Io (Grand)/Strategy

Io Cannon

The "Io Cannon" strategy makes use of Staff of HopeFlowery Seven activates upon using charge attack / Staff of Hope lvl rises when a light ally uses a skill / Flowery Seven activates when a light ally uses a skill at lvl 4 (Resets Staff of Hope lvl) (Can't be removed)
and multiple  QilinDelta Massive Dark damage to all foes. Reset all allies' skill cooldowns. calls to reset skill cooldowns to rapid-fire  Flowery Seven7-hit, 150% superior elemental damage to random foes (Damage cap: ~80,000 per hit).
(Boost to damage cap based on Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
Can't be removed lvl.)
At level 55:
Effect enhanced.
At level 90:
Number of hits increases based on Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
Can't be removed lvl.. One Qilin will be your support summon for its boost to skill damage and skill damage cap.

• Primary uses: Fediel (solo battle and raid)
• Required: Nighthound MC with  Tactical RelocationSwitch positions of any two allies of your choice., Io (Grand) (Lv. 95+), Qilin (at least two)

Cannon Operation:

1. Survive the first 12 turns, waiting for your sub summon Qilin(s) to come off cooldown.
2. Use  Mystic VortexConvert charge bar to gain Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
   Can't be removed.
   (Every 25% of charge bar raises lvl by 1 / Max: 3) to reach 3 Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
   Can't be removed as soon as possible. Make sure Io has at least 75% charge bar when Qilin comes off cooldown.
3. When your Qilins are ready, or close to ready (~3 turns), use  Staff of HopeGain Staff of HopeFlowery Seven activates upon using charge attack / Staff of Hope lvl rises when a light ally uses a skill / Flowery Seven activates when a light ally uses a skill at lvl 4 (Resets Staff of Hope lvl) (Can't be removed)
   Duration: 7 turns.
   (Consumes 3 Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
   Can't be removed lvls.), then refill Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
   Can't be removed with  Mystic VortexConvert charge bar to gain Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
   Can't be removed.
   (Every 25% of charge bar raises lvl by 1 / Max: 3).
4. Use all your characters' skills, and the skills of the swapped-in ally.
5. Summon Qilin #1 and use all skills again. (Note: Do not press  Staff of HopeGain Staff of HopeFlowery Seven activates upon using charge attack / Staff of Hope lvl rises when a light ally uses a skill / Flowery Seven activates when a light ally uses a skill at lvl 4 (Resets Staff of Hope lvl) (Can't be removed)
   Duration: 7 turns.
   (Consumes 3 Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
   Can't be removed lvls.) as it will reset Io's Staff of Hope count.)
6. Attack. (Note: If Io uses her charge attack, you will have to refill her Mystic Vortex stacks.)
7. Summon Qilin #2 and use all skills again.
8. Attack.
9. If you have more Qilins, you can continue the rotation. If not, you're hopefully close to finishing off the enemy and can fight your way to victory.

Useful party members:

• Fif: For survival until the cannon can be activated, along with granting Io Magic TorrentRecovers once from a knockout while in effect /
  ATK is boosted /
  DEF is boosted /
  Double attack rate is boosted /
  Triple attack rate is boosted
  (Can't be removed)
  Strength: 50% HP Revive / 20% ATK / 20% DEF / 15% DA / 5% TAMultiplier: PerpetuityDuration: 15 turns.
• Noa (Grand): Full charge bar for Io on demand. Sacred Shield's long cooldown is also nullified once the cannon starts firing.
• Sarunan (Lv. 100): Many skill activations—7 in one turn, and 14 if Qilin is called.
• Hallessena (Halloween): Heavy Supplemental Damage. If timed right, Halle's  Party NightmareAll foes gain 50% ATK UpATK is boosted
  Strength: 50%Duration: 2 turnsLocal status effect, 100% DA UpDouble attack rate is boosted
  Strength: 100%Duration: 2 turnsLocal status effect, and 100% TA UpTriple attack rate is boosted
  Strength: 100%Duration: 2 turnsLocal status effect.
  All Light allies gain Party NightmareDMG dealt is supplemented /
  Triple attack rate is boosted
  (Can't be removed)
  Strength: Supplemental DMG effect (1% of foe's max HP [Max: 100,000]) / Guaranteed TADuration: 2 turns.
  (Requires Party All NightATK is boosted and DEF is lowered based on Party All Night lvl (Max: 5 / Can't be removed)
  lvl 3 or higher) will add 14 x 100K damage to every activation of  Flowery Seven7-hit, 150% superior elemental damage to random foes (Damage cap: ~80,000 per hit).
  (Boost to damage cap based on Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
  Can't be removed lvl.)
  At level 55:
  Effect enhanced.
  At level 90:
  Number of hits increases based on Mystic VortexSkill effects and charge attack specs are boosted
  Can't be removed lvl..
• Silva (Light): Can effectively perform another Tactical Relocation on herself after she's used her first two skills, leading to more thorough use of backline member skills. Best placed in the backline first, have her Relocated to the front, and then Blind Spot the unused backline teammate into her place. Also provides Supplemental Damage - but this won't work on Fediel.
• Halluel and Malluel (Summer): Decent supplemental damage if you can get enough Aurora CrestLight magic is amplified (Max: 5 / Can't be removed)
  on Io before the cannon start firing. You may need to bring another source of Crest gain for this to work.
• Jeanne d'Arc (Grand): Decent supplemental damage and cap breaking abilities. Long cooldown time for her best skill don't matter when using Qilin.

Useful summons:

• Halluel and Malluel: EverbaneBoost to DMG taken / HP is lowered on every turn (Can't be removed)
  Local status effect provides a strong, perpetual enhancement to all of Io's skill damage. Warning: does not work fighting Fediel!
• Belial: Provides good supplemental damage as a sub-summon, but the Max HP loss may be too much to deal with for your team.

Maximizing damage:
The more skills you have, the better, as they provide more skill activations for Staff of Hope. Further improvements come from:

• Supplemental Damage sources, as they will attach to every one of the many hits from Flowery Seven.
• Skill DMG Cap Up sources from Weapon Skills. Viable candidates include:
  • Dark Opus Weapons (4★) or Ultima Weapons: 30% boost with a Skill DMG Cap Up key/pendulum. On Ultima Weapons, the key's effect is applied regardless of the character's weapon specialties. These effects does not stack with each other.
  • Flamma Orbis: Requires equipping as a main weapon. Also requires the MC to not be debuffed, which may be difficult when fighting Fediel.
  • Golden Arts weapons - All have 15% flat cap up and a shared stacking Cap Up cap of 40%.
    • Full Metal Recoil (4★): Strong, but is a Premium Draw weapon and is not entirely practical unless you're lucky and/or have resources to spare uncapping it.
    • Phantom Fangs (4★): Freely available for a limited time during certain Proving Grounds events.
  • Hercules (Light) (4★): Extremely powerful, but extremely expensive to obtain. Note that its Skill DMG Cap Up and skill double-casts only affect the Main Character.
  • Rhongomyniad (5★ to use in grid. Effect works from 4★ as main weapon, but you lose access to Nighthound and  Tactical RelocationSwitch positions of any two allies of your choice.): Stamina-based boost to skill specs, and has an Unworldly EX modifier on its first weapon skill.