Chrono Ark: Efficient Utilization Techniques for the Phantom Sword

Introduction:

The key to success in the game “Ark: Over-Hyperspace” is your accumulated experience, as the game has a high level of randomness. You can’t rely on specific team compositions alone, otherwise your success rate will be low. Therefore, it is important to understand the synergy between different characters. Now, let’s get straight to the point and I’ll share some tips on using the “Phantom Sword” (please note that I will focus on the Scratching Flow playstyle due to time constraints).

Main Content:

The Phantom Sword is the core skill of this playstyle. Its main feature is discarding the card after one turn. Its damage efficiency is 40% (damage = character attack power * 0.4, rounded down), it costs 0 mana, ignores taunt, and is fast. While the individual effect is not strong, it becomes extremely powerful when combined with other skills for multiple attacks.

Sword of Qi Control:

Sword of Qi Control is Azar’s special skill. When used, it releases a Phantom Sword on the enemy whenever a skill is used against them for two turns (it can supplement Eve’s attack count). It is usually obtained after the first boss battle in the early game (even if you don’t get it, it’s fine because this guide is specifically for helping beginners defeat the final boss, you don’t need all the powerful skills). Additionally, the Phantom Swords released by this skill are different from normal Phantom Swords as they are considered additional attacks. Therefore, they benefit from certain relics and certain character skills that provide bonus damage for additional attacks. To be honest, if you get this skill while playing the Scratching Flow, you can even try defeating Blood Mist 4, as you’ll become proficient enough to take on higher difficulties.

Generate Phantom Swords:

This is a highly flexible skill that allows you to choose between two effects: generating two Phantom Swords or granting two skills the Phantom Sword buff. This allows you to play both the Scratching Flow and the high-cost Meteor Blade burst flow. For me, this card is almost a must-have, as it is the most reliable way to supplement Phantom Swords.

Radiant Sword Aura:

Great! No need for many words! Radiant Sword Aura is almost a must-have skill in the Phantom Sword flow. When used, it increases the critical strike rate of 0-cost skills by 100% for two turns and adds the Phantom Sword buff to the topmost skill. Critical strikes deal 1.5 times the damage, so each additional Phantom Sword is equivalent to a 20% increase in efficiency. The potential is high! And the effect lasts for two turns, which means you can use it on the turn before you have enough Phantom Swords even when mana is tight.

Infinite Sword:

Infinite Sword applies the Phantom Sword buff to all your cards. It should also be considered a must-have skill for Azar. Both Flashing Slash and Meteor Blade heavily rely on it, and even the Scratching Flow needs it to supplement Phantom Swords. After all, the worst-case scenario is doubling the number of Phantom Swords, so the lower limit is still guaranteed.

Ascend Slash:

Ascend Slash is my favorite skill. It costs 2 and has an efficiency of 135%. When used, it doubles the number of Phantom Swords in your hand. Each duplicated Phantom Sword adds 40% efficiency, making it extremely efficient in the Scratching Flow! It even ignores taunt! The importance of ignoring taunt goes without saying. If you can ignore taunts in encounters with regular enemies, the difficulty is greatly reduced! However, it is worth noting that using this skill incorrectly can result in overdraw (the maximum hand size is 10 cards, any excess will discard the topmost card). For example, if you have two Ascend Slash and five Phantom Swords in hand, using any one Ascend Slash directly would generate 5 Phantom Swords (total of ten cards), resulting in discarding an Ascend Slash. In this case, the correct play order should be: use one Phantom Sword first, then use one Ascend Slash to duplicate four Phantom Swords (total of eight), then use Ascend Slash when there are only five Phantom Swords remaining. This way, you will spend a maximum of 5 mana to duplicate nine Phantom Swords with two Ascend Slash.

Eve as Support:

Azar and Eve can be said to be a perfect match. Phantom Swords can trigger Eve’s additional attacks, and with the 0-cost nature of Phantom Swords, Eve has more opportunities to activate her skills. In situations where mana is sufficient, most Phantom Swords can synergize with Eve. It is worth noting that Eve’s support increases damage by 20% and not by multiplying the damage of Phantom Swords by 1.2. Instead, it increases the damage multiplier of skills by 20%. For example, the multiplier of Phantom Swords is 40%, which becomes 60% under the effect of Eve’s support. Therefore, for the Phantom Sword skill, Eve’s damage increase is 50%.

Cutting:

Since Phantom Swords and Eve’s support can frequently trigger Eve’s additional attacks, the damage boost provided by Cutting is essential for this combination. The effect lasts for 3 turns, so similar to Radiant Sword Aura, it can be used preemptively in situations where mana is tight.

Shadow Step:

Unlike the usual burst damage playstyle with Theresa, having Shadow Step as support allows Theresa to duplicate Ascend Slash, and the duplicated Ascend Slash can be used to duplicate Phantom Swords. Furthermore, the skills duplicated by Shadow Step benefit from certain enhancements, such as the acceleration effect or Phantom Sword buffs from the Ascend Slash used in the current turn.

Shadow Reenactment:

Shadow Reenactment plays a similar role to Shadow Step, but the difference is that Shadow Reenactment can duplicate all skills, while Shadow Step can only duplicate skills that have dealt damage. In other words, Shadow Reenactment can duplicate Infinite Sword, whereas Shadow Step cannot. Additionally, Shadow Reenactment can fully duplicate skill enhancements as well. Therefore, the potential of this skill is extremely high. Although it may be overkill to use it in this playstyle, I will discuss this skill if there is a chance in the future.

Precise Aim:

I personally think Precise Aim is an amazing skill. It costs 0, it’s fast, and it applies a 4-turn additional attack damage increase effect to the enemy. Not only can Gun Guy benefit from the damage boost provided by his passive, but Azar and Eve can also benefit from this effect. If you really have such a fortunate situation where you have Azar, Eve, and Gun Guy together, then enjoy the fun!

Rapid Fire:

After using Rapid Fire, each card used gives an additional attack to the targeted enemy, which also benefits from the damage boost provided by Precise Aim. With Azar’s frequent use of skills, it goes without saying that such a high HIT count will make enemies suffer greatly. The brainless and simple Rapid Fire is called “Wheelchair” for a reason.

Strafe:

I don’t think Strafe is particularly strong with this playstyle. On the surface, its damage depends on the number of skill uses in the current turn and it pairs well with Phantom Swords. However, choosing Strafe means that you need to bring Gun Guy with you at the start of the game. But, if you can choose either Theresa or Sis as support while going second, you won’t need Gun Guy and can still bring the final boss to their final phase. In the Phantom Sword playstyle, if you frequently use Phantom Swords, it will inevitably trigger the boss’s phase transition, even in regular enemy encounters. After all the enemies have been cleared by Phantom Swords, the damage from Strafe will start to accumulate. At this point, the high-efficiency Strafe becomes less useful. The same logic applies to the lock mechanism of the other two final bosses (I won’t spoil it here). So, my opinion is that it’s better to bring Theresa or Sis at the start.