Ornate Buckle

Ornate Buckle turns Executions into Power. It watches for the Execution combat event and restores a large amount of Power when one lands, while Dylan takes 30% more Damage for as long as it is equipped. It is not a recovery-rate Artifact and it does not raise your maximum Power — it is an event refund, so its payout is tied to how often you actually execute. When an encounter offers no Executions, you keep the damage-taken penalty with no Power payoff.

Multiple current references agree on the shape — Execution restores a large amount of Power, and Dylan takes 30% more Damage — but they do not give one exact Power value. No exact number is published here as fixed.

Ornate Buckle changes two things: it refunds Power when an Execution completes, and it raises the Damage Dylan takes by 30% while equipped. One is a gain, one is a cost, and both are always in play together — there is no way to take the refund without the vulnerability.

1. 1 · Execution

   The effect waits for a completed Execution, not for a normal kill. Only the Execution event counts.

2. 2 · Large Power recovery

   A successful Execution restores a large amount of Power in one chunk, ready for more Combat Abilities.

3. 3 · Damage Taken +30%

   Dylan takes 30% more incoming Damage while Ornate Buckle is equipped, whether or not you are executing.

4. 4 · Feeds ability pressure

   The refund lets you cast more Combat Abilities, which can build more Falter and reach the next Execution.

The refund and the vulnerability are kept as separate mechanics. Ornate Buckle is not a single 'more Power' value.

An Execution is a specific combat event that follows a Falter state: enemies enter an Execution-eligible state, and finishing them with an Execution is what Ornate Buckle listens for. A plain kill that never reaches that state does not count, so the Artifact is not simply 'more Power when something dies'. Execution is also the event that starts or extends Dominance, which is why both effects can fire from the same action.

1. 1 · Fill the Falter bar

   Attacks build Falter on the target until it enters the staggered, Execution-eligible state.

2. 2 · Execute the target

   Completing the Execution on an eligible target is the event Ornate Buckle rewards with Power.

3. 3 · Dominance starts or extends

   The same Execution also starts or extends Dominance. Ornate Buckle shares the event; it does not change Dominance itself.

4. 4 · A normal kill is not

   If the target dies without an Execution, no Power refund fires.

Which enemy types and bosses are Execution-eligible is verified against the enemy registry; it is not assumed from a Falter bar alone.

Ornate Buckle's cost is a flat 30% increase to the Damage Dylan takes. That is a different axis from Molding Bar's 50% Maximum Health cap and from Bug Spray's doubled Infected buildup: one raises each hit, one lowers the Health ceiling, one makes a status build faster. Every incoming hit is affected while the Artifact is equipped, even when you are not executing.

• Not the same as a Health cap

  Molding Bar caps Maximum Health at 50%; Ornate Buckle instead multiplies incoming damage. A cap shrinks the pool, a multiplier raises every hit — the two do not describe the same penalty.

• Not the same as status vulnerability

  Bug Spray doubles Infected buildup, which is a status vulnerability. Ornate Buckle raises Damage Taken, a direct damage vulnerability. Status and damage vulnerabilities stay separate.

• Which damage is affected?

  Public references only say Dylan takes 30% more Damage. Whether that includes status damage over time, environmental hazards, fall damage, void damage or self-damage is confirmed against the shipped game rather than assumed to be all Health loss.

The exact damage-source scope and how the modifier stacks with other defensive effects stay gated until the production registry verifies them.

Ornate Buckle is one entry in a wider Power economy. It restores Power as a one-off event refund; Feeding Bottle and Bout Guard change the recovery rate; Pickpocket's Tool removes a cost; the Wallet substitutes a different resource. Reading them as the same 'more Power' buff hides what each one actually does.

• Pickpocket's Tool

  Cost override: after a Perfect Dodge, the next Combat Ability is free. It avoids paying Power rather than restoring it.

• Feeding Bottle

  Recovery rate: +30% Power Recovery while Dylan is Burning or Infected. It speeds regeneration while a status is active.

• Ornate Buckle

  Event refund: an Execution restores a large amount of Power in one chunk. It does not change the recovery rate.

• Bout Guard

  Recovery rate: faster Power recovery in exchange for taking more damage. An always-on rate tradeoff, not an event refund.

The exact Power amount per Execution and the stacking behavior stay gated. Only the shape of the loop is fixed here.

Ornate Buckle sits at the end of an Execution chain. Other Artifacts make Executions easier to reach; Ornate Buckle rewards the Execution once it happens. None of these relations is a verified stacking result — they describe shared events and shared resources.

• Framing Hammer

  Execution enabler

  A Combat Ability that builds more Falter, creating more Execution opportunities for Ornate Buckle to refund.

• Golden Earrings

  Execution enabler

  More Falter with less Damage: it pushes enemies toward the Execution state faster, feeding the refund.

• Practice Knot

  Conditional enabler

  More Falter against Heavy enemies, which can open Executions in Heavy-heavy fights.

• Medical Alert Bands

  Conditional enabler + survival tension

  More Falter at low Health can create Executions, but Ornate Buckle's extra Damage Taken makes low-Health play more dangerous.

• Feeding Bottle

  Power economy alternative

  The recovery-rate counterpart: it speeds regeneration instead of refunding on an event.

• Pickpocket's Tool

  Power economy alternative

  Cost avoidance instead of refund: it removes a cost, Ornate Buckle restores a resource.

• Bout Guard

  Direct tradeoff alternative

  The other Power-for-damage trade: an always-on recovery-rate bonus rather than an Execution refund.

• Heart Monitor

  Risk mitigation

  It answers the higher lethal risk from +30% Damage Taken by preventing death once, though it does not remove the tradeoff.

Enabler Artifacts create Executions; Ornate Buckle pays them off. Dominance is the native Execution payoff; Ornate Buckle is the Artifact payoff on the same event.

Both Artifacts solve Power, but they do it in opposite ways. Ornate Buckle refunds a large chunk of Power on an Execution; Feeding Bottle speeds recovery while a status is active. The useful question is not which gives more Power, but whether your build executes often or stays in a status.

The two are not ranked against each other; they pay out on different events. Exact values stay unverified.

Ornate Buckle is worth a slot when your build reaches Execution regularly and can absorb 30% more incoming damage. It is the wrong pick when an encounter offers few Executions, when you struggle to build Falter, or when survival is already tight.

Ornate Buckle is a vendor Artifact. Buy the Untapped Ornate Buckle from the Evacuation Zone Vendor, then craft it into the usable Artifact at the Artifact Formation.

1. 1 · Reach the Evacuation Zone Vendor

   Find the Evacuation Zone Vendor in the Evacuation Zone.

2. 2 · Buy the Untapped Ornate Buckle

   Current references list the Untapped Ornate Buckle at 1,000 Source.

3. 3 · Craft at the Artifact Formation

   Turn the Untapped Artifact into the usable Ornate Buckle before you equip it.

The vendor, region and 1,000 Source price are cross-supported by current references. The exact vendor tier and the Formation recipe stay gated.

Buying the vendor item gives an Untapped Ornate Buckle, which is not equipped directly. Take it to the Artifact Formation to turn it into the usable Ornate Buckle. Until you craft it, the Artifact has no effect in combat.

1. 1 · Vendor purchase

   The Evacuation Zone Vendor sells the Untapped Ornate Buckle.

2. 2 · Artifact Formation

   Craft the Untapped Artifact at the Formation.

3. 3 · Equip

   Equip the finished Ornate Buckle in a Loadout slot.

The exact Formation materials are confirmed against the shipped game before they are published. Treat the untapped-to-usable step as fixed; treat the material list as unverified.

What does Ornate Buckle do?

Executing an enemy restores a large amount of Power, while Dylan takes 30% more Damage.

Where do you get Ornate Buckle?

Buy the Untapped Ornate Buckle from the Evacuation Zone Vendor for 1,000 Source, then craft it at the Artifact Formation.

Does Ornate Buckle increase Power Recovery rate?

No. It restores Power as a one-time event refund on an Execution. It does not change passive Power recovery, which is Feeding Bottle's and Bout Guard's scope.

Does killing an enemy trigger it?

Only if the kill is a real Execution. A normal kill that never reaches the Execution state does not refund Power.

Does it increase Falter?

No. Ornate Buckle does not add Falter; it rewards the Execution that Falter creates. More Falter indirectly means more refunds.

Does it increase Dominance duration?

Not directly. The Execution itself starts or extends Dominance; Ornate Buckle consumes the same Execution to restore Power.

Why is it good with Framing Hammer?

Framing Hammer builds a lot of Falter, which creates Executions, and each Execution then refunds Power through Ornate Buckle, feeding the next ability.

How much Power does it restore?

Current references only say 'a large amount'. No exact value is published here until the shipped game confirms it.

Is the +30% Damage Taken always active?

Public references describe it as a constant drawback of the Artifact. The exact damage-source scope and any exceptions are confirmed against runtime.

Is Ornate Buckle better than Bout Guard?

They trade on different mechanics. Bout Guard is an always-on recovery-rate bonus with a smaller damage penalty; Ornate Buckle is a larger Execution refund with a larger damage penalty.

Feeding Bottle · Practice Knot · Pickpocket's Tool · Medical Alert Bands · Heart Monitor · Stellar Bracelet · Molding Bar · Golden Earrings · Framing Hammer · Bout Guard · Evacuation Zone Vendor

Ornate Buckle owns the Execution Power-economy intent: its effect, its Execution trigger and what counts as an Execution, the +30% Damage Taken tradeoff, its place in the Power economy, its Feeding Bottle comparison, its relation to Falter enablers and its Evacuation Zone Vendor acquisition. Execution and Dominance mechanics belong to their mechanic owners, the Falter enablers belong to their Artifact pages, the Evacuation Zone belongs to the location data, and the Artifact system overview lives on the Artifacts hub.