Xu Fu (Avenger)

"I came to hang out, so brace yourself! ...Huh? What's with that annoyed look on your face...? ...A report? Ugh, fine, I'll help you out, so let's play!"

Xu Fu, elixir-of-immortality seeker and dedicated fangirl of Yu Miaoyi, has crashed onto the Chaldea Summer Vacation event as an Avenger with a chainsaw in hand. A single-target Buster Damage Dealer with steady teamwide NP Charge over time and solid anti-trait bonus damage, Xu Fu is a straightforward but rather unimpressive Servant in terms of gameplay.

Xu Fu's skills are quite simple but effective. Her first skill, Taoist Arts (Doll Control) A+, grants her a 30% boost to her own Arts and Buster cards while also charging her NP Gauge by 30%. Territory Evolution (Village) B++ is considerably more interesting. This skill increases all allies' NP Overcharge by 1 once across 3 turns and charges their NP Gauge by 10%, with an additional 10% each turn for 3 turns, totaling a teamwide 120% NP Gauge over the full duration, which is nothing to scoff at and opens up some interesting applications for farming or even as a plug-suit support. Finally, Collection Worth a Thousand Deaths A significantly increases her Instant Death chance and NP Damage, while also granting a small Special Attack bonus modifier against targets afflicted with [Burn], [Poison], or [Curse], all in service of supplementing her Noble Phantasm.

Death at Dusk, Chainsaw at Twilight B+ is Xu Fu's Noble Phantasm. It is a single-target nuke with strong bonus damage that scales with Overcharge level against enemies with the [Human] attribute. It also carries a decent Instant Death chance that, if triggered, increases all allies' ATK by 20% for 3 turns.

Xu Fu is a rather tricky Servant to evaluate. On one hand, her third skill allows her to deal significant damage with her Noble Phantasm when all conditions are met, namely [Human] attribute enemies afflicted with [Burn], [Poison], and [Curse], making any Command Codes that apply these statuses, or teammates who can help set them up, highly beneficial to her damage output. Her ability to steadily charge her teammates' NP Gauge over 3 turns is also quite valuable, giving her a degree of utility in a multicore team or as a plug-suit unit.

On the other hand, her weaknesses are hard to overlook. Xu Fu has no built-in utility or survivability in her kit, making her a complete glass cannon in any challenging content. Furthermore, while her damage ceiling is theoretically high, reaching it requires considerable setup, and without it, her self-buffs alone are not strong enough to produce consistently high damage output.

All in all, while Xu Fu is far from a bad Servant, her strengths are not quite enough to push her into the upper tier, and her lack of a clearly defined niche makes her a harder sell in the broader roster of available Servants.

Good Teamwide NP Battery

With her second skill, Xu Fu can provide a substantial total of 120% NP Gauge to the entire party over 3 turns. It gives 10% immediately, followed by 10% per turn over 3 turns for each Servant, offering solid value in multi-core setups with Servants who have limited NP Gauge charge or refund.

Good Anti-Trait Damage

Xu Fu can accumulate a total of 60% Special Attack modifier when hitting a target afflicted with all three of [Burn], [Curse], and [Poison], plus an additional 150-200% supereffective modifier against enemies with [Human] attribute, meaning her damage can be quite potent in an ideal scenario.

Complete Lack of Utilities and Defensive Effects

Xu Fu's kit is entirely lacking in utility and defensive effects, leaving her ill-equipped to handle many common boss gimmicks and wholly reliant on her teammates to keep her alive.

Damage Falls Off Hard Without Anti-Trait Bonuses

Xu Fu's self-buffs are quite mediocre, and her damage output suffers immensely when the team cannot apply [Burn], [Curse], and [Poison] to her targets, or when she is not hitting enemies with the [Human] attribute.

Given her own kit has no ability to inflict ailments, it is highly recommended to equip Xu Fu with Command Codes that inflict [Burn], [Curse] or [Poison] if the Master wants to utilize her regularly to maximize her damage output.

Xu Fu has a clear skill leveling priority, with her second skill offering the best return on investment, while the remaining two skills share roughly equal priority.

• Taoist Arts (Doll Control) A+ - This skill serves as both her steroid and NP Gauge charge, with the latter being particularly valuable for securing an early Noble Phantasm usage. The scaling on this skill is quite mediocre, but it is still worth maxing out to obtain the full 30% NP Gauge charge.

• Territory Evolution (Village) B++ - This is Xu Fu's strongest skill in terms of overall effectiveness. While it does not directly boost her personal damage output, the teamwide NP Gauge charge it provides adds considerable value to her role in any team.

• Collection Worth a Thousand Deaths A - This is her primary damage boost, particularly effective when the team can apply [Curse], [Poison], and [Burn] onto her target. However, it is less universally applicable than her other two skills, so its value will vary depending on the situation.

Like most Buster loopers, Xu Fu favors Craft Essences with Starting NP Gauge paired with multiple offensive stats such as ATK, NP Damage, and Buster Card Effectiveness, with ATK being particularly valuable given her kit's lack of any built-in ATK boost.

• First Day of Filming / Aerial Drive / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament - These are top-tier event Craft Essences obtainable from the Rare Prism shop or event rewards, and are useful in virtually any situation. In general, any Craft Essence offering 50% NP Gauge alongside comparable offensive stats should be considered optimal for her, as combined with Append Skill 2, she can reliably access her Noble Phantasm on the first turn.

• The Black Grail / Inverted Rain of Mud / Heaven's Feel - When it comes to raw damage output with an Oberon on the team, no other Craft Essences can match the sheer NP Damage boost these provide.

• Honey Lake / To Myself From A Distant Planet / How To Travel the Stars / Dual Burning: Craft Essences that grant bonus damage against enemies inflicted with Burn, Curse or Poison are also good options that Master can consider for Xu Fu, as her gameplay already benefits massively from inflicting these status on her target.