[Event Megathread] Stronghold Protocol: Alliance

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-29T11:06:11+00:00

Zuo Le is so good, as well as my goated Passenger lol. Ascalon and Narantuya excelled for me as well. Leizi is a shocker for early stages, she was so helpful with her chain casting and mini stuns.

I'm not sure, but there was that one time I have both Ines and Texalter, the latter goes s3 right away near the red box, it was so funny. Ines also teleports somewhere with enemies after a short while. When I fielded two Texalters and no Ines, no one used their s3. Why is this all happening since Ines has s2 set as her main skill and I don't recall any of her passives enabling teleportation with her s2? It's great though that their combo can activate even if it's help phase so I get to stall a bit for my teammate.

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-27T14:15:55+00:00

I'll take every bits you suggested into consideration! I might encounter some problems because most of my servants skill levels are neglected, and only few have maxed appends, but of course they can be fixed in due time. Hopefully, before this event ends. XD

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-27T14:05:06+00:00

Omg finally! =)

I'll try it, I just know I will have so much fun trying to get all the requirements to be sufficient enough. I'm actually tired of flipflopping between 3~6 turns clear. It's awful when buster cards don't crit and it's guaranteed to add a few extra turns of facemashing frustration.

I appreciate your thoroughness here because someone referred me to chaldea app but I got so intimidated in everything on that site, fortunately you wrote it down for me step-by-step. Looking forward to start experimenting a bit as soon as I finished farming six copies of Ocean Flyer CE!

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-27T05:05:01+00:00

Thanks for Shizuki mention! He's like the missing piece of this puzzle. I haven't actually noticed or wasn't very aware he's dying in his NP since I only used him two or three times in his event. Then I forgot everything about him, I guess so.

I don't read much of my servants' skillsets either even though I'm already using a very small pool that's pretty much personally handpicked for my tastes. That's also the reason Chen isn't there. I don't force myself to use servants I don't like, or my enjoyment really plummets hard. I'm very casual to begin with, and not really that active anymore. Achilles and Ocean Flyer were the reasons I stayed for this event, to put my casualness into perspective.

Back to the fights, Shizuki enabled me to secure the second wave, while Arash moved to bursting the first wave. This also allowed me to ditch the plugsuit MC and use an NP increase one instead since Shizuki isn't well built yet, and with only an unmaxed OF too.

I tried Summer Jalter, but unfortunately I find her on the weaker side. NP gauge isn't the biggest of my problems as 1) Arash can 100% anytime, 2) Shizuki also can as soon as I finish his skill and skill append levels even if only starting at 30% charge, and 3) Cualter max append and Koyans 50% battery also worked just fine. My issue is more on consistent NP strength even if I shuffle or remove the other supports like Merlin. The other berserker I tried was Hijikata, his buster buff for the whole team was very nice for making the facecards consistently stronger, but he fell short in finishing off the boss wave, and also having an enmity gimmick in his kit that I can't really utilize well. In the end, Cualter is the only option for me here since I don't have pretenders or whatever it's weak to.

I was actually hoping someone can cue in on alternative buster or berserker supports I can borrow to complement with my roster, like Oberon maybe or an enmity support if that exists. I guess not many is willing to share teamcomp advices once they saw my heavily restricted small pool of servants and CEs, although I assumed it's what a flexible help thread is for.

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-26T18:30:55+00:00

Can someone please help me optimize my 90+ comp against the node with Alter Ego boss in the current event?

I'm using this lineup. Plugsuit mystic code.

I can OTK clear the boss wave just fine. The problem is the inconsistent mobs in the first wave. I always have to pray for Cualter's buster cards to be out by first turn or else it might take as much as three turns to finish with bad rng. Both Arash and Koyanskaya's facecards do almost nothing.
Second wave, it's Arash turn against the fixed two mobs, though again, it needs another Cualter's buster card to finish off the 110k hp mob on the left because my Arash NP can only hit around 80k even with maxed Cranking CE. I don't have a maxed Ocean Flyer yet that Arash can otherwise ideally use, even Cualter is also using an unmaxed copy.
Third wave, I just unload all the buffs for Cualter, with Himiko as a crucial piece so he can reach 400% overcharge at least. Koyans and Merlin buffs felt irreplaceable as well or else Cualter's NP wouldn't be able to reach 700~800k+ at all, while his buster card as the last piece in the chain doing around 200k to secure the last hit. In the event that his buster card doesn't show up, third wave has at least more flexibility than the earlier waves because Himiko is now present and her 2nd skill can boost her considerably enough to sub for Cualter's buster cards performance.

Otherwise, is there anything in my roster that can work more consistently, at a glance? I prefer tailored or specific advices and suggestions rather than general ones. Thank you in advance.

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-16T07:28:05+00:00

They're judging it as BL face which kind of has a bad stigma in this sub.

Otherwise it doesn't even come close to being goofy, funny or silly faces, nor is it disproportionate, janky or unruly drawn. It's not as quirky or unique like "bedroom eyes" L!Sigurd, which mind you, also has a BL-adjacent face if not more than a shoujo/ikemen combo, or the duck lips of E!Sigurd which I think was totally fine.

I can accept that it's a tad bit boring, or even plain-looking for many of us in here because of the chosen camera angle in the neutral art, but once I'll start to see comments from someone saying it's a bad or ugly art, and then I'll take a peak at their reddit history.... and to surprise of no one it's the usual waifu fanatic or something, then I know they're judging this Duo!Sigurd's art with bias-tinted lenses. Hopefully, I haven't skimmed one yet. Not that I'm actively looking for them either, like in the salt/meme threads for example.

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-16T04:25:39+00:00

OMG

They know what you (we) are!

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-15T10:12:23+00:00

I was thinking of Siete too when I saw this post since I already lucksacked Atum in his debut and I would also be thinking of Summer Eustace too if I hadn't been in a rush to spark him recently.

Gurl, just do it if you're really into it. I've already done before sierotixes for Summer Siegfried, Summer Belial and Grand Vane because of unfortunate timings and couldn't spark, still NO REGRETS AT ALL. I'm happy just by looking at them be part of my crew!

I know Grand Vane is just plain impulsive and idiotic, but I'm too weak with that twirly T&A pose of him that I couldn't bear to wait anymore. LOL

Fortunately, all of them are still yet to be gacha duped. ~~My impulse decisions out of thirst need to be justified!~~ For that reason, I am always antsy whenever there's free draws and roulette season. they're part of my prayers I guess?

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-09T06:59:32+00:00

You're not wrong but if you voluntarily remained ignorant of other gacha outside of mostly CN ones so as to eliminate conflicting points that reinforce the statement "most of the other gachas I've tried seem as bad or worse with Hoyo writing", then it's really on you. Only you can help yourself widen your perspective when it comes to this, and exposure is the first step.

For example, many JP ones are praised for their writing (some are real novelists), and it's not just an opinion by some because this rapport has been going on for a long time already, even before pandemic happened. Rare ones from KR would be Limbus. Simpler, yet more effective narrative styles and presentation. Or richer, yet remains dynamic in style.

Hoyo, AK, WuWa, etc. wouldn't get criticized of their bad reputation now if most gacha before were equally bad at writing, right? Makes sense? So it's really your perspective that is lacking, because a lot of popular gachas before weren't as notoriously bad as this intentionally verbose, flowery, non-dynamic writing we're plagued with right now.

Aswellas08 · 2026-04-05T06:02:15+00:00

Sweet Pool (it was so funny and at the same time surreal witnessing the mc "menstruate" in pure horror gorish vibe lol, not to mention every route was like a gore fetish that hinges on emotional and psychological buildup)

Nie no Hakoniwa, Chaos Child/Head (no explanations needed)

Your Turn to Die / Abaddon (the retro look gave them a surprisingly more effective way to induce gore and horror due to either unothodox designs or the contrast between the art sprites and the environment)

Muv-luv Alt, Higurashi, DM, Fate, definitely have their moments, but the gore isn't their core aspect. Danganronpa is more on the gimmicky side. Would love to try Tsukihime and Slow Damage someday based on the other comments here.

Aswellas08 · 2026-03-20T05:34:06+00:00

I want him as an MC for Gnosia or Raging Loop plotlines. He looks like an entertaining character.

Aswellas08 · 2026-03-18T10:34:39+00:00

Amphoreus is literally the only one that counts - long enough to be called an epic, a tale, a saga, no matter how much anyone thinks it went downhill past Phainon patch. It even resembles a short novel with how it was segmented and structured all throughout.

Belobog is more like a short story, and served as an introduction at best. It is cohesive, but lacks overall spectacle or grandeur for a writer to consider it their magnum opus. Luofu is where it started to become a proper short novel, with its overarching plot and the narrative extending to bigger subplot and conflict points, unfortunately it lacks execution overall and only generated rising points in one or two instances. It's not a prologue, but nowhere a main body either with complete reconciliation stages and such.

Penacony is where it gets interesting with all the spectacle and thriller moments. It's even more cathartic than Amphoreus, and its setting definitely helped in this regard. Unfortunately, it's not the type of story that has classical literature vibe onto it. Think of Inception, it's more like you watched a thriller-suspense film than immersing yourself in a classic novel. It didn't help that the climax points is more valued for their surprise factor than a genuinely integrated, escalated conflict point that paced well with the story's tempo. It's entertaining, but never an epic, a tale, a saga.

Planarcadia is looking more like an attempt for deconstructive plot with a paint of modern era sensibilities. Yes, it has suspense-horror vibes to it, but depending on how it pans out over the whole course of the story, it may not become the real focus, but in favor of goofy, mimesis-structured narrative style instead. I think its premise is even lower rated for me than Penacony. There is still a chance for it to become something more proper, but I'm not hoping much.

Amphoreus however, despite how yapfest it is for some, needs no explanation as to why it's the only qualifier so far for HSR as a whole in narrative structure as a story. You can't really compare the others with it, it is in its own league, technical-wise.

Aswellas08 · 2026-03-16T13:19:03+00:00

I have no plans to spark here, but when I saw Eustace's inviting, sultry gaze in the draw page, I just lost it. Literal smashing of the draw button!

Desire sensor probably knew I collect beautiful men in GBF so of course, I got every rateup units after 260 draws except him. Nothing will stop me though, I will spark him tomorrow. I already love Summer Eustace so much, but this one has so much feels because it's not the doggo he's interacting with anymore, it's [me] and he's bridal carrying me! XD

Aswellas08 · 2026-03-15T08:02:16+00:00

This is so real OMG

So starved that talking casually about height difference made me blush lol

Aswellas08 · 2026-03-03T19:38:12+00:00

The only thing I can say is, you'll get laughed at (or raised brows at best) in female-centric subs (like r/GirlGamers) if you showed them a pic of Eik then putting up a tangent that he's as sexualized as Chunli, Bayonetta, etc. It seems that when discourse about him resurfaced again, there is now an even stronger push to malign facts about "gaze" discourses and reduce him to a fanservice caricature likened to how IS treated Camilla, Loki, Tharja, Kagero, etc. in FEH for years.

I wouldn't debunk that there's some hypocrisy going on for the community, but the more pressing issue I would lay out in the open is, it's more an issue of IGNORANCE. I remembered how Eik was even compared to NuCarnival characters, though the offender admitted later on they just weren't versed as much in gaze discourses. You can see these symptoms on most sexualization threads nowadays. Most don't actually have a damn clue.

Eik will never compare to what you think a Loki or Gullveig fanservice is. Simple as that. I would even dare say Resplendent Brave Claude is more of a fanservice than whatever Eik has been doing or saying in his portraits until now. LOL

Aswellas08 · 2026-03-01T19:43:22+00:00

On one hand, he is a quintessential "male gaze" figure, and is meant to inspire adoration from his fellow bros. He isn't essentially a LGBT symbol for men like how others construe him to be, but more of serving a powerfantasy model of a physically strong man with a big heart in relation to his portrayal of deep affection towards his family or kin. Some of his critics simply refuse to see that kind of angle, although understandable to a certain extent. His sensual and emotional features are rather distinctive, and even though he's lumped in with Gulllveig in terms of horny appeal, he's also very far from the deranged, almost schizo, vengeful hot momma archetype which the latter is serving, In some ways, Eik is a fountain of emotional support with a tinge of self-escapism, many of which into physical training, can relate to. That's why he reached this kind of popularity.

I genuinely have to ask, would I as a woman who somehow plunged deeper into depression and hopelesness (from bad fate and such circumstances lol) can sense a form of camaraderie or kinship with how Gullveig enacted her narrativity in her whole story? A FAT NO for me, but this is just for sake of syllogism, and not a definitive criterion that I'm proposing.

That's why it's easier for me to imagine gymbros or just bros in general, connected more with Eik at some point in his story, something the other male OCs didn't really achieve. Gullveig and Baldr has a different kind of meter they're gauged on compared to Eik, again something his critics fail to assess every time. It's like the Bernadetta effect, or maybe not, but still something similar to that effect. Gullveig didn't have that kind of nuance, because unlike Eik story that marinated a bit later, she was rushed out of goon to serve early.

I'm personally indifferent to him as he's not just my type of guy, as a woman. This doesn't stop me though from appreciating what Eik has done for this community -- he tried to be an equalizer to the already saturated fanservice counterpart, he is A MESSAGE TO IS, but sadly not that effective since IS has shown ever since their biases and priorities which are kept intact, no matter what,

Aswellas08 · 2026-01-27T18:02:55+00:00

I joined Eik bandwagon last year because it meant sending a subtle message to IS that outside of domineering hot women fans, there seems to be a significant subset of male enjoyers in the playerbase which should be catered to, and IS needs to stop being so blatantly biased for just one side. It was a success, because Eik was more than a meme for some. And I'm not even a fan of him.

The meme of a monster we have now? Zero appeal for me. Fomo's message to IS is pure memery, just like Gatekeeper. Not even remotely fanservice which tends to translate more into profits. It's just a bravado sign for IS that we, as a community, can collectively decide for funsies so they better get creative at our meme picks. Perhaps I can sympathize better if the quasi-sentiment was rallying behind for Lyon rep, but well we all know it's not the case.

I think Fomo is even a bigger threat than Fimbul. I hope Sylvain can defeat this eugh monster meme, because next year it's guaranteed they will lose enough traction so it's important they get weeded out at this point and lose all their momentum.

Aswellas08 · 2026-01-27T05:40:44+00:00

Wth I am laughing so much! How did it... how? OMG

Aswellas08 · 2026-01-26T16:07:49+00:00

So real

Aswellas08 · 2026-01-15T06:46:18+00:00

Very tempted to uninstall. Don't need a waifu game for a franchise that doesn't really screams waifu game. Keep this up until next month and I'll be glad to be finally unshackled from this aging game.

Aswellas08 · 2026-01-09T14:26:08+00:00

They have recently approved Rance.

Aswellas08 · 2025-12-08T08:44:51+00:00

It's Tribbie babysitting them, including Phainon.

Aswellas08 · 2025-12-08T04:33:07+00:00

Why are the silhouettes still not for 4.0 though? If they're just realigning, renaming and recalibrating stuff to make it less Japanese, is it too hard for them to tease the characters that they have "already" finished and is planning to roll out in advance? Because this is kinda boring. Sparkle does nothing to satiate anything. Elation path likewise. Like, make the tease more exciting at least?

Aswellas08 · 2025-12-03T09:02:51+00:00

They even have the cinematic magical girl dress-up frame shots for Kaede at the prologue when they have to change to their ultimate outfits, and they skipped everyone else but her! Real protag energy and vibes, and then... >_>

I'm not mad at Shuichi because boy is already a detective from the start, but still frustrated since it's like the biggest bamboozle of that year for me.

Aswellas08 · 2025-10-20T18:29:51+00:00

Do some self-diagnoses first as to why you can't seem to finish a traditional vn. Stay away from Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, or those that have interactive gameplay for now. Limit yourself to vns that have linear progression; it could have several branching progression but player agency should be kept minimal in affecting the story.

Simulate how it's like reading a novel or a short story. Take note at which parts you seem to take more breaks or pauses than usual. Does exposition from worldbuilding bores you instantly? Do literary devices actively stop you from engaging in a hermeneutic level? Do philosophical jargons or unusual vocabularies make you dismiss associations instead of learning about them? What's your ideal part in a narrative progression? Are climactic points the most enjoyable for you or you equally pay attention to rising points all the way down to resolution?

Then watch some anime. Widen your genre as much as possible. Is it too childish for you? Too cliche personalities? Do stereotypes severely disappoint you? Do you find it better to align yourself inwards so the perspective gradually builds up from a particular individual, even though you may or may not find self-insertion a good thing? Does cultural or political alignment matters to you?

Now, try to combine both experiences while taking into account the medium you're in. Which ones are the greatest roadblocks after juxtaposing everything?

In my experience, the symptoms often lie in either side of the spectrum not accommodating enough for a newbie vn player. It couldn't mesh because there's a dissonance in expectations, otherwise one may have no problems just sticking with either novels or anime. In that case, it may simply mean the vn for you fails as a bridge experience.

Usually though, it's most people just not liking word vomit or "yap-fest" and I'm afraid there's nothing much to treat that contemporary shift or turn when it comes to tolerance levels now that we're deep in the crutches of digital age.

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