FFXIV has attracted a ton of new players with the release of its recent expansion Shadowbringers. However, many of the raids these players will encounter are up to six years old already, and experienced players tend to blitz through them easily, often skipping many of the original mechanics.
For newer players keen to pull their weight, many guides they read or watch will have a ton of information rendered irrelevant due to experienced players safely ignoring specific fight tactics or skipping past boss phases with their high DPS.
My goal with this series of guides is to give you the information most relevant to how the content is played currently. For each section, a couple of notes will tell you everything you need to know about playing the encounter as your chosen role. Below these I’ll put any other notes I have on the fight.
Pools of Oblivion
– Stay on raised platforms to avoid the pools of poison.
Tank
– The Valefor mobs have front and back conal attacks.
– The Greater Demon mobs have a knockback attack but no cleave.
– You can interrupt the Dira’s Void Fire II AoE with Interject.
Healer
– Keep a close eye on all players’ health. Between the poison, untelegraphed cleaves, and potentially uneven tank aggro, damage distribution can be unexpected.
Melee DPS
– Avoid Valefor tail AoEs and Dira and Cursed Eye point blank AoEs.
Ideally all tanks have their stance on from the beginning since any DPS using AoE will otherwise pull aggro from too many mobs to survive. WHM’s Holy makes things trivial since everything dies so fast they’ll be stunned almost the entire time.
Bone Dragon
– Stand on a raised platform and focus the Bone Dragon.
Tank
– Main tank pulls the boss far north. Pick him back up when he resurrects.
– Offtanks can grab the Rotting Eye mobs in the centre platform after the dragon’s third resurrection (often skipped and just burn down the dragon).
Healer
– The tank will be pretty far north so stay in range while avoiding the poison.
– Kill Platinal skeleton mobs after the dragon is down.
– When Platinals run to the dragon’s corpse, high damage goes out. Be ready with AoE heals.
Melee DPS
– There’s not a lot of room to maneuver on the raised platform, but avoid cleaves on the tank.
– Be ready to use Second Wind when Platinal mobs run to the dragon’s corpse and explode.
Ranged DPS
– Kill Platinal skeleton mobs after the dragon is down.
– Be ready to use Second Wind when Platinal mobs run to the dragon’s corpse and explode.
The melee should prioritize avoiding the dragon’s cleave even if they have to step in poison for a moment. The only potentially troublesome part about this fight is for healers during the Platinal explosions, but one well-timed AoE heal should be enough to keep everyone alive. Most groups are able to completely ignore the Rotting Eye adds near the end.
Walk of Lament (Atomos)
– Divide the alliances into A, B, C groups. Don’t start early; You need enough players in each lane.
Tank
– When adds spawn pull them towards the back platform so healers and ranged DPS can hit them.
Healer
– Stay on the back glowing platform until it stops glowing (it lets another party damage Atomos).
– Hit the adds when they come into range.
Melee DPS
– Focus the Atomos.
– If your party has too many melee DPS, you might have to stand on the back glowing platform with the healers (need 4 players on it).
Ranged DPS
– Stay on the back glowing platform until it stops glowing (it lets another party damage Atomos).
– Hit the adds when they come into range.
– You only need 4 players on the glowing platform, so if you have many ranged DPS you might be able to move up and attack the Atomos.
I’ve seen many groups start this fight early which is extremely annoying since it can add extra time at the end of the fight with one lane having barely enough players in it and the rest of the alliance just waiting for them to finish. If you don’t make it in before the 15 second countdown, you’re automatically placed in the leftmost lane (where Alliance A goes).
Thanatos
– Alliance A starts with the ‘Astral Realignment’ debuff which lets them damage Thanatos.
– Alliance B and Alliance C should kill the Sandman and Nemesis mobs.
– If Alliance A is unable to kill Thanatos, another Alliance will get the debuff – switch targets!
Tank
– If your Alliance gets the debuff second, provoke Thanatos when it’s time to switch.
Healer
– The green pots can be healed if they get low, but this is skippable since enemies die quickly.
Melee DPS
– The Nemesis mobs move fast. Stun them first, or go for the Sandman mobs.
This is another section where you should not pull early since it actually costs more time, not less. The astral realignment debuff only applies to nearby players at the start of the fight, so if Alliance A is not there yet, you have something like a full minute of the fight where you can barely make any progress taking down his health.
Walk of Fire (Allagan Bomb)
– Divide the alliances up into A, B, C groups.
Tank
– Grab your assigned Vassago and keep it there. Pick up Allagan Balloons and ignore Napalms.
Healer
– Watch for AoE damage from Vassago or from Napalms if they reach the centre Allagan Bomb.
Melee DPS
– Focus your assigned Vassago, breaking off to kill the Balloons and Napalms that spawn next to it.
Ranged DPS
– Focus your assigned Vassago, breaking off to kill the Balloons and Napalms that spawn next to it.
All tanks need to be ready here since you need to keep the Vassago separate from each other. The napalms ignore enmity so tanks can leave them for the DPS to kill. They explode once they reach the centre. Healers can handle this but if there are too many left to explode it might get a bit hairy.
King Behemoth
– With a green marker, place the comet outside of Behemoth’s hitbox, near the centre of the arena.
– During Ecliptic Meteor cast, break line of sight with Behemoth by hiding behind a comet.
Tank
– Main tank pulls Behemoth north and keeps him facing there due to cleave attacks.
– Offtanks pick up the Iron Giant add and keep it facing the edge of the arena.
Healer
– Watch the party’s bleed damage during the fight, and any players caught in Iron Giant cleaves.
Melee DPS
– Kill the Iron Giant when it spawns.
Ranged DPS
– Kill the Iron GIant when it spawns.
The Iron Giant adds cleave comets and destroy them, so either kill them or point them away from the comets (remembering to still keep a comet between yourself and Behemoth). Most groups just kill the Puroboros since they die quickly, but you can ignore the towers on the edges of the arena.
Phlegethon
– Divide the alliances up into A, B, C groups.
– Watch Phlegethon’s health closely. At 50% and 25% he begins his Ancient Flare casts, so save sprint for this and run back to your group’s platform.
Healer
– Stay near the edge of the arena to bait the Iron Claws and to get back to your platform quickly.
– Consider rescuing slow party members to get them out of the arena during the Ancient Flare cast.
Melee DPS
– Save a dash to retreat during Ancient Flare or to get back to the boss quickly.
Ranged DPS
– Stay near the edge of the arena to get back to your platform quickly.
– Focus down the Iron Claws that spawn behind you, grabbing the closest player to them.
If I had to guess, I’d say 20-30% of the time I see this fight we wipe to an Ancient Flare cast. Either because too many people are new or because not enough people are paying attention. That said, it’s possible for a good group to deal high enough DPS that you kill him before he finishes his second cast.
Pro tip: make sure to leave the instance quickly after Phlegethon’s down so you don’t get stuck with 8 pieces of old loot clogging your inventory.
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