Cu Chulainn

“Your heart is mine! Gáe Bolg!”

Despite the ‘Lancer is dead’ memes, Ireland’s Child of Light is easily one of the game’s hardiest Servants. While Cu Chulainn’s defensive kit may seem to conflict with his damaging Quick NP at first glance, this mix of staying power and capability to output single-target damage makes him one of the best Servants in the game in regards to solo or last stand performances.

Aside from the powerful Protection from Arrows skill, what makes Cu Chulainn uniquely powerful is that his two other skills are also survival-oriented. Battle Continuation provides Guts and Disengage provides healing and cleanses Cu of any debuffs, letting him cycle through his defensive cooldowns and minimize his moments of vulnerability. Gae Bolg meanwhile provides an offensive dimension to Cu Chulainn with its single-target nature and defense debuff, though its instant kill potential is utterly unreliable even at best. After its NP upgrade, it not only increases in damage, but it also applies a one-turn Sure-Hit buff on Cu, granting him some extent of offensive flexibility.

Despite Cu’s various defensive tools, Protection from Arrow’s Evasion still forms the centerpiece of his kit, as his natural HP pool is still that of a 3-star Servant. Enemies with Sure Hit, Ignore Invincibility, or buff removal are able to rob Cu Chulainn of his greatest strength, leaving him very vulnerable. Secondly, having a defense-focused kit also means that Cu has no way to boost his own damage. This low offensive power sometimes causes situations where he contributes little to the fight, while also preventing backrow Servants from entering the field. This aspect often leaves Cu on the bench as a Master grows stronger and clearing speed becomes the main priority.

While Cu Chulainn’s limitations mean that he is far from a perfect answer to everything, it is his high survivability, and low investment cost that any new Master can appreciate. From a reliable Lancer in the early game, Cu turns into a solo/last stand specialist that can grasp victory from the jaws of defeat, a role in which he truly excels.

Cu Chulainn’s survivability is so great that he is capable of tearing up some challenging encounters all by himself.

A typical solo setup involves two level 1 Servants with a taunt: generally a Leonidas and a Georgios. In Cu Chulainn's case, Protection from Arrows should be used first, while letting the two others taunt and die one at a time. After turn 3, Cu Chulainn will be left alone, granting him access to constant Brave chains. Starting from this point, the Master’s ability to rotate Protection from Arrows, Battle Continuation, Disengage, as well as their Mystic Code abilities will determine the strategy’s success.

Due to the strategy’s emphasis on repeated skill usage, having maxed out skill levels to reduce cooldowns is key.

Excellent Survivability

With one of the most survival-oriented kits in the game, Cu Chulainn can be expected to reliably survive the toughest of fights. While Protection from Arrows is typically the main talking point in this regard, the additions of Battle Continuation and Disengage's heal are also major factors which distinguish Cu from the rest of the cast.

Great Solo and Last Stand Potential

Cu’s ability to cycle through his various defensive options puts him in the spotlight as one of the best Servants for solo/last stand scenarios. This is mainly thanks to his main defensive skills, Protection from Arrows and Battle Continuation, that can be used preemptively, allowing Masters to save some cooldown turns in advance. This trait becomes far more prominent as he attains higher skill levels, thanks to the lower cooldowns on his base skills.

Amazing Starter Servant

As a 3-star Servant, Cu is relatively cheap to invest in, and his staying power allows Masters to more easily clear (Archer-heavy) stages such as the Chaldea daily quests. While he may get sidelined somewhat as a Master’s Servant roster grows, his solo/last stand potential allows him to provide value even in the later stages of the game.

Vulnerable to Sure-Hit/Buff Removal

Much of Cu Chulainn’s survivability revolves around his ability to rotate Evasions, and enemies possessing sure-hit or buff removal are able to effectively neutralize his niche. As such, he should aim to avoid these types of enemies as much as possible.

Weak Offensive Presence

Due to his lack of any offensive buffs, Cu’s offensive potential is middling when compared to his alternatives (e.g. Cu Chulainn (Prototype)). This makes him unsuitable for players desiring faster runs and more offensive strategies. After all, the best defense is a good offense, often applies to many difficult encounters.

While Cu Chulainn’s kit works perfectly fine even at base skill levels, all of his skills benefit from the cooldown reduction gained via leveling, improving Cu’s capability to cycle through his defensive options.

• Normally a middling skill, leveling Battle Continuation is essential for a last stand/solo-oriented Cu Chulainn, as the reduced cooldown is often crucial in buying time until Protection from Arrows comes off cooldown. Outside of solo situations, Disengage is the better investment of the two skills, but in either case, this skill should be leveled after Protection from Arrows.

• Protection from Arrows B is easily Cu Chulainn’s best skill, as a lot of his survivability is tied to it. As the Evasion only fully expires when he is hit a total of three times, it allows the skill to be used early on in a battle, thus getting a head start on its cooldown. As such, this skill benefits greatly from the cooldown reduction gained at skill levels 6 and 10. The additional Defense buff gained from this skill can also be highly valuable, especially if Cu is equipped with Defense-increasing CEs.

• Although Disengage C is rotationally the least crucial of Cu’s three skills, the debuff removal and decent amount of healing may help him survive in crucial moments. Leveling this skill would allow it to be readily available in most occasions thanks to its low cooldown, and helps Cu top off his HP inbetween Protection from Arrow usages. It should be leveled second if Cu is not to be used for soloing, though Battle Continuation takes precedence for last stand/solo-oriented Cus.

While most of Cu Chulainn’s damage comes from his NP, his mediocre NP gain means that Starting NP Gauge CEs are recommended. CEs granting Quick Performance Up are his preferred damage boosting option, while those with Invincibility can be used in certain specific situations.

• Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Holy Night Supper / Knights of Marines: While Cu’s NP is usually not needed in the first couple of turns, the NP charge provided by these CEs ensures that he will be able to unleash Gáe Bolg without having to focus extensively on using his command cards, while also giving strong performance buffs.

• Volumen Hydrargyrum: Mostly used in solo scenarios, Volumen’s triple-hit Invincibility can be active at the same time with Protection from Arrow’s Evasion, allowing Cu to rotate his cooldowns more reliably in the early fight. The Invincibility charges are consumed before the Evasion ones.

• Kaleidoscope / The Imaginary Element: In the rare occasions where a very early Gáe Bolg is desired, these CEs become Cu’s primary option, especially in the absence of NP charging supports. Starting NP Gauge also helps him come in for clean-up duty and quickly mop up any remaining enemies while staying alive himself.

• Imaginary Around / Gandr: These generic CEs improve on Cu’s Quick cards all around, granting him increased damage, NP gain, and to a lesser extent, star generation. The lack of Starting NP means they benefit him less offensively compared to the above choices, but these can still be used if other options are unavailable.