Digimon Hacker's Memory No Digivolution Part 15: Arcadiamon Mega
13Challenge playlist:
• Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's ...
In our first clash against Arcadiamon with its Ultimate version in the last video, we were facing 5 turns from the opposition, which wasn't too bad, as 3-vs-1 battles are unfair and the boss couldn't really do much with all those turns anyway. This time around, oh boy...
It wouldn't be an exaggeration that this is the game's current toughest boss battle, as here we are the closest to losing big time. Unlike the Ultimate version of the boss which spent some of the turns it got to debuff his own attack while increasing speed - to have nothing of value to do during the many turns it got? - this one bolsters both attack and speed to take a ton of turns during which it becomes an offensive menace. The buffs only enhance the boss over time, with the damage not taking very long to really escalate. Eventually, we're looking at Arcadiamon dealing 7,200+ damage against a type disadvantage to physically bulky MegaKabuterimons, which are our best form of offence (Vaccine piercing is still the weakest we have in our roster, and bugging the boss isn't an option). What's worse, it will heal off about 2K HP from the aforementioned damage, preventing several turns worth of attempts inflicting damage to the thing. Its Mach Rushes may deal well over 1,8K multitarget damage, too, so pick your poison.
A party of three MegaKabuterimons was clearly in the cards, so the only thing left was to decide how to play them exactly to prevail here, as the boss does have one weakness - its max HP isn't particularly high, so dealing damage consistently will eventually lead the boss to its demise. In an attempt to do something about the sheer number of turns the boss gets, I postpone attacking in the early phases to land a few Speed Breaks, which MegaKabuterimon naturally learns (otherwise, I wouldn't be able to use it in a No Digivolution challenge, would I?), leaving the boss less presence for when its turns do come. I have to occasionally renew the debuff to avoid the effect from wearing off too quickly.
Given enough time, we'll once again be at that phase where the boss's offence is just overwhelming, and this is where I alter my strategy, going for the kill by using up my last six turns attacking instead of sandbagging with debuffs.
Because I only really have 3 MegaKabuterimons, having them wiped out means I pretty much have to restart, as the rest of my team isn't equipped to take hits and dish out powerful piercing damage.
Beating Arcadiamon Mega finishes chapter 16, leaving me with one last "normal" chapter filled with missions before we head for the final boss. The challenge is coming to an end.