Tales from Duty Finder: Some make you laugh, some make you cry. Let's vent.

[InkstainedGwyn]

The only time I get mad about an early LB is if we're learning a fight and there's a good chance we'll need the rez later (the farther we can get, the better, even if we're not going to clear, or if we're going to clear just before enrage, it's at least a clear versus knowing we always die at "x mechanic".)

Otherwise? Pick the best time between mechanics and let it go. Then you have the chance to build another one back up and get just that much more damage in.

[Enla]

The only time I get mad about an early LB is if we're learning a fight and there's a good chance we'll need the rez later (the farther we can get, the better, even if we're not going to clear, or if we're going to clear just before enrage, it's at least a clear versus knowing we always die at "x mechanic".)

Otherwise? Pick the best time between mechanics and let it go. Then you have the chance to build another one back up and get just that much more damage in.

Same. The only time's I get annoyed is when I'm in learning/clear parties for Raids and we're either dealing with new mechanics, or the party has proven allergic to keeping themselves alive. There's been a few Extremes I've been a part of where certain mechanics would wipe the party almost consistently but some DPS decided 'HEY LET'S USE THIS' even as things are going pear shaped. I'm under no illusions with Extremes that the healer LB3 would actually save a run most of the time, but even just a few more minutes of experience to work on mechanics can make all the difference in making sure the next attempt might work out.

Other than that? I see LB's get held so often that if the boss is at his last percentile and it's easy content, I'll just pop it myself for the sake of screenshot fodder. Might as well make some use of it if nobody is going to use it when it actually matters, since the animation often takes longer than it takes to chip off that last 1%.

[InkstainedGwyn]

Oh though, speaking of LB3s. Somehow I managed to die in the middle of the rez LB3 the other night on a Suzaku run and I... rezzed myself with my own LB3.

I'm still not sure how that happened, but I'm also not going to complain. I think I have a knack of hitting things just at the "how the f***" right moment - I was running through the entrance into the trash pull pre-Cid the other night in Orbonne at the exact second that the portal closed - and it killed me and spit me out. (There's no one shot mechanic on those mobs and no way it could have been the battle.)

Like, what the hell?

[Iscah]

. I'm still not sure how that happened, but I'm also not going to complain. I think I have a knack of hitting things just at the "how the f***" right moment - I was running through the entrance into the trash pull pre-Cid the other night in Orbonne at the exact second that the portal closed - and it killed me and spit me out. (There's no one shot mechanic on those mobs and no way it could have been the battle.)

Like, what the hell?

I've been killed by a barrier in the same way. Ran through at the last second, was inside the arena, then suddenly dead.

I wonder what the actual mechanism is. The barriers aren't normally instant-kill if you touch them.

[MetalSnakeXI1]

Just so you're aware, "Shield ticks" don't exist.
A shield is applied once, and then it just sits there, generating 0 enmity past the initial application.
As opposed to Regen ticks, which mechanics wise essentially have the user passively cast a healing spell on the target over and over.

My bad....didn't know what to call the shield countdown so i just said ticks xD

[Liam_Harper]

Otherwise? Pick the best time between mechanics and let it go. Then you have the chance to build another one back up and get just that much more damage in.

As a rule, I don't do this personally. I'll dps LB at the last 10% fine, but even in competent 390+ Seiryu farm parties that I've just witnessed kill the boss flawlessly 3 times, a sudden mess up that leaves 6 players dead is highly possible. I see it all the time. I've seen it 3 times in the last week. It doesn't even matter if it's "easy" content like a Shinryu normal or Rabanastre or something, a pug can mess it up.

In these cases, not using lb3 earlier so the healer has access to it absolutely saves the run. It's not worth the risk just to shave a few seconds off the time unless you're cutting enrage tightly.

[InkstainedGwyn]

As a rule, I don't do this personally. I'll dps LB at the last 10% fine, but even in competent 390+ Seiryu farm parties that I've just witnessed kill the boss flawlessly 3 times, a sudden mess up that leaves 6 players dead is highly possible. I see it all the time. I've seen it 3 times in the last week. It doesn't even matter if it's "easy" content like a Shinryu normal or Rabanastre or something, a pug can mess it up.

In these cases, not using lb3 earlier so the healer has access to it absolutely saves the run. It's not worth the risk just to shave a few seconds off the time unless you're cutting enrage tightly.

I guess I'm speaking from a non-PF/pug viewpoint where I have a mostly-static group doing ex/savage runs and we all know that we've got something on farm, so if we somehow do need the LB3 to rez everybody then we've backslid *massively*. Otherwise, I can definitely see this. And in the long run, I don't get mad if the DPS doesn't use it until the last 10% - but I also won't gripe if they use it early if we know we're clearing.

[Iscah]

So the healers lead the pack and pull hate in level 70 content?

As HyoMin said, I was being sarcastic - but I was never implying that they would be doing that in Lv70 content as a healer, rightly or otherwise. The original story noted that the run-ahead healer had a level 70 tank.

So, quite seriously I could see that happening. Someone with a "me first" mindset and/or no idea about party roles initially picks a tank. They lead everything and nobody complains or tries to overtake them. All the way to Lv70, they're running ahead because they want to go first and be in charge, and it's only fortunate coincidence that their job is to go first and be in charge.

And then they decide to level a healer....

[Mesarthim]

Square Enix really needs to teach people mechanics better. Had a new healer in A12N and they ran away with the stack marker not once, but twice. Dying the first time didn't make that mechanic apparent. It's a shame too since they seemed pretty okay.

Which makes me ask since I don't really remember: Just how many times has this mechanic appeared before Alexander? I know of nidhogg where it matters and Xelphatol where it... doesn't. Was there any other instances?

[lvlagmarink]

Pretty sure the game teaches players to do stack marker correctly in main scenario duties now.. but i dont know if it will still do any good with their new upcoming product.. The SB story skipping potion~