Cardinal — guide

In short

Cardinal is an Epic Support from the Sacred Order with Dark affinity. Her signature is Ascension — a team-wide revive that heals every fallen ally and instantly fills their Turn Meters, which makes her an Arena support first and foremost. Worth building; Speed and survivability come before anything else.

Strengths

• Ascension revives all dead allies, heals them for 25% of their MAX HP and fills their Turn Meters to maximum — the whole team acts immediately.
• Healing Touch heals one ally for 30% of their MAX HP and adds a 60% Increase DEF buff for 2 turns: heal and protection in one press.
• She covers both healing and revival in a single slot, freeing room for a damage dealer or controller.
• Strong in the Arena (4.0) and in Faction Wars (3.5).
• She needs no ATK — every stat can go into HP, DEF and Speed.

Weaknesses

• Base Speed of 104: without Speed gear her revive simply arrives too late.
• Her A1 is close to dead weight — ATK-based damage and only a 10% chance to place a 5% Poison for 2 turns.
• No real debuffs and no damage, so boss content is not her place (Clan Boss 2.5, Hydra 2.5, Chimera 2.0).
• Heavily dependent on her revive cooldown — without books it is far too rare.

Where to use

Arena first (4.0), where an instant team-wide revive decides the round; the author suggests trying her next to Kytis. Then Sacred Order Faction Wars (3.5), where she handles both healing and revival. In dungeons, Doom Tower and Hard mode (3.0) keep her as insurance against a wipe. In Clan Boss, Hydra and Chimera (2.5 / 2.5 / 2.0) she brings almost nothing: no damage, no debuffs.

Stats and gear

Speed is the stat that matters: aim for 200+ for Arena, and 230–250+ if your gear allows. Then HP% and DEF% on gloves, chest and amulet so she lives long enough to press her revive. Accuracy is unnecessary — the only debuff is the 10% Poison on her A1. Resistance is optional, against control. Sets: Protection for the team bonus and Stoneskin for Arena, so she survives the opening turn and gets Ascension off.

Masteries and blessings

Main tree is Support: Invigorated, Growing Resolve, Strengthening Will, Gathering Momentum, Steadfast Preparation, Uncontrollable. Take the Defense tree as your second for extra survivability and damage reduction. Relics worth slotting: Infernosphere, Wand of Submission, Aspect of Siroth. For a blessing, go defensive (Iron Hide is a fine pick) — her only job is to survive until Ascension is ready.

Tombs

Books go into Ascension first: two of its levels cut the cooldown by 1 each, and that is what decides how often your team comes back. Then Healing Touch (cooldown -1 at level 4). Her A1 comes last — the Poison rarely lands anyway.

Verdict

A good Epic that deserves levels and books: in the Arena and in Faction Wars she does her job very well.