Rivenroad (Hard)

[Raldo]

This thread is for info about the Hard-mode Van Darnus fight.

A quick summary of this fight is that you start out against Van Darnus' 2nd form.

Things to note:
• Once you aggro Van Darnus, he IMMEDIATELY goes into Megaflare stance. This means that no one will be taking any damage (except from falling meteors).
• Once you do approximately 2~5% of his HP in damage, he will use Megaflare
• Damage from Megaflare is approximately 5,000~6,000 damage:
- NOT affected by how fast you damage him
- NOT affected by what platform you are standing on when it goes off
- NOT affected by wearing Dalamud Horn and/or your Guardian Deity's ring.
• If you survive Megaflare, he goes back into his old routine from phase 2 of "To Kill A Raven".
• If you survive Megaflare, any meteors that hit the ground will turn into golems.
• Upon killing meteors and/or golems, they have a chance to drop Deaspected Clusters, which can be used to create the new Lunar Curtain item. Lunar Curtains grant a Sentinel effect (-50% damage).
• Sentinel is reported to stack with Lunar Curtain.
• Van Darnus is reported to use Megaflare again at approximately 20%.
• Van Darnus is reported to heal back to 100% when his HP reaches 11%, trollololololol

This means that in order to obtain Deaspected Clusters, you must first survive the initial Megaflare with your own power. Thankfully, all ability recasts are reset upon entering, so do not hesitate to pop your 15 minute abilities (mainly bard song for +HP) as needed. Don't forget about Sacred Prism + Sanguine Rite (if a THM can get to the bottom level in time) as another damage mitigation tool, along with Rampart, Sentinel, Stoneskin, and the like.

I do not know if Hallowed Ground protects against Megaflare.

Update: See post 20 for a full run-down of the battle.

[Psion]

To add to that, he megaflared my party for 5380 damage with stoneskin up, no meteors landed.

It's possible you need lunar curtains to buffer against his megaflare, though where to find said deaspected clusters i do not know yet.

[Raldo]

It's possible you need lunar curtains to buffer against his megaflare, though where to find said deaspected clusters i do not know yet.

Likely from Atomos' monsters. I am about to go see if I can find Atomos, but here's what I know about him.

He will periodically spawn above the Aetherite at the following locations:
Brittlebark, Mor Dhona
Revenant’s Toll, Mor Dhona
Ever Lakes, Coerthas Central Lowlands
Glory, Coerthas Central Lowlands
Bluefog, Northern Thanalan

I do not know what happens after he spawns, however. So far, I've only seen him despawn shortly after arriving at one of those.

Edit: Found him, lots of monsters... and he despawns (and all his buddies) right in my face before I got to hit anything, sigh. Despawned at xx:50 (real time) so maybe he cycles around every 10 minutes? Or perhaps he might spawn at all the locations every so often. That was at Bluefog. Now I'm waiting around in Brittlebark to see when he spawns next.

Edit2: People are saying that the Atomos mobs drop Overaspected Crystals. Those are consumable items, it looks like from checking Mooglebox. Maybe they turn Deaspected once used? Well, that still doesn't take them from Crystals to Clusters, hmm. The cluster sounds like it's a Phoenix-Down though, so you'd have to go find a dead body just to change it? That would be silly. Just random thoughts. Still just chillin' at Brittlebark.

[Raldo]

Official forum is now saying that you can obtain Overaspected Clusters as drops from the golems/meteors that come down... but only after the initial Megaflare?

... the fuck? Man SE, you're some cruel SOBs.

Sigh, updated OP.

[Psion]

Official forum is now saying that you can obtain Overaspected Clusters as drops from the golems/meteors that come down... but only after the initial Megaflare?

... the fuck? Man SE, you're some cruel SOBs.

Edit: Just killed some meteors and let some drop before the initial Megaflare. No golems spawned from the ones that hit the ground, and nothing dropped from the meteors we killed, so yeah if that's true you really do need to get past the first Megaflare in order to farm them.

Don't forget about Sacred Prism + Sanguine Rite as another damage mitigation tool

yeah, but that only helps the blms.

[Fievel]

yeah, but that only helps the blms.

THM sacred prism SS gets everyone.

[Raldo]

yeah, but that only helps the blms.

Bard can do Sacred + Sanguine (or anyone on a class). Bonus points if it's from a THM, since it'll be boosted, or does that only affect the THM itself?

Updated OP. I might be about to find out whether or not Hallowed Ground works on Megaflare.

[solracht]

Only THM/BLM rite has -damage taken (it's a trait).

[Raldo]

Only THM/BLM rite has -damage taken (it's a trait).

Oh, news to me! Heh. I guess that explains why my Bard buff didn't do shit.

Goin' to bed. Fuck this battle, haha. I haven't even beaten Garuda. I'm mainly a DoL/H'er and I'll keep it that way.

[Asai]

Ok so if a BLM/THM does prism/sanguine the def bonus goes to everyone?

[miokomioko]

Yep~

[Psion]

Only problem is blm gets access to pug and archer abilities only, so it would have to be thm.

And i didn't even know that when a thm did it the defense applied to everyone, i thought the trait only applied to themselves.

[xopher]

You can get deaspected crystals from Atomos mobs, so maybe you can get clusters there too.

[miokomioko]

I have only seen overaspected crystals (atk/m.atk medicine) drop from Atomos' mobs. Are we sure they drop anything else?

[xopher]

I have only seen overaspected crystals (atk/m.atk medicine) drop from Atomos' mobs. Are we sure they drop anything else?

Sorry, overaspected is what I meant.

[Alkar]

Rampart won't help you against Megaflare and I'm sure Hallowed Ground won't either. Should also be noted that entering the fight recharges all your abilities so feel free to go nuts with those 15 min ones because you'll always have them up whenever you enter.

Edit: He also has an insane Regen and defense, he's immune to magic while in his summoning stance (not sure if this applies to the normal battle tbh) and he also has a new move that inflicts Def. down on the target and gives him a Def. buff, not sure if this can be dispelled by WHM.

[Jem]

Edit: He also has an insane Regen and defense, he's immune to magic while in his summoning stance (not sure if this applies to the normal battle tbh) and he also has a new move that inflicts Def. down on the target and gives him a Def. buff, not sure if this can be dispelled by WHM.

He definitely has the regen and ramped up defense when in summoning stance during normal mode. I remember saying it was like a 50% damage cut, or more, when we did it as a LS. And with 2 BRD's on him he kept regenning but we weren't sure if that was to prevent him dying before finishing summoning.

[Alkar]

He definitely has the regen and ramped up defense when in summoning stance during normal mode. I remember saying it was like a 50% damage cut, or more, when we did it as a LS. And with 2 BRD's on him he kept regenning but we weren't sure if that was to prevent him dying before finishing summoning.

Yeah but it's not as strong as this one.

[Jem]

I was more saying it because you said you weren't sure if it applied to the normal version unless you purely meant the magic part.

[Carraway]

Order of the Blue Garter's Guide to Nael deus Darnus (Hard)

2012/08/15
bluegarter.guildwork.com
compiled by Carraway Author
with special thanks to the killteam
and tactical/moral support from everyone else in BG

Summary

Remember that guy, Nael Darnus? Nael deus Darnus? Well, he’s back. The arena is the same as the last phase of the regular fight: a large platform containing a lighted circle downstairs, two sets of stairs (one north and one south) leading to two middle platforms (west and east) and a top center platform. The full fight consists of two Megaflares and two distinct phases separated by full health bars.

Nael himself takes regular damage from both physical and magical sources of damage and reduced damage when he charges Megaflare/Dalamud Dive. Because of the structure of the fight, the party needs to have a solid balance of melee and ranged damage sources. Our party composition for our first kill was: THM, THM, BRD, DRG, DRG, WHM, WHM, PLD. There is certainly some room for flexibility with your party as long as you can survive Megaflares and kill Lunar Fragments and Golems while simultaneously dealing damage to Nael.

Gear-wise, magical damage dealers should aim for at least 515 total m.acc to try to mitigate potential resists on Lunar Fragments. Physical damage dealers should aim for at least 450 total accuracy.

---

Abilities

Iron Curtain
- PBAoE, full circle, knockback, approximately 12 yalm range, ~1.5k damage

Teleport
- Teleports to one of the corners around the arena or dead-center in the arena or at the north or south edge
- Follows it up immediately with Thermionic Beam or Lunar Dynamo
- If teleporting from upstairs (Megaflare/Dalamud Dive), can be followed by Plasma Acoustics

Lunar Dynamo
- Can be used after teleport or independently
- PBAoE, full circle, hits everyone outside of ~15 yalms for ~2k damage and ~15% MP (eyeballing)
- Heals Nael for ~1-2k HP per target hit

Plasma Acoustics
- Can be used after teleport from upstairs (Megaflare/Dalamud Dive) or independently
- Deals ~2k damage, places defense-down debuff on target and defense-up buff on Nael
- Defense-down can be Esuna’d; defense-up can be ripped off Nael with Aerora
- Can be blocked with 100% success by a PLD using Aegis Boon or Divine Veil

Thermionic Beam
- Occurs directly after any teleport, including after charging Megaflare/Dalamud Dive
- Straight line that targets across the arena or target with highest enmity
- Deals ~2.5-3k damage

Thermionic Blast
- Occurs directly after Thermionic Beam
- Clusters of blasts can occur in a V-shape branching from the beam (after porting to one of the corners) or ~10-15 yalms behind (after porting into the middle) or to the sides (after porting to an outer edge)
- Can be dodged by being completely outside the circle or being directly behind Nael

Summon Lunar Fragment
- Raises lance into air and summons a Lunar Fragment that falls from the sky in the NW or SE of the arena
- Accompanied by combat log text: "Lunar debris is caught in the elemental field over Rivenroad."
- Regular fragments have ~667 HP and can be targeted from the middle platforms in the arena; see detailed fight description for special fragments
- Nael: "I shall not suffer life" = SE; "I shall not suffer death" = NW
- Lunar Fragments, when destroyed, drop a deaspected cluster, which can then be made into a Lunar Curtain
- If not destroyed, they will deal ~1.2-1.5k damage to everyone and spawn a Lunar Golem with approximately 3800 HP; golems are weak to wind only

---

The Actual Fight

Megaflare 1

Upon engaging, Nael will immediately begin charging his first Megaflare, which will deal overkill damage unless mitigated. By using Sanguine Rite, Sentinel or Lunar Curtain, Stoneskin, Rampart, and Battle Voice, you will ensure that everyone survives.

Dealing ~2.5k damage to Nael while he is charging will force Megaflare. During this time, he will also spawn alternating Lunar Fragments, starting with the SE position, then NW. These Fragments have approximately 834 HP. If any land, the resulting damage from Megaflare is substantially increased. One ranged DPS should move up to one of the middle platforms as soon as the party engages and destroy the Lunar Fragments as they spawn.

Phase 1

After the first Megaflare, Nael will teleport into the arena and the fight will actually begin. At this point in time, he has access to his full suite of abilities as described above. If all ranged players maintain a ~13-14 yalm distance from Nael outside the circle, they should be safe from all abilities, but they must constantly be ready to adjust every single time Nael teleports.

Keeping the one ranged DPS on one of the middle platforms should ensure that you have regular Lunar Fragment coverage. However, at or below 60%, Nael will say, "Hope and despair...Joy and sorrow...Such things are meaningless." This signals the beginning of a fast Lunar Fragment phase that lasts until below 40%. You will likely need at least two ranged DPS on one of the middle platforms to be able to kill the constantly spawning, fast-moving Lunar Fragments. As with the regular ones, they have ~667 HP.

Once you’ve taken Nael below 40%, it’s back to basics until below 20%. He will say "Oblivion...Well do I know thee..." and after a certain amount of time, he will teleport upwards, accompanied by the combat log message "You sense a sinister presence overhead!" This signals the beginning of the next Megaflare.

Megaflare 2

Nael teleports to the top platform and begins charging the second (and final) Megaflare. At the same time, a total of eight Lunar Golems (~2200 HP) spawn on the north and south sides, including two on each middle platform, and two on each set of stairs. The golems have very high magic evasion, but can be leashed across the arena, tanked, or killed. Lunar Fragments will also start constantly spawning, starting in the SE position and alternating with the NW. These have ~1333 HP. The first six will fall slowly. From the seventh on, they will start falling quickly. As with the first Megaflare, if any fragments land, they will increase the damage dealt by Megaflare.

Melee DPS should immediately move to the top platform to deal as much damage to Nael as possible in order to force Megaflare. The faster Megaflare happens, the less time you have to spend dealing with Lunar Fragments and Golems. Without any landed fragments, Megaflare should deal ~1.5k damage to everyone and can be mitigated through the usual means.

Phase 2

Now comes the super-fun part. The eight Lunar Golems despawn, Nael heals to 100% HP, and teleports down with his full suite of abilities, including the occasional Lunar Fragment summon. For this reason it’s suggested to keep a ranged DPS on the middle platform at all times.

After at least one-and-a-half minutes downstairs (depending on how much Nael spams other abilities), Nael can choose to teleport up top again (accompanied by the combat log message "You sense a sinister presence overhead!"). He will begin to charge Dalamud Dive, which can deal a highly variable amount of damage. A Lunar Golem will spawn downstairs at the same time. By dealing a certain amount of damage to Nael up top, you can reduce the damage of or completely prevent Dalamud Dive. After Dive (or forced teleportation downstairs without Dive), he repeats this pattern.

If Nael is around 60-75% when he teleports up to Dive, he will spawn golems (~2200 HP) when he returns downstairs, one after the other in timed intervals, capping out at five total. These need to be killed or the party will be overrun. They can also spawn with initial enmity on any player in the arena, so they need to be picked up as quickly as possible by someone downstairs. WHMs’ Aero and Aerora out-of-combo can deal the vast majority of damage to these.

From 40-59%, Nael only uses his regular abilities. Once you knock him below 40%, he can initiate a special sequence of ten total Lunar Fragments (~667 HP), accompanied by Nael saying, "Come, lost child, and receive of me the gift of purity." We recommend at least two ranged DPS on each middle platform, west and east (reached via north and south stairs respectively). Here, a WHM can switch to Cleric Stance and put on a nuking set to help out. Five total Lunar Fragments will spawn on the north half of the arena, and five on the south half of the arena, in alternation, starting with the SE. They can spawn high (just above the top platform) or low (level with the middle platforms). At least one high-spawning fragment per north and south halves can spawn as fast-falling.

On the north half, the sequence is: first high far north, second high further north, third high just NW of the platform that can land on the stairs, fourth low just NE of the platform, and fifth low slightly further NE of the platform.

On the south half, the sequence is: first high south, second low SW, third low SE, fourth high SE over stairs, fifth high SE over stairs.

This sequence of fragments is independent of Nael’s Dive rotation, so the physical DPS will need to continue chasing Nael up to force/prevent Dive. Once you’ve finished the fragments off, the fight goes back to normal until 20%. At this point, the alternating fast-falling Lunar Fragments from Phase 1 will resume until he’s dead, but the rate at which they spawn is potentially slower than before.

And that’s it. PUT THAT NAEL IN THE COFFIN.