Ask FFXIVGuild 001: Welcome the Weekly Columns!

Our first issue of Ask FFXIVGuild.com! Topic this week: About content and updates!

ffxiv arr weekly editorial banner ask ffxivguild 001

Hello guys and welcome to our very first issue of Ask FFXIVGuild.com. First off, for those who might be wondering, what is this column all about? Any and all questions you might ask us, through Facebook, twitter, email or comments might appear in this column!

The topic for this week will be all about FFXIVGuild content updates!

Have you guys thought about Editorial content or weekly columns?

We get this one alot. The quick answer is – YES! Why haven’t we done it sooner? Well, our small team wants the site to be more of like an old-school gaming site, versus the “norm” nowadays which are more Wiki-ish. Chunking down “MOST” of the games basic info and setting the pavement for future updates was our first goal. We’re getting close enough to that goal that we think it could be the time to write more entertaining, community engaging stuff like weekly columns. What do we have in store? Here’s what we will reveal for now:

Planned for every Monday – Ask FFXIVGuild.com (Stuff like this article you’re reading right now)
Planned for every Wednesday – FFXIVGuild: Into the Aether (What’s it about – You’ll find out tomorrow!)
Planned for every FridayWe’re unsure of the name of this, but somethings in the works!
Planned for every Sunday – The Week that Was (Revived!!!!)

I guess we wanted to put down a good foundation first. This foray into a gaming fansite is a first for us, so forgive us if we’re not so perfect yet!

If all goes well, we will be publishing at least the planned Monday and Sunday articles this week! HOPEFULLY the others can be done within this week! Obviously, this one was late one day. Big plans ahead for the site!

Why do updates take so long sometimes!?

It’s true, updates CAN take a while. It may seem like “ages” before “new” content comes around, but trust us, we are working on it everyday. A lot of times we make small edits and refinements to our older guides, fixing small errors and adding new-found knowledge to existing guides.

Very often, we do not put up the pages in our front-page (News or Featured). An example of this is – You may or may not have noticed the inclusion of Gear Guides for all battle jobs. Another guide we didn’t put up on the frontpage was our Definitive Twintania Guide (since it’s, at least in our opinion, not yet fully fleshed out). If you’re curious about the Gear guides, they can be found in the main menu under the jobs!

I guess it’s our job to inform people BETTER on new stuff. The Sunday column will help us with this, as well as some design improvements we have planned. While new content may not be obvious, it’s there! We’re open to suggestions as to HOW you can recieve updates. A weekly newsletter perhaps?

How about juicing up the forums!?

Oh god… we’ve been researching on the best ways to integrate a more familiar forum software into the site. I DO NOT WANT people to register twice (once for forums, once for site comments) Maruko has been checking things out. We want to use PHPBB. Once we have that main concern sorted out about account registrations, we will be PUSHING HEAVILY for a more active forum community! Please bear with us in the meantime!

I cannot verify my Account here! I’m locked out of the site for no apparent reason!

Another sucky side-effect from the unexpected growth we’ve had. Apparently having a high-traffic website leads to ALOT… and I mean ALOT of spammers. So we researched the best ways to stop these guys. Sadly, none are full proof. We have to manually fix these anomalies as they come, stretching our ever so stretched time to work on the site. You cannot imagine the stuff we went through each step of the way! We simply wanna give information out, but apparently the net is filled with more bots than we ever could have imagined.

It’s a pain, but this is something we’re actively juggling in our schedule. Again, we want to have great foundation… one step at a time.

Well that’s about it for today! Next week we will be answering some other questions, but we’re leaning on the theme for next weeks article to be about FFXIVGuild.com FC and Raiding. But of course any questions are welcomed! Feel free to comment below, ask us anything on Facebook or Twitter, or give us Feedback! The next question here might be yours! Thanks!

[ Ask FFXIVGuild.com Archives ]

FFXIV PvP General Guide & FAQ

ffxiv pvp wolves den general guideLocation

Entry into PvP matches can be started through a quest from your Grand Company NPC. The Wolves Den itself can be accessed through a ferry found in Moraby Drydocks.

ffxiv pvp wolves den npc ferry

Overview

After you get to Wolves Den and enable it on your duty finder, all you have to do is queue up!  At patch 2.1, there are only 4v4 matches available on one map. Each match has a 2 minute prep time at the start and the entire match lasts for 30 minutes or until one team is wiped out.

ffxiv pvp wolves den duty finder

 

Participating in PvP matches give you PvP experience  and Wolves marks. If you earn enough PvP experience you will level up your PvP rank and gain one action point which you can spend on skills or traits specific to PvP. These skills and traits can only be used during PvP matches. You must slot these skills like how you would slot a cross class skill.

It takes 3 Action Points to get one PvP skill and 1 Action Point for a PvP trait. Most of the PvP skills and traits have 3 levels each and increasing a skill or traits rank increases different things, debuff durations, potency increase or cooldown reductions.

ffxiv pvp wolves den profile rank action point

 

Wolf Marks is the currency of PvP. For every PvP match you participate in (win, lose or draw) you gain a certain number of Wolf Marks. You use these marks to purchase PvP gear and PvP materia. The PvP gear itself has a new stat called Morale. This stat replaces your Magic and Physical defense against human players and also increases your damage dealt to them.

ffxiv pvp wolves den wolf marks vendor

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FFXIV Crystal Tower Guide (Loot List & FAQ)

Crystal Tower Loot list, Boss Strategy and General FAQ

Crystal Tower General Information

How to unlock Crystal Tower? You must complete the quest chain that starts with “A Legacy of Allag” from Mor Dhona.

“CT” is a the first 24-man instanced dungeon released in Patch 2.1. You may enter as an eight-man group in the Duty Finder, and be matched with 2 more random 8-man groups. You currently cannot queue as a 24 man group. You can chat to the other groups using Alliance Chat by pressing “alt+a” (default).

The items dropped from Crystal Tower are item level 80. Check our loot list below.

What is the Crystal Tower Loot System? You may only obtain 1 item per week from CT. Whether you got it from a need or greed roll doesn’t matter. After getting an item, you can still go to CT with your friends, but you will not be eligible to roll on items.

Crystal Tower Boss Strategy

Bone Dragon

As you may know by now, the raised platforms prevent you from getting hit by poison. Bone Dragon should be ideally tanked in the middle of the room.

The main mechanic in this fight are Skeletons called “Platinal

Skeletons will spawn periodically during the fight. Skeletons do a bunch of nasty things, but make sure this is followed:

  • Drag each skeleton as far as possible from bone dragon, and kill it.
  • Make sure there are no skeletons alive when bone dragon dies.

When Bone Dragon “dies”, the skeletons will raise at the location of their death, then run towards the corpse of the Bone Dragon. If one reaches, a huge painful AoE will pulse, damaging everyone.

(Mini-boss) Atomos

The three alliances have to split up to take one hallway each. On each hallway there is a platform which activates when 4 people are standing on it. Standing on your platform makes the next alliances boss lose invulnerability. So in essence, you must have 4 people to kill Atomos, and 4 people standing on your platform at all times.

Adds periodically spawn during this time, and any tank should bring them close the the group in the platform. If 3 adds remain alive at one point, their stats become boosted, and will quickly result in a wipe.

 

Thanatos Strategy

Each Alliance has a “Magic Pot” that they must protect. Keep in mind they can be Healed, Stoneskinned, Regenned, or anything that hits a regular player pretty much. Adds will try to destroy your pot, so make sure to keep and eye on it!

Only people who are “Invisible” will be able to hit Thanatos. Invisibility is granted by the Pot, so it’s quite important they stay alive.

(Mini-boss) Vassago + Allagan Bomb

There will be 3 Vassago in the map, and an Allagan Bomb in the middle. Each alliance should tank and focus on killing their own Vassago, then helping others when theirs is dead. Some adds spawn during this fight:

  • Balloon – an basic add that doesn’t do much. Kill it anyway.
  • Napalm – Kill these ASAP, they slowly walk towards the middle Allagan Bomb and make it bigger.

The Allagan Bomb located in the middle is sort of a “time limit” to this fight. Once it reaches maximum size, it will burst – killing everyone. Two things charge the bomb.

  • The links of the Vassago continually charge it. The closer they are, the faster it charges.
  • A Napalm reaching it charges it by a large amount. Don’t let this happen!

After all Vassago die, the raid must focus down and kill Allagan Bomb before it blows. As long as minimal Napalms reached it – it wont be a problem.

King Behemoth Strategy

Entering King Behemoths map, everyone automatically gets a DoT. This cannot be avoided, however…

There are 4 towers on the map – you must interact with them each time they start glowing to “discharge” them. Failure to do so will result in AoE damage. Bomb-looking adds (Purophoros) will spawn and attempt to attack towers. If they destroy a tower, the passive DoT damage increases.

Iron Giant is an add that spawns and SHOULD be picked up by a tank and faced away from the raid. It does a huge painful cleave.

Comet – A Green marker on your head indicated you are going to get hit by Comet. Don’t worry this ability isn’t so strong. Make sure to get hit a medium distance away from Behemoth because the fallen rock will be used later on for…

Elliptic Meteor –  Behemoths Ultimate move, a KO unless you’re hiding behind a fallen Comet! Keep in mind comets get destroyed if people continually hang around near them.

Acheron Strategy

Acheron, the Final Boss, has some very flashy looking AoE abilities! It’s pretty simple, just avoid the colorful spots on the ground and you should be fine. Except…

Ancient Flare – Each lit platform must have 4 players on it to “activate”. If 3 platforms are active, the shield goes up. Needless to say, without the shield the entire raid will wipe. During this shielded phase, an Iron Giant will spawn for each alliance. On the second shield phase, an Iron Giant + Claw will spawn. Once all adds are down, the shield will deactivate, and Acheron can be engaged again.

Claws act like Titans Granite Gaol, but continually damage the person trapped within. Break them out as soon as you can.

Crystal Tower Loot List

TankHealerBardCasterMonkDragoon
Crown of LightRoyal CrownBallad CrownCrimson CircletFuma GantaiOnion Mask
Royal VestBallad CorseletCrimson VestFuma KoromoOnion Armor
Gauntlets of LightRoyal C. GlovesBallad GauntletsCrimson C. GlovesFuma TekkoOnion Gauntlets
Belt of LightRoyal SashBallad SashCrimson SashFuma ObiOnion Tassets
Breeches of LightRoyal BreechesBallad SarouelCrimson BreechesFuma HakamaOnion Sarouel
Sabatons of LightRoyal ShoesBallad BootsCrimson ShoesFuma KyahanOnion Boots
Which Boss?HeadChestGlovesBeltLegsBoots
TankAcheron (4)Behemoth (3)Bone Dragon (1)Bone Dragon (1)Acheron (4)Thanatos (2)
HealerAcheron (4)Behemoth (3)Bone Dragon (1)Bone Dragon (1)Acheron (4)Thanatos (2)
MDPSBehemoth (3)Acheron (4)Bone Dragon (1)Thanatos (2)Behemoth (3)Thanatos (2)
MonkBehemoth (3)Acheron (4)Bone Dragon (1)Bone Dragon (1)Behemoth (3)Thanatos (2)
DragoonBehemoth (3)Acheron (4)Bone Dragon (1)Thanatos (2)Behemoth (3)Bone Dragon (1)
BardAcheron (4)Behemoth (3)Thanatos (2)Thanatos (2)Behemoth (3)Bone Dragon (1)
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FFXIV Patch 2.1 Information Compilation

All we know about FFXIV 2.1 Patch – what to look forward to! [Updated 11/27]

ffxiv patch 2.1 patch notes changelog information

Here, we will be posting all information we know about the upcoming big content patch – FFXIV Patch 2.1. As time progresses, this page will be more and more populated with information and links, eventually turning into our official changelog / patchnotes for 2.1. Please feel free to comment or let us know on Facebook when something new appears! Bookmark this page, folks! (Also, feel free to tell us anything you know!)

*All info here is, like always, tentative until release.

Extreme Primal Battles

Extreme Primals now drop ilvl90 Accessories. One specific slot per primal. From what we can see with the stats, they come with either DET or Skill Speed.

 

Ifrit Extreme Mode  – will be added in patch 2.1

Garuda Exteme Mode  – will be added in patch 2.1

Titan Extreme Mode – will be added in patch 2.1

The ordering of difficulty is: Garuda > Titan > Ifrit

Each of the above links will initially contain a teaser video and eventually contain all we know about the encounters, and finally be turned into our official guide/strategy page for them.

Two New Primals

Good King Moogle Mog [Thornmarch] will be added as a primal battle.

Ultima Weapon [Minstrels Ballad] will be added as a primal battle.

New “Primal Relic Weapon” Quest

Details regarding this weapon aren’t final, but you can obtain a high level weapon by beating the extreme mode primals.

Player / Free Company Housing

Player housing will be introduced in Patch 2.1 (or soon thereafter) Housing will supposedly come in two forms:

  • Player Housing (Will be linked)
  • Free Company Housing (Will be linked)

Housing will be located in the 3 main cities:

  • Gridania Housing: Lavender Beds
  • Ul’dah Housing: The Goblet
  • Limsa Lominsa Housing: Mist 

Investing in your house is said to give you certain buffs and bonuses. We can assume player housing and free company housing buffs stack. It’s currently unknown wether these buffs will be released in 2.1.

One fact we know: Housing will not be cheap. Housing can be obtained through a “silent auction”, and any unsold lots will reduce in price every 6h. There will definitely be a LIMITED AMOUNT OF LOTS. eventually adding as time passes.

The eventual links above will contain all we know about Player Housing.

PvP – The Wolves Den

(FFXIV PvP General Guide & FAQ)

PvP is finally coming in this patch with the introduction of The Wolves Den. The wolves den will be a 4v4 or 8v8 map with one single objective: “No member of the opposing team is alive“. Intense!

Here’s a fact about PvP mentioned that the FFXIVGuild team is excited about: PvP Skills will be different / balanced seperately from PvE! This is a great move by SE. The ripple effect from PvE and PvP in previous MMO’s was an unwelcome “feature” of having a universal skill set. So why not separate them! Good job!

You can only seem to use 10 skills in PvP – but the pool you can select from is rather large. Job, cross-class and maybe even Grand Company seems to affect your pool of skills to choose from. This is very similar to the Guild Wars 1 combat system (Which had very good PvP)

The Wolves Den Aetheryte can be accessed from Moraby Drydocks.

New Dungeon – Pharos Sirius

One brand new dungeon will be added to the game (with a pretty awesome soundtrack)

Pharos Sirius – (Will be linked)

Crystal Tower – 24 Man Dungeon

Crystal Tower is being introduced in patch 2.1, and will have four bosses:

King Behemoth
Bone Dragon
Thanatos
Acheron

At 2.1 launch, you may not queue with a pre-made 24. You can queue as a full party of eight, and will be combined with 2 random 8-man groups. Crystal tower loot is item level 80, and will also have a Crystal tower item ticket system (details currently unknown).

Hardmode Dungeons

2 Dungeons will have a hard mode added! Copperbell Mines and Haukke Manor

Copperbell Mines Hard  – (Will be linked)

Haukke Manor Hard – (Will be linked)

Daily Duty Finder “Duty Roullette”

You may now participate in a daily duty finder, for Easy, Medium and High level dungeons. Rewards seem to give Myth/Philo tomes, gil, exp, company seals and more! There are Four categories to choose from, which you can do once a day for the bonus rewards. We can assume these were put in to ease queue times for lower level content. You can only queue up solo (for now).

Duty (Low Level)

Duty (High Level)

Main Scenario

Guildhest

Aesthetician

You can now change your hairstyle for a cheap price. 2,000 gil! Aesthetician location to be updated.

Class Changes

Of course, everyone knows about the upcoming Warrior Changes. (will be updating our class/job page…)

Bard
a slight nerf on utility

Monk
positional damage increase

A detailed list will be added here, and we will be updating ALL class skills/ changes for 2.1.

Beast Tribe Daily Quests

Daily quests with the beastmen tribes will be implemented. We can assume the currency gained is traded with the respective tribe. These are currently in the game (unobtainable) but you can see them through the Marketplace.

At 2.1, Only the Amalj’aa and Slyph beast tribes will be available. They have an NPC that sells items but to gain access to them, you need to earn reputation through their daily quests.

 

Ixali Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Ixali Willowknot
Ixali Mapleknot
Ixali Ebonknot

Sylph Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Sylphic Brownleaf
Sylphic Yellowleaf
Sylphic Redleaf

Kobold Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Titan Copperpiece
Titan Myhtrilpiece
Titan Electrumpiece

Sahagin Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Greentide Psashp
Redtide Psashp
Goldtide Psashp

Amalj’aa Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Bronze Amalj’ok
Iron Amalj’ok
Darksteel Amalj’ok

Qiqirn Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Ququroon Doom-die
Gagaroon Luck-die
Peperoon Fate-die

Goblin Daily Quests (Will be linked)

Currently have 3 tiers of currency:
Brass Gobcog
Silver Gobcog
Gold Gobcog

 

 

Feel free to bookmark, Like us on Facebook or check us out on YouTube for updates – and chime in on any communication line if you feel information should be added to this page. In the next few days we will be creating the subpages for all the new content in preparation for patch 2.1!

FFXIV Ultima Weapon : The Minstrels Ballad

Ultima Weapon (“Hard/Extreme” Mode) Strategy Guide and Loot List

Ultima Weapon Teaser Video

*Still the teaser vid -> will be updating soon.
*Guide still under refinement

Ultima Weapon has a bajillion abilites, and a very entertaining fight!

Ultima Weapon Phase 1 – Primal Phase

Garuda / Titan Phase

Two main abilities happen here:

  • Garuda appears on the screen then releases a HUGE AoE cone in the direction she’s facing. Don’t linger on the edges, or you might not make it to safety.
  • A Vortex appears in the middle, once it vanishes, move towards the edge of the stage in preparation for Titans “Geocrush”

Due to the nature of these abilities, it’s best not to stay too near the edges of the stage.

Ifrit / Titan Phase

  • In/Out Plumes – The usual outer ring / inner cluster plume formation. Keep the same positioning mentality as the Garuda phase.
  • Plumes + Crimson Cyclone – This is a pretty fun one. Radiant Plumes happens while a single Ifrit does his “Line Rush” skill.

 

Ultima Weapon Phase 2 – “Machines!”

Magitek Ray – Much like piercing laser from ADS. A thick randomly targetted line AoE.

Magitek Bit – Little adds that point and shoot lasers at random targets. The first pattern they spawn in is a circular group of.

Freefire – AKA Airship bombs. The glowing cross-air on the floor represents its epicenter, and the further you are from it, the less damage you take.

Ultima Weapon Loot List

Ultima Weapon drops Item Level 80 Chokers and Bracelets.

Chokers

Tank – Ultima Choker of Fending
Healer – Ultima Choker of Healing
Bard – Ultima Choker of Aiming
Caster – Ultima Choker of Casting
Melee – Ultima Choker of Striking

Rings

Tank – Ultima Band of Fending
Healer – Ultima Band of Healing
Bard – Ultima Band of Aiming
Caster – Ultima Band of Casting
Melee – Ultima Band of Striking

Don’t get caught in a laser!

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FFXIV ARR – Good King Moggle Mog

All we know about Good King Moggle Mog in the upcoming 2.1 Patch!

Good King Moggle Mog Teaser Video

 

Good King Moggle Mog Known Mechanics

A bunch of adds – It seems that Good King Moggle Mog has brought a full party of his own!

The fight is quoted to be “About as difficult as garuda hard mode”.

This page will be converted into a strategy guide as soon as we can!

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Titan Extreme Mode (FFXIV: ARR)

All we know about Titan Extreme Mode in the upcoming 2.1 Patch!

Titan Extreme Mode Teaser Video

Titan Extreme Mode abilities

Double Granite Gaol – Granite Gaol is back, but has a few new tricks!

  • ALWAYS targets a healer + dps.
  • Crushes the target if not destroyed in time.
  • Damage recieved is half if both gaols are in close proximity to one another.
  • Double Granite Gaol is always followed by upheaval…

Upheaval – very similar to demon walls “repel”. You get pushed outwards from titan. You CAN fall if you’re not careful!

Due to how double granite gaol and upheaval work, there are two popular strategies dealing with this:

  • A) Gaoled Healer under titan, Gaoled DPS at the edge – “Safer” since healers break out first, to top up the party for the upcoming stomps.
  • B) Gaoled DPS under titan, Gaoled healer at the edge – What we use, since the dps gets released first, the second gaol dies faster.

Mountain Buster – Now gives a stacking debuff which increases damage taken.

Titan Extreme Post-Heart

Granite Gaoler – mini-titans that give the main titan a determination up buff if too close, they also have Landslide, and an AoE pulse (like Tumult). Killing them leaves a slow field that does a massive heavy and DoT to anyone who walks there!

“Asterisk” Bomb Pattern – A Strange bomb pattern with 3 sets. the “X” set. the “+” set, and the center bomb. The + Set will always spawn in N,S,E,W. (These blow up first) the X spawns at “1:30 – 4:30 – 7:30 – 10:30”. (These blow up second). Then finally the center. The timing of the bomb blowing up is considerably slower than hard mode. For many of us, that delay is what caused the most difficult adjustment.

5 Direction Landslide – an upgrade from the 3 direction: The tank has to dodge, too!

Double Weight of the Land – exactly like weight of the land but it happens twice in succession. all non-tanks should stack behind titan, dodge outwards, then dodge inwards. Sounds horrible, but much easier than you think.

“Superbombs” – a bomb pattern with ZERO SAFE SPOTS. You must kill one of the (preferably) edge bombs to remain safe! A pseudo DPS check.

 

Titan Extreme Mode Rotation [refinement]

First Phase (“Irrelevant Phase”)

Landslide – Weight of the Land (“Plumes”) – Mountain Buster – Tumult – Landslide – Geocrush at 85% (Repeat)

Second Phase (“Tutorial”)

Landslide – Double Gaol – Upheaval – Landslide – Tumult – Plumes – Mountain Buster -Landslide – Plumes – One-side bombs –  Mountain Buster – Landslide – Geocrush (If life at 55% or lower)

If his life is above 55%, he will continue to do this pattern:

Double Gaol – Mountain Buster – Landslide – Tumult – Plumes – Mountain Buster

It is currently unclear to us how or when this pattern continues, but it should be dying much sooner than this.

Heart Phase (No mountain buster!)

Plumes – Double Gaol – Upheaval – Landslide – Tumult – Plumes – *Clock Bombs – Landslide. [Super combo: Plumes – Tumult – Earthen Fury]

*Titans Heart should be killed at or around this time… if Titan extends past this time he does a super combo which is pretty difficult to dodge – effectively killing you with earthen fury even if your party killed the heart.

Post-Heart -> Death

ADDS – Mountain Buster – Asterisk Bombs – Landslide – Plumes – Double Gaol – Mountain Buster – Tumult – Double Plumes – Three Rows Bomb – Landslide – Mountain Buster – Super Bombs – Tumult – Plumes – Geocrush – (Repeat 3x)

Titan Extreme Mode Loot List

Tank – Tremor Earring of Fending
Healer – Tremor Earring of Healing
Caster – Tremor Earring of Casting
Bard – Tremor Earring of Aiming
Melee – Tremor Earring of Striking 

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Ifrit Extreme Mode (FFXIV: ARR)

All we know about Ifrit Extreme Mode in the upcoming 2.1 Patch!

Ifrit Extreme Mode Teaser Video

Ifrit Extreme Mode Abilities

Radiant Plumes, Incinerate, Cleave and all his goodies make a return. Just a bit more beefy now!

Eruption – Now non-interrupt-able. There are variations of the basic single eruption, and the eruption that follows two different members (Like Ultima Weapon).

Crimson Cyclone – Ifrits rush skill. Now with a much fatter AoE and 4 clones!

Searing Wind – The key mechanic to Ifrit extreme mode. Always targets a healer. The target continually pulses a large AoE pushback. This does massive damage, and all other party members should avoid the afflicted healer.

Tank Swapping – Ifrits stacking debuff is especially nasty. Reduction of max hp for each stack – switch it up once the OT is clean!

Infernal Fetters – A chain that links 2 people together, it has 3 effects, becoming more severe as their distance grows. Obviously, stay close to each other to prevent this.

  • Fire DoT.
  • Increase damage taken.
  • Decrease damage dealt.

Infernal Nail – now causes damage and vulnerability up when killed. As usual, any nails present before Hellfire is cast means a KO for the party.

Ifrit has three Nail -> Hellfire cycles.

 

Ifrit Extreme 1st Nail Phase

The first set of nails are pretty basic. 4 nails, 1 on each edge of the map. All dps should focus on the nail opposite from Ifrit, then once the searing wind target is determined melee may destroy the nail of the “safe” healer, and ranged on the “dangerous” healer.

Hellfire is cast and then then Radiant Plumes quickly after.

A note on Radiant Plumes

  • The safespot changes after each Hellfire.
  • Every safespot has a “mirror” safespot on the opposite end.
  • If you feel like you won’t make it – just get hit by one. It’s better than dying.

Radiant plume safe-spot is around 1:30 for this one.

Ifrit Extreme 2nd Nail Phase

The second set of nails goes all the way around the ring of the stage. Again, kill the opposite nails(melee), and nail nearest ifrit(ranged). When searing wind is refreshed, ranged and melee should clear the nails of the respective healers.

Infernal fetters makes its appearance here. The off-tank is targetted, and a random DPS. DPS and off-tank should travel closely together. This can be tricky when a tank swap is needed. Make sure that while the chain is on, you do not stay too far apart from each other.

Again, Hellfire is cast and then then Radiant Plumes quickly after.

Radiant plume safe-spot is around 2:00~ for this one. (Mirrored on opposite end)

Ifrit Extreme 3rd Nail Phase

The third and final set of nails are, well, everywhere. with one mega nail in the middle. 13 Nails in total. The large nail should be killed last. After identifying which healer has searing wind, DPS must work on the nails closest to healers, then outwards. Killing the large nail does quite a significant AoE pulse.

The final Hellfire is cast, and Ifrit should be defeated shortly after.

Radiant plume safe-spot is around 2:30~ for this one.

Ifrit Extreme Tips / Strategy

Ifirt Extreme Mode Loot List

Tank – Inferno Bangle of Fending
Healer – Inferno Bangle of Healing
Bard – Inferno Bangle of Aiming
Caster – Inferno Bangle of Casting
Melee – Inferno Bangle of Striking

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Binding Coils of Bahamut Turn 2 – ADS Guide & Strategy

All you need to know about deez d*mn ballz… our Coils Turn 2 Guide!

Coils Turn 2 isn’t exactly just one Boss – it’s a series of mini-bosses leading up to the final boss. The stage itself has certain mechanics you should be aware of.

Coils Turn 2 Stage Mechanics

You have a time limit of 12 minutes to complete Turn 2. If the 12 minute mark is reached, and players still remain inside – a pulse doing heavy damage will continually affect players, inevitably causing a wipe.

There are 6 mini-bosses and 1 main boss. Killing a mini-boss does 2 things:

  • REMOVES that mini-bosses unique ability from the main boss.
  • GIVES that mini-bosses unique passive BUFF to the main boss.

Here’s the Turn 2 Map showing the various nodes abilities and buffs:

bcob coils turn 2 map node abilities and buffs ffxiv arr

It’s currently impossible to kill all mini-bosses within the time limit, so you must choose a certain course to follow. While there are many different ways to do Turn 2, these two routes are how we do it. We consider the alternative routes IMPOSSIBLE or HIGHLY IMPRACTICAL. First, we discuss the skills shared across all mini-bosses…

Shared Turn 2 Node skills

ALL NODES share certain abilities, up to the final boss.

Frontal Cleave – no surprise here… However, his basic cleave leaves a really bad…

Stacking debuff – Which increases damage taken. Stacks infinitely and refreshed upon every cleave. Drops after 30 seconds.

High Voltage – Remember from turn 1 ADS? It’s back. But this time a hundred times more fatal if it lands…

Repelling Cannons – Same ability from turn 1 ADS. But tanks with the debuff also take bonus damage!

So as usual, have your melee avoid cleave and cannons, and setup a silence rotation for High Voltage. As for the stacking debuff…

Dealing with the Turn 2 stacking debuff – Tank Swap

bcob turn 2 tank and melee positioning tank swap cleave avoidanceTank positioning is extremely sensitive for Turn 2. Here’s how we position our tanks (and melee dps). Your first goal in positioning should be to minimize or eliminate unnecessary cleaves – since the debuff wont fall off if your tanks get tagged!

Of course, with the shown, the melee dps have zero chance to get cleaved. The tanks also won’t get hit by each others cleave, when it’s not their turn to tank.

There’s many ways to swap… the method that worked for us is to have your current offtank do his enmity combo and WAIT on the last one (Rage of Halone or Butchers Block). Once the main-tank wants to switch (which we signal by jumping), simply Provoke and finish the combo!

 

Best Routes to take in Turn 2

As we mentioned above, the “South Eastern” Route is not really practical to do as of now… so here are the paths we use:

bcob coils turn 2 paths routes ffxiv arr

Route 1: Not Killing ‘Ballast’
Route one is the basic route.

Route 2: Killing ‘Ballast’.
As our gear progressed, we were able to kill an extra node on our way to the last boss. Eliminating ballast makes the final boss a little easier.

Using either of the two routes, you eliminate these abilities from the last boss:

  • Vacuum Wave – An AoE attack that pulls all players closer to ADS.

  • Chain Lightning – A generic arcing nuke that does medium damage.

  • Firestream – An omnidirectional AoE that does massive damage and leaves a huge burning DoT.

  • (If route 2…) Ballast – A massive cone AoE with a small safe-spot behind ADS. Getting hit pushes you back a significant distance.

The abilities remaining on the last boss: Allagan Rot and Gravity Well will be discussed in the final boss section.

Turn 2 Final Boss – ADS

High Voltage -> Piercing Laser -> Repelling Cannons cycle makes a comeback with the turn 2 final boss. You may remember the similar mechanic from T1 ADS. This happens throughout the fight!

He’s just like all of the other nodes until he reaches certain life percents:

at 75% Allagan Rot – The defining mechanic of turn 2. Managing Allagan Rot will determine 90% of your chances at beating turn 2! This will be discussed in the next section.

at 50% Gravity Well – This is a randomly targetted AoE ground effect which applies a 15 second Heavy Debuff. The ground effect lasts for 15 seconds, and is recast 10 seconds after is expires.

at 25% Ballast – if you didn’t kill the node earlier on. Like explained earlier, A massive cone push back with a safe spot behind him.

Limit Break (Melee DPS) should be used anytime under 50% or 25% HP to reduce the time he has more skills active. Healer LB is also a viable choice if things go awry.

Dealing with Allagan Rot

Allagan Rot is a debuff that lasts 15 seconds. If 15 seconds pass and it is not passed to another player, the current victim will explode, and deal AoE damage (unlivable) to the entire raid – resulting in a wipe.

Passing Allagan Rot is as simple as walking to another player. After you’ve passed Allagan Rot, you have an Immunity that lasts 45 seconds. You cannot have Allagan Rot again until Immunity expires.

So what does all this mean!? You need to keep passing Allagan Rot amongst your party until ADS is dead. Failing to do so will result in Allagan Rot blowing up and you guys wiping, like mentioned earlier. This sounds confusing? It is at first, but when you get the hang of it – it’s quite simple. Look at the table below

Sample of Allagan Rot being passed at 5 seconds remaining

(Immunity is italicized, Rot is bold)

Rot Passed at 5sPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5
Pass 115000
Pass 24515000
Pass 335451500
Pass 4253545150
Pass 51525354515

As you can see, passing rot at 5 seconds remaining will result in pass 6 failing. Immunity on #1 has 15s remaining, and so does Rot on #5. So judging by this chart, the ideal time to pass between 5 people is with 4 or less seconds remaining on Allagan Rot.

We Highly Recommend numbering your party beforehand, and simply follow the numbers wherever rot initially lands, to eliminate all confusion! Here’s a sample…

bcob coils turn 2 allagan rot numbering positioning example ffxiv arr

Passing of rot changes depending on the setup of your DPS:

Rot Passing (2 Melee 2 Ranged): [The DF setup]
Ranged (1) -> Healer (2) -> Ranged (3) -> Healer (4) -> Melee (5) -> Ranged (1) [Repeat]

Quite self-explanatory. If things go “wrong” simply have your extra melee (6) pass from (4) to (1). We always have 4 to 1 as a “Melee Assisted Pass”.

Rot Passing (1 Melee 3 Ranged): [Somewhat easier setup]
Ranged (1) -> Healer (2) -> Ranged (3) -> Healer (4) -> Ranged (5) -> Ranged (1) [Repeat]

Same as the setup above, but have your 3rd ranged “pretend” he’s melee by staying just outside Repelling Cannon Range. He can stay right above (1) in the picture above!

Rot Passing (4 Ranged) [“Stacking Method”]
Ranged (1) -> Healer (2) -> Ranged (3) -> Healer (4) -> Ranged (5) -> Ranged (1) [STACK UP]

While we never do this, If you have an all ranged party you can actually stack up after Ranged (5) gives it to Ranged (1). Rot will, amazingly, pass itself after that. If you do this method make sure you all DODGE IN THE SAME DIRECTION, when getting lasered or gravity welled.

Rot Passing (3 melee 1 Ranged): [“Not so bad!” setup]
Melee (1) -> Healer (2) ->  Melee (3) -> Healer (4) -> Melee (5) -> Melee (1) [Repeat]

This one isn’t so bad as many people think. It’s actually pretty Easy. Once “Melee (5)” goes back to DPS the boss, he will automatically pass it to Melee (1) once (1)’s immunity expired!

Rot Passing (4 melee): [“Extreme” mode]
We won’t be discussing this method. It’s possible, but ultimately unlikely that it’s going to happen to many people. The hassle isn’t worth it. Although it could make a pretty interesting video… (idea…)

Turn 2 Positioning Guide

And finally, our suggested positioning during the final encounter:

bcob turn 2 group positioning guide diagram ffxiv arr

ADS (Turn 2) Loot List

TankHealerCasterMNKDRGBRD
Weapon------
Off-Hand------
Head-Allagan Circlet of Healing---Allagan Visor of Aiming
Body--Allagan Tunic of Casting---
Hands--Allagan Gloves of CastingAllagan Gauntlets of StrikingAllagan Gloves of Maiming-
WaistAllagan Plate Belt-----
LegsHeavy Allagan Cuisses-----
Boots-Allagan Boots of HealingAllagan Boots of Casting---
Neck-Allagan Choker of Healing--Allagan Choker of Maiming
EarringsAllagan Earrings of Fending--Allagan Earrings of Striking-Allagan Earrings of Aiming
Bracelets--Allagan Bracelets of Casting---
RingAllagan Ring of Fending-----

Well, I guess that’s it! If you think we missed any tips, or anything you’d like to chime in on – let us know in the comments!

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Garuda Extreme Mode (FFXIV: ARR)

Garuda Extreme Mode strategy guide and Loot List!

Garuda Extreme Mode Teaser Video

Garuda EX Abilities

Some of the usual suspects return for extreme mode:

Slipstream: Avoidable cone stun that does extreme damage.
Friction: The usual targetted AoE
Wicked Wheel: Garuda does Wicked Wheel whenever the adds are alive. It’s extremely powerful and should be avoided.

Whenever Garuda disappeard from the map, a large spread of AoE’s will follow in her last location. They deal moderate damage, and cause Windburn (Wind DoT).

Adds (Suparna, Chirada) Abilities

Suparna (Red):

[Special] Wicked Wheel: Suparnas Wicked wheel is extremely powerful. For a non-tank, it’s a potential KO. It’s avoidable so GTFO.
Slipstream – Channeled Frontal Cone stun.
Friction
: The usual targetted AoE
Downburst: A medium strength cone attack.

Chirada (Green):

[Special] Downburst: Chiradas downburst is extremely powerful. It’s a cone attack. The target is marked by a crosshair.
Slipstream – Channeled Frontal Cone stun.
Friction: The usual targetted AoE

While either Chirada or Suparna are alive: Garuda cannot be damaged.

Razor Plumes: Like before, they target a stone pillar or guy, and will explode dealing damage after a set time.

Spiny Plumes: The “Key” add to this fight. Upon killing it, releases an AoE which causes Windburn (Wind DoT). A short time after it’s death – it will put up a “Safe Zone” wherein Garudas Reckoning will do significantly less damage to those inside. The initial target of Spiny Plume seems to be the second Highest Enmity (and in some rare cases – the MT).

Spiny Plumes give a stacking debuff to its target. If it reaches 3 stacks it will do “Super Cyclone” dealing tons of damage (Likely a KO) to everyone. Provoking the Spiny Plume before its target reaches 3 stacks is important, and is one of the main reasons many groups will wipe.

 

Garuda EX Phase 1 – Stone Pillars

Reminiscent of Garuda Story and Hard Mode. Nothing special here. The first sub-phase, every non-melee should be in dead-center of the pillars. Preserving the stones are your goal for this phase. It has 3 Sub-phases:

Starting Phase – All non melee stack dead center to avoid Friction hitting rocks. Once she vanishes, hide behind the rocks old-school style.

Razor Plumes – Razor Plumes show up and target random rocks. Kill them asap. Again try to stack in the middle as much as possible, with the exception of tank and melee. This mini-phase has the usual “Vortex” mechanic.

Initial Adds – The first time adds spawn. You should memorize what to do here, for the next time adds spawn:

  • MT picks up Suparna(Red) and Garuda.
  • OT picks up Chirada.
  • Chirada must be tanked ACROSS the map from the others. If they’re too near each other -> they gain immense defense.
  • Ranged DPS and healers should stay in a place where friction wont hit rocks.

There are things you have to note here:

  • Downburst will hit the OT for heavy damage, but shouldn’t be much of an issue.
  • On the MT side, WICKED WHEEL becomes a “one hit KO”. Make sure melee DPS and MT avoid this. Using virus on both Garuda and Suparna is a good “insurance” in case tank gets hit. All forms of damage reduction / mitigation should be used in preparation.
  • Chirada uses Downburst simultaneously with the Wicked Wheel on the other side. This always happens after Friction!

If you have enough rocks alive, Reckoning shoudn’t kill you! On to the next phase…

Garuda EX Phase 2 – Vortex

Wind surrounds the outer ring of the stage, and players should remain near the middle, or suffer a pushback + large damage.

Spiny Plume makes its first appearance here, along with a bunch of Razor Plumes. Your goals here are simple:

  • Kill all Razor Plumes
  • Leave Spiny Plume at a low HP%.

A rather simple phase, with no heavy incoming damage. A great time to use Mages Ballad, as you’ll be needing max DPS next phase.

Once Garuda disappears, destroy the Spiny Plume and seek refuge inside the safe-zone it generates. (Remember to avoid the initial death AoE of spiny plumes)

Garuda EX Phase 3 – Tornado

5 Tornados spawn in static locations on the map, forming a cross-like (T) formation. The safe spots are located near the brown markings on the map (Where the pillars used to be).

Chirada and Suparna show up during this phase. As usual, MT takes both Garuda and Suparna. Off-tank takes Chirada. And again, Suparna should be the first target. There are some things to note during this phase. The main difference in this phase is Tornadoes + Spiny Plumes.

  • The MT’s position should be loose enough that the melee dps and himself can get away from the “Double Wicked Wheels”.
  • Healers and Ranged DPS should stay at the very tip of the center tornado, to be in range of everyone.
  • Like last phase, leave Spiny Plume at a low HP%, and destroy it at phase transition.
  • There are four safe pockets – Ranged and healers should have a good spread.

Travelling between “safe-zones” through tornadoes can be done using the following:

  • Sprinting along the edges (Recommended for casters…)
  • Dragoon jumps
  • Monk Shoulder Tackle.

Remember not to kill the Spiny Plume too early, or too late!

If you pass this phase, You go back to the Vortex Phase -> Tornado Phase -> Vortex Phase, repeats until Garuda is dead!

Garuda Extreme Mode Loot List

Garuda EX drops iLevel 90 Loot:

Tank – Vortex Ring Of Fending
Healer- Vortex Ring Of Healing
Melee – Vortex Ring Of Striking
Bard – Vortex Ring Of Aiming
Caster – Vortex Ring Of Casting

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