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Battle Villa Mega-Guide & Sync Pair Recommendations

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Battle Villa Guide

This is a guide made by u/MomoSpark all credit goes to him. An active user in our discord and subreddit community!

Hey guys, Spark here! After completing Battle Villa in 3 days, I wanted to share my experience, thoughts and advice in a guide. There are a lot to say about Battle Villa so I’ll try my best to keep it structured, and hopefully as concise as possible (no just kidding, this is a gonna be a long post lol).

Speaking of which, if you prefer a document version, here it is: Battle Villa Guide

This guide assumes you know the basics about Battle Villa and is mostly aimed to improve from there. Before we get started, I highly recommend you read this quick write-up from /u/cefren_, it covers most of the basics and advice we can give before diving into the Villa.

Key Mechanics

First of all, the higher you move up in the Villa the longer the battles are and you still need to manage your MP and HP for future fights, so it’s very different from our usual Coop battles. 

Having some solid Tanks is very important (because in Single mode your bulkiest pair draws aggro), Healing sources are very appreciated to sustain throughout multiple battles and Mega Strikers are definitely shining because of the length of the fights.

This also means Sync Grid is finally useful (let’s be honest it was just a little bonus for Coop given how easy it is). However, in Villa we generally don’t value the same tiles as in we would do in a Coop environment or in one-time Single battles.

MP Refresh tiles are key to manage your resources throughout multiple fights. You generally want to aim for those on the buffs that you plan on using in multiple battles. 

MG Refresh tiles are also very appreciated for consistent spamming in order to farm Sync moves quickly. Remember that in Single mode you can use 3 moves (one from each pair) in-between enemy turns to farm your Sync counter. Since MP are a resource we need to use carefully, you can’t really spam buffs from your Supports like you’d do in a one-time battle, so having low-cost moves and/or MG Refresh is pretty useful to ensure consistent spam, even without the intention to deal damage with those.

Status conditions and Debuffs are mostly applicable in Battle Villa so it can definitely helps in longer fights. However I wouldn’t recommend bringing a pair just for that, you should only consider those when they also bring something else to your team (potential healing, great bulk, support abilities, good damage, etc). Before bringing your favorite Tech pair to a fight, think carefully about what it can do for your team outside of status conditions.

Well timed Vitality Treats (MP and HP recover items) are pretty useful to optimize a good day of clearing multiple halls, keep in mind that it won’t revive pairs that are dead though. Those can be picked as rewards when reaching a milestone, consider them if you wanna challenge yourself into a fast Villa. However keep in mind that from Hall 15 and beyond you can get cookies for Lucky Skills from the “Extra rewards” so you probably want to consider a slower Villa clear to pick those instead, as you don’t get any bonus from cleaning the Villa fast anyway (it’s just for the challenge, and potentially the flex lol).

Keep in mind that soft-resetting is an option (quitting a battle before it ends). I’m not gonna dive into the debate about whether or not it kills the fun of Villa, that’s a stupid debate, it’s just up to you. If you find it fun go for it, if you don’t then don’t use it, no need to argue about it and point fingers at other players, everyone enjoys the game their way.
However, I’d definitely recommend to consider it from time to time to scout for bosses and how they work to see if you can improve your team and/or gameplan a bit for a more optimized run. That’s up to you but I think that this feature is definitely intended for that (it’s even outlined in the news/tips of the game). 

I personally don’t like resetting for RNG on MP Refresh or things like that, but that’s just me, you do you. Theoretically you could do a 1-day Villa clear by abusing Red DH+ Refresh with SS Elesa Breathtaking Refresh (or Mew Evasion RNG) and Pikachu Potion refresh with a lot of resets. That’s just up to you, if you wanna learn more about this composition I definitely recommend to read this post from /u/endurance12916 who completed Villa in 2 days.

Pick your pacing and plan ahead!

Villa Halls come in packs of 5 with sharing related weaknesses. This is something to keep in mind when planning your daily runs. Just set yourself a reasonable goal and pacing and think about what you’ll need for the day.Personally I like the “one pack per day” pacing as a goal, I ended up getting way faster than that because of how absurd Red is, but overall that’s a cool challenge, and kinda makes sense in terms of building your roster for the day with the weaknesses of the pack. Here is your typical day for this pacing:

  • The 3 first fights come in single wave with one specific type weakness, those are easier so you don’t want to commit too much resource on them.

  • Then comes a Mini-boss fight with 2 waves, this is where you can consider going all-in with a team for it.

  • Finally the big Boss consists of 3 waves, I’d generally recommend using a one-time bullet team to soften it and then clear it with a reasonable team for what’s remaining.

We have a lot of time to clear Villa (more than 2 weeks) and there is only 5 packs (25 halls) so even the pacing above is still way ahead of schedule. For a slower and safer pacing, you should probably consider a “one pack every 3 days” pacing:

  • On day 1 you would clean the first 3 single fights with 3 different teams, then give it all on the Mini-Boss to soften it for the next day.

  • On day 2 you would finish the Mini-Boss and then work your way to soften the final Boss for the next day.

  • On day 3 you would simply finish the Boss and chill out.

Considering the first few halls are so easy, ofc you’d get faster at the start and then maybe take 4-5 days instead of 3 for the later packs, but you get the idea.

In short, set yourself a reasonable goal each day and organize yourself to optimize your roster and fights. Just take your time and enjoy the journey!

Sync Pairs & Grids Recommendations

Strikers

Red (ideally gridded): Let’s not overextend on his strengths, you already know how powerful he is, Heat Wave spam is no joke. For grid options, you mostly want Dire Hit + at 2/5 to try and get one use it on each fight, this will be enough to clean all single-wave fights with a Tank and Healer aside. For Mini-Bosses and Bosses you’ll generally commit a bit more. Note that Blaine is a good option to consider in order to set-up Sun for him on Mini-Boss and clean them faster without committing too much (this is especially great if going for Solar Flare at 3/5). Finally Rejuvenate at 3/5 is an amazing tile to sustain Move Gauge in longer fights. The rest can be invested in more Heat Wave power-ups, Sync Move power-ups are also interesting at 3/5 since you're gonna spam it.
Red Minimal 2/5 - Red HV + BB (2/5)
Red Minimal 3/5 - Red Heat Wave 3/5 - Red Sync Move 3/5 - Red Sun 3/5

Steven (gridded): Don’t get me wrong he is no Red, far from it but he is still a great Striker in long fights thanks to his great single target damage and decent bulk to survive Sync moves. He has access to Haymaker at 1/5 for powerful Sync Move spam and at 2/5 he gets access to Recuperation for better sustainability. At 1/5 you’d probably only bring him in Steel weakness battles, but at 2/5 he becomes a great option to power through Bosses, or at least soften them enough for an easy clear (since he requires more support and commitment on MP, that’s a good use of him). For the remaining tiles, MM synergies, BTI MP Refresh and Sync move power-ups are all decent options depending on how you plan to use him (multiple battles, one-time bullet, etc).
Steven Minimal 2/5

Will: He is really underrated as one-time bullet joker. He has one job he does it incredibly well: power through Bosses while making it easier to save resources from the rest of your roster. Of course that means you’re committing 3 slots for it, but if you’re well organized to plan your daily run that is completely worth it as the rest of your roster will be in great shape for other battles. You should pair him with Torchic and Lyra (Roxanne or Skyla work as a budget replacements), Confuse Ray the Boss while buffing up and proceed to spam Stored Power while still farming Sync counter with your Supports. He helped so much on Bosses that I couldn’t left him unmentioned.

Super Effective Damage: Your usual solid Strikers in their respective typing are obviously there to help as well, whether being strong hitting single target damage dealers (Olivia, Mewtwo, Brendan, etc) or AoE spammers (Cynthia, Pryce, Hau, etc).

Honorable Mentions: AoE Megas (Cynthia, Blue, Karen) and Sync Nuke Mew (gridded)
You’d generally only use those Megas when their typing applies to the fight and Sync Nuke Mew has trouble picking everything he needs from the grid (Sync power-up synergies, Evasion and Sustain since he is so bulky he’s gonna draw aggro most of the time, Accuracy of the move you want to use since you’re gonna Sync with him, potentially MP Refresh for multiple uses because he needs to commit a lot on a fight to be effective, etc), but those are still good considerations to keep in mind.

Healers

Pikachu (gridded): Strong burst healing with MP Refresh on it and 1-bar move spamming with MG Refresh and a chance to Paralyze are all you need to get smooth fights and sustain your Tanks through multiple fights and/or get your Strikers back on track when they run low from eating Sync moves. Of course grid is completely mandatory for this one, otherwise he is a pretty bad option compared to the other from the list.
Pikachu Minimal (3/5) - Pikachu TS (3/5)

Glacia: Healing over time, 1-bar move spamming with a chance to Freeze, bulky enough to be the main Tank or potential aggro-drawing mechanics to spread damage from your main Tank. HoT really shines in longer fights so she is really an amazing option for Bosses.

Leaf: Burst healing, 1-bar move spamming, Move Gauge refresh on-demand, bulky enough to be the main Tank on top of healing, and a Sync move that can be used in longer fights to make your team more sustainable (you’d generally prefer going for damage Sync moves though, but can be useful for Will or just as a one-time use in super long fights).

Skyla: Burst healing, 1-bar move spamming, Speed and Defense buff, decent bulk to act as a Tank (promotion recommended).

Honorable Mentions: Cheren, Cheryl, Misty, Brock
Those are sub-optimal options compared to the ones listed above, but are still decent considerations to keep in mind in order to keep your main tank alive.

Tanks

Mew (gridded, ideally promoted): His grid brings us an incredible amount of sustain (Evasion, First Aid, Natural Remedy, MP Refresh) and Swift spamming is a pretty neat bonus to debuff the opposition (should be used with MG Refresh to keep your Move Gauge up for the rest of your team). Not to mention that 5* Mew is simply the bulkiest unit in the game. Soft-resetting for RNG optimization is an option for him but not necessary at all, so that’s a good thing for everyone to enjoy the game their own way.
Mew Tank (3/5)

Sygna-Suit Elesa (gridded): Similarly to Mew, she is pretty bulky and has access to some Evasion shenanigans as well as key MP Refresh tiles. However, she is more reliant on Breathtaking refresh to make full use of your Striker (preferably Red), which only comes with 1 MP, so I’d say soft-resetting is more necessary when using her. She is still amazing without abusing that mechanic though, but more limited if you run out of MP on Breathtaking.
SS Elesa Minimal (1/5) - SS Elesa Minimal (2/5) - SS Elesa Minimal (3/5)

Rosa (gridded): She is pretty bulky and her grid allows her to potentially use her buffs multiple times thanks to MP Refreshes. She won’t sustain through multiple battles without proper healing, but she is still great to have in your roster to help out your Special Strikers.
Rosa Minimal (2/5) - Rosa Tank (2/5)

Support Buffers: Torchic (promoted), Phoebe, Rosanta, Lyra, Roxanne (promoted)Those are less bulky and/or sustainable, but they are great buffers if you want to go for a one-time bullet joker, so definitely keep those in mind when going all-in for a fight.

Honorable Mentions: Flannery (gridded), Erika (gridded)Those are notable assets for applying status conditions while drawing aggro and being able to spam moves for Sync farming thanks to their respective grid.

For more thoughts on Tanks/Supports Sync Pairs, I definitely recommend to check out this post about the topic from my friend /u/Parallaxal.

My 3-days Journey

Day 1

Hall completed: 10
Pairs used: Hau, Pryce, Torchic, Karen, Steven, Rosanta, Skyla, Korrina

I was so excited about the Villa that went for it before even pulling on the new Banners, so I didn’t have Red at this time, but I just want to see how it goes when trying to use SE damage to clean the first 2 packs.

I cleaned the first pack with Hau + Pryce + Support without any issues, using my buffs on the Mini-Boss and Boss since I knew I wouldn’t use those anymore for the next fights. Then I worked my way through the next pack with Steven + Karen + Support similarly. I had to give-up on cleaning the Boss in one fight, so I just used those to clean the first 2 waves and completed the last wave with Korrina and my remaining Pairs.

Pretty enjoyable first day overall, then I proceed to chill and pull on Red banners (getting him 2/5 in just 2 multi-pulls, pretty good news for the rest of the Villa). Instantly started thinking about the next day as I was super excited, and this is when I came up with my Tank Mew build that pretty quickly became so popular among the players.

Day 2

Hall completed: 19
Pairs used: Red, Mew, Pikachu, Rosa, Blaine, Phoebe, Will, Torchic, Lyra

This is when I started try-harding a bit more and use Red + Mew + Pikachu as my main team, cleaning single fights super easily and then committing a bit more on Mini-Bosses, while using one-time bullets on Bosses to soften them and save Red for future fights.

I cleaned the Mini-Boss from Hall 14 by committing on Blaine + Rosa to power-up Red and clean it quickly, then just powered through the Boss from Hall 15 using my Will + Torchic + Lyra joker. I was amazed by the result as it simply cleaned all the 3 middle mons and a few side mons, leaving me with an easy clean with the rest of my roster. I managed to get until Boss from Hall 20 but didn’t have much left so I just softened it a little bit for the next day.

Day 3

Hall completed: 25
Pairs used: Red, Mew, Pikachu, Olivia, Rosanta, Leaf, Will, Torchic, Lyra

Pretty similar to the previous day in terms of strategy. I started by completing Hall 20 with my Will + Torchic + Lyra team, I only lost Torchic in the process so it was a pretty good news to know that I could still use a joker for Hall 25, although a bit weaker due to the loss of Torchic.

I added Olivia to my Roster to give Red some rest on Rock weakness fight and then for Hall 25 I went all-in with my joker, this time running Will + Lyra + Leaf. I scouted the boss a little bit to figure out the best strategy and ended up using Leaf’s Sync Move one time to bring more power to Will and overall more bulk to the team. This was enough to clean the first wave and few other side mons (as I realized I couldn’t really commit more on the second wave middle mon). Finally I just completed the stage with Red + Mew + Olivia, it was pretty clutch due to the lower sustainability of this team, but still managed to get the clear done.

Closing

After completing the Villa, my 4th and 5th days were pretty much writing this guide lol. I hope you’ll enjoy and that this will helpful for your runs. I will try to update my Sync Grid Builds Guide as soon as I can to include Coop and Villa builds, so this would be another useful resource for you all <3

Overall I really enjoyed the Villa, it’s a pretty interesting challenge and good way to make Single Player Mode relevant, I wish I could replay it even without any reward. Remember that there is no rush completing it, you have a lot of time so use it wisely and enjoy the journey!

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