How does Erudition build?
Erudition is a large bar: a CBT2 cap of 300, filled mainly by the four-hit lantern string. Specimen Extraction Light gives 10 on hit 1, 20 on hit 2, 10 on hit 3 and 20 on hit 4. That is 60 per string before any bonus.
The size of the cap is the design statement. Most characters fill a bar in one or two strings; Gucia is meant to accumulate across several, and the skill that spends it is meant to be aimed rather than spammed. Five clean strings is the ballpark for a full bar, which makes the channel a commitment rather than a rotation step.
| Input | CBT2 Erudition | CBT2 damage |
|---|---|---|
| Hit 1 | 10 | 13.97% |
| Hit 2 | 20 | 26.82% |
| Hit 3 | 10 | 33.52% |
| Hit 4 | 20 | 50.27% |
| Skill, block or dodge before hit 4 ends | 40 | — |
| Lv1 charged | 5 | 33.52% |
| Lv2 charged | 60 | 76.26% |
| Pursuit attack | — | 17.32% |
What is the extra input at the end of hit 4 for?
Pressing skill, block or dodge before hit 4 ends adds 40 Erudition on top of the string. The same trick applies to the Lv2 charged attack: press a button before it ends and it adds another 40.
Forty is two-thirds of a basic string in one input, so this is not an optional flourish. It is the largest single Erudition gain listed apart from the channel, and if you are letting hit 4 finish without the follow-up you are leaving a third of your income unclaimed.
How do the spend thresholds work?
Seek the Supernatural is a channel: hold up to two seconds, bank up to 120 Erudition, then release to spend everything you hold. What the spend produces depends on the total, not on how long you channelled. A short channel in front of a large balance still gives the top effect.
| Erudition held at the spend | Effect |
|---|---|
| Under 100 | Lantern swing only |
| Under 200 | Swing plus a small firefly, −5% Alba RES for 40s |
| 300 or more | Large firefly, −10% Alba RES for 40s |
The sheet lists those three bands and does not describe what happens between 200 and 299, so treat that range as unpublished rather than as a fourth tier. If you are aiming for the big firefly, the target is 300 exactly.
Is the two-second channel worth it?
Yes when you cannot reach the top band any other way, no when the fight is mobile. Two seconds of standing still is a long time, and the channel is capped at 120, so it cannot carry you from an empty bar to 300 on its own.
Read the channel as a top-up, not a battery. It is the tool that turns a near-complete bar into the top threshold before a burst window. On a stationary boss with a broken stagger bar it is free value; against an enemy with a ready leap it is a hit you are choosing to take.
How strong are the charged attacks and pursuit?
Lv1 is a lantern swing at 33.52%; Lv2 is a strike at 76.26%, plus the 40 bonus if you press in time. The pursuit attack is 17.32%. Compared with the basic string's fourth hit at 50.27%, the Lv2 is the only charged option that clearly beats the string, and it is also the biggest Erudition gain outside the channel.
That combination makes Lv2 the natural end of a string: damage, resource and a chance at the bonus all in one input. Lv1 is the cheap option when you need to move rather than commit.
Why is the perfect dodge the best input?
A perfect dodge lets the next basic attack fire the Lv2 charged attack immediately, and it interrupts. That solves the kit's main problem: instead of standing still to charge, you get the biggest charged hit out of a defensive input.
It also protects the Erudition economy. The dodge costs nothing, returns the Lv2's 60, and adds the bonus if you press again in time. A red-ring attack becomes a resource window instead of a reset — the ring-colour rules are set out in the combat guide.
What does Gucia give a team?
The team value is the resistance cut: −5% Alba RES for 40 seconds from the small firefly, −10% from the large one. Alba is the stable pure-phase reactor, so the debuff matters most in a party that already deals Alba damage; the resonance guide lays out the seven reactors.
The catch is setup cost. Reaching 300 takes several strings, and the debuff lasts 40 seconds, so the loop is about timing the spend before a burst window rather than keeping it up permanently. In the story Gucia is an apprentice with the epithet From the Ivory Tower, and the character's stated home is neither an academy nor a company but research on unknown creatures.
Common questions
What happens between 200 and 299 Erudition?
It is not described in the CBT2 sheet. The published bands are under 100, under 200, and 300 or more.
Does the channel always give 120?
Only at full hold. The channel banks up to 120 over up to two seconds, so a shorter hold banks less.
Do repeated spends stack the debuff?
The CBT2 sheet does not state whether the Alba RES reduction stacks. Plan for one active window rather than a stacking total.
Do you need 300 for any debuff at all?
No. A spend under 200 already applies the small firefly at −5%. The 300 band doubles the reduction, it does not enable it.