Scarlet: Black Shadow (Black Scarlet) was released on January 1, 2024, as NIKKE's second New Year character following Modernia. As of August 2026, over 31 months have already passed.

In fact, no matter how strong a DPS is, maintaining a spot at the top for over 30 months is difficult. Due to the nature of live-service games, new characters are continuously released, raising the overall average firepower. While supporters are relatively less affected, DPS units are highly sensitive to power creep, making it hard to hold onto a Tier 1 spot for long.

However, Black Scarlet is different. To this day, she firmly holds her position as a Tier 1 DPS. The reason is simple: her base kit is powerful, her damage mechanics are clean, and continuous support has kept creating an environment where she can thrive.

First of all, Black Scarlet is a highly versatile distributed damage DPS. Due to the nature of distributed damage, she is not heavily reliant on boss matchups and enjoys a broad range of use across various stages. On top of that, Black Scarlet has exceptional synergy with Alice. Alice's Charge Speed buff significantly contributed to boosting Black Scarlet's firepower. Combining her inherently strong firepower with a top-tier piece like Alice, Black Scarlet solidly maintained her Tier 1 status.

Black Scarlet became stronger with the Tier 1 piece Alice. However, even Black Scarlet found it challenging to withstand ongoing stat inflation. At a certain point, the Black Scarlet-Alice composition came to be treated as a benchmark measuring stick for the performance of new DPS units.

Yet, new pieces kept being added for Black Scarlet. First was Mana. Mana is a Burst 3 Wind Nikke who, like Alice, possesses a Charge Time reduction buff, making her great to pair with Black Scarlet. This allowed players to free up Alice for other squads.

Later came Maid Mast and Maid Anchor—commonly referred to as the Maid duo, which is still considered an unrivaled Tier 1 support pair today. The Maid duo provided reload and distributed damage-related buffs, which synergistic perfectly with Black Scarlet.

By periodically receiving support from such powerful enablers, Black Scarlet was able to continue thriving as a Tier 1 DPS.

Then, in November 2025, a Pilgrim Nikke was released: Liberalio. A true soulmate who fits Black Scarlet perfectly.

As a Burst 3 Pilgrim, her base power is inherently top-notch. Most importantly, she shares the Wind code with Black Scarlet. Liberalio boasts high base capabilities and supplies the Charge Speed increase buff that is most crucial for Black Scarlet. Commonly referred to as the 'Liberalio-Black Scarlet' combo, its raw stat value is so high that it works exceptionally well with high-value supporters. To this day, the Liberalio-Black Scarlet duo is considered an essential staple in Wind Solo Raids.

She also synergizes well with 'Anis: Star', who was recently added and reshuffled the Tier 1 tier list. Black Scarlet can fully leverage the high Attack and Projectile DMG buffs provided by Anis.

Achieving optimal synergy with Tier 1 supporters brings out another one of Black Scarlet's strengths. As mentioned, there are several Nikkes that can be considered dedicated supporters for Black Scarlet. Therefore, even if a new powerful DPS appears and claims top-tier supporters, Black Scarlet has plenty of alternative options to team up with. In a Solo Raid environment where managing multiple decks is necessary, this is a massive advantage.

For these reasons, even if Black Scarlet eventually steps down from Tier 1 status, she is expected to see consistent play.

In this update, a new Cube was added: the Relic Divide Cube. The Relic Divide Cube increases Distributed DMG and Superior Code DMG.

Since it increases Distributed DMG, it is tailor-made for Black Scarlet—in fact, calling it a Black Scarlet-exclusive Cube would not be an exaggeration. Normally, players equip Cubes with options related to Reload Speed or Ammo Recharge. However, due to her Nikke kit characteristics and squad compositions, Black Scarlet relies less on those Cubes, meaning she loses very little by adopting the new Cube. With the addition of this Cube, Black Scarlet's firepower has stepped up to another level, and her utility has expanded even further.

Whenever she seems on the verge of falling behind power creep, Black Scarlet somehow revives through new Nikkes or equipment. It looks like we'll be seeing plenty of her for a long time to come.