Solo All Jobs Cyrus Speedrun 8h27m (Part 2, Segmented/Unrouted) [Octopath Traveler] (Balogar)

This is Part 2 of my segmented Solo All Jobs Speedrun with Cyrus start. It is run on PC with just the base game, no mods. You can see the previous video for more information.
The highlight of this segment was definitely the Balogar battle, which took 3 attempts and a total of about 1 hour to defeat at level 40 with a Merchant build. Notably, I needed to use up all of my Pom M, Pom L, and Revitalizing Jams and still required some Endless Item procs to make them last enough for the battle. That said, I don't think I had the best luck with defense down procs from Soldier's Longbow or from Patience, so I do think the luck mostly balanced out.
You can definitely just grind more Rev Jams to increase consistency for the battle.
Resources used (excluding EI procs):
- 12 rev jams
- 10 pom L
- 6 pom M
- about 400k (went from ~550k before the battle to ~150k after the battle)
[The money was for Hired Help Bandits/Dancers/Clerics/Veterans, and the items were mainly from chests from optional dungeons. If I needed more, there were 2 more Pom L I hadn't grabbed (from Lorn and Moldering Ruin), and I could also always steal more Revitalizing Jams.]
The first attempt was me throwing because I misplayed, but the second failed attempt was interesting in that Balogar never unlocked his Bow weakness until his 50% health phase (it's normally supposed to unlock it at 75%). I assume I must've broken him in a way that prevents it or something else happened with his AI - I'm not sure. If anyone knows, you can comment below.
The third attempt succeeded, but it was very close. In fact, I needed Endless Items to proc on my last Revitalizing Jam twice to make it go the distance.
The strategy is interesting in the solo Balogar fight in that we actively want him to reach 75% or 50% health asap. (Most solos, we plan around the 50% HP mark and try to burst when we reach there, while in this battle, it's better to reach asap.) That's because he unlocks Bow at 75% usually and Dagger at 50%, which helps with breaking him with Eye for an Eye. The runes also decrease in strength after 50% since they become AoE, which doesn't matter in a solo.
Surviving is done with Sidesteps, Saving Grace HP, and some reliance on Blind misses. Damage is done with Soulstones, Clerics/Veterans, and poison mainly (fun fact: Double Poison Glitch actually proc'd in the fight, which helps with a tiny bit of extra damage). Overall, a very difficult fight since it's the first shrine boss we face. (That said, on a rewatch, I was inefficient with my Poms, like using a Pom M, then getting Patience and using Boosted Sidestep when I should've done an unboosted action to gain BP on the next turn, so I maybe could've conserved some poms with better play.)
If anyone here has watched my Tressa/Therion solo all jobs runs, you may recall me doing Steorra first. That's because both T/T have access to Robe of the Flame and a lot more nuts/armor, so they can get away with early Steorra (and get Hard Worker for faster grinding).
Other travelers cannot withstand Dreisang/Steorra's magic attacks as easily, so it's important to defeat Balogar for Runelord's Elemental Edge to reduce the damage taken (and have pursuits for Winnehild). Of the four bosses, Balogar's more susceptible to Sidestep, Hired Help, and Merchant's toolkit so it works out well.
That said, even though Balogar is the most manageable of the 4 initially, he's still an absolute monster to take out solo, esp for someone as squishy as Cyrus. For reference, Lv41 Tressa in my run had about 3800 HP, but Lv40 Cyrus in this video had about 2000 HP, so he's way more fragile. if I were to do the fight again, I'd probably grind more Revitalizing Jams and more levels to make the fight more consistent.
Anyway, I was glad it worked out, and thanks for reading. Feel free to leave questions or comments, and check out the other Parts if you're interested in the full run.
Part 1: • Solo All Jobs Cyrus Sp... (Prep) (1h52m22s)
Part 2: • Solo All Jobs Cyrus Sp... (Balogar) (2h4s)
Part 3: • Solo All Jobs Cyrus Sp... (Steorra/Dreisang) (3h2m15s)
Part 4: • Solo All Jobs Cyrus Sp... (Winnehild) (1h31m58s)
Approximate total time of all four segments: 8h26m39s