3 Enoki Yukigaya

Overview

Wielding a massive claymore and even more massive damage, Enoki is a powerhouse DPS who embodies
high risk and high reward. Her main damage comes from her strategy skill Grill Impact, a leaping attack
that deals nearly half the damage of most ultimates. However, she can only use this ability once her heat
is stacked up.

Combined with low defenses and a second passive that drains her life for more damage, Enoki is one of the
riskiest yet most rewarding characters in Tribe Nine.

Heat

As this is a vital part of her kit, let’s cover this mechanic at the start. Enoki starts off every fight
with 0 Heat (represented by the left bar). To generate heat, she can do any of the following: execute
the fourth hit of her primary attack chain, execute her secondary attack, perform a counterattack, or, after
a perfect dodge, perform a primary attack to skip directly to the fourth hit of her chain.

Heat is spent by activating her Strategy Skill. While the initial cost is high, it doesn’t cost much heat
to use. All Heat is lost if Enoki is hit by ANY enemy attack (self damage does not lose Heat). To dish out
her high damage, you must balance heat gain, maintenance, stamina costs, and avoid getting hit.

Primary Attack

A very slow four-part attack. For various reasons, you do NOT want to use this unless no other option
exists. Special note: her fourth attack can be accessed immediately by performing a perfect dodge. This hit
has long range and builds heat REGARDLESS OF IF IT HITS AN ENEMY. If you commit to the full chain, ensure
you finish it; otherwise, the heat loss won’t be worth it.

Secondary Attack

Enoki spins toward her target with a flaming swirl, then swings upward. This is your main source of heat
generation and an important attack to weave between counterattacks/perfect dodges. Wait for the full animation
to finish, if possible, to build as much heat as you can. It deals surprisingly decent break damage despite its rating.

Counterattack

A deflect counterattack (ineffective against projectiles or ranged attacks like Destroyer’s). Enoki charges
forward while executing this, which can cause awkward targeting moments against enemies (e.g., SHARK’s dash at fight start).

Strategy Skill

Character defining. After a brief upward leap, Enoki slams down, dealing a ludicrous amount of damage on
the first hit, followed by several small ticks. The attack is so heavy it slightly delays an enemy's strike
(but don’t rely on it at the wrong moment). It also costs an absurd amount of stamina, so monitor your stamina
and the enemy's actions before committing.

Ultimate Skill

Costs 2 Tension Bars. After a cinematic pose, Enoki performs a big sword swing and launches a flame wave forward.
The damage ratio is strong (though not as absurd as Iroha's) and can be boosted by her passive 1. A very solid,
if basic, damage ultimate.

Chain Skill

Generic chain skill: Enoki slams down on the enemy with a leaping strike. The animation is slightly lengthy if that matters.

Combos (If Operating)

Enoki doesn’t have a fixed “set combo” as her playstyle depends on the enemy, your current heat/stamina, and the available time.
Instead, follow these guidelines:

Note: Assume counterattack (CA) has priority due to high break value. Some enemy attacks offer little or no CA chance, or you
might prefer a perfect dodge to recover stamina. (I abbreviate counterattack as CA, but you may substitute perfect dodge.)

• Start of fight: Use secondary attack immediately, then look for CA. Alternate between secondary/CA until the enemy breaks or
  your heat turns blue.
• If enemy is overtly aggressive: Use CA liberally, dodging only to recover stamina. You should rarely need to fully retreat for recovery.
• If enemy has downtime: If long, perform the full primary attack string (even if it won’t hit, you still build heat); if short, spam
  secondary attack to self-damage/maintain heat.
• When heat is full: Seek safe chances to use your strategy skill, then use secondary to recover the cost. Always LEARN THE FIGHT
  before risking advanced moves.

Tips

1. The most important thing is to LEARN THE FIGHT. Enoki’s kit is simple, but optimizing her heat gain is intricate. Once you understand
   the boss’s patterns (attack tells and aggression phases), perfect clears become second nature.
2. Always track your stamina! Enoki’s attack costs are high, especially with counterattacks.
3. During a Chain Attack, her heat decays very slowly UNLESS she uses her chain skill. Save her chain skill for last to recover stamina
   while losing minimal heat.
4. Remember, her strategy skill causes some hit stun, giving you extra breathing room.
5. Her secondary attack generates heat on both the spin and the FIRST hit of the upswing. The additional hits of damage only deal damage/break,
   so feel free to cancel after the first hit of the upswing into her strategy skill for damage if you have the heat and can safely do so or dodge
   out of it to recover stamina faster.

Potential

By default, invest at least 1 point into passive 2; even if you’re unsure of surviving boss fights, it grants a 60% maximum damage bonus
at 80% HP. Additional points offer +30% damage and increase self-damage by 10% (only matters if you get hit). Passive 1 is an optional,
potent boost to her ultimate at the cost of slower heat gain. This may be negligible (e.g., SHARK) or frustrating (e.g., Brave Diver). It's still worth
1-2 points if you can kill an enemy with good gear (strategy skill → ultimate or vice versa) since it specifies DAMAGE MULTIPLIER rather
than ACTION DAMAGE. Any spare gems should go into Fighter’s Instinct to maximize her damage output, as her strategy skill and ultimate
increase by 600%/1400% per rank. Avoid the other two.

Dupes

A rather strange set of dupes:

• First Transcend gives her 4 stacks of heat when performing her chain skill.
• Unfortunately, this does not let her supercharge her heat gauge with secondary attack → chain skill → secondary attack due to a
  second-line stipulation.
• Third Dupe grants a 25% Crit Damage Multiplier upon reaching max Heat, lost after using her strategy skill; a small but useful boost.
• Her potential gems are excellent for additional rank-ups in Fighter’s Instinct.
• Finally, fifth Transcend is utterly insane—an extra 90% damage increase with no downside, providing a massive overall boost.

Operating Character

Enoki is best played MANUALLY, as optimizing her heat gain is integral to her DPS. The AI can handle her post-buff to some extent, but
the potential DPS loss may not be worth it versus manual control.

Conclusion

With her absurd damage output and high skill ceiling, Enoki is one of the most rewarding characters to master in the game. She's
certainly not for EVERYONE, but if you enjoy a bit of malding and mastering boss patterns through careful reaction, Enoki is the girl for you.