Deep inside the Abandoned Tomb, a treasu🔴re chest contains a priceless ring which you will need to delꦇiver to the enigmatic Alonso in order to unlock a new follower in . But the ring's in a regular chest, and you can't help but notice there's a massive chest conspicuously placed to tempt you to your doom.

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Is this t🌼he real life? Is this just fantasy? Metaphor: ReFantazio takes the best of Atlus to create something new in a high fantasy setting.
Neither could we. Here's the easiest way we have found to defeat the nefarious Trove Imitec once it's sprung its trap. It's a🥃 powerful fiend if you head to the Abandoned Tomb as early as the game anticipates you will, but with a few quick tips, you'll make mincemeat of it.
Pre-Battle Prep
It probably goes without saying, but do your prep work prior to opening the chest. Beyond that simple rule, we have two big suggestions. The first is to recruit Heismay before attempting this dungeon.
With Heismay, not only does your party number rise from three to four - all of whom can participate in combat simultaneously - but you unlock the Thief Archetype, which is rather valuable for this fight.
The other thing that's pivotal is that you've unlocked the Merchant Archetype, which is, if anything, far more valuable in the battle with Trove Imitec.
To do so, you must get Brigitta as a follower back in Grand Tran, which, in turn, will require Rank 2 Wisdom.
It's not a bad idea to have someone with Hama, the early Light-elemental spell (or anything better than Hama within the Light spell tree, of course). Get Medi on someone, though don't keep them as a Healer - transfer it to a sturdier class.
Make sure any Healers, Mages, or the like are in the back row to help mitigate damage from Trove Imitec's powerful physical attacks. Lastly, if you have the Healer's Patra, find a skill slot for it.
Even if you do, bring ten or more Thrilling Tintinnabulators. The aim, between the Thrilling Tintinnabulators and/or Patra, is to be as prepped as possible to cure the Sleep ailment.
Recommended Party Setup
Character |
Archetype |
Formation |
Strategy |
---|---|---|---|
Protagonist |
Magic Seeker |
Front |
When the timing's right, coordinate with Strohl for Strohl's Energy Ray synthesis. Whenever it's not doable, have him supply castings of Medi. If neither, then Hama;♑ otherwise, he's on Patra or Thrilling Tintinnabulator duty. |
Strohl |
Gunner |
Back |
Keep the synthesis skill Masukukaja up to increase the party's Hit and Evasion. For the turns that it's up, have Strohl instead use synthesis with the protagonist for Energy Ray. |
Hulkenberg |
Magic Knight |
Front |
Knight's Proclamation to divert Trove Imitec's attacks toward her when possible. She may at times need to be the one 🐽wielding Patra or tossing Thrilling Tintinnabulators. If she's the one with Hama, use when possiblဣe. |
Heismay |
Thief |
Front |
Gold Attack, Gold Attack, Gold Attack. We're relying on the Thief's high Agility to keep him busy with this Merchant-inherited skill. |
Trove Imitec Moveset And Affinities
Affinities And Weaknesses
Slash |
— |
---|---|
Pierce |
— |
Strike |
— |
Fire |
— |
Ice |
— |
Electric |
— |
Wind |
— |
Light |
Weak |
Dark |
Resist |
Moveset
Hellbound |
Heavy physical damage to one target. |
---|---|
Sleepy Air |
Trove Imitec attempts to inflict the Sleep ailment on every party member. Fairly𝔍 🔴high chance of success every time. |
Skull Cracker |
Extreme physical damage to one target. |
Crushing Blow |
Heavy party-wide physical damage. |
Battle Strategy
Trove Imitec is the classic example of a fight that can either go very well, or very poorly, and the board's pretty much set in one direction or the other from the first couple of rounds. We need to get in fast with the following strategy to prevent Trove Imitec from an early upper hand.
As soon as you can, have Strohl use the Masukukaja synthesis to raise the team's Hit and Evasion. If you're following our setup, you should have two allies capable of assisting him with it.
Heismay must use Gold Attack relentlessly. The temporary setback in reeve more than pays for itself; Trove Imitec will lose a turn action every round because it's distracted by the money.
Between the higher evasion, and the reduced number of times Trove Imitec can attack, you'll have tilted things in your favor. Even so, Sleepy Air will doubtless hit you at times, and as it's party-wide, that can be detrimental.
Here's where the Thrilling Tintinnabulators and/or Patra come into play. So long as it isn't Heismay (unless absolutely necessary), anyone can and should help to wake their allies to prevent things from es🎃calating with a fully slumbering party.
As for your offense, chip away with the Gunner/Magic Seeker synthesis skill, Energy Ray, to take advantage of Trove Imitec's weakness to Light. Having Hama av🦂ailable to supplement Energy Ray is a good idea.
Ultimately, it's OK if things take a little longer, so long as you maintain Masukukaja and Gold Attack. Trove Imitec doesn'♎t really have a ton of HP, so this shouldn't🍃 take long to wrap up.

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