Guides · Duchess · patch 1.03.5 (balance 1.03.2) · updated 2026-11-01
Duchess: Blood Blade
1. Summary
A skill-swap relic turns her starting dagger’s skill into Blood Blade: a slash that throws a blood wave, 3 FP a press, up to three presses in a row. It builds bleed from range and takes the skill buffs (both Balancers). Little is written about it on Duchess (most Blood Blade praise is for Executor), but it needs nothing found in the run.
No relics: 219 DPS. With the core lines: 259 DPS (+18.2%). Standing with players: 4 (1 = the current meta). Model: rank pack 10350000-429b9ee52d80.
For: solo and trio. Needs: the Blood Blade skill-swap relic, on the earliest relic slot that swaps a skill.
2. How it plays
- Press the skill up to three times in a row. Decoded (Nightreign animation a672): each press is a slash (55% motion value on the dagger’s attack rating) and a blood wave (115 physical, scaled by Arcane only: override row 51120 sets Arcane at 25 and nothing else). Presses come every 39, 22 and 24 frames (1.3, 0.73 and 0.8 s): the follow-ups are much faster.
- Mix in the dagger chain: the model splits attack time half and half (an estimate).
- Restage after a burst; with Brief Invulnerability its 0.4 s i-frames also cancel a self-bleed proc.
Decoded rotation Blood Blade on Duchess' Dagger + chain (style rotation), no relics: 219 DPS on the 8 Nightlords’ mean (level 15, weapon tier 3, 60% of the fight attacking).
| Use | Uses / min | Share of DPS | Where the numbers come from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skill: Blood Blade | 19.1 | 31% | decoded AtkParam rows 300000630×0.3333333333333333, 300000631×0.3333333333333333, 300000633×0.3333333333333333, 300000634×0.3333333333333333, 300000636×0.3333333333333333, 300000637×0.3333333333333333: one press, the hits of the Nightreign animation a672_040000 + a672_040010 + a672_040020 (TAE events → BehaviorParam_PC → AtkParam / Bullet); rate: Nightreign TAE: a672_040000 + a672_040010 + a672_040020 reuse 0.9444444444444444s; × share 0.5 × uptime 0.6 |
| 1H Light 2-5 | 5.5 | 28% | AR 216 × decoded motion values of the hero moveset’s hits (1/2/2/1 hits per step); rate: Nightreign TAE: c0000.anibnd a273 (duchess-dagger), 1h R1 1-6 loop 3.27s; × share 0.5 × uptime 0.6 |
| Character skill: Restage (replay) | 5.0 | 19% | replays knob restageReplay 0.5 × damage of the last knob restageWindowSeconds 3s (estimate; Restage has no AtkParam of its own); rate: decoded HeroParam cooldown 12s × 1 use(s) |
| Status procs | – | 11% | SpEffect proc payloads (decoded) × boss HP × knob bossHpScale; rate: from buildup ÷ boss resistance (decoded) |
| 1H Light 6 (chain finisher) | 5.5 | 6% | AR 216 × decoded motion values of the hero moveset’s hits (1 hits per step); rate: Nightreign TAE: c0000.anibnd a273 (duchess-dagger), 1h R1 1-6 loop 3.27s; × share 0.5 × uptime 0.6 |
| 1H Light 1 | 5.5 | 6% | AR 216 × decoded motion values of the hero moveset’s hits (1 hits per step); rate: Nightreign TAE: c0000.anibnd a273 (duchess-dagger), 1h R1 1-6 loop 3.27s; × share 0.5 × uptime 0.6 |
3. Core relics
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changes compatible armament’s skill to Blood Blade at start of expedition (the rotation casts it) | 2 agree | required | SpEffect 7123700 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Improved Skill Attack Power | 2 agree | +5.1% | SpEffect 7006700: attack ×1.15, only attack sub-categories 112/111 |
| Attack power up after defeating a Night Invader | 3 agree | +12.6% | SpEffect 7060201 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
- Changes compatible armament’s skill to Blood Blade. Defines the style; the rotation casts it, so it is required. Only the earliest skill-swap relic slot applies (decoded exclusive group 200), so don’t wear Hoarfrost Stomp or Chilling Mist swaps in front of it.
- Improved Skill Attack Power. ×1.15 on sub-categories 112/111; every Blood Blade row carries 112. Red and blue Balancers both count.
- Attack power up after defeating a Night Invader. +7% per invader (players); the model counts 2.
4. Strong and flex lines
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Attack Up +4 | 1 agree | +10.9% | SpEffect 7001404: phys ×1.12 |
| [Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability | 3 agree | +8.8% | SpEffect 7500301: 0.4 s |
| [Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power | 1 agree, 1 disagree | +3.7% | SpEffect 7290000 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Blood Loss in Vicinity Increases Attack Power | 1 agree | +5.2% | SpEffect 321600: while state 379; 321601: attack ×1.2, 20 s |
The model’s own strongest lines that players don’t list for this style:
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Attack Up +3 | – | +9.6% | SpEffect 7001403: phys ×1.105 |
| [Duchess] Dagger chain attack reprises event upon nearby enemies | – | +8.0% | SpEffect 7010703: while state 2018 |
| HP Restoration upon Dagger Attacks | – | +6.0% | SpEffect 8600111: 1 s, every 1.1 s, HP +15 |
| Physical Attack Up +2 | – | +5.5% | SpEffect 7001402: phys ×1.06 |
| Improved Melee Attack Power | – | +5.5% | SpEffect 7006600: attack ×1.06, only attack sub-categories 130 |
| Improved Dagger Attack Power | – | +4.8% | SpEffect 8160000: attack ×1.09 |
| Physical Attack Up +1 | – | +4.5% | SpEffect 7001401: phys ×1.05 |
| Attack power permanently increased for each evergaol prisoner defeated | – | +4.5% | SpEffect 7060001 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Taking attacks improves attack power | – | +3.9% | SpEffect 7032200: every 1 s; 7032201: while state 2374; 7032202: attack ×1.15, 10 s, while state 2374 |
| [Duchess] Improved Vigor and Strength, Reduced Mind | – | +3.7% | SpEffect 7643000: while state 2251 |
5. Curses
Cost = what the model measures on this rotation (damage, stats, attack time) plus any hand penalty for what it can’t measure (stuns, death risk). Lower is cheaper.
| Curse | Cost (≈ % damage) | Model | Hand penalty | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Art Charging Impaired | 0.0 | +0.0% | – | |
| Reduced Strength and Intelligence | 0.2 | -0.2% | – | |
| Reduced Faith and Strength | 0.2 | -0.2% | – | |
| Reduced Damage Negation for Flask Usages | 0.9 | -0.9% | – | |
| Reduced Rune Acquisition | 1.0 | +0.0% | 1 | |
| Reduced Dexterity and Faith | 1.5 | -1.5% | – | |
| Reduced Intelligence and Dexterity | 1.5 | -1.5% | – | |
| Taking Damage Causes Frost Buildup | 1.5 | +0.0% | 1.5 | |
| Near Death Reduces Max HP | 1.5 | +0.0% | 1.5 | |
| Reduced Vigor and Arcane | 1.6 | -1.6% | – | |
| Continuous HP Loss | 1.7 | -1.7% | – | |
| Repeated Evasions Lower Damage Negation | 1.9 | -1.9% | – | |
| All Resistances Down | 2.0 | +0.0% | 2 | |
| Reduced Flask HP Restoration | 2.1 | -2.1% | – | |
| Reduced Damage Negation After Evading | 2.3 | -2.3% | – | |
| Poison Buildup When Below Max HP | 2.5 | +0.0% | 2.5 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Poison Buildup | 3.0 | +0.0% | 3 | |
| Rot Buildup When Below Max HP | 3.0 | +0.0% | 3 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Blood Loss Buildup | 3.5 | +0.0% | 3.5 | |
| Lower Attack When Below Max HP | 3.9 | -3.9% | – | |
| Taking Damage Causes Rot Buildup | 4.0 | +0.0% | 4 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Madness Buildup | 4.0 | +0.0% | 4 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Sleep Buildup | 4.0 | +0.0% | 4 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Death Buildup | 8.0 | +0.0% | 8 |
The slash scales with the dagger’s Dexterity (73) and Strength (13); the wave only with Arcane (25, override row 51120), which Duchess has little of (11 at level 15). So Intelligence and Faith curses cost nothing, and Arcane and Strength curses very little. Avoid Continuous HP Loss (forbidden).
6. Avoid
None listed.
- Another skill swap on an earlier slot (Hoarfrost Stomp, Chilling Mist): it replaces Blood Blade.
7. Vessels
| Vessel | Relic slots | Deep slots |
|---|---|---|
| Duchess’ Chalice | blue, yellow, any | red, blue, yellow |
| Duchess’ Goblet | yellow, yellow, green | yellow, yellow, green |
| Duchess’ Urn | red, blue, blue | red, blue, blue |
| Soot-Covered Duchess’ Urn | red, red, green | red, red, green |
| Sealed Duchess’ Urn | blue, blue, red | green, green, yellow |
| Decrepit Duchess’ Goblet | blue, green, green | blue, green, green |
| Forgotten Duchess’ Goblet | green, yellow, yellow | red, green, any |
| Giant’s Cradle Grail | blue, blue, blue | blue, blue, blue |
| Sacred Erdtree Grail | yellow, yellow, yellow | yellow, yellow, yellow |
| Spirit Shelter Grail | green, green, green | green, green, green |
| Scadutree Grail | red, red, red | red, red, red |
| Giant’s Cradle Grail | blue, blue, blue | blue, blue, blue |
| Sacred Erdtree Grail | yellow, yellow, yellow | yellow, yellow, yellow |
| Spirit Shelter Grail | green, green, green | green, green, green |
| Scadutree Grail | red, red, red | red, red, red |
The swap relic and the Balancers are fixed-color relics (the red and blue Balancers); a vessel with red and blue slots fits both Balancers.
8. Synergies
- Blood Blade × bleed payoffs: the wave builds bleed from range (decoded SpEffect on the bullet), so “Blood Loss in Vicinity Increases Attack Power” and Restage’s buildup replay both gain.
The model finds no payoff ↔ enabler pair on this rotation that adds more together than apart.
9. The data
The biggest use, Skill: Blood Blade (1.9999999999999998 hits a use), each hit on a Nightlord with the core lines worn:
Basis: decoded AtkParam rows 300000630×0.3333333333333333, 300000631×0.3333333333333333, 300000633×0.3333333333333333, 300000634×0.3333333333333333, 300000636×0.3333333333333333, 300000637×0.3333333333333333: one press, the hits of the Nightreign animation a672_040000 + a672_040010 + a672_040020 (TAE events → BehaviorParam_PC → AtkParam / Bullet).
| Hit | Element | Attack | Relics (core set) | Defense 100 | Nightlord absorption (mean of 8) | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [AoW] Blood Blade 300000630 | Phys | 119 | ×1.311 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 95 |
| [AoW] Blood Blade 300000631 | Phys | 230 | ×1.311 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 184 |
| [AoW] Blood Blade 300000633 | Phys | 119 | ×1.311 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 95 |
| [AoW] Blood Blade 300000634 | Phys | 230 | ×1.311 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 184 |
| [AoW] Blood Blade 300000636 | Phys | 119 | ×1.311 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 95 |
| [AoW] Blood Blade 300000637 | Phys | 230 | ×1.311 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 184 |
Relic multiplier: the core lines’ attack rates multiply (different SpEffects), each limited to the attack sub-categories it names. Defense: Nightlords have defense 100 on every type, which keeps 0.6 of attack in the sparring tests (dps_model DEF100_FACTOR). Absorption: the decoded *DamageCutRate per element.
Decoded rows used: SwordArtsParam 224 (Blood Blade, 3 FP); AtkParam_Pc 300000630/633/636 (slashes, 55% motion value) and 300000631/634/637 (waves, 115 physical, override 51120: Arcane 25); Nightreign animations a672_040000 / 040010 / 040020.
10. Evidence
Sources players’ tiers for this style rest on (docs/research/relic-priority/Duchess.json, researched 2026-11-01):
- comment: ‘Duchess would only give up the 10% restage buff which just isn’t a big deal’ (score 6) (reddit, 2026-10-23)
- The ‘I-frame duchess relic’ helped me finally understand (50 pts, 40 comments) (reddit, 2026-10-15)
- comments: ‘iframe on restage is a must have relic’; dagger chain reprise relic (reddit, 2026-10-13)
- comment (7): standard meta ‘Duchess: Double Balancers, Night Invaders, starting Hoarfrost Stomp/Blood Blade on main relics. Affinity Attack +2 and the restage i-frames character relic effect on deep’ (reddit, 2026-10-04)
- Thoughts on best Duchess dagger build (D5 melee Duchess reply, score 8) (reddit, 2026-09-28)
- Duchess Explains Her Dagger Build | Nightreign Depth 5 (9,999) (Sentinel, 2026-09-16)
- My PERFECT Duchess Build sucks? (Night Invader 7% ‘crucial’; bleed+Chilling Mist with reprise) (reddit, 2026-09-03)
- The Duchess Relic Meta - Nightreign (Sgt. Jager, 2026-06-14)
- Blood Blade Duchess is the BEST (Road to 9999) (RattyRyRy, 2026-03-07)
- How do I build my Ducchess efficiently for deep of night? (LuckyFlynt99 + replies (Dealer Mangan, Lahoo Eckbert, Mana, reaVerNL), 2026-01-23)
- Nightreign - We were Wrong about this Relic (Golden Dew) (Puff Dragon, 2026-01-02)
- Duchess brief invulnerability relic lets you use Seppuku without taking damage (863 pts) (reddit, 2025-10-31)
No per-slash damage for Blood Blade on Duchess was found (Duchess.json: “slashes per use not documented”). A D5 melee Duchess puts Blood Blade or Hoarfrost Stomp in the swap slot; a 2026 meta summary lists “double Balancers, Night Invaders, starting Hoarfrost Stomp / Blood Blade”.
11. Gaps and confidence
The model agrees with players’ tier order on 75% of 12 line pairs.
Where it disagrees:
- core “Improved Skill Attack Power” +5.1% below strong “Physical Attack Up +4” +10.9%
- core “Improved Skill Attack Power” +5.1% below strong “[Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability” +8.8%
- core “Improved Skill Attack Power” +5.1% below situational “Blood Loss in Vicinity Increases Attack Power” +5.2%
- Estimates: half the attack time on Blood Blade; three presses in a row; survival as attack time.
- To measure in the Sparring Grounds: Duchess at level 15, Blood Blade on her +0 starting dagger: damage of the first slash and of its blood wave on the dummy, and whether the second and third presses come faster than the first.
12. On your save
The Builds page ranks this preset on your own relics (drop your save there). The Builder opens the same preset to tweak.