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Final Fantasy: Record Keeper |OT| Renewal Era
- Thread starter GooZ
- Start date
Oh yeah? Well, on MY daily draw I got Palpamo's Super SB that haste's everyone AND reduces everyone's offensive spellcasting time for three turns! And improves everyone's magic by a medium amount!
Who's laughing now! :P
My daily draw was my first disco in 28 days, which is the shortest interval between discos.
But it was a dupe - Kelgar USB.
Yesterday was Ultimecia BSSB, also a dupe. Sigh.
But it was a dupe - Kelgar USB.
Yesterday was Ultimecia BSSB, also a dupe. Sigh.
Oh, I'm just waiting on an Earth Chain so I can put Kelgar, Dorgaan and some of my other Earth characters together and kick some butt! I got way too many smatterings of an earth team lying around, it's gotta happen one of these days!
Has anyone ever accidentally gained enough different SB's over five characters, that they technically had a dual element team? Like, maybe having two chains is too far, but Rinoa has both Ice and Earth SBs, and the Spell Blade characters often cover several elements at once, like Bartz. It's gotta happen to somebody!
Has anyone ever accidentally gained enough different SB's over five characters, that they technically had a dual element team? Like, maybe having two chains is too far, but Rinoa has both Ice and Earth SBs, and the Spell Blade characters often cover several elements at once, like Bartz. It's gotta happen to somebody!
Hey, do Awakenings and EX modes mix? Like, I pulled on the FF4 relic draw and got a good USB for Cecil that let's his Knight abilities heal everyone in the front row for 1500 Hp, and I was curious if that would still work if I had used his Awakening afterwards.
Most do, I believe. I often use Bartz with his AASB and USB1 and have both chases activate. Offhand, I think only the Ability Double EX modes don't mix with the Awakened modes doublecast, so no auto-triple casting for you.
I'm a fan of that combo. It makes Bartz fit into mage teams better since his USB1 gives him an ATK buff, pluse the 2x cast speed gets a little more vavoom out of the woke timer.
So, since I don't really want to bang my head against dark 5* magicites without a holy chain yet, I figured I'd upgrade my magicite deck to prepare for Odin as much as I can in the meantime (I'm also trying to beat Lakshmi but the status attacks are really annoying...)
So far, I have almost all the usual stuff:
- double dampen for every element
- triple emp elem for every elements
- Madeen w/ double ATK/MAG boon
- Madeen w/ FastAct/HP
- Famfrit w/ double ward/HP
I'm also currently building a Madeen with ATK and MAG boon for hybrid teams.
Am I missing some important stuff for Odin?
Currently I did not plan on making a Madeen with double ward but maybe that could help with the 9999 attacks from odin?
I also heard that a Lakshmi with Healing/Mind boon can be useful to maximize healing?
Is there something else?
So far, I have almost all the usual stuff:
- double dampen for every element
- triple emp elem for every elements
- Madeen w/ double ATK/MAG boon
- Madeen w/ FastAct/HP
- Famfrit w/ double ward/HP
I'm also currently building a Madeen with ATK and MAG boon for hybrid teams.
Am I missing some important stuff for Odin?
Currently I did not plan on making a Madeen with double ward but maybe that could help with the 9999 attacks from odin?
I also heard that a Lakshmi with Healing/Mind boon can be useful to maximize healing?
Is there something else?
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I ran a Lakshmi inherited with MND 15 and Health Boon 8 for each of my magicite runs on top of Madeen who also had a Act Fast 10 and Health Boon 8. On 4/5 of my Odin runs, I used 3 Health Boon 8s. Don't think I brought a lot of elemental mitigation in terms of Dampen Element, but had 1 Mateus with Blade Ward 8, Spell Ward 8 (plus Health Boon 8 wich was 1 of the 3 boons).
I also found inheriting the Magicites to Max inheritance levels, or near Max was the difference in some cases. I had a lot of 5* magicities sitting around the 65-74 inhertance levels, but bumping them up to 79 or 80 was an extra level of buffer.
I'd say having 10k+ HP is key though. Absolutely key. I suppose it could be done without, but why put yourself through that pain.
Also, bringing Lakshmi with MND boon and healing boon raised my regenga ticks from 2000 ish to around 2300, and medicas from around 7k to near cap. This was also a big difference, since it means you can take an extra hit before having to medica or cast last stand, depending on where you are in the fight.
Jux:
The main thing for Dark Odin, compared to 5* magicites, is you need to find a way to have 3x HP Boon in every deck. 10,000+ HP for all characters is mandatory.
Also, having a healing booster of some kind is really important. Having over 10,000 HP is the first step - healing back 9999 is the next. You won't survive long even with Elarra USb if she's only healing back 6700 HP. I have both a Lakshmi with a Healing/HP Boon (in decks where I don't have 3 xHP otherwise) and a Madeen with Healing/MND boon (in decks where I do).
Going forward, I think, the most basic complete decks contain the following:
Empower: Inherit Empower + HP Boon
Dampen: Inherit Dampen + HP Boon
Blocker with HP Boon/Blade Ward/Spell Ward (these can be Phoenix, Mateus, or Famfrit - inherit whichever passive is missing)
Offensive Madeen: Inherit ATK Boon x2, MAG Boon x2, as appropriate
Defensive Madeen: Inherit Healing/MND Boon
I haven't pulled the trigger fully on the first one, since right now they're all triple empowers. But I'm (slowly) building Phoenixes to convert my triple empowers to Double Empower + HP, since otherwise getting to 3 xHP Boon per deck is a bit of a pain without sacrificing something else.
The main thing for Dark Odin, compared to 5* magicites, is you need to find a way to have 3x HP Boon in every deck. 10,000+ HP for all characters is mandatory.
Also, having a healing booster of some kind is really important. Having over 10,000 HP is the first step - healing back 9999 is the next. You won't survive long even with Elarra USb if she's only healing back 6700 HP. I have both a Lakshmi with a Healing/HP Boon (in decks where I don't have 3 xHP otherwise) and a Madeen with Healing/MND boon (in decks where I do).
Going forward, I think, the most basic complete decks contain the following:
Empower: Inherit Empower + HP Boon
Dampen: Inherit Dampen + HP Boon
Blocker with HP Boon/Blade Ward/Spell Ward (these can be Phoenix, Mateus, or Famfrit - inherit whichever passive is missing)
Offensive Madeen: Inherit ATK Boon x2, MAG Boon x2, as appropriate
Defensive Madeen: Inherit Healing/MND Boon
I haven't pulled the trigger fully on the first one, since right now they're all triple empowers. But I'm (slowly) building Phoenixes to convert my triple empowers to Double Empower + HP, since otherwise getting to 3 xHP Boon per deck is a bit of a pain without sacrificing something else.
ShinUltima thanks for the detailed writeup! I really like your deck plan. I already have most of it done so it should not be too long to get it up and running.
One question though: any reason why you have a second healing boon on Lakshmi instead of MND boon? (unlike your defensive madeen with Healing/MND boon).
Just beat Lakshmi for the first time yesterday (I hate having to time Astra for her debuffs :( ) so now I just need to clear the Dark magicite before I can actually tests the water with Odin! (hopefully I won't have to wait for a Holy chain to achieve that...). I'll probably start with Water weak odin as I have Bartz and Tidus AASB and Rikku CSB2, hopefully Water is not one of the worse?
One question though: any reason why you have a second healing boon on Lakshmi instead of MND boon? (unlike your defensive madeen with Healing/MND boon).
Just beat Lakshmi for the first time yesterday (I hate having to time Astra for her debuffs :( ) so now I just need to clear the Dark magicite before I can actually tests the water with Odin! (hopefully I won't have to wait for a Holy chain to achieve that...). I'll probably start with Water weak odin as I have Bartz and Tidus AASB and Rikku CSB2, hopefully Water is not one of the worse?
My general Magicite plan is:
- Triple element empower
- Double element dampen + Fast Act
- Madeen w/ 2 ATK Boons
- Madeen w/ 2 MAG Boons
- Madeen w/ HP Boon and Spell Ward
- Madeen w/ HP Boon and Blade Ward
- Lakshmi w/ 2 HP Boons
- Famfrit w/ Blade Ward and HP Boon
A typical deck is the appropriate empower Magicite, the appropriate dampen Magicite, an offensive Madeen based on what kind of team I'm using, a defensive Madeen based on what kind of attacks the enemy hits hardest with, then either Lakshmi or Famfrit depending on whether I want to beef up healing or general defense.
- Triple element empower
- Double element dampen + Fast Act
- Madeen w/ 2 ATK Boons
- Madeen w/ 2 MAG Boons
- Madeen w/ HP Boon and Spell Ward
- Madeen w/ HP Boon and Blade Ward
- Lakshmi w/ 2 HP Boons
- Famfrit w/ Blade Ward and HP Boon
A typical deck is the appropriate empower Magicite, the appropriate dampen Magicite, an offensive Madeen based on what kind of team I'm using, a defensive Madeen based on what kind of attacks the enemy hits hardest with, then either Lakshmi or Famfrit depending on whether I want to beef up healing or general defense.
Accolades secret tier is mvp?!?
I have to say that I am surprised I never qualified for the lowest tier mvp, but I guess it's averaged over the four years.
I have to say that I am surprised I never qualified for the lowest tier mvp, but I guess it's averaged over the four years.
I farm 5 Madeens what should I make with them.?
I'm thinking
Double atk
Double mag
Double hp
atk/mag
Both wards
So looking at the general deck examples just recently posted
Triple Empower for each element. (Easy to get)
Double Inherit + Fast for each Element (Thats lots of Quets)
Defense with Hp and both wards (Easy since its only 1)
Healing with Lakshmi with HP and Mind Boon (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with double atk (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with double mag (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with double HP (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with atk/mag (Easy since its only 1)
How about Precise and deadly strike, do we ignore those?
I'm thinking
Double atk
Double mag
Double hp
atk/mag
Both wards
So looking at the general deck examples just recently posted
Triple Empower for each element. (Easy to get)
Double Inherit + Fast for each Element (Thats lots of Quets)
Defense with Hp and both wards (Easy since its only 1)
Healing with Lakshmi with HP and Mind Boon (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with double atk (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with double mag (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with double HP (Easy since its only 1)
Madeen with atk/mag (Easy since its only 1)
How about Precise and deadly strike, do we ignore those?
Jux:
Sorry, my Lakshmi has MND/HP Boon. I forgot which one she had natively. It's basically all purpose healing booster with HP/MND/Healing Boon.
ccbfan:
I was never convinced with wards being that great on Madeen, and that was before the ward nerf. Especially for Odin, where you're getting hit for 9999 a lot regardless. If you're running a general blocker like Phoenix w/ wards and a general damper, I wouldn't bother with putting wards on a MAdeen.
My MAdeens are as follows:
- ATK x2
- MAG x2
- ATK+MAG (for mixed Torment teams)
- Deadly Strikes x2 (mainly for Cloud, but also teams with Ignis BSSB/Tyro USB4)
- Healing/MND
- HP/Fast Act (this is primarily for Torments where I don't get to run Elarra or Rosa, though long term I think its usefulness is questionable compared to the above; I might change this to HP/HP, or even something niche like HP/ATK or HP/MAg Boon)
If you have a critical fix source, Precise Strikes has no purpose.
Sorry, my Lakshmi has MND/HP Boon. I forgot which one she had natively. It's basically all purpose healing booster with HP/MND/Healing Boon.
ccbfan:
I was never convinced with wards being that great on Madeen, and that was before the ward nerf. Especially for Odin, where you're getting hit for 9999 a lot regardless. If you're running a general blocker like Phoenix w/ wards and a general damper, I wouldn't bother with putting wards on a MAdeen.
My MAdeens are as follows:
- ATK x2
- MAG x2
- ATK+MAG (for mixed Torment teams)
- Deadly Strikes x2 (mainly for Cloud, but also teams with Ignis BSSB/Tyro USB4)
- Healing/MND
- HP/Fast Act (this is primarily for Torments where I don't get to run Elarra or Rosa, though long term I think its usefulness is questionable compared to the above; I might change this to HP/HP, or even something niche like HP/ATK or HP/MAg Boon)
If you have a critical fix source, Precise Strikes has no purpose.
I generally agree with this.
I also feel like I (might) need to make a HP/MND Lakshmi, and that means 4 more Lakshmis and 4 more Arks. I originally put a Healing/HP on a Madeen, but I could use higher medica values.
My other Madeens are: ATK/ATK, MAG/MAG, HP/Fast, and Ward/Ward.
I agree that the double Wards isn't getting much, if any, play lately since topping 10k+ hp is much more important.
Yes, Deadly Strikes stacks with any critical dmg sources like Ignis BSSB, Zack CSB/AASB, or Elarra USB2.
There's no limit to +critical damage as far as I know. But that's because there are very few ways to boost Critical DMG. There are a handful of BSSB CMDs like Delita BSSB that have built-in critical DMG+50%, and as AFAIK these will stack with external critical DMG+ sources.
Is it just me or Lakshmi is a super annoying fight?
I've beaten her 3 time and now I've been trying for hours and can't get a 4th win.
Every single time entering phase 3 kills me with Savage Alluring Embrace + Savage Poltergeist + Dampen Dark. How stupid is that combo? I really don't see what I can do. Especially since I have to save my haste+astra for the debuffs in P2 leaving me with nothing to counter that.
I feel like I just got super lucky with my 3 first kills :(
Edit:
I realize I sound a bit ranty so here's my setup if someone has an idea how to improve:
TGC (dove): DW / DemonCross / USB / +Dark
Cloud (dove): Evil Swing / Charge : USB1/USB3 / +Weakness (w/ dark artifact)
Elarra (dove): Dispel / Curada / USB / Ace Striker
Red XIII: Entrust / Wrath / USB (astra+boostga) / MM
Garland: DW / Touched by Darkness / WCast LMR / CSB / DMT
RW: Wall
Magicites:
Unicorn
Madeen: Fast/HP
Madeen: Atk x 2
Necrophobe: Dampen
Hades: Emp Dark
Rough turn order:
TGC: starts with RW and then a mix of DW and DC until USB then DC/USB as needed
Cloud: First cycle of Chargex2 and Evil Swing then Chargex2 => USB1 => USB2 => Evil Swing. Then Charge => Evil Swing (I usually can't get this one off...which would probably end the fight)
Elarra: Dispel on turn 1, then Curadax2 then Unicorn to dodge first debuffs after poltergeist. Then USB/Curada as needed
RedXIII: Opens with USB for boostga then wrathx1 => Entrust Cloud => Wrath and USB as needed (I time the next USB to dodge phase 2 debuffs)
Garland: CSB then Imperil and recast CSB when needed. I also fire OSB toward the end of second chain.
What happens usually is that the debuffs happenning in p3 after the first overcap Evil Swing under USB1/3 just kill my momentum and I can't get a second evil swing in (I'm not hasted anymore and chain runs out).
I've been trying to save a thirst RedXIII usb for p3 but then healing can get sketchy.
I've beaten her 3 time and now I've been trying for hours and can't get a 4th win.
Every single time entering phase 3 kills me with Savage Alluring Embrace + Savage Poltergeist + Dampen Dark. How stupid is that combo? I really don't see what I can do. Especially since I have to save my haste+astra for the debuffs in P2 leaving me with nothing to counter that.
I feel like I just got super lucky with my 3 first kills :(
Edit:
I realize I sound a bit ranty so here's my setup if someone has an idea how to improve:
TGC (dove): DW / DemonCross / USB / +Dark
Cloud (dove): Evil Swing / Charge : USB1/USB3 / +Weakness (w/ dark artifact)
Elarra (dove): Dispel / Curada / USB / Ace Striker
Red XIII: Entrust / Wrath / USB (astra+boostga) / MM
Garland: DW / Touched by Darkness / WCast LMR / CSB / DMT
RW: Wall
Magicites:
Unicorn
Madeen: Fast/HP
Madeen: Atk x 2
Necrophobe: Dampen
Hades: Emp Dark
Rough turn order:
TGC: starts with RW and then a mix of DW and DC until USB then DC/USB as needed
Cloud: First cycle of Chargex2 and Evil Swing then Chargex2 => USB1 => USB2 => Evil Swing. Then Charge => Evil Swing (I usually can't get this one off...which would probably end the fight)
Elarra: Dispel on turn 1, then Curadax2 then Unicorn to dodge first debuffs after poltergeist. Then USB/Curada as needed
RedXIII: Opens with USB for boostga then wrathx1 => Entrust Cloud => Wrath and USB as needed (I time the next USB to dodge phase 2 debuffs)
Garland: CSB then Imperil and recast CSB when needed. I also fire OSB toward the end of second chain.
What happens usually is that the debuffs happenning in p3 after the first overcap Evil Swing under USB1/3 just kill my momentum and I can't get a second evil swing in (I'm not hasted anymore and chain runs out).
I've been trying to save a thirst RedXIII usb for p3 but then healing can get sketchy.
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Jux:
Your best bet is to DPS past at least one of the statuses. You need to drop her below 81% HP after Phase 1 Turn 8 Diaga to skip Entice. Phase 2 you should be in full swing (no pun intended) and DPS past the second Entice as well. And she needs to be dead before Phase 3 statuses, period.
Give Garland Reaping Scythe. Under Doom, it will do more damage than Dread Weapon.
Give Touched by Darkness to TGC and let him use that out, then switch to Demon Cross. It will build more gauge and save Demons Cross for later, after chain has been built up.
If Red XIII is your Hastega source, you'll have to hold back gauge when you're heading into Phase 3. Red needs to be on standby with HQC to refresh Hastega after Savage Poltergeist.
Your best bet is to DPS past at least one of the statuses. You need to drop her below 81% HP after Phase 1 Turn 8 Diaga to skip Entice. Phase 2 you should be in full swing (no pun intended) and DPS past the second Entice as well. And she needs to be dead before Phase 3 statuses, period.
Give Garland Reaping Scythe. Under Doom, it will do more damage than Dread Weapon.
Give Touched by Darkness to TGC and let him use that out, then switch to Demon Cross. It will build more gauge and save Demons Cross for later, after chain has been built up.
If Red XIII is your Hastega source, you'll have to hold back gauge when you're heading into Phase 3. Red needs to be on standby with HQC to refresh Hastega after Savage Poltergeist.
ShinUltima interesting advice, I will definitely try, thanks. I'm also considering replacing TGC by Seph with USB2/OSB so that I spend less time in rage mode but I'm not sure this will be better. I guess I have some different strategies to try out!
So since I snagged Zidane's aasb from the daily I decided to pull the trigger and use anima lenses for Eiko's usb. With those two combined with stuff I already had for the realm (Quina usb, Marcus usb, Beatrix usb) I was able to clear the IX torment. It took just a touch over 35 seconds, and I could probably sub 30 it with a little rng luck, but meh.
I really like this new FF1 Banner, I would love to get that Warrior of Light AASB someday, since it would make my Holy team that much more powerful, but I certainly can't afford a pull right now, and I'm not that interested in grinding all the way to doing so, only to find that I get something I don't want.
Is it weird that I kinda just wanna build up my gems until they reset the Elemental and Realm draws?
3 times the pulls in different directions sounds like a much more efficient way to progress without getting too messed up by randomization, especially since I've gotten multiple Rainbows on these 15 Gem Banners.
Is it weird that I kinda just wanna build up my gems until they reset the Elemental and Realm draws?
3 times the pulls in different directions sounds like a much more efficient way to progress without getting too messed up by randomization, especially since I've gotten multiple Rainbows on these 15 Gem Banners.
Jux:
Oh absolutely replace TGC with Sephiroth! Especially dived, Sephiroth w/ USB2 will be hitting much harder and faster than TGC. Forget the OSB, just USB2 again near end of chain.
re: Dreams Zombie Dragon
FF1 is my worst realm. I'm very surprised by these results:
D140: 6.53
D260: 9.17
D350: 32.05
WoL (LMR2+LMR3): R5 Healing Smite, R3 Banishing Strike, Scholar's Boon (BSSB/OSB), double Holy boost
Echo: R4 Chain Firaja, R3 Multibreak, MM (BSSB2), double fire boost
Wol (LM1+LM2): Sapphire Bullet, Entrust, DMT (no SB), double water boost
Sarah (LMR1): R3 Warrior's Hymn, R4 Curada, Gathering Storm (BSSB/USB1)
Thief (LM1+LM2): R4 Flash Disaster, R4 Storm Assault, Wind DMG+ (SSB), double wind boost
RW: Wall
Magicites: Syldra (HP/Dampen Earth), Typhon (Empower Wind x2), Mateus (Blade Ward/Dampen Wind), Famfrit (HP/Dampen Fire), Madeen (MND/Healing)
Using nearly this exact same team, I could barely make it to 20% on the D???, but I chewed through the Dreams fight quite easily. Those D140/D260 times might actually be my fastest of all the ones released thus far despite having better gear in other realms - I guess all versions are more fragile and not just the D350? Only Thief and Wol are 5* dived, the rest are 4* dived only, though everyone has at least 100 magia and Sarah has waters for HP and MND.
As for the D350, not having early bullshit like 50% Max HP and extremely damaging AoEs meant I had time to setup my debuffing while pounding away. I lost Wol and Sarah to something hard hitting late in the fight, but the rest were able to grind it out.
That went much better than I was expecting. It almost makes me think my team isn't garbage for Torment! Though all empirical evidence suggests otherwise, sadly.
re: banner 1
I did 100 gems and got Meia Glint. Two 100 gem hits in a row! A minour miracle!
Sadly, I'm not sure how much this helps, since the only other thing I have for Meia is her SSB and I'm not pulling on this banner otherwise. This isn't terrible though.
Oh absolutely replace TGC with Sephiroth! Especially dived, Sephiroth w/ USB2 will be hitting much harder and faster than TGC. Forget the OSB, just USB2 again near end of chain.
re: Dreams Zombie Dragon
FF1 is my worst realm. I'm very surprised by these results:
D140: 6.53
D260: 9.17
D350: 32.05
WoL (LMR2+LMR3): R5 Healing Smite, R3 Banishing Strike, Scholar's Boon (BSSB/OSB), double Holy boost
Echo: R4 Chain Firaja, R3 Multibreak, MM (BSSB2), double fire boost
Wol (LM1+LM2): Sapphire Bullet, Entrust, DMT (no SB), double water boost
Sarah (LMR1): R3 Warrior's Hymn, R4 Curada, Gathering Storm (BSSB/USB1)
Thief (LM1+LM2): R4 Flash Disaster, R4 Storm Assault, Wind DMG+ (SSB), double wind boost
RW: Wall
Magicites: Syldra (HP/Dampen Earth), Typhon (Empower Wind x2), Mateus (Blade Ward/Dampen Wind), Famfrit (HP/Dampen Fire), Madeen (MND/Healing)
Using nearly this exact same team, I could barely make it to 20% on the D???, but I chewed through the Dreams fight quite easily. Those D140/D260 times might actually be my fastest of all the ones released thus far despite having better gear in other realms - I guess all versions are more fragile and not just the D350? Only Thief and Wol are 5* dived, the rest are 4* dived only, though everyone has at least 100 magia and Sarah has waters for HP and MND.
As for the D350, not having early bullshit like 50% Max HP and extremely damaging AoEs meant I had time to setup my debuffing while pounding away. I lost Wol and Sarah to something hard hitting late in the fight, but the rest were able to grind it out.
That went much better than I was expecting. It almost makes me think my team isn't garbage for Torment! Though all empirical evidence suggests otherwise, sadly.
re: banner 1
I did 100 gems and got Meia Glint. Two 100 gem hits in a row! A minour miracle!
Sadly, I'm not sure how much this helps, since the only other thing I have for Meia is her SSB and I'm not pulling on this banner otherwise. This isn't terrible though.
ShinUltima did exactly that and now I've got a much more stable kill (I just need to pay attention and use Demon's Cross at the right time to trigger trance).
Now, to the Dark 5* magicites! I really dread those fights as I don't have a single holy chain. I'll start with Ark and see how it goes. Having Rem AASB should help quite a bit! (That will remind me of the time of my first 5* magicites where I killed Quetz and BK without a chain and almost no earth magic and no AASBs)
Now, to the Dark 5* magicites! I really dread those fights as I don't have a single holy chain. I'll start with Ark and see how it goes. Having Rem AASB should help quite a bit! (That will remind me of the time of my first 5* magicites where I killed Quetz and BK without a chain and almost no earth magic and no AASBs)
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Good luck with Deathgaze with no chain. The fight isn't especially hard, technically, just really annoying. Deathgaze barely does any damage. Instead, it tries to doom you to death, since it Dooms you early and has attacks that reduce doom count. Late in the fight it annoys you with statuses. But the main issue is that it has Quetz's 50% damage reduction savage, and it goes into Savage every other turn, making it extremely tanky. Without critical fixers like Tyro USB4/Ignis BSSB or 100% critical like TGC AASB, you might find yourself not doing enough damage to win before Doom counts get you.
Ark, on the other hand, is... weird. Especially if Rem AASB is your primary damage. Ark's savage mode makes it take 66.7% more damage, the most of the 5* magicites. It's quite possible to cap damage on Ark without a chain. BUT that requires leaving it in Savage mode, and if you're using Rem AASB, you're pretty much guaranteed to be knocking it out of Savage mode repeatedly. And unlike Deathgaze, it doesn't go into Savage mode often (every 30% HP). So your other Holy DPS will shine when Savage is up but Rem will keep knocking it out of Savage, making your non-REM DPS suffer.
Your best bet, depending on what Holy DPS you're bringing, might be to not use Rem AASB and see how it goes. Before I got Rydia AASB, I used Siren as main magicite so as to not break Savage, with Minwu USB2 and Raines BSSB for DPS. Disclaimer: I have Ramza chain.
Just watch out for Ark's damage if you decide to leave it in Savage - it hurts a lot. Obviously, use Rem AASB in that situation and hope that you have enough DPS overall to win.
In addition, you either need Magic Blink or Last Stand going into Phase 3 cause there's a dark magic attack that will hit you for 80,000+.
Ark, on the other hand, is... weird. Especially if Rem AASB is your primary damage. Ark's savage mode makes it take 66.7% more damage, the most of the 5* magicites. It's quite possible to cap damage on Ark without a chain. BUT that requires leaving it in Savage mode, and if you're using Rem AASB, you're pretty much guaranteed to be knocking it out of Savage mode repeatedly. And unlike Deathgaze, it doesn't go into Savage mode often (every 30% HP). So your other Holy DPS will shine when Savage is up but Rem will keep knocking it out of Savage, making your non-REM DPS suffer.
Your best bet, depending on what Holy DPS you're bringing, might be to not use Rem AASB and see how it goes. Before I got Rydia AASB, I used Siren as main magicite so as to not break Savage, with Minwu USB2 and Raines BSSB for DPS. Disclaimer: I have Ramza chain.
Just watch out for Ark's damage if you decide to leave it in Savage - it hurts a lot. Obviously, use Rem AASB in that situation and hope that you have enough DPS overall to win.
In addition, you either need Magic Blink or Last Stand going into Phase 3 cause there's a dark magic attack that will hit you for 80,000+.
Thanks for the advice, gives me a lot to think about :)
I will most likely tackle deathgaze last. I'm hoping to snag Hope holy CSB during the fest to help me out.
As for Ark, I will probably bring Rosa USB1 for blink or Eiko for last stand instead of Elarra I guess? Will have to try things out. I also have Alphi AASB so maybe I can use him with Lunar Dragon on top of Rem AASB? Other DPS contenders are Arc and Hope with USB1... Haven't really checked what else I have in store.
In any case, I will know more after a few tries! Thanks again for the advice :)
I will most likely tackle deathgaze last. I'm hoping to snag Hope holy CSB during the fest to help me out.
As for Ark, I will probably bring Rosa USB1 for blink or Eiko for last stand instead of Elarra I guess? Will have to try things out. I also have Alphi AASB so maybe I can use him with Lunar Dragon on top of Rem AASB? Other DPS contenders are Arc and Hope with USB1... Haven't really checked what else I have in store.
In any case, I will know more after a few tries! Thanks again for the advice :)
Alphinaud AASB and Rem AASB will work fine together. Summons in particular are really good for this fight since they will still do big damage despite the 99% MAG/MND debuff.
I actually use both Elarra and Rosa for this fight. Elarra for Allegro Con Moto/Protectga (before Rydia AASB made this team, I had Elarra spamming Holy summons instead of ACM), and Rosa has De'Dia/Hastega. In addition to Elarra USb1 and Rosa USb2, I also have Elarra BSSB and Rosa USB1 - depending on my DPS in Phase 2, I will use either Rosa USB1 to blink the P3 Overflow attack or Elarra BSSB to tank it. Just make sure you have one or the other.
I actually use both Elarra and Rosa for this fight. Elarra for Allegro Con Moto/Protectga (before Rydia AASB made this team, I had Elarra spamming Holy summons instead of ACM), and Rosa has De'Dia/Hastega. In addition to Elarra USb1 and Rosa USb2, I also have Elarra BSSB and Rosa USB1 - depending on my DPS in Phase 2, I will use either Rosa USB1 to blink the P3 Overflow attack or Elarra BSSB to tank it. Just make sure you have one or the other.
Yeah Ark sucks. Feels bad to have Rem's AASB but not use it because the team does better damage without it.
Eight hours. That's how long I spent before I could sub-30 D??? Shadow Lord. EIGHT. FUCKING. HOURS. (Not all at once, but still had 6 + 2 hour sessions, which is at least 6 hours too many).
Ayame (LM1+LM2): R4 Frost-Touched Blade, R1 Freezing Moon, Gathering Storm (BSSB), double ice boost
Shantotto (LM2+LMR1): R5 Lunatic Thunder, R4 Chain Thundaja, Scholar's Boon (USB), double lightning boost
Lion (LM1+LM2): R5 Storm Assault, R1 Steal Power, Acestriker (USB), double wind boost
Aphmau (LM1): R4 Curada, R3 Protectga, DMT (USB1)
Curilla (LM1): R5 Healing Smite, R3 Shellga, DMT (USB1), double holy boost
RW: Chain
Magicites: Madeen (ATK/MAG Boon), King Behemoth (Empower Lightning x2), Manticore (Empower Ice x2), Lakshmi (Dampen Dark/MND Boon), Madeen (HP Boon/Fast Act)
Turn order:
Ayame: Chain, Freezing Moon, Frost-Touched Blade, BSSB, Frost Touched Blade, refresh Chain, Frost-Touched Blade spam
Shantotto: Chain Thundaja x3, USB, Lunatic Thunder spam, USB after Aphmau USB1
Lion: Steal Power x2, Storm Assault x2, USB, Storm Assault x2, USB, Steal Power, Storm Assault as Physical Shield wears off, USB -> Storm Assault x2 where applicable
Aphmau: USB after Ultimate Bowels of Agony, Protectga, Curada to self, Curada to Ayame, Curada to Shantotto, USB1 after Ultimate Damning Edict, Curada to Shantotto, Curada spam, USB when available.
Curilla: USB1 after Aphmau USB, Shellga, Healing Smite x2, magicite, BSSB, Healing Smite spam
I tried for hours to win with R4 Lunatic Thunder and drop Shantotto USb x2 at the end, but after twice being right at the finish line and Shantotto not having quite enough gauge for that last USb in time, I bit the bullet and honed Lunatic Thunder to R5. It still took a few tries after that, but only a few.
The biggest RNG in this fight is that I need to get out f Phase 1 after Phase 1 Ultimate Fire V and not any turns before or after. This gives the maximum amount of time to push as far into Phase 2 as possible, i.e. before Physical Shield makes Lion/Totto/Curilla useless for 5 seconds. But to do this requires Lion/Ayame not dualcasting or only dualcasting once early on. If Shadow Lord is over 81% HP when he does Kick Back, I'm good, but this didn't happen often. I tried manipulating chain timing but it didn't really help. Funnily enough, on my actual sub-30 run, I flubbed Lion's second turn and did Steal Power twice, when her first 2 turns are normally Steal Power -> Storm Assault. This might have made the difference early on, who knows.
How far I pushed before physical shield went up was also RNG. Because 'Totto is solo DPS while shield is up, and thus when the shield wore off, I could be in Phase 3 or Phase 4. It meant that the damage I would be eating would be random. I couldn't afford to lose any characters to pull off this win, so it was very stressful having to adjust to healing. Generally, though, I prioritized Shantotto and Aphmau herself, since Lion could self-heal.
Speaking of which, while Physical Shield was up, I would drop USB1 again just so Lion could have 2 IC turns after. She would Steal Power (this wears off by the time physical shield wears off and it makes a big difference), then wait to Storm Assault heal when the shield wore off. Refreshing USB1 for ICx2 Storm Assault after seemed to be better than just doing Storm Assault spam.
I have Ayame OSB, but in my sub-30 run I didn't get to use it. Didn't have the time to access the SB menu to select it even under IC, so I just went for Frost-Touched blade. It dualcast, so it paid off. 'Totto was able to hit USB under IC at 29.70 for the win.
I will never not hate these fights. EIGHT HOURS. GOD.
8 down. 9 to go.
Ayame (LM1+LM2): R4 Frost-Touched Blade, R1 Freezing Moon, Gathering Storm (BSSB), double ice boost
Shantotto (LM2+LMR1): R5 Lunatic Thunder, R4 Chain Thundaja, Scholar's Boon (USB), double lightning boost
Lion (LM1+LM2): R5 Storm Assault, R1 Steal Power, Acestriker (USB), double wind boost
Aphmau (LM1): R4 Curada, R3 Protectga, DMT (USB1)
Curilla (LM1): R5 Healing Smite, R3 Shellga, DMT (USB1), double holy boost
RW: Chain
Magicites: Madeen (ATK/MAG Boon), King Behemoth (Empower Lightning x2), Manticore (Empower Ice x2), Lakshmi (Dampen Dark/MND Boon), Madeen (HP Boon/Fast Act)
Turn order:
Ayame: Chain, Freezing Moon, Frost-Touched Blade, BSSB, Frost Touched Blade, refresh Chain, Frost-Touched Blade spam
Shantotto: Chain Thundaja x3, USB, Lunatic Thunder spam, USB after Aphmau USB1
Lion: Steal Power x2, Storm Assault x2, USB, Storm Assault x2, USB, Steal Power, Storm Assault as Physical Shield wears off, USB -> Storm Assault x2 where applicable
Aphmau: USB after Ultimate Bowels of Agony, Protectga, Curada to self, Curada to Ayame, Curada to Shantotto, USB1 after Ultimate Damning Edict, Curada to Shantotto, Curada spam, USB when available.
Curilla: USB1 after Aphmau USB, Shellga, Healing Smite x2, magicite, BSSB, Healing Smite spam
I tried for hours to win with R4 Lunatic Thunder and drop Shantotto USb x2 at the end, but after twice being right at the finish line and Shantotto not having quite enough gauge for that last USb in time, I bit the bullet and honed Lunatic Thunder to R5. It still took a few tries after that, but only a few.
The biggest RNG in this fight is that I need to get out f Phase 1 after Phase 1 Ultimate Fire V and not any turns before or after. This gives the maximum amount of time to push as far into Phase 2 as possible, i.e. before Physical Shield makes Lion/Totto/Curilla useless for 5 seconds. But to do this requires Lion/Ayame not dualcasting or only dualcasting once early on. If Shadow Lord is over 81% HP when he does Kick Back, I'm good, but this didn't happen often. I tried manipulating chain timing but it didn't really help. Funnily enough, on my actual sub-30 run, I flubbed Lion's second turn and did Steal Power twice, when her first 2 turns are normally Steal Power -> Storm Assault. This might have made the difference early on, who knows.
How far I pushed before physical shield went up was also RNG. Because 'Totto is solo DPS while shield is up, and thus when the shield wore off, I could be in Phase 3 or Phase 4. It meant that the damage I would be eating would be random. I couldn't afford to lose any characters to pull off this win, so it was very stressful having to adjust to healing. Generally, though, I prioritized Shantotto and Aphmau herself, since Lion could self-heal.
Speaking of which, while Physical Shield was up, I would drop USB1 again just so Lion could have 2 IC turns after. She would Steal Power (this wears off by the time physical shield wears off and it makes a big difference), then wait to Storm Assault heal when the shield wore off. Refreshing USB1 for ICx2 Storm Assault after seemed to be better than just doing Storm Assault spam.
I have Ayame OSB, but in my sub-30 run I didn't get to use it. Didn't have the time to access the SB menu to select it even under IC, so I just went for Frost-Touched blade. It dualcast, so it paid off. 'Totto was able to hit USB under IC at 29.70 for the win.
I will never not hate these fights. EIGHT HOURS. GOD.
8 down. 9 to go.
Wow that is amazing! I used prishe instead of ayame, her ssb is too useful. Also grabbed shans aosb off the last full throttle.
I to had to r5 lunatic thunder. Ouch
I to had to r5 lunatic thunder. Ouch
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Random Painted Highway: I have Prishe SSB too, but I needed damage here more than Last Stand. Ayame had BSSB/OSB, so she made the team. As for the FUll Throttle, I got the III set since I had no dupes and that set would have guaranteed a win on D???, though I'm a little iffy on sub-30.
Keep in mind I had a 33 second win on XI D??? before. It's not logical that it would take me 8 hours just to scrape 3 seconds off my time, but there yah go.
Anyway, thanks to poster I_hate_Syldra on Gamefaqs, I was able to get a sub-30 on TYpe-0 D???. He posted a team that I could mimic quite closely, and with some adjustments I got my sub-30 after less than two hours of attempts. Compared to the 8 hour madness of XI, this was almost relaxing. It helps that, unlike with XI, I actually kept improving, with a 36 second win, then 31.XX, then 30.XX, and finally 28.07. It also wasn't a total RNG-fest like XI, just needed to figure things out (like keeping King alive) to get the sub-30.
Eight (LM1+LM2): R4 Iron Fist Ice, R4 Flash Disaster, Fist DMG+ (USB), double ice boost, odin accessory
King (LM1+LM2): R5 Tempest Snipe, R3 Plasma Shock, DMT (USB), double lightning boost, odin accessory
Rem (LM1+LM2): R5 Holyja, R2 Hastega, Gathering Storm (BSSB), double holy boost, earth/fire resist acc
Sice (LM1+LM2): R4 Demon Cross, R3 Dread Weapon, Acestriker (USB), double dark boost, fire/wind resist acc
Deuce (LM2+LMR1): R4 Curada, R3 Shellga, MM (BSSB/USB3), earth/holy resist acc
RW: Chain
Magicites: Lakshmi (MND/HP Boon), Ark (Empower Dark x2), Manticore (Empower Ice x2), Madeen (Atk x2), MAdeen (HP/Fast Cast)
100 magia on everyone in main stat.
Rough Plan:
Eight: Flash Disaster x3, USB, spam Iron Fist Ice, but switch to Flash Disaster for gauge if I needed to refresh Last Stand, USB at the end for damage
King: Chain, USB, Plasma Shock x2, magicite, refresh chain, USB, Tempest Snipe spam
Rem: Hastega, Holyja spam, remain on standby to refresh Hastega after Dispel, BSSB after chain is refreshed, OSB to help skip phase 3, Holyja spam
Sice: Dread Weapon, Demon Cross spam, USB, Demon Cross spam, USB to help skip Phase 3, Demon Cross spam
Deuce: BSSB, Shellga, Curada, remain on standby to refresh Shellga after DIspel, CMD1 if someone has lost Last Stand and needs to heal, otherwise Curada, USB3 when available, Curada spam
I initially had Gathering Storm on Sice and Acestriker on Rem, but found the other way around to be better. Sice needs more gauge to spam USB, and Rem needs to push out Hastega faster.
The key to sub-30 was to skip Phase 3 death and keep King alive. I kept getting close times with King KOed by death, and once I found a sequence that kept him alive, I got the sub-30. What helped was making King drop magicite and refresh chain while in the middle of phase 2, allowing the others to build up and DPS past Phase 3 with Rem OSB, Eight USB, and Sice USB (I was altered to the fact that this is like a mini-AOSB upon refresh, dealing 9999x10+99999 with high chain count; I didn't get quite that much damage when I used it the second time since chain count wasn't high enough, but it was enough to push past Phase 3 along side Rem and Eight). Things got a bit dicey in the middle when Last Stand kept triggering, but Eight was able to refresh in time thanks to IC FLash Disaster and IC USB.
Okay, so thank God that's over. That's 9 sub-30s down, 8 to go. I hope the rest are closer to this, and not the hell that I went through with XI, but I'm not hopeful.
Keep in mind I had a 33 second win on XI D??? before. It's not logical that it would take me 8 hours just to scrape 3 seconds off my time, but there yah go.
Anyway, thanks to poster I_hate_Syldra on Gamefaqs, I was able to get a sub-30 on TYpe-0 D???. He posted a team that I could mimic quite closely, and with some adjustments I got my sub-30 after less than two hours of attempts. Compared to the 8 hour madness of XI, this was almost relaxing. It helps that, unlike with XI, I actually kept improving, with a 36 second win, then 31.XX, then 30.XX, and finally 28.07. It also wasn't a total RNG-fest like XI, just needed to figure things out (like keeping King alive) to get the sub-30.
Eight (LM1+LM2): R4 Iron Fist Ice, R4 Flash Disaster, Fist DMG+ (USB), double ice boost, odin accessory
King (LM1+LM2): R5 Tempest Snipe, R3 Plasma Shock, DMT (USB), double lightning boost, odin accessory
Rem (LM1+LM2): R5 Holyja, R2 Hastega, Gathering Storm (BSSB), double holy boost, earth/fire resist acc
Sice (LM1+LM2): R4 Demon Cross, R3 Dread Weapon, Acestriker (USB), double dark boost, fire/wind resist acc
Deuce (LM2+LMR1): R4 Curada, R3 Shellga, MM (BSSB/USB3), earth/holy resist acc
RW: Chain
Magicites: Lakshmi (MND/HP Boon), Ark (Empower Dark x2), Manticore (Empower Ice x2), Madeen (Atk x2), MAdeen (HP/Fast Cast)
100 magia on everyone in main stat.
Rough Plan:
Eight: Flash Disaster x3, USB, spam Iron Fist Ice, but switch to Flash Disaster for gauge if I needed to refresh Last Stand, USB at the end for damage
King: Chain, USB, Plasma Shock x2, magicite, refresh chain, USB, Tempest Snipe spam
Rem: Hastega, Holyja spam, remain on standby to refresh Hastega after Dispel, BSSB after chain is refreshed, OSB to help skip phase 3, Holyja spam
Sice: Dread Weapon, Demon Cross spam, USB, Demon Cross spam, USB to help skip Phase 3, Demon Cross spam
Deuce: BSSB, Shellga, Curada, remain on standby to refresh Shellga after DIspel, CMD1 if someone has lost Last Stand and needs to heal, otherwise Curada, USB3 when available, Curada spam
I initially had Gathering Storm on Sice and Acestriker on Rem, but found the other way around to be better. Sice needs more gauge to spam USB, and Rem needs to push out Hastega faster.
The key to sub-30 was to skip Phase 3 death and keep King alive. I kept getting close times with King KOed by death, and once I found a sequence that kept him alive, I got the sub-30. What helped was making King drop magicite and refresh chain while in the middle of phase 2, allowing the others to build up and DPS past Phase 3 with Rem OSB, Eight USB, and Sice USB (I was altered to the fact that this is like a mini-AOSB upon refresh, dealing 9999x10+99999 with high chain count; I didn't get quite that much damage when I used it the second time since chain count wasn't high enough, but it was enough to push past Phase 3 along side Rem and Eight). Things got a bit dicey in the middle when Last Stand kept triggering, but Eight was able to refresh in time thanks to IC FLash Disaster and IC USB.
Okay, so thank God that's over. That's 9 sub-30s down, 8 to go. I hope the rest are closer to this, and not the hell that I went through with XI, but I'm not hopeful.
After struggling for over eight hours on sub-30 D??? XI, then having a much more pleasant, though still somewhat time-consuming, two hours to sub-30 Type-0, I figured it was time to stop playing around and crush the IV D??? with Rydia AASB/AOSB and Golbez USB2 like I figured I could. I had a trial run with a team of Golbez/Rydia/Edward/Rosa/Tellah that didn't go so well since only Rydia and Rosa were dived and the others were KOed by turn 3, slot order was wrong, and I didn't have anything for Edward anyway (was going to use him as an Entrust-bot). Rosa/Rydia two-(wo)manned their way to 63%. This time I swapped Edward with nothing for the infinitely more useful Edge SSB2, dived Tellah/Golbez, and go a sub-25 (24.15) win first try.
Edge (LM1+LM2): R3 Smoldering Fire, R5 Raging Storm, DMT (SSB2), double wind boost, fire/earth res acc
Rydia (LM1+LM2): R4 Lunar Leviathan, R4 Lunar Ifrit, Gathering Storm (AASB/AOSB), double water boost, fire/earth resist acc
Rosa (LM1): R3 Protectga, R5 Wrath, Ace Striker (USB2), Odin accessory
Tellah (LM1+LM2): R4 CHain Firaja, R4 Meltdown, DMT (BSSB), double fire boost, Odin accessory
Golbez (LM1): R4 Dire Heal, R4 Necro Count, Darkness DMG+ RM (USB2), double dark boost, fire/earth res acc
RW: Chain
Magicites: Lakshmi (Mnd/HP Boon), Belias (Empower Fire x2), Ark (Empower Dark x2), Madeen (Mag Boon x2), Madeen (HP/Fast Cast)
100 magia on everyone in their main stat, though Edge was magia's for ATK. Rydia actually has over 400 magia, and currently has MAG, HP, and Water at 100.
Thanks to the firepower and defensive support, this is the most dirt simple Torment D??? I've yet faced. The combination of Edge SSB2 and Rosa USB2 (also have her USB1, but didn't use it) makes you nearly invincible and, of course, speeds up the offense like little else. I wasn't sure whether to run Edge as physical or magic - listed clears used both - but I went with magic since Calcabrina supposedly has a bunch of physical attacks and I couldn't be bothered to refresh blinks. Golbez and Tellah did well, chipping in with damage (Golbez USB2's bubble broke after 3 attacks though; barely go to use it), but of course, Rydia is the star here that tore through Calcabrina and made it so that I barely paid attention to what it was doing. Didn't need her AOSB at the end but used it just in case. I would have still sub-30'd without it, but not sub-25.
I had Rydia use the chain turn 1, and I had Tellah refresh chain at some point under HQC. Otherwise, it was straight blitz. After Protectga, Rosa went Wrath x2 -> USb2 for the rest of the battle, which is actually the first time I've been able to pull that off without something screwing it up.
10 sub-30s down now (IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, Type-0, FFT). 7 to go. No AASBs for any of the remaining realms right now, though, so no way any of the rest will be this simple.
Oh wait, not true! I forgot I have Snow AASB. But the rest of the realm is pretty dour, so still not confident about that one. Trial ruin for that wasn't great either (52%).
Edge (LM1+LM2): R3 Smoldering Fire, R5 Raging Storm, DMT (SSB2), double wind boost, fire/earth res acc
Rydia (LM1+LM2): R4 Lunar Leviathan, R4 Lunar Ifrit, Gathering Storm (AASB/AOSB), double water boost, fire/earth resist acc
Rosa (LM1): R3 Protectga, R5 Wrath, Ace Striker (USB2), Odin accessory
Tellah (LM1+LM2): R4 CHain Firaja, R4 Meltdown, DMT (BSSB), double fire boost, Odin accessory
Golbez (LM1): R4 Dire Heal, R4 Necro Count, Darkness DMG+ RM (USB2), double dark boost, fire/earth res acc
RW: Chain
Magicites: Lakshmi (Mnd/HP Boon), Belias (Empower Fire x2), Ark (Empower Dark x2), Madeen (Mag Boon x2), Madeen (HP/Fast Cast)
100 magia on everyone in their main stat, though Edge was magia's for ATK. Rydia actually has over 400 magia, and currently has MAG, HP, and Water at 100.
Thanks to the firepower and defensive support, this is the most dirt simple Torment D??? I've yet faced. The combination of Edge SSB2 and Rosa USB2 (also have her USB1, but didn't use it) makes you nearly invincible and, of course, speeds up the offense like little else. I wasn't sure whether to run Edge as physical or magic - listed clears used both - but I went with magic since Calcabrina supposedly has a bunch of physical attacks and I couldn't be bothered to refresh blinks. Golbez and Tellah did well, chipping in with damage (Golbez USB2's bubble broke after 3 attacks though; barely go to use it), but of course, Rydia is the star here that tore through Calcabrina and made it so that I barely paid attention to what it was doing. Didn't need her AOSB at the end but used it just in case. I would have still sub-30'd without it, but not sub-25.
I had Rydia use the chain turn 1, and I had Tellah refresh chain at some point under HQC. Otherwise, it was straight blitz. After Protectga, Rosa went Wrath x2 -> USb2 for the rest of the battle, which is actually the first time I've been able to pull that off without something screwing it up.
10 sub-30s down now (IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, Type-0, FFT). 7 to go. No AASBs for any of the remaining realms right now, though, so no way any of the rest will be this simple.
Oh wait, not true! I forgot I have Snow AASB. But the rest of the realm is pretty dour, so still not confident about that one. Trial ruin for that wasn't great either (52%).
So, I gave a shot at Ark with this:
Alphi (dove): Shellga / LunarDragon / AASB / Scholar Boon
Rem (dove): Protga / Holyja / AASB / +Holy dmg
Rosa (dove): Wrath / Curada / USB1 / AceStriker
OK (dove) : De'Dia / Entrust / mUSB / DMT
Arc (dove): De'Dia / Holy / USB1 / Attunement II
Without chain, the strategy is to rely on both AASB to do as much damage as they can while OK and Arc try to imperil Ark.
On my first serious try I think I got Ark to around 30% where it killed me with Savage Doomsday because I did not time Rosa USB properly.
Observations so far:
- De'Dia sucks. Even with Arc double casting pretty often, I think I never reached two stacks of imperil. That's super bad especially considering I don't have a chain.
- After AASB, Alphi is completely useless. Not sure there is much I can do about that apart from killing Ark faster. Maybe I could give him a copy of madeen to help at least a little bit
- Rem damage output is pretty subpar with just AASB and Holyja. I'm considering buying her USB1 from the lens shop in order to boost her a little and give her more tools after AASB wears out.
- Ark damage output is pretty weak outside of rage mode. Good thing since I'm only bringing Rosa with USB1
- Sometimes my damage gets super low (especially Rem Holyja) for a turn. I'm not sure what's up there, I haven't seen something that would explain that in the AI
All in all I think it was pretty ok doing this without a chain (yeah, with two AASB I know :p ). I'm a bit afraid that the last 30% might be the hardest to get down though. We'll see!
Alphi (dove): Shellga / LunarDragon / AASB / Scholar Boon
Rem (dove): Protga / Holyja / AASB / +Holy dmg
Rosa (dove): Wrath / Curada / USB1 / AceStriker
OK (dove) : De'Dia / Entrust / mUSB / DMT
Arc (dove): De'Dia / Holy / USB1 / Attunement II
Without chain, the strategy is to rely on both AASB to do as much damage as they can while OK and Arc try to imperil Ark.
On my first serious try I think I got Ark to around 30% where it killed me with Savage Doomsday because I did not time Rosa USB properly.
Observations so far:
- De'Dia sucks. Even with Arc double casting pretty often, I think I never reached two stacks of imperil. That's super bad especially considering I don't have a chain.
- After AASB, Alphi is completely useless. Not sure there is much I can do about that apart from killing Ark faster. Maybe I could give him a copy of madeen to help at least a little bit
- Rem damage output is pretty subpar with just AASB and Holyja. I'm considering buying her USB1 from the lens shop in order to boost her a little and give her more tools after AASB wears out.
- Ark damage output is pretty weak outside of rage mode. Good thing since I'm only bringing Rosa with USB1
- Sometimes my damage gets super low (especially Rem Holyja) for a turn. I'm not sure what's up there, I haven't seen something that would explain that in the AI
All in all I think it was pretty ok doing this without a chain (yeah, with two AASB I know :p ). I'm a bit afraid that the last 30% might be the hardest to get down though. We'll see!
-De'Dia is definitely not reliable when it comes to imperiling.
- You can probably replace Shellga with Madeen on Alphinaud. I skipped Shellga with my party and was fine.
- What rank is your Holyja? You will push more damage with it the higher rank it is. Rem's USB1 would only really be useful for boosting her Mind. I think it is a 50% boost which is significant but you could probably do the fight without it. Do you have any mind boosts in your magicities? If you don't adding one in plus using the ability Grace (20 % mind buff) should help increase your damage.
- Ark's only difficult move I found is Savage Doomsday. Just blink it and you should be fine for the fight. Nothing else Ark does is really challenging.
-Ark's ability Eternal darkness (-99% Mag/Mind) and Savage Eternal Darkness (-99& Mag/Def/Mind) really hurt the damage from Holy/Holyja. The duration of the debuff is only 3s so it most likely just lasts 1 turn. Summons have a different damage formula so they are less affected by it.
Yeah, only put it there because I did not know what else I could use before really trying the fight :)
Holyja is R4 right now. Might push it to R5 but I won't do it unless I know for sure I can't do without. As for Rem USB, I think there's also a quick cast builtin so that's why I was considering it.
I've got two Mind Boon 15 currently in my deck. I might try using Grace as well (did not remember this even existed!)
Of course that's what was killing my DPS for a turn here and there! Thanks for pointing it out.
Thanks a lot for the input!
I spent 2.5 hours trying to sub-30 XIII D??? a few nights ago. Actually, I was trying to win, period, and ultimately got a time of 40.42. I couldn't DPS past the Slows/Dispel. I was worried that that would be my best, somewhat embarrassing since I was packing Snow AASB and Lightning USB3 (though not much else), but I thought about it, made some changes, and tonight got a time of 27.91, one of my fastest times, actually.
Lightning (LM1+LM2): R5 Healing Smite, R4 Flash Disaster, Swd DMG+ (USB3), double holy boost, Odin accessory
Vanille (LM1+LM2): R4 Curada, R2 Hastega, MM (BSSB1), double holy boost, holy/lightning acc
Snow (LM1+LM2): R4 Iron Fist Ice, R3 Meteor Crush, Monk DMG+ (AASB), double ice boost, holy/ice acc
Serah (Dualcast LMR+LM2): R4 Chain Blizzaja, R3 Shellga, Gathering Storm (BSSB1), double ice boost, holy/ice acc
Noel (LMR2+LM2): R4 Icicle Bullet, R5 Magic Break, Swd DMG+ (SSB), double ice boost, Odin Accessory
RW: Chain
Magicites: Mateus (Empower Ice x2), Phoenix (Blade/Spell Ward), Madeen (Mag Boon x2), Madeen (Atk Boon x2), MAdeen (Healing/MND Boon)
100 magia on everyone in their main stat.
Turn order:
Lightning: Flash Disaster x4, USB3, Healing Smite spam, USB3
Vanille: Hastega, Curada, BSSB1, Curada spam, CMD1 towards the end, BSSB1 if party HP gets too low
Snow: Meteor Crush x3, AASB, Iron Fist Ice spam
Serah: Shellga, Chain Blizzaja spam, BSSB1, Chain Blizzaja spam, BSSB1 if chain is running out
Noel: Magic Break, Icicle Bullet, chain, Icicle Bullet x2, SSB, magicite, chain, Icicle Bullet spam, SSB -> Icicle Bullet spam
My previous team was Lightning USB3, Vanille BSSB1, Raines BSSB, Snow AASB, Noel SSB/BSSB3.
Swapping Serah for Raines turned out to be a lot simpler than I anticipated. My second try I got 30.97 with a less optimized build - Serah had Mako Might originally since I was planning to use her SSB2 at the start and to refresh Hastega with Vanille if necessary, but SSB2 -> Shellga proved to be too slow, so I just used Hastega with Vanille from the beginning and did Shellga -> BSSB1 with Serah, and found I was not only able to skip the status bullshit, Serah also had excess gauge at the end.
Thus, on my next try, I swapped Mako Might for Gathering Storm on Serah. I also realized that I still had Ark in my build for Raines which I didn't need any more so I switched that to my Mag Boon Madeen. Also, on my 30.97 run, I got zero dualcasts from Serah, while I got 2, I think, on the sub-30.
I was worried I wouldn't have enough DPS by switching Vanille to healing, but that turned out to not be the case. I had Vanille chip in some damage near the end with her CMD1, but she only got to use it once before I needed to heal again, and by her next turn I had won.
Compared to my previous attempts a few nights ago, I had spent the interim time building up Snow/Noel magia to at least 100. As I suspected, I didn't need Glint to get Snow's damage to respectable levels, Meteor Crush was sufficient. Also dived Serah and got an ice mage dagger artifact for her, completely forgetting I had an ice+ throw (Rinoa AOSB) that she could have equipped, but oh well. It's cool. My first mage BSSB still putting in work nearly three years after I got it, heh (though seriously, this would not have been possible without Snow AASB doing most of the work).
I also would not have believed that Noel SSB, which I pulled randomly eons ago and have used maybe once, would come in handy here, but there yah go. And I also finally got to use his dualcast LMR, which I also pulled a well over a year ago and never used before now!
That's 11 sub-30s now. 6 to go - I, II, III, XII, XIV, XV
Lightning (LM1+LM2): R5 Healing Smite, R4 Flash Disaster, Swd DMG+ (USB3), double holy boost, Odin accessory
Vanille (LM1+LM2): R4 Curada, R2 Hastega, MM (BSSB1), double holy boost, holy/lightning acc
Snow (LM1+LM2): R4 Iron Fist Ice, R3 Meteor Crush, Monk DMG+ (AASB), double ice boost, holy/ice acc
Serah (Dualcast LMR+LM2): R4 Chain Blizzaja, R3 Shellga, Gathering Storm (BSSB1), double ice boost, holy/ice acc
Noel (LMR2+LM2): R4 Icicle Bullet, R5 Magic Break, Swd DMG+ (SSB), double ice boost, Odin Accessory
RW: Chain
Magicites: Mateus (Empower Ice x2), Phoenix (Blade/Spell Ward), Madeen (Mag Boon x2), Madeen (Atk Boon x2), MAdeen (Healing/MND Boon)
100 magia on everyone in their main stat.
Turn order:
Lightning: Flash Disaster x4, USB3, Healing Smite spam, USB3
Vanille: Hastega, Curada, BSSB1, Curada spam, CMD1 towards the end, BSSB1 if party HP gets too low
Snow: Meteor Crush x3, AASB, Iron Fist Ice spam
Serah: Shellga, Chain Blizzaja spam, BSSB1, Chain Blizzaja spam, BSSB1 if chain is running out
Noel: Magic Break, Icicle Bullet, chain, Icicle Bullet x2, SSB, magicite, chain, Icicle Bullet spam, SSB -> Icicle Bullet spam
My previous team was Lightning USB3, Vanille BSSB1, Raines BSSB, Snow AASB, Noel SSB/BSSB3.
Swapping Serah for Raines turned out to be a lot simpler than I anticipated. My second try I got 30.97 with a less optimized build - Serah had Mako Might originally since I was planning to use her SSB2 at the start and to refresh Hastega with Vanille if necessary, but SSB2 -> Shellga proved to be too slow, so I just used Hastega with Vanille from the beginning and did Shellga -> BSSB1 with Serah, and found I was not only able to skip the status bullshit, Serah also had excess gauge at the end.
Thus, on my next try, I swapped Mako Might for Gathering Storm on Serah. I also realized that I still had Ark in my build for Raines which I didn't need any more so I switched that to my Mag Boon Madeen. Also, on my 30.97 run, I got zero dualcasts from Serah, while I got 2, I think, on the sub-30.
I was worried I wouldn't have enough DPS by switching Vanille to healing, but that turned out to not be the case. I had Vanille chip in some damage near the end with her CMD1, but she only got to use it once before I needed to heal again, and by her next turn I had won.
Compared to my previous attempts a few nights ago, I had spent the interim time building up Snow/Noel magia to at least 100. As I suspected, I didn't need Glint to get Snow's damage to respectable levels, Meteor Crush was sufficient. Also dived Serah and got an ice mage dagger artifact for her, completely forgetting I had an ice+ throw (Rinoa AOSB) that she could have equipped, but oh well. It's cool. My first mage BSSB still putting in work nearly three years after I got it, heh (though seriously, this would not have been possible without Snow AASB doing most of the work).
I also would not have believed that Noel SSB, which I pulled randomly eons ago and have used maybe once, would come in handy here, but there yah go. And I also finally got to use his dualcast LMR, which I also pulled a well over a year ago and never used before now!
That's 11 sub-30s now. 6 to go - I, II, III, XII, XIV, XV
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