S MECH Physical

Bright Knight: Excelsis

Durandal

TierB
RolesDPS
Release3.9

Bright Knight: Excelsis is Durandal's S-rank MECH-type Physical lance user from v3.9. She blocks attacks with her shield to Retaliate, stacks Paragon, and unleashes Javelins and Phantom Cleaves in burst mode. Her v4.7 Divine Key, Abyss Flower, turned her weapon into a devastating time-stopping nuke and brought her back to the meta, but Dreamweaver has since replaced her and she has no Astral Ring: an outdated yet still serviceable Part 1 Physical DPS.

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Bright Knight: Excelsis

Burst DPS

Weapons

Abyss Flower: Liminal Spiral BiS
S
Best in slot (BBS): the PRI-ARM upgrade of Abyss Flower, with a stronger Divine Bloom, lower Ultimate CD and more Crit.
PRI-ARM of Abyss Flower for Bright Knight: Excelsis: +25% Crit Rate, 20% shorter Ultimate CD, an active that restores 15 SP and 200 HP, and +35% Physical DMG in burst mode.
Abyss Flower
A
A must-have (Marisa Impact): big buffs, a powerful time-stopping nuke and SP regen. Focused Supply.
Bright Knight: Excelsis' Divine Key: +20% Crit Rate, +35% Physical DMG in burst mode, and on her the active becomes Dark Void, a huge Physical nuke that pauses all timers and counts as Ultimate DMG.
Endothermic Lance VF
A
BBS transitional pick, craftable in the Foundry.
Craftable generic lance: a Throw whose element matches the wielder's damage type, plus +22% Total DMG.

Stigmata

Dante T Top
Dante M Middle
Elysia B Bottom
Best in slot (Marisa Impact, BBS): Dante gives Crit DMG, Physical DMG in burst mode and a shorter Retaliation CD on Durandal; Elysia B adds damage. G3 Dante and G4 Elysia are craftable, but do not craft them first.
Set effects
2pCrit DMG +20% and +30% Physical DMG for 10s on entering burst mode or landing burst Charged ATKs; on Durandal, Ultimate Evasion and Retaliation CD -20%.
3pIn burst mode, +30% DMG against shields and Charged ATKs impair enemies (-40% DEF, -60% on Durandal).
2pPristine Elf set. Total DMG +25%; Charged ATK hits make every attack in the next 5s deal 20% ATK of bonus Physical DMG; 20% less DMG taken from enemies within 5m.
3pRanged Crit DMG +30%; the Ultimate makes ranged attacks deal 20% ATK of bonus Physical DMG for 10s (extended by Charged ATKs), and Charged ATKs heal 200 HP (CD: 5s).
Columbus T Top
Elysia M Middle
Elysia B Bottom
BBS universal mix: Columbus rewards Charged ATKs such as her Javelins.
Set effects
2pChildren set. When a Charged ATK hits with no more than one enemy within 8m, Total DMG +45% for 6s.
3pCharged ATKs deal 200% ATK of bonus Physical DMG (CD: 6s); on Asuka (Blazing Hope), Charged ATKs deal 40% more Physical DMG and the CD drops to 3s in her enhanced form.
2pPristine Elf set. Total DMG +25%; Charged ATK hits make every attack in the next 5s deal 20% ATK of bonus Physical DMG; 20% less DMG taken from enemies within 5m.
3pRanged Crit DMG +30%; the Ultimate makes ranged attacks deal 20% ATK of bonus Physical DMG for 10s (extended by Charged ATKs), and Charged ATKs heal 200 HP (CD: 5s).
Marco Polo T Top
Marco Polo M Middle
Marco Polo B Bottom
BBS transitional Physical set.
Set effects
2pAbove 25 combo hits, Combo and Charged ATKs deal 250% ATK of bonus Physical DMG on hit (CD: 5s).
3pAbove 25 combo hits, the wearer heals 200 HP every 5s.

Stat targets

  • Stigmata affixes: ATK and Crit DMG
  • Always end burst mode with the Abyss Flower active: it pauses timers and resets for the next cycle
  • Keep Paragon at 10 stacks for the +20% Total DMG

Talent priority

Ultimate
Special ATK
Evasion
Passive
Basic ATK
Leader

Where to get her: War Treasury (Ancient Willpower since v8.5) and Dorm Supply; Abyss Flower from the Focused Supply; G3 Dante (T, M) and G4 Elysia (B) from the Foundry (Marisa Impact, official notes). Marisa Impact recommends unlocking her later, for Elysian Realm first-clear rewards.

Teams

Recommended teams

Part 1 Physical core (legacy)

Bright Knight: Excelsis
Herrscher of Sentience
Starlit Astrologos

Herrscher of Sentience was the backbone of Part 1 Physical teams with her impair, and Starlit Astrologos adds Physical DMG and Crit Rate from the background. Outdated in 9.0, but fine for older content and events.

Budget A-rank supports

Bright Knight: Excelsis
Danzai Spectramancer
Starlit Astrologos

Her Javelins are Charged ATKs, so they trigger Danzai Spectramancer's specters and Sword Scar, while Starlit Astrologos never leaves the background.

Guide

How to play

Defense and Retaliation

  • Tap [Evade] without a direction to raise her shield: incoming attacks trigger Retaliation, which nullifies them and triggers Focus EX (a brief Time Slow, CD 10s). Her Ultimate Evasion also triggers Focus EX.
  • After a Retaliation, tap [ATK] for Javelin, or Javelin EX with Focus EX (pulls enemies in for 3s). You can also hold [ATK] during Basic ATK SEQ 5 for a Javelin.
  • Paragon: every hit taken gives a stack (10 max, +2 per Retaliation), each granting damage reduction and Total DMG; at 10 stacks she deals 20% more Total DMG.

Burst mode: Sceptrum Regalis

  • For 100 SP (CD 25s), she enters burst mode for 23s with Iron Body and +50% Total DMG. Switching out ends it.
  • Evade forward into an enemy to enter Turbojet: with Focus EX ready, this triggers Retaliation, then tap [ATK] for Phantom Cleave (pulls in all nearby enemies, 1,550% ATK of Physical DMG).
  • With Abyss Flower, her weapon active becomes Dark Void (Divine Bloom on the PRI-ARM): a huge Physical nuke with +30% Crit Rate that counts as both weapon and Ultimate DMG and pauses every timer. It ends burst mode, and entering or leaving burst mode resets the weapon CD.

Rotation (Marisa Impact)

  1. Weapon active → attack until you have the SP for burst mode.
  2. Enter burst mode.
  3. Evade forward into the enemy → [ATK], and repeat until burst mode is almost over.
  4. Finish with the weapon active (Dark Void / Divine Bloom), which resets for the next cycle.

Her leader skill gives the team up to 25% Physical DMG and 25% Crit DMG. In the Elysian Realm, start with the Glory Ego signet (Gambit adds damage); Setsuna 1 with the Ame-Shiko enhancement resets her Ultimate CD on every third evasion skill.

Strengths

  • Abyss Flower turns her into a burst monster: a time-stopping nuke that resets every burst cycle.
  • Very sturdy: shield parries, Paragon damage reduction and Iron Body in burst mode.
  • Gathers enemies with Javelin EX and Phantom Cleave.
  • Strong Physical leader skill, and she is easy to unlock (War Treasury with Ancient Willpower, Dorm Supply).

Weaknesses

  • No Astral Ring, and Dreamweaver has replaced her as a Physical DPS.
  • Really wants ranks and Abyss Flower to be usable (Marisa Impact); without them, play lower difficulties.
  • Abyss Flower comes from the Focused Supply, which Marisa Impact advises against for new players.
  • Switching out ends burst mode, which limits team play.

Notable dupes · Rank

S2
Solid upgrade

Ultimate Evasion restores 6 SP and gives 10% Crit Rate for 8s.

SS
Solid upgrade

Retaliation leaves Physical Vulnerability: enemies take 10% more Physical DMG for 10s.

SSS
Solid upgrade

Ending burst mode restores 15 SP, which speeds up the next cycle.

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Updated September 26, 2026 · Version 9.0
Sources & references
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