Cactuars

How are you supposed to take on more than 3 Cactuars - because it's pretty much a guarantee that while taking on 3 of these solo, one of them is going to use 1000 needles on your, which with me at R18 Lancer and about 800HP is an instant kill.

Every time i've come up against this i've ended up dead, and they're a pretty regular occurence in Behests and some r20 leves.

Anybody got any tactics for cactuars?

Cactuars have the 1000 neddles but are pretty weak...you actually might be able to get them down pretty fast. At this rank all i can suggest you , though, is to get TP at nearby mobs so you can enter fight with enough TP for at least 2 500TP WSs and take the first one down in instants.

But i do agree that lesser cactuars should have the 1k needles adjusted to players' HP...maybe making lesser ones actually use "500 needles" instead of 1k.

I've decided to avoid the cactuar based R20 leves untill i'm around R21 and at least have over 1k HP as it is. Too many deaths, too much broken equipment :' (

One thing I've noticed is that they tend to do 1K needles when they are below 50% hp. So the tactic I use is to build TP until they are just below half life and hit em hard, and hope the WS takes them out. Usually I manage to succeed. This also leads to needing to avoid aoe around them, too.

When I was around that level, pretty simple: I avoided every single cactuar leve.
When you face 3 cactuars R18, you're simply too weak to deal with all of them before you get 1000 niddled.

R20+ it gets easier: you should somehow be around 1000hp and you're stronger. At even higher ranks, the cactuars will be dead before they can use their skill.

Yes I discovered this horrible scenario as well trying "A leg Up" on my rank 18 gladiator.

You could also find someone to do these leves with, as thousand needle damage is split amongst party members. So with 2 players in party each will only take 500 damage.

I didn't have a problem with this leve as Con or Thm. One aoe spell almost 1 shot them at rank 18. Of course it's way different now. I haven't done that leve in a while since like 6 months ago.

We'll be making some adjustments to balance these issues in 1.19.
(Introducing cactuar's new 833 Needles ability! Just kiddin' ;))

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

(Introducing cactuar's new 833 Needles ability! Just kiddin' ;))

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Hah~ Epic.

Do something with the level 999 sabotenders walking around out there. it's just odd.

To be quite honest, the best counter to 1k needles at that rank is to bring friend's. when that is not an option and i see that leve pop up i generally just don't take it.

Best way to do it is to make 1000 Needles a rank 40 ability or something. I mean would they give a player an ability that was 1000 damage guaranteed at the ranks these cactuars have it?

They could just make it avoidable or disruptable. Right now it isn't really possible as the ability fires instantly and most classes don't have a reliable way to stop it even if it didn't. I'd imagine that will be changing post 1.19.

- Kill 1 cactuar and run,reset the battle and recup,
- kill 1 cactuar and run, reset the battle and recup,
- finish the last

If you try to kill all in one time, you are dead.

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

We'll be making some adjustments to balance these issues in 1.19.
(Introducing cactuar's new 833 Needles ability! Just kiddin' ;))

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Good news! ^^

I didn't think it was that bad. Just use some logic and slow their tp gain, and use as many AoE moves as you can. If that doesn't work, that's what all the other people in this game are there for... to help. SMH it's always gotta be dumbed down. No offense

Leves are meant for solo, though, and at that rank that move... is unbalanced =X

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Originally Posted by Estellios

Leves are meant for solo, though, and at that rank that move... is unbalanced =X

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I agree. The higher cactuars (haired ones) can use 1000 needles without any problem...but the lesser ones shouldn't by the simple fact it has a potential risk of OHKO people. IMO Cacturas shouldn't even be in r20- leves...at r30 you have some decent HP already and can survive a random 1k dmg...but at lower rank it does is unbalanced.

I don't understand why we always have to dumb stuff down or make it easier. It's a cactuar, it does 1000 needles, just like it always has. This is a Final Fantasy game. Are we gonna have the dev team remove bad breath from Malboros and Grudge from Tonberrys just so leves are "easier?" And yes, I know we don't have Malboros or Tonberrys yet but I assume they'll be added at some future point. I never had an issue with the cactuar leves at Horizon or encountering them in behest, even while soloing. You just have to know what you're doing, and sometimes you wipe, that is part of MMORPG life.

I really hope they don't do away with the 1,000 Needles staple move of the cactuar. All cactuars should be able to do this. If anything, make it so that the weaker cactuars do it later than stronger ones, or are less likely to. But the best idea? Simply change it so that the leve is suited to a different rank.

Be a Pugilist and dodge it ;D

All cactuar's at all ranks should have 1k needles, i'd disagree with anyone who says otherwise on this one, it's their signuture move with out it they'd just be a plant :).

Should there be cactuar's in R20 leves this is the real question personally i think it's not that big a issue, in all ranks there is leves that unless your with friends you wouldn't want to try it as soon as you hit the appropriate rank.
But if there is guild marks attached to that leve i can see this could be a issue for some. i could say that all you need to do is not feed them too much TP, divide and conquer or use a ability to stun/avoid it, but it is a R20 leve new players will probably still be finding finding their feet once they get to this one. then again this will also be good practice for new players the 1st real callange.

personally i liked this leve i did die a few times 1st time i attempted it but i still finished it as soon as i worked out the best way (for me) to do it. i can see the reason for the complaint about it being too hard for a R20 leve, but imo i see more a complaint about a game offering a callange some people do not have patience to over come. Kinda like that jump in Zool i just counldn't get right, would have been better to have no gaps to jump and be able to run straight from the start of the level to the end. I don't mean to offend anyone just trying to put in to contex what you're asking for by requesting this leve be removed.

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Originally Posted by Albio

Are we gonna have the dev team remove bad breath from Malboros and Grudge from Tonberrys

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I hope they add Everyones Grudge/Rancor and throat stab, just for the entertaimnet value of the forum threads that will arise from them cos they are all horrable abilities that make 1k needles look like 1k cotton balls.

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Originally Posted by Albio

And yes, I know we don't have Malboros

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We do. As far as I can tell, you can find some of them at The Black Shroud.

OT: I'm against changing typical moves of some mobs (like 1000 needles for cactuars, whatever rank they are). As stated on previous replies there are some solutions for this "issue", just pick one.
On a side note, I do agree with the fact that 3 cactuars at once at that ranks is pretty difficult (when soloing), so I guess that's where the unbalanced situation comes from.

Thats what stoneskin is for lol!!

I haven't done this leve since before the battle changes, but the danger of being one-shotted was what made it really fun. They were slow to use 1,000 needles, so I simply made sure I moved faster than they did.

.....I like to fight Cactuars.
10,000 Needle NM Cactuars "Can I have it, Please?"

Cactuars are no probs as THM/CON, I was wiping out groups with ease without taking any needles damage.

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Originally Posted by Mudd

Be a Pugilist and dodge it ;D

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I was about to post this but was reading to see if anyone already had. Personally I don't understand how you are going to dodge ALL 1000 needles. This is not the matrix, and I don't see my character in slow-mo dodging all the needles in bullet-time lmao. I'd like it more if a dodge constituted a second player.

For example
Cactuar uses 1000 needles on a PUG. They take 1000
Cactuar uses 1000 needles on a PUG who dodges. They take 500
Cactuar uses 1000 needles on a party of 4. They each take 250
Cactuar uses 1000 needles on a party of 4 who's pugilist dodges. They each take 200.

As much as I love panicking sh*tless when I have 800~ HP and they ready 1000 needles. It also bothers me that I completely evaded that attack, because that's just not possible. It never was, even in XI with utsu up you would take 996~999 if I remember correctly.

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Originally Posted by Haledos

How are you supposed to take on more than 3 Cactuars - because it's pretty much a guarantee that while taking on 3 of these solo, one of them is going to use 1000 needles on your, which with me at R18 Lancer and about 800HP is an instant kill.

Every time i've come up against this i've ended up dead, and they're a pretty regular occurence in Behests and some r20 leves.

Anybody got any tactics for cactuars?

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Trick is to try and use aoe moves combo'd with raging strike or ferocity, if you have sentinel, I believe it reduces 1k needles dmg, and featherfoot can also let you evade it.

Lol, best way i've found to do these. Attack a single cactuar, kill it, then run the hell away. the cactuars will return to thier area, and then you can heal up and repeat. still a pain in the ass, but doable.

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Originally Posted by BlaiseLallaise

One thing I've noticed is that they tend to do 1K needles when they are below 50% hp. So the tactic I use is to build TP until they are just below half life and hit em hard, and hope the WS takes them out. Usually I manage to succeed. This also leads to needing to avoid aoe around them, too.

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Basically this ^

Cactuar don't use 1k needles until after 50% life. Just get em to 50% and then WS. Usually the WS will kill them at that point and 1k needles becomes a non-issue. I did "a leg up" today using this method and didn't get hit with needles once.

When I fight three of them at once and one uses 1000 needles, it hurts the other cactuars too and divides the damage done to me, as long as they are still alive. So my advice is to get all three cactuars down to low health before you finish any of them off, then use an AOE attack to finish them all at once.

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Originally Posted by panzertroll

- Kill 1 cactuar and run,reset the battle and recup,
- kill 1 cactuar and run, reset the battle and recup,
- finish the last

If you try to kill all in one time, you are dead.

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Too bad they actually keep their TP ready for the skill, so as soon as you re-engage they MAY just own your face off with 1000 needles anyways.

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Originally Posted by Estellios

Leves are meant for solo, though, and at that rank that move... is unbalanced =X

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Maybe for DoW. But for DoM they are very soloable. Just use many AoE spells you can and kill all at once. If you see them activating 1000 needles use punishing barbs.

It does not need to be easier ! Cactuar is cactuar, lol. 1k needle is in every game and in party it is divived amongst the members, so in 4/4 pt - 250 for each, no big deal :D

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Originally Posted by Synthesis

It does not need to be easier ! Cactuar is cactuar, lol. 1k needle is in every game and in party it is divived amongst the members, so in 4/4 pt - 250 for each, no big deal :D

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In FF8, 10,000 needles was not divided.

I do this leve a lot as a R22 Gladiator lvl25.
I just build TP from the weaker mobs around until i hit 3000. Then I simply chain 3 AoE WS to kill the whole group of cactuars.

It works every time :)

Good lord I hate Cactuars lol. Died 3 times on my THM last night.