We’ve got one more major patch after this one until the big Canto 10 drop in Limbus Company. For now, Project Moon is tossing us some bones to tide us over, both in a new Reflectrial, and a new Standard Fare ID, Cinq East Hong Lu.
Getting a new member of an establish Association is exactly what I wanted from these ‘buying time’ updates while waiting for Canto 10, and it’s super fun to see a bit more of these groups explored, even if mechanically they aren’t much to write home about.
Let’s take some time ot really look at Cinq East Hong Lu, his best teams, and whether or not he’s worth pulling for.
Is Cinq East Hong Lu Worth Pulling?
In very short terms, not really! This isn’t to say that Cinq East Hong Lu is worthless; he’s a stylish ID with a fun gimmick and a place on more Pierce-focused Burn comps, but since he’s a Standard Fare Identity, you can EGO Shard him right now!
As such, there’s no reason to spend Tickets or Lunacy trying to snag him, just take the time to build up boxes and you can grab him at your leisure, he’s not going anywhere! He isn’t super well suited to the newest content, but he’s solid. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a tour through his kit.
Cinq East Hong Lu’s Full Kit
Cinq East Hong Lu is a Burn/Poise hybrid unit, focusing on solid damage by adding to the Burn stack while granting himself more and more Poise to enable Crits. Utilizing his unique Nerve Strike debuff and the support of backrow allies, Cinq East Hong Lu all about taking the spotlight by force.
Let’s take a look at how he intends to do just that, and how he enables himself for quick starts.
Passive – A Duel Witnessed
When Cinq East Hong Lu enters the battle for the first time, he gains a buff called Witnessed – Eastern Cinq. For every Cinq Association ID set as either Backup or Support, Hong Lu gains a stack, up to 3. This includes defeated units in the calculation. For each stack, Hong Lu gains…
| Stack | Effect |
| For each stack… | Bonus Offensive Level equal to the number of the Witnessed – Eastern Cinq stacks, up to the cap of 3. |
| At 2+ stacks… | Hong Lu’s Base Skills give him +1 extra Poise Potency. |
| At 3+ stacks… | Hong Lu’s Base Skills also grant + extra Poise Count. |
The Offensive Level is nice, but the real boon comes with that expedited Poise stacking, making Cinq East Hong Lu much faster to come online.
Whenever Cinq East Hong Lu attacks an enemy, he applies a stack of Nerve Strike – Hong Lu, max one per turn. Like Don Quixote’s Cinq East ID, Hong Lu clashes better against enemies with his Nerve Strike. Unlike Don Quixote, each of Hong Lu’s Skills gain extra Coin Reuse effects on hit if the enemy is at certain Nerve Strike thresholds.
Additionally, only one type of Nerve Strike can be applied at once, making it very awkward for Don and Hong Lu to be run on the same team, so let Cinq East Don hang back and watch her new coworker in action!
Passive – Virescent Pyrojade
Activated with 2 Wrath and 2 Pride EGO Resources owned, Hong Lu inflicts 1 extra Nerve Strike to enemies who already have Nerve Strike when he beats them in a clash, meaning it only takes two turns for him to fully stack Nerve Strike – Hong Lu.
Cinq East Hong Lu deals bonus damage based on the enemy’s Burn Potency, with the cap rising for every stack of Nerve Strike – Hong Lu, up to 30%. At the end of the turn, Hong Lu gains 1 Haste for every 3 Poise Potency he has, up to 2.
Support Passive – I’ll Melt Open the Way Out
Activated with 3 Wrath Resonance, Hong Lu grants the ally with the fastest speed the ability to inflict 1 Bind on an enemy after beating them in a Clash. This effect only activates if the enemy is burning, additionaly applying more Burn based on their Burn Count.
Skill 1 – Fa Jin
“Fa Jin” is a single coin Gloom Pierce Skill with Base Power 6 and Coin Power +7. If Hong Lu is 2 Speed faster than the enemy or more, “Fa Jin” gains +1 Coin Power. He additionally gains +1 Clash Power for every 6 Poise on Hong Lu and Burn on the enemy, up to 2. If the enemy doesn’t have Nerve Strike – Hong Lu, he gains an extra Clash Power.
On use, Hong Lu gains +3 Poise Count. When the coin successfully hits an enemy, Hong Lu inflicts 1 Burn. If the enemy has 3 Nerve Strike – Hong Lu, Hong Lu reuses the coin, dealing an extra Burn. A solid starter, “Fa Jin” is built for opening up the enemy, even with the single coin it has on offer.
Skill 2 – Virescent Flame Palm
“Virescent Flame Palm” is a 2-coin Wrath Pierce Skill with Base Power 6 and Coin Power +5. If Hong Lu is 2 Speed faster than the enemy, he gains Coin Power based on the difference, up to 2. On use, the Skill gains Final Power if Hong Lu has 6 Poise or the enemy has 6 Burn. If he wins the clash, Hong Lu gains 3 Poise. He also gains Poise Count based on the enemy’s Nerve Strike – Hong Lu.
The first coin inflicts 2 Burn on hit, while granting Hong Lu 2 Poise Count. The second coin inflicts 1 Burn Count, and if the enemy has 2+ Nerve Strike – Hong Lu, is reused. The reused coin inflicts Defense Level Down equal to the Nerve Strike – Hong Lu stacks, making it great for opening up the enemy for further beatdowns.
Skill 3 – Take the Hit to the Last Blow, Please?
“Take the Hit to the Last Blow, Please?” is a 3-coin Pride Pierce Skill with Base Power 5 and Coin Power +4. If Hong Lu is 2 Speed faster than the enemy or more, “Take the Hit to the Last Blow, Please?” gains +1 Coin Power. On use, the Skill gains 1 Final Power if Hong Lu has 6 Poise or the enemy has 6 Burn. On Clash win, Hong Lu gains 5 Poise. He also gains Poise Count based on the enemy’s Nerve Strike – Hong Lu.
The first and second coins both inflict 2 Burn, while the third is the real focus. It deals bonus damage based on Hong Lu’s Poise and the enemy’s Burn, inflicts 1 Burn Count, inflicts 2 Defense Level Down, and is reused if the enemy has any Nerve Strike – Hong Lu. On reuse, the final coin deals bonus Wrath damage based on the enemy’s Burn and the coin’s final damage.
Hong Lu’s nuke can deal serious damage if it lands right, further lowering the enemy’s Defense Level and opening them up for the rest of the team.
Defensive Skill – Light as a Tuft of Cloud
Cinq East Hong Lu’s Defensive Skill is a single coin Wrath Evade with Base Power 4 and Coin Power +10. If Hong Lu is 2 speed faster than the enemy or more, he gains 1 Coin Power. At combat start, Hong Lu gains 3 Poise Count.
Simple but effective, even if it doesn’t have much going on, an evade is still by far the best type of Defensive Skill in Limbus.
Best Cinq East Hong Lu Team Comp – Blazing Duelists
Cinq East Hong Lu, despite being a Poise/Burn hybrid, only really performs in Poise. His damage conditionals rely mostly on Burn, his Poise isn’t fantastic, even when rushed, and he struggles to hang in such a selfish team.
In Burn however, he has a spot, not best in slot by any means, but as a solid DPS when backed by a few members of the Cinq Association. Alongside him, we’ll be running general Burn powerhouses, the Dawn trio, Firefist if you don’t have Dawngreg, and the Thumb trio.
Alongside them, and when backed in the support lineup by allies like Cinq Don, Cinq Meursault, and Cinq Outis, Cinq East Hong Lu can more than hold his own. Note that for the backup clause, it doesn’t matter what section of the Cinq the units are from. Cinq is Cinq!
