Sua is Eternal Return: Black Survival’s newest, and most bookish, character. Released with the Season 2 Update, Sua brings with her a flexible approach to item builds, and a giant hammer that might interest those pesky ranged players.
In this guide, I’m going to explain Sua’s abilities, playstyle, and builds. So, let’s get into it.
What Does She Do in Eternal Return: Black Survival?
Let's take a closer look at her abilities.
Sua’s Passive Is ‘Bookworm’
After Sua uses a skill, she gains an empowered auto-attack that deals increased damage to a target and a small area around them.
This attack heals her for a portion of the damage she dealt. You can hit a target with multiple abilities and Bookworm will stack on each hit, these stacks also increase Sua’s attack speed.
Sua’s passive is one of the reasons she’s a flexible character build wise. Due to Bookworm increasing attack speed, crit builds are viable on her, but due to the damage, so is skill amplification.
This makes building her a decision more related to playstyle, rather than optimization.
Sua’s Q is ‘Odyssey’
Sua summons two books in a targeted direction that collide in the centre, dealing damage to all enemies hit and leaving a ‘Bookmark’ on the target.
When a new ‘Bookmark’ is placed on the target, it triggers the old one and deals extra damage. Enemies hit by the collision point of the two books are briefly stunned.
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‘Odyssey’ is Sua’s main form of damage. It’s on a low cooldown and therefore triggers ‘Bookworm’.
The addition of the stun in the centre also makes this a great tool for picking off opponents who otherwise might get away – think pesky Silvia players. It’s also particularly effective in Duos and Squads, making it your best choice to max first.
Remember to use it in fights, too. The more you’re able to get your passive stack off, the more effective you’ll be at killing the opponent.
Sua’s W Is ‘The Curious Case’
‘The Curious Case’ is a versatile ability with two uses. It has an ally cast, and an enemy cast, both of which are useful in most situations.
On ally cast: Sua shields herself or her target and makes them unstoppable for a few seconds.
On enemy cast: Sua’s bird attacks a targeted enemy, dealing damage and blinding them.
This ability is useful against characters with heavy CC, such as Magnus and Zahir. A well-timed CC stopper will make short work of characters who rely on it for safety. This makes her quite effective at 1v1s.
On enemy cast, she can be quite effective at dealing with other melee characters such as Jackie or Fiora, who rely on their early burst to kill you.
Sua’s E Is ‘Don Quixote’
‘Don Quixote’ is Sua’s main engage and escape, as well as situational CC.
Sua summons a lance and dashes forward a substantial amount, dealing damage and stopping at the first target hit.
If the target has been stunned by ‘Odyssey’, they will be knocked up. Hitting enemies also reduces the cooldown of this ability. This ability also slows the target.
This is your main gap closer into squishy targets, and your main form of escape against bad fights.
A well-timed Q into E can absolutely annihilate squishy targets as long as you throw a few auto-attacks in alongside it. If you find yourself hitting a stun, make sure you hit the knock-up portion.
Sua’s R Is ‘Memory’
‘Memory’ is a simple ability with a lot of uses. It copies the last ability used and repeats it. This means she can repeat any of the previous abilities, which adds to her passive.
This makes her especially lethal to those who are caught out. There are a few uses for these extra abilities, although you likely will use your Q most.
Using your R after E makes you surprisingly mobile. Most characters, other than perhaps Silvia and maybe Jackie, aren’t able to follow such a distance. This is helpful in the early game when you will want to be avoiding unwanted fights. Simply W yourself, and then E and R away.
That sums up her abilities, now let's look into the builds.
New Player Friendly Build in Eternal Return: Black Survival
Build Code: 340697
This is the Rockers Uchiwa build and route. The build makes sense on Sua because they’re well statted, easy to get, and low risk – apart from the Glacial Shoes, but we’ll go into that.
Here's the Route:
Start Pond and start making your way towards Avenue, grabbing parts you need. The most essential pieces are the ones related to your weapon: Short Rod, Hammer, and if possible, leather.
The leather aspect is the most annoying part of this build early, though I would recommend getting it from the chickens near the Hyperloop.
While in Avenue, the priority thing you cannot leave without is a battery. You should aim to get all your items but if something slowed you down, you might be able to pick up a few of the items at school later on. Use the Hyperloop and teleport to Hotel.
Hotel is a contested area, so by this point try and get Carbonated Water and finish your weapon. If you’ve been able to do this, then this is around the time that the Tree of Life spawns.
If possible, and you feel strong enough then contest it, Glacial Shoes on Sua provides her with the movement speed she needs to engage and escape fights, as well as a good amount of Skill Amp for your Q.
If it goes well, then use the Hyperloop and teleport to Alley.
Alley can be contested, but at this point, you should either be strong enough to fight, or smart enough to use your R ability to run from potential threats. The main items you need from here are the Scissors, which should round out your build by finishing off your Imperial Crown.
From there, walk to Archery Range to finish off your build.
At full build, Sua is able to take most fights.
While this is all happening, you should be levelling your abilities in this order:
This build is the simplest to learn. When you feel more confident on Sua, I’d recommend trying alternating builds out and different routes until you get comfortable. She’s an incredibly dynamic character and has a lot of variation in play.
Overview
That's a lot of text. I'll break down the pros and cons of learning Sua.
Pros:
Sua is fun to play and while she has a simple kit, it's one that rewards smart mechanical play and careful use of your abilities.
Her combos feel intuitive, and her early fight potential is substantial.
Her flexibility, build wise, allows her to swap routes easily in the pre-game and even sometimes during a match.
Cons:
If Sua is caught without use or her E, she can be incredibly weak and easily killed.
Missing your Q costs heavily.
Sua doesn’t really have a ‘nuke’ combo, so to speak. She very much relies on long trades unless you’re going for a risky ‘pure amp’ build.