crazy character setups

[KFCrispy]

Yes, this game is not challenging enough to make you want to alter your uber attacker (Boost + Double-Edge + Fury + Crazed + Power and/or "just use Richard and Belcoot again and again and again") setups, but I've been trying to come up with ways to make some useless things more fun or useful. I hope you enjoy some new ways of playing the game!

Your only defense is Steel!
Steel Rune: 0.2x physical damage taken, MDF=0
This is actually a very effective and useful rune, especially if you don't want to destroy enemies with the typical line-up of over-powered attackers. You can assemble this rune pretty early; Steel Pieces are a very common drop at the Mechanical Bridge, and it pairs very nicely with the Power Rune, another rune relatively easy to assemble (boars). The Power Rune is the best attack-boosting rune for "low-ATK" characters; just to put it in perspective, your character must have an ATK of at least 600 against the final boss to have a 2x dmg rune out-perform the Power Rune.
Magic defense: obviously, a Steel Rune user's weakness is magic spells, but how many enemies actually use magic?
You can still do something against the magic spells--boost magic resistance. Having an S defense against an element nullifies damage--that's right, you can take 0 damage with the right elemental defense! And guess what--90% of the enemies use fire magic, so that's useful to boost throughout the game. Conveniently, you'll have access to Fire Dragon Armor (Salamander area boss in Lunas Woods) and Flame Amulets (Raftfleet) early game, as well as Pointy Hats and Ponchos in Lordlake. I setup Norma to have puny PDF using Pointy Hat and Poncho, and the Steel Rune's damage reduction is so powerful she is acting as a tank instead of a glass cannon.
Also, I noticed that characters with high MDF stats still have a high chance to Resist a magic spell (with Steel Rune equipped, of course), which reduces damage by 50%.
Equipment: With the Steel Rune transforming any character into a tank, you can save money by not updating equipment, and you can use equipment just for their extra effects-- stat boosts, elemental boosts, and Prosperity equipment. Another benefit is that lighter equipment has less or no SPD penalty than the heavy stuff, giving your character a better chance to multi-hit.

Final boss: you can make the final boss even more of a joke by arming certain characters with Steel Runes, Ponchos, and Pointy Hats. Even if you have 0 PDF, the Steel Rune would reduce the Heat and Light Sprite attacks to just ~75 damage, and of course the Rune Incarnation itself will be spamming those "sun lasers" that deal nothing! So yes, even Norma can sit in the front as your tank. Keep in mind that only characters with a natural B or A in Sun affinity will be able to reach S with the available equipment that raises Sun defense.

NOTE: Based on my tests with Steel and Boundary Rune, it seems there is a possible bug OR a lot of things that look like magic count as physical damage. hmmmmm


Strike-Back
I enjoy seeing Strike-Back activate to punish all the enemies that attacked the character, but unfortunately you will likely kill all the enemies with regular attacks before seeing too many activate. But anyway... you can pair Strike-Back with Firefly, use the formation that activates the target status, or just put Strike-Back on your front line characters since they are the only ones who should be getting hit by "strike-back-able" attacks. Archers, mages, multi-hit attacks (Ulses), and a handful of physical attacks don't activate Strike-Back, unfortunately.
Although the Mow Down characters are M-range, meaning they have decreased accuracy if placed in the front row, I do find it fun when Strike-Back activates a bunch of Mow Downs that devastate an enemy party.
If you like buffing up your party on the first round of a boss battle, try it out--activate Battle Oath, Battlefield, Sword of Magic and get some free hits (hopefully after you've buffed up).
The True Men formation sets EVADE to 0, so this would maximize the chance for Strike-Back--no dodging or parrying occurs in this formation.

3 strikes and you're out
I'm sure many players have seen this and thought "doh!" (I did, and end up forgetting to correct the problem because it rarely happens...) - combine Blood Armor with the Boost Rune and do it for your whole party. everyone will be KOed by the Boost HP=1 + Blood Armor HP drain effects at the end of the third round causing Game Over! This setup can keep you on your toes...