Everything there is to know about Absolute Virtue

[Mojo]

IF YOU ARE EVEN CONSIDERING POSTING IN THIS THREAD, YOU BETTER READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS FIRST POST IN ITS ENTIRETY. IF YOU FAIL TO DO THIS, YOUR POSTS MAY DELETED AND IF YOU CONTINUE POSTING WITHOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES OF THIS THREAD, YOU MAY BE BANNED.

Before I get started I'd like to explain what the purpose of this thread is. It's aimed to accomplish the following goals.

1.: Catalog purely factual information regarding Absolute Virtue.
2.: Provide useful tips for fighting Absolute Virtue for those who wish to do so.
3.: Serve as a platform for analyzing any correlation between following an Absolute Virtue activated two hour ability with a player activated two hour ability and Absolute Virtue's AI.

No other theories will be explored in this thread. No aern bullshit, no jailer weapons, no reactionary abilities, and nothing else you can think of that isn't a correlation between PC two hours, AV two hours, and AV's AI. If you really think you're onto something the falls outside of this realm, feel free to start your own linkshell to fight AV and test it, but do not post it here.

If you wish to contribute to this thread, which I highly encourage considering the recent changes, then by all means do so. However, everyone is going to have to abide by the following thread rules.

1.: No posting about other theories.

If you're post could be reworded to begin with "Has anyone tried-?" or "Has anyone thought of-?", then you'd better think again before hitting that submit button. Fail to do so and you will release the full fury of forum moderation.

2.: No Square-Enix ramblings.

We've all read these countless times. "The regen isn't the problem! Ho-ho, he-he, ha-ha!" S.T.F.U. Your sentiments are likely shared by other people, but nobody wants to read this shit anymore.

3.: No hellbent theory posting.

Now if you have an idea regarding PC 2 hours, AV 2 hours, and AV AI, feel free to post it. However, if you want your idea to even be taken seriously you will need factual information to back it up. If you're presenting your theory as fact without any kind of evidence and continue to jam it down people's throats, beware.

4.: No Drama.

If someone posts something stupid, just wait for the post to get removed. Do not further the situation by replying with some smart ass comment. No heckling or muckraking either.

5.: Minimize idle banter.

Posting to tell someone they did a good job is acceptable, but please avoid unnecessary posting. This isn't the place to talk about how you saw someone in Dragon's Aery the other day or other such things.

That's what you shouldn't be posting in this thread. Also, if your post is generally stupid or pointless but somehow evades these posting rules, it may be deleted anyways.

I intend to keep this first post up to date with any useful information that pops up in this thread. If you want to take a second look at something, you won't have to go trudging through a bunch of posts to find it.

Anyways... here is more or less everything that is well known regarding Absolute Virtue.

Absolute Virtue

It pops after defeating Jailer of Love. It appears on the Jailer of Love death object and will return there if unaggroed. It will depop if left alone for two or three minutes(not sure) or if two hours since the initial time that Jailer of Love that AV spawned from was popped passes. It isn't yet known how fighting Jailer of Love for two hours before killing it affects this.

It has the following job traits.

• Auto-Regen
• Draw-In
• Enhanced Movement Speed
• Instant Cast

It is capable of casting the following spells while in the default mode.

• Aero V
• Aeroga IV
• Tornado II

The auto regen is potent, but it can be dispelled by killing between 27 and 54 Jailer of Love pets and by using on Absolute Virtue a certain number of spells or abilities that correspond to the current Vana’diel day of the week. I don't the exactitude of how they affect one another, like if both need to be done completely to fully dispel the regen, or if the spell part is a damage counter or a total spell cast counter. I am somewhat inclined to think that it's simply a counter that goes down every time you get a day proc for your spell, although I don't have too much evidence to support this.

The draw-in is very different since the patch. It formerly only applied if you were in the Limbus portion of Al'Taieu. It can happen anywhere now. If I had to compare it to something, it would be Jailer of Prudence except that instead of it teleporting out to you, it draws you in. i.e., pulling hate from a certain distance will get you the draw-in, but if you're close enough it won't, and it only procs when hate changes. I can't be 100% sure of this though, verification is needed.

It's also immune to any form of enfeebles besides some DoT spells. However, any DoT spells will fall off instantly when it deaggros.

Absolute Virtue is also capable of using abilities that are similar to the normal two hour abilities that are accessible to players. Under normal circumstances, it will activate one of these abilities every 45-65 seconds. If the ability it uses has a time duration, the 45-65 second timer is started when the effect wears off. The time duration effects typically wear off if all hate is lost on Absolute Virtue while one of them is up. The only exception to this is Meikyo Shisui, it seems really weird and somewhat buggy. The 45-65 second recast is stored in server memory and will 'remember' the time that goes by if you're holding it with a mule. Abilities that rely on pets(Mijin Gakure, Astral Flow, etc.) can not be accessed if none of its wynavs are out. If the wynavs are out but are a great distance away from Absolute Virtue, then Mijin Gakure will not process through although Astral Flow will. It's also worth noting that if its under the effect of some of these abilities, it loses the ability to cast spells. I don't have it well documented as to which they are.

Ability 	Duration 	Effect
Mighty Strikes 	45 seconds 	Similar to a Warrior’s Mighty Strikes.
Hundred Fists 	45 seconds 	Similar to a Monk’s Hundred Fists.
Benediction 	Instant 	Restores all of Absolute Virtue’s hit points.
Manafont 	60 seconds 	Absolute Virtue will cast Meteor or Comet once approximately every 10 seconds.
Chainspell 	60 seconds 	Absolute Virtue will cast Aero V, Aeroga IV, and Tornado II in rapid succession.
Perfect Dodge 	30 seconds 	Similar to a Thief’s Perfect Dodge.
Invincible 	30 seconds 	Similar to a Paladin’s Invincible.
Blood Weapon 	30 seconds 	Similar to a Dark Knight’s Blood Weapon.
Familiar 	Instant 	Absolute Virtue’s Wynavs will increase in strength.
Soul Voice 	90 seconds 	Absolute Virtue will cast Maiden’s Virelai approximately once every 10 seconds.
Eagle Eye Shot 	Instant 	Similar to a Ranger’s Eagle Eye Shot.
Meikyo Shisui 	30 seconds 	Absolute Virtue gains the ability to use Explosive Impulse and will use it several times.
Mijin Gakure 	Instant 	Absolute Virtue’s Wynavs will use an ability similar to a Ninja’s Mijin Gakure.
Call Wyvern 	Instant 	Absolute Virtue will summon Aern’s Wynavs to assist it.
Astral Flow 	Instant 	Absolute Virtue’s Wynavs will execute breath weaponskills of moderate strength.

Absolute Virtue also has AI that is similar to other CoP bosses in that some features change every 20%. When Absolute Virtue’s HP reaches 79% HP, it’s reported to unleash a volley of Meteor spells without using Manafont. When it reaches 59%, it enters ‘bracelets’ mode. It becomes capable of summoning a maximum of six wynavs and will use two hour abilities in combinations of three. Some of these triggers may have been adjusted since the patch.

Aern's Wynav

• 1500~ HP
• Capable of casting Tier IV and ga III spells that correspond to the current Vana'diel day
• Susceptible to Gravity and Silence
• Will ‘walk’ back to Absolute Virtue if deaggroed
• Enhanced Movement Speed

Strategy

Now this section is for eople who want to attempt AV. It's capable of some nasty shit and if you don't deal with it right it's going to floor you fast. That being said, I can personally attest to every single thing posted here to be feasible and tested to work.

Wynavs

Luckily the patch made these much easier. They only have around 1500 HP now compared to 6200~. Two Thundga III spells from well geared BLM will kill them, although you may want do have 3 BLM just in case of resists maybe.

Also, there is a trick with wynavs to make the fight somewhat more manageable. As mentioned before, two hour abilities that rely on pets are only accessible to AV if there is at least one wynav out. The only one of these abilities that is remotely threatening is Mijin Gakure, although it can be quite devastating if it hits everyone. However, the wynavs are kited far away, Mijin Gakure won't proc.

Ideally you wouldn't want to be killing two wynavs while having a good RDM kite the other. This will allow Absolute Virtue the full range of two hour abilities, which serves to your advantage. Call Wyvern, Astral Flow, Familiar, and nerfed Mijin Gakure are all MUCH better than Manafont... It also might be important to have access to all of these abilities anyways considering it isn't fully understood. Kiting only one of them is the best way to do it now since they go down so easily.

The wynavs are weak to Gravity and Silence, and never build a resist to either. You can also deaggro them through the Auroral Updrafts and reaggro again before they reach the alliance if you're feeling lazy. A good RDM can do this forever without trouble, although it might be a good idea to send a pair in case of a shark aggro or whatever.

Hundred Fists

You save Sentinel for this and endure it, which is actually quite easy, or you can Shadowbind it and move away if you're using Ninja tanks or don't want to save Sentinel for that.

Meikyo Shisui

This isn't exactly life threatening, persay, but it can be annoying if you don't know what to expect. Explosive Impulse works in a similar fashion to Jailer of Temperance's Optic Induration in that if it hits you, it removes you from the hate list. You get all of your hate back the next time you take an action on AV. It can be absorbed by Utsusemi, although can take multiple shadows. Be wary of relying on Shadowbind, it can jump at you from a long ways away. It can even jump up vertical distances with this move.

Soul Voice

This is another one of those situations where you're not in immediate risk of wiping, although the chaos created by this can lead to one. Virelai is a complete hate reset. If all of your tanks get hit with this a good ways into the fight, it's going to get crazy. Shadowbind is you're only real choice here, unless Fealty will help you resist it (really I have no idea if it does). Two Shadowbinds with AF gloves will cover the entire duration, everyone will just need to react quickly and not break the bind effect.

Chainspell

The idea is pretty straightforward. Tanks will need to pile on magic defense gear and you'll just need to curebomb them through it. You can resist its Aero spells. If you had some bard swapping going on to give your tanks Carol full time along with their other buffs, you could swap into wind resist builds, although some people don't like resist builds. Using Shadowbind and having tanks move out of melee range will increase their survivability.

Manafont

Your only chance at surviving this requires that a Paladin have Fealty up and uses it immediately after Manafont is activated. Fealty will only reduce Meteor damage, not Comet, although I'm like 90% sure Comet can be absorbed by Utsusemi in this case. The range on Meteor is 25 yalms, which is more than casting range, so everyone except the tanks will need to clear out. It is possible for mages to run in and cure the tanks between Meteor/Comet spells, but you need to be quick about it. Shadowbind and having tanks move out of range is ideal here as well. Without incurring any melee hits, it's probably possible for a lone Paladin to survive by recasting Utsusemi after Meteor and self cure the little damage he's taking from them.

Regarding Future Absolute Virtue Attempts

Having fought AV for a good two and a half hours last night, I can honestly say that whatever mechanism that was required to nerf AV before this patch is still mandatory, at least to some degree, for success. If you expect victory on your first try after this patch you're going to be let down. I don't want to discourage anyone though, it doesn't mean that it's an impossible task.

Documentation

If you're interested in fighting Absolute Virtue and wish to contribute something to the community knowledge base, then you really should be documenting this well. Unfortunately observation and memory here won't be enough. During Excellence's fights last night, I was running the logger plugin without any chat filters on. If someone could do this for every fight and upload their logs, it would be incredibly useful. Here's an example of what the ideal.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U6FMH78G

Absolute Virtue #1

Attempt #1
[20:16:25]Mojopojo uses Chainspell.
[20:17:15]Absolute Virtue uses Perfect Dodge.
[20:18:41]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[20:19:30]Absolute Virtue uses Hundred Fists.
[20:19:42]Stanislav uses Invincible.
[20:21:07]Absolute Virtue uses Invincible.
[20:22:31]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[20:23:29]Absolute Virtue uses Mighty Strikes.
[20:25:09]Absolute Virtue uses Manafont.
[20:25:27]Delonge uses Invincible.

Mules holding it + random people aggroing it
[20:29:45]Chizard uses Invincible.
[20:37:56]Absolute Virtue readies Call Wyvern.
[20:37:59]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.

Attempt #2
[20:41:17]Absolute Virtue uses Soul Voice.
[20:43:48]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[20:44:42]Absolute Virtue uses Mighty Strikes.
[20:46:28]Absolute Virtue uses Blood Weapon.
[20:46:29]Zyclon uses Soul Voice.
[20:46:32]Mosvani uses Manafont.
[20:48:03]Absolute Virtue uses Chainspell.
[20:48:05]Scragg uses Manafont.
[20:48:11]Nolimit uses Manafont.
[20:48:12]Sevaru uses Manafont.
[20:49:54]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[20:51:43]Absolute Virtue uses Perfect Dodge.
[20:51:45]Shrekz uses Manafont.
[20:52:40]Rizzo uses Invincible.
[20:54:01]Absolute Virtue uses Meikyo Shisui.
[20:54:09]Awpticle uses Manafont.
[20:55:20]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[20:56:11]Absolute Virtue uses Benediction.
[20:57:05]Absolute Virtue uses Manafont.
[20:58:47]Noemie uses Chainspell.

Attempt#3
[21:10:26]Absolute Virtue uses Meikyo Shisui.
[21:11:40]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[21:13:16]Absolute Virtue uses Invincible.
[21:13:17]Akuma uses Manafont.
[21:14:45]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[21:15:33]Absolute Virtue uses Blood Weapon.
[21:17:04]Absolute Virtue uses Perfect Dodge.
[21:18:24]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[21:19:25]Absolute Virtue uses Blood Weapon.
[21:20:50]Absolute Virtue uses Soul Voice.
[21:23:18]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[21:24:18]Absolute Virtue uses Benediction.
[21:25:18]***
[21:26:19]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[21:27:14]Absolute Virtue uses Soul Voice.
[21:29:35]Absolute Virtue uses Benediction.
[21:30:34]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[21:31:30]***
[21:32:23]Absolute Virtue uses Invincible.
[21:33:50]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
Depopped at this point
*** was too far away to record in my log, probably Eagle Eye Shot

Absolute Virtue #2

Attempt #1
[22:20:55]Absolute Virtue uses Hundred Fists.
[22:22:34]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[22:23:29]Absolute Virtue uses Blood Weapon.
[22:24:58]Absolute Virtue uses Mighty Strikes.
[22:26:36]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[22:27:23]Absolute Virtue uses Invincible.
[22:28:48]Absolute Virtue uses Soul Voice.
[22:31:06]Absolute Virtue uses Eagle Eye Shot, but misses Legend.
[22:32:18]Absolute Virtue uses Invincible.
[22:33:42]Absolute Virtue uses Manafont.
[22:33:49]Chubbs uses Manafont.
[22:33:53]Dankstar uses Manafont.
[22:35:38]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[22:36:31]Absolute Virtue uses Soul Voice.
[22:38:54]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
[22:40:48]Absolute Virtue uses Hundred Fists.
[22:41:46]Makado uses Chainspell.
[22:41:47]Skibear uses Invincible.
[22:42:27]Stanislav uses Invincible.
[22:42:37]Absolute Virtue uses Benediction.
[22:43:27]Absolute Virtue uses Invincible.
[22:44:57]Absolute Virtue uses Call Wyvern.
Decided to call it quits.

Now, it should be very clear as to what this is. The linked file is the raw log file with all of the battle spam in it. The other information posted just below it is all of the two hour abilities(both PC and AV) observed in the fight.

Preparation

Clearly documenting everything doesn't necessarily mean that what you contribute will be useful. Last night's attempt is a good example of this. Although there is some good data in there, we didn't have any set goals as to what we wanted to accomplish. What I mean is, we didn't try to match any two hour usage or anything like that. We simply went and used two hours randomly. This can be attributed to the fact that we honestly had no idea what to expect and we were mostly just seeing how the patch affected it. However, now that this is known, an attempt like this would be somewhat futile. If you're going to be trying AV and want to contribute to this thread, make sure that you also have clear goals as to what you are trying to observe. Even if you wipe at some points, a good two hour attempt after matching some two hours and then observing what happens could be helpful.

Conclusion

Again, whatever mechanism that was required to nerf AV before this patch is likely to still exist in some form. If at least one linkshell on every server made a well documented and well aimed attempt at AV and posted the logs here, we would probably have enough data to find some emerging pattern. That is my hope with this thread.

[Falisa]

Stop the backseat modding. You don't know if he got permission from an admin to say that, but I do agree with him. Most AV threads turn into a shitty speculation thread, so know your facts before you post anything.

[isladar]

He did get that permission. The premise of the thread is good, so lets see all of Advanceds' collective rage channeled into something productive.

[Ligro]

It's also immune to any form of enfeebles besides some DoT spells. However, any DoT spells will fall off instantly when it deaggros.

I believe it was documented that a RDM was able to land slow.

[*Shinzon*]

I read that as well. So maybe want to confirm that fact.

[Dakota]

We tried several times yesterday to no avail. Esealed slow/para/elegy and none stuck

[LakshmiToralyn]

last night I tried ES slow2/paralyze/elegy all were resisted, these were when AV was sitting at 100% unclaimed. of note the regen was still on obviously because he was at 100% possible once his regen has been disabled you can enfeeble???

[fndragon]

Now if you have an idea regarding PC 2 hours, AV 2 hours, and AV AI, feel free to post it. However, if you want your idea to even be taken seriously you will need factual information to back it up. If you're presenting your theory as fact without any kind of evidence and continue to jam it down people's throats, beware.

I've posted a small theory in one of the previous threads that I'd like to bump here as it does involve AV 2 hours. It's a not-well-known fact that PC 2-hour abilities are able to be "turned off", much like ninjutsu shadows. My theory is that it's the combination of using PC 2-hour abilities such as chainspell and astral flow and other abilities and then to manually disable them by hand that locks AV's abilities (in some unknown fashion, obviously).

The evidence that I have for this is sporadically shown in the AV videos that were released. Many of the characters do not use their abilities to the fullest when they 2-houred. Manafont isn't followed by the usual outpouring of aga3 spells, Chainspell is usually just sat on, Blood Weapon is seen to proc once in the videos, but I think there's a bit of leniency there since it's tough to enable and disable it before a melee hit procs. The DRG in the videos also fights most of the time without a wyvern out, but that could be due to the area-of-effect damage that AV can put out. Obviously this is only for the 2hour abilities that have a duration, so I don't know what PC NIN's, WHM's, DRG's, COR's, etc should do.

My personal suspicion is that the SE development team was manually disabling their 2-hour abilities as soon as they used them in order to affect AV's behaviour. Otherwise you would have seen more advantageous 2-hour behaviour from the videos.

To test this theory: Since the effect is not quite clear, perhaps everyone who uses a 2-hour ability during the AV portion of the fight can toggle it off manually. See if this changes AV's behaviour at all - locking down related 2-hour abilities or causing them to be stopped immediately if in response.

I admit the.. inadequacy.. of posting here without any personal validation, but hopefully this idea can be picked up and used by other people who will attempt AV in the near future.

[Auronku]

Just wanted to comment on something peculiar that happened last night after our attempt at AV. Don't think it has any bearing on how to defeat him, but it regards the linked hate between AV and his wynavs. When they wynvas popped, we used the strategy you have posted here regarding kiting one wynav with a RDM and killing the other 2 via -ga3 nukes. With only 2 targets getting hit, the wynavs all but died with only 2 -ga3s by the way.

After we had wiped to AV, the RDM kiting the wynav had it lose hate. Upon getting back to AV, the RDM was drawn in from a large distance away and killed obviously. Now we knew about the added draw in from other accounts, but if I recall, I don't remember ever seeing this sort of behavior. Just kind of an odd occurrence, because generally a mob resetting would suggest you've fallen from its hate list, however, clearly it still somehow did have hate.

In terms of more serious matters, I'm hopeful the right things will come out of this thread. I advocate the retesting of pretty much everything we've written off as not working. Personally, I tend to agree with the poster above me that there must be something about the 2 hours that is being missed. My only reason for this is the video and obviously has no factual bearing. I applaud the other group that got it 26%, but I think to a certain extent we need to get real and realize that while we may be able to defeat it with the zerg tactic, we owe it to ourselves not to implore using a strategy with an estimated 10% success rate.

[Miraun]

The evidence that I have for this is sporadically shown in the AV videos that were released. Many of the characters do not use their abilities to the fullest when they 2-houred. Manafont isn't followed by the usual outpouring of aga3 spells, Chainspell is usually just sat on, Blood Weapon is seen to proc once in the videos, but I think there's a bit of leniency there since it's tough to enable and disable it before a melee hit procs.

When the DRK uses Bloodweapon at 3:01 (approximately), you can still see him swinging in the corner of the screen and the drain animation going off. He swings for 2-3 times with Blood Weapon active before the screen cuts. Additionally, during this same time frame, you can see AV spamming Aero V and Aeroga back to back, with no recast timers, as he would with Chainspell active. It's been a long time since I've played with AV, but I don't remember his natural fast cast being THAT fast.

Interesting concept though.

[Ramses]

The op mentions this, but I think it is worth emphasizing even more that there is more than likely only ONE thing that is unknown at this point. One or multiple people (up to and including all players involved) need to use their two hour when AV uses one. Whether everyone should do this at once or it should be staggered is unclear. What effect this has on AV is unclear. These are the only things that need to be figured out at this point. Other than that, we basically know but could probably use a little more info on exactly how low AV's regen could be reduced and exact number of JoL pets/ element of day nukes it takes to get there. Someone should also note for sure if AV's regen does or does not increase once you have taken it as low as possible and start using other nukes.

[ringthree]

You may want to add to the original post the largest problems for dealing with AV, like Benediction, triggered two-hour events, etc. Doing this may help people formulate their posts to be aimed at dealing with a certain problems and help to keep the discussion focused in a good direction.

[Linktri]

I think that since JOL and AV are being considered two phases of the same mob, that exploiting the elemental weaknesses of JOL reduces AVs ability to 2hr. I only have a limited amount of lube, so don't shove it too far up my ass for this post.

[Plow]

Just a thought, if people are logging 2 hours and what not, it would probably be a good idea, when possible, to keep track of if the players are engaged or not, and possibly if they're up meleeing the mob directly when using their SP.

We know just as well that the developer team wouldn't be up meleeing the siht out of Vrtra as we do that they wouldn't be blowing 2 hours at times when they're not "useful" so to speak. Seems the 2 are probably related.

[Jakson]

100 posts and already throwing up the facepalm images

gtfo.

mods need to clean this thread up and sticky it, or something.

No, in all honesty, it's a valid point he made, it just sucks because I KNOW it's probably been mentioned before and valid concerns are always lost in the mess here. I guess I should have said that before. I'll edit.

[Malacite]

In regards to manafont, is there absolutely no way to chainspell + Stun him until it subsides? Or does he just build up resistance too quickly?

Also, in another thread someone posted a screenshot of AV down to 8% HP, so he's definitely beatable now.

[Sady]

^ fails XD j/k
However, I suppose it might be important to note in the OP that (to my knowledge) AV can NOT be stunned in any way shape or form, it's totally immune. This is why zerg attempts before the patch failed and current attempts are extremely risky.
Feel free to delete this as you see fit.

[Devilschild]

He Resists stun

[Reality]

questions about trivial stuff that can be researched like "is he stunnable?", or "Can you trade items to him?" should not be allowed in this thread. Just my opinion

if you've never fought AV before, and you think you have this GREAT idea about how to lock him, PM the OP and maybe he'll think of it as highly as you do and put it here

let's keep this thread as clutter free as possible

[Kaylia]

In regards to manafont, is there absolutely no way to chainspell + Stun him until it subsides? Or does he just build up resistance too quickly?

Also, in another thread someone posted a screenshot of AV down to 8% HP, so he's definitely beatable now.

I hope it will reraise if you didn't nerf it properly, that would be awesome.


About SE's AV video, anyone has any idea why the pld used invincible during the first Tornado 2 casting, right before the day change