Let me tell you, fellow Trailblazers, the moment I unlocked the Echo of War for The Great Septimus, I thought, "How bad could it be?" Oh, sweet, naive past me. I was about to walk into a three-act theatrical performance of pain, courtesy of Penacony's most dramatic boss, Sunday. It's like the developers decided that Memory of Chaos and Pure Fiction weren't giving us enough sleepless nights, so they cooked up this weekly symphony of suffering. The only external help you get is the desperate hope that your team doesn't get obliterated in the opening scene! This boss isn't just a fight; it's a full-blown philosophical crisis with a health bar.

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Unlocking This Spectacle of Struggle 😭

Getting to this fight is a journey in itself. It's not just a quick hop on the Astral Express. Oh no. You have to:

  • Finish the Herta Space Station story. (Easy peasy).

  • Survive the eternal winter of Jarilo-VI. (Brace yourself).

  • Navigate the political drama of the Xianzhou Luofu. (Grab some popcorn).

Only then do you earn your ticket to Penacony. And guess what? You can't just show up at the Grand Theater! You have to play through the entire Penacony story to unlock both the venue and this weekly emotional rollercoaster. It's the game's way of saying, "You think you're ready? Prove it."

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Phase One: The Intimidation Game

You enter the arena, and there he is: one giant, imposing figure surrounded by four annoying little fairies called "Echoes of Faded Dreams." I immediately felt the pressure. Here's the lowdown on Phase One mechanics that had me scrambling:

  • Tricky Toughness: The boss has a Toughness Bar with three multipliers. It's not three times the health, but breaking each section gives your team a stackable shield. Think of it as a consolation prize for your effort.

  • Focus Fire: There are five targets, but you only need to hit one. All damage, even to the echoes, transfers to the main boss. So, you can whack those fairies to your heart's content!

  • The Big Ouchie: His main attack summons all echoes to blast your team with massive Imaginary DMG. However, here's the pro-tip: if an echo is Weakness Broken and can't act, it won't deal damage in this attack. Weakness Break is your best friend!

  • Alien Dream State: Just to keep things "fun," he can sometimes put one of your characters in a dazed Alien Dream state. Because why not add a little chaos?

Phase Two: The Shield of Suffering

Phase Two feels familiar but with a spicy, painful twist. The boss gets a new ability that grants him a shiny white shield bar above his HP. When this shield is up, he becomes a nightmare:

  • Takes reduced damage.

  • Deals increased damage.

  • Becomes immune to Toughness shredding. (Rude!)

The worst part? He starts this phase with his Ultimate ready, and it can recharge. You must break his and the echoes' Toughness to delay this apocalyptic move. Letting him Ultimate with the shield active is basically asking for a team wipe.

Phase Three: Sunday's Philosophy Exam

This is where the boss sheds his old name and becomes "Embryo of Philosophy," Sunday. The mechanics do a complete 180. Here's the new syllabus:

Aspect Description
Weakness Sunday gains all seven combat types as weakness. Every character can shred Toughness!
Charge-Up He enters a state, gaining stacks (up to 7).
Ultimate Catastrophe At 7 stacks, he unleashes an attack that deals countless hits of damage to all allies and ignores DEF. Yikes!
Toughness Gimmick He gets more Toughness bar multipliers (though the actual Toughness is the same). The goal? Break as many bars as possible to stack a huge shield to survive his Ultimate. You'll likely need to get him down to 1-2 bars of Toughness to have enough shield. It's a race against his stacks!

My Dream Team (To Save My Sanity)

After several... let's call them "learning experiences," here are the MVPs for this fight:

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  1. Harmony Trailblazer (The Free Hero!): The absolute star of this show. Their ability to capitalize on Weakness Broken enemies is perfect. After using their Ultimate, attacking broken foes deals extra Super Break DMG based on Toughness DMG and Break Effect. They're a gift from the developers for this specific fight.

  2. Aventurine (The Cheat Code): Putting him on auto-battle sometimes feels like you're cheating. His shields and follow-ups make the fight significantly more manageable.

  3. Ruan Mei (The Breaker): Her increased Weakness Break efficiency is already S-tier. Pair her with Harmony Trailblazer, and you've got a breaking machine.

  4. Follow-up Attackers (The Action Economy Kings): Characters like Dr. Ratio or Topaz are great because their follow-ups don't count as character actions. In the final phase, this prevents Sunday from taking a turn after their attack, giving you precious time to manage his stacks.

  5. The Toughness Wrecking Crew: Any character who can deal massive Toughness DMG is a welcome addition. Think Imbibitor Lunae, Acheron, or Robin. The name of the game is breaking bars to get those life-saving shields.

So there you have it, my saga against The Great Septimus. It's a fight that demands strategy, specific team builds, and a healthy dose of patience. But with the right crew (and maybe a prayer to the RNG gods), you too can claim victory and those sweet weekly rewards. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go lie down. Just thinking about those seven stacks is giving me flashbacks! 😵‍💫