Version 1.5 of Reverse: 1999, Revival of the Uluru Games, is adding four new characters to the game, including two new 6-star units. One of those new characters is the fiery boxing star Spathodea, a new 6-star damage dealer belonging to the Beast Affalatus who takes centre stage in the Uluru Games event story. And when I say fiery, I mean literally as much of Spathodea’s gameplay revolves around the new [Burn] debuff, something Spathodea can use and exploit to massively increase her own Critical Rate and Critical DMG. If you know how to both use and build Spathodea, she has the potential to become one of the strongest Burst DMG dealers in the entire game, defeating single-targets with ease thanks to her unique, if slightly complex, range of attacks.
Here’s how to build Spathodea, the new 6-star Beast DPS unit, in Reverse: 1999 Version 1.5. This will include a deep dive into Spathodea’s [Burn] and Crit heavy kit to see how to best use her, what her best Psycubes and stats are, and what teammates you should be running her with.
If you’re looking for more Reverse: 1999 content, including several other build guides, then you can find it here on KeenGamer:
- Reverse: 1999 Ulu Build Guide
- Reverse: 1999 Tooth Fairy Build Guide
- Reverse: 1999 In The Storm Trail Riddle Guide
- Reverse: 1999 Fish and Chips Trail Riddle Guide
- Reverse: 1999 Unexpected Audience Trail Riddle Guide
Revival of the Uluru Games
Spathodea Role and Kit Overview
Firstly, before we dig into what makes Spathodea such a superb main damage dealer, let’s first go over the general design of her kit and how she works. Spathodea is a single-target main damage dealer who exploits enemies with the [Burn] debuff to deal massive amounts of Critical DMG. She has the DPS, Burst DMG, and Burn role classification tags, which should give you a good idea of how she plays.
One of the biggest elements of Spathodea’s kit is the [Burn] debuff, a new DoT effect introduced in Reverse 1999 Version 1.5. Spathodea is one of only two units that can apply or use [Burn] effectively, making it a pretty niche buff, at least in the global release. [Burn] is a stacking debuff which deals damage at the end of the round based on the holder’s (the target being afflicted) ATK x4%. After [Burn] triggers damage, it will lose 50% of its stacks.
Despite [Burn] being a damage-over-time effect, Spathodea isn’t a unit that relies on DoT for her damage. Instead, accruing [Burn] stacks allows Spathodea to trigger several important buffs and bonuses in her kit, including some gigantic Critical Rate and Critical DMG buffs. As a boxer, Spathodea excels in dealing incredible burst damage, and [Burn] is just a means to an end to that goal. While she has some extremely strict rotations and she’ll likely be outperformed on a round-to-round basis by other damage dealers, her Burst DMG is among the best in the entire game and more than enough reason to pull her.
Fiery Little Boxer
Skill 1: Little Boxer (Attack)
Spathodea’s first Skill, Little Boxer, is a simple yet effective attack against a single target. It will deal a large amount of Reality DMG to a selected target when used. Additionally, if Spathodea is in the [Preignition] status (which we’ll discuss momentarily), this attack gains Critical DMG +40%.
[Preignition] is the core and main buff to which Spathodea has access. Stacks of [Preignition] are consumed before each attack, allowing Spathodea to inflict Burn on the target for each stack of removed [Preignition]. So, for example, if Spathodea has 9 stacks of [Preignition] when she unleashes Little Boxer, she will inflict the enemy with 9 stacks of Burn at the end of the attack.
At higher Incantation levels, Little Boxer’s Reality DMG increases drastically:
- Little Boxer, Lv. 1: Deals 200% Reality DMG.
- Little Boxer, Lv. 2: Deals 300% Reality DMG.
- Little Boxer, Lv. 3: Deals 500% Reality DMG.
Little Boxer is the bread and butter of Spathodea’s kit and her most consistent way of both dealing damage and applying Burn. With high Reality DMG across all three Incantation levels and incredible synergy with her other Skills and passives thanks to the Preignition Critical DMG buff, you can dish out some really high and consistent damage with Spathodea.
Attack Skill: Little Boxer
Skill 2: Ignition Point (Buff)
The next Skill Spathodea has access to is Ignition Point, a vital Buff ability which completely changes how you play this character. This a self-buff where Spathodea will gain varying stacks of [Preignition] and [Exhilaration] alongside a special stack of [Preperation – Spathodea].
[Exhilaration] increases the attacker Critical Rate by +15% for each stack, removing all stacks after being triggered. Meanwhile, [Preperation – Spathodea] will generate one Precast Incantation of Little Boxer at the start of the next round, with the Incantation’s level being determined by the level of [Preperation – Spathodea].
At higher Incantation levels, Ignition Point will deliver increased stacks of [Preignition], [Exhilaration], and [Preperation – Spathodea]:
- Ignition Point, Lv. 1: Gain 3 stacks of [Preignition], 2 stacks of [Exhilaration], and 1 stack of [Preperation – Spathodea I].
- Ignition Point, Lv. 2: Gain 6 stacks of [Preignition], 3 stacks of [Exhilaration], and 1 stack of [Preperation – Spathodea II].
- Ignition Point, Lv. 3: Gain 9 stacks of [Preignition], 5 stacks of [Exhilaration], and 1 stack of [Preperation – Spathodea III].
If Little Boxer is Spathodea’s main driver, Ignition Point is the fuel behind her massive power. All three of the buffs this ability provides are vital in allowing Spathodea to deal as much damage as possible: [Preignition] allows her to Burn enemies without the aid of her allies whereas [Exhilaration] affords Spathodea a way to ensure that she’s going to land a Critical Hit. Arguably the most important ability is [Preperation] as it allows you to instantly generate a Little Boxer Incanation, side-stepping RNG and ensuring that you’ll be able to make the most of your buffs. In short, learning when to properly use Ignition Point is the secret behind Spathodea’s raw power.
Buff Skill: Ignition Point
Ultimate: Flame Within The Fire
Spathodea’s last combat ability is Flame Within The Fire, her powerful Ultimate. This single-target Ultimate deals a whopping 700% Reality DMG and gains Critical DMG +40% at base, with it earning another Critical DMG +40% if the target is afflicted with 15 or more stacks of [Burn].
Flame Within The Fire is the big final move you’ll be building towards at all times while playing Spathodea: every Little Boxer and Ignition Point cast is there to facilitate and set up Spathodea’s Ultimate. As such, your entire playstyle will naturally shift to accommodate and set up this Ultimate, especially when it comes to how and when you use your abilities. If you manage to take advantage of that 80% Critical DMG buff, there’s very little in the game which can stand up to your might.
However, while this all sounds brilliant on paper, putting it into effect is much harder. At the end of each round, enemies afflicted with Burn will not only take Genesis DMG but they will also lose 50% of their Burn stacks. This gives you a very narrow window to get those 15 [Burn] stacks onto your target, especially if you’re also trying to balance Little Boxer and Ignition Point casts. When all of this snowballs together, Spathodea ends up becoming quite the complex unit, despite her main gimmick being just pure damage. Manage it, though, and you’re looking at one of the strongest single attacks in Reverse 1999, greatly rewarding players willing to learn Spathodea’s demanding rotations.
Ultimate: Flame Within the Fire
Inheritance Passive: Flame Flower
After unlocking Spathodea’s Insight I, she’ll gain access to the Flame Flower Passive. At level 1, Flame Flower will increase the Critical Rate of the next attack by +25% after Spathodea applies [Burn] with an attack such as Little Boxer or Flame Within The Fire. This ability plays perfectly into Spathodea’s rotations, allowing you to be more consistent, especially when you’re building up to her Ultimate: you’d hate to put so much effort into making that attack shine only to not land a Critical Hit, after all.
Meanwhile, at Insight level 2, Spathodea will gain +8% DMG dealt after she enters battle. This upgrade is very similar to almost all of the other Insight 2 upgrades in Reverse: 1999 but it’s a serviceable and meaningful boost to Spathodea’s damage output, regardless.
Lastly, at Insight 3, Flame Flower will cause Spathodea to apply 4 [Burn] stacks whenever she lands a Critical Hit with a single-target attack. Combining this with 9 stacks of [Preignition] is how you’re going to be able to quickly and efficiently build to that insanely high Ultimate damage Spathodea is capable of, once again adding a ton of value and consistency to the preparation portion of Spathodea’s rotations.
Overall, Spathodea’s Insight Passive is a big quality-of-life improvement over her base kit. Instead of improving her damage output – which she already has locked down – her Insights improve other, more parts of her kit by either increasing her Critical Rate considerably on a successful rotation or improving her ability to apply [Burn] stacks on her lonesome, both of which are vital if she wants to hit those big numbers consistently.
Flame Flower, Spathodea’s Inheritance
How to Play Spathodea
Spathodea is raw power and is capable of delivering some of the highest single damage totals in all of Reverse 1999 but, if you want to reach those Elysian heights, you’ll need to work at it. While she may appear simple on the surface, balancing Spathodea’s damage output with the ‘lie-and-wait’ nature of her personal buffs is tough work.
During the earlier portions of a fight, you’ll want to be a little more gung-ho with her abilities, using lower-level Little Boxers and Ignition Points to soften up the enemy and apply a considerable amount of [Burn]. As you near your Ultimate, however, you’ll want to slow down and start stockpiling your Skills, primarily aiming for a 3-star Ignition Point. Your main goal here is to get all your Ignition Point buffs off and then use a 3-star Little Boxer precast and Flame Within The Fire in the next round, ensuring that the enemy’s Burn stacks are as high as possible so you can exploit that extra 80% Critical DMG.
While she can be effective by just spamming Incantations willy-nilly, she’ll only be able to reach peak effectiveness if you’re able to balance her various Skills in a precise order: knowing how to perfectly set up her Ultimate by using Little Boxer and Ignition Point at the right time can be daunting and exhausting, especially if you’re also trying to balance buffs and effects from other characters. Without that synergy and rotation in play, Spathodea’s damage and utility drop off considerably so keep that in mind if you enjoy using more mindless, less stressful damage dealers.
On the bright side, because of this, Spathodea is insanely rewarding to play. When you get the rotation right and line up all of the buffs before an Ultimate, there’s little that can match your joy once you see the damage numbers pile up. If you’re someone who enjoys stockpiling and strategising, setting things up so they’re just right, then Spathodea is the main DPS for you.
Ready for a (Professional) Scrap
Spathodea Portrait (Duplicates)
In Reverse: 1999, if you pull a duplicate of a character you already have in your collection, you’ll obtain an Artifice of that character. These Artifices can then be used to unlock that associated character’s Portraits, granting them new abilities or buffs to their already existing arsenal of attacks. If you want to get your hands on Spathodea’s Portraits, you’ll need to acquire Artifice of Spathodea by pulling on her unique banner, The Chirps of Flame, during the first phase of Reverse: 1999 Version 1.5. Additionally, it is worth noting that Spathodea will join the general 6-star character pool once we reach Version 1.8, so keep that in mind as she’ll be easier to acquire then.
- Little Boxer: Critical DMG increased to 70%.
- Flame Flower, Insight 1: Critical Rate increased to 50%.
- Flame Within The Fire: Critical DMG increased to 70% and extra Critical DMG increased to 70%.
- Little Boxer: At Incantation rank 1/2/3, Reality DMG increases to 220/330/550%.
- Flame Within The Fire: Reality DMG increased to 750%. Critical DMG increased to 100% and extra Critical DMG increased to 100%.
All of Spathodea’s Portraits are pretty good because they either increase her raw damage output (P1, P3, P4, P5) or boost her consistency (P2). Arguably her best Portrait, though, is her P2 as it lets you invest way more into Critical DMG stats on your Psycube and Resonance because half of your Critical Rate can be accounted for in this one ability. Alongside that, her P3 is a tad expensive but it’s a huge boost in damage that only incentivises planning around her Ultimate even further, with her P5 being that same effect but even more effective.
Spathodea’s Portraits
Spathodea’s Best Psycubes in Reverse 1999
When it comes to Psycubes, Spathodea’s best Psycube in Reverse: 199 is Long Night Talk, a brand new 6-star Psycube introduced with Version 1.5. At maximum level (Psycube level 60), Long Night Talk will provide the wearer with 580 ATK, 2000 HP, 170 Reality DEF, 160 Mental DEF, and 12% Incantation Might.
Aside from the stat bonuses, there are two main effects available on Long Night Talk. Firstly, when the Carrier has 2 or more [Positive Status] buffs, they gain DMG Dealt +8% when attacking. Secondly, when the Carrier uses a Buff Incantation, they gain ATK +2%, which stacks up to 2 times. Increased Amplification Levels increase the ATK bonus by 0.5% each Amplification level, as well as allowing it to stack additional times.
[Preignition] and [Exhilratation] are both considered [Pos Status] buffs for Spathodea, easily allowing her to take advantage of the bonus DMG dealt, whereas Ignition Point can be used to reliably gain the extra ATK. As a main DPS unit, Spathodea wants to simply deal as much damage as possible and this Psycube gives her the ability to do just that without needing to rely on external factors: all you need to do is just pop Ignition Point and she’s golden.
Fortunately, Spathodea’s signature Psycube isn’t very hard to obtain. Just like how 37 and Tooth Fairy’s signature Psycubes were available from events, Long Night Talk is available for free as a reward from the Red Soil Cave shop, the main vendor for the 1.5 flagship event, Revival of the Uluru Games. You can pick it up for 8000 Ancient Flame which can easily be farmed from select stages in the Revival of the Uluru Games main story. If you want to increase the Amplification of this Psycube, you’ll need to get your hands on a Gluttony, which can be acquired from the Premium Jukebox or the Fragment Shop (you can also get one free Gluttony for 12,000 Ancient Flame from the Red Soil Cave during 1.5).
Long Night Talk, Spathodea’s Best in Slot
If you didn’t happen to get Long Night Talk, though, or are playing after the Version 1.5 update, there are several other options which are still very effective on Spathodea. The best replacement Psycubes for Spathodea are Thunderous Applause (6-star), Blasphemer of Night (6-star), or An Afternoon Nap (5-star).
- Thunderous Applause: When the carrier’s 1-target attack scores a critical hit, Critical DMG +16%.
- Blasphemer of the Night: When the carrier attacks, if the target has 2 or more [Neg Status], DMG Dealt +12%.
- An Afternoon Nap: When the carrier’s 1-target attack scores a critical hit, Critical DMG +3% (stacks up to 4 times).
Of the three options, Thunderous Applause is the easiest to slap onto Spathodea as it’s simply a big boost in Critical DMG. On the other hand, Blasphemer’s effect is a bit trickier to prock as you’ll need another [Negative Status] along [Burn] to activate it, but manage to do and you’ll see a much bigger payout in terms of damage. Finally, Afternoon Nap is a lesser, more cost-effective version of Thunderous Applause which F2P or newer players will have easier access to.
Thunderous Applause and Blasphemer of Night
Spathodea’s Most Important Stats
- ATK
- Critical DMG
- Critical Rate
So much of Spathodea’s kit revolves around critical hits, whether that’s creating opportunities for them or improving their damage output. Without a high amount of base ATK, Spathodea’s Critical Hits won’t be doing as much damage as they can, even if she is landing them every attack with high Crit DMG percentages. You need to spec into ATK or else all the Crit will be worthless, making it the highest priority as ATK is the one thing Spathodea cannot raise on her own (outside of her Psycube).
Meanwhile, when it comes to Critical DMG, you can never have enough. The higher you’re able to build your Critical DMG, the more damage Spathodea will deal, simple as.
As for Critical Rate, Spathodea’s Skills and Passives already give her plenty of ways to raise her base Critical Rate: if you manage to get off a level 3 Ignition Point, you’ll obtain 5 stacks of [Exhilaration] which each grants +15% Critical Rate and that’s on top of the 25% buff she gets from her Insight 1. If you play your cards right, Spathodea can get up to 100% Critical Rate by just using her abilities. Of course, you won’t always have max [Exhilaration] stacks or be able to get that 25% Insight buff, making Critical Rate a stat you still need to invest in so that Spathodea can remain consistent and potent, no matter how RNG treats you.
Sparrow, Hummingbird, Flower
Spathodea’s Best Team Compositions
Ulu
Spathodea’s first teammate recommendation is Ulu, a strange and polarising unit in Reverse: 1999. This sentient, living flame is a 5-star Mineral unit that was also introduced in Version 1.5 and, as of that patch, she and Spathodea are the only characters who can utilise [Burn] effectively. Instead of being a DPS who relies on [Burn], Ulu is a debuffer and support who is exceptional at applying [Burn].
Between her Beating Heart Skill which lets her apply up to 3 [Burn] stacks on two different targets, her Ultimate which improves allies’ DMG against targets with [Burn], and her Insight 3 Passive which instantly applies [Burn] at the start of a round, Ulu is the debuffer that’s going to make Spathodea sing. With both of them working together, the [Burn] application is going to be incredibly easy, letting you hit the 15-stack limit for Spathodea’s Ultimate more consistently. Additionally, Ulu can even turn [Burn] stacks into healing with her Insight Passive, affording you an additional degree of safety and utility, which is very useful as both Spathodea and Ulu are rather fragile.
However, Ulu has more than a few downsides. While her passive [Burn] application is very strong and lifts a lot of pressure off of Spathodea’s more limited kit, one of her main Skills, Opening Ceremony, is essentially useless as it’s just a damage ability without any [Burn] application. Additionally, her overall damage and support capabilities do pale when compared to other dedicated supports. In short, as Spathodea’s only compatible [Burn] partner in 1.5, you’ll likely need to use Ulu to make Spathodea super effective despite her numerous weaknesses. She isn’t a terrible character by any means, but you’ll feel the restraints as you use her.
If you’d still like to use Ulu to enhance your Spathodea and wish to know how to build her, you can check out our Ulu build guide here on KeenGamer for more information.
Burn Debuffer Ulu
Tooth Fairy
If you’re looking for a healer or a sustained character who can keep up with Spathodea, then look no further than Tooth Fairy, a 6-star Star character who will be joining the general 6-star pool in 1.5. Not only does Tooth Fairy deal a remarkable amount of damage for a healer, but she also is excellent for Spathodea specifically because she can increase critical hit chance.
Tooth Fairy’s Empty Gums Skill will inflict the enemy with 1 stack of [Confusion], a special debuff which lowers Critical Resist by 25%. She can also afflict [Confusion] with her Insight Passive that builds up as her allies use Incantation. Lowering an enemy’s Critical Resistance increases the base chance that you will land a Critical Hit, even on a highly resistant target. For a main damage dealer who relies so heavily on Critical Hits like Spathodea, Tooth Fairy is a lifesaver who ensures that she can still deal the most amount of damage possible, even against the toughest foes.
Outside of [Confusion], Tooth Fairy is able to keep the entire team alive and well with the aid of her Lullaby Skill, a healing ability which scales off of her ATK. In short, Tooth Fairy kind of does it all: she heals, she deals good damage, she increases the chance that her allies will land Critical Hits and more. The only real shortcoming she has is her low health but, with Spathodea by your side, all your enemies should fall before Tooth Fairy has the chance to get taken out.
If you’d like to learn how to properly build Tooth Fairy in Reverse: 1999, then you can check out our Tooth Fairy character guide for more information.
Critical Debuffer Tooth Fairy
Isolde
The last recommended teammate for Spathodea… isn’t in the game yet. Well, at least she isn’t in the global version of Reverse: 1999. Isolde is a new 6-star Spirit unit who is set to join the global release in Version 1.7 and she’s another [Burn] support like Ulu, only way, way better.
Isolde has incredible [Burn] application between her Ultimate and her Skill, with the former allowing her to instantly apply 10 [Burn] stacks on a single target. What’s even better about Isolde is that one of her Skills, Freedom of Will, will decrease Reality DEF on any enemy afflicted with [Burn]. As a Reality DMG dealer, this will just allow Spathodea to deal even more damage with all of her abilities, including her Critical DMG amped Ultimate.
Between her insane ability to apply [Burn], her Reality DEF decreasing capabilities, and the fact that she’s a reliable sub-DPS, Isolde is one to watch out for if you want to take your Spathodea to the next level: everything she does seems tailor-made for improving Spathodea’s capabilities. Consider saving your Unilogs and Clear Drop until 1.7 so that you can pick up Isolde and make your [Burn] team even better.
Future Burn Support Isolde
That was how to build Spathodea in Reverse: 1999.
