Nyarlathotep/Strategy
Overview
Contrary to the typical idea of a Mage type character, Nyarlathotep is at his best on the front line, taking shots and dealing out debuffs in return. He especially thrives in quests with large numbers of enemies, as he both wants to be hit as frequently as possible to maximize the spread of his debuffs, and wants to hit as many targets as possible in order to proc Teleporter. Despite the seemingly low odds (28% at max skill level) the proc chance is rolled one time for each enemy hit, so he only has to land the 1-in-4 chance once.
Most of Nyarlathotep's skills activate when he attacks or takes damage, freeing up your moves for other units to shuffle him into position, but in a pinch or when the enemy field has been thinned down, he has Beast Descendant as insurance if you don't like your odds of activating Teleporter.
Highlights
Role: Frontline Wall
Pros
+ Combination of Evasion/Beast Descendant/Loiterer can reduce even type effective hits to single digit damage.
+ Able to debilitate enemy team with a variety of debuffs, without being reliant on movement to do so.
+ Clearly enjoys being hit, allowing player to use him as a face tank guilt-free.
Cons
- Evasion becomes less reliable the more opponents are taken out.
- To get the most out of him, he must always be in the position where he'll be hit by as many enemies as possible.
Checks and Counters
Powerful Fire Attackers + Bad Luck
The more the opposing team is whittled down, the fewer opportunities Nyarlathotep will have to proc his Evasion, leaving him to rely on Loiterer, which can also fail to proc, and Beast Descendant. Fire attacks, particularly from heavy hitters such as Ibaraki or Zabaniya can still punch right through him if he's unlucky with skills, so Fire opponents should be top priority while Nyarlathotep still has targets to roll from.
Teambuilding Suggestions
This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.
O U R S Q U A D G O A L S Build
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Not only a themed Lovecraft team, but a trio of units who synergize beautifully to boot. 3 Star Shirou is used in this example for the sake of saving on team cost, but 4 plays the same part if you wish. Shirou and Nyarla both inflict Fear with their charge skills, Shirou has high odds of inflicting Fear off a normal attack, and Nyarla has high odds to inflict Fear when hit. Between the two of them, the enemy party should be in a constant state of terror, losing CP, unable to move, Cursed and possibly Bewitched. Nyarlathotep enjoys the added benefit of dealing bonus damage to everything inflicted with Fear.
Tsathoggua, ideally the last on the field to move, then uses Space Traveler or King of the Dark Realm to further drain enemy CP and force a group back, where they will be unable to regroup due to Fear, and unlikely to damage Tsathoggua or Nyarlathotep due to Curse/Bewitched. Players with a sadistic streak may wish to include an Evil in this setup as well. The support slot is variable but a healing unit who can keep Nyarla and Shirou topped off is recommended.