Apollo

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**Apollo** is a CrossWorlds player whom Lea meets shortly after beginning the game. He is of the Spheromancer class.

## Appearance

Apollo has long, spiky green hair and pale skin. He is always seen wearing a mask which obscures his eyes, making them appear blank white. His mask extends around his head in a sort of crownless helmet, featuring the circular ear covers characteristic of Spheromancer avatars. His helmet, along with the matching breastplate, vambraces and boots that he wears, are black with glowing green highlights. He also wears pants, long gloves and a scarf, all made of matching maroon fabric.

## Personality

Apollo is outspoken and quick to jump to conclusions. He chooses to call out Lea when he suspects her of cheating, despite having neither the proof nor the authority to do anything about it, showing a confrontational attitude and a lack of foresight. Although he may have noble intentions, his smugly attitude makes his criticism seem very holier-than-thou. Despite passing through Newcomer's Bridge, which would presumably make him a new player, he is quite knowledgeable about the game, knowing the maximum level of players on exiting the Rhombus Dungeon. He is quite observant, being the only one to realize that Lea did not take part in the first sections of the dungeon.

## Relationships

Apollo and Joern are friends, with Joern being the voice of reason for the more impulsive Apollo. Apollo is quick to seek out Joern's approval for finding a cheater, but Joern tells off Apollo for his attitude and apologizes for his behavior, while threatening to pretend not to know him. Despite their argumentative interaction, Apollo ends up listening to Joern and letting Lea off for the moment, showing he values his friend's advice.

The two of them share an apartment and later go on a vacation together, it's later revealed that they are a couple as they share a domestic moment ended with an 'I love you' and a heartwarming hug after the final PvP-battle with Lea.

Apollo suspects Lea of cheating, due to the unusual circumstances of her entry to the game, and is quick to confront her about it, while Lea's muteness leaves her unable to defend herself. Although Joern convinces him to let it slide, Apollo proceeds to challenge Lea to a duel, setting himself up to be her rival for the remainder of the story.

## Role in CrossCode

Apollo is first seen on Newcomers Bridge, where he notices Lea with suspicion, and follows her into the Rhombus Dungeon. Upon exiting the dungeon, he approaches her, accusing her of cheating (due to her high level from fighting the Huge Hostile Crab). He is convinced to drop the matter by Joern.

He later appears in Autumn's Rise, where he challenges Lea to a PVP duel on reaching Bergen Trail. At the start of Bergen Trail, the two duel, with Apollo promising that the duel will demonstrate the superiority of the Spheromancer class's fighting style. Regardless of the outcome of the duel, he tells Lea that she has much to learn, and promises to test her again in the future.

His next appearance is foreshadowed when Lea runs into Joern outside the Ba'kii Kum Quest Hub, and not too long after, he challenges her to another duel directly outside the Faj'ro Temple. Regardless of the outcome of the duel, Apollo will start addressing Lea by her name (albeit with Spheromancer before it).

The third duel happens when Apollo ambushes Lea at the entrance to Gaia's Garden. Regardless of the outcome of the duel, Lea will then party up with Apollo and Joern until the trio open the way to the temples, and be able to choose from them to mix and match her party.

Later on, Apollo will party up with Lea and Emilie to race through the Grand Krys'kajo temple, and upon completion of the temple reveals that the "Apollo" character is, in fact, not his first character.

## Drops

None

The first duel against Apollo takes place upon reaching Bergen Trail - Entrance.

### Combat

In the multiple PVP duels against Apollo, there are some mechanics that always stay the same. First, his basic Melee combos can be countered. Second, he dodges most attacks thrown at him, except for the first rounds in the first duel. Third, he attacks in specific patterns: whenever he is finished with one, he flashes red, moves really slowly and stops attacking, giving the player a chance to fight back. And fourth, winning the duels is optional since the story will still progress in either case. The only reward for doing so are the corresponding Trophies and EXP.

 Apollo changes to the next round's patterns only when the player wins a round. He won't regress if the player loses any amount of rounds.

**Round 1**

* Attempts to slowly get close to the player so he can attack with Melee. He finishes by pointing with his finger and using  Spin Dance once.

**Round 2**

* Keeps his pattern from the first phase.
* Throws Balls and finishes by pointing with his finger and using  Azure Strike.

**Round 3**

* His Melee pattern stays the same.
* Finishes his Balls pattern by spamming  Azure Strike until his SP bar runs out.

**Round 4**

* Becomes more aggressive and both of his patterns stay the same.

**Round 5**

* If he has enough SP points at the end of his Melee pattern, he uses  Spin Dance twice instead of once.
* Keeps both attack patterns.

### Strategies

* The game's anti-stun mechanic shines the most in PVP. If you or Apollo are hit multiple times with different attacks (for example, a Melee combo followed by two  Spin Dances), the game will allow the one who is being beat up to move away from danger freely. This is indicated by a pop-up with a cross and the word “stun” appearing over the victim.
* Guard Sphere +  Pin Body + Guarding can help cheesing this and the future duels. Actually enjoying the fight is recommended if you are not doing a challenge run.
* The winner of a round recovers 50% HP while the loser recovers 100%, meaning that you won’t necessarily lose all your progress if you lose one.
* Charged Balls will stop him from throwing Balls himself.

## Drops

None

The second duel occurs at Faj'ro Temple - Temple Entrance.

### Combat

**Round 1**

* Throws Balls continuously until he spams  Azure Strike, spending all his SP in the process.
* Attacks with Melee and finishes with a single  Spin Dance.

**Round 2**

* Stays on Heat mode the entire round.
* Throws Balls and finishes with  Burn!. If he still has SP left, he uses  Fire Whirl right after.
* Attacks with Melee and finishes with Fire Whirl.

**Round 3**

* Special Strategy: On Heat mode, throws Balls till his SP bar fills up. Then, he spends it all placing  Ashen Mines around the middle of the arena. Finally, he attacks with Melee and finishes with a single  Fire Whirl.

**Round 4**

* Attacks with Melee until he begins flashing yellow. When he does, he gets close to the player and attacks with  Spiral Dance.
* Throws Balls until he begins flashing yellow. When he does, he stops in the center of the arena and uses  Bullet Inferno.

**Round 5**

* On Heat mode, throws Balls until he uses  Burn!. Then, instead of getting tired, he switches to Neutral mode and attacks with Melee, finishing with flashing yellow and using  Spiral Dance.
* Also on Heat mode, attacks with Melee until he uses  Fire Whirl. He continues by switching to Neutral mode, throwing Balls and finishing with  Bullet Inferno.

### Strategies

* Burn! can be dodged by Dashing in a circle around him or getting far away.
* When he uses his special strategy, concentrate solely on dodging his Melee attacks or counter him.
* Bullet Inferno is his most dangerous move as it has homing and traps you in case you are hit. Stay far away from him when he uses this attack so you can Dash around him to dodge.

## Stats

### Resistance

 8%
 8%
 8%
 17%

## Drops

None

The third duel happens upon reaching Gaia's Garden - Jungle Entrance.

### Combat

**Round 1**

* Stays on Heat mode for the entire round.
* Throws series of Balls at the player. He repeats this a few times until he decides to get close to the player and use  Burn! and  Bullet Inferno in quick succession.
* Attempts to hit the player with basic Melee combos. After doing this a few times, he suddenly gets close to the player and uses  Fire Whirl twice.

**Round 2**

* Stays on Cold mode for the entire round.
* Follows similar patterns as before. If he was throwing Balls, he will suddenly spam  Hail Flurry until he has one SP point left. If he was doing Melee combos, however, he will finish his pattern with  Ice Twirl, followed up directly by an elemental swap into  Spiral Dance.

**Round 3**

* In Cold mode, he uses Melee combos and finishes by flashing yellow and using  Ice Twirl. If the player, naturally, attempts to attack him while he flashes red, he inadvertently counters with  Frozen Stance and  Blizzard Hawk, dealing massive damage. He will still use  Frozen Stance even if the player doesn't attack, and if the Combat Arts isn't triggered, he will become vulnerable for real.
* After his first attempt, he continues using the same pattern with less Melee combos.

**Round 4**

* He now has a pattern for both Heat and Cold. His Cold attack pattern is exactly the same as in the previous round.
* In Heat mode, he uses Melee combos and finishes with  Fire Whirl, quickly followed up by  Blazing Dragon. He doesn’t set up a trap in this case.

**Round 5**

* If he picks Heat, he begins by using  Ring of Fire and follows the same pattern as in the previous round.
* If he picks Cold, he throws Balls until he suddenly uses  Icy Bastion, from which he continues throwing Balls in place, and finishes off with  Bullet Inferno.

### Strategies

* If  Bullet Inferno still gives you trouble, use Dash Arts for their invincibility and fast speed.
* Tank attacks with the same element he is using and fight back with the opposite element. This way you will take less damage and deal more.

## Stats

### Resistance

 8%
 8%
 8%
 8%

## Drops

None

The fourth duel happens during the events of A New Home in Rhombus Square - Open PVP Fields upon completing Azure Archipelago and acquiring the Ancient Shade. After that, he can be refought at the Rhombus Square Arena in the PvP vs Apollo duel.

### Combat

**Rounds 1 and 2**

* On Neutral mode, he attacks with Melee and occasionally uses  Azure Strike. After some time, he flashes yellow, attacks with  Spiral Dance and switches to Wave mode, which he uses to throw Balls and attack with  Verdant Strike. He will look tired following his Combat Art, leading to two scenarios. If the player gets too close to Apollo, he will use  Vortex Tide, and if they don't, he spends all his SP on  Elven Orb instead. Both Combat Arts leave him tired for real.
* On Cold mode, throws Balls and occasionally uses  Hail Flurry. Then, at some point, he uses  Icy Bastion and throws Balls in place. When its effect fades off, he switches to Shock mode and attacks with Melee and  Amber Strike until he flashes yellow, uses the Combat Art once more and fakes being tired. If the player attacks him while in this state, he activates  Glitch Time and spams Melee during its effect. After the effect ends or if the player doesn’t aggravate him, he attacks with  Battery Assault as much as his SP bar allows him, leaving him tired for real.

**Round 3**

* First, he begins this pattern in Shock mode, throwing Balls and using  Homing Wisp. Second, he attacks with  Amber Breaker, switches to Heat mode and attacks with Melee and  Crimson Strike. Third, he flashes yellow, uses  Fire Whirl and, just like before, deceives the player into thinking he is tired. Finally, he counters with  Ignite Embers if the player attacks with Melee and falls into his trap, or spams  Blazing Dragon until his SP bar runs out if they don't.
* Begins in Heat mode, attacks with Melee and  Fire Whirls until he flashes yellow and uses  Blazing Dragon, after which he switches to Cold mode and attacks with Melee and  Indigo Strike, ending with flashing yellow and a  Polar Pirouette. He doesn’t set up a trap in this pattern.
* Keeps his Cold/Shock pattern from the last round, with the only difference being that he can attack with  Battery Assault before time resumes after a successful  Glitch Time. In the other hand, he doesn’t keep the Neutral/Wave pattern.

**Round 4**

* Begins in Wave mode, throwing Balls and using  Essence Drain until he attacks with  Elven Orb, after which he switches to Cold mode and attacks with Melee and  Indigo Strike, ending with flashing yellow and a  Polar Pirouette.
* Keeps his Heat/Cold and Shock/Heat patterns from the third round. He can use  Indigo Strike right before the  Polar Pirouette.

**Round 5**

* With Shock or Wave, he first throws Balls and uses his corresponding Level 1 Combat Art until he attacks with a Level 2 one. After this, he both attacks once with Melee and Balls with three or four random elements. Following this strange combination, he flashes yellow and attacks with  Indigo Strike,  Verdant Strike,  Crimson Stream and  Amber Breaker, all in a row, before he gets tired. There isn’t a trap after this, don’t worry.
* Keeps his Heat/Cold and Wave/Cold patterns from earlier rounds.

### Strategies

* If, out of pure instinct, you Melee Apollo when he sets up a trap with Heat, you can still avoid getting annihilated by  Ignite Embers if you Dash before your attack lands on him. This also prevents him from using  Blazing Dragon and tires him completely.
* He will always jump away once when he gets tired. This can be troublesome if you happen to use a Level 3 Combat Art and he dodges it entirely.
* Countering and attacking with a Level 3 Combat Art is almost guaranteed to win a round, specially if you use  Ether Snipe.
* Wave Motion Beam can defeat him in a single go if your ranged damage is high enough. Make sure not to use it when he is preparing to use a guard art.
* Focus on dodging and attack only when he gets tired if the duel gets too hard.
* Riposte allows you to Perfect Guard attacks with multiple projectiles like  Homing Wisp and  Essence Drain. This can be combined with  Pin Body.

## Trivia

* Apollo seems to be somewhat of a reference to the *Ace Attorney* games. His name and theme, The Path of Justice are based on the character Apollo Justice from the games. His pointing animation is also reminiscent of similar and iconic animations from the series.
* The devs have joked on stream that Apollo's real name is actually Mark, making his full name Mark Apollo.[1]
* His actual eye color is brown.

## Gallery

* In-game portrait.
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