Deathblade Community Guide
Table of Contents
- Overview
- Identity Overview
- Paradise Tips
- Chaos Dungeon
- Ark Grid (WIP)
- Engravings
- Skills
- T Skill and Awakening
- Rotations
- DPS Distribution
- FAQ
- Revision History
---
Overview
Deathblade’s community guide focuses on two core gameplay philosophies: Remaining Energy (RE) and Paradise playstyles, detailing gauge mechanics, rotation flow, fingertips for consistent uptime, and the burst windows that define each build. It includes sections on Ark grid concepts, engravings, core and optional skills, gem prioritization, and practical tips for raids and chaotic dungeon content. The guide emphasizes how the Deathblade identity gauge fills via regular skills and Awakening, enabling Death Trance and buff windows that scale with the number of filled orbs (up to three). It also covers the differences between the standard Remaining Energy build and the Paradise approach, explaining how to adapt rotations for clearing stages versus expediting boss phases, and it highlights important decision points around gear, tripods, and mana management.
Identity Overview
Deathblade’s Identity consists of a three-orb gauge system, and a finisher attack. The identity gauge can be activated to enter Death Trance once it has filled at least one orb to provide the player with powerful buffs. This effect becomes stronger for each additional orb filled, up to a maximum of three.
The identity gauge is filled by using normal skills and your Awakening skill, and both builds have their own ways of utilizing the gauge system to their advantage.
Paradise Tips
In paradise, only your paradise gear, skills level and tripods matter. Every other system is irrelevant.
Identity in Paradise
In Paradise, activating your identity will enter Death Trance state, reducing all your cooldowns, recovering mana and providing the following buffs depending on the number of orbs when pressing identity:
- Death Trance Level 1: Move Speed +10%, Atk. Speed +10%, Atk. Power +8%.
- Death Trance Level 2: Move Speed +10%, Atk. Speed +15%, Atk. Power +16%.
- Death Trance Level 3: Move Speed +10%, Atk. Speed +20%, Atk. Power +24%.
Pressing the identity button again from that point will cast Surge and end the buff.
There are two different ways of playing in Paradise:
Clear the stage
If you are looking to just clear the stage, your goal would be to build 3 bubbles, pressing Identity twice and then repeat the process.
Burst the stage
If you want to clear the stage ASAP, you want to build 3 bubbles with fewer skills as possible, activate Transe, and burst with remaining big skills (including awakening and T-Skill) during the buff window and end the fight there.
Skills
The standard RE build works fine. In the early stages, we are going to level up the big hitting skills to lvl 14 and look for crit rate tripods on skills as much as we can. These can be swapped back to damage as soon as we get more crit rate from gear.
You can choose to replace Spincutter, Earth Cleaver or Maelstrom (after lvl 6 whistle) by:
- Blitz Rush 3/2/1 (Early) or 2/2/1 when we are gonna have access to more crit rate. “All round” tripod in the 2nd row can be an option as well for cast speed.
- Moonlight Sonic 1/3/2 (Early) or 1/2/2 (Late).
- Fallstar 2/2/1 or 1/2/1
With gear being different on everyone, some people with more damage would prioritize some skills over others to burst. You have to figure out on your own which one works better for you.
Gear
For early stages you want to focus the meter gen buff available on Censer level 1 and Whistle level 4 and 6, any crit rate buffs and skill CDR as possible. In the following weeks, when we are going to have enough crit rate, meter gen and CDR, we are going to look for whatever upgrades that give more damage.
Ark grid (WIP)
Ark grid is the power system that comes with the Kazeros raid. It is still months away for our version and this doc only serves as generic information of what's to come.
Remaining Energy
- Ark Passives
- Standard Build
- Evolution Enlightenment Leap
- Critical (10/30)
- Specialization (30/30)
- Rapid Strike (1/1)
- Transcendent Power (3/5)
- Unleashed Power (5/5)
- Instant Spell* (3/3)
- Awk. Amp. (1/3)
- Limit Break* (3/3)
- Remaining Energy (3/3)
- Dance of Nightmares* (3/3)
- Strike (2/2)
- Limt Breakthrough (1/1)
- Orb Circulation (1/5)
Notes:
- Limit Break points can be reallocated for Keen Sense (x/2): provides slightly lower damage but helps to reduce crit variance, or Optimized Training (1/2): provides less damage but allows you to have a smoother rotation at lower gem levels.
- If running Breaking Moon, take Flash Slash instead.
- You can run Instant Spell (2/3), in which case you add a point to Transcendent Power, if you have access to a lot of mana recovery (Artist / Summoner & mana food).
- For the side nodes, allocate one point into Orb Circulation and allocate the rest of your available points into Swordcraft Enhancement. You can allocate more points into Orb Circulation if you feel like you need more meter gen.
Engravings
Core Engravings Pick One
- Grudge
- Ambush Master
- Adrenaline
- KBW
- Cursed Doll
- Raid Captain
Notes:
- Raid Captain efficiency varies greatly depending on several factors. To be a damage increase over Cursed Doll you need:
- Support’s Goddess of Blessing Ark Passive effect (9%) + Death Trance (Lv.3) (12%) + 70 Swiftness stat from horizontals (1.2%).
- Maelstrom’s Dark Order tripod (12.8%) applied to 100% of your damage results in ~14% / 16.8% dmg (Legendary/Relic Raid Captain).
- Additional sources of Move Speed can lower this requirement: Event Feast (5%) reduces it to ~61.1% / 64.3%; Regular Feast (3.5%) reduces it to ~72.9% / 76%; Vernese Wine from Peyto/Fermata ships (3%) reduces it to ~76.8% / 80%.
- Event Feast + Wine (8%) ~37.7% / 40.9%.
- Regular Feast + Wine (6.5%) ~49.5% / 52.7%.
- If you are new to Remaining Energy or progging raids, it is recommended to choose Cursed Doll over Raid Captain until you are getting familiarized with the rotation / boss patterns.
Notes:
- Raid Captain is a viable alternative under very specific conditions that you must meet: Peyto Wine (3%), Event Feast (5%) and at least 66% Maelstrom uptime (i.e. doing at least 66% of your damage during the Maelstrom buff window).
- You can add a few Rage runes to further improve the damage or have some leeway with Maelstrom uptime, but they’re inconsistent.
- Playing around Maelstrom’s buff isn’t always practical or realistic, especially when bosses move a lot, so your mileage may vary.
- If you are new to Paradise or progging raids, it is recommended to choose Cursed Doll over Raid Captain until you are familiarized with rotation patterns.
Notes on ENG and Skills:
- For the Bleed rune, you have to decide on which skill you want to put it on based on your preference.
Skills
Core Skills
- Maelstrom
- Focus: Multi-buff & Synergy Skill
- Notes: Having this buff up when you cast Soul Absorber and Void Strike is critical to your rotation. Ideally, fit Twin Shadows and Turning Slash in its duration as well. Surge must fit in too if you run Raid Captain.
- Spincutter
- Galewind: Mobility Skill
- Notes: Galewind can be replaced with Rage, especially if using Raid Captain. Purify can be slotted in for raids that require constant debuff cleansing. Bleed is also viable but requires to cast Spincutter every rotation.
- Earth Cleaver
- Galewind: Counter, Weak Point, Stagger, Damage Filler
- Notes: The Concussion and Darkness Injection can be used for more stagger. Overwhelm can be used in raids that require more stagger.
- Soul Absorber
- Galewind: Primary Orb Regen Skill
- Notes: Wealth can be considered if you find yourself missing skills often or if your Specialization is low. Also a decent choice when progging raids.
- Void Strike
- Wealth: Primary Orb Regen Skill
- Death Sentence
- Focus: Main Damage Skill
- Notes: Provides good stagger as well. Galewind can be considered if you have access to a lot of mana recovery (Artist / Summoner + mana food & T-skill mana reduction lvl 3)
- Twin Shadows
- Wealth: Secondary Orb Regen & Damage Skill
- Notes: Bleed is also a good option and it will naturally apply doing the main rotation.
- Turning Slash
- Poison: Secondary Damage Skill, Push Immunity, Synergy
- Notes: Concussion can be used in cases where additional Stagger is needed. Weak Point Enhancement can be used in cases where additional Destruction is needed. Bleed can be slotted if you don’t have access to the poison rune yet.
T Skill and Awakening
- Deathly Slash: Provides precise mobility (Point skill) and short animation lock. Can be used roughly every 2nd rotation.
- Blade Assault: Longer cast time than Flash Blink, but it deals more damage and provides more meter in exchange.
- Chaotic Blade: Gem Priority
Gems
- Gems are listed in order of most to least important from left to right. Grayed out icons are optional gems.
- DMG and CDR: Gem upgrade prioritization: This is the recommended gem upgrade prioritization (ideally Tier 4 level 8 minimum) for a smoother rotation. Based on preference, you can choose to get the Surge damage gem first (or right after the Soul Absorber CD) or get the damage gems of Soul Absorber, Death Sentence, Void Strike before the CD gems of Maelstrom and Void Strike as they are a bit lower priority for a smoother rotation. As for the last 3 damage gems, choose whichever does most damage between Earth Cleaver and Twin Shadows on your usual runs or refer to the DPS distribution below. Turning Slash is the last one no matter what.
- If you are looking to upgrade to a Tier 4 level 10 gem, the focus would be on Soul Absorber CD and Surge damage.
- If you have a Tier 3 level 10 Surge gem and do not plan on playing Surge, you should transfer it to a Tier 4 level 8.
Rotations {#paradise-rotations}
- Opener rotation and Main rotation are provided in video references. Spincutter should be used only if you run Bleed on it to maintain rotation uptime. The rotation aims to maximize Maelstrom uptime for meter and ensure Soul Absorber and Void Strike are included within the Maelstrom buff. The Opener requires you to have 3 bubbles Surge ready.
- Note on Atropine windows: With awakening you can use Atropine rotations; without awakening you prioritize Atropine with awakening rotation if available; otherwise, do the open rotation; mid-fight, stick to main rotation and cast Surges when possible during 9s windows.
- Surge is the main window during which you maximize the use of core skills like Soul Absorber, Void Strike, and T-skill combos for high damage bursts.
Random tips
- The Concentrated Attack tripod (3rd) Turning Slash does not apply or refresh the Back Attack synergy; avoid pre-casting it if boss hitbox isn’t available.
- If both available, you should always use T-Skill before Surging to take advantage of the cooldown reduction.
- Using Maelstrom before Hyper Awakening will produce more meter; if standing next to the boss during the cutscene, Maelstrom hits will also provide extra meter during the cutscene.
- The hits from Hyper Awakening are delayed; after the cutscene you should use one instant cast skill before Surging.
Summary of Paradise Skills and Engravings
- Paradise emphasizes a condensed, high-skill ceiling playstyle with a focus on maintaining Maelstrom uptime and meter generation, while maximizing the buffer windows from Death Trance and Surge usage. It also highlights the choice between Raid Captain and Cursed Doll engravings depending on your raid uptime and support patterns.
Chaos Dungeon
In Chaos Dungeon context, the following skill frames illustrate typical RE rotation loadouts across synergy options. The table lists combinations used for bubbles and surge windows:
- Blitz Rush: 2 1 1
- Galewind Spincutter: 3 2 2
- Moonlight Sonic: 1 2 2
- Galewind Death Sentence: 1 1 1
- Galewind Soul Absorber: 3 1 2
- Galewind Maelstrom: 2 1
- Galewind Twin Shadows: 2 2 1
- Wealth Void Strike: 3 1 2
Ark Grid (WIP)
Ark grid is the power system that comes with the Kazeros raid. It is still months away for our version and this doc only serves as generic information of what’s to come. Here
- Remaining Energy
- Ark Passives
- Standard Build
- Evolution Enlightenment Leap
- Critical (10/30)
- Specialization (30/30)
- Rapid Strike (1/1)
- Transcendent Power (3/5)
- Unleashed Power (5/5)
- Instant Spell* (3/3)
- Awk. Amp. (1/3)
- Limit Break* (3/3)
- Remaining Energy (3/3)
- Dance of Nightmares* (3/3)
- Strike (2/2)
- Limit Breakthrough (1/1)
- Orb Circulation (1/5)
Notes:
- Limit Break points can be reallocated for Keen Sense (x/2): provides slightly lower damage but helps to reduce crit variance.
- Instant Spell (2/3) can be used if you have a lot of mana recovery.
- For side nodes, allocate one point into Orb Circulation and the rest into Swordcraft Enhancement.
Engravings
Core Engravings Pick One
- Grudge
- Ambush Master
- Adrenaline
- KBW
- Cursed Doll
- Raid Captain
Notes:
- Raid Captain is a viable alternative under very specific conditions that you must meet, e.g., Peyto Wine, Event Feast and Maelstrom uptime; otherwise, Cursed Doll is recommended for beginners.
Skills
Core Skills
- Blitz Rush: 14/14; a high-damage skill and main stack generator with up to 10 stacks; the Dark Charge requires you to connect hits.
- Blade Dance: 14/14; high damage, main stack generator; up to 9 stacks.
- Earth Cleaver: 14/14; counter, stagger, destruction; generates ~1-3 stacks.
- Turning Slash: 14/14; utility, damage filler; generates up to 5 stacks; optional runes: Purify, Rage, Weak Point Enhancement, etc.
- Maelstrom: 10/10; multi-buff; generates 7 stacks if near target and synergy uptime.
- Surprise Attack: 10/10; synergy skill; generates up to 7 stacks.
- Windcut: 10/10; main stack generator; generates up to 8 stacks; Purify, Rage runes.
- Spincutter: 10/14; mobility, secondary stack generator; generates up to 6 stacks; can take Swift Fingers tripod for uptime.
- T Skill and Awakening: Death Slash, Blade Assault, Chaotic Blade; high-damage, burst tools; animations.
- Death Slash: Quick stack generator / recovery; used every other rotation.
- Flash Blink: quick reposition tool; generates stacks.
- Eternal Flash: blade assault burst; 20 stacks and bursts.
- Chaotic Blade: gem priority and considerations.
Gem Priority {#ark-gem-priority}
- DMG gems prioritized; Surge is most important gem and should be upgraded to level 10 ASAP.
- CDR: Earth Cleaver CD gem can be replaced with Turning Slash CD gem; Spincutter CD gem considered a dead gem if not used often.
- Wind Cut DMG gem as alternative; but Wind Cut has low damage share.
- Rotations: sample rotations and openers shown; pre-casts Wind Cut when possible; pre-cast and rotation guidelines.
Rotations {#ark-rotations}
- Sample Rotation #1 – Wind Cut pre-cast: pre-casts Wind Cut after Death Trance for extra stacks; Earth Cleaver is optional.
- Sample Rotation #2 – No Wind Cut pre-cast: proceed with rotation; add 2x Spincutter at end if needed.
- Sample Rotation #3 – Death Slash (T Skill): you may skip certain skills if necessary.
- Sample Rotation #4 – Blade Assault Burst: slightly higher damage but longer rotation.
General Considerations: rotations are volatile; adjust to boss patterns; maintain Maelstrom uptime for meter generation; adapt if Maelstrom uptime is lacking.
You need to know how many stacks each skill generates to optimize cooldowns:
- Blitz Rush: 10 stacks (Dark Charge)
- Blade Dance: 9
- Earth Cleaver: 1~3 (based on boss hitbox)
- Turning Slash: 5
- Maelstrom: 7 (over time)
- Surprise Attack: 7
- Wind Cut: 9
- Spincutter: 6 (2 per spin)
- Death Slash: 8
- Flash Blink: 3
- Blade Assault: 20
DPS Distribution {#ark-dps-distribution}
Below is a chart which shows the damage distribution based on a 2-minute Trixion parse. This is based on the standard build outlined in this guide, modifications can change percentages. This distribution is end game focused and assumes Level 8 Damage Gems on all damage skills, 1820 spec and Leap 3/3 on Dance of the Nightmares. (With Leap 2/3, T-skill damage becomes slightly lower than Surge’s damage).
Engravings (Core)
Core Engravings Pick One
- Grudge
- Ambush Master
- Adrenaline
- KBW
- Cursed Doll
- Raid Captain
Notes:
- Raid Captain can be used under very specific conditions described in the Ark Grid notes above.
Skills
Core Skills
- Blitz Rush – 14/14; High Damage Skill and Main Stack Generator; generates up to 10 stacks.
- Blade Dance – 14/14; High Damage Skill and Main Stack Generator; generates up to 9 stacks.
- Earth Cleaver – 14/14; Counter, Destruction, Stagger; generates ~1-3 stacks.
- Turning Slash – 14/14; Utility, Damage Filler; 5 stacks; optional runes available.
- Maelstrom – 10/10; Multi-buff Skill and Main Stack Generator; generates 7 stacks if close.
- Surprise Attack – 10/10; Synergy Skill and Main Stack Generator; up to 7 stacks.
- Windcut – 10/10; Main Stack Generator; up to 8 stacks.
- Spincutter – 10/10; Mobility and secondary Stack Generator; up to 6 stacks; Swift Fingers option.
T Skill and Awakening {#ark-t-skill-awakening}
- Death Slash – Quick Stack generator / Recovery tool; used every other rotation.
- Blade Assault – Longer cast time but higher surge of damage and meter.
- Chaotic Blade – Gem Priority discussion for upgrades.
Rotations (continued)
- Sample Rotation #1 – Wind Cut pre-cast
- Sample Rotation #2 – No Wind Cut pre-cast
- Sample Rotation #3 – Death Slash (T Skill)
- Sample Rotation #4 – Blade Assault Burst
General Considerations: Rotations can vary by boss patterns; use critical thinking and raid awareness to adapt.
DPS Distribution {#ark-dps-distribution-extended}
- The chart shows the distribution percentages with the stated gems and Leap values; numbers reflect endgame scenarios and may vary with gem levels and boss hits.
Additional Notes on 8 DMG Build and Random Tips
- The 8 DMG build swaps Spincutter for Blitz Rush and rotates between full rotation with Soul Absorber & Blitz Rush and another rotation with T-skill and Void Strike. It increases Surge casts per minute but requires significant gem investments and mastery.
- The guide for this build will be added later after Ark grid is introduced.
Random Tips (ARK and Paradise)
- The following attacks from Concentrated Attack tripod (3rd) Turning Slash does not apply or refresh the Back Attack synergy; avoid pre-casting.
- If both available, always use T-Skill before Surging to reduce cooldowns.
- Maelstrom uptime mechanics: using Maelstrom before Hyper Awakening yields more meter; after cutscenes, cast an instant cast skill before Surging to continue rotation.
Rotations – Openers and Main Rotation
- Openers require 3 bubbles Surge ready.
- Main rotation aligns with Maelstrom uptime; if Maelstrom uptime is lacking, adapt by focusing on Soul Absorber, Void Strike and other key skills within the Maelstrom window.
Links to Rotations and Cheatsheets
- Rotation diagrams and cheat sheets show sample sequences and tips for maximizing damage per minute and meter generation across different playstyles.
DPS Distribution (Final)
- The final DPS distribution chart consolidates the endgame performance across skills with their respective DPS shares and gem contributions. It is used to benchmark rotations and refine gem choices.
FAQ
What Elixirs should I use?
Master.
Is a specless bracelet usable?
No. The lack of specialization on bracelets makes the rotation way too clunky and you will only hurt yourself.
How do I solve mana issues?
First and foremost, if your uptime on hitting the boss is decent you are gonna need mana food no matter what. Having 2 focus runes is a must as well. Running Leap mana reduction 2 / 3 can still have you OOM during fights and is recommended only if running with artists or summoners. Otherwise it is preferable to run it at 3 / 3 to remove any mana issues.
Additional random notes: If you are matchmaking guardians and you find yourself without supports, it is preferable to put 1 or 2 points into Illicit Spell to avoid the need of eating mana food just for a guardian.
On Mordum gate 3, you can opt to choose Magick Control over Orb Control on Twin Shadows to remove mana issues since you generate way much meter with the boss being static (Less likely to miss skills).
Raid Captain or Cursed Doll?
If you are new to Remaining Energy or progging raids for the first time, it is recommended to run Cursed Doll over Raid Captain and getting familiarized with the rotation / boss patterns before choosing Raid Captain. Not having to worry about Maelstrom uptimes besides for meter gen is way more forgiving and can result in higher damage if your Maelstrom uptime is lacking in the first place.
Is the Super Charge build dead?
Nope, you can still play it just fine if you already have it and you’re used to it. If anything, it got even closer to the standard build, since Breaking Moon is a charge skill. However, for the sake of simplicity and due to upcoming raid design being somewhat erratic, this build won’t be included in the guide yet, until Ark grid is released.
What’s the 8 DMG build and why is it not in the guide?
The 8 DMG build consists of replacing Spincutter with Blitz Rush and changing the rotation so you alternate between a full rotation with Soul Absorber & Blitz Rush and the other with T-skill and Void Strike. This build is meant to increase your Surge’s casts per minute by a significant amount compared to standard build.
The build is not included in this guide due to the big gem investment needed to make it work smoothly (Lvl 10 T4 CD gem on Maelstrom, and preferably highest CD gem on Blitz Rush and highest damage on Surge possible) and also the difficulty which is significantly harder and more punishing than standard build. It should only be played when already having a perfect mastery of the standard build. If you are really interested in trying out the build, feel free to look up a Remaining Energy 8 DMG build guide on Youtube. The guide for this build will be added later after the ark grid system is introduced in our version as the build might become even more popular.
Random tips (conclusion)
- This section summarizes miscellaneous tips and best practices for maximizing uptime and minimizing wasted cooldowns.
Revision History
- Sep 20, 2025: Added Paradise & Ark grid information. Added gem upgradeprio and some other small details / tips / FAQ.
- May 6, 2025: Updated RE rotations, runes, engraving choices, FAQ and added tips.
- Feb 2, 2025: Added RE tripod options and replaced the recommended T skill.
- Oct 5, 2024: Foundational guide completed. Further testing pending.
---
This document is intended as a community compilation of Deathblade class information, with a focus on practical, rotation-driven progression and raid-ready engraving and gem optimization.