Is it even possible to do Operation Archon?

[Frizze]

Is entirely possible you are right. I havent done the fight. But the vid made it look to me like you were bound in place and then bombarded. I didnt see the bind icon go away(is it maybe a 2nd target to break the chain and sam just didnt bother because melee?). The attacks do look simple to dodge IF you can move. If not, burning him faster then he can burn you seems like the logical play. So far im not curious enough to dig up where this would fall into the NG+ sphere to try for myself, but i guess if Niwa continues to struggle is a possibility.

[Seera1024]

Is entirely possible you are right. I havent done the fight. But the vid made it look to me like you were bound in place and then bombarded. I didnt see the bind icon go away(is it maybe a 2nd target to break the chain and sam just didnt bother because melee?). The attacks do look simple to dodge IF you can move. If not, burning him faster then he can burn you seems like the logical play. So far im not curious enough to dig up where this would fall into the NG+ sphere to try for myself, but i guess if Niwa continues to struggle is a possibility.

I went through the New Game +. It's in Chapter 4, which is the quests from Coerthas in the mid-30's through end of main ARR. It took several hours of speed running the MSQ to get there.

It's totally doable on a Black Mage. I did just realize afterward that my attempt at being geared 100% like a level 49 Black Mage as close as possible got foiled. One of my rings remained. And of course it would be the iLvl 600 Asphodelos ring of casting. Oops. You do get item synced down to iLvl 50, however.

Today was my first time doing the altered fight and I went in blind. I did get hit a few times during the first phase while trying to greed so there is at least some room for error.

Some tips:

1. Fish for Firestarter procs while in Fire. They're free damage and you can cast them on the move. Useful in the 2nd main phase. Stay in Fire until you can't cast Fire 1 anymore. Then and only then switch to Ice via Blizzard 3 ideally. When you're in Ice, perfect time to throw out a Thunder as a filler move while you wait for your mana to fill up. Only stay in Ice as long as it takes to get to max mana. Use Fire 3 to switch back. Using the opposite Element #3 is a fast cast skill.

2. Definitely use Thunder. Thunder procs are also free damage and can be casted on the move.

3. Not sure if this would work, but you should be able to Sleep the ads in the ad phase. If not, work on them one by one. This reduces the damage coming in. Or at least that's how I did it.

4. Don't forget about Manaward. It's our we take no damage button. Very useful for the final phase where we can't get out of the AoE. I also used it during the ad phase.

5. Don't forget about Sprint. Can be useful in the 2nd main phase if you realize you're on the other side from the safe spot.

6. Don't forget about health potions and scour your inventory for food that would help you. Either by giving you a way to heal yourself or to boost your stats.

7. Don't panic. Your brain shuts down the logic center when you panic.