Savage raiding still needs work

[Raikai]

I think I just got used to dodge the castbars, but I kind of agree that the disconnect between the cast bar and the actual attack animation going off is quite jarring.

[Khalithar]

I think I just got used to dodge the castbars, but I kind of agree that the disconnect between the cast bar and the actual attack animation going off is quite jarring.

The way the current savage design is you don't necessarily need to watch the cast bars, there are visual indicators in both boss stance and animation that you're able to pre-position and then wait for the spells to go off and the various visuals to know when to move. Plus at least for most raids there's a designated caller and you can usually listen to that. OP was having trouble in 12s phase 2 for two specific mechanics where you have to dynamically adjust to your debuffs and know where to move and then wait for certain timers to run out. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it but it can be rough when you're still learning, goodness knows I struggled with the same mechanics the OP mentioned.

[Listrella]

what's wrong with using your brain during raids, brain power is just a valuable a skill as reflexes if not more so.

[Colt47]

It's actually kind of funny when you first step into savage, because the way they design savage fights vs... the entire rest of the game is so different it is jarring. A lot of the standard fights are easy to overcome, but have random elements to them due to the general chaos of the player group. That and they tend to be more focused on how well you perform vs how well the group performs. Savage is incredibly specific on what must be done to pass each mechanic, so it is all about figuring out that exact dance step, then conducting a very specific set of actions to maximize the damage being dealt to the boss (because that is how they work now).

Also, as a side note: Black Mage does really well in savage just because of how methodical it is. In casual content it feels horrible to play. I always felt that black mage should be more like a bard in how there is no combo, but you got a bunch of cooldowns that you manage so you just throw all this fire and lightning on casts. As it is, the class reminds me a bit more of a balance druid from World of Warcraft, actually...

[Khalithar]

It's actually kind of funny when you first step into savage, because the way they design savage fights vs... the entire rest of the game is so different it is jarring. A lot of the standard fights are easy to overcome, but have random elements to them due to the general chaos of the player group. That and they tend to be more focused on how well you perform vs how well the group performs. Savage is incredibly specific on what must be done to pass each mechanic, so it is all about figuring out that exact dance step, then conducting a very specific set of actions to maximize the damage being dealt to the boss (because that is how they work now).

Also you die, a lot, a metric f*** ton.

You die a bunch of times learning how to resolve a mechanic. Then you die a lot mastering the next one. Repeat until you've mastered every step of the dance and then get the satisfaction of the boss kill.

Then after a few weeks of farming you kill the boss you spent weeks on in the first pull and you're like "that's it?" It's an odd feeling once you reach the top of that mountain.

[Colt47]

Also you die, a lot, a metric f*** ton.

You die a bunch of times learning how to resolve a mechanic. Then you die a lot mastering the next one. Repeat until you've mastered every step of the dance and then get the satisfaction of the boss kill.

Then after a few weeks of farming you kill the boss you spent weeks on in the first pull and you're like "that's it?" It's an odd feeling once you reach the top of that mountain.

I used to avoid savage all the time because I never felt it was worth it. Finally stepped into doing it this expansion and honestly it feels like some of the best designed and fun content they got in the game. They tried bringing in Eureka and Bazja that are massive time sinks and it really feels like there is a disconnect between content. I also think that it is frustrating that people who choose savage can't progress on the relics using that route given how much time it takes to organize and run it.

Savage itself just needs better tools to work with in-game in terms of learning the fight.

[Penthea]

Secondly, I dont think E12s is raiding anymore.. it feels more like putting together a puzzle then actually gaming... and by gaming I mean something like NInja Gaiden Master Ninja diffuclty where your reaction time is actually tested (and not your puzzle memory skills)

Sorry to burst your bubble but savage is hugely about solving puzzles. Yes there are videos out there telling you what the boss does and how to tackle it, but those videos have been put up by players who figured out how to do the fights on their own without help. SE didn't tell them how the bosses are supposed to be done.

Even if you do watch videos rarely do they explain in detail how to play your class as effectively as possible without it hampering your ability to deal with boss mechanics. Figuring that out is a puzzle in itself, especially for melee dps who need to figure out how to maintain as much uptime as possible without dying, and figuring that out can mean a lot of dying until they find the sweet spot. Teams with blms often do a lot of puzzle solving to figure out how to come up with a tactic that means the blm has to move as little as possible so they can turret.

If you want to do absolutely no reading in combat then raiding in this game isn't for you. Many teams have raid leaders who call out boss abilities in voice chat but there are times when so much happens at once that it is impossible to call out everything. Sometimes the rest of the team needs to do the reading that the raid leader cannot attend to due to time constraints. Often this happens in situations like when the team gets a variety of different debuffs so they need to figure out on their own which one they have, or when the design of the fight forces the team to split up and work independently.

If you are adamant about continuing to raid in this game the best advice I can give you is find a static with a raid leader who calls out all major boss mechanics. At least you would have a lot less reading to do than in a team in which no one is taking responsibility to call out anything in voice chat.

[ItMe]

Honestly... same. Tunneling is why I'm a tank main.
If I could I'd still be rocking DPS, but tanks having less to keep me busy let's me focus on the boss more. If anything I've noticed I'm now tunneling on the enemies if anything, which I guess I prefer.

[KarstenS]

Watching the castbar is a thing since 2.0 and it will ever be a thing.

Savage like content always had telegraphs only for a low amount of mechanics and even in casual content you need tho watch the castbar for a certain amount of mechanics.

Thats what the "focus target" is there for and everyone, that don't use focus target on bosses (in every content) and keep an eye on the casts better stops playing this game at all.

[Pepsi_Plunge]

Secondly, I dont think E12s is raiding anymore.. it feels more like putting together a puzzle then actually gaming...

Solving "Puzzle-Mechanics" has always been a thing in Savage, especially on the Tier-Bosses: A8 was basically a huge puzzle, highlighting on Gavel. A12 was the same with the Buffs/Debuffs on Temporal Stasis/Timegates. Omega 4 (Grand Cross), O8 (Forsaken-Mechanics), O12(Numbers, Patches, Hello World 1+2).. then again E8 (Light Rampant) and now E12 (Lions/Theories).

And honestly, I like it a lot. It looks like a dance performance. And it just feels so great figuring out what to do and then - after lots of attempts - finally watching your group smoothly moving and solving this stuff in the face of danger, while you still wait for the wipe when you suddenly realize that the fight goes on because everyone did everything correctly.