Guide
How the kit works
Open with Clairvoyance when possible. It attacks enemies before combat, then deals Quantum DMG equal to 200% of Archer's ATK to all enemies and gives him 1 Charge. Hero of Justice gives him another Charge when he enters combat.
On his turn, use Caladbolg II: Fake Spiral Sword to enter Circuit Connection and deal Quantum DMG equal to 360% of his ATK to one enemy. His turn continues after a Skill in this state, and each use raises subsequent Skill DMG by 100%, up to two stacks. He exits after five Skill uses, when there are not enough Skill Points for another use, or when the wave is defeated. End (Skill) lets you exit and finish the turn early.
Unlimited Blade Works deals Quantum DMG equal to 1000% of Archer's ATK to one enemy and gives him 2 Charge, with a maximum of 4. After a teammate attacks, Mind's Eye (True) spends 1 Charge on a Follow-Up ATK for 200% of Archer's ATK and recovers 1 Skill Point. If the primary target is defeated before the follow-up, it hits a random remaining enemy instead.
Projection Magecraft raises the team's maximum Skill Point limit by 2 while Archer is on the field. Guardian gives him 120% CRIT DMG for one turn after allies gain a Skill Point, provided the team then has at least 4 points.
Build and why
Use four pieces of As Navigator Isee Sees It. Its two-piece bonus gives 12% ATK; the four-piece effect raises Skill and Ultimate DMG by 18% per stack, up to three. It gains a stack on entering combat or using Skill, and loses one at the start of Archer's turn or after his Ultimate. For planar ornaments, pair it with Tengoku@Livestream: it gives 16% CRIT DMG and another 32% for three turns after at least 3 Skill Points are consumed in one turn.
Genius of Brilliant Stars is a strong relic alternative. It gives 10% Quantum DMG and ignores 10% DEF, rising to 20% against enemies with Quantum Weakness. Rutilant Arena is another planar option: it gives 8% CRIT Rate and, at 70% current CRIT Rate, raises Skill and Basic ATK DMG by 20%.
For main stats, choose CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG on the body, ATK Percentage or SPD on the feet, Quantum DMG Boost or ATK Percentage on the sphere, and ATK Percentage or Energy Regeneration Rate on the rope. For substats, prioritize CRIT Rate, CRIT DMG, ATK Percentage, then SPD. Check your current CRIT Rate if you use Rutilant Arena.
The Hell Where Ideals Burn is the first Light Cone choice. It gives CRIT Rate and builds ATK as Archer uses Skill; its combat-entry ATK bonus needs a Skill Point limit of at least 6. The Finale of a Lie is another option, with CRIT Rate and a temporary effect that raises ATK and enemy DMG taken. Baptism of Pure Thought gives CRIT DMG and, after an Ultimate attack, boosts damage and lets Follow-Up ATKs ignore DEF. Cruising in the Stellar Sea is an alternative with CRIT Rate and an ATK increase after a defeat.
Leveling priority
Follow the game's order: level Skill first, then Ultimate, Basic ATK and Talent. Skill is the center of Archer's repeated attacks, while Ultimate supplies a large single-target hit. Basic ATK has its place when you do not want to spend points, and Talent improves the follow-up damage.
For maximum ascension, you need 308,000 Credit, 65 Darkveil Moonlight, and 15 each of Extinguished Core, Glimmering Core and Squirming Core. To raise all skills fully, the listed cost is 3,000,000 Credit, 8 Tracks of Destiny, 18 Meteoric Bullet, 69 Destined Expiration, 139 Countertemporal Shot, 12 Guardian's Lament, 41 Extinguished Core, 56 Glimmering Core and 58 Squirming Core.
Eidolons worth it
As a suggested progression, look at The Unreached Dream first. After Archer uses Skill three times in one turn, it recovers 2 Skill Points for the team. You still need enough points to reach that third use.
The Unfulfilled Happiness is another useful option: Ultimate reduces its target's Quantum RES by 20% and applies Quantum Weakness for two turns. That also meets the weakness condition on Genius of Brilliant Stars. Much later, The Endless Pilgrimage recovers 1 Skill Point at the start of Archer's turn, allows one more Skill DMG stack and makes Skill DMG ignore 20% DEF.
You can stop before the later Eidolons. E3 and E5 raise skill levels, while E4 increases Ultimate DMG by 150%; consider them if you want those gains, rather than treating them as required.
Teams
Give Archer teammates who can attack and leave Skill Points available for his turn. Their attacks trigger his charged follow-ups, and those follow-ups return points to the team. A buffer and a character who keeps the team alive are good places to start.
Sparkle is a Quantum buffer named in the guides. Silver Wolf is a Quantum debuffer, while Gallagher is a Fire sustain option; the three can join Archer in one team. Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae is another sustain option with Follow-Up in his roster tags. Ruan Mei is an Ice buffer to consider if you want a different support.
Rin Tohsaka is a Quantum teammate with a Follow-Up tag, and Cipher is a Quantum debuffer with the same tag. Quantum teammates are options, not a requirement of Archer's kit.
Common mistakes
Do not spend the whole team's Skill Points immediately before Archer acts and expect a long Circuit Connection sequence. Plan around the points you have, and use End if you want to stop early. A defeated wave also ends the state, even if you have uses left.
Do not assume that merely having 4 Skill Points activates Guardian. Allies must gain a point, and the team must have at least 4 afterward. Keep the 4 Charge cap in mind before using Ultimate, and check the CRIT Rate requirement before counting on Rutilant Arena's Skill bonus.
