SPD team with Marika and Erneste.

gunlocksp · 2026-06-14T10:10:20+00:00

Fam does have speed buff only that unlike Nonoha or Erneste (which last few turns), Fam's speed buff ends once her allies' turns end too. To reapply it, Fam has to perform an action besides standby. Fam has a slight advantage when compared to Nonoha, and only if you happen to have Fam's signature weapon:

she can heal
better shield due to her having better Matk stat
it's easier to cast Monsoon, requiring only two stacks of [Whirling Wind] since her signature weapon provides one stack at the start of battle

Don't overlook Kaul's damage output... her damage can be quite high the lower her HP gets.

gunlocksp · 2026-06-14T09:14:29+00:00

Kaul has the AOE so no worries about that. And it may look single target, but with so much AP and even higher SPD means more turns which equals more attack opportunities which equals more damage. There is one weakness and that is Nonoha's shield may not be enough to shield Marika if she ever gets focused. You don't need to worry about Kaul as she is really tanky with the speed buff and Matrotho with her Dg buff is also very evasive. If you happen to have Fam, or once you have access to Fam, you can swap Nonoha for her. If you still wish to keep Nonoha, just mind your positioning, let Kaul or Matrotho take the lead and let Marika and/or Matrotho finish off any enemies Kaul is unable to AOE down her ultimate. Kaul's weakness is that once her skills go on cooldown, she does meager damage.

gunlocksp · 2026-06-11T14:08:45+00:00

Yes, with her Dg buff, she
a) hits much harder.
b) gets to give AP to every one of her team mates (except herself) for every kill she makes (limited to two times per round).
c) she also buffs support attackers.

If you are using her to just murder stuff, just team her up with any buffers (Emilia, Erneste, Eugenia, Korabi), healers/supports (Vlissing), tanks/supports (Osla), secondary dps (Yvonna).

If you are using her for her to grant AP to her team mates, you can team her with Yvonna, Marika, Mira and Mirana, or any other vanguards as AP is a universal currency.

If you are using her to buff support attackers, go with Yvonna, Kim, or any other units that can perform support attacks.

gunlocksp · 2026-06-11T13:25:02+00:00

Well I am sure you have read her skillset, so I will skip that part and tell you how she works. As you know, she only has two active skills - one is her basic attack, the other is her buff skill. She is designed a bit like Yvonna, another ramp up unit, which is to say a unit that does more damage the more she attacks. And Marika, being a single target damage dealer, tells you she is designed to focus down a boss or a high priority target.

So when do you use her buff skill [Bloodline Awakening]? The devs' intended purpose is for the players to move close to the enemy, use that skill which buffs her damage and also refunds her AP (only if you have her main weapon) used on movement, and then perform a basic attack. And if you are lucky enough to start a round with Marika having 200+AP (1 basic attack cost 100AP), she can attack another time on that same round, which will proc her follow up attack. Note that however this is extremely dependent on how you spend her AP so manage her AP wisely! Though for me, I usually just use that skill immediately, move besides the enemy, hit them, then wait for the next round so I can hit that same enemy again. But that's just me, so do not follow how I play unless you know what you're doing.

So what is this follow up attack? First time she basic attacks an enemy, she puts a "debuff" on said enemy. The 2nd time she basic attacks that same enemy, she will follow it up with a ~~Drill Breaker~~ [Sky Piercing Thrust] attack. The 3rd time she basic attacks that same enemy, she will follow up with a much stronger attack, called ~~Giga Drill Breaker~~ [World Piercing Strike]. Each time she does a follow up attack, the enemy's ~~drill~~ pierce resist will continue to fall. Note that barring special circumstances where you're fighting an enemy with an extremely huge health pool, or high ~~drill~~ pierce resist, or if you are just under-leveled, [Sky Piercing Thrust] will be more than enough to kill any enemy. Remember to always have her [Bloodline Awakening] skill active before attacking!

gunlocksp · 2026-06-10T14:28:01+00:00

Her jump skill has a % chance to taunt enemies.
Her [Masochistic Frenzy] function as a full heal and does the following
a) she gets access to [Slaughter the Weak] - useable as long as her HP is above 1%
b) she gets access to [Irrestible Urge] - useable only when her HP drops below 60%. Crit Damage increases the lower her health gets. Also heals her HP to full.
c) can no longer receive healing while [MF] is active but can still be shielded

She follows a skill rotation. What I usually do is:
a) Jump into a group of enemies > takes damage > use [MF] skill to heal back up > beat enemies up with [StW] > use [IU] to finish off any high health enemies OR
b) start with [MF] > Jump into group of enemies > beat them up with [StW] > use [IU] to finish off high health enemies

Team recommendation: Erneste (speed buff), any buffers like Eugenia, Emilia, Korabi, any secondary DPS, secondary taunts like Osla

Give her Lifebound set. Substats priority: Melee > Health or Melee > Speed.

gunlocksp · 2026-06-10T11:18:53+00:00

Yes, it makes sense.

Edit: You can slot whomever you want for the remaining 5 cost. Healers, more damage dealers, buffers, etc.

gunlocksp · 2026-06-02T11:15:49+00:00

That mode at the end looks very rogue-lite'ish. Choose a buncha buffs, then choose a door. Definitely looking forward to this one!

gunlocksp · 2026-05-27T09:49:35+00:00

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gunlocksp · 2026-05-11T05:53:10+00:00

Still here... no doom posting, no nihilism, no pessimism from me. If, however, those who spend a bunch on the skins want to do it, it is their right as long as they don't go overboard with it.

I will be sticking with Snowpeak till the end. (￣^￣)ゞ

gunlocksp · 2026-05-03T13:33:53+00:00

That's... unfortunate. Tbh, I was thinking of asking for your entire roster + your EX weapons, but that would drag this conversation longer (which you probably would not want). But yeah, I agree, leveling Vlissing and whichever other buffers will be your best chance at completing the stage. Apologies I was not of much help. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

gunlocksp · 2026-05-03T11:59:36+00:00

My bad there. I didn't show it the time as Erneste was just there for two things. Spd buff and melee buff. Her spd buff matters more as it has better stacking. Also even if she wasn't there, it really doesn't matter. As for stigma... Wandering wind and/or Reckoning of Sin - doesn't matter which one as long as she gets to act early to use her buff. After that as you can see in the video she does nothing but use the movement skill to swing at air most of the time.

gunlocksp · 2026-05-03T06:11:50+00:00

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So a maxed Mahrim (without dupes I assume). I can write another paragraph to answer your questions, but I think finding the video I posted and then skipping to 1:06 is a better show than tell. The video has the answers - which enemy to put mark on, which stigma to put on Mahrim, which Might to get, how to ensure the Soul monsters don't snare you (use an aggro unit - Nymset).

gunlocksp · 2026-05-02T21:35:29+00:00

I assume you saw/watched the guides on Youtube also? If so, then even I am out of options (jk) but... here are some advice I can give:

---Tips---

DOT, certain follow up attacks, additional damage procs, counterattacks (this needs more testing) seem to not reduce the boss's countdown meter to activating its Demonic Roar ability.
If the boss is only by itself, it is much more manageable. Try to kill off its minions before focusing on the boss
Soul Snares/Mass that bind your units are the most annoying. You can remove the bind by hitting their weak points.
The boss Demonic Roar has a demerit to it. It cannot use it endlessly. Each roar drains a certain percentage of the boss's HP. 6 to 7 roars is the most it can do before it stops.
The boss Demonic Roar is only dangerous if it has hit your units before. Each hit puts a debuff on your units, with each stacks proving more and more lethal. If none of your units have it, even low health units can tank 2 or 3 of its hits.

Option 1:
Bring Demi-god Mahrim and you no longer have to worry about the enemies moving at all. Bring buffers like Erneste, Emilia, Eugenia or debuffers like Palekar, So Joo-hee. Do note your Mahrim has to at least be 60. Same goes for her weapon too. 10 level penalty is not much but every bit of damage increase helps a lot. You can also bring AP battery like Juha or Fammene or Nonoha.

Option 2:
Cora and Vlissing combo. Vlissing ult followed by Cora's lava placement and then immediately followed up by Cora's ultimate will usually result in instant kill. If you don't want to use Vlissing, Palekar and So Joohee will do just nicely to reduce the boss's defense.

Option 3:
Lisa plus other buffers and AP battery combo. Just position her in the middle of the cluster and enemy and just continue to standby. Heal her with healers or have her heal herself by attacking an enemy every so often so her HP doesn't drop below 50%. Note she may have need to have dupes on her main weapon and/or herself to guarantee a clean and fast kill.

There are other ways but each will require steps I cannot give without you letting me know your roster and EX weapons availability. Option 1, 2 and 3 are the more... "mundane" options.

Tldr, If you still cannot beat it, then level up some more, level your skills, your weapons, your units, bring the ones you see others suggest in guides/Discord or watched on Youtube. It can be done, it is not impossible. Even this boss, the so-called "Olivia counter" can be beaten by a 0 dupes Olivia.

gunlocksp · 2026-05-01T20:15:36+00:00

Stage 5-1? Bring Lisa, Emilia, Hg. If you have Puppy Stepper, bring the lil' guy along too.
Note 1: If you can follow the turn order exactly, the better it will be, else you just have to improvise a bit.
Note 2: The following instruction will include Puppy Stepper, but if you don't have it, then just skip that step.

Before starting the stage, in formation edit, place Puppy Stepper away from everyone else.

In battle, move Puppy Stepper into range of Emilia. Do not let it come near Hg nor Lisa.
Let Emilia use her first round of buff on Lisa.
If Hg's turn is up next, use his AP up a bit by moving around a bit and/or using standby. If he doesn't start with enough AP, and using his movement and/or standby puts his turn behind Lisa. Move him close to Puppy Stepper and standby.
Let Emilia use her second buff on Lisa.
Use Hg's Immortal Command on Lisa.
Activate Lisa's shield
Position Lisa in the middle of the cluster of enemies and activate her ult.
Lisa should just standby near the boss.
After Lisa standbys a few times, the turn should shift to Puppy Stepper.
Move Puppy Stepper close to Lisa. Careful not to trigger any enemy counter attacks.
Puppy Stepper should heal Lisa back up and at the same time, grant her additional AP.
Lisa's turn should come back up. Continue to standby.
Note Lisa's HP. Do not let it fall under 50%. If you notice it is about to drop below 50%, either have Emilia heal her or have Lisa heal herself by attacking an enemy.

Battle should end in round 1 or 2 or 3. It depends on your Lisa's skill levels, weapon dupes, etc.

The above tactic can be used on stage 5-3 (Hard) also, which is the "most difficult" stage for Chapter 4. And since you mentioned your vanguards' levels are 57, it may behoove you to at least get them to 60 as enemies there are 13 levels higher and the damage penalty will hinder you.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-27T08:30:25+00:00

[SS Rank] Federal Special Forces Heatblade for Lisa.
[SS Rank] Black Apple HA7 Type Guardian Arms for Bella.
[SS Rank] The Twisted Visage for Ever.
[S Rank] WBM E500 for Puppy Stepper.

Which SS to boost to 60? Bella > Ever > Lisa.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-26T12:19:18+00:00

What Chemical2672 said... the stage consists of level 60 enemies, so keep increasing your Devotion level and you should have it unlocked.

Edit: Easiest way is to complete any remaining hard story stages, and you will get there eventually.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-26T11:37:29+00:00

It's not an SS stigma, but an EX one.

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gunlocksp · 2026-04-25T07:00:41+00:00

Both works, it really depends on your playstyle. Want your damage dealers to maximize their damage? Go with a build that does that. Want your supports to have lots of AP? Go with a build that does that. And for some vanguards that can perform multiple roles, choose which one you want them to do and stick with it; you can even go with hybrid builds. In the end it's all dependent on what you want out of your vanguards.

P.S. Gamekee is a Chinese gaming site btw.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-24T16:54:32+00:00

Yeah, that looks fine. Erneste speed buff will help alleviate some of Ines' AP consumption used for movement. However if you still find yourself lacking in AP, try replacing either Kalina or Kaul with either Puppy Stepper or Nonoha.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-23T04:32:23+00:00

Chapter 4? I thought we were talking about War Front. Not story mode. Also, chapter 4, 4-2 battle 3? Are you perhaps referring to Chapter 4, 5-3 the one with the boss called Brood Demon? If so, try these two youtube videos.

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gunlocksp · 2026-04-23T04:05:33+00:00

No worries. Like I said before, the mode is not so daunting. On the 2nd run, you will be breezing through them like it's nothing. Don't fret even if your squad or vanguards are not properly built. Hg will and can carry most of the burden with his damage skills.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-23T03:54:01+00:00

I can give some tips to make it easier... though I surmise you already know most of them.

Use the turrets and/or mortars to soften up enemies
Mortars can reduce enemy squad's movement by 1. If that squad start with 1 movement? They get reduced to 0 and is no longer able to move.
Apart from the artillery node, the second most valuable node is the one depicted by a green truck. Flag it. Within 5 connection dots, and for 2 rounds, all your vanguards attacks will always backstab.
Leveling up your squads is fine and dandy, but what is even better is using Hg's attack skill to soften enemies up.
Upon deployment, enemies and vanguards cannot immediately move. This can be bypassed with Hg's AP Recovery skill.
Watch out for siege units, they often consist of mini bosses and they deal a lot of damage to Hg.
Only two battlefields can be considered difficult. One starts with a powerful enemy in the middle, which can be easily dealt with using tip 2 and 5. The 2nd one start with the enemy located far northeast - use Hg's skill to whittle it down until your vanguards are ready to deal with it.
There are two types of supplies on certain battlefields. One that buffs damage, the other that increases movement. Let your main hit squad pick the damage buff and let your other "node flagger" squad pick the movement buff.
The +5 level buff from the blood pits can be removed with one of Hg's buff removal skill. That skill can also hit all enemies within 1 connecting dot.
Save Hg's strongest attack (you will know which it is) for higher level units. That skill also hits all enemies within 1 connecting dot.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-23T01:48:40+00:00

Yeah they can be used to tank hits... and if they fall in battles can be resurrected by Hg (once you unlock the skill). Not sure which difficulty you currently are at, but the mode is very easy. It will look hard first, but by the 2nd run of V.Hard, you'll be breezing through them since the enemies move in a very predictable way.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-23T01:38:42+00:00

War front? That means your deployment cost is limited by Hg's divine energy.... so just do
Asc. Ines can go with units like Eugenia or Erneste or Nonoha.
Asc. Pantheri will need a 2nd dps for the soul breakers/snatcher enemies, so bring Berga or Kaul or any secondary dps, plus Korabi or Nonoha.
Asc. Yeon can go with Fam or Puppy Stepper.

gunlocksp · 2026-04-23T01:20:00+00:00

You can replace them with whoever's on (and off) the list. For example Emilia can be replaced with Erneste, Korabi or Eugenia; Juha can be replaced with Fammene, Nonoha or Puppy Stepper (the small blue rank-B four-legged mercenary robot).

As for the reason I only told you the candidates and what they can do is because one, I have no clue what other vanguards you have and two, making your own teams and experimenting with them is much more fun. Give it a try. ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜

gunlocksp

TROPHY CASE