I think Core DK is the easiest DK, and arguably easier then Core DB. So it's really not going to prepare you much for the rougher realms like V, X, I, XIII and especially XI, which is lightyears away from Core.
Fest are a month away? I looked at some of the stuff and I think I'll be grabbing Decil's Sync in the free giveaway and for the 100 Mithril pull, I'll snag Kain Sync 2 so I can have him kitted out almost all out. Dunno if I will do anything else beyond that.
re: Tiamat
Messed up a few times, until I stopped trying to be cute with speedrunning and just fought it normally:
D650 Tiamat mastered in 36.06
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / DMT / Glint+, AASb1, AASb2
Balthier (LM2+DC LMR): R5 HA, R5 Burnt Offering / Fire DMG+ / CSB2, USB2, Sync
Ashe (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Thundaja / Sync 2, AASB
Larsa (AoE heal LMR+LM2): R5 Holyja, R5 Wrath / MM / Glint+, USB2
Vaan (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / Scholar's Boon / USB1, AASB1, AASB2
RW: Chain
L120 HC
Vaan had maxed 5/5/8 HE. Larsa and Ashe had full HE that I spammed with QE before doing the fight, but not 5/5/8.
Rough plan:
Mog: Glint+, HC, AASB1, Passion Salsa, HA spam until phase 2, AASb2, Passion Salsa, HA spam until phase 3, AASb2, Passion Salsa, HA spam
Balthier: Burnt Offering spam until 2 gauges, Sync, SCMD1 spam until end of first chain, CSB2, USB2, HA spam
Ashe: HA, Chain Thundaja spam until 2 gauges, Sync, C2, C1, C2, C1, AASB, HA spam
LArsa: Glint+, Holyja spam until Ashe/Balthier ready to use SYnc, USB2, wrath x2, Holyja spam, USB2 at start of phase 2, Wrath x2, Holyja spam mixed with USb2 when necessary/available
Vaan: Running Start spam until 4 gauges, USB1, AASB1, HA spam until near end of first chain, AASb2, HA spam
So in my first couple attempts, I tried to pretend I was a speedrunner by combining Ashe Sync 2 and AASB1. Didn't work too well cause I suck. Still made it to phase 3 but got flattened by Overload.
Then I found I was going somewhat slow overall, so I finally went and lensed Vaan's AASb1 that I had been meaning to do since lensable AASBs were a thing. I then combined those two on my next try, and while it did great damage, I didn't really pace myself properly overall and he and Ashe ran out of gas in phase 3 and got Dead Ended.
After that, I decided to stop trying to combine BDLs and just do the fight normally, using 3 BDLs to push to 40% in one chain, then renewing chain (this time with Balthier using his realm chain, cause why not) and using remaining BDLs to finish. A nice, reliable slow-ish clear. Ashe and Vaan did great as usual, Balthier didn't do so hot due to critical (and no HE probably didn't help either), but oh well.
Gear gimmick is definitely the easiest gimmick in Labyrinth yet. Completely ignorable as long as you drop two SBs before the gear detonation. It still kinda hurts at Gear Lvl 1, but it's far less damaging that other lab boss bullshit.
Messed up a few times, until I stopped trying to be cute with speedrunning and just fought it normally:
D650 Tiamat mastered in 36.06
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / DMT / Glint+, AASb1, AASb2
Balthier (LM2+DC LMR): R5 HA, R5 Burnt Offering / Fire DMG+ / CSB2, USB2, Sync
Ashe (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Thundaja / Sync 2, AASB
Larsa (AoE heal LMR+LM2): R5 Holyja, R5 Wrath / MM / Glint+, USB2
Vaan (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / Scholar's Boon / USB1, AASB1, AASB2
RW: Chain
L120 HC
Vaan had maxed 5/5/8 HE. Larsa and Ashe had full HE that I spammed with QE before doing the fight, but not 5/5/8.
Rough plan:
Mog: Glint+, HC, AASB1, Passion Salsa, HA spam until phase 2, AASb2, Passion Salsa, HA spam until phase 3, AASb2, Passion Salsa, HA spam
Balthier: Burnt Offering spam until 2 gauges, Sync, SCMD1 spam until end of first chain, CSB2, USB2, HA spam
Ashe: HA, Chain Thundaja spam until 2 gauges, Sync, C2, C1, C2, C1, AASB, HA spam
LArsa: Glint+, Holyja spam until Ashe/Balthier ready to use SYnc, USB2, wrath x2, Holyja spam, USB2 at start of phase 2, Wrath x2, Holyja spam mixed with USb2 when necessary/available
Vaan: Running Start spam until 4 gauges, USB1, AASB1, HA spam until near end of first chain, AASb2, HA spam
So in my first couple attempts, I tried to pretend I was a speedrunner by combining Ashe Sync 2 and AASB1. Didn't work too well cause I suck. Still made it to phase 3 but got flattened by Overload.
Then I found I was going somewhat slow overall, so I finally went and lensed Vaan's AASb1 that I had been meaning to do since lensable AASBs were a thing. I then combined those two on my next try, and while it did great damage, I didn't really pace myself properly overall and he and Ashe ran out of gas in phase 3 and got Dead Ended.
After that, I decided to stop trying to combine BDLs and just do the fight normally, using 3 BDLs to push to 40% in one chain, then renewing chain (this time with Balthier using his realm chain, cause why not) and using remaining BDLs to finish. A nice, reliable slow-ish clear. Ashe and Vaan did great as usual, Balthier didn't do so hot due to critical (and no HE probably didn't help either), but oh well.
Gear gimmick is definitely the easiest gimmick in Labyrinth yet. Completely ignorable as long as you drop two SBs before the gear detonation. It still kinda hurts at Gear Lvl 1, but it's far less damaging that other lab boss bullshit.
Silly question: Should I pump my Magia points in Mind or Magic for Rem? What do Holy spells work off of? I'm guessing Mnd, but I am not exactly sure because she can also use summons and I don't know if the Holy ones are also Mnd based. lol
Mind.
Holyja and her HA are white magic, and so they use mind. Summons uses Mag, including the holy ones.
Quick update: Leviathan is finally beat!
I used Kain, Lightning, Prompto, Elarra, and Tyro. Kain did some work against this fool once his DAASB and SASB got going. I tried the same set up against the new Odin and got worked. Oh well. Baby steps!
I used Kain, Lightning, Prompto, Elarra, and Tyro. Kain did some work against this fool once his DAASB and SASB got going. I tried the same set up against the new Odin and got worked. Oh well. Baby steps!
re: Blue Dragon
Very straightforward, though these are not poverty teams by any stretch of the imagination:
Physical D650 Blue Dragon mastered in 35.21
Elarra (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+, Sync 1, USb1, USb2
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / DMT / -99% HP Glint+, Sync, AASB
Prompto (LM2+DC LMR): R5 HA, R5 Plasma Shock / Gun DMG+ / Glint+, CSB, AASB
Lightning (LM2+DC Lighting LMR): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / Scholar's Boon / Dyad, USB1, Sync 1, AASb1
Kain (DC LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R5 Hurricane Bolt / Jump DMG+ / BDL Glint+, USB1, DAASB, AASB1
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Ramuh (HP/Empower Lightning), Leviathan (HP/healing), Madeen (ATK/Deadly), Madeen (HP/Healing)
Oneshot this fight. Other than the Aegis and Labyrinth Guard, this was basically build gauge, drop chain + DPS and blitz. I was testing out Kain here over a loaded Edge, and while I probably took too long to get everything going, Kain delivered with his GLint+ + DAASB + AASB1 hitting for 49999 a hit on HA (but only got that once or twice before DAASB wore off since I didn't wait to do DAASB -> AASB1 immediately, and in fact took too long to use AASB after DAASB was up, but oh well; I'm not a speedrunner). Didn't encounter any dangerous attacks, and unlike that asshole Alexander, this one didn't feel incredibly tanky.
Magic D650 Blue Dragon mastered in 37.03
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / DMT / AASb1, AASb2, Sync
Cait Sith (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 ACM / MM / Glint+, USB2, AASB
Ashe (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Thundaja / BLK w/ SWD DMG+ / USb1, Sync 2, AASB
Garnet (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA / Lightning DMG+ / 500 gauge Glint+, USB3, CSB, AASB1
Shantotto (Triplecast LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R5 Lunatic Thunder / Scholar's Boon / Dyad, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Ramuh (HP/Empower), Leviathan (HP/Healing), Madeen (MAG/Fast Act), Madeen (HP/Healing)
Oneshot this fight too. Surprisingly slower than my physical clear despite having Aegis counter and arguably more firepower. I completely forgot to use Garnet LBO, though that likely would only have shaved off one turn for me. As I said, I'm no speedrunner. I'm just grateful to get the clears out of the way.
Very straightforward, though these are not poverty teams by any stretch of the imagination:
Physical D650 Blue Dragon mastered in 35.21
Elarra (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+, Sync 1, USb1, USb2
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / DMT / -99% HP Glint+, Sync, AASB
Prompto (LM2+DC LMR): R5 HA, R5 Plasma Shock / Gun DMG+ / Glint+, CSB, AASB
Lightning (LM2+DC Lighting LMR): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / Scholar's Boon / Dyad, USB1, Sync 1, AASb1
Kain (DC LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R5 Hurricane Bolt / Jump DMG+ / BDL Glint+, USB1, DAASB, AASB1
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Ramuh (HP/Empower Lightning), Leviathan (HP/healing), Madeen (ATK/Deadly), Madeen (HP/Healing)
Oneshot this fight. Other than the Aegis and Labyrinth Guard, this was basically build gauge, drop chain + DPS and blitz. I was testing out Kain here over a loaded Edge, and while I probably took too long to get everything going, Kain delivered with his GLint+ + DAASB + AASB1 hitting for 49999 a hit on HA (but only got that once or twice before DAASB wore off since I didn't wait to do DAASB -> AASB1 immediately, and in fact took too long to use AASB after DAASB was up, but oh well; I'm not a speedrunner). Didn't encounter any dangerous attacks, and unlike that asshole Alexander, this one didn't feel incredibly tanky.
Magic D650 Blue Dragon mastered in 37.03
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / DMT / AASb1, AASb2, Sync
Cait Sith (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 ACM / MM / Glint+, USB2, AASB
Ashe (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Thundaja / BLK w/ SWD DMG+ / USb1, Sync 2, AASB
Garnet (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA / Lightning DMG+ / 500 gauge Glint+, USB3, CSB, AASB1
Shantotto (Triplecast LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R5 Lunatic Thunder / Scholar's Boon / Dyad, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Ramuh (HP/Empower), Leviathan (HP/Healing), Madeen (MAG/Fast Act), Madeen (HP/Healing)
Oneshot this fight too. Surprisingly slower than my physical clear despite having Aegis counter and arguably more firepower. I completely forgot to use Garnet LBO, though that likely would only have shaved off one turn for me. As I said, I'm no speedrunner. I'm just grateful to get the clears out of the way.
Physical took me two tries, because overflow > sap got me once :/
The real news here is this event just maybe be allowing me to sub 30 my final two dks that I haven't :3
Spent first ticket on XI, got Ayame sync! Heyooo. Now, don't @me here but I previously honed Ayame aasb back when I was desperate to even beat the DK (and I did need ice tech for Abductor as well).
So now I have sync and haasb Ayame.
Other 3 tickets were largely a bust, though I did get Auron sync, but he still on the bench but he's an option now as I have sync, aasb, csb. I just don't ever see him taking Balthiers csb spot.
Then with lenses from the shop I picked up Orlandeau knight double lmr. Which theoretically will let me sub 30 that DK.
The real news here is this event just maybe be allowing me to sub 30 my final two dks that I haven't :3
Spent first ticket on XI, got Ayame sync! Heyooo. Now, don't @me here but I previously honed Ayame aasb back when I was desperate to even beat the DK (and I did need ice tech for Abductor as well).
So now I have sync and haasb Ayame.
Other 3 tickets were largely a bust, though I did get Auron sync, but he still on the bench but he's an option now as I have sync, aasb, csb. I just don't ever see him taking Balthiers csb spot.
Then with lenses from the shop I picked up Orlandeau knight double lmr. Which theoretically will let me sub 30 that DK.
This appreciation banner seems like a trap, ya?
I mean, if it were to guarantee at least one Sync I'd pull. but I don't really want any LBOs.
And it is limited to those numbers, or can you get lucky and pull more then one 7*?
I mean, if it were to guarantee at least one Sync I'd pull. but I don't really want any LBOs.
And it is limited to those numbers, or can you get lucky and pull more then one 7*?
This maintenance was a lot better than expected.
New awesome daily login revamp! Return of 10x daily campaign! Portals gone from Labyrinth (we weren't supposed to get this until S4 started)! Anima Wave 6 stealth added! No Dual Mode 2 for auto option!
New awesome daily login revamp! Return of 10x daily campaign! Portals gone from Labyrinth (we weren't supposed to get this until S4 started)! Anima Wave 6 stealth added! No Dual Mode 2 for auto option!
Weird. I got yshtolas aasb and black magic sync and...they dont synergize at all with one another. Rip
Also got Frans sync. Will have to see if i can add her to any squad.
Also got Frans sync. Will have to see if i can add her to any squad.
Y'Shtola has two AASBs. Her first is a healer one, the second is quad element DPS.
I thought that Earth Guardian didn't have an Aegis (DEF/RES/MND) buff, but apparently it does at 40%.
Physical D650 Earth Guardian mastered in 27.40
Cloud (DC Wind LMR+Swd LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Wind DMG+ / USB1, Sync
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / Ace Striker / -99% HP Glint+, Sync, AASB1
Faris (DC LMR+Bow LMR): R5 HA2, R5 HA1 / GAthering Storm / 500 gauge Glint+, CSB, AASB1
Elarra (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+, USB1, USb2, Sync
Zidane (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 RUnning Start / Wind DMG+ / USB1, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
MAgicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Valefor (Empower Wind x2), Titan (HP/Healing), MAdeen (Deadly x2), Madeen (HP/Healing)
Cloud had the HE set from Kite's shop.
Literally a oneshot kill, first attempt. Just treated it like normal boss. If I had known that he actually had an Aegis buff in phase 3, I would have used Faris bUSB and gone faster. But oh well. Hopefully Quina will be taking care of that in the future.
Magic D650 Earth Guardian mastered in 33.84
Barbarricia (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Meltdown / Wind DMG+ / Sync, AASB
Cait Sith (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 ACM / MM / USB2, AASbx2
Fujin (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R3 Stitch in Time / Wind DMG+ / 500 gauge Glint+, En-wind Glint+, AASB1, CSB
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / DMT / ProShellga Glint+, AASB1, AASb2, Sync
Ultimecia (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Tornado / Rod DMG+ / Sync 1, AASb1, AASb2
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell), Valefor (Empower Wind x2), Titan (HP/Healing), MAdeen (Fast Act/MAG Boon), MAdeen (HP/Healing)
Unlike the physical version, this one took the better part of an hour to go down. I felt that this version hit a lot harder than the physical one. I had a lot of trouble surviving. I tried for several runs to use RW heal, but there are actually a bunch of non-piercing hits that made that even worse, so RW Wall was key.
Again, had I known that the buff at 40% was actually Aegis, I would have gone faster, since I have Cait Glint+ and didn't use it. Bah. But oh well. I'll come back later (also will see if I can improve my physical time).
Physical D650 Earth Guardian mastered in 27.40
Cloud (DC Wind LMR+Swd LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Wind DMG+ / USB1, Sync
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / Ace Striker / -99% HP Glint+, Sync, AASB1
Faris (DC LMR+Bow LMR): R5 HA2, R5 HA1 / GAthering Storm / 500 gauge Glint+, CSB, AASB1
Elarra (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+, USB1, USb2, Sync
Zidane (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 RUnning Start / Wind DMG+ / USB1, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
MAgicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Valefor (Empower Wind x2), Titan (HP/Healing), MAdeen (Deadly x2), Madeen (HP/Healing)
Cloud had the HE set from Kite's shop.
Literally a oneshot kill, first attempt. Just treated it like normal boss. If I had known that he actually had an Aegis buff in phase 3, I would have used Faris bUSB and gone faster. But oh well. Hopefully Quina will be taking care of that in the future.
Magic D650 Earth Guardian mastered in 33.84
Barbarricia (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Meltdown / Wind DMG+ / Sync, AASB
Cait Sith (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 ACM / MM / USB2, AASbx2
Fujin (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R3 Stitch in Time / Wind DMG+ / 500 gauge Glint+, En-wind Glint+, AASB1, CSB
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / DMT / ProShellga Glint+, AASB1, AASb2, Sync
Ultimecia (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Tornado / Rod DMG+ / Sync 1, AASb1, AASb2
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell), Valefor (Empower Wind x2), Titan (HP/Healing), MAdeen (Fast Act/MAG Boon), MAdeen (HP/Healing)
Unlike the physical version, this one took the better part of an hour to go down. I felt that this version hit a lot harder than the physical one. I had a lot of trouble surviving. I tried for several runs to use RW heal, but there are actually a bunch of non-piercing hits that made that even worse, so RW Wall was key.
Again, had I known that the buff at 40% was actually Aegis, I would have gone faster, since I have Cait Glint+ and didn't use it. Bah. But oh well. I'll come back later (also will see if I can improve my physical time).
re: Banner 3
Only really wanted Cloud/Tidus DAASBs here, but they both come back on better banners. Still was hoping to snag at least one so I wouldn't have to hunt for it later, with Cloud being my most wanted.
4/11: Vivi Glint+, OK AASB3, OK LBO, Zack Dyad
Wow, that went south fast. From an incredible total to a giant pile of EH (relatively speaking). OK LBO and AASB3 will probably be useful in the future for III lab, Vivi Glint+ currently serves no purpose since I don't have anything for him beyond USB. Zack Dyad is fine to go with his AASB1/AASB2 I guess, but I'd prefer his Dual for DPS purposes (though I suppose his Sync would be the best to have) for Safer Sephiroth.
3/11: Vivi DAASB x2, Cloud DAASB
YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! My most wanted fest relic! And in only two pulls! I am taking my prize and running!
Oh, and that Vivi Glint+ suddenly got a lot more interesting. Vivi doesn't make my IX or fire magic teams though, but I could pick up his Sync and lens his AASB to have a powerhouse character. Will think about it.
Alt:
I came into this fest with no real plans for pulling on alt, but I figured I'd give this banner a shot for Vivi/Tidus/Cloud (my Vivi is stacked on this account).
2/11 - Vivi LBO, Cloud LBO
Dammit, wrong Vivi/Cloud relics. But could be worse I suppose.
Only really wanted Cloud/Tidus DAASBs here, but they both come back on better banners. Still was hoping to snag at least one so I wouldn't have to hunt for it later, with Cloud being my most wanted.
4/11: Vivi Glint+, OK AASB3, OK LBO, Zack Dyad
Wow, that went south fast. From an incredible total to a giant pile of EH (relatively speaking). OK LBO and AASB3 will probably be useful in the future for III lab, Vivi Glint+ currently serves no purpose since I don't have anything for him beyond USB. Zack Dyad is fine to go with his AASB1/AASB2 I guess, but I'd prefer his Dual for DPS purposes (though I suppose his Sync would be the best to have) for Safer Sephiroth.
3/11: Vivi DAASB x2, Cloud DAASB
YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! My most wanted fest relic! And in only two pulls! I am taking my prize and running!
Oh, and that Vivi Glint+ suddenly got a lot more interesting. Vivi doesn't make my IX or fire magic teams though, but I could pick up his Sync and lens his AASB to have a powerhouse character. Will think about it.
Alt:
I came into this fest with no real plans for pulling on alt, but I figured I'd give this banner a shot for Vivi/Tidus/Cloud (my Vivi is stacked on this account).
2/11 - Vivi LBO, Cloud LBO
Dammit, wrong Vivi/Cloud relics. But could be worse I suppose.
Might do one more pull on B4, but so far I've got Gau, Zack and Maria duals, dyad for shadow, aasb for Steiner and onion, LBO for onion, and some other odds and ends.
Maria is a monster. If you get her dual up then trigger her atb from sync 2, she dishes out an enormous amount of pain!
Maria is a monster. If you get her dual up then trigger her atb from sync 2, she dishes out an enormous amount of pain!
I was planning on bypassing this fest, but some banners had some tempting things. I ended up pulling on the sync banners and phase 3 n 4.
Here's a few notable new additions to my inventory:
Mog sync
Quina sync
Decil sync
Fran sync
Cloud daasb
Alisaie daasb
Barbaricia dyad
Tifa dyad
Ace dyad + aasb
Yshtola blm sync + aasb
(I was mistaken earlier with Ysh. I have both her blm relics, so they synergize just fine. She just doesn't have a lot of magic attack power currently.)
I was gunning for some Zack stuff, but got Cloud dual instead. He would be stronger if I had any sync stuff for him. Ah well.
And this Quina relic was too good to pass up, and thankfully 1 pull netted me that plus Alisaie's dual along with barbs dyad. I now have barbs aasb sync and dyad. Not sure how to properly utilize all 3, or if I'm supposed to.
I only have Mog and Decil's HA, so it seems I have quite a molehill to climb to get some of these other peeps unlocked. Quina is likely a priority though.
I still have 330 mithril left too. All in all, this fest was a success!
Here's a few notable new additions to my inventory:
Mog sync
Quina sync
Decil sync
Fran sync
Cloud daasb
Alisaie daasb
Barbaricia dyad
Tifa dyad
Ace dyad + aasb
Yshtola blm sync + aasb
(I was mistaken earlier with Ysh. I have both her blm relics, so they synergize just fine. She just doesn't have a lot of magic attack power currently.)
I was gunning for some Zack stuff, but got Cloud dual instead. He would be stronger if I had any sync stuff for him. Ah well.
And this Quina relic was too good to pass up, and thankfully 1 pull netted me that plus Alisaie's dual along with barbs dyad. I now have barbs aasb sync and dyad. Not sure how to properly utilize all 3, or if I'm supposed to.
I only have Mog and Decil's HA, so it seems I have quite a molehill to climb to get some of these other peeps unlocked. Quina is likely a priority though.
I still have 330 mithril left too. All in all, this fest was a success!
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re: Banner 4
Main (want Quina Glint+/AASB2, Barb Dual/Dyad/AASB2, and Locke Sync 2/AASB2; Bartz and Alisae Duals would be welcome):
1/11: Ysayle Dyad (dupe, rank 3)
1/11: Quina Glint+
1/11: Barbarricia AASB2
1/11: Barbarricia AASb2 (dupe, rank 3)
1/11: Barbarricia Dual
So I got 2 of the 5 big things that I wanted plus one of the secondaries, but it literally took 5 pulls. 5 pulls, only 3 new items, and I'm at 5/12. Not cool. And I whiffed on Locke Sync 2 again. No OP Locke for me.
Alt (Want Quina Glint+/AASB2, Locke AASB; Bartz Dual would be the most useful, the rest not so much)
1/11: Quina AASB2
1/11: Barb Dual
1/11: Barb DUal (dupe, rank 3)
Only got one my big items. Will have to try again later for Quina Glint+, ugh.
And what's with the brutal quantity RNG? 8 pulls across two accounts, ALL 1/11s, Christ.
Main (want Quina Glint+/AASB2, Barb Dual/Dyad/AASB2, and Locke Sync 2/AASB2; Bartz and Alisae Duals would be welcome):
1/11: Ysayle Dyad (dupe, rank 3)
1/11: Quina Glint+
1/11: Barbarricia AASB2
1/11: Barbarricia AASb2 (dupe, rank 3)
1/11: Barbarricia Dual
So I got 2 of the 5 big things that I wanted plus one of the secondaries, but it literally took 5 pulls. 5 pulls, only 3 new items, and I'm at 5/12. Not cool. And I whiffed on Locke Sync 2 again. No OP Locke for me.
Alt (Want Quina Glint+/AASB2, Locke AASB; Bartz Dual would be the most useful, the rest not so much)
1/11: Quina AASB2
1/11: Barb Dual
1/11: Barb DUal (dupe, rank 3)
Only got one my big items. Will have to try again later for Quina Glint+, ugh.
And what's with the brutal quantity RNG? 8 pulls across two accounts, ALL 1/11s, Christ.
New toys from this fest :
Maria Dual, Barb Dual, Gau Dual, Zack Dual, Shadow dyad, Onion LBO and aasb3?4?
Really wanted bartz dual but it wasn't meant to be.
Reddit was really hyping these duals as a similar jump from USB to aasb, but I'm not finding them that much better.
Maria Dual, Barb Dual, Gau Dual, Zack Dual, Shadow dyad, Onion LBO and aasb3?4?
Really wanted bartz dual but it wasn't meant to be.
Reddit was really hyping these duals as a similar jump from USB to aasb, but I'm not finding them that much better.
Anustart:
Whoever said that is lying. Duals on their own are basically about a 50% jump over AASBs in power. That's considerable, but it's definitely not th 4x increase in firepower when we went from USBs to AASBs.
That said, Dual combos (Dual + Sync, or more rarely Dual +AASB) are extremely potent. Triple cast of a Sync command followed by HA is fun, and when paired with monstrously strong Syncs (like Hope/Fang) makes for ridiculous damage. Those indeed represent a massive leap over AASBs, but require multiple pieces (including the Dual) to work.
re: D600 Diamond Weapon
Made some mistakes, but got this done.
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / -99% HP Glint+, Sync, AASB1
Cloud (DC LMR+Swd LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / USb1, DAASB, Sync 1
Elarra (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / Glint+, USb1, USb2, AASb, Sync 1
Faris (DC LMR+Bow LMR): R5 HA2, R5 HA1 / Gathering Storm / Glint+, USB3, AASb1, CSB
Zidane (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / USB1, Sync, AASB, AOSB
As I said, mistakes were made (I used Cloud's stuff in the wrong order - first time using it all), but overall not bad. Only took two tries. Got up to maybe 1 minute 45 seconds before I peaced out and chilled with Rufus until Mako Cannon.
I think the key, at least for me, was to dodge the Turn 6 anti-heal. Removing anti-heal from the fight turns it into a fairly standard slugfest - you hit Diamond Weapon hard and it hits you back hard, but incoming damage is mangeable (at least with entrust support on healer). Elarra got sniped late in the fight by Sap and then something that hit hard, but my second chain (as I said, timed things wrong) had run out and I was well beyond the minute mark anyway, so I ran.
Overall, not a bad fight, assuming you have the firepower for it.
Whoever said that is lying. Duals on their own are basically about a 50% jump over AASBs in power. That's considerable, but it's definitely not th 4x increase in firepower when we went from USBs to AASBs.
That said, Dual combos (Dual + Sync, or more rarely Dual +AASB) are extremely potent. Triple cast of a Sync command followed by HA is fun, and when paired with monstrously strong Syncs (like Hope/Fang) makes for ridiculous damage. Those indeed represent a massive leap over AASBs, but require multiple pieces (including the Dual) to work.
re: D600 Diamond Weapon
Made some mistakes, but got this done.
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / -99% HP Glint+, Sync, AASB1
Cloud (DC LMR+Swd LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / USb1, DAASB, Sync 1
Elarra (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / Glint+, USb1, USb2, AASb, Sync 1
Faris (DC LMR+Bow LMR): R5 HA2, R5 HA1 / Gathering Storm / Glint+, USB3, AASb1, CSB
Zidane (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / USB1, Sync, AASB, AOSB
As I said, mistakes were made (I used Cloud's stuff in the wrong order - first time using it all), but overall not bad. Only took two tries. Got up to maybe 1 minute 45 seconds before I peaced out and chilled with Rufus until Mako Cannon.
I think the key, at least for me, was to dodge the Turn 6 anti-heal. Removing anti-heal from the fight turns it into a fairly standard slugfest - you hit Diamond Weapon hard and it hits you back hard, but incoming damage is mangeable (at least with entrust support on healer). Elarra got sniped late in the fight by Sap and then something that hit hard, but my second chain (as I said, timed things wrong) had run out and I was well beyond the minute mark anyway, so I ran.
Overall, not a bad fight, assuming you have the firepower for it.
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Geez, I've been auto-battling ever since they took away the multiplayer battles and I had no idea they added a wait mode to the game. I might try some of the harder stuff now that I don't have to panic and make sure I hit the right buttons at the exact right time. lol
Just be warned: There are two types of Wait Mode in FFRK.
Wait MOde 1.0: Speed cannot be changed (it's roughly Speed 3.5), has tons of built-in lag
Wait MOde 2.0: Speed can be changed from 2-5, otherwise identical to Active Mode
Wait Mode 2.0 is only available in Magicite, Cardia, Wandering Gilgamesh, and Elemental Destruction. Everywhere else is Wait Mode 1.0.
Wait mode 2.0 on speed 2 is awesome. Wait MOde 1.0 is garbage for any fight that you'd actually want it for, so watch out.
Oh weird, why haven't they rolled it out for the entire game? But I guess that's the hardest material where you'd want to use it at least.
Not quite. You can't use the better wait mode for Labyrinth superbosses and the next level of content - the crystal dungeons - also won't have wait mode 2.0
Is that on purpose or are they planning on rolling it out to the rest of the game at some point?
i've gotten literally one useful upgrade in the past six months* - Palom Dual Awakening which is one of two Duals I own total (the other being Ysayle which I have nothing for lmao)
if this wasn't a relatively dead period of the game with the penultimate content (bahamuts) all sub30 and no problems clearing current content (labs) i might be a little more annoyed than amused but hey, typical falk luck swing
*edit: oh, got Noctis fire dyad off RoP i guess. gotta dig the bottom of the barrel when it's this bad lol
if this wasn't a relatively dead period of the game with the penultimate content (bahamuts) all sub30 and no problems clearing current content (labs) i might be a little more annoyed than amused but hey, typical falk luck swing
*edit: oh, got Noctis fire dyad off RoP i guess. gotta dig the bottom of the barrel when it's this bad lol
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Its on purpose. They know how much easier the game is with wait mode, so current content doesn't have it enabled.
Oh boo, I guess that's fair but it's like the one quality of life change that really would have made the game much easier to play for me.
Yes and yes.
Yes, they purposefully hold back Wait Mode 2.0 from the hardest content. It makes the game easier, so that doesn't suit DeNA's purposes of waiting players to pull for relics.
Yes, they will roll it out to the rest of the game... eventually. What they do is that when content is no longer considered endgame - because newer, hard content has arrived - they will add Wait Mode to older stuff.
Case in point: Labyrinth Nexus bosses for Seasons 1-3 will get Wait Mode 2.0 added, but only towards the end of Season 4 (this should be around July). But in Season 5, all Labyrinth Nexus bosses will get Wait MOde 2.0, but that's because by that point, Labyrinth will no longer be considered endgame. Instead, the then newly released Crystal Dungeons will be the new endgame. CD contains D600 and D700 fights, for both realm and elements (and six months after release, Job fights!) - the D600 fights will actually have Wait Mode 2.0 out the gate, but not D700 fights.
Wow, I can barely beat D500, so I can only imagine what you're supposed to do for those battles.
But yeah, the feature is probably more power creep than any relic they can introduce because it changes the way you play the game completely so I can see them holding it back. And I was actually reflecting on how long the game has been going and all the games that have quietly died off in the intervening years, so I guess DeNA is doing something right. lol
it very unironically blew Dragonking wide open because P2 in that is a very timing-intensive execution check at the proper gear level which... becomes rote follow-the-blueprint with Wait Mode
Got stronger wind, might as well put it to use:
Physical D650 Sandworm mastered in 27.09
Cloud (DC LMR+Swd LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Wind DMG+ / USb1, Dyad, Sync, DAASB
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / MM / Sync
Faris (DC LMR+Bow DMG LMR): R5 HA2, R5 HA1 / Gathering Storm / Gauge Glint+, bUSB, CSB, AASB1, LBO
Larsa (AoE Heal LMR+LM2): R5 Curada, R5 Full Break / DMT / Glint+, USb2, USB3
Zidane (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R4 Running Start / Wind DMG+ / USb1, Dyad, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
Magicites: AODin (Blade/Spell Ward), Valefor (Empower Wind 18x2), Titan (HP/Healing), Madeen (Deadly x2), MAdeen (Deadly/ATK)
Note: Major earth resist on Faris. Cloud and Larsa have full PP HE.
Eight hours. That's how long this took me to sub-30. Eight fucking hours. It shouldn't have been this hard with this much firepower, but it was. Hell, in that eight hour stretch (which was actually two blocks of 4 hours), I only managed to even win at all twice: Once I got a 32 second clear, and the second was this sub-30 clear. But the first victory came around 6 hours of attempts.
I originally beat this fight on release. Took me about an hour with Cloud/Faris/Zidane/Quina/Elarra. I didn't have Cloud Dual, of course, but also didn't have Zidane Dyad. A standard two chain effort, my clear was 41 seconds. I thought with the increased firepower from this fest, sub-30-ing this would be a no brainer. Holy hell was I wrong. I guess I'm just terrible at this game.
For the first five hours, I had Elarra (Glint+/USb1/USb2/AASB/Sync) in place of Larsa. I was advised to try Larsa since his USB3 (which I had to lens) also gives QC2 in addition to his USB2's HQC2, while Elarra doesn't give you that with her USB2. I guess it helped, but it also made healing a lot harder. I need his AASBs badly if I plan to run him for future physical fights.
S1 paintings is the worst gimmick, and Sandworm has hands down theworst painting arrangement and the worst position for paintings. Making Sandworm get the first move (or face penalty) is cruel, but putting it at 55% and dropping Aegus - right when you're looking to make a major push to 40% - is diabolical. If I waited to counter with Quina Glint+ (more on this later), my damage slowed too much. BUT if I went faster, I would still have paintings in phase 4, during the blasted 5 second labyrinth guard. Trying to not trigger the red paintings at that point is an exercise in futility so I started ignoring them, but I could not ignore the white painting which gives a whopping Pain +4 to the party. That turned phase 4 Turn 4 Gaia Fury into a 11,000 AoE that would wipe me, since I was unlikely to be at full HP at that point thanks to all the anti-heal.
I figured the only way I could sub-30 this was to one chain it, but it felt impossible to one chain it, since 1/3rd of my chain would be lost to that goddamn Labyrinth MOde. I didn't know how to maximize Cloud's damage, how to leverage Zidane's burst damage, how to deal with the paintings, and sometimes even how to heal the incoming damage. It was utter hell.
I also tried different teams: I tried Vaan (AASb1/AASb2/LBO) in place of Zidane, as well as Zack (Dyad/AASb1/AASb2) in place of Faris. Both just resulted in me going even slower.
Eventually, I made three changes that apparently did the trick: One, I put Faris in slot 3 over Cloud; Two, I gave her major resist instead of AOdin accessory; and three, I did not use Quina's Aegis break Glint+ and instead used Faris' bUSB instead.
(Hilariously, my original clear had all this: Faris in slot 3, major resist, and used her bUSB, though back then I didn't have a choice since I had no other Aegis break)
All three of these were important. I had consistently reached 40% with Faris not having quite enough gauge to recast chain. I figured if i was to have a hope of finishing under 30 seconds and one-chaining seemed impossible, that I should renew chain ASAP upon reaching 40%. BUT due to the speed that I was reaching phase 4, Faris didn't quite have enough gauge to renew chain immediately, which threw the whole thing off. So I put her in slot 3 to soak up the chain-ga hits, which did the trick. I had originally put Cloud there, and tried some runs with Zidane there, but neither worked as well as Faris.
Second, I realised that slot 3 got hit much harder than I remembered. Probably because I was spending fewer turns in the other phases and was now running into chain-gas more frequently. I couldn't keep Faris alive with AOdin accessory, but major resist kept her alive long enough for Larsa (who, remember, has worse healing throughput than Elarra) to heal her.
Finally, I was reminded on Discored that Faris' brave command does not trigger a painting, unlike Quina's Glint+. Which meant that I could remove Aegis right away and not have to worry about waiting for Sandworm to take a turn first. That allowed me to reach 40% in the fastest time possible. So much so, in fact, that I actually decided to push ahead and continue DPSing rather than renew chain. Faris dropped her AASB at this point for extra imperils, but didn't get another turn before using her LBO after Lab Guard wore off.
On my winning run after making the above changes, I reached phase 4 with maybe 40% chain left. I think I had gotten a bunch of quadcasts from Cloud (DAASB -> USb1) and triple casts from Zidane (Dyad -> AASB). In phase 4, I used Zidane Sync and held his turn until after Lab Guard wore off. On all previous runs, Zidane barely did any damage in phase 4, no doubt due to using new chain. But this time, with max chain and stacked imperils, Zidane blew up - he still had Dyad and AASB time, so he slammed Sandworm for 39999 hits. 3 turns of instant ATb and instant cast with that kind of firepower and he blew up most of Sandworm's last 40% by himself. Faris' LBO did 99999x5 for the first time (any time I used it before it did 60,000x5 at most). Cloud didn't even get to do anything in phase 4! I had used DAASB -> USb1 to reach phase 4, then went Sync -> USb1 and was intending to use C1 to finish him off, but Zidane and Faris finished Sandworm off first.
This actually could have been faster: When I did Cloud USB1 after Sync, he still had DAASB and USb1 time (his USB was done after Lab Guard wore off for 60,000 x5 - okay, so Cloud got that one attack in in phase 4, which isn't nothing). Had I known that, I would have just C1 for huge damage.
Even on my winning run, I still screwed up the paintings in phase 4. Sandworm has two attacks in a row that will eat two paintings in a row no matter what. I ate the dreaded white painting, putting me at Pain +4. I lost Larsa to something, and if I hadn't won when I did, the next attack would have flattened me for sure.
Thank GOD that's over. My one chain feat in 8 hours of attempts I consider to be a fluke, so I'm not bothering with this fight again, LOL.
Physical D650 Sandworm mastered in 27.09
Cloud (DC LMR+Swd LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Wind DMG+ / USb1, Dyad, Sync, DAASB
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / MM / Sync
Faris (DC LMR+Bow DMG LMR): R5 HA2, R5 HA1 / Gathering Storm / Gauge Glint+, bUSB, CSB, AASB1, LBO
Larsa (AoE Heal LMR+LM2): R5 Curada, R5 Full Break / DMT / Glint+, USb2, USB3
Zidane (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R4 Running Start / Wind DMG+ / USb1, Dyad, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
Magicites: AODin (Blade/Spell Ward), Valefor (Empower Wind 18x2), Titan (HP/Healing), Madeen (Deadly x2), MAdeen (Deadly/ATK)
Note: Major earth resist on Faris. Cloud and Larsa have full PP HE.
Eight hours. That's how long this took me to sub-30. Eight fucking hours. It shouldn't have been this hard with this much firepower, but it was. Hell, in that eight hour stretch (which was actually two blocks of 4 hours), I only managed to even win at all twice: Once I got a 32 second clear, and the second was this sub-30 clear. But the first victory came around 6 hours of attempts.
I originally beat this fight on release. Took me about an hour with Cloud/Faris/Zidane/Quina/Elarra. I didn't have Cloud Dual, of course, but also didn't have Zidane Dyad. A standard two chain effort, my clear was 41 seconds. I thought with the increased firepower from this fest, sub-30-ing this would be a no brainer. Holy hell was I wrong. I guess I'm just terrible at this game.
For the first five hours, I had Elarra (Glint+/USb1/USb2/AASB/Sync) in place of Larsa. I was advised to try Larsa since his USB3 (which I had to lens) also gives QC2 in addition to his USB2's HQC2, while Elarra doesn't give you that with her USB2. I guess it helped, but it also made healing a lot harder. I need his AASBs badly if I plan to run him for future physical fights.
S1 paintings is the worst gimmick, and Sandworm has hands down theworst painting arrangement and the worst position for paintings. Making Sandworm get the first move (or face penalty) is cruel, but putting it at 55% and dropping Aegus - right when you're looking to make a major push to 40% - is diabolical. If I waited to counter with Quina Glint+ (more on this later), my damage slowed too much. BUT if I went faster, I would still have paintings in phase 4, during the blasted 5 second labyrinth guard. Trying to not trigger the red paintings at that point is an exercise in futility so I started ignoring them, but I could not ignore the white painting which gives a whopping Pain +4 to the party. That turned phase 4 Turn 4 Gaia Fury into a 11,000 AoE that would wipe me, since I was unlikely to be at full HP at that point thanks to all the anti-heal.
I figured the only way I could sub-30 this was to one chain it, but it felt impossible to one chain it, since 1/3rd of my chain would be lost to that goddamn Labyrinth MOde. I didn't know how to maximize Cloud's damage, how to leverage Zidane's burst damage, how to deal with the paintings, and sometimes even how to heal the incoming damage. It was utter hell.
I also tried different teams: I tried Vaan (AASb1/AASb2/LBO) in place of Zidane, as well as Zack (Dyad/AASb1/AASb2) in place of Faris. Both just resulted in me going even slower.
Eventually, I made three changes that apparently did the trick: One, I put Faris in slot 3 over Cloud; Two, I gave her major resist instead of AOdin accessory; and three, I did not use Quina's Aegis break Glint+ and instead used Faris' bUSB instead.
(Hilariously, my original clear had all this: Faris in slot 3, major resist, and used her bUSB, though back then I didn't have a choice since I had no other Aegis break)
All three of these were important. I had consistently reached 40% with Faris not having quite enough gauge to recast chain. I figured if i was to have a hope of finishing under 30 seconds and one-chaining seemed impossible, that I should renew chain ASAP upon reaching 40%. BUT due to the speed that I was reaching phase 4, Faris didn't quite have enough gauge to renew chain immediately, which threw the whole thing off. So I put her in slot 3 to soak up the chain-ga hits, which did the trick. I had originally put Cloud there, and tried some runs with Zidane there, but neither worked as well as Faris.
Second, I realised that slot 3 got hit much harder than I remembered. Probably because I was spending fewer turns in the other phases and was now running into chain-gas more frequently. I couldn't keep Faris alive with AOdin accessory, but major resist kept her alive long enough for Larsa (who, remember, has worse healing throughput than Elarra) to heal her.
Finally, I was reminded on Discored that Faris' brave command does not trigger a painting, unlike Quina's Glint+. Which meant that I could remove Aegis right away and not have to worry about waiting for Sandworm to take a turn first. That allowed me to reach 40% in the fastest time possible. So much so, in fact, that I actually decided to push ahead and continue DPSing rather than renew chain. Faris dropped her AASB at this point for extra imperils, but didn't get another turn before using her LBO after Lab Guard wore off.
On my winning run after making the above changes, I reached phase 4 with maybe 40% chain left. I think I had gotten a bunch of quadcasts from Cloud (DAASB -> USb1) and triple casts from Zidane (Dyad -> AASB). In phase 4, I used Zidane Sync and held his turn until after Lab Guard wore off. On all previous runs, Zidane barely did any damage in phase 4, no doubt due to using new chain. But this time, with max chain and stacked imperils, Zidane blew up - he still had Dyad and AASB time, so he slammed Sandworm for 39999 hits. 3 turns of instant ATb and instant cast with that kind of firepower and he blew up most of Sandworm's last 40% by himself. Faris' LBO did 99999x5 for the first time (any time I used it before it did 60,000x5 at most). Cloud didn't even get to do anything in phase 4! I had used DAASB -> USb1 to reach phase 4, then went Sync -> USb1 and was intending to use C1 to finish him off, but Zidane and Faris finished Sandworm off first.
This actually could have been faster: When I did Cloud USB1 after Sync, he still had DAASB and USb1 time (his USB was done after Lab Guard wore off for 60,000 x5 - okay, so Cloud got that one attack in in phase 4, which isn't nothing). Had I known that, I would have just C1 for huge damage.
Even on my winning run, I still screwed up the paintings in phase 4. Sandworm has two attacks in a row that will eat two paintings in a row no matter what. I ate the dreaded white painting, putting me at Pain +4. I lost Larsa to something, and if I hadn't won when I did, the next attack would have flattened me for sure.
Thank GOD that's over. My one chain feat in 8 hours of attempts I consider to be a fluke, so I'm not bothering with this fight again, LOL.
friends i think the next tier of content will be my ultimate goal for the game*
nothing groundbreakingly new has happened and labyrinth turned out to be a real turd of a new meat&bones mode. Figure Bahamut and <insert realm bosses here> would be a good place to call it quits
i guess it's a trip from almost-zero again considering as of writing i have two DASBs (lol) and one protag chain total
*unless DeNA pulls a 'ok we've wrapped up the nostalgia stuff here's also a wrapup of Tyro's story Coming To You In The Next Year(tm)' or some shit
nothing groundbreakingly new has happened and labyrinth turned out to be a real turd of a new meat&bones mode. Figure Bahamut and <insert realm bosses here> would be a good place to call it quits
i guess it's a trip from almost-zero again considering as of writing i have two DASBs (lol) and one protag chain total
*unless DeNA pulls a 'ok we've wrapped up the nostalgia stuff here's also a wrapup of Tyro's story Coming To You In The Next Year(tm)' or some shit
Dang. I don't hold out hope I'll ever pull one lol. And you got a decent one!
I got Firion's Sync from the daily pulls the other day. I have seen a few disco balls, but only one changed to a 7* for me ever.
Did the lab missions over three days:
D650 Tiamat mastered in 29.29
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passiona Salsa / DMT / AASB1, AASB2x2
Fran (DC LMR+LM1): R5 Icicle BUllet, R5 HA / Ice DMG+ / Switchdraw Glint+, AASB1, LBO
Larsa (AoE Heal LMR+LM2): R5 Holyja, R5 Wrath / DMT / Glint+, USb2
Ashe (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Thundaja / Lightning DMG+ / Sync 2, AASB, AOSB
Vaan (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / Scholar's Boon / AASb1, AASB2, AOSB
RW: Chain
L120 HC
I had a reasonably fast first clear on this, one of the easiest of the lab fights, with Mog/Balthier/Larsa/Ashe/Vaan. I figured with some fine-tuning I could get the sub-30 without much trouble.
Well, I was wrong. Balthier just doesn't do enough damage without critfix source or HE, even with max chain and max imperils. I thought I didn't have enough tech to get the sub-30, but then I check through my units and realised I had an "okay" Fran with AASb1 and LBO. My Vaan also has LBO and I had used it in XII DK, but I figure that Fran could a) do more damage than Balthier thanks to imperils and HE, and b) her LBO would give me another big damage option in addition to Ashe and Vaan AOSBs.
So said, so done. Sorry Leading Man, but you're fired from XII teams until at least you get HE.
Physical D650 Alexander mastered in 29.00
D.Cecil (DC LMR+LM2): R5 Taboo Raid, R5 HA / Swd DMG+ / Sync 2, AASb1
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / DMT / -99% HP Glint+, Aegis Debuff Glint+, Sync
Elarra (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+, USB1, USB2, Sync 1
Seifer (DC LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R5 Touched by Darkness / Swd DMG+ / DAASB, CSB
Zeid (DC LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Dark DMG+ / Dyad, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Diabolos (L18 Empower Dark x2), Alexander (HP/Healing), MAdeen (ATK/Deadly), Madeen (HP/Healing)
This fucking fight. I must be living in Twilight Zone, because Alex is by far the hardest lab fight for me and no one else seems to agree. Alex's damage output is ridiculous, with constant 7000~9000 AoEs every other turn. Couple that with darkness attacks that drain HP, and the experience becomes a nightmare (on my initial clear I stopped using D.Cecil HA except to build gauge and mostly relied on Taboo Raid since I knw that would leave my HP in a hole; on a related note, I had to drop Forbidden Cross entirely from my magic Alex team because it was too suicidal to use). And that phase 2 tankiness without Aegis counter is the worst of the them all in my experience.
This time, I came armed with new weapons. The first was Quina's Aegis Glint+ from fest, so no more phase 2 slowdown and (hopefully) I'd be able to power through without issue. The second was a new Super Zeid, who replaced my Sephiroth here, thanks to clutch snagging his Sync from dark banner with my 3rd ticket (I had his Dyad from spamming tickets on XI realm before, and I got his AASB from... somewhere). This was my first time deploying Zeid at all, far less with all this firepower, and he did not disappoint. What a monster.
That said, it still took hours to sub-30 this asshole. At least 5, I think. And in that time entire time, I only won twice: A 32 second clear (my original clear with Seph and no Aegis counter took 43 seconds, and it was hell), and then this. I used Zeid Dyad -> Sync and D.Cecil AASB to push phase1 and got Zeid AASB and D.Cecil Sync 2 ASAP in phase 2.
I thought I would need to one-chain to sub-30 it, but that proved impossible. Had to renew chain for the last 20%, then I had one turn of good damage to win before 30 seconds before the damage overwhelmed me (seriously, last phase is 8000 -> 8000 -> 10,000+ damage - am I the only one who found that ridiculous?), and it took 5 hours before things lined up.
I hated this fight and never want to run it again, not until and unless massive powercreep is in play.
D650 Hellhouse mastered in 29.95
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+1, Glint+2, AASB1, AASB2, Sync
Vincent (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Burnt Offering / Fire DMG+ / SYnc 1, AASb1
Cait Sith (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 ACM / DMT / Glint+, USb2, AASb2x2
Red XIII (DC LMR+Trance LMR): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / Scholar's Boon / Sync, AASB, LBO
Cloud (DC LMR+Swd DMG LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Wind DMG+ / Dyad, AASB1, AASb2
RW: Chain
L120 HC
A most unorthodox team: Essentially a mage team with Cloud guest-starring as a "regular" DPS.
I tried for hours to sub-30 this with stacked Cloud (USB1/Sync1/Dual) plus a decent Zack (Dyad/AASb1/AASb2) and Sephiroth (Sync 1/AASb1/USb2), but without Barret w/ AASB2 for entrust and FB counter + weakness boost it's just too slow. I tried running Quina in place of Mog and using their Default SB to overwrite Lab FB, but it was still too slow.
I knew a mage team could do well with Cait + Mog, but I needed a 3rd DPS since I have nothing for Reno. Someone who could function on their own without outside assistance. I have a number of strong VII units, but I decided to run the one unit who normally you don't run without a lot of help: Cloud.
People forget, but Cloud's AASB1 is actually overtuned, especially considering when it came out: Aside from standard Awoken wind mode, it gives 100% critical for 25 seconds and self HQC. With a Dyad+AASB1, that meant that Cloud could hit BDL2 quickly and not get completely outclassed by the mages in DPS (he actually outdamaged Vincent for most of the fight since I didn't use Vincent AASB until fairly late, so he only had a few turns of 29999 hits before Lab Guard tanked his DPS). I used his AASB3 late in the fight mainly because I wanted to extend BDLs, but also because his AASB3 gives increasing BDL per turn, which I thought might have been clutch.
IN retrospect, I should have run DUal after AASB1, but oh well. I can brag that I used Cloud in a sub-30 team without his big tools, LOL.
Anyway, this team got to 20% around 22 seconds, the fastest I ever got to phase 2. COuldn't finish in one chain, so I renewed chain and built up as much damage as I could before Lab guard wore off. I dropped Cloud's dyad finisher a bit too early (either that or it was weak from lack of boosts), hitting only for 2Kx20+50K or something like that. Still, I managed to get one BDL turn on Vincent and Cloud and LBO from Red XIII after Lab Guard wore off, which was just enough to win before 30 seconds (Cloud actually got the winning blow).
Very odd team, but I'm glad I was able to pull this off and keep Cloud in the mix in the process.
So that's all missions cleared and sub-30'd in the process. That brings my total sub-30s to 7/24.
D650 Tiamat mastered in 29.29
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passiona Salsa / DMT / AASB1, AASB2x2
Fran (DC LMR+LM1): R5 Icicle BUllet, R5 HA / Ice DMG+ / Switchdraw Glint+, AASB1, LBO
Larsa (AoE Heal LMR+LM2): R5 Holyja, R5 Wrath / DMT / Glint+, USb2
Ashe (LM1+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Chain Thundaja / Lightning DMG+ / Sync 2, AASB, AOSB
Vaan (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Running Start / Scholar's Boon / AASb1, AASB2, AOSB
RW: Chain
L120 HC
I had a reasonably fast first clear on this, one of the easiest of the lab fights, with Mog/Balthier/Larsa/Ashe/Vaan. I figured with some fine-tuning I could get the sub-30 without much trouble.
Well, I was wrong. Balthier just doesn't do enough damage without critfix source or HE, even with max chain and max imperils. I thought I didn't have enough tech to get the sub-30, but then I check through my units and realised I had an "okay" Fran with AASb1 and LBO. My Vaan also has LBO and I had used it in XII DK, but I figure that Fran could a) do more damage than Balthier thanks to imperils and HE, and b) her LBO would give me another big damage option in addition to Ashe and Vaan AOSBs.
So said, so done. Sorry Leading Man, but you're fired from XII teams until at least you get HE.
Physical D650 Alexander mastered in 29.00
D.Cecil (DC LMR+LM2): R5 Taboo Raid, R5 HA / Swd DMG+ / Sync 2, AASb1
Quina (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / DMT / -99% HP Glint+, Aegis Debuff Glint+, Sync
Elarra (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+, USB1, USB2, Sync 1
Seifer (DC LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R5 Touched by Darkness / Swd DMG+ / DAASB, CSB
Zeid (DC LMR+LM1): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Dark DMG+ / Dyad, Sync, AASB
RW: Wall
Magicites: AOdin (Blade/Spell Ward), Diabolos (L18 Empower Dark x2), Alexander (HP/Healing), MAdeen (ATK/Deadly), Madeen (HP/Healing)
This fucking fight. I must be living in Twilight Zone, because Alex is by far the hardest lab fight for me and no one else seems to agree. Alex's damage output is ridiculous, with constant 7000~9000 AoEs every other turn. Couple that with darkness attacks that drain HP, and the experience becomes a nightmare (on my initial clear I stopped using D.Cecil HA except to build gauge and mostly relied on Taboo Raid since I knw that would leave my HP in a hole; on a related note, I had to drop Forbidden Cross entirely from my magic Alex team because it was too suicidal to use). And that phase 2 tankiness without Aegis counter is the worst of the them all in my experience.
This time, I came armed with new weapons. The first was Quina's Aegis Glint+ from fest, so no more phase 2 slowdown and (hopefully) I'd be able to power through without issue. The second was a new Super Zeid, who replaced my Sephiroth here, thanks to clutch snagging his Sync from dark banner with my 3rd ticket (I had his Dyad from spamming tickets on XI realm before, and I got his AASB from... somewhere). This was my first time deploying Zeid at all, far less with all this firepower, and he did not disappoint. What a monster.
That said, it still took hours to sub-30 this asshole. At least 5, I think. And in that time entire time, I only won twice: A 32 second clear (my original clear with Seph and no Aegis counter took 43 seconds, and it was hell), and then this. I used Zeid Dyad -> Sync and D.Cecil AASB to push phase1 and got Zeid AASB and D.Cecil Sync 2 ASAP in phase 2.
I thought I would need to one-chain to sub-30 it, but that proved impossible. Had to renew chain for the last 20%, then I had one turn of good damage to win before 30 seconds before the damage overwhelmed me (seriously, last phase is 8000 -> 8000 -> 10,000+ damage - am I the only one who found that ridiculous?), and it took 5 hours before things lined up.
I hated this fight and never want to run it again, not until and unless massive powercreep is in play.
D650 Hellhouse mastered in 29.95
Mog (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Passion Salsa / MM / Glint+1, Glint+2, AASB1, AASB2, Sync
Vincent (DC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 Burnt Offering / Fire DMG+ / SYnc 1, AASb1
Cait Sith (QC LMR+LM2): R5 HA, R5 ACM / DMT / Glint+, USb2, AASb2x2
Red XIII (DC LMR+Trance LMR): R5 HA, R5 Wrath / Scholar's Boon / Sync, AASB, LBO
Cloud (DC LMR+Swd DMG LMR): R5 HA, R3 Omega Drive / Wind DMG+ / Dyad, AASB1, AASb2
RW: Chain
L120 HC
A most unorthodox team: Essentially a mage team with Cloud guest-starring as a "regular" DPS.
I tried for hours to sub-30 this with stacked Cloud (USB1/Sync1/Dual) plus a decent Zack (Dyad/AASb1/AASb2) and Sephiroth (Sync 1/AASb1/USb2), but without Barret w/ AASB2 for entrust and FB counter + weakness boost it's just too slow. I tried running Quina in place of Mog and using their Default SB to overwrite Lab FB, but it was still too slow.
I knew a mage team could do well with Cait + Mog, but I needed a 3rd DPS since I have nothing for Reno. Someone who could function on their own without outside assistance. I have a number of strong VII units, but I decided to run the one unit who normally you don't run without a lot of help: Cloud.
People forget, but Cloud's AASB1 is actually overtuned, especially considering when it came out: Aside from standard Awoken wind mode, it gives 100% critical for 25 seconds and self HQC. With a Dyad+AASB1, that meant that Cloud could hit BDL2 quickly and not get completely outclassed by the mages in DPS (he actually outdamaged Vincent for most of the fight since I didn't use Vincent AASB until fairly late, so he only had a few turns of 29999 hits before Lab Guard tanked his DPS). I used his AASB3 late in the fight mainly because I wanted to extend BDLs, but also because his AASB3 gives increasing BDL per turn, which I thought might have been clutch.
IN retrospect, I should have run DUal after AASB1, but oh well. I can brag that I used Cloud in a sub-30 team without his big tools, LOL.
Anyway, this team got to 20% around 22 seconds, the fastest I ever got to phase 2. COuldn't finish in one chain, so I renewed chain and built up as much damage as I could before Lab guard wore off. I dropped Cloud's dyad finisher a bit too early (either that or it was weak from lack of boosts), hitting only for 2Kx20+50K or something like that. Still, I managed to get one BDL turn on Vincent and Cloud and LBO from Red XIII after Lab Guard wore off, which was just enough to win before 30 seconds (Cloud actually got the winning blow).
Very odd team, but I'm glad I was able to pull this off and keep Cloud in the mix in the process.
So that's all missions cleared and sub-30'd in the process. That brings my total sub-30s to 7/24.
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