Claret Best Builds, Teams, Guide & Review

Claret Flint is an S-Rank Electric Armorer, the very first release of the class. Instead of scaling with ATK, she scales with DEF, and has the ability to "multi-CRIT", for even more damage.

Her gameplan is all about building-up "Gash" on enemies, which is then detonated to trigger "Maim", a high burst of damage, all the while getting steep bonuses while in her "Crimson Inscription" state.

Her gameplan comprises of:

• Enter the Crimson Inscription state by using her EX Special, and maintain its uptime so that it's only expiring when there are resources to re-enter it.
• Apply Gash to the enemy with her attacks ( Basics, Dodges, Assists, Chains, etc).
• Consume them every so often with Claret's tap Special to trigger Maim and avoid overcapping.
• When going into Stun, have 3 Gash stacks built, then consume all 3 with her hold Special.
• During Stun, make use of high Gash applying moves ( Chain & Ultimate in particular) to build another 3 before the end, making for 6 Maim combos.
• Repeat the above over and over, trying to integrate team and Drive Disc buffs (e.g. Astral Voice) into routes.

In theory, Claret is not a particularly difficult Agent to use, with straightforward combos and an intuitive playstyle, but in practice, optimising her Gash/Maim count over the course of a fight, as well as aligning all team buffs can give her a fair amount of complexity.

Claret's best teams will be a shell of:

• Claret Flint | Stunner | Support
• Claret Flint | Armorer | Stunner or Support

Although other Armorer Agents do not exist as of her release, she is well suited to take a secondary damage dealer slot for when they do.

Anti-Synergies

Being an Armorer, ATK and non-initial CRIT DMG (like those from Agent buffs) have no effect on her whatsoever.

This means ATK buffers, like Sunna, Astra Yao, Zhao, Caesar, Lucy, etc. offer very little value. Agents that have CRIT DMG as part of their kits (like Cissia) or W-Engines, (like Yesterday Calls) also suffer.

Being a new class, it also means that many Agents won't meet their Additional Ability requirements with her. So no Ju Fufu or Dialyn's Additional Abilities, making them rarely be worth using.

Keep this in mind when formulating a team for Claret.

Synergies (Supports)

Rina - She's able to buff DEF, and given how high-value PEN Ratio is, is most enabling of it as a stat. Managing her can be difficult, like aligning Shock Anomalies for her Additional, general resource management and buff upkeep, but when done correctly Rina is incredibly strong. Having just a few dupes on her and Weeping Cradle make a really big difference on how to route, so it's a priority for Claret teams.

Nicole - One of the few Supports that has no ATK or CRIT DMG buffs, able to run The Vault and instead buffs CRIT Rate with her M6 (which does apply to multi-CRITs), making it much easier to hit the 200% cap. Running her does mean not using PEN Ratio, but if her DEF Shred is well managed, she can be very competitive, as her Daze and Decibel generation are very high for a Support.

Synergies (Stunners)

Norma - A prime Stunner pick, as Chain Attacks are one of the best ways of building Gash quickly, give plenty of Decibels, and her passive Daze build allows Claret to on-field for even more. Her buffs are a perfect match (even Chief Sidekick), and her ability to provide Quick Assists on demand makes her well suited to sustaining Astral Voice.

Trigger - As both her and Claret are Electric Agents, Trigger has her Additional Ability fulfilled, which means she can actually contribute decent Daze. By herself she doesn't offer much, but as she's able to provide multiple Quick Assists for Astral Voice alongside Spectral Gaze bonuses, Trigger can be a very good Stunner pick, especially if paired with Nicole. Be aware though that Crimson Inscription management with her can be difficult given her strictly inactive gameplay.

Lycaon - His Potential Unlock gives him decent buff value even to non-Ice Agents, so when paired with his high inactive Daze contribution and Quick Assists for Astral Voice maintenance, he's one of the best (if not the best) non-limited Stunner for Claret.

Koleda - Her Potential Unlock means that she can both contribute team-wide DMG Bonus and Laceration DMG, which has especially good scaling owing to how multi-CRITS work. Despite this, her value add isn't particularly high, to the point Lycaon may be able to outperform her, but she's a great generalist pick with especially good Daze application at M2+.

Qingyi - Her Additional Ability doesn't contribute much, so not having it active isn't a problem, and her buff value is loaded on Stun DMG Multiplier, where most of Claret's burst happens. Ice-Jade Teapot's buffs work with Armorers, so it also adds value too. Her field-time demands actually work in Claret's favour, given her Crimson Inscription management, but it can be difficult to route with her in recent, parry heavy fights, even with Counter Assists cutting Control Skills short.

Crimson Thirst - Claret's Signature W-Engine and very important for her to be at her best. It has a DEF % mainstat but a high passive unconditional CRIT Rate bonus, so it's ideal for Armorers generally.

The Electric DMG it provides is good but moreso is the Sharp Electric DMG which is a unique multiplier and so even ignoring any other bonuses, this alone is a 10% increase to damage output.

As its effect is activated on any EX Special use and lasts 40s, no active maintenance of its buffs are needed, being active for the entire fight.

Alternatives

As Armorer Agents get no benefit from ATK, all non-Armorer W-Engines are not to be considered. The only available options are:

Bloodmarrow Coffer - The Battle Pass W-Engine. The CRIT Rate mainstat is a big help as it's the most important stat up until hitting the 200% cap, and it has a passive DMG increase so it's easy to use.

Although it can be fine at P5, there'll still be a 20%~ gap between it and Claret's Signature, and at P1 it'd be worse than Catty Luck, so it's a long-term investment to have it be worthwhile, and even then it's barely better than the craftable pick.

Catty Luck - The craftable W-Engine. It provides only DEF % bonuses, be it through its mainstat, unconditional effect or buff when using EX Specials, which saturates it and makes it even more important to build CRIT Rate.

It isn't particularly good, with it also having a 20%~ gap between it and Claret's Signature, but it's the only option given the lack of alternatives and as it can be P5'd easily, is the recommended pick for those lacking Crimson Thirst.

Drive Discs

Claret has a dedicated Drive Disc set, being Thorned Rose. It's the only 4-piece worth considering, as Claret can meet its full DEF requirements easily.

For 2-piece, she can use:

• Puffer Electro
• Woodpecker Electro
• Soul Rock
• Thunder Metal

Puffer Electro will be the best when run alongside a PEN Ratio D5 and Rina, but at lower PEN Ratios or with DEF Shred Agents, like Nicole or Trigger with Spectral Gaze, it'd fall behind.

Woodpecker Electro is a general competitive option, and may be able to beat out Puffer on enemes with high Sharp DMG stage buffs and endgame buffs. The CRIT Rate from this set is only worth it until 200% CRIT Rate though, as that is the cap for multi-CRITs. This can happen with Crimson Thirst depending on the team and buff line-up.

In which case, Soul Rock or Thunder Metal would be best. Which exactly is better depends on the set-up.

Usually DEF % pulls out ahead as DMG % can get saturated, doubly so as Stunners wouldn't be running King of the Summit, but Astral Voice instead, skewing buff value. If using Catty Luck though, the value can change, but both are close enough to each other in value that a single substat roll can be the difference, so both are fine.

Stats

Mainstats

• Partition 4: CRIT Rate

As Claret wants as much CRIT Rate as possible (up to 200%), it's the only pick for the slot.

DEF % could be used if grossly overcapping on it, but that would likely demand a P5 Crimson Thirst and/or specific team comps (e.g. Nicole with Unfettered Game Ball), so it's a niche option not worth considering for most.

• Partition 5: PEN Ratio | DEF % | Electric DMG %

This follows the same logic as the 2-piece Drive Disc effect. PEN Ratio is best when stacked, but if not (or having DEF Shred), DEF % or Electric DMG % do best, with the former being marginally better than the latter but dependent on W-Engine/buff saturation.

• Partition 6: DEF %

Armorers do not scale with ATK, so there's no other choice.

Substats

1. CRIT Rate
2. DEF % | CRIT DMG
3. PEN | DEF

CRIT Rate will always be the best substat until the 200% cap. Although CRIT DMG is converted to CRIT Rate, the ratio that it's done at means it's only 70% as effective, so DEF % is stronger than CRIT DMG.

Flat PEN and DEF are the secondary rolls, with Flat PEN being significantly better at high PEN Ratio or DEF Shred as well as half-DEF enemies.

Given that, as of her release, Claret's Support picks are always providing some kind of enemy DEF reduction, it'll consistently outperform.

1. Core Passive | EX Special
2. Ultimate | Basic Attack
3. Assist
4. Dodge

Core Passive provides CRIT Rate on every node, not just A-C-E ones, on top of passive CRIT Rate and Gash Buildup Rate, making it very important to level.

Her Maim multiplier scales with her Special level, so it's a priority.

Claret still does a decent amount of damage through her regular multipliers on Chain & Ultimate as well as Basic, so they follow.

Assists can be useful as they'll see use on Counter Assists, with her Dodge rarely being used as she'd rather be Perfect Dodging through her Basics.

Mindscape 1

M1 Bloodstained Chronicles provides:

• 20% Gash Buildup Rate increase on attacks that CRIT (trigger Laceration).
• x1.3 multiplier to Maim triggers by Claret.

A decently strong Mindscape. Claret should always CRIT (even if it's not a multi-CRIT), so the 20% Gash Buildup Rate bonus will be active on all attacks, and this can enable 7 Maim stun combos depending on the team.

As half of her damage comes from Maim, a x1.3 increase to that is around a 15% increase to her damage contribution.

Mindscape 2

M2 Crown of Inherited Flame provides:

• 2s increase to Crimson Inscription's maximum duration.
• 18% Electric RES Ignore when in the Crimson Inscription state and/or when using a Chain Attack, Ultimate, Counter Assist or Assist Follow-Up.

The lenghtened Crimson Inscription duration is welcome, making for much more forgiving routing, and as Claret should always sustain the Crimson Inscription state for her burst, the RES Ignore should always be up.

Mindscape 3 & 5

As increasing Special's level also increases the Maim multiplier, these Mindscapes have full benefit, so their bonuses apply to all of Claret's damage.

Mindscape 4

M4 Crimson Moon Wanderer provides:

• Basic 3 can have its consecutive slashes extended.
• 20% DMG Bonus to the Basic 3, Chain Attack and Ultimate.

A rather middling Mindscape, but still provides some increase to Claret's damage. The extension to Basic 3 can lead to some more Gash build-up and opportunies to Perfect Dodge on the downward strike, but it's unlikely to matter much for routes.

The 20% DMG Bonus is appreciated, but its limited in the moves it applies to, with Maim getting no benefits. Claret can be rather saturated on it too, but it's a welcome increase.

Mindscape 6

M6 Warm Night's Dream provides:

• When landing the Heavy Attack portion of her Chain Attack and Ultimate, Claret triggers Maim without consuming Gash.

A very high-value Mindscape. This can take Claret from 7 Maims in stun to 11 (such as by using Norma's additional Chain Attack).

This skews her damage profile even more heavily to Maim triggers and makes her in-stun burst significantly higher, but it does lose value without Norma to supply extra Chain Attacks.

The Maim triggers should match the multiplier of her Special, so it gets the full benefit of the M3/M5 increases that came before it.

Armorer Mechanics

There are a lot of new mechanics introduced with the Armorer class:

Scaling

• Armorers scale with DEF. ATK is a completely dead stat, having no value whatsoever.
• Armourer Agents use Sharpness and deal Sharp DMG.

Sharpness is a different resource gauge type, so Energy bonuses (like from Swing Jazz or Support Ultimates) will not apply to it.

Sharp DMG is also a distinct DMG type: it still scales with generic and Elemental DMG, but also has a distinct "Sharp DMG" multiplier that can be applied to it by buffs/items, like Crimson Thirst.

• Sharp DMG does not scale with CRIT DMG. It scales with Laceration DMG.
• "Multi-CRITS" can be applied to Sharp DMG, where if over 100% CRIT Rate, an attack can CRIT again.

Laceration DMG is an Armorer-only stat, but it cannot be rolled for, and is fixed at 150% to Claret. It can be increased through buffs, like from her Additional Ability, but sources of it are rare.

Multi-CRITs are a multiplicative bonus. At 170% CRIT Rate and 150% Laceration DMG, every attack is guaranteed to get the x2.5 bonus, with a 70% rate at having the bonus applied twice. If the multi-CRIT succeeds, the resoulting damage would be x2.5 x2.5 higher, meaning a x6.25 total damage increase!

Enemy-sided effects (like Nicole's M6 or Unfettered Game Ball) are considered for this, but be aware that 200% CRIT Rate is the cap.

• Initial CRIT DMG is converted to CRIT Rate at a 1 : 0.35 ratio.

Combat CRIT DMG (like from King of the Summit) will do nothing, so making use of DMG % sets, like Astral Voice, is best.

Gash & Maim

Gash is a gauge that appears on top of existing Anomaly gauges when swapping to Armorers. It's split into 3 sections, with each one corresponding to one Gash stack.

Gash stacks can be consumed by certain skills to trigger Maim, a single, high burst of AoE damage that matches the element of the triggerer.

In Claret's case, the triggering skill is her Special, and the DMG Multiplier of Maim scales with its level, but DMG bonuses that are tied to a skill type (like Special DMG) will not be applied.

Maim DMG also scales with Agent stats at the time of trigger. There's no snapshotting during the build-up like Anomaly: buffs need to be active when Maim happens for them to have any effect.

Unlike Anomaly it also has universal thresholds. No matter what the enemy is, the amount of Gash needed to build a stack is exactly the same. This is true even for enemies with a matching weakness.

Maim triggers will benefit from weakness bonuses for DMG though.

Although the Gash gauge appears over the Anomaly one, Armorer Agents will still build Anomalies matching their element, but it's not possible to tell how much is built until they're swapped out of.

Counter Assist

Attempting to parry a Control Skill with an Armorer leads to a Quick Time Event where you have to mash Basic Attack to succeed.

Successfully completing this Counter Assist will deal damage, build Daze, apply 1 Gash stack, then forcibly apply the Shutdown that'd normally have come about from doing all Control Skill parries.

Armorer Agents also have a unique Counter Assist Follow-Up, which has significantly better multipliers (damage, Daze, Decibels, etc.) than a regular Assist Follow-Up. It will also build-up more Gash than a regular one - for Claret it's around 1 and a half stacks, making for 2 and a half total when coupled with the clash bonus.

Kit Overview

Crimson Inscription

Claret's unique mechanic revolves around the Crimson Inscription state, which is entered by using her EX Special and is tracked via a gauge under her portrait in combat.

It lasts 16 seconds, but its duration won't decrease while Claret is off-field. This is not "inactive", so it will not pause until she has exited the stage even after swapping out.

Certain skills can also pause its decay:

• Counter Assists and its Follow-Up
• Ultimate
• Chain Attacks.

Every Chain Attack use will also extend the state's duration by 2 seconds on cast.

The state can also be extended by killing enemies within 3 seconds of hitting them with Claret, with a 3 second cooldown.

If the state is about to drop mid-skill, it'll only expire once the skill ends.

Maintaining this mode is important as it gives Claret multiple buffs and is the only way that she can access her enhanced Specials, which are needed to trigger Maim.

Note that none of her skills in Crimson Inscription generate Sharpness on hit!

Claret has 1.5 Automatic Sharpness Accumulation rate, so she gets only 24 Sharpness over the 16 seconds that her state runs for without pauses. Her EX Special costs 60 Sharpness, so routing around managing the state's uptime and making use of pauses alongside extensions is part of Claret's skill expression.

Specials

Specials are what much of her gameplan revolves around. Claret has:

• An EX Special, costing 60 Sharpness and activating Crimson Inscription.
• • Once in the state, she is locked out of this skill's use until it fully expires.
• A regular Special, usable when she's under 60 Sharpness and out of Crimson Inscription.
• A tap Special, usable when in Crimson Inscription.
• A held Special, usable when in Crimson Inscription.

Her EX Special builds a decent amount of Gash, and holding the Special button during its cast allows for it to transition into her Crimson Inscription Specials.

Claret's tap Special will do an upward attack into a slash that consumes 1 Gash to trigger 1 Maim.

Holding instead of tapping leads to another Special. which does 3 consecutive slashes with each consuming 1 Gash to trigger 1 Maim (for up to 3 total) and then ending on a damaging axe swing. This skill is swap cancellable after the first Maim is triggered, as Claret will always complete the skill in full after.

Alongside her Defensive Assist, neither of the Crimson Inscription Specials build Gash. They're strictly for Gash consumption/Maim triggers.

The final Maim triggering slash has a very high interrupt level, able to stagger even bosses, but only if it triggers a Maim.

If Maim is triggered, both tap and held Specials can link to Claret's alternate Basic.

Basics

Claret has 3 Basic Attacks:

• A regular Basic Attack used only when out of Crimson Inscription.
• An enhanced Basic Attack (EBA) that replaces her regular string while in the state.
• An alternate Basic Attack that can only be accessed through Claret's Maim-triggering Specials.

The regular Basic Attack is unremarkable, but it does build Sharpness, so it can occasionally get used early in runs to stock on Sharpness.

If in Crimson Inscription, then her Basic Attack becomes a lot stronger: more damage, Daze, Decibel, Gash and even Anomaly Build-up. It's the main way for her build-up Gash out-of-Stun.

Most of this skill's value comes from the repeating slashes that make up the Basic 3 string. Mashing or holding the button will extend its duration, whereas letting go has it end early, transitioning into a downwards strike.

This downward strike has a Perfect Dodge property. If its triggered, it deals 15% more DMG and allows for Claret to loop back into another EBA 3. Her EBA 2 also has this property, but as it'd lead to an EBA 3 regardless, it only benefits from the DMG bonus.

Looping Basic 3s is one of the fastest ways Claret has to apply Gash, so its best to make use of the Perfect Dodge on the downwards strike over Dodge Counters.

The alternate Basic Attack functions like the downwards strike, where it can trigger a Perfect Dodge for a DMG bonus, but even if it doesn't, it'll always link into her EBA 3 after use.

Dodges

Claret has a regular Dash Attack and no Crimson Inscription Dash Attack. It will execute her EBA 1 instead.

There is a regular and Crimson Inscription Dodge Counter, but neither are very good, as they shortcut only to EBA 2. Getting Perfect Dodge triggers on EBA 3 tends to be better, but enemy patterns won't always align so these do occasionally get used.

Assists

As covered in the Armorer Mechanics section, Claret has a Counter Assist and a Counter Assist Follow-Up. These are used to end Control Skills quickly and have very high multipliers, but will usually only be used once per fight.

Her regular Defensive Assist and Assist Follow-Up are as standard, with both being the same regardless of if she's in or out of state.

She does have Quick Assist variations, but none are particularly remarkable, although they will see frequent use, as Stunners are likely to run Astral Voice.

Chain & Ultimate

Claret's Chain Attack is one of her best skills: the pause and extension to Crimson Inscription as well as its Gash Build-up are integral to her combos - it's almost always worth doing 2 Claret Chain Attacks in Stun.

As Chain Attacks can shortcut into EBA 3, a single Chain Attack into an EBA 3 that's immediately swapped out of, is enough to build a full Gash stack.

Her Ultimate has high multipliers, builds a full Gash stack by itself, pauses Crimson Inscription's duration and generates 10 Sharpness on cast.

The Sharpness recovery is a big help at making sure that Claret is topped up in resources after Stuns, so that she can get back into Crimson Inscription when needed.

Much like her Chain Attack, it can shortcut into her Basic 3, which can be integrated into Combos.

This means that by shortcutting into Basic 3s after 2 Chain Attacks (or shortcutting after an Ultimate instead), Claret can build 3 Gash stacks long before Stun ends. The bread-and-butter of Claret combos comes down to this sequence, as she can trigger 3 Maim as Stun begins, then get another 3 during it, making for 6 total.

Core Passive & Additional Ability

Most of Claret's Core Passive relates to Armorer mechanics.

There are some extra bonuses, such as:

• 60 Sharpness when loading into the battlefield.
• Increase anti-interrupt level while in Crimson Inscription.
• 30% CRIT Rate and 50% Gash Build-up Rate while in Crimson Inscription.
• CRIT Rate instead of Base ATK on its B/D/F nodes.

As for her Additional Ability, it needs Stun, Armorer or same attribute Agents.

Whenever any Agent triggers Contamination, Claret gets a 300 Decibel boost. This does have an 18 second cooldown, but may be helpful for resource economy with future Wind units.

Claret also buffs all Armorer Agents with "Remnant Edge" for 40s when any squad member triggers Maim. This increases Laceration DMG by 25%,

Combos

Claret's Stun combos all tend to follow the same outline:

• Have 3 Gash stacks built-up before Stun begins, and ideally Quick Assist to Claret shortly before to refresh Astral Voice.
• Hold  Special (3 Maim triggers).
• Swap out of Claret and trigger a Chain Attack.
• Claret Chain Attack.
•  EBA 3.
• Swap out of Claret and trigger a Chain Attack (as the downwards smash hits).
• Claret Chain Attack
•  EBA 3.
• Swap out of Claret and trigger a Quick Assist to her (as the downwards smash hits).
•  Ultimate
• Hold  Special (3 Maim triggers).

There's a lot of nuances to how it all goes in practice:

Sometimes she may run out of Crimson Inscription when coming on for the first Chain Attack, in which case the EBA 3 follow-up would be replaced with an EX Special.

For M1/7 Maim Combos, Ultimate would happen right after the second Chain Attack, as the EBA 3 follow-up is no longer needed.

There may not be Quick Assists available, so swapping out after Chain Attacks have all been triggered isn't done.

Claret's Ultimate could be replaced with other moves, like a Chain Attack from Norma's conversion.

So take the above as a shell to work off of, and adapt it to different situations.

Claret released on September 9th, 2026.