Sand Devil guide: how Al-Naemeh's Sleep mechanics work and how to beat him

Al-Naemeh, the Sand Devil, is built around the Sleep debuff. While he is awake he is immune to every debuff except Sleep, so a team that cannot put him to sleep cannot do much to him. His drops make him worth the effort: Lesser Oil, Greater Oil and Superior Oil, plus Chaos Dust from Stage 25. These are used to Ascend Artifacts and reroll their Ascension Bonuses.

How the fight works

His passive, Rest for the Wicked, gives innate damage reduction of 25% on Stages 1-5, 50% on Stages 6-15 and 75% on Stages 16-25. Each debuff currently on him lowers that protection by 15%, so 7 debuffs remove the 75% entirely. Once he is asleep, most regular debuffs can land, though he is still immune to control effects.

His most dangerous skill is Feasting Swarm. It hits all enemies, ignoring 100% DEF as well as Shield, Block Damage and Unkillable. Afterwards he puts himself to sleep for 2 turns, which is your window to apply debuffs and deal damage.

Other things to know:

• Rage of the Sands hits everyone and applies Decrease SPD and Decrease ACC for 2 turns.
• Dune Tempest removes all his debuffs, heals him based on the MAX HP he has destroyed across your team, then hits everyone. The more debuffs he cleansed, the weaker the hit.
• Soul Sustenance destroys 5% of every target's MAX HP each time he attacks. Reducing his Turn Meter destroys the responsible champion's MAX HP by the same percentage.
• Healing a champion while he sleeps restores destroyed MAX HP equal to the heal.
• Dreamless Sleep adds a Slumber counter. Each instance of direct damage reduces it by 1, and at 0 he wakes with 50% Turn Meter. It starts at 16 on Stages 1-5 and drops to 8 on Stages 21-25.
• Damage from Enemy MAX HP skills is capped at 10% of his MAX HP per hit, so multi-hit attacks work best.

Building a team

Start with a reliable Sleep champion. Stage 25 is Force Affinity, so a Magic champion applying Sleep through an attack risks Weak Hits. Pick a neutral or positive matchup, or a skill that places Sleep without attacking.

Next, bring debuff coverage, with Decrease DEF and Weaken ideal before your big hits. Then plan for Feasting Swarm with Revive on Death or a dedicated reviver. Godseeker Aniri can survive it in Stoneskin and bring a fallen damage dealer back, and she is a standout for duo teams. Aspect of Siroth on an AoE reviver adds protection. Blizaar and Embrys can work as solo options, especially with a high star Brimstone blessing.

For damage, Enemy MAX HP champions such as Gnut and Marius are strong during the sleep window. Pair them with a skill reset and they can attack again after being revived.

The end game speed example

The example team uses Godseeker Aniri at 146 SPD in Stoneskin, Adelyn at 284 SPD, Riho at 276 SPD, Kymar at 345 speed and Gnut at 258 SPD against a boss with 270 SPD. Adelyn's Decrease SPD lowers the speed Gnut needs. Gnut uses Blessed Bash three times, including once after Godseeker revives him with his skills refreshed. Treat it as an example, not a requirement.

Practical advice

• Spend your first attacks in the sleep window carefully so you do not burn Slumber stacks before your debuffs are down.
• Avoid unneeded Turn Meter reduction.
• Time healing during sleep to claw back destroyed MAX HP.
• Check the boss's SPD and ACC needs for your stage before building.