Carmilla (Rider)

“Clad with the color of blood, living the night. The targeted prey won’t escape. Yes! This is the maiden of steel for this year’s summer!”

The gorgeous Madam Swimsuit Celebrity who’s also secretly the phantom thief Mistress C is an existence brought about by Carmilla’s jealousy towards her younger counterpart’s many variants. Subtle and elegant, Carmilla (Rider) boasts a semi-supportive skillset specialized around applying various fun, unique debuffs on her enemies.

While Carmilla does her supporting mostly via debuffs, she actually shares similar primary features with many other prime damage supports, from Thief's Calling Card’s NP Charge to Femme Fatale (Fake)’s Critical Defense debuff (which is essentially Critical Damage Up in debuff form). She also has a selection of more minor or situational debuffs such as Skill Seal and Critical Rate Down, and notably Buff Block, another courtesy of her NP Testarossa Maiden. Rounding up her skillset are Femme Fatale’s Instant Critical Stars and Mistress C’s HP Absorption, the latter of which helps sustain her in longer fights.

Although there are definitely advantages to using debuffs instead of buffs, there are also disadvantages, chiefly that the benefit provided by debuffs lasts only so long as the debuffed target lives. Meanwhile, despite providing some Critical Damage support, Carmilla’s Rider class means that she’ll be competing with other damage dealers for critical stars as well, and while she is able to for the most part sustain herself, she is unable to extend the same benefit to her allies.

The limitations placed by Carmilla’s debuff-oriented playstyle prevents her from truly becoming a top tier support choice, but nevertheless, her unique tools are definitely a breath of fresh air for the game’s buff-heavy meta. Invest in her, and the gracious lady Carmilla will give you a summer experience you’ll never forget!

Damage Support (Debuff)

Carmilla possesses an assortment of damage increasing debuffs; namely, Critical Defense Down (Femme Fatale (Fake)), Defense Down (Mistress C) and Quick Resistance Down (Testarossa Maiden). She also provides some NP Charge through her second skill’s delayed Calling Card debuff. She even has some instant Critical Stars from Femme Fatale, though it is more than likely that Carmilla herself will get most of them. 

Decent Utility

Buff Block can be a very powerful tool in the right situation, and Carmilla’s NP applies it to all enemies on the field. She also has a Skill Seal and a delayed NP Drain, as well as Critical Rate Down for those enemies with painful or AoE criticals.

Debuff-Oriented Support

Debuffs can and will occasionally miss targets with Magic Resistance, which includes most Servants in the game. Meanwhile, those with Debuff Resistance or Immunity can simply shrug off most everything Carmilla is able to throw at them (when given the chance, she can preemptively Buff Block said Debuff Resistance/Immunity, but this is a rather unreliable strategy, and usually doesn’t work against special stage buffs). The second great weakness of a debuff-oriented playstyle is that debuffs cannot outlive their target, making them far less useful in farming situations. This also creates a complexity with Thief's Calling Card’s delayed debuff, as the party-wide NP Charge is also lost if the debuffed target dies too early.

High Star Weight

While high star weight is normally an advantage, it is not so for someone in a supportive role like Carmilla, as she may end up snatching critical stars meant for the main damage dealer (which is important as Carmilla is most likely used in Quick-oriented teams).

Long Cooldowns and Lacks Party Sustain 

Carmilla’s skills have rather long base cooldowns, meaning that it’s unlikely for her to get a second use off them in most stages. While she is generally able to sustain herself well enough during any possible downtime, she provides neither hard defensive buff nor long-term sustain for her allies, which makes her less suited for extended fights.

Carmilla’s skills have rather long base cooldowns, so it’s recommended to get all of them to level 6 at the very least. Maxing them, on the other hand, is not strictly necessary, but can be quite beneficial on her second and third skills.

• While Femme Fatale (Fake)’s high Critical Rate Down modifier may look enticing, the fact that it only affects critical hits make it a lot more situational, especially as it doesn’t benefit NP damage. While this skill should usually be leveled third, those seeking to use Carmilla in critical-oriented compositions may find benefit in leveling it second over Thief’s Calling Card.
• Thief’s Calling Card applies a 3-turn Critical Rate Down to its target, but more importantly, it applies the delayed debuff Calling Card, which drains an opponent’s NP in the following turn and charges the party’s NP gauge. Using it often requires careful selection of targets, to ensure that the debuffed target survives until the delayed effects are triggered. It is also less useful in fast farming runs where enemy mob waves are quickly eliminated with AoE NPs. In general, this skill should be leveled second.
•  Mistress C is the most flexible of Carmilla’s skills, as its Defense down is less situational compared to Femme Fatale’s Critical Defense down, and it lacks the complexity provided by Thief’s Calling Card’s delayed debuff. As such, it should be leveled first.

As a support, Carmilla is generally rather flexible with her CE choices, though she does benefit from using Starting NP Gauge Craft Essences. Passive Star Generation is also a powerful option for critical-oriented compositions.

• Kaleidoscope / The Imaginary Element (MLB): These CEs are especially valuable when Carmilla’s Buff Block is needed early on in the fight, and it also allows her to apply Testarossa Maiden’s Quick Resist Down at the same time.
• Holy Night Supper / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Knights of Marines / One Summer:  These hybrid CEs provide some Starting NP as well as direct offensive benefits, a good fit for more casual farming runs where a very early NP isn’t necessary.
• A Fragment of 2030 / His Rightful Place: The constant stream of critical stars provided by these CEs are much welcomed in critical-oriented teams, allowing the party to produce enough stars to hopefully offset Carmilla’s high Rider star weight.
• Flexible CE Choice: In a supporting role, Carmilla can equip essentially any CE, such as event drop bonus CEs or Bond CEs.