==========STRATEGY FOR AERONITE (HARD MODE)==========
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>>>Schemata A<<<
Martial Monk
-Heaven's Cloud (Or any really powerful sword with decent ATB property)
-Nobless Veronique (Any ATB Shield)
-Falcon Charm (if you haven't beaten Aeronite the first time yet, any ATB+ accessory will do)
-Forsaken Tie
>Punt Lv2*Locked*
>Punt (Whirlwind Kick / Stagger Duration+7%)
>Charged Strike Lv2 *Locked
>Aerora (Any -ra Magic set with ability will do, I think)
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>>>Schemata B<<<
Cyber Jumpsuit
-Chaos' Revenge (Quickstagger)
-Gilded Lily (Any ATB Shield)
-Preta Crown
-Runic Ring
>Thundara (I think any ATB boosting sub ability will help)
>Fira (Strong Finale / ATB)
>Dispel*Locked*
>Deprotect (Status Ailment Damage+25%)
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>>>Schemata C<<<
Soldier of Peace
-Buster Sword (Or any strong sword you want)
-Il Nome Della Rosa (Any ATB Shield)
-Imperial Guard's Cravat
-White Strap
>Shadowbind Lv3*Locked*
>Aerora (Doesn't matter what ability it has, preferably ATB or Magic boost though)
>Heroic Guard (you get this from Ereshkigal, but you can also swap for Heavy Guard I think)
>Heavy Slash (Committal)
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This battle is all about speed, timing, and execution, but with any luck you'll have 9 EP to start it off. (I recommend fighting the Five Star Challenge in the Ark as it means you don't lose your items even if you lose, of course, you have to have beaten Aeronite the "first time" to add him to the list!)
PRIOR TO FIRST STAGGER: (First Phase)
---I had a hard time getting used to the fact he'd do nothing but chuck endless spells at me (I suppose now I know how it feels to get spammed by spells, since I do it all the time, lol).
Couple stuff to note: Blizzara is the slowest moving spell of the bunch, which gives you some leeway to time it's impact with turning in to your Cyber Jumpsuit Schema to shrug it off. The other spells seemingly come out much faster and are harder to "see" coming without looking at what spell is being shown...
The idea is to chuck spells at him as much as possible and get him to stagger a few times, though I think it wouldn't hurt to throw a Ruin in there next time for good measure, to stabilize the stagger meter.
---His most annoying ability is the Magnet move that can't really be predicted (since it's not technically a spell in his case), as it not only drags you towards him for his Breath and physical attacks, but it hurts pretty bad along the way. You pretty much have to switch to or "stay in" Cyber Jumpsuit for most of his shenanigans just to prevent him from sucking you towards him. If you're too close and he uses "Breath", switch to Heroic Guard and fend it off. (I had to use a Refresher and 3 EP a few times to deal with this unpredictable attack).
---Then there's "Terra Break", that annoying charge move and earthquake attack of his... it's not even the first hit that annoys me, it's the subsequent quake afterwards that hurts if you don't time it right. Well, if you're good at timing Heroic Guard, you'll miss most of it. You're taking your life in your hands if you keep chucking spells at him until the last moment the attack comes out (I think the timing is right when the camera quickly zooms in on him, but I don't wanna risk it).
---I found staggering him to be very difficult all throughout this battle, simply because it takes so long to keep the chain up and you can get interrupted very easily if you aren't paying attention. As a precaution and to ensure I'd get a stagger, at times I'd Overclock and continue chucking spells to get the "Full ATB effect" afterwards... it's risky to do this, but if you feel it's dragging on too long and he's being annoying with his spells (more than you are at least), then go for it!
FIRST STAGGER (Phase 2)
---Once he staggers he switches to Level 3 Spells:
Blizzaga is the slowest of course, so take advantage of how long it takes to get to you to chuck spells back at Aeronite.
Firaga is not as slow, but can be read well enough at range.
Next is Aeroga, which actually "looks" like Aero at first, so it's kinda slow and once it hits it takes a while for the tornado to dissipate so you have to be patient before you switch, hopefully you'll have enough ATB to keep attacking while in Cyber Jumpsuit Mode.
Thundaga is the tricky one... you pretty much have to go by "sound" to wait until it's done doing it's animation before you can switch back to other Schemata.
SECOND STAGGER (Phase 3)
---It's here he'll start chucking Fogga at you, it doesn't hurt much, but Daze keeps you from doing physical attacks, and it stings if your HP is low. You still have to beware of Terra Break, Spells, and most of all the Hell Flare attack he does...
Even if you Heroic-Guard Hell Flare, you'll still be stunned a bit. So try and get back on track with more spell-chucking.
FINAL STAGGER (Final Phase)
---It's do or die time! At this point he can only just sit there and chuck spells at you, but if you take too long he'll get "Fed Up", so you have to do this as fast as possible!
---Switch to Martial Monk and do Whirlwind Kick a crapton of times until he chucks a new spell at you (he's casting Ruinga too now), then switch to Cyber Jump suit and spam "Deprotect" to keep the combo chain flowing.
---Once you run out of ATB for the Monk (or the ATB for Soldier of Peace is full) switch to S.o.P. and do Heavy Slash (Artemis Arrows)... by the way if you activate "Committal" fast enough and switch back to Monk, Monk's Whirlwind Kick can take advantage of the damage buff.
---The idea is to switch back to Cyber Jumpsuit every time a spell impacts on you to null it and keep casting Deprotect, then once the spell animation is over, switch back to a damaging Schemata.
As high damage as Monk is, I prefer Soldier of Peace for it's max damage output (Buster Sword helped I think).
Keep it up for as fast as you can (Overclock at this point if you think you need to, to speed up the damage and give you more time).
Eventually he'll give out... whew... that's a LOT of HP I just burned through! Unfortunately I had to use a Refresher or two, but because I was in the Ark at the time I got this 5-Star Challenge: IT DIDN'T COUNT AGAINST ME!!! So when you fight Aeronite outside the Ark and in the Dunes, be ready with a set of Refreshers and have Limit Break equipped the first time through if possible (you can get Refreshers in the Colosseum on the Last Day at 2100 Hours).
I think I read somewhere that Aeronite in the Ark is the same as Aeronite in a Chaos Infusion minus the Regen effect, but I don't know for sure. Well, at the very least, doing your challenge fights in the Ark cuts back on Item use if you win!
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