Nistoru the Bloodbought guide: skills, build and team roles
Overview
Nistoru the Bloodbought is an Epic Dark Melee Attacker from the Nocturna Faction in Invokers: Titan Legacy. He's built around a self-contained combat loop: damage becomes healing or a Shield, an ATK Up makes his later attacks hit harder, and his Ultimate helps his regular Skills come back sooner. He's worth considering when your team already covers its required debuffs and needs an attacker who can look after his own survival.
Fully Awakened and before Gear, he has 7,911 HP, 930 ATK, 628 DEF and 70% Crit DMG. His ATK and HP are both about average for a Melee Attacker. His kit has no Accuracy-dependent effect, so you can put Gear into damage and survival instead.
Self-sufficient doesn't mean independent of the team. Nistoru has no cleanse, revive or group protection. His sustain comes from successful attacks, so control, interruptions, poor access to a target or heavy damage reduction can stop the recovery his build depends on. He still needs enough durability to reach that part of the fight.
Skills To Prioritize
Vermillion Arc attacks one enemy and heals Nistoru for a share of the damage dealt. The healing rises from 35% at Level 1 to 70% at Level 10. Max Level keeps 70%, improves the attack's damage and cuts the cooldown from 22 to 21 seconds. The heal isn't a fixed amount: a stronger hit restores more HP, while a hit that has been heavily reduced restores less.
Ravenous Edge charges along a path, damages the enemies it hits, then gives Nistoru a personal Shield and ATK Up. At Level 10, the Shield equals 90% of damage dealt and lasts 12 seconds, and the ATK Up is 35% for 14 seconds. Max Level raises the Shield to 100%, extends it to 14 seconds and increases the ATK Up to 40%. It's a useful upgrade for offence and survival at once, but none of those buffs go to allies.
Crimson Stinger gives Nistoru Move SPD Up after a single-target attack. Max Level reaches 20% for six seconds on a ten-second cooldown. Moving faster helps a Melee Attacker reach or follow a target, but it isn't Combo SPD or Skill RECOV, so it doesn't speed up his attacks or cooldowns.
Phantom Feast is a two-hit single-target Ultimate that cuts a random Active Skill's cooldown. At Level 10 the cut is eight seconds, or 12 seconds if the hit is critical instead. The two values are alternatives, not a combined 20 seconds. Because the Skill is random, you can't count on the heal or the charge being the one that comes back sooner. Max Level leaves the cuts alone while improving damage and lowering the cost from 850 to 800 Mana. Critical hits therefore help more than damage alone: they improve how fast he cycles Skills. Even so, nothing guarantees a fixed rotation or a permanent ATK Up until you've tried the actual build, Mana Gen and fight interruptions.
If you want Nistoru to survive longer in melee, prioritize Vermillion Arc and Ravenous Edge, as Level 10 gives 70% healing and a Shield equal to 90% of damage dealt. If you want him to cycle his Skills faster, consider upgrading Phantom Feast first, as Max Level lowers its cost to 800 Mana and critical hits cut cooldowns by 12 seconds.
Build And Team Support
He's a Melee Attacker with no Bleed or Burn and no debuffs, so build Crit Rate to 75-80% first, then as much Crit DMG as the build allows, with ATK to go with them. Once Crit Rate is past that point, Crit DMG is worth more than more Crit Rate. Then add HP and RES so he survives long enough for his healing and Shield to kick in. Accuracy isn't a priority, as he places no debuffs.
Put Mana Gen on his Talisman, especially for Arena, since Phantom Feast is what brings his Skills back sooner and its cost drops to 800 Mana at Max Level.
Predator Relics fit him well, with their ATK and Crit DMG bonuses, and Crit Rate Relics help reach that 75-80%. For more damage, consider Attack Relics, and for more durability, Health Relics. Mana Relics bring his Ultimate round sooner.
Pair him with debuffs that improve damage, and with protection against early control. He has no team heal, so a healer still helps, and teammates need to bring the DEF Down, Heal Reduction and control he lacks.
Arena, Bosses And Spires
In Arena, Nistoru can pressure one target while recovering part of the damage he deals. His charge adds some area damage, but most of the kit is aimed at one enemy. Be wary of early control and of enemies that cut his damage, since either one can stop his recovery. A team that needs a broad disable or an immediate anti-healing answer won't get it from him.
Be wary of Light Omnissi, because she punishes healing and can destroy MAX HP, so self-healing isn't always a plus. Astral Omnissi can steal his buffs, and Dark Omnissi needs Combo SPD Down from someone else to disable reflection.
In the Dark Spire, his personal sustain can ease pressure on your healer, and the charge can hit clustered waves. He's a good investment when damage and frontline survivability are what your team is missing, and less helpful when a floor needs team cleansing, revival or a specific enemy debuff. Those gaps should decide your next upgrade, not his Rarity alone.
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 Nistoru'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.
