Guides · Duchess · patch 1.03.5 (balance 1.03.2) · updated 2026-11-01
Duchess: dagger chain and reprise
1. Summary
Duchess chains one-handed R1s with her own dagger. With the Crown Medal relic (“Dagger chain attack reprises event upon nearby enemies”), every chain finisher replays the chain at about 40% on everything nearby, with no cooldown. Put a status on the dagger (frost, bleed or poison) and the replays build it too. Nothing has to be found in the run, so it is the reliable Duchess build. Players rate it below skill spam: lower ceiling, harder to play.
No relics: 217 DPS. With the core lines: 321 DPS (+48.0%). Standing with players: 3 (1 = the current meta). Model: rank pack 10350000-429b9ee52d80.
For: solo and trio, normal and Deep of Night. Needs: the Crown Medal relic. Without it this is a plain dagger build.
2. How it plays
- Attack with R1 until the chain finishes: six steps, eight hits (steps 3 and 4 hit twice), 3.3 s for the loop (Nightreign animation a273).
- The finisher fires the reprise: about 36% of the chain’s damage (39% two-handed), replayed on everything near you. Players say only the last hit needs to land, and a backstep or a dodge doesn’t break the chain.
- Use Restage only to get out of trouble (its 0.4 s i-frames with Brief Invulnerability), not mid-chain. Restage and the reprise override each other, so a Restage fired mid-chain wastes the finisher.
- Status: the dagger needs one. The Chilling Mist skill-swap relic gives frost on your starting dagger, and “Attacks Inflict X” or “Starting armament inflicts X” relic lines add buildup to every hit. The model counts whichever your relics give.
Decoded rotation Duchess' Dagger chain + Restage (style rotation), no relics: 217 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1H Light 2-5 | 11.0 | 57% | 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 1 × uptime 0.6 |
| Character skill: Restage (replay) | 5.0 | 20% | 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) |
| 1H Light 6 (chain finisher) | 11.0 | 12% | 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 1 × uptime 0.6 |
| 1H Light 1 | 11.0 | 11% | 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 1 × uptime 0.6 |
3. Core relics
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Duchess] Dagger chain attack reprises event upon nearby enemies | 7 agree, 3 disagree | +18.9% | SpEffect 7010703: while state 2018 |
| Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks | 4 agree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7100101: 0.3 s, every 0.4 s, stamina +2 |
| [Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability | 6 agree | +10.3% | SpEffect 7500301: 0.4 s |
| Attack power up after defeating a Night Invader | 4 agree | +14.0% | SpEffect 7060201 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
- [Duchess] Dagger chain attack reprises event upon nearby enemies. Decoded: SpEffect 7010701 restageAttackRate 0.4 through 7010703 (behavior 600000180) on each dagger chain finisher, with no cooldown. Players measured 36% (one-handed) and 39% (two-handed) of dagger hits, before 1.03.2. Players: 7 agree, 3 disagree (“not as good as you might think” on spells and Ultimates; on dagger hits it is the build).
- [Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability. SpEffect 7500301: 0.4 s invulnerable on Restage. Here it is a panic button: Restage when a hit is coming, take nothing, keep chaining. Priced as attack time (section 11).
- Attack power up after defeating a Night Invader. +7% per invader killed (players); the model counts 2.
- Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks. Decoded: SpEffect 7100101, +2 stamina per landed hit (+3 at +1), at most every 0.4 s. A dagger loop costs 46 stamina (behaviors 100150000–100150050: 9, 9, 5, 5, 9, 9), and the relic gives back about 16 of it. Players: 4 agree, 0 disagree (“melee Duchess relies heavily on it”, “almost doubles your reprise rate”). The model gives it 0 because it has no stamina budget yet: Nightreign’s max stamina and recovery rate are not in the decoded params. It is required here on that evidence; the measurement that would price it is in section 11.
4. Strong and flex lines
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Attack Up +4 | 4 agree | +12.0% | SpEffect 7001404: phys ×1.12 |
| Improved Dagger Attack Power | 2 agree | +9.0% | SpEffect 8160000: attack ×1.09 |
| Successive Attacks Boost Attack Power | 3 agree | +8.8% | SpEffect 320800: fires at 17 points, -1 points; 320801: fires at 30 points; 320802: fires at 45 points; 320804: attack ×1.03, 1.5 s, -1 points; 320805: attack ×1.05, 1.5 s, -1 points; 320806: attack ×1.1, 1.5 s, -1 points |
| Improved Attack Power with 3+ Daggers Equipped | 2 agree, 1 disagree | +3.0% | SpEffect 7080000: attack ×1.2 |
| Changes compatible armament’s skill to Chilling Mist at start of expedition | 4 agree, 1 disagree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7123900 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Nearby Frostbite Conceals Self | 2 agree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7260702: while state 2280; 7260703: 5 s |
| Partial HP Restoration upon Post-Damage Attacks | 3 agree | +1.4% | SpEffect 7005601: rally ×1.25; 7005602: rally ×1.35 |
| Attack power up when facing frostbite-afflicted enemy | 2 agree, 1 disagree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7260400: attack ×1.1; 7260401: attack ×1.16; 7260402: attack ×1.2 |
| [Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power | 2 agree, 1 disagree | +3.2% | SpEffect 7290000 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Starting armament inflicts blood loss | 2 agree | -9.8% | SpEffect 7120600 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
The model’s own strongest lines that players don’t list for this style:
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Attack Up +3 | – | +10.5% | SpEffect 7001403: phys ×1.105 |
| HP Restoration upon Dagger Attacks | – | +7.3% | SpEffect 8600111: 1 s, every 1.1 s, HP +15 |
| [Duchess] Improved Vigor and Strength, Reduced Mind | – | +5.8% | SpEffect 7643000: while state 2251 |
| Physical Attack Up +2 | – | +6.0% | SpEffect 7001402: phys ×1.06 |
| Improved Melee Attack Power | – | +6.0% | SpEffect 7006600: attack ×1.06, only attack sub-categories 130 |
| Physical Attack Up +1 | – | +5.0% | SpEffect 7001401: phys ×1.05 |
| Attack power permanently increased for each evergaol prisoner defeated | – | +5.0% | SpEffect 7060001 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Taking attacks improves attack power | – | +4.3% | SpEffect 7032200: every 1 s; 7032201: while state 2374; 7032202: attack ×1.15, 10 s, while state 2374 |
| Physical Attack Up | – | +4.0% | SpEffect 7001400: phys ×1.04; 7001401: phys ×1.05; 7001402: phys ×1.06; 7001403: phys ×1.105; 7001404: phys ×1.12 |
| Attacks Inflict Rot when Damage is Taken | – | +3.4% | SpEffect 7170100: every 1 s; 7170105: every 1 s; 7170101: while state 2060; 7170106: while state 2060; 7170104: while state 323; 7170109: while state 322; 7170102: 12 s; 7170107: 12 s; 7170103: 40 s, every 1.3 s, HP −15, HP −0.15% max; 7170108: 40 s, every 1.3 s, HP −15, HP −0.15% max; 1120: 900 s, while state 5 |
- Physical Attack Up +4 and Improved Dagger Attack Power multiply every hit and every reprise.
- Improved Attack Power with 3+ Daggers Equipped is +20% to all damage, but you carry three daggers and lose two weapon-passive slots. Split opinion (2 agree, 1 disagree).
- Status payoffs (“Attack power up when facing frostbite-afflicted enemy” and the like) are worth what your status uptime is: the model computes the uptime from the decoded buildup per hit and each Nightlord’s resistance. They read 0 above because the core lines alone put no status on the dagger. With a status line worn they gain (section 8).
- Chilling Mist reads 0 because the model’s rotation never casts the skill. If you cast it now and then for frost, it is worth more than 0; how much is not modelled yet (section 11).
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 Damage Negation for Flask Usages | 0.2 | -0.2% | – | |
| Reduced Strength and Intelligence | 0.5 | -0.5% | – | |
| Reduced Faith and Strength | 0.5 | -0.5% | – | |
| Reduced Vigor and Arcane | 0.8 | -0.8% | – | |
| Reduced Rune Acquisition | 1.0 | +0.0% | 1 | |
| Repeated Evasions Lower Damage Negation | 1.1 | -1.1% | – | |
| Reduced Flask HP Restoration | 1.3 | -1.3% | – | |
| Continuous HP Loss | 1.3 | -1.3% | – | avoid |
| Reduced Damage Negation After Evading | 1.4 | -1.4% | – | |
| Taking Damage Causes Frost Buildup | 1.5 | +0.0% | 1.5 | |
| Near Death Reduces Max HP | 1.5 | +0.0% | 1.5 | |
| All Resistances Down | 2.0 | +0.0% | 2 | |
| Poison Buildup When Below Max HP | 2.5 | +0.0% | 2.5 | |
| Reduced Dexterity and Faith | 2.8 | -2.8% | – | |
| Reduced Intelligence and Dexterity | 2.8 | -2.8% | – | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Lower Attack When Below Max HP | 4.2 | -4.2% | – | |
| Taking Damage Causes Death Buildup | 8.0 | +0.0% | 8 |
Her dagger scales with Dexterity (73) and a little Strength (13), so curses on Intelligence, Faith and Arcane cost almost nothing. Avoid Continuous HP Loss (the preset forbids it): a melee Duchess takes hits, and players sell those relics.
6. Avoid
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3 | 0 agree | +1.8% | SpEffect 7000802 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| FP Restoration upon Dagger Attacks | 1 agree | +0.0% | SpEffect 8600211: 1 s, every 1.1 s, FP +2 |
- Character Skill Cooldown Reduction (forbidden in the preset). The model gives it a little value (more Restages), but it misses that Restage overrides the reprise: more Restages mid-chain means fewer free reprises. No 2026 source argues for it on this build.
- Chilling Mist and Hoarfrost Stomp both swap the same skill. Only the earliest relic slot applies, so wear one.
7. Vessels
Nothing here is a fixed-color relic except the Crown Medal (green). Any vessel with a green slot (or an “any” slot) works; Duchess’ Goblet has green and yellow slots.
| 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 |
8. Synergies
- Reprise × status. A replay builds status like a hit does (buildup is replayed: wiki.gg, Fextralife, the reprise test). So a status dagger procs sooner, and every status payoff line gains.
- Reprise × stamina. Stamina on hit lets you finish more chains, so more free reprises (the players’ combo).
- Every damage buff multiplies the others, and the reprise replays buffed hits.
The model finds no payoff ↔ enabler pair on this rotation that adds more together than apart.
9. The data
The biggest use, 1H Light 2-5 (6 hits a use), each hit on a Nightlord with the core lines worn:
Basis: AR 216 × decoded motion values of the hero moveset’s hits (1/2/2/1 hits per step).
| Hit | Element | Attack | Relics (core set) | Defense 100 | Nightlord absorption (mean of 8) | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1H Light 2-5 | Phys | 183 | ×1.186 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 133 |
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: Duchess’ Dagger (EquipParamWeapon 1750000: 73 Dexterity, 13 Strength); her one-handed chain (TAE a273, behaviors 100150000–100150050, 12/10/17/20/14/25 frames); the reprise (SpEffect 7010701, rate 0.4).
10. Evidence
Sources players’ tiers for this style rest on (docs/research/relic-priority/Duchess.json, researched 2026-11-01):
- comment: Restage 50% vs reprise 36-39%, they don’t stack and override each other (reddit, 2026-10-23)
- comment: restage + dagger reprisal on riposted enemy ‘melts health bars’ (reddit, 2026-10-18)
- 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: dagger Duchess with stamina recovery + Caligo relic invisibility to finish chains (reddit, 2026-10-12)
- Dagger Duchess Build (3+ daggers +20%, Glass Necklace ~22%) (reddit, 2026-10-07)
- Thoughts on best Duchess dagger build (D5 melee Duchess reply, score 8) (reddit, 2026-09-28)
- Duchess Dagger Restage Relic Build help (‘useless against Nightlords’; ‘Invulnerable DoN relic is a must’) (reddit, 2026-09-25)
- Duchess Explains Her Dagger Build | Nightreign Depth 5 (9,999) (Sentinel, 2026-09-16)
- Dagger Duchess Build (reprise + stamina on hit + invuln advice) (reddit, 2026-09-10)
- The Most Fun Way to Play Duchess - Nightreign (Puff Dragon, 2026-09-08)
- My PERFECT Duchess Build sucks? (Night Invader 7% ‘crucial’; bleed+Chilling Mist with reprise) (reddit, 2026-09-03)
- This Relic Combo Is INSANE On Duchess (NerfLordMykie, 2026-06-10)
- Nightreign:Duchess (relic numbers: Restage 60%, reprise 36-39%, 0.4 s i-frames) (Eldenpedia, 2026-03-30)
- 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)
- Extra Restage from dagger chains detailed info: Not as good as you might think (552 pts; tests: reprise ~36-40% on dagger hits, 7-13% on spells, <5% on ults; Swarm of Flies ~50%; manual Restage overrides it; Improved Character Skill Attack Power does not boost it) (reddit, 2025-09-01)
Measurements: reprise 36% one-handed, 39% two-handed, 7–13% on spells, under 5% on Ultimates (Reddit test post, score 552, before 1.03.2); dagger Duchess 300–500 a swing late game (D5 guide); Brief Invulnerability 0.4 s (wiki.gg).
11. Gaps and confidence
The model agrees with players’ tier order on 75% of 77 line pairs.
Where it disagrees:
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below strong “Physical Attack Up +4” +12.0%
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below strong “Improved Dagger Attack Power” +9.0%
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below strong “Successive Attacks Boost Attack Power” +8.8%
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below strong “Improved Attack Power with 3+ Daggers Equipped” +3.0%
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below strong “Partial HP Restoration upon Post-Damage Attacks” +1.4%
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.2%
- core “Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks” +0.0% below avoid “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.8%
- core “[Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability” +10.3% below strong “Physical Attack Up +4” +12.0%
- strong “Improved Attack Power with 3+ Daggers Equipped” +3.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.2%
- strong “Changes compatible armament’s skill to Chilling Mist at start of expedition” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.2%
- strong “Changes compatible armament’s skill to Chilling Mist at start of expedition” +0.0% below avoid “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.8%
- strong “Nearby Frostbite Conceals Self” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.2%
- strong “Nearby Frostbite Conceals Self” +0.0% below avoid “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.8%
- strong “Partial HP Restoration upon Post-Damage Attacks” +1.4% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.2%
- strong “Partial HP Restoration upon Post-Damage Attacks” +1.4% below avoid “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.8%
- strong “Attack power up when facing frostbite-afflicted enemy” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.2%
- strong “Attack power up when facing frostbite-afflicted enemy” +0.0% below avoid “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.8%
- situational “Starting armament inflicts blood loss” -9.8% below avoid “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.8%
- situational “Starting armament inflicts blood loss” -9.8% below avoid “FP Restoration upon Dagger Attacks” +0.0%
- Stamina is not modelled. That is why Stamina Recovery reads 0 here and is required on player evidence.
- A swapped skill the rotation doesn’t cast (Chilling Mist here) is worth 0 in the model. Casting it now and then for frost is how players use it.
- Whether a replayed buildup can trigger a proc’s own damage is contested (Steam testers: buildup only; a 2026 comment: procs too). The model replays buildup, not proc damage.
- Estimates: 60% of the fight attacking; survival as attack time (a hit = 25% of base HP and 0.8 s; a flask 2 s; 30% of Restages catch a hit).
- To measure in the Sparring Grounds: from full stamina, how many full dagger chains Duchess can do before she runs out, with and without Stamina Recovery upon Landing Attacks, and how long the bar takes to refill.
12. On your save
The Builds page ranks this preset on your own relics (drop your save there): the Duchess card for this style shows the pick, the status it ends up with, and what you lack. The Builder opens the same preset to tweak.