Enemy Layout
| Drops |
|
|---|---|
| Rewards |
Boss Statistics
 Newbie Player |
 | Covering Fire: Decrease ATK for all enemies (3 turns). Increase NP Gauge for all allies except self by 1. |
 Expert Player |
 | Handover: Handover: Used upon death. Increase NP Strength for all allies except self (1 time). |
| Setsubun Gamer | ||
 |
 HP | 238,940 |
| LVL | 90 |  HP | 418,145 |
| LVL | 90 |  HP | 561,509 |
| LVL | 90 | |
| Class |  Archer | |
| NP Bar |  | |
| NP Type | ST | |
| Actions | Up to 3 per turn | |
| Traits | Female, Servant, Humanoid, Demonic, Weak to Enuma Elish | |
| Field Effect |   | Back Attack!: Decrease Critical Strength for all enemies including sub-members (Unremovable). Inflict Stun on a random frontline enemy (1 turn, Unremovable). |
| Battle Start |  | Clearing: Apply Target Focus to either Novice or Expert Player (Indefinite, Unremovable). |
| Defeat Newbie Player |  | RESPAWN: Summons another Newbie Player. |
| Defeat Expert Player | | Respawn: Summons another Expert Player. |
| Break |   | Get the Hang of It: Increase own Critical Strength (Unremovable). Increase own Critical Rate (Unremovable). |
| Break |  | Stake Out: Apply Evade to self (5 times). |
| Skill 1 |  | Demonic Nature of Oni B: Increase ATK for all allies (3 turns). Increase NP Strength for yourself (3 turns). |
| Skill 2 |  | Knowledge of Combat B: Increase Critical Rate for yourself (3 turns). Increase Critical Rate for all allies (3 turns). |
| Skill 3 |   | Lineage Excitation A: Apply Guts to self (1 time, 5 turns, Revives with 1,000 HP). Increase Max HP for yourself (5 turns). More likely to be used when near death. |
| NP |    | On Arorikya Sowaka B: Deals damage to a single enemy. Decrease Critical Star Drop Rate for a single enemy (3 turns). Inflict Burn (1000 damage per turn) for a single enemy (5 turns). Inflicts Spreading Fire status for a single enemy (5 turns). (Spreading Fire: Increases Burn damage to 4000 per turn.) |
Overview
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In general, this fight is a damage race, which revolves around whittling down Archer of Inferno’s three HP bars while dealing with her two underlings (Novice Player and Skilled Player), who will receive a Taunt buff. All three belong to the Archer-class, and have 3 NP bars.
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The Taunt buff is applied at the very beginning of the enemy’s turn, and does not consume an action. This means that if neither underling is on the field, Archer of Inferno won’t apply her Taunt until the next turn, even if she summons them afterwards (see below).
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Archer is able to summon Skilled Player if it’s not on the field, but this skill normally does not activate as long as she has a Taunt target (i.e. Novice Player is on the field), except in very rare cases. Skilled Player is in turn able to summon Novice Player. Each summoning skill consumes an enemy action.
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The enemies’ highest priority move, however, is using their NPs, which in most cases delay their summoning skill until the next turn.
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Archer of Inferno comes with several other special abilities. At the start of the fight, she applies a permanent and unremovable Critical Damage Down debuff on all party members (including the backline), then Stuns a party member at random for 1 turn.
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On first Break, Archer will apply a Critical Damage as well as a Critical Rate buff on herself. Both buffs are permanent and unremovable. On second Break, she gains a 5-hit Evasion.
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In general, the enemies possess four dangerous tools which the Master needs to keep in mind. First of these is Archer of Inferno’s NP, which applies a rather nasty Burn effect. Second is Skilled Player’s NP, which comes with a Stun. Skilled Player also has a skill which applies a Taunt (3 turns), Defense Down, and Buff Block on a random target. Last but not least is Novice Player’s skill, which increases the enemies’ NP bar except for his own.
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Given the above information, the best approach to this stage is the use of damaging AoE NPs, in order to bypass the Taunt and waste the enemy’s turn (which would be spent summoning the underlings).
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In cases where single-target damage dealers have to be used, it is preferable to eliminate Skilled Player first, as Archer of Inferno is unlikely to re-summon it while Novice Player is still on the field. This allows the damage dealer to deal damage to the boss by killing Novice Player with the first two command cards, and their NP (which should be used on the third spot) will target Archer of Inferno.
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While the 5-hit Evasion makes Sure Hit and Invincibility Ignore seem desirable, these are by no means mandatory, as careful use of Brave chains can quickly deplete them.
Team Recommendations
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While it is technically possible to clear the stage with a single-target Servant, it requires a thorough understanding of the fight mechanics. AoE Lancers are therefore recommended for this fight, such as Altria Pendragon (Lancer), Karna, Jeanne d’Arc (Alter Santa Lily), and Altria Pendragon (Lancer Alter). Those with Invincibility Ignore and Sure Hit will gain a slight advantage on the final Break bar.
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All of the enemies’ NPs are single-target, meaning that Servants with Taunt work well on this stage, though they will rarely last more than a few turns. Examples of such Servants are Mash Kyrielight, Georgios, Leonidas, and even the Saber-class Chevalier d’Eon due to the prevalence of enemy debuffs.
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With maxed An Oni In Human Clothing, this stage is reasonably easy to solo using fast-charging AoE Lancers in combination with Taunt Servants. Check the videos section for examples of such runs!
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When a more traditional approach is taken, offensive Support Servants with NP Charge skills — mainly Merlin and Zhuge Liang, along with Helena Blavatsky and William Shakespeare — are recommended, as they make depleting Archer of Inferno’s HP bars much easier.
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An Oni In Human Clothing should be equipped on the primary damage dealer.
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Even considering the stage’s gimmicks, last stand Servants can still prove valuable, provided they can charge their NP quickly enough. This reliance on NP also means that their impact will be somewhat limited unless they are equipped with An Oni In Human Clothing, to the disadvantage of Bond CE-reliant Heracles.
- As always, Chaldea Combat Uniform remains a very flexible option, allowing the switching-in of Taunt Servants or other defensive supports in case of emergency. However, its Stun will be rather limited in use, as the enemy team’s Taunt generally prevents the Master from using it on Archer of Inferno. Alternatively, the Atlas Academy Uniform may also be used, as its debuff cleanse allows Masters to counteract enemy debuffs in emergencies.
Video Links
- Note that these videos are not affiliated with GamePress, but showcase some lineups that are effective in clearing the final challenge. These can serve as a good reference for how to rotate skills during this quest or simply to have a look at the encounter before diving in.
Quick Servant Suggestions
- Recommended
| AoE DPS | |
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| Offensive Support | |
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| Taunt Support | |
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| Last Man / Solo Servant | |
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