[DFFOO JP][Kain IW Lufenia+] Non-synergy Zell in a range orb Lufenia+ with Prompto and Llyud
11Last one before the Noctis and Prompto's seemingly getting Lv. 90 awakening. So I want to include Prompto in a party while playing with Zell for a before and after comparison.
Zell:
Similar to my initial clear, using Prompto with a turn abuser (Vayne) can keep the orb alive while having no other range units (which was kinda my predicament). Compared to Vayne, Zell sometimes go even more volatile with turn rate on top of consecutive turns with breaks/rebreaks. Nevertheless it still works with one range unit, as I have already tried this with Ursula, Zell and Prompto. This time Llyud is the main buffer for the party and also happen to be a range unit, so it gets even easier.
Do note that the reduction is at 70/90 (BRV dmg/BRV gain), so in a sense both Llyud and Zell are hampered on two fronts. Zell's damage refund took a hit as a result, but through BRV cap modifiers from himself and Llyud's C88 and HP damage modifiers, Zell performs really well from start to finish with both BRV damage and HP damage, despite having the deficiency of lacking BRV hits in between HP dumps. Surprisingly even Prompto is still hitting 13.5K BRV dmg and 50K launch BRV damage on the last boss. I believe it is mostly due to Llyud's aura and Zell's potent 60% DEF down whenever he does one of the variations of meteor barrage.
I think after playing with the Zell's C85 improvements for a bit, his moveset is quite versatile and not hard to understand. BRV and S1 for AoE, HP and S2 for heavy multi-HP ST damage. Use the LD whenever you are ready to deal heavy damage; or need to rebreak and push the boss away or you just want to turn hoard and utilize some limited auras from others.
Inserting the C88 now becomes even more important to maximize damage with increased BRV damage cap and resetting the Duel buff(which allows you to use meteor barrage/burning rave) and In general I would say you want to include as much EX/LD/meteor barrage or meteor combo as much as possible. This can also be done mid-LD cycle. Use meteor barrage, then EX, then meteor combo etc. This can even be chained further by using Llyud's EX once Zell's EX is used. With this setup it is not hard to stack up milions of damage within a few consecutive turns.
As much as a damage dealer goes, Zell is in a really good place now and he offers some utility while he takes the support. I think his damage requires less help than quite a few of the other damage dealers and I really like his most damaging combo comes with the potent DEF down as well, so he flows quite well. I seldom find myself running into the a situation where I need to do something out of the ordinary with him for a specific purpose, maybe other than the forced LD finisher and non-stop consecutive turns, which could be bad from a Lufenia orb maintenance standpoint. Then again, it just requires more careful preemptive calculations and awareness.
I quite like how his combos are not really restrictive. You can go from punch rush to meteor barrage or booya to burning rave. You can really choose which move to do reactively.
Prompto:
On the subject of Prompto, I think I have mentioned before that he is kind of an underrated or under-recognized character. His support coverage is actually really good. Party HP regen, follow-up that instant breaks, 70% ATK down and 40% DEF down, 100% evasion with lock are just some of the more visible ones and most of which are applied naturally without much effort. He also comes with a solid amount of ATK up, mBRV up and 20% BRV damage up for the entire party.
He may not a be a master of any areas but more often than not I find him being the solution more than a problem to some specific team setups that just lack something (a lot of the times, it is actually healing, damage management and orb maintenance). Provided the proper support, he can also be a great damage dealer. I speak from experience that there are multiple times when I play with Vayne that I just want a character that comes with a DEF down and Prompto is kind of the answer to that, all the while helping a little bit with extra party buffing and healing.
Hopefully, he gets a really nice EX++ or even a LD board rework. With specific setups his EX can already reach 700K+ damage potential barring splash damage. I really look forward to seeing what is in stall for his upgrades.