VII sees many changes to established gameplay norms for Neptunia, and one of them is Blanc. But first, let's start with what's the same/affect her the least. Her HP and physical defense remain as high as ever, her TEC and luck are still average, and she still ranks the lowest or near lowest on SP, INT, and AGI, though these last three haven't held her back before, though the bottom rank AGI may hinder her due to the changes in her last two stats, strength and mentality. Blanc's STR has seen a huge buff, going from slightly average to second highest, though the inverse can be said about her MEN, going from highest to lowest in the transition of games. These two simple stat changes drastically change how Blanc can be and should be played. In previous games, Blanc's average STR and terrible AGI meant her damage output was lacking, while her top tier defenses meant despite the fact she'd most likely never dodge an attack, she'd always be able to take one. Depending on what enemy you face in VII, Blanc can either continue playing like this, play the utter inverse, or strike some sort of balance. Being a character of high strength and pretty good defenses makes Blanc an offensive juggernaut, but only physically. Physical blows mean nothing to her and with HDD and NEXT, she can do tons of physical damage. This is only blunted by high VIT enemies, whose presence can force Blanc back into a more supportive role. Things are far different when talking of her in terms of magic. Obviously, with the lowest INT in the game, she won't be hitting for much, making high VIT enemies all the more imposing. However, it's when dealing with a high damage magical foe that things can get tricky. In most cases, having a low defensive stat normally means attempting to go toe to toe with a boss specializing in the offensive stat would be suicide, but Blanc is an interesting case, if only because her high health means that despite the high damage, Blanc will most likely still have a good deal of health left. The low MEN hurts the most early on where MEN increasing armor and access to better HDD parts are limited and some passive and support traits aren't available yet. This is also one of the few instances where Blanc's speed is a true fault as the slower turn speed and low dodge rate will hurt Blanc's survivability.
Blanc is obviously very tanky making her the "anchor" of the party for tough fights, as she can go around reviving party members. Additional with Hard Break, an AoE EXE Drive Skill causing moderate turn delay, she gives the party a lot more options to take down enemies. She also has access Satellabute, an 8 hit combo rush skill costing 37AP initially, which gives her an amazing combo options.
