Pink Sweets: Ibara Sorekara/Strategy

Lace specific scoring / strategies but generally applies

Stage 1 Boss: Caramel & Maple Pink

• Damage distribution strategy in favor of getting Shot Kill when the boss times out which includes the score gain from reaching Time Out.
• Phase 1 & 2 share the same HP pool.

Phase 1 (8 Cycles)

• Objective is to destroy both arms before the phase times out.
• Every other attack is a Double-Pronged bullet attack that comes out in 4 volleys (if rank is raised, otherwise 3.) Use this attack for grazing on the side of the boss, inching out of the way for each volley.
• If both arms are not destroyed, you'll have a smaller window to launch full-scale scoring on Phase 2 as you'll still need to destroy the Middle Cannon in a cycle which replaces more lucrative patterns versus if it's destroyed.
• If the boss uses the arms for example 3 times in a row from the beginning, you can optimize the scoring on this phase by destroying one arm in one cycle with 9 shots (in respect to raised rank) which will destroy it in a single cycle.

1. Then on the 2nd cycle, go 8 shots on the remaining arm and you may wait a few cycles to finish off the arm, in order to use the Double-Pronged attacks for extra graze score in the meantime. The boss tends to use the Missile Arms once every few cycles - though there is a certain amount of randomness.
2. Probably by the 5th cycle, it's time to take the kill on the remaining arm, in fear of getting bad RNG where the arm isn't used again in that phase.
3. When you kill the remaining arm with a single shot at the beginning of the cycle, you'll also have extra time to graze the front of the boss as this will prolong the phase shift "cutscene".

Phase 2 (10 cycles)

• Use the "3-Count" method for Phase 2 (after arms are destroyed)

1. Count in your head: # of Cycles, then # of Additional Shots, then # of (point blank) RCs. = (0,0,0)

• The overall goal here is count your damage with this method so that you can consistently reach the time out, as well as earn the Shot Kill bonus (100k versus 10k for RC).

1. The boss will be primed for the Shot Kill once your counter is ready.

• Example counts that work:

1. (10,2,4) = 2 RC's during Time out. Shoot during your last RC.
2. (10,8,3) = 1 RC during time out. (so wait for the boss to lower if feeling confident)
3. The difference here is that 6 Laser Shots is the equivalent damage to one point blank RC (~23HP according to the MAME overlay). So because of the 8 additional shots, it's one less RC to finish.

• Additional Shots specifically refers to the number of Laser Shots you'll do while grazing the mandatory Double-Pronged bullet attack.

1. OR for example: If you accidentally damaged the boss during phase 1 - which usually occurs if you don't get out of the way for the Missile Arms when you start shooting them. Usually can be identified if the boss flashes on damage.
2. Go for RC Cancels on the Double Pronged attacks to get as much graze as possible.
3. Typically only one Shot+RC cancel will occur, so you'll shoot, as well as cancel an RC if it isn't frame perfect cancel. Count these Laser volleys and add them and keep track in your "3-Count"

• The first goal is to destroy the Middle Cannon so you can then have the most dense bullet patterns to absorb with your RC. This enables the brunt of the scoring through RC'ing a big green spam pattern.

1. Example: You're on the 4th Cycle, For 3 of those cycles the middle cannon appeared, when the Middle Cannon appears always shoot it 8 times as soon as its missiles are shot from the source. The middle cannon should be destroyed after 20 shots, but sometimes it varies an extra 2 or 3 shots on the 3rd cycle.
2. You must add any additional shots on the middle cannons past 20 Shots (Any past 4 shots on cycle 3) to the '# of Additional Shots' count.

• Once the Middle cannon is destroyed, the boss can use a spammy green bullet attack that is perfect for RC'ing point blank to absorb the bullets for big chunks of score.

1. This RC usage will be counted in the "3-count" i.e. (5,1,1)
2. The boss will typically use this at least 2 times. As the cycles get closer to 10, say, at cycle 7, if you haven't gotten any of the Green Spam, you'll have to make up the damage with 6 Laser volleys (equivalent to an RC) during the Double Pronged attacks. If you do 6 volleys, instead of adding it to '# of Additional Shots' just convert it into an a single RC count.

• So, ideal RNG here would be first 3 cycles it uses the Middle Cannon. Then you get 3 or 4 Green Spams + RC's before the 10th cycle.

1. If you reach your damange quota early, you'll get a little extra score, especially if there is more Green Spam to block with your shield.

• If the boss times out around the middle of the screen, it's full time-out pattern will spread out on the screen. This is ideal in the scenario that you can do 2 RC's to finish the boss.
• When you unleash the final deathblow RC, commit to firing your Lasers and 95% of the time you'll be rewarded the Shot Kill 100K bonus. A convenient design choice!

1. If you don't count your damage properly, you may not get the kill when you expect to. It's not the end of the world if you die from the Time Out pattern. You can still reach Max Stock lives later on.