The Troubled Strategist is a Trial in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius found in the Chamber of Arms. It is considered the first true trial of the location as it sets up the mechanics for the rest of the Bosses, unlike Demon of Resentment which was a basic introduction. Players face the strategist Sheratan.
Battle[]
Sheratan has 4,000,000 HP and changes tactics depending on the amount of HP she has, being split in halves of 50% each. On the second phase, Sheratan's appearance will change and will be accompanied by the Fruits of Tenacity and Anger which are summoned only once. This Trial unlike many others is not difficult because of its complexities, but rather the bulk of the difficulty lies on dealing with the Bosses' colossal ATK/MAG stats with incredibly powerful moves to come with it, and an ever plaguing MP Drain at regular intervals.
Phase 1[]
Sheratan can attack up to 8 times per turn. She will once per turn use, Coiling Ivy for large physical damage and paralysis to one unit and angry bloom for large magic damage to one unit and usually spams strong normal attacks afterwards.
Every 3 turns she uses Strategist's Scheme and Absorbing Root. The former deals 50% HP damage to one unit and the latter is an MP Drain to one unit and 30,000 HP heal for herself. After 3 uses of Coiling Ivy she will use Tectonics for major Earth magic damage on all units, and end turn.
At 80% and 60% thresholds she uses Petal Storm for strong magic damage to all units.
In Phase 1, she resists Earth and Dark (100%), is immune to all status ailments, and vulnerable to ATK/MAG Breaks.
Phase 2[]
In Phase 2 her appearance changes to a more monstrous form. She will then summon the Fruit of Tenacity and the Fruit of Anger to aid her. She still attacks up to 8 times per turn. After summoning the fruits she will use Dark Miasma, for major Dark magic damage on all units and end turn.
She forsakes her old attacks in favour of new ones. Once per turn, she uses Uneasy Voice for Paralysis and Blind on a single unit who has no status ailments and uses Bite Into for fixed 4,500 damage to one unit and spams normal attacks afterwards.
Every 3 turns she will use Sweet Nourishment for MP drain on all units. After using Bite Into, 3 times, she will use Dark Miasma and end turn.
At thresholds of 40% and 20% she will use Foreign Leaf, for major magic damage on all units.
She is weak to Light and Fire now (-50%), partially resists Blind (70%) and is vulnerable to all stat breaks.
Fruit of Tenacity[]
The Fruit of Tenacity has 1,700,000 HP. Once per turn each, it uses Seed of Anger for major physical damage to one unit, Sip for MP Drain to one unit, The fruit of tenacity has ripened (ATK/MAG buff to self) and end turn.
When summoned it will use only a normal attack (albeit without debuffs) and end turn. If an ally is dead it will use Scream of Grief to inflict all status ailments to one unit (30% chance). If The fruit of tenacity has ripened, is used 6 turns, it will on the 7th turn use Nourished, the fruit of tenacity has ripened, for colossal magic damage on all units.
The Fruit of Tenacity is weak to Fire and Wind (-50%), partially resists Blind (70%) and vulnerable to all stat breaks.
Fruit of Anger[]
The Fruit of Anger has 1,700,000 HP. Once per turn each, it uses Seed of Anger for major physical damage to one unit, Covet for magic damage and HP drain to one unit, The fruit of anger has ripened (DEF/SPR buff to self) and end turn.
When summoned it will use only a normal attack (albeit without debuffs) and end turn. If an ally is dead it will use Scream of Grief to inflict all status ailments to one unit (30% chance). If The fruit of anger has ripened, is used 6 turns, it will on the 7th turn use Nourished, the fruit of anger has ripened, for colossal physical damage on all units with major MP drain and 500,000 HP heal to all Bosses.
The Fruit of Tenacity is weak to Fire and Wind (-50%), partially resists Blind (70%) and vulnerable to all stat breaks.
Strategy[]
The player will have to account for the huge damage output, the MP drains, the status ailments and the phase changes, all the while respecting the rules of the Chamber of Arms. Stat Breaks will be a must to keep the damage on check from the Bosses, but they alone won't suffice as the modifiers are huge. As such the player will need defensive buffs and tanks too.
Veritas of the Earth and Charlotte are impeccable Tanks who can cover for each other while providing other solid benefits. The Earthlord can provide damage reduction and Earth resistance, while Charlotte can heal MP over time and provide buffs. Warrior of Light is also effective with his debuffs and The Light is with us! Combining two tanks can be quite effective, and a popular strategy is to use the Earthlord's Incinerating Press with Warrior of Light's TLIWU this will guarantee the bulk of the attacks are directed at them and with reduced damage on top. The NieR: Automata Trust Master Reward from 21O Mechanical Heart can provide counter heals to the caster which can greatly reduce the need for heals at some point. Warrior of Light comes with a similar passive ability that can also restore his MP, so while not mandatory this TMR will prove useful to have.
Stat buffs will also be relevant as depending on whether they buff ATK/MAG or DEF/SPR they will greatly reduce the difficulty of the battle. DEF/SPR in particular are encouraged as survival is prioritized over damage, due to Sheratan's strong attacks, also SPR buffs can reduce the MP stolen significantly. Soleil is an excellent buffer for this as when enhanced her buffs can reach 100% or 120% (if followed with another dance). Due to Swap Battle rules even if she is switched out, the conditions for her maximum buffs will still apply, so she can be swapped out and back with consistence between healings and in turns of specific attacks (thresholds, MP drain, etc.). It is recommended that she performs defensive buffs (SPR in particular) in the first turn, and then on subsequent turns buff DEF (which will cause a massive DEF/SPR if enhanced) when the main Tank is on a comfortable HP threshold that it can survive without further healing (preferably with 7000 or higher HP for a comfortable time). Minfilia can also be an effective buffer, although her buffs last for more time, they are much weaker than Soleil's when enhanced.
Debuffers will also be needed. Ling is a solid option as she can inflict stat breaks, status ailments (for Phase 2) and restore MP if needed. 9S is also a good choice as it can inflict 50% debuffs on ATK and MAG (albeit one of them at a time unless using his Limit Burst). He can also inflict Blind later on. If 9S is not available, Timothy is stat-wise a weaker version but his debuffs are on par with his. Warrior of Light himself can perform debuffs on ATK/MAG, exactly what are needed the most and apply them to all monsters later on Phase 2.
The player will also need both HP and MP healers, they should bring as many as possible. Ling, Tilith, Charlotte, Ace, Ayaka, healers with Curada and Dualcast, status ailment removal, etc. Units with Dispel-like abilities will help in phase 2, otherwise Odin's Fingersnap suffices.
For damage, the player has ample room to navigate. She is weaker on SPR than she is in DEF, although Magic Damage is unwise due to most Mages being frail (although Victoria is frequently used due to her ability to Dualcast Firajas which greatly increase her damage with each use). Physical attackers with chains are a solid option, most commonly Veritas of the Dark, Orlandeau and an enhanced Agrias (all of them can chain perfectly with each other), otherwise the player will have to find out what physical attackers will suit them best. All of these 3 units are also capable of inflicting stat breaks if needed, furthermore Veritas of the Dark can provide Dark resistant buffs to the party. These attackers should avoid Earth and Dark damage at least as a main source of damage and capitalize on Light and Fire weapons (this will prove very useful for the second phase).
The player should avoid triggering thresholds on turns when Sheratan will use either Tectonics or Dark Miasma so at to ensure minimal damage, unless they are sure they can take the damage. Earth protection or Dark protection of at least 70% onwards will be needed. Veritas of the Dark/Earth's buffs successfully satisfy this conditions, while they themselves absorb their respective elements. Dark protection is to be employed before reaching Phase 2 as Sheratan will use Dark Miasma as soon as she transforms.
Once the player reaches Phase 2, they should prioritize in destroying the fruits as quickly as possible. The Fruit of Tenacity should be prioritized due to its ATK/MAG buffs and regular MP draing, so the player must dispel/debuff it and kill it as soon as possible. Both fruits should be dealt with within 6 turns or suffer the consequences on the turn afterwards. If one cannot kill both fruits in one turn, they should nonetheless debuff all of them along Sheratan as their damage output is huge even if they don't attack much per turn.
Bahamut Finish[]
The Bahamut Finish is a popular strategy for Phase 2. It requires the use of Bahamut equipped on a unit with strong EVO MAG passives (Garnet or Rydia, although the former is prefered due to enhances and if needed capable of healing) equip her with as many EVO MAG +10% as possible (recipe found in the Olderion).
The tactic is simple, once the player enters Phase 2, they should perform a large chain (preferably one that strikes at all foes at once, two copies of Pod 153 is ideal for this.) and time it so Bahamut's Megaflare strikes when the Chain modifier is at its highest value. Doing so will likely result in a wipe of all bosses and achieve one of the missions for the battle, if the player's party has ATK buffs and as mentioned above have elements that match and are not resisted (or even effective against the fruits) they should go down much easier.
If an effective AoE Chain is not possible the strategy is still applicable but requires a bit of a delay. First off the player should chain and aim to kill the Fruit of Tenacity in one turn as its self buffs and MP drain will prove quite trouble to set up later turns, quite doable with large ATK/MAG buffs, chains and even debuffs (9S's ATK/DEF purge can help in easily defeating it in one turn). At the same time the player should make it so they can survive Sheratan's and the Fruit of Anger's attacks that turn (since Sheratan's attacks on Phase 2 will mostly be physical except for Bite Into and except on threshold or turn-based attacks).
Even if the Tank(s) are KO'd at this point it is of little concern, as during the next turn the player will aim to kill Sheratan with Bahamut, using all the factors considered plus that in Phase 2 she's weak to DEF/SPR breaks, damage should skyrocket. Likely the only one left alive will be the Fruit of Anger with some damage done to it. The Fruit will strike with status ailments and a strong single attack, but otherwise it is of no threat to the party who can apply defensive buffs, heal and what not. They should kill this fruit easily even with its DEF/SPR buffs, also since this one is the weakest of all fruits, the player can use this time to inflict Dark and Earth damage as it can be done to anybody not just Sheratan herself.
This tactic is an effective way to bypass painful damaging thresholds and an insufferable MP Drain on the whole party, however it relies significantly on the player's ability to fill the Esper Gauge before Phase 2 (if they cannot AoE Chain, they have one last chance during the assault on the Fruit of Tenacity). So it has some luck factor attached to it, although with proper chaining it should be quite doable.