Brayflox HM - Almost Impossible in Squadron with AST

In the current setup, it is extremely difficult to beat the final boss in Brayflox HM when you do it in your squadron.

1) They are the only class without an AOE skill, so they can't clear out the bombs quickly enough
2) They can't single target fast enough, even with Lightspeed and their instant cast Combust does no damage on the initial hit
3) The squadron chases the boss around and doesn't attack the goblin adds and don't know how to attack the bombs even with disengage/engage

The only way I was able to clear this was to stand on the edge so that I would only get hit by one bomb and constantly shield myself with Nocturnal Sect while the boss ran me over repeatedly.

To make this work normally:

1) AST needs to get Gravity at level 50 so that they can AOE like every other class can.
2) Have fewer bombs drop/reduce their damage
3) It would also help if the squadron AI would not keep trying to chase the invincible boss around the edge of the map rather than attacking the goblin adds.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jpmeyer

1) AST needs to get Gravity at level 50 so that they can AOE like every other class can.
2) Have fewer bombs drop/reduce their damage

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You found the AST solution without needing Gravity and without changing the number of bombs, though. I'd hardly call anything about this fight "almost impossible".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jpmeyer

3) It would also help if the squadron AI would not keep trying to chase the invincible boss around the edge of the map rather than attacking the goblin adds.

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Target a goblin and issue your order once. Kill it, target the other, issue another order. Once. They'll listen if you don't spam your orders.
If they're still not listening, then I dunno what to tell you. They listen to me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jpmeyer

In the current setup, it is extremely difficult to beat the final boss in Brayflox HM when you do it in your squadron.

1) They are the only class without an AOE skill, so they can't clear out the bombs quickly enough
2) They can't single target fast enough, even with Lightspeed and their instant cast Combust does no damage on the initial hit
3) The squadron chases the boss around and doesn't attack the goblin adds and don't know how to attack the bombs even with disengage/engage

The only way I was able to clear this was to stand on the edge so that I would only get hit by one bomb and constantly shield myself with Nocturnal Sect while the boss ran me over repeatedly.

To make this work normally:

1) AST needs to get Gravity at level 50 so that they can AOE like every other class can.
2) Have fewer bombs drop/reduce their damage
3) It would also help if the squadron AI would not keep trying to chase the invincible boss around the edge of the map rather than attacking the goblin adds.

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The solution for Brayflox HM is the same for all roles. As soon as the boss switches to invulnerable tell your squad to kill the adds, and when a bomb drops have them target one bomb, and then go stand where that bomb was to avoid getting killed by the other bombs.

Although you shouldn't have to, you could also just do the duty with a different role/job and pick something that can actually aoe the bombs more easily. I mean the duty itself was created before AST was even introduced so they weren't even considered, and I doubt SE are going to lower Gravity level requirement any time soon. The duty probably won't be balanced for squadron either when it's essentially the same as the duty you do solo/party via DF.

You don't *need* an AoE to beat the bomb part I've found. I've been doing this command mission on RDM recently, and while Scatter was nice for the clustered set of bombs, I used Jolt mostly. I would run to the back of the chamber as he would come to the stop before firing the bombs, then run to the center after he starts - maybe it was just me, but doing this, he put the cluster of bombs more to where I first was in the back when he started. Then I engage the Squadron on the center bomb, and I Jolt 2 (or 3 if I feel I have time) away that are nearby each other (like the front-right corner when facing the entrance). Most of the time, I only have to stand in 1 blast. Sometimes I make a small pocket where I'm completely safe. Didn't matter where the Squadron was standing, they lived through the bombs every time.

As for the goblins, definitely have your engage/disengage actions on a swivel. It's stupid that they chase the main boss. This post makes me want to try on AST. But on RDM, the goblins were never really an issue.

Hmmm I play AST , seems same mechanics though just need to work on timing switching targets really or you could try switching their AI setting a bit as well. Mine are set to Max aggressive setting. You could also try letting NPC handle healing they are actually quite smart.

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Originally Posted by ManuelBravo

or you could try switching their AI setting a bit as well. Mine are set to Max aggressive setting.

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There are no settings that have any impact on the AI. The only real control you have is over their stat distribution and targeting through Engage/Disengage.

I found this duty tricky even on NIN with fairly robust AoE options (GCD reduction through Huton + Katon off GCD). It really comes down to juggling that Engage/Disengage to try getting squad on proper targets, and probably a little bit of luck in getting the bombs in just the right position to find that sweet spot. It'd be nice, at least for squad missions, if the ground AoE indicators on the bombs were present earlier or lasted longer, so you could at least see if you've got a safe zone before the blast, since it's rather tricky to get very much space.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Clairefox

You don't *need* an AoE to beat the bomb part I've found. I've been doing this command mission on RDM recently, and while Scatter was nice for the clustered set of bombs, I used Jolt mostly. I would run to the back of the chamber as he would come to the stop before firing the bombs, then run to the center after he starts - maybe it was just me, but doing this, he put the cluster of bombs more to where I first was in the back when he started. Then I engage the Squadron on the center bomb, and I Jolt 2 (or 3 if I feel I have time) away that are nearby each other (like the front-right corner when facing the entrance). Most of the time, I only have to stand in 1 blast. Sometimes I make a small pocket where I'm completely safe. Didn't matter where the Squadron was standing, they lived through the bombs every time.

As for the goblins, definitely have your engage/disengage actions on a swivel. It's stupid that they chase the main boss. This post makes me want to try on AST. But on RDM, the goblins were never really an issue.

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I spent an hour getting frustrated with this today, if I'm ever desperate enough to try it again, i might remember this. but to be honest, unless its a requirement for something I will never ever go into Brayflox HM with the squadron again :D

If you don't enjoy Squadron as ast, there are other ways to level it. Like, with it being a healer, queues aren't even an excuse. I'd *rather* tanks and healers be miserable in squadron so they're encouraged to run actual content with actual people.

People who don’t play ast do not get it. We literally have to go to extreme lengths just to push the bombs. It’s almost impossible. This needs a serious nerf for squadrons.