Safiyyah

Edit (3/13/25): Added this guide to the Old Scrolls of Garbelius and adjusted her build based on the fact that she will now have access to her SP skill.

Edit (1/19/25): Brought this up-to-date with my other more recent guides so as to provide as much info about the character as possible!

Overview

Safiyyah is one of the best DPS characters in the game, but she offers more to the team than just damage. Her versatility makes her useful on almost any team, and she’s also absolutely gorgeous—something not to be taken lightly!

Trait

Safiyyah’s trait, [Thorny Rose], is an integral part of how she functions. At the start of her action, she marks 1-2 random enemies within 4-6 spaces of her for 1-2 turns with [The Hanged Men’s Mark]. The mark itself doesn’t do anything, but it enables much of her kit and, as you can see, she benefits considerably from getting extra stars. Additionally, her trait enables her to do follow-up attacks on enemies she attacks. These follow-ups are physical, rather than piercing, damage, meaning enemies who are immune to piercing damage still get hurt by these attacks, even though they’re based on the enemy’s max HP. They also heal Safiyyah, which is a great bonus.

Basic Attack

[Team Attack] is Safiyyah’s preferred basic attack, out of her two normal options. It doesn’t do a ton of damage by itself, but the [▲ SPD III] buff (and to a lesser degree, the [▲ ATK I] buff) it provides to her nearest ally can come in handy in some situations, although she honestly rarely has time to be using her basic attack anyway, since the rest of her kit is so powerful! If, however, you have access to her SP skill (by owning SP Safiyyah and bringing adult Safiyyah to 3-star), [Joint Strike] is easily the best option, since it has a range of 3 tiles, implants [The Hanged Men’s Mark] on the enemy, and allows the closest ally to the targeted enemy to launch an assisting attack.

Reaction Skill

Safiyyah’s unique reaction, [Blade Chase], enables her to do an [Assisting Attack] within 3 spaces of her whenever an ally attacks an enemy (or enemies) who are marked with [The Hanged Men’s Mark], once per turn. This pairs beautifully with, really, anyone, but is specifically designed to work in tandem with her next skill.

Skill 1

[Anti-Espionage Order] is a very powerful skill which summons an [H.M. Agent] behind a chosen enemy within 3 tiles of Safiyyah, while simultaneously marking the targeted enemy with [The Hanged Men’s Mark], [▼ P.DEF II], and [▼ M.DEF II]. This Agent has 178 SPD, meaning (as long as the SPD on your Safiyyah hasn’t been changed at all) he will always go right after your Safiyyah (whose SPD is 179). The Agent’s attributes are equal to 85% of Safiyyah’s, and he has access to a basic melee attack and a skill, [Escape], which lets him trade places with any ally within 7(!) tiles of himself. This can be used either offensively or defensively, and has incredible tactical value. After 2 turns, the Agent’s passive, [Curtain Call], kicks in and he self-destructs, damaging any enemies in a 1-tile radius and inflicting 2 [Level 2 Attribute Debuffs] on any enemies hit by it. Also, whenever he ends a turn, he inflicts [The Hanged Men’s Mark] on the closest enemy within 3 tiles, which synergizes perfectly with Safiyyah’s kit. He also does 15% more damage to marked enemies. The main downside to this skill is the 4 NRG cost, but don’t feel bad about regularly using Urgent Order or other similar NRG boosting abilities to ensure she can keep up a steady stream of summons!

Skill 2

[Shadowless Blade] is a great skill that enables Safiyyah to dodge any and all single-target skills thrown her way until her next action. Additionally, she counterattacks with a 3x4 AoE that also inflicts [Vulnerable II] for 2 turns, and recovers 2 NRG for her! Just make sure she isn’t within 2 tiles of your [Assisting Cover] tank, or she won’t be able to actually take the hits, as they’ll take the hits for her. This skill is a great way to mass-inflict [Vulnerable II], keep Safiyyah alive, and give her NRG for her following turn, all at once.

Skill 3

For her final slot, you have a few options. I personally prefer the skill [H.M. Commander], as it boosts the ATK of her allies (though not Safiyyah herself) within 5 tiles of her by 15% when they’re attacking a marked enemy. This also extends to her summoned Agents. If you’re running a team with multiple DPS’s, this is an excellent skill that will ensure you’re doing as much damage as possible.

Equipment

For a weapon, Newborn Blade is the most stable option. You can opt to bring Ever-Burning Blade, but I only recommend it if you have a stable source of [Scorch] to inflict on the enemy, or else it does noticeably less damage than the Newborn Blade. The Ever-Burning Blade itself isn’t the best source of [Scorch], since it can only inflict it on one enemy per turn. Cornucopia Dagger can also be considered for the extra NRG it provides. For a trinket (and this is very important), you want to bring one that launches an attack (since that procs her trait an extra time). That means you either want Roaring Flint or Flying Blade Armguard. If you happen to have a Roaring Flint that is 4- or 5- star, then that is the better choice, as it can proc her trait on multiple enemies at once, but if not, then just bring a Flying Blade Armguard. However, a Roaring Flint at 3-star or below is still better than any other trinket you could put on her. If you don’t have either of the above, perhaps consider bringing an Origin Hourglass for extra damage and immunities. For a tarot, you definitely want to bring Fortune, mainly for the potential for an end-of-turn AoE, which will again proc her trait on marked enemies hit by it, though it does provide numerous excellent support effects that will only enhance your Safiyyah’s performance on the battlefield. For engravings, I suggest sword + wand for added ATK, but double wand is also a solid option, as she can gain a lot of buffs through this. When rolling stats, definitely aim for P.ATK, since all of her attacks scale in some way off of that stat.

Additional Notes

Alternatively, for her third skill slot, you can bring [Settlement of the Hanged Men], which procs when she attacks an enemy and their health is below 30% after the attack, and they are already marked with [The Hanged Men’s Mark]. At that point, she does piercing damage equal to 30% of that enemy’s max HP (effectively executing them on the spot). This can be very useful in a lot of content, but its usefulness wanes in a lot of late-game content where enemies resist piercing damage. In those cases, it actually becomes a detriment, since she then removes [The Hanged Men’s Mark] from them, but doesn’t actually do much damage. However, for the majority of content in the game, you can safely run this skill and enjoy watching her execute enemies after her attacks.

The final skill you might consider bringing is [Tactic Adjustment], an [Instant] skill which allows her to target any character on the field within 3 tiles of herself (friend or foe), and mimic that character’s Role (the color and its advantages and disadvantages). It also gives her 30% DMG reduction and 2 extra tiles of movement. This can be handy for taking out Defenders, against whom she normally struggles, as a Seeker. You won’t always need this skill, but it’s a good one to keep in your back pocket.