Memories of the Lunar Sea

For the NA/Global Server, this Mystic Code was released very early. An Arts-based Mystic Code, it has some niche uses in buffing Arts Servants with high hit counts. However, Arts teams generally prefer a different set of effects. Punishment is a niche, but occasionally very powerful event. 

Skills Explanation:

• Spiritron Boost grants one servant up to 50% Arts Performance buff for 1 turn. Since Arts performance buffs also increase NP generation/star generation buff for Arts cards, it works extremely well with Servants who can capitalize on these other bonuses. Can be useful for Arts Servants without an Arts buff of their own, and if their refund from their NP is particularly good. 

• Stepping Stone to Ultimate Victory increases one servant’s Critical Star generation by up to 100%. Although this is a very high amount, a Servant's hit counts are what can make this skill valuable. Servants with many hits on their NP or cards will find themselves generating a tidy sum of stars, especially as at base Arts cards cannot generate critical stars at all. 

• Punishment negates the first buff that an enemy receives. This can be particularly effective in fights where the boss has a powerful self-buff, like Marie Antoinette and her invincibility. Punishment’s cooldown and singular instance of effect lowers its influence because some bosses can simply spam buffs, cleanse it with a skill of their own, or use an unimportant buff to remove the effect. It can be very powerful to prevent some of the dispellable effects that occur when breaking an HP bar in Epic of Remnant and on. 

Notable Strategies and Users:

In theory, this Mystic Code works best with an Arts-focused multi-hit Servants to make use of its two first buffs. Notable examples include Orion or Vlad III, who have powerful multi-hit Noble Phantasms and skill sets that revolve around critical stars. EMIYA and Chloe von Einzbern are also a notable user, as they have Noble Phantasms with high hit counts, plenty of Arts cards, and highly synergize with critical stars. The Arts buff itself is of course a potent Refund tool and damage increase as well. 

Punishment can be used for some cheesy strategies on bosses. For example, a common boss buff on breaking their HP bar is for them to buff themselves with Pierce Invincibility. In most cases, an unimpeded NP spells death for a Master's team, but often this buff can be either removed or, in this case, prevented from ever being applied through Punishment. Some buffs cannot be dispelled or prevented of course, but boy does it feel good to circumvent a mechanic this way. 

Leveling Value:

The high scaling buff values of the Arts and Star Generation buff, and the required EXP to completely level it up being only marginally higher than the default Mystic Code, are both incentives to level Mystic Code.  However, unless a Masters has cause to use it often, it may not be worth leveling it up for the higher values alone due to the difficulty in making the most of all three skills.