DFFOO [JP][WoL IW][Alt run] Defeating chaos with the power of double Darkness and Meteors
20Haven't played with the best boi Vivi and Swolbez for a long time. So I thought I would give them a go besides WoL.
My original intent was to see if a DKC friend pops up so I could have a go with Vivi and DKC for a constant 1 HP run alongside WoL. That didn't came to pass, so I went for the darkness and meteor theme.
For your reference, both of them here are at 0 FE, base HA and LD only. For pretty much bare minimum investment you can get them to work very smoothly and hammer the bosses.
They have not been updated for a while but are still putting in quite a bit of work. With WoL, some def down CA they pretty much hit near maximum dmg at all times. Part of Vivi's attacks have ignore defence, but his EX meteor doesn't and thus suffer quite a bit from lacking in dedicated support and DEF down. It is a simple potency issue though so I am sure it will get tuned up when he gets his FR/BT eventually though.
Golbez on the other hand is quite consistent in the case of 2 target fight. In a high AD environment he can pretty much just keep going with EX - LD, his highest dmg attacks. 6-7 HP dumps still hits very hard with high FR%.
There is a lot of AD up in this fight, so even with two 0 FE characters, the FG actually charges quickly even without a charger character.
Diablos:
Diablos's synergy with these 3 is quite flawless. Vivi drains party HP so Vivi and Golbez can get the below 80% HP elemental weakness bonus. WoL can enjoy the 50% iBRV up and gives a gigantic shield. Vivi's HP drain thus becomes a non-factor. If there is a Selphie iBRV up buff, his shield can actually reach 200K+ here.
There are 3 reasons for the Terra friend here.
For one she is one of the few people that has FR board.
She is also part of the meteor gang for the thematic reason. I didn't want her taking up too much screen time subbing out Vivi, so I didn't use her meteor and not let her stay.
Lastly, since Vayne almost moves twice as much as Garland does, his debuffs fall off really fast. Terra's FR has a built-in magic vulnerability up, so I don't have to waste a FT using a DEF debuffing CA.
Further thoughts on WoL FR:
Not specifically related to this team but after over a few days of playing around with him, I am actually pleasantly surprised by the depth of customization regarding his ideal team members. A lot of them have quite distinct pros and cons that there is no clear cut of who best goes with him at all times.
For example:
1. "Preemptive strike" vs "After action off-turn dmg".
I tried this comparison with Cor vs Yang. Cor's preemptive strike activates before the turn FR bonus increase, so its dmg does not get that benefit in said turn. It may also kill or break the small adds away from action, so they would not be able to touch WoL's shield for a FR% increase. This was quite apparent and frequent on the seven FR boss when the adds just kept dying, resulting in a lot missed % increase opportunities.
That said preemptive strikes can shave off enemy BRV gains before they move. As big as WoL's shield is, BRV gains up to 100K+ range can still pose a threat.
2. Kain and Freya (Dragoons in the air) or dodgers
This group generally provide a bit of consistent off-turn dmg. but mostly they also evade in the process. It is okay when WoL has the lock on. Problem arises when enemies have way too many turns or they respawn after getting constantly killed. For a normal party member, hitting their shield still gives FR%. No % would be given if they ST the dodgers though. So their inclusion can be fight/context sensitive.
3. Characters want to be targeted
Some units like Machina want to get hit to proc his counter. The same goes for his FR if WoL is there to for his FR board instead. On the other hand, if WoL uses his FR instead, Machina can have a lock CA and let his shield get hit. Then the result would be satisfactory for both parties. Again, this is quite fight/context dependent.
4. Self-delayers/ active or off-turn plays
WoL fundamentally gets more FR% when he attacks the locked target, so for an active play letting him "speed up" and take more turns at the beginning would help with the % increase. Give him turns with Lunafreya or just have the others delaying themselves (e.g. Enna Kros, Cinque) so that he comparatively gets more.
Like many things however, too much delaying can be an issue. Debuffs falling off, enemies shredding through defences or delaying indefinitely can be nasty.
Even though his FR is capable of getting off-turn FR%, there is quite a bit more factors to consider compared to other typical off-turn FRs, IMO that's why WoL is now quite fun to play.
With the addition of FR board, it becomes really easy to get to high FR%. Needless to say the meta ones are destroying the bosses with ease, but maybe it is time to do something like a "long time no see" series. Some of them are still very effective under the effects of these extreme FR%. (famous last words if a new difficulty pops up immediately lol)