Fate/Grand Order IV - Are you my Master? [Rerun - Lite]

[Kitten Champion]

I did 10 tickets and got one 5-Star, two 4-star, and a 3-star event CEs -- which is a big success in my mind. Now I'm trying to clear the most-wanted shop items before I'm focused on grinding Tickets.

Really hoping for that fifth copy of the CKT, but the only CE drop I've gotten thus far is a Grudge Match.

[Saambell]

First Match done, and Woo, its a doozy. A 4.5 Million health Touwa, with your team getting frequent HP Max Downs and card seals, but also piles of buffs if he attacks you.

I went in with:

Spoiler: Mikon

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Lancer Tam(90 6/4/6 with Damage CE), Waver(90 10/10/10 with 2030), Support Merlin(90 10/10/10 no CE), Leonidas(25 5/4/- with Golden Carp), Benki(45 4/1/- with Merciless One), and Georgios(45 2/2/1 with Volumen) with level 10 Chaldea Combat Uniform

First Turn Waver dropped his buffs then got swapped for Georgios, then from there it was a wild ride. Merlin died on turn 7 to Touwa's second NP, Georgios once had 15,000HP, Leonidas got his NP off one point and tanked for a few extra turns, and in the very end, it came down to Tam spending 2-3 turns only able to use her arts card due to her Buster and Quick cards being sealed, living his final NP due to the Guts on the Damage CE, and getting a Buster Brave chain to finish the fight while having like, 3 copies of Attack Up and at least 2 copies of NP Damage up due to the food buffs from spending several turns being singly targeted. But in the end, I won after 19 turns, with only Tamamo left alive, just me and her, like she always wanted.

Supposedly this one is Solo-able by Brynhildr, or Tamamo, but I'm in no rush to try. Back to the Lotto grind for me, though at some point i should maybe go back and do more with the shop then just get the Lotto CEs.

[NeoPhoenix0]

so for the first match,

Spoiler: Team

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waver with 50% np ce from last event
lancer mae with damage CE
eresh with damage CE
caster mae with prisma cosmos
np5 lancer raikou with 50% np ce
mash with a 1 star ce
used atlas uniform for the extra skill cooldowns and the extra invuln

waver died kinda early but the tamamo, tamamo, eresh team lasted halfway through the last bar, raikou vanished real fast, and mash stalled a turn to run off some debuffs that had stun locked me a bit
then i barely managed to survive till 300k hp left before suddenly unleashing a lancer mae who had been stun locked for i don't even remember how many turns. she did 3 million in damage with her NP after i decided to use 1 seal cause i ran out of np drain and invicibles and it was his turn to NP. lasted 23 turns.

[Kitten Champion]

I used Waver, Eresh, Merlin as vanguard with Mash, Minidusa, and Cu in the rear. I used the Atlas Institute uniform, which turned out to be quite beneficial in selectively removing the debuffs when necessary.

In retrospect, I'd been better off going with Waver, Skadi, Cu. I usually leave Cu at the back because he's a low cost unit if he isn't needed, and hyper-impactful when he is. However, with the CE boosting his damage, his debuff removal skill offsetting the disabling gimmick, the plethora of Evades + Guts available to him, the weird healing mechanic from the quest, and the overall low amount of attacks from Tota all work to make him obviously super-useful here that having him from the beginning would've saved time.

Jeanne might've been good too, removing the debuffs and nullifying much of his NP wouldn't have been hard and having a consistent source of crit stars would've been useful given how messy it was to chain any kind of attack.

[NeoPhoenix0]

Match 2 was a heck of a fight, like fighitng a mountain supported by nukes on timers, but killing the nukes drops the mountain on more, deadlier nukes.

Spoiler: Team

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caster mae 10/10/10 np4 with prisma cosmos
lv 100 4 star nero 10/10/10 np2 with damage ce
support merlin 10/10/10 np1 with k-scope
waver 6/10/10 np3 with k-scope
suzuka 6/6/6 np3 with damage ce
mash(classic) 10/10/10 np3 with dragon's meridian

had to try this a few times. first time i realized i needed more that just waver tamamo or merlin tamamo for supports. second time i realized that most sabers are too fragile. eventually i settled on a arts np spam team centered around 4 star nero so my aoe saber could survive a low level archer mob... and that worked though i did use one command seal when he got down to 100k hp and i wanted to get rid of his mobs cause even though they were freash all my survival skills were on cooldown and nero was skill sealed from killing a hero unit and i got a bit scared. then he had 3k hp left and applied guts and i messed up and only cleared the guts. and then nero died the turn before i won with solo merlin. if he had used guts again i woulda been screwed... after that huge fight...

[spectralphoenix]

Yeah, Leonidas is a real piece of work. Ended up taking him with a support saber Shiki backed up by Jeanne, Waver, Merlin, and Mash, with Saber Fran as a backstop. And he went through all those supports. It took a couple tries, but NP spam eventually killed the soldiers before they murdered everyone with supercrits.

[NeoPhoenix0]

i forgot to mention, turn 1 caster tamamo got nuked by two crits cause leonidas started out with a crit buff and they both crit...

[Kitten Champion]

Well, that was embarrassing.

The first thing I tried was Waver-Artoria(Saber-NP2)-Merlin and it didn't work because my supports kept dying.

Then I tried maybe a dozen other strategies, most involving either Liz Brave, Nero, or a Friend's Saber Shiki to no effect.

Then I tried Waver-Artoria(Saber-NP2)-Merlin, and I won easily. Like, not super-easily, but it was 17 turns. I did lose Waver after a point and brought in good old Mash, who did her tank-related duties sublimely.

Why did it work the second time? Because I MLB'd the Grudge Match CE but never thought to just try the original strategy again. Artoria needed to kill the mobs - especially the archers - with her NP, which she could actually do the second time with 200% damage. Since the hoplites never lived long enough to get the buffs, Merlin survived and the NPs and healing kept coming.

[Hunter Noventa]

I simply do not have the patience to grind through this match. Maybe I'll try later with an AoE Saber like Nero instead of Brave Liz, but I don't know how I'm going to build her NP fast enough to be effective.

[Resileaf]

Phew, that second challenge quest was a hell of a chore. It took me ten tries to finally get the golden team going (Shiki, Merlin and Jeanne in front, Mash, Romulus and Artoria in the back), and it almost didn't work. There was a point where I went "Well I don't have any invincibilities up but as long as Shiki doesn't get crit twice, I'll survive this turn and be able to NP the field next one" and lo and behold, she got crit twice in a row and died. In the end, Artoria was my last remaining character, Jeanne had thankfully tanked a hit that would have killed Artoria (and died in the process), and she was able to Excaliblast, which allowed her to bypass Leonidas' guts which he had put up a few turns earlier.

Wish there was a mystic code with buff removal. That would have been so much more easier.

[Kitten Champion]

Defeated Izo on my first try. Though I was cutting it pretty close.

I went in with Mash/Sanzang/Waver as the vanguard and Medea/Summer BB (Support)/Skadi in the back.

I was assuming Sanzang + 200% damage would be enough to carry me, easy-peasy, but I missed the bit about the huge NP damage resist he had so she was doing only around 50K with each NP... and NPs really are the point of Sanzang on an existential level. The smarter thing to do would've been to focus on chaining basic attacks while getting Waver and Mash to NP, but I didn't realize that for a while.

So, long story short, Izo eventually killed everyone except BB who apparently ignores his crit bonus due to her peculiar traits. I got the RNG and locked in a Buster/Quick/Arts chain that melted the final 20% of his life.

[NeoPhoenix0]

match 3

first try i got to 150k hp left, but i realized i didn't have enough support so i put all my eggs into 1 basket and mlb's the damage CE so Medea could do some damage with her NP.

i used caster tamamo, medea, waver, and a support merlin. waver died very early but after that it was a breeze, every time i had a close call tamamo would have ult or merlin would have invuln. though i can't help but wander if things would have gone faster with more damage.

[Resileaf]

The Izo challenge was *much* easier than Leonidas. Just needed a team of casters, each with the damage CE, and Medea to remove the damage buff from him with her NP. Didn't even break a sweat.

[Hunter Noventa]

The Izo challenge was *much* easier than Leonidas. Just needed a team of casters, each with the damage CE, and Medea to remove the damage buff from him with her NP. Didn't even break a sweat.

I didn't even think of Medea. I already MLB'd my CE though. But if I bring Tamamo her divinity can help break through the defensive buffs.

[NeoPhoenix0]

the important thing with Izo is to make your last attack each turn an arts and to rotate card types for damage.

[Velaryon]

I actually didn't have too much trouble with the Leonidas fight. I tackled that with Merlin, Arthur, and support Waver. I think Waver died and was replaced by Mash toward the end, but by then I was almost done anyway. The Touta battle was much, much worse for me. Haven't tackled Izo yet, but I will probably attempt that one tonight.

[NeoPhoenix0]

the drop rate on the stakes in the arena for the main battles is amazing, i've been getting like 2 stakes every round.

[Kitten Champion]

I'm looking forward to the next stage which - according to the wikis - has Aurora Steel as a common drop for the Garden-level node.

I only need a few more Steels for Skadi's final skill, which I would've gotten with maybe a day more of grinding Valkyries. Even when Skadi's skills are done though, I have a Mysterious Heroine XX now which requires an additional 30 Steels on top of that.

Normally that amount would make me cringe and wait for the next event shop which stocks them or even wait the months for when it's included in the daily ticket, but given how much I'll likely be grinding that node and the rate of drops thus far... I expect to mostly have that covered by the end of the event.

[Leon]

the drop rate on the stakes in the arena for the main battles is amazing, i've been getting like 2 stakes every round.

The stakes are high

[NeoPhoenix0]

ok, so, i think the jaguar match is the one that is gonna beat me, i do not have a saber with enough damage and enough survivability to take on jaguar alone and no one has like musashi with damage CE on their friends list or something. unless someone can tell me a strategy besides Aoe the non-lancer and then dual the lancer with a strong saber i think i can't beat the jaguar country exhibition. i have tried many times at this point.

[spectralphoenix]

ok, so, i think the jaguar match is the one that is gonna beat me, i do not have a saber with enough damage and enough survivability to take on jaguar alone and no one has like musashi with damage CE on their friends list or something. unless someone can tell me a strategy besides Aoe the non-lancer and then dual the lancer with a strong saber i think i can't beat the jaguar country exhibition. i have tried many times at this point.

If it's a Musashi with MLB damage CE you want, I can provide that. My user ID is 967,321,686 (Paladin).

[NeoPhoenix0]

If it's a Musashi with MLB damage CE you want, I can provide that. My user ID is 967,321,686 (Paladin).

Gracious senor, request sent, my account is NeoPhoenix.

[spectralphoenix]

Gracious senor, request sent, my account is NeoPhoenix.

Accepted. Good luck!

[Resileaf]

I don't think I'll be able to do the Jaguar challenge quest. It's virtually impossible to time things to avoid damage during the second break bar (and because killing a servant doesn't trigger their terrain change, kill someone with a NP will still result in someone almost invincible), and the instant kill crits are just too difficult to bounce back from. Maybe when I have my command seals back I can make another attempt, hope to get lucky when my backline is up...

[Kitten Champion]

I gave it maybe 50 attempts, the closest I got was to have Taiga alone at just under 30K before she double crit-killed my remaining party. Had I not burned all my seals on previous attempts, I might've won.

My big problem is the way it feels RNG-heavy. Not only do you need crits, the Field effects can randomly decide to go from Fire, Water, or Forest to Fire/Water, Forest/Water, or Forest/Fire rather than just the one for the enemy I'm attacking. It makes AOE strategies so convoluted to execute, especially with Evasions and Invincibility thrown in since getting an ideal point to lower everyone's HP bar is very difficult.

Since I'm inclined to rely on Eresh as my main attacker, Taiga inevitably outlives the other two and with some substantial HP on her. At which point the challenge is impossible - or near-about - for any Saber I may bring in later is fighting against these massive buffs you can't get rid of. Even with a MLB Grudge Match Musashi from my Friend's list, when the Field is Forest perpetually you're going to die first.

[Hunter Noventa]

I've already decided that I just have better things to do than slam my head against the challenge quests. Like farm more tickets.

[NeoPhoenix0]

I gave it maybe 50 attempts, the closest I got was to have Taiga alone at just under 30K before she double crit-killed my remaining party. Had I not burned all my seals on previous attempts, I might've won.

My big problem is the way it feels RNG-heavy. Not only do you need crits, the Field effects can randomly decide to go from Fire, Water, or Forest to Fire/Water, Forest/Water, or Forest/Fire rather than just the one for the enemy I'm attacking. It makes AOE strategies so convoluted to execute, especially with Evasions and Invincibility thrown in since getting an ideal point to lower everyone's HP bar is very difficult.

Since I'm inclined to rely on Eresh as my main attacker, Taiga inevitably outlives the other two and with some substantial HP on her. At which point the challenge is impossible - or near-about - for any Saber I may bring in later is fighting against these massive buffs you can't get rid of. Even with a MLB Grudge Match Musashi from my Friend's list, when the Field is Forest perpetually you're going to die first.

the field effects are not random at all, but there is a ton of RNG just based on how much damage taiga can do with their basic attacks. the last person you hit will activate their field effect, and once they are in their second health bar they will activate the field for the one to their left as well. so you have total control over it. (nobu activates taiga's field effect)

[Resileaf]

the field effects are not random at all, but there is a ton of RNG just based on how much damage taiga can do with their basic attacks. the last person you hit will activate their field effect, and once they are in their second health bar they will activate the field for the one to their left as well. so you have total control over it. (nobu activates taiga's field effect)

At least until you beat one of them, at which point you gradually lose control over what field effect is up and how to avoid them.

[Kitten Champion]

First off, I finished it. This happened after I got another seal back and I was once again in the scenario with Artoria v. Taiga one-on-one high-stakes game of "whack Taiga like a goddamn Gorilla until she dies but probably won't" and in this case Taiga didn't get the RNG range to critically hit my Artoria down to nothing after a surprising number of turns. So, risking it, I used that lone seal to heal her and gave enough turns that she could just manage it with that 1HP Guts effect left over.

I think that was the hardest fight I've participated in. At least that I felt a plausible chance of winning.

the field effects are not random at all, but there is a ton of RNG just based on how much damage taiga can do with their basic attacks. the last person you hit will activate their field effect, and once they are in their second health bar they will activate the field for the one to their left as well. so you have total control over it. (nobu activates taiga's field effect)

See, that was my presumption as well, but then I recall several times where hitting Nobbu in the first attack - as I almost always do - activated Taiga's field effect as well.

But... you must be right. In retrospect I think those times were when I happened to break her life bar and didn't notice the correlation.

[NeoPhoenix0]

with the help of support musashi i was able to finally defeat jaguar warrior and the jaguars... after a few dozen times of fine tuning my strategy and then fishing for some luck. and i did it without seals... cause i blew them all on earlier attempts that failed.

Spoiler: Team in order of slot

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Parvati 10/10/10 NP1 MLB damage CE
Waver 6/10/10 NP3 K-scope
Skadi 7/6/8 NP1 no ce
Brave Elizabeth 6/6/6 NP5 MLB Aerial Drive
Mash (classic) 10/10/10 NP3 MLB The Merciless One
support Musashi 10/10/6 NP2 MLB damage ce
Mystic Code Chaldea Uniform - True Ether

my strategy was to use waver and skadi to try and get a waver into parvati NP with all the buffs off immediately which would break nobu and jeanne's HP bars, with the extra NP boost off of my mystic code's mana conversion and a turn 1 arts card to finish, parvati would have almost enough NP to go off again, she would then either need to attack jaguar warrior for more NP or get hit so she can blast them again leaving nobu and jeanne in low health. when eli got swapped in she would help wittle jaguar down without breaking her before jeanne was completely gone, though she never got her NP off in the final one since it would have gone off on the turn i attacked jeanne to minimize jaguar's NP damage, then i had to stall for a bit to get rid of jeanne's invuln without letting nobu or jeanne have full power NPs, i used this time to get jaguar down to about 30k on the first bar. all around the same time i did one last big parvati NP to finish off the other two and musashi came in to deal with jaguar warrior, she and parvati finished her break bar, and then she killed parvati with her NP which was the best luck since i didn't use an invuln on musashi since she had guts left. musashi then proceeded to blow jaguar's last bar away in 3 turns of raw damage with some healing from my code and her own invuln button to survive exactly long enough for the finishign blow.

tldr; this one is like super overtuned and even with tons of strategy and luck i barely made it. and this coming from someone who finished the stupid unnerfed final round in last years nero fest. probably would have gone smoother if i owned a merlin... this is the first time merlin has seemed like more than just overkill...

ps: thank you an absolute ton spectral for the musashi.