Ashes Just Ahead is the third stage in Rose-Colored Road.
Battleground[]
- Infinite Red EnerGs spawn after 20 seconds600f, delay 80~83.33 seconds2,400f~2,500f.
- 4 Red EnerGs spawn after 43.33 seconds1,300f, delay 60~66.67 seconds1,800f~2,000f.
- 3 Red EnerGs spawn after 60 seconds1,800f, delay 46.67~50 seconds1,400f~1,500f.
- Infinite Assassin Bears spawn after 80 seconds2,400f, delay 80~83.33 seconds2,400f~2,500f.
- 3 Red EnerGs spawn after 96.67 seconds2,900f, delay 36.67~43.33 seconds1,100f~1,300f.
- 2 Red EnerGs spawn after 146.67 seconds4,400f, delay 3.33 seconds100f.
Strategy[]
Because Red EnerGs are spammed in this stage, you will inevitably face off an endless stream of surge attacks. It definitely doesn't help that each have nearly 700k health. Gato Amigo and his Evade Surge Talent works wonders here as its recharge time is just enough to mirror that of the Red EnerGs, allowing it to perfectly stall them. You will need either Stone Cat or the normal Cat Cannon to kill the Assassin Bears. Beyond them, you'll need a lot of good Surge Immune attackers, and chances are you might not have the necessary units or resources for the stage.
Spawn Gato Amigo at about a 2.97 second rate, and use Breakerblast to sync up the Red EnerGs. Then you can use whatever surge immune unit you want, such as talented Li'l King Dragon Cat. Once the Red EnerGs are synced, you can summon Awakened Bahamut Cat to deal big damage to the multiple EnerGs at one go, ideally knocking them back.
Strategy 1 (4-Star Cheese)[]
Level 50
Level 50
Level 50
- Cannon must be Lv. 30
- Richest Cat is not needed if you are using the Rich Cat power up
Lineup: Itchy Riches, Offshore Accounts, Tiny Ancient Hunt, Étoile minimum, Boulder Cat, Green Shell Cat 50, Idi:N2 50, Awakened Bahamut Cat 50
Cannon: Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt (Style), Thunderbolt (Foundation)
Items: Sniper, Rich Cat
Notes:
- Cannon must be Lv. 30
- Richest Cat is not needed if you are using the Rich Cat power up
Over the course of the battle, spawn Green Shell Cat whenever they are available (twice total). After spawning your first Green Shell Cat, save up cash for Idi:N2. The first Red EnerG will be stuck behind the Green Shell Cat while Idi:N2 arrives at the enemy base. Idi can survive 3 hits from the Red EnerG, and after the third hit Sniper the Cat will knock Red EnerG slightly back from Idi. There are two scenarios when this occurs. Either 1) Your Green Shell Cat is still alive due to Surge RNG spawning one of Red EnerG's surge slightly in front of Green Shell, missing them, or 2) Green Shell Cat is dead at this point, and there is a very small window of time where Red EnerG must walk back into attack range of Idi. If a well-timed Boulder Cat hits the enemy base at this moment, the Red EnerG will stop short of hitting Idi, allowing Idi to get one more hit in. The timing of this Boulder Cat is very tight, so it may take multiple attempts to get a run past this point. If you wish, spawn Awakened Doron whenever they are available to better time the spawning of Awakened Bahamut later.
Around the time Idi dies, a second Red EnerG will spawn. Hopefully both EnerG's will be stuck at the enemy base behind your second Green Shell Cat and additional Boulder Cats. If they are, spawn Awakened Bahamut (if using Awakened Doron to time, this will be more or less the same time Awakened Bahamut becomes available for purchase), and use Thunderbolt cannon to freeze the enemies. If timed right, Awakened Bahamut will arrive when the surge attacks are dying off, and get two hits on the enemy base while the enemies are frozen. When the EnerG's are unfrozen, if all goes well, Bahamut will get the third and final hit even if they have to tank an attack and a surge.
This strategy is not particularly consistent, and the timing of certain crucial unit spawns are difficult to describe. It is hoped that a player, armed with this framework, will be able to feel out the timing themselves, or alternatively get lucky and skip over the frame perfect Boulder spawn.
Strategy 2 (Cheese)[]
- Cat God can be replace better LD/Omnistrike Units that outrange the Red EnerGs' Surges. You can also of course use these piercing units along side Cat God
- Empty Slots can be used for Cat Combos, attack up combos specifically can help, or worker cat start level combos to get a good start.
- Speed Up is not needed, however recommended if you do not want the stage to be as long.
Lineup: Gato Amigo (Surge Immunity), Manic Mohawk Cat, Boulder Cat, Roe Cat, Cat God the Awesome
Items: Speed Up
Notes:
- Cat God can be replace better LD/Omnistrike Units that outrange the Red EnerGs' Surges. You can also of course use these piercing units along side Cat God
- Empty Slots can be used for Cat Combos, attack up combos specifically can help, or worker cat start level combos to get a good start.
- Speed Up is not needed, however recommended if you do not want the stage to be as long.
Start stalling the Red EnerGs with you meatshields. Make sure to keep them at the base. Then when you have enough money spawn Roe Cat and eventually Cat God and/or any other piercing units. After this you are basically done and just need to continue spawning meatshields while Cat God uses his Omnistrike to snipe the base.
Trivia[]
- The Japanese name of this stage, Issunsaki wa Sumi ("Ahead Lies Charcoal" or lit. "Charcoal is One Step Ahead"), is a play on the phrase "issunsaki wa yami," which means, "the future could hold anything," but literally translates to "darkness is one step ahead."
- Going along with the theme of meat and cooking in Rose-Colored Road, Ashes Just Ahead's Japanese name refers to charcoal, which has a wide range of applications in cooking.