Reverse 1999 Willow build guide: Skills, best Psychubes, Insight materials, and teams

Willow is the first 6-star arcanist to debut in the Reverse 1999 version 2.3 update. She is also the first DPS character who can inflict the Poison effect. This Plant Afflatus arcanist can deal Mental damage and inflict a new Poison effect — Hag’s Bane. This effect deals Genesis damage, which increases based on the number of activations in the current round.

Her inclusion in the title has made the Poison team a new meta. This article provides the best build for the latest 6-star character, helping Timekeepers wreak poisonous havoc on enemies.

Reverse 1999 Willow build guide: Skills explanation

Here is the explanation of Willow’s skills in Reverse 1999:

Hag’s Advice (Basic skill 1): It is a debuff-type skill, dealing 100%/125%/175% damage to one enemy with one/two/three-star cards. If the enemy is under the Poison effect, she converts up to three Poison effects to three Hag’s Bane, lasting two rounds.
Hag’s Gratitude (Basic skill 2): It is a debuff-type skill, dealing 100%/125%/175% damage to one enemy with one/two/three-star cards. If the enemy is under the Poison effect, she consumes up to two/three/four stacks with one/two/three-star cards. Every Poison she consumes activates all Hag’s Bane effects once (doesn’t increase its duration).
In the Fire, In the Shadow (Ultimate Skill): She self-channels and enters the Ancient Ritual status. While in this status, the Hag’s Bane effect is considered to be triggered additional times (one + the number of rounds the Hag’s Bane effect lasts) in the current round for the enemies. At the round’s end, she loses Moxie equal to 2+2,✕the number of rounds Hag’s Bane lasts. She applies Hag’s Bane stacks equal to half the deducted Moxie. If there is insufficient Moxie, she consumes all remaining Moxies and ends the channel by casting the Ending Pose skill. She applies one stack of Hag’s Bane and won’t lose Moxie in the first round.

Explanation of status effects:

Hag’s Bane: It is the Poison effect that lasts two rounds. The effect inflicts Genesis damage equal to 20% of Willow’s attack and increases its damage taken by 40% for one round, stacking up to four times (up to a maximum of ten times).
Poison: It deals Genesis damage equal to 20% of the arcanist’s attack at the round’s end (can stack).

Also read: J build guide

Reverse 1999 Willow build guide: Best Psychubes

Best Psychubes for the character (Image via Bluepoch)

Here is the list of recommended Reverse 1999 Psychubes for the Willow build:

Offbeat Strides (6-star): She gains one Moxie upon entering the battle. Every Moxie deducted increases her Genesis damage dealt and damage taken by 0.8% (stack up to 25 times). If she is in the Ancient Ritual channel at the round’s end, her Poison effect’s damage buffs by 4% (can stack up to five times and lasts three turns).
Her Mournful Face (5-star): Her Mournful Face increases her Poison damage by 40%.
Silent and Adoring (6-star): Her damage dealt buffs by 12%, and Genesis damage of her follow-up skill gets a 50% buff.
Transcendent Love (6-star): Her critical rate and damage increase by 4% when she casts her skill while in the Ancient Ritual status (stacks up to four times).
Blasphemer of Night (6-star): She deals 24% increased damage to enemies if they have two or more negative statuses.

The best Psychube Timekeepers can use for the Plant Afflatus arcanist is Offbeat Strides. They can use Her Mournful Face for increased Poison damage, Silent, and Adoring for increased Mental and Genesis damage, and Blasphemer of Night to deal increased damage to poisoned enemies. Timekeepers are advised to use Transcendent Love if they don’t possess any other Psychubes from the above list.

Note: The numerical values of Psychubes mentioned above are at Amplification level 50.

Reverse 1999 Willow build guide: Insight materials

The arcanist's Insight effects (Image via Bluepoch)

Willow’s Passive skill — or Inheritance in Reverse 1999 — is called Fluctuating Steps. It allows her to inflict more Poison stacks and enhances the Ancient Ritual status. Here are the materials required to upgrade it to each insight level and their effects:

Insight I: She inflicts two Poison stacks on two enemies for two rounds at the round’s start. While doing so, she prioritizes enemies with the most Poison stacks. If another ally attacks enemies, she inflicts two Poison stacks on the primary target for two rounds (can trigger two times per round).

Required materials:

18000 ✕ Sharpodonty
6 ✕ Page of Plantal Vimen
6 ✕ Shattered Bones
6 ✕ Fox Tail

Also read: Mr. Duncan build guide

Insight II: She gets a 5% attack boost upon entering the battle.

Required materials:

40000 ✕ Sharpodonty
10 ✕ Scroll of Plantal Vimen
4 ✕ Rough Silver Ingot
5 ✕ Biting Box

Insight III: It enhances the Ancient Ritual status effect, increasing her max Moxie cap. She also gains one extra Moxie every time she casts or merges her cards.

Required Materials:

200000 ✕ Sharpodonty
16 ✕ Tome of Plantal Vimen
6 ✕ Murmur of Insanity
3 ✕ Golden Fleece

Also read: Reverse 1999 Lopera build guide

Reverse 1999 Willow build guide: Best teams

Tuesday is the must-have arcanist in a team with the latest 6-star (Image via Bluepoch)

Since Willow is the Poison DPS character, Timekeepers can create a robust Poison team. They can use her with Tuesday of Plant Afflatus and Sotheby of Plant Afflatus for the best Poison team. Other viable alternatives are J of Beast Afflatus and Kakania of Plant Afflatus.