Cthugha/Strategy

(This page is for Cthugha strategy guide. For the standard Cthugha page, click here.)

Overview

Despite being a Slash unit, Cthugha is better characterized as an All-ranged nuker due to his plethora of buffs and CP accumulation which trigger with an [After Buff] skill timing. Due to this type of skill timing, if one were to buff Cthugha, this can trigger a chain reaction of other buffs to accumulate since the buffs that he gains can activate the skill timing again. For this reason, despite the rate of activation being nominally low, Cthugha's buffs are actually very consistent and make him a real offensive and defensive powerhouse since these buffs are BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), and DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff). Since Cthugha receives +16 CP for every buff, he charges his All-ranged CS extremely fast and can easily wipe the board with it. Thus, Cthugha alternates between weapon ranges regularly and is powerful in both cases. In the context of previous All-ranged nukers like Typhon (Make Sail) and Kotaro (Beachside), he has the niche of being defensively oriented and having his rapid CP charging not being strictly tied to the start of a phase, which can be useful in the situations which call for it.

Concerning Cthugha's weaknesses, the one that stands out the most is his application of Remove BuffRemove one buff (Debuff) to himself after being hit by an enemy. Although this can indeed hurt his durability, this is actually a critical part of Cthugha's kit to his benefit. Regarding the [After Buff] skill timing, the issues with strategies that involved CP charging through the method was that status effects with long durations could not be refreshed as regularly and were therefore less useful. However, Cthugha's self buff removal circumvents this issue by allowing himself to remove these otherwise long-lasting buffs in order to refresh the effect. Almost all of Cthugha's buffs fit this category, so there is also a very clear intent here to use Cthugha in this way. So while repeated attacks against Cthugha can be a potential issue, one should use Cthugha to tank hits and the notion that he should always be kept from receiving damage is naive and should be dispelled.

Highlights

Class: Bruiser, Tank

Gameplay Role: Damage Dealer, Tank, Debuffer

Pros

+ Powerful tank due to having BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff)

+ Fast CP charging and healing tied to gaining buffs

+ Self-buff removal allows refreshing of long lasting buffs early

+ Powerful All-ranged CS, even moreso after applying Burn-300~-600HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) to enemies

+ Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff) from debuffs, which also helps to gain back buffs during enemy phase

+ Immune to certain common debuffs

+ Doesn't need to move

Cons

- Buff removal can hurt power/durability

- Can't handle debuffs outside of Rage+

- Can be inconsistent without right support

- Slash range is still somewhat limiting

- is much weaker and less consistent

Gameplay Role

Damage Dealer

Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)		Notes
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	31326	46930	22357	33730	11495	15179	30653	40477	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), and enemy has Burn-300~-600HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff)
	31697	47329	21975	33321	8061	10663	30229	39985	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), and enemy has Burn-300~-600HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff)

As shown in the table above, Cthugha can easily do over 10k damage with all his buffs present with his regular attack and with his CS. Due to BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff) and ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff) being offensive buffs on the rarer side in terms of bestowal, Cthugha can easily boost this damage further with more commonly given offensive buffs like VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff) and ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff). It's worth emphasizing here however that the existence of his buff removal skill poses a slight problem in which buffs that are acquired during [Phase Start] have the potential of being removed. Nevertheless, Cthugha remains to be one of the fastest and strongest All-ranged CS users. The following table compares units with strong All-ranged Charge Skills with their innate buffs to support this statement.

All Range CS Comparison Table
Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)		Notes
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	31326	46930	22357	33730	11495	15179	10218	13492	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff)
	31697	47329	21975	33321	8061	10663	10076	13328	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff)
	25383	37544	54715	84326	28737	37947	25544	33730	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff)
	25680	37863	53750	83302	20153	26657	25191	33321	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff)
	25383	37544	54715	84326	28737	37947	76632	101191	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff), and enemy has Burn-300~-600HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff)
	25680	37863	53750	83302	20153	26657	75573	99963	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff), Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff), and enemy has Burn-300~-600HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff)
	7499	9368	11496	16982	3663	4755	5232	6793	With VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff)
	7016	8973	4176	5780	0	0	4218	5838	With CS Level 1
	7016	8973	4176	5780	0	0	8394	11618	With CS Level 21
	7016	8973	4176	5780	0	0	10637	14722	With CS Level 41
	11473	15195	13427	20400	6796	9180	6041	8160	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), INFERNAL multipliers
	10168	13544	15846	24243	8399	10910	7465	9697	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), INFERNAL multipliers
	14704	20725	17583	26501	9232	11925	8206	10600	With VigorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 3 turns (Buff), Nourishment+150~300HP/turn, ATK Up by 1.1x ~ 1.5x for 3 turns (Buff), UnctionDEF Up by 0.85x ~ 0.425x, +150~300HP every turn for 2 turns (Buff)
	13523	18551	10208	14732	10923	14732	19662	26518	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) There is an additional -5000 flat damage in CS not shown here.
	6015	7858	56412	83732	16345	21770	18859	25120	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff), full HP There is an additional -3000 flat damage in CS not shown here.
	6456	8362	51474	77616	57514	77616	17254	23285	With BrawnATK Up by 1.15x ~ 2.3x for 4 turns (Buff), ATK UpATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x for 4 turns (Buff), ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff), full HP There is an additional -3000 flat damage in CS not shown here.

As demonstrated in the comparison table above, Cthugha has a very strong CS from his innate buffs alone. While it will most of the time do around 10k damage, this is a very good number since his CP charging can be very fast compared to the other units in the table. It is also high enough to eliminate almost all mobs, a task which an All-ranged CS is typically used for.

The above discussion assumes that Cthugha has all of his buffs from his [After Buff] skills but that may not necessarily be the case. Thus, it suffices to show the consistency of obtaining these buffs. For purposes of simplicity, let's consider the scenario where Cthugha has no buffs until he receives an external one from a teammate or his CS. The following table then summarizes the results of a numerical simulation that ran for a million trials for each row. Percentages are used to indicate how many trials contained a certain buff or had a certain number of buffs.

Consistency of Cthugha's Buffs
Number of External Buffs	Proc Rate	Brawn + Adamantine	ATK Up	DEF Up	0 Self Buffs	1 Self Buff	2 Self Buffs	3 Self Buffs	4 Self Buffs
1	30%	44.0%	48.9%	48.9%	34.2%	14.4%	10.9%	12.5%	28.0%
1	40%	60.4%	66.1%	66.1%	21.6%	10.4%	9.5%	10.6%	47.9%
2	30%	66.3%	71.5%	71.5%	11.8%	12.1%	12.8%	15.5%	47.8%
2	40%	81.7%	86.2%	86.2%	4.65%	5.95%	8.8%	10.1%	70.5%
3	30%	78.9%	83.1%	83.1%	4.0%	7.6%	11.4%	14.5%	62.5%
3	40%	90.6%	93.5%	93.5%	1.0%	2.6%	6.3%	7.4%	82.7%

As seen in the above table, the number of external buffs supplied and the effect of skill seeding Cthugha greatly improve his consistency. For this reason, it would be best to have a source of two external buffs from allies at least. Outside of Leannan Sidhe who can supply five unique buffs on her own, there are some units who can provide three external buffs on their own such as Chernobog (Beachside), Shennong, and Triton. For this reason, one should easily be able create a team to supply at least two unique buffs to Cthugha.

Tank

As demonstrated in the tables before, Cthugha's effective HP is very large due to the presence of two defensive buffs, although this misrepresents his durability due to his buff removal skill. It is difficult to characterize this effective HP in one neat number without supposing a hypothetical scenario, but in the worst case scenario, each hit Cthugha receives removes a defensive buff first. If we consider this worst case scenario, the first hit will be reduced to approximately one fourth of its actual damage and the second hit will be approximately one half of what it is supposed to be, afterwards making him defenseless. For must purposes in the game, it's rare for more than two attacks to hit the same unit outside of purposely defensive strategies, so for general usage, Cthugha's tank qualities is at least as good having one defensive buff and performs even better than that.

Of course, the main appeal of Cthugha's defensive buffs is that they are fairly rare in terms of bestowal from other units. AdamantineDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff) and DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff) to a lesser extent are very rarely given by other teammates compared to defensive buffs of shorter duration such as ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff). Cthugha can then be paired with units with such abilities to increase his tanking abilities easily. Moreover, such buffs are also great for boosting Cthugha's CP due to their shortness of duration. Moreover, ally units who give such buffs when receiving damage may ameliorate the previous issue of Cthugha losing his defensive buffs, since they can activate his [After Buff] skills to restore them immediately.

The last and most important part about Cthugha as a tank is that he gains +400 HP for every buff he gets. In terms of healing, this is a fairly competitive amount since it's rather easy to gain at least two buffs every turn which equates to at least +800 HP. Due to Cthugha removing his buffs after being struck, this ability cushions the impact of such losses, since he can recover back his lost buffs to heal himself. Finally, unlike other tanks, this ability is not tied to moving which opens up room for potential strategies.

Debuffer

Since there is some confusion about the range of Cthugha's application of Burn-300~-600HP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff), a clarification is made here. Regarding Cthugha's application of Burn from his [When Missing] skill, this does indeed apply in a 3x3 square in front of him. In almost all scenarios however, this is equivalent to the front two rows of the map, since Cthugha would need to be in the row behind in order to miss. Exceptions include dungeons, in which the enemies can randomly spawn in the back two rows, certain challenge quests, and forced movement induced through allies. On the other hand, Cthugha's application of Burn through his [When Attacking] skill is not exactly the same to this either. The reason is that Cthugha needs to hit an enemy for the enemy behind to receive Burn, so the front row needs to be filled completely to satisfy the same range as his [When Missing] skill.

Finally, his [When Leaving] skill is actually pretty powerful in practice. As stated before, 10k damage is enough to leave most mobs with 1 HP, so while it's not ideal to have Cthugha leave the battle, it makes it much easier to clean up afterwards. The other reason is that flat damage does not really have a counter, so this can pierce through enemies' defenses. Cthugha also applies Burn to allies and enemies [When Leaving], which can lead to a curious interaction although not really helpful in any way. That is, if an enemy were to have Reflect DebuffReflect debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff), the debuff would reflect back to Cthugha, trigger his Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff), and heal Cthugha back out of 0 HP. Unfortunately, Cthugha will still leave the battle despite having a positive amount of HP so there is nothing to be gained here.

Stats and Seed Usage

Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	6581	8632	3290	4811	3290	4811	1843	2694
	7631	9503	5048	6666	2272	3000	2019	2666
	7701	9584	4978	6585	1593	2107	6372	8429

Skill seeding Cthugha is highly recommended since his [After Buff] skill procs are low and it improves the consistency of his buffs. This effect is quantified in the previous section. Other seeds can then be done in any order of preference due to Cthugha being both offensively and defensively oriented. Considering that Cthugha is a nuker however, it may be worth investing into ATK seeds first if there are any enemies encountered which barely survive his CS as determined during gameplay.

Team Synergy

Buffers

Specifically, units who ideally can give multiple buffs that are not tied to [Phase Start] and would preferably be on the shorter side of duration. This is to enable Cthugha's ability to regain his buffs every turn and subsequently heal and charge his CP. Previous examples were mentioned in the section before, so adding onto these examples include Tanetomo, Horus, and Sanat Kumara.

CP Batteries

Failing that, allies who can boost CP directly are also good choices to charge Cthugha's CS. Examples include Ose, Choji, and Ryota (Christmas).

Debuff Removers

Since Cthugha welcomes debuffs in order to trigger Rage+ATK Up by 1.25x ~ 2.5x, DEF Down by 1.25x for 2 turns (Buff), it would be great if his allies could remove this debuff from him afterwards while performing other roles. Potential allies to use include Volos (Beachside), Kijimuna (Canaan), and Horus yet again.

AR Equipment

AR Equipment which gives buffs to self

Since Cthugha receives HP and CP for every buff, AR Equipment which give him buffs are a natural fit for him. Examples include the ARs Oath of Binding and Valentine Dogs! which are also useful for getting a first turn CS off. Prayer+10% skill activation rate for 6 turns (Buff) is also excellent since it improves his consistency in getting his buffs back as long as it is up. Of course, it's best to watch out for these status effects being removed from Cthugha's skill, so it's best to consult the unit description page in battle when necessary to see which buffs will be removed first.

The Desert Journey reprint introduced the A Teacher and Student from Kamata AR which is an excellent choice for Cthugha, since it continually buffs him every turn. Aside from just triggering his other buffs, it's effectively a heal and CP boost on turn start. Furthermore, the buffs from this AR could potentially be used as a prevention measure against Cthugha's other buffs from being removed.

AR Equipment which boosts CP or CS multiplier

Since Cthugha will often be using his CS, AR Equipment such as Ooeyama Onis which boost his CS multiplier and The Dog's Battlefield which help to get to this point are welcome choices. Moreover, these ARs don't have to worry about Cthugha removing their effects since they aren't a buff like the last category, so this might be easier to use.

Checks and Counters

CP Reduction

Since Cthugha depends on his CS for most of his damage, methods of CP reduction such as Drain-10% skill activation rate, -10CP/turn for 2 turns (Debuff) and through skills that activate [When Attacking] or [When Receiving Damage] may be problematic for him. There is a caveat however which is tied to Cthugha's method of CP activation in that if Cthugha receives buffs during [Turn Start] of the next turn, he can bypass the issue if the reduction of CP is not low enough.

Multiple hits

If Cthugha were to receive a lot of hits either through ComboATK Down by 0.6x (excepting charge attacks), attack twice each turn for 2 turns (Buff) or through there being a lot of overlapping attacks in the map, this can pose an issue for him since each hit can remove a defensive buff.

Debuffs

While Cthugha is very buff-oriented, he doesn't have much of a way to handle debuffs outside of the ones he is immune to. Skill locking effects such as BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff), defensive debuffs such as StigmaDEF Down by 1.15x ~ 2.3x, -150~-300HP/turn for 3 turns (Debuff), flat damage debuffs such as Countdown-10000~-20000HP/turn for 2 turns (Debuff), and Buff ReversalWhen holding buffs: ATK Down by 0.25x, DEF Down by 2.5x for 3 turns. (Debuff) in particular are all issues for him.

Teambuilding Options

This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.

Ikebukuro Dungeon Mentors

Team Details (submitted by milk)
Ded 【Damage Dealer, Healer】	Triton 【Damage Attenuator】	Avarga 【Damage Dealer】	Cthugha 【Damage Dealer, Tank】
Cost: ≥40

The only really essential team members here are Triton and Cthugha and the others are there to fill out mentor roles appropriately. The remaining support slots can be filled out with any units as desired and obeying cost limitations for EXP purposes. The basic strategy of this team is to use Cthugha to soak up damage in the front line and have Triton refresh his buffs with ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and Reflect DebuffReflect debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff) from Wave Bender+. Furthermore, using the Chocolate Dynamite! AR on Triton allows him to heal Cthugha on move as a nice bonus. After a few turns, Cthugha should have his CS charged to nuke the board.

Although Ded and Avarga are not essential, they do play useful roles in the team which I found pertinent to include. In particular, Ded can be used to eliminate troublesome AETHER enemies which often boast high damage output. Avarga is used for positioning purposes and for eliminating Thor at the end of the dungeon through his CS. I use the Oath of Pioneer AR to gradually boost Avarga's CP without having him engage enemies. He also has EvasionDEF Up by 0.01x ~ 0.005x for 1 turn (Buff) so he can employ some hit and run tactics.

Formation-wise, I employ a column formation whenever possible with Cthugha on top, Triton in the middle, Ded on the bottom, and Avarga on the side. This is used for a number of reasons. First, luchador can pull enemies when they miss or when they are struck, so it's best to have Ded behind someone to obstruct this forced movement. Cthugha is in the front due to his ability to soak damage quite well, and Triton is behind him to support him. Finally, despite Avarga not having much to do, he is best placed on the side in order to increase his movement range and facilitate maneuvers which call for his movement.