Build: Once again, we're using Twilight Blaze with a Critical Ring, plus Thundaga, and some Elixirs. Once again, that's high strength at the cost of magic, with Combo-Jump, Combo-Block, and Critical Boost. Additionally, we're sacrificing all extra Block levels for Block-Jump, Block-Counter, and Perfect Block, plus one level of Dodge Roll for Dodging Deflect. Also, Sliding Dash is actually mandatory for this strat. This lets us quickly cancel our melee combos into a Block or Jump on reaction, lets us cancel our (successful) Blocks into either a counter or a jump (with no recoil if we time a Perfect Block,) and gives every attack a chance to crit. Also, I *think* counters are a guaranteed crit, at least with Critical Boost. Strat: First Form: For this, we're gonna go ahead and grab the badges at the start. Do it fast enough and you can glide back in time to aerial her mid-air before getting into position. For Sonic Blade (her aerial charge) you can usually squeeze in an aerial, then back up to about the distance shown to space your Block-Counter, make sure to Perfect Block to retaliate in time (gonna be hearing that a lot.) For her charge slash, make sure you're the full distance away and you can safely full hop it. For her regular combo, keep far enough away that the first strike misses (it's tough to react to, otherwise) then Perfect Block and immediately counter to i-frame through her counter while dealing counter damage of your own. And if you see her floating upwards without spreading her wings first, rush in and attack or she'll heal. Just make sure to get out immediately, as her attack timer is dramatically shorter than normal after this one. Second Form: Sliding Dash in to start. Do it fast enough and you can get a full regular combo off. For her normal combo, same deal, just for the third strike instead, and stand further away as her weapon's longer now. Also, note the rising horizontal on the second hit: you'll wanna make sure to go counterclockwise when circling her to keep under its high point for a little extra safety. She now has a vacuum slash and Ragnarok. For the former, Dash/Glide out and Thundaga once she strikes. For the latter, you can get an aerial combo in first if you're close, then Glide in circles around her to avoid it. Try to stick close to bait a melee followup, otherwise she might Ragnarok again, or worse, heal. Third Form: This one I played the most safe. Try to bait her normal combo with rolls, then Block (Not Perfect Block) the final hit and counter. Regular Blocking gives you enough lag to counter i-frame through her counter this phase. For her new plunge attack, Glide around to her back to aerial, as it has both a shockwave, and a second upswing hit in front. Plus, her sides are bulky enough that it's hard to hit her from that angle. And for Ars Arcanum, this one's unblockable, so roll out if close then glide to keep clear, then Thundaga as it finishes. Be sure you don't pin yourself against a wall, though. Final Form: This one's actually mostly easier than the previous two, with a few tricky parts. Stay close to keep the damage up and maintain favorable Block position. If you see her wind up her right arm, get ready for melee strikes. Her right arm seemed really unlikely to hit up close, so you can probably get away with just Blocking her left. You can even string together Perfect Block-Counters on her four hit combo. If you see her lean back, a gravity ball or Thunder is coming, both can be Blocked with the same timing. Once she gets low enough, she'll start using vacuums, "Judgement" (Tales name, not sure what it's called in KH, but the random pillars of light), and her Final Limit (big light blast in the center.) For the vacuum, this just serves to throw off your positioning, so account for that. For the Final Limit, just Glide to the edge of the arena (preferably next to her for fast followup.) And for Judgement... We have a janky, but seemingly consistent strat: Sliding Dash. The light pillars don't seem to strike immediately in front of her, so head up there to start, maybe even sneak in a few hits. Soon, though, the vacuum will reappear, making it nearly impossible to maintain that position, even with Glide (you'll slide to one of her sides, where you might get hit.) Instead, what we'll use is Emptey Sliding Dashes. Sliding Dash is powerful enough to fight the vacuum, and the only part of her we can target is her center, which brings us right into the safe zone. However, you'll be dragged back by the vacuum as soon as it ends, and if you attack you likely won't recover in time to Sliding Dash back to safety before getting hit. Hence, Empty Sliding Dashes. The way Sliding Dash works in Days is that when you or the target are moved mid-slide, you actually only do the slide with a single input. Attacking after requires another. So what we can do here is chain consecutive slides, pressing only after the last has ended and we're far enough away to be back into Sliding Dash range, letting us stay in the safe zone with precise enough input rhythm. And with that, we've successfully lost a friend.
I really love how you played with Vacuum Slash in these phases. Being able to glide and and punish with Thundaga then keep up the pressure went in. Though id imagine it must have been hard seeing the tells when your screen was covered in tears. Congrats on getting over the emotional barrier ❤
Build:
Once again, we're using Twilight Blaze with a Critical Ring, plus Thundaga, and some Elixirs. Once again, that's high strength at the cost of magic, with Combo-Jump, Combo-Block, and Critical Boost. Additionally, we're sacrificing all extra Block levels for Block-Jump, Block-Counter, and Perfect Block, plus one level of Dodge Roll for Dodging Deflect. Also, Sliding Dash is actually mandatory for this strat.
This lets us quickly cancel our melee combos into a Block or Jump on reaction, lets us cancel our (successful) Blocks into either a counter or a jump (with no recoil if we time a Perfect Block,) and gives every attack a chance to crit. Also, I *think* counters are a guaranteed crit, at least with Critical Boost.
Strat:
First Form:
For this, we're gonna go ahead and grab the badges at the start. Do it fast enough and you can glide back in time to aerial her mid-air before getting into position. For Sonic Blade (her aerial charge) you can usually squeeze in an aerial, then back up to about the distance shown to space your Block-Counter, make sure to Perfect Block to retaliate in time (gonna be hearing that a lot.) For her charge slash, make sure you're the full distance away and you can safely full hop it. For her regular combo, keep far enough away that the first strike misses (it's tough to react to, otherwise) then Perfect Block and immediately counter to i-frame through her counter while dealing counter damage of your own. And if you see her floating upwards without spreading her wings first, rush in and attack or she'll heal. Just make sure to get out immediately, as her attack timer is dramatically shorter than normal after this one.
Second Form:
Sliding Dash in to start. Do it fast enough and you can get a full regular combo off. For her normal combo, same deal, just for the third strike instead, and stand further away as her weapon's longer now. Also, note the rising horizontal on the second hit: you'll wanna make sure to go counterclockwise when circling her to keep under its high point for a little extra safety. She now has a vacuum slash and Ragnarok. For the former, Dash/Glide out and Thundaga once she strikes. For the latter, you can get an aerial combo in first if you're close, then Glide in circles around her to avoid it. Try to stick close to bait a melee followup, otherwise she might Ragnarok again, or worse, heal.
Third Form:
This one I played the most safe. Try to bait her normal combo with rolls, then Block (Not Perfect Block) the final hit and counter. Regular Blocking gives you enough lag to counter i-frame through her counter this phase. For her new plunge attack, Glide around to her back to aerial, as it has both a shockwave, and a second upswing hit in front. Plus, her sides are bulky enough that it's hard to hit her from that angle. And for Ars Arcanum, this one's unblockable, so roll out if close then glide to keep clear, then Thundaga as it finishes. Be sure you don't pin yourself against a wall, though.
Final Form:
This one's actually mostly easier than the previous two, with a few tricky parts. Stay close to keep the damage up and maintain favorable Block position. If you see her wind up her right arm, get ready for melee strikes. Her right arm seemed really unlikely to hit up close, so you can probably get away with just Blocking her left. You can even string together Perfect Block-Counters on her four hit combo. If you see her lean back, a gravity ball or Thunder is coming, both can be Blocked with the same timing.
Once she gets low enough, she'll start using vacuums, "Judgement" (Tales name, not sure what it's called in KH, but the random pillars of light), and her Final Limit (big light blast in the center.) For the vacuum, this just serves to throw off your positioning, so account for that. For the Final Limit, just Glide to the edge of the arena (preferably next to her for fast followup.) And for Judgement... We have a janky, but seemingly consistent strat: Sliding Dash.
The light pillars don't seem to strike immediately in front of her, so head up there to start, maybe even sneak in a few hits. Soon, though, the vacuum will reappear, making it nearly impossible to maintain that position, even with Glide (you'll slide to one of her sides, where you might get hit.) Instead, what we'll use is Emptey Sliding Dashes. Sliding Dash is powerful enough to fight the vacuum, and the only part of her we can target is her center, which brings us right into the safe zone. However, you'll be dragged back by the vacuum as soon as it ends, and if you attack you likely won't recover in time to Sliding Dash back to safety before getting hit. Hence, Empty Sliding Dashes.
The way Sliding Dash works in Days is that when you or the target are moved mid-slide, you actually only do the slide with a single input. Attacking after requires another. So what we can do here is chain consecutive slides, pressing only after the last has ended and we're far enough away to be back into Sliding Dash range, letting us stay in the safe zone with precise enough input rhythm.
And with that, we've successfully lost a friend.
I really love how you played with Vacuum Slash in these phases. Being able to glide and and punish with Thundaga then keep up the pressure went in. Though id imagine it must have been hard seeing the tells when your screen was covered in tears. Congrats on getting over the emotional barrier ❤
Thanks, lol. I figured if I had to do this fight, I had to do it right. So I tried to play as aggressively as possible.