Splitting damage taken, protecting with healing and immunity
Giyu Tomioka in Seven Knights Re:BIRTH is a Universal-type hero specialized in protecting back-row allies. The core of Awakened Giyu is 'Protection,' which takes 35% of the damage received by back-row Universal-type allies in their place. The redirected damage taken is cut in half. He also possesses effects that increase all allies' Defense by 24% and reduce all enemies' Critical Hit Rate by 23%, strengthening overall team stability.
He sustains himself through Pain Endurance and Block. Pain Endurance is an effect where taking direct damage equal to 10% or more of his maximum HP distributes 75% of that damage over 5 turns. While the damage itself does not disappear, it allows him to withstand heavy hits and buy time to heal. His Block Rate also increases by up to 33% proportional to his Defense, and each basic attack heals his HP by 65% of his Defense. Easily gaining Block Rate through his passive is another major advantage.
Every time he is struck 4 times by enemy attacks, he cleanses 1 debuff from all allies and refills their Awakening Gauge by 10. This gives him an option to support the team while absorbing attacks. Additionally, immunity to Cooldown Increase applied for 3 turns further enhances Giyu's utility in battle.
Skill 1, 'Drop Ripple Thrust,' deals damage equal to 95% of Physical Attack and 110% of Defense to 3 enemies with the highest Attack. On top of that, it lowers their Critical Hit Rate by 31% for 3 turns. It is a skill designed to directly target the enemy's main damage dealers and weaken their offensive output.
Skill 2, 'Constant Flux,' deals piercing damage equal to 105% of Physical Attack and 120% of Defense to all enemies. It heals all allies for 31% of the damage dealt while also granting 3 stacks of Damage Nullification to Universal-type allies. Rather than just restoring HP, it empowers Universal-type allies.
Awakening Skill 'Dead Calm' attacks all enemies while granting Damage Immunity for 2 turns to Universal-type allies. Giyu himself also gains a Mark that increases his damage dealt by 30% and Defense by 50%. Since Defense affects both Giyu's attacks and his basic attack healing, it boosts his own combat capability while protecting allies. Providing Damage Nullification and other benefits targeting Universal types makes him highly compatible with such heroes.
Bolstering Defense Deck Sustainability
Giyu's main role lies in Arena defense decks. The recommended lineup is Giyu, Eileene, Aris, Hayeon, and Gelidus. Giyu handles damage distribution and healing, while firepower from Aris, Giyu, and Eileene adds extra pressure.
Aris also increases allies' Block Rate with her passive. When combined with Giyu's passive that increases Block Rate proportional to Defense, the gearing burden is significantly reduced. This leeway can then be invested into survivability options such as Defense. Defense decks using this composition usually place Giyu in the front row while the other 4 heroes go to the back row to make full use of Giyu's Protection for back-row Universal allies.
The most important factor is for Giyu himself to survive long enough. Since he absorbs ally damage as well, if Giyu falls first, it becomes difficult to maintain protection and healing. Although he possesses solid offensive capabilities, in this setup it is better to focus on creating an environment that lets back-row damage dealers attack once more rather than maximizing Giyu's damage output. Firepower is already decent enough through paired heroes like Aris and Gelidus.
Adventurers who haven't completed Gelidus's 6th Transcendence sometimes use Pallanus in that slot instead. In Total War, variations occur: as Eileene is often used in attack decks, Radgrid is brought in to handle front-row tanking. In this case, Giyu, who shifts to the back row, is sometimes built with a slightly more damage-focused setup.
The Standard Equipment Choice Is Paladin
The default recommendation is a 4-piece Paladin set. Going with 2 weapons with Defense % main stats and 2 armor pieces with Damage Taken Reduction main stats is the safest route. Defense affects not only durability, but also attack damage and basic attack healing amount. Building around his protective role allows you to cover damage and healing at the same time.
For substats, check Block Rate first. If you max out his passive's Block increase at 33% and receive Aris's 23% buff, you can reach 100% by getting 44% from gear. If running without Aris or failing to hit the passive max, the required stat changes, so tune it according to your specific setup.
After securing Block, it is best to supplement Defense and HP. Since Giyu must also absorb the damage deferred by Pain Endurance, raising Block Rate alone isn't enough for survival. It is vital to stack Defense, HP, and Damage Taken Reduction together so he can endure until he can use his healing skill.
There is also the option to increase his damage share using the Assassin set. Through 2nd Transcendence, Giyu gains 100% Weak Point Attack Rate on Skills 1 and 2. Adding Critical Hit Rate via Assassin gear can yield a solid damage increase. Substats must still be considered, but choosing 1 Assassin Defense % weapon, 1 Critical Hit Rate weapon, and 2 Damage Taken Reduction armor pieces works well. Aim for 44% Block Rate while getting Critical Hit Rate close to 100% and stacking Defense as much as possible.
Protective Role Usable from Low Transcendence
Giyu's 2nd Transcendence grants an additional 100% Weak Point Attack Rate to his basic attacks and Skills 1 and 2. This eases the gearing pressure for Weak Point Attack. Even at just 2nd Transcendence, he can equip Defense and survival-oriented gear while still supplementing offensive performance, making it quite efficient.
At 6th Transcendence, every time he attacks, his damage dealt increases by 5%, stacking up to 10 times. The longer he endures and attacks, the closer he gets to securing up to a 50% damage boost. This is valuable if you wish to use Giyu not only as a protector but also as an additional damage dealer in prolonged fights.
Core protective utilities like Protection and healing are available prior to high Transcendence. If resources are tight, rather than rushing for 6th Transcendence, it is fine to aim for 2nd Transcendence first and focus on equipping survival gear. You can consider high Transcendence investments later when running a Defense deck as your main setup and requiring extra firepower.
Decide on participating in the Pick-Up banner based on your Defense deck build state. If the foundation with Eileene and Aris is set and you plan to continue investing in Defense decks, targeting high Transcendence for Giyu is worth considering. Conversely, if you mainly run Attack or Magic decks, completing your existing lineups first is fine. Of course, given the existence of Total War, achieving 6th Transcendence within the summon period will prove helpful if you have spare resources.
