Health update at end of article

Introduction

I wish to continue a new series of posts in which i share my successful Alt. Arena 3 clears for both the video and explanation/rationale for my sub choices. For this article, I wish to take a closer look at Orphen as he is a powerful leader who does not rely on 7×6 or Auto Follow Up Damage to succeed.

Furthermore, Orphen offers a modestly unique play style as you must manage your health and is dependent on Zaerog Core for success. With that being said, his Effective Health can be difficult to manage and his largest weakness is healing to just above 50% and losing his massive Damage Reduction shield.

This is by far his largest weakness and players should become familiar with their healing output to better gauge how much health will be replenished. On the other hand, this team can pump out a ridiculous amount of damage and tanky spawns should never be an issue.

Video clear

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Notable Alt. Arena 3 mechanics

Alt. Arena 3 is currently the hardest dungeon available in North America and will push many teams to their limits. As such, it is important to understand the key mechanics that must be addressed.

The following is a brief summary of the notable mechanics in the dungeon. This may not be an exhaustive list for every team but is the checklist I use when team building for this dungeon.

• Damage Absorb Void (Fujin -style)
  • 2 turns is ideal
• Jammer skyfall buff (eg.  )
• Skill Delay Resists  for the above
• VDP
• FUA (maybe )
• 100% Blind Resist
• 100% Poison Resist
• Cloud Resist
• Effective HP > 100,375 (largest preemptive)
• One Awoken Bind clear or orb changer that removes Poison
• 1 Dark Resist or built in Damage Reduction
• Not reliant on Light for Damage Reduction/activation
  • If reliant, bring shield or active that counters unable to match mechanics
• Self RCV buff/debuff or exceptionally high RCV

Being able to address each of these options will ensure a much higher clear rate overall.

Orphen overview

 Oprhen

Active: Reduce HP by 50%; Unlock all orbs; Change Heal orbs to Dark orbs; Lock Dark orbs (8 -> 3 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x all stats for Dark Att.; 3x ATK when 6 or more combos; 4x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when below 50% HP [2.25/324/2.25/75%]

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:   
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 1109 (1386)
HP 4293 (5366) / ATK 2590 (3238) / RCV 485 (606)
Weapon Assist:     

Pros	Cons
Fast charging active skill -50% HP cut Heart -> Dark + Lock Dark Strong LS multipliers Deceptively tanky Massive damage output Can use any Dark sub High personal damage Balance typing Can use any latent Strong stalling capabilities	Must be below 50% to deal meaningful damage Damage Reduction only occurs <50% Shield only takes effect if below 50% when getting hit Healing can be deadly Reliant on Zaerog Core

Orphen boasts many strong aspects including a fast charging active, higher personal damage while also owning a VDP , ability to use any Dark sub, along with impressive multipliers for his leader skill. While he is unable to benefit from 7×6 or Auto Follow Up Damage, he can fully activate with 6 combos along with having access to Zaerog Core for his 1 turn -50% HP active that also provides movement time.

This is valuable as players can always stay in their damage zone while also enjoying copious amounts of movement time. With that being said, I feel Zaerog Core is vital to the success of Orphen in harder content as the HP reset is invaluable along with Zaerog Core also functioning as your hardest hitting card who can essentially solve most of your damage requirements on his own. As such, the rest of your team can be populated with utility-based options as damage should not be a problem.

While all of this sounds fantastic, the largest hurdle Orphen teams have to overcome is managing their Health. It is easy to cut 50% due to Zaerog Core but maintaining a healthy amount can be difficult.

This is because his Damage Reduction only occurs while below 50% HP (75% or 4x more Effective HP) and is only calculated after matching orbs and healing. This is further compounded by the 2.25x RCV which means players must either fully heal or not heal at all. As such, players must have > 100,375 HP to survive the potential Kundali preemptive as there is a strong possibility you will be healed to full health on a regular basis.

On the other hand, stalling can become quite easy, especially against multi hit opponents as the first hit may bring you below half health which then grants 75% Damage Reduction for each subsequent hit. This means a 1 combo will still trigger the full 75% Damage Reduction and means you have effectively 4x more health than shown. This ability to stall can help with juggling actives before the final floors which inevitably increases clear rates.

Team building

The following is the Oprhen team I was able to make from my Monster Box. It is able to address all of the above mechanics while having sufficient health to survive any preemptive at full health:

Solo Alt Arena 3 – Orphen HP Badge
Card
SA
Inherit	(5190)	(5417)	(5417)	(5625)	(4964)	(5425)
Latent		x3	x5	x6	x6	x6

As mentioned above, Zaerog Core is critical to the team’s success as both an HP cut and massive damage solution. With this in mind, players can technically bring any utility sub they desire and a perfect example is the farmable Halloween Myne who provides a 1-turn cooldown, Cloud Resist , Jammer /Blind Resist, and most importantly, two Team HP . This provides a sizable amount of added bulk and I chose to inherit Black Ranger’s Weapon for Dark Skyfalls along with an on demand 30% Damage Reduction. While it may seem like overkill for more Damage Reduction, I want to stress how dangerous it is being just above 50% health and having an additional safety net can save you at key moments. Furthermore, the Skyfall buff provided from Black Ranger and Nergigante can be kept up at a high frequency.

One thing I tend to do if unsure what to inherit after covering Resists is to just add more Orb Enhances. This provides a noticeable amount of passive damage and helps ensure I can sweep a given floor with a single Dark combo.

I feel Valentine’s Ney is still a strong sub, but her damage output pales in comparison and she is mostly used for her strong base active as it provides a tricolour board along with Bind/Awoken Bind clear. She is far from needed but I felt was the best option for a card with a useful base active.

Finally, Zaerog Core is further bolstered by Sagat’s Eye Patch for another <50% awakening. This is important because it means a 6 combo board with VDP will still kill things which will happen often when FUA is needed. I normally wish to use Killers on key damage cards but for Zaerog Core, his selection is lackluster due to his lone Dragon typing and decided to use Skill Delay Resists and the single Dark Damage Reduction.

Conclusion

Orphen is able to lead an incredibly hard hitting team as he is able to beautifully use Zaerog Core. This will inevitably solve most of your damage requirements which then allows you to populate the team with cards of your choice.

While he is capable of clearing content such as Alt. Arena 3, the health management can be a nightmare and healing to just above 50% has led to numerous unfortunate deaths.

Let me know what you think about Orphen along with these types of posts moving forward

Happy Puzzling!

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Health update

In regards to my current health situation, I am slowly returning to my normal baseline of pain but am still far from it. I am no longer dependent on my cane for moving around the condo but at the same time, have not truly left the house outside of going down to the first floor to get the mail twice (used cane).

Right now, my main hurdle is fatigue from pain and inability to concentrate along with standing will cause me to experience sharp shooting pains that radiate out from my back down through my buttocks and down each leg to around mid thigh as well as wrapping around into the groin. As such, I need a chair in the kitchen and all tasks must be broken up into smaller chunks as constant rest is needed.

Regardless, thank you for all of your continuous support these past two weeks ❤