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[Nohar]

I finally created and honed Comet because of you guys, I'm surprised I didn't do so before.


What is the general strategy for the Aerith boss rush?

Intimidate will help tremendously.
For Lost Number, you can keep your Intimidate charges: he only has 60k HP, you can safely burst him, he doesn't hit that hard either (if you want to play it safe, use Power/Magic Break).
Materia Keeper is a little more annoying. Same advice as above.
For JENOVA, bring Slowga, keep her under Power/Magic Break, and burst.
For Red Dragon, use all your remaining Intimidate charges. Otherwise, don't hesitate to use Slowga. Power/Magic Break as usual.
For Demon Wall, you really want to blind it. Use Slowga right off the bat, and try to inflict Blind. Use your RW of your choice (Sephiroth's Shadow Flare can be used to Blind him; otherwise, take something like Lunatic Highand/or Sentinel Grimoire; Advancetaliate also works). Be sure to Power Break it. Burst it.

 

[Vorpal]

Truth be told if we weren't aware of a very detailed breakdown of the next few months of timeline due to JP service (e.g. what abilities will be craftable, etc) I wouldn't blow summon, 4* and 4* summon orbs on honing stuff, but we do, and there's no better use for them short to medium term.

By the time we e.g. actually might need major wind orbs en-masse, they'll probably be farmable in some form anyway.

Yeah, especially with the increased orb rewards from some of these recent events, I think it makes a lot of sense to start honing summons/whatever 4* stuff.

 

[BassForever]

Argh its so frustrating seeing you guys talk about boss rushes and my scrub team can't even catch a wiff of them ;_; I pretty much get the mem crystal and hit a wall

 

[B.K.]

New dungeons tonight. I'm way behind. I'm two updates behind. I've only done a couple dungeons from the sixth update.

Argh its so frustrating seeing you guys talk about boss rushes and my scrub team can't even catch a wiff of them ;_; I pretty much get the mem crystal and hit a wall

That's where I am. I've never even gotten close to a boss rush.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

With the drops of Beatrix I can see me not touching this update for a couple weeks.

Edit unless I'm needing more mythril for the banners of course.

 

[MicH]

Yeah, I'm in a dire need of GNEO so I could see myself putting all my stamina towards farming that EX+ dungeon if the drops are as good as I heard

 

[Mental Atrophy]

Argh its so frustrating seeing you guys talk about boss rushes and my scrub team can't even catch a wiff of them ;_; I pretty much get the mem crystal and hit a wall

Just keep playing and you'll get there. The memory crystals are more important anyway. I wasn't able to challenge the boss rushes for awhile either, but now I can.

 

[Balphon]

New dungeons tonight. I'm way behind. I'm two updates behind. I've only done a couple dungeons from the sixth update.

Featuring long-time-no-see boss Brynhildr and everyone's favorite part of FFV, Soul Cannon.

 

[BassForever]

So would a RW with the keepsake knife's protecega SB be better then Deprotega that I currently give from Vanille?

 

[MicH]

So would a RW with the keepsake knife's protecega SB be better then Deprotega that I currently give from Vanille?

No. People will use Lunatic High or Sentinel's Grimoire if they need physical mitigation (or bring own Protectga)

 

[Razmos]

Deprotectga is a fantastic RW soul break anyway, it's powerful non elemental magic that does the same damage from either row.

It's perfect for the heroic exp daily.

 

[MicH]

Deprotectga is a fantastic RW soul break anyway, it's powerful non elemental magic that does the same damage from either row.

It's perfect for the heroic exp daily.

Yes, I love all AoE non-elemental RWs!

 

[BassForever]

Okay then I'll just keep Deprotectega lol, the fact I can get like 20+ usage a day despite Vanille only being like level 42 I guess is a testament to it's usefulness.

 

[Falk]

Coming back to "are two honed r4 black magic elementals really necessary!?" - We'll actually have a more accurate answer this dungeon update.

Aside from a repeat of Brynhildr (slightly less absurd), there are two FFV elites clocking in at dungeons level 105 and 110 that sport Ice and Lightning vulnerabilities respectively. In addition the latter is a DPS race.

Looking at JP discussions about those bosses (and again bearing the fact we simply do more physical damage because of adjusted ATK calcs) my instinct is 'still not as mandatory as it was in JP', but the devil's advocate response is that FFV doesn't really have any good RS swords just yet. You're making do with a 3++ sword for Retaliate if you're lucky, or a 4++ axe or bow (lol) on Tyro if you're very lucky (and desperate)

There's always Zantetsuken as a last resort fallback though!

 

[Falk]

New dungeons

First new dungeon is FFIII, 3 waves of 5 mobs

D:

SUMMONER META LETS GOOOO

 

[HungOverOnATues]

Oh, hey, they added Bahamut in the update and I have enough orbs to make it. I kind of want to make it just to have it.

 

[SunGod]

Boss rush was a joke with Carbuncle, Zorn and Thorn have new moves though so watch out (Multi Fira/Thundara/Blizzara which can be reflected, and there was also AOE rank (I think 2) magic which can't be reflected)

Destroyed Beatrix 1, waiting for stamina to build up before attempting Beatrix 2 (going in with Advance RW on Cloud while Paladin Cecil uses Draw Fire and prays, Lunatic High RW is the safe option here...) before bed. Should be able to take on Beatrix 3 tomorrow and then start the new story dungeons yay (I'll farm Beatrix for G/MNEOs once I'm done with those, maybe)

Also Bahamut is available now! 10 major summon orbs, 6 major non-elemental orbs and 6 major dark orbs required.

Edit: Beatrix 2 down! All those greater holy orbs, I'm so ready for Ruinga.

 

[Balphon]

Boss rush was a joke with Carbuncle, Zorn and Thorn have new moves though so watch out (Multi Fira/Thundara/Blizzara which can be reflected, and there was also AOE rank (I think 2) magic which can't be reflected)

All of the bosses have a few abilities that can't be reflected, so it's at least slightly more complicated than use Carbuncle and win. Not that much more, though.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

Well, done with the Beatrix 2. Now the long wait to tackle number three. Considering my stam will be there around midnight my time, I may just run the first new dungeon or two so that I can hit her whe I'm well rested, do not want t kill,three hrs of stamina and not master.

 

[Road]

Well, decided to experiment and not go with Retaliate for the boss rush, but it was too late when I realized I forgot to switch Curaga for Kirin... Because of that mistake I had to s/l a ton of times (RNG was not on my side) so I could get to summon Sazh before Zorn and Thorn made any move. I didn't know they had new abilities in the boss rush or else I would have put Magic Break on Squall.

Anyway, wanted to try something different before engaging full Retaliate mode for Beatrix, which, by the way, I've been having an overload of -- fought her twice Saturday finishing the DU7 elites; then once Monday and today with the Eiko event, and still have the three ex++ and if the drop rate is good, farming...

 

[Purple Cheeto]

Argh its so frustrating seeing you guys talk about boss rushes and my scrub team can't even catch a wiff of them ;_; I pretty much get the mem crystal and hit a wall

I've been playing since the start and it was only recently that I caught up to barely squeak through boss rushes. The main thing I did was focus on honing up the best abilities (the breaks, retaliate, curaga) and working on other good debuffs (slow, intimidate, dark buster, venom buster). Most of the crap abilities I like wind slash or aim I don't even really bother with anymore. I sold off just about all my one star spells.

Also did a pull on Eiko banner this morning. Got my first TWO five stars since the Lock Event. The sword with Blizzard Strike and the rode with Healing whatever. Feels good.

 

[firehawk12]

So just thought I'd ask again if there's a way to get the mastery on the first Beatrix fight without having Steiner around. Really don't want to level him up if I can avoid it...

 

[Azusa]

Killed Hill Gigas but forgot about Eiko requirement and got Expert I have also lost 1 medal for action taken. I'll try EX then.

 

[Vorpal]

So just thought I'd ask again if there's a way to get the mastery on the first Beatrix fight without having Steiner around. Really don't want to level him up if I can avoid it...

For mastery, you generally need to attain 85% of the possible medals. Since there are 18 medals for each Beatrix fight, you would need at least 15. If you take out the 3 you'd lose from the Steiner KO condition, you could only reach mastery if you didn't lose a medal in any of the other conditions. So while it's technically possible, it would probably be very unlikely.

The bonus battles are around for about a week though, so you have time to bring Steiner through EXP dailies on Sunday or otherwise scour around for growth eggs. At least he has high defense!

 

[Azusa]

For mastery, you generally need to attain 85% of the possible medals. Since there are 18 medals for each Beatrix fight, you would need at least 15. If you take out the 3 you'd lose from the Steiner KO condition, you could only reach mastery if you didn't lose a medal in any of the other conditions. So while it's technically possible, it would probably be very unlikely.

The bonus battles are around for about a week though, so you have time to bring Steiner through EXP dailies on Sunday or otherwise scour around for growth eggs. At least he has high defense!

I have killed Beatrix without Steiner and got Mastered. As you said you need to get all medals possible without Steiner. It's possible.

 

[Mental Atrophy]

It's an FF8 event next, right? I should get to work on that since my FF8 party is Lv25-35 right now. I don't have any great FF8 items other than the Balamb Uniform, which is amazing but I have basically no weapons other than some 3-star nunchukus. I will probably have to pull on that banner just out of necessity.

 

[Vorpal]

I have killed Beatrix without Steiner and got Mastered. As you said you need to get all medals possible without Steiner. It's possible.

Nice! I always assume I will lose at least some damage taken or actions taken medals. What was your setup?

 

[Azusa]

Nice! I always assume I will lose at least some damage taken or actions taken medals. What was your setup?

Here.

 

[Vorpal]

Here.

What sort of damage were you putting out with Ice Brand on your retaliator? Strong RS weapons definitely help out with these kinds of EX battles.

I just now finished the first Beatrix EX fight and I think the biggest challenge for a no-Steiner mastery will be the Actions Taken medals. With Draw Fire, Retaliate, Slowga, and Protectga, the damage taken was negligible even without IX armor. I didn't lose any medals for damage. It took a while to whittle her down though (averaging 1800 per hit using Zantetsuken on Tyro), so I lost a medal for actions taken.

I brought Sentinel Grimoire because I didn't feel like resetting my list for Advance to show up, but maybe Advance would solve that problem.

Edit: There's also the non-Retaliate strategy of avoiding Beatrix's counters by casting Reflect on a party member and targeting them with a group full of casters. I haven't tried it out, but I could see it being more useful for people whose party/gear leans more towards magic users.

Edit 2: Just tried the Reflect strategy on Beatrix 2 and it worked great! Still lost a medal for Actions Taken, but the fight went by a lot faster. Here was my setup:

Steiner: Draw Fire, Guard
Wakka: Power Breakdown, Mental Breakdown (Sky Pirate's Pride RM)
Rydia: Thundaga, Carbuncle R2 (Rod Master RM)
Vivi: Firaja R3, Blizzaga (Whichever RM is -RES +MAG. I forget the name.)
Garnet: Diaga, Slowga (Prayer of the Cetra RM)

Everyone was in the back row. After Power Breakdown and Guard, Steiner was only taking like 50 damage per hit. Refreshed reflect and slow when Beatrix was at 50%. Fun strategy.

 

[firehawk12]

I wish I had that many double cuts. It seems impossible to get lesser power and wind orbs, even with the daily dungeons.

What level should Steiner be to be able to survive the fight?
I guess missing out on Minus Strike isn't that big a deal, but since 4 star abilities are so hard to make, I was trying to start getting them all as they came out.

 

[Azusa]

What sort of damage were you putting out with Ice Brand on your retaliator? Strong RS weapons definitely help out with these kinds of EX battles.

I just now finished the first Beatrix EX fight and I think the biggest challenge for a no-Steiner mastery will be the Actions Taken medals. With Draw Fire, Retaliate, Slowga, and Protectga, the damage taken was negligible even without IX armor. I didn't lose any medals for damage. It took a while to whittle her down though (averaging 1800 per hit using Zantetsuken on Tyro), so I lost a medal for actions taken.

My Cloud dmg is ~3k I think, don't remember exactly. And boost, armor brk and Aerith ribbon SB increases it.

Just mastered the boss rush with the same team.

 

[Hours Left]

Final Fantasy: Beatrix Fighter

 

[firehawk12]

Wait, how does the Beatrix thing work? You have to master the previous one in order to unlock the next one? Do you have to do all three at the same time? I just beat the one without mastering it and it just ended.

Also, 30 stamina... 2 lesser wind orbs. You guys with 3 double cuts must be as lucky as the guys who get 3 5* items in those draws. lol

 

[Mr. Bubble]

Wait, how does the Beatrix thing work? You have to master the previous one in order to unlock the next one? Do you have to do all three at the same time? I just beat the one without mastering it and it just ended.

Beatrix's Challenge++ has three separate fights of increasing difficulty. Each fight is 20-40-60 stamina. When you obtain Mastery rank, you'll unlock the next fight. You do not fight these all in a row meaning you go in fresh each time. This also means it has three different sets of rewards.

You can tell what rank you're at by looking at the stage panel. When all three gems are filled in, you're done. Here's what it looks like.

https://gyazo.com/eeb0af49b0c0e14240cff49ca5ce8b8e

 

[LucaMac]

Found out first hand that the boss rush Zorn and Thorn are not a pushover. They have a good few new moves including full party spells that can't be reflected and multihits that can. Went in with no mitigation bar reflect, not sure if I can do it. S/l a few times already.

 

[Hours Left]

Found out first hand that the boss rush Zorn and Thorn are not a pushover. They have a good few new moves including full party spells that can't be reflected and multihits that can. Went in with no mitigation bar reflect, not sure if I can do it. S/l a few times already.

I found myself in the same position. It took a few reloads, but I eventually got a round where they used the AoE Fire only once so I still mastered the fight.

I did have Runic active though as my Friend Summon.

 

[MicH]

Boss rush and the first Beatrix EX fight mastered! Now waiting for stamina to challenge Beatrix EX2

 

[SunGod]

Beatrix 3 was easy with Paladin Cecil + Draw Fire + Lunatic High RW.

Time for the story dungeons!

 

[Falk]

Went for story dungeons instead of Boss Rush/superboss.

After an embarassing false start where Sazh had Armor Breakdown instead of Mental Breakdown for a mage lineup on Odin, ODOWN!

(Odang @ puns)

Lack of synergy here kinda... really sucked. Replaced one caster with Diagoddess instead to take advantage of the 4* dungeon reward staff. With the amount of casts I didn't even bother with WHM RM2 - just used Cetra for more damage. RW was obviously Lunatic High.

I don't even want to think of any sane way to do the trash without Summon/Summon/Quake shenanigans.

p.s. FFV is going to suck just as much for lack of synergy. At least Diagoddess will hit even harder though due to Judgement Staff.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

It's an FF8 event next, right? I should get to work on that since my FF8 party is Lv25-35 right now. I don't have any great FF8 items other than the Balamb Uniform, which is amazing but I have basically no weapons other than some 3-star nunchukus. I will probably have to pull on that banner just out of necessity.

Yeah, I try to keep an eye on the next two or three events and make sure I cycle characters in and out to get them to 50 and then somewhere above the cap. I take it you weren't around for the first two viii events and got a galbadian sword? It is ok with synergy, I got lucky with a mesmerize blade dagger and recently a betrayal sword, otherwise, I'd pull on the banner as well out of necessity.

I wish I had that many double cuts. It seems impossible to get lesser power and wind orbs, even with the daily dungeons.

Anyone around for the lenna event like me and took full advantage of it racked up a well over a hundred lesser wind orbs through the flanicide. Combine that in my case with spending days of stamina for Josef's rm2 to drop, he went from level 50 to 61 for me, in a lesser power rich drop level, and with minimal additional farming I have 2r5 double cuts and 1 r4. Considering the event opportunities, lenna, granado, etc are temporary and the gulf between those who take advantage and those who are late to the game or can't grind them, it is highly unlikely I would get anywhere near this game as a new player.

 

[firehawk12]

Beatrix's Challenge++ has three separate fights of increasing difficulty. Each fight is 20-40-60 stamina. When you obtain Mastery rank, you'll unlock the next fight. You do not fight these all in a row meaning you go in fresh each time. This also means it has three different sets of rewards.

You can tell what rank you're at by looking at the stage panel. When all three gems are filled in, you're done. Here's what it looks like.

https://gyazo.com/eeb0af49b0c0e14240cff49ca5ce8b8e

Ah, so the only chance I have is to grind up Steiner... probably not worth it for a single event, but I don't know. I guess those orbs are rare.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

Well, Beatrix 3 was pretty easy for my set up and she dropped a major non elemental.very shiny! I will be grinding the hell out of this battle I guess. I went with advance as the rw and she dropped pretty quickly. Sephiroth was hitting for around 6k with advance boost and armor break on. 2 double cutters and a double hit made short work of her. Sephiroth was also using launch every other round. I do not believe I even hit the first sb bar to use hells gate. Slowga is the co mvp.

Perhaps to preserve sanity I will alternate running her battle and a story dungeon until the rinoa event begins, do not want events to stack up particularly with the festival coming up a fed I want the mythril from the dungeons. And it's annoying running fabulous until either red or luneth show on my rw list.

 

[firehawk12]

Anyone around for the lenna event like me and took full advantage of it racked up a well over a hundred lesser wind orbs through the flanicide. Combine that in my case with spending days of stamina for Josef's rm2 to drop, he went from level 50 to 61 for me, in a lesser power rich drop level, and with minimal additional farming I have 2r5 double cuts and 1 r4. Considering the event opportunities, lenna, granado, etc are temporary and the gulf between those who take advantage and those who are late to the game or can't grind them, it is highly unlikely I would get anywhere near this game as a new player.

Yeah, although maybe there's a better way to beat bosses than just double cut everything, but when that seems to be the standard strat, it's hard when it could take months to get enough wind orbs to do something with it. Not to mention that they're also hampering your progress farming lesser orbs instead of the better ones needed for higher level abilities.

 

[Hours Left]

Beat the last three Beatrix battles in this game's never ending mission to have you fight her for all eternity. Got a Major NO Orb too. It surprised me.

 

[Falk]

Perhaps to preserve sanity I will alternate running her battle and a story dungeon until the rinoa event begins, do not want events to stack up particularly with the festival coming up a fed I want the mythril from the dungeons. And it's annoying running fabulous until either red or luneth show on my rw list.

Considering it was a breeze with Luneth, try without? I mean you only need to beat her, not mastery it if you're farming drops.

(Of course 60 stam is quite a steep price for an experiment hahahah)

 

[MicH]

Beatrix ++ #2 down! I had a surprisingly easy time. Four mages and Steiner (with Draw Fire) took her down incredibly fast. Mage meta is damn good. I even got a GNEO which was awesome. Not sure if I want to use Advance for the third battle or keep my setup with Lunatic High RW.

 

[Mr. Bubble]

Beatrix ++ #2 down! I had a surprisingly easy time. Four mages and Steiner (with Draw Fire) took her down incredibly fast. Mage meta is damn good. I even got a GNEO which was awesome. Not sure if I want to use Advance for the third battle or keep my setup with Lunatic High RW.

I would actually recommend a Retaliate setup unless you can keep up phys. mitigation for your squishy casters, have a heal spell, and/or (maybe) cast spells on a Reflected party member. Counter Shock is strong enough to one-shot a caster with no mitigation (especially if they have Devotion).

I went into Beatrix 3 with a balanced party (Retaliator, black mage, white mage, support, Steiner, Lunatic High RW) and did fine. Only lost 1 metal to actions and 1 to damage.

 

[MicH]

I would actually recommend a Retaliate setup unless you can keep up phys. mitigation for your squishy casters, have a heal spell, and/or (maybe) cast spells on a Reflected party member. Counter Shock is strong enough to one-shot a caster with no mitigation (especially if they have Devotion).

I went into Beatrix 3 with a balanced party (Retaliator, black mage, white mage, support, Steiner, Lunatic High RW) and did fine. Only lost 1 metal to actions and 1 to damage.

Thanks for your input, I'll give Retaliate a try, though I might go Advance RW instead of Lunatic High

 

[Nohar]

Beatrix #1, #2 and #3 completed, only 1 medal lost, using the following setup (for the last fight):

• Tyro (65). Equipment: Gladius 4*+ (FFIX synergy), Crystal Helmet 4* (for +ATK), Power Belt (synergy). Abilities: Retaliate R4, Draw Fire R3. Materia: Self sacrifice.
• Steiner (50). Equipment: Zantetsuken 5*, Kaiser Shield 5*, Gauntlets. Abilities: Power Break R3, Double Cut R3. Materia: None.
• Tidus (65). Equipment: Blitz Sword 5*, Geni Shield 5*++, White Cape. Abilities: Boost R4, Double Cut R4. Materia: Sky pirate pride.
• Wakka (55). Equipment: Random dagger, Brigandine 4*+, General's Belt. Abilities: Armor Breakdown R1, Armor Break R4. Materia: Whatever.
• Garnet (63). Equipment: Mage Staff 3*+, Silk Robe 3*+, Tough Ring. Abilities: Curaga R5, Protectga R1. Materia: Light of the Fayth.
• Roaming Warrior: Advance (Luneth).

First turn: Tyro uses Retaliate. Tidus uses Boost on Tyro. Steiner uses Power Break. Wakka uses Armor Breakdown. Garnet uses Protectga.
Second turn: Tyro > Draw Fire. Tidus > Double Cut on Tyro. Steiner > Double Cut on Tyro. Wakka > Attack on Tyro. Garnet > Attack on Tyro (or Curaga if someone got hit too hard).
Third turn: Tyro refreshes Retaliate. Same as before for the others. It is safer to refresh Retaliate now, before applying Advance, otherwise it is very likely that Retaliate will wear off after/when using Advance, something which would lead to Tyro's death.
Fourth turn: Tyro uses Advance. Tidus > Boost on Tyro. Steiner > Double Cut (time it so it hits Tyro when Advance is in effect). Wakka > Refresh Armor Breakdown. Garnet > Attack on Tyro (or Curaga).

After that, it was just a question of refreshing Draw Fire and Retaliate. Armor Breakdown didn't last until the end, but by that point Beatrix only had 10% life left, making Armor Break unecessary.
If you are lucky, Beatrix will do in a single turn 4 attacks. If Draw Fire and Retaliate are in effect, Tyro will counter every single one of them.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

Yeah, although maybe there's a better way to beat bosses than just double cut everything, but when that seems to be the standard strat, it's hard when it could take months to get enough wind orbs to do something with it. Not to mention that they're also hampering your progress farming lesser orbs instead of the better ones needed for higher level abilities.

Yeah, there are no low level/speed run type challenges that can assist noobs in clearing the content in this game. There are solo runs, but those guys are geared and honed well beyond what a noob has available. I feel for new players, but I've been farming orbs for months now, it is good to put them to use.

Beat the last three Beatrix battles in this game's never ending mission to have you fight her for all eternity. Got a Major NO Orb too. It surprised me.

Yeah, good job. The major orb compels you to fight her again, doesn't it?

Considering it was a breeze with Luneth, try without? I mean you only need to beat her, not mastery it if you're farming drops.

(Of course 60 stam is quite a steep price for an experiment hahahah)

I'm thinking having an all Mage and Steiner team for when I don't pull an advance, just to mix it up, not sure if I can deal enough damage on a no elemental weakness boss, we'll see. As you say, no need to get mastery, just complete it.