Semiramis

“Fine. I will let you have a taste of this poisonous wine. Feel privileged.”

Reputed to be the world’s first poisoner, Semiramis was one of the most famous figures to ever rule an ancient empire. The Assassin-class Empress of Assyria is a Buster-type AoE damage dealer who, despite her story, has only one poison-related skill.

Instead, Semiramis’ NP is the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon, an AoE Buster NP which increases her allies’ defense and, after upgrade, applies Buff Removal Resist on them for one turn. Despite being an Assassin, Semiramis also comes with a triple Arts deck and Territory Creation EX, the hallmark traits of a Caster-class Servant. Lorewise, this is caused by her Double Summon skill, which increases her NP gain and eliminates her weakness towards Caster enemies (however, it doesn’t give her an advantage against Assassins). Due to these, as well as Familiar (Pigeon)’s NP Charge, Semiramis boasts considerable NP Gain despite a rather mediocre base. Rounding up her kit is Alcohol of the Arrogant King, activated with a cost of 8 critical stars, which applies poison and, more importantly, a large Buster Resistance Down debuff to all enemies — increasing not only her damage, but also that of her allies.

Semiramis’ biggest weakness is her low NP damage. With an unimpressive attack stat and the ever-problematic 0.9x Assassin-class damage modifier, her damage boosts are not enough to make up for it, and she ranks low even among her 5-star AoE Assassin peers. This is made even more complicated by the nature of her third skill, which may not always be available due to its cost, and as a debuffing skill, it may miss or even be outright nullified by Debuff Resistance buffs. She also has no hard defensive skills to speak of, which forces her to rely on defensive supports.

All in all, while Semiramis’ double class theme brings huge benefits to her NP gain, it solves neither of her largest problems, which are a lack of damage and her unreliable third skill. Still, with a Buster typing and high personal NP gain, a well-supported Semiramis flourishes in mixed-class Cavalry stages, where her ability to fight Casters on equal grounds truly shows its worth.

High NP Gain and NP Charge

While Semiramis’ base NP gain is nothing impressive, Territory Creation and Double Summon’s buff increase it to above average levels. Furthermore, her triple Arts deck means that she is able to form more Arts chains in comparison to her peers. Lastly, Familiar (Pigeon) helps her top off her NP gauge, and allows even early-turn NPs with the help of CEs and supports.

Buster Synergy

With a Buster-type NP and an atypical triple Arts deck, Semiramis boasts a rare compatibility with common Buster supports, who are able to provide the damage increase she so desperately needs, as well as critical stars to activate her third skill. She also pairs fairly well with other Buster-type damage dealers thanks to her Buster Resist Down, enabling her to be utilized in switch-in strategies.

Temporary Elimination of Class Disadvantage

With the help of Double Summon, Semiramis is able to temporarily face Caster-class enemies on equal grounds. While this ability is more often than not just a fun gimmick to play around with, it does give her an edge over her peers in stages featuring a mix of Cavalry classes.

Low NP Damage

Despite technically having two damage boosts, Alcohol of the Arrogant King is Semiramis’ only major battery, as Hanging Gardens’ buff is fairly negligible unless Overcharged, though as an NP Damage Up, it scales very well with most commonly available buffs. Coupled with her mediocre attack stat and the 0.9x Assassin-class modifier, Semiramis is hard-pressed to compete with her peers in terms of NP damage, especially before its upgrade.

Unreliable Damage Boost

Alcohol of the Arrogant King applies its damage boost in the form of an AoE Buster Resistance Down. As a debuff, enemies with Magic Resistance have a chance of evading it, and it is very unlikely to hit those with Debuff Immunity/Debuff Resistance Up (though her first skill helps with this somewhat). Furthermore, the skill cannot be activated unless at least 8 critical stars are available, which means that it may not be available when the situation calls for it. While this problem can be solved through the use of CEs such as 2030 or star-generating supports, using the skill on the first turn remains a problem unless instant star generation methods are brought along as well, which puts another constraint in the team building phase. Lastly, Alcohol also comes with one extra cooldown turn compared to most other damage boosting skills.

No Hard Defensive Skill

Although the Hanging Gardens of Babylon increases the team’s defense for 3 turns, Semiramis has no other defensive skill, let alone a hard defensive one such as Evasion/Invincibility. She has to rely on her supports as a result, which can pose a problem against enemies with fast-charging NPs.

Semiramis benefits greatly from having all of her skills leveled, and all of them should ideally be maxed. With access to supports, however, her second skill can generally be left for later. While leveling her skills, it is generally the best course of action to keep the cooldowns of her first and third skills as close to each other as possible.

• The largest benefit provided by Familiar (Pigeon) D is enabling Semiramis to easily unleash her NP as early as the first turn with the help of supports and/or CEs. It is also on a short cooldown (5 when maxed), meaning that she can use it often and efficiently. It also reduces the enemies’ debuff resistance for one turn, making it more likely for Alcohol of the Arrogant King’s Buster Resist Down to hit. This skill should be leveled second.

• Double Summon B boosts Semiramis’ NP gain and eliminates her disadvantage against Caster enemies for three turns. While the increase to NP gain is very much appreciated, it becomes somewhat redundant when NP charging supports are brought along. Its second effect, on the other hand, is rather situational, as bringing her instead of Riders/Berserkers against Caster enemies is the less desirable option. This skill can be leveled last.

• As Semiramis’ primary damage battery, Alcohol of the Arrogant King is a very important skill in her skillset despite its aforementioned problems. Leveling it increases the amount of damage boost it provides, and reduces its cooldown, allowing it to keep up with her NP gain. This skill should be maxed first.

Semiramis’ CE consideration revolves around maximizing her NP damage, while ensuring that said NP could be fired when needed. As a result, her options usually include some form of damage increase, such as NP Damage Up, Attack Up, or Buster Performance Up, with varying degrees of Starting NP Gauge depending on the stage and available supports. Thanks to her third skill, she can also utilized as a switch-in Servant to buff other Buster Servants.

• Aerial Drive / Holy Night Supper / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament: These CEs are generally Semiramis’ first choice, granting her reasonable amounts of both damage increase and Starting NP. In combination with supports, these allow her to unleash a very early NP, and makes it more likely for her to be able to fire off a second one.

• The Black Grail: Not only does this CE provide a humongous amount of NP Damage Up, the buff also scales very well with most commonly found buffs. By far the best fix to her damage problem, Semiramis’ high NP gain means that she would be able to equip it without much problem, especially with the help of supports.

• Kaleidoscope / The Imaginary Element: These CEs enable Semiramis to perform a first-turn NP without the aid of supports, making them excellent choices for Masters with less developed Servant pools.

• Golden Captures the Carp / Ox-Demon King: These CEs can be used when Semiramis is employed as an Order Change Servant, providing additional damage increase to her team.