Tactics

Exploit the Individual Strengths of Your Weapons

As a general rule, you should use the high-mobility, quick-striking dual blades as your main weapon, and switch to the sledgehammer when battling large groups of foes, and the dual pistols when you want to battle from afar. You can also change weapons to exploit a foe’s weakness to a particular damage type. Keep an eye out for skills like Crusher and Dual Bladist, which enhance a particular weapon.

Weapon Properties

Dual Blades

With the dual blades you can fight effectively at close range without having to worry about giving your foes openings to retaliate. Your attacks have limited range, but the weapon offers high mobility. Fight with a prudent balance of offensive and defensive tactics.

Sledgehammer

The wide sweeps of the sledgehammer are slow, but this weapon offers far greater reach than the dual blades. It particularly shines when Ludger has to contend with multiple foes.

Dual Pistols

The dual pistols are primarily for long-range combat. Their drawback is how much they limit Ludger’s mobility, but they can be used safely if you take care to position yourself effectively.

Boss Tactics—Use Skills to Make Ludger Stagger-Proof

Ludger can learn a variety of skills like Step Guard and Mobile Armor that prevent him from being staggered. When these skills are active, you’ll be able to perform quick-steps or begin guarding even while you’re actively under enemy attack, allowing you to minimize the damage you take. Of particular use is the Grounded Stance skill, which prevents you from being staggered while standing on solid ground. With these skills active, you can easily shift to a defensive strategy during boss fights in order to fill your Chromatus Gauge, and then transform to turn the tables on your foe.

Stagger-Negation Skills

If a skill is keeping you from being staggered, you’ll be able to guard even when under enemy attack. Also, enemies won’t be able to interrupt your attacks by damaging you, so you can fight much more aggressively.

Special—When Transformed, Rely on Edge Crusher and Hexentia

Edge Crusher is the most consistently damaging of Ludger’s transformed-mode attacks, so when battling foes on the ground, make it the core of your offense. Hexentia is also quite effective: It has a wide area of effect, can damage mid-air foes, and is a quick arte that can be used repeatedly. Both artes are capable of knocking down foes, restricting your target’s ability to act. Also, when approaching foes, the ability of Dark Projection to put Ludger above your foe in the blink of an eye is very useful.

When you use your mystic arte, it will end your transformation, so save it until your gauge is nearly empty.

Special—Extend Your Transformation Time

You can use skills like Overdrive to lengthen the amount of time you spend in your transformed mode. Break-In is particularly useful, since activating it is all you need to do make it work. Kresnik 2 is another good one, extending your transformation time while you use normal attacks in mid-air. To taunt safely while transformed, knock your foes down first.

Your affinity with your linked partner also affects the length of your transformation time.

Skills That Affect Transformation Time