Pugs in DF Can't do A12

[Lorielle]

Right...And...That has nothing to do with NA Data Center's skill level. Only tells one how X Center Operates. NA likes to operate under the mindset of "It's my way or the high way" where the other center typically follow one strategy regardless of how many there are out there.

[RLofOBFL]

All of the Alexes are extremely easy for everyone who pays minimal attention to mechanics(besides healers have it kinda rough).Like A9 is a 4, A10 is a 2, A11 is a 4, & A12 is a 4. If you can do the dps of a 210 then you'll be fine as long as you follow the like 5 mechanics....idk why people have so much trouble with NORMAL mode that was built specifically FOR pugs while still being a minor challenge. IF you know how to play FFXIV then these raids are unbelievably easy(again except heals, which is kinda tough).

[FinalWolf]

People couldn't handle ZA WARUDO

[TSLsmokey]

I only truly had difficulty with A9 and that only had one vote abandon. The rest of them went pretty smoothly with 2 wipes on a10, 1 on a11, and none on a12. I suppose I got lucky considering the chaos that A7 and 8 caused. I'll probably edit this when I get more data from more runs later, already did my weekly runs for them and don't really have any reason to go back at this time til Tuesday.

[ColorOfSakura]

9 different groups, 9 different vote abandons (after 2-3 wipes each).

Every group so far has gotten past the tank Lb3 mechanic, but after that every group has wiped shortly after, constantly.

What happened to making content approachable for casual gamers? one person even asked if it was on savage ( he wasn't even joking).

Don't tell people you plan to make content more accessible then make content that isn't accessible.

Not even going to que for my 10th run, because I know in my head, it's just going to be another vote abandon.

Alexander is a raid. It isn't meant to be accessible to everyone.

If people can't figure out how to play their jobs or dodge mechanics, then they should go back to the easytown content that the game is full of. Alexander Normal isn't that hard - even with DF groups. But the later you get into the week, the less likely you are going to find parties that can clear it (because all the players that are farming the content for their tokens do so on the first day of reset, usually.)

[aesteval]

9 different groups, 9 different vote abandons (after 2-3 wipes each).

Every group so far has gotten past the tank Lb3 mechanic, but after that every group has wiped shortly after

2 - 3 wipes is too few for vote abandon. I ended up with my first clear on PUG. It took at least 2 - 3 wipes for everyone to learn the mechanics and one of the wipes was due to all DPS being dead when they needed to pursue adds. But with each wipe something new was learned and progress was made. You need to be able to fail to learn the fight.

[Jijifli]

9 different groups, 9 different vote abandons (after 2-3 wipes each).

Every group so far has gotten past the tank Lb3 mechanic, but after that every group has wiped shortly after, constantly.

What happened to making content approachable for casual gamers? one person even asked if it was on savage ( he wasn't even joking).

Don't tell people you plan to make content more accessible then make content that isn't accessible.

Not even going to que for my 10th run, because I know in my head, it's just going to be another vote abandon.

I'm sorry your groups have to now deal with just the smallest bit of difficulty and individual responsibility. It must be hard not just getting free pixels.

And by the way, if your group does the simple mechanics correctly, it's one of the easiest fights.

[Myriads]

I've run it 7 times now, in pursuit of the TT card drop. And my 7 clears are matched by 5 groups that abandoned. So it's a coin flip with DF on it to me.

The two things that seem to do in most groups are:

1) Failure to stack right or a green mark stacking with the yellow and mass death resulting, leading to a DPS shortage in the last phases.

2) The second gravity circle/cleave move that is often death by bad luck of position. I've seen that take down both healers more then once.

Other wipes people seem to learn from, and clears result with another try.

I feel the difficulty is pretty solid for a non-ex level raid. And the poster above that said the later in the week you try the worse it is, is spot on. Once the supply of folks starts to get willowed down by getting their drops the challenge level increases. (I was on one run where a Tank AND a Healer ran into the DPS damage check bubbles. The party takes 99999 damage if that check fails, I can attest to that! )

[Evangela]

How easy is A12:

- No one-shot mechanics. Even if you get hit by something, it's not gonna kill you, you also don't get any debuff from getting hit.

- Nothing to dodge. Compared to A11, this fight is very dragoon-friendly.

- Lame DPS check. You only have one DPS race part: the winged adds. And even if you fail it, it's not gonna kill you. Very very easy compared to A5, A7, A8, A11, and many other casual bosses that failing DPS race = wipe.

- Very forgivable. A mistake of players will not wipe the party. Maybe not for the green signal & gathering part but that's as easy as a cake walk.

[HyoMinPark]

How easy is A12

While A12 is not game-breakingly hard, this information is incorrect. To clarify:

- No one-shot mechanics. Even if you get hit by something, it's not gonna kill you, you also don't get any debuff from getting hit.

There are two one-shot mechanics: one involves use of tank lb3, otherwise you will be hit with a massive amount of damage. It is an insta-wipe. This is after the first add phase. The second is part of the "adds in orbs" DPS check: if the DPS don't kill them in time, it is an insta-wipe for the raid.

There are vulnerability and damage down debuffs in a12. If you are hit by the red and black circle AOEs on the ground, they give you both lasting for about a minute. Also, if you stand in the little pools he drops on those that are tethered, they give stacking bleed debuffs.

- Nothing to dodge. Compared to A11, this fight is very dragoon-friendly.

There is plenty to dodge: Sacrament, the black and red AOE circles on the ground, and the pools that drop around those that are tethered are just some things you need to dodge. A lot of wipes happen because people don't dodge these, and end up tanking the floor. While there may not be as much dancing as there is in a11, there are still mechanics that are best dodged rather than eaten.

- Lame DPS check. You only have one DPS race part: the winged adds. And even if you fail it, it's not gonna kill you. Very very easy compared to A5, A7, A8, A11, and many other casual bosses that failing DPS race = wipe.

Incorrect; there are two DPS checks, and one can lead to a wipe. The first is the winged add phase in the beginning, and while no, it won't kill you, it still hurts. And it actually can cause fatalities if your healers are not on top of things. I have died (as MT) and my OT has died due to their Almost Holies going off all at once while we are still tanking other adds because the healers are doing...well idk what they were doing. The second is the adds in the orbs phase after Alex Prime's "ultimate attack" (tank lb3 mechanic). If the DPS don't kill the adds in time, it's an insta-wipe. Had that happen several times too.

- Very forgivable. A mistake of players will not wipe the party. Maybe not for the green signal & gathering part but that's as easy as a cake walk.

Some mistakes can. If people don't stack/stack properly during aggravated assault, it can lead to healer death (notice a lot of people tend to run towards the healer with the green marker, or even the prey marker, like why), which is basically a wipe unless you have a SMN in your party to raise one of them. Also, if all the DPS do not go into the orbs to kill the adds, it can lead to a wipe. Had one run where only 3 went into the orbs, and I guess they either didn't know you could jump platforms, or the DPS was really slow, but we wiped. I have cleared that phase before when I ran in as OT because one DPS was dead.



All that being said, I have run and cleared a12 several times, and used DF to do it. Only one resulted in a vote abandon. The others were cleared with maybe 1 or 2 wipes due to new people sort of stumbling over mechanics. Most runs I've had have had no wipes. So it really is the luck of the draw with DF. If all else fails, make a PF, ask your FC, ask your linkshells. I go in with at least 2-3 friends each time and it is smooth sailing even with newbies most runs.