The Dark Scepter is a Secret Unit Equipment added to Anime Expeditions in the Villain Update (0.5). It exists to power up a single character, Dark Mage (Sovereign), and it does so by replacing two of that unit’s own passives with stronger versions. If you run Dark Mage, this is the piece you want to farm.
Quick answer: Clear Crow Hideout Act 1 during the Villain Invasion event. Each clear has a 2.5% chance to drop the Dark Scepter, and reaching 20 clears without a drop guarantees it.
Where the Dark Scepter drops
The Dark Scepter comes from the Crow Hideout, a stage tied to the Villain Invasion event. Only Act 1 of that stage drops it. There is no crafting route and no story-mode alternative, so the event stage is the sole way in.
The drop is heavily RNG-based. Every completed run gives you a flat 2.5% chance at the piece. To protect players from bad luck, the game applies a pity counter of 20 runs. If the Scepter has not dropped by your twentieth clear, that run hands it to you automatically.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Source stage | Crow Hideout, Act 1 (Villain Invasion event) |
| Drop chance | 2.5% per clear |
| Pity | Guaranteed at 20 clears |
| Type | Unit Equipment (Secret) |
| Compatible unit | Dark Mage (Sovereign) only |
You will know the farm worked when the Dark Scepter appears in your Items inventory after a clear. It will only slot onto Dark Mage (Sovereign) — the game refuses to equip it on any other character, which is the fastest way to confirm you have the correct piece.
Stats and how to reroll them
The Dark Scepter carries two rollable substats, Range and SPA. When you receive it, both land on a random value inside a fixed range.
| Substat | Roll range |
|---|---|
| Range | +1% to +5% |
| SPA | -1% to -5% |
Lower SPA means faster attacks, so the -5% SPA and +5% Range roll is the ideal outcome. If you land on weaker numbers, you can reroll using Equipment Rerolls, which are sold in nearly every shop in the game. An Equipment Lock lets you hold one good substat in place before rerolling the other, so you don’t lose a high roll you already secured.
What the Dark Scepter changes on Dark Mage
The real value sits in the passives. The Scepter rewrites Dark Mage (Sovereign)’s Lightning Orbs and Ice Barrage passives with upgraded versions. Both override the unit’s base kit, so the new effects do not stack on top of the original ones. You get the stronger versions instead.
Lightning Orbs
This passive triggers when Dark Mage switches to Lightning Magic. It summons an Arc of Lightning along the path inside the unit’s range. Any enemy touching that arc takes 50% of the unit’s current damage every second.
Ice Barrage
This passive triggers when Dark Mage switches to Ice Magic. The unit gains Freeze on attack, which stops a target’s movement and actions for 2 seconds. Each regular attack also builds one stack of Frostbite per enemy hit, up to a cap of 15.
Once you reach 15 Frostbite stacks, the next attack against a frozen enemy shatters it. That shatter unfreezes the target and deals 25% additional damage in a small area of effect with a range of 5.
Is the Dark Scepter worth farming
If Dark Mage (Sovereign) is part of your roster, the Dark Scepter is close to mandatory. It sharpens the unit’s attack speed and range while turning both of its magic-switch passives into wider, harder-hitting tools. The 2.5% drop rate makes it a grind, but the 20-run pity guarantees you walk away with it eventually, so consistent Crow Hideout Act 1 clears will get you there.
