Understanding Core Mechanics
Qliphoth Counter operates during Greatsword Guardian (Day 3). Boss uses HP Count system—characters lose HP Count when hit, not actual HP. Achievement needs 12 HP Count restorations in one battle. Defeating small enemies triggers restoration, making add management critical over boss damage.
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Transcendent Shot Requirements
Transcendent Shot activates in Earthshaker Leo (Day 1). Back Row targets resist Single Target ATK and Blast skills—only AoE damage works. Achievement triggers after 15 Back Row defeats. Each elimination increases Leo's damage taken.
Challenge: balance Back Row clearing speed with Leo damage output. Too slow extends battle unsustainably; ignoring targets prevents achievement progress.
Why These Are Challenging Together
Different stages demand conflicting teams. Leo needs AoE dealers (dual Herta), Guardian wants Break Effect specialists (Firefly + Fugue). Building two teams strains relic resources and roster depth for F2P players.
Stages unlock daily, preventing simultaneous attempts. You must maintain two optimized teams across multiple days while managing stamina.
Event Mechanics
Requires Trailblaze Level ≥21 and Dawn, Shine at the World's End completion. Five stages: Earthshaker Leo, Corrupting Shadowfiend, Greatsword Guardian, Synergy Duo, Elegy Siren. Unlocks sequentially from January 7, 2026 12:00 Server Time through February 9, 2026 03:59.
Three difficulties: Easy, Hard, Nightmare. SS rating on Nightmare auto-triggers all Technique Buffs at battle start—rewards precision over brute force.
Achievement Requirements Breakdown
Achievement 10: 12 HP Count restorations = 3-4 add waves. Each restoration counts individually. Characters reach downed at 0 HP Count. Standard healing doesn't work—only add elimination triggers recovery.
Achievement 11: 15 Back Row defeats across multiple waves. Leo spawns 2-3 targets at specific HP thresholds. Missing one elimination extends battle significantly. Single-target specialists can't contribute; AoE characters excel.
Common Failures
Qliphoth Counter: eliminating adds too fast prevents 12 restorations. Pace elimination to allow controlled HP Count reduction. Excessive delay risks team wipes.
Transcendent Shot: insufficient AoE coverage. Single Erudition character struggles before Leo's damage overwhelms sustain. Dual Herta provides redundant AoE sources.
Off-Meta Teams That Work
Earthshaker Leo: Herta + Herta + Jade + Hyacine. Pure Erudition synergy, dual Herta for overlapping AoE, Jade amplifies follow-ups, Hyacine sustains. Addresses Back Row immunity over generic damage optimization.
Budget 4-Star: Replace second Herta with Serval. Need two independent AoE sources. Pair with March 7th (Preservation) sustain and any Harmony buffer.
Greatsword Guardian: Firefly + Fugue + The Dahlia + Tribbie. Prioritizes Break Effect scaling. Deliberately allows controlled damage, recovers through add elimination. Firefly's Super Break accelerates clearing, Fugue's Break buffs reduce action cost.
Hybrid Compositions
Mix rarities for efficiency. Replace Tribbie with Asta maintains Harmony buffs, reduces Jade investment. Substitute The Dahlia with Pela provides Defense reduction, amplifies Break damage.
Identify which slots need premium options. Sustain tolerates 4-stars (Gepard, March 7th), primary DPS benefits most from 5-star investment.
Character Alternatives
Missing Firefly? Use Boothill or Rappa for Break damage. Boothill needs single-target Break (less efficient), Rappa's AoE Break aligns better.
Missing both Hertas? Himeko provides AoE through follow-ups. Argenti offers alternative but Ultimate-dependent pattern creates inconsistent Back Row pressure.
EHR Thresholds
120% EHR = theoretical max for Nihility characters. Character-specific thresholds balance efficiency against consistency.
67% EHR: Optimal for Cipher, Pela, Jiaoqiu, Black Swan against standard resistance. Accounts for base enemy resistance with sufficient margin. Exceeding offers minimal benefit.
Kafka: 50-55% EHR with 160-170 Speed. Damage scales with Speed for DoT triggers, making EHR secondary. Speed rolls provide greater returns.
Pure Fiction floor 12: 67% EHR universal baseline for endgame debuff application.
Diminishing Returns
Pan-Galactic Commercial Company 2pc: +10% EHR. Eyes of the Prey: +20% EHR, +24% DoT damage. Combined = 30% EHR from equipment, need only 37% from stats to hit 67%.
Resolution Shines As Pearls of Sweat: +60% EHR at S1 Ensnare stacks. Enables threshold achievement with minimal relic investment.
Twilight bosses feature standard resistance aligning with 67% threshold. Exceeding increases application from ~95% to 98%—one additional success per 50 attempts, negligible.
120% EHR = hard cap. Beyond provides zero benefit.
Balancing Stats
Tension: EHR vs Speed, damage, survivability. Black Swan needs EHR for Arcana application while maintaining Speed for turn frequency. Overinvesting sacrifices Speed substats that increase DoT triggers.
Breakeven: ~70-80% EHR, beyond which Speed generates superior returns. Reach minimum EHR first, then redirect farming to Speed.
Speed Tuning
170 Speed: Premium target for Cipher, maximizes turn frequency.
160 Speed: More accessible, provides 3 bonus turns in cycles 1, 2, 4 within 5-cycle battles. Recommended for most players.
134 Speed: Low-investment baseline, grants 2 bonus turns in cycles 1, 4. Minimum viable for consistent turn frequency.
Firmament Frontline: Glamoth: +12% Speed at 135 base, +18% at 160 base. Percentage applies after equipment, rewards high base Speed.
Speed Boots Trade-offs
Messenger Traversing Hackerspace and Sacerdos' Relived Ordeal 2pc: +6% Speed each. Pair with Glamoth for 2+4 configurations.
Speed boots: ~25 flat Speed = 5-6 high-quality substats. Enables breakpoints with moderate investment. ATK% boots demand near-perfect Speed substats elsewhere.
For Nihility characters, Speed boots almost always superior—increases debuff frequency and DoT triggers. For DPS, calculate if additional turns enable extra Ultimates exceeding ATK% damage loss.
Turn Order Simulation
Action value: (10000 / Speed). 160 Speed = every 62.5 AV. 134 Speed = every 74.6 AV. Map intervals across 5 cycles for exact turn counts.
Dynamic buffs: Asta's Ultimate provides team Speed buffs, pushes characters across breakpoints mid-battle. Bronya's skill bypasses Speed entirely, immediately grants turns. Enables low-Speed DPS maximizing ATK%/CRIT while relying on Bronya for actions.
Relic Sets
Pan-Galactic Commercial Company 2pc: Foundational EHR. Pair with Messenger for EHR/Speed balance, or Prisoner for DoT focus.
Eyes of the Prey: Premium Planar for debuffers. +20% EHR, +24% DoT in one slot. Frees stats for Speed.
Break specialists: Thief of Shooting Meteor 4pc for Firefly. Talia: Kingdom of Banditry Planar for Break Effect. Maximizes Super Break, maintains energy for Ultimates.
Erudition: The Ashblazing Grand Duke 4pc amplifies follow-up damage. Dual Herta exploits this—overlapping AoE triggers follow-ups frequently.
Main Stats
- Body: CRIT Rate/CRIT DMG for DPS, EHR% for pure debuffers
- Feet: Speed for breakpoint achievement
- Sphere: Elemental damage matching character
- Rope: Energy Regen for Ultimate-dependent, ATK% for skill-focused
Substats
DPS: CRIT Rate > CRIT DMG > ATK% > Speed
Debuffers: Speed > EHR > ATK% > CRIT
Keep relics with 3+ desired substats, enhance to +12 for evaluation. Don't over-invest in marginal pieces.
Planar Ornaments
Sprightly Vonwacq: Universal energy regen, enables more Ultimates. 5 energy/turn = 25 energy across 5 turns, often difference between 2-3 Ultimate casts.
Talia: Break Effect specialists. Firefly at 200+ Break Effect gains substantial damage. Minimal Break investment sees negligible benefit.
Execution Strategy
Pre-battle: verify stat thresholds—67% EHR for debuffers, 134+ Speed for action economy, sufficient Break Effect for Firefly. Failing baselines guarantees failure.
Use Techniques. SS rating completion grants automatic Technique Buffs for subsequent attempts. Achieve SS on lower difficulties first, leverage buffs for achievement hunting.
Phase 1: Qliphoth Counters
Deliberately allow attacks to reduce HP Count across multiple characters. Don't eliminate adds immediately. Goal: near-zero HP Count on 2-3 characters before first add elimination, maximizing restoration value.
Establish rhythm: eliminate one add per wave, let others persist. Ensures continuous HP Count pressure without team wipes. Firefly's Super Break provides precise add control.
Phase 2: Transcendent Shot
Immediate AoE pressure on Back Row from start. Stagger dual Herta Ultimates—one in cycle 1, second in cycle 2 prevents downtime. Jade's follow-ups fill gaps.
Track defeats manually—no in-combat counter. Maintain mental tally, prevents premature boss kills before 15 defeats.
Phase 3: Final Sequence
Qliphoth: verify 12 restorations before killing Guardian. If approaching kill with insufficient restorations, reduce damage, allow more add waves. Achievement triggers at 12th restoration, not battle end.
Transcendent: eliminate all Back Row before focusing Leo. After 15th defeat, redirect full damage to Leo. Damage amplification from defeats makes final phase significantly faster.
Troubleshooting
Killing boss before achievement completion requires restart. Prioritize achievement over clear speed, accept longer battles for guaranteed success.
HP Count hits zero on multiple characters? Emergency add elimination with Firefly Ultimate triggers mass restoration. Don't overuse—may restore too much too quickly, preventing 12-restoration threshold.
Advanced Tips
Energy management: Herta needs 110-120 energy for Ultimate = 3-4 skill uses + damage energy. Track accumulation, time skills for Ultimate availability during Back Row spawns.
Sprightly Vonwacq's 5 energy/turn reduces requirement from 4 to 3 casts. Grants one additional Ultimate per 5-cycle battle.
Debuff stacking: Pela's Defense reduction accelerates add elimination. The Dahlia's debuffs trigger teammate effects, creates cascading chains.
Black Swan's Arcana provides escalating DoT. At critical mass, passive DoT eliminates low-HP adds automatically, frees actions for boss damage.
Crowd control: Freeze/Imprisonment extends setup windows. Gepard provides Freeze through Ultimate, delays attacks. Excessive CC prevents HP Count depletion—use selectively during critical moments.
Light Cones
Signatures provide 15-25% damage increase but aren't mandatory. Herta works with Today Is Another Peaceful Day. Nihility alternatives: Eyes of the Prey, Fermata provide functional debuff application.
Light Cone = optimization, not enablement. Team composition and relics matter more.
Eidolons
Diminishing returns for achievement hunting vs character acquisition. Herta E1 increases skill damage but doesn't alter AoE coverage. Prioritize roster breadth over Eidolon depth.
Exceptions: Eidolons modifying core mechanics. Fugue E1 provides additional Break vulnerability, accelerates add clearing. Luxury optimization, not necessary.
Resource Investment
Limited 5-star costs 12,000-18,000 Stellar Jade. Evaluate if investment enables completion or just optimizes viable strategies.
Event provides 600 Stellar Jade total + 1 Tracks of Destiny + 1400 Nameless EXP. Partially offsets costs, but multiple limited characters = net negative Jade.
Relic Farming vs Pulls
Relic farming = guaranteed progression. Character pulls = probabilistic, high variance. Existing roster covering roles? Prioritize relic farming. Lacking core coverage? Character acquisition necessary.
Decision point: can current teams theoretically complete with better relics? Farm. Fundamental gaps (no Erudition for Leo)? Pull characters.
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FAQ
What is Qliphoth Counter? HP Count restoration mechanic in Greatsword Guardian. Characters lose HP Count when damaged; defeating enemies restores it. Achievement needs 12 restorations in one battle. Rewards 5 Stellar Jade.
Can you get both achievements in one run? No. Separate stages—Qliphoth in Guardian (Day 3), Transcendent in Leo (Day 1). Complete in different battles during January 7 - February 9, 2026 event.
What EHR percentage needed? 67% for reliable debuff application. Kafka functions at 50-55% with 160-170 Speed. Pure Fiction floor 12 establishes 67% universal baseline.
Which 4-stars work? Serval (AoE for Leo), Pela (Defense reduction), March 7th (sustain), Asta (Harmony buffs). Enable completion without limited characters.
Speed required for Transcendent Shot? 134 minimum (2 bonus turns). 160 optimal (3 bonus turns). 170 premium. Achievement succeeds at any threshold with proper team.
Need limited 5-stars? No, but they ease completion. Dual Herta + Jade + Hyacine (Leo) and Firefly + Fugue + The Dahlia + Tribbie (Guardian) are optimized, but 4-star alternatives work with increased difficulty.
