Apollo

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 kiss 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.

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

Combat
Apollo has a number of attacks he likes to use. He will shoot a group of five Balls, with the first one charged, or do a standard Melee combo. He also uses the combat arts Spin Dance and Azure Strike, the latter of which he will frequently chain twice in a row after Lea has won a few rounds.

Apollo is an expert at dodging, and it is very difficult to hit him with ranged attacks. However, he does have a weakness: After using a combat art, he will be briefly weakened. He flashes red, moves very slowly and does not attack.

Strategy
The duel against Apollo is very challenging, as it is not necessary to win it in order to progress. It is necessary to move quickly and use lots of dodging to stay out of the range of his attacks, as he can quickly grind your health down at close range, particularly if he combos a melee attack into a Spin Dance. If it seems as if he's going to use this attack, guarding might be a good idea since you'll be able to combo him when he's done with his attacks. Abusing Pin Body by Guarding and/or using Guard Sphere helps significantly by reflecting damage back to him. It is important to note that Apollo does not seem to be affected by hitstun. Make sure you take advantage of his weakened periods, as they are the best chance to hit him for high damage and cannot retaliate back. Watch for when he points at you, as he typically does this immediately before using a combat art, and be prepared to dodge his multiple Azure Strike. Number of his Azure Strikes depend on his remaining SP. Don't be afraid to lose a round either; the loser of each round gets healed 100%, while the winner is only healed 50%, so particularly in later rounds as Apollo becomes more desperate and aggressive, it may be advantageous to lose and take the healing, while some of Apollo's damage carries over.

Second duel
The second duel occurs before entering Faj'ro Temple.

Third duel
The third duel happens upon reaching Gaia's Garden.

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

Combat
Like with the previous encounters, his moves include shooting a group of five Balls, with the first one charged, and doing a standard Melee combo. He also uses several combat arts and switches elements often. His fighting style is slightly more aggressive, but also more careful, as Apollo will often use guard arts and, when his melee attack gets parried, he will dodge once before being fully vulnerable.

Strategy
This duel can be very challenging, as Apollo will attack relentlessly and can easily lock Lea into receiving the full damage from his combat arts, but most of his moves do not rely on immediate damage, usually leaving a decent chance to dodge or block before they hit. Notably, some of the attacks he uses more often involve a multitude of bullets aimed at Lea approaching in quick succession, making the Riposte ability quite effective, especially if combined with Avenger.

An almost free way to win a round involves perfect guarding a Melee hit, then hitting him with enough balls to get CP and, finally, bouncing the Ether Snipe at him, lowering his health to zero in a single hit, in most cases.

Trivia

 * The devs have joked on stream that Apollo's real name is actually Mark, making his full name Mark Apollo.
 * His actual eye color is brown.