Kikyo

Soul

Position 2/4/6: SPD or ATK/ATK or Res/Crit % or Crit Dmg

Discussion:

Although her stats are not the most impressive amongst SSRs, Kikyo’s special attack alone will make her the deadliest single target DPS in the game.  For this reason, her best Soul would be Shadow.

With Shadow, Kikyo has the ability to one-shot an enemy when her skill is fully functional. Her special attack has a very high direct damage multiplier that puts her in the league with the best attackers in the game.  She’ll have no problem finishing off enemy DPS very quickly.  Even with tanky units, she’ll be able to take them out in two turns.  Claw is the same concept but I consider Shadow a bit superior.

Soultaker is another choice that would let her act twice in a turn.  This would condense her actions and make sure she finishes a key enemy in one turn.  The downside is she would consume quite a lot of orbs in that one turn.

Soul stats should be ATK oriented.  In order to draw the highest damage out of Kikyo, ATK/ATK/Crit Dmg should be your best bet.  The trick is what to do with the secondary stats.  First of all, 100% Crit % is essential for a Crit Dmg build.  In addition, you would want to get her SPD high enough so that she can take advantage of Kagura’s Wind.  She’ll need 14 points of SPD to get to 129.  In addition, she’ll need some Effect HIT for her skill.  As we can see, it is quite difficult to get good enough Soul for her.  I would say first get enough damage for her, then make sure she is fast enough, and lastly get her as much Effect HIT as you can.  Alternatively, by sacrificing some damage, you could attain SPD and Effect HIT easier but Kikyo may not be able to finish off tanky units while having no trouble with DPS and controls.  This is for a speedy team.  For the slower team, she’ll need some Effect RES and possibly some HP to help to survive the first wave of enemy controls/attacks.  In these mid/slow type builds, teammates are more important.

Rating

Spiritual Burst

Soul Barrier

Arrow of Exorcism

Sample Team

Maestro, Kamaitachi, Hannya, Kikyo, Kaguya, Kagura

Kikyo has a pretty good shield so she could have enough survivability to play a role in the mid to low speed team but overall, she is meant to cripple the opponent by taking out an enemy unit quickly.  Hence, she’ll make a bigger impact in a fast team.  The general strategy is to have a high-speed unit like Kamaitachi or Maestro to allow her to act more often.  She can be the DPS in the Yumekui teams.  Orb supply would be an issue for such teams so multiple sets of Fortune Cat is recommended.

PvP

At this point, she is better off going full offensive and to try to take out an enemy unit right off the bat.  As with all single target DPSs, Shouzu, Soul Edge, Mirror Lady, etc are effective counters so select your enemies carefully.

Soul

Her use for Soul runs is similar to Hakuro in which a strong single target attack is used to finish off Orochi.

PVE

If you don’t have Ibaraki Doji, Kikyo can fill the role against Bosses.  Her damage is not far behind the top tier Boss fighters.

Shikigami Comparison

Ibaraki Doji – As a DPS, Ibaraki Doji is of no doubt more prominent than Kikyo.  He is considered a top tier PvE DPS whereas Kikyo not far behind.  Kikyo has the edge over Ibaraki Doji in that she is more useful in PvP.  In terms of damage, Ibaraki is higher at max.  In terms of importance, Ibaraki is the best in some PvE fights and cannot be easily replaced while Kikyo faces competitions for a place on the team for all situations.

Acquisition

Wanted Quest

Verdict

Farming (2.0/5.0)

Kikyo is can only do single target attacks so is therefore not suitable to carry fodders.

Duel/Raid (4.0/5.0)

Even though she is no Onikiri, she is still a formidable DPS and would be deadly if the enemy is careless.

Boss Battles (4.0/5.0)

She needs to partner up with Ushi no Toki for Boss fights since Bosses are not affected by her skill.  At the end of the day, her damage output is still less than Ibaraki Doji but is still worth as a secondary damage output.

Soul (4.0/5.0)

I would say she is on par with Hakuro as a finisher in Soul 10.  Hakuro is easier to equip with her skill adding 30% Crit.  Kikyo has higher damage though.

Personally, I would try to get her since she is a limited time offer.  I don’t see too much use for her though if you have Onikiri as a DPS for PvP.  While she is very usable in a fast team, there is not much else.  Without the first mover’s advantage, she lacks the survivability to drag the fight on unlike some of the popular DPS right now.  There are some situation where she would be useful but if you have better Shikigamis to invest in, pour resource into those first.