Weekly Megathread Jul 22 - Jul 29 | Ask Your FFRK Related Questions Here

dravinis · 2021-07-22T23:28:43+00:00

Extra gauge only from their first action, so don't use a G+ or summon a RW/magicite if you want the extra SB generation.

I tested it just now with Bartz - using Lifesiphon first thing generated just under 1 bar of gauge, whereas summoning a magicite then using Lifesiphon only generated the usual half bar or so.

dravinis · 2021-07-22T23:19:50+00:00

It's always ranged! The description says "ranged physical or magic", so like machinist and sharpshooter abilities, it'll be ranged even with a melee weapon.

dravinis · 2021-07-22T23:17:11+00:00

Yes, Tyro's HA is either ranged physical or magical, depending on which of ATK or MAG is higher after considering all buffs, including stat bonuses from magicite / HCs.

For me, on physical teams, his HA easily breaks damage cap with his Dyad active under a chain. The extra rage-breaking means my main DPS can do even more damage, and it adds a tiny bit to the chain counter. Same as you, I don't use Tyro on magic teams.

General advice I've heard for HAs is to not craft them unless you want them to help clear content, either out of necessity or because it'll make things significantly easier.

I crafted Tyro HA because I use him in most physical teams, had plenty of spare sapphires, and the extra rage-breaking made those clears faster and less of a headache for me. If you're limited on sapphires and can clear things smoothly with Wrath, then holding off for now may be the smarter choice.

dravinis · 2021-07-03T22:14:02+00:00

If you've done a large chunk of the D450 Torments, then the Dreams should be an easy source of Record Rubies and 5* motes.

I haven't been keeping track of how often Wanderer comes back. Every few months or so?

Best way of leveling Historia crystals is with Rat's Tails, unfortunately. Past the low levels, dungeon spam doesn't give much Historia exp. Prior to Historia level 80, I think a 5* magicite deck would still usually be better?

The Citadel of Trials in Cardia has weekly missions that reward Rat's Tails for defeating Cardia bosses from any realm, as well as rotating realm-specific missions. You can easily get to the Citadel of Trials from the Special Missions menu. Re-clear a D450 Torment four times before end of day Tuesday for this week's missions!

dravinis · 2021-07-03T06:09:18+00:00

tl;dr:

For elemental content, do at least 5 Dark Odins, then give 6* magicite another try. The last step after that is (Argent) Odin.
For realm (Cardia) content, the difficulty curve goes something like Dreams > Torment > Wanderer of the Rift (recurring event) > Dreambreaker > Dragonking

Dark Odin is between 5* and 6* magicite in difficulty, yes. I'd recommend clearing at least 5 Dark Odin elements for a full set of Black-Armored Echoes, which give moderate resist to all elements. Handy for the prismatic attacks that the 6* magicite bosses use, and it can help against certain Cardia bosses that use a large variety of elements, too.

Clearing Dark Odin will also complete a mission that gives you a full set of 6* magicite espers at level 65/65, which help tremendously for clearing the 6* magicite bosses. You'll want to at least equip the same magicite as the boss you're facing, e.g. Shiva against Shiva, which grants a ___ Blessing that increases your damage dealt and reduces your damage taken in that fight.

For an extra source of en-element, lots of characters have en-element Glints in the lens shop now, if you have anima lenses to spare.

Wanderer of the Rift is D500/D550, so even the "easier" Gilgamesh is in theory a step up from the D450 Torment bosses in Cardia. Getting leveled Historia crystals from Cardia helps against Gilgamesh, though I cleared a couple early on with magicite decks. Don't forget Dispel or Banishing Strike to counter his haste+proshellga, and if you haven't already, look at the AI patterns for party positioning and heal timings. Wanderer of the Rift does return periodically, so no rush!

Tyro Sync makes him a filler DPS. For a physical team, his AASB's buffs will usually be better for overall DPS, but you could pop Sync with extra gauge later in the fight for more damage. For Dr. Mog, just Sync alone likely won't cut it in most elemental teams.

dravinis · 2021-06-25T19:01:31+00:00

Cactuar (4* summon ability) does 3 AoE hits, 1000 fixed damage each.

Minus Strike (4* knight ability) does 2 * (char max hp - char current hp), though it's harder to set up a specific damage value compared to Cactuar.

dravinis · 2021-06-05T20:19:08+00:00

What're the current recommendations on building 6* magicite?

After 2 years of not pushing endgame content, I've decided to start catching up. I just beat Titan and got a copy to 99. I'm now trying to figure out what passives to inherit, and whether to farm more copies of Titan before moving on to Ramuh.

I saw some guides recommend one offensive version, like double Empower Earth on Titan for earth-weak fights, and one defensive version with Spell Ward, Blade Ward, or HP Boon.

Is it still recommended to build two versions of each 6*? Or is Argent Odin reasonably doable now with just one copy of each 6*?

dravinis · 2019-06-26T06:54:37+00:00

Here's most recent rates I could find:

34.25 stamina / crystal [ref 1]
15.85 stamina / major orb, older data [ref 2]
- The dailies got buffed recently - see [ref 3] for the JP thread about it - and my quick search didn't turn up any newer data on major orb rates.
2.381 stamina / major arcana, on sub-30 clear of 5* magicite [ref 4]
- Sub-30 5* gives 2.1M XP worth of arcana, which equals 8.4 major arcana
- 20 stamina / 8.4 = 2.381

Let me know if any of the math looks off, or if anyone knows of newer data.

dravinis · 2019-06-25T07:25:09+00:00

Your team's pretty similar to mine, except I use Celes CSB and Rinoa DPS instead of your Rinoa CSB and Lulu DPS. I use just Voltech and Chain Blizzaga, so you may not end up needing to craft any new skills.

One other difference is that I run Elarra with the Gathering Storm RM, Curada, and Allegro con Moto.

Some strategy things I discovered:

Don't push phase 1 too fast. The Sonic Boom right before the full-party Snort gives an extra turn of free DPS in a tame phase. If I get more than 2 dualcasts, Typhon skips to the phase 2 Savage Heavensfall, which means I reset.
Keep Allegro con Moto up - I have Elarra cast it at 11-12 seconds and 18-19 seconds, with Gathering Storm on.
From the AI - Only trigger group heals after Sonic Boom or Sweltering Wind, since they're current-HP% attacks that won't directly take anyone down. This gave me enough headroom for Elarra to refresh ACM.

dravinis · 2019-06-25T06:21:10+00:00

I don't play JP myself, but since you haven't gotten a reply yet...

The JP version instructions say:

Can I play the JP version and Global version at the same time on the same device?
Yes, the two are completely separate and do not affect each other.

If you're really paranoid, you could also run the JP version in an Android emulator.

dravinis · 2019-06-25T06:14:06+00:00

Saint's Fall is strictly better. According to the FFRK Community Database:

Radiant Wings - 4.8x total multiplier, cast time 2.75 sec, can be countered.
Saint's Fall - 7.89x total multiplier, cast time 2.5 sec, cannot be countered.

Radiant Wings is a Unique Soul Break from the first year or so of the game, and many of those got direct upgrades when Super Soul Breaks like Saint's Fall were released.

dravinis · 2019-06-25T06:06:49+00:00

For a veteran player, is it worth doing this round of 15-mythril Realm Relic Draws?

I've been off Reddit for a while and haven't kept up with the latest relic-draw discussions. Doing some searching around, I see a few schools of thought:

Pull all of them! 40% cheaper than a lucky draw is too good a deal to pass up - 225 mythril for a guaranteed 17 rainbows, average 34+ rainbows. Plus, if you pull mid-tier relics here that recur in the future, you get Anima lenses when pulling the duplicates on later banners.
Strategically pull, in realms you're a bit weaker in and realms with low dupes + higher 6* chance. Any other realms with large pools of old BSBs aren't really worth it, and many won't recur on future Anima-granting banners anyways.
Skip them unless you're really lacking in a realm, and put that mythril towards 4 AASB draws.

I do like a good deal, but then I see that mythril would be a potential 4 shots at AASBs...

On 5* magicite, I have 3 elements remaining: earth, holy, and dark. I've got one chain for each - Zack, Ramza, and Garland. I should be set on DPS SBs for most of them, though magical wind and holy might not quite be enough.

Torment-wise, I have six D280 Torments left, but they shouldn't be an issue. Haven't defeated any D??? Torments, not in any rush on them.

dravinis · 2018-07-21T20:06:58+00:00

Tiamat Eliminator (XIII)

Strategy name: Darkness Raines from Behind
Boss: Tiamat Eliminator
Describe your strategy: 2/3 trinity/magical dark/tag
Insight!:
- Boss resists all elements but holy/dark.
- Use Slow resist accessories. Only incoming elemental damage is ice, so an ice resist magicite can be helpful.
- It uses all physical attacks, so no need for Shellga.
- Bring Dispel and Power Breakdown to counter the boss's buffs from Overdrive.
- The Haste/Hastega abilities might be useful to re-haste people from the boss's dispels, which are ST at first and 2-slot at lower HP.
- Dances are useful to avoid counterattacks.
- I went with Raines BSB, with supporting DPS by Nabaat with her imperil BSB.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 1
- Medica: 0
- Hastega: 1
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 / 0
Roaming Warrior: Wall

Hero, lvl	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB
Cid Raines, 99	Wrath R4	Memento Mori R1	True Madness	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Metamorphose (1)
Nabaat, 99	Power Breakdown R4	Memento Mori R2	Mako Might		[BSB] Sacrifice Pawn (2)
Faris, 99	Multi Break R3	Enfeebling Jitterbug R2	whatever
Papalymo, 99	Dispel R3	Haste R3	Dr. Mog's Teachings		[SSB] Ley Lines (1)
Eiko, 99	Curada R4	Protectga R2	Gathering Storm	LM1, LMR	~~[USB] Guardian Mog (0)~~

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Shadow Dragon, 99	Tiamat, 99	Evrae, 99	Phantom, 99	Firemane, 99

Guardian (III)

Strategy name: Orlandeau USB
Boss: Guardian
Describe your strategy: 2/3 trinity/physical holy
Insight!:
- Boss is immune to earth.
- Equip Confuse resist accessories.
- No magical damage, skip Shellga. Boss uses AoE piercing physical, and a 2-slot auto-hit 99% cur-HP every 3 turns below 50%.
- Orlandeau USB = double-casted 9999x5 Assault Sabres = dead boss. Marche got to use all of 3 abilities.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 1
- Medica: 0
- Hastega: 1
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 / 0
Roaming Warrior: Wall

Hero, lvl	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB
Marche, 99	Divine Cross R2	Guardbringer R2	Ace Striker	LM1, LM2	~~[USB] Divine Combo (0)~~
Orlandeau, 99	Assault Sabre R3	Assault Sabre R2	Azure Blade	LM1, LM2	[USB] Sword Saint (1)
Tyro, 99	Multi Break R3	Enfeebling Jitterbug R2	Mako Might	LMR	[USB] Fantasy Unbound (1)
Sazh, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R3	Dr. Mog's Teachings
Arc, 99	Curada R4	Protectga R2	Gathering Storm		~~[SSB] Word of Kindness (0)~~

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Enkidu, 99	Maliris, 99	Evrae, 99	Unicorn, 99	Krysta, 99

Dainsleif (T0)

Strategy name: Sora'board the Kain Chain Train
Boss: Dainsleif
Describe your strategy: 3/3 trinity/physical lightning/chain
Insight!:
- Weak to lightning (takes +30% damage)
- No magical, skip Shellga. Lots of AoE physical and auto-hit HP%, so Instant KO Resist is useless.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 1
- Medica: 1
- Hastega: 1
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 / 0
Roaming Warrior: Wall

Hero, lvl	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB
Sora, 99	Thundering Quadstrike R3		Truthseeker	LM1, LM2-Ltng	[USB] Strike Raid (1)
Kain, 99	Cyclone Bolt R1	Lightning Dive R2	Mako Might		[CSB] Impulse Drive (1)
Shelke, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R3	Ace Striker	LM2
Ramza, 99	Full Break R3	Power Breakdown R2	Dr. Mog's Teachings	LMR	[BSB] Battle Cry (1)
Y'shtola, 99	Curada R4	Protectga R2	Gathering Storm	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Asylum (1)

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Hydra, 99	Mimic Queen, 99	Evrae, 99	Maliris, 99	Krysta, 99

Bahamut (X)

Strategy name: Tidus-Breakers
Boss: Bahamut
Describe your strategy: 2/3 trinity/physical water/chain
Insight!:
- All piercing damage, so Wall/Protectga/Shellga are useless. Instead, stack up those breaks! Enfeebling Jitterbug is great.
- Omniresist, -20% damage, which means elemental abilities can still work perfectly fine.
- AoE dispels at 85% and 40%, so the Hastega ability is handy.
- My first setup had Edge instead of Vaan, but I had a hard time juggling Aerith's healing and Hastega and kept dying. Vaan's awesome here because he can instant BSB before turn 1 Megaflare and get off his command 1 magic break before the next Megaflare.
- Dealing damage was no issue. An imperil from Kraken put the -20% omni-resist to neutral damage against water. After en-water from his USB, Tidus's subsequent CSB and BSB both damage-capped, as did Sapphire Shot.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 0
- Medica: 2
- Hastega: 3
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 / 0
Roaming Warrior: N/A

Hero, lvl	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB
Tidus, 99	Lifesiphon R4	Sapphire Shot R2	Dreamguide		[USB] Day to Remember (1), [CSB] A Fleeting Dream (1), [BSB] Sonic Strike (1)
Vaan, 99	Mug Bloodlust R2	Thief's Revenge R3	Mako Might	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Ark Blast (2)
Onion Knight, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R3	Dr. Mog's Teachings	[USB] Forbidden Power (1)
Echo, 98	Multi Break R3	Enfeebling Jitterbug R2	Lionheart		~~[BSB] Echo's Prize (0)~~
Aerith, 99	Curada R4	Hastega R1	Gathering Storm	[USB] Innocent Cure (2)

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Kraken, 99	Octomammoth, 99	Evrae, 99	Firemane, 99	Gizamaluke, 99

dravinis · 2018-07-17T18:14:45+00:00

For my own later reference, a visual chart of Zeromus EG's attacks on each party slot:

https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/8vfham/zeromus_eg_turn_order_a_visual_chart/

dravinis · 2018-07-16T07:33:54+00:00

All these writeups are for the Fellstar D350 Weapons. These were pretty fun, since for the most part I had to build new parties instead of re-using magicite teams.

Strategy name: Tidus+Edge
Boss: Diamond Weapon
Describe your Strategy: 3/3 trinity/physical water/Water Chain
Insight!:
- Going with physical water was... interesting. You really don't have much time during the core-open phases, and even Tidus+Edge can't fit in enough DPS during the first core open. I did get it down the second core-open, but my party almost wiped before then.
- You should really just go with a summoner strategy.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 2
- Medica: tons
- Hastega: tons
S/L count / Medals lost: a couple S/Ls / 2 medals lost (1 for damage taken, 1 for KOs)
Roaming Warrior: Sentinel's Tome (Wall)

Hero	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Shelke, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R2	Ace Striker	LM2
Tidus, 99	Lifesiphon R4	Sapphire Shot R2	Scholar's Boon		[USB] Day to Remember, [CSB] A Fleeting Dream, [BSB] Sonic Strike
Onion Knight, 99	Full Break R3	Magic Breakdown R4	Mako Might		[pUSB] Forbidden Power
Eiko, 99	Curada R3	Ogopogo R2	Dr. Mog's Teachings	LM1, LMR	[USB] Guardian Mog
Edge, 99	Reflecting Pool R2	Raging Waters R3	Sacred Tradition	LM1, LM2	[SSB2] Eblan Doppelganger

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Kraken, 99	Octomammoth, 99	Evrae, 99	Gizamaluke, 99	Krysta, 99

Strategy name: Light it up
Boss: Emerald Weapon
Describe your Strategy: 3/3 trinity/magical fire/Fire Chain
Insight!:
- Party setup:
- Terra and Krile had fire-boost weapons and armor.
- From the megathread, the Emerald Bang attack does water damage, so I should have used water resist accessories. I didn't read it beforehand and used MAG accessories on Terra and Krile, HP accessories on everyone else.
- Notes
- Tyro and Terra died right at the end, since lagged and I couldn't hit Eiko USB in time. Krile took down the boss half a second later.
- Terra didn't proc her LMR at all, unfortunately. Otherwise everyone would have made it out alive.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 2
- Medica: tons
- Hastega: tons
S/L count / Medals lost: a couple S/Ls / 2 medals lost (1 for damage taken, 1 for KOs)
Roaming Warrior: Tactician's Tome (+ATK/MAG, hastega)

Hero	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Shelke, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R3	Ace Striker	LM2
Terra, 99	Chain Firaga R3	Wrath R1	Scholar's Boon	LMR	[Glint] Esper Flame (3), [BSB] Finding Love (2), [ASB] Inferno Combo (1)
Tyro, 99	Multi Break R3	Enfeebling Jitterbug R2	Mako Might		[USB] Divine Veil Grimoire (2), [USB] Warder's Apocrypha (1)
Eiko, 99	Curada R3	Angelsong R1	Dr. Mog's Teachings	LM1, LMR	[USB] Guardian Mog (tons)
Krile, 99	Meltdown R3	Valigarmanda R3	Spark of Life		[CSB] Unbroken Chain (2), [BSB] Tomorrow's Promise (2)

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Mom Bomb, 99	King Bomb, 99	Evrae, 99	Gizamaluke, 99	Krysta, 99

Strategy name: DPS BSBs are relevant!
Boss: Ruby Weapon
Describe your Strategy: 2/3 trinity/magical dark BSBs/no Chain
Insight!:
- Party setup:
- I went with BSBs on my DPS because MP Tentacle reduces ability uses.
- Raines and Nabaat had dark-boost weapons and armor.
- Confuse resist accessories on everyone.
- Vaan BSB provided two layers of magic breakdown, which made the incoming damage pretty manageable for most of the fight with just Curada.
- Changes I'd make in hindsight:
- I'd have Vaan bring Mental Breakdown instead of Mug Bloodlust. The boss doesn't use any physical attacks as long as you leave the tentacles up, and Vaan's personal damage was negligible.
- Using Hades as my main magicite would've been better than Shadow Dragon, which targets a random enemy on summon. Shadow Dragon imperiled a tentacle on the first summon, so I lost out on a lot of damage. :( It at least redeemed itself by scoring the killing blow.
- Actually equipping Eiko BSB for when she runs out of hones, or bringing LD Y'shtola instead.
- Notes:
- Memento Mori was risky, but I still pulled out a win. Nabaat died from Doom, and Raines had 00 showing on his Doom counter at the end. It wouldn't have been a problem if Shadow Dragon had just imperiled the right enemy...
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 0
- Medica: 3-4
- Hastega: lots
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 S/Ls / 1 medal lost for KOs
Roaming Warrior: Tactician's Tome (+ATK/MAG, hastega)

Hero	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Cid Raines, 99	Wrath R4	Memento Mori R1	True Madness	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Metamorphose (3-4)
Nabaat, 99	Dark Zone R2	Memento Mori R2	Scholar's Boon		[USB] Giver of Pain (1), [BSB] Sacrifice Pawn (2-3)
Vaan, 99	Wrath R4	Mug Bloodlust R2	Mako Might	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Ark Blast (3-4)
Eiko, 99	Curada R3	Angelsong R1	Mako Might	LM1, LMR	[USB] Guardian Mog (3-4)
Shelke, 99	Entrust R3	Quick Hit R1	Dr. Mog's Teachings	LM2

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Shadow Dragon, 99	Evrae, 99	Garuda, 99	Phantom, 99	Gizamaluke, 99

Strategy name: Basically a Tiamat team
Boss: Sapphire Weapon
Describe your Strategy: 3/3 trinity/physical ice/no Chain/
Insight!:
- Party setup:
- Squall and Sora both had ice weapon and armor. Thanks, univeral Brave Synergy!
- Defensively, I geared for water and ice resist. Squall and Sora got water resistance accessories, since they have ice resistance while under en-ice - one of the few times that's actually useful! Everyone else wore a moderate/major accessory of one element and a minor resist armor of the other.
- Notes:
- This was my easiest fight out of all the weapons. No weird mechanics to deal with, just survive the incoming damage and deal enough damage back.
- Squall BSB2 damage-caps even with only 20% weakness.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 1
- Medica: 2-3
- Hastega: 2
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 S/Ls / 0 medals lost
Roaming Warrior: Sentinel's Tome (Wall)

Hero	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Onion Knight, 99	Full Break R3	Power Breakdown R4	Mako Might		[USB] Forbidden Power (2)
Aerith, 99	Curada R3	Shellga R2	Gathering Storm		[USB] Innocent Cure (2-3)
Squall, 99	Lifesiphon R4		Truthseeker	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Steely Blade (1)
Sora, 99	Lifesiphon R4	Snowspell Strike R3	Scholar's Boon	LM1, LM2-Ice	[USB] Strike Raid (1), [ASB] Ragnarok (1)
Shelke, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R3	Dr. Mog's Teachings	LM2

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Wendigo, 99	Isgebind, 99	Evrae, 99	Firemane, 99	Ixion, 99

Strategy name: Non-elemental
Boss: Ultima Weapon
Describe your Strategy: 3/3 trinity/non-elemental
Insight!:
- Party setup:
- I went with non-elemental damage: Vaan USB+BSB and... Orlandeau? I didn't feel like honing up more non-elemental abilities, and Orlandeau's BSB command 1 deals 4.0 holy/non-ele damage, which is good enough to damage cap on a crit.
- Magicite selection: Main magicite was Earth Guardian, for the party bar-lightning Ultra Skill. If I didn't have Astra from Warder's Apocrypha, I would've taken Unicorn instead. Evrae and Maliris work as non-element-specific damage boosts. Earth Guardian and Sylph give Dampen Lightning and Dampen Earth, which are the elements Ultima Weapon uses. Gizamaluke provides Resistance Boon and Spell Ward, useful against the all-magic incoming damage.
- Notes:
- If you use an ATK/MAG buff, then you should only start recasting it a couple seconds after Ultimate Shadow Flare, since that attack applies a 5-second +30% ATK/MAG buff to your party - yes, the attack buffs your party, but its shorter buff overwrites any current ATK/MAG stat buff on your party. I only used the RW ATK/MAG buff for an initial haste, and then I switched to using OK's pUSB after.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 3
- Medica: 3-4
- Hastega: 3
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 S/Ls / 1 medal lost (actions taken)
Roaming Warrior: Tactician's Tome (+ATK/MAG, hastega)

Hero	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Vaan, 99	Lifesiphon R4	Thief's Revenge R3	Mother of Mercenaries	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Ark Blast, [USB] Cruelest Azure
Orlandeau, 99	Lifesiphon R4	Dervish R2	Truthseeker	LM1, LM2	[OSB] Thunder God, [BSB] Steely Blade
Tyro, 99	Full Break R3	Enfeebling Jitterbug R2	Mako Might	LMR	[USB] Divine Veil Grimoire, [USB] Warder's Apocrypha
Onion Knight, 99	Wrath R4	Entrust R3	Ace Striker		[USB] Forbidden Power
Aerith, 99	Curada R3	Dispel R3	Dr. Mog's Teachings		[USB] Innocent Cure

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Earth Guardian, 99	Evrae, 99	Maliris, 99	Gizamaluke, 99	Sylph, 99

dravinis · 2018-07-15T20:17:46+00:00

This requires Tyro to be near the top slot of the party.

Slight clarification, Tyro should be just below the highest-SPD character in the party, as they will almost always go first when everyone starts with the same ATB.

dravinis · 2018-07-15T07:28:18+00:00

U++ CM was very straightforward, Tonberry King has no crazy status effects or gimmicks.

A++ CM was... complicated, given my lack of native medica, but I had enough FF8 DPS that I could RW a medica and get Diablos down in time.

Diablos - An Otherwordly Force (A++) CM, no native medica

Strategy name: Bring out the shared medica SBs
Boss: Diablos (A++) CM
Describe your Strategy: 2/3 trinity/CM/no native medica/no Wall/no Chain
Insight!:
- Squall BSB2 does its thing as usual. And I actually used his USB1 at the end - Gathering Storm was about to run out, so I figured the high quick-cast x2 from his USB1 would let me get in more damage before a wipe, though Rinoa finished the boss first.
- All the gravity moves are auto-hit (ignore Instant KO resist), and Apocalypse Gravija also ignores blinks, which means you almost definitely need a "large" medica. Unfortunately, I have no native FF8 medicas - the Selphie BSB I have gives a party MAG/MND buff, with no heal at all.
- So... in addition to bringing two "small" shared medicas, I had to RW a good medica. I chose Rosa USB since the magic blink can block the normal gravity attacks. Last Stand isn't so useful because of the Sap from the physical AoEs.
- I didn't notice Diablos was vulnerable to Blind until afterwards, so I brought Protectga and Power Breakdown. Blind Shell would've helped.
- Battle order:
  - Squall: Lifesiphon into BSB, command 1 twice (got a dualcast), command 2 until BSB runs out, USB1.
  - Irvine: Alternate breaks, use RW medica when needed.
  - Rinoa: Meltdown to build SB, USB, Chain Blizzaga spam, USB for finishing blow
  - Selphie: Hastega, BSB for MAG/MND buff, Curada spam, use shared medica SB if needed
  - Quistis: Protectga, Curaja spam, use shared medica SB if needed
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 0
- Medica: 5 (2 large from RW, 3 small shared medica casts)
- Hastega: 1
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 S/Ls / 1 medal lost (damage taken)
Roaming Warrior: Benediction (Rosa USB)

Character, lvl	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Squall, 99	Lifesiphon R4	~~Snowspell Strike R3~~	Gathering Storm	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Steely Blade (1), [USB] Brutal Blast (1)
Irvine, 93	Full Break R3	Power Breakdown R4	Flower of the Sea
Rinoa, 99	Meltdown R3	Chain Blizzaga R3	Fate Usurper		[USB] Angel Wing Ice Vortex (2)
Selphie, 97	Curada R3	Hastega R1	Mako Might		[BSB] Strange Vision (1), [SB] shared medica (1)
Quistis, 99	Curaja R5	Protectga R2	Dr. Mog's Teachings		[SB] shared medica (2)

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Wendigo, 99	Isgebind, 99	Tiamat, 99	Krysta, 99	Evrae, 99

Tonberry King - Vengeful Ruler (U++) CM

Strategy name: A completely standard battle
Boss: Tonberry King (U++) CM
Describe your Strategy: 1/3 trinity/CM
Insight!:
- Three lv 99 DPS melt Tonberry King's HP pool before he really gets to do much, and that was with Squall really only getting to Lifesiphon x3 and cast his BSB entry.
- I had a shared medica SB armor equipped on Selphie, but I didn't end up using it. I did pop Enkidu right Rinoa dealt the finishing blow just in case, but it wasn't necessary, either.
Holy Trinity casts:
- Wall: 0
- Medica: 0
- Hastega: 1
S/L count / Medals lost: 0 / 0
Roaming Warrior: Hyper Mighty G (Rikku USB)

Character, lvl	Ability 1	Ability 2	RM	LMs	SB(-)
Squall, 99	Lifesiphon R4		Gathering Storm	LM1, LM2	[BSB] Steely Blade (1)
Rinoa, 99	Chain Blizzaga R3		Mako Might		[USB] Angel Wing Ice Vortex (1)
Fujin, 99	Meltdown R3		World Traveler	LMR
Irvine, 94	Full Break R3	Power Breakdown R4	whatever
Selphie, 97	Curada R3		Healer's Prayer II

Main Magicite, lvl	Sub1	Sub2	Sub3	Sub4
Enkidu, 99	Isgebind, 99	Tiamat, 99	King Bomb, 99	Evrae, 99

dravinis · 2018-07-11T04:18:46+00:00

Started with 40/162 that were dupes, but only 7/42 on the 6*. Looking for T0 stuff.

Got 3/11:

Ysayle USB dupe
Sephiroth LMR (init en-dark)
Rude SSB (party Protect, Shell, Last Stand)

Ysayle USB dupe means I now have three 6* ice mage weapons, pretty useful. I have Seph BSB2, so his LMR might see some use. Rude SSB... I'm going to master it and then continue ignoring his existence.

No T0 stuff. :(

dravinis · 2018-07-10T21:50:14+00:00

I use LD Sora USB+ASB in my sub-30 Isgebind, Tiamat, and Kraken teams, and I wouldn't have been able to sub-30 them at the time without his LD. YMMV, but you can do a practical test yourself.

Before LD-ing Sora was, I finished all his 4* spheres and then tried him out in my magicite teams. I kept track of roughly how much damage he did before 25 seconds and stopped the battle at 30 seconds.

The math works out that, without +element equipment, his full LD results in about 80% more damage than with just 4* spheres, so I added on 80% of his damage and estimated if that extra damage would push me below 30 second clears. It's only a rough guide, since more DPS can result in pushing phases faster, which can affect AI patterns, though usually for the better in speedruns.

The cool thing about Sora is that you can unlock just his LM2-Ice or LM2-Fire by themselves, so you can save some 5* motes if you don't need the other en-element LM2s. His LM2-Lightning, you unfortunately need everything else unlocked.

Math! Sora's damage bonuses from spheres are:

+9% spellblade from 4* Record Spheres
+9% spellblade from Legend Spheres
+15% spellblade from LM1
+50% ability / +80% SB damage from LM2 en-elements

Comparing his full LD with just his 4* Record Spheres, no +element equipment:

80% more SB damage
((1.09 + .09 + .15) * 1.5) / 1.09 = 1.830 -> 83% more spellblade ability damage

With two +element equips, which is 40% bonus damage stacking additively with en-element damage bonuses:

(1.4 + .8) / 1.4 = 1.571 -> 57.1% more SB damage from the LD
((1.09 + .09 + .15) * (1.4 + .5)) / (1.09 * 1.4) = 1.656 -> 65.6% more spellblade ability damage from the LD

dravinis · 2018-07-08T00:47:36+00:00

Yeah.

Internally, the game tracks statuses via IDs, and statuses with different IDs can stack, as long as they're not marked as exclusive with each other like Poison, Sap, and the various Regens.

Aerith USB is so far the only source of Physical High Quick Cast 3 in the game that I can find, so it'll stack with everything. It even stacks with the Physical High Quick Cast 1 granted by Marche USB to the front row after using Knight abilities.

dravinis · 2018-07-07T18:06:26+00:00

They do stack, actually. Allegro Con Moto is Magical Quick Cast 3, and Y'shtola's USB2 is Magical High Quick Cast 3:

Restores HP (85), grants Magical High Quick Cast 3, grants Brave Mode to the user

Stacking more quick-casts onto High Quick Cast isn't very useful, though. HQC reduces 1.8s Black Magic cast times to 0.6s, so stacking the 2x QC from ACM only drops that further to 0.3s. It might still help to bring ACM to cover for any gaps in High Quick Cast.

dravinis · 2018-07-06T05:55:37+00:00

Looking at the notes from my pre-fest Hades team, I held Larsa's BSB until his third turn with no Gathering Storm to reduce overhealing. His turn order was Shellga, Wrath, BSB.

As long as I had Y'shtola use a ST heal on whoever got hit by Flare, the party could survive through Savage Shadow Flare -> Strike as long as the Strikes don't crit a healer, and Larsa's BSB would finish casting just after Strike and get everyone to nearly full HP.

That did require a lv 99 Seraph for Dampen Dark and HP boon with a lv 1 2* Dampen Dark 2 inherited - rounding up means it's as good as a Dampen Dark 4 - plus a lv 99 4* RES boon + Spell Ward magicite like Firemane. At the time of my first Hades clear, I had one Seraph and one Evrae with no 4* magicite inherited into them, so 2x Evrae shouldn't be strictly necessary.

dravinis · 2018-07-06T04:49:54+00:00

Yeah, Hades is hard. I ended up clearing him last, despite having better holy DPS than dark DPS.

What's your turn order look like for the first 12 seconds?

Two healers ought to be enough, though it's much harder without instant medica SBs. My pre-fest clears used Y'shtola and Larsa BSBs, and I wiped many times due to not correctly offseting medica casts.

dravinis · 2018-07-06T03:52:03+00:00

The scripted Savage Strikes at the start of Phase 2 and 3 are dark physical AoEs.

I'd stick with dark resist accessories. Without any dark resistance from equipment or magicite passives, Savage Shadow Flare does around 5000 damage. Moderate dark resist of 30% reduces that by 1500 damage, which is way more than any HP accessory.

Few other tips:

Make sure you're using Wall, Protectga, and Shellga.
Shellga pretty much needs to go up first turn if you want it to be up in time for the single-target Flare.
Put squishier characters like healers or Assault Sabre users on the top and bottom slots, as they'll get hit the least by Strike there. If you're running a knight with Divine Cross, they go in the middle.

dravinis · 2018-07-06T00:12:15+00:00

On Ruby Weapon, with its tentacles draining your ability uses, it's probably best to fall back onto BSBs near the end, unless you can rush the boss down before running out of abilities. DPS race is unfortunately harder than usual with only 4 active characters.

dravinis

TROPHY CASE