Team Building Guide

Definitions

Neutralization DMG

The term and internal statistic used for damage to Stagger Gauges. It can also be referred to as Stagger DMG.

Main DPS

A character whose role is to be the primary damage dealer for the team, typically spending more time on-field than other members.

Sub-DPS

A supplementary damage dealer who triggers valuable effects and damage while off-field, freeing you to use other characters.

Elemental Affliction

An element-specific status effect that drives core interactions with high-tier equipment sets and damage output. Elemental Affliction reduces the enemy's elemental resistance for that element, increasing theoretical damage against that element.

Elemental Weakness

An enemy property that indicates the strongest element to use. It increases total damage taken and often lines up with telegraphed attacks that can only be stopped using characters or Link Chains matching that weakness.

The classes of Mongil: Star Dive

• Fighters excel in chaotic melee fights where allies and enemies clash. They grow stronger the more enemies surround them, making them strong multi-target attackers.
• Assassins excel at high damage by punishing openings. They deal more damage while a boss is staggered or during a burst, giving them very high burst damage.
• Destroyers excel in boss battles. Hits on the boss fill the Stagger Gauge; Destroyers fill it faster and break boss shields quicker than other classes.
• Supports excel at empowering the team. They increase their own and the team's damage after a burst and when swapping, making them ideal Sub-DPS and amplifiers for big damage chains.

Standard composition formats

Mono-element team

Three characters share the same element. This setup has the highest theoretical damage thanks to Elemental Affliction uptime and element-specific buffs between units. You give up flexibility for mixed enemy weaknesses, so it works best when you know what you are fighting. Mono-element teams should stack multiple Affliction sources and keep the status active as much as possible.

2-element team

Two characters share an element—ideally the Main DPS and Sub-DPS. This is the best balance between exploiting elemental weaknesses and keeping a strong damage focus.

3-element team

Three different elements. You get maximum elemental coverage at the cost of weaker Affliction synergy and fewer strong element-specific supports. Best for varied content (e.g. Dimensional Rift, Story) or when enemy types are unknown.

Fighter + Assassin + Support

A Fighter-centric lineup that balances wave clear and boss damage. Stagger damage is lower than on a Destroyer-heavy team, but direct damage can be higher, with reasonable stagger contribution.

Assassin + Destroyer + Support

A boss-focused composition built around mechanics and fast kills. Wave clear is weaker, but Assassin and Destroyer cover the two extremes for short clear times.

Fighter + Destroyer + Assassin (Sub-DPS)

An aggressive lineup using the full damage class spread, with Assassin as Sub-DPS for consistent damage and strong boss pressure. Sustain is limited and the comp can feel risky, but it stays relevant across many modes.

1.0 Compositions: standard teams

Esther + Flare or Ellie + Jiwon

One of the strongest launch options. It follows a standard Assassin-focused shell with two elements for boss focus, while Jiwon's grouping helps Esther's zone-based damage. Flare and Ellie add strong burst Neutralization damage to shred stagger gauges.

Mina + Flare + Narae (unreleased)

An unusual lineup without an Assassin, using Narae's damage buffs on Flare and Mina to offset the missing class. Fire synergy and Narae's water bubbles can yield high effective damage and AoE, but Fire Affliction application may suffer. Wait for Narae's release before treating this as a finished comp.

Sangun + Flare or Ellie + Jiwon

A variant of the Esther shell using the standard five-star Sangun. It follows a Fighter-focused two-element plan; Jiwon's Divine Melody helps Sangun reposition for basics. Flare or Ellie still provide burst Neutralization for stagger.

Gabi + Yeonhwa, Benjamin, Angel, or Esther + Francis

Built around Gabi's greedy uptime on her club. Francis brings Earth Affliction, healing, Earth damage, and crit damage buffs (including from her free weapon). The listed Assassins have flexible Support Skill triggers, improving damage without constant swapping. For Fighters with long ultimates, a Support → Assassin → Fighter ultimate rotation can maximize damage.

Verna, Sera, or Ophelia + Cloud + Francis

A low-investment starter team. Cloud and Francis perform well even with modest investment, though rotations need care to manage their kit quirks. The weak spot is a true main DPS: Verna needs high uptime for modest payoff; her special helps group but range is short. Sera or Ophelia are stronger main DPS picks with better cross-element synergy with Cloud. With Awakenings, Verna improves as a Main DPS thanks to passive uptime and crit buffs up to A2.

1.0 Compositions: mono-element

Earth mono: Gabi + Ellie + Francis

A Gabi-focused variant with more Neutralization potential from Ellie's burst. Francis and Gabi synergize as before, with added boss clear. Test rotations so Francis's weapon crit damage buff lands on Gabi rather than Ellie when needed.

Ice mono: Ophelia + Cloud + Narae or Sera

At launch, Ice mono struggles without a dedicated Ice Support and without Ice Assassins for Sub-DPS or Affliction. The team leans on Ophelia's sustained damage and Cloud's burst Neutralization. Treat this as incomplete until Narae arrives. Cloud also needs crystals stacked before stagger windows, which limits on-demand Neutralization.

Fire mono: Mina + Flare + Angel or Leeho

An aggressive Mina shell with Assassin Sub-DPS for damage, Affliction, and burst. Angel and Leeho apply consistent Affliction to support Mina's sustained damage.

Lightning mono: Penny + Reina + Yeonhwa or Benjamin

Aggressive dual-carry Lightning setup: Penny and Reina as main damage, Yeonhwa or Benjamin for sustained Lightning Affliction. Penny's five-star ceiling is often seen as lower, so the comp balances two high-uptime units. Yeonhwa vs Benjamin is preference: Benjamin wants up to A4 for Support Skill value and wide AoE Sub-DPS; Yeonhwa at A1 brings strong DEF shred but wants crit-focused builds for Support Skill triggers.

Wind mono: Sangun + Esther + Jiwon

Uses Jiwon to cover Sangun and Esther's weaknesses while pushing their damage. If you need more Neutralization, Sangun's basic attacks can be tuned with Monsterlings for stagger because of his attack-rate tools, letting him act as hybrid Main DPS and stagger breaker. Esther adds burst, Support Skill value, and AoE on grouped enemies via Jiwon. Strong among mono-element options but expensive, and Bonnie's Support is usually too passive for this aggressive plan—Jiwon stays preferred.