How to Beat Natalie in the Granado Espada M Duel Quest

To defeat Natalie in the Granado Espada M duel quest, switch from auto-combat to manual character control, deploy a balanced frontline squad, and interrupt her charged rifle attacks before they strike your vulnerable backline units. Natalie deals high-damage physical ballistic penetration that quickly wipes fragile supports if aggro drops.

Recommended 3MCC Squad Setup

Relying on three pure offensive units often results in fast team wipes. Field a traditional three-character squad (3MCC) containing one primary tank, one dedicated damage dealer, and one healer or buffer.

A double-melee core alongside a Scout works well against Natalie. Heavy shield stances on tanks like Claude or the generic Fighter reduce ballistic damage. Rapid melee attackers like Lisa or Gracielo close the gap quickly to apply pressure, while the Scout maintains squad health.

Positioning: The Triangular Formation

Do not let your squad clump in a straight line or follow automated pathing. Auto-combat can drag fragile casters into Natalie's ballistic firing arc whenever she knocks back your frontline.

1. Engage with the Tank: Send your tank forward immediately to draw Natalie's attention and turn her line of fire away from the rest of the team.
2. Flank with the DPS: Move your damage dealer to Natalie's flank or backline to deal damage outside her frontal firing cone.
3. Anchor the Support: Keep your healer at maximum skill range, positioned well behind the tank and away from the side where your DPS stands.

This triangular spread ensures that Natalie's directional firearm skills hit only your armored frontline. When Natalie uses a knockback skill on your tank, manually order the tank to re-engage right away instead of moving your backline forward. If her focus shifts toward your healer or DPS, activate a direct taunt or a hard crowd-control skill to redirect her target.

Interrupting Charged Attacks and Skill Cycling

Managing Natalie's combat flow requires timing your crowd control around her skill animations:

• Watch for kneeling windups: Natalie's basic attacks hit steadily, but her charged rifle skills inflict heavy burst damage and armor-shredding debuffs. When she pauses to kneel or aim, she is preparing a high-damage shot.
• Knock her down: Hit Natalie with a stun or knockdown from your melee attacker during her cast animation. Knocking her prone halts the attack, creates a safe window for your healer to cast recovery spells, and leaves her open to full offensive rotations.
• Stagger cooldowns: Do not expend all squad skills at once while Natalie is recovering from a knockdown. Stagger your defensive buffs and offensive cooldowns so you retain an available interrupt when she stands back up.

Preparation and Stat Checks

If your squad consistently falls within the first 30 seconds of the duel, address these gear and stat bottlenecks before re-entering:

• Upgrade tank defense: Equip your tank with plate armor refined for physical damage reduction and block rating.
• Boost support mobility and health: Ensure your Scout or buffer has enough total hit points and movement speed to reposition out of stray attacks without breaking healing range.
• Add armor penetration: Refine your primary damage dealer's weapons to bypass Natalie's baseline armor, ensuring your damage output can outpace her incoming threat.