User blog:Seieireppa/Matt's Rage Burst Aragami Combat Tips

This will cover general strategies and tips to keep in mind when fighting various species of Aragami.

Chrome Gawain

 * Chrome_Gawain.jpg its attacks have noticeable windup/tells.  When it steps back with its right wing-arm raised, it will use one of two attacks:  Either it will wait about half a second and lunge forward for a slash or stab, or it will wait about one second and use its tornado spin.  Watch its movements and respond accordingly, basing your subsequent actions on how close you are to it and whether you can get away in time.
 * Its stagger animation lasts about 3-4 seconds, giving you plenty of time to deal out damage.
 * Break its head/face as quickly as possible for serious damage.
 * It possesses a running charge lasting about three seconds that ends in a turnaround.  Beware, as both the charge and the turnaround can cause damage.
 * At higher ranks, it can use a massive sweeping charge with flashy effects.  Block or dodge as usual.

Magna Gawain

 * Magna_Gawain.jpg of the above tips apply; however, the Magna Gawain gains a noticeable new attack:  Every ~20 seconds, it charges Oracle blasts on its wing-arms and rear legs for around 1.5 seconds before detonating them.  This attack does not deal very high damage, but it does stagger you and can be annoying when it interrupts a combo.  Either attack from a distance, take the time to dash away, or be adept at guarding quickly and frequently.
 * Be aware also of its sword wave attack that accompanies its lunging slash (detailed above).  It comes out as quickly as the Chrome Gawain's version, so be prepared to block or avoid.
 * It is a good deal faster than the Chrome Gawain, with less delay between attacks – it is much more offensively-minded.  Additionally, it tends to leap more so than run.

Ontovasara

 * 2015-02-26-035607.jpg Aragami is a particular annoyance to fight due to its automatic light blasts.  Similarly to the Ukonvasara, it will generate blasts around itself with a brief charge; however, the Ontovasara can use these with far less charge time, and the true threat comes with the periodic automatic blasts that charge for only about one second and track your location.  Keep moving to avoid these; alternatively, be ready to block at a moment's notice.
 * Also due to the above attacks, it is imperative not to get reckless when attacking, as the blasts can come when you least expect them and can (and often will) throw off your combo.  When you see a circle of light appear below you, you have just short of a second to block or dodge.
 * It can fire a massive beam from the cannon on its head.  This is trivial to dodge and should not be considered a threat.

Yaksha Tivra

 * Yaksha_Tivra.jpg attacks are accompanied by massive swaths of flame.  These hit wide and can cause noticeable slowdown (due to graphical lag) on the Vita version, hampering your ability to dodge.  Either use pinpoint dodging or be able to guard at a moment's notice.
 * Like the Yaksha Raja, it is not that strong, and its parts are easy to unbound.  The main danger when facing a Yaksha Tivra is its zig-zag side-to-side charge.  If you are playing on a Vita, be sure to guard or dash away IMMEDIATELY when you see it warm up for this attack (it steps backwards and holds its arm up behind it) to prevent the resulting slowdown from resulting in undue damage.
 * As of the 1.1 update, its attacks no longer cause the previous slowdown.  However, this comes with its own set of issues, as it is now somewhat harder to see the attacks coming.  Be aware of your surroundings and act accordingly.

Caligula Xeno

 * 540364.jpg aware that its Charge Glide attack, not found on the regular and Rufus Caligulas, has an extremely wide hitbox and obscene range/AOE.  Do not dodge away from it; instead, dodge to the side or under it as it rises into the air.  Other than that, its patterns remain largely the same as the regular and Rufus Caligulas.
 * It is larger than the regular and Rufus Caligulas.  Because of this, its attacks have naturally wider reach than those of its counterparts.  Don't let the similar body shape fool you!
 * It moves a good deal faster than the Caligula, but not quite as fast as the Rufus Caligula.  Take this into account when anticipating its attacks.

Rakshasa (Rasetsu) Kongou

 * 540360.jpgers and can be inflicted with Down extremely easily.
 * It has relatively low HP compared to the Yaksha Tivra and Ontovasara.  Whenever a Rakshasa Kongou appears alongside other Aragami, make it your priority to eliminate it as soon as possible to get rid of distractions.
 * Most of its attacks are now accompanied by blasts around it when compared to those of the regular/Fallen/Fierce Kongou.  Be aware of this, and be sure to account for the increased danger radius.
 * The blasts it uses when downed can throw you off.  When you Down it, guard or dash away before closing in.
 * It can rise up into the air and descend with an explosion.  This attack might be tricky to dodge only because it moves out of the range of your camera – when it raises its arms and ascends Superman-style, just start running until it comes down.
 * Despite all of this, it is still essentially just a powered-up Kongou.  Treat it the same with regards to weapon and gun tactics.

Mukuro Kyuubi

 * 012.jpg attacks remain lagely the same as the regular Kyuubi; however, it gains a Rising Edge-like attack accompanied by a lifting backstep.  This attack hits in an X shape and has a wide reach, but hits about two meters off the ground and only immediately in front of the Mukuro Kyuubi and can easily be dodged by moving directly below the center of the attack or away from the Mukuro Kyuubi.
 * The AOE blast field generated by its quick lunge attack now adds a second hit: a Freeze-elemental follow-up.  Blocking the first hit will NOT prevent you from being damaged by the second hit.
 * Do not be deceived; this version resists Divine.  Use a Blaze-elemental weapon.
 * This Aragami is based on the regular Kyuubi and is considered to be of a lower rank than the Magatsu Kyuubi.  As such, it is not as powerful as its appearance and familial association would suggest.  Don't let fear get to you!

Einherjar

 * 2015-02-27-011021.jpgical to the Person Who Opens the World in terms of attacks.
 * Beware the homing orbs it fires out when it uses its massive beam attack.  To avoid these reliably, move behind the Einherjar when it places its six blades in front of it in a radial array.
 * When it holds one of its swords near its shoulders and calls the other five around it, it will execute Gale Katana: Iron, covering a great distance and leaving behind a number of serial slashes in the air.  To avoid this, move to the side or behind the Einherjar.
 * When it dashes backwards quickly, it will immediately follow that up by slamming its six swords into the ground in a line in front of it.  Block or dash aside to avoid.  However, due to the small cross-section of the swords, this attack can miss frequently even if you are within its AOE.
 * Erecting its swords around it precedes a massive AOE light blast.  Block or dash away.
 * When it backs up, it will either charge forward for a good distance or execute a two-slash combo with its swords.  The latter of these hits even behind it, so when you see the Einherjar back up, dodge to the side or get ready to block.  Both the charge and the slashes do damage, though, so beware.

Person Who Closes the World/Remnants of Demise

 * 2015-02-28-231540.jpg it walks around the arena, the AOE of the black field around its steps will damage you and inflict Venom if you are too close.  Be sure to follow from a safe distance.
 * When it raises its hands and produces halos above you and your allies, start moving.  After the halos rise into the air, massive beams will strike your previous position, so be sure you move away before that happens.
 * Demise.jpg AOE light field attack centers around itself and has a charge time of around three seconds.  Block or move away before it goes off.
 * When it summons butterfies in front of it, it is about to fire off a set of homing lasers.  Get behind it or block before this happens.
 * When enraged, its attacks come out much faster.  This applies especially to the halo beam – you will need to move away more quickly to avoid it.

Orochi

 * GE2RB_Orochi_revealed.jpg the only battle where the Orochi can be fought is rank 12, this will be a very easy fight if you're well into the endgame/postgame.
 * Its attacks are largely the same as those of the Magna Gawain, and it possesses all of the Crimson Orochi's attacks (detailed below) with minor modifications — its tracking orbs are faster but track less, and its salvos only fire two shots per head.
 * It is also far, far slower than the Crimson Orochi.

Crimson Orochi

 * Crimson_orochi.jpg possesses most of the Magna Gawain's attacks except for the periodic Oracle explosions.
 * It can launch two slow-moving golden fireballs that track your position.  Easy to dodge, but keep moving until they dissipate.
 * Additionally, at long distances, it will use a salvo of golden fireballs that track you and deal significant damage.  Stay close to prevent this attack from occuring.
 * When it steps backwards and raises its right arm-head aloft, it will shortly dash forward and slam the head down, creating an explosion of golden flame.
 * It moves fast, hits hard, and has astronomically high HP.  Be prepared for a long, drawn-out fight.
 * As such, you would be well off bringing a setup that lets you deal hits and dodge out of the way at a moment's notice.  Unless you are extremely confident in your skills, it is not recommended to use weapons such as the Buster Blade or Boost Hammer, or Blood Arts that rely on attacks such as the Variant Scythe's Round Fang, as you will very likely be hit out of your attack (or have your combo interrupted) and suffer damage.
 * Attacking from a distance with the assault gun build listed below does not guarantee safety due to the aforementioned flame salvo.  In spite of the Crimson Orochi's attacks and speed, it is more advantageous to fight extremely close-in, where you can strike and immediately guard.  Consider skills that decrease the stamina consumed on guard, or skills that restore HP/OP/ST on a Just Guard.
 * A good tactic, and probably the BEST tactic for lack of extremely overpowered bullets, is to bring the Ruby Grand Finale Charge Spear (final evolved form of the Ruby Dart spear from the Demiurge) and the Charge Driver Blood Art.  Dodge out of the way of the Crimson Orochi's attacks and deliver your charge stabs across the front of the Crimson Orochi for massive damage.  When you have built up around 4-5 Oracle reserve stocks, enter the Blood Rage activation setup and pull the following vows:  damage +20%, damage +30%, and damage +90% (any other damage up vows can be substituted for the first two, but the third is essential).  The third one will cut your HP to 1 for the duration of the activation process, but if you unload your bullets (preferably ones that can output at least 4-6k damage) quickly enough, you'll be able to enter Blood Rage relatively easily.  From there, just unload Charge Drivers on its face for colossal damage.  It should go down in just over two BR cycles.
 * Of course, if you would instead like to cheese the battle with ridiculously overpowered bullets, use the setup listed here and the anti-Crimson Orochi bullets listed here.
 * If you are not confident in your dodging skills, you can bring the "Prepared" skill (prevents you from being killed as long as you are guarding) and just guard while waiting for an opening.  The battle has a 99:59 time limit, so you have plenty of time if needed.
 * Good luck.

General Tips

 * For most of these Aragami, it is best to keep moving.  Certain Blood Arts, such as Gale Slash, Kirin Canter, Gale Katana: Iron, Surging Sea Slash, Skanda, Hiten Wheel, and the various Variant Scythe Blood Arts that deal with the expanded state, as well as the Boost Hammer's Boost Actions (making use of Boost Drive), are good for this.
 * Alternatively, another strategy is to strike from a distance.  Blood Arts such as Sonic Caliber, Aerial Caliber, Arc Caliber, CC Divider, Dragon Tooth, and the various Variant Scythe Blood Arts that deal with the expanded state are good for this.
 * Further alternatively, if you wish to adopt a PURELY ranged approach, equip a powerful Assault Gun and set yourself up with the following bullets:  1) M non-elemental shot (0 OP) with the triple replication Blood Bullet module, and 2) M non-elemental shot (0 OP) with an M-sized elemental shot attached that is set to go off on impact of the parent module.  Parent should have OP Absorb Enhance Blood Bullet module, and you should make one for each element.  This will enable you to be completely self-sustaining with regards to OP without needing to break your concentration to use OP-restoring items – blast away at the enemy with your elemental bullet (for ~300 – ~800 damage per hit), then unload with your non-elemental three-hit bullet to recover your OP gauge in a matter of seconds.
 * An alternate strategy is to use a Hold Trap on the target Aragami, then use the Hell Spiral Blood Art at the end of a square-square-square-square combo with the Short Blade to break a low-hanging weak point for massive damage.  This works especially well on Aragami such as the Vajra and Ouroboros families with readily accessible weak points.  Hell Spiral hits to an unbounded weak point with the appropriate attack attribute and element (for example, you can use the rank 15 TSH1-バリオル (Bariol) Short Blade, which specializes exclusively in Crush, to devastate armored Aragami where a normal Short Blade would be unable) can deal crippling damage, as low as 2000 and as high as in the area of 5000.
 * If you are fighting an Aragami where you can reliably unbound and attack its weak points, consider also the Astral Dive Short Blade Blood Art.  This Blood Art allows for the single most powerful hit in the game if you hit an Aragami's (unbounded) weak point with it with a weapon of the appropriate element and attack attribute, being capable of dealing upwards of tens of thousands of damage with a single hit.  However, be aware that this Blood Art is only really viable under certain circumstances, namely against Aragami that are slow, don't move much, or have large, easily accessible weak points.  Additionally, be aware that there is always a chance that the Aragami can move out of the way before your attack lands, or that you might be hit during the Blood Art's windup animation.
 * UPDATE:  Further testing from myself and various members of the Japanese GE community have yielded additional results.  CC•The End and Evolution, along with Astral Dive, are the only BAs capable of dealing 100k damage in a single hit.  Both, like Astral Dive, require elemental advantage, and both, like Astral Dive, also require hitting an unbounded weak point.  Evolution is of note because you must be traveling at full speed, making the need for proper spacing somewhat unreliable.  Therefore, Astral Dive or CC•The End are recommended.