The flagship character and best girl! Empress boasts fun, mechanically intensive, and fulfilling gameplay. With both melee and ranged options at her disposal—thanks to her sword and arm cannon. Empress provides a constant source of sustained damage through her longsword combos or delivers heavy burst damage by draining DP with her Dragon Cannon or Dragon Sword Neos.

In a Party as a pure damage class with heavily limited mitigation and utility, prioritizing positioning is crucial for success. Good positioning is the key to Empress gameplay, leading to clean, no-death encounters and great damage windows. Following positioning is execution.

Execution as Empress isn't about mashing buttons to win. It's a combination of opportunities created by the player and selective rhythms, tailored to each situation. For example, when mobbing several enemies together, remember that some of your animations cannot be interrupted, so you may delay certain combos to ensure your safety!

Everything you need to succeed is included in this guide. Enjoy your journey with the Empress!

(Q): Who does Empress like to group with?
(A): Warrior, Witch, or Oracle to cover your short comings

(Q): What does Empress excel at?
(A): Queen Asura slayer!

(Q): Where does Empress fall short?
(A): Mid-game is awful, an arguably atrocious!

Longswords are viable at all levels, but they become strictly worse than Shortswords by mid-game. There’s no build that can bridge this gap, as Shortswords just scale better.

Longsword gameplay
revolves around hit-and-run tactics while creating opportunities to unleash an entire Dragon Cannon. Varying by build and Contract you may use Dragon Cannon more or less. At higher equipment levels you can face tank most bosses comfortably albeit at a damage loss.

Main combo: X X X R B
Slash > Slash > Slash > Dragon Sword > Dragon Shot

Alternative 1: A R, X X X R B
Hop > Dragon Sword > Slash > Slash > Slash > Dragon Sword > Dragon Shot
Additional burst for Main combo, for small 3-4s windows

Alternative 2: A B X X, X X X R B
Hop > Dragon Shot > Slash > Slash > Slash > Slash > Slash > Dragon Sword > Dragon Shot
You can short hop in range an get two swings before beginning Main combo

Shortsword gameplay
is all about the Neos. If you aren't building DP, you're just slamming back to back Neos. Be mindful as every consecutive Dragon Shot doubles the DP cost, and won't reset until you've touched the ground. Take advantage of walls to extend Neos that are impossible otherwise.

Main combo: A R X R, (B X R)x2
Hop > Dragon Sword > Thrust > Dragon Sword > (Dragon Shot > Thrust > Dragon Sword)x2
How to perform Dragon Sword Neo. Practice the { A R X R } portion first, then work on { B X R }. The second half is the hardest part, but once you get it down you'll be hitting Neo 3s, 4s, consistently.

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Below are brief explanations of each contract, their dps, burst, status affect, and DP consumption. Please follow the example below for reference.

Contract 🙂 [Status affliction] Explanation
Shot damage x hits
~Shot DP usage
Cannon damage x hits
(Channel duration)

Fire 🔥 [Burn] - On button press, shoots 3 fireballs straight forward. For a fix distance or on contact. On button hold, fires a multitude of fireballs forward
PIEx1.6 x 3 hits
~0.4bar
PIE×4.5 × 42 hits
(4.2s)

Ice ❄️ [Frostbite] - On button press, shoots 5 ice balls in an arc forward. She can angle these shots upward for a different trajectory. On button hold, fires a short-ranged ice cloud for extreme holy damage. She can aim the cannon up or forward.
PIEx1.5x 5 hits
~0.5bar
PIE×7.0 × 33 hits
(3.3s)

Wind 🌪️ [Confusion] - On button press, shoots 2 tornados in an upward arc forward. The angle is a bit extreme, so it may be harder to hit enemies at mid-range unless they're above you. On button hold, fires a torrent of tornadoes, following a similar arc.
PIEx4.25 x 2 hits
~0.75bar
PIE×5.67× 37 hits
(3.7s)

Thunder ⚡ [Paralyze] - On button press, shoots an orb diagonally upwards. The orb flies a short distance before firing a laser at the closest target. Both the orb and laser do damage separately. On button hold, fires the cannon upwards launching a multitude of orbs skywards.
PIEx2.0 (ball) + PIEx8.0(laser)
~0.66bar
PIE×1.5(ball) × 32 hits + PIE×5.5(laser) × 32 hits
(3.1s)

Poison 💀 [Poison] - On button press, shoots an orb forward a short distance, before it explodes into a mist. The orb also explodes on contact. The poison cloud lingers in the air for a while, hitting anything in it 5 additional times. On button hold, fires a stream of poison gas. This can be tilted up, or down.
PIEx2.1x1 (5hits)
~0.9bar
PIE×1.5 × 200 hits
(14.0s)

Maximize your ATK through STR while keeping an adequate level of AGI, typically through equipment and items.
At the start of the game, accessories that grant AGI give much higher bonuses than STR. Therefore you should put all level up points into STR until Lv50 while equipping accessories that grant AGI bonuses. Beyond Lv50 the rest of your level up points should be put in AGI.
Recommended Contracts: Fire > Ice > Poison > > Thunder

Below will be reference templates where your Empress' build should be at the given level. Followed by two examples of End Game builds:

Example;
Lv X
Best Weapon 1 (optional)
Best Weapon 2 (optional)
Best Accessory 1 (optional)
Best Accessory 2 (optional)
X stat investment

Lv10
Medius Knight's Sword
n/a
Hastan Anklet
Hastan Anklet
9 STR

Lv20
Medius Knight's Sword
Iberian Dagger
Hastan Anklet +1
Hastan Anklet +1
19 STR

Lv30
Mainz Gladius
Iberian Dagger
Ring of Life
Hastan Anklet +2
29 STR

Lv40
Mainz Gladius
Machete
Ring of Life +1
Hastan Anklet +3
39 STR

Lv50
Dragon Slayer +3
Mainz Gladius (Machete)
Dragon King's Crystal
Hastan Anklet +4
49 STR

Lv60
Yamato Norinaga (Dragon Slayer +3)
Zomorrodnegar
Dragon King's Crystal
Hastan Anklet +5 (Bravery Ring +4)
49 STR, 10 AGI

Lv70
Demonic Talwar
Dragon Slayer +3
Emperor Crown (Dragon King's Crystal)
Hastan Anklet +6 (Bravery Ring +5)
49 STR, 20 AGI

Lv80
Great Falchion
Demonic Talwar
Emperor Crown (Dragon King's Crystal)
Bravery Ring +6 (Scale Gauntlet +6)
49 STR, 30 AGI

Lv90
Ipetam
Great Falchion
Emperor Crown (Dragon King's Crystal)
Bravery Ring +7 (Scale Gauntlet +7)
49 STR, 40 AGI

Lv100 (Minimal Crystal)
Ridill +3
Green Dragon Guandao
Emperor's Crest (Ring of Shenron)
Bravery Ring +8 (Scale Gauntlet +8)
49 STR, 50 AGI

and full build...

Follow the general quest road map in the ⁠starter-guide⁠, while completing all adjacent quests in ascending order of level difficulty. The first fifty levels of the game is more about killing enemies an collecting enhance materials, base weapons, items, gold, and universal accessories. In the mid game you continue collecting with a heavier focus on experience per hour. Hone your combat abilities here as Lv51~88 has this weird growing pains of limited stats making it the least enjoyable period. By late game (Lv90+) experience becomes plentiful from Lv110+ missions and less valuable as you approach level cap. Use this time to refine your skills while collecting key-items such as: 'Fork of Good Fortune, 'Dragon Horn' etc etc

Lv1 - 51
-Kill everything for materials
-After the 'The Ogre Fort Lv1' do 'Dreaming of Treasure Lv3'
-Repeat 'Dreaming of Treasure Lv15' until you obtain 'Hunter's Sword +3'
-After obtaining 'Hunter's Sword +3' go to the Black Market
-Craft 'Medius Knight's Sword' this is your best in slot until Lv35
-Follow the Roadmap
-Done with Roadmap? Repeat adjacent quests in ascending order of level difficulty

Lv52 - 79
We're steadily approaching the low point of the game for Empress. Essentially you're just farming exp an Litus for now. Divine is falling off, Stats are becoming rough to come by, an the skill ceiling is near. All content can be cleared with Longsword, but those who learn Shortsword will have a easier time.
-Refine your Dragon Sword Neo
-Repeat adjacent quests in ascending order of level difficulty
-spam Marked for Death 65, for a Dragon King's Crystal(DKC)
-Attempt CoT 81, the sooner you get Emperor's Crown the better
^You can skip this if its too hard

Lv 80+
The stat drought remains until the mid 80s; unless you use items! (i.e. Red Fruit, Yellow Fruit) But you only get stronger from here. This is the time you'll probably be farming out materials the most. If missions are still too difficult I am sorry to tell you. It's a skill issue.
-Continue mob genocide
-Repeat adjacent quests in ascending order of level difficulty
-Begin collecting Forks of Good Fortune
-Clear CoT81 for a Emperor Crown
-Clear CoT91 for a Emperor Necklace (Skip if too hard)
-Clear CoT101 for a Emperor's Mantle (Skip if too hard)

~End Game
Lv95+
The apex. Use the culmination of your knowledge an skill to craft ultimate equipment.
-Clear CoT91 for a Emperor Necklace
-Clear CoT101 for a Emperor's Mantle
-Clear MFD110+ for Dragon Horn
-Craft Emperor's Crest
-Clear CoT111
-Farm Ancient Gods for Crystal(s)

Empress must craft equipment:

Ridill+3
Drops from: (Truth in Heaven 110)
The penultimate weapons for Empress. This should be upgraded with Forks of Good Fortune to 'Ridill +3' asap
The materials required are:
30 Forks of Good Fortune

Emperor's Crest
Special Upgrade
You'll eventually craft two of these
The materials required are:
2 Emperor Crown
2 Emperor Necklace
2 Emperor's Mantle
10 Dragon Horn

Empress Dagger
Special Upgrade
The second of two ultimate weapons and I believe the best Asura slayer in-game? The best part is how inexpensive it is!
The materials required are:
10 Platinum Litus
Emperor Sword
500 Crystal

Green Dragon Guandao +3
Special Upgrade
This first of two ultimate weapons for Empress. This will eventually be upgraded from Green Dragon Guandao, found in Marked for Death 90, 100, 110
The materials required are:
9 Platinum Litus
450 Crystal

So Total Cost is:
-Emperor Sword
-2 Emperor Crown
-2 Emperor Necklace
-2 Emperor's Mantle
-30 Forks of Good Fortune
-10 Dragon Horn
-950 Crystal(s)
-10 Orichalcum Ore
-9 Tamahagane

Empress can leave CoT alone until Level 95 as there's pretty much nothing to gain except ultimate terrain scaling. In fact, floors 101 onwards can be quite tough for the generally stat starved Empress so there's decent reason to wait until you have access to all bonus stats you can manage to get. You can still do it earlier, mind you, especially in a party with other players that shore up your weaknesses. But solo players beware, know your limits, and consider you don't have to rush into this place before you're ready.

Floor 1-80
Don't overthink these, there's little reason to do these floors for a long time. You'll eventually make it through with some good old brute force.

Floor 81-90
Tips:
The Celestial's Goliath
- Both bosses on this floor have stupidly high stats an require you have at a minimum 128 STR/128 AGI before items to get completely pushed over.
- The Celestial's Goliath does a lot of damage but can be manipulated to attack the wall by taking a hit intentionally in the corner when he charges at it.
- Jump between the second and third orb on the floor to dodge the thunder dragons.

Atruum
- Its illegal to take damage

Cheese setups:
Lv 66 Brute Force
Fire Contract
Sword of Justice
Yamato Norinaga
Scale Gauntlet +5
Scale Gauntlet +5
34 STR, 31 AGI
3 Shard of Life, Relic of Power, Relic of Speed, Bizarre Bone+, 2 Potion +2
- Use the Relics on the Goliath

Lv 75 Brute Force
Fire Contract
Sword of Justice
Sengo Muramasa
Scale Gauntlet +6
Scale Gauntlet +6
46 STR, 28 AGI
3 Shard of Life, Red Fruit, Yellow Fruit, Bizarre Bone+, 2 Potion +2
- Use Fruits on Goliath

Floor 91-100
Tips:
Ancient Primal Lord
- Just go Wind Contract
- Confuse the bugs for free additional damage on boss
- Use platforms to your advantage to dodge the spitfire
- The spitfire breaks on contact diagonally, horizontally, diagonally

Twin Dragon's Coffin
- Take the Floor 100 boss slow; it starts off in a Deva form and then switches to an Asura form after 30 seconds have passed; the Deva form is ultra-resistant to physical damage, so focus on dodging and hold out until the Asura form and only then go hard on dealing damage.

Gear setup:
Great Falchion
Machete
Emperor Crown (Dragon King's Crystal)
Bravery Ring +6,+7,+8

Floor 101-111
Tips:
Sea Lord's Executioner
- Don't even try to fight the Floor 105 boss outright, instead you want to put Confusion status on the tentacles before they use their spray attack and have it hit the crab for big damage.

Rivalis
- Do not over commit your jumps
- There is a hard AGI check of 123
- Influence his patterns an unload after he starts digging in his pockets
- Yes, you can out run the bomb explosion after knocking it out of the Bandit's hand

Gear setup:
Wind Contract
Ridill +3
Machete
Emperor Crown (Dragon King's Crystal)
Scale Gauntlet +8

Floor 111-120
Tip:
Rivalis Berserk
- There is a hard AGI check of 130
- While you can tackle this place before getting Emperor's Crest, I don't recommend it. Go for it only if you're feeling hardcore.
- There's no realistic way to alternate damage types against Rivalis Berserk. The best you can do is cannon occasionally, and just hit him roughly a thousand times until he's finally dead.

False God of the Abyss
- There is a hard AGI check of 127
- Inflict Confusion on the purple-colored Arm whenever the arms come out; this removes the need to kill it and moreover makes it heal you instead of the boss, significantly easing up the damage race of taking them down fast enough. The boss will take lots of damage thanks to the +200% in Dragon Sphere multiplier so just wait for your damage windows patiently and focus on dodging while his attacks are ongoing. You can get free hits in at the start and the end of each of his attacks at the very least.

Gear setup:
Ridill +3
Heavy Schiavona
Emperor's Crest (Emperor Crown)
Scale Gauntlet +8

This is that legendary quest mentioned earlier. PIEpress bros stand the ♥♥♥♥ up!
Wind Contract
Medius Templar's Glaive (Claiomh Solais)
Ridill +3
Emperor's Crest (Emperor Crown)
Ancient Gauntlet
50 PIE, 49VIT

You already killed them individually, now do it back-to-back. On a fresh run its fine to take incremental victories for crystal(s). Until I got 'Empress Dagger' I was ducking out after Jinryu. Just take at your own pace, bring plenty of potions/bizarre bones, and you'll be fine.

Initial Setup:
Fire Contract
Ridill+3
Shashka
Emperor's Crest
Scale Gauntlet +8
Bizarre Bone+, 2 Shard of Life, 2 Red Fruit, whatever else you need.

Make sure you have Shashka equipped when you use the Bizarre Bone+, this will give it a 19min duration. For this reason I would suggest crafting Empress Dagger first before upgrading your GDG to +3.
If you do choose to just farm the opening 10 bosses, non of them have high AGI an you can use a Bravery Ring over Scale Gauntlet for additional damage.

God Speed.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to comment or join the discord.
https://discord.gg/rMHH2BUJRR

Eventually I'll make a proper video guide. Soon tm.