Mizuki & Caerula Arbor: Light

Mizuki & Caerula Arbor features
Light	Die	Cognitive Symbol	Memory Mapping
Cognitive Shaping	Ecosequence	Caerula Recorder	–

“	During [Deep Dive], your Light as well as your Die will protect you from the ocean's negative effects. However, the weaker your Light level, the less protection it will offer.	”
	—Loading screen tip in Mizuki & Caerula Arbor

Unique to Mizuki & Caerula Arbor, Light is a resource that affects the run's environment.

Players start a run with 100 Light, and unlike other resources, the Light can never go above 100 and below 0.

The player loses Light by:

1. Choices in certain Encounters (varies with the Encounter)
2. The following Collectibles:
   • Paraffin and Balsam (-30)
   • "Emergency Light", "Luminous Corpse", and Bishop's Research (-2, -3, and -5, respectively, after clearing operations)
   • Caerula Animus (-50)
   • Caerula Memory (-100)
   • "End of Times" (when used)
3. Losing Life Point(s) in an operation (-5, which is accounted for at the result screen)
4. The remaining LP is below 50% of the current cap after an operation is cleared (-5, which is accounted for at the result screen)

The Solidified Lamp Oil and Sanctified Lamp Oil lowers the Light loss from operations by 40% and 60%, respectively; having both will actually eliminate the Light loss!

Certain Encounters and the following Collectibles can help the player in regaining Light:

• Nightsun Flower (+10)
• Flamecaller Originium Slug (+15)
• Pathfinder Fins (+30)
• Nightsun Grass (+5)
• Caerula Arbor, Underground Scorch, and Great Machinations (+15, +6, +9, respectively, after clearing an operation without losing Life Points)
• Wordless Coral (+5 after rolling the die)

As the player loses Light, smoke effects can be seen on the edges of the screen, which grows brighter at lower Light. When the player's Light is below 50, an alternate version of the BGM will be played instead.

Value (level)	Effects
100 Luminous	The light radiates, and shadows cower. If the player rolls a 6 to 12 in the die roll when entering a new floor, the player will receive an Enlightenment. Less likely to hear Call(s) of We Many upon entering a new floor. The Dreadful Foe in the 3rd floor is less likely to be Eternal Wrath/Route Revision/Two Forms, One Heart. Can see hidden nodes and node branches, but cannot access them.
50–99 Flickering	The candlelight sways, light and shadow interweave. If the player rolls a 1 to 3 in the die roll when entering a new floor, a random Operator will suffer from Rejection. More likely to hear Call(s) of We Many upon entering a new floor. The Dreadful Foe in the 3rd floor is more likely to be Eternal Wrath/Route Revision/Two Forms, One Heart. Can see hidden nodes and node branches, but cannot access them.
1–49 Dim	Behind a speck of light, the shadow follows. If the player rolls a 1 to 5 in the die roll when entering a new floor, an Operator will suffer from Rejection. Highly likely to hear Call(s) of We Many upon entering a new floor. The Dreadful Foe in the 3rd floor is highly likely to be Eternal Wrath/Route Revision/Two Forms, One Heart. Can see and access hidden nodes and node branches.
0 Extinguished	No more flame, no more light. The die roll when entering a new floor will cause random Operator(s) to suffer from Rejection: If the player rolls a 1 to 5, two Operators will suffer from Rejection. If the player rolls a 6 to 12, an Operator will suffer from Rejection. Very likely to hear Call(s) of We Many upon entering a new floor. The Dreadful Foe in the 3rd floor is very likely to be Eternal Wrath/Route Revision/Two Forms, One Heart. Can see and access hidden nodes and node branches.

Tips

• The Light mechanic makes it even more punishing to lose Life Points in Caerula Arbor than in previous Integrated Strategies themes; even if the Light is only slightly below 100, things can take a worse turn due to a random Operator (which may be their core) suffering from Rejection or hearing a troublesome Call of We Many on a new floor, if Goddess Fortune is not on one's side. Careful planning and execution is a must to avoid needlessly losing Light, which can (and will) screw up one's Caerula Arbor run in the long term.
  • Getting as much Objective Shields as possible is also recommended to give a slight margin of error in case one has to let enemies into Protection Objectives.
  • Upgrading the die to eight-sided or twelve-sided can decrease the chance of Rejection occurring.
• Safe Houses is one of the most effective way to recover Light, so if one's Light is below 100, make sure to prioritize them to recover Light.
  • Due to the rarity of Encounters that recover Light, it is not recommended to depend on them.
• Upon reaching the last floor, preserving Light become optional as there are no more drawbacks from it.
• Note that if one selects the Spearhead Squad and starts an adventure, one will constantly lose light due to only starting with 1 life point while max life point is 6.