It’s been roughly a month since our last raid and for some reason we’re doing Hieronymus… again.

I enjoy a good Red raid as much as anyone but we basically just had ShiroKuro between Hiero raids. It’s true we had the Chroma event so the other bosses made an appearance, but we still haven’t seen Goz in forever.

But alright, Hieronymus is back and this time with the brand new TORMENT difficulty, as if Insane wasn’t difficult enough; Nexon had to add a new difficulty to make it even more difficult to reach Platinum by just being really good at Extreme difficulty.

But in the month since we’ve last seen our red robed friend, has much changed? Well… a few things.

Core Mechanics

The Hieronymus fight mechanics revolve entirely around healing. The first thing players will see when they enter the arena is a green lantern. When healed, this lantern applies a permanent debuff to Hieronymus which increases the damage he takes.

Applying this buff is crucial for high speed runs.

Eventually, Hieronymus will enter a second phase. This second phase changes the map and now there will be a red lantern. Healing the red lantern will interrupt Hieronymus’ abilities. This is crucial for interrupting “Pain in the Desert” when his ATG gauge is full.

Lastly, Hieronymus will cast “Urgata” and apply a debuff that will explode with damage on a target. This debuff goes away if the target is brought to 100% HP before it explodes.

Our Team Suggestion

Strikers

• Shimoe Koharu: The “Queen” of Hieronymus raids. Koharu allows you to use a Striker slot as a healer instead of one of your Special slots. The reason this is good is because like most raids, the fastest way to kill Hieronymus is the tried and true “stack buffs on a big single-target damage dealer” strat which relies on Special students with buffs.
• Rikuhachima Aru: Aru is replacing the Azusa this time. Mainly because in Urban Warfare Aru has an S environment boost to damage, bolstered to SS if you’ve reached the first Limit Break of her signature weapon. Even if you’re not highly invested in Aru, she’ll definitely compete with Azusa.
• Hayase Yuuka: Frankly, any tank can work here; especially if you’re not pushing Insane difficulty. But if you’re gonna bring in a tank, you may as well have one that does Explosive damage.
• Sunaookami Shiroko: You could put anyone here but we recommend Shiroko because her EX ability is cheap and easy to cycle through for more Azusa specials.

Special

• Aikiyo Fuuka (New Year): Fuuka and Ako swap places this time! Ako isn’t fond of Urban Warfare meanwhile Fuuka will give your team a nice boost thanks to it. But Ako is still usable.
• Akeboshi Himari: Himari’s buff to EX recovery is always good to have.

Substitutions

• Amami Nodoka (Hot Spring) (Replaces Koharu and Himari): Nodoka is a great healer for Hieronymus, the only problem is she takes up a Support spot. If you don’t have Koharu you’re going to need to replace one of your buffers and stick someone else on your Striker team.
• Kozeki Ui (Replaces Shiroko): Ui is a good replacement for Shiroko, her EX ability further buffs your damage dealer while reducing the cost of their next 2 EX abilities.
• Izayoi Nonomi (Swimsuit) (Replaces Aru): Nonomi is arguably better than Aru, but many players may not have her; and even if they do they might not have her invested. If you have her though, go wild!
• Asagao Hanae (Replaces Koharu and Himari): Another good Special healer if you don’t have Nodoka, less than ideal but she does the job.
• Amau Ako (Replaces Fuuka or Himari): We’re sure you’re sick of seeing her, but Ako still stands out as a big buffer that can dramatically increase damage with some lucky crits. She’s just as good as she usually is, just Fuuka and Himari are a better team in Urban fights.