When to use limit break?

[Namos]

Hello everyone.

I recently started playing and am having a blast. Really enjoying the huge variety of things to do and master in the game.

One thing I don't understand though is when to use my limit break in a dungeon group. My understanding is that the limit break gauge is shared, so if I use mine other people can't use theirs. So when is the right time? Is there some sort of "limit break etiquette", for lack of a better term?

[Anova]

Usually, limit breaks are used at the end of a boss fight or to push a boss past a certain phase.

In most dungeon runs, you fight 3 bosses. The LB gauge is actually maxed at the first boss and most people will use it then as there is plenty of time for it to recharge. Some players use it at the 2nd boss, but others save it so they have a 2-stack LB for the final boss.

There really is not a huge difference for when a Lancer uses a LB. The exception would be for certain dungeons where a mage will use an aoe to clear mobs faster. However, those are almost always at level 50 and 60 and players usually tell you beforehand.

I wouldn't worry about it normally and just use it on bosses. If you're really unsure of what to do, just use the LB on the last boss. Let mages worry about using it before then.

The only problem most people have with LB is if a tank or healer uses it (as there are literally less than 5 fights where damage prevention/healing is useful enough to warrant a LB).

[KleeneOnigiri]

Limit all the things! Limit everything! EEEVERYYTHIIIING!!! MUHAHAHA!


On a serious note, what Anova said.
It differs from dungeon to dungeon tho. Sometimes you want to LB the 2nd boss if that ones more annoying, even if your Limit break won't get full for the next boss.
Sometimes you also don't limit the boss directly, but an add or a "nail" or "meteor thingy", since if you don't get that down fast, your party might wipe.
And sometimes your 2nd or 3rd limit bar might not get full before the last boss dies, so you can limit earlier too.
Generally, you LB once the bar is full at the last boss. Sometimes you even manage to get another bar full for an additional 1-bar LB.
If you're not sure what to limit or when, you can always ask. If no one replies or they say: "no special mechanics", just LB the boss

You also can't buff a Limit Break, so using Blood for Blood and stuff don't matter. It's also calculated by every weapon from every party member. So the itemlevel of the person using the Limit Break doesn't matter. Meaning, you can also use Limit break even if there is a lvl 60 Dragoon/Monk/Ninja with better equipment than you.
Oh and be careful, sometimes a boss get's into a phase where he's invulnerable, if you limit it then, it get's wasted (LB 3 needs long to cast too... so watch out! )

[Niwashi]

The gauge is indeed shared among the party, and the LB will have a different effect depending on the class/job of the person who uses it.

A healer's LB will give a massive heal to the entire party (including Raise to all needing it if it's a LB3). If things are going badly, it can save a run that would otherwise have wiped, but is usually not needed if the run is going well.

A tank's LB gives the whole party a damage reduction buff. It could be useful for a boss that has a single massive-damage AoE hit, but such attacks usually only come if you've failed the preceding mechanic, so this is another one whose main use is rescuing the run from a near failure. (And if that preceding mechanic is a DPS check, using a DPS LB to avoid failing is generally better than using a tank LB to survive it).

Damage dealer classes/jobs, unsurprisingly, have an attack as their LB, though the type of attack varies by class:

DoM DPS jobs have an AoE attack as their LB. A few places have a swarm of adds in your final boss fight and this can help to clear them out.

DoW ranged DPS jobs now also have an AoE attack for a LB, but theirs is directional, hitting all mobs that lie in a straight line in front of them.

Melee DPS jobs have a single target attack for their LB. Of the three, it has the highest attack power. Since most dungeons end with a fight where the primary goal is killing a single boss, this melee LB is probably the most often desired and used LB of all of them. If (judging from your avatar character) you're sticking with Dragoon, then using the team's Limit Break will often be your responsibility, particularly if the other damage dealer in the party is a ranged or caster class.

As for when to use a melee LB, in general wait until the final boss of the dungeon and then once the LB gauge is completely filled, fire away. If the fight has a difficult DPS check phase, however, then you may want to try to get it in then. Also there may be time to do a level 1 LB early in the dungeon and still have time to fill the gauge all the way back up again in time for the final boss, but unless an interim boss is particularly difficult, I'd only do that if you're confident you'll have time for it to fill back up. (The tendency lately of people to rush through dungeons doing the minimum necessary makes this opportunity come up less often than it used to.)

[Mykll]

Just please don't try to get the kill shot with the LB. Use it before then, so the full damage of it can be done.

[m3eansean]

Just please don't try to get the kill shot with the LB. Use it before then, so the full damage of it can be done.

Indeed - too many try to use it as the kill shot to be flashy, when it reality it is wasted dps potential due to the overkill.

[Namos]

Indeed - too many try to use it as the kill shot to be flashy, when it reality it is wasted dps potential due to the overkill.

I have been doing that <.<
To be fair, it's been more of me thinking "If I mess this up, nobody will care because the boss is dead" rather than any specific desire to be flashy. Thanks to everyone's kind replies, this will no longer be an issue.

I've been trying my hand at tanking; it's good to know I won't have to concern myself with tank LBs for a while yet.

[Mykll]

You can still use the LB towards the end. Just do it, for example, with 10% health left, instead of 1%.

Something else, especially in 4 man parties, you could use the LB right at the start of the fight, and potentially have it build up again by the end of the fight. Get 2 LBs in overall instead of just 1.

I think in all cases regardless of party size, if the LB bar is 2 or 3 bars long (in total, not necessarily currently filled) the LB bars will empty at the start of the last boss fight. Someone will correct me if I am wrong on that. Once you run some dungeons and know them really well you will see. Saving all that LB for the final boss is a waste, unless you get fancy by doing a ranged DPS LB pull on the boss, or the second tank LB right before the MT tank pulls (there is an animation lock, so if the MT LBs and then pulls, it's largely wasted) to give him a shield. Because, after all, the LB bars will empty upon boss agro.

Anyroad, glad you are having a blast!

[Xaenith]

Usually you can LB against all three bosses. By the time you get to the first boss it's either full of almost full. You can't charge past the first bar except against the 3rd boss so use it as soon as it's full. Then it will likely be full or almost full by the time you get to the second boss so use it when it's full again. If the boss has phases though you want to use it at the right time. Like some bosses will start summoning ads at 50% Hp or stuff like that. In that case use it right when the boss starts summoning the ads for instance.

On the 3rd boss try to wait until the 2nd bar is full but if it's clear the boss will die before it fills then just use LB1

[KeairaBell]

You can still use the LB towards the end. Just do it, for example, with 10% health left, instead of 1%.

I'd use a bit more before 10% due to cast/animation time and depending if it's melee or ranged and if it's 1, 2 or 3 bars.

Something else, especially in 4 man parties, you could use the LB right at the start of the fight, and potentially have it build up again by the end of the fight. Get 2 LBs in overall instead of just 1.

In leveling dungeons, if you have a full bar at the boss there is really no reason to not use it at the start. That way it can fill back up during the fight, rather then waiting to the end. I think the only exception would be in The Vault, where there is phase shifts and the actual boss comes out after a period of time, oh and Sastasha story since the first boss leaves at 50%.

I think in all cases regardless of party size, if the LB bar is 2 or 3 bars long (in total, not necessarily currently filled) the LB bars will empty at the start of the last boss fight. Someone will correct me if I am wrong on that. Once you run some dungeons and know them really well you will see. Saving all that LB for the final boss is a waste, unless you get fancy by doing a ranged DPS LB pull on the boss, or the second tank LB right before the MT tank pulls (there is an animation lock, so if the MT LBs and then pulls, it's largely wasted) to give him a shield. Because, after all, the LB bars will empty upon boss agro.

This happens in the CT/ST/WoD towers and some of the Main Scenario Dungeons (CM/Prae) but also in some duties if you wipe. So you could open with a Limit Break, but only a ranged one.

Anyroad, glad you are having a blast!

I agree with this, and also glad that (with being new) you have taken the time to figure things out. Nothing worse then being in a dungeon and not having the DPS know what limit break is or how to use it.

Have fun, and take anything people say to you in dungeon with a grain of salt.