The artwork is by Tea Basira, or "お茶煮"!

This is a collection of things I've learned while playing Flandre a lot in the demo, and the main game as well. This won't be a super strict build guide, but it will give you general tips on how to play Flandre more effectively -- if you feel like she's slow, clumsy, or awkward to use. Then hopefully this will help!

I'm going to assume you're somewhat familiar with how the game plays. Though even if not, I'm going to keep this very simple to understand. The first thing you need to know about Flandre is that her gimmick is around charged attacks.

Melee > Charged Level 1
This is a circular sweeping slash, generally good area of effect damage. Not the hardest hitting for single targets.

Melee > Charged Level 2
An overhead BONK. Doesn't hit a large area, but (usually) hits one thing real good.

These are self explanatory. She has these as well as regular melee attacks. None of them are particularly FAST, but the idea is that you capitalize on timing. Your first instinct would probably be to increase charge speed and charged attack damage, and this DOES work.

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Flandre's ranged attacks differ from other characters. You won't get an auto-fire attack when holding down the button, instead they operate SOLELY from charging.

Range Charge Level 1
Shoots out a thin laser that sweeps across the field. Does okay damage, sweeps through enemy projectiles like a hot knife through butter.

Range Charge Level 2
Concentrated explosion directed at a single enemy. Can get some collateral, but not as much as the level 1 can. Hits harder than level 1.

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Jump > Melee Attack
Swift overhead bonk. Not a ton of area range, but comes out fast.

Those are her attacks laid out nicely. Some of you might already be seeing a strategy here, but I'll go into more detail below.

I'll give it to you straight. You are intended to use her charged attacks. It is perfectly viable and makes for a satisfying gameplay loop when you get the hang of it. But it's also not the fastest raw damage that she can do.

First, use her ranged level 1 to sweep away enemy bullets.
If you get the Talent that gives it a second laser, congrats, now it hits hard AND it's even more effective at projectile clearing.

Why do you want to sweep away enemy bullets? Well aside from the obvious of being a good defense, it also gets you a ton of power. Play defensively, then spring onto the offense. When it is time to bonk, you'll know it.

When to Bonk:
You broke the enemy's shield, they're staggered. It is now time to rush in and commit jump attacks before they recover.

When to Superbonk:
You broke the enemy's shield and/or you have your Ultimate, and they won't cycle into invincibility. Or if you just need to really break their shield for one reason or another.

You turn totally invincible (as long as you don't take a talent that removes that function) and can face-tank everything as you hit with impunity. It is now time to jump attack spam.

How to Megabonk:
I'm not gonna say that you need to take specific talents in this, but there are some that will obviously make this a lot better.

Charged Attack and Jump Attack Bonus - Obvious, increases her damage.
Charge Speed - DPS Increase, lets you laser more bullets.
Perfect Charge - DPS Increase, makes her ranged even more viable even at charge level 1.

Taboo - Four of a Kind
Every attack you do with your Ultimate active now hits four times total. This includes Jump Attacks. Have fun. This is the key to Megabonk. Combine with the talent for "your next attack is a critical" when using Ultimate for even better results.

Beyond that, all of the talents that she has are pretty good and she can benefit from them all in SOME fashion. For utility you may want to consider the talent where each attack can drop a healing heart. You're gonna be getting a lot of attacks in, it might seem like a low chance, but even a little bit of healing is better than none.

Written for Version 1.0.3. Rebalancing may happen, which may render these details obsolete. Or at least not quite as true for the version it was written for.