PSA: Garuda EX Tanking

[Traek]

PS: Chirada provides Garuda immunity; no Flame Arrow, no tapping her with DoTs, nothing will damage her until Chirada gone.

Suparna is the stoneskin to Garuda, not Chirada.

With a 1 heal party, 4 ranged/1 melee you can have ranged burn Suparna, and keep Melee on Chirada the whole time. Suparna should be dead before jump, and Chirada will get burnt fast after, making this a very safe strat for melee.

Suparna/Garuda do their x2 Wicked Wheel fairly early in, I wouldn't call a group bad if they get it. Over 95% of pugs will.

[Dhex]

Suparna is the stoneskin to Garuda, not Chirada.

With a 1 heal party, 4 ranged/1 melee you can have ranged burn Suparna, and keep Melee on Chirada the whole time. Suparna should be dead before jump, and Chirada will get burnt fast after, making this a very safe strat for melee.

Suparna/Garuda do their x2 Wicked Wheel fairly early in, I wouldn't call a group bad if they get it. Over 95% of pugs will.

I didn't know it's a Stoneskin effect.

I assumed since the tether between Chirada and Garuda is green she was the defense/immunity buff, and the tether between Suparna and Chirada is red as it's controlling the extra Wicked Wheel.

Either way; even most of the PF and even DF groups I've cleared Garuda EX with have had Chirada down before Suparna and Garuda finish the feather rain and come back to hit a Wicked Wheel set - and even then using a pendulum motion (swing left to right or right to left) you can dodge one of them as they stop and trigger the animation - if needed.

Tanks take a lot of heat in this fight - but in all honesty it relies on DPS putting down DoTs on Garuda whenever available and not holding back in any of the phases.

Personally I've cleared this as a BLM/BRD/MNK/WAR/PLD and as far methodology I find the strategy I quoted earlier is least susceptible to confusion in a PF/DF group. I know some people like the triple-split but you know what they say about having too many moving parts...

[Lemon8or]

A few mechanics I've found helpful for this fight:
_ Garuda and Suparna switch place or as you call it jump when Chirada's HP reaches 50%. This is why on fast DPS group, WW happens after jump and on slow DPS group, WW happens before jump.
_ Once Chirada is dead, Suparna can't do WW anymore, just Downburst and Slipstream. This is the mechanic the OP's strategy is based on so melees are always safe from WW.
_ Once Suparna is dead, Garuda loses the stoneskin and also does not do WW anymore. This is the mechanic suparna-only strategy is based on.
_ First time the sister spawns, WW follows Suparna's Slipstream while in the tornado phase, it follows Garuda's second Slipstream. You have about 5 seconds for the tornado phase, first phase is almost instant.

[Traek]

I didn't know it's a Stoneskin effect.

I assumed since the tether between Chirada and Garuda is green she was the defense/immunity buff, and the tether between Suparna and Chirada is red as it's controlling the extra Wicked Wheel.

Either way; even most of the PF and even DF groups I've cleared Garuda EX with have had Chirada down before Suparna and Garuda finish the feather rain and come back to hit a Wicked Wheel set - and even then using a pendulum motion (swing left to right or right to left) you can dodge one of them as they stop and trigger the animation - if needed.

Almost all groups down Chirada first, and I believe it is because they watched a video that told them too. I do not think in a *majority* of scenarios, that downing Chirada first is the right one. Even all ranged parties do this, and it sort of blows my mind. All ranged parties have the strict *advantage* of not getting hit by Wicked Wheel. Killing Suparna first removes this, which removes really any threat to the MT's life. Killing Suparna first for ranged should be a given. There is of course the other strategy of killing Suparna and ignoring Chirada completely (OT just holds), as Lemon mentions above. This is a good one for Melee if you can down Suparna before WW, which is also good if Melee LB Suparna for the extra *oomf* and the group just burns Garuda after Suparna.

Overall I was just hoping to help out some Melee's and the stigma against them in pugs. I still see it around and going strong on my server. The attitude is its always the melee's fault, when in reality we are setting them up to fail. I am not denying in any way that Melee can get out of WW, but really, when you look at the fight and its design, it does not lend itself to the current "accepted" strategy.

[Dhex]

-

There are really three "accepted" strategies - they vary depending on your group composition and who you've got in your group.

My experience with this fight leads me to prefer Chirada burn. It's the easiest for me to tank, and was easier for me as a melee DPS. It requires less planning and less "moving parts" as I said earlier. It lets the Healers focus their effort on a single target rather than splitting attention (for any reason) and all of that makes it the safest method I've used.

Safer is better for most groups.

I've seen tanks eat a double Downburst and Wicked Wheel on Chirada + Garuda and fold in the first sister phase - just the same as I've seen tanks fold to a double Wicked Wheel. So whichever method people use - I still would err on the side of caution and do Garuda + Suparna as a main tank unless DPS or Healers request otherwise.

[Traek]

There are really three "accepted" strategies - they vary depending on your group composition and who you've got in your group.

My experience with this fight leads me to prefer Chirada burn. It's the easiest for me to tank, and was easier for me as a melee DPS. It requires less planning and less "moving parts" as I said earlier. It lets the Healers focus their effort on a single target rather than splitting attention (for any reason) and all of that makes it the safest method I've used.

Safer is better for most groups.

I've seen tanks eat a double Downburst and Wicked Wheel on Chirada + Garuda and fold in the first sister phase - just the same as I've seen tanks fold to a double Wicked Wheel. So whichever method people use - I still would err on the side of caution and do Garuda + Suparna as a main tank unless DPS or Healers request otherwise.

I realize there are more strategies, the only "accepted" one that is constantly used (this is my server, and I have literally never seen a pug do it different) is MT Garuda/Suparna, OT Chirada, burn Chirada > Suparna > Garuda. It is really to the point I have to spam in chat with <se.1> for people to stop attacking Chirada, when I've said from the beginning to attack Suparna first as the strat. Its so engrained in them they forget.

Just an FYI, I wasn't talking about MT taking Chirada. In a Suparna burn MT still takes Suparna, OT takes Chirada. Ranged burns Suparna, and either leave Chirada alone on OT, or they do Suparna > Chirada > Garuda. If only one melee in group, they can stick on Chirada and never be in danger, or do the Suparna burn with LB to not have a chance of WW killing them (if DPS is good).

This method I'm describing actually is "safer" for both melee, and tanks which relieves pressure on healers like you seem to think standard Chirada burn does. No difference in tanking.

[Dhex]

Just an FYI, I wasn't talking about MT taking Chirada. In a Suparna burn MT still takes Suparna, OT takes Chirada. Ranged burns Suparna, and either leave Chirada alone on OT, or they do Suparna > Chirada > Garuda. If only one melee in group, they can stick on Chirada and never be in danger, or do the Suparna burn with LB to not have a chance of WW killing them (if DPS is good).

That's different I'll have to try it - when people have asked for Suparna burn they always insist the OT take it then take Chirada 2nd. I like the method you're describing better than what people are doing when they focus Suparna first.