Rico Best Build and Skill Tree Guide

Build and skill tree guide for Rico in Sword of Convallaria (SoC). See the best gear (weapon/trinket/tarot), skin, tier, and review here!

Rico's Tier & Basic Info

	Rarity	Legendary
	Role	Defender
	Faction	Drifter Aggression

Movement Stats

Rico's Tier

Overall Rating			Reroll Rating
▶ Character Tier List			▶ Reroll Tier List
Single-Target Rating			Multi-Target Rating

User Score

Review & How to Get

Rico Pros and Strength

Rico's Character Overview

Excels at AoE Attacks and Strike Backs

Rico excels at "AoE attacks & Knockback" and "Counterattacks such as Strike Back/Preempt," and it is recommended to create a build that specializes in one or the other. While not adept at protecting allies, as a Defender, she has extremely high offensive power and can be used as an active Attacker in many stages.

Powerful Trait Skill

Rico possesses the Trait Skill [Awoo! Dragon Roar!], which can be used by accumulating "Fur Rage stacks". It's an easy-to-use instant Charge & AoE attack Skill, and its additional effects, such as inflicting the [Vulnerable] debuff to increase damage taken and gaining the [Be Serious!] buff that greatly enhances criticals, are also extremely potent.

Top-Class DMG

Rico's attack performance increases against enemies immune to Knockback, allowing her to exhibit extremely high damage numbers even against single-target bosses. She shines as a critical Attacker who can deal high damage every turn with NRG Recovery and CD reduction, so be sure to pair her with characters who excel at support.

Has Excellent Buffs/Debuffs

Rico possesses a rare buff, "DMG Lock," which prevents her from taking damage equal to 45% of her Max HP or more, and a powerful Passive that inflicts ▽P.DEF II/▽M.DEF II debuffs before attacking, making her a character with excellent buffs and debuffs. She also has a Leader's Aura that greatly strengthens the Drifter Faction, so be sure to utilize it when deploying them together.

Requires Move/NRG Support

She is a powerful character with excellent attacks and durability, capable of self-buffs and debuffs. However, an Attacker build consumes a lot of NRG, and she has no means of directly increasing her Move, requiring support from allies. She has many useful Skills, so there is no single best Skill build, and be aware that she can show her true potential by swapping Skills as needed depending on the stage.

Star Level Up Priority & Recommended Stars for Rico

Aim to Reach 3★ → 4★ → 5★

Star Level Up Priority	Recommended Star Level
	3★ → 4★ → 5★

Aim for upgrades based on your goals: At 3★, your initial Fur Rage stacks increase, and using Quiet Mode grants additional Fur Rage stacks. At 4★, the number of Fur Rage stacks you have at the end of each turn increases. At 5★, stack gain becomes even easier, and your Trait Skill receives a major enhancement.

Best Builds for Rico

Critical Attacker Build

Basic Attack								Reaction								Ascension
No Escape								Never Give Up								Valiant Vanguard
Skill
Hammer Smash								Hammer Time!								Crackling Sparks
Weapon								Trinket								Tarot
Hammer Dragon Rise								Shield of Justice								Verdict of Justice

This is an offensive build meant to leverage Rico's high damage potential. Because of Rico's innate affinity with criticals, Justice works extremely well as a Tarot. Just remember that you need to supplement her with characters that can provide NRG and CD reduction.

Strike Back Build

Basic Attack								Reaction								Ascension
No Escape								First Strike								Valiant Vanguard
Skill
Try to Make Me Mad								Milk Power Boost								World's My Oyster
Weapon								Trinket								Tarot
Hammer Dragon Rise								Crystal Burst Armor								Destruction of The Tower

This is a build specialized in countering enemies through Strike Backs and Preempts. Since you gain Fur Rage stacks when attacked, skillful positioning allows you to use your Trait Skill more frequently.

Priority Skills

Skill	Priority and Details
Hammer Smash	★★★★★ The main Skill for an Attacker build or when you want improved Knockbacks. Can deal extremely high damage, especially against enemies immune to Knockback or when you have the [Be Serious!] buff. It's also powerful because it can be used every turn with CD reduction/NRG supply.
Try to Make Me Mad	★★★★★ The main Skill for a Strike Back build, allowing Rico to gain increased attack + Fur Rage stacks while also gaining effects like DMG Reduction + Strike Back. Without this Skill, Rico cannot perform Strike Backs, so prioritize equipping it.
No Escape	★★★★★ An excellent Basic Attack that can Knockback targets in addition to its AoE damage. Equip this Basic Attack for situations other than single-target battles.
Crackling Sparks	★★★★★ A Passive with many excellent effects like Gain Fur Rage stacks when activating a class skill, Additional damage on Collision, Increased ATK against enemies immune to Knockback, and Applies PDEF/MDEF DOWN debuffs before attacking. Prioritize equipping this for an Attacker build.
First Strike	★★★★ Equip this Reaction for a Strike Back build if you don't need damage reduction.
Never Give Up	★★★★ A Skill that reduces damage taken and grants Unyielding, while also providing many buffs upon activation. A powerful Reaction that, when used effectively, allows for consecutive uses of Trait Skills.
Hammer Time!	★★★★ A Decision Skill that lets you choose between a forward-area attack or a self-centered AoE attack. An excellent Skill that can apply PDEF DOWN and ✗Healing Received debuffs in its area, and can also be used to aim for fall kills via knockbacks. Its ability to be used every turn, as long as you can recover NRG, is also a major plus.
World's My Oyster	★★★★ A Leader's Aura that strengthens . Has a very powerful effect that increases damage by up to 15% while also boosting Crit Rate & Crit DMG, so use it when focusing on dealing damage or when deploying many Drifter allies.

Skill	Priority and Details
Milk Power Boost	★★★ Provides an Instant heal, a defense buff, and Fur Rage stacks, while also granting the rare [DMG Lock] buff. An excellent Skill that allows you to reliably withstand up to two fatal blows in high-difficulty stages.
Change Pursuit	★★ Although Rico has [Jump], her movement options are limited, so it's worth equipping this in stages that require significant movement.
Critical Strike	★★ This Basic Attack is a better choice against single targets.
Knockback Bash	★ Rico already has many ways to Knockback, including her Basic Attacks, so this has a low priority.
Warrior of Frost	★ Equip this in stages where [Frosty] panels are a nuisance.

Recommended Gear, Tarots, & Engravings

Recommended Weapons for Rico

Hammer Dragon Rise

Hollow Axe

Denial Hammer

The Hammer Dragon Rise is the top recommendation, since it boosts Area Attacks, Preempt, and Strike Back. Rico also pairs well with many weapons that enhance damage output. However, if you’re aiming for knockbacks and fall kills, the Denial Hammer is also a solid choice.

Recommended Trinkets for Rico

Shield of Justice

Crystal Burst Armor

Evergreen Pendent

The Shield of Justice is our top pick, offering a hefty stat boost along with the boost granted when having a physical shield. For counter-focused builds, shields can sometimes get broken, so in high-difficulty stages, the Crystal Burst Armor which boosts both HP and counterattack damage, is also a viable option.

Recommended Tarots for Rico

Verdict of Justice

Destruction of The Tower

Temptation of The Devil

Because Rico excels in Critical Rate & Damage, Justice is the most recommended, since it provides the "Crit DMG UP" effect to greatly increase damage dealt. For Counterattack builds, Tower which has Life Steal & Damage Dealt UP effects, is also recommended.

Recommended Engravings for Rico

Resonance	Effect
Sword Wand	Before actively attacking, for each 1 tile traversed, increases ATK and DEF by 4%, up to 12%. The effect lasts until the start of the next turn,
Wand Wand	After using a [basic attack], [skill], [strike back], or [assisting attack], gains 1 random [Level 2 Attribute Buff].
Wand Cup	At the end of the turn, there is a 50% chance to gain [Engraving Resonance]. Effect: When using an [active skill] next time, refunds the NRG consumed and resets the CD. The skill effect has a CD of 4 turns. (Does not trigger in real-time combat. The effect changes to increasing HP, ATK and DEF by 5%)

The Sword+Wand combo is especially recommended for its stat boosts. Other good options include Wand+Cup, which sets CD and NRG costs to zero, and Wand+Wand, which grants a large number of buffs.

Rico Skill Unlock Priorities

Recommended Skill Set

* Tap a skill to view its details below.

Normal Valiant Vanguard	RK13	Unique
Crackling Sparks	RK11	World's My Oyster
No Escape	RK9	Critical Strike
Hammer Time!	RK7	Try to Make Me Mad
First Strike	RK5	Never Give Up
Hammer Smash	RK3	Milk Power Boost
Change Pursuit	RK1	Warrior of Frost

Here’s a recommended example for a build that actively attacks using Knockback as well as single-target and AoE skills.

Skill Details

Change Pursuit	Cost: 0 CD: 3
(Physical DMG) Instant. charges at 1 enemy within a cross-shaped range around the character, dealing 30% DMG. Gains immunity to Preempt.

Warrior of Frost	Cost: - CD: -
(Passive) When the character is on Frosty tiles, decreases the DMG taken by 30% and increases Movement by 1 tile.

Hammer Smash	Cost: 3 CD: 2
(Physical DMG) Attacks the specified target, dealing 40% AoE DMG, knocking them back by 4 tiles, with Skill Multiplier increased by 70% against targets with Knockback Immunity; then performs Pursuit, dealing 75% AoE DMG to all enemies in a cross-shaped range of 2 tiles of the target, and dispels 2 buffs. When having Be Serious!, all Skill Multipliers of this skill increase by 10% and inflicts Stunned for 1 turn after performing Pursuit.

Milk Power Boost	Cost: 0 CD: 4
(Healing) Instant Restores HP equal to 80% of P.ATK, gains 2 stacks of DMG Lock equal to 45% of max HP, △P.DEF II, and △M.DEF II for 2 turns, and 2 stacks of Fur Rage.

First Strike	Cost: - CD: -
(Reaction) Before being actively attacked from the front or side, performs Preempt, dealing 70% DMG. Can be activated 1 time per round.

Never Give Up	Cost: - CD: -
(Reaction) Reduces melee DMG taken by 15%. Gains Unyielding; when triggered, recovers all NRG, removes Quiet Mode, and gains 8 stacks of Fur Rage; also gains △SPD IV for 1 turn.

Hammer Time!	Cost: 0 CD: 0
(Decision) Select to use either Mountain-Toppling Slap or Earth-Shattering Tornado.

Try to Make Me Mad	Cost: 2 CD: 0
(Support) Gains 2 stacks of Fur Rage, △ATK II, and △Crit DMG I for 2 turns, and performs Roar Fury until the start of the next 2 turns.

No Escape	Cost: - CD: -
(Basic Attack) Deals 70% AoE physical DMG to all enemies within a 1-tile radius of the target, then knocks back the center target by an additional 2 tiles.

Critical Strike	Cost: - CD: -
(Basic Attack) Deals 100% physical DMG and increases Crit by 15% before attacking.

Crackling Sparks	Cost: 0 CD: 0
(Passive) Gains 2 stacks of Fur Rage after casting a class skill attack. When dealing Collision DMG, deals AoE physical DMG equal to 25% of P.ATK to all enemies within a 1-tile radius of both parties involved in the Collision. ATK increases by 15% against targets with Knockback Immunity; before attacking, inflicts ▽P.DEF II and ▽M.DEF II for 2 turns.

World's My Oyster	Cost: 0 CD: 0
(Leader's Aura) For all "Drifter" allies in battle, ATK increases by 10%, and DEF increases by 20%. When performing active attacks and Strike Back, DMG dealt increases by 5% for each 1 target hit, up to 15%; if the target is in Injured state, Crit and Crit DMG increase by 10%.

Valiant Vanguard	Cost: - CD: -
(Passive) Level 3 Effect When there are 2 or more enemies within 2 tiles of the character, DMG is increased by 12% and DMG taken is reduced by 12%.

Rico's Trait & Skills

Rico's Trait

Trait

Max Effect

[Most Formidable Boss Rico] Gains Block and Jump; immune to Frosty tile effects. P.ATK and HP increase by 15%. After being actively attacked, if in Injured state, recovers HP equal to 50% of P.ATK. Can be triggered up to 2 times per round. Fur Rage: Gains 6 stacks at the start of the battle, 2 stacks when attacked, and 2 stacks at the end of the turn; when having 8 stacks, gains the additional skill Awoo! Dragon Roar!; after using it, gains Quiet Mode; gains 4 stacks of Fur Rage when Quiet Mode ends. The skill Awoo! Dragon Roar! gains 100% increased Crit and 20% increased Skill Multiplier when attacking.

Stars Unlocked	Effect
	Gains Block and Jump; immune to Frosty tile effects. P.ATK and HP increase by 10%. After being actively attacked, if in Injured state, restores HP equal to 50% of P.ATK. Can be triggered up to 2 times per round. Fur Rage: Gains 4 stacks at the start of battle, 2 stacks when attacked, and 2 stacks at the end of the turn. Upon reaching 8 stacks, gains the additional skill Awoo! Dragon Roar!. After using it, enters Quiet Mode; when Quiet Mode ends, gains 2 stacks of Fur Rage.
	Gains Block and Jump; immune to Frosty tile effects. P.ATK and HP increase by 10%. After being actively attacked, if in Injured state, recovers HP equal to 30% of P.ATK. Can be triggered up to 2 times per round. Fur Rage state: Gains 4 stacks at the start of the battle, 2 stacks when attacked, and 1 stack at the end of the turn; when having 8 stacks, gains the additional skill Awoo! Dragon Roar!; after using it, gains Quiet Mode; gains 2 stacks of Fur Rage when Quiet Mode ends.
	Gains Block and Jump; immune to Frosty tile effects. P.ATK and HP increase by 5%. After being actively attacked, if in Injured state, recovers HP equal to 30% of P.ATK. Can be triggered up to 1 time per round. Fur Rage state: Gains 2 stacks at the start of the battle, 2 stacks when attacked, and 1 stack at the end of the turn; when having 8 stacks, gains the additional skill Awoo! Dragon Roar!; after using it, gains Quiet Mode.
	Gains Block and Jump; immune to Frosty tile effects. P.ATK and HP increase by 5%. After being actively attacked, if in Injured state, recovers HP equal to 30% of P.ATK. Can be triggered up to 1 time per round. Fur Rage state: Gains 2 stacks when attacked and 1 stack at the end of the turn; when having 8 stacks, gains the additional skill Awoo! Dragon Roar!; after using it, gains Quiet Mode.

Rico's Base Skills

Skill	Range
Slash
[Basic Attack] Cost: - / CD: - (Basic Attack) Deals 100% Physical DMG.
Knockback Bash
[Skill] Cost: 3 / CD: 0 (Physical DMG) Single-target attack. Deals 140% DMG and knock the target back by 2 tiles.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK1

Skill	Range
Change Pursuit
[Skill] Cost: 0 / CD: 3 (Physical DMG) Instant. charges at 1 enemy within a cross-shaped range around the character, dealing 30% DMG. Gains immunity to Preempt.
Warrior of Frost	-
[Skill] Cost: - / CD: - (Passive) When the character is on Frosty tiles, decreases the DMG taken by 30% and increases Movement by 1 tile.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK3

Skill	Range
Hammer Smash
[Skill] Cost: 3 / CD: 2 (Physical DMG) Attacks the specified target, dealing 40% AoE DMG, knocking them back by 4 tiles, with Skill Multiplier increased by 70% against targets with Knockback Immunity; then performs Pursuit, dealing 75% AoE DMG to all enemies in a cross-shaped range of 2 tiles of the target, and dispels 2 buffs. When having Be Serious!, all Skill Multipliers of this skill increase by 10% and inflicts Stunned for 1 turn after performing Pursuit.
Milk Power Boost
[Skill] Cost: 0 / CD: 4 (Healing) Instant Restores HP equal to 80% of P.ATK, gains 2 stacks of DMG Lock equal to 45% of max HP, △P.DEF II, and △M.DEF II for 2 turns, and 2 stacks of Fur Rage.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK5

Skill	Range
First Strike	-
[Reaction] Cost: - / CD: - (Reaction) Before being actively attacked from the front or side, performs Preempt, dealing 70% DMG. Can be activated 1 time per round.
Never Give Up	-
[Reaction] Cost: - / CD: - (Reaction) Reduces melee DMG taken by 15%. Gains Unyielding; when triggered, recovers all NRG, removes Quiet Mode, and gains 8 stacks of Fur Rage; also gains △SPD IV for 1 turn.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK7

Skill	Range
Hammer Time!
[Skill] Cost: 0 / CD: 0 (Decision) Select to use either Mountain-Toppling Slap or Earth-Shattering Tornado.
Try to Make Me Mad
[Skill] Cost: 2 / CD: 0 (Support) Gains 2 stacks of Fur Rage, △ATK II, and △Crit DMG I for 2 turns, and performs Roar Fury until the start of the next 2 turns.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK9

Skill	Range
No Escape
[Basic Attack] Cost: - / CD: - (Basic Attack) Deals 70% AoE physical DMG to all enemies within a 1-tile radius of the target, then knocks back the center target by an additional 2 tiles.
Critical Strike
[Basic Attack] Cost: - / CD: - (Basic Attack) Deals 100% physical DMG and increases Crit by 15% before attacking.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK11

Skill	Range
Crackling Sparks	-
[Skill] Cost: 0 / CD: 0 (Passive) Gains 2 stacks of Fur Rage after casting a class skill attack. When dealing Collision DMG, deals AoE physical DMG equal to 25% of P.ATK to all enemies within a 1-tile radius of both parties involved in the Collision. ATK increases by 15% against targets with Knockback Immunity; before attacking, inflicts ▽P.DEF II and ▽M.DEF II for 2 turns.
World's My Oyster	-
[Skill] Cost: 0 / CD: 0 (Leader's Aura) For all "Drifter" allies in battle, ATK increases by 10%, and DEF increases by 20%. When performing active attacks and Strike Back, DMG dealt increases by 5% for each 1 target hit, up to 15%; if the target is in Injured state, Crit and Crit DMG increase by 10%.

Skills That Can Be Learned at RK13

Skill	Range
Valiant Vanguard	-
[Ascension Skill] Cost: - / CD: - (Passive) Level 3 Effect When there are 2 or more enemies within 2 tiles of the character, DMG is increased by 12% and DMG taken is reduced by 12%.

Weapons That Rico Can Equip

List of Weapons

Brutal Axe	Hollow Axe	Denial Hammer
Feast Axe	Tuning Hammer	Cornucopia Axe
Gale Sword	'Barbecue' Hammer	Hammer Dragon Rise
Great Company on the Journey	Surtr the Darkfire Axe	Formidable Axe
Antimagic Axe	Balanced Heavy Axe	Battle-Hardened Axe
Heavy Iron Axe	Iron Axe

Rico's Voice Actor & Release Date

Rico Voice Actor

Released on Friday, August 15

Rico was released on Friday, August 15. Since the character is added to the standard banner, they can still be obtained even after the limited-time banner ends.

Rico's Skin

Initial	Ascended

▲ Unlock Ascended Skin when character reaches Star Level 5.

Sword of Convallaria Related Guides

Legendary Characters

Rawiyah	Maitha	Faycal	Beryl
Inanna	Dantalion	Magnus	Xavier
Nergal	Nungal	Edda	Samantha
Garcia	Miguel	Col	Leonide
Gloria	Teadon	Simona	NonoWill
LilyWill	Iggy	Momo	Alexei
Guzman	Cocoa	Acambe	Safiyyah
Auguste	Hasna	Homa	Caris
Agata	SP Rawiyah	Taair	Tristan
Layla	Pamina	SP Safiyyah	Kvare
Luvata	Estra	Flavia	Team Meteor
Ayishah	Afra	Nydia	Lutfi
SP Inanna	SchackLulu	Kiya	Rico
Marcille	Senshi	Falin	SP Samantha
Credenza	Camelot	-	-