Arcana Guide & Analysis

Overview

• A buffer exclusive to Isabel; the majority of her incredibly strong buffs only work on Isabel, and she must burst at the same burst phase as Isabel is bursting in.
• Makes Isabel incredibly powerful, at the expense of the rest of the team, since Arcana’s general buffs are either not as strong or have a short duration compared to other B2 buffers.
• Base 40s CD mandates a second B2 on the team for the second B3 DPS unit.
• Rotations with Isabel are smooth thanks to cooldown that activates when the condition is met.
• Very beautiful…

Newbie/Incomplete Box Section

In simpler terms, Arcana provides powerful buffs on a CD (Cooldown) B2 level, but these benefits are effective only on an electric unit capable of reducing burst time duration when used in a burst 3 mode. At present, Isabel is the only accessible Nikke character who can utilize Arcana’s massive boosts.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that while Arcana offers team-wide benefits, they aren’t as potent as what she brings to Isabel. With Isabel benefiting not only from the general buffs but also Arcana’s unique buffs that persist through the next burst phase, Isabel’s damage output easily compensates for the reduced damage potential when using a support primarily focused on one unit.

What’s the downside? Both Arcana and Isabel require a significant number of skill books due to Arcana’s scaling buffs being quite powerful, and Isabel’s skills needing to be strong in order to effectively utilize the immense power she receives. Dedicating two slots to enhance a single unit may lead to challenges in constructing a balanced team composition.

In contrast to many other duos, Arcana and Isabel are best used together rather than separately. Unlike most other duos that can function effectively even when apart due to their versatility in team setups, Arcana lacks much value without Isabel, while Isabel alone is quite average at best. This can result in a high cost, as both characters need to be leveled up simultaneously to notice any improvement.

Basic Information

• Skill 1: Awakened Destiny
• Skill 2: Cycle of Destiny
• Burst: Shackles of Destiny
• Cooldown: 40s

Skill 1: Awakened Destiny

Once the Full Burst ability concludes, it triggers an effect on all allies who recently utilized their Burst Skill (when the caster is in Wheel of Fortune status).

For The Magician:
– The cooldown of Skill 2 decreases by 75% for a period of 15 seconds.
– The attack damage increases by 180% for a duration of 15 seconds.

In simpler terms, when the Full Burst ends, the Magician’s Skill 2 becomes available more quickly and deals significantly increased damage for a short time. Additionally, all allies gain an attack boost equivalent to 5% of The Magician’s own attack power for 10 seconds once Full Burst concludes.

If Full Burst finishes while Arcana maintains her Wheel of Fortune effect, it activates Awakened Destiny, reducing Isabel’s S2 cooldown from 15 seconds to 3.75 seconds and boosting her attack damage by 180% for 15 seconds. Since this is attack damage, it gets multiplied with regular ATK buffs, making a B1 ATK buffer like Liter significantly increase Isabel’s DPS. With Arcana’s effect, Isabel’s S2 will activate four times in each buff cycle.

When Isabel’s Full Burst finishes, she doesn’t instantly gain benefits from her own burst time buffs or increased damage. Additionally, she can’t utilize most of her Damage Taken debuff during her burst with Arcana’s buff. However, because the exclusive buffs persist for 15 seconds, if Isabel generates enough burst energy, this duration is sufficient for her to benefit twice: first from the B1 supporter’s buffs, then from the B2 supporter’s buffs, and also receive bonus damage during the second DPS unit’s burst time.

This ability also bestows a 5% increase in attack power to everyone for ten seconds. On its own, it might not seem significant, but when combined with the other general buffs that Arcana provides through her skills, characters capable of dealing quick, high-damage attacks can still benefit from Arcana’s generic buffs, even if they aren’t as powerful as Isabel’s.

Skill 2: Cycle of Destiny

■ Triggers after Full Burst concludes. Boosts Electric Code allies with Burst 3 who had previously used their Burst Skill, provided the user is in Wheel of Fortune status.
Power: Enhances attack by 180% of the caster’s ATK for 15 seconds.
■ Triggers after Full Burst concludes. Boosts all allies if the user is in Wheel of Fortune status.
Destruction: Reduces the cooldown of Burst Skill by 6 seconds.
ATK boost of 50% of the caster’s ATK for 5 seconds.
■ Triggers after Full Burst concludes. Boosts all allies.
Increases attack damage by 7.5% for 10 seconds.

In a similar fashion to her S1, the Cycle of Destiny ability will only become active if Arcana has her own burst’s enhancement when the Full Burst concludes. If this condition is satisfied, it bestows Isabel with an impressive 180% boost to her attack power for a duration of 15 seconds. Much like S1, given that it activates post the end of Full Burst, Isabel can maximize the benefits of the substantial buff during the second phase of DPS’s burst cycle.

Because the boost is tied to the caster’s attack and the amplification is substantial, this indeed positions Arcana among the top scaling characters in the game, despite its current advantage being focused on a single unit, Isabel. Every additional attack point Arcana gains translates almost into double when distributed to Isabel.

In addition to providing a large boost, this ability also enhances the attacks of all nearby teammates by 50% of their caster’s attack power for a brief 5 seconds, and increases their attack damage by 7.5% over a period of 10 seconds. Since the duration of these buffs is short, allies who can deal most of their damage quickly, such as those with burst abilities, are best suited to make the most of the temporary benefits provided by Arcana.

The cool-down period provided by the skill primarily prevents Isabel’s reduced burst time from disrupting normal burst patterns. Typically, employing any unit that reduces burst duration requires two cooldown units to keep the burst cycles smooth, which was a significant issue because cooldown units are highly valued in team compositions for raids and it’s not common to use more than one in a team. Arcana specifically addresses this problem for Isabel, ensuring a smoother gameplay experience.

Burst: Shackles of Destiny

■ Impacts every Electric Code ally. (Wheel of Fortune: Boosts attack damage by 10% for 10 seconds.)

■ Affects all foes. (Deals 300% of final attack power as Burst Skill damage.)

■ Impacts every enemy. (Judgement: Increases damage taken by 10% for 10 seconds.)

Unlike the strong S1 and S2 abilities, Arcana’s burst buffs are noticeably weaker. However, they form the core of her overall skill set. Only when Arcana possesses the Wheel of Fortune buff during a Full Burst can her S1 and S2 activate their massive buffs.

In simpler terms, to use both abilities (S1 and S2) of Arcana with a standard full burst duration, you need to shorten the burst time using debuffs like those from characters such as Isabel or Vesti. This is because Arcana’s buffs activate only when electric B3 allies cast their burst in the same burst cycle, and among available characters, only Isabel fits this requirement.

With both buffs lasting 10 seconds each, and Isabel reducing the duration of Full Burst by 5 seconds, there are still 5 remaining seconds for the burst buffs to be employed alongside all the Arcana-activated ally buffs that activate when Full Burst ends. If the Full Burst is generated quickly, allies with an instant damage burst, such as Scarlet, can benefit from the combined damage increase of 10%, attack damage increase of 17.5%, and a 55% boost to the caster’s attack, in addition to the buffs their B2 supporter will provide them.

Campaign

As a gamer, I wouldn’t typically advise using Arcana for the regular campaign unless you plan to include Isabel in your campaign as well. Arcana, being a 40-second cooldown B2 unit, doesn’t function optimally when she’s the only B2 member on the team. Without Isabel, the significant buffs that Arcana offers can’t be distributed to any other units, which is a missed opportunity for potential growth. Even with Isabel, Arcana’s utility remains quite low, focusing mainly on her own buffs. This means you might need to rely on other units to handle healing or shielding duties in her absence.

When it comes to Isabel’s abilities with Arcana, you need to dedicate two separate units to maximize one of them. This could prove costly compared to investing in versatile units that offer greater team compatibility. However, if you insist on this setup, I wouldn’t discourage it, but do keep in mind that it might not be the most optimal choice for everyone.

Arena

From my perspective as a gaming enthusiast, Arcana’s Rocket Launcher doesn’t stand out much, with a rather lengthy reload time. As for Isabel, her performance in Player vs Player (PvP) is fairly average. Even if she were exceptional, the significant boosts for Isabel don’t activate until after a full burst, which is too sluggish for PvP. Therefore, I would advise against using Arcana for PvP engagements.

It’s important to note that among the currently accessible rocket launchers (excluding clip and special variants), Arcana generates the most powerful burst.

Special Interception | Union Raid | Solo Raid

Because of the immense strength Arcana grants Isabel, this duo is certainly qualified for electric weak raids, providing you’re prepared to commit resources to both characters. However, it’s worth noting that the electric DPS field is currently quite crowded, featuring heavyweights such as Cinderella, Ein, Scarlet (particularly with Trina), xMaiden and sAnis, along with Maid Privaty and a skilled shotgun team.

If you find yourself without your seasonal electric devices, it might be beneficial to consider purchasing the Arcana Isabel duo to fill the gap. Since they’re essential pieces in any team composition they join, creating a team that maximizes Isabel’s potential is advisable, as she will greatly benefit from buffs and enhance your team’s overall performance.

Despite Isabel’s increased power from Arcana, she isn’t effective at dealing damage (DPS) against the Mirror Container Interception because of its glass slippers mechanism. To shatter a glass slipper and reduce the mirror container’s defenses, her basic attack must deliver a powerful hit for maximum slipper-breaking effectiveness.

Because Isabel is a shotgun-style unit, her basic attack divides the damage into 10 pellets instead of one single instance. This means that only one damage count will be registered, making it harder for Isabel to break glass slippers compared to units like Ein or Red Hood. If you’ve already built up enough strength to destroy the glass slippers with any unit, you might not find the duo particularly necessary.

Teams

Liter,Arcana,Trina,Isabel,Scarlet

This team effectively balances the potential drawbacks when deploying Arcana and Trina together. Typically, each of these units significantly boosts a single unit, while offering smaller enhancements to the rest of the squad. By having both power-boosters and their corresponding characters in the same team, no damage dealer will face difficulties due to insufficient buffs.

Trina offers both rapid damage generation and healing capabilities which Arcana and Isabel don’t possess. Scarlet is another character who can make the most of Arcana’s lingering benefits when combined with Trina’s boosted, instant-hitting burst. She’s a great choice if you already have an electric DPS squad set up for an electric raid.

Liter,Arcana,Flex B2,Isabel,Drake (Treasure)

In electric raids, when Maid Privaty serves as the primary damage dealer for the shotgun team, it’s more effective for Drake to support Isabel instead of being part of the same squad. This is because it’s challenging to accommodate Maid Privaty, Bunny Soda, and Drake together on the team. Drake’s ability to buff with his S1, enhanced by his favorite item, offers a significant attack boost, ammo, and hit rate for Full Burst that Isabel greatly benefits from.

In this game setup, Isabel has the greatest potential for enhanced attack damage when she’s accompanied by all four units, as Drake’s S1 bonus and Arcana’s damage boost interact multiplicatively. Moreover, Drake can also benefit from Arcana’s general buffs to amplify its burst damage, meaning that Arcana isn’t redundant for Drake either.

Special Note: Tove

One could consider enhancing Isabel’s attack speed with Tove, which might seem appealing in theory. However, due to Tove not being a B1 cooldown unit and Arcana requiring a second B2 unit because of her 40-second CD, this implies that the second B2 character must be Dolla in practice.

In the current game scenario, Dolla’s buffs are quite feeble, not as strong as those provided by a Unit of Battle Rank 1 with a better cooldown. Additionally, Bunny Soda’s ability to extend burst time hinders Isabel from benefiting fully from Arcana’s powerful buffs.

For the time being, Tove doesn’t work so great with Isabel, and by extension, Arcana.

Strengths

• The most powerful buffs in the game, even if they are exclusive to one unit.
• The best scaling buffs in the game, even if they are exclusive to one unit.
• Due to the fact that Isabel is a burst time reduction unit, team comps with Isabel and Arcana will burst more often, so Isabel can maximize time spent with huge buffs.
• Her lingering generic buffs that activate after full burst ends can still be used by allies with strong, instant damage bursts with enough burst gen.
• Smoothens burst rotations when bursting with Isabel, making it easier to use 1 cooldown reduction unit.

Weaknesses

• Buffs are exclusive to Isabel for the foreseeable future, this reduces team potential. 
• Both Arcana and Isabel must be invested in to make the use of how polarizing the duo are, making it expensive to build both at once.
• Outside of buffing Isabel, Arcana provides very little to the team. No heals, shields, and cooldown only when bursting alongside Isabel.
• 40s CD burst cooldown mandates a second B2 unit.
• Electric DPS is saturated.

Rating

IMPORTANT: Her tier is based on the pairing with Isabel. On her own she is basically unusable.

Recommended Cubes

bastion cube,resilience cube

To get the most out of Isabel’s abilities, it’s advisable to use the highest-leveled Cube you have, as this will maximize the boost in caster attack that the Arcana skill provides for Isabel, irrespective of which specific Cube it may be.

Expected Skill Priority

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2025-07-01 20:06