Tips for Combat
Get familiar with basic attack sequences.
A good sequence to follow in terms of offense is normal attacks → artes → boost attacks. Begin your offense by using normal attacks until you build up enough of your artes gauge (AG). Then, use ground or aerial artes depending on the type of enemies you are fighting. Once you have depleted your AG, use boost attacks until you are able to perform artes again.
Know which boost attacks are effective against enemies.
Each playable character’s boost attack has unique properties that make them work especially well against certain types of enemies in the game. Shionne’s, for instance, is very effective against flying-type zeugle, while Kisara’s is invaluable against boar or gigants that tend to perform frontal charge attacks. Performing their boost attacks against the right enemies (and at the right time) can temporarily incapacitate them, giving you an opportunity to land stack even more damage normal attacks or artes.
Chain multiple hits in a combo to trigger boost strikes.
Try to string together as many hits as you can on enemies to increase the chances of triggering special attacks called boost strikes. These are incredibly powerful moves that will instantly kill regular enemies and will deal massive amounts of damage to bosses. Note that boost strikes can also activate after you have lowered your foes health, acting as a sort of finishing blow and ending the battle in spectacular fashion.
Avoid spamming the same attacks more than four times.
Using the same attacks or artes against enemies four times in a row results in lower penetration and will reduce the move’s effectiveness. Mix up your offense and use other attacks or artes when chaining multiple hits in a combo.
Force enemies into a break state.
Landing as many hits as you can on enemies will gradually deplete their “break” gauge. Once it has run out, the foe will enter a helpless “break” state, causing them to become temporarily defenseless and open to follow-up strikes. Use boost attacks or have characters with high penetration power to force foes into the break state more easily.
Large enemies like gigants and some bosses, meanwhile, can go into break by constantly targeting their weak points. Watch out for glowing spots on their bodies and focus all attacks at them to render them helpless during battle.
Escape unnecessary random battles.
You can flee from enemies when engaged in battle by opening the menu (touchpad on PS4 and PS5) and selecting the rightmost option to escape. Note that you will need the escape gauge to run out before you can exit the battle.
It is, however, not possible to escape from some story-related encounters, particularly boss fights. Try to organize you party and prepare equipment beforehand for these situations.
Aim for weak points when up against gigants, bosses, and other large enemies.
Focus on attacking the weak points of large enemies, especially gigants and bosses, to wear them down and eventually render them into a downed state. You can then follow-up with more devastating attacks to stack even more damage without having to worry about counterattacks until your foe recovers.
Activate Over Limit.
Executing perfect evasions or taking damage will trigger an empowered state called Over Limit. While in this mode, your character will be able to use artes without expending AG for a brief period. You can also perform Mystic Artes while in Over Limit, making it a good opportunity to unload on tough enemies momentarily. The Over Limit gauge gradually depletes over time so try to make the most out it during battle.
Use Mystic Artes just before the Overlimit gauge runs out.
Mystic Artes are powerful techniques that allow your character to deal massive damage to foes but is only usable in Overlimit mode. Upon performing a Mystic Arte, your entire Overlimit gauge is expended. Because of this try to time it at just the right moment when your Overlimit by spamming as many artes as you can before the gauge runs out.
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