Skia Complete Build Guide: A-Rank ETD-4 Vice-Captain, Shadow Hound Mechanic, Free Tears Beneath the Mask Arc (NTE)

Quick answer: Skia (翳 / Shadow Hound Operative) is a 1.0 A-rank standard unit — element Lakshana, Arc Gas-Type, Japanese VA Tomokazu Sugita, vice-captain of the Bureau of Anomaly Control’s ETD-4 squad (Baicang’s direct subordinate). He runs a werewolf + Shadow Hound stealth mechanic, not a pure invisible-assassin kit. The Tears Beneath the Mask signature Arc is free (18% team-wide damage reduction), and he is a Remora perpetual engine (his passive auto-stacks Remora to perfectly trigger Stain). A must-build for F2P + the best open-world parkour tool in the game.

ETD-4 squad vice-captain, a black-furred wolf-headed humanoid with a scar over the left eye — Skia is one of the most distinctive Sub-DPS / Debuffer units among NTE’s A-ranks, dubbed by the whole community as the “team-wide damage-reduction god,” the “Remora perpetual engine,” the “true F2P Lakshana god,” and the “strongest field-exploration utility unit.” This guide pulls together his mechanics, gear, Eidolons, recommended teams, and investment path in one place.

ℹ Name note: This site uses “Skia” (Japanese 翳 / “ei”). Some Chinese guides romanize it differently, but both refer to the same character — defer to the in-game display.

1. Character Basics

Field	Details
English name	Skia
Japanese name	翳 (ei)
Chinese name	”翳” is the primary translation; some guides romanize it differently
Rarity	A-rank (permanent standard pool)
Element	Lakshana
Weapon type	Gas-Type Arc
Official role	Main DPS (actual community role: Sub-DPS / Debuffer / Stain & Remora trigger)
Title	Shadow Hound Operative
Affiliation	Bureau of Anomaly Control (BAC) · ETD-4 vice-captain (Baicang’s direct subordinate)
Squadmates	Baicang (captain), Fadia, Lacrimosa
Japanese VA	Tomokazu Sugita — Gintoki Sakata in Gintama, Rintaro Okabe in Steins;Gate
Design	Massive black-furred wolf head on a human body, scar over the left eye, large ears and mane; wears a striped vest + red necktie (bone motif + gold badge), tactical gloves, and a silver wolf-crest belt
Personality	Rough and intimidating on the surface, but in fact extremely meticulous and by-the-book — the most disciplined and orderly member of ETD-4
Background	Deployed alongside ETD-4 from Hethereau to New Helios to deal with the Class VII super-massive anomaly disaster, the “Hypervortex”

2. Skill Kit

Note: Skia is a “werewolf + shadow” concept, not an “invisible assassin” type — instead it’s “sink into the shadows to stalk + chase after Fang Thrust marks”.

Basic Attack 【Arresting Art】

• Up to a 5-hit martial-arts combo, dealing Lakshana damage
• On each hit, splits off 1 “Fang Thrust” from the shadow to chase the enemy
• A single target can hold up to 3 stacks of Fang marks

Dodge-Cancel (E) 【Shadow Hound Chase】

• Skia leaps into his own shadow, dealing 6 hits of Lakshana damage in the area
• Each target hit spawns an extra 3 Fangs
• Enters the “Tailed” state + “Shadow Hound Gnaw” mode
• ⭐ In the Tailed state, Fangs no longer vanish when they deal damage → marks can snowball
• Hold move key + dodge = enter Shadow Stalk (move along the ground / up walls, immune to normal damage, cannot be locked on); taking ground damage / attacking / swapping out cancels it

Ultimate (Q) 【The Pack】

• Area AoE damage
• For the next 15 seconds, all “Fang Thrust” damage is increased by 10% (including Shadow Hound Gnaw collision damage)
• Applies an “interrupt effect” to enemies hit (on each hit)

Passive 【Arrest Warrant】⭐ core

• ⭐ Whenever a Fang locks onto a target already in the Remora state, Skia automatically stacks an extra 1 Remora
• → Skia automatically becomes a Remora perpetual engine, perfectly triggering Stain (Lakshana + Anima reaction)

Core Combo Rotation

Mark (Basic Attack scatters Fangs) → E to lock on (enter Tailed / Shadow Hound Gnaw)
→ Q Ultimate to amplify Fang damage → Basic Attack to harvest
→ When needed, hold dodge to enter Shadow Stalk and reposition

3. Eidolons (Awakening)

NTE’s awakening system lets you freely pick any of the 6, no fixed order required.

ID	Name	Effect	Rating
A1	Process of Elimination	Large increase to Fang damage ratio	⭐⭐⭐⭐ general damage boost
A2	Law and Order	Shadow Hound Chase CRIT Rate +% + interrupt resistance	⭐⭐⭐ stability
A3	Solution	Another Fang damage increase node	⭐⭐⭐ pure damage boost
A4	Resolution	Tailed duration extended 2x + the longer the attachment lasts, the higher the damage	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Prydwen #1
A5	Social Contract	Each Fang attached to an enemy lowers its move speed by 20%	⭐⭐ pure CC
A6	Unbothered Appearance	Large damage increase against Fang-marked targets	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ LootBar #1

Recommended Awakening Order

• Prydwen version: A4 → A1 → A6 → A2 → A3 → A5
• LootBar version: A6 → A4 → A3 → A2 → A1 → A5
• Pragmatic version: prioritize A4 + A6 + A1 (the three core damage-boost nodes) → then add A2 for stability

How Playable Is E0?

Fully playable — the core damage loop is already complete (Fang marks + Ultimate amplification), and Eidolons are just icing on the cake. Awakening materials for A-rank characters accumulate naturally, so F2P players gradually filling them out within half a year is no problem.

4. Best Gear

⭐ Top Arc pick: Tears Beneath the Mask (free!)

Stat	Value
Base ATK	512 (max level)
Sub-stat	ATK +27.5%
Core passive “Nestbound Bird”	Enemies hit by the Ultimate gain “Warning Gaze” — marked enemies deal 18% less damage for 20 seconds (team-wide damage reduction, Skia core team buff)

How to Obtain (completely free!)

• New Helios map
• Anomaly commission “Call of the Lost”
• Defeat the boss “Nestbound Bird” on the rooftop rail

For a detailed boss walkthrough, see the Complete Anomaly Boss Bestiary.

Arc alternative: Watch Your Heads! (A-rank / free)

Stat	Value
Base ATK	475
Sub-stat	CRIT DMG 40%
Passive	After the dodge-cancel skill, ATK +10% + Lakshana damage +10% against Remora / Stain targets (15s)
Also drops from the open-world bird boss	Higher personal damage output than the signature Arc

Arc Trade-off Advice

• Want a support / Sub-DPS to prop up the team → Tears Beneath the Mask (18% team-wide damage reduction)
• Want personal burst / a Remora-team carry → Watch Your Heads!

Both are free and drop from the bird boss, so you can grab both and swap by team.

Gear: Street Boxer 4-piece

Pieces	Effect
2-piece	+10% Lakshana damage
4-piece	CRIT Rate +14% → when the team triggers Remora / Stain, boosted to +28% CRIT Rate for 20 seconds

Module slots: supports 4x Type III, which combined with the console bonus can stack +40% ATK

Alternative: Street Boxer 2-piece + Shadow Creed 2-piece (transitional)

Affix Priority

Slot	Priority
Main affix	CRIT DMG > CRIT Rate > Lakshana DMG bonus > ATK%
Sub-affix	dual-crit > ATK%

5. Recommended Teams

1. Stain Team (Lakshana + Anima reaction core) ⭐

Hathor (Main DPS) + Skia (Sub-DPS / Remora) + Sakiri (support) + Fadia (survival)

Or: Aurelia (Psyche Main DPS) + Skia (Lakshana to trigger Stain) + Hathor + Haniel

2. ETD-4 Nostalgia Comp

Baicang + Fadia + Lacrimosa + Skia

Mechanic synergy: when Baicang stealth-swaps, he triggers an attack and spawns a “Hush” mark, which is the same type of mechanic as Skia’s Shadow Hound stealth, giving them tactical synergy

3. F2P Lineup (F2P Stain)

Any Main DPS + Skia (Lakshana Sub-DPS / damage reduction) + Sakiri + Haniel

⭐ Skia is the best Lakshana trigger for players who don’t have Hathor

4. Freeze Team (niche)

Edgar + Esper Zero + Aurelia + Skia

6. Investment Priority

1. Level breakthrough to 70 → enough to clear most anomaly content
2. Skill upgrades: Basic Attack ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ → Dodge-cancel skill ⭐⭐⭐⭐ → Ultimate ⭐⭐⭐ (Basic Attack is the main source of Fang generation)
3. Max out the Tears Beneath the Mask Arc (essential for the damage-reduction build)
4. Street Boxer 4-piece to +15
5. Level-80 breakthrough (only needed for Abyss / high-difficulty challenges)
6. Awakening: unlock A4 → A1 → A6 in order

Investment Materials

• Breakthrough materials: specific field-mob drops + Anomaly Pilgrimage boss-exclusive drops
• Skill materials: weekly bosses (clear weekly) + anomaly zones
• ⭐ Prioritize farming “Anomaly Pilgrimage” materials — Skia’s exclusive breakthrough materials are only obtainable from the Pilgrimage

7. Should You Pull?

Item	Conclusion
Need to actively pull?	❌ Not at all (A-rank standard pool)
Difficulty to obtain	You pick him up naturally by rolling new banners — the new-player S-rank selector + first-time 10-pull will almost guarantee him
Signature Arc difficulty	✅ Completely free (Call of the Lost anomaly commission)
Must-build for F2P?	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Must build — core trigger for any F2P Stain / Remora team; the 18% team-wide damage reduction is extremely useful in high-difficulty Abyss content
Worth a small spend?	No need to spend on Eidolons — just use whatever dupes you happen to get

8. Community Memes / Reception

Positive

• “ETD-4 vice-captain” — an elite of the Bureau of Anomaly Control, a familiar face throughout the main story
• “Team-wide damage-reduction god” — Warning Gaze’s 18% is a rare, high-value team debuff to have on an A-rank
• “A-rank short-burst Sub-DPS” — quick burst, little field time, doesn’t clog the rotation
• “Abyss MVP support” — in high-difficulty stages where enemy damage spikes, Skia’s 18% reduction is a literal lifesaver
• “Remora perpetual engine” — his passive makes him auto-stack Remora, perfectly triggering Stain
• “True F2P Lakshana god” — the strongest Lakshana-trigger substitute for players without Hathor
• “Strongest field-exploration utility unit” — Shadow Hound stealth can scale walls and clip through terrain without draining stamina, a map-opening parkour god
• “Handsome werewolf” — beloved by the furry community, and Tomokazu Sugita’s deep wolf-howl voice line has won many fans (pixiv fan tag: “GOAT Skia”)

Points of Contention

• Game8 rates him C-Tier, citing that “the Fang Thrust mechanic is inherently clunky and unreliable”
• Most English communities position him as a B-Tier Sub-DPS (NTE Guide)
• His official tag is “Main DPS” but his real role is “Sub-DPS / Debuffer” → easy for new players to misuse

9. Skia vs Other A-Rank Sub-DPS Comparison

Comparison	Skia	Haniel	Aurelia
Obtain	Standard / gacha	Free from pre-registration rewards	Free on login day 3
Element	Lakshana	Psyche	Chaos
Role	Sub-DPS / damage reduction / Stain trigger	Backline ATK buff	Main DPS
Signature Arc	Tears Beneath the Mask, free	Detonate the Whole Field, free	Galactic Reprieve, free
Strength	18% team-wide damage reduction	Fits into any team	A-rank Main DPS ceiling

Related Guides

• Signature Weapons (Signature Arcs) Complete Guide — full Tears Beneath the Mask comparison
• Gear System Complete Guide — Street Boxer set breakdown
• Complete Anomaly Boss Bestiary — Nestbound Bird strategy
• Baicang Complete Build Guide — ETD-4 captain
• Hathor Complete Build Guide — Stain team partner
• NTE Voice Actor Lineup — Tomokazu Sugita’s notable roles

FAQ

Skia data compiled from public sources including Game8, GameWith, Prydwen, Neverness.gg, Mobalytics, LootBar, Icy Veins, NTE Guide, TheGamer, DotEsports, Behind The Voice Actors, Fandom Wiki, and others. Some English / Chinese translations vary slightly between sources (Skia / 翳); defer to the in-game display.