Disclaimer

Refraction Railway can be beaten with just one team, with any ID you want. It will take time but it is doable. However, getting below 120 will require specific ID, EGO and strategies. This guide will focus on those. Also it assumes all IDs and EGO are at Uptie 3.

This guide will also list only enemy weaknesses. Any resistance not mentioned, will either be endured (0.75x) or ineffective (0.5x). Always adjust your team to match enemy weakness if possible. 3 MVP will most likely never leave the team. There will be no turn by turn guide as due to the nature of the game, it is nearly impossible to make it.

MVP Identities

MVPs of Railway who you will be seeing in most likely every single team:

Those three will be in nearly every team and all the turn counts will assume Don and Heath are using full power Rip Space and Quick suppression on the enemy for maximum damage. Since we can reset fights for better RNG in terms of skill allocation, we can fish for “perfect start”.

  • N Faust - All her EGO are amazing in the RR, especially Hex Nail, which has no use in dailies or mirror dungeons, in RR it can secure 1 turn kills on certain enemies or allow big bursts to cut turns during certain battles. There is also Gaze and its 20% damage buff to pierce and blunt. Pairs nicely with 000utis
  • W Don - Rip through space and enemies. With Telepole, Don can nuke from turn 2, and even allows R Ishmael to help with bursting enemies. Unlike R Heathcliff, W Don never runs out of charges for Rip Space, making his dps over dragged fights consistent. Can also solo Floor 6 with Kqe-1j-23 boss in 6 to 7 turns.
  • R Heathcliff - Despite being out of ammo by turn 6 at most, Quick Suppression is still quick suppressing enemies before 6 turns are hit. With his base EGO Bodysack, he can setup his own haste to enable additional coin power on Quick Suppression, making him ideal for turn 2 / turn 3 bursts.

Honourable mentions:

  • 000utis - You hate losing clashes. We all do. Outis fixes that on top of debuffing the enemy accordingly. Even her passives are great in case we want to use somebody else instead of her for a fight or two. With N Faust and potentially other ID and EGO to set up bursts, you can finish fights insanely quick. Pairs nicely with N Faust. Of course, if there is a clash she can’t for some reason with, remember, The Odyssey Had a Purpose…
  • G Gregor - You’ve got Legerdemain, and you’ve got Legerdemain. EVERYBODY GETS A LEGERDEMAIN. Legerdemain spam is real and can make quick work of Floor 1, Floor 2, Floor 4 and Floor 9. Also Legerdemain can hit multiple parts of Headless Itchys to speedrun even that boss. Outside of his EGO, Gregor can still do decent damage with his skills but honestly, Legerdemain spam is way too addicting.
  • Kurokumo and Tingtang Hong Lu - Both are excellent for certain stages. For example Kurokumo makes Wolf a joke while Tingtang makes Robot and Frog a joke. They are not in MVP tier cause you have to sadly pick only one and you may bench them for fights where they are not ideal. But when they are, the enemy will not know what mercy is.
  • Seven Section 6 Yi Sang - We finally received a mode, where Pierce Fragility and Fragility, that are applied next turn, are finally useful. Yi Sang shines in stages where the boss is weak to pierce, allowing especially Heathcliff to reach stupidly high numbers that quickly suppress enemies. And if the enemy still stands, Yi Sang base EGO can buff all allies speed, making them faster than any enemy, enabling 5 one sided attacks to end the fight before the enemy can even act. With Sanity changes and odds of Heads landing, Yi Sang debuffs are reliable and he can actually clash decently. Won’t be used in every stage, mostly for speeding up pierce weak fights.
    • Seven Section 6 Ryoshu, while serving the same purpose as Yi Sang but for slash, is not an mvp here as there are no enemies that will require slash fragility. And if the enemy is slash weak, they are not that tanky to begin with. Potentially in future Railway seasons Seven Section Ryoshu will shine.
  • R Corp Ishmael - Mind Whip is finally not a meme. To a lesser extent. With changes to Sanity and how it affects odds of Heads and with Telepole EGO for Don existing, R Ishmael can Mind Whip more safely and reliably with decent clash potential. Quite a few enemies are weak to blunt, wrath, or both in Railway Line 1, so Ishmael can be quite helpful in bursting enemies. Her decent HP pull also can help with Floor 6 and 9. Robot boss in Floor 6 targets sinners with most HP with unclashable grab, so Ishmael will be a target of it… but unclashable doesn’t mean undodgeable, so she can use her evade and dodge it, skipping the gimmick of this fight. In floor 9, at last wave. Enemies have an attack that targets sinners with the most HP. And since Ishmael is resist to blunt and enemies damage rolls are very low, she can tank the hits while rest of the teams nukes the “Time Wasters” K Corp guards one by one safely.
  • Shi Ishmael - Better Cloud Cutter and just sheer numbers makes Ishmael a great choice for RR… If you are fine with never swapping her out of the team, even if the enemy is resisting her damage and affinities as resting means HP heals. And we do not want that on this Ishmael. You won’t go wrong with Shi Ish if you can keep her HP and below 50% and if you can do it fast in first few stages so she can start doing her shenanigans earlier and faster.

What is my purpose? You are a passive hauler:

  • LCB Rodya - With changes to how passives work, LCB Rodya provides Sinner with the Highest HP with quite significant 20% damage on Heads, that are now near guarantee at 45 sanity. And all you need is to own 5 Wrath. Similar passive has TingTiang Hong Lu but we might be using him so…
  • Mariachi Sinclair - Despite enemies not having sanity, this passive still works in Railway. While not a 20% damage boost as Rodya mentioned above, a 10% damage bonus just by having 4 Gloom is still great.

MVP EGOs

  • Telepole Don - Enables Don and R Ishmael earlier. Both normal and overclock. Damage against pierce weak enemies is decent. Also cheap to use.
  • Fluid Sac - HP and SP sustain for ID you will be rarely swapping. Will come in clutch in Floor 10.
  • Hex Nail - Previously neglected and kinda forgotten EGO, makes its spotlight in Railway where debuffs are much more valuable and it enables both R Heath and W Don to Rip and Tear through enemies.
  • Bodysack - “Not wasting bullets this turn” EGO. Cheap to use, nice damage. Sets up Quick Suppression next turn.
  • Legerdemain - Spammable, dirt cheap EGO that can hit multiple abnormality parts if it has any. Also nice Paralyze can come in the clutch. Especially good in mob fights.

Floor guides

Since the guide is pretty massive, each of the Floors is contained within its own tab.

Average turn count - 8

Enemies

All enemies share same weaknesses:

  • Blunt - 2.0x
  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 2.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

No gimmicks. Just normal mob fight. Might be rough at first due to 0 sanity. Gather EGO resources, activate passives, secure kills, do not be afraid of taking hits as long as you can get a guaranteed kill. If you are using R Ishmael, she can nuke Bugman Commander in Wave 2 with Mind Whip. And Legerdemain will be your friend. Not much else to say about this fight.

Average turn count - 6

Enemies

Mariachi & Aida:

  • Slash - 2.0x
  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 2.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Crewman:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 2.0x
  • Lust - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 2.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

Not that difficult of a fight. Aida can be one shot with Quick Suppression. Or at least killed in 2 turns. Clashing should not be an issue. As with Floor 1, prepare resources and passives for the next fight.

Average turn count - 6

Enemies

Blubbering Toad Body:

  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.5x

Ignore the body. No point hitting it.

Blubbering Toad Right Eye:

  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.5x

Blubbering Toad Left Eye:

  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.5x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.5x
Tips

Toad is tanky. Ignore the body. Instead focus on the Right Eye. Its stagger threshold is at 50% unlike left at 40%. The best strategy is to focus the Right Eye and never stop hitting it. After breaking Right Eye, Toad stops fighting back. In a way. It will switch behaviour to use a skill that does SP damage instead of HP damage. Toad as a whole is not doing a lot of damage. Mainly depletes sanity.

When the Right Eye is broken, attack it until the Toad is dead. That is really all to this fight.

Average turn count - 7

Enemies

All enemies share same weaknesses:

  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Blunt - 2.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 2.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.5x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

Chapter 3 story fight in a way. Like Floor 1 and 2, nothing special. Legerdemain spam is especially effective here. Despite enemies resisting or enduring Slash, Rip Space is still ripping through them. Replenish EGO resources, activate passives again if needed. Not a difficult fight at all.

Average turn count - 5

Enemies

Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Body & Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Telepole:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Blunt - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Pride - 2.0x

Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Person & Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Head:

  • Slash - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Pride - 2.0x
Tips

Okay, this should be faster than 4 turns. It is a Mirror Dungeon version of a Wolf. Which means it is a pushover. First encounter can be intimidating, but as it turned out, fight is not that hard. It has a gimmick of Shock and Lightning, but in Ruina fashion, we ignore the gimmick.

Strategy is to focus head. It has the lowest HP out of all the parts and can be broken nearly instantly. Bonus points if you are using Kurokumo Hong Lu since Head is extremely fatal to Cloud Cutter. Clash with any of the dogs attack only if the damage bonus on the skill is at 200%+ or the sinner is really close to being staggered. Everybody can potentially tank 1 hit, 2 even if Wolf rolls tails only. Once the head is broken, focus fire, debuff, Cut, Rip and Suppress it.

Average turn count - 8

Enemies

Kqe-1j-23:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.5x
  • Pride - 1.0x
Tips

Gimmick of the fight is the Kqe-1j-23 skill that will Captivate sinners, stagger them and force stagger check… but we will ignore that gimmick. Similarly to the last fight.

Pleased to Meet You, Dear Neighbour is an unclashable skill… but it is dodgeable. It will target the highest HP sinner so before the fight adjust your team so your highest HP sinner has Evade defensive skill. With enough damage Kqe-1j-23 will die before a second gacha crane comes up (this time it is clashable). In case it is still alive, after failing to gacha sinner, it will go into despair mode and reveal its heart. It has 5 Fragile and killing it staggers Kqe-1j-23 and allows a kill.

Or you can do solo W Don and N Faust. Both can solo the stage. W Don is at most 7 turns, just prioritise her Gloom skill 2, Leap. N Faust can do it in max 9 turns. It can be easier to do solo than in a team honestly. If you have G Corp Gregor benched, Don or Faust will even be at full hp when the fight is over. Plan is the same as with a team. Dodge Pleased to Meet You, Dear Neighbour, clash with Paralyze inflicting skills to avoid it, spam pierce skills. In case of Faust spam her S1 Cackle, to farm Envy, and keep Gaze on 24/7.

Average turn count - 3

Enemies

Refracted Headless Ichthys Body:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Refracted Headless Ichthys Right Leg & Refracted Headless Ichthys Left Leg:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Refracted Headless Ichthys Tail:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

If you thought the wolf was a punching bag, here is a bigger one. Can be 2 turned. At most 3. Target any Leg. Since their stagger threshold is at 70% HP, those can be destroyed in one turn. Target broken part. Less health than Wolf. Clash with power reducing skills first turn. As with Wolf, Rip and Suppress it when any leg is no more.

Average turn count - 8

Enemies

All Inquisitors share weaknesses:

  • Blunt - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Envy - 2.0x
Tips

Turn waste part 1. Middle Inquisitor will switch between states of attacking three times, followed next turn by countering. Strategy is to burst focus Middle Inquisitor with 3 sinners, clash with rest. On Counter turn, clash in the middle with sinner resistant to clash or use Evade Defensive skill. Inquisitor can also count AoE ego, but those turn to single target slash skill with the same coins. On this turn, focus on bursting Inquisitor on the side. One at a time. Next turn Middle attacks three times again. You attack too. Rinse repeat till all are dead. Not a difficult fight but slow.

Average turn count - 10

Enemies

K Corp. Checkpoint Security:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Blunt - 2.0x
  • Wrath - 2.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 2.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

K Corp. Class 3 Staff & K Corp. Class 3 Empowered Staff:

  • Slash - 2.0x
  • Blunt - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 2.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 2.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

Did you know that in Encyclopedia under definition of “time-wasting” image of K Corp. Class 3 Staff appears? Truly interesting fact, right?

In all seriousness, this fight is not hard, enemies do not even threaten with damage. It is just a slog. Funnily enough, all enemies except K Corp. Class 3 Staff can be killed with a single Cloud Cutter. That is how fragile enemies are but there are a lot of them.

The only tip for this stage is to save nuke buttons for wave 3 and nuke K Corp. Class 3 Staff one by one so the last wave takes only 2 turns. If you are using R Ishmael, make sure she is the highest HP sinner in a team, so she can tank wave 3 enemies attacks, as they have skill that targets the highest HP unit with blunt damage, to which R Ishmael is resistant allowing team one sided galore.

Average turn count - 15

Enemies

Four-legged Beast:

  • Slash - 2.0x
  • Blunt - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 2.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.5x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Slithering Inquisitor Left Arm & Slithering Inquisitor Right Arm:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 2.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

The worst fight in the Railway. The worst design. Slog, boring and unfun fight. It is not even hard. Enemies are pushovers that won’t have a chance to win clashes most of the time. Beasts have speed range 1-2 meaning you will always be able to redirect their clash.

The only stage where R Heath is not good as the fight will be way too long for him.

For some reason. Slithering Inquisitor boasts 1597 HP total with arms having nearly 600 HP turning this fight into a snooze fest. “Burst” Slithering Inquisitor whenever you can, destroy both arms in the same turn or in span of 1 turn of each other to prevent them from regenerating. There is not much else to the fight except Poison that will most likely be the only thing that will do damage to you (it can also stagger so enjoy). Prepare your Faust Fluid Sac. Just do not get bored during this fight.

Average turn count - 6

Enemies

Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Body & Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Telepole:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Blunt - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Pride - 2.0x

Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Person & Refracted Alleyway Watchdog Head:

  • Slash - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Pride - 2.0x

Refracted Headless Ichthys Body:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.5x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Refracted Headless Ichthys Right Leg & Refracted Headless Ichthys Left Leg:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Refracted Headless Ichthys Tail:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.5x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

Two punching bags from previous floors return as a duo. They share their 5 actions… and that is all really. Same strategy as with their solo fights. Ichthys focus leg, Wolf Head. Focus fire, Cut, Nail, Rip, Suppress. If you did a great job on their solo fights, this one will be a breeze that will save you some turns after 3 turn wasters back to back.

Average turn count - 8

Enemies

Phase 1:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Kromer the Dreamer of Human Wholeness Right Arm & Kromer the Dreamer of Human Wholeness Left Arm:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.5x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Kromer the Dreamer of Human Wholeness Maw:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 2.0x
  • Wrath - 1.5x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.5x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

Nerfed Kromer fight as she doesn’t have her passive from the story that says “No to bleed and burn”. Two phase fight, should not be an issue if you’ve beaten chapter 3 which you did cause you need it to access the Railway. Among the easier fights in Railway.

Average turn count - 9

Enemies

Lured Guido:

  • Pierce - 1.0x
  • Blunt - 2.0x
  • Wrath - 2.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Lured Bugman:

  • Slash - 2.0x
  • Blunt - 1.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 2.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x

Lured Aida:

  • Slash - 1.0x
  • Pierce - 2.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 1.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 2.0x

My Form Empties Buddha Murti & My Form Empties Stone Seat:

  • Blunt - 2.0x
  • Wrath - 1.0x
  • Lust - 2.0x
  • Sloth - 1.0x
  • Gluttony - 1.0x
  • Gloom - 1.0x
  • Pride - 1.0x
  • Envy - 1.0x
Tips

Judgement Bird fights from Ruina 2.0 but easier. Since it is basically the same fight, we're gonna do the same as in Ruina… ignore the gimmick entirely. Gimmick is a new status “Karma” that will kill no matter what at the end of the turn once it reaches enough stacks. Enemies, except statue who get ridiculous amounts of protection, will heal fully each turn. Game expects us to kill them with gimmick. But we can do that instead normally.

Aida can die from raw Quick Suppression. Guido can die to Mind Whip if assisted by other heavy hitting skills. Bugman is the tankiest of them all technically and he will most likely die to Karma after a few turns. Hitting statue outside of clashes is pointless until all other bosses are dead.

All we need to do is clash, win those and once bosses are down, whack the statue that is not a threat. Later on it will force a check that will always have sinners have to roll maximum to pass. Once the check is done, the statue is staggered. Kill it.

And that is all for the Railway. Overall, nice change of pace to the normal game loop, rather balanced except for 3 time waster floors.

Makes previously not needed EGO and ID like Hex Nail and Seven Section Yi Sang truly shine and makes us utilise the debuffs and buffs we have at our disposal.