Guide
How the kit works
Start with Basic Attack: Chrysanthemum Wheel Dance. Its first two hits deal Physical DMG, and the third and fourth deal Electric DMG. Seed automatically dodges an attack that lands between the retreat on the third hit and the start of the fourth.
After the fourth hit, use Basic Attack: Falling Petals - Slaughter for a charged mech punch. You can also reach it after a Dodge Counter, Quick Assist or Assist Follow-Up. At 120 Steel Charge, Seed gets one opportunity to activate the punch quickly by holding the attack input.
Seed starts with 60 Steel Charge and can hold up to 150. At 120, trigger the charged punch or Ultimate: Clockwork Garden - Bloom!, then press or hold the attack input to use Basic Attack: Falling Petals - Downfall. It consumes 60 Steel Charge for its first form and another 60 automatically for its second. The punch and both forms do not build Steel Charge on hit.
Use EX Special Attack: Raining Iron Petals (Special) when you have Energy. Hold the input to extend the missile barrage and move in four directions; release it for cannon fire. Spending 60 Energy in one flight automatically triggers the charged punch. The Ultimate requires maximum Decibel Rating and grants 60 Steel Charge after use.
Build and why
Use four pieces of Dawn's Bloom. Its two-piece bonus gives 15% Basic Attack DMG, and the four-piece adds 20%. As an Attack agent, Seed gets another 20% Basic Attack DMG for 25 seconds after an EX Special Attack or Ultimate. That suits her charged punch and follow-up attacks.
For the remaining two discs, Woodpecker Electro gives 8% CRIT Rate. Branch & Blade Song gives 16% CRIT DMG instead. Four-piece Woodpecker Electro is another option: critical hits with the listed attacks grant ATK. Four-piece Hormone Punk is worth considering for its ATK increase when Seed becomes active.
On disc 4, choose CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG. On disc 5, use Electric DMG Bonus or Percent ATK; use Percent ATK on disc 6. For substats, look for CRIT Rate first, then CRIT DMG and Percent ATK.
Cordis Germina is the first weapon choice. It gives CRIT Rate, builds Electric DMG stacks from Basic Attack or EX Special Attack damage, and at two stacks lets Basic Attack and Ultimate damage ignore 20% of enemy DEF. Heartstring Nocturne gives 50% CRIT DMG, though its Fire RES effect does not help Seed's Electric attacks. The Brimstone builds ATK stacks from hits. Marcato Desire is another option that increases ATK after an EX Special Attack or Chain Attack hits.
Leveling priority
Follow the game's order: raise Core Passive: Flower Chain Protocol first for the Vanguard partnership, then Basic Attack: Chrysanthemum Wheel Dance for Seed's main attacks. Next level Special Attack: Withered in Frost, then Chain Attack: Tempest of Frosty Petals.
After those, level Quick Assist: Barrage of Raining Flowers, followed by Dodge: Running on Petals. This puts the skills used for Seed's main damage ahead of her assists and dodges.
For maximum ascension, you need 800,000 Denny, 4 Basic Attack Certification Seal, 32 Advanced Attack Certification Seal and 30 Pioneer's Certification Seal. Maxing all skills takes 2,905,000 Denny, 25 Basic Shock Chip, 75 Advanced Shock Chip, 250 Specialized Shock Chip, 5 Hamster Cage Pass, 9 Exuvia of Refinement and 60 Higher Dimensional Data: Mortal Cleave.
Mindscapes worth it
Light Absorption Technique (M2) is a strong upgrade to consider first. An agent with Besiege ignores 20% of enemy DEF. Seed can also extend her flight to 120 Energy, and every 5 Energy spent on that EX Special Attack increases the following charged punch's DMG by 5%.
Hibernation Period (M1) makes the Steel Charge sequence easier. It lowers both the follow-up requirement and total cost to 100, gives Seed extra Steel Charge on entering battle and using her Ultimate, and adds 30% CRIT DMG to the follow-up.
Theory of the Heart (M6) is another sizeable upgrade: Seed gains 50% CRIT DMG, and the charged punch fires three extra lasers, each dealing 165% of ATK as DMG. That laser effect can trigger once every 3 seconds. If you stop after M2, passing up the later upgrades is reasonable; M3 through M5 are still on the path to M6.
Teams
Core Passive: Flower Chain Protocol selects the Attack teammate with the highest initial ATK as Vanguard. With a Vanguard present on entering battle, both receive their starting statuses. An EX Special Attack from the Vanguard gives Seed Onslaught, while Seed's EX gives the Vanguard Direct Strike. Each grants 1,000 ATK and 30% CRIT DMG; when both statuses are active, Besiege gives each 25% more DMG. Onslaught and Direct Strike last 40 seconds and can be refreshed.
With another Attack agent in the squad, Additional Ability: Surprise Strike lets active Seed restore 2 Energy to the Vanguard once per second when she deals damage. It also increases the damage of her charged punch, follow-up and Ultimate by 30% and makes them ignore 25% of enemy Electric RES.
Common mistakes
Do not spend your Steel Charge without watching the threshold. At the base kit's 120, the follow-up uses 60 for each of its two forms. The charged punch and follow-up do not refill the gauge on hit, so leave room in your plan to build it again.
Do not forget that a Vanguard is another Attack teammate, not simply any agent with high ATK. Without another Attack agent, Seed also misses the effects of Additional Ability: Surprise Strike.
Avoid picking disc stats or weapon effects solely for their listed numbers. Seed deals substantial Electric DMG, so a Fire RES effect does not improve those attacks. During flight, remember that holding the input keeps consuming Energy; release it when you want to end the barrage.
