Tag: hard mode

FFXIV ARR Titan Hard Mode

Getting tired of Titan? Are you stuck in Titan Hard Mode? Keep your hopes up and let us guide you through one of the most fulfilling fights in FFXIV ARR.

 

From deep within their mines, the kobolds have watched and waited for another opportunity to summon their Great Father and wreak havoc on Limsa Lominsa. With the destruction of Ultima Weapon, the final obstacle to their plans was removed, allowing the beastmen to summon their god without fear of imperial reprisal. Once more, it falls to you to ensure that the Lord of Crags never sees the light of day.

The first LEGIT Gear check in the game, and if you have lag issues, get ready to die in this fight! We had fun learning how to play Titan and beat him. We will show you two videos below, one is our first defeat of Titan and the second is where we helped a few of our FC members get past him.

Our very first Titan HM Kill:

One important thing to note is, all non-tank players must ideally have more than 3,500 life to survive this fight (specially important in the last phase where he does 6-8 Tumults straight). Lag and slow reaction time also play a major factor in beating Titan, you must be focused, know his rotation and position yourselves carefully in order to win.

Team Compositions:

  • PUG: 2 Tanks, 2 Healers, 4 DPS (The type of party you get from duty finder)
  • 3 Healers: 1 Tank, 3 Healers, 4 DPS (Safest run, best for lesser geared groups)
  • 5 DPS: 1 Tank, 2 Healers, 5 DPS (Ideal for more experienced groups)
  • Carry: 1 Tank, 2 Healers, 3-4 DPS, 1-2 Carry (when we want to get a guild member through)

Abilities

In hard mode, Titan has some a new rotation with new abilities also

  • Landslide (Pushback): Like in Titan Story mode, watch out for this frontal pushback ability, if you get hit chances are you will fall from the stage, and the moment one party member falls its practically a wipe.
  • Tumult (AoE): Back with a vengeance, in post heart phase, Titan can dish out 6-8 Tumults in succession.
  • Weight of the Land (Plumes): Another skill from Titan Story mode, this time with a vengeance. It’s important the team positions themselves so that when he casts this they can move away to a safe position.

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Bomb-1 FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Bomb-2 FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Bomb-3

  • Bomb Boulders: A new mechanic, Titan calls down bombs that explode in a certain pattern, there are 3 types to watch out for but the rule of thumb is, the first bomb to light up is the first bomb to go
    • Type 1: Clockwise detonation, tanks will either take one bomb damage or hide between two bombs so they do not get hit (takes practice to hide believe me!)
    • Type 2: We call this the easy bombs, just find a safespot in either the N,S,W or E areas of the map
    • Type 3 (Post heart only) : This is where it gets tricky, 3 bombs get dropped parallel to each other. In this set the middle group of bombs always blow up first. So you want to stay where the last set will blow and immediately move to the middle once it blows up. (Titan usually casts Landslide right after these bombs show up, the moment he lets go of Landslide is when we move to the center)
  • Gaol: Much like the Story Mode mechanic, a random party member will get imprisoned and will be tagged with a determination down debuff (it’s important that the healers strip this debuff after the party member gets freed from the Gaol). Also, Titan sometimes casts Landslide on an imprisoned member of the team, make sure you wait till after he casts Landslide to free your team member.
  • Geocrush (Jump): Just like in Story Mode, Titan Jumps up and after each jump the stage gets smaller, key position here is to group up so that healers can cast their AoE heals before going back into position
  • Earthen Fury (Ultimate): Same mechanic in story mode, if you do not defeat his heart in enough time Earthen Fury will destroy you! This is a DPS check and you will need to your whatever limit break you have to kill the heart. We usually time this right after the last Weight of the Land in the heart phase.
  • Mountain Buster: Heavy hitting frontal cone attack (never stay near the tank in this phase or you will fall. Tanks need to time their mitigation for this skill if they are not topped up.

 

General Strategy for roles:

Tank: Positioning is important, mitigation should be timed. You want to position Titan as close to the edge as possible to give your party enough space behind to move around and dodge ‘Weight of the Land’. Positioning is also important during the ‘Bomb Boulder‘ phases. In our FC, it is the tanks job to memorize Titan’s rotation and call out ‘Weight of the Land‘ and ‘Mountain Buster‘

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Bomb-Boulder-Type-1-Tank-Position

Healer: Healers are the key to this fight, if one falls you are in for a ride! Positioning is important for healers to make use of their AoE abilities, after each Geocrush, Healers need to pre-cast their heals so the party gets topped up and during the post heart phase the healers need to ensure they top-up the tank before ‘Mountain Buster’ and also pre-cast AoE heals before he does ‘Tumult‘

DPS: All the DPS need to be careful of is avoiding Landslide, Weight of the Land and getting to know positioning during the bomb phases. They must also be conscious of their position so that the healers can have a place to run to when weight of the land hits.

Titan Hardmode Infographic

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hardmode-Infographic-Visual-Guide

1st Phase (Pre-heart)

Skill rotation: Landslide, Tumult, GEOCRUSH (Jump), REPEAT > Weight of the Land, Landslide, Tumult, GEOCRUSH (Jump), REPEAT > Landslide, Weight of the Land, Bombs, Landslide, Weight of the Land, Gaol, Tumult, GEOCRUSH (Jump)

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Pre-Heart

In the first phase we see Titan showcase some of his new abilities namely the Bomb Bomb rotations. This phase will test how well the group can dodge Landslide and Weight of the Land. You will also be able to get a feel for how much DPS your group can do. Remember to save DPS cooldowns for when he reaches the heart phase

2nd Phase (Heart) 50% life

Skill rotation: Gaol, Landslide, Weight of the Land, Tumult, Gaol, Landslide, Weight of the Land, EARTHEN FURY

One the heart pops out, pop all DPS cooldowns and make sure to free whoever is in a Gaol. Note that when he casts Gaol the second time, the party should ignore the Gaol and focus on defeating the heart. We suggest to use your limit break, whether level 1 or 2 right after he casts the last Landslide or Weight of the Land. Once the heart is defeated immediately focus your attention on the imprisoned party member, if they are not freed from the Gaol before he casts Earthen Fury, the party member will fall.

3rd Phase (Post-heart)

Skill rotation: Mountain Buster, Tumult, Weight of the Land, Bombs, Landslide, Gaol, Mountain Buster, Weight of the Land, Landslide

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-After-Heart

The scary phase here are the first 3, most specially for the healers who will need to ensure the tank is topped up just before Mountain Buster and immediately focus on healing the group in time for Tumult. Swiftcast for healers is an awesome and almost critical mitigating skill in this part of the fight.

The Bomb phase always takes first timers by surprise. The key to dodging the bombs in this phase is not to PANIC. in the Bombs Type 3, always remember that the middle bombs will explode first, simply find where the last exploding set of bombs are and stay in that area (dont be afraid to stand next to a bomb! you will need to move because he casts landslide) just remember to move to the center right after he lets go of landslide.

One more thing to note is that when he reaches about 25% life he increases the amount of Tumults he does from 6 to 8 times, this is where AoE healing and positioning is key.

Visual Notes on the Titan Hard Mode Fight

Dont Release your Party Members from the Gaol until after he casts landslide on them like so:

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Gaol-Landslide

This is an example of Type 3 Bombs, in this case I move with the party to my left, and wait for Titan to cast landslide and then move to the middle

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Bomb-Boulder-Type-3-Example

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Bomb-Boulder-Type-3-Run

Sample Positioning for Weight of the Land

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Weight-of-the-Land-Positioning

The three main reasons people die at Titan hard:

  1. Weight of the land: Your dps and healers should already look for where to run BEFORE weight of the land hits. Because of this, unnecessary movements should be avoided. If you know WHEN the next weight hits, and WHERE to run beforehand, you will dodge it 100% of the time, believe me.
  2. Type 3 Bombs: The triple line bomb formation is the reason most people die. To be honest, it’s largely because they panic. All non-tank players should simply move to the middle-bomb of the last set that spawned. Once titan punches the ground, move towards the center. Simple as that!
  3. Mountain Buster: Both the tank and the healers should be aware of when the next “table flip” occurs. Tanks can pop a cool-down, and healers can pre-cast shields and heals. Note that every random damage that happens to the raid makes it harder for healers to keep the tank up to 100%. As a DPS, you got one job: Avoid damage.

Finally, Good Luck in your fight with Titan!

FFXIV-ARR-Titan-Hard-Mode-Thanks

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FFXIV ARR Ifrit Hard Mode

 

While your victory over the Ultima Weapon has set off waves of celebration across the land, the jubilation is short-lived, for the beast tribes are seeking to summon their gods once more. Confirmation has arrived that the Amalj’aa have already succeeded in calling forth Ifrit, who is returned far mightier than his last incarnation owing to the vast amounts of crystals he has gorged upon. Prepare yourself for a scorching encounter.

Ifrit hard mode is the first hard-mode boss you will encounter, as the entry level eight-man encounter. His fight has three phases, and a transition in between.

Interrupting Eruption is the key to winning this fight, from Phase 1 to end. Ifrit has 2 interruptible skills, Eruption and Radiant Plume. Interrupting Eruption is much more worth it. Why? It’s “harder” to dodge and predict Eruption, as compared to Radiant Plume. And in his final phase, Eruption pretty much covers 80% of the map.

Ifrit Hard Mode Phase 1

Phase 1 of Ifrit is just like Ifrit normal mode. He has the same abilities, but obviously much much stronger.

  • Incinerate – The usual frontal cone attack, but it hurts like hell to non-tank classes. Face away from your party.
  • Vulcan Blast – Massive PBAoE pushback. Healers, stay at maximum range to the tank to prevent getting hit by this. An untimely vulcan blast can mean getting into a bad situation.
  • Eruption – The same random AoE attack which blows up after a certain time.
  • Radiant Plume – A non-random AoE attack which blows up after a certain time. Either on the outer ring, or inner part.
  • Crimson Cyclone – Ifrit disappears and randomly reappears in one end of the ring. After a short period he will dash forward all the way to the other end, dealing damage too all in his path. Increases to two “clones” after a while.

P1-p2 Transition

Infernal Nail shows up again. This time, there are FOUR that spawn. Failing to kill these will result in an instant KO by Hellfire.

Using a Summoner or Black Mage Limit Break is highly advised here, and makes this transition much easier.

 

Ifrit Hard Mode Phase 2

  • Eruption – Increases the number of AoE’s as time progresses. Again, you must interrupt these as they are deadly and can result in situations where a player can’t escape.
  • Radiant Plume – Radiant plume gains a third pattern. The only reliable safe zones are directly behind him, and in front of Ifrit. Ranged players, don’t stay too far from Ifrit at this point. You wont make it behind him in time.
  • Crimson Cyclone – maxes out at 3 clones, and will usually kill anyone hit by 2.

Hard mode Ifrit Loot List

Ifrit drops Item Level 60 Weapons for all Classes.

Paladin – Ifrit’s Blade. Marauder – Ifrit’s Battleaxe
White Mage – Ifrit’s  Cane. Scholar – Ifrit’s Codex.
Monk – Ifrit’s Claws. Dragoon – Ifrit’s Harpoon.
Black Mage – Ifrit’s Cudgel. Summoner – Ifrit’s Grimoire.
Bard – Ifrit’s Bow.

Summary & Tips

He has all the same skills, only gaining Crimson Cyclone. 3 Clones max. Staying in between 2 of the clones is actually a safe zone.

Again, interrupting Eruption is the key to winning this fight. Make sure you have one or two guys (preferably Paladin) to interrupt it. However, make sure it’s a coordinated effort because doing stuns unnecessarily will result in him RESISTING the stun. DPS and Healers, have faith in the cancelling of Eruption. If you’re running with a good group, don’t move out of it. More movement = longer fight. But to be safe you can make a run for it each time Eruption lands at your feet.

Ranged / Healers – Do not stay too close to edge of the ring. An outer Radiant Plume will likely tag you, even if you run ASAP. Stay a good 25% away from the edge, as you can minimize movement to dodge either a inner or outer Radiant Plume.

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