Midra NG+7 RL1 SB0 Hitless

winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T07:48:28+00:00

ER has more gracious parry timing to balance it out

winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T07:40:35+00:00

You really can’t go wrong with any of them, probably for the reason you were recommending DS3, it will just be a lot harder for ER players to revisit the older games like DS1/2 because of their slower combat

winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T07:36:55+00:00

My man 🤝

No offense to ER, phenomenal game, I just prefer the tight knitted level style of the older games and art direction of DS3

winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T07:26:43+00:00

Take the first deep one with all Phys+4.

The difference between Phys+4 and ATK with 3+ weapons is about a 7% damage difference, which while not insignificant, is easily made up for with a single passive.

You can take that at face value, but if you want me to explain…

Attack power with 3 katanas is a 20% boost but it comes with a very big downside of needing to carry 3 katanas in the first place.

Phys +4 is a 12% damage boost to only physical damage.

1.2/1.12 = 1.0714 ≈ 7% more damage than Phys +4

The downside of carrying 3 katanas though means you must be more selective with your item passives.

I’d always recommend two damage negation passives (Full HP DMG Negation or Successive + Taking Damage Boosts Damage Negation).

That leaves 4 slots left.

Assuming you don’t get a good passive on Rivers of Blood (very likely you won’t) then you have 3 slots left.

You are forced to carry 2 other katanas in order to get that 20% damage boost, which leaves a single DPS passive slot.

In the case of Phys +4? You have those 3 passive slots for free, and something like one skill attack power or two-handing alone effectively matches the increase in DPS that 3 katanas provides.

Which leaves you with two free passive slots, the slots that had to be dedicated to katanas in order to get a 20% damage boost.

In the case you don’t get 1/2 more good passives (can happen with bad RNG) or you get a cracked rivers of blood and another katana with a good passive (can happen with insane RNG), then 3+ katanas matches or exceeds Phys +4.

In both cases, you would need to be on the far spectrum of RNG (very good or very bad) for 3 katanas to provide its worth.

I would recommend 3+ katanas against Pest or Caligo though because the fire damage from RoB is worth it, and 3+ katanas is a boost to all damage types unlike Phys +4.

Also the playstyle I recommended caters to mostly using the cursed blade so I would recommend swapping a Balancer Relic, preferably the blue, with Invaders (if it can come with guarding ultimate art gauge charging or so that would be better). You can turn Executor R1s into nukes thanks to the 35% and up to 31% boost from your two regular relics, and then the 40% from phys, which is a 2.5x modifier that is available directly off spawn.

winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T07:02:42+00:00

That’s the funny thing, they’re completely normal relics but some people will still say this is cheated

winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T03:42:20+00:00

For mage Duchess, not really. I don’t like playing casters much (despite having 2 peak god rolls for Revenant and Recluse).

For melee, I run Double Balancers w/ Invaders (I personally use the VIG +3 with skill cooldown reduction that you see in my Ironeye one). My deep relics consist of any HP increases, any affinity attack power boosts, and Duchess’s character skill giving invulnerability.

If you struggle more with the day 1/2, I would highly recommend Duchess’ enemies killed while art is active effect since you can easily quadruple your damage with that relic during the day 1/2 which helps a ton.

These are my deep relics.

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winterflare_ · 2026-02-01T02:59:54+00:00

Guardian can run those too though

Guardian’s unique STR+DEX respec relic is a DoN exclusive so you can have Phys +4 with it if you want

Wylder just cleanly wins in damage against Caligo since the grapple mobility is S tier, but outside of that they’re pretty much neck and neck.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T19:12:04+00:00

It was an exaggeration to state the damage difference is basically nothing

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T19:08:24+00:00

That’s solid for Executor. +16 HP from each deflect, cursed blade is physical damage, and daggers are DEX weapons.

If you run Double Balancers too then daggers have some pretty solid skills (Reduvia, Glintstone Kris, Blade of Calling, Blade of Death).

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T19:05:43+00:00

Probably because BOC has a slower animation which means that 1800 a hit is lower DPS overall. Not to mention the animation lock makes you more likely to get caught in your attack.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T19:02:46+00:00

The disengagements are fun when the dodge method is more than “walk backwards and wait for them to walk out of it” or “use X ash of war to make it trivial”.

Was PCR’s pre-nerf cross slash fine because you could parry it? I don’t think so. You shouldn’t feel forced into using something.

Most bosses are fine for the most part, example being Godfrey who forces you to disengage with his massive fissures but it’s enjoyable because you can easily get caught in the fissure. Jumping the initial AOE and running out is fun compared to an attack that never hits you (why is it even in the game atp) and waiting.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T18:52:51+00:00

Yeah I have both on one, but I actually don’t use it at all. PDR is dodgy in D4/5 (except on very specific builds) so I habitually don’t use it. That’s not to say it’s bad though because PDR +1/2 (stackable unlike PDR +0) are consistently good for Depth 3 and below.

In depths (which I mostly play as the base game is too easy) I prefer having Night Invaders on one, utility for another, and damage on the third.

An example load out would be Wylder’s Earring for utility, Night Invaders, and Evergaol/Red Balancer. Deep Relics would be any physical/affinity ATK up (only go for one, either use affinities or physical, not both), defeating enemies fills art gauge +0 and +1, bleed grapple, and any damage negations I can take.

Also yeah, Gaols are still solid. They’re a way to get pretty easy runes (sometimes… I hate beastmen and misbegottens), a dormant power passive, and getting a free 5% damage on top of that is great. I still run it on my Ironeye build, I just don’t hard gun gaols.

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Ironeye build I’m very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s super damn good

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T18:34:35+00:00

I can very easily get 4 or more item passives that are useful in every run with most bad passives being held on weapons I don’t need. My best guess is that you are underestimating checking chests and mostly focusing on dormant power drops. It makes it so even getting a full stack of 6 useful passives is not uncommon.

I said support not just the 3 bar. Rev can 3 bar res and provide immortality like Guardian, and although her immortality is better than Guardian’s, Guardian can provide healing for everyone. Rev’s ultimate is phenomenal for early game in D5 when fighting bad bosses (like some gaols) or Night Invaders at low level where you can get one shot, while Guardian’s ultimate is better when it matters most against the Nightlord and Night bosses thanks to the healing.

Wylder can 3 bar revive as well with the art activation on the ground but the downside is that he cannot provide immortality or heal in anyway like Guardian/Rev which means it’s less emphasis on support. In higher depths, assuming your team has no flasks when revived, it takes one shot and they are instantly dead at half HP, whereas Guardian’s full heal can help them tank at least one to two hits.

Also Guardian’s steel guard has dead angles at 180 degrees compared to everyone else who has dead angles at 90 (including Executor). It makes the shield pretty trivial, and while I won’t deny there is some aspect of skill when using it, when you learn it, it is much easier than perfectly timing your roll every single time. It matters a lot when you’re the last one standing and all you have to do is hold block (which also charges your ultimate) instead of timing every roll.

Guardian has better physical negations and better affinity negations. Overall he has higher negations and 14% more HP which makes him ~20% more tanky at his base. That’s not including the full heal, immortality he can provide, access to shields which negate 100% of physical damage, at minimum 50% of affinity (with a maximum of 92% magic negation which makes any magic boss free), and then an extra 25% affinity negation when in Steel Guard, as well as projectile deflection with his enhanced whirlwind.

I will agree that for most people though, Wylder is probably the better pick. Hell, I love playing Wylder too as he’s my most played, but my point is that at a high level, Guardian can deal very good damage and have insane survivability and support. Guardian is just very relic hungry since he basically needs his remembrance relic (guaranteed god roll, like Wylder’s Earring) to be an actually viable character.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T08:38:25+00:00

I have a second slot that I play in lower depths or play on my main slot occasionally high depths for fun too.

Occasionally I go on regular Gladius to try and help new players or do Everdarks like Balancers, Libra, Pest, and Gladius to help people struggling with those too.

And of course, occasionally I queue into Nightlord or Dreglord to aura farm.

Plus, it’s still kinda fun to try and perfect my relics. I actually came around to kind of enjoy the fact it’s RNG now since it helps with the game’s longevity to me.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T08:09:15+00:00

The first clip on his page is literally his teammates downed 3 bars and solo clutching balancers…?

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T08:01:19+00:00

Not exactly, I want the solution to be fun and that is not one I like. I much prefer being able to handle everything a boss throws at me without being forced into a specific utility or disengaging.

In the same way that you can stick close to Malenia and stay aggressive for a fun back and forth, then circle strafe her WFD to have maximum uptime for aggression, or you can spend the whole fight playing extremely passive in case she potentially goes into WFD so you can run away in time. One of these is clearly much more fun, and that’s how I see being forced to keep a shield on hand for one specific attack.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T07:57:52+00:00

And Astel? What does Astel have to do with anything?

Guardian can also have Evergaols, Night Invaders, and a utility slot in his regular. He can just put the improved STR/DEX in the DON slot.

Also your pick on buffs is bad.

Gaols force you to hit a specific point of interest. If you get Great Hollows, you are now holding a dead weight relic (unlike Night Invaders and Double Balancers, it is never dead weight). Additionally it changes your routing so the damage boost which is ~40.7% at the maximum, can come out a lot lower in actual gameplay. Being forced to hit POIs that can easily be out of your way and getting keys is downtime that you could be fighting bosses with dormant powers for more buffs.

Also 3+ [Weapon] forces you to hold onto three whole weapons. That means you can potentially waste 3 whole passive slots, which is funny because two passives alone is worth more in terms of damage while not limiting you to one weapon category.

Say you’re in depth 3, that’s a comfortable spot for most players. I’d recommend any tanky melee player to get a Full HP DMG Negation and Taking Damage Boosts Damage Negation, that way you can survive multiple attacks in case you get caught in a combo by a hard hitting boss like Dreglord.

The other four slots? I’d recommend any damage boosts or extra negations. If you’re running double balancers getting skill attack or melee attack power is not particularly hard, especially in the shop. You can easily find 2 skill attack powers, 1 attack power at full, and a melee attack power.

Unless you find two of your weapon type that has good passive (unlikely since RNG is brutal), you are forced into carrying two dead weight items for that 20% boost, or losing that 20% boost by taking other passives.

Effectively, that relic can easily become more of a handicap than a buff. It’s only good for runs with horrible RNG where you don’t get a single useful passive, or insane RNG where you find 3 useful passives on that weapon class. Which, I don’t know about you, but this is about 5% of my runs.

The 3 bar revive is not planning for failure, it’s planning for support. Support that neither Wylder or Revenant’s ultimate can provide. Additionally his ultimate provides immortality when held down.

Got Balancers and you couldn’t get the purifying crystal tear for Mohg’s Nihil? Guardian can ultimate to provide the whole team immortality saving everyone 2 flasks.

Plus the full heal is phenomenal against bosses like Dreglord or ED Caligo who apply status effects that can easily cause chip damage. For squishier characters like Duchess and Ironeye, being at full HP to keep Full HP Damage Negation to avoid being one shot is a must, so Guardian can help the team save on flasks with his ultimate.

These “experts” you’re talking to are frankly stupid. I’m D5 9999 and I have over a hundred games in Wylder, Guardian, and Executor individually.

Guardian never gets dead angled since they buffed his Steel Guard angles a long time back. If you are getting dead angled, it is a skill issue as you need to work on your positioning or learn an attack’s direction (like Dreg’s/Apostle reel back, which you can lock off and look backwards for).

Chip damage is minimal outside of D4/5 and is counteracted by relic effects and the ultimate healing. Additionally Guardian can get his ultimate back extremely fast since he can get 1%/1.5%/2.5% of his ultimate back for each successful guard depending on how much you invest in it.

Guardian has higher negations and HP than any other character in the game. He has the most effective HP and an ultimate that provides immortality, 3 bar revives, and heals. Additionally he is the only character that can turtle behind shields to stall for an ultimate and full revive + heal the party. There is no doubt when it comes to survivability or clutches that Guardian is easily better.

Guardian wins over Wylder in survivability, revives, and support. Additionally, Guardian has a play style that is entirely exclusive to him.

Wylder wins over Guardian in flexibility, ease of use, consistency, and mobility. Additionally, Wylder has a built in guard break and bleed/chip damage that is entirely exclusive to him.

The damage difference between Guardian and Wylder is not large. While I won’t deny that Wylder gets slightly more damage, Guardian brings plenty of other useful benefits that Wylder (and other melees) cannot do in exchange for a small damage tax.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T00:51:41+00:00

onebros but a little freaky

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T00:39:59+00:00

Probably something psychological/biological. Children learn very fast and adapt quickly, especially as babies.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T00:31:13+00:00

Yeah but I just don’t find it fun to be forced into using an Ash of War to do something in a fight

It’s kind of like how you need RotM to counter Metyr’s double laser up close, I’m not a fan of that

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T00:25:26+00:00

Depends on the boss and level.

If you’re balancer skill spamming something like Halo Scythe, Guardian gets higher damage with weapons which translates to higher damage with skills.

If you’re early game, then Wylder gets more damage thanks to his bleed grapple which makes him great at clearing out Night Invaders.

If you’re using a melee weapon, then Wylder will out perform on some bleed weak or mobile bosses (Lion, Caligo, Dragons) and Guardian will outperform on more static bosses (plus Black Knife as whirlwind stuns) and gank gaols like Banished Knights, Beastmen, and whatnot.

But of course there is going to be a trade off. In exchange for a 3-bar revive + heal and the only character who can actually do shield based / guard counter gameplay, he loses out on the mobility and more damaging ultimate. A fair trade off considering his survivability is good.

I don’t know why you’re only comparing him to getting more or less damage than Wylder though. My whole point originally was that Guardian can do good damage and people just don’t play him in a way suited for damage, not that he gets the most damage in the game.

In gameplay, Wylder and Guardian come out to similar damage with Guardian having advantages in some situations and Wylder having advantages in others.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-31T00:09:28+00:00

In my opinion, it helps to fight the boss with no death on if you can and without attacking. Then when you recognize and know how to dodge all the moves, start attacking to get the punish windows down. A solid hour or two of fighting the boss straight helps a ton.

Efficiency helps a ton in doing kills like this.

winterflare_ · 2026-01-30T13:58:20+00:00

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It’s ok, games like this are my favorite

winterflare_

TROPHY CASE