Kuja down, -2 medals for damage only. Basch died about 60% in because Kuja wouldn't stop casting Flare Star. Ass. Still mastered without him. The lightning resist accessories were very useful.
This Ultimate+ didn't seem that bad apart from the strict medal conditions to Master.
PSN: TheArcadeBear
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IlpalaJust this guy, y'knowTexasRegistered Userregular
100-gem got me a FF1 4* sword, 11-pull got me Golem Flute! Will happily take another medica to hold me over until I can throw some heavy mythril at a chance for a curaga strength one. Got 131 after the pull, thinking I should be able to get back up to 200-ish by BSB
FF XIV - Qih'to Furishu (on Siren), Battle.Net - Ilpala#1975
Switch - SW-7373-3669-3011
Fuck Joe Manchin
Have your resistance as high as you can, and load up on lightning resist. I used Leon's SSB (some damage + Sentinel) to keep the single target spells focused. If you want to get fancy, Draw Magic + Reflect is a fun way of dealing with it.
Celes will probably shine here with her default SB as well. Bonus if you have her Excalibur.
Ugh. Lost 3 medals on Kuja so didn't master it. Not really sure what else I could do. Wasn't really ever threatened damagewise, was at full hp basically the entire time and had full lightning resist gear.
Y'shtola (340MND, +Lightning resistance (major), Mako Might)
Shellga/Curaja
Stoneskin II
Shout RW
Basic strategy was to get the buffs up ASAP then slowly burn him into Trance, at which point I unloaded with every SSB I had. Even with my stacked team and resistance pieces, Kuja brought a pretty impressive amount of damage. I lucked into Tailwind coming up right when I needed it, twice. Both Ramza and Agrias saw moments where they were under 300hp remaining through the fight, but I was able to hold it together and get the win on my first try.
Have your resistance as high as you can, and load up on lightning resist. I used Leon's SSB (some damage + Sentinel) to keep the single target spells focused. If you want to get fancy, Draw Magic + Reflect is a fun way of dealing with it.
Celes will probably shine here with her default SB as well. Bonus if you have her Excalibur.
I don't have her Excalibur, but I do have her Soul Sabre. Is Runic Blade worth using on him?
Ugh. Lost 3 medals on Kuja so didn't master it. Not really sure what else I could do. Wasn't really ever threatened damagewise, was at full hp basically the entire time and had full lightning resist gear.
The Gravija can potentially screw the medal count if your party is at max health when it goes off.
Ugh. Lost 3 medals on Kuja so didn't master it. Not really sure what else I could do. Wasn't really ever threatened damagewise, was at full hp basically the entire time and had full lightning resist gear.
The Gravija can potentially screw the medal count if your party is at max health when it goes off.
That seems dumb. That's punishing the player for fighting him too well.
Nope, definitely not strong enough to beat down Valia Pira. Beatrix and Ramza are barely hitting for 1200 after boosting. I'll be out of Curagas by the midway point.
valia pira is an odd fight in that it actively encourages you to use an all FFIX team.
you may find that leveling up FFIX members exclusively during this weekend orb rush pushes you past it.
if you fight it with a team of FFIX characters, even with 0 SBs, it's easy.
I egged a bunch of FFIX characters to 50, so my team was Beatrix(50) / Garnet (50) / Eiko (50) / Zidane (65) / Ramza (65), and I still had trouble dealing with the multi-target spells smacking everybody. I'd replace Ramza with Vivi but from what I've read, physical attacks are the way to go considering VP's sky-high resistance. Even then, Zidane was only hitting for 3k or so, while Beatrix and Ramza were topping out at 1-1.5k.
Put it into perspective. That's 4 Rosetta Stones. Some of us didn't get even that much.
Which is why I said I can't complain...
I wouldn't use them as stones though. I already had striking staff 6* so now I have a 7* one, and I combined all the gauntlets into one 7* gauntlet that will be awesome for synergy on my main attacker on the ultimates.
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Hm. To fit Celes on the team, I'll have to drop either Agrias (losing her Hallowed Bolt and either Protectga or Shellga) or Golbez (losing a Memento Mori/Dark Zone caster).
Which is better to drop? Is he reistant or immune to Dark damage, and can I handle losing Protectga (not dropping Shellga, even with Runic on my side)?
Ugh. Lost 3 medals on Kuja so didn't master it. Not really sure what else I could do. Wasn't really ever threatened damagewise, was at full hp basically the entire time and had full lightning resist gear.
The Gravija can potentially screw the medal count if your party is at max health when it goes off.
Oh. That might be it. I was at totally full hp right then and lost a huge amount of HP. Had to portrait it back to normal.
Hm. To fit Celes on the team, I'll have to drop either Agrias (losing her Hallowed Bolt and either Protectga or Shellga) or Golbez (losing a Memento Mori/Dark Zone caster).
Which is better to drop? Is he reistant or immune to Dark damage, and can I handle losing Protectga (not dropping Shellga, even with Runic on my side)?
He has no resistances to magic, and in my opinion, better to mitigate the damage with Agrias.
That said, I think Runic is a gamble. Yeah he Flares and casts the occasional single target spell, but he's just as likely to Flare Star or Gigantbolt.
So I was feeling lucky since Igot the Ragnarok on the 100 gem pull. I decided to risk a 50 mythril pull and got 4 rainbows!
...
I mean I can't complain but....geez.
Man, I've only gotten over 2 5*s once, and every time I've gotten 2, at least one has been the very edge of pointless. Granted, my one 3 5*s was fantastic (FFT, Defender, Nu Khai, Grand Armor), but I am still so far behind the percentages.
edit:
My Runic strat for Kuja is going to be to RW it onto Basch so he can Saint Cross from start to finish, in between the occasional Apoc Shield. I'm really hoping that keeps the damage down enough and supplements my own damage to hit the medal requirement. If not, I may have to get more creative.
Put it into perspective. That's 4 Rosetta Stones. Some of us didn't get even that much.
Which is why I said I can't complain...
I wouldn't use them as stones though. I already had striking staff 6* so now I have a 7* one, and I combined all the gauntlets into one 7* gauntlet that will be awesome for synergy on my main attacker on the ultimates.
Unless you're loaded with other IX armor, I would have kept the gauntlets separate until after the ultimates. They're pretty good armors without RS; with RS, they'd be extra great.
Steiner got demolished by Leon's SSB and Dark Bargain + Sanguine Cross. Real easy ultimate.
I am a stubborn cuss and will not hone Sanguine Cross. My dark skill was Dark. R1. Held by Y'shtola. Which left Steiner a bit annoying, but easy enough once I had a passable start. Which still included Ramza being power broken in the first round. Let's just say I have adequate IX weapon synergy. Gil drawtaliate, Agrias LIfesiphon/Lightning Strike (with Kaiser Shield)/Cleansing Strike, Ramza, Garnet healing, Y'shtola Dark/SSII/who cares. RW Shout.
Lost one medal for actions. With drawtaliate, breaks, protectga and wall, he just doesn't hit hard - there's lots of time to finish Steiner off.
Decided I'd do an 11 on this pull since I'd like some physical synergy. Was like woooh 3 rainbows and then they were all Mage stuff. 2x Kuja bracer and the generic Mage staff. My Mage gear for 9 is absolutely stupid now but still no physical synergy.
Is still a really good pull getting 3 rainbows but I wish one had been either Explod or Ragnarok.
Probably will combine Kuja's bracers since I can't see needing two pieces of Mage gear for 9 since I have a black cowl also
Steiner was pretty simple on the second attempt (RW HotE), just a huge slog. Zack didn't even touch his Dismissal at all. Tyro had Sanguine R1 for requirement and did 9999x2 on both hits using Eiko's harp. Yeesh.
The first time, he just sat there Climhazzarding away at the halfway point, but ironically, it was the sap from Dragoon Determination that did Auron in just before Lakshmi went off.
U+ Kuja has four phases, changing every 25% HP. Judging by the AI script, here's what you can runic, by phase:
1: 40% single target, 40% AOE
2: 50% single target, 20% AOE
3: 40% single target, no AOE
4: 40% single target, no AOE
It looks like you get maximum value out of it during the second phase (right after the Gravija, which it can partially block). And it's probably not helping you much in Phase 1, as it's just saving HP that the Gravija is going to eat anyway. Though phases 3 and 4 are where you're likely getting murdered the most, since Kuja is taking double turns at that point, so you might want to have it active there, too?
One thing I wouldn't have guessed before looking at the script is that Kuja does have some AOE physical attacks while he's in Trance mode, though they're not nearly as savage as the magic attacks (much lower multiplier). So if you happen to have a DEF boost in your setup, or a stray Protectga floating around (cough Tailwind cough) that will help some.
Probably will combine Kuja's bracers since I can't see needing two pieces of Mage gear for 9 since I have a black cowl also
They're very wearable for either physical attackers or mages, even outside of IX, if you don't already have a full set of miscellaneous 5* armor. Basically the same stats as Nu Khai Armlets, which I've been rocking pretty much nonstop since Tactics.
Vincent 80: R3 Dark Zone, R4 Memento Mori
Lenna 90: R2 Protectga, R5 Curaja
Beatrix 80: R2 Shellga, R3 Life Siphon
Zidane 80: R2 Thief's Revenge, R3 Life Siphon
Ramza 80: R2 Full Break, R2 Power Breakdown
RW: Stone Skin II
Not much to say about this fight, Threw up all my mitigation at the start and just went full damage. I egged Beatrix from 50 to 80, and Zidane from 65 to 80 since I'll likely use them in the Ultimate + as well.
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U+ Kuja has four phases, changing every 25% HP. Judging by the AI script, here's what you can runic, by phase:
1: 40% single target, 40% AOE
2: 50% single target, 20% AOE
3: 40% single target, no AOE
4: 40% single target, no AOE
It looks like you get maximum value out of it during the second phase (right after the Gravija, which it can partially block). And it's probably not helping you much in Phase 1, as it's just saving HP that the Gravija is going to eat anyway. Though phases 3 and 4 are where you're likely getting murdered the most, since Kuja is taking double turns at that point, so you might want to have it active there, too?
One thing I wouldn't have guessed before looking at the script is that Kuja does have some AOE physical attacks while he's in Trance mode, though they're not nearly as savage as the magic attacks (much lower multiplier). So if you happen to have a DEF boost in your setup, or a stray Protectga floating around (cough Tailwind cough) that will help some.
The strategy is to not use it until the initial uses of Saint Cross run out anyway, and the current setup I'm looking at has a Life Siphon on Ramza, so he should have enough meter to put up a Tailwind around halfway, although it might be better to throw stones and remove turns. I'll give it a try in a little bit and see how things work. Apoc Shield should take the edge off in that regard anyway, and I also have Power Break on Basch for honestly lack of anything else to put on him. I'm not too worried about his physical stuff.
Magic Break would be better, unless you're already packing Magic Breakdown. My own Ramza had Lifesiphon with Full Break just to maintain a steady debuff and flow of SB usage for Tailwinds at opportune times.
Ugh. First try only Experted. One medal for turns, two for damage.
I think I'm on the right track though, just need RNG to be a little nicer. Wasn't in any real danger from damage except a couple times, but Runic only absorbed three spells the whole fight, and two of them fueled extra uses of fucking Power Break. The fact that I was stunning him constantly probably was getting in the way of that though.
Edit:
Tyro's carrying Magic Breakdown/Def Breakdown. Ramza's got Life Siphon/Full Break. I really have no idea what else to shove onto Basch there. Ideally, he wouldn't use it at all, but I'm seeing that the ideal may need some RNG help.
2x Edit:
Oh, god damn it. You know what would be helpful? Putting an RM on Relm and Zack.
Ugh. First try only Experted. One medal for turns, two for damage.
I think I'm on the right track though, just need RNG to be a little nicer. Wasn't in any real danger from damage except a couple times, but Runic only absorbed three spells the whole fight, and two of them fueled extra uses of fucking Power Break. The fact that I was stunning him constantly probably was getting in the way of that though.
Edit:
Tyro's carrying Magic Breakdown/Def Breakdown. Ramza's got Life Siphon/Full Break. I really have no idea what else to shove onto Basch there. Ideally, he wouldn't use it at all, but I'm seeing that the ideal may need some RNG help.
I'm assuming your Ramza has Shout, or you're RW'ing it, so all Basch could bring is Saint Cross, or a Samurai ability apart from Lifesiphon. Banishing Strike or Armor Strike would also lay on some damage - either would work just fine since he doesn't resist holy, but also doesn't buff himself to make bringing Banishing worth it. Armor Strike should do significant damage however.
Kuja down, one medal lost for damage. Some of you use almost as much mitigation as I do - I don't see anyone else using 3 DPS + SSII and DG, that extra 50% RES is the only advantage I think I'm getting - and you're talking about lots of incoming damage. I don't see it. He hits like a freight train until mitigation is up, then Gigantavolt does 400 and Flare Star does 650. Ow? And I had full health when Gravija happened. R4 Dismissal was nice early on, a couple of stun procs gave me extra time to get Cleansing Strike up. Everyone had a medium lightning resist accessory except Y'sh, who had major.
Zidane starts with Dismissal, Agrias rushes to his first Cleansing Strike then switches to Saint Cross, Ramza starts his rotation with PBdn. SBs were mostly saved for the last 25%. Garnet used DG twice, then I decided to rest her to preserve actions. I gave Y'sh something to do every round to make sure I could recast SSII as often as possible just in case.
RW Shout
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By that point, generic 5*s will be SBs, SBs will be SSBs, and SSBs will be BSSBs.
Gigas Armlet (II)
Necrophobe Armlet (V)
Bolt Ring (VII)
Coral Ring (IX)
Bolt Armlet (6*)
In case you're like me and sat there scrolling trying to remember them all.
Wait...
Ugh. Really can't justify 11 pulling on this as Ragnarok is the only item I actually want. Oh well, maybe BSBfest I'll get lucky.
This Ultimate+ didn't seem that bad apart from the strict medal conditions to Master.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Switch - SW-7373-3669-3011
Fuck Joe Manchin
Have your resistance as high as you can, and load up on lightning resist. I used Leon's SSB (some damage + Sentinel) to keep the single target spells focused. If you want to get fancy, Draw Magic + Reflect is a fun way of dealing with it.
Celes will probably shine here with her default SB as well. Bonus if you have her Excalibur.
Strategy Cast buffs, hit him much times.
Medals lost 0
S/L count 0
Notes for Kuja
Lifesiphon/Tempo Flurry
Fenrir Overdrive
Locke (398 ATK, +Lightning resistance (moderate), Pride of the Red Wings)
Lifesiphon/Dismissal
Valiant Strike
Agrias (424 ATK, +Lightning resistance (moderate), Dragoon's Determination)
Lifesiphon/Saint Cross
Cleansing Strike
Ramza (325ATK, +Lightning/Fire/Ice resistance (moderate), +Water weakness, Battleforged)
Full Break/Magic Breakdown
Tailwind
Y'shtola (340MND, +Lightning resistance (major), Mako Might)
Shellga/Curaja
Stoneskin II
Shout RW
Basic strategy was to get the buffs up ASAP then slowly burn him into Trance, at which point I unloaded with every SSB I had. Even with my stacked team and resistance pieces, Kuja brought a pretty impressive amount of damage. I lucked into Tailwind coming up right when I needed it, twice. Both Ramza and Agrias saw moments where they were under 300hp remaining through the fight, but I was able to hold it together and get the win on my first try.
S/L count: 0
Medals lost: 1 (damage taken)
I don't have her Excalibur, but I do have her Soul Sabre. Is Runic Blade worth using on him?
The Gravija can potentially screw the medal count if your party is at max health when it goes off.
That seems dumb. That's punishing the player for fighting him too well.
...
I mean I can't complain but....geez.
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I egged a bunch of FFIX characters to 50, so my team was Beatrix(50) / Garnet (50) / Eiko (50) / Zidane (65) / Ramza (65), and I still had trouble dealing with the multi-target spells smacking everybody. I'd replace Ramza with Vivi but from what I've read, physical attacks are the way to go considering VP's sky-high resistance. Even then, Zidane was only hitting for 3k or so, while Beatrix and Ramza were topping out at 1-1.5k.
I think I'm missing something.
Which is why I said I can't complain...
I wouldn't use them as stones though. I already had striking staff 6* so now I have a 7* one, and I combined all the gauntlets into one 7* gauntlet that will be awesome for synergy on my main attacker on the ultimates.
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Which is better to drop? Is he reistant or immune to Dark damage, and can I handle losing Protectga (not dropping Shellga, even with Runic on my side)?
Oh. That might be it. I was at totally full hp right then and lost a huge amount of HP. Had to portrait it back to normal.
Clearly, I need a better strategy if I'm ever going to approach beating this fight.
First order of business is probably to give Wakka Magic Breakdown instead of Power Breakdown. What the hell was I thinking.
He has no resistances to magic, and in my opinion, better to mitigate the damage with Agrias.
That said, I think Runic is a gamble. Yeah he Flares and casts the occasional single target spell, but he's just as likely to Flare Star or Gigantbolt.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Man, I've only gotten over 2 5*s once, and every time I've gotten 2, at least one has been the very edge of pointless. Granted, my one 3 5*s was fantastic (FFT, Defender, Nu Khai, Grand Armor), but I am still so far behind the percentages.
edit:
My Runic strat for Kuja is going to be to RW it onto Basch so he can Saint Cross from start to finish, in between the occasional Apoc Shield. I'm really hoping that keeps the damage down enough and supplements my own damage to hit the medal requirement. If not, I may have to get more creative.
Unless you're loaded with other IX armor, I would have kept the gauntlets separate until after the ultimates. They're pretty good armors without RS; with RS, they'd be extra great.
I am a stubborn cuss and will not hone Sanguine Cross. My dark skill was Dark. R1. Held by Y'shtola. Which left Steiner a bit annoying, but easy enough once I had a passable start. Which still included Ramza being power broken in the first round. Let's just say I have adequate IX weapon synergy. Gil drawtaliate, Agrias LIfesiphon/Lightning Strike (with Kaiser Shield)/Cleansing Strike, Ramza, Garnet healing, Y'shtola Dark/SSII/who cares. RW Shout.
Lost one medal for actions. With drawtaliate, breaks, protectga and wall, he just doesn't hit hard - there's lots of time to finish Steiner off.
Is still a really good pull getting 3 rainbows but I wish one had been either Explod or Ragnarok.
Probably will combine Kuja's bracers since I can't see needing two pieces of Mage gear for 9 since I have a black cowl also
The first time, he just sat there Climhazzarding away at the halfway point, but ironically, it was the sap from Dragoon Determination that did Auron in just before Lakshmi went off.
1: 40% single target, 40% AOE
2: 50% single target, 20% AOE
3: 40% single target, no AOE
4: 40% single target, no AOE
It looks like you get maximum value out of it during the second phase (right after the Gravija, which it can partially block). And it's probably not helping you much in Phase 1, as it's just saving HP that the Gravija is going to eat anyway. Though phases 3 and 4 are where you're likely getting murdered the most, since Kuja is taking double turns at that point, so you might want to have it active there, too?
One thing I wouldn't have guessed before looking at the script is that Kuja does have some AOE physical attacks while he's in Trance mode, though they're not nearly as savage as the magic attacks (much lower multiplier). So if you happen to have a DEF boost in your setup, or a stray Protectga floating around (cough Tailwind cough) that will help some.
They're very wearable for either physical attackers or mages, even outside of IX, if you don't already have a full set of miscellaneous 5* armor. Basically the same stats as Nu Khai Armlets, which I've been rocking pretty much nonstop since Tactics.
Vincent 80: R3 Dark Zone, R4 Memento Mori
Lenna 90: R2 Protectga, R5 Curaja
Beatrix 80: R2 Shellga, R3 Life Siphon
Zidane 80: R2 Thief's Revenge, R3 Life Siphon
Ramza 80: R2 Full Break, R2 Power Breakdown
RW: Stone Skin II
Sb's used:
Ramza: Shout x1
Zidane: Scoop Arts x1
Lenna: Princess' Favor x1
Beatrix: Seiken Break x2 (Had battleforged RM on)
Not much to say about this fight, Threw up all my mitigation at the start and just went full damage. I egged Beatrix from 50 to 80, and Zidane from 65 to 80 since I'll likely use them in the Ultimate + as well.
Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
The strategy is to not use it until the initial uses of Saint Cross run out anyway, and the current setup I'm looking at has a Life Siphon on Ramza, so he should have enough meter to put up a Tailwind around halfway, although it might be better to throw stones and remove turns. I'll give it a try in a little bit and see how things work. Apoc Shield should take the edge off in that regard anyway, and I also have Power Break on Basch for honestly lack of anything else to put on him. I'm not too worried about his physical stuff.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
I think I'm on the right track though, just need RNG to be a little nicer. Wasn't in any real danger from damage except a couple times, but Runic only absorbed three spells the whole fight, and two of them fueled extra uses of fucking Power Break. The fact that I was stunning him constantly probably was getting in the way of that though.
Edit:
Tyro's carrying Magic Breakdown/Def Breakdown. Ramza's got Life Siphon/Full Break. I really have no idea what else to shove onto Basch there. Ideally, he wouldn't use it at all, but I'm seeing that the ideal may need some RNG help.
2x Edit:
Oh, god damn it. You know what would be helpful? Putting an RM on Relm and Zack.
I'm assuming your Ramza has Shout, or you're RW'ing it, so all Basch could bring is Saint Cross, or a Samurai ability apart from Lifesiphon. Banishing Strike or Armor Strike would also lay on some damage - either would work just fine since he doesn't resist holy, but also doesn't buff himself to make bringing Banishing worth it. Armor Strike should do significant damage however.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Layout:
Agrias 405atk Lifesiphon R4 / Saint Cross R3 / Cleansing Strike / One-eyed General
Ramza 389atk FB R2 / Magic Break R4 / Hail of Stones / PotRW
Garnet Curaga R4 / Protectga R2 / DG / Dr. Mog's
Y'shtola Curaja R4 / Shellga R2 / SSII / Mako Might
Zidane starts with Dismissal, Agrias rushes to his first Cleansing Strike then switches to Saint Cross, Ramza starts his rotation with PBdn. SBs were mostly saved for the last 25%. Garnet used DG twice, then I decided to rest her to preserve actions. I gave Y'sh something to do every round to make sure I could recast SSII as often as possible just in case.
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