Lightning Merlin has quickly become one of the strongest Lightning DPS heroes in Seven Deadly Sins: Idle Adventure, but one question keeps coming up: Which support actually gives her the biggest damage increase?
There are plenty of options that look strong on paper. Gowther, Drake, Daisy, Elizabeth, Howzer, Slader, and even Wand Gowther all bring different buffs to the table. Some increase Lightning damage, others reduce enemy defenses, while a few focus entirely on critical damage.
After comparing each support under the same testing conditions, we finally have a much clearer picture of who actually boosts Merlin the most and which heroes are only situational picks.
7DS Idle Adventure Lightning Merlin Support Tier List – Teams
| Tier | Support |
|---|---|
| S+ | Daisy |
| S | Elizabeth |
| S | Gowther (Book + Link) |
| A+ | Drake (Staff) |
| A | Gowther Staff |
| A | Gowther Wand (Burst Active) |
| B+ | Howzer |
| B | Drake Longsword |
| B | Slader |
| B | Manny |
While every support can improve Merlin’s performance, the gap between the strongest and weakest options is surprisingly large.
How the Testing Was Done
To keep results as consistent as possible:
- Tests were performed in Sector 6.
- Critical hits and blocks were used consistently.
- Normal attacks were used for many comparisons.
- Identical gear was maintained whenever possible.
- Buff stacks were fully activated before recording damage.
This makes the comparisons much more reliable than simply looking at skill descriptions.
Important Discovery: Defense Shatter Does NOT Become Worse
One of the biggest myths surrounding Lightning Merlin is that reducing an enemy’s defense somehow weakens Defense Shatter effects.
After testing, that doesn’t appear to be true.
Instead:
- Defense Reduction still increases damage.
- Defense Shatter still provides its normal bonus.
- Both mechanics stack together.
Rather than competing against each other, they improve damage through different parts of the game’s damage formula.
If you’ve been avoiding Defense Reduction because of this rumor, you don’t need to anymore.
Lightning Resistance Can Become Weakness
Another interesting mechanic involves Lightning Resistance.
Enemies normally have varying elemental resistances.
Testing showed that reducing an enemy’s Lightning Resistance doesn’t simply remove the resistance—it can actually push the value into negative territory.
That effectively turns resistance into weakness.
For Lightning Merlin, this is fantastic news because Lightning Resistance reduction keeps increasing your damage even after removing the initial resistance.
Best Lightning Merlin Supports
Let’s go through every tested support individually.
Daisy (Best Overall)
Damage Increase: Approximately 93%
Daisy ended up being the strongest overall support tested.
Once fully stacked, she nearly doubled Merlin’s damage output.
Her buffs combine extremely well with Merlin’s naturally high burst damage, making her the easiest recommendation if you have access to her.
Strengths
- Highest damage increase tested
- Excellent scaling
- Great for boss fights
- Strong late-game option
Weaknesses
- Requires proper setup
- Benefits from higher investment
If you own Daisy, she’s currently one of Merlin’s best teammates.
Elizabeth
Damage Increase: Approximately 92%
Elizabeth finishes incredibly close behind Daisy.
Her performance was much better than many players expected.
Besides increasing Merlin’s damage significantly, she also brings additional utility that many offensive supports lack.
For players who already invested in Elizabeth, there’s little reason to replace her.
Gowther (Book + Link)
Damage Increase: Around 67%
Using Gowther with his Book alongside Link mechanics produced one of the strongest offensive combinations.
The attack buffs stack extremely quickly because every hit contributes toward increasing attack.
This setup works especially well for Merlin since her multi-hit skills build the buffs almost instantly.
Gowther Staff
Damage Increase: Around 50%
The Staff version remains a strong support option.
Its combination of:
- Lightning bonuses
- Defense interaction
- Consistent buffs
makes it an excellent all-around support.
While it doesn’t quite reach Daisy’s numbers, it’s still one of Merlin’s better partners.
Gowther Wand
Without Burst active, Gowther’s Wand performs similarly to the Staff.
However, everything changes once Burst activates.
Burst Active
The Wand grants an enormous Lightning Attack bonus.
Because Merlin naturally has relatively low Lightning Attack, she benefits far more than expected.
This makes Burst uptime extremely important.
Without Burst, Drake generally performs better.
With Burst active, Wand Gowther becomes much more competitive.
Drake Staff
Damage Increase: Approximately 54%
Drake continues to be an incredibly solid support.
His staff consistently boosts Merlin’s damage while also synergizing well with Shock mechanics.
Even before accounting for Shock damage, Drake already performs extremely well.
If your Gowther isn’t highly invested, Drake can easily become the stronger option.
Drake Longsword
Damage Increase: Around 34%
The Longsword version focuses primarily on improving Normal Skills instead of basic attacks.
Because of that, its effectiveness depends heavily on the content you’re playing.
It’s not a bad weapon, but compared to Drake’s Staff, it simply doesn’t provide the same overall value for Merlin.
Howzer
Damage Increase: Around 38%
Considering Howzer is an SR hero, his performance is actually impressive.
He won’t compete with premium supports, but newer players can get plenty of value from him before obtaining stronger options.
He’s a great budget choice.
Slader
Damage Increase: Around 31%
Slader still offers respectable support, but he has clearly fallen behind newer options.
His buffs are useful, though they simply don’t compete with the stronger Lightning-focused supports introduced later.
Manny
Damage Increase: Around 31%
Manny performed almost identically to Slader.
Most of her value comes from Critical Damage bonuses rather than raw offensive scaling.
She remains usable but isn’t a top recommendation if stronger supports are available.
Defense Reduction Is Extremely Powerful
Another major takeaway from the testing is just how effective Defense Reduction really is.
Reducing enemy defense by roughly 60% almost doubled Merlin’s damage.
That’s before considering additional offensive buffs.
Multiple Defense Reduction effects also stack together, making defense-focused supports even more valuable than many players previously believed.
Can Defense Reduction Go Beyond 100%?
Current testing suggests it probably can.
Certain game mechanics already reduce enemy defense by more than 100%, implying the system doesn’t simply stop once defense reaches zero.
Instead, it appears the game continues lowering an internal defense multiplier.
More testing is still needed, but the early results are promising.
Best Team for Lightning Merlin
If you’re trying to maximize Merlin’s damage, a strong team would look something like this:
Premium Team
- Lightning Merlin
- Daisy
- Gowther (Book + Link)
- Elizabeth
This setup combines massive attack buffs, critical damage, and defensive debuffs for extremely high burst damage.
Alternative Team
- Lightning Merlin
- Drake Staff
- Gowther Wand
- Elizabeth
A great option if you don’t own Daisy yet.
Budget Team
- Lightning Merlin
- Howzer
- Slader
- Manny
While the damage ceiling is lower, this team remains perfectly capable of clearing early and mid-game content.
Final Rankings
After comparing every tested support, here’s how they stack up for Lightning Merlin:
| Rank | Support | Approx. Damage Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daisy | 93% |
| 2 | Elizabeth | 92% |
| 3 | Gowther (Book + Link) | 67% |
| 4 | Drake Staff | 54% |
| 5 | Gowther Staff | 50% |
| 6 | Gowther Wand (Burst) | Comparable to Staff with Burst |
| 7 | Howzer | 38% |
| 8 | Drake Longsword | 34% |
| 9 | Slader | 31% |
| 10 | Manny | 31% |
Should You Replace Your Current Support?
If you’re already using Daisy or Elizabeth alongside Lightning Merlin, you’re in a great position. They provide the highest overall damage increases and remain excellent long-term investments.
Players without those units shouldn’t worry too much, though. Drake’s Staff and Gowther still offer strong support, especially once their abilities and gear are properly upgraded. Even budget options like Howzer can perform surprisingly well while you’re building your roster.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from all the testing isn’t just the support rankings—it’s that Defense Reduction and Defense Shatter work together, and Lightning Resistance reduction can actually convert resistance into elemental weakness. Understanding those mechanics will help you build much stronger Lightning teams regardless of which support you end up using.