The latest story update for 'Seven Knights Re:BIRTH' (hereinafter SKRB) has introduced a brand new original hero, 'Dongyoung'. Drawing inspiration from the traditional Korean grim reaper, Dongyoung arrives with 'Extreme Poison,' a debuff that acts as a significantly more lethal upgrade to the standard 'poison' effect. With magic-based decks having been on the back foot in the current arena meta, players are scrambling to dissect this newcomer's potential. Naturally, the team at KookminTree has jumped into the fray to break down Dongyoung's performance.

Q. What kind of hero is Dongyoung?
A. Dongyoung is a damage dealer that relies on 'Extreme Poison' to chip away at foes with fixed damage.

The cornerstone of Dongyoung is the 'Extreme Poison' debuff. While it counts as poison for synergy purposes, the output is five times that of standard poison damage. Furthermore, Dongyoung is equipped with the ability to deal 'fixed damage' to any target currently suffering from Extreme Poison or standard poison. 'Breath of the Underworld' shields all allies while simultaneously damaging all enemies; if the target is already poisoned, it deals additional fixed damage equal to 22% of Dongyoung's magic attack.

'Touch of the Abyss' hits all enemies once with 'piercing' damage, while applying 'fear' and 'Extreme Poison' for two turns. The chance to trigger fear stands at 45%, while Extreme Poison sits at 75%. Basic attacks also carry a 50% chance to apply a two-turn Extreme Poison debuff. The passive 'Companion of the Underworld' scales Dongyoung's 'Effect Accuracy' based on their attack power—more on that shortly. Additionally, Dongyoung boasts impressive survivability with an 'Indomitable [8 hits]' effect upon death. The passive also provides a permanent boost to all allies' magic damage output, and triggers a full health recovery for the team when 'Indomitable' activates.

Every time the team executes two skills, an additional bonus effect kicks in: it deals magic damage equal to 50% of Dongyoung's magic attack to all enemies, applies a 100% chance of two-turn Extreme Poison, and reduces the target's incoming healing (stacking up to 3 times). Dongyoung's transcendence effects are heavily focused on the passive. At 2-transcendence, Dongyoung grants 'Immunity to all damage' for one turn to magic-type allies in the same row, while 6-transcendence adds an extra hit to the 'Indomitable' effect upon an ally's death and applies '20% Magic Vulnerability' to all enemies. It is worth noting that just hitting 2-transcendence significantly bolsters party survivability.

The awakening skill 'Judgment of the Mortal' strikes all enemies. If the target is poisoned, it applies fixed damage and reduces their turn-based buffs by two turns. The fixed damage starts at 23% and can be boosted to 26% through skill enhancements. Since the fixed damage output scales with Dongyoung's magic attack, equipment choices play a vital role here.

Q. What are the core buffs and debuffs for Dongyoung?
A. Fear, Extreme Poison, Effect Accuracy based on attack power, and Indomitable.

The Effect Accuracy scaling grants 5% for every 300 points of attack, up to a maximum of 45%. Mathematically, hitting 2,700 attack power unlocks the full potential of this stat, a threshold easily reached even with minimal gear in SKRB. While Extreme Poison behaves like standard poison, it deals damage equal to 30% of the target's max HP. However, since this damage cannot exceed 150% of Dongyoung's attack power, it is wise to prioritize attack stats over the baseline. Because it is treated as poison, it is particularly devastating in the 'Water Dungeon.' Finally, since the 'Indomitable' stack increase is gated behind 6-transcendence, I highly recommend aiming for that milestone to maximize survivability.

Q. What is the recommended equipment setup for Dongyoung?
A. Focus your build around 'Attack Power' and 'Effect Resistance'.

Dongyoung effectively starts with 69% Effect Accuracy thanks to the 45% from the passive and another 24% from 4-transcendence. Consequently, hitting 100% is easily achievable through sub-stats. If you want a quick fix, equipping the 'Shaman' set grants a 35% boost. While this pushes you over the 100% cap, the 4-set effect's '10% Effect Application Probability' boost effectively increases the trigger rate for Extreme Poison and fear.

Alternatively, you could pump up attack power to specifically snipe the 'Superiority' buff of 'Seoran.' Since the playstyle revolves around damage-over-time effects like Extreme Poison, the priority for 'Critical' stats is relatively low, leaving plenty of room for an aggressive attack-heavy build. Given that the current arena meta is heavily saturated with 100% 'Effect Resistance' setups, I strongly advise aiming for high attack power combined with solid Effect Resistance.