Gustave Maelle

Overview

This Lightning Maelle build takes an off-meta path and transforms her into a devastating elemental carry. Instead of relying on the usual fire combos, this version leans into electric damage through underused abilities like Sword Ballet and Gustav’s Homage, turning her into a fast, relentless duelist. Maelle’s stance system is central to this build, with Virtuous stance being the clear priority. It boosts her damage, strengthens her free aim counters, and makes her entire kit flow naturally into a high-crit, high-burst playstyle.

The idea here is simple: apply marks with your team, transition into Virtuous stance as quickly as possible, and unleash sword ballet chains amplified by lightning scaling weapons. The build mixes in defensive utility with Last Chance and shield generation while still pushing extremely high single-target damage. Unlike other Maelle builds that lean too heavily on early fire options, this lightning version feels unique, thematic, and scales beautifully into the late game while still being viable from the start.

Act 1 & 2

Maelle begins strong and can carry through Act 1 even with basic gear, but the setup solidifies in Act 2 once you’ve established consistent access to Virtuous stance.

Flurit Fury – If you managed to grab Metalum early, this is your bread-and-butter. It keeps you in Virtuous stance and allows for aggressive early clears. Without Metalum, you can safely skip it, as the setup later makes Flurit Fury less essential.
Momentum Strike – Excellent filler skill. It hits hard against marked enemies, conserves AP compared to Sword Ballet, and keeps your stance flow smooth.
Fencer’s Flurry + Breaking Rules – This combo provides utility and tempo. Fencer’s Flurry applies Defenseless across enemies while breaking rules grants an extra turn. In the early game, an extra turn is massive.
Sword Ballet – The core of the build. With high crit investment, Sword Ballet quickly becomes your biggest source of damage. It scales directly with lightning weapons later but remains strong right from Act 1.
Last Chance – A must-have survival and damage tool. With the Shortcut Picto, it’s essentially free, providing shields, full AP, and a Virtuous entry trigger.

Early Combos:
If you have Metalum, the flow is simple: spam Flurit Fury, then drop a Sword Ballet once your AP is full. Without it, open with Fencer’s Flurry into Breaking Rules for tempo and use Momentum Strike or Sword Ballet depending on marks. Last Chance can reset you back into Virtuous stance whenever needed.

Leveling

Level	Spell/Passive
1	Counterblow
2	Downfall
3	Focus Retaliation
4	Shield Volley
5	Focus Retaliation
6	Titan Stomp
7	Bulwark
8	Return to Sender
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Act 1 & 2 Pictos

Picto	Details
At Death’s Door	Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects
2	More then doubles your damage at the cost of additional mana
3	Additional fire damage and mana resource
4	Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

Weapons

Item	Details
Weapon 1 Spellbound Longsword Location	Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects
Weapon 2 Emberborn Shard Location	More then doubles your damage at the cost of additional mana
Weapon 3 Captain’s Heater Location	Additional fire damage and mana resource

Item

Details

Weapon 1

Spellbound Longsword

Location

Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects

Weapon 2

Emberborn Shard

Location

More then doubles your damage at the cost of additional mana

Weapon 3

Captain’s Heater

Location

Additional fire damage and mana resource

Weapons Overview

Weapons define how this build feels at every stage.

Early Game – Metalum (Optional): Found in the Gestal Village arena, this weapon allows permanent Virtuous stance loops and gives Maelle an explosive start. If you miss it, don’t worry — the build functions without it, but it makes Act 1 smoother.
Mid Game – Clearum: The real centerpiece of this build. Found in Act 2, this weapon adds lightning scaling, boosts AP generation, and directly increases the damage of Sword Ballet, Fencer’s Flurry, and Gustav’s Homage by 20%. Clearum also scales with Defense and Agility, two of Maelle’s best stats, and pushes her lightning identity forward. Do note: it’s missable. Clear out the enemies in the Vis area before the final boss to secure it.
Attributes: Focus on Agility first for speed and crit rate, then Defense for scaling with Clearum and survivability, and finally Might for a flat damage push.
Pictos: Prioritize crit chance to hit 100% so that Sword Ballet always lands its double-damage crits. Supplement with AP generation pictos for smoother combos and the Shortcut Picto to maximize Last Chance.

Final Pictos

Picto	Details
At Death’s Door	Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects
2	More then doubles your damage at the cost of additional mana
3	Additional fire damage and mana resource
4	Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

Pictos Overview

Keep the loop compact and decisive. Walk forward guarding, bait a swing, and perfect parry. Immediately cash the counter to tag the combo finisher, then choose your conversion: takedown if the bar is full, or heavy ender into Clear Out if multiple targets are close. When you sense the tide turning, hit Barbaric Shout first; the shield and stagger convert panic moments into winning positions, and the window it creates makes Clear Out non-negotiable for the next two beats. If the mob is small or you’re tunneling a high-health threat, swap Clear Out for Flurry of Blows and ride the lifesteal to stay planted while the bleeds tick. Always re-cast Arcane Veil before committing to long strings or boss windows; it’s cheap insurance that also keeps your timing greedy without punishment.

Two anchors keep the build honest. First, never swing blindly into red telegraphs—step, parry, and cash the finisher instead. Second, don’t chase whiffs with stamina-draining heavies; reset with a quick step, re-guard, and bait again. The build’s damage comes from advantage, not spam. When it hums, fights read the same: shout to seize tempo, parry to mint a finisher, bleed the pack, and decide which target gets the takedown. That’s the Crimson Warlord—measured, brutal, and always in control.

How to Play

Vitality	Might	Luck	Defense	Agility
3	0	0	3	1

Act 3 is where Lightning Maelle takes full form. Here, the underused skills in the kit combine into an incredibly stylish and powerful loop.

Gustav’s Homage replaces Flurit Fury as the primary stance and damage tool. It deals solid elemental damage, transitions you into Virtuous stance, and, when used on marked targets, ramps damage without consuming the mark. It also sets up Sword Ballet beautifully.
Sword Ballet remains the build’s signature move and scales insanely with high crit and lightning boosts. This is the main nuke button that deletes bosses and tanky enemies.
Last Chance continues to act as a reset button, giving shields, AP, and damage buffs. With Shortcut, it can be used aggressively to chain back-to-back Ballets.
Momentum Strike and Fencer’s Flurry still hold value as fillers. Momentum is the cheaper option for damage, while Fencer’s Flurry sets up Breaking Rules if you still want occasional tempo manipulation.

Late Game Combos:
The cleanest flow is: open with Fencer’s Flurry to apply Defenseless and position yourself. Drop Gustav’s Homage on a marked target to enter Virtuous stance, then unleash Sword Ballet on turn three for devastating burst. Follow with Last Chance to reset and repeat the cycle. In boss fights, this chain alone can shred through health bars faster than most builds.

With Clearum enhancing all lightning abilities, Maelle stays perfectly in theme while dealing top-tier single-target damage. Combined with marks from allies like Verso or Sciel, this loop becomes near unstoppable.

Build Snapshot

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