As a seasoned Operative with years of combat under my belt, I can confidently say that taking down Will – Infinite Sight is no walk in the park. This guy loves to clutter up the battlefield with his minions faster than you can say “U-Energy pickups”. But fear not, my fellow Operatives! With a bit of strategy and some well-timed teamwork, we’ll have him squirming like the bug he is in no time.

Before establishing the Checking Squad, Will Anderson utilized a suit designed for tactical purposes. This suit has the capability to produce heat while he relentlessly battles his adversaries.

In a somewhat expected twist, Flameblade is a flamboyantly fiery version of character Will Anderson, a creation by Neural Sim. Despite having his own set of moves, he often delegates tasks to his minions, making them carry out most of the work.

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Attacks and Behaviour

General Info

He frequently moves around the battlefield, appearing only when unlocked from a trigger, momentarily becoming invincible during these transitions. Additionally, an armored shield, known as “frequency assimilation armor,” will materialize on his left shoulder when engaged in combat.

Approximately fifteen to twenty seconds following the commencement of the fight, this phenomenon occurs. It interacts with one of his assaults and becomes an opportunity for missed shots, yet beyond that, it appears to have minimal impact.

Gun Burst

Before unleashing a single, powerful charge, he will initially fire several shots from his weapon. At increased difficulty settings, being struck by this charge causes staggering and also inflicts a Burning Debuff over time. However, only the charged shot poses a significant threat, and it can be easily dodged if you continue to move.

Melee Strike

When confronted with “slash blasts,” Will will charge at you, delivering a series of strikes. Being struck causes you to stumble, and on higher difficulty settings, it also inflicts a persistent damage-over-time effect. Will can move towards you to get close enough for this attack, but once he initiates, he’ll be stuck in the animation, allowing you to dodge out of range once and then largely avoid subsequent attacks. However, when his frequency assimilation armor is activated, Will performs a more extended combo. Given how simple it is to dodge this attack and the fact that he becomes fixed in place during the animation, this could potentially turn out to be a beneficial situation.

Goon Squad

No, not that kind of goon.

Calls over two comrades from his Checker Squad to handle the tough tasks for him. The enemies summoned arrive in two varieties. Although they probably have specific names, I don’t feel like looking up their labels in the game settings, and it doesn’t matter much anyways, so I’ve started referring to them as Shooter and Slicer.

At standard levels, Will typically shouts for one summon upon casting, yet this number escalates to two as the difficulty rises. Additionally, at increased difficulties, Will automatically conjures a minion whenever he activates his teleport ability.

When engaging in battle, you’ll soon discover that this character seems more interested in something else rather than dueling with you. It’s quite peculiar, almost as if they’re a lazy gamer at heart!

Shooty

These individuals launch assaults aimed at the ground, causing damage upon impact and creating a burning zone that inflicts ongoing damage within its range. Be mindful of their targeting locations to take appropriate evasive measures.

Slicey

Sliceys exhibit exceptional mobility and can swiftly teleport towards you, following up with either of two distinct assaults.

A ground pound-style attack with an area of effect indicator
A horizontal slash with both of its arms, having a much smaller range than the first attack

As a gamer, I find myself in a fortunate position: Both of these moves cause me to stumble on hit. But here’s the catch – after they’ve teleported, they seem to get a tad dizzy. This little hiccup gives me a brief window to dodge and avoid their subsequent attacks.

HP Triggers

At a given time, Will possesses three activation points for HP (Hit Points), each one classified as a soft trigger. These triggers all lead to summoning characters from the Checker Squad. With an increase in challenge level, Will is capable of conjuring more members of this squad.

80% HP

The Shooties will be called forth in a line, each one capable of directing ground-based attacks in a pattern that resembles a spreading square. As they fire their salvo, which moves towards the center of the map in a gradually converging manner, they will vanish, and the battle resumes uninterrupted.

50% HP

During the battle, two groups of common foes will be called forth sequentially. It’s crucial to eliminate these groups before the fight progresses further, as Will remains invincible during this phase. Upon defeating each group, Will leaves behind U-Energy refills that can be collected. If you manage to swiftly take down the initial four enemies, the next wave will appear sooner, offering a slight time advantage.

20% HP

Calls forth a horde of Sliceys that charge at you for an assault, only to disappear afterwards, allowing the battle to continue.

Strategy

Boss HP: 1,156,208

As a fan, I’m all about getting units on the battlefield swiftly. If left unchecked, it could quickly escalate into a chaotic situation. The key here is to take down Will more efficiently. The quicker you can push him towards his HP thresholds, the less time he has to spawn minions and make the arena a hassle.

One advantage of Will being somewhat fragile and frequently invincible due to his HP triggers is that it provides an opportunity to organize a powerful attack sequence from alternative DPS characters such as Cherno – Enigma or Siris – Ksana, even though he has high Thermal resistance (he’s just incredibly overpowered in that aspect). This burst damage can then be timed to strike immediately following his second HP trigger (which also happens to drop U-Energy pickups), potentially one-shotting him and bypassing the third trigger. The timing of this maneuver will depend on your ability to generate a significant amount of burst damage, so don’t hesitate to experiment a bit.

Team Building

For a suitable main DPS character in Will’s team, it’s crucial they possess a swift burst attack to rapidly activate HP thresholds and potent mobbing ability to efficiently clear out minor enemies during Will’s secondary HP trigger. Narrowing it down, these characteristics point towards two standout DPS options from our featured roster.

Featured Operative: Lyfe – Infinite Sight

Life’s primary ability is crucial for managing the rapid appearance of minions when the second trigger is activated. However, this skill comes at a base cost of 60 U-Energy, which might be too time-consuming to accumulate. Here’s an efficient workaround:

As a gamer, when the first Health Pack (HP) triggers, I find that those Shootys spawned are perfect targets for my basic ability. Marking them with this skill not only makes them easier to take down but also reduces the cost of my ultimate ability. This means I can use it more frequently to clear out the minions that appear after his second HP trigger. It’s crucial to get the aim just right, and you might need some practice to ensure your basic ability marks enough enemies for this effect.

Another, somewhat less efficient method is to tag the initial batch of enemies that appear on the screen for the same outcome.

Featured Operative: Katya – Dawnwing

Although Katya doesn’t appear to have an inherent edge over Will, her abilities seem exceptionally well-suited for combat against him. Her basic skill can swiftly eliminate minions summoned by Will’s 50% HP trigger at a faster rate than Lyfe can, and her ultimate ability is potent enough to bypass triggers on its own. However, it’s important to be mindful that Katya’s ultimate damage occurs in two stages: an initial smaller hit from the ult, followed by a burst from active crystals. The latter is typically the more damaging of the two instances. So, ensure that the first hit doesn’t surpass the HP trigger threshold, as Will will enter invulnerability immediately following the trigger, rendering the subsequent, stronger hit ineffective.

Supports

In this scenario, inflicting greater harm is crucial since Will’s fragility and three HP triggers make him animation-locked for much of the battle, limiting the usefulness of CC support. Similarly, Mauxir – Shadow Ka’s support skill becomes scarcely activated due to Will’s HP triggers. As a result, damage amplifiers such as Acacia – Kaguya become more effective. If you find yourself having trouble with the fight, a healer might be beneficial to consider.

2024-10-04 02:08

Neural Simulation Spotlight: Will – Flameblade