Protection Transmitter

Rare head armor from the Transmitter set. At battle start, grants Brace 1 to all allies — a powerful team-wide defensive buff before a single action is taken. The wearer also has the Metal tag and takes Bruise 2, creating a self-sacrifice tradeoff: you take a debuff so your team enters every fight with extra resilience. Best equipped on a tank cat that can absorb the Bruise penalty while the rest of the party benefits from the opening Brace.

Brace reduces incoming damage for allies, making this extremely valuable in fights where you know the enemy deals heavy burst damage on their first turn. The Bruise 2 on the wearer is a notable downside — it reduces their damage output right at the start of every fight. Over a full run, the wearer will be Bruised at battle start constantly, so plan for their reduced effectiveness as part of the build.

A support item at heart — best placed on a cat that doesn't need to deal damage themselves, such as a dedicated tank or summoner. The Metal tag adds a minor vulnerability to electrical effects. Consider pairing with CON-focused builds that can absorb the Bruise penalty, or with Bruise-cleansing abilities that let you shed the debuff and act normally after the opening turn.