LowanBuild and Guide

Lowan is a Disorder Affinity, Defense-based Damage Dealer/Debuffer/Controller hybrid, and oh boy does she perform well in all of those roles.

Skill 1

Bone Kiss, Lowan’s S1, is her main ST damage ability and a huge source of Turn Meter generation for herself when targeting the enemy affected by [Exaltation], her unique Debuff. Coupled with a very high chance to [Taunt], Lowan can easily shut down a single enemy and force them to suffer through her powerful counters.

Each level of the Skill provides useful improvements, with the Turn Meter increase effect being added at level 5, so leveling it to the max quickly is recommended. Her SPD nodes are also tied to S1, making it all the more important, especially in PVP settings.

Skill 2

Her S2, Silk Snare, is a powerful AoE Debuff, featuring high chances to land both [ATK-] and [SPD-] to all enemies, and the skill can completely bypass Eff RES and guarantee the Debuffs’ application on the enemy marked with [Exaltation], even at 0% Eff ACC. The extra damage on top is a nice addition; however, Lowan’s AoE output is too low to represent a threat by itself unless you can fully set her up with offensive buffs and debuffs.

At Skill level 1, the S2 is already capable of doing its job, especially when it comes to crippling the target of Exaltation. Getting it to level 3 and investing in Eff ACC gives a better AoE coverage, while levels 4 and 5 improve the skill, but not in a vital manner. If you’re not relying on Lowan’s AoE side that much, then this skill has the lowest priority of her kit.

Skill 3

Lowan’s Skill 3 introduces her unique gimmick, [Exaltation]. This Debuff, akin to a mark placed on her target, cannot be purified and has no duration, and it greatly reduces Healing and Shielding received by the affected enemy, while also reducing the CRIT Rate of their attacks when hitting Lowan. On top of those, Lowan triggers an extra S1 attack on the enemy every time they take their turn, without CD.  Lastly, whenever the enemy dies or the effect is removed, the CD of S3 is reset immediately.

Thought that was all? Think again. At lvl5, Exaltation also fully prevents the marked enemy from applying any Debuffs, CD increase, or Turn Meter decrease on Lowan. Just in case they were still a threat while under Taunt or it was removed, you know.

If applying all that on a target wasn’t enough, the Skill’s active component deals four hits of relatively low damage each, with the first 3 hits having very high chances (50-70%) to Dispel one buff each time they land, with the final 4th hit applying both [Exaltation], disregarding Eff RES, and [Taunt] with 100% chance. If the Skill is used on an enemy already under [Exaltation], the damage of each hit is increased, turning it into a serious threat to squishies.

It goes without saying, but getting S3 to level 5 asap is vital, both for PVP and PVE, where Lowan becomes virtually invulnerable to Debuffs from Bosses.

PVE

In PVE, Lowan shines through her Debuff-heavy and semi-Sustain (through Taunting*) nature. Exaltation can never miss if the enemy can be affected by it, and S2 is sure to apply its Debuffs on the Exaltation target regardless of Eff ACC, which allows still-progressing players to massively weaken Bosses with little to no gear investment, on top of having solid chances to land the Debuffs in AoE even at Skill level 1.

The Taunt and self Turn Meter increase spam, also help protect the team and cycle very quickly through hers and her Shell’s CDs, offering solid utility even if she can be lacking in offense.

Speaking of offense, her main drawbacks lie in the lack of offensive utility, the subpar nature of DEF-based damage, and the inability to heal/shield or defensively buff the team. Fortunately, the former can be somewhat mitigated by pairing Lowan with DEF-/+ Animuses, in which case her damage scales pretty well against fast enemies, but remains far from the output of a dedicated DPS. The Latter can be compensated somewhat by the use of Shells like Artisan, which will frequently apply big Shields on Lowan and an ally.

PVP

In PVP, Lowan has a clear role: neutralizing the most dangerous threat in the enemy team and dismembering the enemy comp bit by bit. Her S3 cripples a target, even through multiple layers of buffs, and then she constantly harasses them with S1 over and over again, with extra bursts of damage from the following S3s. S2 is also a powerful tool, with the SPD- slowing down the opponent and the ATK- reducing the potency of double ATK-based comps.

Her natural DEF scaling makes her a perfect addition to the already stacked bruiser roster, and she’ll fit well with other DEF-based DPS or supports. Even outside of DEF-based comps, Lowan’s sheer ability to neutralize an enemy makes her very flexible in draft. 

On the other hand, it’s possible for your main DPS to avoid Lowan’s S3 with effects that make Animuses untargetable, such as the Law of Silence Shell, so it’s best not to rely entirely on S3 to control the battlefield, even though targeting a Support or Controller can also be game-winning in the right situations.

As a side note, Exaltation’s extra attack can trigger at the same time as the Bramble set’s counterattack, dishing out 2 S1 in quick succession for surprising amounts of damage.

Conclusion

Lowan is a very competent bruiser who shines through her ability to lock down an enemy and apply relentless pressure on them. She has a wide array of tools at her disposal to ensure fights will last long enough for her to express her kit’s potential, but not so long that her enemy would have time to scale up their own threats.

She offers excellent options in PVP and remains a good choice in PVE, where new players will especially benefit from her lower gear requirements as they progress through the early and midgame.