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Torment Dungeons

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  1. -- Section 7.5 -- TORMENT DUNGEONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2. Back to main guide: https://pastebin.com/LpNNnM37
  3.  
  4. INDEX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  5. [7.5.1] Introduction
  6. [7.5.2] Foreword
  7. [7.5.2.1] A brief note on difficulty
  8. [7.5.3] Records
  9. [I] Villainous Cycle - Garland
  10. [II] Guardian of the Altar - Phrekyos
  11. [III] Revel in Destruction - Ahriman
  12. [IV] Stuff of Nightmares - Calcabrina
  13. [V] Master of Madness - Gilgamesh
  14. [VI] Mired in Despair - Wrexsoul
  15. [VII] Devourer of Worlds - Jenova-SYNTHESIS
  16. [VIII] Putrid Malice - Gerogero
  17. [IX] The Final Jest - Meltigemini
  18. [X] Spinner of False Hopes - Yunalesca
  19. [XI] Hatred Incarnate - Shadow Lord
  20. [XII] Darkest Precepts - Zodiark
  21. [XIII] Evil on High - Dahaka
  22. [XIV] Terror of the Heavens - Ultima Weapon
  23. [XV] One-eyed Tyrant - Deadeye
  24. [T-0] Crimson Scourge - Nox Suzaku
  25. [FFT] Tyranny of the Impure - Cúchulainn
  26.  
  27. [7.5.1] Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  28.  
  29. Welcome to the Torments! This is probably some of the most divisive content in modern RK, and a great deal of the "whaleshit" complaints in /ffg/ are partly owed to this.
  30.  
  31. If you're returning from hiatus and remember that there used to be a really tedious form of content known as the Torment -- well, the simplest answer is that they're no longer a thing. Whereas the old Torments had 4 / 6 rounds of beefy mobs, the so-called neo-Torments are straight one-round boss fights -- and, yes, they're every bit as difficult as the old Torments at launch, if not more.
  32.  
  33. As with the old Torments, there's some good stuff in it for clearing this content. While the old Torments were invented to provide a long-term source of Empowered / job motes, the new Torments were invented to provide a new fount of both 5☆ Legend Sphere Motes and 6☆ skills. The latter can be redeemed at the neo-Torment exchange shop using a currency known as Rubies, which you'll obtain from making progress through the Torment fights. In addition to trading Rubies for skills, you'll also be able to transmute leftovers for any 5☆ Motes you'll need.
  34.  
  35. By "progress", I mean that the Torments introduce a system where you don't have to deplete all 100% of the boss's HP to constitute a clear. The farther you get into a fight before dying, the more rewards you'll get -- and if you do manage to beat them, you'll get plenty.
  36.  
  37. The "whaleshit" complaint stands because, as with Magicites, there's also prizes for killing these things fast. And it just so happens that the best rewards are gated behind the hardest difficulty, D???. Which has... oh, just about 2 million HP. If you need a measuring stick for that: Boundless Ozma had 1 million, Boundless Zeromus EG had 1.2 million, and 5☆ Magicites have 1.5 million. To beat D??? in under 30 seconds at the current rate of Global's powercreep is THE measure of your power in a certain realm.
  38.  
  39. The neo-Torments, unlike the originals, enforce your use of on-realm characters in a similar manner to the Boundless Nemesis fight. Whereas Nemesis powered up for every character from the same realm, the neo-Torments will power up for every character outside of the realm, gaining resistances to both elements and debuffs as the number of off-realms you bring increases. While the first two difficulties will allow you some leeway (three on-realm characters and two off-realm will still net you a net omni-elemental weakness), outside of specific and incredibly powerful (read: AASB-era) elemental setups, bringing off-realms in D??? is virtually unheard of.
  40.  
  41. To give you an idea of the strength of these bosses: each and every neo-Torment boss has, at the beginning, a special Sentinel's Grimoire effect applied which grants Wall on an indefinite basis. In fact, the Wall will be automatically be re-applied to any characters who are Raised or Reraised, making those effects significantly more useful here. Speaking of special effects, Dr. Mog's special RW for this fight is Bonds of Historia, which promotes on-realm synergy even more by being a Chain Soul Break which adds to the chain counter for all attacks from characters of the correct realm.
  42.  
  43. Now that Awakening and Sync Soul Breaks have hit Global, a lot of the Torments should become quite doable -- but they're not instant win buttons. Moreover, a great deal of the Torments are actually quite doable anyway if your relic collection for a realm is respectable and your Magicite decks are up to speed (this is probably the most important factor). Some Torments, in fact, are designed to be beatable with purely Burst Soul Breaks (XIV's Ultima Weapon being the most notable example).
  44.  
  45. The information written here was developed primarily with Ultra and Arcane Overstrikes in mind (i.e., the powercreep level at which these bosses were released).
  46.  
  47. Leave the speedruns to the whales unless you're a homer for a specific realm.
  48.  
  49. [7.5.2] Foreword ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  50.  
  51. Learn the scripts.
  52.  
  53. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/114492-final-fantasy-record-keeper/77101281
  54.  
  55. At D???, the Realm Chain is your friend. You will often not have space for a buffing Soul Break, so make use of Magicite passives such as Empowers and Attack / Magic Boons to compensate, and learn to bring Hastega. In general, the passives you use will save your ass.
  56.  
  57. Difficulties are referenced using both the game-internal difficulty level and the displayed in-game difficulty level. Some damage multiplier numbers vary by difficulty and are referenced in the order of D240 / D280 / D???. For example, an attack with 486 / 534 / 582% potency has a 486% multiplier in D240, and so on.
  58.  
  59. All statuses are auto-hit, meaning that you must have Astra to avoid them being inflicted.
  60.  
  61. All bosses have a move known as Incubus Dead End. As the name implies, if it happens, you're dead. In early phases, you typically have 15 turns before Incubus Dead End, and in later phases, 10.
  62.  
  63. All attacks have a CT of 1.76 seconds unless stated otherwise. Incubus Dead End has a CT of 3.85 seconds. A good rule of thumb for action races is as follows: any normal skill cast immediately after the boss attacks will resolve before the boss's next turn. Any normal Soul Break will resolve afterward. If you're attempting to time a Soul Break cast to clear Slow or recover from Dispel, cast it on the turn immediately before, ASAP. Lastly, if your team is recovering from Interrupt, the boss will act first before you get a turn. Learning the turn script and what attack precedes another is important.
  64.  
  65. All comments pertaining to the D450 / D??? difficulties of each boss will assume that you are able to obtain at least an efficient 4* elemental Magicite deck or better. I cannot guarantee that you will have much success without one. For D350 / D240 and D400 / D280, an 3* Magicite deck and maybe a few off-realms will do fine, and is perfectly capable of clearing in under 30 seconds.
  66.  
  67. The Dreams dungeons which pop up every now and then with weekly events often have mechanics which mimic those of their corresponding Torment. Your ability to beat the highest Dreams dungeon difficulty is a fairly good indicator of whether you can take on the realm's Torment.
  68.  
  69. [7.5.2.1] A brief note on difficulty --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  70.  
  71. The difficulty to clear D??? bosses at 100% (that is, all 2,000,000 HP depleted) can vary wildly from the difficulty required to speedrun it. Those interested in knowing which bosses are "easiest" to attempt first for Rubies when you're starting out should make a distinction between speedrun difficulty and general difficulty, which can often be left ambiguous.
  72.  
  73. For sub30s, you're assumed to have certain relics. Simply put, they're basically required, fuck this whale game.
  74.  
  75. In this writer's personal experience, the difficulty of bosses to clear is as follows:
  76.  
  77. Insane:
  78. Jenova-SYNTHESIS
  79. Calcabrina
  80. Meltigemini
  81. Dahaka
  82.  
  83. >Hard:
  84. Garland
  85. Yunalesca
  86.  
  87. >Average:
  88. Gilgamesh
  89. Nox Suzaku
  90. Deadeye
  91. Phrekyos
  92. Gerogero
  93. Wrexsoul
  94. Shadow Lord
  95.  
  96. >Easy:
  97. Ahriman
  98. Zodiark
  99. Cúchulainn
  100. Ultima Weapon
  101.  
  102. The difficulty of bosses to sub-30 is roughly as follows:
  103.  
  104. >Insane:
  105. Zodiark
  106. Jenova-SYNTHESIS
  107.  
  108. >Hard:
  109. Nox Suzaku
  110. Calcabrina
  111. Gerogero
  112. Garland
  113. Dahaka
  114.  
  115. >Average:
  116. Yunalesca
  117. Ahriman
  118. Phrekyos
  119. Meltigemini
  120. Gilgamesh
  121. Wrexsoul
  122.  
  123. >Easy:
  124. Cúchulainn
  125. Deadeye
  126. Ultima Weapon
  127. Shadow Lord
  128.  
  129. [7.5.3] Records -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  130.  
  131. [I] Villainous Cycle - Garland
  132.  
  133. Incubus attacks:
  134. - Incubus Soul of Chaos: (NAT) 350 / 350 / 400% AoE piercing ranged physical, ignoring physical Blinks.
  135. - Incubus Round Edge: (NAT) 400 / 400 / 450% AoE piercing ranged physical, self-ATK / MAG / MND +15% for 15 seconds, ignoring physical Blinks. Not only is this attack more dangerous than Soul of Chaos, it also makes Garland hit even harder. From experience, this attack is honestly a "you better have Last Stand, kupo" sort of thing -- which you likely don't.
  136.  
  137. ----------------------------------------------
  138. Difficulty: Hard
  139.  
  140. Apart from the Incubus attacks, none of Garland's attacks are piercing. Considering his third attack is Ultimate Tornado (50% maxHP Gravity attack), this can be a bit of an issue, since you're likely to be starting on the back foot. Ideally you'll want someone other than Sarah to carry Protectga and Shellga (usually Echo), as she'll be much busy running a field hospital. Her Glint also comes a long way if you have it, covering Shellga, Hastega, and some protection from the initial barrage.
  141.  
  142. Garland will mostly calm down after this, but the varied elements associated with his attacks guarantees that if you haven't beaten Odin before taking this on, at least a few attacks are going to go unresisted. The next major stumbling block is Phase 3: Ultimate Soul of Chaos hits the center member seven times and inflicts Paralyze. Sarah typically isn't bulky enough to survive such a hit without Last Stand, and most anyone else who is bulky enough will stay paralyzed for more than a second. You ideally want to push out of this part quickly, as three turns later he'll use Incubus Round Edge and then Dispel.
  143.  
  144. Sub-30 notes:
  145.  
  146. I's attackers are some of the slowest. Echo USB, Sarah bUSB - whatever it is, you'll need quickcast.
  147.  
  148. Master is outright terrible, and the only real way to improve his damage is with the Glint. If you have a choice at all, pick literally anyone else.
  149.  
  150. It may surprise you to know that I actually has a grand total of FOUR Arcanes, and of them, Meia has the most coherent and cohesive skill and Soul Break set.
  151.  
  152. Avoid Incubus Round Edge or just have Last Stand.
  153.  
  154. Ultimate Soul of Chaos is likely unskippable. In the center slot either use your least efficient attacker, or Wol (who's basically Shelke), or Sarah, whose high MND will allow her to shrug off Paralyze the quickest.
  155.  
  156. For the most part, I's magic options (Matoya and Meia) deal damage faster than their physical counterparts. Gathering Storm candidates include Matoya to boost Witch ability speed, or Sarah to heal up after the punishing opening.
  157.  
  158. [II] Guardian of the Altar - Phrekyos
  159.  
  160. Incubus attacks:
  161. - Incubus Poison Cloud CXXVIII: 330 / 410 / 490% Bio piercing magic + Poison & Paralysis, ignoring magical Blinks. Targets slots 1 and 5.
  162. - Incubus Starfall CXXVIII: 810 / 890 / 970% AoE NE Overflow piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. This is the highest multiplier in the game to this point for any piercing NE attack meant to be survivable... except that Phrekyos also has Ultimate Level Up to boost its ATK / MAG. Your Hilda USB, kupo? Where is it?
  163.  
  164. ----------------------------------------------
  165. Difficulty: Average
  166.  
  167. Sub-30 notes:
  168.  
  169. Using Minwu as an attacker entails having Hilda as a healer. While his USB1 makes him a perfectly good healer if that's what you need him for, his USB2 requires Hilda to pull her weight where he can't.
  170.  
  171. II actually doesn't have a lot of heavyweight attackers, but the slow ones don't usually shit up banners that much. Typical teams involve some combination of Firion, Maria, Minwu, Leila, or Leon. Ricard should work, assuming you have his USB.
  172.  
  173. There are two problems: firstly, if you go too fast, Incubus Starfall will destroy you if it's boosted by Ultimate Level Up. If you have him, Josef's USB + LM2 should allow you to essentially ignore one Starfall and rush Phrekyos into oblivion. Otherwise, you'll need Hilda to negate Ultimate Level Up with Enfeebling Jitterbug, or otherwise skip Phase 4 entirely with Arcane Overstrikes.
  174.  
  175. Secondly, plan around the statuses. Ultimate Icestorm targets the middle with Stop, locking Minwu in this spot, as his high MND shrugs it off instantly. As for Incubus Poison Cloud... either DPS to avoid it, or bring Lakshmi.
  176.  
  177. Take advantage of the AoE attacks in the early phases to rack up Soul Break gauge, and burst quickly. Phrekyos is one of the most dangerous bosses late, and those who build up slow and burst fast will have it easier.
  178.  
  179. [III] Revel in Destruction - Ahriman
  180.  
  181. Incubus attacks:
  182. - Incubus Quake: (NAT) 611 / 782 / 1600% AoE Earth overflowing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. The D??? multiplier here is massive. Obviously this is meant to sell Arc's bUSB, but in any case Shellga is necessary.
  183. - Incubus Tornado: (NAT) 440 / 440 / 440% AoE Wind piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks.
  184.  
  185. ----------------------------------------------
  186. Difficulty: Easy
  187.  
  188. All of Ahriman's attacks have 0.78 seconds of CT; it's just roughly over twice as fast as the other Torment bosses.
  189.  
  190. What might surprise you is the fact that a basic clear is stupefyingly easy. Despite its speed, Ahriman will waste the first few turns tickling your characters and doing almost nothing, which turns the early phases into your characters' playground.
  191.  
  192. Its first turn is, however, Stone Gaze on the second member of your party. You'll either have to dodge this by having a fully-dived Luneth dodge using a Dragoon attack, or you could just use Ultra Cure after the fact and reapply buffs as necessary.
  193.  
  194. While the later phases feature an onslaught of powerful AoE damage, this shouldn't be particularly new to anyone well-versed in Torment strategy. Arc's old SSB2 will work fine, despite the fact that the boss is purely magical and thus the physical Blinks have no effect. Should you possess Arc USB2, the RES +100% will further trivialize Ahriman, to say nothing of the Last Stand at a fully charged Brave effect.
  195.  
  196. If you're going slow, the character in the middle may be hit by Ultimate Death. This is, again, another situation which calls for Luneth to dodge with Dragoon skills... but someone else is going to have to take the first-turn Petrify.
  197.  
  198. In any case, the primary roadblock to clearing this Torment is the rarity of III events and relics, with the possible exception of Onion Knight's ubiquitous USBs.
  199.  
  200. Sub-30 notes:
  201.  
  202. III does not have a lot of party quick-cast. Refia and Luneth can give themselves QC through their USB1s, but Ingus is practically guaranteed to be slow as molasses. On the magic side of things, Desch and Cloud of Darkness aren't particularly shabby if you have their new tech.
  203.  
  204. What this means is that if you're taking Ultimate Death, Ingus goes in the middle unless you happen to have his AASB, which will likely give him a leg over Refia. Onion Knight will likely not be a primary damage dealer since you're probably going to use his buffing USBs, so consider using him as a Wrathbot.
  205.  
  206. Don't waste SBs on the early phases if you can help it. Arc / Aria will be very busy in the latter part of the fight, where Ahriman will begin laying on powerful attacks at double speed.
  207.  
  208. [IV] Stuff of Nightmares - Calcabrina ------------------------------------------------------------------
  209.  
  210. Incubus attacks:
  211. - Incubus Furore: (NAT) 430 / 468 / 506% AoE Dark piercing ranged physical, ignoring physical Blinks. This should be fairly mild if you have a Seraph and / or Dark accessories. On the other hand, you could be giving up resistance to Calcabrina's other elemental attacks...
  212. - Incubus Darkness: (NAT) 99999% Dark overflowing piercing ranged physical + Instant KO, ignoring physical Blinks. Targets Slot 1 only. This isn't survivable. You either sack the character at the top or make it Kain to dodge.
  213. ----------------------------------------------
  214. Difficulty: Hard
  215.  
  216. I say hard, but D??? will probably be impossible without Edge SSB2 or some other Blink.
  217.  
  218. Theoretically, it should be possible, but you're going to need one of IV's Blink sources. From experience, Rosa's SSB isn't quite enough - unless you're digging your heels in and using both Porom and Rosa, which will probably make your offense suffer. Rosa USB1 or Glint should work. The lack of Last Stand might be an issue.
  219.  
  220. But what's the need for a Blink, anyway? Well, just one attack -- Ultimate Hold. It's Calcabrina's second move after 60% and 40% HP, inflicting Paralysis on the middle three members of your party. To my recollection, IV has no source of Astra. The intended way to not get screwed by this lies in the fact that Ultimate Hold is a 35%currHP Gravity-based attack, which both physical or magic Blinks suck up.
  221.  
  222. The mechanics of Calcabrina are ridiculously harsh. You'll have some freedom with one or two attacking roles, but you're going to need someone who can grant Blink, and then someone who can deal with Incubus Darkness. Right, did I forget to mention that? Incubus Darkness is Calcabrina's third move after 60% and 20% remaining. Thanks to Incubus Darkness, you'll have to think a bit harder about the role of the character in Slot 1. There are three typical approaches to this:
  223.  
  224. - Kain, using a jump to dodge Incubus Darkness
  225. - Edward, as an Entrust bot, is sacked
  226. - Porom, using her USB, can make this irrelevant thanks to her Reraise, but you'll typically need to re-buff that character on raise. Edge SSB2, again, is pretty helpful here.
  227.  
  228. One last remark: Ultimate Lightning is a Gravity attack and never kills, and is used at the start of every phase starting from the second. Feel free to use it as a break turn. It will clear Blinks, though, so mind Ultimate Hold.
  229.  
  230. Sub-30 notes:
  231.  
  232. There's not a lot of room for error here. Ultimate Lightning always comes before Ultimate Hold, meaning that Eblan Doppelganger or Rosa's Glint / USB1 has a strict casting window.
  233.  
  234. While using Kain to dodge Incubus Darkness is a legitimate strategy, the time that being in the air wastes is huge. Skip Incubus Darkness altogether or sacrifice Edward to it.
  235.  
  236. IV has a bit of variety as far as damage options are concerned. Rydia, Palom, Dark Cecil, Kain, Barbariccia, Golbez, Yang, and Ursula are all decently competent with the right USBs. Kain's USB1 is easily his best available relic here, as it makes his entire repertoire of Soul Breaks instant - but bring Cyclone / Hurricane Bolt along if you don't want to miss sub-30s on account of air time.
  237.  
  238. Rosa USB2 is the single biggest speedrun boost you can ask for; cycle it if you can for near-permanent HQC. It's not strictly necessary but it will make your life a lot easier.
  239.  
  240. While Edge isn't hindered too much by Calcabrina depleting Blink stacks, especially in the right slot, the 5* ninja magic abilities cap faster and much easier, so don't make the mistake of thinking you have to run a physical Edge. Just remember to put up Eblan Doppelganger when appropriate.
  241.  
  242. [V] Master of Madness - Gilgamesh -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  243.  
  244. Incubus attacks:
  245. - Incubus Zantetsuken: (NAT) 422 / 422 / 578% AoE Dark piercing physical, ignoring physical Blinks.
  246. - Incubus Excalibur: (NAT) AOE 4000 / 4000 / 5000 fixed damage. An attack to truly sell Lenna's USB2. You know, the one that has Stoneskin and Last Stand. And isn't instant. DeNA are a bunch of cards.
  247. ----------------------------------------------
  248. Difficulty: Average
  249.  
  250. A fact that you will soon realize when you step into this fight is that while Bartz may be one of the pinnacles of Record Keeper's physical attackers, and Krile a decent Fire-elemental mage, the rest of the V realm is... mediocre.
  251.  
  252. And in Lenna's case, outright fucking terrible. Only her AASB (released nearly a year later) really seems capable of dealing with this fight best, whereas any of her previous three USBs have their own problems, the biggest being that all but the USB3 are not instant-cast.
  253.  
  254. Gilgamesh has two modes: turn-wasting, and absolute destruction. Early on, Hurricane and Death Claw will require you to heal quickly: the general idea of things is that Gilgamesh will first target specific slots with Death Claw, and then snipe them on the following turn. Later on, Excalibur's fixed 9999 damage demands that you bring a few Health Boons or otherwise have Last Stand.
  255.  
  256. You may want to consider bringing HP-boosting accessories if your magicite deck accounts for his elemental moves, primarily Incubus Zantetsuken.
  257.  
  258. Sub-30 notes:
  259.  
  260. How overpowered is your Bartz? If you answered "not very", you're probably running into trouble, as he's the single best damage-dealer in the realm.
  261.  
  262. V has two Gen 2 chains, Earth and Fire -- AND a Gen 1 Fire chain. Both elements have just enough synergy in V to field a working team and ignore the Realm chain. In particular, Fire has its choice of Krile, Gilgamesh and Bartz, while Earth uses Galuf, Bartz, Kelger, and sometimes Dorgann. If you have one of those chains, it's a lot easier to just do this instead of negotiating with Lenna for competent healing.
  263.  
  264. There's really just two main problems with Gilgamesh speedruns: Divine Readiness and Flash. The latter can be partly solved by moving your mages and supports into one side, but Gilgamesh will also attempt to Blind the other edge of your team later. There's no way around Divine Readiness, as it's used at the start of every phase. Dispel or Banishing Strike is necessary.
  265.  
  266. Earth has the advantage of faster chain-building if you're using Kelger, but its relics are arguably rarer. For Fire, Krile can use Bard skills if you need to have Protectga or Shellga for survivability. In any case, a focused elemental team is the way to go here: you can use the Realm chain if you need to, but too much elemental variety will make it hard to slot every necessary Magicite into your deck.
  267.  
  268. [VI] Mired in Despair - Wrexsoul ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  269.  
  270. Incubus attacks:
  271. - Incubus Flare Star: (NAT) 486 / 486 / 630% non-elemental magic, ignoring magical Blinks.
  272. - Incubus Poltergeist: (NAT) 726 / 822 / 1158% AoE Lightning piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. Say, how many Gigas Armlets do you have?
  273. ----------------------------------------------
  274. Difficulty: Average
  275.  
  276. The biggest obstacle here, speedrun or otherwise, is Ultimate Unseen Strike. Conveniently, Lakshmi provides Astra and benefits from VI's realm chain to boot, making it the best choice here. Enkidu, Unicorn, or Phoenix are substitutes that won't work as well, but are perfectly workable.
  277.  
  278. Sub-30 notes:
  279.  
  280. Ignore the Soul Savers, more or less. They won't do much.
  281.  
  282. The Doom timer at the beginning of the fight on your middle party member is obviously not going to do much. In fact, users of Kefka will likely appreciate the free boost to Darkness abilities.
  283.  
  284. Relm's Star Prism BSB is okay, but its weak heal will pose problems if it's your only heal, as the Soul Savers have a nasty habit of picking off anything that's lost Last Stand off an Incubus attack. If you have the USB1, things will become quite simple, though.
  285.  
  286. [VII] Devourer of Worlds - Jenova-SYNTHESIS -------------------------------------------------------------
  287.  
  288. Incubus attacks:
  289. - Incubus Shadowflare: (NAT) 630 / 630 / 870% AoE non-elemental magic, ignoring magical Blinks. This is not a piercing attack. It will likely trigger Last Stand if you thought you could get away with not having Shellga after Phase 1, where every attack save this one is piercing.
  290. - Incubus Ultima: (NAT) 534 / 534 / 774% AoE non-elemental piercing magic. This one is piercing though! And it's non-elemental. Hope you brought Spell Wards!
  291. ----------------------------------------------
  292. Difficulty: Insane
  293.  
  294. I honestly do not care if anyone thinks otherwise -- Jenova-SYNTHESIS is, without a doubt, the hardest neo-Torment boss, and your constant wiping to its infernal volley of damage is about to convince you.
  295.  
  296. Of all the neo-Torments, Jenova expects you to possess the most 6* relics - and then proceeds to beat the shit out of you anyway. I am not joking. You probably think you're hot stuff now that you've learned to gorilla your way through 3* and 4* Magicites. Jenova will take your Ultra Cross Slashes and Innocent Cures and shit on it. Absolutely shit on it. All of it.
  297.  
  298. If you can somehow fit all of these in, slot in all three of Dampen Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Some Spell Wards wouldn't hurt either. Don't forget your Empower Wind for your Zack and Cloud.
  299.  
  300. First things first: the tentacles MUST be defeated. Do not leave them alone unless you are a speedrunner and know what you are doing. Left alone long enough, they will heal Jenova for a large amount and then proceed to confuse nearly your entire party the next turn. Like the Soul Savers from Wrexsoul, the tentacles will revive periodically, but unlike Wrexsoul, they cannot be left alone, for this reason.
  301.  
  302. Further unlike Wrexsoul, Jenova deals damage, requires you to bring utilities, and has varied elemental attacks. Bio can only be mitigated with accessories, but since it's only used during the first phase, the only character who really needs Poison resistance is the one in the middle. Use your Gigas Armlet(s) and mixed resistance accessories for the other slots. You need Dispel for Mighty Guard, which it will use at inconvenient points (notably, at the start), and Hastega for Dispel (at the start of the second phase).
  303.  
  304. Midway through, Jenova will launch Incubus Shadowflare, which ISN'T piercing, and which will catch you off-guard if you forgot to reapply Shellga after the Dispel (on account of everything but Shadowflare being piercing). It is more dangerous than Ultima in these cases, and you probably don't have space for Angelsong or Memento of Prayer to clear Poison from the previous Bio onslaught, making Aerith USB2 paramount.
  305.  
  306. The only real way to beat Jenova is to do damage faster than it does (which Cloud + Zack / Sephiroth gorillas can accomplish), and it just so happens to deal a lot of damage quickly and quite severely. You essentially have a priority list of things to do, from top to bottom:
  307.  
  308. - Kill the tentacles, if they're active
  309. - Keep an eye out for incoming Mighty Guards / Dispels
  310. - Ensure that a.) your party is at high health, and b.) Aerith is ready at a moment's notice to cast her USB
  311. - If the tentacles are a turn from reviving (every five turns), get ready
  312. - Focus attacks on this oversized meatball
  313.  
  314. Sub-30 notes:
  315.  
  316. The less time you can waste on the tentacles the faster you'll go. For the most part, AoE is Cloud's job. Wind users will rely on Tornado Strike, while Dark users will have to use the AoE Heavy, Dark Impact.
  317.  
  318. Cloud is slow; any time he's not working with Aerith USB2's quickcast is wasted time. If you have a choice between using Cloud's Dark or Wind SBs, go with the Wind ones, as the Arcane will have a higher damage ceiling by far.
  319.  
  320. The template team is typically Cloud + Zack + Aerith + Shelke + 5th; depending on what other stuff you have, the 5th can be a lot of other characters. Barret USB grants party instant-cast; Tifa has both high damage output (her USB2 + AOSB) and a way to boost her speed (the Glint). Vincent has a Trance. Cait Sith's BSB grants 50% critrate while the USB allows you to recover quickly from Dispel.
  321.  
  322. Your problem is not so much Incubus Ultima or Shadowflare, since the plan for this Torment typically involves a massive burst in under five seconds: it's getting Dispel and Mighty Guard out of the way. Mighty Guard especially will throttle your damage output, and with this boss relying moreso on burst damage than others to kill it quickly, any damage Jenova takes with Protect active is incredibly wasteful.
  323.  
  324. Regardless, VII is a fanboy's realm, and there's no shortage of fanboys posting different ways to kill Jenova in under thirty, so if you need some inspiration, maybe a YouTube video will be your friend.
  325.  
  326. [VIII] Putrid Malice - Gerogero -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  327.  
  328. Incubus attacks:
  329. - Incubus Gravija: (NAT) 65 / 65 / 75% AOE %currHP damage, ignoring Instant KO resistance and Blinks. Depending on where you stand, this is either a free turn or the turn before you die.
  330. - Incubus Deadly Breath: (NAT) 534 / 534 / 582% AOE Poison piercing magic + Poison, ignoring magical Blinks. If the multiplier seems low for an attack that can be resisted with accessories... just wait until you see how much Imperil Poison the Acid Claws will stack.
  331. ----------------------------------------------
  332. Difficulty: Average
  333.  
  334. Gerogero is one of those bosses where a realm with high-tier damage dealers is evened out by an obstructive boss, but not particularly to the degree of Dahaka or Jenova.
  335.  
  336. Sub-30 notes:
  337.  
  338. Gerogero targets fairly specific slots with statuses, and if you're fast they shouldn't overlap too much. Unicorn or Lakshmi is the best way to go here if you don't have Selphie USB2.
  339.  
  340. The biggest problems are, unsurprisingly, Gall, Sleep, and Silence. Silence especially is an issue if you're somewhat slow in Phase 3, as you're likely keeping at least one mage in the middle to stay out of the range of Gerogero's first-turn Silence.
  341.  
  342. A lot of the particulars of this boss will depend greatly on what your team looks like, and VIII has a lot of flexibility owing to the strength of many of its attackers. As a general rule, though, the Sleep targeting the central party member early on should preferably be hitting a support.
  343.  
  344. [IX] The Final Jest - Meltigemini -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  345.  
  346. Incubus attacks:
  347. - Incubus Viral Smoke: (NAT) 582 / 534 / 534% AoE Poison piercing magic + removes Haste, ignoring magical Blinks. Also known as the "better have Eiko USB1, kupo" check.
  348. - Incubus Doomsday: (NAT) 774 / 918 / 1062% AoE Dark piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. It's no Incubus Darkja, but unlike Zodiark you're also accounting for Poison resistance, which complicates matters. If you don't have the combined Dark + Poison resist accessories that were handed out across a few events, this becomes harder to gear for.
  349. ----------------------------------------------
  350. Difficulty: Hard
  351.  
  352. Above and beyond anything else, one move separates Meltigemini clears from Meltigemini failures: Ultimate Venom Powder.
  353.  
  354. There are only two ways to get around it: DPS so fucking hard you may as well be a whale going for sub-30, or Astra. There is only one source of Astra in the entirety of IX: Quina's BSB2, Angel's Banquet.
  355.  
  356. Everyone else will just have to use Unicorn / Lakshmi and pray.
  357.  
  358. IX fortunately has two overloaded attackers: Zidane is king of the ring in Wind, and Vivi is near the top of the Fire pile, only beaten out by Terra. The other attackers are not particularly slouches, Steiner aside, but damage pushing is almost exclusively the prerogative of these two.
  359.  
  360. Sub-30 notes:
  361.  
  362. If you have the sheer power required to blitz this boss, it becomes much simpler. You'll hardly see Ultimate Venom Powder, if at all - leaving your biggest obstacle as Incubus Viral Smoke. There's really only two ways to deal with this, and both involve Eiko, whose USB1 and Glint provide instant sources of Haste.
  363.  
  364. Meltigemini makes gratituous use of slot-specific attacks, and positioning is key to activating your team's Trance modes at the right time. Especially pay attention to Ultimate Meteor, a massive Gravity-based attack all but guaranteed to cause Trance from anything but full HP.
  365.  
  366. Without dualcasts or the AASB, Zidane only has barely enough time to spam the minimum Thief abilities required for a max-power Thievery finisher from his USB2 in 30 seconds - and that's with the Trance, and assuming you are using Flash Disaster to build up to casting the USB. Keep this in mind.
  367.  
  368. [X] Spinner of False Hopes - Yunalesca ------------------------------------------------------------------
  369.  
  370. Incubus attacks:
  371. - Incubus Ultima: (NAT) 582 / 678 / 726% AOE non-elemental piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. In a word, painful.
  372. - Incubus Hellbiter: (NAT) 430 / 468 / 468% AOE Dark piercing ranged physical + Sap, ignoring physical Blinks.
  373. ----------------------------------------------
  374. Difficulty: Hard
  375.  
  376. Sub-30 notes:
  377.  
  378. The top and bottom slots will take the least damage at the start, and the center slot takes the least damage on average. The top and bottom slots, however, are subject to Mega Death later on.
  379.  
  380. Ideally you want Tidus to alternate between his BSB2, Sonic Strike, and his USB1 / AASB for persistent instant-cast. It is no secret that he is X's primary damage dealer, and entrusting SB gauge to him is not a terrible strategy owing to how quickly he can burn through it.
  381.  
  382. Lulu does have Sudden Blizzara and her USB1 to speed up her cast times, but consider Gathering Storm anyway so you can abuse Chilling Blizzard from the get-go. Moreso if you only have her much less reliable USB2.
  383.  
  384. Any of Auron's USBs (if not his AASB) give him considerable value in this fight: the USB1's magic Blink should block some of the more annoying attacks (fuck you, Ultimate Holy / Mind Blast), while the USB2 is pure damage. Wakka is not a damage dealer: if you want to use him, it would be best to have one of his Imperil Water SBs.
  385.  
  386. Rikku has a ton of SBs here of equal viability. Hyper Mighty G with the Realm chain RW, and her Realm CSB goes with the healing RW; other than that, her Imperil Water BSB / USB2 should be used when you have any SB gauge left over. The Water CSB is not a terrible option either, but it will limit your teambuilding options.
  387.  
  388. [XI] Hatred Incarnate - Shadow Lord ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  389.  
  390. Incubus attacks:
  391. - Incubus Implosion: (NAT) 500 / 600 / 600% AoE Dark piercing magic + 303% chance to imperil Dark -20%, ignoring magical Blinks.
  392. - Incubus Bowels of Agony: (NAT) 300 / 350 / 400% AoE piercing ranged physical, ignoring physical Blinks.
  393. ----------------------------------------------
  394. Difficulty: Easy / Average
  395.  
  396. Similar to XIV, Shadow Lord is fairly poverty-friendly. But for those without some of XI's more useful Super Soul Breaks from events forever ago or a few Anima Lenses free, your options will be a bit more limited.
  397.  
  398. The primary limiting factor here is going to be how many heals you can field. The most important poverty item is arguably Prishe's SSB, Rigorous Reverie, which provides an easy source of Last Stand and extra healing.
  399.  
  400. Again like Ultima Weapon, the most dangerous part of this fight is typically the opening, after which things will settle down considerably. You can frontload heals if you want, such as by sticking Mako Might / Gathering Storm on Prishe or Aphmau, but either way, Protectga needs to be up as soon as you can.
  401.  
  402. The first attack of the second phase is another issue: Ultimate Damning Edict removes Haste, and needs to be watched out for. The Physical Barrier the next turn is not much of an issue if your main attacker happens to be Shantotto like most others, seeing as she's the most featured XI character during events, but it does pose an issue for sub-30s, seeing as the entirety of XI is a physical realm aside from her.
  403.  
  404. Shadow Lord has no statuses and gives out some free turns, providing you keep Aphmau and Shantotto outside of the top and bottom slots, where he inflicts Ultimate Swath of Silence.
  405.  
  406. Be careful of Shadow Lord's magical attacks: they are not frequent, but if you're short on slots for Shellga, they will hurt. The secret to poverty-SB clears, for the most part, is to queue plenty of heals for the end while relying on Curada / Fires Within / Healing Smite from Aphmau / Prishe / Curilla to skimp on SB usage. Again, Rigorous Reverie is the key -- if you can keep Last Stand ready for danger, you can clear this boss. A Seraph, Enkidu or Phoenix as your main magicite can go a long way.
  407.  
  408. Sub-30 notes:
  409.  
  410. Aphmau USB or go home.
  411.  
  412. Your biggest problem is, again, the second phase. If you don't have Hastega or Aphmau USB ready for Ultimate Damning Edict, you'll lose a lot of time.
  413.  
  414. It's very much intended that you have a strongly-geared Shantotto to pummel the Shadow Lord during Physical Shield's duration. You can, of course, do without, but it's going to take superb relics, superb timing, or superb dualcast luck, or all three.
  415.  
  416. Next to Shantotto as an attacker is easily Prishe with her USB2, which grants Monk Ability Double in addition to a dualcast LM2. Ayame does have the realm's other Arcane, but she's simply not that efficient at sustained damage the way Shantotto or Prishe are.
  417.  
  418. Curilla is a fairly flexible support role, and as long as you have some SB for her, she'll be quite useful. In any case, with the right relics, this is arguably one of the most straightforward bosses.
  419.  
  420. [XII] Darkest Precepts - Zodiark ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  421.  
  422. Incubus attacks:
  423. - Incubus Piercing Graviga: 35 / 35 / 50% AoE %maxHP damage, ignoring Blinks & Instant KO resistance.
  424. - Incubus Darkja: (NAT) 822 / 822 / 1350% AoE Dark piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. That's not a typo. The last time an attack of this lethality was in play was Boundless Zeromus EG's Ultimate Drain, and even that was single-target. Seraph / Lakshmi or bust.
  425. ----------------------------------------------
  426. Difficulty: Easy
  427.  
  428. Zodiark has an undeserved reputation as one of the hardest Torment bosses.
  429.  
  430. What the JP whales didn't tell you is this -- it's one of the hardest IF you're aiming to kill it under thirty seconds. This is thanks to Paling and Magick Wall, two moves that will stall you out for anywhere between five to ten seconds.
  431.  
  432. Killing Zodiark over thirty seconds is easier. So much easier. Its reputation for difficulty is not entirely undeserved, but it's nowhere near nigh-on impossible.
  433.  
  434. One of the best things you can do to survive is to run both of XII's healers. If you don't have Basch's slot-saving USB2, split your buffs between them. Take Magic Breakdown on Larsa unless you want to stare a party-wide 9999 down from Incubus Darkja. This is especially important due to a Faith self-buff Zodiark uses late in the fight which you'll need to cancel.
  435.  
  436. Other than that, you'll need at least Shellga and Hastega in some form, as well as Dispel. While you can take Banishing Strike on Basch instead should you be using him, those not using Basch will notice that between Shellga, Hastega, Dispel, and Magic Breakdown, all four skill slots for the healers are full. This can work: all you need to do is rely on Burst Soul Breaks to heal. Fortunately, Penelo's second Burst comes with Last Stand and her single-target heal clears Sap, which Zodiark will inflict often; Larsa, on the other hand, gives Astra to stop further Saps from ruining Last Stand's day.
  437.  
  438. Once that problem is solved, you'll notice something: Zodiark will start handing out nearly too many free turns. Only a few of its attacks are outright AoEs, and it'll constantly waste time buffing.
  439.  
  440. All you should need at this point is enough damage to back up your healers.
  441.  
  442. Sub-30 notes:
  443.  
  444. Those aiming for a sub-30 will face an entirely different dilemma. You will essentially only be able to field one healer, and Basch USB2 is necessary to save slots, especially when you already need to carry Dispel or Banishing Strike for the starting buffs and Greater Barrier. Pay attention to which characters can survive the opening attacks best, and note that XII has the Oath Ring accessory to resist Dark -- accessories with Synergy reduce slightly more damage than non-synergy accessories do, though not as much as the major-resist accessories will.
  445.  
  446. The best way to take advantage of your Magicite slot is with one of the XII magicites, whose damage is boosted by the Realm chain. No XII character particularly uses Ice, and Zodiark uses strictly Dark in terms of elemental attacks, making Belias the best choice, moreso if you use Balthier.
  447.  
  448. XII is perfectly capable of fielding either a physical- or magical-oriented team for this purpose; magic teams use Ashe and Vayne while physical teams rely on Vaan / Balthier primarily. Either way, your biggest hurdle will be avoiding Anti-Magick or Paling, depending on your team. Magical teams will likely have it easier, as Anti-Magick is cast later, when chains are likely to be higher and Arcane Overstrikes are likely to be ready. To skip Paling demands a lot of work and possibly a bit of Entrusting. Balthier and Vaan do have their own Arcanes, but Balthier will almost certainly need help to have it ready before then.
  449.  
  450. Incubus Darkja in this case is more of a problem in that the more you eschew safety to win fast, the more likely you are to wipe to it hard. Penelo is almost always the better healer here: her USB1 provides an extra layer of safety with HP Stock, and her USB2 provides party instantcast for a turn (hint: you're skipping phases with this). That being said, Incubus Darkja is actually quite avoidable, for the most part: the time Zodiark wastes buffing in Phases 3 and 4 makes the only particularly likely instance of it the one at the beginning of the last phase, where it's his first attack. Provided, of course, that you're skipping phases.
  451.  
  452. [XIII] Evil on High - Dahaka ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  453.  
  454. Incubus attacks:
  455. - Incubus Bone-chilling Breaker: (NAT) 678 / 678 / 822% Ice piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. Targets slots 3, 4, and 5.
  456. - Incubus Fulminous Firestorm: (NAT) 678 / 678 / 822% Fire piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks. Targets slots 1, 2, and 3.
  457. ----------------------------------------------
  458. Difficulty: Insane
  459.  
  460. Dahaka comes close to Jenova. Very, very close. But unlike VII and its canonical reliance on a Cloud + Zack + Aerith combo, XIII has something resembling party composition freedom. And it's not a multi-target boss.
  461.  
  462. A Fire magicite (Firemane or Phoenix) with native Dampen Ice and an inherited Dampen Fire will work well here.
  463.  
  464. Sub-30 notes:
  465.  
  466. As with normal runs, Diluvial Plague and Ultimate Foul Utterance are the biggest problems here. Including Ultimate Holy, which also Saps, all three attacks can be Blinked, making Vanille BSB2 superior to the BSB1, USB2, or USB3 here in spite of not being instant like any of them. The alternative is recasting Hastega yourself, which complicates things in a boss as relentless as Dahaka is.
  467.  
  468. XIII has access to plenty of ways to start up quickly, from Snow's LMR + USB2 to simply making good use of Lightning or Noel's LM2s. This is, of course, a damage race, and if you don't act the part, you'll lose. Snow AASB, if you have it, can mitigate a great deal of the damage from the Incubus attacks and should be saved for the midgame. Lightning's Sync is so blisteringly fast that it'll probably skip multiple phases, and with nominal support is likely an auto-win button, should you have it.
  469.  
  470. While Vanille USB3 is a lot more effective here if you're going fast (as you'll likely skip most of Dahaka's Sap spam), if there's ever any doubt, the BSB2 is your friend.
  471.  
  472. [XIV] Terror of the Heavens - Ultima Weapon -------------------------------------------------------------
  473.  
  474. Incubus attacks:
  475. - Incubus Tank Purge: (NAT) 678% AOE non-elemental piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks.
  476. - Incubus Ultima: (NAT) 9999999% AOE non-elemental overflowing piercing magic + Instant KO, ignoring magical Blinks. Yep, it's a re-skinned Incubus Dead End. Except it has about half the casting time.
  477. ----------------------------------------------
  478. Difficulty: Easy
  479.  
  480. As far as I know, Ultima Weapon was the only Torment boss beatable on release using solely Burst Soul Breaks. Not only that, Burst Soul Breaks that were introduced two years ago, in an event that was highly anticipated and saved for and considered to be on the same level of quality as a fest's banner or higher.
  481.  
  482. Allow me to emphasize this: a neo-Torment boss that can be cleared with just your old-ass 5* relics does not strike me as a difficult one. One that you can do well in with just Bursts is one you can dominate should you be lucky enough for Ultras.
  483.  
  484. Executing your strategy will, however, be a bit complicated. Ultima Weapon's first phase is one of its most aggressive, and you'll likely have to trigger Y'shtola's Burst very early into the fight. A strategy I found useful was to have Minfilia feed Y'shtola an Entrusted bar at the start while Y'shtola herself uses a Gathering Storm RM. If you're having trouble surviving the opening, you'll probably find it helpful as well.
  485.  
  486. Your second real challenge is in the form of what is essentially Ultima Weapon's only Incubus attack: Tank Purge. Without an element to resist, the only way to stop it comes in the form of the Stoneskin bubble that Y'shtola's Burst provides, and whatever Spell Ward passives you have. Minfilia, again, will come in handy here if you find that Y'shtola is pressed for SB gauge to recast Asylum.
  487.  
  488. How well you deal with the final phase depends on how well you manage your realm Chain - by this point, your chain multiplier should be at least 70, and you should have about two or three sources of offense pounding away at Ultima Weapon, who will do nothing for five turns before spamming a rebranded Incubus Dead End. That being said, the fact alone that you're not having to worry about survival once you enter the Ultima countdown will make the end-game of this boss leagues easier than any of the other neo-Torments.
  489.  
  490. If you happen to have Y'shtola USB1, the Shield effect actually blocks Incubus Ultima where Magic Blink does not, and since it's Ultima Weapon's only attack in the final phase, she's perfectly free to use her USB or charge up to it using Wrath. It'll probably buy you one turn, maybe two or three depending on how well you can time your casts and how much Wrath and Entrust you can muster.
  491.  
  492. Sub-30 notes:
  493.  
  494. Pushing too fast leaves you at risk of back-to-back Incubus Tank Purges. Survive both and you're home free.
  495.  
  496. If you need to build Y'shtola's Soul Break gauge, Curada > her BSB's CMD1 in terms of speed. Wrath would be optimal but keeping the team close to full for Incubus Tank Purge is of the highest priority. The bUSB's Last Stand and instant heal would certainly be simpler to manager if you had it, but who doesn't have Asylum?
  497.  
  498. Papalymo's Arcane isn't exactly required, but fast Soul Breaks are needed to compensate. Alphinaud's bUSB makes him quite fast and the Brave command adds to the chain well; Thancred is the fastest at building the chain, just in general.
  499.  
  500. While there are evident power gaps between attackers here (Yda / Alphinaud / Papalymo / Thancred / Ysayle > Cid / Estinien), anyone should work provided their best relics are on-hand. Minfilia is, in my opinion, dead weight more often than not, and if you can replace her with another attacker and find an alternative way to get buffs going, things should go much faster.
  501.  
  502. [XV] One-eyed Tyrant - Deadeye --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  503.  
  504. Incubus attacks:
  505. - Incubus Single-pronged Strike: (NAT) 463 / 463 / 589% overflowing piercing ranged physical, ignoring physical Blinks. This targets slots 1 and 2, and then slots 4 and 5 two turns later if you're slow. You may be thinking that that's a strangely low multiplier for an attack that can overflow, but you'd be dead wrong.
  506. - Incubus Roar: (NAT) 240 / 278 / 354% AoE piercing ranged physical + Interrupt, ignoring physical Blinks. Don't be intimidated by the AoE interrupt. Iris BSB has Astra, and while you do have Sap to contend with as well, it's infrequent enough to allow you to have Astra active for long periods before Incubus Roar hits.
  507. ----------------------------------------------
  508. Difficulty: Average
  509.  
  510. Everyone goes in the front row. This includes Iris. Doing so neutralizes Roar, which hits all characters in the back row and Interrupts. In other words, free turns. Don't you love when a Torment boss hands out free turns?
  511.  
  512. Deadeye only has physical attacks. On the other hand, all of Deadeye's attacks are non-elemental, so the only way you can weaken them is by way of Blade Wards and Protectga when they're not piercing.
  513.  
  514. You have two main problems. The first is Intimidation, and the second is Incubus Single-pronged Strike, especially in combination with Intimidation. It's an attack that's allowed to overflow for a reason. Three of your likely characters for this Torment (Prompto, Ignis, and Iris) have a means of overwriting Attack buffs - Power Breakdown and Exhausting Polka. If you want, I guess you could do Power Break on anyone with 3☆ Combat. Without Iris BSB, Incubus Roar will be a bit more problematic. The USB's instant-cast nature should be able to compensate, though. Should.
  515.  
  516. If you count this as a problem, another is that XV is a newer, rarer realm, and thus has newer, rarer relics. On the other hand, the lack of characters and relics should make teambuilding fairly simple. Prompto, Aranea, Ignis, and Gladio all have USBs which will enable them to act as damage-dealers. Noctis will work too, but I can't recommend him as an attacker if you don't have his USB2 - his so-called "En-NE" Soul Break. On the other hand, his SSB will work exceptionally well to enable everyone else if you're not using him as a primary attacker.
  517.  
  518. Other than that, Deadeye has a straightforward AI and a straightforward strategy. Intimidation should be removed within one or two turns. Stay at a high HP at all costs -- you'll be surprised just how much damage a physical-only boss can deal.
  519.  
  520. Sub-30 notes:
  521. Quickcast, quickcast, quickcast. Ignis USB is the best relic here owing to how your entire team is forced into the same row. Noctis SSB is a close second.
  522.  
  523. Pre-Noctis AASB + AOSB2, Prompto with his USB is the fastest attacker in the realm and will likely be the lynchpin of your offense. If you have to decide your attackers, Gladio and Aranea must compete for the spot.
  524.  
  525. Without Noctis USB2, you are unironically better off simply spamming Ace Striker Lifesiphon and pivoting the rest of your team. Prompto and Aranea synergize well; when using Ignis BSB, prioritize Prompto to get the most out of his numerous but weaker hits.
  526.  
  527. The more you forego defense for offense, the more Incubus Single-pronged Strike will be a pain in the neck. Iris BSB can manage provided the Stoneskin is up; in any case you will likely use it more in the latter half over Iris USB owing to Incubus Roar, which will outright end you if you get caught in the stun.
  528.  
  529. [T-0] Crimson Scourge - Nox Suzaku ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  530.  
  531. Incubus attacks:
  532. - Incubus Ultima: (NAT) 500 / 550 / 700% AoE NE piercing magic, ignoring magical Blinks.
  533. - Incubus Aloud: (NAT) 486% AoE NE magic + Interrupt, ignoring magical Blinks. The Rem USB2 check. This doesn't do too much damage, but if you're pushing phases quickly and still reeling from Incubus Ultima, you better have Last Stand if not Astra, or the Ultimate Quake next turn will kill you.
  534. ----------------------------------------------
  535. Difficulty: Average / Hard
  536.  
  537. Owners of Rem SBs will have it easy. She happens to be one of the top, if not the top damage-dealer in Type-0, and her USB2 is custom-built Torment bait designed to counteract this boss's tricks.
  538.  
  539. Sub-30 notes:
  540.  
  541. Three problems: Dispel in Phase 2, Ultimate Death in Phase 3, and Incubus Aloud in Phase 4. Of these, Ultimate Death is the only truly skippable attack, and it should be.
  542.  
  543. The Dispel can be solved by sticking Hastega on Rem, or a Deuce with Gathering Storm, leaving the need for Astra for Incubus Aloud. If you don't have Rem USB2, use Lakshmi or Unicorn.
  544.  
  545. Creeping Miasma has a tendency to make things difficult. Machina SSB overwrites it, but the canon, whale-approved method is, of course, Deuce USB2.
  546.  
  547. There's a lot of room for attacker variety here: the "worst" is Nine, but even he can work. The best ones are something along the lines of King, Jack, and Rem, with most everyone else really just in-between. Those with Eight's USB will find him a great boon: instant Last Stand and damage pushing will relieve pressure on Deuce to heal.
  548.  
  549. Queen users: her Trance is tricky to activate given Nox Suzaku's script, and gives her a massive RES penalty against a boss using only magic, and whom uses Creeping Miasma to further reduce RES. You have been warned.
  550.  
  551. [FFT] Tyranny of the Impure - Cúchulainn ----------------------------------------------------------------
  552.  
  553. Incubus attacks:
  554. - Incubus Gravija: (NAT) 75% AoE %currHP damage, ignoring Instant KO resistance and Blinks. Ovelia USB owners will likely treat this as a free turn. Everyone else will have to plan accordingly.
  555. - Incubus Unholy Darkness: (NAT) 1014 / 1014 / 1062% AOE Dark magic, subtracts 3 from any active Doom counters. This isn't piercing. Bring Shellga or suffer.
  556. ----------------------------------------------
  557. Difficulty: Easy
  558.  
  559. Tactics has an element. That element is Holy. Holy has an ability school -- that school is Knight. Craft Assault Sabres, click your Soul Breaks, and win.
  560.  
  561. Theoretically, it's as simple as that, and the Tactics team essentially boils down to Ramza + Orlandeau + Ovelia + Agrias + Marche. There's room for some deviation (e.g., if you don't have a good Agrias you can substitute with Meliadoul, Gaffgarion, Delita, Rapha, or Marach, or you can use Alma over Ovelia), but the overall composition is really set in stone here. As it so happens, while a Torment based around very specific characters may sound like whalebaiting, Marche / Orlandeau / Ramza at the very least are familiar faces to those investing in their Holy teams, unless you're going out of your way not to include them.
  562.  
  563. There are a few stumbling blocks, of which the biggest is probably Ultimate Ague. Always know exactly when it's going to be used, or your run is dead in the water.
  564.  
  565. Sub-30 notes:
  566.  
  567. Ovelia / Alma can double as an attacker and rely purely on her SBs for healing. Some form of quickcast is necessary: Marche USB, Orlandeau OSB, Orran USB - or all of the above. If you have Ramza's chain, use it and forego the realm chain.
  568.  
  569. As with regular runs, Ultimate Ague is still your biggest problem. Of the candidates for the Gathering Storm RM, Ovelia / Alma is the strongest candidate, especially if you're not using Orran to provide buffs. De'Dia if you don't have Agrias relics and Holy / Holyja if you do + Hastega works best.
  570.  
  571. There is likely no way around it: you will probably need multiple Assault Sabers. One of your attackers can pack Divine Cross + Guardbringer, and one can pack Healing Smite... but users of Orlandeau should be familiar with just how quickly Sword Saint can suck hones dry.
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