Altria Caster

“Because I'm just a normal village girl, that's why!”

The tolls of a bell resound from paradise, and the Child of Prophecy descends to bring hope to the world, especially Chaldea’s Arts-loving Masters. Indeed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Altria (Caster) a game changer. Bringing Arts NP looping consistency to an unprecedented level, her introduction heralds the dawn of a new era of farming. Ring the bells of destiny, for salvation is here at last!

Having NP Charge (up to 30% party-wide and 50% single-target) as well as a ridiculously high Arts NP Gain modifier, these alone would normally be enough to classify Altria (Caster) as a top-ranking Servant. The Child of Prophecy, however, also has incredible damage modifiers; pairing Sword of Selection’s Arts Performance Up with multiple Attack Up buffs from Charisma of Hope and her NP Around Caliburn, with additional supereffective damage against Threat to Humanity enemies. In addition, while Altria excels first and foremost at being an offensive support, she also boasts several powerful defensive tools. Most notable of these is Around Caliburn’s Enforcement Defense buff, which is essentially a multiple-hit, party-wide Invincible, with the added effect that it is unaffected by Ignore Invincible.

For all her strengths, Altria (Caster) isn’t omnipotent, as a couple of chinks can be found in her otherwise very impressive armor; namely, a lack of healing and Defense buffs. There is also the fact that she doesn’t provide any sort of Critical-oriented support, which can cause Arts compositions to somewhat struggle against higher-HP bosses. In a majority of cases, however, these weaknesses are more than made up for by the tools she does have, and even in the few situations where they become relevant, they can generally be solved by pairing her with a more specialized support ally.

All thing said, the Child of Prophecy definitely lives up to her title. Her support capabilities are such that she is effective even in non-Arts compositions, and in a proper Arts team her contribution just shoots through the roof. In fact, one doesn’t necessarily require a double-Altria (Caster) setup in order to perform a reliable 3-turn farming party, with the caveat that it has more limited CE options and may require the help of Chaldea Combat Uniform.

Altria’s party-wide NP Charge (30% at max level) makes it a lot easier to access the NPs of support Servants including Altria herself, as a double Altria composition ends up with 60% NP Charge by using both Charisma of Hopes. The remaining 40% can generally be achieved by combination of the following: Starting NP CEs (preferably event CEs), Append Skill 2, a damage dealer or a third support with party-wide NP Charge, or even just good ol’ Arts chains. Also, it’s worth noting that Protection of the Lake’s NP Gain Up is party-wide, meaning that in the (admittedly somewhat unlikely) event where the damage dealer has a surplus of NP Charge, the skill can be used on Altria herself or another support for this purpose, with the damage dealer still gaining the benefit of the NP Gain Up.

NP Charge and NP Loop Support

Altria (Caster) is special in that she provides the vaunted 50% single-target NP Charge threshold, while also offering both Arts Performance Up and NP Gain Up buffs. These two factors bring about the existence of parties capable of firing the damage dealer’s NP for three (in some cases, even four) successive turns without the involvement of a Starting NP CE. This in turn allows for damage-increasing CEs such as The Black Grail to be used on the damage dealer, greatly increasing the damage potential of Arts farming compositions.

Arts Damage Support

While the massive support Altria (Caster) offers in terms of NP Gain/Charge is definitely her biggest strength, the combination of Charisma of Hope and Sword of Selection means that the damage increase she provides is also very competitive (her offensive buffs also scale very well with the aforementioned The Black Grail), and Altria can even add in a further Attack buff from her NP.

Enforcement Defense, Targetable Invincible, Debuff Removal 

Around Caliburn’s Enforcement Defense is one of the best defensive buffs in the game, being unaffected by both Sure Hit as well as Ignore Invincible, leaving buff removal as the only thing it is vulnerable towards. Furthermore, it lasts for up to 3 turns, and can take up to 5 hits depending on Overcharge (1 hit per 100% Charge). In times of emergency, Altria (Caster) can also throw Sword of Selection’s 1-turn Invincible at an endangered ally, if at the cost of potentially wasting the Arts Performance buff. Rounding up Altria’s kit is her NP’s debuff removal, which is always an excellent tool to have in harder quests.

No Critical Support

For all her various tools, Altria (Caster) notably lacks any sort of critical-related buff. To be perfectly clear, an Altria-supported damage dealer’s NP damage (especially with the Black Grail) is generally more than enough to oneshot the final wave of most farming stages; however, higher-HP bosses may cause some difficulties in minimum-turning a particular stage, as the composition’s damage output drops outside of the aforementioned NP.

Limited Long-term Sustainability

Although Altria (Caster) does come with several powerful defensive tools, she lacks any sort of healing capability as well as Defense Up buffs. This situation may become relevant in more protracted fights, as while she can reliably prevent incoming NP damage, the limited uptime of Enforcement Defense leaves the party rather vulnerable towards stray critical hits as well as DoT effects (though she can hinder the latter thanks to her NP’s debuff removal). In these cases, Enforcement Defense’s 3-turn duration may also backfire, as an existing 1-hit Enforcement Defense buff would prevent a new (for example) 3-hit one from being applied.

It is recommended to max all three of Altria (Caster)’s skills as soon as possible, as all of them are necessary in order to fully experience what she has to offer. The leveling priority depends to some extent on the damage dealer to be used, though in general it’s better to focus on her second and third skills first.

• Aside from the Attack Up provided by all Charisma skills, Charisma of Hope is notable for its 30% (at max level) party-wide NP Charge, at the expense of having 1 more compared to the normal version. Maxing this skill is important in order to unlock the use of The Black Grail on the damage dealer (as two Altrias are capable of fully charging a Servant’s NP gauge from zero), and also to access Altria (Caster)’s own NP. Generally speaking, however, it’s best to focus on her other skills first
• Although Protection of the Lake’s NP Charge is smaller than that of Charisma of Hope and its NP Gain Up is less impactful than Sword of Selection’s Arts Performance Up, is the glue that ties Altria (Caster)’s skillset together, acting as a complement to both aforementioned skills. It is recommended to level this skill second after Sword of Selection, as it directly interacts with Altria’s primary role as an NP Loop support.
•  While Altria (Caster)’s other two skills are what sets her apart from other supports, Sword of Selection is still arguably her most valuable skill thanks to the massive Arts Performance Up buff, which aside from providing direct benefits to Arts damage and NP gain, also helps with providing Overcharge due to the increase in NP damage. This skill should be leveled first.

Being a support Servant, Altria (Caster) is an excellent choice to put Bond Up CEs as well as Increase Drop Event CEs. Starting NP Gauge is also an option if her NP is needed, as well as Passive Star Generation for critical-oriented teams, and Taunt when she is used as a switch-in Servant.

• Flexible Craft Essence (Bond/Event): As a support Servant, Altria (Caster) can easily equip these CEs without compromising the party’s performance. They should be her go-to option in most cases.
• Dragon’s Meridian (MLB) / The Imaginary Element / Kaleidoscope: While most other Servants prefer higher rarity Starting NP CEs, the fact that a double Altria (Caster) composition can get up to 60% NP Charge for free means that cost effectiveness is generally valued over raw Starting NP amount. As such, an MLB Dragon’s Meridian is more than enough in most cases, and even a non-MLB version is sufficient with her Append Skill 2 unlocked.
• GUDAGUDA Poster Girl / Halloween Arrangement / Grand New Year: These CEs apply Taunt to Altria (Caster), and can be effective picks when she is used as a switch-in Servant, or as a frontline Servant in stages where the boss performs a single-target NP on the very first turn.
• A Fragment of 2030: The essential pick for any support Servant wishing to provide their party with a decent amount of critical stars per turn. 
• Painting Summer/  Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Little Halloween Devil:  If Cost isn’t an issue, these CEs can be used instead of pure Starting NP CEs, as they also allow Altria (Caster) to charge up her second NP faster in longer stages.
• Devilish Bodhisattva: While Castoria's Anti-Enforcement defense is something, it only lasts for a single hit so can often be broken by a side mob before the unwanted Noble Phantasm hits. With DB, it lasts for a full 3 hits on each Servant, rendering the entire party essentially immune for the turn. It's 60% starting charge helps her reach that requirement quite easily too!