Don Quixote

Quixote: “Yes! My Master is, just like my beloved and respected Dulcinea, a lord worth my loyalty!“Sancho: “And I am a maid….That means my master is~…in middle management?”Quixote: “…Putting it that way, it makes me feel a bit small….”

Don Quixote, the protagonist of the famous Spanish epic novel with his namesake, arrives at Chaldea with his loyal maid, Sancho, during the second half of Traum. Don is a single-target Quick Lancer who has an anti-Giant specialized NP and a relatively straightforward array of self buffs, with a small bit of party support.

Don’s NP, Valiente Asalto Dedicado a la Princesa, deals bonus damage against Giant trait enemies, and provides both ATK and Critical Damage buffs to all allies for three turns after dealing damage. Unfortunately, in Don’s eagerness for glory, he also deals 1,000 HP damage to himself after his NP, which is capable of killing if his health is low enough. This can be also be seen as beneficial, since it can swap in a Servant from a backline. However, since the amount of damage is very low, it can be difficult to set things up for this purpose.

His skills are primarily offensively focused for himself, with Seasoned Knight’s Grand Adventure EX providing him with three turns of Quick and Buster buffs, along with a small Guts effect. Open Door of Dreams EX gives himself a three turn ATK buff, and also provides up to 10% NP Gauge and 10 Stars each turn. His third skill, on the other hand, is somewhat contrary to the rest of his kit. Closed Book of Reality E requires Don to have at least 30% NP Gauge available, and will drain ALL of his NP charge when used, in exchange for giving the rest of the party members up to 30% NP Gauge and a small Crit Star bomb. This skill is among the higher valued NP charge skills available at Don’s rarity, although the cost can make it somewhat unwieldy to use and requires setup. Since using this skill puts Don at 0% NP charge, this delays his NP if no support is available to fill it back up, making it a skill that is not entirely useful to his own offensive performance since most of his damage comes from his NP. However, he is capable of generating a very decent number of Stars with his NP, Cards, and Stars-per-turn effect on his second skill. Getting his NP off will improve the Critical hits that ensue from the Stars he generates, due to the Crit Damage buffs that he grants to the party. 

Overall, Don is generally offensively focused with a hint of self sacrifice in his kit, which can end up somewhat awkward in practice despite somewhat decent critical support to the team and NP Gauge support (due to his charge draining his own NP, making it difficult for him to use his NP which provides further offensive buffs to allies). Damage-wise, he may not be the first pick either, although if there are any Archer or Berserker Class Giant enemies, he would be a great pick given his trait-based bonus damage. Masters also shouldn’t forget that they come in a package of two Servants in one with Don and Sancho!

NP Charge Support

A 30% NP charge for all allies except himself is rather above average for a 4 star rarity Servant, although unfortunately it comes at a cost of requiring at least 30% charge from Don. The skill also consumes all of his gauge immediately upon use, putting him at 0% charge. It goes without saying that his benefits come with a somewhat steep cost, since the bulk of Don’s burst damage comes from his NP.

Decent Star Generation

Don Quixote has multiple ways of generating Stars, from his second skill’s flat 10 Stars per turn, the 20 Star from his third skill (although it costs all his NP gauge), and both his NP and Quick Cards, which also generate a decent sum. He ends up enabling Critical Hits from allies quite well, especially on turns after his NP. This combines well with the Critical Damage buff that his NP grants to all allies as well.

NP Gauge Requirement for NP Charge Support

Briefly mentioned above in his strengths, his party NP charge skill unfortunately requires him to be at least 30% NP Gauge to use, and also drains all of his NP Gauge upon use. Depending on setup, Masters may find it more convenient to run a starting NP Gauge Craft Essence on Don to make sure he has enough NP Gauge to use this skill at battle start.

Self Damage

His NP deals damage to himself, and is one of the few self-damage effects that can actually cause self death. Although this can also be a good thing if Masters wish to bring in Servants from the backline, it can be difficult to do consistently because the self damage amount is relatively small, so he will need to have taken damage from other sources for this to work.

All of Don Quixote’s skills improve his performance in some way, although he has somewhat two modes of usage in teams—either as a damage dealer or for his NP charge support. For Masters using him in the former way, his first skill and second skill are crucial. For Masters using him for his NP charge, however, his third skill is more important. Masters may need to make a judgment depending on the rest of their roster on which capabilities are more important; for more developed rosters, in most cases Masters (if using him) might only consider fielding him for his third skill.

• Seasoned Knight’s Grand Adventure EX – This is a Quick/Buster steroid for Don, along with his primary defensive option. All three effects see benefits with levels, and if Masters wish to use Don as a damage dealer, this a skill very much a worthwhile investment. 
• Open Door of Dreams EX – This provides Don with an ATK buff, along with helpful NP Gauge and Stars per turn effects. The difference between 5% NP Gauge and 10% NP Gauge per turn is rather notable, making this a good skill to invest in if planning to use Don.
• Closed Book of Reality E – This skill will either see little use or a great deal of use depending on how Masters wish to field Don. The ally NP charge values scale with level, and only at max level give the best benefits of 30% NP charge to all allies (except Don), so it may be worth leveling this to max if setups requiring 30% charge for more than one ally from a lower-cost 4 star Servant might be desirable.

Don Quixote’s Craft Essence choice can depend on how Masters wish to use him. In both cases, his Starting NP Gauge is helpful. When run as a damage dealer, NP Damage, Quick Performance, and ATK buffs are all helpful. 

• Holy Night Supper / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Knights of Marines / Crimson Teacher’s Pointer / Warlords’ Rivalry / Traces of Christmases Past / Mission Start / Empty Garden / Imaginary Number Attribute - These are hybrid Craft Essences that provide a form of damage buff in addition to at least 50% starting NP Gauge. These should provide enough starting NP for Don to use his third skill for party NP charge if desired. Otherwise, if Masters wish for him to NP, a few turns or additional support may be required. 
• Kaleidoscope / The Imaginary Element / Winter Crystal – These are Starting NP Gauge CEs without additional effects. These provide more starting gauge and can enable Don to use his NP more quickly if desired.
• Dragon’s Meridian – A low cost CE that can give Don enough NP to use his third skill for the ally 30% NP charge.
• The Black Grail / Heaven's Feel – Don Quixote benefits from an NP Damage buff, since his kit does not have an NP Damage buff for himself. These CEs provide the most sizable boost to his damage.