One of the original 5* sync pairs when the game released has finally been given a grid. While Dusknoir was already quite capable with her moveset, her grid shores up some of the drawbacks of her attacks and adds a whole new way of supporting her allies. Or, if you like to play dangerously, many abilities will only activate and make Dusknoir stronger when she is in a pinch.
The best sync grid builds for Phoebe and Dusknoir are Defensive Support, Double-Edge Striker, and Sync Level 2.
Dusknoir is a fantastic support for any physical Striker with Dire Hit All + and Unbreakable Bonds! being able to max both critical-hit rate and Attack respectively. In particular, Steven & Metagross will commonly want Dusknoir to be on their team. While better suited for co-op play, until the game begins to put out co-op content again, the builds are focused for singleplayer.
Universal Upgrades
HP +10
Attack +10
Defense +10
Sp. Def +5
Speed +5
Natural Remedy
Universal Recommended Lucky Skill:
Defense Crush 2
Natural Remedy is the only universal skill among the three builds. It will eliminate all status conditions on Dusknoir when it is first inflicted by one.
Dusknoir already has Vigilance as her passive skill, so Defense Crush 2 is the recommended lucky skill for all builds. It has a 30% chance of reducing the opponent’s Defense stat each time Dusknoir lands an attack, which is great for her physical allies as well as herself.
Sync Grid Builds
Sync Level 2
Total Sync Orb Cost: 750
Total Energy Used: 60
Unique Upgrades:
HP +10
Attack +5
Defense +20
Sp. Def +10
Speed +10
Shadow Punch Power +12
Shadow Punch Move Gauge Refresh 3
Shadow Punch Move Gauge Refresh 3
Unbreakable Bonds! MP Refresh 2
Dusknoir doesn’t have access to the best skills on her sync grid at sync level 2, so this build fills out by adding more defenses to bulk her up. To save on orbs, grabbing only Natural Remedy and the refreshes for Shadow Punch and Unbreakable Bonds! until unlocking the full grid is a good way to go.
Shadow Punch is the move to use while using Dusknoir in more of a support role because it needs two bars on the move gauge to Double-Edge’s three. Picking up both Move Gauge Refresh 3 tiles goes a long way to helping her be as gauge neutral as possible since either or both can activate each time the move is used.
While Unbreakable Bonds! can be used to max the Attack of all allies in two uses, it requires Dusknoir to be at least below half health. Since you want to boost Attack at the beginning of the battle, this doesn’t work out well since you need to rely on the opponents to deal enough damage, but also want Dusknoir to be tough enough to withstand many attacks.
Picking up Unbreakable Bonds! MP Refresh 2 allows you to use the move once Dusknoir has less than full health to increase Attack by +2. When the move refreshes, the third use will reach +6 Attack if every use adds at least +2.
Defensive Support Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 750
Total Energy Used: 60
Unique Upgrades:
HP +10
Attack +5
Sp. Def +5
Speed +15
Shadow Punch Move Gauge Refresh 3
Shadow Punch Move Gauge Refresh 3
Shadow Punch Critical Fortification 6
Double Edge Power +3
Team Toughen Up 4
Acting as a full support, Dusknoir’s moveset is already capable of having all allies reach max Attack and critical-hit rate. She can also help max out all allies’ Defense stats, and her own at a much quicker rate.
Team Toughen Up 4 has a 50% chance of raising the entire team’s Defense by +1 whenever Dusknoir is hit by an attack move. In addition, Shadow Punch Critical Fortification 6 has a 70% chance of raising Dusknoir’s Defense by +1 whenever she lands a critical hit with the move. With two uses of Dire Hit All +, every one of her attacks will be a critical hit.
Once Dusknoir is done buffing the party, she helps count down the sync move gauge by using Shadow Punch. Since you want to be able to continuously attack and have your Striker be using their most powerful and expensive move, Shadow Punch gains two Move Gauge Refresh 3 tiles where each has a 40% chance of activating whenever the move is successful. It is possible that both can activate and return the entire cost.
Double-Edge Striker Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 738
Total Energy Used: 59
Unique Upgrades:
Attack +5
Sp. Def +5
Shadow Punch Power +4
Double-Edge Power +3
Lonely Flower Shadow Punch Power +50
Power Reserves 3
Standfast 3
Standfast 3
Sync Emergency 5
Although not as powerful as Morty & Drifblim as a Ghost-type physical Striker, Dusknoir’s ability to support allies and higher defenses allow her to fill more roles on the team for a small decrease in offensive capabilities.
Double-Edge picks up both Standfast 3 tiles to reduce the attack’s recoil damage by a total 60%. Once she is at low health, Power Reserves 3 activates and boosts her attacks by 30%. Similarly, Sync Emergency 5 boosts Dusknoir’s sync move damage by 50% at low health. Lonely Flower Shadow Punch gains +50 power by picking up both sync tiles to pack a punch.