Quote Originally Posted by Secondplanet View Post
Please don't get me wrong but those fights are perfect the way they are, They make it so you have to learn the job. Find a summoner on your server who has done them and ask for tips, SE doesn't need to change the difficulty level of those fights, its not like you need the best of the best gear, when i did mine i was in with only spell interruption gear and i didn't have astrals which are useless in that fight anyways.
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The fights are perfect the way they are and do not need to be made easier. These fights are tough for a reason, They teach you a fundamental playstyle of SMN (Well, USed to be) and that was Kiting a mob. (Bomb Camps, Etc, back in the day that was good exp O.o)

It teaches you survivability too.

If i can win all 6 of them when my highest job was level 32 THF and i Barely had the gil to buy food, Theres no reason you shouldn't be able to win. The only one that took me more than 1 try was I think Shiva ironically. But i did win the second time.

Also, Theres no reason you should be spending "Millions" of gil. Truthfully those fights were one of the most enjoyable things i ever did as a SMN. it was a thrill and it gave me a real sense of accomplishment. The "Fame" Requirements were a bit over-the-top i think, Maybe they should be lessened/Removed, But letting 3 SMNs go in per fight would cheapen the fight to worthlessness where you learn nothing, Considering each of you would only need to astral flow once and the fight would be over.

Anyway, Since i don't want to make a completely useless post, I'll give you a general strategy that made mine quite easy. First off. DO NOT FORGET TO GO ON LIGHTSDAY ONLY, or the day the avatar you're after is Weak too. This will either enhance Carbies damage, or lower the other Avatars.

Also, Meds you need. Do not forget~
Yagudo Drink x3
Hi-Ether x3
(Hi-Potions if you want)

Now, Something that you may not know, Your buffs do not wear upon entry (IIRC!), Get a SCH Friend to cast Shell II, Protect II, and Stoneskin on you! Bonus if he can get Phalanx in. That way you have some lead-way when you're inside.

~When inside the BCNM, go to the Avatar (Out of aggro range) Cast Carbuncle > Use Astral Flow > Assault. I say use Astral flow before assault because using it after is more enmity as well. Now the problem with Bloodpacts is their low-range (Most of the time) so a nifty macro to have is:

"/ja "Bloodpact here" <t>
/wait 2
/ja "Assault" <t>

This will make your avatar follow the target during a Bloodpact rather than standing still. This is useful for the second/third Astral Flow when you don't want to be too close.

After you execute your Bloodpact, Run Just far enough until you see Carbuncles HP bar disappear, Then run a little further (I think in most of my fights the first left turn on the "hill" Was far enough). Wait for him to die and resummon. Your Bloodpact timer should be close to up at this point. Stay out of aggro range as best you can but do not let the Other Avatar go past that first turn. Take a hit if you absolutely have too.

Once carby has some sort of established hate, Run a little way aways and hit that macro above, The Avatar will likely come toward you but Carby will follow her using the BP, So you should continue to run away (At least its not like back in the day where "Too far away" = Wasted timer. Geez... suck it up). Once it goes off She will probably Astral Flow. Hopefully you're far enough away that the Height Difference (Did SE nerf the Fk out of that too for no reason?) or the distance will keep you alive. That or your Stoneskin+Shell you should have gotten.

At this point you want to run all the way back to the proto-crystal and wait for carbuncle to die if that Astral Flow already didn't do it, Resummon, And use your Final BP. This should kill it or be damn close. Now, Thats the trickiest part of this all.

I think the problem with today is that SE nerfed "Height" Difference on everything cause a few morons abused it for mobs like Amhuluk, so instead of just adjusting Amhuluk, SE nerfed a prominent Strategy for every mob in the game ever(?) Talk about curing the disease by killing the patient. Overkill. ..... So You might not be able to do what i did. But I'll tell you anyway.

You know the "hill" going from crystal > Avatar. At one point the hills come close to eachother, One above you and one you're on. It makes a left, Then a right, and goes on to the avatar. Well, When you're on the lower half, the Avatars BP cant hit you from the upper half (Or used too not be able too). This was one of the best strategies for the "Second Astral Flow" You would position Carby right up on that hill, and you run down to the bottom. When down there you're close enough to execute a Bloodpact. You would use your Second Astral Flow and this run, The Avatar will likely AF After and kill carby, But you're far enough away to be in the green for resummoning.

Now if you can't do that anymore, I admit the 20 fights need to be adjusted, because if you're unlucky and your Astral Flow triggers the avatars Astral flow its pretty much Game-over. You'll be in Red HP or lower, Carby will be dead, and the Avatar will be 2 feet from you ready to kick your ass. Theres no recovering from that. So you'd be better of petitioning SE To re-add the Height Fix in the 20 cap fights, since it played a key role.

Sometimes i wish i could re-do those fights for funsies... They were so much fun and rewarding back in the day , I remember getting frustrated sometimes when i lost, But working up the gil to do them again and actually winning. It made me feel so accomplished.

This was back in the day when there were very few SMNs, and most new SMNs didnt have all the Avatars unless they had high level friends (Which were also very rare) because the game was so new to the US/etc. So when i got all 6 Avatars it was like "Damn I'm boss". I didn't get Fenrir until i was level 52 Lol... Diabolos wasn't even out at the time.

Fun days...