You have finally pulled the DPS you wanted, leveled her Insight, and slotted a psychube you had lying around because the icon looked expensive. That last step is where a lot of accounts quietly leak damage. A psychube is the smallest slot in a Reverse: 1999 build, and it still swings your output by a double-digit percentage when it matches the character and evaporates that gain when it does not.
If you want the underlying mechanics (how psychube levels, Amplification, and Resonance interact), the psychube and resonance guide covers that. This one is the shopping list: which psychube goes on which kind of Arcanist, and why.
How to think about a psychube
Every psychube gives raw stats plus one conditional passive. The stats are almost never the deciding factor. You are choosing a psychube for the trigger on its passive, and the trigger has to line up with how the character plays. A psychube that rewards Ultimate casts is wasted on an Arcanist who barely ults; one that rewards critical hits is dead weight on a unit that does not scale with crit.
So the question for any character is never "what is the best psychube" in the abstract. It is "what does this character do most often, and which passive pays her for doing it."
Best psychubes for DPS carries
Your main damage dealer earns the best psychube you own. Match the trigger to her playstyle:
- His Bounden Duty is the premium pick for a carry that clears multiple enemies. On each kill the carrier restores HP equal to a chunk of her ATK, which quietly solves survivability on an aggressive front-liner while the stat line pushes damage. It shines on snowballing, multi-target carries.
- Brave New World rewards a rhythm of Ultimate then follow-up: after the carrier casts an Ultimate, the next incantation hits noticeably harder. If your DPS's pattern is "ult, then dump a big skill," this is a top-tier fit.
- Luxurious Leisure stacks damage every time the carrier lands a single-target Ultimate, building up over a fight. It is the pick for a single-target boss-killer who ults repeatedly rather than a wave-clearer.
- Blasphemer of Night wants a debuff-heavy team: when the carrier attacks a target already carrying two or more negative statuses, her damage climbs. Pair it with a debuffer and it is one of the strongest carry options in the game.
The through-line: read your carry's kit, find the verb she does most (kill, ult, attack-into-debuffs), and pick the psychube that pays that verb.
Best psychubes for crit-scaling damage
Some Arcanists build their whole identity around critical hits, and they want psychubes that feed that loop rather than a generic damage stacker:
- Thunderous Applause raises Critical DMG when the carrier's single-target attack crits, turning a crit build into a runaway. On a dedicated single-target crit DPS it outperforms flat damage psychubes.
- Lower-rarity crit stackers exist too, and they are a fine budget stand-in on a crit unit until you can afford the six-star. Do not put any of these on a character who does not scale with crit; the passive simply never fires.
Best psychubes for AoE and mob clear
- Hopscotch grows the carrier's Ultimate Might with each kill, so it excels on an Arcanist who mows down waves and cashes the stacks into a bigger Ultimate. It is a natural fit for farming and mass-attack DPS, and it is often available early, which makes it a genuinely good long-term option rather than just a starter.
Best psychubes for healers
Healers do not need a damage passive; they need throughput and uptime:
- Laughter and Laughter ramps healing done across the fight, which is exactly what a main healer wants in the longer battles of the endgame. It is a five-star that punches above its rarity, so it is a comfortable default when you cannot spare a six-star for a pure support.
- A hybrid That Inquisitive Dear suits a debuffer who also tops up the team: casting a basic debuff incantation heals your lowest-HP ally, letting a control unit double as light sustain. Good on Arcanists who blur the line between support and healer.
Do not over-invest in your healer's psychube before your carry's is sorted. Healing "enough" is a threshold, and once you clear it, the marginal psychube upgrade on a healer does less for your clears than the same upgrade on your damage dealer.
Best psychubes for buffers and sub-DPS
- Brave New World again earns a mention here, because a buffer who ults to set up the team also benefits from the incantation-might boost on her own follow-up.
- Yearning Desire and similar debuff-conditional five-stars are strong, affordable picks for a sub-DPS who attacks into a debuffed target; they hand out extra damage cheaply while you save six-star materials for the carry.
Building your stash without waste
Materials to level and Insight a psychube are not free, so spend them in this order:
- One great psychube on your main carry, fully leveled. This is where the damage is.
- A workable psychube on your main healer to clear the sustain threshold.
- Situational psychubes for your best sub-DPS and buffer, using five-stars where the passive lines up rather than force-feeding a six-star.
- Everything else can wait. Bench units and off-role slots run fine on a leveled starter until they earn a promotion.
A few habits that save resources:
- Never level a psychube for a character you are about to shelve. Psychube investment does not transfer, so a fully built psychube on a benched Arcanist is dead value.
- Check the trigger before you commit. If the passive rewards Ultimates and your character rarely ults, it is the wrong psychube no matter how high its stats.
- Budget five-stars are not a trap. Several five-star psychubes are the correct choice on the right character, and they cost far less to bring online than a six-star.
Quick answers
What is the best psychube in Reverse: 1999? There is no single best one. His Bounden Duty, Brave New World, Luxurious Leisure, and Blasphemer of Night are all top carry options, but the right pick depends on whether your DPS kills, ults, or attacks into debuffs.
What psychube should a healer use? A healing-throughput psychube like Laughter and Laughter. Healers want uptime, not a damage passive, and a strong five-star is usually all you need.
Do I need six-star psychubes? Only on your best carry, and only when the passive matches. Well-chosen five-stars carry most of your roster at a fraction of the material cost.
The psychube meta shifts as new Arcanists arrive, so confirm your carry's current best-in-slot on the Reverse: 1999 tier list and check for active redeem codes before you spend. New here? Start with the beginner guide and the team-building guide, then branch out from the Reverse: 1999 wiki hub.
