Damage ranges and enemies 1 shotting you

[Shiyo]

Hello, I am curious if anyone else has a problem where ilvl bosses in this game will just randomly 1 shot you, regardless of having 30-50% PDT/MDT/block/protect/shell/2k+ defense.

A good example is the t1 escha boss Aglaophotis, who will randomly bloody caress or seedspray for upwards of 2-3k+. Most of the time, he'll do 10-100 damage with it, then randomly 2-3k. That's a HUGE damage range, for absolutely no reason!

It's not a very fun mechanic or anything you can actually play around, you just will randomly die from time to time with no counterplay, baring getting a burtgang and aegis and fulltiming DT gear.

I don't find that very compelling gameplay - actually, I find it downright frustrating and unfun.

Is there anything I can do to stop bosses from doing things like this? Or are bosses literally designed around fulltiming -DT gear with a burt and aegis? Seems a bit silly.

[Olor]

No idea about the specific mob but I've seen that from a few mobs and it's just a bit stupid. But that's how XI rolls these days, super cheese boss tactics.

[Shiyo]

I really don't like it.
There's so many escha NM's I've fought that feel like "time bombs" of if you don't kill it in x time you'll randomly get 1 shot, and the longer the fight goes on the more chances of 1 shotting happening.

This games combat is so amazing, but the boss design makes me go "What is even going on?". I'm sitting here tanking a boss and take 0 damage for a few minutes, then the exact same WS will randomly do over 100% of my health pool in full DT gear. Just..why? That isn't fun.

Why can't damage be consistent? Why can't we just have to constantly be cure bombed and have to make sure we're holding hate through the cure bombing? At least you're pressing buttons. speaking of pressing buttons, bosses that amnesia AND mute make absolutely no sense. Why design abilities that just give you less to do, to the point where when stacked you actually can't do anything besides auto-attack?

[Nyarlko]

Escha NMs all have some sort of gimmick that varies by mob. It's honestly been a while since I didn't steamroll thru T1s, so I don't 100% remember Agla's, but Seedspray is a 3hit attack and could be multihit/critting, it also can give you a nasty def-down debuff.. The attached drain of Bloody Carress is also nasty and not affected by PDT-, or you may be having macro fails that are leaving you in the wrong gear.

NMs in this game all have inherent timebomb/enrage timers due to the way the TP system works. The lower their HP, the less TP they need to perform a move. If you have even 1x delay capped melee on one, it's not impossible to see back-to-back TP moves at low HP. A lot of Escha NMs also have level up gimmicks which can make them simply unkillable if allowed to level up too much. The longer fights go, the more total damage will get dealt to your party, which means the load on your healers will also increase. Faster kill = less incoming dmg = safer kill = win. Stuns help a ton if you are having trouble with certain moves. ^^;;

I too really really loathe amnesia aoes. Pet jobs in particular get hit with a double whammy since pet+master can both get hit, but there's no way to remove it from pets. :/

[Urmom]

Hello, I am curious if anyone else has a problem where ilvl bosses in this game will just randomly 1 shot you, regardless of having 30-50% PDT/MDT/block/protect/shell/2k+ defense.

A good example is the t1 escha boss Aglaophotis, who will randomly bloody caress or seedspray for upwards of 2-3k+. Most of the time, he'll do 10-100 damage with it, then randomly 2-3k. That's a HUGE damage range, for absolutely no reason!

It's not a very fun mechanic or anything you can actually play around, you just will randomly die from time to time with no counterplay, baring getting a burtgang and aegis and fulltiming DT gear.

I don't find that very compelling gameplay - actually, I find it downright frustrating and unfun.

Is there anything I can do to stop bosses from doing things like this? Or are bosses literally designed around fulltiming -DT gear with a burt and aegis? Seems a bit silly.

In the example you gave Aegis would actually hurt you/be part of the reason for those huge range. My guess why it would change so much is how many hits are getting blocked... which with aegis is not going to be a lot. Other things that help is it's high triple attack possibly giving it more hits and seedspray giving you def down also being multi hit phalanx will make a greater than usual difference. Never really noticed seedspray doing that much too me though. And bloody was a little painful but never that bad on run or pup don't think I've done it on pld or non tank jobs though

That said yes they do design a lot of nms to be able to kill non tanks fairly easily which means you should be at a minimum capped in whatever dt it's doing and likely either having aegis or ochain/priwen (situationally dependent and sometimes you need to switch between them as you see mob ready spells and sometimes moves) burt is just icing really. Or use a Run with epeo (on stuff with hard physical dmg regular one should be fine on the more magic orient mobs). Or use pup.

[OmnysValefor]

A big thing for Paladins / Rune Fencers / any tank is not give up too much defensive stats while casting especially since some of the macro pieces available, especially to returning players are non-ilvl so missing the the much higher defense/mdb/vit/int/etc.

It can also be hard to gauge what something regularly hits for these days when you have to wonder if cureskin was in effect.

For instance, I prefer to keep my PLD in 40%+ DT at all times (midcast). When I'm not casting, I'm always -DT capped.

TL;DR: A lot of times people die, it's because they got caught midcast. Not saying that was the case for whoever at this NM, but I see newbie tanks die all the time because of this.


it also can give you a nasty def-down debuff.

This two, never underestimate how harsh defense-down can be (the potency varies from NM to NM)

[PristineChicken]

A big thing for Paladins / Rune Fencers / any tank is not give up too much defensive stats while casting especially since some of the macro pieces available, especially to returning players are non-ilvl so missing the the much higher defense/mdb/vit/int/etc.

It can also be hard to gauge what something regularly hits for these days when you have to wonder if cureskin was in effect.

For instance, I prefer to keep my PLD in 40%+ DT at all times (midcast). When I'm not casting, I'm always -DT capped.

TL;DR: A lot of times people die, it's because they got caught midcast. Not saying that was the case for whoever at this NM, but I see newbie tanks die all the time because of this.



This two, never underestimate how harsh defense-down can be (the potency varies from NM to NM)

A lot of people die because they refuse to wear any defensive gear, period. If they die, it's not their fault for having no -DT on, it's the tank's fault for not being able to prevent AoE damage, the White Mage's fault for not being able to give a 2000 damage cureskin, etc, etc, etc.

This is my biggest problem with people who play this game that is not related to cookie-cutter party/alliance set ups mentality. People who says stuff like "I can't wear -DT gear, it'll lower my DPS!"

My DPS is infinitely higher than yours when you're dead.

[Urmom]

This two, never underestimate how harsh defense-down can be (the potency varies from NM to NM)
Yeah to go with this even the same move can vary depending on the nm or nm vs normal mob. Like normal mob Aegis schism is strong but only -75%. Meanwhile when some Fomor nms use it it's at least -100%. Turns out you take a lot of dmg at 1 def even without full dt against pre/low ilvl stuff lol

[Shiyo]

A big thing for Paladins / Rune Fencers / any tank is not give up too much defensive stats while casting especially since some of the macro pieces available, especially to returning players are non-ilvl so missing the the much higher defense/mdb/vit/int/etc.

It can also be hard to gauge what something regularly hits for these days when you have to wonder if cureskin was in effect.

For instance, I prefer to keep my PLD in 40%+ DT at all times (midcast). When I'm not casting, I'm always -DT capped.

TL;DR: A lot of times people die, it's because they got caught midcast. Not saying that was the case for whoever at this NM, but I see newbie tanks die all the time because of this.



This two, never underestimate how harsh defense-down can be (the potency varies from NM to NM)

I don't think it's fun if you have to fulltime capped DT or you'll randomly die.

I also died with 40% PDT after the WS did literally 0 damage to me(didn't break cureskin) many, many, many times over the course of 2 hours. It would just randomly do more than my max hp or nearly my max and triple attack would kill me before a cure could go off.

That's why I don't understand damage ranges, they shouldn't be so extreme.

[Nyarlko]

Agla has innate DA/TA, so it's possible to see multihit procs on each of the three hits, making it a max of 9x hit ws, plus each hit can crit. >_>;;
Odds are good that you are getting smacked down by rng causing a combination of DA/TA/crits during the move.

...Just a sidenote, but if you were in Escha-Zitah for 2hrs, there is also a very high chance that your vorseals wore off... This is a bad thing, often leading to dirt naps. ^^;;

[Shiyo]

Agla has innate DA/TA, so it's possible to see multihit procs on each of the three hits, making it a max of 9x hit ws, plus each hit can crit. >_>;;
Odds are good that you are getting smacked down by rng causing a combination of DA/TA/crits during the move.

...Just a sidenote, but if you were in Escha-Zitah for 2hrs, there is also a very high chance that your vorseals wore off... This is a bad thing, often leading to dirt naps. ^^;;
I have no vorseals :(

[Nyarlko]

I have no vorseals :(

That would be your problem then. ^^;;
Vorseals are HUGE. They give static buffs that apply not only to you, but pets and trusts as well. They also apply full strength regardless of your job level.. By the time I was working on my 3rd 99, I had ~3-4 of each vorseal, which is why I was able to easily and endlessly chain while grinding on mobs 20+ levels above me in EZ when I was still leveling. Now for example, just by entering an escha zone, I gain acc+76.. Having a source of constant undispellable regen/refresh for me, my pet, and my trusts is also very very nice.

Something like 30% of vorseals come from non-Escha activities, so go out and do your missions and kill your HNMs and ride the airship. XD (Yes, you actually DO get a vorseal from doing the Where's Waldo quest 5x lol) BGWiki has an excellent full list of where/how to get all of the non-escha ones, and there are definitely some surprising ones (and annoying ones... like Chocobo racing and fishing...)
If you are just painfully lost and confused about Escha, ask your ls for help to clear out T1s so you can see what it's like and pick up a solid base of vorseals to work with. If your ls hates you, then EZ and ER T1s are also all soloable (with trusts and otherwise decent 119 gear) and all melt to a standard sc+mb strategy w/ little risk once you've learned the fights.

[Vashkoda]

It would just randomly do more than my max hp or nearly my max and triple attack would kill me before a cure could go off.

That's why I don't understand damage ranges, they shouldn't be so extreme.

Just wanted to point out that one-shot extreme damage attacks are an enemy mechanic that you will inevitably run into now and then. PLD has a disadvantage in that they don't have a direct means of mitigating them (except maybe by abusing specific timer-limited JA's), whereas RUN has foil and NIN has Migawari:Ichi that they keep on themselves nearly full time. To survive those attacks, you might otherwise need a SMN to cast Earthen Armor or a BRD to give you Sentinel's Scherzo to stay alive.

[OmnysValefor]

Pld has Reprisal, Much higher defense(maybe 30%?) and far better -dt options. PLD almost can't help but cap dt.

I've never had EA for anything and cleared everything but PW and Master Trials (not interested)

Scherzo for kirin sometimes if we had a bard (mage style) and probably albumen.

Foil is amazing but not 100% reliable. Run subs nin far far better than PLD.

[Nyarlko]

Just wanted to point out that one-shot extreme damage attacks are an enemy mechanic that you will inevitably run into now and then. PLD has a disadvantage in that they don't have a direct means of mitigating them (except maybe by abusing specific timer-limited JA's), whereas RUN has foil and NIN has Migawari:Ichi that they keep on themselves nearly full time. To survive those attacks, you might otherwise need a SMN to cast Earthen Armor or a BRD to give you Sentinel's Scherzo to stay alive.

XD That is what those JAs are there for ya know? lol

[PristineChicken]

Don't forget Fan Dance. Dancer is an amazing physical tank in a lot of circumstances. It's not too hard to throw together a good -DT set for Dancer, and Fan Dance is multiplicative -PDT, so that first hit you can get up to -95% PDT, and you can achieve a maximum lower bound of -60% PDT (-62.5% if you're using the relic hand augment). Pyrrhic Kleos is also the best Dagger WS in the game, and Waltzes allow self-healing to generate enmity, just like PLD can, except the Dancer can also dish out damage to help generate further enmity.

A Dancer won't be as good of a physical tank as an equivalently geared Paladin in most circumstances, but being able to pop Fan Dance in response to the enemy readying a high damage physical move, especially with WHMs who don't keep people topped off, can be extremely valuable.

[Urmom]

Don't forget pup!!! capped 87.5% pdt same for mdt with right frame and a bunch of bdt (not tested I think). Then bunches of mdb and regen. And weird alternative dmg mitigations attachments that factor separately like analyzer and steam jacket. Actually got it to where I could flat out eat quelling hammer from last months intense ambuscade while it was doing like 20k-30k to my normal non defensively geared characters. Granted they'd still die without overdrive or dawn mulsims and dmg was way lower with that setup but good way to get around things that are designed to definitely kill you.

Also run/pld af3 armors can be fun for 1 shot moves. Fun fact while taking dmg factors in things like dt/resist/sdt absorption doesn't

https://bucket.bluegartr.com/06b5d1335d38f80a7d2b1dce25ffedc9.png

[Fae]

Most the Escha NM's especially the zi'tah ones have a gimmick to proc them out of their most dangerous things. I don't think the procs are known for that mob, but for example Ferrodon will build attack as the fight goes on till the point his auto attacks are one shotting people, unless you reset his attack boosts with water elemental damage. Vidala will level up, but that is reset if you use wind elemental damage. Not all are proc related tho like, Angrboda will one shot an entire party at low hp as his aoe does more damage the lower his hp is, but if you are able to take the last 10 to 20% of his hp quickly then it's not a problem. Vyala has a death gaze move so you can't face him if you are the tank. Revetaur has multiple doom moves but is very weak to light damage. Gulltop's super evasion can be reset with earth damage. Zi'tah nms are that way more than the rest of escha, they are actually fun designs imo because they even though they are low level easy mode mobs are still really dangerous if you aren't careful or as most endgame players tend to do now just totally overwhelm them by killing them in a few seconds which is a shame imo because ya I'm going to do it too but when you can do that much damage you just bypass all mechanics of a fight.

[Nyarlko]

Some of my personal notes on EZ T1s after ~100x kills on each (from a non-overgeared perspective):

Ferrodon's attack boost is actually a Berserk effect, so you can actually take advantage of it to dish out some BIG numbers if you leave it up. It is a stacking buff, and is dispellable if you don't want to deal with it, but you have to dispel each stack separately. Amchuchu + Yoran-Oran do fine for me on that fight for the most part, but you also need to account for positioning since it has a spike flail type move and can go phys-dmg immune from the front. Fight it like a dragon and try to position on the front legs and watch out for goofy healer trusts running behind it ._.;;

I've never noticed any sort of damage increase for Angrboda's aoes. Most likely you are thinking of his tendency to combo his HP-down move into Crystal Rain, which can indeed be lethal. Also, Angrboda absorbs fire. Do your best to keep pro/shell dispelled since they severely nerf damage.

Gulltop can be proc'd by casting on it while it is casting magic, or using a JA on it while it is readying a tp move. Both procs interrupt whatever it was casting. Don't stand in front of it as Rhinowrecker will usually one-shot any non-tank. The evasion boost is not insanely high and can be ignored with enough acc, plus it can be dispelled.

Vyala absorbs light damage. Don't use Fusion/Light sc's. :x

Don't fight Revetaur on Lightsday or Darksday. His gimmick is a 100% uncurable Doom conal move that you can lockout by doing damage matching the gameday, and it can be tough to deal matching damage on those days with a lot of jobs. It's not technically a "gaze" move as the Doom will land even if you are facing away.

In general, one-shot moves are there to give us a reason to use stuff like Scherzo or Earthen Armor. None of the content is being designed around solo play, so it makes sense that they include mechanics which encourage/require group play or demand for certain jobs in order to succeed more easily.

[ErwingKilara]

I've never noticed any sort of damage increase for Angrboda's aoes. Most likely you are thinking of his tendency to combo his HP-down move into Crystal Rain, which can indeed be lethal. Also, Angrboda absorbs fire. Do your best to keep pro/shell dispelled since they severely nerf damage.

I'm a relatively newly-returned player who's just stated working on E-Z T1s as of the day before yesterday after having grind out Ambuscade for the full HQ Tali'ah set for my PUP. I believe the move they're referring to here with Angrboda is Volcaic Wrath(sp?) or something like that. It wipes my entire trust party with 2-3k damage when he uses it at low HP and I've had to kite him around and finish him off using the RNG PUP several times.

I do definitely agree these things are fun, and would be a lot better with other people. It's nice to, after mostly sleepwalking through catch-up content like Alluvion Skirmish and November's Ambuscade, actually have to consider strategy and maybe even bring a different job (or sub) before popping an NM.

[Tidis]

Don't forget pup!!! capped 87.5% pdt same for mdt with right frame and a bunch of bdt (not tested I think). Then bunches of mdb and regen. And weird alternative dmg mitigations attachments that factor separately like analyzer and steam jacket. Actually got it to where I could flat out eat quelling hammer from last months intense ambuscade while it was doing like 20k-30k to my normal non defensively geared characters. Granted they'd still die without overdrive or dawn mulsims and dmg was way lower with that setup but good way to get around things that are designed to definitely kill you.

Also run/pld af3 armors can be fun for 1 shot moves. Fun fact while taking dmg factors in things like dt/resist/sdt absorption doesn't

https://bucket.bluegartr.com/06b5d1335d38f80a7d2b1dce25ffedc9.png

My favourite absorb was a Dynamis run during the Abyssea era, I believe we were getting to the tail end of Dynamis linkshells but I was utilising some PLD empyrean while tanking, a mob used Mijin Gakure at abnormally high HP, the whole alliance was either dead or heavily damaged but I absorbed it, actually just looked and I still have the screenshot I took of it on my ffxiah account. Not able to post it here though.