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Manato does not have good Drive Disc options as a 4-piece, but given that it is possible to have full stacks of 
Yunkui Tales during stun periods - the most critical time for his burst - it pulls out ahead of all other choices due to its Sheer DMG Bonus.
A triple 2-piece (with 
Branch & Blade Song) can be used instead, but it would still be decidedly worse even with Pinnacle's steep 40% Sheer DMG increases.
It is possible to replace Fire DMG Bonus with a HP % and still do fine, as Manato does get a fair amount of DMG Bonuses here (20% from 
Core Passive: Mighty Molten Edge, 20% from M1 Drifter's Rules of Survival, 15% from M6 Beyond Dreams of the Past, 24% from 
Grill O'Wisp, 20% from 
Lucia's Dreamer's Nursery Rhyme, 25% from 
Dreamlit Hearth, and so on...), but it should still pull out ahead.
The remaining main stats are straightforward, although Crit Rate can be used in D4 instead if missing out on substat rolls.
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4 - Crit DMG | 5 - Fire DMG Bonus | 6 - HP % |
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King of the Summit's 4-piece effect is very strong and the only workable option, as an 
Astral Voice + 
Moonlight Lullaby alternative would only ever work with 
Astra Yao.
For 2-piece, 
Shockstar Disco is needed here. Daze thresholds are hard enough to meet with 
Ju Fufu as it is - even with an Impact D6 it can still feel tight at times, so it's the best option for consistent routing.
Crit Rate is required to meet the 50% bonus threshold from King of the Summit, ATK % is to maximise the value of Core Passive: Fu-rocious Might and Impact to speed up stuns.
With 
Roaring Fur-nace, maxing out the buff shouldn't be an issue, but if it is, sacrificing on some of its value for Impact D6 is going to be the better choice over an ATK D6, as most fights with Manato can have tight Stun thresholds.
Main Stats | ||
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4 - Crit Rate | 5 - ATK % | 6 - Impact |
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Moonlight Lullaby is the only reasonable option for Lucia, but 2-piece is flex.
Yunkui Tales is a good option if missing in substats to hit the 24,000 HP needed to max out Darkbreaker, otherwise damage sets like 
Woodpecker Electro, 
Hormone Punk or 
Chaotic Metal can help squeeze in a little extra damage.
If you're struggling to use EX Special every 25 seconds or having issues with making up daze thresholds, the 
Swing Jazz can be a good alternative for earlier (or extra) uses of 
EX Special Attack: Symphony of the Reaper - Daybreak.
Even with Dreamlit Hearth, it can be difficult having enough substats to hit 24,000 HP, so a full HP % set is needed. If, however, you find that you have more than enough substats (which can be easier with Signature and Yunkui Tales), then using a D4 Crit Rate or D6 Energy Regen is a way to get extra damage and daze respectively.
Main Stats | ||
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4 - HP % | 5 - HP % | 6 - HP % |
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Miasma Priest daze thresholds are particularly steep for Manato.
To get a good score, having good luck in the pre-1st stun attack patterns is mandatory. At least two multi-parriable strings from Miasma Priest, but ideally more, as the fast daze build from them helps in speeding up stuns.
Shoot for a first stun around the 02:20 mark. Even with multiple parries, at least one Ju Fufu 
EX Special is needed, which can make delaying the Miasma Shield phase with an early 2nd stun even harder. Try to sneak in a Lucia EX Special into 
Basic 5 as soon as her Dream State ends, which should be happening very near the stun point.
Save Lucia's and Ju Fufu's 
Ultimate for the out-of-stun period right after 1st stun ends to help build additional daze, and if possible, go into Manato's Ultimate early and transition straight into Basic Attacks, so that he can be landing the final hits as stun ends to further boost daze application.
If the daze bar is around 50, doing all parries (and the occasional 
Assist Follow-Up between the final 4 hits) should build another 20 or so daze. Make sure to end on Ju Fufu so that she can go straight into an Assist Follow-Up, then an EX Special. Swap to Lucia for an EX Special and Basic 5 shortcut for even more Daze, then use Manato's own EX Special for the rest.
At this point, the Might build on Ju Fufu should lead to a 
Chain Attack, so swap to her for the trigger and go back to Manato for a standard combo.
It's likely that Dream State is running out again by the end of the 2nd stun, so refresh it and go into the Miasma Shield phase. Maximise as much daze as possible and don't hesitate on blowing Energy, as the Purify bonus will restore most of it.
Follow the same approach as the slashes before the 2nd stun to set-up for a fast 3rd. There likely won't be enough time to wait for a clock phase transition - even if this means lower Crit DMG on the combo, it's still preferrable to missing out on a 4th stun.
Once the 3rd stun is over, it's little more than praying for good luck with parriable strings to speed through to the 4th. Try using Ultimates only duing clock phase transitions to not interrupt Miasma Priest out of any parriable attack strings, and squeeze in as much burst as possible before the timer runs out.
The general Gameplay Approach outlined in Manatos Additional Tips under his Build section is an accurate summary on how to handle the comp.
Special attention does have to be given to Lucia specifically, as her Dreamer's Nursery Rhyme can fall off in critical periods, but otherwise there aren't many synergistic team interactions to watch out for.
As Manato can end up quite far away from enemies after his Chain Attacks, it's likely that Ju Fufu will be too far to be able to trigger another Chain, so relying on the fast activation and long range of Lucia's Special Attack: Symphony of the Reaper - Storm to trigger them is worth it, even if it comes at the cost of Dream Points.
