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Ambushing
Pressing down and swap at the same time will cause the slave character to stay where she is. The master character can move about freely. Pressing down and swap together again makes the slave character return to following mode.
While in ambush mode, the slave character will slowly regenerate health. This is terribly useful in situations where the characters take a lot of damage.
Ambushing is mostly useful in dealing with opponents who block. Using the master character to distract an opponent who blocks frontal attacks, you can quickly switch to the slave character and attack from behind. A very useful strategy.
It's also useful in dodging spellcards, since the slave character is invincible.
Interference
While an opponent is the target of one character, if the other character strikes it, the game calls it "interference". Doing many of this type of paired attack in a round increases the coupling point level faster. It is unknown what impact the coupling points have, if any, on the game.
Spellcard use
Spellcards can be used against bosses even when they are not vulnerable (i.e. when their spell circles turn red). They can be used to easily bring boss health down to the point where one normal attack can finish them off when vulnerable.
Mana Burst
Using a mana burst can be used to cancel an attack against a character. If your current character is attacked, pressing the spellcard button quickly results in the other character saving her life. This can repel nearby enemies but won't damage them.
Resurrection
Hold Down+Spellcard near your fallen character to resurrect them at about ~10-15% of their maximum health. This uses up one mana / spellcard bar. You will also gain invulnerability for a medium amount of time.
Cancelling
You can cancel out of some special attacks (not spellcards) by dashing instead.
Specific strategies
Remilia + Flandre's last spellcard
This spellcard is very difficult to deal with, the window of vulnerability is short and the characters are hard to approach. However, they are attackable even when they are attacking and if you manage to attack them mid-flight a few times they were land much earlier than anticipated.
If you have Patchouli as one of your characters, it's a good idea to leave her in ambush mode in the very center of the screen where Remilia and Flandre strike and become vulnerable. The other character has to dodge the normal attacks and wait it out or time attacks properly and hit them. As soon as Flandre and Remilia strike the center, switch to Pathouli and activate her spell card. It will deal enough damage to them to bring them below half health. Alternately, Alice's spellcard, if timed correctly, can grab both Remi and Flandre at the same time, dealing 2x the normal damage. While unconfirmed, it is believed that this would be enough damage to instantly end the spellcard. For Marisa, keep her on one of the higher platforms near the sides of the screen. As soon as Remilia and Flandre strike, jump and cast the spellcard in mid-air to throw the Master Spark downwards, in their direction.
Lunatic mode notes
Since I'm playing through it now, I thought these might be helpful for other players. I used Marisa + Patchouli, so your strategies might change.
REMEMBER THAT YOU NEED TO DIE AND NOT CONTINUE FOR THE GAME TO SAVE YOUR PROGRESS. CRASHES/QUITTING/HITTING F1 WILL JUST MAKE YOU ANGRY
In addition, each team has its own progress. So stick to one really...
General changes:
- All enemies are a lot more aggressive, expect to be comboed for a major part of your health, even by normal enemies.
- General damage boost.
- If an enemy lands on the ground (exception being downward smashes, the initial crash does not count) they will recover and become invulnerable for a short while. Bosses return to their shielded state. This makes juggling absolutely crucial. Infact, bosses can recover even during their fall if you do not combo them immediately.
- You get one continue.
- Enemy attack changes. For example, the keyboard spirit now has three ghosts, the thunderfluffs from 5-x shoot 3 bolts, the orange fluff's fire travels on the ground etc. Be vary of this.
Notes:
- Do not be afraid to use your spellcards left and right. Many normal enemies can get incredibly annoying. Do note that for example, the red maids from 4-x are truly invulnerable while cleaning.
- Ambush mode restores health, Down+Spellcard resurrects. Remember this. It's perfectly viable later on to have on character on constant ambush and just switch to refill health.
- Switching in general is very useful for dodging attacks.
- Learn your combos. Marisa's attack chain combos into Patchu's which can be continued with the light rain (236+Attack) for example.
- For all stages, you should play this for survival, not for style.
- Punching all enemies to the lowest floor and then abusing specials to slowly pick them off is also very reasonable.
Marisa/Patchouli
- Excellent for playing keep-away.
- Quite powerful, decently chainable.
- Marisa's dash is wonderful.
- Both spellcards are really powerful.
- Ending the first combo with an upwards smash, then combo and the sideways smash, Marisa laser and then Patchu's light rain works nicely for example.
- Patchouli is slow. Really really slow.
- Patchouli charges magic automatically. You can use more spellcards that way.
Stage/Boss specific
Stages 1-X
Nothing really dangerous, just keep in mind that the blue fairies are more aggressive than on other difficulties and WILL be a bother.
Stage 1-4 Midboss
The flower fairy can block attacks from the front. That includes all attacks save for spellcards. Alternatively, lure her into attacking and then get into her back. Try to get the blue fairies elsewhere first though or they might get in the way.
Stage 1-5 Boss
- Shiki's first attack is mostly easily beaten by having a character on ambush on the other side or by timing Marisa's broom dash. Just don't forget about the middle attack.
- Shiki's second basically means that you stay on the middle platform after dodging the first bullets, then dash through the lasers for a smacking.
- Shiki's third is easy too. Stay under the platform and dash into the coin rings or jump over Komachi's strikes. You have to knock Komachi out (one normal combo is enough) to get Shiki vulnerable. Do mind that you should wait until the rain has subsided entirely before attacking her. Patchouli can attack Komachi inside the rings and shorten this quite nicely.
Stages 2-X
The red rabbits will try to sneak up on you and smash you hard. Always be prepared to interrupt your combos to dodge them. The blue ones' projectiles go over the entire screen. In addition, they can follow you even across different heights. This should make rabbits the priority target. You will also see fire fluffs here. They can attack faster than you think and the fire can travel, be very wary of them too.
Stage 2-4 Midboss The mid-boss is a red fluff that can zoom over an entire window's length. Just stay one floor below or above them and rain down specials.
Stage 2-5 Boss
- Mokou/Kaguya first: Go behind Kaguya, close to the wall. Then dash into the circle. Now you only need to keep dashing until you get an opening. Easy. You can also just smack Kaguya over and hit both with Patchu's 236+Attack.
- Mokou/Kaguya second: Stay behind Kaguya, hit when applicable.
- Mokou/Kaguya third: You can hit Kaguya and make Mokou hit her, but that's not really safe. Just jump up since Mokou hits the entire floor, then smack them around. Unlike other difficulties, Mokou's fire does not dissipate when she is hit - stay under the platforms and use Alice for ranged melee to knock her out of the spell.
- Mokou/Kaguya fourth: You can try to hit them during the circular motion, but Mokou's firebird seems to hit before it really arrives. The lower left corner is safe for a good part of the time. Patchu's spellcard is pretty good here. If you start it shortly below them, it might OHKO them.
Stages 3-x
You get to meet the grey keyboard fairies here. You will hate them. They command three ghosts which can resurrect shortly after being beaten. They also block all frontal attacks. They can turn quickly. Additionally, when you get too close to them, they will teleport away. Spellcards will still work though hint hint. I'd recommend saving them for last since they will take a lot of time anyway. Marisa's standard combo is fast enough to get them, Patchu's isn't. Marisa's broomspin attack (28+Attack) can easily take the ghosts down. If you are far away enough, the fairy might not look in your direction -> Marisa laser. Alternately, when you hear the sound of the fairy calling the ghosts, you could try attacking, but the timing is pretty hard. Ultimately, abuse spellcards. You will also meet grey fluffs. You shouldn't try attacking them during their jump, they will also turn into a spike if you are below them. They can still be comboed decently so they aren't that tough.
Stage 3-4 Midboss
A grey fairy with ~7. I'd strongly recommend killing some ghosts first or using spellcards like mad. Marisa's broomspin is good for the ghosts for example.
Stage 3-5 Boss
- Youmu's first: Stay in the middle, go up to the top/one level below depending on the position of Myon. The first slash stays, the second vanishes, ad infinum. Marisa's bomb or Patchu's light rain are good for hitting Youmu even when the slash stays.
- Youmu's second: Go to the top, the very top and slightly besides Youmu. She should do a long aerial spinning slash. Now you just need to pick her off. With Marisa, this becomes a joke. Just as note, Youmu can counter during this card.
- Youmu/Yuyuko third: The projectiles will slightly home in on you. Youmu will first 2x fire three projectiles, then switch sides and fire 8. You can dash through them and smack her around. In the meanwhile, Yuyuko will either send a shower of butterflies down or make a minor eruption. If you see a circle of light below you, get away. As long as you are careful to dash through Youmu's attacks and take your time dodging Yuyuko, this is also not hard.
- Yuyuko fourth: Use three spellcards. Win. Otherwise, place a character in the middle, right at Yuyuko before it starts and then just have your fun with her with some switching.
Stages 4-x
This is where the game gets quite tough. You will see grey and red fluffs commonly and many fairies. Of particular note are the red fairy maids. They are incredibly tough (they can eat three spellcards and still live). Their dash attack makes them completely invulnerable, they also block attacks from the front. Always clear the rest of the stage before tackling these. They can also change elevation by jumping, don't let that surprise you. Ultimately they are not hard. You can goad them into their cleaning attack and then just make them eat combos. Be aware that spellcards cannot damage them when they are cleaning. 4-2 has another flower fairy, not hard anymore I hope. As a side note, it is possible to graze a maid's cleaning attack - easily avoided.
Stage 4-4 Midboss
By now, if you are decently careful, this will only take a lot of time with the fairy maids.
Stage 4-5 Boss Not fun at all
Generally, your partner should be on Ambush, you will need a LOT of health here.
- Remilia/Flandre first: Remilia fires Gugnir at you regularly, every three attacks she is open for attack. Flandre will ever so often place a marker on you and trigger all nearby red dots too. If you place a partner in the opposite corner on Ambush and just switch very often, this is easy. In doubt, forfeit a combo to dodge an attack. Gugnir can hit for 75 % of your health.
- Remilia/Flandre second: Both girls' attacks depend on their position. Flandre way up means a half-screen laser sweep, near the ground it's for the upper screen, in a corner is basically a downwards laser over the screen. I haven't quite follow Remi's attacks enough yet to pin them down however. Just stay on your toes with her.
- Remilia/Flandre third: Remilia will turn into bats, the group will follow you three times (I think) and hurts a LOT. Then it will switch to a circular motion. It takes a lot of time for Remilia to reappear. Be always aware where she is. Flandre splits into 4, each with a unique attack pattern. After each attack, the clones becomes vulnerable. You need to kill all 3 clones to attack her. They tend to desync which makes it even harder. Use spellcards liberally here, it's going to take a while. And always avoid Remilia. It's not that difficult though, but you will want your partner in Ambush mode to regain health. And always avoid Remilia.
- Remilia/Flandre fourth: Hard, not fun. Put your partner in Ambush on the other side. Remilia sends two groups of orbs with each dash, Flandre sends her destruction markers. For the most part, you can stay on the ground and dash left and right to avoid a group or sometimes through the orbs. Always note the red light, it indicates where they will go. When both point to the middle, get away from there and they will be shortly open for attack. Marisa's Master Spark is useful here since 2 will kill them. Good luck if they strike too close to the ground though. Ultimately, if you use spellcards and Ambush, you should be able to pull through.
Stages 5-x
Yellow thunderfluffs. They summon one bolt at their position and two at yours (you can dash up to avoid it though). Kill them first. On every map. They don't attack if you are about half a screen away, so use Marisa's laser from there. Spam spellcards too. You will want them dead VERY quickly. Little else is new.
Stage 5-4 Midboss
4 thunderfluffs. How funny. Good luck killing them.
Stage 5-5 Boss
Boss depends on your team, the left out member will be the boss
Alice Margatroid with Patchouli/Marisa team
- Alice first: The dolls in the air will become a laser pattern, just dodge to the side. You can dash through the spinning ones, but it's risky. Just stay at the side and laser/rain-combo her I guess. Tedious, but safe. Another option is putting your character on ambush in the right position.
- Alice second: This is quite nutty. Observe where the dolls go, their direction indicates the lasers. She becomes vulnerable shortly after every two throws after a certain time (4 or 5 patterns). 4 dolls down: 4 lasers upwards, stand in the middle of them. 4 like a rectangle: Stay in the middle. 4 diagonally to the middle: Stay in the middle, ground. 2 diagonal, 2 down: The upper left/right. Or the platforms' position. She uses her patterns in a set order, so learn them. I've found that Marisa laser -> Patchu beam -> Marisa combo works well here for hitting her. You can also dash through the lasers, but you have to be careful with that.
- Alice third: She'll summon many many dolls. Some of them will get closer to you and then swing a blade, some will fly away, blink and then fire bullets. I think you might be able to kill all of them, but I haven't managed to do that yet before Alice resummons them. You should just hit Alice instead apparently, it works like Yuyuko. Later on, she will also summon polearm wielding dolls, they attack you quickly at close-range. Two Marisa lasers can kill a doll.
- When at 25% health, she will summon circles of polearm dolls that will explode into danmaku. Dash like mad here. I don't think you can really do anything except for spellcards and maybe short switches.
I'm NOT going to get the other teams to 5-5 so someone else will have to fill this out.
Marisa/Alice
- Combo-tastic. Especially with Alice's 28+Attack grab, but be careful with other enemies attacking you while abusing it.
- Adequately powerful.
- Marisa's dash is a godsend.
- Marisa's spellcard is far more useful against most bosses than Alice's.
- Decent combo example: combo with Marisa and use her rising attack, switch and use doll-grab, combo with Alice, wallslam towards Marisa, switch to Marisa, combo and use rising attack, rinse and repeat until out of mana charges.
- This combo has a short-to-mid range.
- The only team to not charge magic automatically, you can only do so by taking damage.
Stage/Boss Specific
(Congruent information copied from Marisa/Patchouli section)
Stage 1-X
Nothing really dangerous, just keep in mind that the blue fairies are more aggressive than on other difficulties and WILL be a bother.
Stage 1-4 Midboss
The flower fairy can block attacks from the front. That includes all attacks save for spellcards. Alternatively, lure her into attacking and then get into her back. Try to get the blue fairies elsewhere first though or they might get in the way.
Stage 1-5 Boss
- Shiki's first attack is mostly easily beaten by having a character on ambush on the other side or by timing Marisa's broom dash. Just don't forget about the middle attack.
- Shiki's second allows an ambush character to jump up while Shiki's lasers are going, or merely wait them out. Attack when she heads down, but be quick to switch and keep the combo going - she'll easily recover before she hits the ground.
- Shiki's third is easy too. Stay under the platform and dash into the coin rings or jump over Komachi's strikes. You have to knock Komachi out (one normal combo is enough) to get Shiki vulnerable. Using Alice's down smash can take Komachi out at any range, but she does have several invincible frames while attacking. I suggest slugging it out with Shiki or just sparking her, timing the spellcard button right before Shiki zaps Komachi.
Stages 2-X
The red rabbits will try to sneak up on you and smash you hard. Always be prepared to interrupt your combos to dodge them. The blue ones' projectiles go over the entire screen. In addition, they can follow you even across different heights. This should make rabbits the priority target. You will also see fire fluffs here. They can attack faster than you think and the fire can travel, be very wary of them too.
Stage 2-4 Midboss The mid-boss is a red fluff that can zoom over an entire window's length. A simple win is to dodge by lowering a level or jumping over, then using Marisa's beam from behind. Alice's down smash can be spammed to render this guy almost helpless.
Stage 2-5 Boss
- Mokou/Kaguya first: Go behind Kaguya, close to the wall. Then dash into the circle. Now you only need to keep dashing until you get an opening. Alice is easier to use here because Marisa's dash is harder to control. Set Marisa to ambush Kaguya, since she recovers so fast after being knocked away.
- Mokou/Kaguya second: Stay behind Kaguya, hit when applicable.
- Mokou/Kaguya third: You can hit Kaguya and make Mokou hit her, but that's not really safe. Just jump up since Mokou hits the entire floor, then smack them around. Unlike other difficulties, Mokou's fire does not dissipate when she is hit - stay under the platforms and use Alice for ranged melee to knock her out of the spell.
- Mokou/Kaguya fourth: You can try to hit them during the circular motion, but Mokou's firebird seems to hit before it really arrives. The lower left corner is safe for a good part of the time. Spark them after they collide - Marisa barely has to move from either corner in order to hit both of them for full damage. It should do anywhere from 3/4 to all their health in one spell.
Stages 3-x
You get to meet the grey keyboard fairies here. You will hate them. They command three ghosts which can resurrect shortly after being beaten. They also block all frontal attacks. They can turn quickly. Additionally, when you get too close to them, they will teleport away. Spellcards will still work though hint hint. I'd recommend saving them for last since they will take a lot of time anyway. Both characters' standard combos are fast enough to get them. Marisa's broomspin attack (28+Attack) can easily take the ghosts down. If you are far away enough, the fairy might not look in your direction -> Marisa laser. The ghosts can be dispatches easily by Alice's down smash when they're grouped together in front of you. This frees up a lot of aggro on the screen so you can focus on the killable targets. Alternately, when you hear the sound of the fairy calling the ghosts, you could try attacking, but the timing is pretty hard. Ultimately, abuse spellcards. You will also meet grey fluffs. You shouldn't try attacking them during their jump, they will also turn into a spike if you are below them. They can still be comboed decently so they aren't that tough.
Stage 3-4 Midboss
A grey fairy with ~7 ghosts. I'd strongly recommend killing some ghosts first or using spellcards like mad. Marisa's broomspin is good for the ghosts for example.
Stage 3-5 Boss
- Youmu's first: Stay in the middle, go up to the top/one level below depending on the position of Myon. The first slash stays, the second vanishes, ad infinum. Marisa's bomb is good for hitting Youmu even when the slash stays. If you feel like it, Marisa's spark can easily end this card if you jump and fire when Youmu is on bottom, or just target her if Marisa is below her.
- Youmu's second: Go to the top, the very top and slightly besides Youmu. She should do a long aerial spinning slash. Now you just need to pick her off. With Marisa, this becomes a joke. Jump, beam, jump, beam, until dead. Just as note, Youmu can counter during this card.
- Youmu/Yuyuko third: The projectiles will slightly home in on you. Youmu will first 2x fire three projectiles, then switch sides and fire 8. You can dash through them and smack her around. In the meanwhile, Yuyuko will either send a shower of butterflies down or make a minor eruption. If you see a circle of light below you, get away. As long as you are careful to dash through Youmu's attacks and take your time dodging Yuyuko, this is also not hard.
- Yuyuko fourth: Use three spellcards. Win. Otherwise, place a character in the middle, right at Yuyuko before it starts and then just have your fun with her with some switching.
Stages 4-x
This is where the game gets quite tough. You will see grey and red fluffs commonly and many fairies. Of particular note are the red fairy maids. They are incredibly tough (they can eat three spellcards and still live). Their dash attack makes them completely invulnerable, they also block attacks from the front. Always clear the rest of the stage before tackling these. They can also change elevation by jumping, don't let that surprise you. Ultimately they are not hard. You can goad them into their cleaning attack and then just make them eat combos. Be aware that spellcards cannot damage them when they are cleaning. 4-2 has another flower fairy, not hard anymore I hope. As a side note, it is possible to graze a maid's cleaning attack - easily avoided.
Stage 4-4 Midboss
By now, if you are decently careful, this will only take a lot of time with the fairy maids.
Stage 4-5 Boss ...Yeah, still working on this part. Their second card is a holy terror. All tactics from the Marisa/Patchouli section is probably valid here as well, except Patchouli's spellcard is obviously not available for the final card - either use Marisa's jumping Master Spark, or try to grab both of them at once with Alice's spellcard (easier said than done, but very possible).
Stage 5-5 Boss
- Patchouli first: Immediately activate Ambush mode, place Marisa on the right platform, Alice on the left, switch to Alice. Now, as soon as the first red fireball appears, switch to Marisa and laser Patchouli a bit, every sliver of damage helps. Go below Patchouli when she switches sides and adds a pink hue. As soon as you see the bullets, start dashing and dodging to your platform, once the red stream at Alice has subsided switch to her. The next part is hard since you actually need to hit Patchouli, A charged 236+Attack into your combo with Alice seems to work however if you get the timing down.
- Patchouli second: She'll summon many gears, which are aimed based on your position. This can be used to your advantage. She summons them in 4 sets. First, 6 slow gears, which will just bounce. Then 6 more slow gears which will also bounce off as you'd expect them. For a short while, the sets will overlap, then another 6, three of which will be fast, three will be slow, some of them wil bounce like a ball rather (in an arc). THEN she finally becomes vulnerable while summoning a circle of 6 gears that expands. I wouldn't attack in this time. Shortly afterwards, the second-last set disappears and you can just wait for her next vulnerable moment. During that time, I recommend a Marisa laser -> Alice's 28+Attack -> combos for actually dealing some damage. Should you not hit her during that time, she will become vulnerable every time she releases more gears until you hit her.
- Patchouli third: Destroy one of the spellcircles. Stand there during the energy waves. Hit her in the meanwhile. Repeat. Marisa's laser is highly suitable for this.
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