Kelpie CUB Explained: What Adelyde's Free S-Rank Cub Actually Does

Kuro Games has published the full skill sheet for Kelpie, the new S-Rank CUB built for Adelyde: Anabasis, ahead of the Anchored in Faith version launching on September 24. It is one of the few S-Rank CUBs handed out for free, and its kit reads less like a generic damage pet and more like a second set of hands wired directly into Adelyde's rotation. Here is what the official infographics say, what they don't, and what to do before the version goes live.

The short version

• Kelpie is an S-Rank CUB with two listed features: Pull and Damage. It is recommended for Adelyde: Anabasis.
• It is free through the Service Shop after the update, alongside Inver-Shard – Anabasis x50 and the 6★ weapon Unforsaken Beacon. Adelyde herself is free for a limited time through the Journal of Promise.
• Five passives: two flat stat boosts, one Dark DMG boost, one 8-second Extra DMG Bonus that refreshes every cast, and one Anabasis-only passive that adds a joint Dark attack and an ATK buff.
• Two active skills, both unlocked after pinging 6 basic Signal Orbs: Crimson Barrage (4 hits) and Scarlet Pursuit (gathers enemies, then 12 hits).
• No percentages or multipliers have been published. Everything below is mechanics, not math.
• Steering By Light closes September 23 at 23:00 UTC on EN servers and September 24 on CN, TW, JP and KR. Anchored in Faith opens straight after.

How CUBs work, for anyone who skips them

CUBs are companion units that attach to a Construct. They are easy to ignore because their contribution is quieter than a weapon or a Memory set, but they do two distinct things:

• Passives run whenever the CUB is equipped. Most are stat boosts to the carrier — ATK, elemental damage, Extra DMG Bonus. Exclusive CUBs add one passive that only functions with a specific frame, which is where most of their value sits.
• Active skills are a separate button. The infographic states the rule plainly: after pinging a total of 6 basic Signal Orbs, the CUB button becomes available. Cast it and the CUB performs its own attack, independent of the carrier's animation. A CUB usually carries more than one active skill; you equip the one that fits the content.

The practical consequence: a CUB's active skill scales with how quickly you cycle orbs, and its passives scale with how often the trigger condition fires. Kelpie's kit leans hard on the second point.

Kelpie's passives, and why the timers matter

• Core of the Hunt — Kelpie's Active Skills deal more damage.
• Bloodfin Echo — increases the carrier's ATK.
• Abyssal Corrosion — increases the carrier's Dark DMG.
• Tidal Aftermath — each time Kelpie casts an Active Skill, the carrier's Extra DMG Bonus increases for 8 seconds. Duration resets every time it is triggered.
• Abyssal Hunt Summons — when Anabasis casts Abyssal Tactics or Abyssal Tactics: Combo with Kelpie equipped, she summons Kelpie for a joint attack that deals Dark DMG once. The first time Anabasis switches forms using the Guardian Orb, or casts Burst Mode, Suppression Mode, Lightpierce Form or Pressure Form, her ATK increases for 8 seconds. Duration resets every time it is triggered.

Three of the five are plain stat lines. The two that decide whether Kelpie is worth building are the timed ones, and both use the same 8-second, refresh-on-trigger design.

That design has a clear implication. Neither buff stacks. What you gain from refreshing is uptime, not a bigger number. Tidal Aftermath rewards casting the CUB skill as soon as the button lights up rather than saving it; Abyssal Hunt Summons rewards a rotation that switches forms and casts Abyssal Tactics regularly rather than front-loading everything into a single burst. If Adelyde's real rotation turns out to be long and deliberate, expect gaps in both buffs. If it is fast and switch-heavy, which is what the Overlinker class description points toward, Kelpie's timers should stay lit for most of a fight.

The joint attack is the part that is new. It is a separate Dark hit fired on Adelyde's skill cast, which means Kelpie contributes damage even when its own active skill is on cooldown. For a support-leaning frame, that is a meaningful addition to personal damage.

The two active skills

Both are gated behind the same 6-orb requirement, and both are shown using Adelyde: Anabasis as the example carrier with Dark-type CUB skill effects.

• Crimson Barrage — Kelpie launches a barrage, dealing DMG 4 times.
• Scarlet Pursuit — Kelpie circles around enemies, gathers them, then leaps out to attack, dealing DMG 12 times.

Scarlet Pursuit is the reason Pull is listed as a feature. Gathering enemies before a 12-hit attack is obviously stronger against groups, and it also sets up whatever Adelyde does next: a Cross Cannon frame benefits from targets standing in one place. Crimson Barrage is the fallback for enemies that cannot be gathered. Bosses that resist displacement are common in PGR endgame, and a pull skill that pulls nothing is just a slower attack.

The hit count also interacts with Tidal Aftermath. Either skill refreshes the 8-second Extra DMG Bonus, so the choice between them is about the content, not the buff.

Lore, briefly

Kelpie was converted from the core of Adelyde's airship, retaining its propulsion engine and energy cycling module so it can be reconfigured back into an airship when needed. It folds its fins into a rigid blade for thrusting attacks and can be thrown like a javelin, though it sulks afterward. It also has a module for locating Huhu, ecological sponges that clean the ocean, and chasing them has become its favorite pastime. None of this affects combat, but it explains the swordfish frame.

What isn't known

• Any numbers. The infographics list effects, not values. ATK, Dark DMG, Extra DMG Bonus and the joint attack multiplier are all unpublished.
• The damage type of the active skills. The infographic text says the barrage and pursuit deal Physical DMG, while the same panel says the example uses Dark-type CUB skill effects. Whether the active skills convert to the carrier's element or stay Physical is unclear from the wording.
• Adelyde's own kit. Her official dossier confirms four things: Dark, Overlinker, Cross Cannon, Ultima Slash. Abyssal Tactics, Guardian Orb and the four named modes referenced by Kelpie's passive have no official descriptions yet. Livestream summaries circulating from third parties describe an Echo Value resource and team buffs, but that is not confirmed detail.
• Service Shop pricing and pace. Kelpie is free, but the shop is mission-driven. How many certificates it costs and how fast they accumulate will only be visible at launch.
• How long the free Adelyde window stays open. "Limited time" is the only wording published.

What to do

• Finish Steering By Light first. EN servers close it on September 23 at 23:00 UTC; CN, TW, JP and KR on September 24. Anything unclaimed there is gone.
• Plan the Service Shop as a version-long task, not a last-week grab. The shop is fed by missions, and mission rewards are usually weekly-gated. Start on day one so Kelpie, the weapon and the shards are all affordable.
• Equip Scarlet Pursuit by default, swap to Crimson Barrage for pull-immune bosses. Both refresh Tidal Aftermath; only one gathers.
• Cast the CUB skill on cooldown. Holding it does nothing for the buff and costs uptime.
• Don't build around numbers that don't exist yet. Kelpie's mechanics are clear; its magnitudes are not. Treat any tier placement published before September 24 as guesswork.

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