Mephistopheles

Buff Block On Demand

After his Rank Up Quest, he can inflict a Buff Block status that up to three buffs on a target enemy, which can be useful in certain encounters. Note that the buff block never expires until three buffs have been absorbed.

Two Sources of Curse Damage

Both his third skill and NP can inflict curse status, with his third skill dealing up to 1000 curse damage per turn over 5 turns, and his NP dealing up to 2500 (500% overcharge) curse damage per turn over 3 turns. Note that if you plan to use him for curse damage, his Interlude should be done first to guarantee the curse lands. Mephistopheles is worth keeping in mind if you wish to experiment with stacking curse damage, particularly after Edmond Dantes gets his NP Rank Up that doubles curse damage dealt.

Very Poor Damage Output

His low stats, 0.9x Caster class multiplier, and no self damage buffs land him at the second lowest Buster NP damage in the cast, second only to Gilles de Rais (Caster). He can and will have trouble clearing some farming quests without additional support. He also lacks the ability to chain his Buster NP due to his Triple Arts card setup, further reducing his damage output.

Poor Skill Set

Aside from his Buff Block skill, which is decent, his other skills are somewhat lackluster. The NP charge drain skill primarily functions as a stalling skill, but given his poor damage and lack of other supporting skills, he does not fit the stalling niche as well as some other Servants. Additionally, the amount of critical stars from his second skill is modest, but is accompanied by a sizable 18% defense debuff. Given his other skills, he does not quite fit the niche of a critical support. In short, his skills do not particularly synergize well with each other.

Curse A: Curse is decent for boss fights, as it can delay Noble Phantasms from bosses. Leveling this skill is only useful for reducing the cooldown and improving its likelihood of success (although even at lv10 it only has a base success rate of 80%).

Innocent Monster B: This skill allows him to provide some critical support by generating stars, and leveling this skill will increase the amount of stars generated per turn. Out of his three skills, this skill is more useful in a variety of situations, and is worth leveling first.

Clown’s Laughter A+: This skill may be the reason a Master is looking to use Mephistopheles, given how unique the skill is. Levels in this skill increase curse damage up to 1000 per turn over 5 turns, whereas the Buff Block effect remains fixed. In most cases the Buff Block effect is more desirable, and since it is not affected by additional levels this skill can be leveled last or kept at rank 1.

OVERALL: Mephistopheles can make do as a farming Caster with some starting NP gauge or NP damage CEs. NP Damage Up / Damage Up / NP Generation craft essences work well with him.

• Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Halloween Princess: These two provide an Attack or NP damage bonus and give a bit of starting NP (up to 50% MLB) which help with unleashing his NP more quickly.
• Kaleidoscope/Little Halloween Devil/Imaginary Element: These provide starting NP that help make farming a bit quicker.
• Black Grail/Heaven’s Feel: These provide a boost to NP damage, which will help him hit the damage thresholds that will allow him to clear enemy waves comfortably, since by himself his NP damage is lackluster.
• Divine Banquet / Prisma Cosmos: These improve his NP generation rather than providing starting NP, which provide an alternative way to fill his NP gauge quickly