Stage 9 primary roles + base Sen means that the only secondary development is in Vanille and Hope's Sentinel roles, but even then only to the first ability (Provoke) so that they can use Sentinel roles in battle. Cheap* upgrades means no Scarletite/Adamantite/Dark Matter/Trapezohedron equipment was used, with the exception of Snow's Solaris (an Adamantite was purchased and used). Two Diamond Bangles are found as mission rewards, so I consider them fair game.

Mission 64: Vercingetorix

Party: Vanille / Hope / Snow

Equipment/stats:
Vanille: 9245 HP, 1111 Str, 1468 Mag
Malboro Wand Lv. 15
Platinum Bangle *
Platinum Bangle *
Platinum Bangle *

Hope: 8225 HP, 852 Str, 1595 Mag
Vidofnir Lv. 1
Diamond Bangle *
Diamond Bangle *
Platinum Bangle *

Snow: 11500 HP, 1257 Str, 972 Mag
Solaris Lv. 13
Platinum Bangle *
Platinum Bangle *
Platinum Bangle *

Paradigms: (Vanille / Hope / Snow)
Sab / Med / Sen -- Attrition (default)
Sab / Med / Sen -- Attrition
Med / Syn / Sen -- Protection
Med / Syn / Sen -- Protection
Med / Med / Sen -- Combat Clinic
Sen / Sen / Sen -- Tortoise

There are four stages to this battle, characterized by the number of wings Vercingetorix has:
Stage 1: 2 wings
Stage 2: 4 wings
Stage 3: 6 wings
Stage 4: 8 wings

For each stage, here are the attacks he will use:
Stage 1: Physical attack, Wind Shear
Stage 2: Physical attack, Wind Shear, Putrescence
Stage 3: Physical attack, Wind Shear, Putrescence, Wicked Whirl (once)
Stage 4: Physical attack, Wind Shear, (double) Putrescence, Wicked Whirl (twice)

Stage 1 is the initial stage. Stage 2 starts when Vercingetorix has roughly 90% HP. Stage 3 starts when Vercingetorix has roughly 60% HP. Stage 4 starts when Vercingetorix has roughly 30% HP. Each transition is marked by Impenetrable Aura (though he will use Impenetrable Aura in the middle of each stage to restore HP).

Basic strategy for each stage:

Stage 1: Manually cast Poisonx5 and repeat the command until Poison sticks. When it does, go to Protection and cast Cura/Curaja depending on HP. After Impenetrable Aura, focus on getting Poison inflicted before dispelling Bravery. You don't really need to worry about dying here, but you do need to worry about getting Poison inflicted quickly since he is very quick to retreat into Impenetrable Aura.

Stage 2: The same as stage 1, except he will be out longer before retreating to Impenetrable Aura.

Stage 3: Prioritize dispelling Bravery, Faith, and Protect before worrying about Poison. If Wicked Whirl is his first move out of Impenetrable Aura and he targets either Hope or Vanille, you're dead. (Thus, try to time paradigm shifts so that Snow provokes Vercingetorix before any actions.) Keep HP up before Wicked Whirl. When Wicked Whirl happens, shift to Tortoise to absorb all the blows; the affected characters should be left with yellow HP. (If you're lucky, Snow will have been distanced from Vanille and Hope and so they will take no damage!) After Wicked Whirl, you can focus on getting Poison inflicted if it isn't already before doing anything else. If anyone enters red, use Combat Clinic to heal more efficiently.

Stage 4: Dispel all four buffs, then get Poison inflicted quickly. Whenever you see Wind Shear, you will have to tank it in Tortoise and then heal in Combat Clinic afterwards. Be aware you will see two Wicked Whirls between Impenetrable Auras in this stage. You might want to refresh Poison on Vercingetorix at some point to ensure it lasts completely during its out-and-about phase.

Alternatively, summon after the first Wicked Whirl, refresh Poison as much as you can before entering gestalt (i.e., don't die), and stall as long as you can by using Chain Cannons only right before the current time unit expires; if done correctly, Poison will deplete its HP before gestalt finishes. If not, you'll have to finish him on your own.

Note: It is imperative that Snow re-provokes Vercingetorix immediately after Impenetrable Aura. If not, if his first move is Wicked Whirl and it's targeted against Hope or Vanille, it's game over. Also, if he pulls off a Wicked Whirl with Bravery active, the party will be left in red after it's over, so it's likely you will see game over. This is why dispelling buffs is a priority in the latter two stages.

Target time: 26:07
Max 5-star battle duration: 17:47
Actual battle duration: 13:11
Score: 14656 (5 stars)

(There was a recording glitch in the middle of this video. Blah.)

свернуть