Garuda EM harder than HM and EX?

Got slotted into a normal Garuda for duty roulette last night (as WHM) and kept wiping.

I one-shot HM easily and even EX is less stressful (yet to beat but don't blame me, tank kept dying-- I was DPS)

What gives!?

To be fair, I hadn't done the fight in so long I felt like I was learning the mechanics all over again AHEM MINSTREL SHRIEK--

I don't expect to get this very often, but I was just curious what other people found after being dropped back into Garuda EM after endgame content.

I did it not too long ago and mopped the floor with her. Even neglected to tank LB for Aerial Blast and got through without a hitch. What can get you if you forgot she does it is the jump when you're in the middle where she goes to the rock. If you don't stack at the far end of the Eye she'll wipe you.

It's that hm and ex are generally overgeared, which isn't possible in storymode.

Also, (since you were using the roulette) this was a thrown-together group of unfamiliar players, several of whom were probably doing it for the first or second time. Most people do Ex primals in a partially-premade group, with a lot of experience, optimal gear, and sometimes voice chat. HM seems harder than garuda Ex to me, simply because I've done Ex a thousand times, versus doing HM for relics only.

Helped tank garuda story mode recently, we wipe once. 2nd time everyone dies except me, so I solo her in the end.
What happen was players do not know how to dodge when she go to the upper stone for Shriek, you are suppose to run to the opposite direction far from her to avoid the damage.

Was in the queue for roulette the other day when a new player sent me a tell asking if I could join her for Garuda storymode, queue was less than 5m so I said sure & withdrew to join her party. We wiped once (other DPS didn't know to protect the rocks - tank & I actually survived that hit but I wasn't able to spam enough physick to keep him up), and then beat her easily on the second try. I've only done Garuda HM once and we beat her after a few wipes, but I found HM much more difficult; probably because I didn't know the fight though. I haven't tried Garuda EX, still stuck at Titan HM, so I'll reserve judgement on that comparison.

Tank and heal this whenever I get really bored. I always put a square over my head to remind people where they need to go. If you forget the mechanics its easy to slip and drop the ball. Especially when people don't remember to run across when in the middle when she does that one ability/shriek on half of the room. I've seen plenty of gloaters die to it very easy especially when I'm jumping up and down with a square on my head. (They say - Don't need to follow you I've beaten ex). What I'm really trying to get at is that if people don't remember the mechanics they die. 99% of the time.

I've beaten and done merc jobs for titan ex way back in the day. NP solo heal. Then I stepped into it again for the first time in week and got my ass handed to me because I forgot the mechanics. lol. (Felt like a horrible player had to keep doing it until I won again. but you know what? Shit happens. ) Just try to keep your head in the game and listen for instructions.

It's Just mechanics/knowing where to be for what, if people if the df where doing it for the 1st time and/or not knowing the fight yes it could be considered hard. More times you do something more easy it gets, I've helped fc members with this in the past and jumping into it without knowing where she jumps/what to expect could make it hard/a wipe. But usually by the 2nd attempt it's a win. With the quest opening @44 some will join in 44 or lesser gear, people doing this in (lv45)AF/GC weapon will find this more easy. Imo it's the 1st eye opener in the game that says learn 2 dodge or die from your mistakes for every job. If I remember correctly it's the 1st encounter where the tank needs to dodge something from casting bar and not big don't stand here pulsating orange marker.

Yeah. What really killed us at the end were people not being used to Minstrel Shriek, which is nigh insta-wipe, and as a WHM my healing abilities are severely limited by my MP so I can't raise people willy-nilly at that level. Also, I wasn't overgeared for the fight either.

Well, good to know. I doubt I'll get it again though.