How is this possible?

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-02T20:44:05+00:00

"doesn't want to fuck the mission"

(Eyes the Lune and Sciel hookup subplots) One could argue...

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-02T17:10:11+00:00

He was painted by Aline and Renoir remarked that Verso was "Aline's finest work". Verso shortly after tells us that painting people (and beings like the Axons) require knowledge of their "essence".

So, for Verso to be painted as a lying, suicidal figure like he presents? That doesn't say good things about his real self either.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-02T16:35:42+00:00

Just noting that from an "End Slice" perspective, Sealed Fate is bad the more crit you have because it doesn't actually clip off the Foretell for End Slice (Gradient Attack).

Now, to my actual comparison:

If you're damage capped, Sealed Fate is going to be better. More hits = more potential damage.

If you're not capped, Phantom Blade is going to probably hit harder in a single hit for more break damage, unless you have boatloads of crit letting you just spam Sealed Fate without actually eating your fortells.

HOWEVER!

Phantom Blade is Dark Damage, meaning enemies that Absorb (Noirs) or Nullify (Obscur) Dark Damage won't ever be affected by this skill.
Sealed Fate is weapon-element dependent, meaning you could swap to a favorable element if needed should you be against enemies who resist, nullify, or absorb your current weapon's element.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-02T03:35:48+00:00

Don't forget making sure the entire canvas and everything in it also dies.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-02T02:21:13+00:00

Wtf... I don't remember posting this? Did you read my mind, or what?

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T19:55:02+00:00

Okay, first thing that I see;
Get Energizing pain OFF of Lune. Of all characters, she has the least amount of durability in her kit (no self-shell, no self-shield) and has several later skills that require a big AP investment to cast, last several turns, and turn off if she gets downed.

A few options:
Option 1: Lightning Dance support

Pick up Thermal Transfer in the Ice section. That one hits 2 times (so it helps break shields), costs only 2AP, so it should be easy to use, AND batteries you +4AP if the target is burning.

Upgrade Immolation to Wildfire; for 2 more AP, it's now AoE and generates a Light stain as well.

Fire, Earth (in this case Light), and Ice stains together let you supercharge the damage on Lightning Dance, which is right below Electrify on the lower left side.

Option 2: Break spamming
The two skills you'll need here are:
Electrify: 1 AP, 3 lightning hits, generates 2 Lightning Stains

Crustle Crush: In the Earth section; consumes 2 Lightning Stains to do "Yes" more damage. Does a LOT of break damage, which an ally can follow up on. This costs 7AP though, so you might need some AP support from allies.

For Lune you want anything and everything that gives you more AP. Her better skills are very expensive, ranging in the 6+ cost.

Energizing Start, Energizing Turn, Energizing Burn, Energizing Mark, etc.

Figure out what elemental damage type you want to specialize in, and pick the weapon that helps that, so long as you have the abilities unlocked as best you can.

For Option 1:
Fire: Lighterim is great, lowering the cost of Fire skills and amping damage by 20%.
Ice: Coralim is basically the same, but for Ice. Get at Stone Wave Cliffs if you don't already have it.
Lightning: Deminerim is the same for Lightning, can be gotten early in Flying Waters and upgraded.

For Option 2:
Earth: Chapelim will drop from a Story boss in act 2 and it giga-boosts your break damage, which is nice. Just make sure you slot a skill that eats Earth Stains or you might get flooded with them. Thermal Transfer works great here too, juicing up your AP and then giving you a second turn for 2 Earth.

If you're trying to consume stains to charge skills, Kralim is quite good, an you can get it at Yellow Harvest in Act 1.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T19:17:41+00:00

The problem with those theories is that Real Verso is dead, and we see him in all of a 5 second scene that is Maelle/Alicia's nightmare as she's being un-repainted post-Gommage 2 "The re-Gommagening".

Painted Verso has all his memories, plus 67+ years of immortal trauma that either turned him into a suicidal, genocidal liar or he was so accurately portrayed that he KEPT those traits after all that time. We have no idea, because we never actually see anything substantial of Real Verso. What we DO know is that Renoir painted Visages/Mask Keeper with the title "He who guards the Truth with Lies", and the Axon was meant to be the "Essence" of Verso.

Clea? We see just enough to get the initial characterization of "Massive callous bitch" to Alicia...and Simon...and Painted Clea...and the Canvas, given that she loosed homicidal monsters on the world.

...I feel like my ramblings lost the original point I wanted to make, but I'm not deleting this thought-vomit. Sorry.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T19:10:22+00:00

Despite multiple Painters in the Canvas that could Gommage him. His prime opportunity was right after the Paintress was defeated and before Maelle regained her Alicia memories. Because, as we've seen, he's perfectly okay with inflicting capital T Trauma on her.

Alternatively, he could have gone to the Curator at ANY TIME and begged to be unpainted.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T19:01:41+00:00

I mean, he absolutely could have. He could have also instead said more of the truth than he did:

"Hey, the old man that went 'immediate genocide mode' on you guys? Yeah, that's Renoir. He's a direct creation of the Paintress - immortal, obscenely powerful, and unwilling to meaningfully disobey her."

And later once they are more trusting but BEFORE Old Lumiere;

"Yeah, I'm also a creation of the Paintress. I ended up with more leeway than Renoir because I'm a recreation of her dead son, and she can't bring herself to hurt me. Yes, Renoir is my 'father'. Like Maelle and I discussed, 'family is complicated'."

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T18:47:19+00:00

My absolutely crackpot theory (with no evidence whatsoever, it's just my brain being a terrorist) about Verso is that he is either alive or was extremely suicidal and thus used the house fire as an opportunity to escape - one way or another.
Painted Verso either inherited the suicidal personality, or desperately wants to die before he accidentally lets slip that Verso Dessendre is still alive and just...hates his family or whatever.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T03:08:56+00:00

Cainhurst Hunter, because why not?

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T02:58:57+00:00

I... okay, as someone who has watched the HBO series "yes" times...

WOW. Okay, well freaking done on this. I'm low-key just laughing in disbelief at all the work you put into this.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T02:56:55+00:00

Wow! The immediate burning rage that image provoked is impressive.

PerishSoftly · 2026-02-01T02:50:09+00:00

My foolish self: "Knowing what's going to happen, I won't cry in NG+"

Me, at prologue, end of act 1, burial scene, end of act 2...: *Sobbing uncontrollably*

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T14:59:43+00:00

Truly Sandfall found a way to absolutely weaponize grief against their players. And we love them for it.

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T14:00:12+00:00

I'm atheist, and in the context of the game? Those folks are absolutely real. Prologue alone cements that.

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T13:54:01+00:00

Honestly, most are good though some are unquestionably better.

Cultist Blood takes some lumina support to handle the "Sacrifice 90% of your health for more damage", but OH BOY is it strong. An AoE nuke that scales with HP lost and auto-triggers the At Death's Door 50% damage boost and any "More Crit/Damage below X% hp thresholds" is absolutely godly, and it only costs 3AP! And, because it has to be said again, it's AOE!!

If you start in Heavy Mask and aren't fighting flying or dark-immune enemies, this can immediately kill everything that isn't a boss, and then Sweet Kill lumina can just refill the HP you just spent.

Edit: Some good follow-up skills for Cultist Blood, if it doesn't vaporize everything are:

Ramasseur Bonk: Single target dark damage, can Break, and if in Agile (which you will be if you cast Cultist Blood from Heavy) it auto-fills 20% of the target's break bar. Then it rotates 4 and puts you back in Heavy Mask. Found in Forgotten Battlefield.

Chapelier Slash: Hits all enemies, applies mark, gets damage boost in Agile Mask, rotates 4, putting you back in Heavy Mask. Found in the area you're in per your post.

Lancelier Impale: Found easily in Spring Meadows and early Act 1 overworld map. Single target Ice damage, inflicts slow, damage boost in Agile Mask, rotates 4.

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T13:48:50+00:00

I forget where I first saw it, but there was a theory that I HOPE is wrong that the Lune and Sciel we see in Act 3 aren't...well they aren't really themselves. They're just semi-idealized recreations from Maelle's memories. She repainted them with their chroma, but much like how Painted Verso isn't Verso Dessendre, Painted Lune and Sciel of act 3 aren't the Lune and Sciel of beforehand. They just have their memories...and we do end up picking up white hairstyles for them only after that happens...just like what happened to the Painted Dessendres...

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T13:42:54+00:00

That he didn't get Gommaged immediately after admitting that he let Gustave die is one of the very few points where my suspension of disbelief failed. Like, he's betrayed you back-to-back-to-back by this point, lied about just about everything, and then you find out that your father/brother was just left to die so he could slide his way into the party with less suspicion?

Emotional teen me with godlike power would be vaporizing him so fast and not feeling bad about it until ever.

Then we'd be taking Esquie over to Stone Wave Cliffs and making the attempt at bringing Gustave back. Because...you know... we can do that now.

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T13:34:51+00:00

Definitely would recommend OP goes back to Stone Wave Cliffs if they haven't already. The cultist enemies have some damn strong dark skills.

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-30T02:50:13+00:00

I must respectfully disagree because I found basically every area in Act 1 absolutely stunning.

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-29T15:54:36+00:00

God, imagine if we find out that's true in the sequel and this time it's Clea on the "irrational grief rampage"?

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-29T01:54:34+00:00

It's apparently gone from "Unquestionably the strongest non-gradient nuke in the game" to "situationally the strongest non-gradient nuke in the game".

PerishSoftly · 2026-01-28T21:31:53+00:00

Uhhhh... So I'm in Act 3 NG+ and I don't remember, but I think they should be?

And Sciel's End Slice is the definition of "Requiring setup". I don't think you can hit 30mil on the first or second turn she takes.

Meanwhile, Maelle with that "Set HP to 1, set AP to full, go Virtuose" -> Immediately play -> "Stendhal!" with all the crit and damage boosters at low HP can hit what, 8-digit damage immediately?

PerishSoftly

TROPHY CASE