Chevalier d'Eon

“I can be either a man or a woman. That is who I, Chevalier d'Eon, am.”

Be it a knight, a spy, a man, or a woman, Chevalier d’Eon has been all of these at different points in time, but one thing stays constant during all the years of their life - their loyalty. A staunch protector of the crown of France, the durable d’Eon is most known for being an Arts Saber with a three-turn Taunt.

It’s their Beautiful Appearance skill that truly defines d’Eon’s fighting style, allowing them to protect their allies from harm for three turns. With their very base high HP pool, additional healing and Defense Up, the debuffs on Fleur de Lis, and Mind’s Eye (True)’s Evasion, d’Eon’s capability to take hits is rather impressive. Last but not least, Self-Suggestion allows d’Eon to tank (and cleanse) enemy debuffs as well, potentially granting the team a strategic advantage during high difficulty content.

d’Eon’s offensive side, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Due to their defensive kit, d’Eon is neither able to dish out enough meaningful damage on their own, nor support teammates’ damage dealing capabilities to a sufficient degree. This is in part caused by Fleur de Lis’ undertuned debuffs, which only truly become worthwhile to apply at higher NP levels. Meanwhile, AoE attacks as well as various anti-Evasion measures (Buff Removal/Sure-Hit/Invincibility Ignore) present the biggest threats to d’Eon’s defensive style, greatly reducing their effectiveness when deployed.

When it comes down to it, Chevalier d’Eon is a Servant who excels at a single thing - and that is, redirecting damage and debuffs away from his teammates. While they have several glaring issues, d’Eon can be a very potent tool if used correctly, be it as a dedicated escort of otherwise-squishy Berserkers, or as a strategic disposable piece in suicide tanking strategies.

Damage Reduction

Taunts can keep squishy allies alive for a much longer period of time, and d’Eon’s 3-turn Taunt  is able to do this much more reliably than any of its single turn counterparts. The ability to tank damage meant for other Servants also increases the predictability of how the fight progresses and it is usually very clear when d’Eon is about to leave the fight, enabling much more reliable Servant Ordering Strategies.

High Durability

d’Eon’s approach to defense relies heavily on Mind’s Eye’s Evasion, allowing them to tank the hardest-hitting NPs with minimal setup. Combined with their high HP pool, self-heal, defense buff, as well as their NP’s debuffs, d’Eon tankiness fits extremely well with their Taunt-based playstyle.

Debuff Redirection

Self-Suggestion’s debuff resistance buff makes d’Eon immune to most debuffs, a property that when combined with Taunt allows them to effectively tank enemy debuffs without sacrificing their own performance. In addition, it cleanses his own existing debuffs as well, allowing for a longer effective debuff immunity than the skill’s cooldown implies.

Low Offensive Presence

With a fairly low attack stat, a non-damaging NP, and the lack of any sort of on-demand damage buff, d’Eon brings few offensive benefits to the team. While d’Eon’s normal cards deal acceptable damage, they have to rely on allies when it comes to finishing enemies off. On the bright side, their Saber-class Star Weight won't steal critical stars from other Servants, unlike main competitor Georgios. 

Weaker Sustained Defense

D’Eon’s defensive side is based on their Evasion skill, making d’Eon a great tank against enemy NPs. The Evasion’s one-turn duration and the resulting downtime, however, results in weaker sustained defenses compared to d’Eon main defense buff-based tank competitors. In addition, d’Eon’s Taunt also includes their only healing component, yet d’Eon will often be at full HP when Beautiful Appearance is used. At higher NP levels though, Fleur de Lis’s Attack Down debuff can be used to patch this weakness.

Weak to AoE Attacks and Buff Removal/Sure-Hit/Invincibility Ignore

While d’Eon’s Taunt is very effective at dealing with single-target hits, it is unable to protect their teammates from AoE attacks, such as those from Dragons or Demonic Pillars. Additionally, d’Eon is vulnerable against those with the means to bypass Evasion, as they lack other avenues of strong reliable damage mitigation.

Subpar Noble Phantasm

Fleur de Lis’ AoE Charm is unfortunately unpredictable at best, with a very low chance to land even before considering Debuff Resistances. The Attack Down and Defense Down debuffs are more useful, though rather undertuned in values. Only at high NP levels does the NP turn into a valuable defensive tool, but even then Masters may elect not to use it due to its non-damaging nature.

Chevalier d’Eon’s Evasion and Taunt skills are crucial to their role, and having them maxed can prove critical in more difficult quests. Leveling them concurrently is generally best. Self-Suggestion, on the other hand, is more situational, and level 8 is enough to reach 100% debuff resistance thanks to d’Eon’s Magic Resistance C.

• Mind’s Eye (True) C is d’Eon’s primary defensive skill, granting them an Evasion for one turn as well as a 3-turn defense buff. The scaling defense buff helps keep d’Eon alive after the Evasion, while the cooldown reduction helps d’Eon to keep up with enemy NP cycles or high damage turns. This skill is slightly lower priority compared to Beautiful Appearance, but it is generally preferable to level the two simultaneously.

• Self-Suggestion A removes all debuffs currently affecting d’Eon, and applies a massive debuff resistance buff on them. At level 8 onwards, d’Eon is able to reach 100% debuff resistance, making them effectively immune to normal debuffs (some exceptions exist, such as Gae Bolg Alternative’s 500% Stun chance). Due to its situational nature, this skill should be leveled last.

• Beautiful Appearance C’s 3-turn Taunt defines d’Eon’s playstyle, and maximizing its uptime is crucial to their performance. The skill’s self-heal also increases with additional levels, allowing d’Eon to survive slightly longer. With only a 5 turn cooldown at max rank, it also synergizes well with the cooldown reduction from the Atlas Academy Uniform for 6 turns of Taunt. Nevertheless, this skill should be leveled first if d’Eon is to be a dedicated protector for a squishy Berserker ally. 

As a survival-oriented Servant, d’Eon works excellently with Defense Up CEs, while their high HP pool makes Healing Received Up ones alluring as well. CEs which activate On Death/On Entry can be used for suicide Taunting strategies, and against the hardest enemies, CEs with Invincibility/Guts provide a great way to extend d’Eon’s life. As d’Eon is not particularly concerned with stats, his Bond CE may also be employed in Arts teams with little drawback.

• Volumen Hydrargyrum / Grand New Year / Chaldea Lifesavers: CEs of this category are used in faster-paced quests, where enemies possess the capability to burst d’Eon down in the first few turns. Each of these CEs confer benefits enabling d’Eon to keep up with the pressure.

• Iron-Willed Training / Holy Shroud of Magdalene / Azoth Blade: These CEs help d’Eon tank more normal hits, and can also be used to perform defense-stacking strategies. They become more valuable than Healing Received Up CEs in more difficult quests, as enemies are likely to deal high amounts of damage with their normal attacks.

• Maid in Halloween: Aside from increasing the healing d’Eon receives, Maid in Halloween also comes with a lot of HP stats, further increasing d’Eon’s survivability. This CE can be used when d’Eon is paired with healing heavy supports.

• The Merciless One / Ox-Demon King / Battle of Camlann: These CEs should be used if d’Eon is utilized in a suicide Taunt strategy, allowing them to assist the main damage dealer with their demise.

• Gift from the Queen: d’Eon’s bond CE allows them to further support an Arts-oriented team by increasing the teams’ Arts damage and NP gain. As a Servant who mostly relies on their skills, d’Eon is also less affected by the decrease in stats caused by using a bond CE.