Kim Ga-young Build - Horizon Walker
Kim Ga-young Build
3 S Ranged ATK + Crit DMG
Core Stats
Strength: Increases Melee ATK Technic: Increases Ranged ATK Intelligence: Increases Magic ATK Vitality: Increases Max HP Agility: Increases evasion and AP Recovery
Strength
7
Technic
19
Intelligence
9
Vitality
9
Agility
10
Build Note
Stealth Assassin Sniper
Stealth - Most of the time Kim is going to be in stealth mode, so you are not in danger of getting hit. You also benefit from stigma and other buffs that scale with stealth. The main problem with Kim is that she is single target and needs a lot of crit to scale, also including weak base Ranged ATK.
EX Weapon Traits - Her EX weapon "SS4 Refitted Model" grants bonus stats from specific traits: Efficient (+15 AP at battle start), Competent (+10% Ranged ATK), Methodical (+5% Support ATK DMG). The one you can change is Efficient, it does not provide damage but gives good starting AP. I am not really sure we need to get into her turn even, because her job is doing support attack when someone attacks. So we really do not need AP at all.
Drone Vision Support Role - With her EX weapon, Drone Vision applies debuffs (-100 All DEF, -100 Evasion). She is the ONLY unit in the game that can reduce Evasion. Her debuff of 100 Evasion is actually quite strong because of how evasion works. All DEF down is not so much though.
Increase Sniping Skill LV - I do think Support ATK scales with the character normal ATK, and Kim normal ATK is Sniping, so in theory if we increase her normal ATK that will also increase the Support ATK damage.
Two Stigma Choices - There are two stigma builds for her: Four Horsemen and Phantom Banquet. Both can work and there is quite a different playstyle with each. The main problem that we face is that Kim lacks crit rate to take off, and we need to somehow increase her crit rate. Without crit rate her damage really falls off and missing one crit hit is quite crucial. Four Horsemen can give higher crit rate, but you need to hit them at least 5 times to reach full potential. Phantom Banquet is more stable, and you also benefit from stealth damage increase which is not bad. Honestly, both can work.
Recommended Stigma
Option 1: Low Investment / Zero Dupe
Phantom Banquet
EX2-Set Bonus
Crit DMG +16% during battle
4-Set Bonus
Basic ATK DMG and Skill DMG increase by 16% during battle. At the start of battle, SPD increases by 35%. This effect ends upon using a skill other than Wait. When using any active skill while Stealthed, ATK increases by 18% until the end of the turn.
Stigma Pieces
Top
Phantom's Invitation
Melee/Ranged/Magic ATK
Bottom
Phantom's Toast
Crit Rate
Left
Phantom's Dance
Pierce Boost
Right
Phantom's Feast
Max HP
OR
Option 2: Full EX 5 Weapon
The Four Horsemen
EX2-Set Bonus
Crit DMG +20% during battle
4-Set Bonus
When triggering a Basic ATK, Crit Rate increases by 7% for 3R. Stacks up to 5 times.
Stigma Pieces
Top
The White Horseman of Conquest
Ranged ATK
Bottom
The Red Horseman of War
Crit DMG
Left
The Black Horseman of Famine
Pierce Boost
Right
The Blue Horseman of Death
Max HP
Recommended Sub Stats
Crit DMG
Best
6% - 10%
Crit DMG
Best
6% - 10%
Crit Rate
Best
3% - 5%
Ranged ATK
Good Alternative
3% - 5%
Priority: Crit DMG (2 slots) → Crit Rate → Ranged ATK (alternative)
Recommended Traits
Best Traits for Crit DMG + Ranged ATK + EX Weapon Synergy (Max 5 Traits)
Competent
Best
AP Recovery: +2%
EX Weapon: +10% Ranged ATK
Methodical
Best
Starting AP: +10
AP Recovery: -3%
EX Weapon: +5% Support ATK DMG
Doom
Best
Crit DMG: +12%
Max HP: -3%
Heaven-sent
Best
Crit Rate: +5%
Fortunate
Best
Crit Rate: +4%
Efficient
Alternative
Immaterial DEF: -50
AP Recovery: +3%
EX Weapon: +15 AP at battle start
Technical
Alternative
Ranged ATK: +3%
Professional
Alternative
Ranged ATK: +2%
Accuracy: +3%
Barraging
Alternative
Ranged ATK: +5%
Accuracy: -2%
Recommended Selection: Competent → Methodical (EX Weapon synergy) → Doom → Heaven-sent → Fortunate (Core Crit DMG + Crit Rate build). Prioritize crit traits since Kim needs high crit to scale damage. Efficient is optional as Kim mainly does support attacks and does not need AP.