Raid Discussions

This topic is meant to be a place where we can share thoughts about past and upcoming runs, share feedback, etc.


Overall it was a good attempt, though I'll start with some personal observations from last night's T8 run:


Towers - The first two phases seemed to make sense to everyone, and I'm reaching the point where I can recite the tower/attack patterns in my sleep. It would be great if folks could study our plan for pushing the towers during Phase 3 though, as that's where it gets tough to call everything out while also handling what I'm responsible for. For example, right at the start of Phase 3 the following all happens at the same time:
1.) Someone gets tagged with Allagan Field and needs to get safe.
2.) The West AoE tower pops (marked "C") and two people need to go push it - NOT the person with Allagan Field of course.
3.) The East Landmines tower pops and a healer needs to go push it.
4.) Someone gets marked with the "Red Laser" (Gaseous Bomb), and needs to be in the stack to split the damage. Seems to happen about 1-3 seconds after the above 3 events.

Land Mines - We need to execute this part a little bit better. The way I have our strat set up, the BLMs/SMNs are the ones who should be running after mines. The tank & BRD can help if mines pop near them, otherwise everyone else should stay clear of their (rather large) blast radius to minimize incoming damage. This includes when a mine pops right next to our stack area - get away so you don't get damaged and thrown around.

Heals - We can both be more proactive in mitigating damage as each event is predictable, especially with some teamwork. Since tower spawns are well over 60 seconds apart, we can use certain cooldowns once each cycle. For example, SCH can use Whispering Dawn right as the Dread/Mines towers are about to go off in order to help with the damage coming from those events, and slide Eos to the boss' rear temporarily in case she draws hate from the HoT. Then, the WHM can use Divine Seal when the West AoE tower is on its last tick and set up Regen (main tank), Medica II, and land a Cure III right before DS fades as the tower should have exploded by then. Coordinating these two combos will cover our burst healing needs very effectively, give the tank a little more breathing room, and not put us in danger of spinning dreads towards the stack.

Dreads - It's been going okay, but we could do better on these pulls to prevent dangerous situations for the tank and the stacked players. Hold off on burst damage/healing right out of the gate so it doesn't spin to the stack. Any DPS with debuffs or DoTs can open with those while the tank gets it pulled and locked down. Healers can hold Cure II / Lustrate unless the tank is in serious trouble, and use the HoTs Whispering Dawn & Regen as opening heals since they tick low for minimal hate, but have great total healing per cast and should carry the tank thru the first swing. I may opt to use Sacred Soil here as well to ensure the tank's safety. Also, remember that the dread in Phase 2 is the one to burn hard once the tank has it locked down - Brainjack comes in during that one, so the faster it's down the better.

Allagan Field - Be aware when this is coming into play. As noted already, the phase opens with a AF target and Gaseous Bomb almost immediately after, so react fast because you're probably not shielded yet. Don't hit towers or mines, stay away from the stack when Gaseous Bomb (red laser) is incoming unless it's on you, and don't hesitate to use defensive cooldowns like Manawall or Perfect Dodge in case something breaks thru the healer's shields or they don't land on you fast enough right out of the gate. Also, if a healer gets tagged with AF then try to stay in casting range of the tank between laser casts. It may even help us to push the stack forward a bit in case of this scenario. As a final note, if you have AF and a land mine spawns on/by you, run along one of the two walls if you're near the corner. Since the tower just activated and mines don't spawn in their space, a safe area should exist somewhere in the tower sections.


tl;dr - Know Phase 3, handle Land Mines better, manage big heals/Cooldowns better, smooth out the Dread pulls, and react immediately to Allagan Field.

Jemy

wat we killdeded it.

wintersquall

So good job to everyone that got the T8 win. Next week we should be planning on tackling T9.



All I can is wow after seeing the video, seems like so much going and I started taking some notes but then stopped, lol. From the ones I did take, they are below.

This video above is given from the 1 tank view and I don't think we should have a problem trying to one tank it. Extra DPS would be good.

Phase 1
-Yellow and Red Mark
 - Meteor will drop, best to drop marks for placement
 - Ideally want 4 and no more than 6; more than 6 means we don't have the DPS to win

-Ravensbeak
 -Massive DMG on tank with a 12s exploding debuff
 -Tank & Heals have to use CD's here
 - 3 to 4 of these are ideal before phase

Tomas

Okay all, T9 is no joke and will be harder than anything we've done before in FFXIV.

Please watch the video at least twice, and understand the mechanics of each phase. At a minimum, study the first two phases before the 1/27 raid and understand the attack rotation in Phase 1 along with the need for planned meteor placement. I'll try to get a strat written up for us also, taking it phase by phase.

The plan is to see Phase 2 consistently in tomorrow's run, and work on our coordination for handling the golems. Friday, I'd like us to start seeing Phase 3.

Jemy

Here's a good supporting doc for T9:  http://www.ffxivguild.com/ffxiv-turn-9-nael-deus-darnus-guide/

Jemy

Here are my notes on T9... a work-in-progress:



Phase 1

Chunk 1
# Stardust - Place rocks carefully. Pay attention to color. Healers get ready to shield tank after dodging the meteor. All rDPS & healers start moving out of middle after this.
# Ravensbeak - Tank/Healer cooldown. Note that big damage happens twice - on cast and 12 seconds after cast - watch the debuff and shield up. Be out of the middle when this attack ends.
# Iron Chariot - If Nael jumps to/near you, get out of the AoE ASAP and get to center. Everyone except tank goes to center after she picks someone.
# Thermionic Beam - Stay stacked in center (minus tank) to mitigate damage. Prepare big heals (Cure 3, Adloquium x2) to undo the damage. Stay in center until Nael lands on tank.
# Raven Dive - Stay away from tank when Nael is jumping back to them to avoid damage.

Chunk 2
# Stardust - Place rock, ideally on the drop line at the opposite end of the arena. Everyone who is NOT marked stacks at Nael's butt (melee) or goes to max range (rDPS/Healers). Those dropping rocks stay at max distance also.
# Lunar Dynamo - If hugging Nail or at max range, you will not get hit and will not heal her. After this attack lands, everyone spread out across the board.
# Meteor Stream - Stay apart after getting marked to avoid hitting other players. Heal through, and get ready to get back into combat range.
# Raven Dive - Again, don't close in on the tank too soon. Avoid the AoE damage. Healers top off and start shielding tank once Nael is back on them.

Chunk 3
# Ravensbeak - Same thing, top off/shield/cooldowns. Keep tank alive.
# Stardust - Moar rocks. Know the color, know where to place it. Once the rock drops, everyone spread out with healers near middle (but not stacked) for casting range.
# Meteor Stream x2 - If you get hit on the first sweep, pop any damage mitigation if you can. NINs use Perfect Dodge, BLM Manawall, DRG Keen Flurry, MNK Featherfoot, etc. This may save your life if healers don't top you off and you are targetted for the 2nd sweep.
# Raven Dive - Again, don't close in on the tank too soon. Avoid the AoE damage. Healers top off and start shielding tank once Nael is back on them.

Chunk 4
# Ravensbeak - As always, protect tank. Don't let them die.
# Stardust - Rocks! After placement, everyone get out of center.
# Iron Chariot - Get to center after Nael lands on someone.
# Thermionic Beam - As before, stay stacked in center and heal thru.
# Raven Dive - Stay away from tank when Nael is jumping back to them to avoid damage.

### Hopefully by this point we've pushed phase (around 64 %) ###

Chunk 5 = Chunk 2

Chunk 6 = Chunk 3

Chunk 7?? Not enough DPS, forget it.


Phase 2

Jemy

I think we're headed in the right direction. If we keep up this amount of progress, i would think we would have Nael dead by the end of the month. (February)

Alkemik

So I took the liberty of recording our last raid fight with the golems, here is a video click of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS4Vl1XyqTI

Can anyone see how we might improve from this?   

Aquilo

Take Gas-X before we start the raid.

Jemy

Positions

Alkemik

So about the "positioning" for the meteors that drop after the first set of golems die - I think we need to change our plan.

The reason for this is that I got confirmation on the meteors being able to target one player twice. I think our setup presents some challenges should this happen, especially while we're trying to learn.

So here's what I want to go with - Pretend the following is a circle around the edge of the arena:

        1
   2        3
 4            5
   6        7
        8


Basically we're going to spread out along the outer edge of the arena to drop the meteors and put the 2nd set of golems in the middle. Ideally we'll all be 45 degrees apart, which leaves tons of room. If you get targeted with a meteor, you place it in your spot and then rotate clockwise halfway to the next person. From here, a second meteor can safely land if you're targeted again.

The positions will go as follows:

1.) Rirosson - Wherever you're tanking the last golem, the edge of the arena behind you will be spot #1. This means you won't have to move much to get to your spot, and also gives us a clear sens of where the rest of us need to go to get in our spots. If you're close to the center with the mob, backpedal towards the outer area a bit so there's no confusion about our spots.

2.) Alkemik - When you're fighting the last golem, be prepared to drift left (or counter-clockwise) as soon as it dies. You'll want to have equal distance between the tank and the person in spot 4

3.) Raven Soul - Same as Alk, but be prepared to go clockwise. Get between the tank and the person in spot 5.

4.) Jonas - You have a longer run than anyone else should have, so be aware of this. You'll be 90 degrees counter-clockwise from the tank, which would be out off to the left if Tomas is between the mob and the wall. To get there faster, you can use your backwards jump just before the mob dies to get a head start. Don't be afraid to use sprint too. Also as a point of reference, you should be directly opposite of Aquilo who should be in position early.

5.) Aquilo - 90 degrees clockwise from the tank. Firing from max range you should be able to get into position well before the last golem dies.

6.) Alexis - Can be in/near position early, healing from max range and w/Eos in center

7.) Mo - Can get into position early. Heal from max range

8.) Winter - Cast from max range, directly (180 degrees) opposite from the tank/mob. Get up against the edge of the wall behind you when the mob dies.


I'll explain this more tonight. I'm sorry for changing up the plan, but now that I have more knowledge of the phase I strongly believe this is the better approach for us.

Jemy

Initial thoughts from the Tues 2/3 run:

- First Phase 1 went very smooth, only 1-2 wipes where we didn't push into Phase 2 iirc. Our DPS is also getting to where we can push phase with only 4 meteors down, which is a big help. Let's keep it up.

- We got a lot more looks at Phase 2 than last time, though didn't get too many looks at the meteors. We need to improve with the initial golem placement, make a slight improvement to the DPS on golems while ensuring they still get fed, and target the correct ones fairly quick. There was certainly some improvement as we went along here. Friday I'd like most of our attempts to get us at least past the first golems and to the meteors in Phase 2.

- This was our first time trying this strat for the 2nd set of meteors. There's going to be a learning curve, but I think everyone understood it and had a good general idea of where to be standing. Where we can improve is with anticipation on several levels - getting HoTs & Adlo up beforehand for damage mitigation, anticipating where to move to after you place a meteor, etc. I'm hoping we can start coming out of this phase clean by the end of Friday's run.

- We might have Nana or Nova with us Friday. This shouldn't hurt the strat much.

Jemy

On the Friday for the week of the 16th I will not be able to raid. I took the 16th and 17th off and work got back at me by making me 3-11 for wed-fri...

Alkemik

So tonight's run wasn't what I had hoped for, to be nice about it. A very late start, a few mistakes and breakdowns, and not many looks at Phase 2 overall.

Some of the negatives were factors that were outside of anyone's control, though there were some other things I caught that were major or intentional mistakes at an individual level. I will handle this via individual chats with those this pertains to, starting with some self-reflection of my own mistakes tonight.

The only thing I want to say to the team as a whole (and this goes for myself too), is to come to raid nights with a clear, calm head and be ready to focus for a good hour and gel with the team. Know when the raid starts, and if you're behind schedule give a shout ASAP so we know if you're on the way or if we need to snag a sub. If we can get started on-time and fully on board as a team, I guarantee we'll see noticeable improvements.


Anyway, it wasn't all bad news. On the last pull we were able to drop the 2nd set of meteors and golems almost perfectly. We had one person die during the placement and one person dc'd however, so there's room for improvement but still a great attempt to get it down right.


Next time I want us to down the 2nd golems at least once, and trigger phase 3. Dat Heavensfall!

Jemy

sucks. sorry i got dcd, i think it's gonna be a long weekened with comcast figuring out what they're doing to throttle speeds at peak hours in this area, or something.

wintersquall