Quick Links
If you’ve arrived inMan-Eater’s GrottoinMetaphor: ReFantazio, then you’re probably here at least in part to collect the bounty on the infamous Alpha Rockworm Valmo. But once you reach him, you’ll come to find, there’s two Alpha Rockworms. That’s not so bad… until you’ve found yourself tussling with three, four, or even five of them.
The key is to beat them both at the same time, lest the remaining Rockworm Valmo summon a fresh friend. In theory, it’s an easy thing. In practice, it can get uglier than you might anticipate. Here’s how to beat Alpha Rockworm Valmo in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Pre-Battle Prep
To get started, you mustpick up the bounty, ‘Man-Eater in the Mines’, from a recruitment centre. Then, follow our walkthrough forMan-Eater’s Grottountil it brings you to your mark.
Before taking onAlpha Rockworm Valmo, you should strongly considerreaching the point in the story upon which you’ve recruited Heismay.
Not only does having afour-person partynaturally afford you more power, but he’s the best candidate for a considerable part of our strategy. Heismay’ssky-high Agility statensures that he’s pretty muchalways got a turn when you need him.
What we’re going to be doing with him ishaving him inherit Tarunda from the Faker Archetype. As fast as he is, he cankeep applying it as neededto curb the Valmos' enthusiasm considerably.
This will be especially handy if things take a turn for the worse andbackup Valmos arrive.
Be sure toheal up as best as possiblebefore entering the room with this boss.
Healer
Back
Spend most turns healing, either party-wide when needed, or single-target if necessary.
Gunner
Team up with Hulkenberg for her Magic Knight’s Hammer synthesis skill. If remaining actions don’t allow for it, either pass turn, or help heal.
Magic Knight
Front
Utilize her Magic Knight’s Hammer synthesis skill. If remaining actions don’t allow for it, use Knight’s Proclamation.
Thief
Cast Tarunda on each target. Maintain it. Plunder Life at the proper intervals; healing items if needed.
Take it from us:don’t use a Seeker/Magic Seeker in this fight. The Alpha Rockworm Valmos’Fire Breathattack is deadly enough, as-is, without it giving themadditional actionsbecause they’ve struck your Seeker’s weakness.
Heismay will require the third rank in Fakerin order to transfer theTarundaskill over to hisThief Archetype. Faker, in turn, requires you to haveforged a bond with Alonzo, whosefollower recruitment quest begins in Martira.
Although we used Strohl as ourGunnerto team up withHulkenberg for her Magic Knight’s Hammersynthesis, you shouldn’t feel boxed-in. That said,youshouldbe aware of our logic here.
So long assomeone has Gunner, this will work - although, truth be told, all that really means is thatyou’d swap the protagonist’s role with Strohl’s, and Strohl isn’t as great a healer. So, yeah.
—
Moveset
Sandstorm
Moderate party-wide damage. Lowers the party’s Hit and Evasion by one stage each time it’s used.
Paralysis Fang
Low single-target physical damage with a fair chance of inflicting Paralysis.
Moderate single-target physical damage. Lowers Defense to its minimum stage.
Summon
Only used when one remains. Summons another Alpha Rockworm Valmo at full health. Used infinitely until you successfully kill them both in one round.
Battle Strategy
The crux of our battle strategy involvedusing Hulkenberg’s Magic Knight’s Hammeronceon each Alpha Rockworm Valmo. We can’t emphasize that enough:just once.
Magic Knight’s Hammer inflicts aweakness to Electricwhile dealingwell north of 500 damage the first time it connects. But the first time it connects, itdoesn’tfactor in the weakness. That’s based on subsequent turns.
While it would, in theory, be nice to strike the target for even more than 500+ with this synthesis skill,hitting the same target a second time will kill them. Unless you’re100 percent confident that you’re able to finish off its twin the same turn, do not do this.
What to do after Magic Knight’s Hammer has connected, then?Hulkenberg can use Knight’s Proclamationto help draw some of the enemy’s attacks toward her.Strohl can assist in whatever way you need him to, whilethe protagonist heals and heals and heals.
Meanwhile, you’ll bemitigating much of the Alpha Rockworm Valmos' significant attack powerby having Heismaycast Tarunda.
Tarundalowers the target’s attack stat by one stage per casting. Pay close attention to whenthe attack down arrows on each Valmo are blinking, which means the debuff will disappear the next time they act.Cast it againbefore it happens.
Once both Valmos have had a good chunk of their health shaved off with Magic Knight’s Hammer, it’s all aboutdealing “chip” damage. Incremental - slow and steady saves your hide. Youneed to get them both down to as close to a sliver of HP as possible with actions to spare.
Then, deliver the finishing blow to one, followed by the other.If you fail to get the second one, it will summon another Alpha Rockworm Valmo. This continues in perpetuity. Of course, this meansthe fight gets harder and harder.
Frankly, if that happens, it might be in your best interest toreset the battle altogether. At best, you can keep it uptwo, maybe three more times. After that, you’ll probably need to be overleveled in order to survive further arrivals.
