Buddy Rush: Nagne's Skills (Update 1.2)

(This article is obsolete. An updated version for Update 1.3 can be found here.)

Nagne is now cooler than before with the changes brought by Update 1.2. His skills are now easier to use. He still dishes out lots of hurt. He is still horrible at taking damage, though.

Listed here are the updated details of Nagne's skills. Sorry, no numbers are provided. The in-game description has more information but not absolute numbers. The best way to get a feel of his skills is to take him out on a mission. With the addition of the damage meter, it is now easier to see how effective his skills are.

Leaf Slash

Leaf Slash is an area attack around Nagne. Skill power and attack range increases per level.

With Update 1.2, the skill now executes faster and its delay after use has been reduced. These reduces the time Nagne is vulnerable to attacks. But there is still a delay, so care should still be taken to keep Nagne out of danger, especially from heavily-damaging targeted attacks (cross-hairs on the ground).

Leaf Slash interrupts the attacks of Oblins it hits. If an Oblin starts an attack but is hit by this skill before it completes the attack, the attack is interrupted and the Oblin has to start the attack all over again. Against attacks that have a long preparation time, Leaf Slash can buy an extra second or two before the Oblins' attack execute. The extra time may be used to run, get in an extra hit or pray for a stun.

If interrupted enough times, the Oblin may just give up and try something else... if it has not already been knocked out.

If Leaf Slash hits after the Oblin has performed the damage-dealing part of the attack (for example, it hits after the Oblin has thrown a projectile), the Oblin will restart the attack again, effectively giving it two shots of the same skill with no cooldown.

Also, some opponents are immune to the interrupting property of Leaf Slash, like the Pelicano brothers. I think inanimate objects are also immune.

Be wary of running into the middle of Oblins to use this skill. They may all target Nagne and bring his HP down fast. Better to wait for them to target buddies first. However, if too much time passes, the buddies may take out too many of the Oblins that it is not worth using Leaf Slash.

QuickStep Slash

With the QuickStep Slash, Nagne rushes forward to hit Oblin after Oblin. If unchanged from Update 1.1, the number of targets starts at 3. It goes up to 4 at level 5 and 5 at level 9. There may be another increase after that.

The skill can be used defensively. It may be used to avoid targeted projectiles (cross-hairs on the ground) and to run from retaliation while attacking as Nagne rushes from target to target. According to the update notes, with Update 1.2, Nagne also gains a buff that gives +50% Evade. The duration of the buff is said to increase with skill level.

Note that the use of this skill potentially takes Nagne away from the safety of buddies. The evade buff helps improve Nagne's chances of survival. But be wary of special attacks that cannot be evaded.

Kiss of Death

With the Kiss of Death, Nagne will rush straight to the target and deliver a high-damage attack. If the target is dispatched with this skill, Nagne will add in a one-liner. Speaking about kisses, probably the only foe in the game worthy of a literal kiss would be Esline the 'Sercubus'. Unless Cutieblin is considered.

Anyway, with Update 1.2, the animation after skill delivery has been sped up. This removes the 'pose' in the previous versions. It does make execution of the skill less cool. However, the period Nagne is immobile and vulnerable is drastically reduced so this should improve his chances of survival.

Besides, coolness does not protect Nagne from damage.

Aside from doing massive damage, Kiss of Death also stuns the target. Stun cancels whatever attack the target is executing. This can be used to cancel high-damage attacks from bosses as well as make him/her/it vulnerable for a few seconds.

As with QuickStep Slash, Kiss of Death potentially moves Nagne away from buddies. However, with only one target, it is easier to control where Nagne ends up. Use it to target the lone Oblin at the back after all the other Oblins have targeted the buddies. Or use it to prevent an Oblin from performing a highly-damaging attack. Or save it for the boss.

Sword Mastery

It is inconvenient that the numbers are missing from the skill description at skill level 15. If the numbers are unchanged from Update 1.1, at level 15, Hit Speed should be +25%. I am unable to confirm this, however, being too lazy to do so. :p

Increased attack speed is useful when paired with Stun to increase the chances of stunning an Oblin. Also, increased attack speed increases the effectiveness of Att bonuses and makes Critcal [sic] more reliable.

Having Aikilu in the team helps increase Nagne's firepower. Having Botherella in the team weakens the Oblins' Att and Def, keeping Nagne alive longer and letting him kill faster. Having Worrier in the team gives him someone to hide behind, though melee Oblins may still go after Nagne. Having other Nagnes in the team allows simultaneous use of skills - it is cool to watch two Nagnes rush through and dispatch a group of Oblins with QuickStep Slashes.

Remember that the skill use of a buddy Nagne with low MP Regen can be controlled with MP potions.

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