- "Hanekoma's Noise form. This ultimate existence, both lion and tiger, demands your full force!"
- — Noise Report
Panthera Cantus (パンテーラカンタス Pantēra Kantasu, Latin for "singing panther") is The World Ends with You's Superboss. Panthera Cantus is a mix of Leo Cantus and Tigris Cantus.
Strategy[]
Preparation[]
The "Leo" version will attack the same way that Leo Cantus would, simply kicking and charging into the player. The only difference is that his attacks are stronger, faster, and much more frequent. The "Tigris" version creates clones of itself to block player attacks on the top screen and attacks by launching shadows. Just as with the Leo version's, the Tigris version's attacks are stronger and happen at faster intervals than usual.
Top Screen[]
On the top screen, the player will be fighting a blue-colored version of Tigris Cantus. In order to win, carefully decide which partner is going into battle with Neku (i.e. if Joshua is favorable, but the player lacks skill with him, it is advised to train with Joshua for as long as the player's own judgement allows). The preferable partner is one the player works with best and/or the ones with the highest stats. With all partners, it is advised to pick threads that enhance the Attack stat and adds to the Fusion Stars, and give the Defense and Health stats to Neku, as Neku cannot dodge as efficiently as his partner.
Joshua - Beforehand, try picking threads that enhance Joshua's Fusion Stars and Attack Stat, as well as a thread that adds to his combo map, such as Pi-Face's Jeans. When fighting on the Easy/Normal level, when the battle starts, immediately have him levitate into the air. Spam attacks on the boss and try to concentrate on getting a fusion. Use Joshua's extra combo map attack in order to attack both sides of the field for massive damage. This is useful in getting rid of the clones the boss creates. Should one of the clones trying to attack, immediately teleport down to save time. However, playing on Ultimate/Hard difficulty, the tactic would change. It would be best to dodge as much as possible with Joshua, (If Panthera [blue] goes up, move Joshua down, if Panthera is down, move Joshua up), and instead of trying to use the beam where he hits both sides, use short, correct combos in order to get more Fusion Stars. The higher level the Fusion ability, the better due to the instant healing and simultaneous damage being dealt on Panthera. This tactic may take a while, but it is approximated to last as the first encounter with Draco Cantus.
Shiki - Shiki has invincibility frames at the end of her ground combo that will prevent her from taking any damage as long as the combo is finished on time (when she jumps into the air at the end). Shiki should stay on the ground, as it is ill-advised to use aerial attacks. When Panthera is on the ground, start the combo, and use judge whether to use the shortest combo path, or if possible, take the middle, or longest. If a combo cannot be expected to be completed in time, block. When boss' health reaches half, be prepared to start blocking more often. This method works on all modes, though on the Easy and Normal levels, the player can be aggressive and go with longer combo paths. Having a high damage output is difficult if Shiki's attack power is not high.
Beat - Remember that blocking is invaluable to finishing the battle. Simply block Panthera (blue)'s attacks and wait for an opening to strike. If not properly blocked, a lot of damage could potentially be sustained. While Tigris is on the ground, it is possible to attack her (two hits) and then activate an Air-Cancel (backwards on the d-pad), which will cause Beat to jump into the air for just enough time for Tigris' attack to pass under him. The fight is easiest to lose with Beat as your partner, especially if too much attention is paid towards Neku.
Bottom Screen[]
Neku's side of the fight is, more often than not, the more difficult of both screens for some. First of all, depending on which strategy that is going into use, the threads worn will have great impact on the outcome of the battle. An offensive strategy requires threads that increase his health and attack. Defense is equally as important, but as long as the player has high health, it would take some time before the need to heal arrives. Deciding to attack at close-range involves picking pins that allow attacks to be dealt quickly enough to leave room for the player to escape if need be. Pins with knockback are especially effective in this type of situation. Attacking at long-range involves pins that allow the player to keep a safe distance from Panthera (red), reducing the chances of damage being taken. Pins such as Thunderbolt and Piercing Pillar are useful for this matter. Regardless of range, having at least a single healing pin is necessary to winning, and should fill the HP bar a considerable amount as well as have a lot of uses (i.e. Monkey Leisure, which can be used a total of six times when fully leveled up).
A defensive strategy (having the partner attack while Neku either runs around, dodging and/or attacks occasionally) requires wearing threads that increase defense and health. An effective healing pin continues to be just as important as with an offensive strategy. If a single attack pin is going into use, then it should be able to be executed quickly as well as deal a lot of damage. Below are some decks recommended for the player's use.
- One Jump From Eden
- One Skip From Eden
- One Hop From Eden
- One Step From Eden
- Eden's Door
- Splish Splash Barrier/ Visionary Blend
This will allow Neku to become invincible when the Light Puck attaches on to him, allowing the player to concentrate on his partner's fight. If Neku's partner is low on HP, pressing and holding onto Neku will trigger the barrier. It is not advised to use up Black Saturn/Splish Splash Barrier because of the Light Puck travelling to the partner, causing Neku to lose his invincibility, when completely spent. In that event, Neku should dash around the battlefield until his partner can get the Light Puck back to him.
A different approach would be to use Wolf or Velocity Tackle, and two other healing pins. Peace Full (mastered), and Monkey Leisure (mastered) are good choices due to the number of uses they have. Adding support pins that add extra uses or increase health regained would also be good, seeing as how the only attacking pin at the player's disposal is Wolf/Velocity Tackle, which is not necessarily bad.
- Touch Neku
- Drag Neku
- Continue dragging him, and try to juggle Panthera with Wolf/Velocity Tackle
- Heal when necessary
- Repeat Steps 2 - 3 until Step 4 applies
Another approach to this battle relies on mostly Gatito pins. The player should equip the Over the Top set, Speed Factor, Black Uranus, and anything of their choosing for the sixth pin (either Tin Pin Thrift to take advantage of SOS or a healing pin if dodging and blocking proves ineffective). The combination of Over The Top and Turbo Reboot will allow Black Uranus to recharge in just a little over the time it takes for a juggle to finish (the boss landing). While this requires much unconscious attention as the player needs to keep slashing upward on Panthera, it allows them to focus on the top screen, dodging or attacking as the situation changes.
A similar approach involves replacing Speed Factor with Her Royal Highness (which increases the amount of times a pin can be used by 30%) and making the remaining pin Black Venus. This allows the use of two attacks from Black Uranus followed by 24 attacks from Black Venus in a near never-ending combo, as the cooldown time for both pins is less than the time it takes to use them. If done correctly, Panthera should never hit the ground. Joshua is a good choice, as it is easier to avoid the top screen attacks (due to his levitation ability) and on higher difficulties should not attack at all as his finisher leaves him vulnerable to attacks from behind. If another partner is in use then blocking at the right time will make the battle go more smoothly, but close attention should still be paid, as there is no space for a healing pin in this deck, meaning any mistakes made are permanent for the remainder of the battle. This means that action on the top screen should revolve around dodging up and down to the horizontal plane that Panthera isn't on, or blocking Panthera's attacks. Like the previous strategy, this also allows the top screen to be focused on while slashing and tapping Panthera and is a relatively easy way to beat them without taking any damage.
One way that can be done is the following, given that the player has quick reflexes:
- Equip Joshua with his Angel Feather obtained in the series fight in the Shibuya River (unlocked after the Slam-Off Heist).
- Equip Lefty, Righty and Brainy Cat to Neku, along with Black Uranus, Venus and a healing pin of the player's choice (a Peace Full at max is recommended but Visionary Blend works just as well).
- During the fight, Joshua should be continually teleporting up or down. His ability to hover gives great advantage to him over other partners. His sole purpose should be to assault from the air as it is quicker and gives him time to recover.
- Stick Neku in a corner. Half of the time, Panthera's Leo form will teleport above him, lending a faux invincibility frame to him. Stick him there by repeatedly hitting him with Black Uranus, then Black Venus to slow down his descent, then Uranus from the Over the Top set's massive reboot boost.
This is able to be done at Level 1 on Ultimate if a challenge is what the player wants.
The Single-task Strategy
This strategy is for people who cannot focus on two screens at once. Using this strategy, Neku's screen can be ignored almost completely.
The pre-requisite: Get Hollow Leg and max out Neku's and Joshua's attack and defense to 100 by digesting Viper Drinks and Mako Sinnergy. If you want to beat him at lvl. 1, max out the HP to 5049 with Royal Jelly Q10. whatever level you want to beat him in, you must have at least 5000 base HP.
The threads are mostly defensive and HP heavy on Neku: Samurai Helm, Samurai Armor, Liberty Duke(or another HP heavy accessory), and Aun(or another HP heavy shoes or pants)
The threads on Joshua should be more balanced but still HP heavy: Angel Feather, Pi-Face's Cap, Pi-face's Coat, and Pi-face's Jeans.
The pin deck consist of: two Lightning Rooks, Peace Full, Monkey Leisure, Psych Support, and Guardian Angel (all of the pins should be mastered).
Psych Support gives two extra uses for both Peace Full and Monkey Leisure. Fully mastered, this gives 7 uses for Peace Full and 8 uses for Monkey Leisure giving a whopping total of 15 heals. On top of that, Guardian Angel auto-use a heal when your HP is half depleted.
Strategy: The point of this strategy is to almost completely ignore the bottom screen. When the fight start, quickly move Neku to the top right corner of the bottom screen. In this position, when Panthera red tries to teleport to Neku's right, he instead show up to Neku's left facing the wrong direction while kicking empty space. This position will also make aiming the Lightning Rook much easier since Panthera red can only be to Neku's left. All you have to do in the bottom screen, is to spam Lightning Rook and re-position Neku to the top right corner when Panthera red displace him. Neku will take lots of damage but that's what the healing pins and Guardian Angel are for.
Since all you do in the bottom screen is keep tapping somewhere in the center to spam Lightning Rook, you can focus all of your attention to the top screen. In Joshua's screen, use the same strategy mentioned above and dodge the shadows accordingly: when Panthera blue is high, set Joshua on the ground to attack. when Panthera blue is low, set Joshua afloat to attack. Use lvl. 3 fusion pin whenever available.
It won't be a quick victory, but you should be able to outlast Panthera Cantus with the consistent damage and consistent heals. Be careful if Panthera Red keep knocking Neku down, because it will interrupt his heal animation. So if you hear the beeping low health warning, pay a bit of attention to the bottom screen so Neku can safely use heals.
Eden + Cure Drink + Fusion
A slow yet effective strategy is to equip Neku with the Eden set along with a healing pin of some kind, allowing his half of the fight to be ignored entirely while focusing on obtaining fusion stars in order to carry out multiple level-3 fusion attacks. Joshua is a good choice for the fight, especially when equipped with the Angel Feather; attacking while levitating allows for a decent amount of damage while earning stars, he can deal with multiple copies of Tigris at once on either side, and his method for obtaining stars involves less thought or guesswork compared to Beat or Shiki's. He can also easily dodge his enemy's attacks by quickly shifting up or down. Additionally, by allowing Neku to stand idly, players can use both the D-pad and ABXY buttons to attack, allowing for more rapid attacks and more quickly reaching fusion level 3. Provided that players are capable enough at dodging attacks on the top screen, the fusion attack's healing power and Neku's psych easily provide enough support to last through the fight. If and when Neku does use his healing psych, the light puck can quickly be passed back to him without taking too much damage, if any at all.
Solo Remix Strategies[]
As with the DS version of this fight, you should know your enemy before battle. Please note that you will still get the Secret Reports star by defeating him on Easy.
- One effective strategy aside from the one below is to use the Eden Set in conjunction with a pin that enables easy Cross Combos with your partner of choice. Recommendations include using a Force Rounds or Splash Core pin with Shiki, a Shockwave pin with Joshua, and a Flame Blast or Velocity Attack pin with Beat. The invincibility provided by Holy Field will keep Neku invincible for a significant duration of the reboot periods of both his offensive pin and the Partner Pin, and the constant cross combos will rapidly improve sync gauge, charging Fusions rapidly and allowing for frequent healing if necessary.
- The third strategy involves infinitely juggling the bosses by using Black Uranus to launch both forms and a Lightning Rook to attack before relaunching. By maintaining an infinite juggle, the boss will be unable to attack, allowing the player to whittle down his HP slowly. If the loop is sustained correctly, the player can exit the fight without taking any damage, even on Ultimate, but if the loop is broken, all damage is permanent and the only method of healing available is from a fusion attack (assuming the player equipped gear that boosts sync rate). This method requires the Over the Top set and Speed Factor, as detailed below.
Decks[]
It is recommended to use a deck with these Pins/Psychs:
- Yoshimitsu (or any other Shockwave pin that has 10 Uses or More)
- Velocity Crash (or Velocity Tackle)
- Cure Boost+
- Vortex Saber (Any will do as long as it will reload)
- Lolita Skull (Or Healing Whale)
- Dark Barrier
For the infinite juggle approach, the deck should be as follows:
Speed Factor cannot be substituted for a healing psych pin; both the Over the Top set and Speed Factor are needed to cut reboot times in order to sustain the juggle.
Strategy (Shockwave)[]
Defeating this Superboss will take multiple tries, especially on Ultimate or Hard. Beat and Joshua are recommended as partners, as they will allow you to get hits even when using another psych. Attack with the Shockwave pin, then when your pin is reloading, use your Vortex Saber. This will knock one of the bosses down. Keep using Vortex Saber while comboing with your to partner to get extra damage with Cross Combos and build the sync rate.
When reloading, use your Velocity Crash/Tackle Pin to hit the boss as you dodge any attacks. When you've been attacked to the point that your health is below 50%, use your Dark Barrier. This will prevent any further damage, except for damage from grabs, and heal you in the process.
Rinse and repeat until your health bar starts to beep. Immediately use your Fusion Attack, or HP Recovery Pin. When using the Fusion attack, try to get a 5.0x Multiplier, which will recover HP, and do significant damage to the boss.
Just keep using this strategy until, eventually, you reach the 2nd Boss HP Bar. Panthera's attacks will get significantly stronger, and if you're at low health, one hit may kill you. Use the Dark Barrier pin, then rush into the Boss, attacking with Shockwave or Vortex Saber, until you get the final blow.
Strategy (Infinite Juggle)[]
Joshua is the recommended partner, not because you'll be going for cross combos but because the Angel Feather accessory provides a 60% sync rate boost at the start of the fight along with 2000 HP, and 30 Attack and Defense. Combined with One Man, No Equals (40% sync rate boost at battle start), it's possible to begin the fight with 200% sync charged, allowing you to make use of Joshua's fusion attack if necessary. Additionally, Joshua's touch commands do not overlap and/or simultaneously trigger with those of the offensive pins Neku will be using, which makes it easier to sustain the juggle.
The strategy itself is quite simple: at the start of the fight, launch both of the boss's forms with Black Uranus, and while it reboots, keep them suspended (and begin whittling down their health bar) by using all hits of the Lightning Rook. Black Uranus will have finished rebooting before the bosses land on the ground (and are able to attack you), allowing you to launch them again. Repeat until you've won.
Simple as this strategy is, it may take several attempts to succeed, however. One mistake will almost certainly cost you the fight, as almost all damage is permanent (outside of what can be healed via Joshua's level two fusion attack). Of the two boss forms, the Leo form is by far the more deadly, and should he escape the loop, you will have to scramble to regain control. If the Tigris form escapes, it is imperative that that form not move to another part of the screen; while less directly damaging than Panthera, the clone attacks will deplete HP to zero easily and make the fight unwinnable. If the boss forms separate, the fight is almost certainly lost; dodging may allow you to survive long enough to restart the juggle loop, but you'll need to sustain a juggle that includes both of them in order to win.
Since the Angel Feather requires 999 Bravery for Joshua to equip, you will either have to commit to grinding his Bravery stat or forgo using it. Grinding would be the preferred option, as doing so also allows you to max Neku's parameters (if they aren't already). Although you won't hitting the boss for significant damage during the fight, a maxed attack stat (and any bonuses from gear) certainly help speed the process along. Defense is arguably the least important, as if the juggle is executed correctly, the player will never be hit; moreover, the lack of healing pins and Panthera's damage output gives very little margin for error. Arming Neku with the best threads the player has available and Joshua with pieces that boost his starting sync rate and the time available to manipulate his fusion cards is sufficient.
The Lasting Fusion/Holy Field OVERKILL strategy (Final/Solo Remix)[]
Max out Neku and Beat's attack, and get four threads with lasting Fusion III. They can be any threads as long as they have Lasting Fusion III. Equip Neku with high attack threads such as Your Cap, My Phones, and Pi-Face's Jeans but DON'T put yourself in SOS. Make sure you also have the Pi-Face's Coat equipped. For pins use the Holy Field set + Drake as Flame Blast is the best pin to use with this set AND Beat. Dodge any attacks while you wait for Beat to boot up and then start the loop of Drake + Beat and then dodging when Beat is drained so you don't get hit when Beat is recharging. When Panthera is at about half health use your fusion and attempt to get to x4.5 damage or more. You'll instantly kill Panthera from there.
Version 2: Omega Sync/Holy Field SPAM strategy (still final/solo remix)[]
Max out Neku and Beat's attack, and Neku's setup should be Your Cap, Pi Face's Coat, My Phones, and the Maid Costume. Beat will be getting Pi-Face's Jeans, Zephyr's Sonata, Biker Gloves, and the Purple Sneaks.
Same as the Lasting Fusion Holy Field Strat use Drake for this fight, and the Holy Field set. Go into the fight, and dodge until Beat boots, and then spam the flames with Beat cross comboing until you reach max sync. Then use your fusion. Repeat until victory, and dodge when Beat runs out of juice.
Gallery[]
