Boss Guide: Ch29-5 (Avalon le Fae Part 3)

Demon Hound Barghest is a prime example of a challenge whose main problems stem from the forced Support Servants being not up to the job than the actual quest mechanism itself. 

The biggest issue with this fight is that the Master can only pick 2 of their own Servants in addition to the three NPC Servants. While NPC Mash Kyrielight is quite prominent, NPC Lancelot (Saber) is a lot more lackluster and NPC Gawain is particularly inefffective. The limited number of Servants slots greatly hinder actual team variety, especially when Barghest’s skill set is quite anti-stall. 

Some of the notable mechanics Master should pay attention to when taking on Barghest includes (but not limited to):

• One of Barghest’s skills can remove the 3 latest buffs from all party members, making skill orders an actual concern to minimize the impact. Upon depleting her first Break Bar, she will also remove all buffs from all allies, which is particularly troublesome if it falls onto one of her NP turns as there won’t be any defensive buffs available to protect the team. 
• Another skill of hers will permanently reduce all allies’ Max HP by 3,000, making prolonged battle a futile endeavor. 
• Any time Barghest defeats an enemy, she will immediately increase her Attack as well as increase her own NP Bar by 1. This makes the fight particularly snowbally, as untimely death can turn into a whole teamwipe with her AoE Noble Phantasm.
• One of her skills can randomly stun a party member, further increasing the randomness factor.
• Barghest can instantly kill an enemy with a 5 turns delayed debuff. This effect can be removed so pay close attention to this. 

Strategy:

• As Master can only bring two more Servants for this battle and all the NPC Servants initial placement can be changed, there are basically two main approaches: 
  • The first one is to run one or two powerful units in the back and use the 3 NPC Servants first to take out her first Break Bar, essentially taking the terrible first Break effect away with them.
  • The second approach is to create a team of three around Mash Kyrielight or Lancelot (Saber) (or both) as they are both Arts Servants, with Gawain in the back not involved. 

Due to this fight limited’s Servant slot, the available options are limited. Generally, one slot should already be dedicated to a main Damage Dealer. The remaining slot depends on roster availability.

• ST Archer in general will be a good pick against Barghest. The best ones should be Archers with powerful bursts for 2-3 turns, or packed with strong utility / anti trait bonus. Super Orion in particular is easily the best candidate as his burst rotation either when supported or as a solo Servant is incredibly potent, and he also has an anti Wild Beast modifier that absolutely tears through Barghest. 
• One offensive Support is generally preferable as the fight favors killing Barghest early instead of dragging out, particularly a Support that can also bring defensive utility such as Altria (Caster).
• A last man standing type of Servant is also not a bad idea if the Master wants to use double DPS composition. Preferably it should be someone with good survivability on top of decent damage such as Heracles or Cu Chulainn (Alter)

• Note that these videos are not affiliated with GamePress, but showcase some lineups that are effective in clearing the final challenge. These can serve as a good reference for how to rotate skills during this quest or simply to have a look at the encounter before diving in.
  • Super Orion + 3 NPCs (7 turns)
  • Tam Lin Tristan setup (7 turns)
  • NPC Lancelot Saber DPS with Altria Caster (8 turns)
  • Asvatthaman setup (8 turns)
  • Low Rarity Kid Gilgamesh + Robin Hood setup (12 turns)