DFFOO [JP][Lilisette FR Raid][Budget Alt Run] CorEdge with first time Setzer on JP
12The Edge is Cor-ing tonight. So here we are.
(Please don't hate me, that line was literally the first thing I thought of when Cor and Edge was put together lol)
Apologies though for the occasional crackling sound. I even tuned down the volume, but it still appeared for some reason when it was perfectly fine in the editor preview.
I said I wanted to do a more chill one for this one and I don't want to repeat it with BRV gain/ Cait Sith, so I avoided the alternate plan of using Alisaie (sorry lol). Curiously the runtime is quite similar.
Since Edge is in the party, I put in some IV related XIV EW dungeon themes for a mix.
1.Garlemald Express
2. On Blade's Edge
3. Finality
No inherit BT used, other than that Ramza friend I put in for fun. His presence is not needed and the whole thing could be completed had Setzer remained.
The investment on this team for me was REALLY low. Edge had normal HA and the most basic UW, while Setzer does not even have HA lmao. Both of them don't even have FR enhancement, so the FG was building so slow to the point that the enemy had been ahead of mine. Cor is the only one with armor and FR enhancement board completed.
The team design is somewhat a hybrid between Chaos/Lufenia and Shinryu era. Instead of simply skipping every phase with tremendous amount of dmg, more than the first half have things in place to tackle the mode/phase change of the Guardians.
The whole concept is dependent on Edge, and being a budget run means there are some extra nuances to be taken care of instead of just fire a BT and cast away your worries.
Only his S2 is required outside of the Malboro phase hits (below 80% and again at 30%). The boss only does ST BRV/HP attacks. so a personal dodge is enough for the most part.
His EX helps every party member dodge the only AoE that is bad breath, so it is the natural advantage he has when compared to other candidates like Gladio and Galuf. His Ex has a natural 1 turn downtime. I tried to use Enna Kros LDCA, but it didn't proc. So ultimately delays were needed.
Edge is very BRV dmg dependent, so much so that hitting 1s kill his counter and overall dmg. Since elemental BRV attacks are 999% resisted here, while Edge is functionally perfect for this, performance wise he needed help for both dmg and meeting Cor's FR requirement of hitting beyond 9999.
Setzer is here for the rainbow numbers for max BRV dmg. This is also one of the few times when BRV dmg cap up is really relevant in this era (or even just the end of Lufenia+ in general after HP dmg cap up dominated the scene). Edge on basic HA would have trouble meeting the dmg cap with the mere 9999 BRV hit, so that's where the team BRV cap up C88s came in clutch.
Cor does not really need Setzer's help. He either is already hitting the cap or has his own rainbow from HP+ or FR.
Last but not least, Edge S2 taunts all targets with a 6 turn lock, which is perfect for Cor's oath buff as opposed to putting in on cover tank but it does not work if the tank is not actually the target.
Aside from the AOE delay and rainbow numbers, Setzer has a second purpose. Since the budget team has really low FG charging capabilities, the boss is destined to FR first. That attack is the only attack that cannot be dodged and is a BRV gain move with a second proportional HP dump attached. His freeze is perfect for mitigating the first part of the dmg.
Steiner LDCA is there for the HP regen mostly because the fight usually ended without all party members regening to full.
Other considerations:
I tried to bring a Dorgann friend, but the fact that he required a Cait Sith LDCA and the second malboro phase resist breaks made it not so smooth. So I decided to leave him out.
I tried Alphinaud/Alisaie/Yda actually. The BRV sap and HP sap were nice from both Alphy and Yda, but as usual Alphinaud's poison took too long to tick individually lol and Yda has the same slight handicap as Dorgann.
Alisaie + Cor is actually quite strong, until Malboro phase kinda stopped her and you would need a crit buff for her LD effect to work.
I also considered Shadow in place of Edge, with Cissnei to work like a grinding machine. Though for one he cannot make all people dodge the bad breath, and for two he would probably burn through FR turns really fast.
The recent FR era has been mostly about how to one-up the power play and one shot bosses before they get to do anything, so a change of pace is kinda nice. While this stage has some silly BRV dmg and attack type restrictions, on the flip side combined with the mode changes, it still invite some thinking to solve the problems. It is indeed an easy and fragile boss, but I appreciate it not being a giant HP sponge that feels like a slog to get through if you don't bring out the big guns.