Operation guide: Avoid Dangerous Roads

Operation

Guide

The final node of Chapter VI of Ceobe's Fungimist and the final Treacherous Foe node of the Integrated Strategies season as a whole, Avoid Dangerous Roads pits the player against Gravestone, the ultimate boss of Ceobe's Fungimist with very high stats, devastating AoE ranged attacks, a lethal melee attack, and a regenerating shield to enhance their durability, on top of effectively causing an instant loss should they escape. Gravestone is supported by a large number of somewhat weak fodder enemies, capped off with several Sarkaz Greatswordsmen and Sarkaz Lancer Leaders (the latter of which spawn at full speed). Fortunately, several Defense Runes are available on the map, increasing the DEF of melee and ranged Operators deployed on them by 100 and 200 respectively, allowing them to take a few more hits.

However, to make things more complicated, Avoid Dangerous Roads have a handicap that halves all friendly units' ATK and DEF, doubles redeployment time, and halves DP generation rate, significantly weakening any forces sent out to defeat Gravestone and their army. The severity of this condition combined with the strength of the boss makes this an exceedingly difficult Operation, particularly due to the roguelike nature of the mode. A solid team, a good set of Collectibles, and a significant amount of luck when building said lineup is required to stand a chance against this encounter. Preparation for this encounter starts from the beginning of the IS run, as it is imperative to build up a solid defensive lineup and coherent strategy over the course of the entire run before taking on this stage.

• Because of how constrained DP generation is on the map, as well as how urgent threats can get early on, it is highly recommended to bring at least two DP-generating Vanguards. Vanguards like Myrtle and Elysium are ideal for this purpose.
• It is very important to kill Gravestone before the last few waves of his backup start arriving, as the other enemies on the stage start off weak and gradually get stronger. The difficulty of the Operation will rise dramatically if Gravestone is still alive when the Sarkaz Lancer Leaders first appear, as the severe penalties of the map makes it nearly impossible to stop both of them at the same time.
• The time when Gravestone is standing still in the center of the map is the moment when he is the most vulnerable - he will be in a spot where multiple low-ground Operators as well as high-ground Operators on both sides will be able to attack him. If the player can pile multiple sources of burst damage onto him (True Silver Slash, Volcano, Final Tactics, etc.) as well as forms of damage amplification (Curse Doll, Foxfire Haze, Calcification, etc.), it is possible to kill Gravestone immediately after he reaches this point. Note that the ATK penalties of the map and the boss' massive HP means that Gravestone may survive if your firepower is not sufficient, but his pathing will make him loop around the map once, giving you a second chance to burst him down before he beelines for the exit.
• The boss deals high splash damage from range, but the layout of the map makes it difficult to avoid grouping up Operators. To compensate, it is recommended to bring at least 2 Medics or sources of healing in order to mitigate the damage.
• Gravestone deals extremely high physical damage up close, but provided you have ways to buff DEF and a powerful medic, Gravestone can be stalled for a long period of time if a very physically bulky unit is placed on one of the defense tiles and kept healed/buffed.
• Fast-redeploy Specialists are not recommended to take on this map. The doubled redeployment time hurts them significantly, few will last long if sent to block Gravestone, and the strain on DP generation means that you may not be able to pump out enough DP to deploy them in time. However, they may still be useful for stopping the Lancers at the end of the level, especially Phantom and Projekt Red who will be able to stun them and reset their charge.
• Outside of the boss, the Sarkaz Lancer Leaders are the most threatening enemies on the stage, as they start at full speed and can instantly KO nearly all Operators on impact due to the 50% DEF reduction. Decoys can be useful although the increased redeployment time makes this more difficult, but a way to slow them down or stun them will significantly ease the job of dealing with them.
• The other strategy is to plan the entire IS run around accumulating 31 or more Objective HPs and enough Operator strength to take care of everyone except Gravestone by leaking him instead. This, however, requires incredibly good luck with both finding Objective HP-boosting events and Collectibles, and being able to preserve them throughout the run.