SOS
From The World Ends With You
SOS, also known as mortal peril, is a character condition that occurs when that character has 0 HP in his or her portion of the HP bar. Any damage taken while in SOS will deplete the HP of the other character.
[edit] Analysis
In most cases, SOS is an undesirable condition. However, there is a strategy that deliberately invokes SOS to increase one of the character's stats, usually Neku, beyond normal means. This is achieved by having Tin Pin Thrift in the pin deck, or by wearing one of the following threads:
Note that it is possible to invoke SOS for both characters. Game over will occur if total HP is below 0.
[edit] Abilities
In exchange for SOS, the afflicted character is gifted with some of the most powerful abilities in the game:
- SOS ATK Boost I: +20% ATK
- Tin Pin Thrift: +30% ATK (affects both Neku and his partner as long as they are in SOS)
- SOS ATK Boost II: +50% ATK
- SOS DEF Boost I: +20% DEF
- SOS DEF Boost II: +50% DEF
- SOS Power Up I: +10% ATK, +10% DEF
- SOS Power Up II: +15% ATK, +15% DEF
- SOS Null Damage: 30% chance of nullifying any attack
ATK boosts are applied after final ATK (base ATK + pin ATK) is calculated. Stacking SOS boosts result in the final boost to be the sum of all individual boosts. Check Damage for more details.
[edit] Setups
There is a synergistic setup for the second half of the maingame, referred to as Lapin Angelique Suicide Special, or LASS. The name comes from the fact that all of the threads may be purchased from the main store of Lapin Angelique. It allows Neku to achieve ATK and DEF boosts that trump all other maingame setups. Here is the recommended LASS setup and availability dates:
- Spiderweb Jersey (week 2, day 7)
- Red Two-tier Skirt (week 2, day 7)
- Vampire Dress (week 3, day 2)
- Cape (week 3, day 5)
- Tin Pin Thrift (week 2, day 5 at Miyashita Park Underpass) is in the pin deck
- (Alternative threads: Ribbon Mini-hat, Mini-crown, Goth Bondage Coat [FSG level 5], Coral Necklace [FSG level 4 at Shibu Dept. Store/Bel Airplane])
LASS increases base ATK by 24, final ATK by 90%, base DEF by 26, and final DEF by 110%. What follows is a graph comparing various pins (Yoshimitsu, Tin Pin Sunscorch, Lightning Rage, Angel Magnum) under regular and LASS setups. LASS' maximum base ATK is 124, yet it deals more damage than regular setups at 246 base ATK, the maximum possible for Neku:
Postgame SOS is primarily used for time attacking. It is the most powerful offensive setup in the game. Here is the recommended Postgame SOS setup for Neku:
- Your Cap
- Pi-Face's Jeans
- (Cosmic SOS alternative: Goth Bondage Coat)
- (Puck Power alternative: Pi-Face's Coat)
- Vampire Dress
- Black Book Bag
- Tin Pin Thrift is in the pin deck
- (Cosmic SOS alternative: Tin Pin Thrift cannot be included)
Vampire Dress and Black Book Bag are the two threads with SOS ATK Boost II. Your Cap and Pi-Face's Jeans have the highest ATK, excluding the slots that have already been filled. Either one can be swapped for something else. Hard damage with Excalibur under Resonance would be [(204 + (170 x 1.2)] x 2.3 x .50 x .61 = ~286. This is more than double of what the best possible regular setup is able to deal. See Lightning Arrester for a graph.
It is up to the partner to wear two threads with Puck Power in order to start the puck at a high multiplier. However, players who prefer versatility for Final Time Attack may want to exchange Pi-Face's Jeans for Pi-Face's Coat. If this alternative is used, partners only need to equip one thread with Puck Power II in order to start the puck at 5X.
The planet set does not have room for Tin Pin Thrift due to the set requiring all six pin slots. Therefore, Goth Bondage Coat must be used to invoke SOS. This alternative setup is known as Cosmic SOS. Maximum final ATK under Cosmic SOS is (201 + 60) x 2.0 = 522, which is ~70% higher than the maximum of 246 + 60 = 306 under a regular setup.
