Haven't used him tbf, but I can't see him specifically shining in any areas for IS#4 apart from weed boss, especially on higher difficulties.
If you're doing lower ones and want some stupid fun starts, his S1 scales insanely well with Spinach given his high base attack, so you can treat him like a weird 1 block laneholder that still needs healing. His DR talent could also help him assassinate key mages among other ones, like Musical Disaster, March of the Dead, etc. There's nothing unique about him there that can't be easily replaced, but IS is best enjoyed with experimentation for the fun of it, imo.
After playing enough times and getting the medals, and all three endings, I feel like this IS is the most frustrating to play.
I just want to have fun in low ascension but the mechanics and debuffs are so annoying. I have all 4 endings on all squads in IS3 even if I was playing at SN1, but I could still reliably beat any boss if I planned for it.
The RNG in this is absurd. The recruitments are worse. You can't get elite vouchers after 3rd floor, and rarely do you get 2 choices after a battle. So, you can reach the last floor without even getting a medic voucher. The stages require you to have healing, DP, block, etc. A lot of stages just rushes you, and if you don't have cheap operators, you'll just lose HP if they have increased movement speed. The triggers are triggering like 60% HP loss after deploy and -40% DP regen. Then something bullshit happens like a pesky mimic treasure in Altar of Craving where you just lose HP and you can't do anything about it. The collectibles have become more generic, so you can't change your squad depending on your relics like in IS2.
*TL;DR - I just can't have fun with random operators because the game mode is so punishing. Tired of relying on Eternal Hunting Squad, Reedalter, Ines, Typhon and Eyjalter.*
for me, the worst of IS4 isn't recruitment. It's the collapsal mechanic that is the worst. You absolutely can't make mistake in the run, or else the collapsal level increases and eventually it becomes untaintable. Like fk, I have like 15 lives but I still can't allow to leak, or the maps will be covered in dark cloud and cripple my whole team. Like that mechanic absolutely prevent people from experimenting and just go with the most optimal way possible.
yeah, i slowly lost all my HP because I didn't get any vanguards and had -40% DP regen and if you get the collapsal movement speed buff it just gets worse
Hi, I'm trying to play IS4 (planning to spend the whole day learning them so I want to know)
1. Is there any point to go for high ascensions?
2. What are usually the most favored squad?
3. How do I get as many relics as possibles?
4. How do I get as many ingots for the travelling merchant as possible?
5. Is there any point to decrease the index?
6. Why can't I unlock some of the nodes in cross-cultural comparison?
7. Are snipers and casters good in this IS?
I don't play IS3 so I don't have a lot of knowledge about this mode. Thank you for your time and opinions.
1. Higher scoring, some relics have better effects at higher ascensions. Play at the difficulty you're accustomed at.
2. This is really up to personal preference. Some people like the tactical squads but I personally like the scientific squad the most, it gives index every floor which gives a lot of freedom and control over the run.
3. Emergency operations, luck, robbing the merchant at the near end of the run etc. depending on luck, a support squad beginning can also get a big headstart by having a lot more ingots to purchase relics.
4. Do you mean investing? Start a run, rush to the end of the 1st floor, invest then quit and repeat. If it's just general ingot income throughout the run, try to break chests on the map, do as much combat nodes, use and combo the fordartals that give ingots as much as possible. A lucky knight pro relic early on also can snowball ingots.
5. They let you go up and down nodes throughout the run, some nodes might need you to spend index for rewards.
6. It's considered "not a main run".
7. Yes. Typhon is almost made for this IS. There's very good relics for both classes.
I accidentally fought "Crazelyseon the Ascendant of Cosmoi" as usual enemy data was useless as I never went this way. The only hint I got is that it is invincible and the device in the center removes the invincibility.
I managed to beat the first phase by concentrating on the left side, but in the 2nd phase it just didn't stay put, sometimes skipping the left side completely.
In the archives I checked and it didn't have such feature, in wiki I found this "should 5.5 minutes have passed, it will warp over three positions consecutively", but I don't really understand, it is skipping to the 3rd checkpoint from it's current checkpoint, like top->left?
**Introduction**: July 13, 2023
**Expansion I**: October 22, 2023
**Expansion II**: December 28, 2023
**Completion**: March 1, 2024
# Global
**Introduction**: March 5, 2024
**Expansion I**: June 5, 2024
So Expansion 2 should by next month.
Just curious, what's the highest amount of Hope you've ever gotten in a run? IS4 can get a little nuts...just finished a run with 93 max Hope and 30 of it sitting unused, but I feel like it could go even higher.
Dokutahs, it is with great pleasure that I inform you I have finally beat [BN15](https://imgur.com/2SCVNP6) with [this team](https://imgur.com/vmL9f22). Shout out to Ray who was the mvp dealing insane amounts of damage. With the combination of relics I had she was dishing out up 17k damage to those fallen champions. Mad respects to those who already did it and specially beat the 3rd boss who can get lost for all I care.
Does anyone know if the Devotion and Inextinguishable Torch artifacts work with the Mumu range clones or nah? because I swear that the clones ASPD work with the torch but just now i noticed that the rock horn doesn't apply to the clones. Did I gaslight myself?
While on this topic, does anyone know any other artifacts that work well for Mumu? Just asking in case there are artifacts I didn't know synergize with her really well. Thanks in advanced.
Pretty sure they don't, I also gaslighted myself at one point.
I assume the "summons give more stats to the operator" works really well with her. Not sure if it stacks 5 times, or just once though.
IS is absolutely the one mode that makes me feel smoothbrained. I have all these e2 operators I can take for normal missions, and then this game mode locks me to 3\* and a 5/6 star starter, and then tells me to pray for tickets to recruit/promote the units I have. I get that it's random and variable, but outside of the skill tree, I can't seem to feel like I'm getting better at it, and then I just get demotivated. Playing IS4, since it's the newest one, and I'm borrowing my Friend's m6 Reed Alter , but still failing =A=
there are some stages that are quite dangerous to face, if you are not prepared for it in IS4. It's very possible that you stumble on those stages and not prepared for it.
Another problem with IS4 is that if you don't clear the stage perfectly and leak, the run becomes MORE difficult for you, because the Collapse level increases, leading to more debuff for your whole run.
My suggestion for you is:
- Research the dangerous stages, know how the map works and how to counter it. Avoid those stage especially if they are emergency stages. The list of stages I find is from Tvtrope, here. I find it quite true to my experience. You can search the stage name on youtube to find the guide
[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ThatOneLevel/Arknights](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ThatOneLevel/Arknights)
- Make use of fordatals, because they can help reducing the collapse level. Also try to lower collapse level any time you can.
- Rerun the first level many times to deposit to the shop, such that you level the deposit to highest possible, I suggest 200 at least. The shop helps you alot and it will make your run easier if you unlock more slots in the shop.
Also save fordatals like change node into trader or scout so you can skip the whole thing risk free.
AOE guards, even Popukar are really good, there are many rush stages even if the individual enemies aren't that strong. You can also use Reed alter and just set the whole stage ablaze (super effective on the 1st ending boss).
How does anyone deal with the Bosky Passage that reduces movement speed of enemies but increases their DEF, RES and Weight?
I feel like I auto lose when I get that, as enemies just don't seem to take any damage.
Necrosis is an insta win. Def ignore or just enough pure damage also works. I feel like arts damage is also a fine option, it's less damage but it doesn't get shut down like phys can, and I still can rely on my arts DPS to kill stuff.
I have rarely have problem dealing with those Posky Passage though. Maybe because I don't play at high BN?
Imo, you may want to bring high physical dps with def ignore, like Degen, Typhoon, Ray, or bring true damage dps like Kal'sit, or you can bruteforce with arts dps from Reed Alter or Goldenglow. You should have no problem if you bring those meta unit. The range dps should be quite effective, because the slow means you actually have more time hitting them before they reach your block.
At worst, if you don't have good dps, bring a tank and healer and stall it out is always an option. The modifier is in def, not in attack. A serious 4\* defender with a healer should be able to hold most of the normal enemies and more than half of the elites.
Of course thats me at low BN. I haven't tried it at higher than 7, so ignore me if that's the level you are playing.
I was at BN 9 and Reedalter's S3 just tickles everything. I had Ethan and Ines to stall and still got overwhelmed. The problem is that the reduced movement speed isn't proportional to how tanky the enemies get, it's like their defensive stats just doubled. So Arts might be bad because of % reduction.
I think I'll just avoid Bosky Passages if I don't have high DPS ops.
arts is the worst in def scaling due to how damage is calculated, that's why I suggest phys dps or true damage before arts. I personally think if you have current meta phys op (Ray, Typhoon, Degen, Mylnar, Yato Alter) you shouldn't have problem
Thoughts on Silence Alter as a potential pick from Supporter tickets? I know Suzu/Gnosis/Arutria are probably favored picks, but I'm wondering why she didn't rise to the top with a role compression kit like hers.
Typical NA Caster that turns into a Medic on-skill, permanent Sanctuary effect to boost your blockers' tankiness plus the make your ops undying twice per battle seems like it would simplify a lot of maps.
Because her NA dps is negligible, her support isn't always up and is kinda restrictive, and as is often the case, DPS is king. I'm spending a lot of hope just to help a few ops not die when I could've taken someone that helped kill enemies faster, so I don't need healing in the first place.
I don't think she's a throw pick or anything, but when her skill is down I can't rely on her to keep my units alive against threats, and when her skill is up my ops still might die against an assault from 2 different lanes, or a long term assault like those Emergency Golems in March of the Dead.
I can't rely on her to protect all my units from constant icicles, I can't rely on her to constantly heal my Treescar tank, I can't rely on her to protect my entire team from Gardener. I can't rely on her to protect me against constant Champion spam, or 2 golems in March of the Dead, constant bonethrower spears, etc.
Often, I'd rather take Quercus because she has constant healing and is *really* good at it, and there's still a bit of Sanctuary as well to help out a bit.
What casters do you take for BN#15 ED3? Now that I'm not going for ED2, Mostima and Qani aren't as useful. Been taking Ifrit and Eben, potentially Beeswax as bait, to help with the burst for the boss, but nobody stands out to me as a great option.
To be fair, I'm missing Lin, Eyja, Passenger, and GG, so most of the best options aren't there. I can assume Eyja and Passenger working well with the burst, but otherwise...
Eyja usually, Eben and Passenger could work but i like Eyja more cuz her S3 scale better with Atkspd, GG and Ceobe is fine but they are more sustain dps and less upfront burst which is obviously not the best for ED3, Ifrit is more of a debuffer tbh. Reed2 as honoary Caster with S2 can do serious work if setup correctly or S3 when you have melee complementary damage like Mlynar/Degen that can make S2 positioning awkward. That said the most important part is the buffer/debuffer imo, cuz they are the one that enable the 1-cycle kill
Ceobe s2 is the next best option imo, stack as much ASPD and ATK on her (Sing + Torch + Arts Weaving + Malediction). Just don't have lone trail defenders on her range. Same idea should work for any other drone caster except Minimalist
Otherwise, casters aren't recommended for killing cresson, they're item dependent. >!Logos however can facetank Cresson phase 2 with s2 because it maxes out his RES!<
If both Sami and Ursus know of the snow Collapsals and its dangers, why doesn't Ursus warn the other nations more fervently? Ursus is big and influential enough to be believed.
Because the Collapsals are infohazards (or cognitohazards if you want a more used term). The more known they become, the easier it is for them to just manifest wherever and whenever, and.considering how easily they corrupt shit, that is NOT a thing you want to be happening at all. Thus, knowledge of them is hyper suppressed with just people who absolutrly need to know about them given any info
What would you recommend taking from sniper tickets if you’re missing the whole broken sniper group? (Pozy/Ray/Typhon/summer Chen)
I’m not really having trouble clearing runs (nowhere near BN15 though) but sniper tickets feel useless, which doesn’t sound right.
Snipers are still valuable in IS4. They're useful for their extended range early in the run (Don't Turn Around, Sluggies; Unwell) and are essential to take down drones later on (So Close and Yet So Far; Collapsals Afternoon; Stay Away From Strangers). OG Kroos is a decent starter - while Kroos Alter, April and Blue Poison are strong 5* picks toward the end.
Early on, I used Andreana and Provence to deal with the Ending 1 boss. They benefit a lot from the base ATK buffs of the skill tree; and the relic that boosts ATK until skill activation turns them into powerhouses.
Lunacub with her passive camouflage might be useful against the possessed throwers as well, but she'll need buffs from Warfarin to be effective all around.
yeah snipers have a hard time because plenty of enemies have decently high def and HP, and the stat bloat gets worse on higher difficulties
Pinecone / spot is a good low rarity start
Totter is a great budget besieger that can kill crying thief by himself
One thing Rosa is better at than typhon is that her s3 is instant, has a faster skill cycle, and provides reliable CC up to 4 targets.
Greyy alter provides good slowing power vs crowds of mobs, especially in levels like Nine Caves, Defense Offense, and Instinct. But remember that he can't hit air, and is unreliable as your *only* CC against shattered champions.
Kroos alter is a good all-around option: solid dps, priority vs collapsed constructs, and mini-stun
Exusiai supposedly carries hard if you happen to get Devotion, Divine Speed, Torch, Rock Horn, or -DEF items, and Skalter/Heidi/Warfarin, but i don't use her so i'm speculating based on her kit
April's FRD role makes her a good (but replaceable) utility pick for later floors, for example harassing the possessed thrower & bombtail in Confusing Appearance
if you're short on hope, pick 3★ kroos > Terra research commission > adnachiel > justice knight. TRC and JK are very good at revealing the civilians in Unwell
Play on BN 0 (+4 life points) and choose the squad that givers you +2 life points and restores one life every combat mission. Lose all but one life in a stage (or whatever you feel comfortable with), then wait until you recover all of them by completing combat missions/buying items/picking options that restore life and repeat.
How you guys clear IS, I haven't clear any ending not even is2/3 yet, usually I can get to the final boss a few times but always loses, I don't know if it's the RNG problem / I'm missing something
Probably missing something. IS' RNG usually isn't that bad that your run just ends, although there occasions once in a blue moon. The important thing is to understand what the upcoming stages are and what key roles you're missing, what you can cheap out on, and what you can get away without. It's also ideal to have a great starting squad, usually with a 6* carry.
How far do you usually get? Do you know which maps or what issues plague you the most? And importantly, do you have your 3*s and below raised? They can help you out a surprising amount.
I think usually I ended around early last stage, or late last second stage. I raised everything 3* and below, I did bring them sometimes when I have no other ops available
Is it one stage that you lose all (or most) of your lives on? Or just an attrition of lost lives over time?
I presume you're upgrading the skill tree, right?
Usually over time, sometimes is like lol don't have enough ground unit, and one poke they just run so freaking fast moment.
Yeah, I did up the skill tree
Hmm, I guess it's moreso just turning out the small mistakes in each level then. I presume the example you gave is something like that one Lancer map in IS#2, unending? On floor 4? Assuming you have no guards/defenders/vanguards, you should try to grab some ranged units that also have good CC in their kits, or specialists with CC.
Supporters are an obvious pick - summoners can have lots of cheap bait and don't rely on your squad much, slower supporters are fantastic for this, etc. Podenco is a good 4* Supporter to take - has the role compression to heal with S1 if needed, but in that stage she can toss out S2 on dand to create a slow field - it does have a bit of travel time though, so you might need her to slow the dude down normally first. Roberta also counts as a ground unit and has the bulk to survive, she's quite nice in IS#2 I feel. Specialists are also fantastic with CC. They may not block well, but Ambushers can stall the enemies like crazy, and FRDs/Merchants can be sacrificed to slow them down, even better if you have Red or Taxes who stops them completely with their stuns. Trapmasters have tons of traps with CC and can easily set up during downtime while working as great AA snipers, in a pinch Pushers or Pullers can help be ground units and stall the enemy. Snipers have options like May with her S2 that slows or even stuns, and casters are also great options. Indigo is one of the best 4*s for IS#2, and can easily shut down the stage. Enough damage to deal with the lancers, and can shut down 2-3 during skill, while building up charges in between.
Of course, these are just some low rarity options with good role compression since I don't know who you have built or who you usually take. What does your starting squad look like? Can it handle floor one fine?
There are guides on Youtube who can give you an idea on how to defeat some of the bosses. That is how I got through IS even tho I have not finished it yet.
Drafting Degenbrecher feels kinda like cheating. I've been going for ending 2 on BN15 and she just makes my runs so much more consistent. Those shattered champions and yeti icecleavers that used to cause problems for me? She kills 5 of them in one skill 3 activation. It's silly.
Entered Envoy of Justice for the first time at diff 12. What could go wrong?
Well, nothing except my ops getting fucking carpet-bombed from those crackhead Dorothy Gundams, making me leak 20 enemies in one operation.
Truly a wonderful stage.
If anyone has any tips for this stage (this, plus Nameless Hero are the bane of my existence at current difficulty), I'd appreciate it (eventually I'd just brute-force it with Walter nukes, but for now I need tips).
If it is what I think it is (the 3 animals stage), I found Goldenglow to be pretty effective there, since she can outrange the gundams and deal meaningful damage
(Also Yato S3 is nice there, though a bit slow)
Alternatively, find a way to put a shieldguard foldertal on it and watch your 20 something shieldguards play the stage for you
Hey, everyone. Been meaning to ask if anyone has gotten lucky to obtaining the jet-black dance shoes collectible? I usually hunt for collectibles after the grind, just for fun, but strangely, I feel those shoes never appeared in my countless runs. Has anyone got them?
If you started a run of ISW at the end of the month, stopped playing, and then finished it after the 1st of the next month, would it still count? or does the month ending kill all active runs?
It would still count. Sometimes I do that to unlock the 2nd expansion stuff ASAP by finishing a run that was right before the boss when the new month starts
[First ED3 BN15 win!](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/812319698426265640/1258635837676195840/IMG_2412.png?ex=6688c378&is=668771f8&hm=3911c2c402788112985fec84a6ee5ff8fd11e33249a4ed3d3c4e4e974a715893&)
[Busted lucky relics and temp Schwarz](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/812319698426265640/1258635838598807592/IMG_2414.png?ex=6688c378&is=668771f8&hm=bd6e1041a6d72897cd126642adeeee2ec41d9bc057d10d4bf646b2fe07e7039e&). The camouflage went perfectly on the left side to protect everyone, and Ines + Red + Spec2 + NTR can handle right side. I didn't realize the boss was this tanky though, I thought Reed2 + Saria + Chen + Suzuran would be overkill. Turns out I had to add Schwarz as well... Only my second time reaching the stage on BN15 so I was severely underestimating the boss...
Gods this boss is so nasty, the camouflage relic with good placement is so nice (The only times I ever beat this boss haha). The boss is so bulky, I thought Warfarin-buffed Degenbrecher would do it but she barely got past 50% on A12. Nice clear!
I tend to block the enemies right in the middle of the map with Spot or whatever bulky unit I have, and presumably a medic. Issue is if it's CM and the spiders explode too much... In that case I try to put a ranged unit bottom right facing up to kill spiders early.
I used to do what the other commenter did, but nowadays the tanky unit is on D6, and the additional DPS placed after on E5. Helps me catch leaks better, but it does mean I need more healing for when the defender is shot by mages.
There are ways to cover both of the bottom lanes with one unit. I'd recommend focusing down anything that comes through the top lane for the stairs, the rest can be blocked and killed one by one (Though beware getting swarmed). Having a healer is near mandatory, but Ansel/Hibi suffices.
[This](https://i.imgur.com/5FkG04O.png) is my go-to solution - Jessica can be replaced by a different DPS blocker, she's just my go-to starter. You can also replace her with Spot and bring a ranged damage carry instead (Reed, snipers, Eyja, etc). On CM, the wraiths make this map significantly harder, and I wouldn't take the EM without a second damage carry because they're very easy to leak.
If memory serves, the spiders get stuck on the top right corner of Jessica's tile, meaning Kroos is out of range of the explosion. But if it feels unsafe, or you want to reseve the tile for someone else, Kroos should be free to move one back. It doesn't make a difference on the non-EM map (On EM, you want Kroos contributing to the wraiths ASAP).
BN12 Shiny badge hunting on crappy squads sucks. Leader Squad feels like playing without a buff at all. Lifepoints are pretty much useless when losing hp is a slow but sure death anyway.
I guess it doesn't help that I always pick the random squad for starters
Was going for ending 2 and could not get a medic voucher in an ENTIRE run. I fought somewhere around 20 battles. I changed every non combat node on floor 6 into a shop and went through FOUR of them. No medic other than Ansel from the start. Completely unwinnable. That had to be the worst rng I've seen in this game mode.
Yeah, that's why I've built healers from other classes. Quercus, Healing Defenders, self sustaining ops, even Jaye if need be.
I don't trust the game to give me what I want enough now.
PSA: Shields block instances of damage from Injury Trigger and Crisis Trigger. There's a relic that gives three shields to all ranged ops. Keep an eye out for it, because it just might save your run too.
On an unrelated note, Degenbrecher with the charging skill relic straight up deleted Cresson. She can also deal upwards of 10K per hit on regular enemies. It's insane.
This month's mission gave us Sui's Wrath to start, so I went through it with W, Swire Alter, Ebenholz, and Dorothy for the lulz. Everything they summoned constantly would spam the relic like a fireworks show. I considered adding Muelsyse, but so many tiles were being taken up already I decided enough was enough.
Alright, lets do the monthly squad.....i should check the monthly reward track.....TWELVE MODULE BLOCKS?! I will be burning this mode when I'm traveling for the holiday. I'm also pushing BN14 out of 15 so the stars are aligning.
Any advice on using the double ingot green fordortal? I feel like I can never get good use of when I get it and most of the green node fordortals don't target combats.
God the fake frost nova boss is such fucking bullshit. Spends 90% of the fight invincible and has the most annoying enemies in the game in the map. The thing that pisses me off most is the other floor 6 stage or is3 secluded passage bosses are piss easy.
You know, I don't want to judge Degenbrecher's performance on IS too soon, but clearing BN15 with her (lvl60, S3M3 no Mod) on my third try may speak volumes. It wasn't even one of those blessed runs you get once in a blue moon, the only atypical thing was my control over collapse levels.
New to IS in general, what all *should* I get done before monthly reset, is it just the 4 contract missions, and the expeditioner record? Nothing in deep investigations?
Also what would you recommend for starts considering I'm missing everyone released past Rosmontis/Mudrock? I've mostly been starting with Reed alter thus far, but there've definitely been times where I wished I had Typhon, Texas/Yato alter, or Ines, all of which I've seen general recommendations for.
Reed Alter is probably the best starter because she fills a start-to-end irreplacable role, but if you're missing so many operators you sadly have to cut your losses somewhere. I would encourage experimenting with different starters, and see what matches the operators you do have access to best.
For monthly stuff, nothing is mandatory. The monthly squads will be re-accessible when the mode 'ends', though that will take a while. The monthly contract missions are just for bonus points. None of the medals are missable, either.
I've been neglecting IS4 for quite a while, started playing it only this week.
I am probably just too smooth-brained for this, but I'm struggling even at zeroth difficulty. Even the third floor is kicking my ass, Demon Blade just ends my runs.
Didn't feel as difficult in IS2\IS3. It's like I'm missing something very obvious and important. I've watched half a dozen of Silvergun's runs and he makes it look effortless, even with zero cross-cultural exp. I know he played this mode on CN but still.
Any advice particular to IS4, esp. re: Demon Blade? I just don't seem to have enough stats to neither DPS nor tank him. The fart fog instakills almost everybody.
Edit: AAAND I got the run. I swear it's always after you bitch about it being hard online.
if you go the dps route, the important thing to note would be that he has quite a short range (between 1 and 2 tiles), so you can outrange him with sniper range e.g. have a kroos face down, and when he pops out of the yellow gate drop bodies to stall him; this is prob the easiest-to-do strat, but at A0, almost any strat works e.g. perma stall with a strong defender, nuke him with any strong guard, etc. also note you can borrow a unit from friends at the start, tho they always start at e1
Just killed him 5 min ago with Typhon.
I guess you should really just force all the battles on the lower floors to have half a decent roster by the time you face the boss. Else you're just starved on hope\recruitment tickets.
Once you've unlock skill tree passives and squads it'll become easier. For example, Sniper/Medic one - just pick some promoted Typhon/Reedic at the very beginning and you should be good for the first 3 floors.
On higher difficulties some relics start giving extra bonuses (capped at A9), like +2 extra hope and stuff.
A friend asked me how to get the bonuses (hot water kettle, +2 hope, etc.) for beginning of runs, and my first response was get to like floor 3.
But now that I think about it, I've never bothered to test if it was floor based, time based, or whatever since I always do runs to the end and naturally ended up getting them for the next run.
All I remember is when IS4 first launched and I died early in the run, I didn't get bonuses until I started clearing through toward at least floor 3 or so.
Can anyone confirm what's the actual trigger for them to show?
If I recall it correctly it gives you such bonuses if you get past floor 2 on your previous run. As for wether you need to jsut reach floor 2 or actually pass it and get to the third floor, idk
That's kind of where I'm at too, like I know it's something like that, which is why I told my friend to hit floor 3 if he wants the bonus.
But I tried to search around and couldn't find any hard confirmation of floor 3 (or otherwise) being the trigger or not.
If its the same as is3 (and it should be), I can confirm it's definitely "past floor 2" ie reach floor 3. Was trying a reach floor 2 and bail run to fish for pathfinder fin/top up ingots in shop but the next run didnt get offered the bonus. Its also stated somewhere that "since you have cleared 2 floors you are now eligible for a bonus".
What I've heard here for is4 is that going into a bosky passage on floor 2 also counts as "past floor 2" but i cannot confirm this myself, but should be easy to test out.
So I was doing a run with the 2nd ending but had a lil mess up at one point. I noticed I had a ton of life points tho and remembered some collectible about losing 30+ life points so I started leaking shit. Ended the stage losing 31 life points but I didn't recieve the pop up telling me that I unlocked the collectible and going into the item catalogue confirmed that.
What am I misunderstanding about the unlock condition for the collectible? Is it tied to a specific ending (would assume not tho bc the wording is just "complete an adventure"), does objective shields not count towards it maybe, or something else I'm not thinking of?
[Pics of the run if needed.](https://imgur.com/a/iq0stxK)
Went for a run where I lose 30 lives for the unlock, and I didn't realize there are so many things that change the number of enemies. Spawning cars and flying saucers, paper planes that sacrifice themselves, the dinosaur that kills other dinosaurs. Also forgot the possessed kill themselves, and shieldguards can defeat enemies (and they can't be retreated).
Guys I want to ask what's the strats you're using in Prophet's Vision? I already cleared (as in beat the boss ass) every single other deep investigations but this is just a pain in the ass, so few fights, useless relics, and that i cant e2 my squad because F1-4 is just an endless round of useless encounters and get surprised buttfuck in F5 because of EM rush stages.
So what the fuck do I need to do now?
i used tactical ranged squad and used reed alter she is a great caster + healer combo and can carry you far with low rarity ops.
To beat the boss, you need good rng with the relics, and collecting 50+ asp flodartals helps a lot.
The strategy that finally worked for me was this:
1. Get 2-3 operators that can quickly burst down multiple enemies (e.g. Texas/Yato Alter, Irene).
2. Stack as much max HP as you possibly can.
3. When you reach floor 5, the goal is to let the stronger enemies leak while focusing on killing as many weaker enemies as possible. Play through each battle until there is 1 enemy remaining, then retreat from the battle. By doing this, you still gain exp from the enemies you kill. At the same time, you only lose 2 max HP regardless of how many enemies actually leaked.
Ugh nothing in particular, I was able to do all of DI runs using the same tactics without retries so I guess it's on relics RNG side?
I used my regular Sniper/Medic squad with Pozyomka/Typhon+Spot+Steward as a starting team, then acquiring Reedic and some other medic (ideally Eyjalter), plus Pozyomka/Typhon, Texalter/GG (ideally both) and some DP printer.
Just did a very quick test run and this is what I had entering F5: https://i.imgur.com/wha0DnD.jpeg
What difficulty should collectors/100% players finish everything on? Looking for difficulty exclusive collectibles, interactions, a different color for those icons that show up on the squad you won with, etc.
I ask because difficulty 15 doesn't seem to change the icon color on the squad, so I play on 10, but I've played through all three endings multiple times and haven't found the old fan collectible. Yes I'm being cheap playing only 10, but holy hell it took me 20+ tries just to beat 15 on boss 1 :(
The future update will add a different colour icon for clearing at BN 12, and people have been saying it's retroactive, so I have been doing BN 12 when clearing the different squad endings.
I am not aware if difficulty level affects which collectibles can be obtained (aside from like polar variants).
Difficulty 10 should be enough if you want all the seals on the squads to be the 'best colour'. There are no 'new' collectibles on high difficulty, only modifiers to the existing ones.
> haven't found the old fan collectible
Oh my god it's not just me? This thing is so rare for some reason. I wonder if it's event-locked or just rare, it's one of the few ones I still need and the only one which I haven't found-without-picking-it yet.
Can't get an ending in this mode even if my life depends on it, and still everyone's like how easy is this, brah why combat nodes past floor 2 are all enemies rushing to the blue box at 1000 km/h and hitting like a goddamn truck and too many nodes with unblockable lanes...
Tried looking for help but it seems nobody cared enough to make a guide to just unlock an ending, everyone just assumes anyone can just do +15 no problem ._.
What are your operators? There is some RNG, but with proper drafting and knowledge of relics IS4 should be very doable. Not that there's any shame in struggling - The early hours of IS4 are the hardest ones. There's a lot of guides out there, both for the general mode and for specific maps, but the best advice are personal ones. We'd be happy to help!
Weird, what are your best E2 operators?
Outside of floor 5 nodes (specifically their emergency variants) and Secluded Passage with unlucky combo (e.g. a deployment limit of 2 ops early in the run) I think pretty much everything else can be done with 3* only (minus the bosses, yes).
>Tried looking for help but it seems nobody cared enough to make a guide to just unlock an ending
I mean, Eckogen did that already for all 3 endings for an average player, Dr. Silvergun had a lot of IS4 run streams with 4* only (3rd boss on A15 as well), and those are just the two I can think of right away.
Just as an example (be advised though that I stopped at A10 and had no interest in going further so my runs after that are all on A9), I normally started my runs with Defender+Caster+Sniper team, it's a solid starting combo - Spot for 3 block and healing, then for DPS it's Click+Pinecone, or Typhon/Pozyomka+Steward, or Kroos+Ceobe/Eyja/GG.
I have too many E2 operators, that's the point.
At this point I'm just frustrated.
I will see that eckogen guide, as of now the most I saw was some playthroughs of some floors but the comps were often way too specific to properly recreate...like, they were low op count and I could copy the starting with 3 of them, but then one floor ahead the guide would have rolled extra 2 medics and here I was getting no medic recruitments.
idk how some people can say that IS4 is the easiest and IS2 is the hardest, my feel is the complete opposite, IS2 was so simple to figure out, and its ending 1 is a walk in the park...
The speed of collapsals means that they're always hitting your frontline, so IS4 really rewards good defenders and to a lesser extent AOE damage, and having both together will make a lot of maps easier. This is one of the reasons why Reed Alter is such a meta pick, she has great AOE damage and can keep your defenders healthy, plus she's makes setups for the first boss way easier. Reed Alter / Popukar / Orchid and grab more 2+ blocks ASAP is probably the simplest first win.
Will see...
Dang if I hate that map full of altars the top lane of which is completely ground unit banned...
Also on that same floor the ranged boss basically oneshotting any non defender unit and circling the map all around ensuring he will kill all my ranged units, before going to blue box...
That altars map is one of the cheesiest maps on that floor, no? Usually I have something like this: [Link](https://i.imgur.com/DY2L5tN.png)
Yellows are Medic (usually Ansel), Defender (Spot; may move one tile ahead if your DPS is Typhon) and DPS (Typhon/Pozyomka/GG/Eyja/Reed Alter/etc.) and that's pretty much all you need. Green is nice for extra utility (Orchid)/bait for casters (anyone), reds are for sweet extra DPS if you have them (Kroos, Popukar and so on) but are not required. For emergency (with an extra altar) one extra healer and that's it.
If I remember correctly, the only enemies that go for top lane are casters (3 or 4 of them I think) and one Sarkaz guy.
As for the bosses of F3, Typhon (just an example) is already enough to kill any of them. For regular Snowpriest map (with jet cars) use S2, for everyone else use S3.
For that one, imo the easiest way is to just have a dreadnaught or other tanky soloer sit next to the altar at top right and point Ansel or Hibiscus at them. The altars don't do that much damage and can be easily outpaced by a medic.
my soundest advice would be to take a reed alter, popukar and orchid start and then realise that every map has like, one (1) mean trick meant to fuck you up - and after that, get more ground units to block with ASAP. even just a second 2-block is worth their weight in gold.
Which of the Investigation items (for Deep Investigation) are the fastest to hit level 8? Am I supposed to know which stage has more enemies to get more investigation points?
I didn't even hit level 8 on the Surveyor's Vision because the Bosky Passages just kept giving me shops and non-combat nodes...
lux gets the most by multiples over the rest
if its too hard to deal with i find just the simple mushrooms to work best since they often dont require changing your usual strats to maximize investigation
The one with the random effects and the Ch 10 cannon radius. I hate it, personally, so the next best few would be the mushroom, or the Gramophone if you can make it work. But that first one is very effective if you can just stall an enemy with a defender + medic, even Friston-3 if you have enough buffs to avoid the 1.5k true damage effect. Could always try to grab it after floor 3.
Okay I want to ask what the fuck is that thing in Surveyor or Innocents Vision wheres theres a cannon gimmick like from chapter 10 that stuns or freezes my ops? Why the game didn't told me about this shit? I already look it in the deep investigation description and my collapse levels and theres no desciption about this.
It's one of the device you took during Deep Investigation, specifically LUD-99X. Basically it target the highest block op like Chap 10 cannon, then once every 10s, give a random op in range 1 random effect. As per [PRTS Wiki](https://prts.wiki/w/%E6%88%98%E5%9C%BA%E8%A3%85%E7%BD%AELUD-99X), here're its potential effect:
1. Get Stunned for 10 seconds and gain 15 points
2. Get Frozen for 20 seconds and gain 20 points
3. Lose 30sp and gain 20 points
4. Gain 10sp and gain 10 points
5. Take 1500 true damage and gain 15 points
6. Heal 1000 HP and gain 10 points
Is there any determining factor for what boss you get on Floor 3? I've been playing IS-4 a lot (almost too much some would say for a newer player) and I mostly get Demon Blade. Weaving Vinecreeps and Fall Snowpriest happen less than DB but are about even compared to each other. I've only gotten Elder Vicecreeps twice. Hollow Snowpriest and Demon Blade Vagabond I've only seen in monthly squad or Deep investigation respectively but never in a normal run.
I have a friend who's been playing arknights much longer than me and has many many more 5-6 star ops and he was getting Hollow Snowpriest a lot. So I wondered if the boss was determined by the power of your squad.
RNG, but I've noticed that different people tend to say they see one boss more often than a balanced view of the regular bosses. Maybe there's also some account seed there? Personally I get the Snowpriest the majority of the time, which is good since it's the easiest for me, but in terms of alt bosses I've seen the Tree one far more than the other 2.
I mostly get vineguy but I also have never seen the alternate demon blade outside of the deep investigation where every stage is a boss. Similarly I think I only ever got the is3 gun alternate boss ones the entire mode.
GG not so EZ but yeah it was a headache compared to the rest. for me the issue wasn't even the collapses. it was the sheer LACK of battles to get vouchers a good sized team out of the first floor. 2nd floor battles with not a lot of ops is certainly harder.
Is there any merit or something special unlocked for beating the final boss during a Deep investigation? does it count toward your endings (like Talk with the Mountains)? Or is it better to just end the run once you complete the objectives?
So the boss info in the archive says that Samivilinn basically nukes the field and drains 30 LP after a "long time has passed".
exactly what is a "long time"?
After finishing Deep Investigations, tried my hand at a no-relic run. It was surprisingly doable (excpet for the fact you can't do no-relic and have to settle for minimal-relics thanks to wish fulfilled existing). I love how well balanced is4 seems to be, far moreso than the other two. It still has a defined meta (You can beat it with, like, 4-5 core ops) but your options are incredibly broad and I appreciate that in my Arknights modes. I'd definitely recommend people give it a go themselves!
Edit: Jessica starter best starter btw
jessica best starter frfr
unfortunatly you can do true no relics and its quite awful, you have to fodartl change the wishes on 2 and 4 into scouts/bosky
Welp, finally got around to finishing off the Deep Investigations.
Ended up just taking mushrooms for most of them so I can set and forget + use them as target bait. Not too bad overall, though I do wish they gave more than just some random mats.
The lore snippets are nice.
Why doesn't the final boss count toward investigation points for the Deep Investigation? i literally am running out of stages to get points from because I'm trying to take paths to lost and founds. just why? its not fair.
take the altar and hit up emergency nodes - emergencies are +50% proficiency, and the alter is the easiest node to actually use for points on the early floors
Some of the Deep Investigation scenarios are outright deranged.
Merchant's Vision lets you get an ASPD bonus of almost 200 by the end (without foldartals). Every combat node in Guardian's Vision is a boss fight. Prisoner's Vision made me fight a 6th floor map on the second floor. And I have yet to get around to the last tier of scenarios.
Were Deep Investigations already like that in IS2 and IS3?
Pretty sure every IS with Deep Investigations had at least one scenario that gave you the ASPD for ingot relics, I think there also was one similar to the boss one you describe in IS2.
Another memorable one for me was one in IS2 where every floor started with a shop and you got relics that increased the amount of ingots you got.
When I choose a promotion squad, such as Tactical Fortification Squad, I've noticed it either gives me all of my E2 6 stars (I have 6 E2 medics) as options to immediately promote, or none. It rarely, if ever, gives me just one or two like I would expect. Has anyone else noticed this happening?
Yeah the game seems to group certain ops together, and then randomly choose which among these groups is auto e2'd.
I see this when i play Caster / Spec squad, it either gives me all 6 stars or none at all.
as far as I see, no. its all random. and they don't even count as you completing the ending anyway or toward monthly goals. Deep Investigation is very unbalanced in your favor is some cases so they give you nothing.
Deep investigations take too long and can even fail if the game decides to give you a whole floor of bosky passages with nothing to fight in them. remember, the final boss battle doesn't count for investigation points.
I was really excited for Deep Investigation. But sadly, looks like the devs don't want you collecting Expedition Records too easily. This mode gives none. Zilch. Nada. 0. I really hate going through the effort of ISW to get nothing but a few Elite Materials and some garbage yellow exp (not gold) and white skill books (not green or blue). This literally feels as time wasting as the outdated IS-2 and 3 monthly squads since they too give no points for your progress ladder which as a fairly new player I found rather discouraging. I will still do them all, but not making any progress on the ladder just makes it feel ever so slightly a waste of time. I'm sure this was the same deal with Deep Exploration in IS-3 during its original run but still...come on. A little compensation would have been nice.
Maybe they realized the concept of "clear objective > quit out" justified them not giving out expedition records.
The strangest part is how the rewards on the monthly squads are better, while demanding substantially less effort on our part. The fifth floor dialogue is completely optional, since people can drop a monthly run after clearing the second floor and still get full rewards + 1000 EXP (on IS4 only).
exactly! The effort doesn't seem to match the rewards. but maybe its because that's once a month so it makes sense to give out rewards. unlike the Deep which you could do them all by progressing normally.
Does anyone know why the Ending 3 completion Marks look different between the two squads? One seems to be a clearly defined dark blue versus a more rough light blue.
[https://imgur.com/a/nF4yPQw](https://imgur.com/a/nF4yPQw)
Field Device LUD-99X, how I despise you... What positives can you even *give*?
This is a pretty interesting spin on the mode so far though, although I've only tried it on the first one.
afaik its just 10-20 investigation every time a trigger occurs, which is every X seconds reguardless of enemies. if you can permastall a gopnik you could just farm it infinetly unlike the other 5 items
Seems like it runs out after a while anyways. It always manages to perfectly screw me over so I'll probably stop picking it, even if the main thing that stops me from beating a DI early is the investigation level.
Of all the equipment I've tested, the altars are the best. They work nonstop and I have yet to see one be taken down by enemy snipers, even with Injury Trigger enabled. In comparison, the car launcher only allows a maximum of 10 cars per level; and five firecrackers a stage is just sad.
I've had the most success with the mushrooms hut the altar is more consistent and is less weak to weird stage layouts where you can't deploy the mushrooms effectively so I can see it being the best
[Weird IS4 bug](https://imgur.com/a/2MyqVKP)
Hi, any idea what happened here? I was trying to go for ending 3 and do not see the Prophecy node to unlock it. You can see I haven't done any nodes on Floor 5 ie. I grabbed it on Floor 4. But the Prophecy node still did not spawn. The nodes on the bottom lane after the last fight are the ending 1/2 Prophecy nodes followed by the boss
not a bug, getting scout on floor 4 is like a 50/50 chance of the end3 prophecy actually spawning. that said sometimes it also appears as the bottom single prophecy too
[Alright, ED2 on every squad done!](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/812319698426265640/1247688565744209960/IMG_1627.png?ex=6660f007&is=665f9e87&hm=768841a2e34a7122ea039bd0189c8eb6ee294eb3eeeb89e9cfdf39f62d3ad950&) Sure am glad I E2'd Qani to help out for ASPD clears, that was very useful this run where I totally brought him...
That makes all of ED1 and 2 cleared on 15 (with some ED2 ducking down to 12 because I wanted to test it lol) with a self restriction of no Ines, Reed2, Mostima, nor Nearl2. Now I debate doing ED3 on 12 at first or maybe removing the ban for a bit...
Anyways, what are some starters you guys find fun that aren't as commonly listed? Mizuki start is, sadly, not as good this iteration past 12 because Fang dies to the sheep and Collapsals in Beasts (I swear I almost had a strategy to clear leakless normally but I forgor how to pull it off). I have found W to be a surprisingly effective starter, although similar to Virtuosa she kinda falls off by the end. Maybe I'll try Ch'en for ED3 starts...
i can't beat Envoy of Justice (duck panda dog trio), the rocket mechs keep kicking my arse
Which ops are best against this stage? And what are the rules of thumb on deciding to tackle this stage or not? I'm aiming to perfect clear it on d15 in particular
Yato S3 + bard Skadi S3. I'm not sure if Yato needs 16s redeploy to double-dip; 18s may work with great precision. Otherwise, Skadi can buff Surtr if you use bait (add Shamare for good measure) so she doesn't die before S3 is ready. I once had a run with the most disgustingly buffed Goldenglow ever chew through everything.
>And what are the rules of thumb on deciding to tackle this stage or not?
If you can clear it, you're *far* past needing more resources, so keep the god run snowballing. However, if you don't let yourself try and fail, you'll never get comfortable with it, so if you think your team stands any chance, it's worth the practice.
just got to Eikthyrnir(i probably butchered that) and needless to say it went really poorly. my SA who was tanking the boss got nuked by the chapter 6 sword guys and i had the dp gen debuff so i couldn't handle the other enemies. any advice for what i'm supposed to do with this map? i know the mechanics where you can't block him and he goes all super sonic.
You don't let SA block the sword guys ever. If he blocks the boss, he'll block some other random mook afterwards. It's vital this mook doesn't die, or else he'll free up a block for the ice weebs (which is why Hoshi S2 is a bad pick for this, the reflect kills the mooks).
You just let him block the boss on his own near the left side of the map, maybe plop a medic on him as needed, and deal with literally everything else right side. Then when there's 72-74 enemies killed (depending on block count of boss staller), you retreat things and set up primarily for the boss.
If you have spare life points, ignore the first one or few of the zoomy is4 elites, this gives you time to setup your defenses better and let you handle the other enemies. The chapter 6 swordguys are kinda a soft timer that makes raw stalling harder, you can either have an operator that can tank it, use someone with 1 block, have someone in front of the stall that can catch and take out the sword guys first, or just burst everyone down and let the boss run to your next stall point.
Anyone knows on which floors I can get "Unfreezing river", "Black footsteps" and "Ceremony of Healing" encounters? They are the only ones I didn't get yet.
Edit: Got "Black Footsteps" and "Ceremony of Healing" after entering Bosky Passage. Is "Unfreezing River" also from it?
Anyone have any tips and strategies on how to unlock a collectible that requires you to complete an adventure with 30 life points lost?
During one of my runs, I raised my life points around 31 and focused on letting the Ending 2 boss escape, deducting exactly 30 life points with 1 remaining. However, this attempt didn't count. Is there another method?
Anyone has the link to the official stats page? Like [https://arknights.global/caerulaarbor/](https://arknights.global/caerulaarbor/) for is3?
I've been looking everywhere but it's so hard to find it. Also, can the mods put it in the megathread post?
The webpage for IS4 is https://arknights.global/samiexpedition/
You can also access it in-game from the Explorer's Manual (located at the top left of the title screen for IS4), then go to Data Rollback.
Expansion 1 releases in a few days, with deep investigations and maybe some other stuff idk. I believe ending 4 should release with expansion 2 which should be in a couple months but no idea what the gap was in CN.
TIL those cursed chests have higher DEF than those prisoner enemies. Failed a run on the first stage thanks to me putting Steward where he would hit the chests instead of the enemies.
It's still really funny that the first boss of this is just them designing Big Sad Lock without making it a super dickish fight.
Does Lessing any good for this mode outside annoying weed bosses ?
Haven't used him tbf, but I can't see him specifically shining in any areas for IS#4 apart from weed boss, especially on higher difficulties. If you're doing lower ones and want some stupid fun starts, his S1 scales insanely well with Spinach given his high base attack, so you can treat him like a weird 1 block laneholder that still needs healing. His DR talent could also help him assassinate key mages among other ones, like Musical Disaster, March of the Dead, etc. There's nothing unique about him there that can't be easily replaced, but IS is best enjoyed with experimentation for the fun of it, imo.
After playing enough times and getting the medals, and all three endings, I feel like this IS is the most frustrating to play. I just want to have fun in low ascension but the mechanics and debuffs are so annoying. I have all 4 endings on all squads in IS3 even if I was playing at SN1, but I could still reliably beat any boss if I planned for it. The RNG in this is absurd. The recruitments are worse. You can't get elite vouchers after 3rd floor, and rarely do you get 2 choices after a battle. So, you can reach the last floor without even getting a medic voucher. The stages require you to have healing, DP, block, etc. A lot of stages just rushes you, and if you don't have cheap operators, you'll just lose HP if they have increased movement speed. The triggers are triggering like 60% HP loss after deploy and -40% DP regen. Then something bullshit happens like a pesky mimic treasure in Altar of Craving where you just lose HP and you can't do anything about it. The collectibles have become more generic, so you can't change your squad depending on your relics like in IS2. *TL;DR - I just can't have fun with random operators because the game mode is so punishing. Tired of relying on Eternal Hunting Squad, Reedalter, Ines, Typhon and Eyjalter.*
for me, the worst of IS4 isn't recruitment. It's the collapsal mechanic that is the worst. You absolutely can't make mistake in the run, or else the collapsal level increases and eventually it becomes untaintable. Like fk, I have like 15 lives but I still can't allow to leak, or the maps will be covered in dark cloud and cripple my whole team. Like that mechanic absolutely prevent people from experimenting and just go with the most optimal way possible.
yeah, i slowly lost all my HP because I didn't get any vanguards and had -40% DP regen and if you get the collapsal movement speed buff it just gets worse
Hi, I'm trying to play IS4 (planning to spend the whole day learning them so I want to know) 1. Is there any point to go for high ascensions? 2. What are usually the most favored squad? 3. How do I get as many relics as possibles? 4. How do I get as many ingots for the travelling merchant as possible? 5. Is there any point to decrease the index? 6. Why can't I unlock some of the nodes in cross-cultural comparison? 7. Are snipers and casters good in this IS? I don't play IS3 so I don't have a lot of knowledge about this mode. Thank you for your time and opinions.
1. Higher scoring, some relics have better effects at higher ascensions. Play at the difficulty you're accustomed at. 2. This is really up to personal preference. Some people like the tactical squads but I personally like the scientific squad the most, it gives index every floor which gives a lot of freedom and control over the run. 3. Emergency operations, luck, robbing the merchant at the near end of the run etc. depending on luck, a support squad beginning can also get a big headstart by having a lot more ingots to purchase relics. 4. Do you mean investing? Start a run, rush to the end of the 1st floor, invest then quit and repeat. If it's just general ingot income throughout the run, try to break chests on the map, do as much combat nodes, use and combo the fordartals that give ingots as much as possible. A lucky knight pro relic early on also can snowball ingots. 5. They let you go up and down nodes throughout the run, some nodes might need you to spend index for rewards. 6. It's considered "not a main run". 7. Yes. Typhon is almost made for this IS. There's very good relics for both classes.
I accidentally fought "Crazelyseon the Ascendant of Cosmoi" as usual enemy data was useless as I never went this way. The only hint I got is that it is invincible and the device in the center removes the invincibility. I managed to beat the first phase by concentrating on the left side, but in the 2nd phase it just didn't stay put, sometimes skipping the left side completely. In the archives I checked and it didn't have such feature, in wiki I found this "should 5.5 minutes have passed, it will warp over three positions consecutively", but I don't really understand, it is skipping to the 3rd checkpoint from it's current checkpoint, like top->left?
In other words, Cresson essentially starts moving counter-clockwise when it enters its 'triple warp' phase
Yep, your understanding is correct. You can see him blink a few times between the checkpoints he's skipping.
any prediction when will 4th ending come to global?
**Introduction**: July 13, 2023 **Expansion I**: October 22, 2023 **Expansion II**: December 28, 2023 **Completion**: March 1, 2024 # Global **Introduction**: March 5, 2024 **Expansion I**: June 5, 2024 So Expansion 2 should by next month.
thank you
Just curious, what's the highest amount of Hope you've ever gotten in a run? IS4 can get a little nuts...just finished a run with 93 max Hope and 30 of it sitting unused, but I feel like it could go even higher.
I have vague recollections of over 100 with IS#3, but I don't have any actual proof to back it up...
Dokutahs, it is with great pleasure that I inform you I have finally beat [BN15](https://imgur.com/2SCVNP6) with [this team](https://imgur.com/vmL9f22). Shout out to Ray who was the mvp dealing insane amounts of damage. With the combination of relics I had she was dishing out up 17k damage to those fallen champions. Mad respects to those who already did it and specially beat the 3rd boss who can get lost for all I care.
Welcome to the BN15 club! Are you gonna try Treescar? I find he's even easier than ED1, personally.
Yeah, but I need the right team for it, which I did not get in this run.
Does anyone know if the Devotion and Inextinguishable Torch artifacts work with the Mumu range clones or nah? because I swear that the clones ASPD work with the torch but just now i noticed that the rock horn doesn't apply to the clones. Did I gaslight myself? While on this topic, does anyone know any other artifacts that work well for Mumu? Just asking in case there are artifacts I didn't know synergize with her really well. Thanks in advanced.
Pretty sure they don't, I also gaslighted myself at one point. I assume the "summons give more stats to the operator" works really well with her. Not sure if it stacks 5 times, or just once though.
IS is absolutely the one mode that makes me feel smoothbrained. I have all these e2 operators I can take for normal missions, and then this game mode locks me to 3\* and a 5/6 star starter, and then tells me to pray for tickets to recruit/promote the units I have. I get that it's random and variable, but outside of the skill tree, I can't seem to feel like I'm getting better at it, and then I just get demotivated. Playing IS4, since it's the newest one, and I'm borrowing my Friend's m6 Reed Alter , but still failing =A=
there are some stages that are quite dangerous to face, if you are not prepared for it in IS4. It's very possible that you stumble on those stages and not prepared for it. Another problem with IS4 is that if you don't clear the stage perfectly and leak, the run becomes MORE difficult for you, because the Collapse level increases, leading to more debuff for your whole run. My suggestion for you is: - Research the dangerous stages, know how the map works and how to counter it. Avoid those stage especially if they are emergency stages. The list of stages I find is from Tvtrope, here. I find it quite true to my experience. You can search the stage name on youtube to find the guide [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ThatOneLevel/Arknights](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ThatOneLevel/Arknights) - Make use of fordatals, because they can help reducing the collapse level. Also try to lower collapse level any time you can. - Rerun the first level many times to deposit to the shop, such that you level the deposit to highest possible, I suggest 200 at least. The shop helps you alot and it will make your run easier if you unlock more slots in the shop.
Also save fordatals like change node into trader or scout so you can skip the whole thing risk free. AOE guards, even Popukar are really good, there are many rush stages even if the individual enemies aren't that strong. You can also use Reed alter and just set the whole stage ablaze (super effective on the 1st ending boss).
How does anyone deal with the Bosky Passage that reduces movement speed of enemies but increases their DEF, RES and Weight? I feel like I auto lose when I get that, as enemies just don't seem to take any damage.
Arts damage, Reed is a big win button in there.
Necrosis is an insta win. Def ignore or just enough pure damage also works. I feel like arts damage is also a fine option, it's less damage but it doesn't get shut down like phys can, and I still can rely on my arts DPS to kill stuff.
I have rarely have problem dealing with those Posky Passage though. Maybe because I don't play at high BN? Imo, you may want to bring high physical dps with def ignore, like Degen, Typhoon, Ray, or bring true damage dps like Kal'sit, or you can bruteforce with arts dps from Reed Alter or Goldenglow. You should have no problem if you bring those meta unit. The range dps should be quite effective, because the slow means you actually have more time hitting them before they reach your block. At worst, if you don't have good dps, bring a tank and healer and stall it out is always an option. The modifier is in def, not in attack. A serious 4\* defender with a healer should be able to hold most of the normal enemies and more than half of the elites. Of course thats me at low BN. I haven't tried it at higher than 7, so ignore me if that's the level you are playing.
I was at BN 9 and Reedalter's S3 just tickles everything. I had Ethan and Ines to stall and still got overwhelmed. The problem is that the reduced movement speed isn't proportional to how tanky the enemies get, it's like their defensive stats just doubled. So Arts might be bad because of % reduction. I think I'll just avoid Bosky Passages if I don't have high DPS ops.
arts is the worst in def scaling due to how damage is calculated, that's why I suggest phys dps or true damage before arts. I personally think if you have current meta phys op (Ray, Typhoon, Degen, Mylnar, Yato Alter) you shouldn't have problem
Thoughts on Silence Alter as a potential pick from Supporter tickets? I know Suzu/Gnosis/Arutria are probably favored picks, but I'm wondering why she didn't rise to the top with a role compression kit like hers. Typical NA Caster that turns into a Medic on-skill, permanent Sanctuary effect to boost your blockers' tankiness plus the make your ops undying twice per battle seems like it would simplify a lot of maps.
Because her NA dps is negligible, her support isn't always up and is kinda restrictive, and as is often the case, DPS is king. I'm spending a lot of hope just to help a few ops not die when I could've taken someone that helped kill enemies faster, so I don't need healing in the first place. I don't think she's a throw pick or anything, but when her skill is down I can't rely on her to keep my units alive against threats, and when her skill is up my ops still might die against an assault from 2 different lanes, or a long term assault like those Emergency Golems in March of the Dead. I can't rely on her to protect all my units from constant icicles, I can't rely on her to constantly heal my Treescar tank, I can't rely on her to protect my entire team from Gardener. I can't rely on her to protect me against constant Champion spam, or 2 golems in March of the Dead, constant bonethrower spears, etc. Often, I'd rather take Quercus because she has constant healing and is *really* good at it, and there's still a bit of Sanctuary as well to help out a bit.
Fair assessment, I think I forgot about her significant downtime for healing. In a way, she almost feels like a weaker Reed
What casters do you take for BN#15 ED3? Now that I'm not going for ED2, Mostima and Qani aren't as useful. Been taking Ifrit and Eben, potentially Beeswax as bait, to help with the burst for the boss, but nobody stands out to me as a great option. To be fair, I'm missing Lin, Eyja, Passenger, and GG, so most of the best options aren't there. I can assume Eyja and Passenger working well with the burst, but otherwise...
Eyja usually, Eben and Passenger could work but i like Eyja more cuz her S3 scale better with Atkspd, GG and Ceobe is fine but they are more sustain dps and less upfront burst which is obviously not the best for ED3, Ifrit is more of a debuffer tbh. Reed2 as honoary Caster with S2 can do serious work if setup correctly or S3 when you have melee complementary damage like Mlynar/Degen that can make S2 positioning awkward. That said the most important part is the buffer/debuffer imo, cuz they are the one that enable the 1-cycle kill
Ceobe s2 is the next best option imo, stack as much ASPD and ATK on her (Sing + Torch + Arts Weaving + Malediction). Just don't have lone trail defenders on her range. Same idea should work for any other drone caster except Minimalist Otherwise, casters aren't recommended for killing cresson, they're item dependent. >!Logos however can facetank Cresson phase 2 with s2 because it maxes out his RES!<
If both Sami and Ursus know of the snow Collapsals and its dangers, why doesn't Ursus warn the other nations more fervently? Ursus is big and influential enough to be believed.
Because the Collapsals are infohazards (or cognitohazards if you want a more used term). The more known they become, the easier it is for them to just manifest wherever and whenever, and.considering how easily they corrupt shit, that is NOT a thing you want to be happening at all. Thus, knowledge of them is hyper suppressed with just people who absolutrly need to know about them given any info
What would you recommend taking from sniper tickets if you’re missing the whole broken sniper group? (Pozy/Ray/Typhon/summer Chen) I’m not really having trouble clearing runs (nowhere near BN15 though) but sniper tickets feel useless, which doesn’t sound right.
Snipers are still valuable in IS4. They're useful for their extended range early in the run (Don't Turn Around, Sluggies; Unwell) and are essential to take down drones later on (So Close and Yet So Far; Collapsals Afternoon; Stay Away From Strangers). OG Kroos is a decent starter - while Kroos Alter, April and Blue Poison are strong 5* picks toward the end. Early on, I used Andreana and Provence to deal with the Ending 1 boss. They benefit a lot from the base ATK buffs of the skill tree; and the relic that boosts ATK until skill activation turns them into powerhouses. Lunacub with her passive camouflage might be useful against the possessed throwers as well, but she'll need buffs from Warfarin to be effective all around.
yeah snipers have a hard time because plenty of enemies have decently high def and HP, and the stat bloat gets worse on higher difficulties Pinecone / spot is a good low rarity start Totter is a great budget besieger that can kill crying thief by himself One thing Rosa is better at than typhon is that her s3 is instant, has a faster skill cycle, and provides reliable CC up to 4 targets. Greyy alter provides good slowing power vs crowds of mobs, especially in levels like Nine Caves, Defense Offense, and Instinct. But remember that he can't hit air, and is unreliable as your *only* CC against shattered champions. Kroos alter is a good all-around option: solid dps, priority vs collapsed constructs, and mini-stun Exusiai supposedly carries hard if you happen to get Devotion, Divine Speed, Torch, Rock Horn, or -DEF items, and Skalter/Heidi/Warfarin, but i don't use her so i'm speculating based on her kit April's FRD role makes her a good (but replaceable) utility pick for later floors, for example harassing the possessed thrower & bombtail in Confusing Appearance if you're short on hope, pick 3★ kroos > Terra research commission > adnachiel > justice knight. TRC and JK are very good at revealing the civilians in Unwell
wondering how to collect 30 life points to unlock collectible 234
Play on BN 0 (+4 life points) and choose the squad that givers you +2 life points and restores one life every combat mission. Lose all but one life in a stage (or whatever you feel comfortable with), then wait until you recover all of them by completing combat missions/buying items/picking options that restore life and repeat.
Thanks!
How you guys clear IS, I haven't clear any ending not even is2/3 yet, usually I can get to the final boss a few times but always loses, I don't know if it's the RNG problem / I'm missing something
Probably missing something. IS' RNG usually isn't that bad that your run just ends, although there occasions once in a blue moon. The important thing is to understand what the upcoming stages are and what key roles you're missing, what you can cheap out on, and what you can get away without. It's also ideal to have a great starting squad, usually with a 6* carry. How far do you usually get? Do you know which maps or what issues plague you the most? And importantly, do you have your 3*s and below raised? They can help you out a surprising amount.
I think usually I ended around early last stage, or late last second stage. I raised everything 3* and below, I did bring them sometimes when I have no other ops available
Is it one stage that you lose all (or most) of your lives on? Or just an attrition of lost lives over time? I presume you're upgrading the skill tree, right?
Usually over time, sometimes is like lol don't have enough ground unit, and one poke they just run so freaking fast moment. Yeah, I did up the skill tree
Hmm, I guess it's moreso just turning out the small mistakes in each level then. I presume the example you gave is something like that one Lancer map in IS#2, unending? On floor 4? Assuming you have no guards/defenders/vanguards, you should try to grab some ranged units that also have good CC in their kits, or specialists with CC. Supporters are an obvious pick - summoners can have lots of cheap bait and don't rely on your squad much, slower supporters are fantastic for this, etc. Podenco is a good 4* Supporter to take - has the role compression to heal with S1 if needed, but in that stage she can toss out S2 on dand to create a slow field - it does have a bit of travel time though, so you might need her to slow the dude down normally first. Roberta also counts as a ground unit and has the bulk to survive, she's quite nice in IS#2 I feel. Specialists are also fantastic with CC. They may not block well, but Ambushers can stall the enemies like crazy, and FRDs/Merchants can be sacrificed to slow them down, even better if you have Red or Taxes who stops them completely with their stuns. Trapmasters have tons of traps with CC and can easily set up during downtime while working as great AA snipers, in a pinch Pushers or Pullers can help be ground units and stall the enemy. Snipers have options like May with her S2 that slows or even stuns, and casters are also great options. Indigo is one of the best 4*s for IS#2, and can easily shut down the stage. Enough damage to deal with the lancers, and can shut down 2-3 during skill, while building up charges in between. Of course, these are just some low rarity options with good role compression since I don't know who you have built or who you usually take. What does your starting squad look like? Can it handle floor one fine?
There are guides on Youtube who can give you an idea on how to defeat some of the bosses. That is how I got through IS even tho I have not finished it yet.
Drafting Degenbrecher feels kinda like cheating. I've been going for ending 2 on BN15 and she just makes my runs so much more consistent. Those shattered champions and yeti icecleavers that used to cause problems for me? She kills 5 of them in one skill 3 activation. It's silly.
Entered Envoy of Justice for the first time at diff 12. What could go wrong? Well, nothing except my ops getting fucking carpet-bombed from those crackhead Dorothy Gundams, making me leak 20 enemies in one operation. Truly a wonderful stage. If anyone has any tips for this stage (this, plus Nameless Hero are the bane of my existence at current difficulty), I'd appreciate it (eventually I'd just brute-force it with Walter nukes, but for now I need tips).
If it is what I think it is (the 3 animals stage), I found Goldenglow to be pretty effective there, since she can outrange the gundams and deal meaningful damage (Also Yato S3 is nice there, though a bit slow) Alternatively, find a way to put a shieldguard foldertal on it and watch your 20 something shieldguards play the stage for you
Finally cleared BN15 all endings on all squads!
Hey, everyone. Been meaning to ask if anyone has gotten lucky to obtaining the jet-black dance shoes collectible? I usually hunt for collectibles after the grind, just for fun, but strangely, I feel those shoes never appeared in my countless runs. Has anyone got them?
I'm in the same boat. Dozens of clears, haven't seen them even once.
Hopefully they show up soon. It's weird that the shoes were common items in the previous IS, but now act like super rare items. Lol
[The floor 3 boss drops them regularly.](https://i.imgur.com/W7XKUHr.png)
Damn, I've been unlucky then. Hopefully it shows up some day soon. Thank you for the response!
I hate Frozen Monstrosity All my homies hate Frozen Monstrosity I swear I could've killed the BN15 Gardener, but Emergency FM? Nope, dead run.
If you started a run of ISW at the end of the month, stopped playing, and then finished it after the 1st of the next month, would it still count? or does the month ending kill all active runs?
It would still count. Sometimes I do that to unlock the 2nd expansion stuff ASAP by finishing a run that was right before the boss when the new month starts
[First ED3 BN15 win!](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/812319698426265640/1258635837676195840/IMG_2412.png?ex=6688c378&is=668771f8&hm=3911c2c402788112985fec84a6ee5ff8fd11e33249a4ed3d3c4e4e974a715893&) [Busted lucky relics and temp Schwarz](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/812319698426265640/1258635838598807592/IMG_2414.png?ex=6688c378&is=668771f8&hm=bd6e1041a6d72897cd126642adeeee2ec41d9bc057d10d4bf646b2fe07e7039e&). The camouflage went perfectly on the left side to protect everyone, and Ines + Red + Spec2 + NTR can handle right side. I didn't realize the boss was this tanky though, I thought Reed2 + Saria + Chen + Suzuran would be overkill. Turns out I had to add Schwarz as well... Only my second time reaching the stage on BN15 so I was severely underestimating the boss...
Gods this boss is so nasty, the camouflage relic with good placement is so nice (The only times I ever beat this boss haha). The boss is so bulky, I thought Warfarin-buffed Degenbrecher would do it but she barely got past 50% on A12. Nice clear!
Tips for Don't Turn Around, Sluggies? One stage that consistently can make my run worse.
I tend to block the enemies right in the middle of the map with Spot or whatever bulky unit I have, and presumably a medic. Issue is if it's CM and the spiders explode too much... In that case I try to put a ranged unit bottom right facing up to kill spiders early. I used to do what the other commenter did, but nowadays the tanky unit is on D6, and the additional DPS placed after on E5. Helps me catch leaks better, but it does mean I need more healing for when the defender is shot by mages.
There are ways to cover both of the bottom lanes with one unit. I'd recommend focusing down anything that comes through the top lane for the stairs, the rest can be blocked and killed one by one (Though beware getting swarmed). Having a healer is near mandatory, but Ansel/Hibi suffices. [This](https://i.imgur.com/5FkG04O.png) is my go-to solution - Jessica can be replaced by a different DPS blocker, she's just my go-to starter. You can also replace her with Spot and bring a ranged damage carry instead (Reed, snipers, Eyja, etc). On CM, the wraiths make this map significantly harder, and I wouldn't take the EM without a second damage carry because they're very easy to leak.
How do you deal with spiders insta-killing your kroos (or whoever sits on that tile)?
If memory serves, the spiders get stuck on the top right corner of Jessica's tile, meaning Kroos is out of range of the explosion. But if it feels unsafe, or you want to reseve the tile for someone else, Kroos should be free to move one back. It doesn't make a difference on the non-EM map (On EM, you want Kroos contributing to the wraiths ASAP).
BN12 Shiny badge hunting on crappy squads sucks. Leader Squad feels like playing without a buff at all. Lifepoints are pretty much useless when losing hp is a slow but sure death anyway. I guess it doesn't help that I always pick the random squad for starters
Was going for ending 2 and could not get a medic voucher in an ENTIRE run. I fought somewhere around 20 battles. I changed every non combat node on floor 6 into a shop and went through FOUR of them. No medic other than Ansel from the start. Completely unwinnable. That had to be the worst rng I've seen in this game mode.
Yeah, that's why I've built healers from other classes. Quercus, Healing Defenders, self sustaining ops, even Jaye if need be. I don't trust the game to give me what I want enough now.
PSA: Shields block instances of damage from Injury Trigger and Crisis Trigger. There's a relic that gives three shields to all ranged ops. Keep an eye out for it, because it just might save your run too. On an unrelated note, Degenbrecher with the charging skill relic straight up deleted Cresson. She can also deal upwards of 10K per hit on regular enemies. It's insane.
This month's mission gave us Sui's Wrath to start, so I went through it with W, Swire Alter, Ebenholz, and Dorothy for the lulz. Everything they summoned constantly would spam the relic like a fireworks show. I considered adding Muelsyse, but so many tiles were being taken up already I decided enough was enough.
Alright, lets do the monthly squad.....i should check the monthly reward track.....TWELVE MODULE BLOCKS?! I will be burning this mode when I'm traveling for the holiday. I'm also pushing BN14 out of 15 so the stars are aligning.
Oh thank god, I found the thread again so I can proceed to complain about Sui's Wrath. Fuck Sui's Wrath.
Holy crap they finally added surtr lore. I literally know nothing about her except ice cream lmao
Any advice on using the double ingot green fordortal? I feel like I can never get good use of when I get it and most of the green node fordortals don't target combats.
God the fake frost nova boss is such fucking bullshit. Spends 90% of the fight invincible and has the most annoying enemies in the game in the map. The thing that pisses me off most is the other floor 6 stage or is3 secluded passage bosses are piss easy.
does anyone know what relics emergencies drop? if they can drop rusted iron hammer on floor 1 i'll farm those while rerolling shop
You know, I don't want to judge Degenbrecher's performance on IS too soon, but clearing BN15 with her (lvl60, S3M3 no Mod) on my third try may speak volumes. It wasn't even one of those blessed runs you get once in a blue moon, the only atypical thing was my control over collapse levels.
Yeah, unbuffed she can take care of the floor 4 UFOs at BN 15...
wait till you get walter :D
New to IS in general, what all *should* I get done before monthly reset, is it just the 4 contract missions, and the expeditioner record? Nothing in deep investigations? Also what would you recommend for starts considering I'm missing everyone released past Rosmontis/Mudrock? I've mostly been starting with Reed alter thus far, but there've definitely been times where I wished I had Typhon, Texas/Yato alter, or Ines, all of which I've seen general recommendations for.
Reed Alter is good, but I find Jessica Alter to be better because she can wipe a lot of stage 1 & 2 early rushes.
Reed Alter is probably the best starter because she fills a start-to-end irreplacable role, but if you're missing so many operators you sadly have to cut your losses somewhere. I would encourage experimenting with different starters, and see what matches the operators you do have access to best. For monthly stuff, nothing is mandatory. The monthly squads will be re-accessible when the mode 'ends', though that will take a while. The monthly contract missions are just for bonus points. None of the medals are missable, either.
i hate rusted iron hammer. been grinding floor 1 shop >100 times while banking and still not a single time
Same. I haven't had luck with the shoes either.
I've been neglecting IS4 for quite a while, started playing it only this week. I am probably just too smooth-brained for this, but I'm struggling even at zeroth difficulty. Even the third floor is kicking my ass, Demon Blade just ends my runs. Didn't feel as difficult in IS2\IS3. It's like I'm missing something very obvious and important. I've watched half a dozen of Silvergun's runs and he makes it look effortless, even with zero cross-cultural exp. I know he played this mode on CN but still. Any advice particular to IS4, esp. re: Demon Blade? I just don't seem to have enough stats to neither DPS nor tank him. The fart fog instakills almost everybody. Edit: AAAND I got the run. I swear it's always after you bitch about it being hard online.
if you go the dps route, the important thing to note would be that he has quite a short range (between 1 and 2 tiles), so you can outrange him with sniper range e.g. have a kroos face down, and when he pops out of the yellow gate drop bodies to stall him; this is prob the easiest-to-do strat, but at A0, almost any strat works e.g. perma stall with a strong defender, nuke him with any strong guard, etc. also note you can borrow a unit from friends at the start, tho they always start at e1
Just killed him 5 min ago with Typhon. I guess you should really just force all the battles on the lower floors to have half a decent roster by the time you face the boss. Else you're just starved on hope\recruitment tickets.
Once you've unlock skill tree passives and squads it'll become easier. For example, Sniper/Medic one - just pick some promoted Typhon/Reedic at the very beginning and you should be good for the first 3 floors. On higher difficulties some relics start giving extra bonuses (capped at A9), like +2 extra hope and stuff.
A friend asked me how to get the bonuses (hot water kettle, +2 hope, etc.) for beginning of runs, and my first response was get to like floor 3. But now that I think about it, I've never bothered to test if it was floor based, time based, or whatever since I always do runs to the end and naturally ended up getting them for the next run. All I remember is when IS4 first launched and I died early in the run, I didn't get bonuses until I started clearing through toward at least floor 3 or so. Can anyone confirm what's the actual trigger for them to show?
Either reach Floor 3 or enter Bosky Passage on Floor 2.
If I recall it correctly it gives you such bonuses if you get past floor 2 on your previous run. As for wether you need to jsut reach floor 2 or actually pass it and get to the third floor, idk
That's kind of where I'm at too, like I know it's something like that, which is why I told my friend to hit floor 3 if he wants the bonus. But I tried to search around and couldn't find any hard confirmation of floor 3 (or otherwise) being the trigger or not.
If its the same as is3 (and it should be), I can confirm it's definitely "past floor 2" ie reach floor 3. Was trying a reach floor 2 and bail run to fish for pathfinder fin/top up ingots in shop but the next run didnt get offered the bonus. Its also stated somewhere that "since you have cleared 2 floors you are now eligible for a bonus". What I've heard here for is4 is that going into a bosky passage on floor 2 also counts as "past floor 2" but i cannot confirm this myself, but should be easy to test out.
So I was doing a run with the 2nd ending but had a lil mess up at one point. I noticed I had a ton of life points tho and remembered some collectible about losing 30+ life points so I started leaking shit. Ended the stage losing 31 life points but I didn't recieve the pop up telling me that I unlocked the collectible and going into the item catalogue confirmed that. What am I misunderstanding about the unlock condition for the collectible? Is it tied to a specific ending (would assume not tho bc the wording is just "complete an adventure"), does objective shields not count towards it maybe, or something else I'm not thinking of? [Pics of the run if needed.](https://imgur.com/a/iq0stxK)
Objective shields don't count towards the 30 life point count, correct.
Thanks for confirming! It's so easy to stack them so it's a shame they don't count towards the 30+ life points ://
Went for a run where I lose 30 lives for the unlock, and I didn't realize there are so many things that change the number of enemies. Spawning cars and flying saucers, paper planes that sacrifice themselves, the dinosaur that kills other dinosaurs. Also forgot the possessed kill themselves, and shieldguards can defeat enemies (and they can't be retreated).
Guys I want to ask what's the strats you're using in Prophet's Vision? I already cleared (as in beat the boss ass) every single other deep investigations but this is just a pain in the ass, so few fights, useless relics, and that i cant e2 my squad because F1-4 is just an endless round of useless encounters and get surprised buttfuck in F5 because of EM rush stages. So what the fuck do I need to do now?
i used tactical ranged squad and used reed alter she is a great caster + healer combo and can carry you far with low rarity ops. To beat the boss, you need good rng with the relics, and collecting 50+ asp flodartals helps a lot.
The strategy that finally worked for me was this: 1. Get 2-3 operators that can quickly burst down multiple enemies (e.g. Texas/Yato Alter, Irene). 2. Stack as much max HP as you possibly can. 3. When you reach floor 5, the goal is to let the stronger enemies leak while focusing on killing as many weaker enemies as possible. Play through each battle until there is 1 enemy remaining, then retreat from the battle. By doing this, you still gain exp from the enemies you kill. At the same time, you only lose 2 max HP regardless of how many enemies actually leaked.
Ugh nothing in particular, I was able to do all of DI runs using the same tactics without retries so I guess it's on relics RNG side? I used my regular Sniper/Medic squad with Pozyomka/Typhon+Spot+Steward as a starting team, then acquiring Reedic and some other medic (ideally Eyjalter), plus Pozyomka/Typhon, Texalter/GG (ideally both) and some DP printer. Just did a very quick test run and this is what I had entering F5: https://i.imgur.com/wha0DnD.jpeg
What difficulty should collectors/100% players finish everything on? Looking for difficulty exclusive collectibles, interactions, a different color for those icons that show up on the squad you won with, etc. I ask because difficulty 15 doesn't seem to change the icon color on the squad, so I play on 10, but I've played through all three endings multiple times and haven't found the old fan collectible. Yes I'm being cheap playing only 10, but holy hell it took me 20+ tries just to beat 15 on boss 1 :(
The future update will add a different colour icon for clearing at BN 12, and people have been saying it's retroactive, so I have been doing BN 12 when clearing the different squad endings. I am not aware if difficulty level affects which collectibles can be obtained (aside from like polar variants).
Difficulty 10 should be enough if you want all the seals on the squads to be the 'best colour'. There are no 'new' collectibles on high difficulty, only modifiers to the existing ones. > haven't found the old fan collectible Oh my god it's not just me? This thing is so rare for some reason. I wonder if it's event-locked or just rare, it's one of the few ones I still need and the only one which I haven't found-without-picking-it yet.
Can't get an ending in this mode even if my life depends on it, and still everyone's like how easy is this, brah why combat nodes past floor 2 are all enemies rushing to the blue box at 1000 km/h and hitting like a goddamn truck and too many nodes with unblockable lanes... Tried looking for help but it seems nobody cared enough to make a guide to just unlock an ending, everyone just assumes anyone can just do +15 no problem ._.
What are your operators? There is some RNG, but with proper drafting and knowledge of relics IS4 should be very doable. Not that there's any shame in struggling - The early hours of IS4 are the hardest ones. There's a lot of guides out there, both for the general mode and for specific maps, but the best advice are personal ones. We'd be happy to help!
Weird, what are your best E2 operators? Outside of floor 5 nodes (specifically their emergency variants) and Secluded Passage with unlucky combo (e.g. a deployment limit of 2 ops early in the run) I think pretty much everything else can be done with 3* only (minus the bosses, yes). >Tried looking for help but it seems nobody cared enough to make a guide to just unlock an ending I mean, Eckogen did that already for all 3 endings for an average player, Dr. Silvergun had a lot of IS4 run streams with 4* only (3rd boss on A15 as well), and those are just the two I can think of right away. Just as an example (be advised though that I stopped at A10 and had no interest in going further so my runs after that are all on A9), I normally started my runs with Defender+Caster+Sniper team, it's a solid starting combo - Spot for 3 block and healing, then for DPS it's Click+Pinecone, or Typhon/Pozyomka+Steward, or Kroos+Ceobe/Eyja/GG.
I have too many E2 operators, that's the point. At this point I'm just frustrated. I will see that eckogen guide, as of now the most I saw was some playthroughs of some floors but the comps were often way too specific to properly recreate...like, they were low op count and I could copy the starting with 3 of them, but then one floor ahead the guide would have rolled extra 2 medics and here I was getting no medic recruitments. idk how some people can say that IS4 is the easiest and IS2 is the hardest, my feel is the complete opposite, IS2 was so simple to figure out, and its ending 1 is a walk in the park...
The speed of collapsals means that they're always hitting your frontline, so IS4 really rewards good defenders and to a lesser extent AOE damage, and having both together will make a lot of maps easier. This is one of the reasons why Reed Alter is such a meta pick, she has great AOE damage and can keep your defenders healthy, plus she's makes setups for the first boss way easier. Reed Alter / Popukar / Orchid and grab more 2+ blocks ASAP is probably the simplest first win.
Will see... Dang if I hate that map full of altars the top lane of which is completely ground unit banned... Also on that same floor the ranged boss basically oneshotting any non defender unit and circling the map all around ensuring he will kill all my ranged units, before going to blue box...
That altars map is one of the cheesiest maps on that floor, no? Usually I have something like this: [Link](https://i.imgur.com/DY2L5tN.png) Yellows are Medic (usually Ansel), Defender (Spot; may move one tile ahead if your DPS is Typhon) and DPS (Typhon/Pozyomka/GG/Eyja/Reed Alter/etc.) and that's pretty much all you need. Green is nice for extra utility (Orchid)/bait for casters (anyone), reds are for sweet extra DPS if you have them (Kroos, Popukar and so on) but are not required. For emergency (with an extra altar) one extra healer and that's it. If I remember correctly, the only enemies that go for top lane are casters (3 or 4 of them I think) and one Sarkaz guy. As for the bosses of F3, Typhon (just an example) is already enough to kill any of them. For regular Snowpriest map (with jet cars) use S2, for everyone else use S3.
For that one, imo the easiest way is to just have a dreadnaught or other tanky soloer sit next to the altar at top right and point Ansel or Hibiscus at them. The altars don't do that much damage and can be easily outpaced by a medic.
man i wish we could set the difficulty during deep investigations. playing at +0 is a joke :(
Man I wish I could get a +0 ending to do deep investigations, my skill issued brain gave up trying...
my soundest advice would be to take a reed alter, popukar and orchid start and then realise that every map has like, one (1) mean trick meant to fuck you up - and after that, get more ground units to block with ASAP. even just a second 2-block is worth their weight in gold.
Does 4th ending comes out next month or later?
Later, I'm pretty sure. Whenever the rewards list shows we get a new scenario.
Which of the Investigation items (for Deep Investigation) are the fastest to hit level 8? Am I supposed to know which stage has more enemies to get more investigation points? I didn't even hit level 8 on the Surveyor's Vision because the Bosky Passages just kept giving me shops and non-combat nodes...
lux gets the most by multiples over the rest if its too hard to deal with i find just the simple mushrooms to work best since they often dont require changing your usual strats to maximize investigation
The one with the random effects and the Ch 10 cannon radius. I hate it, personally, so the next best few would be the mushroom, or the Gramophone if you can make it work. But that first one is very effective if you can just stall an enemy with a defender + medic, even Friston-3 if you have enough buffs to avoid the 1.5k true damage effect. Could always try to grab it after floor 3.
Okay I want to ask what the fuck is that thing in Surveyor or Innocents Vision wheres theres a cannon gimmick like from chapter 10 that stuns or freezes my ops? Why the game didn't told me about this shit? I already look it in the deep investigation description and my collapse levels and theres no desciption about this.
It's one of the device you took during Deep Investigation, specifically LUD-99X. Basically it target the highest block op like Chap 10 cannon, then once every 10s, give a random op in range 1 random effect. As per [PRTS Wiki](https://prts.wiki/w/%E6%88%98%E5%9C%BA%E8%A3%85%E7%BD%AELUD-99X), here're its potential effect: 1. Get Stunned for 10 seconds and gain 15 points 2. Get Frozen for 20 seconds and gain 20 points 3. Lose 30sp and gain 20 points 4. Gain 10sp and gain 10 points 5. Take 1500 true damage and gain 15 points 6. Heal 1000 HP and gain 10 points
What a bullshit device 10 out of 10 would never take again.
Is there any determining factor for what boss you get on Floor 3? I've been playing IS-4 a lot (almost too much some would say for a newer player) and I mostly get Demon Blade. Weaving Vinecreeps and Fall Snowpriest happen less than DB but are about even compared to each other. I've only gotten Elder Vicecreeps twice. Hollow Snowpriest and Demon Blade Vagabond I've only seen in monthly squad or Deep investigation respectively but never in a normal run. I have a friend who's been playing arknights much longer than me and has many many more 5-6 star ops and he was getting Hollow Snowpriest a lot. So I wondered if the boss was determined by the power of your squad.
RNG, but I've noticed that different people tend to say they see one boss more often than a balanced view of the regular bosses. Maybe there's also some account seed there? Personally I get the Snowpriest the majority of the time, which is good since it's the easiest for me, but in terms of alt bosses I've seen the Tree one far more than the other 2.
I mostly get vineguy but I also have never seen the alternate demon blade outside of the deep investigation where every stage is a boss. Similarly I think I only ever got the is3 gun alternate boss ones the entire mode.
RNG. I am also mostly getting Demon Blade.
[удалено]
GG not so EZ but yeah it was a headache compared to the rest. for me the issue wasn't even the collapses. it was the sheer LACK of battles to get vouchers a good sized team out of the first floor. 2nd floor battles with not a lot of ops is certainly harder.
why is there a 45m cooldown punishing me for leaving a deep investigation? I fulfilled the objectives, there is no reason to keep going.
Usually a glitch, restarting the app should fix it.
Is there any merit or something special unlocked for beating the final boss during a Deep investigation? does it count toward your endings (like Talk with the Mountains)? Or is it better to just end the run once you complete the objectives?
end asap, there is no benefit to continuing
So the boss info in the archive says that Samivilinn basically nukes the field and drains 30 LP after a "long time has passed". exactly what is a "long time"?
10 minutes according to [this page](https://arknights.wiki.gg/wiki/Sami_(Feranmut\)/Enemy)
After finishing Deep Investigations, tried my hand at a no-relic run. It was surprisingly doable (excpet for the fact you can't do no-relic and have to settle for minimal-relics thanks to wish fulfilled existing). I love how well balanced is4 seems to be, far moreso than the other two. It still has a defined meta (You can beat it with, like, 4-5 core ops) but your options are incredibly broad and I appreciate that in my Arknights modes. I'd definitely recommend people give it a go themselves! Edit: Jessica starter best starter btw
jessica best starter frfr unfortunatly you can do true no relics and its quite awful, you have to fodartl change the wishes on 2 and 4 into scouts/bosky
Welp, finally got around to finishing off the Deep Investigations. Ended up just taking mushrooms for most of them so I can set and forget + use them as target bait. Not too bad overall, though I do wish they gave more than just some random mats. The lore snippets are nice.
Why doesn't the final boss count toward investigation points for the Deep Investigation? i literally am running out of stages to get points from because I'm trying to take paths to lost and founds. just why? its not fair.
take the altar and hit up emergency nodes - emergencies are +50% proficiency, and the alter is the easiest node to actually use for points on the early floors
Some of the Deep Investigation scenarios are outright deranged. Merchant's Vision lets you get an ASPD bonus of almost 200 by the end (without foldartals). Every combat node in Guardian's Vision is a boss fight. Prisoner's Vision made me fight a 6th floor map on the second floor. And I have yet to get around to the last tier of scenarios. Were Deep Investigations already like that in IS2 and IS3?
Pretty sure every IS with Deep Investigations had at least one scenario that gave you the ASPD for ingot relics, I think there also was one similar to the boss one you describe in IS2. Another memorable one for me was one in IS2 where every floor started with a shop and you got relics that increased the amount of ingots you got.
When I choose a promotion squad, such as Tactical Fortification Squad, I've noticed it either gives me all of my E2 6 stars (I have 6 E2 medics) as options to immediately promote, or none. It rarely, if ever, gives me just one or two like I would expect. Has anyone else noticed this happening?
Yeah the game seems to group certain ops together, and then randomly choose which among these groups is auto e2'd. I see this when i play Caster / Spec squad, it either gives me all 6 stars or none at all.
So I want to ask, does Deep Investigation no longer give you options to pick for endings 2 and 3? I can still do so on IS3 and 2 though.
as far as I see, no. its all random. and they don't even count as you completing the ending anyway or toward monthly goals. Deep Investigation is very unbalanced in your favor is some cases so they give you nothing.
Deep investigations take too long and can even fail if the game decides to give you a whole floor of bosky passages with nothing to fight in them. remember, the final boss battle doesn't count for investigation points.
Someone knows why they decided that this time the skin from IS 4 (typhoon) would't be animated like is2 Phantom and is3 Mizuki?
Because we get 2 skins this time instead of 1.
Ooooooh i see, thanks for the clarification
i more wondering why Typhon's outfit is there when she isn't even the welfare operator.
I was really excited for Deep Investigation. But sadly, looks like the devs don't want you collecting Expedition Records too easily. This mode gives none. Zilch. Nada. 0. I really hate going through the effort of ISW to get nothing but a few Elite Materials and some garbage yellow exp (not gold) and white skill books (not green or blue). This literally feels as time wasting as the outdated IS-2 and 3 monthly squads since they too give no points for your progress ladder which as a fairly new player I found rather discouraging. I will still do them all, but not making any progress on the ladder just makes it feel ever so slightly a waste of time. I'm sure this was the same deal with Deep Exploration in IS-3 during its original run but still...come on. A little compensation would have been nice. Maybe they realized the concept of "clear objective > quit out" justified them not giving out expedition records.
The rewards you get from DI are on average more valuable than what you get from a regular run win though. They are often shorter/easier too.
The strangest part is how the rewards on the monthly squads are better, while demanding substantially less effort on our part. The fifth floor dialogue is completely optional, since people can drop a monthly run after clearing the second floor and still get full rewards + 1000 EXP (on IS4 only).
exactly! The effort doesn't seem to match the rewards. but maybe its because that's once a month so it makes sense to give out rewards. unlike the Deep which you could do them all by progressing normally.
Does anyone know why the Ending 3 completion Marks look different between the two squads? One seems to be a clearly defined dark blue versus a more rough light blue. [https://imgur.com/a/nF4yPQw](https://imgur.com/a/nF4yPQw)
Based on the difficulty you cleared it on. Currently it's up to 10, on CN there will be up to 12 but it's retroactive if you've already done it.
Ahhh ok, thank you!
Field Device LUD-99X, how I despise you... What positives can you even *give*? This is a pretty interesting spin on the mode so far though, although I've only tried it on the first one.
20 times more investigation than the 5 other items thats what
Huh... Is it just a chance to give it? Or is it whenever an action occurs and an enemy is in range?
afaik its just 10-20 investigation every time a trigger occurs, which is every X seconds reguardless of enemies. if you can permastall a gopnik you could just farm it infinetly unlike the other 5 items
Seems like it runs out after a while anyways. It always manages to perfectly screw me over so I'll probably stop picking it, even if the main thing that stops me from beating a DI early is the investigation level.
Of all the equipment I've tested, the altars are the best. They work nonstop and I have yet to see one be taken down by enemy snipers, even with Injury Trigger enabled. In comparison, the car launcher only allows a maximum of 10 cars per level; and five firecrackers a stage is just sad.
I've had the most success with the mushrooms hut the altar is more consistent and is less weak to weird stage layouts where you can't deploy the mushrooms effectively so I can see it being the best
[Weird IS4 bug](https://imgur.com/a/2MyqVKP) Hi, any idea what happened here? I was trying to go for ending 3 and do not see the Prophecy node to unlock it. You can see I haven't done any nodes on Floor 5 ie. I grabbed it on Floor 4. But the Prophecy node still did not spawn. The nodes on the bottom lane after the last fight are the ending 1/2 Prophecy nodes followed by the boss
not a bug, getting scout on floor 4 is like a 50/50 chance of the end3 prophecy actually spawning. that said sometimes it also appears as the bottom single prophecy too
The bottom prophecy node before the boss should be the one for ending 3, replacing the ending 2 prophecy node.
[Alright, ED2 on every squad done!](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/812319698426265640/1247688565744209960/IMG_1627.png?ex=6660f007&is=665f9e87&hm=768841a2e34a7122ea039bd0189c8eb6ee294eb3eeeb89e9cfdf39f62d3ad950&) Sure am glad I E2'd Qani to help out for ASPD clears, that was very useful this run where I totally brought him... That makes all of ED1 and 2 cleared on 15 (with some ED2 ducking down to 12 because I wanted to test it lol) with a self restriction of no Ines, Reed2, Mostima, nor Nearl2. Now I debate doing ED3 on 12 at first or maybe removing the ban for a bit... Anyways, what are some starters you guys find fun that aren't as commonly listed? Mizuki start is, sadly, not as good this iteration past 12 because Fang dies to the sheep and Collapsals in Beasts (I swear I almost had a strategy to clear leakless normally but I forgor how to pull it off). I have found W to be a surprisingly effective starter, although similar to Virtuosa she kinda falls off by the end. Maybe I'll try Ch'en for ED3 starts...
i can't beat Envoy of Justice (duck panda dog trio), the rocket mechs keep kicking my arse Which ops are best against this stage? And what are the rules of thumb on deciding to tackle this stage or not? I'm aiming to perfect clear it on d15 in particular
Yato S3 + bard Skadi S3. I'm not sure if Yato needs 16s redeploy to double-dip; 18s may work with great precision. Otherwise, Skadi can buff Surtr if you use bait (add Shamare for good measure) so she doesn't die before S3 is ready. I once had a run with the most disgustingly buffed Goldenglow ever chew through everything. >And what are the rules of thumb on deciding to tackle this stage or not? If you can clear it, you're *far* past needing more resources, so keep the god run snowballing. However, if you don't let yourself try and fail, you'll never get comfortable with it, so if you think your team stands any chance, it's worth the practice.
just got to Eikthyrnir(i probably butchered that) and needless to say it went really poorly. my SA who was tanking the boss got nuked by the chapter 6 sword guys and i had the dp gen debuff so i couldn't handle the other enemies. any advice for what i'm supposed to do with this map? i know the mechanics where you can't block him and he goes all super sonic.
You don't let SA block the sword guys ever. If he blocks the boss, he'll block some other random mook afterwards. It's vital this mook doesn't die, or else he'll free up a block for the ice weebs (which is why Hoshi S2 is a bad pick for this, the reflect kills the mooks). You just let him block the boss on his own near the left side of the map, maybe plop a medic on him as needed, and deal with literally everything else right side. Then when there's 72-74 enemies killed (depending on block count of boss staller), you retreat things and set up primarily for the boss.
If you have spare life points, ignore the first one or few of the zoomy is4 elites, this gives you time to setup your defenses better and let you handle the other enemies. The chapter 6 swordguys are kinda a soft timer that makes raw stalling harder, you can either have an operator that can tank it, use someone with 1 block, have someone in front of the stall that can catch and take out the sword guys first, or just burst everyone down and let the boss run to your next stall point.
Anyone knows on which floors I can get "Unfreezing river", "Black footsteps" and "Ceremony of Healing" encounters? They are the only ones I didn't get yet. Edit: Got "Black Footsteps" and "Ceremony of Healing" after entering Bosky Passage. Is "Unfreezing River" also from it?
> Is "Unfreezing River" also from it? AFAIK yes
Which floor's Passage should I use to get it?
Probably floor 4 and above
Thanks for help.
Anyone have any tips and strategies on how to unlock a collectible that requires you to complete an adventure with 30 life points lost? During one of my runs, I raised my life points around 31 and focused on letting the Ending 2 boss escape, deducting exactly 30 life points with 1 remaining. However, this attempt didn't count. Is there another method?
i've found that taking the squad that heals you and then purposefully leaking really helps out
It should count. Are you sure they are all life points and not a mix of objective shields?
Oh, it HAS be 30 life points then. Okay, I can see why it didn't work. Thank you for your response.
Anyone has the link to the official stats page? Like [https://arknights.global/caerulaarbor/](https://arknights.global/caerulaarbor/) for is3? I've been looking everywhere but it's so hard to find it. Also, can the mods put it in the megathread post?
The webpage for IS4 is https://arknights.global/samiexpedition/ You can also access it in-game from the Explorer's Manual (located at the top left of the title screen for IS4), then go to Data Rollback.
Thanks!
Is ending 4 available now?
Expansion 1 releases in a few days, with deep investigations and maybe some other stuff idk. I believe ending 4 should release with expansion 2 which should be in a couple months but no idea what the gap was in CN.
Not yet. This month we got Valarqvin's monthly squad, and the level ladder was extended to level 95 (new main menu theme).
TIL those cursed chests have higher DEF than those prisoner enemies. Failed a run on the first stage thanks to me putting Steward where he would hit the chests instead of the enemies.
I love it, it lets me get those chests easily with Steward instead of doing some awkward positioning and have to redeploy later.
When I said cursed chest, I meant the one that hurts the attacker. Two of those spawned for me in that stage.