Operation guide: Lofty Silverfrost

Operation

Guide

The default Dreadful Foe and the last node of the 5th floor in Expeditioner's Joklumarkar, Lofty Silverfrost pits the player against an embodiment of Sami, the Samivilinn, as the final boss, which is reminiscent to the Big Sad Lock back in Phantom & Crimson Solitaire in which It is a large enemy occupying a 3×3 tiles area and will self-destruct if the player takes too long to defeat the Samivilinn, dealing heavy Arts damage and deducting 30 Life Points, costing the player their run if one has less than 31 at the moment. Defensively, the Samivilinn boasts a sheer HP (though not as much as the Lock) and good defenses, and Its attacks, called Icicle Fall, struck the entire column the target is in, thus care should be taken in deploying the Operators. The Samivilinn will also use Surge of Nature every so often (telegraphed by rime-crusted vines approaching from the edges of the map) that deals Arts damage over time to a friendly unit and Stuns them. Things will heat up when the Samivilinn's HP falls below 50%, where It will take reduced Physical and Arts damage, and Its Icicle Fall and Nature's Surge now targets up to two friendlies at once!

At the start of the operation, the majority of the map is covered with Silvernwhite Bulwarks that prohibits deployment and Taunts friendlies, and must be destroyed to clear up space for the Operators to engage the Samivilinn. Not helping that the enemies that supported It can be a problem, from Guerrilla Shieldguard Leaders that Taunts friendlies too and Sarkaz Centurion Nidus Guards that can heal themselves in each attack.

All in all, Lofty Silverfrost stands between The Point of No Return and Curse of Cognition in terms of difficulty, and still 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 the the Samivilinn. As with other final boss Dreadful Foes, the preparations start from the beginning of the 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 Lofty Silverfrost.

Strategies

• Sources of heavy AoE damage are recommended to clear out the Silvernwhite Bulwarks ASAP, as the player will likely lose quickly if the deployable tiles are not cleared before the bulk of the enemies start appearing. If one has her, Reed the Flame Shadow's Ember of Life in particular can wipe most of the Bulwarks in a single usage, especially with offensive buffs.
  • If any Bulwarks persist, be wary of using long or global-ranged attacks, as they will prioritize attacking them instead of enemies.
• Triggering an Accord with Silence will cause a friendly Shieldguard to appear, whose aggression level of 1 will cause the Samivilinn to exclusively target them with both Icicle Fall and Surge of Nature; the Shieldguard's significant HP and defenses, combined with Its infrequent attacks, allow them to draw its aggro almost indefinitely, allowing Operators to be deployed without risk of attack. However, be wary of this tactic if one lacks sufficient ranged DPS to destroy the Bulwarks, as the Shieldguard will take up the only deployable tile on the right side of the map, and will not be able to hold off all the other enemies by itself.
  • The Samivilinn will begin targeting two friendlies at once below 50% HP, necessitating a second column to draw aggro from the additional attack.
• The left side of the map faces heavy resistance from bulky melee enemies such Elite Knight Shielders and Guerrilla Shieldguard Leaders, while the right side will have many ranged Arts threats with occasional Veteran Butchers. Due to the difficulty of tanking all of the Arts damage on the right, using long-ranged units to shoot down the casters may be advisable, such as Besieger Snipers or Fortress Defenders.
• Keep an eye on the deployment order and/or aggression of friendly units, as Surge of Nature can spell disaster if it Stuns a key unit at the wrong time.
• Keep in mind that the Samivilinn takes 60% reduced Physical and Arts damage below half health, making the second half of Its HP take far longer to deplete than the first. It is very difficult to burst It down in a single go, so sources of continuous damage or fast-cycling burst skills perform well. Beware that the second wave of enemies will also start to spawn once the Samivilinn becomes enraged.
  • Despite the significant damage reduction, Operators with high DPS such as Exusiai with Overloading Mode can be effective.
  • True and Elemental damage can be used to bypass the damage reduction, with Valarqvin in particular being the most accessible option and her Necrosis Damage also weakens the Samvilinn's ATK.