Boss Guide: Ch15-3 (SIN)

Additional Guides

Enemy Layout

Fatal Battle 1/1		212,925 Captain of the Guard
		237,975 Captain of the Guard
		275,550 Captain of the Guard

Section 15: Humanity's Whereabouts (3/3) AP - 25

Drops	Soundless Bell x3 (100%)
Rewards	Saint Quartz x1 Soundless Bell x5

Boss Statistics

Note: Master Skills are sealed for the first four turns!

Captain of the Guard
	HP	212,925
	LVL	88
	HP	237,975
	LVL	88
	HP	275,550
	LVL	88
	Class	Assassin
	NP Bar
	NP Type	ST
	Actions	Up to 3 per turn
	Traits	Humanoid, Male, Neutral Evil

Battle Start 1		Han Xin's Plan "Fight like There's No Tomorrow": Increase own ATK as own HP is lowered (10 turns). Formula: 10% + 90% (1 - [Current HP / Max HP]).* Increase NP Gauge by 1 at the end of every turn (10 turns).
Start of 2nd Turn (7th, 12th, etc)		"Stratagem...Get the Commander": Apply Target Focus to a random enemy (3 turns). Nullify Class Affinity Attack disadvantage of self (3 turns). [Deals neutral damage to classes that normally Resist Assassin]
Start of 3rd Turn (8th, 13th, etc)		"Stratagem...Create Confusion": Inflict Confusion to all enemies (3 turns). *30% Chance to inflict Skill Seal each turn.
Start of 4th Turn (9th, 14th, etc)		"Stratagem...Create an Illusion": Increase own ATK by 1% (1 turn). Increase own ATK by 1% (1 turn). Increase own ATK by 1% (1 turn).
Start of 5th Turn (10th, 15th etc)		"Stratagem...Eradicate the Source of Power": Decrease NP Gain of an enemy by 100% (3 turns).
Start of 6th Turn (11th, 16th, etc)		"Stratagem...Attack when Vulnerable": Increase own Arts Card effectiveness by 15% (3 turns) each turn (3 turns).
Break		Violent Fist: Increase own Critical Strength by 50% (2 times). Increase own Critical Rate by 100% (2 times).
Break		Unrivaled: Increase own ATK by 30% [Permanent, Unremovable]. Increase own Instant Death Success Rate by 200% [Permanent, Unremovable].
Skill 1		Chinese Martial Arts (Bajiquan) A+++: Apply Ignore Invincible for yourself (1 turn). Increase your Critical Strength (1 turn).
Skill 2		Sphere Boundary (Extreme) A-: Apply Evade for yourself (1 turn). Increase your Critical Rate (1 turn).
Skill 3		Intersection of Yin-Yang B: Increase your ATK (1 turns). Increase your ATK further (3 turns). Apply Debuff Immune for yourself (1 turn).
NP		Wu Er Da: Deals damage to a single enemy. 100% Chance to inflict Death on a single enemy. Decrease DEF for a single enemy (3 turns). [Activates first]

Overview

This is a difficult battle with a multitude of effects. The boss, Li Shuwen (Assassin) has three HP bars, hits hard, crits hard and often, and his NP can also cause Instant Death (even more so after second Break). The longer this fight drags on, the more effects start appearing, making this an encounter that Masters will want to end as quickly as possible. That isn't made much easier by the fact that Master Skills are sealed for a whole four turns, but with the right setup the fight can still be manageable. Some Servants can solo this encounter with proper support.
Boss has a removable buff that gives him +1 NP Gauge Every Turn - For the first ten turns, Li Shuwen will gain an extra NP gauge every turn (and a greater ATK bonus the lower his HP is), making his damaging NP a greater threat. However, this buff is removable! Bringing a source of buff removal is a great boon for this encounter.
Has Evade skills - One of his normal skills grants a 1-turn evade and critical rate boost. He will use this skill semi-frequently, and seems to do so when his HP is depleted a significant amount.
Can Ignore Invincible - Another skill applies Ignore Invincible for a turn. Unfortunately, he may use this skill before his NP on his NP turn (seemingly randomly out of his possible skills), making any form of Invincibility or Evasion against him a gamble. Taunt and Guts skills are more effective in either making sure the damage is redirected away from damage dealers, or surviving inevitable damage / instant death effects.
Gains rotating effects every turn:
- 2nd Turn, 7th Turn, etc: Taunt + Class Attack Disadvantage Nullifcation - At the start of the rotation, Li Shuwen will apply Target Focus on a random frontline Servant as well as enable himself to deal neutral damage against classes that normally resist Assassin (such as Caster or Ruler). Note that setting up a Target Focus CE or skill ahead of time can help, but the Target Focus effect will select a frontline Servant randomly.
- 3rd Turn, 8th Turn, etc: Chance to Skill Seal (1 time) each turn - At the start of the next turn, Li Shuwen will inflict Confusion for 3 turns on all frontline Servants, which has a chance to Skill Seal a Servant for 1 turn (and will have a chance each turn until the 3 turns are up). This debuff can also be cleansed.
- 4th Turn, 9th Turn, etc: Self ATK buff x3 - At the start of the next turn, Li Shuwen will attempt meta-intimidation by stacking three ATK buffs on himself. These are somewhat deceptive ATK buffs that actually have a very low modifier (+1%) for 1 turn, and is not as practically frightening as it may seem at first glance.
- 5th Turn, 10th Turn, etc: NP Gain -100% (3 turns) for a random Servant - At the start of the next turn, one of the front line Servant's NP Gain will be essentially reduced to zero. Note this does not affect NP Gauge charging skills, however.
- 6th Turn, 11th Turn: Enemy Arts +15% every turn for 3 turns - At the start of the final turn in the skill rotation, Li Shuwen will gain a buff that gradually stacks up to a total of +45% Arts Card effectiveness total across 3 turns. The buffs themselves individually last 3 turns each.
Break 1: Crit Rate +100% & Crit Damage +50% (2 times) - Upon breaking Li Shuwen's first HP bar, he will gain a guaranteed two critical hits, both of which will hit hard. Having a Servant with Taunt up for his first break is recommended.
Break 2: ATK +30% & Death Success Rate +200% - Upon breaking Li Shuwen's second HP bar, he'll gain a permanent attack and instant death success rate boost, making his Noble Phantasm much more likely to trigger its Instant Death effect. For this, effects like Guts on a damage dealer can help weather the storm.

Team Recommendations

Frontline - ST DPS choices against Assassin are preferable, with bonus points for either being able to charge their NP Gauge quickly (Xuanzang Sanzang) or having Guts available (Illyasviel von Einzbern, Cu Chulainn (Alter), Heracles being some examples). Some Alter Ego options are also viable, such as Meltryllis and Sitonai.
Frontline - Buff Removal for getting rid of his battle-start +1 NP Charge per turn skill on the first turn will help make the damage onslaught somewhat more manageable. The primary candidate for this that is easily accessible to most Masters is Medea, while a Skadi-compatible option would be Meltryllis. Note that all of the buffs that Li Shuwen gains are removable aside from his break effects.
Taunt Support to absorb damage from Li Shuwen's devastating critical strikes is highly suggested. There are multiple ways of going about this, from using Servants with Taunt skills such as Mash, Georgios, or Leonidas, to using CEs on a Servant instead such as GUDAGUDA Poster Girl. A great candidate for the CE is Avicebron, who has a powerful on-death Skill that grants HP recovery and Invincibility to all remaining allies.
Damage / NP Gauge Support for the damage dealer is appreciated as always. Given the enemy is an Assassin, Caster Support is just slightly more useful. The usual suspects of Zhuge Liang, Merlin, Tamamo and Scathach-Skadi are all excellent choices.
Charm is an alternative option, as Li Shuwen is not immune. Euryale can also act as the primary DPS in a charm-lock oriented party setup, and would be further bolstered by Arts supports such as Tamamo-no-Mae or Mozart.
Mystic Code: Chaldea Combat Uniform is very useful for its Order Change ability, in case the damage dealer requires a boost to the NP Gauge, or a Taunt Servant needs to be switched in to absorb a hit on an NP turn. Alternatively, the Atlas Academy Uniform can also come in handy, particularly in Solo setups, to cleanse undesirable debuffs (such as the Skill Seal or the NP Gain -100% debuff), as well as bringing skills off cooldown 2 turns early. The Invincibility is also nice, but can have varying mileage depending on Li Shuwen’s Ignore Invincibility skill application.