NTE Blackbird Build: Best Team Comps, Arc and Cartidges

Blackbird is a Psyche Character in NTE, added during phase 1 of version 1.4. She is an S-rarity character and is currently only available through the Foretold Finale banner. Blackbird’s main gameplay mechanic revolves around building up Malice in her base form and then transforming into the Witch of Deliverance to deal heavy burst damage. This guide covers the best build for Blackbird in Neverness to Everness, including her skills, gear, and team compositions.

Blackbird Overview NTE

Blackbird Stats and Rarity

Overview

RarityS

ElementPsyche

RoleDamage

Arc CompatibilityGas

How to Get Blackbird in NTE?

Blackbird is the first featured character in Version 1.4, and you can get her by pulling on her banner, “Foretold Finale”. The Foretold Finale banner will be running until October 21, after which Akane Rin will have a featured banner as the upcoming character in Phase 2. It is not confirmed when or if Blackbird will have a rerun banner, so if you are planning on pulling her, now is the best time.

How to Play Blackbird in NTE?

Blackbird’s gameplay can seem a bit complex at the start; however, it is pretty easy once you understand her mechanics. The most basic mechanic of her kit you need to understand is that you need to build Malice in her base form and then switch to Witch of Deliverance form to spend that Malice.

Her Netherplume Rite skill is an instant cycle generator similar to Esper Zero, making her one of the fastest reaction enablers in the game.

Building Malice

In the base form, your main objective is to fill Blackbird’s Malice Gauge as quickly as possible. You can see this gauge right above the health bar with a “Crow and Thunder Icon” icon. For your reference here is an image below for the gauge location:

The fastest way to build Malice for Blackbird is by using Support Skill (Judgment Upon Me), which gives you 20 instant Malice, followed by Netherplume Rite for 40 Malice, which brings you to the 60 cap in two inputs.

After you cast Netherplume Rite, don’t switch the form right away. Since the Espec Cycle gauge fills instantly after Netherplume Rite, swap to a teammate to trigger either Stain or Nova. Then swap back and switch form to maximise your damage.

Witch of Deliverance Rotation:

Tapping Requies Animarum switches you to the Witch of Deliverance form. This also grants the entire team a 20% ATK buff for 15 seconds. Your basic attacks become Pyreflame, and your skill becomes Flames of Deliverance. Flame of Deliverance is inactive by default, and to activate it, you need to perform the 5th hit of Pyreflame or cast No Quarter. Therefore, the combo during Witch of Deliverance looks like:

Basics 3 → 4 → 5 > Flames of Deliverance > Hold Basic Part 2 > Basics 3 → 4 → 5 > Flames of Deliverance > Hold Basic Part 2 > Basics 3 → 4 → 5 > Flames of Deliverance > Flammae in Unum

Always use all available Flames of Deliverance casts before finishing with Flammae in Unum to maximize Malice consumption and damage.

Off-Field Value:

Blackbird can swap off-field during her witch form without losing the remaining duration. The Forsaken Feather mark from Netherplume Rite triggers Forsaken Bird coordinated attacks whenever allies deal damage to the marked enemy, generating ultimate energy for the entire team up to 5 times per skill cast. This passive energy generation is one of Blackbird’s biggest contributions to team rotations and makes her a strong pick even in compositions where another character carries the primary damage.

Blackbird Skills

Upgrade Priority: Basic Attack > Skill > Ultimate > Support Skill

Blackbird Skills

Basic Attack Redirect SkillUltimateSupport Skill

Fleeting ShadowUses Chain Cage to perform up to 5 consecutive attacks, dealing Psyche DMG. Gains Malice after hitting an enemy.

RoostcallHold Basic Attack during the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd hit of Fleeting Shadow to trigger, imprisoning the target with Chain Cage, dealing Psyche DMG, and greatly reducing Movement Speed. Gains Malice after hitting an enemy.

Lingering AfflictionPress Basic Attack while airborne to plunge, dealing 1 instance of Psyche DMG upon impact. Gains Malice after hitting an enemy.

PyreflameActive during Witch of Deliverance state. Unleashes up to 5 consecutive attacks dealing Psyche DMG. Consumes Malice after hitting an enemy.

Bestowed GraceHold Basic Attack during the 2nd hit of Pyreflame. The Witch of Deliverance rises into the air, charges briefly, then deals Psyche DMG over a large area. Consumes Malice.

Tidings Unto AllHold Basic Attack during Bestowed Grace or Flames of Deliverance to trigger, dealing multiple instances of Psyche DMG to the target. Consumes Malice.

Critical Riposte: Avian Instinct Triggers after Critical Dodge using Fleeting Shadow, attacking the target to deal Psyche DMG. Gains Malice.

Critical Riposte: Born of Calamity Triggers after Critical Dodge using Pyreflame, attacking the target to deal Psyche DMG. Consumes Malice.

Passives and Traits

Blackbird Passives and Traits

PassivesTrait

ThrushsongStain Enhancement: Increases Stain's base DMG Bonus to 30% and extends its duration to 20s. Nova Enhancement: When Nova ends, deals additional Mental DMG equal to 20% of the total DMG taken by the target while Nova was active (up to 1,000× Blackbird's Base ATK), then inflicts Nova on the target once again.

Ever OnwardGrants 20 Malice when Blackbird casts Judgment Upon Me (Support Skill).

Awakening and Resonance

Blackbird Awakening and Resonance

Awakening Priority: A1 → A6 → A5 → A4 → A3 → A2

AwakeningResonance

A1: RenegadeConsumes all Malice after Witch of Deliverance casts Flammae in Unum. Increases the DMG Ratio of Flames of Deliverance by 150%.

A2: Wayward ChronicleIncreases the DMG Ratio of Netherplume Rite by 100%. Increases DEF by 20% while in Witch of Deliverance state. Restores HP equal to 400% of Base ATK after casting Flames of Deliverance.

A3: Blind SpotIncreases the DMG Ratio of Blackbird's attacks that consume Malice by 50%.

A4: Bad SeedExtends the ATK Bonus duration from Requies Animarum to 25s. Increases all allies' DMG dealt by 12% during this time.

A5: RevenantReduces the target's Psyche, Lakshana, and Chaos Resistances by 8% for 25s after Blackbird hits them.

A6: Mortal CoilIncreases the caster's Psyche DMG by 25% for 25s after casting Requies Animarum. Grants 4 Malice after Forsaken Bird performs a coordinated attack while Blackbird is not in Witch of Deliverance state.

Blackbird Life Skills

Life Skills

Lucky EncoreNow You Don't

Level 1:Increases daily Bless attempts in The Witch's House Divination by 1.

Level 2:Increases daily Lost Tales attempts by 1.

Level 3:Increases daily Bless attempts by 1.

Level 4:Increases daily Treasure Hunt attempts by 1.

Level 5: Increases daily Bless attempts by 1.

Best Arc (Weapons) for Blackbird

Blackbird Arcs Recommendation

Arc Names

Crime and PunishmentBase ATK: 570 Sub Stat: CRIT Rate: 24%. : Increases Cycle Intensity by 72 and the wearer's Psyche DMG by 20%. After casting an Ultimate, it increases the team's CRIT DMG by 16% and the wearer's CRIT DMG by an additional 32% for 15 seconds (effect resets duration when triggered again).

Fluff of FerocityBase ATK: 512 Sub Stat: ATK: 27.5% • Landing a critical hit increases the wearer's CRIT DMG by 4% for 10 seconds. This effect can stack up to 10 times, and triggering it again resets the duration.

Watch Your Heads

Crime and Punishment is Blackbird’s best-in-slot weapon. It does multiple things at once: the 72 Cycle Intensity boosts reaction damage, 20% Psyche DMG increases her output, and 16% team CRIT DMG plus 32% self CRIT DMG after her ultimate makes it a weapon that buffs everyone, not just Blackbird. The 24% CRIT Rate substat also makes building her significantly easier since you can prioritize CRIT DMG as your cartridge main stat instead..

Blackbird Ascension Materials

Here is a list of Ascension Materials you will require to level up Blackbird. You can get these materials through normal exploration or by using NTE codes as well:

Blackbird Ascension Materials

Lv.20→Lv.30Lv.30→Lv.40Lv.40→Lv.50Lv.50→Lv.60Lv.60→Lv.70Lv.70→Lv.80

Blurred Numeral 5

Beetle Coin25,000

Best Cartridges and Modules for Blackbird

Set	Effect
Devil’s Blood Curse	2-PC: Psyche DMG +10% 4-PC: DMG +18%, or +36% against enemies affected by Nova or Stain.
Lost Radiance	2-PC: +10% Cosmos DMG 4-PC: Ignores 25% of enemies’ DEF for 20s after the wearer casts Ultimate. Does not stack

Devil’s Blood Curse is the best go-to cartridge set for Blackbird. In general, you will always want to pick up a cartridge that matches the character’s own element, which in this case is Psyche. So even a 2-PC bonus provides +10% Psyche DMG for Blackbird. On top of that, a 4 pc set for Devil’s Blood Curse increases the damage affected against Nova or Stain, and both of these are primary reactions for Blackbird. So overall, Devil’s Blood Curse looks pretty much tailor made for Blackbird.

If you are not running a team that is Stain- or Nova-focused, you can also choose Lost Radiance. The 2 PC bonus from the set doesn’t align with Blackbird’s element; however, the main advantage comes from the 4-PC set. The 4 pc set makes the wearer ignore 25% of enemies’ DEF after they cast their ultimate, which in Blackbird’s case will be a major boost. Blackbird already deals massive damage in her ultimate form, and this cartridge boosts it even further.

Main Stat Priority

The best main stat priority for Cartridge is CRIT DMG, especially if you are running Crime and Punishment as the Arc. Since Blackbird gets a CRIT Rate bonus from both her Signature Arc and Module setup, having CRIT DMG as a stat priority will boost your damage output further. Psyche DMG is your second option, and ATK% is acceptable if you don’t have the others.

Module Setup

Blackbird’s Type 4 specialization gives her an 8% CRIT Rate for each Type III module equipped. With the correct layout, you can fit 2 additional 3-block pieces and 1 2-block piece in the remaining console slots, giving you a total of 4 Type III modules for 32% free CRIT Rate. This free CRIT Rate is what allows you to use CRIT DMG as your cartridge main stat without losing consistency.

Blackbird Module Setup

Increases CRIT Rate by 8% for each Type III Module equipped.

Devil's Blood Curse

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Best Team Comp for Blackbird

Blackbird can fill various roles in multiple NTE team comps. This makes her a great character in the current meta. She can either work as the Main DPS or as Sub DPS/Buffer. She works best in Nova and Stain team comps; however, you can also fit her into other team comps, but I wouldn’t really recommend that. Here are the best team comps for Blackbird:

Team 1 (Hyper Team)

Role	Character
Main DPS	Blackbird
Lakshana Enabler	Chaos
Nova Enabler	Daffodill
Buffs	Sakiri

Team 2 (Stain Team)

Role	Character
Main DPS	Blackbird
Sub DPS	Lacrimosa
Buff	Sakiri
Support	Haniel

Team 3

Role	Character
Sub DPS	Blackbird
Main DPS	Zankou
Chaos Enabler	Daffodil
Support	Sakiri

A Chaos or Lakshana character is required on every Blackbird team. Without access to Nova or Stain, Blackbird’s passive enhancements provide no value, and her damage output drops.

Should You Pull for Blackbird?

Blackbird is one of the most well-rounded characters released in NTE so far. She can function as a main DPS, sub-DPS, or buffer depending on your team’s needs, and her value is quite consistent even with low investment.

The instant cycle from Netherplume Rite, consistent off-field energy generation from Forsaken Bird, and the universal 20% ATK buff from her ultimate make her useful in almost every team composition in the game.

The only minor drawback would be that Nova and Stain enhancements require specific element combinations to activate. Without a Chaos character for Nova or a Lakshana character for Stain, her passive damage contributions are reduced. If you already have characters from these elements such as Chaos, Lacrimosa, Daffodil, Zankou, or Hathor and you have heavily invested in them, then there is no drawback to Blackbird.

Blackbird Outfits

Here is a list of all Blackbird outfits currently available in the game along with their source:

Name of Outfit	Image	Source
Default		Default Skin
Rouge Et Noir		Scarborough Fair
Unfazed Denim		Bond Level 10
Wandering Stars		Mall

Blackbird Favorite Gifts and Bond

• Under Construction