Rescue — Wait, what?

[Jaelommiss]

I had an experience with the red-headed stepchild of healers' role actions today: Rescue. I'm sure most of us know what it does, but for any newer healers it as an instant oGCD Role Action that moves a targeted party member to your location.

In theory it's a great way to save a teammate who is unable to escape an aoe in time. In practice, thanks to latency and the animation delay, it mostly gets used to troll buddies and drag them to their deaths.

As mentioned, I had some exposure to this interesting, if relatively uncommon, ability earlier. I was running Tsukuyomi Ex with people I'd picked up through the Party Finder. Things were going great, dps was high, everyone stood where they needed to for mechanics, and the adds had been nuked into oblivion. In case you don't know what comes next, there are a set of meteors that fall on select party members (the off tank, one healer, and one dps) before exploding for an absolutely massive aoe. The selected players get a marker on them to warn them that several tons of exploding rock are inbound for their skull, and have a few seconds to run like a priest confronted with pedophilia charges.

I was the lucky lottery winner this time, panicked a little bit, and mashed sprint while moving to my waymark. In my frenzy I managed to reach the far side of the arena. With the overlapping aoes from the OT and dps I probably wouldn't have time to reach safety, but I started running anyway. Just as I resigned myself to an embarrassing death, I lost control of my movement and slid the remaining few yalms to the very edge of the aoe. My cohealer, seeing my plight, had run out into the aoe and used Rescue on me just in time to pull me to safety.

For the first time EVER I had seen Rescue get used properly, and more importantly, successfully.

Sadly my cohealer was unable to turn and retreat from the aoe in time, and died horribly as the meteors detonated. Farah, wielder of the mighty Rescue, memory of your sacrifice shall live on for at least a day or so.

My enthusiasm was not at all curbed by the grisly wipe that came a few minutes later.



Has anyone else ever seen Rescue get used successfully? This was the first time for me, and I've been playing for several months now.

[Legion88]

Rescue is an odd ball.
In statics it can be used and will be used for optimisation.
In PUGs it is a hit or miss and completly dependent on the skill and knowledge of the using healer.

[Duskane]

Its good for Train bomb when healer/dps needs to run back too (dont really need esuna anymore for o5s)

Itll find more uses when role skills are unlocked and not a option of 5

[gumas]

its definitely a niche skill, most of the time i just use it for fun or to help someone who "late" to avoid red aoe.

best example is like shinryu fight, when we reach phase 2 (the one we need to run to the edge of the map corner), there usually 1 or 2 poor sab who too late to reach the safety area, thats here my rescue come in handy.

[Erakir]

It can be used in preplanned groups pretty well in certain scenarios, yea, but it has times in DF as well.

Some places I take rescue in Duty Finder and have used it successfully include:

- Ravana, mostly to pull people from dying towards knockback in phase 2 with no wall but also to pull people away from "multiple giant cones the offtank gets hit by" or pulling someone behind Slaughter.
- Final Steps of Faith, uncommonly someone runs away with the Akh Morn stack instead of running to the group, or someone stuck in a cauterize with puddles in their way out.
- Shinryu, as Gumas said above, mostly for Shinryu's Dive - but also for the first tidal wave sometimes.
- Rathalos, to pull people behind the safety corpse to survive the giant fire breath
- Catastrophe, for people who don't get the memo to not stand in multiple quakes
- 24 mans, particularly the most recent Ridorina. Can use it on people stuck in Tsunami (annoying to time, have to have it go off after the knockback else it'll push them back in after the rescue), and various less common uses for mechanics in the other 3 bosses. Ancient Flare #2 can often catch a melee not paying attention in CT as well.

The places it sees the most use from me are Shinryu, Rathalos, and the 24 mans. Ravana too since it's one of the fights where going off the edge meant unrezzable for the rest of the fight.

I'll also take it for Sephirot and Sophia, as there are uses for it if someone doesn't know about Seph's knockback or arm swipe and Sophia's tilt 'n tumble, but I haven't had to use it in either of those. I've TRIED to use it in Ramuh to pull someone with a lightning circle to unstun a seduced player, but the few chances I've had I haven't been quick enough. Timing is pretty tight on that one. Wish rescue worked on the seduced target themselves, but nope, Rescue loves to miss on any target that currently can't move. I also take it on Singularity Reactor for the rare rare chance people are running towards towers to prevent paralyze, I'm there early, and one of the others is running from the other side of the arena. Yank them into one and quickly step into the other.

A common trend in most of those is there's enough time to see upcoming mechanics well in advance, since with randoms we really have to play around the stupidly long activation time and still pretty long drag animation. These are also fights where, cause it's normal, I can pretty easily just not take protect (or esuna if it's not needed) and woohoo I won't get cleric stance, whatever shall I do. If someone dies, no protect isn't a big deal in normal.

[vVAstrAVv]

Ive seen it used to pull people out of the griffins whirlwind in i forget what dungeon

[Rosa_Frandlia]

Ive seen it used to pull people out of the griffins whirlwind in i forget what dungeon

Don't forget to pads in Labyrinth too. I saw a healer use it on a ranged DPS that kept walking off despite being told keep 4 on the pad. Of course the pads at the end it is good for too and Behemoth's meteor.

[Tint]

I am playing a tank main and was rescued a few times in 24 mans in front of an untanked add, especially when i derped out and was at the wrong party marker ^^;

[Risvertasashi]

Has anyone else ever seen Rescue get used successfully? This was the first time for me, and I've been playing for several months now.

Mostly as a raid skill. Planned usage, contrary to the seeming intent. Allowing melee to LB when it would otherwise be too dangerous, or getting a DRK/BRD/MCH back to the boss faster after a knockback, that sort of thing.

[Rufalus]

Mostly as a raid skill. Planned usage, contrary to the seeming intent. Allowing melee to LB when it would otherwise be too dangerous, or getting a DRK/BRD/MCH back to the boss faster after a knockback, that sort of thing.

Yeah this is really creative use from the community. Breaking the horrible animation lock following LB usage by pulling the LB user and allowing them to keep fighting immediately after the hit is registered.