EDIT: sorry, I found this in the original FAQ
Can someone please explain what exactly is
"elusive" and "vendetta" ? And how it works?
Maybe it can be pinned on this Thread, too?
Vendetta is basically a crossbow ability buff on enemy entities (10% damage to enemies from all sources)
WHICH
is consumed (debuff) by certain (dagger) abilities to create Elusive for the Duelist.
Elusive is a one time damage prevention ability. It doesn't matter how high the damage is, the Duelist is invulnerable to it.
Elusive is indicated by the Gold Coins at the bottom of the screen (default is three possible coins, can be raised to 4 coins).
So basically it's like the passive of other characters that gives a 5% chance to evade attacks completely - just Elusive is guaranteed invulnerability and you have control about generating it.
Swashbuckle (ability) consumes stored Elusive to buff its damage.
So it comes down to:
Spread Vendetta (damage dealt buff for the whole team)
Hit with daggers (to generate invulnerability)
Repeat
Or Spend it for high damage.