Ardell The Torrent guide: skills, build and team roles
Overview
Ardell The Torrent is a Legendary Water Melee Attacker from the Eldrin Faction in Invokers: Titan Legacy. He deals direct damage, but his real strength is controlling the effects around a target. He steals enemy buffs, places DEF Down on a group, transfers a debuff from himself to an enemy and extends the debuffs already on an enemy. His Ultimate, Raging River, places Mindworm, a useful answer to passive Skills that Mindworm can switch off.
Fully Awakened and before Gear, Ardell has 1,144 ATK, 754 DEF and 9,259 HP. His ATK and HP are high for a Melee Attacker.
Mindworm is scarce: he is one of the few Invokers who place it, so he is a good candidate if you are building a team that needs it.
Overflow steals random buffs, so you can't pick the exact effect. That can remove an enemy's advantage and give it to Ardell for longer, since stolen buffs get extra duration. It still needs Accuracy, and protected effects stay out of reach. Permanent stat gains aren't ordinary buffs, so you can't steal them.
Water's Edge attacks up to ten low-current-HP enemies in an eight-metre semicircle in front of him. Its DEF Down helps your team's damage across that area, but positioning matters: it doesn't place DEF Down on every enemy in the encounter. Bladeswell transfers a random debuff from Ardell to one enemy and extends its duration. That gives him some personal relief, not a cleanse for the team.
Skills To Prioritize
Overflow at Level 6 increases the number of stolen buffs from two to three. Max Level increases that to four; by then, stolen buffs get ten additional seconds and the base cooldown is 23 seconds. If your account is missing reliable buff removal, that extra buff at Level 6 is a better early goal than raising every Skill evenly.
Water's Edge reaches 40% DEF Down at Level 4, 45% at Level 8 and 50% at Level 10. Max Level extends its duration from 13 to 15 seconds and lowers its cooldown from 21 to 20 seconds. A 50% DEF Down is larger than Selisa's 35% Max Level version and hits a group rather than one target. That's a concrete comparison, not proof that Ardell is always the better pick in every team.
Raging River places Mindworm from Level 1, lasting 13 seconds. It reaches 16 seconds at Level 4 and 18 seconds at Level 9. Level 6 increases its debuff extension from up to two random debuffs to three; Max Level extends up to four by ten seconds. Because selection is random, don't count on the second hit extending the specific debuff you're relying on.
Raging River starts at 900 Mana, drops to 875 at Level 5 and 850 at Level 8, then reaches 800 at Max Level. It already places Mindworm before you invest heavily, so put your upgrades where they help the fight you're trying to win.
If you want Ardell to strip buffs, upgrade Overflow first, as Level 6 steals a third buff. If you want him to raise your team's damage, consider upgrading Water's Edge first, as its DEF Down reaches 50% at Level 10. If you want more Mindworm and debuff extension, upgrade Raging River first, as Level 4 lengthens Mindworm to 16 seconds and Level 6 extends a third debuff.
Build And Team Support
Ardell steals buffs and places DEF Down and Mindworm, and all of that needs Accuracy, so put Accuracy on his Chestplate and Flask and stack as much as the build allows. Fully Awakened and before Gear he has 23 Accuracy. After that, build ATK and Crit Rate to about 75-80%, then as much Crit DMG as the build allows. Past that point, Crit DMG is worth more than more Crit Rate. A damage-only build can miss the reason you brought him. He has native Bloodrot and Manashock Tolerances.
For Relic Sets, Accuracy Relics help his buff theft, DEF Down and Mindworm land more consistently, and Crit Rate Relics help you reach the Crit Rate threshold. For more damage once those are covered, Predator Relics add ATK and, at five pieces, Crit DMG. For Sorgott, build Manaburn Tolerance and Crush Tolerance Relics, as Ardell's native Tolerances don't match his Corruptions.
He fights in melee and has no heal, Shield or revive, so bring a healer or Tank with him. Stolen defensive buffs can help in a particular fight, but they aren't a dependable replacement. RES and the right Tolerances can matter when enemies threaten to disable him before he acts.
Arena, Bosses And Spires
In Arena, Ardell can strip a protected target so your allies can finish it. Be wary of enemy Invokers with Immunity or high RES, or Skills that interrupt him, as they can stop his Skills landing, and random buff selection means he may not take the buff you want.
Against Sakiel, Overflow steals the powerful buffs he grants himself, and Raging River's Mindworm holds back his buff-granting Skill. Ardell's native Bloodrot and Manashock Tolerances also match Sakiel's Corruptions. Mindworm doesn't switch off Sakiel's Burn and Bleed passive, so the rest of your team still has to respect it.
Against Sorgott, stealing his buffs with Overflow is very useful, and Water's Edge's DEF Down raises your team's damage. Mindworm can't switch off his Despair Feast passive, and Swarm can't be cleansed or shortened, so Bladeswell won't help with it. Bladeswell only moves a debuff off Ardell himself, so it won't clear debuffs from the team either. Bring teammates who keep your Invokers alive.
Against Ulgorim, Water's Edge's DEF Down helps your team's damage, but Ardell doesn't place Heal Reduction, so bring another Invoker who does.
Against Galvos, who rewards debuffs, Ardell's DEF Down and other debuffs are worth bringing. Overflow can only steal buffs Galvos actually has, and the permanent stat gains from his Power Cells aren't buffs, so you can't steal them.
Against Earth Omnissi, who buffs herself dangerously, Overflow gives Ardell a practical job stealing those buffs. Against Wind and Dark Omnissi, Raging River's debuff extension can lengthen the Move SPD Down or Combo SPD Down an ally places, but Ardell doesn't place those himself, and random extension won't keep one debuff up forever.
In the Water Spire, Ardell's group DEF Down and enemy buff control help, as long as your team brings healing or Shields around him. Some accounts got him through a Chase, but build him for the buff control your roster lacks.
Awaken
Awakening boosts an Invoker's stats significantly. Bonuses from Relics, Accessories, the Trophy Room, Tactics and Titan leader bonuses apply to base stats and Awakening stats alike, so unlocking the Awakening nodes is critical to maximise Ardell's potential.
Unlocking each Titan node at Star 2, 4 and 6 adds a second to Titan Invokation, taking the total from 12 seconds to 15.
Review the Awakening guide for more detail.
