Sephirot EX Discussion

[rithridan]

Is there a way for melee with the orange buff to still be in melee range of the boss during tethers without forcing the people with the green buff to share the space up north? I feel so retarded standing outside of melee range doing nothing while waiting for the green bubbles to dissapear. But I also don't trust my group enough to share the space up north and not kill people with the orange buff.

[Lokus]

Sharing the north is the only way. The best you can do otherwise is to basically shadow the expanding bubble for as long as possible then take one of the safe spots to the sides.

[Taint]

Is there a way for melee with the orange buff to still be in melee range of the boss during tethers without forcing the people with the green buff to share the space up north? I feel so retarded standing outside of melee range doing nothing while waiting for the green bubbles to dissapear. But I also don't trust my group enough to share the space up north and not kill people with the orange buff.

There is tons of room for all 8 players to be North. The tether splashes go off well before the bubbles are expanded. The key is to pass tethers fast. Have green stack in the front middle and Orange in the middle at the edge of the hit box. (everyone center line of the arena) Tethers get passed and go west (left) and the Orange go east (right)

[Fondue]

The problem with that strat is the orange people who don't make it back to their tower

[Taint]

The problem with that strat is the orange people who don't make it back to their tower

But that's player error, once those puddles are full sized you can run through them. You don't have to wait for them to disappear.

Also the tether puddles have long exploded so that tower people can be at the edge of their side shortening the distance esp for the west puddle.

[Fondue]

I mean I've never missed a tower but I've seen that happen repeatedly lol

Also any tips for healing this fight? I've only done it on mch/mnk but I'm gonna try it on astro sometime so any little things I can keep in mind?

[Kipling]

AoE hots are your friend.

[Lujei]

Well, main healing or off healing? For AST, I like to use Collective Unconscious on the first set of purple/green, so it'll be up again by the time you get to adds.

Swiftcast Helios after each blob set as you run back into the center. This is the sticker for a lot of healers learning, not getting their cures out quickly enough here, since he does blob damage AOE AOE in relatively rapid succession.

Precast your heals as he's jumping. Kinda obvious, though again, something I've seen so few PF healers do. If you're off healing, shield the people with Earthshaker marks too.

Lightspeed can either be used for the punches (if your party sucks) or the wind/adds/enrage/whatever your server is calling it. I like to CU while we're stacked on the first blue so no one has to worry.

[BadKarma]

Well my first night in there and I got to storm of words. Its alot of fun to heal this fight.

[Alisha]

pf seems to be a shit show. how is that people that cleared a3s always f up phase 3?

[Lujei]

Yeah PF is terrible on my server as well. It's not really like RavanaEx where you can just outgear mechanics, either. You mess up and get hit with 100k damage. I've had more 1% wipes than I can count in PF, too. The key is to know whose parties you need to avoid, more than anything.

[ebil]

PF has been so-so over here. People complain when they can't position properly because of "misunderstandings", people complain when you pop a macro explaing positioning in detail. You never win with people who don't care about co-operating but I've had great success when parties were willing to discuss things to be on the same page beforehand, as it should be.

[LinktheDeme]

pf seems to be a shit show. how is that people that cleared a3s always f up phase 3?

Because it’s probably one of the very few fights in the game that has next to zero phase skips. The entire fight is literally timed and everyone is used to their own groups. Not popping a CD or popping a CD at another point and having a healer heal through one opposed to another. Positioning and all of that.

No one LEARNED that fight, it’s memorized and they memorized it according to how their group does it because there is zero incentive to learn a fight that has zero variability if everyone is always doing the same thing. Every CD will be popped at the same time and then the people who try to adapt generally fail because they’re playing too risky since they’re out of their comfort zone and don’t do safe methods. Because if you look bad in a PUG people will know

No one really learns any fight that PFs though, just A3S is so choreographed that it literally takes the thinking process out of everyone. That's the first part where groups have different methods. So any little bit of adaptability will change EVERYTHING dramatically and they shut down.

[Rionel]

I mean I've never missed a tower but I've seen that happen repeatedly lol

Also any tips for healing this fight? I've only done it on mch/mnk but I'm gonna try it on astro sometime so any little things I can keep in mind?

Definitely the key to healing it properly is to make sure AoE heals are being precasted for things like Tiferet/No buff Life Force & Spirit, precasting heal on the main tank as they get hit by the tank Da'at, etc etc.

For the blue fist / pingpong phase, having a Diurnal Aspect Helios up beforehand helps. Also, make sure to pop sprint right before the 1st blue fist comes down; if you move quickly enough into position for the 2nd blue fist, you can actually get off a Helios right as it comes down, keeping people a bit more topped off. It's a bit tighter if you're Noctunal though since it's slower cast time. Don't forget to top off everyone after the last blue fist though, as Earthshaker is immieidately after! I normally start casting a Helios as soon as I'm able too, then start preemptively running towards my Earthshaker spot on case I get targeted. It's important to do this to give yourself enough time to make it to your side (assuming you do DPS left/Healer right for these mechanics).

I use Collective Unconscious right before Sephirot blows folks away just before the Storm of Words phase. Diurnal Aspect Helios is up from healing people from the previous Lifeforce/Spirit before this, so topping off after words for the in coming Binah explosions and Lifeforce/Spirit is a bit easier since you'll have Collective + Aspect Helios regens getting everyone's HP before then.

I also make it a habit to always have Synastry and Lightspeed up for this part, as it can get a bit intense depending. I usually wait in the centerish of the arena, wait for Lifeforce/Spirit to start charging, Synastry a tank, then prep Lightspeed for immiediate Helios > Aspect Helios right after it hits. The mobility of Lightspeed helps you dodge the incoming Yesod that is soon after Lifeforce/Spirit, while ensuring people's HP are back up for Towers/Binah explosions. Definitely a very helpful point to be using it I would say! Moreso than bluefists in my opinion.

I'm not entirely sure if Disable works on Lifeforce/Spirit, but it definitely would be something to consider! Maybe someone can confirm this?

That's mostly what comes to mind! Hope that helps. Just remember, it's all about precasting those heals in anticipation!

And yes, HoTs are your friend.