requires Blossom chain)	Hotori harder to optimize
Minimum Investment	Starter 3-star Arc	4-star Arc preferred	Nanally more forgiving
F2P Damage Output	+45% team DPS (mid-game)	+20% DPS + utility	Raw numbers favor Nanally
Banner Value Ending	May 13 (GONE)	Returning later	Hotori rerun guaranteed

Nanally’s damage floor is non-negotiable: She scales from +45% ATK and +25% CRIT Rate via her own kit. A F2P player with her + Oraora! Arc (4-star free option) still outdamages a well-invested DPS without her, even against her optimal elements.

Hotori’s value depends on team composition. Without Blossom chain reaction setup, she’s a “nice to have,” not essential.

Hotori’s “Misty Tipsy Style” Mechanics Explained

Hotori does something NTE hasn’t seen before: direct world-state manipulation.

Three Time-Control Abilities

1. World’s Tide (Ult) — Resets 15 seconds of all character cooldowns on a 60-second cycle. This synergizes with characters that have low-cooldown ultimates (Jiuyuan, Sakiri).

2. Present Replay — Her Esper Skill creates a “time echo” that triggers a follow-up attack when you hit the enemy again. Stacks up to 3 times.

3. City Time Pause — Her passive freezes cooldown timers for 5 seconds when Blossom reaction triggers, creating infinite rotation windows for chained Blossom team.

The problem: Setting up Blossom (Remora + Hexed overlaps + specific positioning) is harder than Nanally’s straightforward “ATK go brr” passive.

Nanally + Hotori Synergy: The Both Route

You don’t have to choose. Here’s the endgame team that works for dedicated players:

Core Rotation: Nanally → Hotori → Nanally → Repeat

• Nanally (Main DPS, Redirect Arc or Ready-Ready): 3-second primary attack window
• Hotori (Control, any 4-star Arc): triggers World’s Tide cooldown reset
• Daffodill (Blossom enabler): applies Chaos + Lakshana for chained Blossom + Discord
• Fadia (Tank + Stain trigger): Lakshana + Psyche applies Stain reaction, reducing enemy defenses

When Hotori’s Ult lands, Nanally’s cooldowns reset instantly, giving you back-to-back 6-second primary phases. Against Abyss bosses with 60-second phases, this is a 3-4% DPS gain.

The catch: This requires pulling both, which is 180 pulls minimum (hard pity × 2). Most F2P won’t have that before August.

The Real Timeline: Why Hotori Can Wait

Hotori has a guaranteed rerun. Limited characters in NTE follow a 5–8 month rerun cycle. Even if you miss May, she’ll return by mid-November.

Nanally’s banner closes May 13 at 23:59 UTC+8. That’s 7 days from launch. Miss this window, and you wait 6+ months.

Timeline	Nanally Opportunity	Hotori Opportunity
Now (May 6)	7 days left ✓	90 days likely rerun
June 2026	Gone until Nov 2026	Already available (May 13)
November 2026	Rerun	2nd Rerun cycle

Decision Tree for Your Pulls

Do you own Nanally?
├─ NO → PULL NANALLY (90 pulls minimum)
│  └─ After guarantee → Save for Hotori? (Optional)
│
└─ YES → Do you have a Blossom team core (Daffodill + Fadia)?
   ├─ NO → Save pulls. Hotori is 20% value without Blossom setup
   └─ YES → Hotori adds +3-5% damage + utility. Low priority but nice

F2P Gems Forecast: May Budget

Based on NTE’s May roadmap, F2P should earn approximately:

• 1,600 Annulith from pre-registration rewards
• 480 Annulith from 7 daily login codes
• 200 Annulith from Abyss (weekly)
• 300 Annulith from daily battle pass (non-paid)
• 400 Annulith from story dungeons + events

Total: ~2,980 Annulith (18–19 pulls) available May 1–31.

This isn’t enough for either banner’s hard pity alone. You need to have saved prior or plan to miss one banner entirely.

The Meta Forecast: June–July Implications

If you skip Nanally:

• Abyss clears take 5–7% longer (neutral)
• Boss events become harder (you compensate with better Arc/Companion investment)
• Hotori + Jiuyuan team becomes meta-defining (mid-term advantage)

If you skip Hotori:

• You still have 90% of her utility via freeze-reaction teams without her
• You rely on Sakiri + event control characters (free alternatives exist)
• Nanally’s damage scales forever; Hotori’s value is conditional

Next Steps: Read More

• Nanally Best Arc: Ready-Ready vs Oraora! — Optimize her to bridge the Hotori gap
• NTE F2P Guide 2026 — Monthly pull budget planning
• Tier List: May Edition — Compare Hotori’s rank to other control characters

Recommendation: If unsure, pull Nanally. You can’t recover a missed limited banner, but Hotori’s guaranteed rerun + alternative control options mean you won’t be locked out of content.

Pull hard, and may RNG favor your 70 soft pity.