Guides · Duchess · patch 1.03.5 (balance 1.03.2) · updated 2026-11-01
Duchess: skill spam (double Balancers)
1. Summary
Duchess presses one strong weapon skill again and again, then uses Restage to replay half of the burst. Both Balancer relics (red and blue) add +15% skill damage each and +6% melee. Players call it the trio meta (“halo slop”): fights end in about 30 seconds with a Halo Scythe Duchess on the team. It works solo too, but you need to find the weapon in the run.
No relics: 375 DPS. With the core lines: 534 DPS (+42.4%). Standing with players: 1 (1 = the current meta). Model: rank pack 10350000-429b9ee52d80.
For: trio and solo, normal and Deep of Night. Needs: a weapon with a strong fixed skill, found in the run. The best one is the Halo Scythe. It drops rarely (about 0.4% of Rare weapon drops, up to 5% from the best table), so the build is “lucky”: plan a fallback (table in section 2).
2. How it plays
- Find a skill weapon. The Halo Scythe’s Miquella’s Ring of Light is a three-press combo. Each press is a slash and a ring of light that bursts when it hits (two holy hits), for 11 FP. The next press can start 46, 28 and 33 frames in (1.53, 0.93 and 1.1 s; Nightreign animations a851_040000 / 040010 / 040020).
- Press the skill whenever you can attack. It is most of your damage.
- Right after a big burst, use Restage. It replays 50% of all damage dealt near you in the last 3 seconds, your team’s included, on a 12 s cooldown. With the Brief Invulnerability relic, Restage also gives 0.4 s of i-frames: use it to get out of a long skill animation safely.
- Use Finale (the Ultimate) on trash packs: with the “Defeating enemies while Art is active” relic, every kill adds +15% attack for 30 s.
FP. Duchess has 180 FP at level 15, plus two Starlight Shards. The model spends it over the build’s own kill time, so this build doesn’t run dry, and players report the same. FP relics are not needed.
Decoded rotation Halo Scythe skill spam: Miquella's Ring of Light + Restage (style rotation), no relics: 375 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: Miquella’s Ring of Light | 24.2 | 79% | decoded AtkParam rows 301902900×0.3333333333333333, 301902901×0.3333333333333333, 301902902×0.3333333333333333, 301902910×0.3333333333333333, 301902911×0.3333333333333333, 301902912×0.3333333333333333, 301902920×0.3333333333333333, 301902921×0.3333333333333333, 301902922×0.3333333333333333: one press, the hits of the Nightreign animation a851_040000 + a851_040010 + a851_040020 (TAE events → BehaviorParam_PC → AtkParam / Bullet); rate: Nightreign TAE: a851_040000 + a851_040010 + a851_040020 reuse 1.1888888888888889s; × share 0.8 × uptime 0.6 |
| Character skill: Restage (replay) | 5.0 | 15% | 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 2-3 | 2.0 | 3% | AR 238 × MV 101/102 (decoded) × ER hits; rate: ER frame data (estimate): reaper 1h R1 1-4 loop 3.67s; × share 0.2 × uptime 0.6 |
| 1H Light 4 (chain finisher) | 2.0 | 1% | AR 238 × MV 110 (decoded) × ER hits; rate: ER frame data (estimate): reaper 1h R1 1-4 loop 3.67s; × share 0.2 × uptime 0.6 |
| 1H Light 1 | 2.0 | 1% | AR 238 × MV 100 (decoded) × ER hits; rate: ER frame data (estimate): reaper 1h R1 1-4 loop 3.67s; × share 0.2 × uptime 0.6 |
Which weapon. One rotation, five skill weapons, the same core lines:
Same rotation, other weapons, same core lines (model: decoded skill rows and Nightreign animation times, weapon tier 3):
| Weapon | Skill | FP a press | Time a press | Attack a press (before defense) | DPS, no relics | DPS, core lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| halo scythe | Miquella’s Ring of Light | 11 | 1.19 s | 1187 (3 hits) | 375 | 534 |
| blade of calling | Blade of Gold | 17 | 3.17 s | 823 (1 hits) | 147 | 199 |
| black knife | Blade of Death | 25 | 3.17 s | 728 (1 hits) | 136 | 184 |
| glintstone kris | Glintstone Dart | 10 | 2.15 s | 490 (1 hits) | 120 | 161 |
| rivers of blood | Corpse Piler | 17 | 1.38 s | 426 (1.9999999999999998 hits) | 131 | 211 (FP runs dry) |
The Halo Scythe wins on every count: a press is three hits (the slash, the ring and its burst), it is the biggest press, it is among the fastest, and it costs 11 FP. Blade of Calling and Black Knife are one hit each, take twice as long and cost 17 and 25 FP. Corpse Piler’s first press is the quickest, but each press is small, and its FP runs out before the fight ends.
3. Core relics
These are the preset’s required lines. “Model value” is how much damage the line adds on this rotation with the other core lines worn (survival counted as attack time, below).
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improved Skill Attack Power | 8 agree | +14.1% | SpEffect 7006700: attack ×1.15, only attack sub-categories 112/111 |
| Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered | 3 agree, 1 disagree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7037800 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Attack power up after defeating a Night Invader | 4 agree | +14.0% | SpEffect 7060201 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| [Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability | 6 agree | +9.5% | SpEffect 7500301: 0.4 s |
- Improved Skill Attack Power. Decoded: SpEffect 7006700 multiplies attack by 1.15, but only for attack sub-categories 112 and 111, which are weapon skills. Every hit of Miquella’s Ring of Light carries 112. The red and blue Balancer relics each have this line, and both count. Two copies of the same Balancer relic don’t, so the ranking wears at most one of each. Players: 8 agree, 0 disagree.
- Attack power up after defeating a Night Invader. Players report +7% per invader killed, and Deep of Night runs kill 2 to 4 invaders. The model counts 2 invaders (+14%). The number itself is engine-coded (no field in the params).
- [Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability. Decoded: SpEffect 7500301, 0.4 s invulnerable on every Restage. Its value is attack time: each Restage (one per 12 s) can take one hit that would otherwise land. The model counts 30% of Restages doing so, an estimate: see section 11.
- Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered (red Balancer). Players list it as core. The model gives it 0 because its chance is engine-coded: no field in the params says how often it fires, and one Steam player says they never saw it. It is not a required line here: you get it anyway with the red Balancer, which you want for Improved Skill Attack Power.
4. Strong and flex lines
Ranked by the model on this rotation:
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improved Affinity Attack Power +2 | 2 agree | +9.0% | SpEffect 7610802: attack ×1.1 |
| Holy Attack Power Up +4 | 2 agree | +10.8% | SpEffect 7001804: holy ×1.12 |
| Magic Attack Power Up +4 | 2 agree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7001504: magic ×1.12 |
| [Duchess] Defeating enemies while Art is active ups attack power | 4 agree, 1 disagree | +3.0% | SpEffect 7032701: every 1 s, while state 2204; 7032705: 0.1 s; 7032706: attack ×1.05, 30 s; 7032702: 12.5 s; 7032703: 0.1 s; 7032704: attack ×1.15, 30 s |
| Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge | 3 agree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7090000 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Boosts Attack Power of Added Affinity Attacks | 2 agree | +9.0% | SpEffect 7035800: attack ×1.1 |
| [Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power | 3 agree, 2 disagree | +3.0% | SpEffect 7290000 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Physical Attack Up +4 | 2 agree | +1.1% | SpEffect 7001404: phys ×1.12 |
| Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3 | 3 agree | +1.7% | SpEffect 7000802 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Attack Power Up +3 | – | +9.5% | SpEffect 7001803: holy ×1.105 |
| Improved Affinity Attack Power +1 | – | +7.2% | SpEffect 7610801: attack ×1.08 |
| Improved Melee Attack Power | – | +6.0% | SpEffect 7006600: attack ×1.06, only attack sub-categories 130 |
| Holy Attack Power Up +2 | – | +5.9% | SpEffect 7001802: holy ×1.065 |
| Attack power permanently increased for each evergaol prisoner defeated | – | +5.0% | SpEffect 7060001 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
| Holy Attack Power Up +1 | – | +5.0% | SpEffect 7001801: holy ×1.055 |
| Improved Affinity Attack Power | – | +4.5% | SpEffect 7610800: attack ×1.05 |
| 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 |
| Holy Attack Power Up | – | +4.1% | SpEffect 7001800: holy ×1.045; 7001801: holy ×1.055; 7001802: holy ×1.065; 7001803: holy ×1.105; 7001804: holy ×1.12 |
| Improved Attack Power with 3+ Reapers Equipped | – | +3.0% | SpEffect 7081900: attack ×1.2 |
- Holy Attack Power Up +4 and Improved Affinity Attack Power +2: the rings are pure holy, so these multiply most of your damage. If your skill weapon is magic (Glintstone Kris), take Magic Attack Power Up instead.
- Boosts Attack Power of Added Affinity Attacks is decoded as an unconditional ×1.1 on magic, fire, lightning and holy (SpEffect 7035800). In sparring it raised the Halo Scythe’s rings 317 → 349, and it did nothing for Carian Slicer (spells don’t count).
- Physical Attack Up only reaches the slash. Take it for Rivers of Blood, not for the Halo Scythe.
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 | 0.0 | -0.0% | – | |
| Reduced Damage Negation for Flask Usages | 0.1 | -0.1% | – | cheap |
| Reduced Faith and Strength | 0.1 | -0.1% | – | |
| Reduced Intelligence and Dexterity | 0.1 | -0.1% | – | |
| Reduced Dexterity and Faith | 0.2 | -0.2% | – | |
| Repeated Evasions Lower Damage Negation | 0.2 | -0.2% | – | |
| Reduced Damage Negation After Evading | 0.4 | -0.4% | – | |
| Reduced Vigor and Arcane | 0.7 | -0.7% | – | |
| Reduced Rune Acquisition | 1.0 | +0.0% | 1 | avoid |
| Reduced Flask HP Restoration | 1.1 | -1.1% | – | |
| Continuous HP Loss | 1.1 | -1.1% | – | avoid |
| 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 | |
| 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 Sleep Buildup | 4.0 | +0.0% | 4 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Rot Buildup | 4.0 | +0.0% | 4 | |
| Taking Damage Causes Madness 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 |
Cheap on Duchess: curses on stats she doesn’t use for this build. The rings scale with her Dexterity and Faith through the Halo Scythe, so Strength and Intelligence curses cost almost nothing. Reduced Damage Negation for Flask Usages is the players’ pick (Jager): you drink between skill bursts, out of reach. Avoid Continuous HP Loss (the preset forbids it): it drains 2 HP a second, and players sell those relics on sight.
6. Avoid
| Line | Players | Model value | Decoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Art Auto Charge +1 | 1 agree, 2 disagree | +0.0% | SpEffect 7000900 (engine-coded: no number in the params) |
- A second copy of the same Balancer relic does nothing (1.03.2). Wear the red and the blue one.
- Skill-swap lines (“Changes compatible armament’s skill to …”) only change the starting armament. The Halo Scythe’s skill is fixed, so they are dead lines here, not a conflict.
7. Vessels
The Balancers are a red and a blue relic, so a vessel with a red and a blue relic slot (or “any” slots) is the easiest fit, with the third slot free for a Night Invader relic of the remaining color.
| 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
- Every damage buff multiplies the others. Each one is its own SpEffect with its own attack rate, and the game multiplies attack rates. The combined numbers players post only work out as products (for example 445 × 6.33 = 2,817 for eight buffs on Guardian’s Ultimate). No controlled two-buff test exists: see section 11.
- Restage replays the buffed hits. Restage repeats the damage your hits dealt, so every buff on them is already inside the replay. Improved Skill Attack Power does not raise Restage’s own 50%. Only Golden Dew’s “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” does (50% → 60%).
- Finale kill stacks with “Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge”: kills refill Finale, which refreshes the stacks. That is trash-clearing value. The model ranks boss fights, so it doesn’t count it.
The model finds no payoff ↔ enabler pair on this rotation that adds more together than apart.
9. The data
One representative hit, step by step:
The biggest use, Skill: Miquella’s Ring of Light (3 hits a use), each hit on a Nightlord with the core lines worn:
Basis: decoded AtkParam rows 301902900×0.3333333333333333, 301902901×0.3333333333333333, 301902902×0.3333333333333333, 301902910×0.3333333333333333, 301902911×0.3333333333333333, 301902912×0.3333333333333333, 301902920×0.3333333333333333, 301902921×0.3333333333333333, 301902922×0.3333333333333333: one press, the hits of the Nightreign animation a851_040000 + a851_040010 + a851_040020 (TAE events → BehaviorParam_PC → AtkParam / Bullet).
| Hit | Element | Attack | Relics (core set) | Defense 100 | Nightlord absorption (mean of 8) | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902900 | Phys | 81 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 67 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902900 | Holy | 50 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 42 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902901 | Holy | 528 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 448 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902902 | Holy | 528 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 448 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902910 | Phys | 81 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 67 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902910 | Holy | 50 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 42 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902911 | Holy | 528 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 448 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902912 | Holy | 528 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 448 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902920 | Phys | 81 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.02 | 67 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902920 | Holy | 50 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 42 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902921 | Holy | 528 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 448 |
| [AoW Halo Scythe] Miquella’s Ring of Light 301902922 | Holy | 528 | ×1.363 | ×0.6 | ×1.04 | 448 |
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 1051 (Miquella’s Ring of Light, 11 FP); AtkParam_Pc 301902900 / 910 / 920 (the three slashes: 55% motion value on the Halo Scythe’s attack rating); 301902901 / 911 / 921 (the rings, Bullet 2760 / 2762 / 2764) and 301902902 / 912 / 922 (each ring’s burst, Bullet 2761 / 2763 / 2765, spawned on hit by HitBulletID), 170 holy each. The rings have no override row, so they scale with the Halo Scythe’s own stats, as weapon skills do in Elden Ring (Hoarfrost Stomp shows the override field at work: row 51100 fixes it at 15 Dexterity / 15 Intelligence). The Halo Scythe is a fixed Rare (purple) weapon, so its skill’s flat damage scales at tier 2 (×1.5). The model gives one ring 317 on the sparring dummy (level 15). A D5 guide reports about 320.
10. Evidence
Sources players’ tiers for this style rest on (docs/research/relic-priority/Duchess.json, researched 2026-11-01):
- comment: dormant twinblade Duchess ‘very strong with balancers + restage’ (reddit, 2026-10-28)
- comment: ‘Duchess would only give up the 10% restage buff which just isn’t a big deal’ (score 6) (reddit, 2026-10-23)
- comments: Duchess i-frame Restage avoids unblockable explosions and grab damage (reddit, 2026-10-20)
- The ‘I-frame duchess relic’ helped me finally understand (50 pts, 40 comments) (reddit, 2026-10-15)
- Strength Duchess (comments: ‘most physical duchess builds i see are doing the extra restage ability’, ‘skill invuln’, ‘phys+4 on everything’) (reddit, 2026-10-13)
- comments: ‘iframe on restage is a must have relic’; dagger chain reprise relic (reddit, 2026-10-13)
- comment: Duchess double balancers, stack improved skill attack power, restage the damage (reddit, 2026-10-12)
- Under appreciated duchess relic effect (Finale kill buff) (reddit, 2026-10-06)
- Nightreign relic effect compendium (data-mined effect values and Stack column; effect descriptions only, no presets used) (relics.pages.dev, 2026-10-01)
- Duchess Dagger Restage Relic Build help (‘useless against Nightlords’; ‘Invulnerable DoN relic is a must’) (reddit, 2026-09-25)
- My PERFECT Duchess Build sucks? (Night Invader 7% ‘crucial’; bleed+Chilling Mist with reprise) (reddit, 2026-09-03)
- This Duchess Skill Attack Power Build Is S Tier In Deep Of Night (CrudFrog Number Two, 2026-07-01)
- The Duchess Relic Meta - Nightreign (Sgt. Jager, 2026-06-14)
- 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:The Will of the Balancers (blue Balancer: Improved Melee Attack Power +5%, Improved Skill Attack Power +15%, Continuous FP Recovery 1 FP per 5 s; 1.03.2 stopped two copies stacking) (Eldenpedia, 2026-01-15)
- Best Builds For Every Character! Elden Ring Nightreign (Youwy, 2026-01-06)
- Nightreign - We were Wrong about this Relic (Golden Dew) (Puff Dragon, 2026-01-02)
- 5 Depth 5 Duchess Tips (Pike Analysis, 2025-11-16)
- Duchess brief invulnerability relic lets you use Seppuku without taking damage (863 pts) (reddit, 2025-10-31)
- 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 behind the numbers above (docs/research/relic-priority/Duchess.json numbers): Restage 50% / 60%, 3 s
window, 12 s cooldown (wiki.gg, Fextralife, 1.03.2+); Balancer +15% skill and +5% melee per relic, red and blue both
apply (wiki.gg; the decoded melee rate is ×1.06); purple Halo Scythe ring about 320 (D5 guide, patch not stated);
trio fights end in about 30 s with a Halo Scythe Duchess (Reddit, score 73); a 25 s Heolstor (Reddit, score 14).
11. Gaps and confidence
The model agrees with players’ tier order on 77% of 62 line pairs.
Where it disagrees:
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below strong “Improved Affinity Attack Power +2” +9.0%
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below strong “Holy Attack Power Up +4” +10.8%
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below strong “[Duchess] Defeating enemies while Art is active ups attack power” +3.0%
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below strong “Boosts Attack Power of Added Affinity Attacks” +9.0%
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.0%
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below situational “Physical Attack Up +4” +1.1%
- core “Occasionally Nullify Attacks When Damage Negation is Lowered” +0.0% below situational “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.7%
- core “[Duchess] Use Character Skill for Brief Invulnerability” +9.5% below strong “Holy Attack Power Up +4” +10.8%
- strong “Magic Attack Power Up +4” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.0%
- strong “Magic Attack Power Up +4” +0.0% below situational “Physical Attack Up +4” +1.1%
- strong “Magic Attack Power Up +4” +0.0% below situational “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.7%
- strong “Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge” +0.0% below situational “[Duchess] Improved Character Skill Attack Power” +3.0%
- strong “Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge” +0.0% below situational “Physical Attack Up +4” +1.1%
- strong “Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge” +0.0% below situational “Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +3” +1.7%
- Estimates in the price: 80% of attack time pressing the skill; a boss hit = 25% of base HP, costing 0.8 s, and a flask costing 2 s (survival as attack time); 30% of Restages catch a hit with their i-frames. If the i-frame share were 15%, Brief Invulnerability would be worth about half as much. It would still be core.
- Unknown: how often “Occasionally Nullify Attacks” fires (engine-coded); whether Restage replays a status proc’s own damage (testers disagree); additive vs multiplicative buffs (no controlled test).
- The kill-time check flags this build: on your save the model kills five Nightlords faster than any reported solo record (Gladius 17 s, Heolstor 45 s). Those records are Wylder speedruns; speedrunners don’t build around a 0.4% drop. The trio report “every fight ends in 30 seconds max” fits about 450 DPS a player in trio. If the model is high, the likely places are the 80% skill share and whether the ring’s burst always hits. It stays flagged until someone times a solo Halo Scythe Duchess.
- To measure in the Sparring Grounds (would settle the estimates above): one ring’s damage at a known weapon tier and level; the ring with Holy Attack Power Up +4 and with both Balancers worn together (additive vs multiplicative).
12. On your save
The Builds page ranks this preset on your own relics: drop your save there, and the Duchess card for this style shows the pick, the relics you lack, and your closest in-game preset with the swaps. The Builder opens the same preset to tweak.