Halpha Environmental Testing Zone Survey/Strategy/Buffs

This page is about specifics regarding ability buffs. To return to the Strategy index, see Strategy.

General

All maps will be generated with a set of buff effects for the player and the boss.
This determines how the map for the day will be played, and the sectors you prioritize change depending on these effects.
The center starting sector will always be a safe zone with 8 Restasigne, leaving 24 sectors to clear for buffs.
One level of the Star buff will be placed on the map, and the other level is obtained by clearing the Trial that occurs.

Detailed information about enemy buffs is sourced from the NGS Verification Sheet. (EN) (JP)

Type 1: Normal Attack boost

Player ability buffs

Number	Ability buff	Max level	Effect
1	Normal Attack Potency up	5	Increases damage dealt by normal attacks. Effect increases by 15% per level, up to 75%. Applies to the additional attack granted by the Star buff, but does not apply to sidestep attacks nor sidestep counters.
2	Max HP up	5	Increases maximum HP. Effect increases by roughly 20% per level, up to roughly 100%.
3	Status Ailment Duration Reduction	5	Reduces the effective time of status effects such as Poison and Burn. Effect grants 20% per level, up to a maximum of 90%. Does not effect Potency/Damage Resistance down effects.
4	Damage Resistance Up	4	Reduces damage taken by 10% per level, up to 40%.
5	HP Recovery on Normal Attack Hit	4	Recovers HP when dealing damage with normal attacks. Healed amount is 1% of your maximum HP per level, up to 4%. Applied to the additional attack granted by the Star buff as well for up to two heals, but does not apply to sidestep attacks nor sidestep counters.
Star	Additional Attack on Normal Attack	1 + 1	Fires an additional attack each time a normal attack is activated, including sidestep attacks and sidestep counters. This attack is boosted by 1 buff, and grows in power when used from a distance. This attack only activates once per attack, so Rifle players need to press the normal attack button repeatedly to continue firing it. Close range power: 40 (Lv1) / 80 (Lv2) Long range power: 120 (Lv1) / 240 (Lv2)

Enemy ability buffs

Aberrant enemies
Player Potency/Damage Resistance Decrease on Attack Hit	Reduces damage dealt and increases damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds. If attacked again before the effect ends, another stack of the debuff is applied and effect duration resets. Maximum effect: Player Potency -90% / Player Damage Resistance -100%
End boss enemy
Player Potency/Damage Resistance Decrease on Attack Hit	Reduces damage dealt and increases damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds. If attacked again before the effect ends, another stack of the debuff is applied and effect duration resets. Maximum effect: Player Potency -90% / Player Damage Resistance -100%
Dark Added to Attacks: Poison Accumulation: Large	Enemy attacks can inflict Poison. Infliction rate is based on 31% of enemy attack Power Notation, so an attack with a Power Notation of 200 will deal 62 Poison Value. See Status Effects for more information.
Status Ailment Efficacy +300%	Multiplies the amount of Status Value accumulated per hit. For the listed 62 Poison Value, this will be quadrupled, bringing it to 248.
Max HP -75% on HP Decrease	Reduces player maximum HP by 75% upon boss transitioning to enrage state. This effect cannot be healed.

Type 1 Strategy

Among the most popular modifier sets to get since you only have to clear six sectors and mid-quest Trial to maximize your damage output, leading to boss clears being fairly consistent.

Maximize 1 and Star, get at least one level in 5, and then collect 2/4 if time permits. 3 is mostly optional as it only affects Poison.

While 1 and Star offer high single-target damage, you will still need to use other forms of attack while clearing sectors and battling multiple foes at once.

As tempting as it is to try and stand in front of the boss holding normal attack in melee range, repeated hits will make your DPS floor very quickly and the maximum HP cut caused by the enrage will make nearly every attack lethal.

In general, if you have boss aggression, resist the temptation to seek the high potency modifier for the ranged attack and move back into melee range to keep it from running around the arena.

Class/Weapon Specifics

Gunners can start a chain, build it with Normal Attacks, activate the chain with a single Point Blank, then use the rest of the chain duration to further boost the power of their normal attacks.

Assault Rifle, Bow, and Harmonizer can rapidly fire the Star buff from a range by repeatedly doing sidestep attacks. Rod, Talis, and Gunblade also have incredibly fast ranged attacks as well. It is recommended to use Ranger's Stealth Strike skill while doing this to keep the boss in one place.

Weapons with Attack Extra skills, such as Partisan, may consider removing the skill while playing on this modifier set to deal more bonus hits from the Star buff.

Type 2: Sidestep counterattack boost

Player ability buffs

Number	Ability buff	Max level	Effect
1	Sidestep Counter Potency Up	5	Increases the damage of sidestep counters by 60% per level, up to a maximum of +300%.
2	HP Recovery on Successful Sidestep	5	Heals by 4% per level, up to 20%. This only activates on a successful sidestep, and does not activate from weapon action parries, weapon action dodges, etc.
3	Status Ailment Duration Reduction	5	Reduces the effective time of status effects such as Poison and Burn. Effect grants 20% per level, up to a maximum of 90%. Does not effect Potency/Damage Resistance down effects.
4	PP Recovery Every 20 Attacks Landed	4	Restores 10 PP per level, up to 40. Has a two second cooldown between activations, and hits landed in this time don't count towards the next refill.
5	Max PP Up	4	Maximum PP increases by 20 per level, up to 80. However, becomes PP +20% per level when entering the boss arena or after switch weapons. Waker Add-On and Alliance Mag boosts are excluded from the percentage calculation.
Star	Additional Attack on Successful Sidestep	1 + 1	Follow-up attack occurs around the player after successfully dodging an attack with a sidestep. Does not trigger from weapon actions, etc. As this attack is not a sidestep counter, it is not boosted by 1 buff. Level 1 Power Notation: 500 Level 2 Power Notation: 1000

Enemy ability buffs

Aberrant enemies
Player Potency/Damage Resistance Decrease on Attack Hit	Reduces damage dealt and increases damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds. If attacked again before the effect ends, another stack of the debuff is applied and effect duration resets. Maximum effect: Player Potency -90% / Player Damage Resistance -100%
End boss enemy
Player Potency/Damage Resistance Decrease on Attack Hit	Reduces damage dealt and increases damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds. If attacked again before the effect ends, another stack of the debuff is applied and effect duration resets. Maximum effect: Player Potency -90% / Player Damage Resistance -100%
Light Added to Attacks: Panic Accumulation: Large	Enemy attacks can inflict Panic. Infliction rate is based on 31% of enemy attack Power Notation, so an attack with a Power Notation of 200 will deal 62 Panic Value. See Status Effects for more information.
Sustained Player PP damage on HP Decrease	Upon boss entering its enrage state, players will lose 50 PP every 5 seconds. This effect cannot be avoided.
Automatic additional attacks occur periodically	An area attack targeting each player occurs every 15 seconds. This attack has a Power Notation of 300. Damage is calculated using the boss's base Attack stat, as well as any Potency modifiers it may have. The effect of "Light Added to Attacks" is applied to this attack as well, meaning it has a Panic Value of 93.

Type 2 Strategy

Very difficult modifier set in random matchmaking, unpopular even in premades. Depending on the boss, some players will skip farming on this particular modifier even if the map itself is easy to navigate, because it's incredibly easy to time out on the boss, or you just don't get many damage boosts if you aren't the primary target.

1 and Star are incredibly powerful, but rely on you being the player the boss is currently targeting as well as be skilled enough to dodge their attacks with sidesteps. Of note is that while Bouncer's Soaring Blade weapon action won't trigger 2 buff's heal, the counterattack after a successful weapon action dodge will be boosted.

Even if you aren't the target of the boss, you can cash in on a sidestep counter off the additional attack that activates, so be sure to take advantage of those when you can.

4 buff helps mitigate the PP drain and at high levels can outpace it.

Panic can be a very dangerous status if you get inflicted with it, and higher levels will change how often your controls shift. If you are inflicted with Panic, release any movement keys and rely on moving through use of attacks and weapon actions to maintain control of your character until the effect expires.