T13 adds

[Zaft]

Brutal Swing animation cancels Butcher's Blocks animation, causing it to resolve instantly. So you want to prep a Butcher's combo (and if you don't have full Wrath, use Infuriate) and as soon as it spawns, Butcher's Block -> Brutal Swing -> Inner Beast and then start running while you Tomahawk behind you.

I can upload a quick video for you if you'd like.

[SpookyGhost]

Also works with any other ogcd ability/cd, so Provoke, Foresight, Unchained, etc. Brutal Swing is of course the most consistent, though, but if it happens to not be up when an add spawns you can use any of your other options.

[d4gz]

thats odd. maybe ur not standing where it should spawn.

[Ehayte]

Yeah. I know all this stuff. The problem was if I wasn't able to target a drake (I think that was the issue) in time to get a Skull Sunder in before he started moving.

- I don't need a BB to snap aggro, SS is more than enough, and I'd rather stay out of defiance for longer to only build 2-3stacks of wrath (depending on whether or not i use veng) to do Veng>SS>BB>IB>Infur>HS>IB>Drop Defiance>Maim>Mercy Stroke then run back to Bahamut to apply path if PLD doesn't have hallowed, Eye if he does. I feel like you are wasting an IB if you pre-infuriate, although i don't have a parser to check if being in defiance for 2 moves before Gig/Rage is a loss versus gaining the extra IB.
- I was more asking about the effects of slight latency on the ability to target and be in the drakes hit-box before it started moving, and if Flash was a reasonable solution to ghetto-rig that disadvantage.
- Can you really Tomahawk spam reliably? I find if I use OP to pick up or Tomahawk to cement enmity I will run out of TP if I didn't get an Earthshaker.
- I am standing in the correct place.

[SpookyGhost]

Flash would definitely work due to not requiring a target and all. It would also alleviate your TP problem, though obviously cost you a GCD of damage (not really the biggest problem).

Usually what happens with the drakes in T13 (similar to what used to happen to the slugs in T6 and the adds in T7) is that they have very quick spawns. This means that when a healer casts a heal as the add is spawning, it will lock to them and then gun after them. Your SS/BB is hitting after the fact and the Drake is a bit slow, so he has to go all the way to the healer, auto attack, and then come back to you. If you landed your SS/BB, then it shouldn't be a problem and it should run directly back to you, so Tomahawk shouldn't be necessary.

Another option is to have your healers delay the raid heal following Gigaflare. As far as I know, the only person taking damage immediately after that would be the MT and that is mainly auto attacks. So them holding off for a split second while you hit the Drake is a good way to avoid enmity problems as well.

[Zaft]

• The Infuriate -> Inner Beast for the add is to decrease the damage taken from the Deadly Drive that it nearly immediately uses. It's just to help keep your health from spiking as you're moving into position.
• The problem with Flash is that it's incredibly low threat compared to a prep'd Butcher's Block. Flash is approximately 500 threat. Butcher's Block is 7.5x the damage you deal. Chances are one of your DPS will peel the add off you the instant your Flash finishes.
• Maybe "spam" is the wrong word. You're just using it as you're moving to position. I generally only get two Tomahawks off before I'm in my spot and the Ghost with me.

[whiskeybravo]

Dead thread bump xD

Having similar issues with these shadow adds, my breaking point was having the whm still rip off me with an unchained BB on the add >.<

Sounds like the best thing to do is suggest they wait until I can unload a BB on the add before popping that mega cure 3 after Rage. There's not much else I feel can be done, as soon as the add spawns and I can target I hit it with combo'd BB+Brutal using whatever buffs I have up (zerk, Unchained, IR) but it still always flies over and attacks the whm before flying back to me, and of course by that time more heals have gone out.

[Soul_Vigil]

What Zaft said. Two things though... make sure you wait on the voke until your whm is done casting their group heal (should be right as add spawns if timed correctly) and make sure you are using a charged Bucher's Block followed by Inner Beast.


It also sounds like for a few of you the problem may be more with the whm and their heal timing than your snap agro.

[whiskeybravo]

I tried using Provoke>BB first but the results were unfavorable so I just stuck to hitting it with a charged BB. If that's a common technique though I'll try to improve my usage of it. Just seemed like there was a bit of delay using Provoke>BB.. Where as using action>provoke is nearly instant.

[SirTaint]

Skull Sunder is much better to use IMO for the initial contact. The adds die so fast with Echo just tell your BLM and BRD to use an extra GCD on Bahamut. This phase was a DPS check 6 months ago but is no longer.