solid, somewhat low-man Omega and Ultima strats

[Ferien]

8. Use your tanks wisely. Each tank should be worth at least 1 citadel buster that isn't focused on the DDs, giving them more time to bring it down. Each pld should be worth 2 (die once, RR, get hate again via invinc). The more times your dds aren't getting killed, the more time they have to finish him off.

If Citadel Buster kills your tanks, especially if they're PLD, they're doing it wrong. Shell5 and a good set of gear will bring the damage you take into a very easily manageable range.

[Kaeko]

You can survive the CBs, the problem is it causes some kind of hate reset.

I highly recommend you take at least 12 for Ultima - try 15+ if you can swing it. The first 80% is retardedly easy, but the last 20% is so unpredictable that it can be incredibly dangerous. When we 7 manned Ultima, we honestly could have done the first 80% with 4 people. Worst case, your tank dies, but you can actually gravity and bind it with pretty low enfeebling skill (my BLM was nearly 100% on it). Ultima is a joke the first 80% as long as it's not being fed TP.

The worst thing about the last 20% is the combination of CB every 2 minutes, which causes at the very best a hate reset, and Mana Screen / Partical Screen. It makes it very difficult to gank with 100% assurance, and Mana Screen has the added annoyance of causing all stuns to resist so you cant even CS Stun.

If you're feeling really bold, you can low man it; but like I said before, no one consistently "low mans" this with 8 or less to farm. It's purely to prove a point. If you have a group good enough to even consider doing this, you probably have at least a couple friends that can help you.

[Seditedi]

1. He does Dissipation every 20%. That means at exactly 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% hps, you can expect a dissipation the Moment his hp bar clicks down to that %. (It may be 79/59/39/19, but I'm pretty sure about 80/60/40/20 based on my last run). When this happens, you have 2 choices. First, stun it. This is HARD. You need a drk, blm, or rdm/drk that is GOOD at stunning and has very little lag. If you want to try this, here

Just to clarify it's definitely 79/59/39/19

[Ferien]

Armor Buster, if spammed, is more dangerous than Citadel Buster IMO. Last time I wiped to Ultima it was because he went ABx2 > CB > ABx3 > CB > AB and pretty much annihilated everyone nearby.

[Leeto]

I went RDM/DRK last ultima for dissipation stun; we actually had 2 BLMs and another RDM/DRK but I hit all stuns except the one at 19%. Best way to do it is around 6% before it happens (i.e.85ish, 65ish, etc), switch to your stun gear (if you're a blm it's likely unnecessary as you probably have enough native drk skill anyway), turn around in first person mode, face a wall, and spam stun from the menu the instant you see its life tick down to x9% because it is going to go off right away.

The part I underlined is probably the #1 most important thing for stunners. a lot of people don't realize that it's much faster than a macro if you already have the subtarget selected.

[Vedder]

OK... I'm going to see who will weigh in on Ultima.

Our group now handles Omega easily with very few deaths and 12-15 people available... farming Gunpods assuming we are in good shape once we get there. However, we have yet to try Ultima... and I'll readily admit it's almost totally due to my fear of losing and wasting all that time farming chips for him. (More time to farm for weaker rewards = fail, but that's another story)

So, I'm going to list what we have for our *normal* 12-15 people and see if someone (Kaeko ) can provide ideas for best setup:

PLD/NIN or WAR
NIN/DRK, THF, or DRK
BLU, PLD/NIN, or SAM
NIN (no /DRK), WAR, or MNK
WHM
BLM, SMN, or DRK
RDM/DRK, RNG &/or others
BRD, NIN, or SAM
BLM, PLD, or WAR
WHM or BLM
WHM or SMN
BLM, RDM, NIN, or WAR
WAR
BLM or RDM
DRK

I could also potentially get another BRD (dual-box) and another with WHM, PLD or RDM. Besides that, I'd really have to beg or recruit some people outside our normal circle.

Weaknesses I see are not enough MP regeneration (light on BRDs & RDMs)... but we do have 5 people that can come BLM, so that makes me feel pretty good.

Anyway, my initial feeling on the setup based on who I know will come is:

PT 1:
PLD/NIN, NIN/DRK, WAR, WHM, BRD, RDM/DRK

PT 2:
RDM/DRK, BLM x4

PT 3:
DRK, BLU, WAR, WHM

Some questions: Are two tanks enough? Should the BLU come PLD/NIN? Do we need a BRD for the BLM party? Will swapping a BRD do enough? What potential pitfalls could we encounter with this setup? Should we gank the same way as we would for Omega (irrespective of Mana Screen or only if Mana Screen isn't up or halt if it Mana Screens in the middle of the gank)?

Thanks in advance for the infos.

[Bakthi]

@Vedder: this doesn't apply to the OP due to lack of BLMs, but one thing we like to do that I haven't seen brought up yet (at least in this thread) is at about 23% (because DoTs are probably still on it), we stop all damage and have the BLMs rest to full. Then at about 21%, we have them all time nuke AM II on it, and a RDM/DRK ready to stun Dissapation. This means less time spent with it in Citadel Buster mode.

I do agree about Armor Buster being more dangerous, as you don't get a nice countdown and time to run away...anyone without shadows just gets nailed. We don't actually use melee for the first 80% now; just have two NINs tanking it and BLMs doing damage. Honestly, we probably take too many people because we are paranoid, although I don't mind being able to open the chests and be done with the fight quickly (and safely). A setup like yours (magic and melee damage available for the last 20% based on mode, a good handful of BLMs) looks reasonable.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Ultima fights back during the Citadel countdown, so if Mana Screen is up you could have one of your melee (say, the DRK) go nuts during that time and just accept their fate. We always bring a couple of melee in for this. Edit: to clarify, I mean I don't think he will use TP moves like Armor Buster while counting down to Citadel Buster. Zerg DRK when it's not counting down and has mana screen up is asking for it.

[Darkmoon]

He just sits there happy to count down and take anything you want to give him without doing any actions.

We actually have a DRG thats really good at Super jumping Citadel Buster, so if there is no melee shield up he tends to unload on Ultima, with 2hr, then Super jumps CB. We usualy have 20~ ppl want to fight Ultima each time we do it, so we tend to rotate in 2 Melee to get a change to play make SCs for Magic burst. Basically just try to let everyone in shell get a chance to fight him even if they dont have a useful job.

[shieldsofwindurst]

@Ferien: You're absolutely correct, a well-geared pld should be able to eat a citadel buster & tank another one. I was simply guessing that if they only have 8 people and one is an unmeritted blm, the likelyhood of a such a well-geared pld is somewhat low. Also, I got the impression that they may go for nin tanks more, which are far less likely to be able to take a CB in the face and continue standing. In any case, shit happens, and you should absolutely NOT expect that one pld should be able to hold hate throughout the entire CB spam period.

I also agree that Armor Buster can be worse than CB, but remember for the first 80% if you get screwed by it you can hold him and recover. It's less likely that he would spam it during the last 20% (since he spends most of his time in CB countdown) but if he does in response to a melee zerg or something you're probably done anyways. As everyone has said, the last 20% is too unpredictable, you just gotta do your best, and the more people you have the better.

@Leeto: Good tip. I usually don't have trouble stunning anything in the game other than Dissipation, I'll try this as well.

@Vedder: Your team should do fine. Just keep in mind how to handle Dissipation (either stun it or minimize it by running everyone else out of range), make sure nobody is a jackass when they get targeted by CB, and remember to rest during the first 80% if you need it. Like Bakthi my group rests up at around 21-25%, and usually like Kaeko said the first 80% is retardedly easy when you know what's coming. As for your team, I'd bring 2 pld/nins, 4 blms,that rdm/drk, and at least 4 good melees (that drk, war, blu, and war should do fine). The rest can be support of whatever kind. (Basically your setup is pretty much fine.) To address your specific questions, 2 tanks should be fine (assuming they are competent), bring the blu as a blu (extra stuns are always welcome), and stick your brd on your melees. Don't worry about blm mp, if they run out they should be able to rest up without worries. Ultima is a marathon fight, not a sprint. The last thing you want is a melee or a blm going wild and getting owned, putting other people in danger. If your whms run out of mp, that's when you stop ALL dmg and just let him swipe at shadows (or grav/bind him) and let your mages rest.

One important point to remember is that during the CB period, there is virtually always One of the screens up (unlike the 20-40% range), so there cannot be an all-out gank at any point. You simply have to gank him with one type of dmg, wait until someone gets owned by CB, check the new screen, then proceed with the appropriate type of ganking until the next guy gets killed. Like everyone has said, the faster you kill him during the final 20%, the better.

@Darkmoon: That's really cool, wouldn'tve thought that would work. I'll have to ask our relic drg if he's ever done that.

[Seditedi]

Armor Buster, if spammed, is more dangerous than Citadel Buster IMO. Last time I wiped to Ultima it was because he went ABx2 > CB > ABx3 > CB > AB and pretty much annihilated everyone nearby.

That's what happens if you send 4-5 melee at it >_> lol

[Ferien]

@Ferien: You're absolutely correct, a well-geared pld should be able to eat a citadel buster & tank another one. I was simply guessing that if they only have 8 people and one is an unmeritted blm, the likelyhood of a such a well-geared pld is somewhat low. Also, I got the impression that they may go for nin tanks more, which are far less likely to be able to take a CB in the face and continue standing. In any case, shit happens, and you should absolutely NOT expect that one pld should be able to hold hate throughout the entire CB spam period.

I also agree that Armor Buster can be worse than CB, but remember for the first 80% if you get screwed by it you can hold him and recover. It's less likely that he would spam it during the last 20% (since he spends most of his time in CB countdown) but if he does in response to a melee zerg or something you're probably done anyways. As everyone has said, the last 20% is too unpredictable, you just gotta do your best, and the more people you have the better.

The gear for it really isn't difficult to obtain...It's nearly all AH stuff, with a huge chunk of it being standard-issue for mid-60s melee jobs (Merman's Earrings) or 70+ RNG (Rings) that's easily either bought or borrowed from someone who's on a different job. The rest of it is either AH gear that while hard to find can be bought or crafted cheaply (Coral Scale and its HQ, Lamia Mantle/Kaman), standard-issue HP gear, event items (Gold Moogle Belt and Coven Hat are amazing for this) or standard MDB/MDef items (Resentment Cape). The only "elite" pieces of gear that would go into this build would be Aegis, D.Ring, and/or Shadow Ring, and with an Aegis you can trash all of the rest of that stuff because it'll cap your m%- on Shell5 alone. Coupled with HP food and Shell5, CB is pretty easy to manage.

Regardless of all of that, if they're even attempting this with 8 people, their tanks had better know what's up and get themselves properly geared, because if the tanks are unprepared, it's a doomed fight anyway. There's really no excuse for them coming unprepared when it's well-known how to prepare for and deal with CB.

Yes, with NIN it's different, as there's slightly less MDef/%- gear to come by on the job, but it's not significantly less, and they can wear huge chunks of HP instead, and the +50 light they get on Osode, while it won't reduce the damage directly, is still better than nothing. Is it ideal? No, but it's more than enough to survive a CB.

I (and most of my cotanks) have only died from CB when I've had to eat it with less than full HP. I'm also pretty sure the only reason there's a "hate reset" element to it is due to the massive HP loss, as we've been able to tank straight through it with either resists or Ramparts.

Anyway...One thing I'll add is that CB can be stunned if you time it right. Obviously you don't want anyone in range of it, but if you've got a NIN/DRK in there, you may as well give it a shot. You'll have to time it so you start casting immediately before "Ultima readies Citadel Buster" or you'll either stun after it, defeating the point, or before it, which means it'll just be used as soon as he comes out of the Stun. If you can pull it off though, more power to you, and it's a lot easier to eat CB when it doesn't actually happen.

Quick add on to Seditedi: Yep. LS was melee-heavy and we wanted to give it everything...really really bad choice of TP moves I think.

[shieldsofwindurst]

Interesting... guess my tanks just don't bother, because they are certainly competent at what they do, but they still get owned most of the time. Neat that you can actually stun citadel buster, though as you say it's near impossible. Of course, if you bring 12+ people you don't need to rely upon your tanks surviving CB to spare your DDs; though as you say, it sounds like this would be a key aspect to focus on for the OP if he insists on low-manning it.

[Zilong]

With Iron Ram Lance, a PLD can easily hit the 25% magic damage reduction from gear, and with shell V merited, that'd cap the totall magic damage reduction.

[Furionstormrage]

You don't need an expensive or even hard to obtain gearset to easily survive CB on PLD.

Iron Rams Lance (Cheap on my server, or can get ranked up for it)
Resentment Cape (Free, 21-24hr NM)
Coral Rings x2 (Dirt cheap)
Coral Body (Dirt cheap)
Coral Legs (Dirt cheap)

With Shell V this is capped MDT for a poor mans budget.
Stack HP everywhere else, because we all know PLDs love to invest in HP gear, and CB won't ever kill you, except maybe on Lightsday.

I use the same listed, except HQ rings and no legs, since I don't need them, and CB hits me for just at or under 1k without Rampart (MDB in a couple slots, like Ranged). (Only gotten hit with it 4-5 times, take that as you will)

[Ferien]

I'd completely forgotten about Iron Ram Lance. That does make it a lot easier. I bought a Palmerin's Shield for this when I first built for it, but I also never used it because I don't like resetting my TP unless Chivalry is down.

[Serjero]

For CB sitting at around 1550-1600 HP on PLD for MDB/-% gear I use

Iron Ram Lance: 10%
Coral Body: -3%
Merman's Ringsx2: -8%
Coral Earring: -1%
Coral Pants: -2%(I think)
Lamia's Mantle MDB+4
NQ Lamia Bow MDB+1
Resolute Belt MDB+2
Total Reduction Gear wise: -25% Damage +7 MDB (goes over pure % cap IIRC and gives about another 5-6% more reduction)
Add Shellra V to the equation your sitting at about 55/56% reduction.

I think Buster's barely brought me to orange and mid yellow when I used rampart. Suggest to cure III or IV yourself to max before CB goes off and let Etheral give you a nice chunk of MP to cure yourself back up for hate.

Also make sure everyone but your tank or the person who is getting bustered is out of range. Outside that Ultima is pretty easy and a pushover (If you have good stunners for dissipitation (sp?))

Also Omega is extremely easy did him w/ 10 recently (didn't really need just sped it up and made farming easier) with:
Tank Pt
PLD/NINx2
BRD/WHM
SMN/WHM
RDM/DRK
THF/NIN

DD PT:
BLM
BLM
BRD
RDM
BLU

Didn't really need THF or BLU

Gave us little to no trouble one of the tanks died at beginning of 25% mode other then that just T2Td first 75% then kited farming pods/slow nuking till around 5% then just kited @ 5 min left waited for one last pod then just killed.

[Theenabler]

Thats 11 ppl btw ;p

[Kaeko]

To Vedder @ Ultima (sorry this is a late reply):

Before you consider anything below - DO NOT GO IN ON LIGHTSDAY OR EARTHSDAY!!! It resists stun on Earthsday, and obviously just don't do lightsday. Anything else is fine.

Your setup looks good with 1 exception - I do not see the point in putting a WAR in the tanking Party. Put a BLM in that slot if anything. Other than this, I wouldn't change it, especially if that's the setup that puts your members in their most comfortable spots and jobs. Things look good on paper but don't quite work out so well sometimes because you can't expect everyone to play perfectly.

Also, consider /THF sub for your melees.

For tanking, well I think it's standard to take 3 for normal fights. Obviously, you can solo tank it as it's been done before, but I wouldn't recommend it. Solo tanking just shows the weaknesses of Ultima and how to exploit them. I'm sure you know most of these but I'll just recap to stress the important parts of the fight you'll want to bang into the head of your group prior.

EDIT: Tanks DO NOT ENGAGE. Any benefit you get off parries is infinitely trumped by the random hits you land on it for free TP.

1) Everything lands on Ultima so debuff it with everything at all times

The most important one is again, Elegy, Slow II and Para II also work great on this. I'd try to stack DoTs as well - Poison II, Bio II, and the 3 elemental Debuffs. Ultima has 0 regen, so you can pretty much count it as straight damage, which is really really nice for a duration fight like this. Bang it into your BRDs' heads that the #1 thing is Elegy.

2) It does double attack and has a unique attack pattern.

The issue about double attacking adds a little issue. It hits really hard, so it would be nice to keep at least 2 shadows up at all times. When we did the 7 man on this, our tank maintained 2 shadows at all times in order to account for both Double Attacks and random Holy IIs. This is a crucial part in surviving Ultima, especially as a solo tank. This sounds impossible, but with its semi-blindness, slow attack speed with debuffs on, high para proc rate, and generally piss-poor resist to stun, it isn't really as hard as it sounds.

3) Ultima has no TP regen, but does have HP timed attacks

You can use this to your advantage by playing a TP control game. Of course people have mentioned the whole Dissapation thing. My recommendation for controlling this to slowly nuke it down to 40/60/80%, then have 1 BLM time nuke the strongest nuke possible. Have the others ready stun but react to the HP going down, NOT the log (you'll miss this unless you're a stun god). I'm generally a terrible stunner that can't even stun GoH reliably, but I can stun this if I watch the HP and not the log.

4) Holy II occurs in 2 ways - be ready for both of them!

Holy II gets spammed a lot once it gets access to it because it can use it in 2 ways - sometimes back to back. It can use randomly and any player in range on the hate list. Any mage in range (namely going to be BRDs here) need to keep stoneskin and blind up to protect themselves against this. It can do nasty damage. The other method is that it will use Holy II after EVERY WS. This actually includes CB too. Sometimes you will survive the nasty TP move, but if you're not quick with shadows, the ensuing Holy II will kill you watch this. To help control this, use stun liberally.

5) TP moves to be extra careful with

Chemical Bomb is the Slow + Elegy move that requires double Erase. Designate 2 players to Erase this! Don't fumble through shit after you're in the fight, make sure you know who's taking care of this - even assign 3 people just in case since you have the numbers. Anitmatter is also very nasty, especially for your NIN, who may not have enough HP and innate MDB to survive this. Gear your NIN to protect against the 1 shot kill of this move. Some gear sets our on my LJ, but it should be kind of obvious with the merman's gear. Dissapation we already went over - just remember it CANNOT use this outside the designated HP%s.

6) If both tanks wipe DO NOT PANIC!

Ultima can be Gravitied for a good 5-6 times before you see any kind of resist (this is coming from a BLM/RDM too). You can also bind it as many times as you want without any fears of resist building. I was able to land this on BLM even. Considering you got an army of them and RDMs, you should honestly have no problem doing this. Remember, Ultima also can regen TP, so holding is quite easy outside of the occassional Holy II if you're deep enough into the fight. Honestly, you could probably do Ultima by kite just abusing Bind if you were ballsy enough.

All this info really only applies for the first 80% of the fight. Nothing here really applies for the last portion.

******************************

General Scheme

Your tanking scheme of NIN/DRK and PLD/NIN is a good combo for this. A free stunning tank is really great for this, but PLD becomes so much stronger than NIN in the last 20%. It's also a generally strong tanking combination that a lot of the really upper-end LSs use commonly.

As far as general scheme, I would keep the melees back and just use them for the last 20%. The DRK is still useful during this with Absorb TP. I think the resist rates are rather high for this, but it's still helpful. 4 BLMs is a ton of firepower on this - especially in a 60 minute fight. I suggest you stick with the 4 BLM DDs for the first 80%. As everyone has said, it's the last 20% that matters anyway. Just a reminder - coordinate the nuking for the Dissapation times and keep the BLMs at max nuking range to avoid Holy II. Someone needs to layer elemental DoTs.

******************************

Last 20% - CB Phase

Make sure all melees have a full 300TP and an Icarus Wing at this point - use Sleeping Pots. I cannot stress how dangerous this phase is so you want to make sure you have every possible preparation. Ultima has no regen so you don't have to worry about lowering its HP to 21% and sitting on it, then it regening. Slowly nuke its HP down with 1 or maybe 2 BLMs when you get close and stop at 20-21%. Take it slowly! The gank will require that you do 10,000HP.

When you want to begin, I suggest having your melee come in from the flank for better spacing. Make sure the PLD has his JAs ready - Sentinel, Fealty, Rampart. BRD needs to switch to Melee PT for soulvoice melee songs.

When you're ready, have all 4 BLMs time nuke a Freeze II - when this hits, it'll alone do about 2,000HP, or 1/5th of what you need. Have the other stunners like RDM/DRK and DRK stand off to the side to stun Dissapation. Once the Dissapation is stunned (or even if it gets through), your gank officially begins and it'll be around 17% or better. From here, I'll go over all the individual duties for jobs to make things more clear on what I propose you do.

PLD: Pop Sentinel but SAVE Invincible. You need to have hate when CB starts. If you truly cannot get hate when CB countdown starts, THEN pop Invincible. If you don't need it, don't use it. Once you are sure you have hate after the countdown starts, use Rampart! This will pretty much ensure your survival of CB assuming you have reasonble MDB gear as well and full HP. After CB hits, use Utsu:Ni ASAP! It will Holy II after.

NIN: Stop using hate moves to make it easier for the PLD to get hate. The reasoning behind this is to make it more clear and decisive who has hate in this phase. Once it is clear you do not have hate, run back and stand about 25' from the PLD. You need to be out of CB range (20' from target the PLD), but the closest person to Ultima other than the target.

BLM: Free nuke your strongest nukes. There is really no need to 2hr here in my opinion since you should have started with full MP. If you see Mana Screen, call it out and obviously stop nuking to save MP if you can. I'd expect the BLMs to at least get off that initial volley then another 1 each for 4,000 damage before any shields go up (it won't have TP yet).

Melees: This will seem a bit unorthodox, but do not rush your melees in! Keep them at the flank and just outside Ultima's range 20'. Engage Ultima but do not rush in!!! Let the BLMs DD at this point. Watch the TP moves carefully for Particle Screen (Phy Immune). If you see this move go up, then just stay back - might as well wait for after CB hits. If it does not, wait for CB countdown, then run in and WS once and get the fuck out! You have plenty of time if you come in pre-engaged really. The reasoning here is you want to avoid Armor Buster, which is a crippling move due to Gravity - you won't get out in time if you get hit by this. By only rushing with 1 WS after CB phase starts, you avoid any retaliation. While waitng for CB to hit, pop your Icarus Wing.

Considering your setup, you have a DRK and 2 WARs - that can make for a really nasty 1 shot WS combo with Mighty Strikes or Souleater 300TP WS. Being just extremely conservative, that's at least 2000 damage. Your WARs may want to sub /THF for SA Steel Cyclone. Other subs may not be that useful. BLU, I'm honestly not sure what works best. SA Cannonball?

So CB#1 goes off and the PLD will survive this due to Rampart. Make sure the NIN is the closest person to Ultima outside of the PLD because after CB, it draws in the next closest player to pound on. Make sure this is the NIN/DRK. Being just super conservative, I'll say you had bad luck with shields and you're at about 5,000HP to go now. Honestly, if you're lucky you could probably kill it just at this point. 5,000HP is horribly conservative. At worst, 1 of the shields is still on (last 1 min).

Hate is going to be screwy at this point. Lots of draw ins, people taking shots. If Mana Screen is not up, pop CS Stun here. Just use 1 of you take 2 RDM/DRKs. You always want a backup.

BLMs: Pop manafont and nuke like crazy. Every volley is at least a good 500 damage in Manafont since you're using the strong nukes. Don't worry about being drawn in! If you do get drawn, don't run away! Just stand and nuke with 2hr active, you won't be interrupted beyond the initial draw in. Considering the fact that we were able to wipe the floor with Ultima 7 manned with 4 BLMs when it did not use Mana Screen, the only thing that really prevents you from owning this is Mana Screen.

Melee: Stay back and do not melee or blow your final WS. You should be backup in case Mana Screen goes up. If Particle Screen is not up when CB Countdown #2 goes off, then blow that final WS. Again, the key is to avoid eating Armor Buster, which really sucks.

PLD: Cure Bomb

NIN: Tank if Ultima is actually looking at you. If you, you can probably pop an Icarus Wing, put on some Katanas, and wait for CB phase #2 to go off like the other melees. Souleater Jin is pretty good. If you see Utlima really really close to death, Mijin is a very good DD move.

EDIT: For the RDM that is chain-stunning - if you see Mana Screen just stop Stunning and Cure. Mana Screen causes full resist to debuffs like Stun as well.

*************************

If all else fails! - DoT Hold/Kill

Designate the RDMs to use Bio II if you are in the process of wiping. It takes a bit of time to kill 12+ people so you should be able to get like Bio II and Poison II off. During the gank, Dia II probably favorable, so Bio II will overwrite that (unless you're using Dia III). Either way, get some type of DoT on it and make it fresh during wipe. You better be close at this point because it can get really nasty. Remember though - Gravity and Bind.

Just make sure everyone is well versed on what COULD happen during the final 20%. It could be the easiest thing ever if Ultima chooses not to use Mana Screen. Come prepared - Sleeping Pots, Opo Opo Necklace, Icarus Wing, Reraise Items. A good tip is to use the actual reraise item, not the equip, since it's instant - could be useful if shit hits the fan.

I guess final thing is to realize 1 idiot can destroy the group in this in the last 20%. Make sure everyone knows what's going on, at least with his own duties. 2 tanks is fine as long as the debuffs are on and you play a TP limitation game. If you go in there without the proper debuffs and come in guns a'blazing, no amount of tanks can save you from it. This fight is truly one of the great tests of endgame strategy in my opinion. Lots of things involved, but still lots of ways to go about winning.

Hope I didn't post this too late to be relevant.

[Vedder]

Holy crap, Kaeko! Great info!

One of our BLMs is on a break for the month, so we'll probably be targetting Ultima in March... your info will be quite useful and was more than I expected. :D

Thanks!

[Talis]

PLD: Pop Sentinel but SAVE Invincible. You need to have hate when CB starts. If you truly cannot get hate when CB countdown starts, THEN pop Invincible. If you don't need it, don't use it. Once you are sure you have hate after the countdown starts, use Rampart! This will pretty much ensure your survival of CB assuming you have reasonble MDB gear as well and full HP. After CB hits, use Utsu:Ni ASAP! It will Holy II after.

CB doesn't touch shadows, so its always best to clear and re-cast ichi during CB countdown. That way you're guaranteed to have a fresh set up for the Holy II that comes right after.