Overview
Summer Event 2018 is a two-part heavily farming-centric event with five different materials to farm and a complex bonus drop system for each individual part of the event to keep track of. The majority of the battles for this event are not particularly challenging but can be quite tedious.
For this event, we recommend making a separate party for each individual material beforehand to maximize the drops and save the most amount of time min-maxing for smooth farming. Do remember to take into account the bonus drops from the Daily Discovery Quest to avoid excessive farming of any material. This section will not mention all Servants that give bonuses to the relevant drop of the node, but Servants that are best used to maximize drops while also improving farming speed.
Quick Table
Water/Food: Beach
The Beach consists of full Saber-class enemies with one high HP Hermit Crab. This node is the primary node for Water and also gives a decent amount of Food. Unfortunately, there are only two Archers who give Water bonus, making it a bit difficult to balance between maximizing drop and minimizing farming time. This node is also a decent area to farm Saber Gems.
High Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Zhuge Liang (El Melloi II) | Zhuge Liang makes this node a walk in the park with his incredible buffs and NP charging abilities. His bonus for Water makes him the best Servant to bring to this node without question. | |
Robin Hood | Robin is a good choice for the node to nuke the high HP Hermit Crab in the last node, while also providing a bonus to Food. | |
Atalante | Possessing a good AoE Noble Phantasm while also providing a bonus to Water, Atalante is a decent choice to clear out the second wave and prepare the team for the final wave with an abundance of Critical Stars. Her poor NP generation rate is rather problematic, but can be alleviated by giving her the event Craft Essence - Summer Mistress. | |
Mash Kyrielight | Combat wise, Mash is not particularly useful for this node as her offensive capacity is very poor. She redeems herself however thanks to her bonus to Water as well as her 0 Party Cost which makes her a prime Craft Essence carrier to improve your total drop bonus. |
Mid Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Tamamo Cat | Similar to Atalante, Tamamo Cat’s AoE Quick NP is a good wave clearer thanks to her Berserker class. Tamamo Cat, however, has an inferior bonus for this node while also having trouble building up her NP bar without external help. | |
Arash | While he gives no bonus drop, Arash’s high AoE damage is extremely valuable for this node due to the enemies’ composition. His particularly low cost and gimmick also make farming the node much faster with him leading the line. | |
Billy the Kid | Billy has the class advantage and the right bonus, but he does require specific compositions to truly shine as a damage dealer. As a result, he is not a premier choice for the node, but thanks to his low Party Cost he can be quite useful nonetheless. | |
Nightingale | Being a Berserker with a bonus to Water means Nightingale is a good choice to bring along, especially if the team has a Buster-centric Servant. | |
Tawara Touta | Touta is a nice choice to pick thanks to his AoE Noble Phantasm and 3 Star Party Cost. | |
Jeanne d'Arc (Alter) | The fallen saint’s raw damage output is more than enough to break through the high HP bar of these pesky Hermit Crabs, while also providing a nice bonus to Water. | |
Altria Pendragon (Archer) | Class advantage, fantastic damage output and decent bonus, Summer Artoria is a great choice for this node if not for the fact that she is only available after Part 2 of the Event is made available. |
Low Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Altria Pendragon (Alter) | While she does not have class advantage for this node, her Noble Phantasm’s power is undeniable. Saber Alter makes a good wave clearer for the second and last waves, especially when paired with Nightingale or Zhuge Liang. | |
Francis Drake | Similar to Saber Alter, Drake can be chosen because of her good farming capacity and bonus to Food. Drake’s advantage over Saber Alter is her ability to easily use two or even three Noble Phantasms per battle, at the cost of lower firepower. |
Lumber: Jungle
This node is one of the easier nodes of the event. While its boss, a White Chimera, can wipe unprepared team with its critical hits, its Berserker class allows players more flexibility in choosing the right Servants to deal with it effectively. There are also a good array of Servants with bonus to Lumber that are well-suited for this node. As a result, players can opt for more drops in this node without hurting the clearing speed.
High Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Minamoto-no-Raikou | Due to all three waves of this node at the highest difficulty having three enemies each, a Raikou in the team can make farming Lumber easy. Her sole problem is that she can fall quickly without reliable protection, but there is no one more reliable than Raikou at handling the third wave. | |
Cu Chulainn (Prototype) | Thanks to his bonus damage against Beast enemies and a bonus to Lumber, Proto Cu is a valuable ally for this node. His Protection from Arrows also allows him to survive well against the Saber mobs in the Thunder and Storm Difficulty. Pair him with teammates who can supply Critical Stars or NP charge and Cu Proto can handle the White Chimera quite well. | |
Arash | Arash is tailor-made for this node. With new-found power from his recent Interlude, Arash can easily take out one of the first two waves, or soften the last wave for other teammates to clean up. |
Mid Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Cu Chulainn (Alter) | High raw damage, fantastic survivability and bonus to Lumber are all huge upsides for using Cu Alter. His Berserker class however is not as useful against the White Chimera. Without Buster Brave Chains or his Noble Phantasm, his contribution in the final waves can be a bit lacking. | |
Sakata Kintoki | Kintoki may not have the same survivability as Cu Alter, but he possesses Animal Dialogue, one of the best skills for farming. Thanks to it, he can deal a significant damage up front to the White Chimera without being overly reliant on starting NP Craft Essences or wasting turns to build up his NP bar. | |
Altria Pendragon (Santa Alter) | Santa Alter’s humongous damage output from her Noble Phantasm make her a very reliable wave clearer for this node. Similar to Arash, she can also soften the last wave for another teammate to clean up the White Chimera, but her Party Cost is significantly higher. | |
Sakata Kintoki (Rider) | While he is not particularly useful for the first two waves, Rider Kintoki’s insane damage on his Noble Phantasm make him easily the best Chimera killer out of the bunch. Pairing him with teammates who can handle wave clearing duty is a good way to maintain consistent clearing speed. |
Low Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Tamamo-no-Mae (Lancer) | Summer Tamamo has class advantage against the majority of the mobs (except the occasional crab spawn in the first two waves) and a fantastic skillset for boss-slaying. She can build up her NP bar by the 3rd wave quite easily thanks to her high NP generation rate and consistent Star generation rate. However, her bonus to Food instead of Lumber makes her less desirable for this node. | |
Kiyohime (Lancer) | Somewhat similar to Summer Tamamo, Summer Kiyohime has the class advantage (against the final Archer boss and the non-crab enemies) and strong skill set to work as a substitute, while also possessing bonus to Lumber. Her sometimes inconsistent NP generation, however, can lower the farming speed significantly. |
Stone: Prairie
Prairie is a great node for farming Phoenix Plume on top of the event materials. Unfortunately, this node’s combination of enemies can make it difficult to construct a team that is capable of clearing it quickly.
An effective strategy is using a team with a strong AoE Servant who can handle the 2nd wave and a powerful single-target Servant that can take care of the boss - a Bicorn (Lancer). Due to the different classes of both the mobs and the boss, the Chaldea Combat Uniform Mystic Code is particularly useful for this node.
High Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Heracles | Incredible raw damage is something that Heracles has in spades, and that is particularly useful for a node with enemies of several different classes like this. However, Heracles might have to sacrifice his Bond Craft Essence - Castle of Snow or any Craft Essence that boost his survivability for bonus drop Craft Essence, which will make him more vulnerable than usual. | |
Lancelot (Saber) | One of the two prominent Sabers with bonus to Stone, Lancelot Saber is a more preferred choice over Nero Bride thanks to his instant NP charge and capacity to run as a very reliable Critical Damage Dealer. If players want to both maintain high bonus drop and fast clearing speed at the same time, then this handsome NTR knight is the one. | |
Nero Claudius (Bride) | Nero Bride’s good single target damage output and her wide array of strong buffs allow her to handle the Bicorn, while also providing utility and versatility to her team. |
Mid Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Gilgamesh | Gilgamesh is one of the best choices for clearing the first and second waves of this node due to his high damage,fast NP generation rate and AoE Noble Phantasm. However, he is quite useless against the boss and should be switched out immediately upon completing his job. Furthermore, he has high Party Cost due to being a 5 star Servant, making him inferior to someone like Arash if you find yourself running into Party Cost issues. | |
Arash | Arash is a very good lead that can kill either the first or second wave to save a lot of farming time, perish and then bring in a backline Servant to help kill the Bicorn. Unfortunately, the Persian hero does not grant any useful bonus for this node. | |
Rama | Rama is the natural enemy of the Bicorn, capable of one-shotting it with ease thanks to his Noble Phantasm. Despite not bringing any drop bonus to the table, he is worth bringing to lessen the farming time significantly. | |
Ozymandias | Ozymandias’s ability to charge the entire party’s NP bar makes him a valuable asset despite not having class advantage against any enemies. This golden pharaoh’s damage output is also formidable with Imperial Privilege and Charisma, allowing him to contribute plenty over the course of the battle. | |
Bedivere | For people who are lucky enough to get a high NP level Bedivere, he is a fantastic choice to handle the Bicorn due to his powerful Noble Phantasm and NP charge ability. On the other hand, he performs poorly against the first two waves as he has no class advantage and his damage output is underwhelming without his Noble Phantasm. |
Low Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Gaius Julius Caesar | A budget Saber option with bonus to Stone, Julius Caesar has the advantage of low Party Cost and easy high NP level at the cost of mediocre performance during the first two waves. | |
Stheno | With her newfound Charisma, Stheno is capable of granting a sizable attack bonus to Divine allies (40% attack buff). While her combat effectiveness is lackluster, she has class advantage against the Rider enemies of this node, while also bringing a valuable Stone bonus drop to the table. |
Iron: Cavern
This node is not particularly hard, but can be very tedious without a strong Lancer or Berserker. As Iron is the golden material for this event, players will spend the majority of time in this node. By the time players gather enough Iron they might already have a significant amount of Water as well. It is thus recommendable to farm Water only after you have already finished with this node to save time.
High Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Brynhild | One of the occasions where this beautiful Valkyrie can shine. Thanks to her bonus to Iron and strong single-target damage, she is the best candidate to take on the Gazer. | |
Altria Pendragon (Lancer Alter) | While Lancer Alter does not have a powerful single target Noble Phantasm, her single target damage output is still quite high thanks to her ability to function as a Critical Damage Dealer. Her Noble Phantasm - Rhongomyniad can be used to effectively take out the golems, but she will be at the mercy of the Hermit Crabs that randomly spawn in this node. | |
Vlad III | Vlad can serve as an effective boss killer for this node thanks to his class and single target Noble Phantasm, all the while carrying a bonus drop to Iron. He is also quite durable for a Berserker and can handle the Hermit Crabs better than all the Lancers. | |
Anne Bonny & Mary Read (Archer) | The Pirate Duo is a surprisingly effective pick for this node, and not just for their bonus to Iron. Due to the majority of enemies prior to the Gazer being Berserker, they can take advantage of that to lower their HP bar and proportionally increase their NP damage against the Gazer. Their class advantage against Hermit Crabs also make them quite desirable. | |
Zhuge Liang (El Melloi II) | Zhuge Liang’s effectiveness needs no further explanation. While it is recommended to use him in every battle if Master want maximum time-saving, he is particularly effective here due to the majority of good damage dealers for this node lacking an NP charge. His bonus for Water is just a cherry on top. |
Mid Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Anne Bonny & Mary Read | The regular version of the Pirate Duo trade a more effective skill set and class advantage against Saber for a similar but more powerful Noble Phantasm. | |
Altria Pendragon (Lancer) | Thanks to her instantaneous NP charge and AoE Noble Phantasm, Lancer Artoria can handle the first two waves pretty well. While she has class advantage against the Gazer, her single target damage output is rather less impressive. | |
Nightingale | Nightingale pairs well with Buster-centric Servants like Altria Lancer Alter and Brynhild, while also providing a decent Heal to make it through the first two waves. She is not particularly great against the Gazer, as her defensive bonus against Humanoid is useless against it, and her damage output is mediocre. | |
Lancelot | For this node, aside from giving a valuable bonus to Iron, Lancelot is capable of assisting the team in the last two waves thanks to his AoE Noble Phantasm. By using Knight of Owner on the second wave, Lancelot can generate a sizable chunk of Critical Stars for the last wave that either he or another teammate (such as Lancer Alter or Brynhildr) can use to decimate the Gazer. Lancelot’s problem is getting him to 100% NP bar by the second wave, as he is utterly reliant on Craft Essence / Zhuge Liang to do so. | |
Saint Martha (Ruler) | A strong option to handle the Gazer even without class advantage. Saint Martha provides not only a boost to Water drop, but also powerful bonus damage against Demonic enemies, high raw damage against the Golems and resistance against the Hermit Crabs. |
Low Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Scathach Kiyohime (Lancer) Li Shuwen Karna Tamamo-no-Mae (Lancer) | While these Lancers do not provide any relevant drop bonus for this node, they can shorten clearing time significantly if players do not have any of the aforementioned Servants. |
Lumber/Stone/Iron: Mountain
Prior to the final nodes being available, Mountain node is an efficient node to farm the three event materials at once. Afterward, it is better to focus on each individual drop that are needed and go for their respective node.
This node is fairly straightforward. It consists of three waves full of Rider enemies, meaning Assassins should be the go to choice for this node. Berserkers are an acceptable alternative, but do note that they can die very quickly from all the critical hits that these Wyverns love to do.
High Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Mysterious Heroine X | MHX has very fast NP generation rate and a fantastic star generation to support the party as well. While her skill set doesn’t have great use in this node, her raw damage combined with her bonus to Iron make her a great choice for any players farming this node. | |
Minamoto-no-Raikou | Raikou is one of those Servants that can handle two waves with ease thanks to her massive AoE Noble Phantasm and strong Critical Damage output. Her Berserker class, however, is a double-edged sword and she can be taken out very quickly by the Wyverns and Dragon. | |
Vlad III | Vlad can serve as an effective boss killer for this node thanks to his class and single target Noble Phantasm, all the while carrying a bonus drop to Iron. He is also quite durable for a Berserker. | |
Cu Chulainn (Alter) | Cu Alter’s strong survivability is very well-suited to take on this challenge. His Buster Brave Chain, especially when his Noble Phantasm is available can severely injure the Dragon. | |
Sakata Kintoki | Kintoki is particularly hard to utilize in this node without any protection due to his squishiness. However, when guarded by his teammates, Kintoki is invaluable thanks to his massive single target burst and fast NP generation time. |
Mid Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Scathach (Assassin) | The charming Queen of Shadow can help reduce a lot of time taking out the first two waves thanks to her AoE Noble Phantasm. Her Taunt ability is also particularly useful in protecting a squishy teammates to make it to the last wave. Sadly, she does not offer any bonus drops. | |
Jack the Ripper Ryougi Shiki (assassin) | While they don’t provide any form of bonus to this node’s materials, their ability to burst down the Dragon in the last node is highly appreciated. | |
Heracles | A good substitute for Cu Alter / Sakata Kintoki, Heracles has both strong damage output and decent survivability for a Berserker. |
Low Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Stheno | Stheno’s effectiveness depends on team composition. If her teammates are Divine, she can be a terrific allies thanks to her powerful charisma. Stheno also has class advantage against all the wyverns in this node and a bonus to Stone, so she’s a worthwhile ally to bring if other better options are not available. |
Food/Water: Primeval Forest
Primeval Forest - Thunder (#5) 40AP
Primeval Forest - Storm (#6) 40AP
This node does not unlock until halfway through the main quest, but it is easily the best node to farm Food.
Due to the lack of many powerful single target Casters, this node can be very troublesome as the boss is a high HP Soul Eater. The first two waves consist solely of Berserker enemies, thus it is quite easy to clear them out. However, one also needs to take extra care as they can deal a lot of damage within a few turns, making it extra dangerous when facing a 3 NP charge boss.
For players who don’t mind spending a bit of apples, the emphasis for this node should be to minimize clearing time over maximizing bonus drop per match. Otherwise, maximizing drops is the best approach for AP efficiency.
High Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Zhuge Liang (El Melloi II) | Zhuge Liang is highly recommended for this node thanks to his Defense buff being highly valuable against the Berserker boars, while his Caster class allows him to fare much better against the Soul Eater. | |
Xuanzang Sanzang | Easily the best single target Caster in the game and one of the best choices for this node. Her instantaneous NP charge skill, high raw damage, and support capability are crucial to taking out the Soul Eater, and her bonus to Food is just a cherry on top. | |
Saint Martha (Ruler) | Saint Martha's high Attack, ability to Buster Brave Chain and extraordinarily powerful bonus against Demonic enemies make her a fantastic option for this node. While her bonus drop is not Food, she can serve as a good replacement for Sanzang to burst down the Soul Eater. She can also handle the Berserker boars well thanks to her Ruler class damage modification. Martha will require more support in generating NP than Sanzang, but with Summer Mistress and Zhuge Liang, it should not be a big problem. |
Mid Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Jeanne d'Arc (Alter) | Jeanne Alter’s high attack is incredibly well-suited to dealing with the two Berserker waves, and her single target damage output is enough to take on the Soul Eater with proper support. | |
Sakata Kintoki | With instantaneous NP charge thanks to Animal Dialogue and powerful single target damage, Kintoki is a fantastic choice to quickly remove the Soul Eater from existence. However, his Berserker class won’t help a lot against the Berserker mobs and he does not have any relevant bonus for this node. | |
Medea | A decent budget choice for players who do not have a reliable single target damage dealer that can take on the Soul Eater, especially thanks to her buff removal. | |
Rama | While Rama does not possess any bonus for this node, he is one of the best Soul Eater killers in the game thanks to his bonus damage to Demonic enemies. Combined with Servants like Zhuge Liang and/or Nightingale, it is not uncommon to see Rama completely obliterate Soul Eater in one turn, allowing the farming process to be greatly optimized. |
Low Recommendation
Servant | Bonus | Description |
Elisabeth Bathory (Halloween) Nursery Rhyme | Both are decent Casters who provide a bonus to Food drop. Elizabeth has better damage on her Noble Phantasm and can deal quite a lot of damage to the Soul Eater despite it being an AoE Noble Phantasm, while Nursery Rhyme can work as a Critical Damage Dealer. They aren’t optimal choices for the nodes, but are very workable and offer decent alternatives for players lacking options. |