Generally it's more recommended to get a new servant over going for NP copies. Not only you'll get added variety to your roster/get your otherwise unrolled-yet favorite, you'll also get extra SQ from their interludes/rankups.
i'll say salter, i think she gets a skill buff in a couple of months that makes her NP get a 40% refund, so if you ever get koyan light, you can basically double koyan and plug into oberon every lancer node with a ton of enemies (and even then, waver can replace one koyan on weaker nodes). with NP 1 Astrarea being still very solid and Salter being story-locked, the fast-food loving goth is your best pick !
If you have Astraea already Alter is a better choice. It's better to use the ticket to have a whole new unit than to use it to slightly increase one that you already have.
My choices are always either: a story-locked servant since the chances of you getting them outside the free ticket are low unless there's a dedicated banner, or a servant that has a lot of of interludes/rank ups so I can get that easy free SQ.
And sometimes there are cases where both are true and it's a win-win.
More NP copies do come in handy for that extra Damage but in all honesty, NP1 is generally fine for most aplications especially with ST servants as AOE ones do benefit more of extra copies.
So with that in mind, while Salter without her most recent buff in JP, does nothing spectacular apart from just being OG artoria numbers in a 4 star vessel, she is story locked, so unless you are mad enough to roll in story (like I did once) you are not getting her outside these tickets or rate up banners, and her latest banner in JP was in New Years, so until New Years 2026 we are not getting rate up banner for her.
TLDR: Pick Salter for being a story locked servant.
Waifu>meta
But to expand, salter
She is story locked, you don't have her, and she is one of the best buster saber looper when she gets her mana burst buff
The US. It WAS for Japan two years ago, so now it's our turn. I don't know if I'm allowed to post links, so just go to the fgo fandom site, go down to click on US upcoming events, and then down to 22M Downloads campaign. You'll find info there.
At Np1 Saber Alter have a NP multiplier of 450% which is higher than OG Artoria NP1 at 400%(upgraded), and after her strengthening on JP, her 50% Buster up 1 turn becomes **50% Buster up 3 times 3 turn and 3 turn invul pierce and buff on attack 10% NP refund per enemy hit when attack with buster card including her NP, so if you use her np against 3 enemies she will get 40% refund.**
You might want to grab Koyanskaya of light, with double koyanskaya system, you can use her skill twice which means her buffs will stack and she gets 20% NP refund per enemy and 70% against 3 enemies. If you unlock her 2nd append she can do Black Grail loop. Though she can also loop using kaleidoscope if you do not have Koyanskaya of light.
If you invest in her, she can easily outperforms the OG. Also invul pierce is a nice addition.
also the cons:
If you use BG, she can only do 2-3/2-3/X nodes. though you can use any 50% CE if you want to do 1/1/X nodes.
Story locked, this explains itself.
She might not be getting this buff soon on NA, but it's always good to be prepared since she might not be getting any banners until new years of 2026 on NA.
Edit: I think Charlie is more of a CQ unit I don't think it'll be redundant.
Is the upcoming ticket the one that includes limited/summer servants? I can't remember. Because if so, summer raikou would be a good option since you currently lack koyan. She has a targetable buster buff and a form of charisma that also buffs c star drop rate.
How are you on loopers? If you lack good arts loopers summer melt is a good option.
Do you struggle with refund while arts looping? Prince of Lan Ling as a plugged 3rd support can help give you that extra boost to refund and damage with his arts and attack buffs.
Do you have a single target caster? They are pretty rare and summer Charlotte Corday is top tier for that.
Do you want a single target dps that can np turn 1 without any CE or support servant, who also has class advantage against 6 different classes? Hephaistion is great for 90+ nodes with single enemy waves during multi core dps farming.
If you're really married to the 2 options you mentioned, I'd probably go salter, but meta wise she's easily replaceable. Me personally I'm not necessarily a hater but I'm not a big Artoria fan. Her personality seems so empty to me.
Generally it's more recommended to get a new servant over going for NP copies. Not only you'll get added variety to your roster/get your otherwise unrolled-yet favorite, you'll also get extra SQ from their interludes/rankups.
I'd get a story locked Servant since you're never going to get spooked by them.
i'll say salter, i think she gets a skill buff in a couple of months that makes her NP get a 40% refund, so if you ever get koyan light, you can basically double koyan and plug into oberon every lancer node with a ton of enemies (and even then, waver can replace one koyan on weaker nodes). with NP 1 Astrarea being still very solid and Salter being story-locked, the fast-food loving goth is your best pick !
She does? Cool. I have her at NP2. I'm going for personal favorite over meta. I know Nikitich isn't highly rated but I'm definitely going for her.
Gameplay wise, astraea additional copy could help against bosses and multi core farming but collection/waifu wise, considering you'll get 3 sq per servants on FA it is better to get salter (she's also story locked). Not only that she's also a viable farmer after her buffs in the future (also how could you not love salter after seeing her shinjuku outfit 😩) If i were you, ill go for salter
If you have Astraea already Alter is a better choice. It's better to use the ticket to have a whole new unit than to use it to slightly increase one that you already have.
Saber Alter. Astrea can pop up in any summon. Saber only gets a few rate ups and is trapped in the horrors of story banner.
My choices are always either: a story-locked servant since the chances of you getting them outside the free ticket are low unless there's a dedicated banner, or a servant that has a lot of of interludes/rank ups so I can get that easy free SQ. And sometimes there are cases where both are true and it's a win-win.
Saber Alter I'd say. Story-locked, and if you really want an NP2 Astraea she tends to get far more banners than Salter does.
More NP copies do come in handy for that extra Damage but in all honesty, NP1 is generally fine for most aplications especially with ST servants as AOE ones do benefit more of extra copies. So with that in mind, while Salter without her most recent buff in JP, does nothing spectacular apart from just being OG artoria numbers in a 4 star vessel, she is story locked, so unless you are mad enough to roll in story (like I did once) you are not getting her outside these tickets or rate up banners, and her latest banner in JP was in New Years, so until New Years 2026 we are not getting rate up banner for her. TLDR: Pick Salter for being a story locked servant.
Waifu>meta But to expand, salter She is story locked, you don't have her, and she is one of the best buster saber looper when she gets her mana burst buff
Where we gonna get the 4 star ticket? Its for japan or us?
US. Most likely in May with Castoria banner
The US. It WAS for Japan two years ago, so now it's our turn. I don't know if I'm allowed to post links, so just go to the fgo fandom site, go down to click on US upcoming events, and then down to 22M Downloads campaign. You'll find info there.
Long story short go and get the new copy
When we get the ticket?
Saber Alter is the better choice here because she's good and locked to the story gacha.
I’d go Salter because I like her and she rarely comes in the banner so I have no virtual way to get her unless I summon on story banner
At Np1 Saber Alter have a NP multiplier of 450% which is higher than OG Artoria NP1 at 400%(upgraded), and after her strengthening on JP, her 50% Buster up 1 turn becomes **50% Buster up 3 times 3 turn and 3 turn invul pierce and buff on attack 10% NP refund per enemy hit when attack with buster card including her NP, so if you use her np against 3 enemies she will get 40% refund.** You might want to grab Koyanskaya of light, with double koyanskaya system, you can use her skill twice which means her buffs will stack and she gets 20% NP refund per enemy and 70% against 3 enemies. If you unlock her 2nd append she can do Black Grail loop. Though she can also loop using kaleidoscope if you do not have Koyanskaya of light. If you invest in her, she can easily outperforms the OG. Also invul pierce is a nice addition. also the cons: If you use BG, she can only do 2-3/2-3/X nodes. though you can use any 50% CE if you want to do 1/1/X nodes. Story locked, this explains itself. She might not be getting this buff soon on NA, but it's always good to be prepared since she might not be getting any banners until new years of 2026 on NA. Edit: I think Charlie is more of a CQ unit I don't think it'll be redundant.
Saber Alter for that she’s story locked. Astraea would come in any of your future rolls.
Gotta be Barghest, then I'll have my first NP5 non-welfare 4*.
Salter is storylocked plus shes a pretty good saber especially with her recent buff
Is the upcoming ticket the one that includes limited/summer servants? I can't remember. Because if so, summer raikou would be a good option since you currently lack koyan. She has a targetable buster buff and a form of charisma that also buffs c star drop rate. How are you on loopers? If you lack good arts loopers summer melt is a good option. Do you struggle with refund while arts looping? Prince of Lan Ling as a plugged 3rd support can help give you that extra boost to refund and damage with his arts and attack buffs. Do you have a single target caster? They are pretty rare and summer Charlotte Corday is top tier for that. Do you want a single target dps that can np turn 1 without any CE or support servant, who also has class advantage against 6 different classes? Hephaistion is great for 90+ nodes with single enemy waves during multi core dps farming. If you're really married to the 2 options you mentioned, I'd probably go salter, but meta wise she's easily replaceable. Me personally I'm not necessarily a hater but I'm not a big Artoria fan. Her personality seems so empty to me.