Is BLM preferable for this fight or is THM still the way? Burst and Freeze for hate reset is tempting along with mega magic critical bonuses but the loss of sentinel / cure / SS is concerning.
Is BLM preferable for this fight or is THM still the way? Burst and Freeze for hate reset is tempting along with mega magic critical bonuses but the loss of sentinel / cure / SS is concerning.
Sanguine Rite and full HP should be enough to keep you alive as a BLM -- you might not even need all that if your group chooses to take down more than 1 nail (idk how much killing extra nails affects the damage). To me, the only difference is whether you feel like you need Freeze to keep your hate down or not.
Killing 4 nails felt like a waste of time compared to staying on Ifrit. Have one BLM switch to THM for AOE rite if you have jobs that can't sentinel and want a lot of breathing room after Hellfire.
Also WAR is retarded in this fight. Not only was our WAR really high in the meters, I didn't have to hold back as BLM at all. Haven't seen Ifrits going down this fast since 1.19.
As far as the actual fight goes, if you're not making too many mistakes, second wind and necrogenesis should be enough to keep yourself topped all the time.
I'll second that going for 4 nails really isn't a very worthwhile difference in damage. It was somewhere around 800 damage maybe, but having 1 THM instead of a BLM helps a ton, and if that still isn't enough, have a BRD battle voice for an extra 1000HP, and if you're REALLY feeling scared, the WHM on that side can Benediction after HF too.
Seriously WAR is OP tank for this fight now wtf man.
This likely has no practical application, but we briefly tested the effect of Defense Down from Riot Blade on Ifrit and the damage increase for auto-attack was quite massive and I would hit for roughly double damage. The one Doom Spike I managed to land while the debuff was on didn't seem any different, though I may be mistaken. Unfortunately the lengthy cooldown of Riot Blade and non-guaranteed proc means the debuff is unlikely to stick for most of the fight, so bringing a GLA who can barely hurt him doesn't seem like a good idea even if you have a melee heavy setup.
Very random question.
What does incap to Ifrit's left and right horn do?
Recent dev post on INCAP said this:
I know it can't affect loot pool because Ifrit has none. I don't believe it prevents TP moves, so does it like affect Regen rate? Also do the horns grow back later?Seems like there are myths spreading about incapacitation increasing drop rates? Sounds like a bully beating up a kid for his lunch money to me. Unfortunately, this is in fact only a myth.
Below are the true effects of incapacitation:
Enfeebles the enemy
Prevents the enemy from using special abilities
Alters the materials that are obtainable after defeat (depends on the incapacitation)
Don't quote me but I'm pretty sure someone tested this when 1.19 came out and determined it either slows or stops his regen if you incap both horns.
But I'm going off memory.
I was always told it was the regen as well, but I have no formal evidence other than that's what everyone always said. I was the healer, so I didn't pay attention to the wibbly wobbly red line of HP.
Was also told it slows his regen way back when he first came out but never too much attention when lnc was raping it and nope his horns do not grow back.
Throwing my hat in and saying I've always heard regen as well, but never tested it. I wanted to test it after I heard about it, but my LS never wanted to bother with it just for regen since it's easy to overcome and apparently incapping isn't entirely reliable.
Based on the 1.20 patch notes the WSs needed to incap him are Flat Blade/Godsbane from the right and Gloom Arrow/Impulsive Drive from the left yea?
I might try it out if I get the chance but it's kinda hard to gauge his regen unless you're recovering from a semi-wipe, in which case your attention is probably focused elsewhere.
Actually, the incapacitating attacks need to hit him in the face to affect his right/left horns... which is another reason breaking horns sucks. It ruins a combo for LNC/DRG and it can put you and/or the tank in danger when running to front. Recently, for the hell of it, I spammed only Impulsive Drive on his face every time it was up and I could not incapacitate a single horn by myself before he began glowing.
Definitely not worth it when even a poop party can overcome the regen.
Having never done incap (deliberately) I'm a bit confused, I'm going off of the 1.20 notes. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/32606
If the incap is considered "special" left/right why does the WS have to be performed from the front? Or is it specifically from like....front-right/left precisely lined up with his horns?
It has to be lined up with his horns is my best guess. When I would tank him GLA, before I was confident in not needing to use Flat Blade combo, I pretty much used it exclusively for enmity for the entire fight, deviating only rarely. Never once in the 15 or so times I tanked him GLA like that did I ever break a horn from directly in front of him.
The log will actually say when your weaponskills are hitting a specific body part of a mob that can be incapacitated, not just when it becomes incapacitated.
Battle directions are only divided into 4 (frontal/rear/left/right), and both of Ifrit's "special" parts can only be hit in the frontal section. The whole left/right part is only relevant to limiting the weaponskills that can hit them. When hitting his left horn with Impulse Drive, I've never done any actual aiming other than running under his legs to the tank, and actually performing it from the left will never hit a horn. I'm assuming they did this with Ifrit because the horns are on his rather small head.
This threw me off when I first did Ifrit because I assumed special left/right body parts would be incapacitated from the... left or right, but doing so never hit the horns. Only running to the front works.
tl;dr: Ifrit's horns, despite them being "special (left)" and "special (right)," can only be hit from the front.
Is it possible to combo on the nails as a melee, and if so, where is the front of the nails?
Yes, and fucked if I know, I just WS and hope for the best.
I keep meaning to pay attention to their orientation so I can figure out if they consistently "face" in a specific direction, but... I also always just end up WSing and hoping for the best.
hitting it with regular hit also tells you which side you are currently hitting, its not hard from there.