Every Servant Rated by Design

Rating F/GO Servants on their designs! For rules/about on mobile, please search #rules, for a list of Servants that have already been done, search #masterlist. For Servants who have been requested, search #to do list. Enjoy your time here!

[ratemyservant]

Can you rate Kama please and thank you

Of course!

Kama, or Kamadeva, is the hindu god of human love, or desire. Originally a male god, there are several variants of the story of his birth and parents. One of the staple stories about Kama is his incineration by Shiva, when attempting to awaken him with his arrow so that he and Parvati could come together in love and have a child who could stop the demon Tarakasura (as the gods knew only a child between those two could stop Taraka). Without a body, the spirit of love spread through the universe and began affecting humans. Kama was later reincarnated as Krishna’s son.

In Fate/Grand Order, Kamadeva appears as the Goddess Kama, using the body of Sakura Matou as a vessel to become a Pseudo Servant. She made her first appearance in the Tokugawa Kaiten Labyrinth Event, but has so far not appeared as a major character in any story chapters.

Kama’s first ascension is one that stirred the waters when first revealed. While far from the worst outfit we’ve seen young girls wear in FGO, knowing how Jack, Wu Zetian, and Abigail turned out as they ascended didn’t instill people with much faith. And really, why would it? While it’s not the worst offender, it’s still a bit questionable: the semi-translucent material covering her stomach, and the skirt that only just barely covers her crotch with no indication that there’s any covering underneath, are still questionable design aspects to give to a character who is physically a child. I will say that the color scheme is a nice one, very fitting for Sakura with the shades of darker purple, and the gold details are very nice as well, helping to spice up the attire and a nice touch for a god. Kamadeva’s arrows are said to be decorated with five flowers, including the white lotus, so the use of lotus petals on Kama’s outfit does tie into details of the actual deity, while also doubling as a bit of imagery that might bring to mind Sakura petals? While her overall outfit doesn’t do a lot to bring to mind ‘Assassin’, the small weapons strapped to her inner thigh are probably the main thing alluding to her class. Aside from the petals, though, I’m not sure how much this design shouts ‘Kamadeva’ without seeing her bow and arrow. Also she has baby battle heels. Come on now.

The second ascension is a relief to anyone worried Kama would turn out to be another Abigail. Now looking more like the Sakura we’re familiar with (though, closer to Dark Sakura in terms of hair and eye color), the parts of her first ascensions that were somewhat troubling now feel less bothersome. While still a rather revealing design, I suppose you could argue that as the god/goddess of love and desire, and one who in-game is more interested with carnal desire than romantic love now, giving her a more typically sexy design isn’t completely uncalled for. Her base outfit has gotten more details to it, with more gold and jewelry being added, making her appear a bit more celestial. The translucent, sparkling ribbons also tie into the celestial vibe, and it is common to see Kamadeva depicted with one or more flowing sashes or scarves of some sort, as well as golden jewelry, so these details, while made a bit more feminine and fanciful, are still fitting with some Kamadeva-inspired vibe. You can also see Kama’s bow now, and while it clearly is not made of sugarcane, you can see the petals decorating each end of it. It is incredibly stylized, and given a perhaps more intimidating design, but it gives a better hint at who this character is meant to be, accompanied by the lotus petals on her outfit.

Kama’s third ascension is undoubtedly my favorite. While most of her clothing is now gone, her limbs are a sort of glowing void, darkness eating up along her body. This form is representative of Kamadeva’s time without a body, after he had been incinerated. You can even see the tendrils of flames rising up from her arms and legs, and her hair is sparkling like the cosmos that she spread through when her body was destroyed. Her expression has changed as well, from a rather bored and uncaring gaze, to a troubling, dangerous smile. I honestly like how the petals still remain, covering up the necessary parts- it is a nice remaining aspect from her earlier ascensions, as well as a pretty decent way of mixing sex appeal with a visual that relates to the character? 

The third ascension does a great job of showing Kama at her full power. The stars and glowing aspects give a sense of her godly power, while also showing that she is on the verge of having her physical form destroyed. She has reached her peak, the iconic story of Kamadeva, but because she is still needed as a Servant she cannot disperse, so her body is still held together. While I do find Kama’s final ascension very attractive, I do feel that having the cosmic, burning aspects of her design be isolated to her limbs, while her full torso is left unblemished and exposed, feels very… obviously done solely for fanservice? From a ‘fair’ standpoint, yes, she is a goddess, going into battle underdressed isn’t the end of the world I suppose. And sure, again, as a deity of love and desire, having her be design prioritize sex appeal could arguably be fitting (if this sort of thing wasn’t done for numerous female characters regardless of their identity). But imagine if that cosmic, void-corrupted effect could be seen on the rest of her as well? If you’re going to leave so much of her skin uncovered purely for fanservice, you might as well do something interesting with it? She would still look gorgeous, but it would add to the element of danger that encircles this ascension.

Without further ado, let’s break this design down:

The Good

Visually interesting, strong color scheme

Tells us something about who the character is (Deity, bowman, linked to lotus flowers)

Visually incorporates a specific part of the character’s backstory into the design

The Bad:

First ascension is a bit Questionable

Loses clothing as she ascends

B a t t l e  H e e l s

Could use more varied visuals linking the design to Kamadeva

This is definitely a design I am biased toward, so I will be honest in saying that rating this one is a bit hard for me. Personally, I am generally not a fan of weaponized sex appeal as an excuse for giving female characters incredibly revealing outfits on the battlefield. In a game like FGO where sex appeal runs rampant, it feels futile not to just shrug it off sometimes because I’d run myself ragged tearing apart every design just because it prioritizes showing skin to being functional- and ultimately, if a design is cool and fun and fitting with the character, then I can forgive things like ‘impracticality’. The fact that a pretty decent number of female characters in FGO find themselves in revealing clothing regardless of their Class or identity does make it a bit harder for me to be lenient on the characters where it is more fitting, though.

Overall, I will grant Kama a 7/10. I’m very partial to her, and her final design in particular is one of my favorites, but as a Servant design, I feel they could have used more visuals that directly tied to Kamadeva? The lotus flowers are a nice touch, but kind of an easy grab, and aside from them there is very little about the design that visually links it to popular depictions of Kamadeva. The body burning away into a void element of the final ascension is unique, and makes for a very visually interesting look, but I feel they could have pushed it further to give her a design that was less reliant on traditional sex appeal (because like with Gorgon, making her body a bit less traditionally human really wouldn’t rob Kama of her sex appeal). Also the first ascension is a bit of a road bump, I’m gonna be honest. I get it if they wanted to incorporate Young Sakura’s design into the game somehow, but the outfit is still kind of iffy for a young girl to be wearing, and their in-universe reasoning of her appearing that way due to her opponents’ tastes is OOF...

But yes. 7/10! A cool and appealing design, but could have been a bit more creative in places!

[ratemyservant]

I love reading your takes on servant designs! They’re really well thought out and insightful! I would love to hear your take on DWs Scheherezade, I’ve heard some extremely mixed and polarizing views and I’d love to get your take!!

Thank you so much! I’m really glad that they’re enjoyable to read! And oh boy. This is definitely a design that I’ve been both excited and afraid to tackle...

I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes I make while trying to describe Sche’s outfit and its influences. While I’ve done my best to research the things I’m talking about, I’m still ultimately talking about aspects of a culture I don’t have personal experience in. If I define something incorrectly or say something misinformed, please feel free to correct me so that I can correct myself. I will make sure to edit the post as soon as I can if I’m alerted of any mistakes!

Scheherazade. The story teller in One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of tales that are connected by the narrative of Scheherazade telling each story to King Shahryar night after night. After discovering his first wife had been unfaithful, Shahryar had her beheaded, and from then on, would marry a new woman each day, and behead her the next, so that she had no time to be unfaithful. Scheherazade stayed alive by always leaving one story unfinished, so that Shahyar would have to keep her alive until the next night to hear how it ended. At the end of the 1,001 nights, when all the stories were told, Shahryar had fallen in love with Scheherazade, and made her his queen, sparing her and any other potential future brides the fate of being beheaded.

In Fate/Grand Order, Scheherazade makes her first appearance in the infamous Agartha Singularity in Epic of Remnant, as a Caster Class Servant. Agartha is infamous for a number of reasons, so it’s only natural that most of the Servants it introduced were rather polarizing upon arrival. But, let’s get started and take a look at Sche.

Starting off, we have an... interesting look. From the top down, Scheherazade appears to be wearing a fanciful, transparent hat, along with a jeweled headpiece connecting to her veil. She is wearing what look like small pauldrons, and some golden bands around her arms (possibly jewelry, possibly armor, maybe both?), but that appears to be the extent of her armor. Her clothing is some sort of skintight, partially translucent material that takes a similar shape to a leotard, with the blue part looking like it might be made of sturdier material than the white. She has a lot of jewelry and golden or jeweled accessories, likely due to her status as royalty. The scrolls are a good symbol for associating her with writing, and the lamp a nice detail as her stories were told at night, and the collection is called One Thousand and One Nights. The stars on her legs may also be a nod to this, as well as something a bit magical to tie into her being a Caster? The veil... According to my research it seems accurate that a Persian queen from her time period would wear some form of face covering, though I believe it would typically cover her head primarily and not just her lower face? The style of the veil she is wearing seems most reminiscent of a haik, for its coloring and stylishness, but again it is missing the head covering (likely because that would have clashed with how revealing the rest of her outfit is...).

So... We’re off to a bit of a rough start. Aside from maybe the veil, nothing about her outfit particularly screams Scheherazade (and even then, the style of the veil isn’t particularly accurate). Some of the details definitely point in the right direction, but they’re her weapons and accessories more than her actual attire. The artist for Sche did mention that they tried to take influence from One Thousand and One Nights for her design, taking inspiration from the various stories to incorporate into her design, which I think in theory is a very fascinating idea and a great way to design a storyteller/author character! But so far, I’m not sure how clear that intent is.

Second Ascension. Scheherazade loses her veil, as well as the meager covering on her chest, and gains a fanciful feather for her hat (which I honestly don’t know what it is meant to be based on. I don’t think it’s based on any real historical item of clothing, or if it is it’s just heavily stylized, so if anyone has a better idea please let me know). With her veil gone, we can now see more of the detail of the outfit on her upper chest, which just shows more jewelry and intricate design. I had to double check with the art from the materials book to see if her leotard was actually connected at all around the sides, because it looks like it isn’t- but the connecting part is just hidden under her arm, so at least they aren’t expecting us to believe that it’s just glued to her stomach and back. The floating, glowing feathers and the sunset-colored, starry pattern on her legs are probably the only parts of the outfit I particularly like: they feel magical and ethereal, which I think is a nice way of trying to represent that she is a storyteller and that is where her magic comes from?

And then. We get her final ascension. Hoo boy. So, Sche loses the majority of her clothing here. What meager modesty she was allowed in her first and second ascensions are now gone, leaving her in glorified lingerie, if lingerie included metal bands digging uncomfortable into your thighs solely to hold up your... scroll holster? Everything that is going on with the straps around her legs is so overly complex for something rather unnecessary, while still managing to provide her no covering or protection. A woman who is deeply uncomfortable with death and going into battle, is wearing this into battle? You expect me to believe that this is how she appears at full strength, at her peak? I have trouble buying that.

As a Caster, I don’t expect Sche to be decked out in full body armor. But what little armor she does have functions mainly as decoration, and she is walking onto the battlefield in the world’s most uncomfortable set of bra and panties. Also, in case you thought I’d forgotten about her footwear...

She doesn’t have heels. She is wearing heelless heels. What the fuck. I know that these sorts of shoes exist in real life, and it’s perfectly possible to walk in them- but for the battlefield? I feel bad knowing she has to walk in these constantly to begin with, but having to wear them while fighting and dodging attacks? Bad. Bad character designer.

Before I move on, I would like to point out that the back of her design is not much better than the front. She’s still got a lot of unnecessarily intricate metal bits holding things together without actually doing anything to really protect her, and looking like the most that they do is add discomfort. There is no reason that designs can’t be intricate or have numerous tiny details, but considering how little this design has to offer to begin with, it just feels like more unnecessary fluff. It isn’t a detail we ever see in the game, but I think it helps to solidify a lot of the issues with Sche’s design: it’s more focused on being flashy and fancy than it is making something solid and memorable. It thinks it’s being gorgeous and intricate, but instead it’s just full of pointless aspects that do nothing to enhance the overall feeling of the design.

I will say that I do like her hair in this ascension. The star element from the legs moving to her hair as well is a very nice touch, and I do like the idea of her color palette gradually becoming darker as the sun sets behind her, representing her relationship with the night. However, considering there’s not much clothing left to hold that color palette, the charm of it is mostly lost on me.

So, let’s get to work, I guess.

The Good:

Tells you something about who the character is (Connected to stories, the night)

Interesting and unique details

The Bad:

Impractical for battle

Loses clothing as she ascends

Vital regions are still exposed by final ascension

Has armor but it’s not even covering any vital regions?

Heelless Battle Heels???

Sche is a character that I am very fond of. While I have some misgivings about her initial characterization, especially how she was written in Agartha, I do find her character incredibly sympathetic, and I think she’s got the makings of a very interesting and compelling character that you could do a lot with, of which Agartha only barely scratched the surface. There are certainly aspects of her design that are creative and unique, but the design is incredibly sexualized, which in some ways feels... insensitive, given her characterization, and how negatively she feels about the time she spent with her husband? Her design feels very tasteless, opting to go for fancy and exotic details rather than taking influence from actual fashion from her time period or more contemporary fashion.

I think it could have been interesting if they’d given her something more flowing in terms of clothing, perhaps a proper head covering, because there’s a lot they could do with the starry sky motif if they’d had more clothing material remaining? And they could have still incorporated the jewelry with a more flowing and less revealing design. I don’t want to make it seem like Sche isn’t allowed to show skin at all, but I feel like they could have made a far prettier and more thematically fitting look if they hadn’t been bent on the skintight whatever-it-is she’s got going on. For an idea of what I’m thinking of as base inspiration, here’s a link to some outfits.

Honestly, I give Sche a 2/10. Her design isn’t great. It has some good details, and if those were expanded on more and allowed to influence the rest of the design, I think she could look amazing. But they rely far too much on sex appeal, to the point that it overwhelms the design, literally stripping away anything they could work with and leaving us with an outfit that, frankly, looks incredibly uncomfortable to wear, much less go to battle in. Scheherazade deserves better in every regard, but especially in the design department. Let her live comfortably...

[ratemyservant]

Can you rate Billy The Kidd ?

Absolutely!

Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw during the mid to late 1800s. Born in 1859, his life of crime began at age 16 when he escaped imprisonment after being arrested for robbing a laundromat- and quickly escalated when he killed a man during an altercation two years later. He lived to age 21, before being killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett. To this day he remains one of the most notorious and well-known figures from his era. In Fate/Grand Order, Billy made his first appearance in the E Pluribus Unum singularity as an Archer, though his existence as a possible Servant was first mentioned in Fate/Extra.

His first ascension is a pretty solid one. While perhaps a bit under-dressed, the style of his clothing gives a good sense of what area and time period he’s from, with his boots and gun holster help fill in any blanks. He’s even got himself some metal cowboy cuffs! This is definitely a lad from the Old American West. I’m honestly a little short on things to say about this ascension- it is reminiscent of Artoria’s first ascension in that it feels like he’s been intentionally stripped down in order to include the more iconic details in his next ascensions, which is interesting considering this is the first time his design was used. While he looks nothing like his real life counterpart in terms of hair and eye color, his youthful appearance is an added detail in determining his identity.

Second ascension, and not much has changed, but Billy has a cool jacket now, and looks a bit more prepared for traveling in dusty terrain. Again, there isn’t a whole lot that I can say about this ascension? The clothing itself looks good- the color scheme is solid, balancing warmer and cooler shades of brown to keep the design varied and interesting, with a little bit of red for his belt to add a bit of flair. He looks like he’s almost ready to go for a ride!

In the final ascension, Billy’s outfit is finally tied together with the addition of a cowboy hat, and a tattered red scarf. One can also note that his expression has changed- rather than the sweet and placid smile he had before, Billy now looks serious, one eye covered by the brim of his hat and half his face cast in shadow. His gun has also changed its appearance, from a rather small and unassuming firearm, to larger and bulkier gun that appears to be glowing red in places. Here we see Billy at full power: his appearance matches the gist of what most people imagine when they think of Billy the Kid, your classic cowboy. Meanwhile, his more serious expression and more threatening weapon show the less idealized aspect of this figure: Billy the Kid killed people; he is remembered because of the crimes he committed. At full power, he now fully embodies both the idealized and the reality of Billy the Kid.

The use of red against all these shades of brown really helps to make the design stand out and tie the look together, I think, and the transformation of Thunderer from a more realistic gun to one that seems to be glowing with power feels perfect for a final ascension. It’s almost as if the weapon has been pushed past its limits and empowered to better suit Billy’s final stage.

Now, let’s break it down:

The Good

Good use of colors

Tells us who the character is (Cowboy, gunfighter)

Visual storytelling, particularly in his final ascension

The Bad

Not a lot changes with each ascension

Billy is one of my favorite Servants, definitely in my top 10. His design is very charming, and while there may not be a lot of alteration in the ascensions, I think the base elements of it are pretty strong to begin with. I know that throughout most of the first part of FGO’s story, and even up through Epic of Remnant, a Servant’s design not changing substantially in the second ascension, or them looking like they’re slowly dressing up (or slowly undressing) was pretty common.

Servants with completely different outfits for each ascension didn’t really start becoming prominent under the second Summer Event, but even after that, it still wasn’t something you saw often outside of the occasional 5 star. It has become common to see Servants whose outfits change drastically with each ascension, but I don’t want to damn the earlier designs completely for not meeting that standard. Looking back at the dialogue and profiles for Servants back in the early game, you can clearly see the period of time where the writers and artists were still getting the hang of things and figuring out how much to put into each Servant. Which is understandable! But it is interesting to compare late game Servants with early game Servants, and see how drastically they can differ.

Back to Billy- while the lack of variation in his ascensions is definitely a product of how things were done in the early game, they do manage to make his design work with there only really being three items added (jacket, scarf, and hat) and two changed (gun and holster), and while I’m not sure if I could say it’s the most unique cowboy design out there, I think it manages to mix a realistic color scheme and overall look with a more stylized and fashionable style as well. Overall, it’s a really nice design! I would certain be interested to see his base outfit receive more variation with each ascension, maybe becoming more rugged as he ascends, but for what it is, it’s far from bad.

Billy gets an 8/10! A lot of good stuff, but could be even cooler had there been a bit more variation gone into the design.

[ratemyservant]

IIRC Gawain's final ascension also appeared in the Fate Apocrypha anime during one of Mordred's flashbacks. It's what Gawain was wearing when he was in a parade with Artoria and the other Knights of the Round.

Ooh maybe that’s what I’m remembering!

[ratemyservant]

Rate/Grand Order Masterlist

Sabers:

Artoria (Saber)

Artoria Lily

Artoria Alter (Saber)

Gawain

Nero Claudius (Saber)

Siegfried

Archers:

Billy the Kid

Heroic Spirit EMIYA

Casters:

Charles Babbage

Jeanne d’Arc (Ruler)

Scheherazade

Thomas Edison

Assassins:

Wu Zetian

Berserkers:

Cu Chulainn Alter

Extra Classes:

Mashu

Abigail Williams

Gorgon

[ratemyservant]

Thank you for the Gawain breakdown! Iirc his final ascension outfit was made to seem like ‘a princely knight on his day off’ but yes! He’s so wonderful 🥰 tysm!

You’re welcome! I hope that you enjoyed it! My big worry is people being disappointed by my opinions now that I have people requesting specific servants haha. But that makes sense, it definitely has that sort of vibe! I had to double check with his Extra designs and I was surprised that FGO was the first time the design showed up, I could have sworn I’d seen it somewhere else too, but it’s probably just me misremembering things. He is very wonderful though! A very underrated boy tbh.

[ratemyservant]

I realized that mobile users cannot access the about/rules page, so I am making a post and tagging it #rules so that people will be able to find it more easily, hopefully! Though it’s more an about than it is rules.

About/Rules

This is a blog made for fun, and as an excuse to look into and discuss various design aspects for characters in fate! A bit of an exercise for myself really, that I thought might be nice to share.

The purpose of this blog is to:

Look at a character and the design for each of their main ascensions

Dissect the design in terms of visual storytelling and functionality

Break down the good and bad points

Because I am a simple woman there will inevitably be biases now and then, but I will do my best to be fair and kind with all of the characters and designs (save for ones that are blatantly pedophilic in nature)! The point of this blog isn’t to be cruel or tear characters apart, but to highlight the good and the bad of character designs, daydream about what could have been, and occasionally suggest ideas for how the concepts could be improved. Ratings will typically take the Servant’s class and the intent of their design into consideration (for example, a Caster won’t be held to the same exact standards as a Saber, as their roles in battle require different levels of involvement, and they don’t necessarily need the same level of armor or mobility; a Servant who is explicitly designed to be Cool or Ridiculous typically won’t be docked as harshly for impractical design elements).

For the time being, I will be doing Servants via random number generation, but people are free to suggest/request specific Servants if they have not been done yet! I only ask that no one request Summer or Holiday Variants, because those designs are explicitly for fanservice/fun times, and I don’t feel like it would be fair to rate them as battle attire. Perhaps I’ll do them for fun at some point if I get through enough regular Servants, but let’s not worry about that for now.

Updates will be sporadic.

If you have any questions or suggestions, my ask box is open :)

[ratemyservant]

Have u considered doing a master list so people don't get lost with which designs have been already checked? Also, May I request Medusa or Medea? I just wanna see some commentary on the of Fsn designs tbh XD anyways, loving this blog! Always interesting to see analysis of clothes since I think people really don't pay a lot of attention to it other than "I think it looks nice or I don't like this part" (Also, I totally agree with Saber Lily design analysis)

That’s a great idea! That’ll be the next thing on my agenda to set up. And I will add those two to the list, so I don’t lose track of them after posting this. But I’m glad to hear it! Saber Lily is such an odd one in that regard to me, I can’t think of any other Servant off the top of my head that loses the interesting parts of their design and becomes more simple as they ascend? Her first ascension is like the perfect balance of cute and feminine but still battle ready, and then they just strip down the best parts? Sometimes I really don’t understand Takeuchi. But she is the only welfare Servant to have ascensions, so she’ll always have that.

[ratemyservant]

Hello everyone- I wanted to thank you all again for the support and interest in this blog! It’s made it a lot more fun to do. I’ve gotten a good amount of requests from people, so I just wanted to let everyone know what the roster is looking like at the moment:

Servant of my choosing (Fav or Least Fav design)

Kama

Edmond Dantes

Chacha

Zhuge Liang/Lord El Melloi II

Salieri

Mozart

Arthur Pendragon

Arjuna Alter

Kijyo Koyo (Someone requested I do some of the monster Servants, I will definitely get to them eventually but I’ll probably try and space them out rather than do them all one after another, but I’d love to start with Koyo)

Robin Hood

Carmilla

Moriarty

Tristan

Medusa

Medea

Nobunaga (Avenger)

David

Hektor

Cu Chulainn (Prototype)

Those are the Servants currently sitting in my inbox! I will do my best to get through them in a reasonable time frame- I don’t want to rush through them too much because I want to give each Servant proper time and energy. If people have other Servants they would like to see, feel free to send an ask, just be aware that it may take some time to get to them! And thank you all again for all your requests and showing this blog some support ^^

[ratemyservant]

Hi hi! May I request a review of my bond 10 sweetie Gawains design? This blog is so fun and I like your breakdowns~

Of course!

Sir Gawain, the Knight of the Sun, is a well-known figure from the Arthurian legends. The nephew of King Arthur, in Fate he is summonable as a Saber Class Servant. He made his first appearance back in Fate/Extra, and has been a recurring character ever since. In Fate/Grand Order, he first appeared as an enemy in the Camelot Singularity.

His first stage has the appearance of your typical knight! Silver armor covers the majority of his body, with bulkier parts protecting his shoulders, arms and legs, and the places which aren’t covered in armor seem to be protected by bulky clothing. The insides of his legs aren’t covered in metal, but still look like they have something durable covering them, making it easier for him to be mobile, but still be relatively protected in a region that isn’t quite as easy to attack. Silver, gold and blue tie him back to Artoria, signaling that these two have some relation, giving anyone unfamiliar with this character the idea that this is likely a Knight of the Round Table. There really isn’t anything to criticize about this ascension- it’s incredibly functional, but still has some unique details to it that set it apart from a generic set of armor: the little floral decals on his chest plate, the gold bolts, and the layering of his pauldrons and other parts of his armor.

For his second ascension, the only change we get is the addition of a cape. While not an ugly cape, it’s not the most interesting one either, the only eye catching detail being the gold clasps at the front. It also covers up a lot of the details I found charming in the first ascension, which is a bit of a shame. While it does give Gawain a bit of a bulkier silhouette, it also takes away from the definition of it, robbing it of some of the more recognizable edges. In short, it’s a bit lazy in terms of an ascension (something that another Fate/Extra boy whom I will be getting to soon suffers from as well...).

The third ascension thankfully steps it up a notch, adding some much needed detailing to Gawain’s new cloak, and giving him a nice new shirt as well. The fur lining and the gold trim and patterning give the cloak a more regal, stylish appearance, and the black shirt adds some extra contrast to the silvery-white armor, making the outfit more balanced in terms of color scheme. I’m not entirely sure why some pieces of his armor around his waist have been removed- nothing underneath them seems to have changed, and it looks a bit off without them because of how the center of the armor segment fails to line up with the center of his shirt? A little bit distracting, but easy enough to overlook with all the interesting alterations that have been made. While his outfit might not be perfect for going on on the battlefield, it gives him an added air of confidence I feel, and the glowing sword seems to be a sign that he is at full power now, and perhaps no longer needs his armor quite as much.

I would also like to point out that the use of similar colors to Artoria’s design but the emphasis on black rather than white is a great way of setting these two apart visually. They have a clear connection, but there is also a disconnect between them two of them, which is something anyone who is fond of Fate’s Gawain is probably well aware of.

Let’s break it down!

The Good:

Visually interesting and unique design

Armor avoids being boring while still being practical

Strong color scheme

Tells us who the character is (A knight, particularly a Knight of the Round Table)

The Bad:

Second ascension is underwhelming

Loses practicality as they ascend

As one of the first Knights of the Round Table to be fully and properly introduced to the series, I think that Gawain’s design has always been a very solid one. I imagine when it comes to designing armor, it can be difficult to create something that feels unique, without having to go over the top, and Wada does a good job of providing details that make this armor feel unique to Gawain.

Something I have noticed is that for Servants who already had established designs before the start of Fate/Grand Order, the artists seem to struggle sometimes with their ascensions? Which I think makes sense- the characters were not designed with the idea of their appearance gradually changing in mind. You have to decide whether their original appearance should be their base design that the ascensions build off of, or if their base design is midway- it’s rarely the final ascension, because I imagine fully ascending a Servant just to get a design you’re already well-acquainted with might be underwhelming. But if the character already has a fully functional and memorable design, trying to build off that and make it into something “more” could be a challenge.

I personally like Gawain’s final ascension a lot, I think it’s very stylish and just fits him very well. And compared to his first ascension, while I love his armor, it does have more going on, and gives the eyes more to explore and take in. I think in terms of ascension, Gawain’s is strong, and overall a pretty good example of creating ascensions for a character who already has a design, even if the second ascension could have maybe had a bit more going on than just an added cape.

Overall, I give Gawain a 9/10! He’s just shy of perfect, with only a couple small details holding me back from giving him a perfect 10.

[ratemyservant]

For Zercu, his skin definitely was meant to be the same color as his vanilla version. If you look at official design materials, their skin tones are the identical. Thus, his ascension art is a lighting choice—hence why his sprite skin tone is still identical to vanilla. I believe main reason why they chose this lighting was to portray that Zercu was no longer the “Child of Light.” But, I won’t deny that other artists have misconceived the lighting choice as Zercu’s real skin tone, though.

That is also a good point, and I hadn’t thought about the Child of Light aspect and how that might be the intent.

When I have the chance today, I’ll go in and edit the post to clarify that it’s likely a lighting choice that can be potentially misleading rather than his intended skin tone.

[ratemyservant]

I don't think Cu Alter's card art is actually showing him with darker skin? I think it's more that in the art he has a big ol fire behind him, so we're seeing the more shadowed side of him. It's not really a case of 'dark skin=evil', just a lightning choice for the art that admittedly looks bad when they clip his background away to make the cutscene sprites.

Maybe! That would explain why the majority of the other art for him doesn’t show him with darker skin, save for that one White Day CE. The darker skin tone has also carried over to Mini Cu Chan, in his sprites, CEs, and even the plush they made of him (though not quite as noticeable).

While it’s completely possible that the artist intended for it to be the affect of shadows and lighting, and other artists didn’t get the memo and went with that skin tone for their own art, I don’t know if I can really convince myself that it was just a lighting choice, since that lighting only makes sense in the context of his card art and not his stand alone sprite. There are also lots of other Servants who have rather dramatic lighting or lighting changes in the background of their card art, without it affecting the lighting of their sprites? I’m not discounting it as a possibility, but I feel like even if it was the artist’s intention, it’s pretty easy to misread when looking at him, to the point that other official artists did the same.

I do apologize if Alter Cu’s rating seems harsh- he really is a character that I love a lot >< But the skin tone thing is something that a lot of friends and fate acquaintances I’ve talked to have been troubled by, and something that has never sat quite right with me, but not something I’ve seen addressed much outside of those conversations, so I felt like it was important to bring it up.

[ratemyservant]

Anon also requested a rating for Cu Alter, so now it’s time for everyone’s favorite monster doggo. This is going to be a long one so buckle up.

Cu Chulainn Alter, a Berserker alt for the original Lancer Cu Chulainn from Fate/Stay Night. His first appearance was in the E Pluribus Unum Singularity, serving as a major antagonist under Queen Medb, who is also responsible for him taking this form.

Alter Cu’s design is a busy one, but like usual, let’s approach this design under the assumption that we aren’t quite sure who he is. One of the more prominent features of this design are the bony claws, tail, and other spiny growths wrapping around and serving as a sort of armor. Their dark coloring, along with the bright red veins tell us this guy is probably not immediately down to be our friend (as if the mountain of flaming bones under a blood red moon weren’t enough of a give away). The tattoos, also a deep red, seem to be inspired by the patterns of various Celtic knots, which could serve as a clue to some of the places he might be from. Alter Cu’s monstrous appearance helps to point toward his new Berserker Class, and the discolored Gae Bolg is another hint at both his identity and the fact that he has been altered.

A detail I would like to note is how the bone-like structures, which have a similar coloring and texture to Gae Bolg (not a coincidence, as these are meant to be the bones of the same monster Gae Bolg was crafted from), have really wrapped themselves around his limbs, holding on with what look like clawed hands in some places, and forcing his feet into a position that looks uncomfortable to stand in (he’s got his own Battle Heels now). They’re not really a part of him, but a sort of uncomfortable looking enhancement he’s been saddled with, which feels very fitting for a Servant who was altered by someone else and not through his own actions or folly. I don’t know how intentional it is, but it’s one of those things that becomes more interesting and fitting the more you look into it!

The only major changes in this ascension are the additions of a fur rim to his mantle/hood, and around his ankles. The fur around the top feels like it’s an attempt at giving his design a somewhat more regal look, seeing as he is called Mad King Cu Chulainn, but the red coloring and scraggly appearance feel fitting with the carnage in the background. The way the fur is drawn around the ankles in particular looks almost like kelp, which also feels incredibly fitting, seeing as he is wearing the bones of a sea monster. His weapon has also started to turn more red than purple, more like the Gae Bolg we are familiar with, a sign that as Alter Cu ascends, he gains more access to the full power of his weapon.

His hood remains from his first ascension, and it does not seem to serve any particular purpose, other than to perhaps obscure his identity a bit, and make him a bit less immediately recognizable?

EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that Alter Cu’s skin tone in his card art is likely intended to be a lighting/shadowing decision, with the flames and the dark in the background. This would explain why his sprites and has art in the official materials have his regular skin tone. So, I do not think it was necessarily the artist’s intent to give him a darkened complexion as another sign of him being altered. I do think that it isn’t immediately obvious that that is what the art is going for though, and the fact that there is a White Day CE with him with much darker skin, and that Mini Cu Chan (both in game, in CEs, and his physical plush) have darker skin as well, seems to show that it wasn’t immediately clear to other official artists as well. In terms of showing that Cu has fallen from his status as the Child of Light and is now cast in shadow, it’s definitely a cool idea! But in terms of how it’s actually colored, I feel like it is potentially misleading, and can (and has, in my case) give people the wrong idea of the artist’s intent and what the game was going for.

Moving onto the final ascension. Things only get busier here, with new spikes protruding from Cu’s armor around his legs, and his spear. There is an arch of spikes around his fur collar, and he has a new cape, black with red, veiny patters spreading up it. My first thought while looking at this design is always how difficult it would be to get anywhere close to him without getting hurt. He is covered in spikes, and a lot of his armor is pointing outward, keeping others at a distance. Even if you were to get close enough to attack him full on, he doesn’t even need to be able to stab you with his spear to hurt you- just attacking him puts you at risk of hurting yourself on his armor. It’s a pretty good design for a Berserker, seeing as their modus operandi is typically to get in and cause as much damage as possible as quickly as possible before getting taken out. It is also very fitting with the theme of his design, which hinges so heavily on Gae Bolg, Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death.

His final ascension is incredibly busy, though. While it’s not impossible to tell what you’re looking at, the similar colors and just the positioning of limbs due to the pose he was drawn in make it a bit difficult to pick out certain details in the lower left portion of the image, and the cape and arch of spikes take away some of the breathing room the design had in the first two ascensions. I don’t have to imagine what a pain this design would be to draw because I have tried to and it’s hell, I have a lot of respect for anyone who draws this design regularly, and I completely understand why the majority of official art of Alter Cu depicts him without his armor (even if it’s a shame because the tail is definitely one of the best details). This is a design that I personally love a lot, but I feel it could maintain its sense of bulkiness while still leaving some less busy spaces within the silhouette so that it’s a bit easier for the eyes to break down and digest.

Speaking of breaking down, let’s!

The Good:

Visually interesting and unique design

Thematic design, good visual storytelling

Tells you who the character is (Monstrous, antagonistic, Celtic)

The Bad:

Somewhat misleading visuals

Impractical details (Bone Battle Heels... sexe but god those looks painful)

Design becomes increasingly busy

Cu Chulainn has been one of my favorite Servants since I first got into Fate, and Alter Cu has a very special place in my heart, both in terms of character and design. He is incredibly cool, but that doesn’t mean that his design is without flaws. While I personally feel the impracticality and discomfort of his armor makes sense given the reasoning he has it (being altered for Medb’s desire), like I said, in-universe arguments aren’t inherently excuses, and this man is going to roll his ankles. The business of his design in the final ascension helps add to the sensation that this is not a Servant you can easily get close to, but it is still a bit overwhelming and could potentially be a bit more streamlined while still having the same affect. And while his complexion is likely an artistic shading choice, it can send the wrong message (seeing as darkening a character’s skin to show they’ve been corrupted is a trope used with Ushiwakamaru in Babylonia).

Overall, I give Alter Cu a 7/10. It’s a great design but still has some areas where it could be tweaked a bit to make it even better.

[ratemyservant]

Are non fgo servants okay to ask? How about a fate strange fake or extella servant?

For the time being, I am only going to be focusing on Fate/Grand Order Servants, as I want to focus on how their designs change/improve with ascension. If by some miracle I do get through all of the FGO servants, then I wouldn’t be opposed to looking at Servants that haven’t been put into FGO yet! For now though, I’m sorry, but I’m just going to be focusing on FGO.

[ratemyservant]

Woah! You're back?! Last time I checked you talked about Babbage- as an artist I'm so happy a blog like yours is back in action, to learn aboit character design!!

I am, for the time being!! Someone happened to send me an ask about Abigail Williams, and after that I suddenly got a number of people requesting Servants haha! But that makes me really happy to hear! I’m an artist as well, and I’m a bit of an amateur when it comes to designing characters myself but it’s something that I find a lot of fun to look into and think about. I’ve always found Fate’s designs interesting and I thought that it would be fun to really delve into some of the designs that I like or am not a huge fan of in the game, and try to put into words what I feel works and doesn’t work.

I’m honestly surprised by how many people seem to be interested in the blog, though- right now I have about 10 requests for specific Servants, which might take a bit to get through ^^’ But I’m going to do my best to get through them all in a timely manner! Thank you all in advance for your patience, and again for your interest in the blog!

[ratemyservant]

Could you rate Cu Alter and or Gorgon design?

Two Servants who I really love..... I think I’ll start with Gorgon for now, and make a separate post for Cu Alter, just so this one doesn’t get too long!

Avenger Class Gorgon. Based on the figure of Medusa from Greek mythology, she is an alternate class for Rider Medusa from the original Fate/Stay Night. She made her first appearance in the Babylonia Singularity in FGO.

The first ascension starts off rather intimidating. Clawed hands covered in scales, a black mask with what resembled a red eye in the center, and a menacing looking snake-like growth coming from her hair. The scales and the hair-snake, as well as the covered eyes, serve as hints at her true identity for those unfamiliar with Fate’s Medusa- and for those who are well aware of her, this ascension comes across as a more monstrous upgrade to her original design. The claws and monstrous bits, as well as the dark color scheme, make it clear that this is not someone that you want to mess with, but the gold details add a certain elegance to her appearance, a reminder that Gorgon is no simple monster, but a goddess as well.

She still suffers from some of the same things Rider Medusa has always suffered from, though, which is a lack of obvious Greek influence in her choice of clothing- or what little she’s actually wearing. As a monster and a goddess who can turn people to stone before they can get too close to her, and a character who has always leaned toward sex appeal, I can forgive her revealing outfit somewhat, as it feels pretty par for the course for this type of character, and as an Avenger she is not a class that has any set expectations of what their role or placement on the battlefield will be. Still... The way her outfit is formed is clearly meant to encircle and accentuate her breasts, and it leaves a lot of the most vital places uncovered; the contrast of her black clothing against her incredibly pale skin makes for some clear targets for pointy objects.

Her second ascension removes her cool mask, revealing a somewhat underwhelming and passive expression, not exactly what one would expect to see on an Avenger. The new additions to her outfit are interesting though, reminiscent of the tendrils from her Noble Phantasm, and just of snakes in general, making up somewhat for the lack of snakes in her hair. I’m not sure how intentional it is, but the black ribbons lined in red are very reminiscent of the Shadow and Dark Sakura’s outfit from Heaven’s Feel, and seeing as Sakura and Medusa have numerous parallels in their stories, having a darker version of Medusa share details with the darker version of her old Master feels like a very lovely touch.

Her third ascension takes quite a jump from her second. While the actual design of the outfit hasn’t changed, the color scheme has swapped from a menacing black and red to a glowing white and gold. Even her hair-snake now has golden details rather than red. On top of that, she now has a set of large, golden wings- a trait commonly associated with gorgons, though not often with Medusa in popular culture. The white coloring brings to mind marble statues, and the paired with the gold it has a somewhat angelic feeling, which helps tie into her role as a goddess. She has reached her final ascension, now at full power, somewhere between her full monstrous form and her form as a goddess.

Now it’s time to break it down:

The Good

Tells you something about who the character is (menacing, goddess, gorgon)

Tells you more about the character as she ascends (visual story telling)

Visually interesting and unique

Monster Traits!

The Bad

Impractical details (clothing essentially exists just to cover nipples and crotch)

Still leaves vital regions uncovered by final ascension

This one is a little hard for me because I am pretty biased, I love Gorgon and she was the first free 4 star that I picked. Overall I like her design a lot, I love the color scheme for the first two ascensions, and while I initially disliked her third one it has grown on me a lot. And it is nice to have a monster girl servant who is more, you know, monstrous? Rather than just a cute kemonomimi with a fluffy tail.

However, even with her marginally more monstrous appearance, her design is still heavily reliant on showing skin and keeping her conventionally desirable. Her boss sprite for Babylonia was more monstrous than her playable sprite, but even then, the top half makes it clear that they want to remind you she’s sexy and desirable- which is kind of the opposite of what the gorgons actually were? That’s not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t have a sexy gorgon, but would her sexiness really have been compromised by making her more visibly monstrous or giving her more scales? I really don’t think so. Monster girls are great, and they should be allowed to be even more monstrous and intimidating!

Overall, I give Gorgon a 7/10. A lot of good points, and one of my favorite designs, but if they had been bolder with her I think she would have been even more memorable and stood out among monster girls from other series instead of just within FGO.

[ratemyservant]

If you're still taking suggestions, how about best mom EMIYA (Archer)

Sure! I had actually had plans to do him awhile back before I started randomizing thing!

EMIYA is of course, the original Archer of Fate/Stay Night. An adult version of Shirou Emiya from an alternate timeline of F/SN, he is not a true Heroic Spirit, but a Counter Guardian.

EMIYA has always had a unique design. According to some of the Fate Material books, the top is a body armor “made from a special material that has yet to be discovered by mankind as of the present time”, while the red sleeves are a type of holy shroud that he received at some point during his time as a freelance mage. Without knowing anything about EMIYA, his design reads as a mixture of things: the pants with their straps and the armored top have a very modern feel to them, while the shroud and cape, along with the metal accents, feel less modern and more in line with what you might expect to see on a proper mage. His armored shoes and the numerous straps on his pants tell me that this is someone who is prepared to get out on the front line. The black and silver/grey/white base is something that appears simple and doesn’t draw the eye, while the striking red contradicts that goal stands out- letting you know that there is more to EMIYA than meets the eye. From just a glance it’s hard to tell what to make of him, even his weapons contradict his class, leaving anyone who doesn’t already know his backstory wondering just what’s going on with this guy.

The second ascension ditches the re clothing, as well as the dual blades, replacing them with an actual bow- but a sword rather than an arrow. EMIYA appears a bit more like an Archer now, his eye-catching aspects gone and his weapon of choice closer to what an actual bowman would use (projectile aside). His hair is no longer slicked back, instead loose and messy, and closer to his younger self’s style. Still, this look is full of contradictions: he’s ditched the mantle, the main aspect that makes me think ‘mage’ for his more modern, front line fighting outfit, while having exchanged his close up weapons for a long range one. In one aspect it seems like he is accepting his role as an Archer who is meant to fight on the back lines, but in another it’s clear he still intends to be helping from the front. 

In the final ascension, EMIYA’s hair is back to its traditional style, and the mantle is back, but with a lot of changes to the iconic design. He’s got tassels now, which bear a more flowery design, and the red is a warmer tone, now accompanied by yellow. The bright red and yellow feel reminiscent of a superhero’s outfit in some ways, and make the muscle-molding body armor up top feel even more fitting. The warmer colors feel more welcoming, and the design seems to intentionally fit together more instead of intentionally clashing like the first ascension: the metal clasps holding the cape and mantle on are gone, as is the metal collar, leaving EMIYA looking a bit more freed, a bit more decided. Here he looks like a proper, modern Hero of Justice. It adds to his original design, without taking too much away from the original vibe of it.

The breakdown:

The Good: 

Visually interesting and unique design

Tells you something about who the character is (Not what he seems, adept with numerous weapons, can fight up close and from a distance)

Interesting changes as it ascends

The Bad:

???

I’m going to be 100% honest I… don’t really have any issues with EMIYA’s design? It’s not really my favorite by any means, I feel like i can say I’m pretty neutral on it, but in terms of picking it apart, I can’t really see anything about it that is obviously flawed or that I would criticize or change. Maybe it’s because it’s an iconic design from the original Fate/Stay Night, so it feels a bit blasphemous to change it, but in terms of functionality and uniqueness, I think it’s a really solid design. Could it be more visually interesting in some places? Sure, but I feel like that would go against what makes it work- one of the things that really stands out for a lot of the original Servants, and one of Takeuchi’s strong points, is designs that seem simplistic but have a lot of little details the more you pay attention to them. It’s a deceptive design in that way, which I think fits EMIYA’s identity and role in the original works, and I don’t see much of a reason to change it. So, for that, I guess EMIYA gets a 10/10?? Incredible.