With Season 8 of Limbus Company underway, we’ve got an all new Canto and a fresh set of IDs. We already discussed the new Ryoshu, so it’s time to look at the second member of this new Unique Charge drop, Haute Couture:: Boutique du Rouge Ishmael. Haute Couture Ishmael is our second Charge duo status ID of the season, this time mixed Charge and Bleed.
This is a unique blend we haven’t seen yet, and makes me really wish this Identity was better out of the box than it currently is. Let’s take a look how she works, if she’s worth pulling for, and how she slots in the meta.
Limbus Company – Haute Couture Ishmael’s Role
Haute Couture Ishmael is in a very odd spot, requiring a solid 5 turns before to get her gimmick online properly, at an absolute minimum. On top of that, her Charge/Bleed fusion has no duo support, meaning you’ll need to choose a team for her to actually run in, and one is much better than the other.
While she may functionally be a Charge ID, she doesn’t actually function much like one thanks to her desire to drain her own HP so she can enter the Full Makeover state, where she becomes much stronger and buffs other members of the team.
This has two major issues, requiring Ishmael to sit in the low power Changing Room state for 2 full turns, and and her buffs being neutered against non Rouge allies. Notably, there are no other Rouge currently in the game, so Ishmael is sitting without a team, making her an awkward slot in Bleed and all but useless in Charge.
How to Play Haute Couture Ishmael
Haute Couture Ishmael plays just as oddly, rushing her own death in order to enable her Changing Room state as quick as possible. Once her HP reaches 0 via incoming damage or her own attacks draining her HP, Ishmael will gain a massive shield based on her max HP and enter a cocoon.
For two turns, Ishmael takes less damage, doesn’t lose her shield, and can only counter incoming attacks. Thanks to the Aggro she gains on her Skill slot, she’ll be a major target. You’ll want to make sure she survives over these next two turns, allowing her to actually enter her strongest form, Full Makeover.
While she deals solid damage and Bleed application in Full Makeover, Haute Couture Ishmael is shockingly weak outside of it, requiring you to focus on getting her into her buff in order to make her a real unit. Once she does, each of her skills gains Coin Power and much higher damage, averaging out to average for Bleed.
Best Haute Couture Ishmael Team – Bleed Variant
Haute Couture Ishmael is, at current, a bit of a rebel without a cause situation. She has a very unique gimmick, allowing herself to die in order to enter an enhanced state, but has no team to properly support or support her. In most Bleed variants, you’d be better off running her Kurokumo Identity alongside Heathcliff, backing a 5 man Ring comp. If you’d really like to run her in current content, slot her alongside the Ring, and replace Kurokumo Heathcliff with either Blade of the House of Spiders Ryoshu or Night Awl Capitano Gregor.
Either of these IDs as a seventh gives the team a good infusion of damage, pouring out the pain while Ishmael takes heavy hits to proc her rebirth. Finding a fight that doesn’t end too fast while still giving Haute Couture Ishmael time to prove her worth is challenging, but she has mountains of potential with new Rouge drops.
Should You Pull for Haute Couture Ishmael?
At current, there is no reason to try and pull for Haute Couture Ishmael. Not only is she fairly weak without the team she will clearly support, her position as a Week 1 ID means she’s going to be around and obtainable via EGO Shards for the 7 months or so, meaning eager players can snag her as soon as this weak is up.
Once the full Battlepass unlocks in just under two weeks time, I’ll be the first to recommend grinding it out via the Mirror Dungeon, allowing you to farm literally infinite EGO Shards for whatever Identities you’d like. With that in mind, there’s no incentive to use your hard earned Lunacy here.
