Mistress Dusca guide: skills, build and team roles
Overview
Mistress Dusca is a Legendary Dark Melee Attacker from the Nocturna Faction in Invokers: Titan Legacy. She's a Bleed specialist: she places several Bleeds, extends them and triggers immediate ticks, and she heals herself according to how many debuffs the enemy carries. Against a target that allows Bleed, that gives you sustained damage, and a well-supported debuff team gets even more from her.
Fully Awakened and before Gear, Dusca has 1,321 ATK, 747 DEF and 7,457 HP. Her ATK is among the highest of any Melee Attacker.
She isn't a universal MAX HP damage solution. Her Bleeds have ATK-based caps, and several Bosses counter them directly, so raising her stats doesn't remove those limits.
Skills To Prioritize
Essence Taker places two Bleeds on one enemy. At Level 10 each ticks for 1.2% of that enemy's MAX HP every two seconds at base speed, capped at 400% of Dusca's ATK. Max Level increases this to 1.25% with a 500% ATK cap. Both levels last eight seconds.
Essence Taker also heals Dusca according to her own MAX HP and the target's debuff count. The Max Level formula is 5% of her MAX HP per debuff. The heal is for her alone, not the team.
Blood Letter immediately ticks Bleeds already on the target. Level 10 triggers two, while Max Level triggers three. That's a reason to keep several Bleeds running before you use it; it doesn't place extra Bleeds on a target that has none.
Lasting Afflictions attacks an area and extends effects twice: once on random debuffs, then again specifically on Bleeds. At Level 10 each pass can select up to four effects and extend them by seven seconds. Max Level raises the selection to five and lowers the base cooldown from twenty-six to twenty-four seconds. The selection is random, so don't count on a guaranteed fourteen-second extension of every Bleed.
Her fifth Combo Attack also extends Bleed. Max Level improves it from one selected Bleed to up to two, each by one second. Accuracy is needed for all of these effects, including instant ticks and extension.
Her Ultimate, Fueled by Malaise, attacks an area three times, but its Bleed text specifies one enemy per hit, so don't read the area attack as placing Bleed on every enemy. At Max Level its Bleed ticks for 1.5% MAX HP every two seconds at base speed, capped at 500% ATK, and lasts eight seconds. Each debuff that lands also reduces a random active-Skill cooldown by two seconds. A resisted application doesn't trigger that reduction, and because the Skill is picked at random, the next Essence Taker or Blood Letter won't always be ready straight away. The Ultimate costs 850 Mana at Level 10 and 800 at Max Level.
If you want Dusca to burst several Bleeds at once, upgrade Blood Letter first, as Max Level triggers three Bleeds instead of two and her fifth Combo Attack gains a second extension. If you want her to support a wider debuff team, consider upgrading Lasting Afflictions first, as Max Level selects five effects and lowers its cooldown from twenty-six to twenty-four seconds.
Build And Team Support
Dusca places Bleed, so put Accuracy on her Chestplate and Flask and stack as much as the build allows, so that applications, extension and instant ticks land. Then build ATK as high as you can to raise her direct damage and the Bleed caps. Crit Rate and Crit DMG do help her direct attacks, but they do nothing for the Bleed damage that matters, so they aren't essential to build, unlike Accuracy and ATK. Keep enough HP and DEF to stay active through longer fights, since HP also raises Essence Taker's heal. Add Skill RECOV so her Skills come back sooner for repeated applications.
To land her Bleeds, extension and instant ticks more consistently, equip Accuracy Relics. For more damage, Attack Relics raise the ATK her Bleed caps scale from. Health Relics add HP for survival and for Essence Taker's heal, and Fury Relics add Skill RECOV.
Her native Atrophy and Crush Tolerances are only part of a Boss build, so add Tolerance Relics for the Boss you're fighting.
She needs protection and teammates who place useful debuffs or keep her attacking. She has no team heal, Shield or revival, so bring a healer and a Tank.
Arena, Bosses And Spires
In Arena, her Bleeds need time to build. Be wary of enemy Invokers who cleanse often, as they can undo her setup, and of burst damage, which can end the fight before her Bleed pays off. She has no hard control and no team recovery.
Against Sorgott, Lasting Afflictions' extension and Dusca's own damage can help where Bleed is allowed. She doesn't remove buffs, cleanse allies or fully protect against his Corruptions, so bring other Invokers who steal his buffs, place Jinx and cleanse.
Against Althar, Bleed triggers an Invincibility response, so leave Dusca out of that fight. Sakiel takes 50% less damage from Burn and Bleed, and Koltmos takes 80% less Bleed damage, which is heavy resistance rather than total immunity. Earth Omnissi is immune to Bleed, so Dusca's Bleeds have no effect on her.
Against Hyxxis, Essence Taker and Fueled by Malaise both place Bleed, and her Sludger passive shortens Ensacment's cooldown by one second whenever Burn or Bleed is placed on her. Repeated applications can bring the next sac forward while a surviving Tank is still protected from retargeting by Sludge, which exposes another ally. This comes from placing the Bleed, not from every damage tick, so account for it in your Tank's rotation rather than treating damage over time as free extra Boss damage.
In the Dark Spire, her area attacks and extension suit waves that Bleed can hurt. Invest in her for those targets, and bring separate healing, shielding or revival if your team needs them. A big Bleed stack only pays off when she can place it, keep it and survive long enough for the damage to happen.
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 Dusca'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.
