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One of the final bounties you may accept inMetaphor: ReFantaziois ‘The Apostles of the Apocalypse’, which has you and the team travelling to the Disgraced Ruins just north of Grand Trad. As one of the later game bounties, the dungeon the bounty is found in might be a little tougher, depending on your difficulty level of course.
We’ve got everything you need to know about defeating Bandit Chief Cistus Fervent Zealot, including party setup, battle strategies, and resistances and weaknesses you need to be aware of.
How To Unlock The ‘The Apostles Of The Apocalypse’ Bounty
‘The Apostles of the Apocalypse’ bountybecomes available on 9/26and hasno deadline.It can be accepted from any Recruitment Centre.
It will take youone day to travel to the Disgraced Ruins, so factor that into your calendar scheduling.
Quest Prep
Like all bounties, you can speak to an informant to learn more. In this case, it’s the informant in the Hushed Honeybee Inn and you can buy the Zealot of the Disgraced Ruins information for 3,500 reeve, or save yourself the cash as we’ll tell you what you need to know right here.
If you’re running short on cash,I recommend ensuring you sell off your valuables and anything you don’t needas it’s wise to go into this with a decent amount of reeve on you as you’ll likely be usingMerchant abilities that require reeve. Of course, you’ll want to ensure you have a decent backup supply of healing items.
Recommended Party Setup
There are a few viable strategies that can be used here, and depending on the difficulty level you’re playing on you might be able to go in more relaxed or need more fine-tuning. We’ve broken down which Archetypes we’ve used and why.
Healer Lineage
Back
You’ll need a healer,especially with Patra, and though any Archetype with the right inherited skills could work, Healer also hasLight abilities, which Bandit Chief Cistus is weak to. HavingDekunda to remove debuffswould be a great benefit too.
Paladin/Any
Front
Paladin hasLight magic Synthesis Skills that are great for targetting Bandit Chief Cistus’s weakness, and it can alsoact as a tank. InheritingMarakukaja to buff your team’s defenceswould be a bonus too.
Merchant Lineage
All Bandits, including Bandit Chief Sistus, canpotentially miss their Turn Icon by being distracted by abilities that cost reeve, or for the Bandits throughout the dungeon, simply by having a Merchant in your party. Havinga Merchant on your team is essential.
Berserker Lineage/Mage Lineage
Front/Back
There’s asecondary boss after Bandit Chief Cistus that only has a weakness to Strike. Berserker is an ideal candidate to maximise against this.
Mage Lineage is a good option to havedifferent elemental spells to deal with the Banditsthroughout the dungeon and that accompany Bandit Chief Cistus.
It’s a good idea tohave a party member on each of theseand swap them out as needed (such as bringing the Berserker in for the second boss).
If you have equipment that wards against status ailments (specifically Enraged), it’s worth equipping these.
How To Find Bandit Chief Cistus Fervent Zealot
Bandit Chief Cistus isfound on the deepest level in the Disgraced Ruins, but fortunately doesn’t need any additional work to spawn him. It’s not too difficult to locate him, thoughwe have a complete area walkthrough here if you need it.
Phase 1: Bandit Chief Cistus Movesets And Affinities
Bandit Chief Cistus will be accompanied by two bandits, and these will also need to be defeated to complete the battle:
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Reduces party’s hit rate and evasion.
Gains two Turn Icons.
Summon
Summons two new bandits. (Only uses this if you have defeated one or both of his previous bandits.)
The enemy’s attack and defense rises dramatically.
Ceremonial Stomp
Physical damage to one party member that lowers Hit rate and Evasion.
Battle Strategy
Phase 1: Bandit Chief Cistus
Bandit Chief Cistus will have two other Bandits with him. You can defeat them, but he’ll simply summon them back so you might as well just put up with them and kill them off at the end.
If you haveMarakukaja, use this on your first turnto buff your team’s defences. Use your best abilities and Synthesis Skills totarget Bandit Chief Cistus' weakness to Light.
You shouldaim to use a Merchant reeve skill at least once a turnif you’re able to to increase the chance that both the Bandit Chief and his Bandit cronies will miss their turn being enticed by money.
Depending on the difficulty level you are on, thisbattle should be fairly straightforward as long as you keep your party healed and remove status ailmentslike Enraged whenever you can so you don’t miss out on potentially losing your more powerful Synthesis Skills. You can also useDekunda to remove debuffs.
Once you’ve defeated the Bandit Chief,you’ll still need to defeat his Bandit buddies before the battle ends, at which point you’ll be thrown into another boss battle. If you took our advice and have a Mage lineage Archetype on you, you should be able to make quick work of these two stragglers.
Phase 2: Homo Sondro
Homo Sondro can be a bit annoying as it repels Strike, Pierce, and Electric, and resists Light. Itsonly weakness is Strike, which is why we recommend switching one of your party members out for a Berserkerat this point.
Focus down Homo Sondro byusing your Berserker’s best Synthesis Skills to smash through its HP. Keep your party healed, especially asSlam Shatter and Gakandeon can deal some decent damage across your teamand watch out for Electric attacks.
If you have items or abilities that remove enemy buffs, you may want to use these but Homo Sondro will just cast Breath of Battle again once you remove it.
The upside is it means that’s one Turn Icon that it’s not using to attack you.
Once you’ve felled this human beast, your task is finally done.
Rewards For Defeating Bandit Chief Cistus Fervent Zealot And Homo Sondro
You’ll earn115,000 reeveandfour points of Couragefor handing the Bounty in at the Recruitment Centre.
You’ll also get aStrength IncenseandFrostbite Axefor defeating Bandit Chief Cistus. You’ll also getGolden Armorfor defeating Homo Sondro, as well as the Founder’s Hatchet you need to hand into the Recruitment Centre.
