Nero Claudius (Caster)

"As this is a vacation, I have more freedom than usual! And I mean that in more ways than one. Even as a Servant, I cannot defy the magic of Summer. Know that it'll take more than a Command Seal or two to stop me, Master!"

A rose by any other name would still be a rose, and the Rose Empress exemplifies this as she dons her swimsuit. Taking full advantage of how she can shape her Golden Theater as she sees fit, Nero Claudius (Caster) delivers a sonorous aria via her AoE Buster NP, Laudatum Domus Illustris, the strength of which renders a keen and unforgettable experience to even the most stalwart of beings.

It’s rare for a Servant to have 3 skills impressive enough that each could be considered another Servant’s strongest skill, along with useful passive skills and, for a Caster, good base stats. Nero’s first skill Rampaging Privilege is a powerful battery skill that includes a strong, if conditional, NP Gain Up. Meanwhile, both Seven Crowns and Undying Magus offer a nice mix of defensive and massive offensive buffs to improve her damage and ensure her survival. Furthermore, Nero (Caster)’s Arts cards in particular generate a large amount of NP gauge thanks to their high hit counts and her Territory Creation. Thus, with an easily charged NP and hefty damage buffs, Nero possesses all the ideal characteristics of a farming Servant. 

As far as weaknesses go, outside of Undying Magus’ ability to be given to someone else, Nero is a selfish diva, especially since Undying Magus will often be used for herself. Unlike many other damage dealers, she’s primarily reliant on her NP for damage, especially if her skills aren’t active. Her NP generation is also heavily focused on her 2 Arts cards as both her Quick and Extra card are relatively weak. In addition, for longer fights, Undying Magus’ cooldown is rather hefty, especially as it is often used just for the Attack buff.

At the very least, Nero (Caster) has all the tools she needs to farm well. Even for challenging content, her reliance on NP damage is not a huge detriment when she can potentially use her NP twice before her buffs expire, all the while Seven Crowns gives her a potent defensive option against difficult Berserkers or as protection in mixed nodes. Umu, a fitting stage is thus set for the Rose Empress.

Strong Farming and Burst Damage Potential 

When all of her skills are maxed and used on herself, Nero (Caster) has access to a 50% NP charge, 80% Attack Up, and a minimum of 20% NP Damage Up based on Overcharge, making it easy for her to prepare and slaughter foes with her NP. In addition, her BBAAQ will makes it easy to draw more damaging Buster chains which is ideal for finishing the toughest enemy in a wave.

Unique Defensive Potential

Seven Crowns gives Nero (Caster) a unique defensive option by negating her Class’ weakness when taking damage from classes such as Alter Egos, Berserkers, and Riders, in addition to the Defense Up it provides. In the event she suffers lethal damage, Undying Magus can bring her back to 1 HP, possibly giving her an additional turn to act. Lastly, Item Creation (Strange) grants her an extra passive 10% received healing bonus, which often adds up over the course of a Challenge Quest.

Targetable Attack and Guts Support

While Undying Magus’ Attack buff is often used for Nero herself, Masters can grants its guts and up to 50% Attack buff to a different Servant. This is mainly valuable while farming as Nero often deals sufficient damage for wave 1 or 2 without it, leaving Undying Magus to the Servant that cleans up wave 3. 

Impressive Arts Card NP Generation

Nero (Caster)’s Arts cards are some of the best Arts cards in the game at generating NP gauge, thanks to their high hit counts and Territory Creation. This can be increased even more if she satisfies the conditional effect for Rampaging Privilege.

High Hit Count Synergy

If provided with any form of Critical Star Generation Up, Nero (Caster)’s high hit counts on all but her regular Buster cards can make her an interesting active Critical Star generator.

Poor Non-Arts NP Gain Performance

Though she has decent hit counts for both her Buster and Quick cards, they are not as effective at generating NP gauge as her Arts cards. Thus, as even her Extra card isn’t very powerful, Masters would do well not to waste any Arts draws.

Long and Mismatched Skill Cooldowns

Each of Nero (Caster)’s skills have different cooldown times, ranging from 5 to 7 turns when maxed. With her main targetable steroid having the longest cooldown, setting up her full burst potential can be an issue in longer fights. 

Lack of Hard Defense

While Nero (Caster) possesses fairly strong defensive options in Seven Crowns and Undying Magus, they need to be paired with other defensive options to handle enemy NPs or critical hits as neither effects are sufficient to deal with high burst damage. In addition, Undying Magus will generally be used more often for its Attack Up potential than its Guts effect, which means the guts portion often goes to waste or is not accessible.

All 3 of Nero’s skills are powerful, to the point that raising them to 10 is just as important for the improved effects they provide in addition to the accompanying cooldown reduction. That said, Rampaging Privilege is generally the most important skill to level as a 50% NP Charge opens up a whole plethora of CEs with which to still activate an NP Instantly. Afterwards, Masters ought to level Seven Crowns and Undying Magus concurrently, as Seven Crowns grants sustain while Undying Magus provides more burst potential.  

• Even if all Rampaging Privilege EX offered was 30%-50% NP gauge on use, it would still be Nero (Caster)’s most important skill to raise to 10 for the synergy with various hybrid Craft Essences. It also has a conditional bonus NP Gain Up that scales the same amount, but the effect will only activate when Nero (Caster) is at half or less HP. Level this first.

• While Seven Crowns C is Nero’s main sustain skill as it provides both 20%-30% Attack Up and Defense Up for 3 turns. While situational in its application, the negation of class disadvantage when taking damage from Alter Egos, Berserkers, and Riders gives Nero (Caster) an edge in some challenging content with multiple classes. Level it primarily for the cooldown, and either level this last normally, or second if Masters want more sustain.

• Undying Magus A is Nero’s main targetable Attack Up steroid and is well worth raising for the massive 50% Attack buff. It also has a minor defensive property thanks to the Guts effect it provides, though it does not improve with levels and expires after 3 turns. While less important to max out than Rampaging Privilege, it’s best leveled second to improve Nero’s support and burst damage potential.

Like many of her strong NP battery peers, Nero (Caster)’s Rampaging Privilege makes it easier for her to use stronger CEs and still rapidly NP. Hybrid Starting NP Gauge CEs that offer 50% NP Gauge are attractive to enable her to NP quickly. For improving damage, Nero (Caster) is best off using something that provides Buster Performance Up, NP Damage Up, or a combination of the two. Attack Up is less useful for her if she’s using Undying Magus for herself, but otherwise it’s an alright option to consider.   

• The Black Grail / Heaven’s Feel: Though her NP already grants her NP Damage Up, the sheer amount of NP Damage Up offered by these two CEs increases her damage more than other damage-related CEs can, especially once external buffs are considered.

• Holy Night Supper: Similar to The Black Grail and Heaven’s Feel, Nero (Caster)’s NP damage benefits more from the NP Damage Up this CE provides than additional Attack Up from Golden Sumo.

• Golden Sumo: While not a bad CE in and of itself, Nero (Caster) will benefit from other damage related CEs more often than not as it stacks additively with her own Attack buffs.

• Partake with the King: Though the Buster Up is relatively low, the minimum 50% Starting NP Gauge it provides can make it a decent option if low on good 50% Starting NP Gauge CEs.

• Devilish Bodhisattva: Devilish Bodhisattva is an option for a single powerful NP, but its split stats make it less optimal.

• Dragon’s Meridian: If nothing else, a MLB version gives Nero (Caster) the minimum 50% Starting NP Gauge necessary to NP from her own skills only. 

• Hero Elly’s Adventure / Demon King of the Sixth Heaven / Kaleid Ruby: Though not as powerful as The Black Grail, the mix of Buster Up and NP Damage Up these CEs provide make them attractive options for pure damage-related CEs.

• Limited/Zero Over / Verdant Sound of Destruction: All of these CEs provide Buster Performance Up, the only damage type buff that Nero (Caster) is missing from her own skills for her NP’s damage.