SCH T13 tips

[DarkerOrange]

Hey all,

My static and I have just reached T13 and I am looking for some tips on the fight, focussing on P1 and 2 atm, as we have only done a few runs.

For Megaflare and the circles, I am throwing up Succor during the cast of Megaflare, then moving into position as necessary and putting Soil up in the middle, is this correct?
We have a healing priority set up for the ground aoe targets, so that bit is ok.

Any tips for this fight would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have read that SCH DPS is very helpful. Which parts of the fight are good to DPS in?

[Lyrinn]

DPSing depends on your tank's cooldown rotation, your WHM's capabilities, and your group's overall comfort and health levels so every answer will be different. What I personally (try to) do is

Phase 1: DPS almost the whole time, dropping Cleric Stance only to heal Flatten + Triple Breath (only on the second one because our tank uses Sentinel for the first one) and Earthshaker. Succor on Megaflare is optional.
Phase 2: Adlo Flatten, Succor/Soil Megaflare/Rage, DPS the rest of the time.
Phase 3: DPS the whole time, dropping Cleric Stance only for a few seconds after Storm and Pain are out.
Phase 4: Near full time heal, DPS between Megaflare and Earthshaker.

If you use Eos, Rouse + Whispering Dawn after AoEs and Fey Covenent before Gigaflare.

[Tranquil]

Firstly - and this is important - the netcode of T13 is pretty messed from a SCH's point of view in that a lot of the mechanics snapshot your current status effects as soon as they start casting. This is true for Gigaflares for example. You have to have Galvanizes up before the cast even begins channeling, even if it lasts for like 7 seconds to finish casting. It won't do anything if your Succor gets applied roughly 4 seconds before impact, it has to be even before the cast starts. You might notice this when you heal people up and their Galvanizes still persist through impact with the damage having been taken. So basically, from a purely mitigational point of view, if you're late with mitigation and people survive - you might not need to bother with the Succor spam. Rather than that, though, take advantage of this knowledge.

For actual tips, it depends on your group but I can tell you what I do for reference:

P1: Pre-adlo on the MT first, then pre-Succor on the group before the pull. It's important to do this in this order with at least 23 seconds left on Succor on the tank engaging the boss, as this way your Succor will be up for the first Megaflare set, even for those with the targeted icons on them. After the pull, I pretty much DPS full time up to the first Flatten combo. For this, you can Virus the Flatten + Flare Breath -combo if your group doesn't push the boss to Gigaflaring before the 3rd Megaflare set in P1. If the DPS is there, you need to omit the Virus and save it for the first Gigaflare. Pre-adlo the flatten, anyway.

After that, it's full time clericing again with manual Embrace spamming galore (as usual) until the Earthshakers. At that point me and the WHM both heal our own targets. Barring the Earthshaker heals, I am in full cleric again. For the upcoming Megaflare set, I do not Succor or Sacred Soil if everyone is topped (works if we're running with a MNK, even with basic low-6ks HP on clothies), but if we're running it MNKless, I Succor between Earthshakers and the Megaflares starting so that the Galvanizes are up timely and people are not too spread out to get shielded yet. I do not Soil in P1 but there's nothing wrong in mitigating to be safe, I guess. I toggle cleric off at the end of the 2nd Megaflare set when the WHM is AOE healing the raid and the tank is about to be Flare Breathed - at this point I make sure to keep them healthy enough, usually with one Adlo and a Lustrate if need be, then resuming full-time DPSing. When the Gigaflare starts casting at 76%ish, make sure you've Virused it and have Soil up if need be. For Succors, refer to the first part of this post with the mechanic snapshots.

When you are comfortable and geared you can pretty much DPS anywhere if you have the stacks for backup and spike heal/mitigate for a bit as needed. In progression and if being conservative, the best parts to dot are before Megaflare sets go out and before Earthshakers start channeling. Also, for the P2 transition, if you're tanking Bahamut in the north - try to have a stack up and refresh/even slightly clip your dots when Gigaflare is casting if you can, so you can Bane the first add that spawns.

P2: Full-time MT-healing with off-DPSing as much as possible. My WHM keeps the raid topped off through the Flare Stars and all raid wide damage, also healing the OT while the mini-adds are still up. I am 100% on the MT and healing them as needed, then DPSing. Spikes in healing requirements are a Flare Breath + AA combo in the beginning of a P2 rotation, then the mid-rotation Flatten + singular Flare Breath -combo. The former happens 2 AAs after Flare Star, with the latter happening 2 AAs after the former. You can soldier through and DPS through the whole phase if you're dexterous enough, with some stack backup if need be.

For the Megaflare combos in P2, I do not still Soil if we run it with a MNK, but I do Succor between mechanics if there is a tower in the stacked Megaflare group. That combo is always nasty. If we run the instance MNKless, I Soil right as Megaflares are about to start casting (also covering the MT conveniently) so that the Soil persists through not only the first stacked Megaflare set and the tower (if in the stacked group), but also Rage of Bahamut. Just trust your instincts with this one and observe - your luck with E4E procs, 100% Storm's Path uptime (which should be a given) etc. have an influence on how much you have to mitigate. Remember to keep the MT healthy through the singular Flare Breaths that happens as your WHM is AOE healing, after the Megaflare impacts and before Rage of Bahamut. When you push 51.9% and Gigaflare starts casting, Virus it, having anticipated it for the Succors so that you don't get fucked up by the snapshotting. Soil as well, of course.

I use Selene for both P1+P2 (and usually even beyond), but used Eos in P3 and P4 in progression. There's no merit in using Eos in P3 unless you need a DPS boost, as the phase is fully timed. We just are overly comfortable at this point.

If you want some P3+P4 tips ahead of time, just tell me.

[DarkerOrange]

Thanks for the great replies so far I should probably add that we are running MNK-less at the moment. Probably will stay that way to be honest, as no one is especially comfortable on MNK in FCoB in our group.

It sounds like once I have the rotation memorised, there are quite a few opportunities for DPS. Our WHM is good, so I know I can leave some of the heavy lifting to him if my DPS will help us push phases (just like T12 P1 for 4 bennus).

Interesting to hear about the snapshots, I did not know that and that may well explain some of the odd deaths we had.

[Selli]

I main WHM so I'll try to put in as much helpful input as I can, my static SCH likes to save my butt in a pinch, though.

For Megaflare and the circles, I am throwing up Succor during the cast of Megaflare, then moving into position as necessary and putting Soil up in the middle, is this correct?

My static stacks on Bahamut's butt for Megaflare (except for p3 and p4). In p1 this allows the melee to keep DPSing and in p2 this keeps us from doing too much running because our MT moves Bahamut around the arena. I'm not quite sure of when you should be casting Succor, but having a Soil down for that damage is a huge help.

Also, I have read that SCH DPS is very helpful. Which parts of the fight are good to DPS in?

Phase 1 and phase 3 are easiest for SCH to DPS in. P1 is pretty easy for a WHM to solo heal (aside from Earthshakers), just make sure you heal your DPS for Shakers and throw down some mitigation for Megaflares and the rest is pretty easy to heal.

Phase 2 was a bit more tricky at first for us, because the single add hits pretty dang hard. We found it easier to have myself heal the MT and my SCH heal the OT. Since I focus on the MT, our SCH can DPS Bahamut after the add died (be sure to watch DPS in this phase when you get more comfortable with it, 3 adds will always spawn even during Divebombs and that is no fun at all). We also have me avoid AoE healing too much because the add can 2-shot a healer and our WAR didn't have an i130-i135 at the time, so we had Eos heal everyone up during this phase to keep the healers from getting smacked to death (aside for stacking for Megaflare. I'll throw out a Medica II to heal back the damage from Mega and also have a HoT on everyone for Rage).

Phase 3 is adds, so our SCH focuses on DPSing a lot here. He usually slows down a bit, though, when the Twintania-like add is on the field because with her Death Sentences and the adds on our OT, healing can get really hairy really quick.

Phase 4 our SCH and I don't DPS at all. We've only been beating t13 for a couple of weeks, so this phase is just crazy healing and a lot of crying. I'm sure he'll start weaving some DPS in this phase when we get more comfortable, but for now it's a lot of crying.

However, for progression shake, focus on healing more than DPSing until everyone gets comfortable. Deaths in this fight can really mess things up, so it's best to have everyone healed rather than have them all dead.

[lulunami]

Since everyone is relatively new to the T13, your SCH dps may have to be more conservative until everyone is more comfortable with mechanics. You may use Eos to help healing a bit more. When the group is more comfortable, Selene can be used for slightly more DPS. Once your group is pretty solid with mechanics, you can opt to run Selene the entire fight if you desire. You generally want to Adlo the big tank buster moves like Flatten and Flare Breath. Succor before Megaflare and Earthshaker.

P1: Precast Shadow flare where Bahamut will be tanked. Proceed to X-pot of Mind, Bio 2 -> Miasma -> Bio -> Aero while weaving in 3-6 Energy Drains and Ruin II's in the opener. You can reapply Shadow flare and your dots during the 8-10 seconds of downtime before each Flatten, Megaflare, Earthshaker, etc. If you are in melee range of Bahamut, try to remember to Auto-attack/Ruin II spam if you have an opportunity.

P2: Try to heal the tank you are assigned to. If you are assigned to heal the MT, you can refresh your dots/Shadowflare right after Gigaflare and before Bahamut's Flare Breath attack after a few autos. Once the add is dead, you can look to be more opportunistic with keeping your dots up/Shadow flare/Ruin II since the WHM can handle most things here. Energy Drain if you do not think you will need the Aetherflow stack for Lustrate/Sacred Soil. If may be safer to use Sucor/Sacred Soil for every Megaflare/Rage of Bahamut though.

P3: For Divebombs, try to always give the party a Succor and Sacred Soil the Megaflare (optional but to be safe). You can dot/Bane the Pain/Blood/Gust. Precast Shadow Flare where the Gusts/Sin will be tanked. Bane dots from one Sin to the other Sin. Aero, MiasmaII/Blizzard II. After the next divebomb, try to get dots up on the Storm and Shadowflare where the Storm will be tanked (with Gusts). You can Bane when it is safe to do so. You can Miasma II/Blizzard II if it is safe to do so. When the new Pain is about to spawn, precast a Shadow Flare on where it will be tanked. Apply dots to the Pain, and position your Fairy close to the tank so he will get some heals during Divebombs. (It is generally a good idea to reposition the fairy closer to the tank.)

P4: Groups handle mechanics differently than others, but I think it is probably a good idea to have a Sacred Soil for Megaflare in case they have a pillar nearby. DPS-wise, always look to be opportunistic to put up dots/Shadow Flare/X-pot since there are usually 8-10 seconds before each new mechanic (Megaflare, Earthshaker, Gigaflare, Ahk Morn).

Basically once you know the timings of the fight, you can better gauge when it is safe to Cleric Stance and deal damage.

[DarkerOrange]

Thanks for all the tips guys, sorry for not replying for a while, I've been away.

We are now on the verge of entering P4 and I'm now very comfortable with DPSing in P1 and P2. I am still working on the timings of P3, but it doesn't seem too hard. In P1 I am only dropping out of CS to Adlo the flatten, Succor Megaflares and to heal my target for Earthshakers if it is OT or ranged DPS. (If the Earthshakers target a Melee, our MT covers them, so no ground aoe appears and WHM heals the other.) In P2 I only drop out of CS to Adlo Flatten and to Succor for Megaflare and Rage.

The timings on my CDs seems quite tight for P3, but a few more runs should help me sort that out.